Underwater life under my eyes

Christmas Cove Treasures 

For the last month in St Thomas we have been very good about getting a routine of exercise. Thanks to that my neck is back to normal. But the island is too hilly and is not pedestrian friendly. The only flat place on the east end is the national park, where we walked about 20 minutes everyday. In the afternoon we drove to secret harbor, and swim for about an hour.

The best way to swim long distances is to entertain ourselves with some story until body and mind are disconnected from each other. At least that is what I do to keep on going. The other way is to entertain my eyes with the bottom. There is always something exciting going on.

The structures underwater are cover with life and offer shelter to fishes and lobster. We found six lobsters hiding under a tiny rock. As we dove to the bottom to look at them closer, one walked out of her spot and greet us shaking her antennas. I learned is not good to interact with the wildlife, but is good to let them know is no safe for them. Jim touched it and she immediately backed up. If it would be a fisherman she would be dead.

The amount of colorful fish swimming around the reef is nothing compared to what it used to be. The locals catch anything, from grouper to squirrel fish. And that is sad. The queen angel fish has this beautiful bright blues and yellow, we don't see those very often. But we found that turtles are gracious and smart. They have learn to sit still next to a rock and pretend they are under camouflage. "You can't see me" . I fancy they are saying. A lot of people chase them to take pictures, even try to touch them or just enjoy their presence a little bit longer. The truth is, turtles are not fish, they can breath underwater. If we follow them for too long they will go to the bottom to hide, and hold the air for a long time, when they are needing to surface and breath. The best we have learned to do is stop swimming and look at them while they go by and pretend "I can't see you, beauty".

We didn't find any lion-fish in secret harbor, but we saw one in Christmas Cove a few days ago. The curious thing for me is that 2 years ago they seem to look brownish and now every single one I have seen is black, They look almost like a sea urchin. I don't know if they mute or is a different specie. I saw one of those stinkers and alarmed Jim, we don't carry a spears with us, but is good to report. Jim disappear behind me and next thing I saw under was his huge body swimming with a big rock to attack the lion-fish. He let it go over the stoning fish and in a matter of a second that rock hit the bottom where the fish was and the fish had moved to the side of the big rock he was standing next to. That was so fast!

One of my favorite fish to watch while I'm snorkeling is the puffer fish. That round face, with tiny mouth and big round eyes is so cute. Their fences are little and they move with a funny grace, à mon avis. I see one and I can't help myself to go Japanese-cartoon-face underwater. We had seen a school of nine big ones. Yesterday a couple of the them swam back and forth along the ledge on front of us. They were different in color. We guessed a male and a female. He was chasing her everywhere, she looked like she was trying to get rid of him. "Oh, brown eye girl". Was he singing. "Do you want to be my valentine?"

AnechyNotes

The creatures of the lagoon

The play ground of Independent Boat Yard

As we are leaving the dock on Independent boat yard I make a recall of our last three days in the milky and gelatinous waters of the lagoon. The pollution shows up better around the mangroves where if one stares at it for too long, it seems like some king of monster will surface. The no-see-ums and mosquitoes are by far the biggest population of wild life in the area, and they feed right at dusk. By that time we were all sheltered inside with screens on the port lights and hatches. But still, a few would find their way in and stick their teeth on us. "Just mind blowing".

The milky water of  the lagoon

I always thought that Compass Point Marina was a funky place, but Independence Boat Yard got the gold medal on the Olympics of funkiness. We like the docks there though, but I dared to walk on that old wood and it took me a 15 minute surgery to get that splinter off my toe. The boats on the slips don't go out very often. Their owners are constantly working to put the dream together. We talked to a guy one night for a little bit and his conversations went on and on about his gloom and doom idea of the world. We had just met him and I thought we were going to have a fight. And that, dear friends, has been going on a lot this season with a lot of people that we had just meet!

The happening place in the yard is the bar-restaurant. Every day at 5 o' clock the creatures of the lagoon meet there to have several drinks. Sometimes we were coming back from swimming, half pass five and the volume of the voices has gone up and crazy. We stopped by one night to buy some ice and the alcohol was yelling "Fs" up loud. On the wall of the bar there is a white flag with funky little guys dancing and letters across reading: become a lagoonie. My anxiety increased to a 100 %.

In the mornings, after the no-see-ums ease up a little, we go for a walk on the dock, just to see what live-a-boards have come up with. Floating houses tied to D and C dock with air conditioning, propane tank out side, attic, you name it. I think pictures show better than words.

As we finally pulled away from the slip I started to feel less claustrophobic. "I don't want to be another creature of the lagoon. I'm a sailor, I belong with the ocean". Then I reminded Jim, who was loving the ambiance, that phrase he repeats all the time: "Men and boats rotten at the dock". But not this boat, Jim, not this boat. We headed south, to Christmas Cove, two miles away, is just a start, right?

AnechyNotes

Identity

En Español

Rooster at the Beach

What a day! Hot, but with good breeze. Then, with so many interesting invitations to attend.

Mariel and Doug used to live in Morehead City , NC. Now living in their 32 feet long catamaran. Mariel has an amazing sewing shop and sews canvas for boats, exercise machines covers and any project that will contribute to her economy. She also plays the ukulele, my new instrument. That morning they passed by Salty Shores to invite us to visit them in their store. "Do you see the dock sticking out the mangroves? Where the boat with red bimini is tied up?". They said." Como on over to visit." We spent two hours talking about sewing and music.

Music every Friday at Dinghy Dock

At noon, we met Mike at public dock. The idea of our host, who's done a great job showing us the island, was to walk to the airport and wait for a bus under the shade of a tree. The walk was great, we enjoyed the construction work on the houses. After about five minutes of arriving, we hailed a cab and for three dollars took us to Flamenco beach. At the entrance there were many kiosks selling food. We were hungry and chose the food stand that smelled better. We ordered chicken kebabs, rice with red beans, tri-fongo (a ball of green and ripe plantains, yucca, marinated with crushed garlic and onion). It took a while for the food to come out, but it was so worth to wait.

Culebra

Old war tank on the beach

Playa Flamenco is a gem for Puerto Ricans. Also it was Saturday. Many young people and families arrive in the ferry to camp for weekends. Along the beach, behind the sea grapes trees, we could see the tents. In the camp are open showers, restrooms and drinkable water tanks. The beach was crowded, and the only trash on the sand was an old war tank decorated with graffiti, which is now an icon on the map. Behind the showers there is a fence, along the same there are several signs of danger, " unexploded bombs ".

Conga players on Saturday night at the Dinghy Dock

At eight, we went to "Dinghy Dock Restaurant", where every Saturday meet four percussionists playing conga. The best Caribbean Bushwacker in hand and all night to dance ahead. Doug asked me: "do you know who that man is?", Pointing to older percussionist of the group, "that is Meñengue, the Grandmaster Meñengue ". Ignorance is so bad! I thought, but it's never too late to learn. In the first break Jorge came to talk to us, one of the guys playing the conga drums, whom we met on his art shop, and he said: "I was in Cuba last year, how do you call that Alley, where they gather to playdrums? I went with some friends on a sailboat. Then we traveled around the island with the band Los Irakeres. People are poor, but they are very loving and hospitable guys. You have something that we do not have here: "Identity". Then he dismissed, for he had to go back to his conga. I stayed there, thinking.

Local architecture, villa for rent La Loma

Local cafe, small place, but very good food

Tarpons waiting for the people at the restaurant to feed them

Dinghy Dock Restaurant's seared tuna with a wasabi sauce and seaweed salad, rice and beans

At 6:00 am, we pulled the anchor up. The sun had not yet risen, but it was clear enough for me to see Rossamee anchored ahead, while I was driving Salty Shores of the port. "The trip back is not going to be as good." I recalled the words of the captain four days before, when we entered Culebrita. The bow was pointing east, the waves and the wind began to arise with the progress of the sun on the horizon. But in my mind I was just repeating the same word to the rhythm of the conga: "Identity" .

AnechyNotes

Identidad

To English

Gallo en las playa de Flamenco

¡Qué día! Caliente, pero con buena brisa. Luego, con tantas invitaciones interesantes.

Mariel y Doug solían vivir en Morehead City, NC. Ahora viven en su catamaran de 32 pies de largo. Mariel tiene una asombrosa tienda de costura y cose todo tipo de cobertores para botes, máquinas de hacer ejercicios y cualquier proyecto que le aporte a su economía. También toca el ukulele, mi instrumento nuevo. Esa mañana ellos pasaron por Salty Shores para invitarnos a hacerles la visita en la tienda. “¿Ves el mulle sobresale un poquito de los manglares? Donde está atado el bote con el techito rojo”. Me dijeron. “Hágannos la visita”. Estuvimos dos horas hablando de costura y música.

Presentación en Dighy Dock Restaurant todos los viernes

A las 12, Mike nos esperaba en el muelle del pueblo. La idea de nuestro anfitrión, quien ha hecho un gran trabajo enseñándonos la isla; era caminar hasta el aeropuerto y espera por el transporte bajo la sombra de un árbol. La caminata nos vino muy bien y pasados unos cinco minutos de haber llegado, nos paró un taxi y por tres dólares por personas nos llevó hasta la playa Flamenco. Jim y yo estábamos hambrientos. Elegimos el kiosco de comida que olía mejor. Pedimos pinchos de pollo, arroz con frijoles rojos, tri-fongo (una bola de plátanos macho verde, maduros y yuca, aplastados y adobados con ajo y cebolla). La comida se demoró un poco en salir, pero valió tanto la pena esperar.

Mapa turistico de Culebra

Tanque en Flamenco

Playa Flamenco es para los puertoriqueños una joya. Muchos jóvenes y familias llegan en el ferry para acampar los fines de semana. A lo largo de la playa, tras los árboles las uvas caletas se ven las casas de campaña. En la zona de acampada hay duchas abiertas, baños públicos y tanques de agua potable. La playa estaba llena de gente, y la única basura que había en la arena es un viejo tanque de guerra decorado con grafitti, que ahora es un icono del mapa. Detrás de las duchas hay una cerca, a lo largo de la misma hay varios carteles de peligro, "bombas sin detonar".

Congueros en Culebra, Meñengue en la esquina derecha

A las ocho de la noche nos fuimos al "Dinghy Dock Restaurant", donde todos los sábados se reúnen cuatro percusionistas a tocar conga. El mejor Bushwacker del caribe en mano y toda la noche por delante para bailar. Dough me preguntó: "¿tú sabes quién es ese hombre?", señalando al percusionista más viejo del grupo, "ese es Meñengue, el gran maestro Meñengue". ¡Qué mala es la ignorancia!, pensé yo, pero nunca es tarde para aprender. En el primer descanso se nos acercó Jorge, uno de los muchachos tocando la conga, a quien habíamos conocido en su tienda de souveniers; y me dice: "Yo estuve en Cuba, ¿cómo se llama el Callejón ese,donde se reúnen a tocar tambor...? Fui con unos amigos en un velero. Viajamos por la isla con el grupo Los Irakeres. La gente es pobre, pero son muy cariñosa y hospitalaria. Ustedes tienen algo que nosotros no tenemos: "Identidad". Luego se despidió, de regreso a su conga. Yo me quedé pensando.

Arquitectura de Culebra

Buenísima comeida en pequeño establecimiento

Tarpones esperando que los clientes del restaurante le tiren comida

Comida en el Dinghy Dock Restaurant 

A las 6:00 am, levantamos ancla. El sol todavía no había salido, pero era lo suficientemente claro para dejarme ver el a Rossamee, mientras conducía Salty Shores fuera del puerto. "El viaje de regreso no va a ser tan bueno". Recordaba las palabras del capitán, cuatro días atrás, cuando entrabamos en Culebrita. La proa apuntaba al este, las olas y el viento empezaban a levantar con el avance del sol sobre el horizonte. Pero mi mente solo repetía una palabra al ritmo de la conga: “Identidad”.

AnechyNotes

Free from the docks lines

En Español

Treasures from the beach of Culebrita 

Leaving the pier was a little; as our Venezuelan friend says; exciting. But once I got to loosen the anchor from the rope on the piling, the channel off the lagoon seemed a passage to infinity. Ah! Those waters constantly bubbling with the roar of the wind... They are the best in the world for the soul of this sailor's heart.

We spent two nights at Christmas Cove, one of the best places in the Caribbean: beautiful turquoise waters, spectacular coral reef, clear as an aquarium, despite the deterioration of coral. The place is almost deserted after four in the afternoon, when all the tourist boats depart. First balcony for sunset and a constant breeze. St. Thomas is just a mile away, the island lights light up like fireflies in the distance. No noise, just the wind and the waves crashing against the hull.

Two nights rocking is enough preparation for an adventure 24 miles straight west. At 730 am we were on our way. Captain behind the wheel and his crew on alert, half of a neutamine pill helps me prevent motion sickness. Winds of zero knots on the stern. The boat was moving at 6.1 knots, powered by the iron genoa, and helped by the current and wind. My Captain says that the return to St. Thomas is not going to be so nice.

Anyway, here we are, in Culebrita.

The place is a little gem. From the hill a beautiful brick lighthouse is watching us and if there are six boats anchored is too much.

Our friend Mike Brown from Beaufort, NC; was sailing his beautiful Russamee, with its four white sails in full power. Spectacular welcome. He didn't know we were coming and we did not know he was going to be in Culebrita this morning.

We already swam and made a delicious soursop smoothie. Jim takes a nap. I listen to music and write. Tonight we'll anchor in Ensenada Honda.

Happy hour is at 5. We'll meet more interesting people there. Life is so hard, after all, for this Creole outside Cuba.

Thursday, 01/23/2014

AnechyNotes

Libre de ataduras

To English

Tesoro de la playa de Culebrita

Salir del muelle fue un poco; como nuestro amigo de Venezuela dice; emocionante. Pero una vez que logre zafar el ancla de la cuerda del poste; el canal de salida de la laguna parecía un pasaje al infinito. ¡Ah! Esas aguas en constante bullir con el rugir del viento... son lo mejor que hay para esta alma de corazón marinero.

Pasamos dos noches en Christmas Cove, uno de los mejores lugares en el Caribe: bellas aguas color turquesa, una red coralina espectacular, clara como un acuario; a pesar del deterioro del coral. El lugar se queda casi desierto después de las cuatro de la tarde, cuando todos los botes de turismo parten. Primer balcón para la puesta del sol y una briza constante. St. Thomas está a solo una milla de distancia, las luces de la isla se encienden como luciérnagas en la distancia. No hay ruido, solo el viento y las olas chocando contra el barco.

Dos noches meciéndonos es suficiente preparación para una aventura de 24 millas, recto hacia el oeste. A las 730 a.m. estábamos en nuestra ruta. Capitán tras la rueda y tripulación en alerta, media pastilla de neutamina, me ayuda contra el mareo. Vientos de cero nudos en la popa. El bote se movía a 6.1 nudos, impulsado por la vela de hierro, ayudado por la corriente y el viento. Mi Capitán dice que el regreso al St. Thomas no va a ser tan bonito.

De cualquier modo, aquí estamos, en Culebrita.

El lugar es una joyita. Desde la colina un bello faro de ladrillos nos observa y si hay seis botes anchados es mucho.

Nuestro amigo Mike Brown, de Beaufort, NC; navegaba su bellísima Russamee, con sus cuatro velas blancas a todo viento. Espectacular recibimiento. El no sabí que nosotros llegábamos y nosotros no sabíamos que el iba a estar en Culebrita esta mañana.

Ya nadamos y nos hicimos un delicioso batido de guanabana. Jim duerme una siesta. Yo escucho música y escribo. Esta noche anclaremos en Ensenada Honda.

Happy hour es a las 5. Más conocidos estarán ahí. No es tan dura la vida de esta criolla fuera de Cuba, después de todo.

Jueves, 23/01/2014

AnechyNotes

Rediscovering St Thomas

En Español

Red Hook from the hill

In the last two years visiting the Caribbean, St. Thomas always seemed to me an island with less life. I enjoyed the friendships that I have built over time, but could not find much fun in St. Thomas. This year, maybe because we haven't had to work too much in Salty Shores, we've dedicated more time to explore and enjoy the place. The first month of the season we were house-sitting for our friends Skip and Andrea. In the mean time we enjoyed the wonderful view from their house, the pool and the cute Maní.

Last week we moved to our “floating condo”. And the heat makes us leave the the “shell", so we go every day to Secret Harbor to swim and take a shower, because what it hasn't grown into me, are the showers at Compass Point Marina. It's terrible to say, but overall, with social networking privacy been a subject to public review... it is not too bad.

Speaking of the marina. Since they started working on extending the docks, the services have gone from one to minus one percent. All maintenance personnel have been appointed to the construction, so we don't have who clean the showers or who collect garbage. Wait. What rubbish? If the tanks were removed. As Jim says, this place has become a nursing home for boats.

That's why we prefer to shower at the beach. I'm so ashamed ! Um... not really. Because it feels wonderful, and sometimes after the exercise we seat at the bar and enjoy the sunset and a Bushwaker.

Our morning's entertainment, sometimes is to drive where the fruit vendors, we buy coconut water by the gallon and lots of fruits. The fridge is full of papayas and as usual we have soursop in every corner of the main salon.

This month my back hasn't be so good, so the idea of going sailing intimidates me a little. With the help of the chiropractic in Tillet Gardens, who popped every bone of my spine, I feel much better. So the adventure is about to begin.

St John's adventure was unique. We thought we were going to take the ferry and spend the day exploring, swimming at the beach, have lunch at "Skinny Legs" and return on time for our concert in Tillet Gardens. But we had forgotten that time in the Virgin Islands is a little bit slower. So it took us an hour to get on the ferry. And we could not go the earlier one, because we did not know that tipping the usher would accelerate the process. The people in the car next to us  took advantage of it. The funny thing was that we had to back up onto the ramp, and trucks with cargo go in the center. The ride was a little bumpy. The sea was choppy and the trucks were moving as if they were to fall on their side.

After a delicious Sushi dinner with our friends Chuck, Lindy and Ruth, we whet to a concert of Cedric Watson, in Tillet Gardens, put together by the foundation Arts Alive. This musician from Louisiana and his group, made she ground shake with violins, accordions and a washboard. The simplicity of the tunes and the romanticism of the lyrics in French made a perfect combination. Then a neighbor from the marina, Fredie jumped on the stage to join them with his washboard and the spoons. I was so much fun!  

Last Saturday we wen to the youth VI swimming olimpics. The event was impressing. A lot of swimmers from St Croix, BVI and St Thomas showed up. the kids were between ages of 6 and 16. Beautiful swimming styles. We were supporting Skip and Andrea's daughter, Grace. That girl is a walking fish!

In the west side of the island, once a year they have the Rastafarian farmers fair. And there we went on Suday. We enjoyed the steel pan band, the natural juices and great vegetarian dishes: Caribbean pumpkin soup (the pumpkin is Caribbean, the soup is rasta).

Thus, not being able to go sailing, because of my back, and house-sitting for our friends, we explored more and re-discovered the island. I feel like I am Christopher Columbus. Did you know he named the papaya the fruits of the angels? We have been eating lots of it. Incidentally, in Cuba we call it Fruta Bomba.

AnechyNotes

Redescubiendo St. Thomas

To English

Red Hook desde la colina

En los últimos dos años visitando el caribe, St. Thomas siempre me pareció una isla con menos vida. Disfrutaba mucho de las amistades que he construido con el tiempo, pero no encontraba mucha diversión en St. Thomas. Este año; tal vez por que no no hemos tenido que trabajar tanto en Salty Shores; nos hemos dedicado más a explorar y a disfrutar del lugar. El primer mes de la temporada no los pasamos cuidando la casa de nuestras amistades, que pasaban la navidad en el continente. Mientras nos deleitamos con la maravillosa vista desde su casa, la piscina y la chulísima Maní.

La semana pasada nos mudamos a nuestro condominio flotante. Y el calor nos hace salir del “caracol”, así que todos los días vamos a Secret Harbor a nadar y de paso a ducharnos, porque lo que sí no ha crecido dentro de mi son las duchas de Compas Point Marina. Es terrible decirlo, pero total, con las redes sociales la privacidad es objeto de la opinión pública.

Hablando de la marina. Desde que empezaron la ampliación del muelle; los servicios han pasado del uno al menos uno por ciento. Todo el personal de mantenimiento ha sido designado a la construcción, así que no tenemos quien limpie las duchas o recolecte la basura. Espera. ¿Qué basura? Si hasta los tanques los quitaron. Como dice Jim, este lugar se ha convertido en un asilo de botes. Ese es el motivo por el cual preferimos ducharnos en la playa. ¡Qué vergüenza! Um... no de veras. Porque no las pasamos de maravillas, y a veces después del ejercicio nos sentamos en el bar y disfrutamos de la puesta del sol.

Nuestro entretenimiento matutino, a veces es donde los vendedores de frutas y agua de coco. La nevera esta llena de papayas y como de costumbre tenemos guanábana en todos los rincones del salón.

Este mes he tenido la columna bastante desajustada, por lo que la idea de salir a navegar me intimida un poco. Gracias a la quiropráctica de Tillet Gardens, que me traqueo todos los huesos me siento mucho mejor. Así que la aventura está por comenzar.

La aventura de St John fue única. Pensabamos tomar el ferry y pasarnos el día explorando, bañarnos en la playa, almorzar en "Skinny Legs" y regresar en tiempo para nuestro concierto en Tillet Gardens. Pero se nos había olvidado, que el tiempo de las Islas Virgenes es un poquitico más lento. Así que subirnos al ferry nos tomó más de una hora. Y no nos pudimos ir en el primero porque no sabiamos que una propina al acomodador aceleraría el proceso. El grupo a nuestro lado se nos adelantó. Lo curioso fue que hay que subir la rampa marcha atrás, y los camiones con cargo van en el centro. El trayecto fue un poco movido. El mar estaba picado y los camiones se movían como si se fueran a virar.

Después de cenar sushi con nuestras amistades Chuck, Lindy and Ruth, fuimos al concieto de Cedric Watson, en Tillet Garden, preparado por la fundación Arts Alive. Este músico de Louisiana y su grupo, con acordiones, violines y una tabla de lavar hicieron templar el suelo. La simplisidad de la música y la ternura de sus letras en francés son una combinación perfecta. Luego nuestro vecino en la marina le les unió con su tabla de lavar y sus cucharas. Divertido.

El pasado sábado, fuimos a las olimpiadas juveniles de las Islas Virgenes. El evento fue impresionante. Con chicos desde 6 a 16 años de edad, que vinierons desde St Croix y BVI. Buenos nadadores. Nosotros fuimos apoyando a la hija de Skip y Andrea, Grace. Esa niña es un pescado.

En el otro lado de la isla se celebra una feria agrícola Rastafarian una vez al año. Y allá fuimos. Disfrutamos de la música de los tambores de acero, los jugos naturales, la comida vegetariana y la gente alegre. 

De esta manera, el no poder ir a navegar, por mi espalda, y cuidando la casa de nuestros amigos; hemos explorado más y re-descubierto la isla. Me siento como Cristobal Colón. ¿Sabias que él llamó a las papayas las frutas de los ángeles? Nosotros hemos estado comiendo muchísimas. A propósito, en Cuba le decimos Fruta Bomba.

AnechyNotes