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February 2007
February was a quieter month than usual as we had no visitors and for
the first time, and we felt the 'chill' of winter setting in; i.e. we had
to wear long trousers and sleeves in the evenings :-)
I was lucky enough to be kept busy at work training Ana, to become a
divemaster, which was probably as hard for me as it was for her as I had
to dust off my manuals and remind myself of all the lovely physics and
physiology theory. I'm glad to say Ana passed with flying colours and
was duly subjected to the snorkel test...something the rest of the CSS
staff had never encountered before!
Deciding to start a tradition we also initiated Brigitte for passing her
Boat Captains licence and JJ for FINALLY taking and passing his Rescue
Diver. Brigitte was the undisputed winner of the race and then proceeded
to go home and pass out while the rest of us went to Hooks Hut to carry
on the celebrations way too far into the night!
Snorkel Test at CSS
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Tom Zeck...mad owner of Caribbean Sea Sports...
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The Team....
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Get ready..... GO!!......
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....More beers......
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.....Run around the tanks....
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.....last bit.....
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.....WINNER!!!
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Aftermath
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February also brought along the annual Curacao Karnival. We had been
warned of big crowds. blazing heat and no parking, but we decided to
brave it anyway and after walking for what seemed like forever, found a
prime spot on a hill about halfway through the procession route, next to
a large 'Godfather' type family Curacao style: -)
The colours and music were typically Caribbean and it was definitely an
experience to see all the hard work and money that went into such a
flamboyant event for a relatively poor country. The stamina of the
participants was amazing considering how far they had to walk in such
heat and many of the women (and some men!) wearing high heels! At about
4pm the heat got the better of us and we started to walk home, when we
got stuck behind a float which had got a flat tire and bought the whole
procession to a grinding halt - island life strikes again!
Curacao Karnival
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George Dawes?
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Main Man!
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March
After two very enjoyable sailing experiences under our belts we also
decided to finally take sailing lessons with Aryan on Spanish water. I
have to admit I didn't exactly take to sailing like a duck to water -
more like an Eskimo to a desert, but as usual Andy managed to excel and
whilst Aryan was exceedingly patient with me, he was obviously also very
impressed with Andy's talents. However for the most part it was an
enjoyable experience and certainly reminded me of how it feels to be a
beginner again at a sport and how important it is to be patient and
understanding as a teacher. We had a couple of near misses and a great
deal of fun practising the 'man overboard' procedures, but the best part
for me was definitely the self assessment undertaken at Sarifundi's
happy hour with a cold Polar beer and a plate of bitterballen at the end
of every lesson!
Sailing lessons
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Andy prepping the jib
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Sadie setting the main sail
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Jib all set...
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Andy and Aryan
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Sadie checking the wind direction
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Was that Ok?
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Rigging
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On a run, with jib goose winged
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Can't see the Tell Tale
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We should be going over there!
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Aryan and Sadie
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Posh houses on Spanish Water (Spanse Wasser)
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Back at the dock
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Pro Sail's Centaurs
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Where we practised dock landings
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Pro Sail
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Pro Sail sleepy cat
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Congratulations Andy!
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...and Sadie too!!!! :-)
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Post sailing celebrations......
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....at Sarifundi's.....
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....with Sarifundi's staple diet - Polar Beer and Bitterballen
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...and just Bitterballen....
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Dave Forrester's house next to Sarifundi's
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NEXT UP.......the next and final visitors to Chez Sutherland/Phyn
and Andy takes to the high seas....
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