Sailing on the hard, doesn't work!

Oh wow, where to begin. So much to tell, but I don’t want to bore you with a novel so I’ll do my best to keep it relatively short.
Ok, Mike left you all with our arrival in Venezuela. Since then we made our way to the mainland, landing in Cumana before venturing east in the Gulfo de Cariaco to Medregal village where we planned to haul Meggie to replace the transom. We left Porlamar, Margarita at a good time, because numerous reports of theft and armed boarding’s among other incidents began occurring shortly after we had left. We were thankful to be out of there, but were concerned about our friends who were still there or who had just arrived.Venezuela is a wonderfully diverse country, but it comes with it’s risks if you want to explore it. I could get into the politics of Venezuela here, but it could take a separate novel to write about that, but while we hear we are learning from locals and travellers about the different aspects of this country, and the potential she has. As Mike puts it “If we didn’t expect some risk when we left on this adventure, then we should have stayed at home.” and he is absolutely right, and we are so glad that we came to Venezuela as the country side and people are incredible and our experiences so far have all been good ones. We left Porlamar and headed to Isla Coche for a few days and enjoyed the long white sandy beach and watching the numerous kite boarders that take advantage of the howling winds and flat seas. From Coche we made our way to Cumana, where we planned to stop to pick up some marine items in town before heading to Medregal. From Cumana we headed across the Golfo to Laguna Grande where we had planned to spend a couple of days. As we approached we were awed by the beauty of this anchorage. There are different water ways to choose an anchorage in which to stay, and any one you choose you will be hidden from all the other boats as the landscape is made up of big foothill like mounds covered in red clay like dirt creating an Arizona landscape feel. It’s breathtaking. We weaved Meggie through the waterways to the very end and dropped the hook in 11 feet of water in a little lagoon. I had mentioned before about the security issues in Venezuela, and it’s smart to anchor with at least one other boat, and unfortunately Mike and I tend to travel on our own and no one was with us nor were there any other boats in the Lagoon. We felt like we would be safe, but you just don’t know. So…we stayed for the day and had a nice lunch and at around 3pm made the call to head the last 15 miles to Medregal. We would come back to Laguna Grande on our way west.
As we came out of the anchorage the seas were flat and the wind was calm.We motored our way along the north coast of the Golfo and were met with sudden splashes in the water, then more, then more….Hundreds of dolphins were escorting us down the Golfo to our destination. They played at Meggie’s bow and rudder and showed off by leaping in the air. It was quite the show. They stayed with us for over an hour!!!It was unbelievable…they were everywhere. It was the most extraordinary sight…we had so much fun watching and trying to touch (but never did). Finally with about 3 miles to go, they disappeared. What and escort.
The next day we went ashore to find out about hauling Meggie. We spoke to the owner Jean Marc and it looked like Monday was the day…perfect. We were anxious to get started on our work as Meggie’s transom was looking worse everyday. Monday came and by 10am we were on the hard. The haul out went smoothly and the 3 Spanish guys took their time making sure the slings were perfectly placed and sure everything went just right.
With Meggie placed on her stands, Mike went to town tearing the transom off and by 5pm, he had the transom off and was ready to fit the new planking. It’s a long process of explanation of the new transom, so pictures will have to suffice (see at end of blog). By the 8th day (including 2 rain days) the transom was perfectly fitted and prepped for varnish. While Mike was doing the transom, I tore the boat apart and cleaned every inch and then wiped every part with bleach and anything that could be laundered, was.
Once the transom was ready for varnish, I applied 11 coats and once that was finished Mike proceeded to put the rudder and self steering back in place. We sanded and prepped then painted the topsides. We sanded and prepped the keel in preparation for antifouling and we were ready to go back in, but the lift was not! During our second week out the motor on the lift quit. We never thought it would affect us as we still had about another week worth of work. Well it did affect us. The motor had to be taken in for a full refit and believe it or not, we are still on the hard!!!! We were ready to go back in on July 28th and it is now Aug.10th and we’re still on the hard. Apparently, the motor is coming back on Monday or Tuesday and we’re hoping and praying we can get back in by the end of next week.It’s not a great position to be as our little wooden boat is drying out in the tropical conditions. We were already watering Meggie 3 times a day to keep some moisture in the planks. Needless to say, we’re a teeny bit disappointed!
Knowing we couldn’t get in the water when we had wanted, the boat was safe (at least from theft) so we arranged to have numerous people water Meggie for a week and headed inland.
We’re in the middle of nowhere so we had to arrange our departure and arrival to coincide with the little bus that goes weekly to Cariaco (the closest town…about 45 minutes away). So we left on a Saturday and bought our bus tickets to the city of Valencia, a 12 hour bus ride away. We couldn’t leave until 5pm, so we wandered around Cariaco for most of the day. We boarded our bus at 5:45 and headed on our overnighter to Velencia. We were warned that the buses were cold and that they have a contest to see who can get their buses the coldest, but we thought “We’re Canadians…we can handle to cold!” Either we’ve been in the tropics too long, or the bus was really freakin’ cold, cause we nearly froze. Thankfully we knew we were headed to cold climate and brought the appropriate clothing. We arrived in Velencia at about 6am and bought our tickets for the 12 hour bus ride to Merida, our final destination in the Venezuelan Andes. Unfortunately our bus didn’t leave until 11am, so we hung around the not so clean bus station until 11. We finally boarded our final bus and again it was really really cold.
After a long, but beautiful drive we finally pulled into the station in Merida at about 11pm. We caught a taxi and headed to find a Posada. Luckily we found one in about ½ hour and crashed for the night. In the morning as we gazed out our balcony we were met with the gorgeous view of Pico Bolivar, the highest mountain peak in Venezuela. We couldn’t wait to get acquainted with this area. Merida is a university city, and it seems as though the Government has put some money into the city, as the old buildings are in pristine condition. It was a breath of fresh air. Merida is considered “The Ecotourism capital of Venezuela”, with that in mind we were ready to get some hiking in, and with the surrounding Andes mountain range, the outdoor activity is endless. We decided we would ride the cable car to the top of Pico Humboldt, over 5000 metres high,(over 15,000 feet) then we would descend one stop to about 4500 meters (about 14,000 feet) to begin a 5 hour hike to the mountain village of Los Nevados which sits amongst the valleys and peaks of the Andes mountain range, or as some people say “ In the middle of nowhere”.
While we were waiting in the line up for the cable car, we met a great Dutch guy named Jeroen or “J” (which was easier to say). We asked him if he was going to Los Nevados and he replied “What’s Los Nevados?” So we told him of our plan and before we knew it he was off getting some boots and a pack to come with us.
Our hike began at noon, and after about 45 minutes of uphill hiking we were hit with the realization that we were at over 14, 000 feet high. Coming from 2 years at sea level, I could definitely feel the altitude and had to consciously slow down to keep from loosing my breath. J was feeling the same effects, but Mike plodded along as always. It was more an interesting sensation than anything, but after about 1 hour of uphill we began the gradual downhill to Los Nevados which sits at about 9,000 feet and once on the downhill I couldn’t notice the altitude. We hiked at a leisurely pace as the scenery was breathtaking. Mike and I have done lots of hiking in the Rocky mountains and although similar at 14,000 feet everything is covered in snow in the Rockies, but here everything was green with low sweeping valleys filled with mountain flowers.High above the green you could see the tips of the rocky mountain peaks and white streams of water cascading down into the valley’s below. It was one of the most dramatic and beautiful places I’ve even seen.
In the late afternoon sun, we approached a little village on the slope of the mountain.The village’s red tiles roofs and white stucco walls shone in the descending sunlight making the most spectacular view. We arrived after about 5 hours of hiking and found a little Posada at sat and marvelled at the unbelievable view from out side our room. Los Nevados is among the most tranquil places I’ve ever been. So quiet and serene.We enjoyed a good meal, a nice hot shower and a good nights sleep. The next day we poked about the village, chatting with locals and relaxing in the hammocks and taking it all in before leaving in our jeep to head back to Merida. We jumped in the jeep at about 1pm and began our 4 hour trip back to town…I’d heard it was quite the trip but I thought “”How bad could it be”.
Ok, let me tell you this…people who drive hummers and SUV’s in the city have NO idea what 4x4 is for. This “road” to Merida is about 10 feet at best with a cliff face to your right shooting straight up, and a cliff to your left plundering 2000 feet straight down and the road itself armed with 2 foot gully’s and valley’s of it’s own.I’ve never been on such a crazy road, even in Morocco which held the award for craziest roads and drivers. But our driver was a pro and handled his old jeep without any problems. It’s a good thing he didn’t speak English cause the “Oh my God’s” and the "holey s@%t" coming from me probably didn’t help things much. Mike and J on the other hand LOVED it…they were talking tires, motors, gears etc…It was fun nonetheless!
Finally we found paved roads that led to Merida and before we knew it Los Nevados was only a memory.
So after a couple more days, it was time to head back to Medregal and our boat. We boarded the long bus back and will leave out the dirty bus stations, long waits and cold buses. We arrived back at Meggie pleased to see she had been well looked after in our absence and please to also see our friends on Mustang Sally had arrived.
So, we’re just waiting now and are anxious to get in the water. We can’t wait to get to the out laying islands of Venezuela, but are remaining patient for now.
So, in a nutshell that is the last few weeks. It’s hard to include everything, but it gives you an idea of what’s been happening.
Hopefully next time you hear from us, we WILL be in the water! Oh and….I was incorrect in saying my article would be in the August issue of Cruising World…it’s the September issue! Also, Mike has an article that will be appearing in “All at Sea” a Caribbean based magazine, YAY.
Until next time,
Ciao
Kylie and Mike