Sailing the Southern Caribbean

Today’s post is a little different. Instead of me droning on for an hour, for you slow readers, or twenty-eight seconds, for those realizing they got the wrong site, I would like to present you with a cinematic master piece. A MONTAGE!!!

But before you cringe let me also say that it has music, and dolphins jumping, and oceans, and an amazing car race with scantly clad women….OK the last part is a lie.

It’s a video re-cap of our sailing journey across the southern Caribbean from Grenada to Colombia, over 1000 nautical miles, 7 months, and 2 sailboats later.

So go pop some pop-corn, sit back and relax!

Sailing The Southern Caribbean from Hop & Jaunt on Vimeo.

It’s also on YouTube if you have a preference.

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Hop & Jaunt’s Top Ten of 2009

Happy New Years from the Crew at Hop & Jaunt Travelouges!  We’re excited about the new adventures and travels that lay ahead in 2010.  But before we jaunt into the last year of the decade, lets hop back and take a look at some of our favorite experiences from the past year.   Its Hop & Jaunt’s Top Ten Favorite Adventures of 2009.

10.)  Beach Bumming at Roger’s Bar on Hog Island, Grenada

Roger's Beach Bar - Hog Island, Grenada

Roger’s Bar on Hog Island was our first Caribbean experience after joining Alyson’s parents on Quercus.  Roger’s ramshackle beach shack not only had the appearance of being thrown together with driftwood, bamboo and palm leaves, but it literally was put together with nothing more than driftwood, bamboo and palm leaves.  Many afternoon ’sundowners’ turned into late night ‘howl at the moon’ sessions underneath the glow of the single 12 Volt powered light bulb.  Live reggae music, sand between your toes and always a cold beer set the perfect mood for mingling and socializing with the  locals and sailors from around the world.  To read more click here.

9.)  Baby Sitting a Whale in Curacao

Giving baby Sully a tummy rub.

While boat sitting in Curacao we decided to try a little baby sitting as well.  We volunteered to watch after a 10 foot baby pilot whale that was being nursed back to health.  Sully the pilot whale was beached by his family after becoming too ill to keep up with the rest of his pod.  Efforts by local marine biologist and volunteers helped to restore the baby whale back to full health.  We spent a few nights lying by Sully’s pen keeping him company as he vied for our attention by requesting several belly rubs.  It was an experience we will always remember.  Unfortunately efforts to integrate Sully back into the wild have failed, and there are talks that he will be moved to a tank in Sea World, San Diego.  For more click here.
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Los Testigos

It’s been a while since we’ve been able to get online and do we have A LOT to update about! We sailed from Grenada 4 weeks ago and today we are sitting here in a Watta Burger (not the American chain but a Dutch burger place) in Bonaire!

John and The Captain On Watch

The Fishing Village Of Los Testigos

After setting sail from Grenada we had a slightly rough 24hr trip to Los Testigos.  Los Testigos (which means The Testifiers for those smirking) are two beautiful small islands that jet out of the ocean between Grenada and Venezuela. The first thing that you notice, other than the extremely picturesque little fishing village on the sandy white beach is how crystal clear the water is under the boat. You can look down into 20-40 feet of water and you can see everything on the bottom as if you were in an aquarium. There are fish of every size and color swimming around. Another thing we noticed in a real hurry was how cold the water was! We have been spoiled by how warm the waters were in Grenada so our perception of ‘cold’ may be a bit off but it was very refreshing to say the least. Once while John and I were snorkeling off the reefs we came upon a giant Sting Ray swimming right under us! We gave it a side berth though, the stinger being longer than I am.

Los Testigos are two small islands. Thus there is little flat land, just in front of the beach where about 20 little colorful houses were the fishermen live. Across the bay is another similar but smaller island with another 30 houses, a coast guard station, a little school, and a guy’s store room acting as the grocery when the supply boat arrives. The islands have no fresh surface water on them so they must survive on collecting rain water and water makers if one can afford it.

Manta Ray

On another day while walking the beach in front of the fishing village we came upon a giant Manta Ray that the fishermen had caught earlier. It was an amazing creature with a wingspan over 6 feet long. These gentle giants of the ocean are also a delicacy to these fishermen. I would love to find one while snorkeling or diving next time, not tied up by the beach waiting to become dinner. But to these fishermen who live off the ocean for survival and eat fish for nearly every meal I can see how a rare catch like this would be a god send.

We were anchored next to two other boats while there, one with a French couple and another with a Swiss couple onboard. For the four or five days that we were there the Frenchman would bring us over his daily catch of Bonita fish. The first night was a delicacy but by the fourth night we had to toss the fish under cover of night! So I can empathize with the fishermen a little on this point! John went out with Rene the Frenchman one afternoon and came back with a few for dinner as well!

The Fishermen

However, the most amazing thing by far in Los Testigos is that there is a beach on the windward side of the island where the giant sea turtles come to lay their eggs! (more…)