A_B_Curaçao

Willemstad is a capital of Curaçao and it, with its suburbs, covers about 1/3 of the entire island. In the heart of this city stands a sublime oil refinery. I couldn't believe it until I saw it. People who live down-wind from this industrial gem are obliged to inhale its flowersome fumes.
Population density of Curaçao, compared to Banaire, is almost 7 times higher what gives this island a city-like character. Even though I was told it's dangerous there I've only met nice people.
I arrived late at night and I had no intention to look for a hotel. So I exited the airport premises and started to hitchhike to the right(yes, I didn't have a clue where that would take me). Two young Curaçaoans stopped and seem puzzled when I told them I wanted to go in direction of Willemstad. I got in anyway, they turned back and drove me few kilometres towards the "centre". Near the place they dropped me I found larger area covered with bushes and I spent a night on a comfortable pile of hey which I laboriously accumulated from near surroundings. The night was mosquito-free!

Next day was hot and dry, I hitched my way downtown with a cheerful mid-aged lady who was driving her car fast and listening to high-volumed music, including salsa and hip-hop. Looking for a cheap and authentic place to eat lunch I found a little bar/restaurant with very loud music and a few merry-drunken elders where I was served fried fish. Happy and fed I set on the road once again, mission this time being a beach-search. What an adventure it sometimes turns out to be. It included, but was not limited to, a stormy argument between bus driver and one of the passengers over spilled drink, round-the-prison excursion and finally a ride by Esther, who happened to take me to one of the nicest beaches I've seen on this island. After hearing my story she even decided to have me the following week. When visiting the local yacht port and marina we met a guy who's name I don't remember but who took as on tour on his large fibre-glass dinghy around the boats on anchor so I could offer my services directly to those who were heading to Colombia. No success, but it was fun!
Esther lives alone with her two crazy cats. I assisted her with cooking and tidying up as an exchange for her sincere help. She also lent me her precious bicycle which I used to stroll up and down the island. Down south, near the marina I found some sharp boulders and so I could maintain the smile on my face. A week later I moved over to stay few days with a cosmic-turbo-mother harMonica with whom I had lots of fun, so much that for people who aren't used to it, such an experience could be unbearable. Together we explored the island, climbed the highest peak(45 minutes walk with a pleasant scramble in the end), watched water, under the pressure of sea motion, jetting out from the small but sharp caves, jumped off the cliff into the turquoise Caribbean... And many more. Monica can manage many things and people at the same time, we are the same hyper family.

Picture sources:
http://imgc.allpostersimages.com/images/P-473-488-90/21/2157/416CD00Z/posters/ken-gillham-oil-refinery-willemstad-curacao-west-indies-central-america.jpg

http://www.lago-colony.com/MCCALL/Swing%20Bridge%20Curacao.jpg

A_Bonaire_C

On Bonaire I could see those boulders even before landfall. Very sharp limestone rocks laying all around the place, but mainly in the northern part of this island. Scattered goats criss-crossing the thorny bushes full of the tall cactus trees, including the big and, apparently, tasty iguanas (just like snails or frogs, initially eaten because of the lack of other food). I fancied trying the "beast soup" but I didn't get an opportunity. And at the same time I think I'd feel sorry for eating such an adorable creature.
Within 1 km to the west, south west from the island lays another one, called Klein Bonaire. This is one of the main diving sites in the area. Taras and I took a dinghy and crossed over to snorkel there. What a magnificent underwater ecosystem, heaving with colours and life, many kinds of rainbow-like fish playing and painting this coral world alive. My jaw dropped open and salty water poured into my mouth just to remind me to keep my lips tight around the mouth piece. Beautiful!

I drunk my first cup of tea at the local "Coffee Shop" where, officially, they sell legal beverage and tasty cakes. One gets high only by imagining a joint (cannabis containing cigarette) and smoking this piece of imagination. Real high indeed! So high that my friends were unable to locate me from their not so very high seats.
One of the highlights was an invitation for a dinner and sleep-over by Dutch couple. Nature-therapist + data analyst were their occupations, which leaded to some pleasant conversations over the tasty meal they prepared for us. Another invitation I got from a guy called Gilbert who worked at the fanciest restaurant/bar on the island, place where we were taken to dine by Captain Steve and John on the night of our landfall on Bonaire. Gilbert and his girlfreind Tatiana(remember I it right) are an adventure-searching couple who are open to share their experience with others and always ready to enjoy it all. And more...
The rest of the nights I slept in a billion star hotel right next to the beach, facing the vicious and blood-thirsty mosquitoes. Everyday day I swam 2-3 times to cool a hot day off my skin. And every other day I travelled inside the island to scrape the skin surplus on my fingers off on the sharp rocks by, what else if not, climbing!
Not so many boats at the Kralendijk convinced me to fly over to Curacao, where I hoped to find more opportunities.

Captain America?

- Hello, Adventure?!
- ...
- Helloooo?!
- Oh, hi.
- Hey! You must be Steve.
- Yes.
- My name is Rado /handshake/ and I heard you were looking for crew going to the South Pacific. I´d be interested but perhaps not all the way. I´m willing to explore the Latin America before proceeding further West.
- OK. Do you have any sailing certificates?
- Hmm, no.
- And what about experience?
- Well I´ve crossed the Atlantic recently plus a little bit of coastal and river sailing but that´s about it. But I definitely want to do more.
- OK. What knots do you know?
- Hmmm... A bowline, figure of eight, ... fisherman´s knot, and this other one I do not remember its name, let me show you... /demostration/
- Oh yes, that´s a reef knot. That´s good. You´re hired. You can move in as soon you´re ready, we´re departing on Thursday.
- :)) Alright!

Negotiating a ride on a boat may indeed be sometimes that easy. It took me couple of weeks to find the opportunity. Captain America´s Adventure is an old Dutch schooner, two-masted, 22 meters long steel built monohull, originally built in 1931 as a motor fishing vessel. Later converted into a sailing boat with two masts, four booms - 2 standard plus 2 hoistable gaff booms, which help to stretch the square sails between them. Plus 2 other sails in the front, the gib and yankee, as my fellow sailors called them. The yankee stretched through the Adventure´s majestic bow sprit.
A real old-school sailing experience with all the manual sail-work procedures which often could be compared to any adrenalin sports. I have learnt and enjoyed it a lot.
Our crew consisted of 5 people:
Captain America a.k.a Steve, grown up cowboy from Texas who loves his steak but didn´t feel offended by my vegan dish. He is chasing his friend´s idea to establish a shipping company and transport goods(organic melons) between some of the Southern Pacific islands using the power of wind.
Another member was/is Taras, Spaniard looking guy from Siberia who happens to be on the road for last 4 years. He claims to have girlfriends all around the world and he, at the moment, lives for this Adventure all the way to the Pacific.
Then it was JoMo, Steve´s old sailing pall from Dallas who can play well his harmonicas and who attempted to fight the boats unpleasant adour with 20 litres of bleach. Only staying for a part from Martinique to Panama.
The latest crew to board Adventure was Jonathan. 45 year old geezer born in Pool, brought up in Australia and UK who climbed and surfed many places in the world, claiming his momentary residence in the Azores. Strong and interested in sailing, wild-life, surfing, dolphins... Also the most experienced and homblest member of our crew.
What a bunch! We had a good sail the whole way to Bonaire. It took us about 4 days. Just that I had little issues and disagreements with the Captain regarding the safety and some of his methods which cumulated into a loud argument the second day in the Bonaire marina and so I decided to leave.

Pani problem!

I arrived to Martinique to spend 64 days on this French/Caribbean volcanic island. It's a beautiful place, hilly and canyony relief, moist with its tropical forestation. Hot, bright golden or dark ash volcanic sands lining its shores like carpets, disappearing into majestic Blue Ocean on one side, Turquoise Caribbean Sea on the other.
Last devastating eruption of a still active volcano, Mount Pelle, dates back to 1902. Its explosion destroyed one whole town, which then was a capital city called Saint Pierre, the Paris of Caribbean. Therefore the capital now is Fort-de-France, the largest and I think the only city on this island.
Volcanic origin makes the soil rich on minerals and suitable for all sorts of agriculture but the main goods grown even nowadays are the sugar cane and bananas. The cultivation of bananas and its history of use of some very harmful pesticides polluted the environment enough to leave even some governmental departments concerned. The substance called chlordecone used to eliminate pests feeding on bananas contaminated even the sea and its life, making its fruit poisonous and leaving the sites illegal to fish.
The rum industry has got its roots deep and well-established. Rum's ever present scent and dazing effect drags with a day-to-day routine. It's a part of the local culture as well as is the Bélé music and dance, traditionally from Martinique. 

Although slavery has been declared illegal generations ago, its deep scars are still visible in form of prejudice, but it seems to be slowly dying out. If there ever were insults shouted at me I can not be sure because of my poor french I could not understand them. 
More than two months gave me an opportunity to meet the real locals as well as those unreal. I couldn't resist the chance to dance to the rhythms of Bélé sounds with them, enjoy the sweet reggae and ska vibes. Mitch, my dear friend, who's kind heart enabled a shelter over my head for long enough to bond healthy friendships. He also showed me a garden the end of which was dipped into the sea and which contained a garage full of music loving Rastas and other positive vibration followers. 

Beautiful nature full of colors and life. Rocher du Diamant which I climbed to the top watching its inhabitants, red-billed tropicbirds, whose ancestors might remember the blood-wasting naval fights between the French and English. The coconut tree lined beaches where I often found a spot to have it all just for myself. Scaling some boulders inside the jungle, refreshed by fresh coco water full of goodness or climbing the coastal rock above the crystal clear sea. Snorkeling to explore the underwater life hiding within the coral reefs. Or even scrapping some of its early forms off the Victoria Golden Hind's belly. Thanks to Vincent who let me call this, once magnificent sailing vessel, my home for several weeks where I helped with her neverending maintenance and restoration. Surfing at the Plage de Surfer, not that I could, but I tried at very least. Thoughtful dinners and evenings with an old wolf, howling at the moon through our Ti-punch glass fill-ups. The firing chili experience and some of the rich local dishes and sweet fruit... All these to be the highlights and thanks to which I have got more strength to carry on with my journey!

Rediscovering my anti-knowledge, self-righteousness and hypocrisy...

...still long way to go.

Blue and Red!

Some questions by Cheerkizmo and my attempt to answer them, transcripted by Cheerko(R)o himselves and me

Lucky New Year! (2014 is hiding 2 times 7, so double lucky:)

Thanks for posting all the updates and adding your very own point of view to it.

"Rado sa stalo!..."

[From previous conversation, up to Cape Verde:]

me: Winds?...

you: usually 15 to 20 knots, direction south or sout-sout-west.

me: Motoring?...

you: only when you reefing (taking down the sails partially due to strong winds) or need to top up batteries, using solar but 7 people consume a lot.

me: Met some other boats?

you: perhaps 1 only first night - cargo one, only a little light of it. Otherwise about half a dozen on the radar in circle of 40 n.miles...

me: First port to arrive on the other side?

you: probably Martinique..

me: How did you manage food supply?

you: I'll come back to this later in length. We consider mainly calories/energetic efficiency (energy needed for processing)

me: Do you plan Christmas decoration?

you: not yet, but will do tomorrow..

me: Do you need visa?

you: no

[Present questions, few miles from Martinique:]

Well done!!! The locator on the baydreamer.se shows you nearly there.

- How did you mange waste, such as solid waste and waste water?

Waste I bore in my mind but in such wasteful times it seems impossible to get anywhere near my satisfaction. So when buying supplies one thinks of minimising the amount of packaging as well as using decomposable materials. But it all also depends on the conditions these supplies are kept under and so even if it would be ideal to have a 25kg sack of rice (which btw were well overpriced in those "Asian" shops I found), if it starts rotting the waste would become greater. I'd love to have everything packed in recyclables/compostables and I tried but I must say that I was not very successful. It takes lots of planning and a good knowledge of a local retail. Also I had a certain budget to play with.

And so the staff we assumed should not be harmful for the Ocean we dumped over board, the rest we dragged to the next destination, It was not so much I think. 

Waste water goes directly into the ocean, the most of boats function that way. I suggested to captain to use eco-friendly and I can say that he listened and purchased somewhat friendlier cleaning liquids. Respect to our captain Dani for all his openness, many others would only laugh at me!

- How many times did you manage to have shower during the crossing?

I showered twice throughout the main part, and almost everyday or even twice a day we swam behind the boat holding on the rope, great fun even after seeing some sharks around the boat. Adds up to the experience!

- How did you deal with human waste (shit)?

Stored it in case it came to the worst, running out of food scenario...

- Was there any moment when you were almost stand still and you could jump in and swim?

No doldrums, but swimming behind the boat doing 7 knots is much greater fun.

- Have you seen some dolphins, whales, sharks?

We have seen sharks and many dolphins, maybe some whales too but we cannot be sure.

- Did you see any rubbish floating in the sea?

Not except that which we threw in.

- What was first impression from people in Martinique?

Very friendly and helpful, relaxed and funky. I'm impressed.

- Do you have to pay for mooring in port?

We were on an anchor and that is free, one can pay for a buoy I think 13e a day and have access to marina facilities or a proper dock for 40e (very hard to get a place, many boats down here in La Marin)

- Have you been sea sick?

I have been sick very little, took no pharmaceutic medicines, ate lots of ginger and garlic which I eat a lot anyway... One gets used to it normally very quickly. 

- What is your next plan as for destination after South America, and will you carry on sailing?

Next plan to stay here, find a job. South America, probably Venezuela first. Sailing of course is now within me and I will sail every time there is an opportunity to use such a way of transportation. Maybe I'll get my own boat one day.

I've been seeing Oli yesterday. We've got floods here and so I was glad to wear Meindl boots while cycling as the road was mostly under water and so it looked like cycling in a lake. Very adventurous, especially getting to the other side over the flooded meadow.. yet Sunseeker seem to be safe where it is with it's crew including 4 dogs.

Looking forward hear from you soon!

Cheers!ko

Atlantic crossing

Gran Canaria/ Las Palmas - São Vicente/ Mindelo(Cape Verde) - Martinique/La Marin

Approximately 800NM (nautical miles) first stage, 2050NM second stage straight line
First stage, departure 13.12.2013, after rough first night with wind anywhere between 25-40 knots and big swells we experienced steady seas, wind speed average of 20 knots, all the way to Mindelo (arrival on afternoon 19.12.). It took us 6 and a half days. Few days spent on São Vicente and last on an anchor near a little village on Santo Antão. 
Second stage, departure 24.12.2013, smooth ride all the way more or less stable seas, our average speed around 5.5-6 knots. It took as about 15 days to reach Le Marin (arrival on afternoon 8.1.2014).

Cape Verde; interesting mixture of cultures, long time under the influence of Portuguese. Very nice people once outside the city, though a party in Mindelo proved vibrant(lost my camera(yes, I was just about to start posting some pictures too)) and a local sugar cane spirit called grog provided funky blur and a difficulties to memorise the previous night details. Lots of laugh and dance with charming Caboverdans, accompanied by grog right into a trance! 
The islands we visited aren't very green though the locals grow their crops in rather smart way, permaculture style little fields up in a hilly terrain, I saw mainly pulses, squash, tomato, potato and of course sugar cane in places where there is more water available. I suppose the local climate allows more than one season a year. Generally water is very precious but on San Antao we were told that it is plentiful and people manage to collect enough. Tasty local dishes including my favourite Sopa de Peixe(a fish soup) of which I have got a  recipe written by chef herself, translation/transcription/test still pending. 

Crossing was generally very pleasant, great crew, stable weather(I must say I wished for a storm to have a proper experience; not so much for doldrums which we missed anyway). All crew very dedicated and organised, happy and willing. 
Main activities consisted of but where not limited to:
- watch keeping with occasional sails adjusting, watch was required 24 hours a day though sometimes, as an autopilot was on most of the time, it was just keeping an eye on the wind speed and direction. Sails need adjusting when some of these(and more) aspects change or when the course needs mending. Our keen captain Dani showed us how to reef, jib, tack(I don't really know if this is how to spell the words), we trained the "man over board" procedure and successfully retained a lost piece of equipment in under 10 minutes - good fun as it only was a polystyrene body board... 
- cooking - very important to maintain the healthy diet and I must say we did very well. Every day we had from 1 up to 3 cooked meals, sometimes I actually wanted to eat raw(and I got my wishes come true in form ocean's gift - fish - which we ate raw in italian, japanese and other ways; very tasty). I happened to be a main cook preparing the dishes with an extra passion and love of course. Veggie stews, potato dishes, risotto, soups, pastas of all sorts(Davo the Italian showed off his precious cooking skills), bread, humous and some sweet cakes and biscuits including my flapjacks. Very bright moments when we got blessed by a fish tricked be our fishing lure. Mahi mahi dominated our dinning repertoar baked, grilled, souped, or simply eaten fresh. It often felt like a cullinary sailing cruise... The Michellin standards met. 
- keeping the boat clean, tidy and fixing everything as soon as possible is a good standard. It is important not to procrastinate, make sure everything is cleared right away after the meals, trying not to leave anything loose at any time. Through out the whole crossing we managed to fix most of the things that broke, to Martinique we arrived with only very minor repairs required. 
- lazing out, reading books, dancing, fishing, swimming behind the boat(only with harness, a big hook attached to swimming suit and a couple of curious sharks behind;), watching the wonders of the Ocean, Big Blue, colours of nowhere else, mesmerising sets and rises of the Mighty Star, moon blinded flying fish, spectacular spectacles performed by dolphins demonstrating their acrobatics causing us uncontrollable happiness and our dog an urge of nature(poo)... 
It is where I meet and experience the power of the ocean I realise I need to respect it even more. The feel of wind, being swept by surfs larger than the boat itself I encounter its immense force... 
Great experience and I feel I grow ready for more. 
So here I come, Caribbean, perhaps still not quite realising that I made it. My momentary plan is to try to find a work to make some cash before I head further down south. But all open to any sort of madness while chasing my destiny;)
On arrival, the first thing I really felt like doing was making sure there is a rock worth a while and there seem to be enough all around the island. I spent a couple of days in a jungle contemplating with them beauty blocks of rock. My source of nutrition soon became a plentiful forest berries such as mandarins and cocos which I smashed(rather than the hard shell on top of my neck) on the stones; what a flavours. 
People here are super nice friendly bunch who love to laugh and talk really loud. They often try to help even if not asked and they often like to take out their loud drums and dance-march the streets celebrating whatever there is to be celebrated. 
I'm not in a hurry, here will do me good for a time being.

bonne journée!