The Wandering Mooring Ball...

Bahia Tamarindo

Uff...this morning we had a rude awakening (!) at Tamarindo...the anchor alarm went on around 0500 (5:00 a.m.) right after a squall had passed through. What anchor alarm?...Thought you were on a mooring? Well yes...we are secured to a mooring ball, but my captain always puts on the anchor alarm on our GPS just in case the boat starts moving for some reason. Most of the time the anchor alarm comes on when the wind changes drastically, a brief check of the screen display usually confirms this and we turn the alarm off, so it can reset itself.

 

Not so this morning! This morning the alarm was for real, and because this has never happened to us before...since we never used mooring balls before...it took a few more minutes than usual for my captain's light bulb to go on in his head. Of course it was pitch black outside, which didn't make things any easier! By the time I woke up however it was crystal clear that we were dragging...with the mooring ball! So we both sprang into action...not many words were necessary...just confirming to each other that we had to let go of that mooring ball. I knew my part and of course my captain knew his part...working in the dark is a little bit different, but we made it without problems...luckily we were in deep water and not stranded on the rocks or some awful thing like that! And luckily we were in between squalls and had time to motor a bit further up to Tamarindo Grande to pick up another mooring ball before the sky opened up again :)

We are now moored securely (we hope) at Tamarindo Grande enjoying the magnificent scenery...and without the million and one flies I talked about in my last post...they must have read it, too and decided to fly away and bother someone else...how cool is that?

I am glad that my captain took precautions by setting the anchor alarm even when secured to a mooring...things could have turned ugly otherwise!

The rain has stopped, making space for beautiful sunshine to show off the turquoise sea around us :)

To top it all...three turtles have been splashing around ORION...I tried hard to capture one on my camera (ipad2), but it is difficult, so the one showing here is all you will get...for now!

We will try and contact DRNA (Department of Natural Resources in Puerto Rico) later to tell them about the mooring ball that came loose at Tamarindo...we did not see it again, but all's well that ends well :)

Taking our house with us...Full time cruising is fun :)

peace and tranquility

We are truly enjoying ourselves in our new life as full time cruisers :) It is so nice to be able to take our house with us (!)...ORION is always ready to go and so are we :) This "no schedule thing" is working out pretty nicely and we are in the full swing of it. My captain is slowly but steadily learning to relax...not so easy for him after having been "on the go" for so many years, but giant progress has been made...instead of trying to work like a maniac to get something done he now actually takes a break or goodness gracious postpones it until later or even the next day! Unless there is an emergency our life is full of procrastination...how many folks can actually say that?...and we love it that way! There is no rush...no crazy appointments...no stress...especially now that our refrigeration issues have been solved satisfactorily! From time to time we are still pinching ourselves to make sure it's all real, hahahaha! Right now we totally enjoy our peace and tranquility away from everybody. We thank our friends for understanding...when we are ready we'll join the big party again...right now mother nature is all we need.

Dinghy ride

Of course once in a while we have to join the real world again...like we did on Monday when we dinghied into Dewey to do the laundry and some grocery shopping. This time of year is a festive one and people take pride in decorating the streets and their homes...in Puerto Rico it is traditional to put a fresh coat of paint on your house and make everything look pretty in honor of the Christ Child...it is a tradition that has become very dear to us after having lived here for over 15 years, a special time of year amongst a special kind of people :) Even the poorest and littlest place is transformed into a beautiful sparkling one with a little paint and a lot of Christmas lights! Everybody gathers, plays music, sings, dances, and is merry...it is a happy time of year...and celebrated accordingly. Yes...Christmas in the Caribbean is quite different to Christmas anywhere else!

Vibra Verde

So we went into Dewey and whilst we were waiting for our laundry to finish had a bite to eat at one of our favorite places Vibra Verde Health Food. They make magnificent sandwiches with home made bread and we each had one for lunch :) By the time I remembered to take a picture we had already devoured our sandwiches! Next time for sure :)

Then it was off to Milka's, the grocery store, where we stocked up on fresh vegetables and some other stuff. We like Milka's a lot...it's a small store but it's air conditioned and we usually find everything we need there...and the prices are very reasonable considering that they have to buy everything from the mainland Puerto Rico. This time we saw potable water there in 1 gallon jugs...the clear ones that can be kept for years without breaking! Rick went back the next day to buy 10 of them (we like to store spare drinking water on ORION just in case) and the friendly staff even delivered them to the dinghy dock for him! How cool is that?

ORION

Anyways...we had a successful laundry and shopping trip on Monday and of course enjoyed the rest of the day relaxing on ORION at Melones beach. Tuesday we moved ORION (our house) to the next beach up, which is Tamarindo. Melones is a nice place to stay, but it is the next bay up from the main ferry dock in Dewey and therefore has quite a bit of rolling action when the ferries arrive and depart...on Monday night ORION was almost at a 60 degree angle from one of the ferry wakes (!)...must have been a new ferry captain or something, because we never experienced anything like it before! Luckily we always have things secure in the galley and everywhere else...but I still had two cups "flying" and the boat felt as if she was going to turn over...no joke! So no more Melones for us for a while! Tamarindo as you may remember has some day time activities with kayak and snorkeling tours on certain days...apart from that it is pretty serene here, and we love it. We could have moved to Tamarindo Grande, but decided against it, because last time we were there a million and one flies invaded us during the day time...no joke either!

So Tamarindo it is until we decide to move on again. Tuesday we did some cooking and went snorkeling. We took a different mooring ball this time that is a little further away from the beach, but nearer to the reef. To our amazement we encountered a completely unexpected underwater world this time! Maybe you remember from my last post that the coral reefs here are in the process of coming back after being struck by coral bleaching some years ago?...and maybe you also remember that I mentioned that they are "growing" corals here successfully? Well...we found the "coral growing place" for lack of a better description...it is amazing! There are iron fence structures on the bottom of the sea (tops are open, so nothing gets trapped in there) and each quadrant "grows" stag horn corals...it looks as if hundreds of stags came down there, scratched their heads and left their antlers (!)...it seems to be working...it is totally amazing! Even more amazing: a spotted eagle ray glided through the water right next to us and then disappeared slowly into the distance...(insert pinch here)...And yes...we will get the new underwater camera out of its packaging and use it soon!

Because of the unfortunate lack of underwater pictures I will...this time only...enclose pictures of various food dishes that we prepare and enjoy on ORION...can you feel the yum? :)

 

breakfast on ORION

 

Peace and Tranquility at Last :)

our playground at Tamarindo

On Monday we moved ORION from Melones beach to Tamarindo beach in Culebra. Yes...we are enjoying a little solitude right now...tucked in nicely on a mooring ball we are on our own for the first time in a long time! We walked into town and back again yesterday just to buy fresh vegetables...a good exercise, because of the hilly terrain...we have everything else on board, so there is no need to leave here for a while...just pure enjoyment and relaxation away from everybody. It is so nice here that we even took "rainchecks" on some social activities we have been invited to! Luckily our friends do understand...they all have been at this point at some stage in their own cruising lives :) For my sweetie and I it is pure heaven right now and we will rejoin the social world when we are ready...so thank you to all our friends out there...we love you for respecting our new found freedom!

Tamarindo Beach, Culebra

After we returned from our veggie shopping trip...a successful one I may add with fresh yellow squash, zucchini, tomatoes, pumpkin bought at Milka's, a small but well stocked grocery store in town where the aforementioned veggies are bagged nicely and kept refrigerated...we plonked the stuff in the boat, changed into our swim suits and immediately jumped into the water...oh what a great feeling after a long walk :) Last night was a rainy and stormy night...heavy squalls passed through the anchorage...our mooring is holding well and ORION was dancing around it. This morning the storm has disappeared and the sun came up in all its glory over the mountain...I was lucky to capture the moment to share with you all :) God bless!