Cool, Cool Curaçao

Hey friends and fam! We’re checking in from Curaçao, safe, sound, and happy. We’ve been here for just over two weeks, and our ‘new life adventure’ hasn’t really sunk in yet! It feels more like summer vacation, but I’m sure that feeling will change come August and we find ourselves very much job-less.

We’re definitely getting into a boat routine here in our little piece of the world. The boat feels more and more like home everyday. Each day we try to accomplish 3 “chores,” which always entail some type of maintenance. Splitting things into smaller chunks helps us feel like we are still accomplishing a lot, without getting beat (by the sun and the heat) in the process! Our usual boat chores include polishing rust off of metal fittings in the cockpit and along the deck (the neverending job), re-caulking the teak decks (ALSO a neverending job), organizing different storage lockers and cabin space, fixing things that inevitably break due to saltwater and corrosion… so on and so on! One great example of a boat 'chore' was grabbing a new 5L bottle of fresh water. This took us about an hour, as all of the fresh water was stored under a bunk in the 'kit' room - which was kind off a hot mess at the time! Oh, the lessons we learn in boat life.

Before ... During ... After!

Then each day we try to set aside time to do something fun! So far we’ve enjoyed several beaches around Spanish Waters (where we are anchored), including Santa Barbara Beach, Baya Beach, Tugboat Beach, and Caracas Bay. All have been within either a dinghy or SUP boarding distance which is ideal without having wheels! We’ve done lots of SUP-ing and enjoyed snorkeling and freediving too.

At Santa Barbara Beach & Plantation, there used to be a huge resort and everything was very private and secluded, the beach for guests only. Unfortunately, the resort had to close due to COVID and never re-opened. It’s become a local hotspot for locals and tourists alike, and has a massive pier that anything from a dinghy up to a megayacht can dock to. A small pier restaurant called Boca 19 is one of our favorite places to people watch and grab some treasured WiFi (where I am currently writing to you from!)

Baya Beach and Caracas Bay are two of our favorite places to SUP. The water is very calm, and incredibly blue. Caracas Bay used to be the area where cruise ships or cargo ships would ‘dock’ (attach to giant pillars called ‘dolphins’), but again, due to COVID, this hasn’t really been the case. Lucky for us, as the bay is completely clear of vessels and perfect for exploring. The corals that we’ve found in Caracas Bay are so beautiful and healthy, and there are tons of little fishes living their best lives. Tugboat Beach has a sunken tugboat in very shallow water, and the corals and fish to be seen there are incredible!

Other than that, our days are filled with things like visiting with boat neighbors, mountain biking (and ending up with flat tires), napping, reading, and browsing through old movies and pictures stored on external hard drives.

Living on the boat is a lot like camping. We don’t exactly have the luxuries (basics?) that we’re used to, like WiFi, A/C, flushing toilets, showers, an abundance of water and power… We have to be careful to make sure electronics are charged only during the day, and almost everything is unplugged at night due to our solar panels and battery bank (including our fridge). “Showers” consist

of jumping in the saltwater and washing up, then a 30-second rinse of freshwater off the transom. We have two 220L freshwater tanks on the boat, but you’d be surprised how quickly that disappears! We try to use as little freshwater as possible; the biggest draws on our water would have to be washing dishes and doing laundry with our little manual handheld washer. Learning to live more frugally and simply will be a continuous lesson. We’re learning everyday!

We’ll be sure to keep in touch and update as often as possible! We’ll be in Curaçao at least another month before moving on to Aruba. The longest we could possibly stay with our tourist visa is September 24th, but we may not be here quite that long. Sending lots of love from our little piece of the world!

P.S. We realize Tropical Storm Elsa has formed over the Caribbean, but it looks like we will be in the clear. Perhaps we may experience a bit windier weather and some rain, but for today there’s not a cloud in the blue, blue sky. Our little bay is extremely sheltered and protected from wind, and if things do get hairy we can stick our boat even closer into the mangroves than we already are, or head into the nearest marina to dock. We’re keeping safe!

-Toni