Curacao allows US citizens to stay up to six months for each visit. By applying for residency (a Declaration of Admission by Law), US citizens can work in Curacao as the Dutch do. We have been staying here for almost three months. I have multiple travel guide books and maps on Curacao. Been there and done that! My mind is already on our next stop which will be Santa Marta in Colombia. In the meantime, reading has been my main hobby here in Curacao.

There is a bookshelf (outside) by the dinghy dock at the anchorage. Some cruisers leave books on the shelf and others take them.

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‘Bon Bini’ means ‘Welcome’ and ‘Dushi’ means ‘Sweet’ in Papiamentu, the official language in Curacao, “originated from different African languages, complemented with words from Dutch, Spanish, English, and Portuguese.”

Sailboat for us seems like a water RV. The other day, John and I figured out that we sailed less than 10% of our total time since leaving North Carolina in November 2014. Sailing lets us go from one place to another place. Once we get there, we anchor, live on a boat, and travel the country. This is the remaining 90%. We are more nomadic travelers than sailors.

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I can say that sailors live small, slow, and simple. Sunrise means action sunset means relaxation.
In Spanish Water Bay in Curacao where we are anchored, we are surrounded by four German boats, one Argentinian boat, one Norwegian boat, one Swedish boat, one Brazilian/Argentinian boat, one Australian boat, and one American boat. In the distance, there are several French boats. We are all from different parts of the world.

We keep things SMALL on the boat because we don’t have much space. We go slowly because we use wind to go somewhere. We have neither cable TV,

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‘The problem is not the problem. The problem is your attitude about the problem.’ (Captain Jack Sparrow in the Movie ‘Pirates of Caribbean’)… from a poster hanging in the Customs Office in Curacao!It’s time for a bus ride to the (1) Customs office, (2) Immigration Office, and (3) Harbor Master Office in Willemstad (Capital of Curacao)! Not having a local currency ‘Guilder’ (ANG: ANtilliaanse Gulden or NAFl: Netherlands Antilles Florin), we paid bus fare in US dollars ($1/person or 1.70 ANG). Both US dollars and local currency ANGs are accepted here.

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Klein (Small) Curacao is an island about 4 hours (about 25 nautical miles) sailing distance from Bonaire. We decided to stay a night in Klein Curacao. When we got there, there was a huge Coast Guard ship from Aruba/Curacao. We anchored in 10 feet of water over a nice sandy bottom. Klein Curacao is an underwater mountain and within 100 feet of shore, the water drops off to 500 feet or more. We went to shore and were told that the coast guard ship comes to this island often for drug interdiction and human smuggling as it is close to Venezuela and Colombia.

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After visiting Florida and Korea for six weeks, I am back to the boat. Meeting friends and families was sweet but saying ‘Good Byes’ to them was bitterly hard, especially to my mom. While I was away, John took care of all the boat problems (for now). Also, our friend Charlie visited John for kite-boarding for a week. My cat “Sesame’s Wound” is completely healed.Some asked me where Bonaire is. It is just north of Venezuela and east of Colombia in South America. Bonaire is a Mecca for SCUBA diving, snorkeling, windsurfing, and kite-boarding. Just from the beach, I fed fish by holding a piece of bread in a hand.

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A while ago, when we left the states, our original plan was to visit Haiti, Jamaica, and San Blas Islands before we cross the Panama Canal in spring 2016. Later, we found about ‘Heavy Lightning Activities’ in San Blas Islands in Panama. Changing our plan, we decided to sail from Puerto Rico to Bonaire (South), not to Haiti (West). I was disappointed about not visiting Haiti and Jamaica. We will be spending the summer in the Dutch Islands; Bonaire, Curacao, and Aruba, and in Colombia which are all south of the hurricane zone.

We stayed in Puerto Rico way longer than we thought.

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Ponce is the second biggest city in Puerto Rico. There are many museums and Spanish influenced buildings to see. One day we walked from the harbor to downtown (about 7 miles each way) and found many abandoned buildings and houses. Locals told us that people leave Ponce for better opportunities somewhere, especially in the states. John described current Ponce as similar to ‘City of Detroit’ in the U.S. It needs a good two or three (including a Ferry Trip to Coffin Island) days to tour in Ponce and enjoy the nice weather.Puerto Ricans seem to love their music a lot.

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Caja de Muertos (Coffin Island) is an uninhabited nature reserve offering clear blue water, beautiful beaches, colorful fish, and a short hiking trail to the lighthouse.

According to history, it was used by pirates to stash their booty and also Freemasons to hold secret meetings. There is a Cave (Almeida Cave) named for a pirate who laid his newlywed bride to rest after she was killed at sea and he returned every year to line his bride’s coffin with treasure.

Salinas is a good place to be stuck but staying at Salinas for a month was unexpected.

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Puerto Rico presents itself as a Nation for the Olympic Games and the Arts but is otherwise a part of the U.S. It doesn’t have a president, instead there is a governor. Puerto Ricans don’t vote for the president of United States but it is much like another state of America. The U.S. Federal Income tax doesn’t apply but the U.S. Postal service does. Speed signs on the highways are in miles per hour but road markers go by kilometers.

The official languages are Spanish and English. Most of the younger generation is bilingual in English/Spanish while the older people will speak only Spanish.

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