Fun Times with Guests

Sean and Sarah flew down to Curacao before Scott and I and opened up the boat. We stayed several days at the Seru Boca marina waiting for a weather window to sail upwind to Bonaire. We rented a car and drove around the island to several beaches, swimming and snorkeling - and of course, eating out! Once in Bonaire, besides the PADI course, we spent a day at the windsurfing Sorobon beach in Lac Bay. This was a first time for Sarah and she did very well.

That's her on the right while Sean looks on. Sean had done it only a little before but he really took off this time. Sarah celebrated her birthday during our visit. In the afternoon we played bridge at a friend's apartment and Honoree made a birthday watermelon boat as a centerpiece. We had a birthday cake for dessert. That night Sean cooked a special meal on the boat.
Brent and Wilma flew into Curacao the day Sean and Sarah left. We toured Williamsted and stayed both at the Seru Boca Marina and at anchor nearby. Later in Bonaire Brent and Wilma went horse back riding one day. The trip took them to the mangrove forest, the salt pans and swimming with the horses in the ocean.
Wilma too had a birthday with us. We stretched the celebrating over several days, having her cake and dinner on the boat at Klein Curacao and a great night out in Bonaire later. During our visit to Williamstad in Curacao we had a terrific time at the Kura Hulanda museum and hotel. The museum covers the history of Africa, the chronicles of the slave trade and then follows the people brought as slaves through their history in the Caribbean and north America up to the Second World War.

It is very comprehensive and contains the best African artefact collection of the Caribbean. Instead of a single musuem building the collection is spread over a group of restored houses and sculptures in gardens and patios. After spending hours visiting there we adjourned to the nearby hotel patio for cold drinks and luckily found a dance performance by a local dance group, "The Golden Dancers".
They started with native folk dances and those of the many cultures that influenced the island, then demonstrated South American and Caribbean dance styles, and ended with hip hop. During the performanced they took a break and brought four members of the audience up for a "dance contest" - Brent and Heather were two of them. You can see us trying hard on the right.