In Curacao!

Our final week in Bonaire was very hectic. We did our third bike ride to the north of the Island. Very pretty but very hilly and the ride was about 30 miles. We both must be fitter because it didn't hurt as much as the first one! The ride followed the coast and we had a great snorkel and passed a lake with lots of Flamingos. The following day we hired a car with friends Wendy and Bobby. It was a surprise to see them, as they had visited Venezuela and we didn't think they would catch us up but they arrived in Bonaire in time to snorkel with us on Kline Bonaire (small island off the W coast) and then go sight seeing.

We took the car to the national park in the north which was very wild and picturesque. It was dirt track roads so the driving tested Mike's skills. After a picnic and a snorkel we headed south and also stopped at Rincon the other town on the Island.

We had another day's diving and managed to do 3 dives. We saw lots but its very tiring! The US company we wanted to buy the dive gear off (see last blog) would not accept a credit card (no one has told them that the credit card company is responsible for fraud not them!) so we left without ordering anything.

We had a good sail to Curacao a week ago. Unfortunately, we didn't catch any more fish but it was an enjoyable day with a good breeze and we had a visit from the dolphins as we rounded the northern tip of the island. We anchored in Spaanse Water on Saturday, so Sunday we caught a bus into Willemstad to check in. After a long walk we found Immigration who were very friendly and on our 3rd attempt we managed to get in to customs by knocking on their window to get their attention! We also need an anchoring permit (office closed weekends!) so we had to go back into town Monday to get this, but they were closed for a long lunch hour!!! We finally managed to get hold of them Wednesday. They do not make it easy here to comply with their rules but it is probably a taster of what it will be like in the Spanish speaking countries.

Although Willmstad is very pretty, the town is a world heritage site with lots of lovely old buildings, we are missing the lovely clear waters of Bonaire. The water here is very murky and we have not had a swim since arriving here. It is also not as convenient as you have to get a bus to do anything and they run on Caribbean time (i.e. when they feel like it!).

We were hoping to leave for Cartagena this weekend but unfortunately our generator has majorly broken down. For the mechanics amongst you the valve has broken and gone into the piston. We are trying to find someone to mend it but getting parts could be a problem. There will probably be even less chance of getting it fixed once we leave here so we could be here a while!

We are consoling ourselves with wine and cheese and socialising with friends. The supermarkets here do have a big selection of foods, more than we have seen since leaving the UK. So there are worse places to be and its too windy this weekend to go anywhere anyway!