CHACACHACARE (cha-ka-cha-CAR-ray)
We hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and are off to an exciting and successful New Year. I’m sure that back home every small and insignificant computer glitch is causing front page news (since apparently the world has not come to an end due to Y2K problems) but here we haven’t heard any of that. We had a nice Christmas dinner with a large number of other cruisers, potluck style. We were still anchored at Scotland Bay but dinghyed around to Chaguaramas for the event. It was just getting dark on the way back and as we were entering the bay a very large dolphin leaped straight and completely out of the water directly in front of us; scared the heck out of us at first but I turned the dinghy around for another look and he did it again. We both thought that was a pretty neat Christmas present. The next day we moved the boat over to Chacachacare Island, about 6 miles away. Chacachacare was a leper colony until the late 60’s when it was vacated. The ruins of the buildings (the hospital, chapel, doctor’s house, nuns’ quarters, etc.) make excellent exploring. The lab in the hospital still contains patients’ records, x-rays and boxes of medicines; very fascinating. We also hiked up the mountain top to the lighthouse where on a clear day the views must be wonderful.

NEW YEAR’S EVE (or OLD YEAR’S NIGHT)
After a couple of nights at Chacachacare we headed back to Chaguaramas to check on dock space at the yard where our new galley floor will be made and installed next week, get some supplies and make some phone calls. We had planned to go back to Scotland Bay for New Year’s but instead went back to Chacachacare with some other cruising friends. There were other friends over there for the new year and before dark we all got together for a dinghy raft-up with a few snacks and drinks. We had dinner aboard Rob and Debbie’s catamaran “CAVU” along with Paul and Natalie from “Renegade” and Earl and Sue from “My Bonnie”. After dinner we awaited the new year by playing a game of “Farkle” (where I got the nickname “Monkey Man” just because I picked up a dropped dice with my toes (that’s another benefit of this cruising life, you might get dressed up for an evening on someone’s boat, but you still go barefoot!)) and then laying on their foredeck (trampoline) looking up at a most awesome array of stars on an unusually clear night…a very memorable new year.

ANOTHER DOLPHIN ENCOUNTER
We were having coffee in the cockpit the morning of Jan. 2, when Debbie paddled over on a float. When Claudia turned around to greet her, she noticed a pod of dolphins were feeding in the bay. Debbie paddled out toward them, but we jumped in our dinghy and after going over to “CAVU” and picking up Rob we took off to get up close which we did. These were the largest dolphins I’ve ever seen and being in the dinghy we were right next to them on the water. Some of them swam right with the dinghy, just like they do with the big boat. I’d speed up and so would they and they’d slow down when I did. We only turned around to go back after they finished their fish breakfast and left the protection of the bay, and after one of them flipped his tail right in front of us and gave us a good soaking. We all thought that was pretty neat, except for Miss Augie.

CAR RENTAL
We came back to Chaguaramas the next afternoon. “CAVU” and us decided to rent a car for a couple of days to see more of Trinidad and we had committed to pick up Doug and LuAnn from “Whisper” at the airport the night of the Jan. 4 upon their return from South Carolina for the holidays. I have driven on the left before (in the Bahamas and the Virgin Islands) but never with the steering wheel on the right. It didn’t take long to make the adjustment and after a couple of days, it seems natural and I actually prefer it. We explored the south of Trinidad and saw “Pitch Lake” where pitch is mined and exported for road pavement and we drove through the rain forest to the north coast and Maracas Beach where the island’s best “Bake ‘N Shark” can be had…and had some we did. Tomorrow we’ll make a grocery run with the car before turning it in. Then (MAYBE) we can finally get started on some of those boat projects, ha ha!

FUTURE PLANS
Nothing new to report here. We’re going to get that new galley floor done and then either go west to Venezuela, Bonaire, Curacao and Aruba before heading northeast back to the Virgins, or start working our way back north from Trinidad, or go west as far as Isla de Margarita (in Venezuela) then come back to Trinidad before working our way back north. Don’t know exactly how we’ll route it but we are planning to be back in the Virgin Islands this spring. We’ll let you know when we figure it out. Until then, enjoy yourselves and keep in touch. Please use our sailmail address, wcw5564@sailmail.com, unless your message is particularly long or includes attachments, then use the hotmail address, wcw5564@hotmail.com. Sailmail has finally opened their east coast station and it’s now much easier to get connected so I’m not checking hotmail as often now.
Till next time,

David and Claudia