LEAN IN

The palm trees are always leaning away from the east wind

As we walk down the street here in Aruba, it brings new meaning to the term lean in. It's how you need to brace yourself if you're walking into the wind. Oh, and hang onto your hat, before it goes skittering down the sidewalk.

Sailors have some colorful phrases for the weather in this part of the Caribbean. The climate is remarkably stable, and the wind seems never to stop blowing. Sporty is one description we often hear, as in "It was downright sporty out there today." We also hear "The seas were a mite frisky on our way in." Several new boats have come into the marina, one from New Zealand, on their way back home; some French Canadians bound for Panama; a French boat next door, set to leave for Cartagena in Colombia. It's nice to have neighbors with similar interests to discuss the ever-present topic of weather.

More Life on Aruba - and Boat Fixes

New Horseshoe Buoy with Light

One of the replacement items we needed to buy was a new horseshoe buoy. Our old buoy washed away when we were hit by the rogue wave, and we didn't even notice it was gone until we dropped anchor in Aruba. It was an old safety item and needed replacement anyways. Our new buoy, designed to be thrown to crew overboard, comes with an attached strobe light that automatically activates when it hits the water. Yet another item we should never need, as we are always tethered to the boat with life jackets, and harnesses. It's one of our big fears, that one of us would go overboard. We're well aware of the risks involved.

Monitor Wind Vane Self Steering

Another big project was our Monitor wind vane self-steering. The gears shown at right came out, and we have been hammering the lower teeth back into place, and reinforcing the disintegrating plastic spacing washers with fishing line (!) on the advice of the manufacturer, Scanmar in California. We hope it is up to the rigors of our voyage.

A beautiful bright red crab on the rocks right next to our boat posed for this shot one afternoon.

Swimming Pool at Sunset

Every day we go for a swim in one of the swimming pools or a protected salt water lagoon at the Renaissance Hotel. The sunsets here are one of the most pleasant sights on Aruba, as the sun dips slowly into the ocean every evening.

Enjoying Life on Aruba

Aruba Arikok National Park

While we have been fixing the boat here in Aruba, we have been enjoying the natural beauty of the island. Last week we traveled to the National Park, a large area on the windward (eastern) shore of the island with some friends. Aruba is the driest island we have seen in the Caribbean, and very desert-like. In the two months we have been here, it has rained only once.

Natural Bridge at Arikok

The road through the National Park is part gravel with some paved sections, but there are areas you can only hike or mountain-bike through. We had a driving tour through the desert park, seeing wild donkeys and goats, along with ubiquitous lizards.

On the windy side, the waves crash against the shore almost continuously. We were always aware that this is what we will be sailing out into when we leave Aruba.

Arikok Cairns

The photo on the right gives a feel for the dry conditions on the island. Almost as far as we could see, people have made piles of stones in one area of the National Park.

Quadirikiri Cave

One part of the National Park has a series of caves that look like limestone. The photo on the left reveals the cave with the camera's flash. Windows opening to the sun peek out throughout the cave.

At the northern tip of the island

Up at the northern tip of the island is a lighthouse, under full re-construction. A good view of the western (leeward) shore of the island can be seen, including the big hotels and Orajestad (the largest city on the island) in the distance.

We are fully ready to leave and now just waiting for the wind to come down a bit. We've heard several stories from other sailors who have left and limped back into port, so we want to be sure of our weather.