Category Archives: Locations

Places around the world

Aruba or Bust

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Even though Harvey and Irma both threatened to change our friend’s travel plans, Matt and I were determined to head toward Aruba.  After our massive provisioning run we were ready to head to Santa Cruz Bay which is the closest bay to Aruba.  This will shave 25 miles off our trip to Aruba.  Our thoughts were to sail to Santa Cruz Bay and then get up early the next day and sail to Aruba (which is about 50 miles).  We said “good-bye” to our Curacao friends, pulled up anchor and headed out.  It was a beautiful day providing a nice trade wind – perfect for a spinnaker sail.  Matt pulled out Betty, our smaller spinnaker sail and off we went.  We enjoyed an absolutely spectacular sail day – which we had not had since we arrived to Curacao almost 3 months ago!


We arrived at Santa Cruz Bay a little over 3 hours later and there were no other boats around nice.  This is where Captain Good Life has his shop and rents out canoes and kayaks to those who want to visit the Blue Room and Mushroom Forrest.  He also provides guided tours on his boat if you are interested.  It took us a few times to hook the anchor as the ground is very hard with patches of coral.  Once we hooked, we jumped in checked the holding, and snorkeled a bit.

As we were making dinner, I started texting with Sharon, our friend who was to meet us in a few days in Aruba.  Their original flight was out of Houston which was rerouted a week ago to Orlando due to Hurricane Harvey.  Then on Friday (4 days prior to their trip), the airline cancelled their flight.   They were able to reschedule their trip to Aruba for October.  So, we had a decision to make.  Do we stay in Curacao (where we have already spent 2 months), head to Aruba (where it tends to be pricey), or go back to Bonaire?  It did not take long to decide as we both wanted to go back to Bonaire.  The beautiful water, upcoming regatta, and idea of more dive adventures was too alluring for us.  So, instead of getting up early to head to Aruba, we got up early to head to Bonaire which is a beat into the wind and waves.


The alarm went off at 445am, anchor was up by 5am, and we were out of the bay by 515am.  Good start!  We were actually able to raise the sails to one reef with the thought we could shake it out if the winds behaved.  We managed to hold our course, with the sails for about the first 4 hours.  However, several rain storms had a different idea – they kept pushing us off course, further and further North.  When we were -7 VMG and wet from the rain, we decided to drop the sails and motor to course – directly into the wind and waves.  It was not our best day, but also not the worst.  We encountered several more storms that kept the boat wet, rocky and rolly.

Pretty purple sky as we left in the wee hours of the morning

Since we just provisioned, our fridge and freezer are full, and I mean FULL!  But Matt could not resist putting the fishing lines out.  He justified it by not putting out the teasers – (don’t worry that logic did not make sense to me either).  After about 8 hours (2 hours to go), of nothing, we noticed a huge flock of birds circling around movement in the water.  Fish!  We headed in that direction and low and behold, one line went “zing” and then nothing – no pulling or bending of the pole.  Hmmm, As Matt reeled it in, we realized we did have fish on, but it was a little fish.  Even though it was a Mahi, Matt’s favorite, we set her free to grow up big and strong.

Too tiny to keep so we let her go

We got one more bit on the hook, but it was not meant to be.  As we were pulling up to the mooring field, where we were hopeful to find a mooring, we were greeted with a fabulous welcome party.  Manuel, Nadja (and a new friend Sean) from Manado were in their dinghy to help us secure to a mooring, then Thea (from Kattimi) came over in her kayak, Cindy (from tranquility) came by in her SUP, and Susan (from Nomad) swam by while doing her laps.  Of course some of these peeps were just out enjoying a nice calm afternoon – but they ended up swinging by to welcome us back – good to be Sugar Shack!

We tried to clear in to customs and immigration, but they closed early (it was Saturday after all), so we stopped by Illy Coffee for a treat and wifi.  I have to admit that it was really tasty ice cream, but I am partial to Gio’s.  Afterward, we stopped by Karel’s for happy hour (and more wifi) and then headed back.  Before the sun set, we had been invited to a birthday party the next day, another day out on Ad Astra and drinks with friends.

It’s hard to call “Bonaire” a “Bust” especially since we are so happy to be able to return to this beautiful island.

Te Aworo Bonaire

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“Goodbye Bonaire”  Our friends, Shawn and Sharon are meeting us in Aruba, so we needed to leave our beloved island of Bonaire to head south west.  Unfortunately, there was no wind (less than 8 knots) so we ended up motoring the entire way from Bonaire toward Klein Curacao.

Sugar Shack leaving Bonaire

On the way over, we ran the little generator, water maker, and washer machine (did you know we have a washer/dryer on board – oh ya!).  Of course, I was just doing my delicates and things that needed to be lined dried so the laundry service could focus on towels, sheets, and other bulky items.  We also had to dry out our dive gear so we could stow it for a few weeks on board.

BC and workout clothes drying

BC and Tanks drying

Some say I have a bikini problem

We happened to leave at the same time as Always Sunday so it was not a surprise to hear them hail us on the VHF.  They talked us into heading to Klein Curacao for the night – they did not have to try very hard as we loved this little island stop and just needed a reason to stop short of Curacao.

When we arrived, we met Ricky and Robin (Always Sunday) for a snorkel where we saw lots of turtles, a few scorpion fish, an eel and lots of other little sea creatures.  They invited us to their boat for tuna and a card game.  They have a beautiful 40’ Lagoon 2013 that is immaculately kept. Robin prepared a lovely tuna dish and taught us a new card game that Matt dutifully won.  Despite the fact that they let me cheat my times,  I still came in last.

Matt & I with Robin and Ricky

Once we arrived in Curacao, we rented a car and ran a bazillion errands: dropped laundry, Budget Marine (pick up Life Seal that we ordered), Scuba and More (fix our regulators), Digicel (update our data plan), customs & immigration, Cost U Less, Best Buy, Vruegedenhill, Van Den Twill, Kooyman, Mangusa Grocery and Centrum Market.  We managed to get back in time for happy hour where we met our friends Steve (Kialoa III), James (Moonrise), Matias and Ulreke (Bella) for a final toddy before we head West.

James, Matt, me, Matias, Ulreke, Steve

The next day, we picked up our clean laundry, repaired regulators, and a swung by few more stores to find some elusive items (diet coke, diet ginger ale, mozzarella, and ribs).  We returned to the boat to unpack and stow all our goodies and headed to The Pier for the weekly captain’s dinner where they were serving dorado which was delicious.  We enjoyed hanging out with our friends and 25 other boater pals of Spanish Waters.

Delightful and Delicious Tummy Treats

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Living in paradise is amazing, but having no income certainly has its drawbacks.  It is very hard to refrain from going out when you visit beautiful islands with new cultures and cuisines.  You of course want to eat like a king but can only do so on a pauper’s pence.  Typically, we eat on the boat as Matt is an excellent cook, but there have been a few occasions over the last month where we have splurged and gone out to eat.  I wanted to share some of my favorite places.

Gio’s Gelateria & Caffe is famous on Bonaire and a frequent hide out for many sailors.  They have air conditioning, wifi, and delicious ice cream and gelato for $1.50 per scoop.  The setting is perfectly feminine with black chandeliers, comfy tables and chairs, indoor and outdoor seating, and very friendly staff.  You can buy 10 scoops up front for $12.50 ($1.25 each scoop) or you can buy a coffee card where you get 10 coffees for a similar discount, you can buy your scoops individually or you can take advantage of their other special for $5 for a coffee, piece of pie and a small dollop of gelato.  Since I am not a coffee drinker, I focused on the ice cream and gelato.  I was only able to try 6-7 flavors over the last few weeks, but each flavor was filled deliciousness. Certainly, worth returning for in the future!

Outside seating for Gio’s

Interior shot of Gio’s

Huge selection of ice cream and gelato

In the center of town is a cozy little eatery called “La Creperie” that serves breakfast and lunch.  We walked by it dozens of times but never went in – as we were never hungry when we passed by.  One morning we specifically set out to visit this place as I love crepes!  They have indoor and outdoor seating, air conditioning, wifi, and very sweet, friendly staff.  There were so many tasty items on the menu that we had a tough time deciding so we asked our server to recommend a few items.  We ordered the chorizo crepe and a caramel crepe (yes, I know, it is breakfast, but we could not resist the sweet treat).  Absolutely scrumptious.  I would highly recommend a stop here as the food is mouthwatering – we stopped short of licking the plates.

La Creperia outside seating area

Chorizo crepe & caramel crepe

I decided I needed a girl’s day so I invited my two walking friends to join me for shopping and lunch.  Cindy Smith from “Tranquility” and Jane Baum from “Cheetah II” have been walking together for years whenever they meet up at the same island and they were kind enough to let me tag along with them in Bonaire.  It gave Matt a rest from having to “walk his wife” and it gave me some girl time.  The three of us had a few items on our to do list including sneakers and a hat for Jane, walking shoes for Cindy, tank top, sticker, and water proof bag for me.

Me, Cindy, and Jane

Yep, I am the youngest, yet biggest of the group!

After a pretty successful treasure hunt, we stopped in at “La Terrazza” which is a new café that had only been open for 2 days (no hyperlink available yet).  They were super friendly and are trying to be completely green (eliminating all plastic – even straws), and have a daily changing menu.  We sat down and ordered three different meals so we could share and they were all very tasty.  I ordered risotto in a red wine sauce (which is why it is purple), Jane ordered a salad with fresh Tuna and Cindy ordered spinach gnocchi.  Each of the dishes were packed with flavor and zest.

Entrance to La Terrazza promoting the daily menu

Rissoto, Gnocchi, Tuna salad

The owner’s wife opened a small store next door called “Element” which sells beautiful jewelry, signs, and shirts – be sure to stop in and see her.

Element interior shot

Beautiful tree lights up the jewelry

During one of our happy hour events, some new friends on Shangri-La told us about “Cuba Compagnie” so we had to check it out.  We stopped by on a Saturday night, without reservations, and it was packed.  They have a huge outdoor seating area that could easily accommodate over 100 people.  As we walked up to the host stand, with fingers crossed, we asked for a table and were able to get one of the last available ones that was just being cleaned – sweet!  It was a perfect night out, with a soft breeze, bright moon, and light music playing.  Matt ordered tuna and I ordered a zesty shrimp dish. The servers switched around with several different people checking on us, taking drink orders, delivering our food and drinks – but they were all really nice.  It turned out to be a delectable!

Cuba Compaignie outdoor seating area

Enjoying a night out

Right across from our mooring is a delightful restaurant called “It Rains Fishes”.  We had the pleasure of eating lunch here twice as it was so good and reasonably priced.  They have their own fisherman who go out to get the catch of the day.  Both visits, Matt ordered the tuna burger and I ordered the special.  The first special was a shrimp wrap and the 2nd special was a chicken salad wrap and both were fabulous.  You get huge portions for a good price and served with a smile.

It Rains Fishes indoor/outdoor seating

Chicken Wrap special

Matt’s tuna burger

Beautiful view of our boat from It Rains Fishes on a sunny day

Got caught in a rain storm, but sitting comfortably inside at It Rains Fishes

Blue Garden Brazillian Grille and Gourmet Pizza provided us with a pretty authentic Brazilian experience.  We arrived around 630p with our friends from Ad Astra for a double date.  Matt and Erik ordered genuine Brazilian Caipirinha with cachaca and Kate and I ordered muddled fruit versions.  We absolutely had to order the cheese bread (which has an official Brazilian name that I can’t remember) and then dinner was: a meat medley for Matt, shrimp skewers for me, and a chicken/steak grill for Kate and Erik.  It was all divine and extremely filling.  A wonderful dining experience.

Delightfully delicious cold beverages.

Tasty cheese bread balls that melt in your mouth.

Zesty shrimp skewers.

Meat grille.

Every Wednesday night, “Bistro de Paris” has half price burger night starting of course, with happy hour – buy a coke and get the rum for free!  Yep, you read that right.  Basically, $2.50 for a rum and coke or for me a rum and ginger ale.  Oscar our talented and super cool bartender always took care of us and had no qualms about filling our sippy cups to the rim.  Although we came for happy hour several times, we only ate burgers once as they were only “average” and still pricey, even with a 50% discount.  Matt had the tuna burger (which did not compare to the one from It Rains Fishes) and I had the falafel burger which was a bit dry.  But, the company was great, the scenery beautiful, and the drinks were strong.

Bistro de Paris displays funny signs…

Love it

With the hot temperatures and drought in California there were rumors of an avocado shortage which is just unheard of as you can get avocado’s the size of honeydew melons in the islands – there are from Venezuela and are as tasty as they are large.

Bigger than my palm!