Blue, green, yes, in all colors it shines towards me. Thick, bulging and fleshy the sight. I'm not talking about the last dive, where in Aruba you can see all kinds of corals and the colors are great. No, we are talking about Gaby's foot, which she twisted last week. Now you have to know that for the Swabian, the same applies to the Swabian wemon A Swabian anomaly that only exists in Swabia. I'm not sure if it's the same for the Baden people. Anyway, I'm talking about the part that is seen by the rest of the world, generally as the foot. In the first few days, the lower leg was still thickly swollen. But this was getting better and better, the swelling was slowly receding. Instead, the toes became thicker and changed color, from green to blue and dark purple. With running and sightseeing, there is not much left. So we spend the time, mainly on the beach. Walle can be right, his colors change from white to red and finally to brown. Yes, I feel at the moment partly as if I have to do it with chameleons, which constantly change color.
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| Turtle northwest coast of Aruba |
The day before last, Maitreya the turtle appears. Not to think what Walle would have told everything at home, if she had not appeared. So she swims past us and calls to Walle over "What are you looking for?". On the same day I discover on the northwest side of the island, another turtle while snorkeling, which I follow for quite a while. Besides the turtle, there are parrotfish, triggerfish and a beautiful angelfish to admire. Gaby's foot is wrapped in a plastic bag. Sitting on the beach, she then lets the waves wash over her. Unfortunately, that's all there is to it. Walles days are numbered and before he knows it, he is standing at the airport in Aruba waiting for the plane to take him back home. In the meantime I start to clear the dinghy from the fouling.
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| Dinghy cleaning place, Aruba |
In the last three months, quite a lot has accumulated. I drive to the beach, dismantle the engine, move the boat and start cleaning with a brush and sponge. It takes the whole day until the stubborn growth has disappeared again. But there is not a link to be seen from the chain either. I set myself this task for the next day. But before that we go back to the hospital to have the foot examined again and to change the bandage. Since we still have the car until the evening, I also go to customs and immigration to clear out. Well, there we have made once again the bill without the host. The customs would have gone along, but the immigration insists on seeing the boat at the jetty. Even the objection that it is not easy to moor the boat on the jetty is not really of interest to the officials. Last time we had quite some difficulties. First, there are some shallows and then there is a mighty swell at the jetty, which pushes the boat against the jetty again and again. But nothing helps, somehow we have to get to the jetty. So we make our way back on board. I want to drop off the car, but I'm standing in front of closed doors because the lunch break is in full swing. Yes, if it does not run times, then it just does not run. At some point we are then nevertheless at the boat and I start to clean the chain.
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| Chameleons on Aruba |
Thick algae envelop the chain. Only with difficulty can the green stuff and the mussels, which have firmly anchored themselves in the chain links, be loosened. As long as I can stay on the surface of the water, I'm making pretty good progress. But also the free hanging lower part of the chain has to be cleaned. Several dives are required until that part of the chain is also reasonably clean. We remove the engine from the dinghy and stow, the dinghy at the stern with the davit. The engine is checked again and the weather routing is called up. There are 277 nautical miles to Santa Marta. The wave is only a maximum of one meter high and we will have moderate wind. At least that is the weather forecast. Now we have to go to the customs dock tomorrow to clear out and then we are off. We say goodbye to the island of Aruba, after almost three months stay, and look forward to Colombia. All in all we are happy to leave Aruba. We have exceeded our monthly budget immeasurably. The people here are super friendly and there are some spectacular beaches to endure. The Chinese are unfriendly, but the Colombians are very nice. Mostly in the second row they offer a cheap alternative to the otherwise overpriced beach bars and grills. We will see what Colombia brings us now. Until then, we wish you fair winds and keep a stiff upper lip.
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