October, 2005 – Goodbye, Puerto la Cruz

October 2005 was a time for winding up our time in Venezuela, saying goodbye to friends at church and to other cruisers, cutting the umbilical to Maremares dock, and pointing our bow north. We decided to go back the same way we came, i.e. to Margarita, across to Grenada, up the island chain to the Virgins and Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, Turks and Caicos, Bahamas, and the east coast of USA. Here are some of our journal entries from our last days in Puerto la Cruz.

October 10 -- Not much is happening here. We arrived back in PLC on October 5 and stayed with John and Nora while we prepared to splash the boat. Since then we have been working hard cleaning, preparing, and provisioning the boat. It feels as if we are starting out again, so Orma has been painting inside drawers and cupboards and reorganizing lockers. We will stock up on what groceries we can carry because they are still cheaper here than elsewhere, although prices have gone up a lot and there are not so many bargains to be found. Our moorage at Maremares has tripled since we first arrived, and we are now paying $30 CAD a night.

October 15 -- Cliff is antsy to get going -- the weather has been good this week, but we are not ready yet. I am dragging my feet as it will be hard to say goodbye to the familiarity of our surroundings and especially to our church friends here. Cliff is away painting a small mission school this morning.

We are going to a wedding on the dock this afternoon. Denny, captain of the catamaran "White Tiger", whose wife died a year ago, is marrying a Venezuelan woman. She is an attractive divorcee, 41 years old, mother of two teenage daughters who live with their father. Isabel gets seasick traveling on the boat, so we hope she is able to adjust (or he is) and everything works out well for them.

Oct. 25/05 -- We enjoyed a last Alpha dinner at Mark and Linda's on Sunday evening, and had arranged to take John and Nora out for dinner Monday as a thank you for their many kindnesses, but they managed to completely blindside us with a surprise party and dinner at their house. Most of these folks, American ex-pats working here, are closer to the age of our kids, but they have become dear friends in the time we have known them. It is sad to say goodbye.