We can be deroeslon:-68.8576;lat:12.0782;postdate:apr 11 12;pos:4 nmi east of Willemstad, Curaçao

CalleKerstin has left Pour Bon behind, and the abandoned three of us has turned into deroes.

A dero - a term made up by Jason and Jimi, some kiwis we met here on Curaçao - is what's left of a yachtie when he's no longer an adventurer on the move, instead doing nothing but living on his yacht in the very same water for an indefinite time. We met a lot of them back in Chaguaramas, Trinidad, and there's a community of them on Curaçao as well. Eventually the dero runs out of money and kitchen gas, and will eat what's left in the stoveaways that doesn't need to be cooked. Such as German sauerkraut. The three deroes of Pour Bon are drinking lukewarm coffee, having cans of sauerkraut.

We're doing our seventh week in Spansee Waters, Curaçao. Very dero. Pour Bon has virtually turned into a reef, so has Stefan. We know everything about our fellow dero-neighbours, over-hearing their chat on the VHF, and we wave at Joe the Mechanic the dozen or so times a day he goes by in his wooden dinghy, we always sitting in the cockpit occasionally drinking rum but most of the time doing nothing but being deroes.

A long time ago, some stranger described yours truly as a guy that "does more before 9 am than the army does the whole day". As stated, that may not be accurate anymore. Jason and Jimi, however, climbs a mountain or two (or running, preferably) before dawn, and probably drinks more after dusk than regular sergeant macho does in a year.

We met them through the later habit (on Wet and Wild, where else?) and sort of fell in love. Their boat Can't (imagine that name pronounced in papiamento over a crackly radio) could be Pour Bon anytime, with just a few differences.

For example, Can't has an engine and a stereo, both of them in working condition. Can't has a blender that makes piña coladas and a freezer that makes beer cold. Can't is spacious, even so that there's an entire box dedicated for silly hats and dress-up clothes - the kind of things that goes perfect with a camera with autofocus turned off. And when Can't goes on a booze-cruise, kindly bringing three odd deroes along, there's some five or six gorgeous women doing the bikini-dance on deck, not to mention the jetskis, the wakeboarding, the BBQ in sunset, the whole deal.

Then back home, get some rest before sunshine, then run up that mountain and went straight to another happy hour at Wet and Wild.

Eventually, Can't also left us. So again we're having sauerkraut and lukewarm coffee, waving to Joe the Mechanic and having the highlight of the day when emptying the blackwater tank into the calm water around us.

Clearly, the deroes miss the kiwis.

Bye bye for nowlon:-68.8576;lat:12.0782;postdate:apr 11 2;pos:4 nmi east of Willemstad, Curaçao

KerstinOne thing leads to another, things changes.

The day has come for me to leave S/Y Pour Bon. After exactly nine months on board I am flying out from Curacao and start my journey back home to Sweden. Not the fastest way, but the best. I will sail back home starting from Antigua.

I am sad to leave S/Y Pour Bon which is very much like my home and I am sad to leave the crew, and Stefan. But it still feels like the right decision.

Anyone keen to follow my trip back can check out the blog of yacht Allie, links on the side under boats we met on the way.

Fair winds to everybody!

And againlon:-68.8576;lat:12.0782;postdate:mar 11 16;pos:4 nmi east of Willemstad, Curaçao

KerstinOnce again old Volvo Penta wont do us any good. Lets see what happends this time..

Dushi Curacaolon:-68.8576;lat:12.0782;postdate:mar 11 16;pos:4 nmi east of Willemstad, Curaçao

KerstinNone of us knew anything about Curacao and it was only in the last minute we checked out the internet to see where to park the boat in Willemstad. That turned out to be a good doing since Willemstad is not the place to anchor but in Spanish Water, more south of the city.

After finding a anchor spot we looked around and choose a direction to go with Stefan (our dingie, still going strong), found a pontoon and looked for a bus towards town. Asking a local guy for directions he offered us a ride and he did not only take us into town but showed us around and explained how to get back home again. He also told us everything about the carnival, which he ofcourse was a part of.

Willemstad is where it all happends. We enjoyed the carnival for several hours before we ended up at the crazy beach party place Wet and Wild. And just when we thought we ended the party day of the year we met our new friend Jay. Jay explained to us that the carnival a few days later was even bigger and better and that in Willemstad it is possible to find happy hours from four in the afternoon until three in the morning, seven days a week. And for some reasons Sundays are the biggest night. We love Curacao.

Actually we love Curacao so much that we the day of leaving for Aruba decided to stay for another weekend. Hopefully immigration visits Wet and Wild every now and then too and understands that we had to stay instead of causing us any extra trouble.

But between funny costumes and dancing on the beach we have also been catching up with Calle, Emmeli and Karin that choose to come here instead of spending all the time at Aruba, and we have also met Mary af Rövarhamn which we have not seen since Cascais, Portugal. With other words, we had a social week.

Since we left Chaguaramas:lon:-68.27811;lat:12.15036;postdate:mar 11 4;pos:Kralendijk, Bonaire

KerstinOne night anchored in Scotland Bay. We were surrounded by the rainforest and when the monkeys never showed up, the bats did instead.

Two nights sailing. We made a large turn north of Los testigos and we choose to leave the navigation lights off. Not sure if that was the reason but we were happy not to meet any pirates. With beautiful wind and a strong current we arrived early in the morning. The last bit we had to take the sails down, just to slow down our speed.

Two nights anchored off the west coast of Isla la Blanquilla. In one way a meaningless island, in another one of the best stops so far. Almost deserted, weathered and far from anything else. Stunning beaches and no tourists, the only people there were a few local fishermen that sold us the catch of the day for a packet of cigarettes. There cannot ba many people ever that walked accross that island. We tried but had to turn back after three hours of struggeling through the jungle of mangrove, cactuses, lizards and donkeys.

One night sailing. Nothing special.

One night arriving at Los Roches. Pitch black and an engine that would not work. Surrounded by reefs we could not see we decided to set sails again and head to the next island with a safer approach.

Six nights at a mooring in Kralendijk, Bonaire. Beautiful waters and a friendly town. Pink flamingos in the air and the clearest water ever experienced. Snorkeling and diving is exellent and the windsurfing is fun.

We are planning to leave tomorrow. This time without Calle who is already in Aruba, waiting for us.