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.

I think your pop-corn is ready now.

The crew of Hop and Jaunt enjoying the beach.

Our next destination, as we headed west, was the small archipelago of Los Roques or “The Rocks”.  It is a group of islands that sit very low in the Caribbean Sea north of the coast of Venezuela and eastward of the reknowned ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire, & Curacao).  The islands are surrounded by shallows of reefs and is kept as a Venezuelan National Marine Park.  It is reputed to be one of the best marine parks in the Caribbean.  The passage from Tortuga was pretty calm.  We left about midday and sailed throughout the night.  Our only difficulty came about a mile off shore of our approach to the narrow channel between the reefs on the southeastern side of the island chains.  As fate would have it, this was the moment when our water pump on the diesel shredded its impeller and brought our faithful Mercedes engine to a halt.  The damaged impeller (being the result of some shoddy workmanship done in Trinidad) left us floating between the winds and the reefs with nothing but sail.  Fortunately, for Quercus and the crew, the Skipper had the foresight to have installed a backup electric water pump that was connected within mere minutes.  With danger averted we made our way slowly along the channel and into the inviting anchorages of Los Roques.

This is a map of the Los Roques Island Chain. We entered through the narrow channel at Boca de Sebastopol and motored up along the reefs to Crasqui Island where we anchored.

Los Roques is really a fascinating place to see.  Beauty from horizon to horizon.  The water is deep (we anchored in nearly 25 ft) and so clear that the sandy bottom was easily visible.  The sandbars and shallows of the bay glowed with a bright aqua green in stark contrast to the dark blues and indigos of the deeps.  The land was outlined with sandy white shores and green vegetation in the form of mangroves and palms.  Our anchorage at Crasqui Island was nearly in the center of the archipelago and the islands and beaches surrounded us in nearly every direction.  It was a relatively quiet place.  There were a few small restaurants and Posadas (or inns) along the beach front.  Our only neighbors were a couple of large fishing boats and one other American sailboat.  It was so quiet and tranquil the first couple of days that at times it felt like we were the only ones there.  Having spent the past month sailing through such amazing places, I began to notice how accustomed we were becoming to the beauty of each place.  All of our conversations started sounding more repetitive and less sincere ( “Look at how pretty the beach is.”, “Look at that pretty sunset.”, “Isn’t the water pretty?”)

The beaches of Los Roques.

After spending a couple of relaxing days at anchor, we were surprised one morning to find large crowds of people on the beach.  The groups were brought in on small open pirro boats along with their beach chairs and umbrellas.  I assume that the largest island Gran Roques must have a hotel near the airport where Venezuelan vacationers come to enjoy a little holiday.  On this morning Alyson and I went up to the beach to enjoy the surf and sun.  The winds were rather still and the sun was so bright, it was a perfect day to spend enjoying the scenery and the beach.  We all piled into the dinghy and motored ashore to join the rest of the crowd.  I have to admit beforehand that this was one of my favorite days since we’ve been out.  Alyson and I walked down the white beaches (with sand as soft as flour) until we came across the perfect spot.  As I’ve said there were many people on the beach that day, and laying out on their blankets right beside us was a group of young and lovely Venezuelan girls sunbathing topless.  (Bless their hearts).  These young ladies were not shy.  They would frolic with each other in the water, rolling in the sand and the waves while laughing and bouncing.  It was some of the best wildlife I’ve spotted so far.  At one point a flock of sea gulls descended on their blanket and it sent them running around and screaming.  The bravest of the bunch attempted to shoo the birds away by running into the flock and then began barking, which was a pretty funny sight.  Perhaps the girls weren’t too bright, but they did put on an entertaining show.  Enough to distract us from the beauty of the islands, which was rather amazing anyhow.

The beach was lined with people that day.  Men in speedos and women in thongs (or occasionally topless).  In my surf shorts and Alyson in her bikini, we began to feel a little overdressed.  Mostly it was couples or small groups of friends.  Young handsome men and sexy women were everywhere we looked.  I did find it strange though that we passed one loner.  He was so noticeable because he stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the young, tan couples.  I saw him as we walked along the beach.  There he sat alone in a tiny beach chair, underneath a tiny beach umbrella.  He was pale white and chubby and looked familiarly like Andy Richter.  He looked so pitiful sitting there by himself with an awkward frown as he tried desperately to ignore the Venezuelan lovers making-out in the sand right next to him.  (The woman of course topless and in a thong).  His story was one I would have liked to known.  How did he wind up there, in such a remote place, alone amongst all those couples?  I bet he’s an interesting person.

Being in remote places can make it difficult to keep in contact and communication with the outside world.  Not only is email a virtual impossibility (without SSB) it also becomes difficult to receive updated and accurate weather forecasts.  The winds had been steadily constant since we left Grenada.  The frequent gusts in the late afternoons and early evenings gave us concern for sailing out onto the sea with no prior knowledge of the wind conditions or sea states.  In situations like this, you have to rely on the kindness of others.  Alyson and I were recruited to pay a visit to our American neighbors on their yacht Evening Star in order to find any information on the weather.  There we met an extremely nice couple, Mike and Barbara.  They welcomed us into their boat by giving us cold drinks and a tour of their 47′ Fuji sail boat.  The people you meet is usually one of the best parts of traveling and Mike and Barbara were no exception.  Naturally they asked us where we were from and I proudly told them “Andalusia, Alabama”.  I was floored to hear Mike reply, “Oh yeah, right there by Opp”.  I am beginning to lose track of the times I have heard other cruisers mention to me the internationally renowned “Andaluisa-Opp Airport“.  Apparently, my little home town holds a much more prominent position in the world than I had ever realized, and I love hearing people telling me they’ve been there.  It fills me with pride for that place and makes me a little less homesick to talk about it while I grin from ear to ear.  I also have to give credit to Lynyrd Skynyrd for making Alabama famous among the international community.  Usually telling people I’m from Alabama gets me the reply of the first chorus line of “Sweet Home Alabama”.

Mike and Barbara not only got us the weather forecasts we desperately needed, but they also educated us on how to use our SSB radio to receive broadcasts of the Chris Parker weather reports for the Caribbean everyday.  This was a big help and took out a lot of the guess work in our planning.  They were also a wealth of information on the local area.  The largest island of Gran Roques has a lot to offer the boating community.  Fuel, water, garbage collection, and groceries are readily available.  It isn’t uncommon for many yachties to spend a few weeks in Los Roques exploring the different islands and anchorages.  Its also a popular spot among Venezuelan boaters and sports fishermen.  Within days the quiet shoreline of Crasqui Island began to fill up with fishing boats and large power yachts of the Venezuelan elite.  Kite surfing is very popular here too.  We saw a few small sailboats come in with surfers who must cruise around just kite surfing along the windward islands of the Caribbean.  The protected waters and frequent winds must make it an ideal place to surf and check out the scenery.

As the week ended we prepared to pull anchor and continue on.  Alyson and I would definitely like to revisit Los Roques one day and continue to explore the reefs and isles.  Perhaps one day on a boat of our own; but at this time our tanks needed water, we needed to contact family, and I think we were all anxious for a cold drink and a cheeseburger.  (We hadn’t had much meat to eat since leaving Margarita a week and a half ago).  The weather window seemed right for making the trip, so we headed out on a Saturday, June 20.  By Sunday afternoon we would be in the Netherland’s famous island of Bonaire.

Check out some of our photos below.

These are a series of rocks and coral stacked up into towers. Oddly enough we've seen variations of this practice in various location around the globe.

This is one of the basic but inviting beach Posadas where you can cool off or get a quick drink.

Look at that pretty smile.

Here's Quercus at her anchor.

Some of our neighbors. The elite of Venezuela on their Mega Yachts came up for the weekend.

Tortuga Island 6/9/09

Unlike what Jack Sparrow had led me to believe the real Tortuga Island was not a bubbling meca of ancient pirates wandering around belligerent. What Tortuga turned out to be was a beautiful, barely inhabited, desert island off the coast of Venezuela.

Our Trusty Quercus

The passage aboard Quercus was as smooth as sailing over night in the windy Caribbean as you could get. Luckily all aboard were by now comfortable in the routine of night watches and glimpse of sleep. When we left Margarita that afternoon a school of dolphins had escorted us out along with the last glimpse of the island. That night we had a stiff breeze behind us and found ourselves a few hours ahead of schedule arriving at Tortuga. Considering Quercus is a eight ton steel boat we were pleasantly surprised at what a good sailing machine she was turning out to be. In any other form of travel arriving early would be a boon. However with sailing into new harbors, specially with coral reefs and shallow waters all around, that you time it so that you arrive when the sun is high enough above you in order to keep a sharp eye on the water ahead. We spotted land around 4:30am, thus requiring us to sail up and down the island for a few hours while we waited for the sun to come up. This decision turned out to be the wisest course of action, even though we were all exhausted and with land within sight it was a little tortuous to force ourselves to stand around a few more hours. The reason this course of action became so crucial was that for reasons left untold Venezuela has a 300 meter error attached to its electronic charts. Meaning that if we had relied on our handy-dandy high tech chart plotter to enter the harbor we would of ended up right on course for land!

A few hours later we found ourselves safely anchored in turquoise waters facing the beginning of some 20 mile long white sandy beach. We were the only boat at anchor for several hours when another couple of sailboats arrived after us and anchored in the bay as well. As soon as we got our dingy in the water and made sure everything in the boat was in order John and I rowed over to shore to explore the island a little. Once you walked up to the top of the beach you looked over a flat expanse of dry desert, complete with cactus and thorny shrubs scattered in the horizon. Tortuga is so flat that once you get a few feet above water you can practically see across the entire island. We sat behind a scrubby bush to get some shade and watched the desolate landscape for a while. Amazed at how different it looked from it’s gorgeous and lush seeming view only a dozen feet back from the water’s edge. After that we headed back onboard and everyone fell into a deep sleep.

One of the high lights to our stop-ever in Tortuga was that I had my 25^th Birthday on the island! John and I decided that since my first birthday wish—to get a lush room with air conditioning, cold and hot showers, a bubble bath, and a giant bed that didn’t move—was a little out of the question, we’ll do the next best thing. Trekking across the cactus strewn desert and finding a remote and memorable place to have our picnic. That morning Mom made her famous pasta salad for us and helped pack our picnic with things only a mother would remember: crackers, plates, even silverware! Ha! I had bought a bottle of white wine in Margarita for a special occasion so we grabbed that as well. Off we went heading straight across the desert.

John Trekking The Desert

One of the interesting things about the island is that even when you are in the middle of the island watching not to step on cactus the grown is littered with ancient coral and shells. It would be hard to sneak up on anyone here as the coral cracks and snaps under your feet for each step!

After an hour and a half of walking we reached the opposite side of the tip of the island. There we found paradise! The white sandy beach we had left an hour ago had wrapped itself around the island as well and was there waiting for us. About a 100ft from the beach was a strip of coral that wrapped itself into a protective barrier that created the tranquil and turquoise water in front of us. We felt like we were the first people in the world to discover this mall calendar worthy spot! Just as we were looking at our unspoiled spot with the pioneers pride a couple of guys taking a walk on the beach showed up! We were miles away from the only town of four buildings on this island and we had managed to bump right into other people! The world is indeed getting smaller. Luckily the young guys were just on a stroll and not as pleased to ruin their fantasy of exploration as we were and promptly headed back down the beach. After a quick dip in the pool like waters we got out a towel and proceeded to have a lovely birthday lunch and wine. For the next couple of hours we took turns sipping wine and splashing in the water.

I turn 25!

By the time we could feel our skin radiating heat, and not from the wine anymore, we gathered our belongings and started back. For the trek back we chose to walk along the beach. The beach, with it’s miles and miles of white sandy sand in the middle of the Caribbean sea should have been the picture of unspoiled nature. However, sadly, garbage from islands and countries upwind of Tortuga had drifted onto this beach for years. There is nothing sadder than seeing a virtually uninhibited island bombarded with garbage that could of originated from thousands or miles away. There were all sorts of bizarre items mixed in with the usual suspects such as plastic bottles as well. Large tractor tires, chairs, thousands of liquor bottles, toy dump trucks, shoes, and sadly hundreds of other non-biodegradable plastics that are destined to littler this beach for another thousand years unless something changes. It was a clear sign of how man has unwittingly touched every corner of this world, and not always for the better.

It was, however, a magical day over all. From the hike across a desert to having lunch at a perfect beach, I couldn’t have planned for a more visually memorable birthday! Back on the boat Mom and Dad were waiting with a birthday cake she had baked. It was Mom’s first time baking a cake onboard and it turned out quite well, even if it was shaped a bit odd because of the oven moving while the cake rose! This was a great start for my 25^th year, I can only hope this year continues to offer the opportunity to travel and see the world as much as possible.

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!
To get there you must climb this steep incline of a sand dune over the island. Once you get over the hill there is this plateau of sand for about a half a mile before you get to the beach. It is on the windward side, which means that unlike the “Caribbean Postcard” side we are on this side looks wild and untamed. The wind blows the shrubs into sharp angles and the waves carve intricate and sharp shapes into the ground. There are no people either.

The Fishermen

On this dramatic background late at night the sea turtles emerge out of the ocean to begin another chapter in their cycle of life. We got there around 9pm with a couple of flashlights. There is no guarantee when and if they are to show up. Luckily within ten min. of walking up and down the beach we spy a large figure slowly making it’s way up the beach. Then another! We had two turtles!!

One was an older turtle that appeared to be crying (some say due to water pollution in the world sea turtles are now showing up with eye cancer, causing the eyes to ‘cry’ continuously and slowly blinding the great turtles). She pulls her great bulk up the beach slowly. Earlier that day we had found these great tracks on the beach and had at first thought that a truck had been driving in the sand. When she is a good 30 feet from the water’s edge she begins to dig her hole. Now out of the water these giants are slow and ungraceful. I amazed when the turtle began digging her hole with her back flipper. Even with her bulk in the way she managed to scoop out a hole in the ground with such skill and sensitivity that would have seemed impossible watching her crawl earlier. The hole is about the size of a dinner plate in width but she slowly and carefully digs until the hole reaches a good foot or two down. She packs the sand so hard that even with her weight over it never crumbles. When the hole is compete she then began digging out this chamber at the bottom. I sat there mesmerized at the skill and dexterity I saw in her flippers. I doubt many people with thumbs could have built a better underground chamber in only 20mins. When the chamber was done she moves over the hole, protecting any openings with one of her back flippers and began laying eggs into her other flipper. She would use her free flipper to gently catch the eggs and place them into the chamber.



This went on for a while and when we finally got to peek in we saw that there were around 50 ping pong sized eggs nestled into the chamber. Once done she quickly covers up the hole, and moves enough sand around that even with us standing there I doubt we could point out exactly where the hole might have been. The young one by now was about done and began heading off to the ocean to continue her journey but the older one that I had developed a liking to was having difficulty finding the ocean. Also during the whole process she was the only one making any noise, I’ve ever heard of turtles moaning but this one was definitely moaning and groaning while having her babies! Perhaps because of her age or cancer stricken eyes she would get half way to the ocean, get confused, and end up turning around towards the land. We watched this go on for a while until we were so affected that we began cheering for her and wishing her towards the sea. Finally I grabbed an empty bottle that had been washed ashore and filled it with ocean water. I would splash her with the water from the direction of the ocean and she began following it until she too was safely splashing in the waves. John and I stood there and watched her work her way out towards the ocean. I have to say that night is one of those nights that I will remember for the rest of my life.

Lobster Dinner By The Ocean

P.S. There is a little green house on a hill where Hermano and his family run a little restaurant on his front patio called the “Casa Verde.” On the last night on the island John and I treated ourselves to his lobster dinner! Fresh caught mmm~hmmm~!