WHO ARE YOU LOOKING AT? ...............

While we were busy in the boatyard in CURACAO, doing all that dirty work of cleaning and repainting the bottom of "ARITA", young "GEICO" here, decided to jump into a bucket and see what he could find in the bottom ......... One of the things he soon discovered is that he couldn't get out ............. The yard manager Mikey, handed him to Lauren, where he is now able to survey a whole new world from up high, and then gives us this incredible cheeky 'look' that more or less says " Who are YOU looking at? " ......



"GEICO" continues with his nonsense, and lets us know he is not really happy about any of this ............ When he finally takes off, he literally flies in his attempt to get away ....... Cute little lizard ...... "GEICO" is actually a baby iguana .......



The boatyard is full of lizards in all shapes and sizes, including a whole bunch of iguanas doing their head-bopping thing to attract someone's attention .......... "Now if I get on to this green pipe they might not see me!" ...............



They tell us that this lizard is called 'Blou-Blou", meaning 'blue-blue' in Papiamento, the local language here in CURACAO ......... Very original name, that one ...... He is also not shy, for every time we sit down to have a drink of cold water, he is right there looking for a hand-out ......... He promptly polishes off several biscuits ..... No trouble at all ...... Wouldn't be at all surprised if he followed us over to the Curacao Yacht Club, that thatched clubhouse that runs the marina and the haul-out yard, and where they really do serve 'cheeseburgers-in-paradise'....... Yes, 'Blou-Blou' is a character alright ....



We found a seam in the fore-foot that stays moist after the hull has dried out which indicates some trapped moisture beneath the antifouling paint ....... The seam is first opened up. old caulking cotton removed, the joint between the planks is painted with primer and new cotton caulking is hammered into the joint ........ Dirty work, but the only way to keep a beautiful wooden yacht in great shape .... There is a special mastic sealing compound that gets troweled over the cotton ..... Cotton swells with the smallest amount of moisture and therefore doubly seals the joint .....



Back at the houseboat, our friend TIMO is busy drafting out the plans of his next yacht ...... Smaller than the last 'BLUE MARLIN' but just as beautiful he assures us ....... He gently lowers these 'floating Lotus creations' into the water to ward off would-be visitors to this fragile end of the houseboat ..... Many have come to give TIMO and ANNEMIEKE their condolences over the loss of their yacht ....... By dinghy, of course ...... Note the cryptic warning sign that didn't work ........



Exhausted at the end of each day, we dinghy back to our temporary apartment with its wonderful creature comforts and its 'Hollywood' shower ....... A short walk past beautiful flowers and palm trees brings us to our private gate .........



After four solid days of hard work the job is done and she is ready for the water once more ............. You feel like taking a hundred photos, but what's the point .... All that beauty of the fine lines and curvature of the hull with its wine-glass shape is under water and no-one's going to see it ...... More like a red-wine glass we think .....



At least with a house you get to see all of it from every angle ......... Nice neighbourhood, don't you think? ......... We splash "ARITA" and spend one more night in the apartment, for we are too weary to clean up the boat and put all the tools and paint away ....... We'll do all that tomorrow ......



We finally said our goodbyes to Peter and Jutte from the yacht "FREYA", who shared the journey from Grenada to Curacao with us ..... They sail on to Colombia and ports beyond ..... We will also say goodbye to our 'Birthday boy' GEORGE, who together with his wife ANJA, provided us with a fabulous apartment, and certainly know how to throw a good party ........ We will be back again to CURACAO with the new boat "SOUTHERN COMFORT" to stir them all up again, when we will follow in FREYA's wake and head for the Panama Canal ......But that's all in the future ......

Rumours abound now that we have returned from Florida to Curacao, one of which comes from people who are now in Cartagena, COLOMBIA ..... " We had heard through the rumour mill that Laurie was having a baby and you wanted it to have US citizenship, so slipped away in the night, but you can't believe everything you hear...