Fish Tale

 

This is a fish story, but not a common one.  I'm not going to exaggerate the size of the fish, but it was a nice one - a wahoo.

We were traveling the south side of Margarita, an island off the coast of Venezuela, trolling a line.   Seems that sailing is about the right speed for trolling most of the time.  The line hooked into a wahoo, a heavy fish.  Since I was at the helm, I slowed the speed of the boat while my partner tried to reel him in.  By the time all the sails were down and the motor started, the fish was still fighting and my partner yelled to back down on the fish.   Oh, great, I'm thinking fishing line in the prop.  I backed down so that the fish was closer, but he was way too big to try to gaff and bring aboard.  We had lots of freeboard - meaning we were not very close to the water level. 

All cruisers have a dinghy, and we were no exception, so my partner got in the dinghy and I handed over the rod that I'd been trusted to hold on to. I also handed over the gaff, hoping for no damage.  Our dinghy was inflatable and I was hoping that it would survive this procedure without any punctures or other damage.  After what seemed like a lengthy time, with much mumbling and grunting, the fish was gaffed and dragged into the dinghy.  Luckily, the dinghy was still inflated, much to my relief.

We were close to our anchorage, so we just motored in while we towed the dinghy with the wahoo's tail sticking up in the air.  After we anchored, the next problem was to get the fish on deck so it could be cleaned.  As we anchored, the cat knew we were done traveling and it was safe to come out on deck.  She had to do her usual tour of the deck, up one side and down the other.  She stopped at the back and stared at the dinghy with the fish staring back at her.  We had caught other fish and she absolutely loved it, so she looked up at us and demanded to know why we were not yet slicing up some fish morsels for her. 

My partner finally heaved the fish onto the back deck, with more mumbling and grunting.  The cat decided we were moving too slowly and decided to take matters into her own paws.  She went over to the fish and tried to take a bite.  Unfortunately for her, and strange as it seems to me - her mouth just wasn't big enough to bite off a piece of flesh, she couldn't even break the skin.  She was so insistent that I had to lock her in the head when the filet knife came out. 

As my partner cut the fish up into steaks and small chunks for the cat, we knew we didn't have refrigeration capability to keep it all, so I got on the radio and put out calls to other cruisers we knew in the anchorage.  I told them what we had and if anyone wanted some fresh fish, to bring baggies over.  By the time they started arriving, I had let the poor starving kitty out of the head so she could overload on fish pieces.  As she was inhaling them, she noticed we were handing over packages of her fish to people in dinghies.  She came over to me yelling about it and slapping my hand as I handed over a full baggie to a cruiser.  Guess who was caged back in the head?

With this much fish, we all decided to have a cookout on the beach with other cruisers we knew.  Everyone brought their drinks and a dish to share and we had a great evening.  And people wondered what we did all day!

Overnight Passages

I never really minded overnight passages - well, most of them.  This picture was of a sunrise on the way to Trinidad one year - unfortunately, a motor trip, total lack of wind.  It was a very uneventful night.

But then, we had the passage from Margarita, Venezuela one year - the first 36 hours were horrible - confused seas, no rhythm at all AND to top it all off - the autopilot was broken!  By the third day, it was decently calm - but then, we had a call from the US Coast Guard cutter off our stern - they wanted to board us.   Here we were, a day away from land and they want to come over for an inspection and a drug swipe test.  Obviously, since I'm writing this - everything turned out fine.  We were really happy when we anchored after that trip.

Those were two extremes, and there have been others like them - maybe not just like them, but similar.  We were only boarded by the Coasties that once. 

One of my most memorable overnight, multi-day passages was from Margarita (again, different year) to St Thomas.  It was my first solo trip of multiple days.  The plan was to rest as much as possible during the day and at night, take 10 minute naps, get up and look around for other vessels, and take another nap.  It worked out pretty well, and the weather was behaving nicely, seas were a bit high, but they were coordinated with the wind and the boat was sailing along nicely.  I love having the motor off, nothing worse than that diesel chugging all the time! 

It was a bit cool, so I had sweats and a jacket on - yes, in the Caribbean, but it was winter!  And at night, with the wind blowing, it was chilly.   OK, I'll admit it, I'm a wimp and I like to be warm!  I was getting enough sleep during the night with my little timer buddy waking me up every 10 minutes or so, and I became very adept at falling asleep quickly after my search for other lights.  I think I saw only one other vessel, and he was miles away. 

The second night was totally moonless - but the stars were so bright you could actually see the reflections on the water.   There are so many more stars you can see without any ambient light, and they seem so much closer, and  so much brighter.  In spite of my need to sleep that night, one time I woke up, I just sat there and stared at the sky, marveling at the brilliance of light in the sky - it reminded me of glitter.   The Southern Cross was hanging perfectly over the solar panels mounted on my dinghy davits at the stern.  It was an amazing sight, and one I'll never forget. 

Now my plan is to go west in an RV and visit mountains, deserts, canyons and caverns.  I'm hoping I'll see a night sky as brilliant as the one I saw in the middle of the Caribbean Sea.  For those of you who want to follow my travels, join my page on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/LandCruisingAdventure   My wanderlust continues to control my life.

Betty Karl
http://amzn.com/B009RCO02G

Tornadoes/Waterspouts

Tornadoes that happen over large bodies of water are called waterspouts.   Somehow, the name doesn't seem to invoke the same panic as the word tornado, which sounds like havoc about to happen.  During the time I was cruising, I saw quite a few waterspouts, but two will remain etched in my mind forever. 

The first one was in Marathon in the Florida Keys.  The boat was on a dock at a tiny marina on Florida Bay.  This was in back of a fish house that has since been torn down to make way for more lucrative properties.  It was the middle of the afternoon and I was up at the fish house talking to some other residents.  Someone from one of the other boats came up yelling loudly about a waterspout, a giant waterspout that was headed directly toward our boats.  We really couldn't see much from where we were - buildings were in the way, so we all ran down to the docks. 

As we reached the docks, I realized that if it actually did come to our marina, there was no way to help the boats.  We couldn't get them out of the way and if we tried, we could be running right into it.  The only thing we could do was stow the canvas, wrap the sails and clear the decks of anything we had laying around.  It was a big waterspout and we had no way of telling how fast it was coming toward us, it just seemed to be sitting there looking ominous. 

In the end, it just seemed to dissipate.  The funnel detached itself from the water and lifted itself into the cloud.  What a sense of relief! 

The second major one I saw was in Venezuelan waters.  We were traveling from Los Testigos, a group of small islands that are mostly unpopulated except for a few fishermen.  We had been hit by lightning and were on the way back to Trinidad to get everything repaired.  We left early morning and the weather was overcast, but not threatening.  By the time we were about halfway to the mainland Venezuelan coast so that we could run along the coast and stay out of the eastern tradewinds, we were totally out of sight of any land and the clouds were building. 

We knew it would be a soggy trip, rain didn't bother us much since we had a good bimini, dodger, and we put up the side curtains, so we were mostly covered.  Of course, by that time we saw a waterspout, another huge one, off to our starboard side.  Since we had no background except the sky and the Caribbean Sea, there was no way to tell which way it was going - we couldn't just go the other way.  There was no way to figure out how close it was either.  It could have been a smallish one really close or a huge one a mile away.  Again, it just seemed to be hanging there.  We watched it for what seemed hours, hoping it would disappear.  

We kept on moving, hoping we were going the right way to leave it behind us.  We figured we had just been hit by lightning the day before, nothing much worked on the boat because all the equipment was fried -  so why not add some more excitement with a waterspout!  Luckily, it seemed to fade and we could see it disappear into the cloud above it.   Our passage along the Venezuelan coast that night was a bit tense because there were thunderstorms all night - we had already been hit by lightning the day before, but we were the tallest thing out there - and I had my hands on the wheel.  Of course, here could have been more waterspouts, but we couldn't see them in the dark.   Sometimes it's better not knowing.

In both of these situations, we were lucky enough to have those waterspouts dissipate and return to the clouds and leave us unharmed.  What a relief. 

Betty Karl
http://amzn.com/B009RCO02G

How About a Wine Tasting?

While I was cruising in Margarita, Venezuela, I was contacted by a cruiser friend who wanted me to buy him a case of a certain wine.   Since it's much cheaper in Margarita than most of the Eastern Caribbean, I told him that was no problem.  We knew we would meet up again during the next few seasons. 

I wrote down his description of the wine - what picture it had on the label and the type.  Unfortunately, he didn't remember the name of the winery or brand.  OK, I didn't think it would be a problem to buy a case and I knew just the store to get it in, they had a great selection. 

On my next trip to the store, I went to the wine section and scanned the bottles, to my amazement, multiple brands of that same type appeared with the same type of picture, an old fashioned picture of a mother cradling her baby.  There were at least 10 different brands.  I decided not to buy anything that trip, but had contact with him in the next few days.  He said he didn't know which brand was good, but just pick any one and it would be fine.

Great, now it's my decision - and there's so many!!  I decided this was a good excuse to have a wine tasting party.  That way, we would all rate the different wines and I would buy what the majority thought was the best of the bunch.  I talked to a few people and they thought it was a great idea and a wonderful excuse for a party - like we needed excuses! 

A California couple on a catamaran insisted that we do it on their boat, they said they were wine connoisseurs after having lived in California.  We decided what type munchies we should have and I bought numerous bottles of that type wine and settled on a date. 

We all gathered together on the catamaran.   Because the California couple had been to many wine tastings and had some of their own, they wanted to organize the tasting.   Fine by me, I knew they were more experienced than I was.  We had a great time doing the test and surprisingly, a lot of us agreed which were the better wines.  Everyone agreed that the party was a success and that it was great to do something different for a change.

My friend and his wife were thrilled when I delivered the case of the most popular wine and thought our selection was great.  I told them the story and thanked them for the wonderful party we had.

Betty Karl

http://amzn.com/B009RCO02G

Medical Costs Outside the U S

 

LaGuardia, Venezuela

 

 

Medical care is always scary, but especially so if you happen to be in a foreign country and need something done. Most of my medical care has been in the States, but I have had medical procedures done in two other countries where I happened to be when I needed something done. I needed to be a hospital patient in both cases, luckily only on an out-patient basis – meaning I was in and out on the same day.

The first was in Trinidad, a simple procedure and I had been to this doctor numerous times during my visits to Trinidad - I liked him and trusted his judgment. I can’t say it was enjoyable because when I woke up in the recovery room, I was freezing, no blankets. However, I can’t say anything bad about the care I received there.

I also had imaging and lab tests done there. In the States, we go to the doctor to get the order, go to the x-ray facility and then go back to the doctor for him to tell us what’s wrong, or not. In Trinidad, we get the order, go to the imaging facility, and then sit in the waiting room for them to develop the film and print the reports – and they hand it to us. Great, no visit to the doctor unless we think there’s a problem or we need further discussion with him. This saves time, money and makes much more sense. Same with the lab, although I had to go back on another day since the blood testing took more time to complete.

All of these services, and medications, cost way less than it would have in the States. You can actually afford to go to a doctor and pay for it in these places.

My second experience was in Puerto LaCruz, Venezuela. I went to the hospital for checkin, much more complicated since I had to go through their translator, my meager Spanish was not enough. They were great – in the recovery room, they had a nice blanket on me AND a hose pushing heated air under it! I was nice and warm, very comfortable. Again, this was done at a fraction of what it would cost in the States.

Medications were easy to obtain in Venezuela also, and cost only a tiny percent of the money we fork out in the States for the same thing. Certain medications that require prescriptions in the States were available over the counter there also.

A cruiser woman I knew was having treatment for cancer in Puerto La Cruz while I was there. Her husband told me that they had gone back to the States for a visit and checked in with their former doctor. He went over all the information they had brought back with them and told them that the treatment she was getting in Venezuela was the same that he would have ordered for her if she had been treated there in the States. And way more affordable.

If people go out of the States to get medical care and receive the same level of care we have here, why are our costs so high? The cost of insurance is outrageous and I don’t think it’s going to get any better. Doctors pay amazing amounts for malpractice insurance because they are open for lawsuits for any reason a lawyer might think of. Drug companies say the cost of medications is high because of the research and development, not to mention advertising, of any new drug. If that’s the case, why are the same medications available from the same companies in these other countries at a fraction of the cost? And yes, we’re talking about the name brand drugs, not generics.

I know what my opinion is and I’ll let you draw your own conclusions, but think about the information in the previous paragraph. The answers are there.

Betty Karl
http://amzn.com/B009RCO02G

　
　
　

 

Merida, Venezuela

 

My trip to Merida, Venezuela came about when I was talking with a cruiser friend of mine who was in the same marina at Puerto La Cruz a few years ago.   We were both having work done to our boats and decided we needed a break.  So we did some research about how to plan the trip.

 

The easiest (and most reasonable) way to get to Merida is to get a taxi to downtown Puerto la Cruz to the bus station.  It's best to get a ticket a day or so in advance, so you can be sure to get a seat.  Be sure to wear heavy clothing - never mind that it's 90 degrees out, trust me, you'll need them.  Also, you might want to bring a little pillow and a blanket, the bus ride is 18 hours.  The air conditioning is so cold that everyone looks like they're in cocoons during the trip.  Apparently, the air conditioning units are engine driven and there is no way to regulate the temperature - so it comes out COLD.  They stop every few hours so you can have some food or a bathroom break.  There is a head on the bus, but if you use it, go early.  Toward the end of the trip, it seems to get very unpleasant in there.  Wherever you go, take your own roll of toilet paper, or tissues.  My friend laughed at me when she saw me pack the roll, but during the trip, my roll turned into "our" roll and she never laughed at me about that again.  Even at the "truck stop" places you stop for food, you will need it.  The bus has movies, some are American ones, with Spanish subtitles, but there were a couple Spanish ones that didn't have subtitles.   Actually, none of them were worth watching. 

 

It was an adventure, but certainly a trip never to forget, the teleferico was an amazing trip in itself.  It felt like a bus ride, but you look down and there is no road, only a valley far below.  There wasn't much of a noticeable sound and the car is moving slowly, so it was an eerie feeling floating along.  At the top of the mountain, 32 degrees, there was so little oxygen up there, we were stumbling around, giggling and feeling drunk.  It was all I could do to take a few pictures of the area.  It was a real shock to people who have lived at sea level for years.

 

If anyone ever gets the chance to be in the neighborhood, I'd recommend this trip.

 

Betty Karl

 

You Tube video of Merida, Venezuela - http://youtu.be/zHHpAzJU4a

Island Fever book  - http://amzn.com/B009RCO02G