Orinoco Delta

We start off with a home on the Manamo River, then Audrey Paige surrounded by 'bora', Dennis trying to stay dry in the cockpit, the one nasty storm that we had and a beautiful little Wareo girl. What a wonderful trip across the Gulf of Paria (well, until we got close and then it was like travelling in the Chesapeake, shallow and bumpy) and then anchored in the Pedernales River and checking in there, and over to the Manamo River, down 75 miles to the power lines and back up again. Along the way we visited quite a few villages. Most had nothing to trade but we gave away cookies and 'other stuff'. Travelled with Mark and Deb on Sea Cycle, and they had lots of good 'kid stuff' to trade and give away.
Visited the Orinoco Delta Lodge, which is just fantastic. Lunch for 2, dinner for 2, a bottle of wine and 6 beer cost a whole $50 US. Met up with Brian and Sue on Darramy and Troy and Jo on Malarky. We were the only boats for the month of November.
Learned to anchor well before a village or well after since it got to be a bit overwhelming with what seemed like a million canoes paddling out! And us with a new paint job!!
Ourselves and Sea Cycle really enjoyed our trip in the Manamo River - quiet, solitude and no pressure!
~~~~_/)~~~~

Gorge Trip

Took a day off from boat work to go on the Gorge trip with Jesse, Snake and Gaston. The trip down the road and back up again was the worst - more than a 45 degree angle.
It was, again, another great Jesse and Snake tour - informative - lessons on plants and fruits - wild oranges, plums, apples, the bread from coconut.
The torrential downpour didn't start until we'd left the waterfall and river, so we were lucky there. Although, climbing up the hills in mud was definitely a challenge. Thankfully for me, I was behind Gaston and hanging on to him while we worked our way up!
Our 'Jesse' group was ourselves, Mark (Sea Cycle), Rose (Sojourn), LeVonne (Transition), Paul and Janey (Shian), Ann and Steve (Receta), and one other couple that we never got the name of.
Made it to the waterfall and were told that we were the first group in a long time to make it that far. Tell that to my legs the rest of the week when I had to climb up the ladder on the hard!!
Jesse stopped by the airport on the way home to get us doubles, since the usual stand was closed in the morning. Doubles are served on a piece of waxed paper, which is considered your napkin. It's two pieces of an Indian flatbread with a curried chickpea filling, with hot sauce and other spices. The big trick is to not dribble it all over yourself, since the one piece of bread is supposed to act as your spoon to scoop the stuff off the second piece of bread! Yeah, right!!! The doubles were Jesse's treat. Wow, how great is he??
We finally got back to the boat, exhausted and filthy, about 7 at night. A 13 hour day, but well worth it.

Back in Trini!

Back 'home' at last. Audrey Paige finally in the water, and Dennis standing with our painter, Nigel, who did an amazing job. Mark and Deb on Sea Cycle supervised the last of our paint job and prodded Nigel along. We are so, so pleased. Audrey Paige looks like a new boat!! Of course, it took us an extra day to clean up from the break-in, in the secure yard at Coral Cove, right after we left.

Luckily, the only things of value that they took were 3 bottles of Dennis' Pusser's rum, my French olive oil, a backpack and travel iron. Go figure!

Moved back onto the boat and had no water pressure for almost two weeks, so that meant hauling buckets of water up from the ground and over the side of the boat. Let's see, that's okay at anchorage when I'm not paying ... but, I'm paying for this?

Nigel recommended Troy and Lisa from Custom Signs to put the name on the boat and, again, a great job. Seems like all the tradespeople are great this year, but Coral Cove Marina seems to be going downhill fast! Nothing works right.

Off the dock and off to Scotland Bay for peace and quiet -- and a lot more work on the boat!

We didn't see the Coast Guard or Customs at all last year - they're making up for it this year, making a tour of the anchorages at least twice a day. Guess we can't complain, unless we're trying to hang out before we leave.

Stocking up and planning to head to the Orinoco with Sea Cycle.

~~~~_/)~~~~~

Summer of 2007

Back for a visit in Michigan to see our family. Here we have Kelly, ready to deliver Brooklyn at any time, with Taylour and Cody. Taylour is our oldest granddaughter, just turned 12, and Cody is 9. (How did we get old enough to have all these grandkids?)

Kelly and Charlie had a barbeque for us while we were at home, and this is Shaun and Kristine with Avory and Ryenn, along with Taylour, Cody and Parker. Love those grandkids. Guess we'll keep the kids too.

We also headed up to Lapeer to visit with MA and Chris and spend time with our oldest grandson, Zachary, on the left, and his brother Jake. Zach turns 10 in October and we're not quite sure where the time went there either.

Just hanging out in Florida right now at Mom's house. Allayne has a job selling carpet, vinyl and laminate flooring (real useful in boating!) and Dennis has the prized job at West Marine. Very few hours, but love that discount.

We've had emails from Trinidad that Audrey Paige has already been sanded and primed and the paint should be going on shortly. Can't wait to get back to a 'new' boat. Miss our home on the water!!

~~~_/)~~~