August 2004 – December 2007
Read the stories in “Missives from Maravida: A Family’s Caribbean Sailboat Adventure.
A rusty boat in Trinidad (Coral Cove Marina, Chaguaramas)
Test drive
Mini vacation in Grande Riviere, Trinidad
Overnight at Hotel Normandie in Port of Spain, Trinidad, to wait out Hurricane Ivan, which luckily turned out to be a non-event in Trinidad
Back to Chaguaramas and an overnight stay at CrewsInn (a splurge for us)
Leaving Trinidad with all of our worldly belongings. Not going to buy the boat. Or are we…?
We changed our mind while staying in Connecticut with friends. The kids and I stayed on in Connecticut for a couple of months while Marc started work on Maravida. Marc’s dad came to help for a while.
Time to start cutting out the rust. Started small then went for bigger chunks.
Coral Cove Marina
Back together in our new apartment in Cocorite, Trinidad
Day trip to Maracas, Trinidad
Everybody loves Maracas’ famous Bake & Shark – Yum!
A verdant island
Our first Christmas away from Oregon
Junior Carnival parade
Hosay parade (Islamic festival)
Our new dinghy
Internet cafe – our means of communicating with the rest of the world
The tiny pool at Coral Cove Marina
Torched the paint off
Transported Maravida down to Power Boats Marina for sandblasting and paint
Junior!
Staying in the water now
Marc’s catch
Alex!
Marc and Alex took the dinghy out in the harbor to see the damage done in a welding disaster
Finally starting to put Maravida back together
Emily! About to become a boat cat.
First trip – Overnight to Venezuela
Los Testigos Islands, Venezuela
Bahia Redonda Marina in Puerto La Cruz, (mainland) Venezuela
New friends!
Maria!
Isla La Tortuga – a stop while waiting for good weather to cross to Puerto Rico
Things got a little rough on the passage between Venezuela and Puerto Rico – Maria managed to take a nap in the mess
Friends from Oregon met us in Puerto Rico
Crossing over to Puerto Rico’s islands
Isla Palominitos
First Christmas on Maravida
Isla Culebra
Fishing between islands
Isla Vieques
Maria after the first of many falls into the sea (all at anchor, thank goodness) – She gets a bath right away to remove the salt
After our friends left, we had family visit us in Puerto Rico – My Aunt Carolyn and my mother at El Yunque National Forest
El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico is the only tropical rainforest that belongs to the U.S. Forest Service
My Uncle John ended up helping Marc a lot – In fact, they extended their stay because he wanted to help Marc get more done
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View of Condominio Isleta Marina off Fajardo, Puerto Rico
Arecibo Observatory
Camuy River Cave Park
Honeymoon Bay anchorage (also called Druif Bay) off Water Island, St. Thomas (U.S. Virgin Islands)
St. John (U.S. Virgin Islands)
Annaberg Sugar Plantation, St. John
Cruise ship shopping area on Tortola (British Virgin Islands)
Alex crossing to Norman Island with friends
Virgin Gorda (British Virgin Islands)
Leverick Bay anchorage off Virgin Gorda (British Virgin Islands)
Saint Martin – Simpson Bay Lagoon
At anchor in Simpson Bay Lagoon, Saint Martin – Yes, that’s rust dripping down from the toe rail, which apparently wasn’t prepped well enough – Rust maintenance is never-ending when owning a steel boat!
Having fun in Simpson Bay, Sint Maarten (Dutch side of island)
Philipsburg, Sint Maarten (Dutch side of island)
Simpson Bay Lagoon, Saint Martin
Marigot, Saint Martin (French side of island)
Fort Louis
Looking at the town of Marigot (and beyond) from Fort Louis
We’ve been shopping!
St. Barts
Gustavia, St. Barts
Sailboat finishing the Transat Ag2r race from Concarneau, France
St. Jean Beach, St. Barts
St. Jean Beach, St. Barts
VERY short airstrip on St. Barts
Nevis 
Uninhabited Kingdom of Redonda
Volcanic destruction on Montserrat
Deshaies, Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe fishermen
Terre-de-Haut (of the Îles des Saintes French islands) – I took a lot of photos as this was my favorite island
We anchored off the village of Bourg-des-Saintes
Fort Napoléon des Saintes
Fort-de-France, Martinique (another French island)
La Pagerie sugar plantation on Martinique
Saint-Anne, Martinique
Rodney Bay, St. Lucia
Admiralty Bay, Bequia
Britannia Bay, Mustique
We got a bit lost trying to find Macaroni Beach
Macaroni Beach, Mustique
The Tobago Cays Marine Park, St. Vincent & the Grenadines
Union Island – Clifton Harbor
Happy Island
Grenada – Prickley Bay
Making repairs
Los Testigoes, Venezuela, second time around
Los Testigoes to Blanquilla
Blanquilla, Venezuela
Los Roques – Cayo Buchiyaco
Los Roques – Cayo de Agua
Bonaire – salt production (Bonaire is one of the ABC islands: Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao)
Bonaire anchorage 
Willemstad, Curacao from the open ocean
Willemstad, Curacao from St. Anna Bay
Spanish Waters, Curacao
Our anchorage in Spanish Waters
Windsurfing lessons
Hope of Israel-Emanuel Synagogue in Willemstad, Curaçao (oldest surviving synagogue in the Americas) with friends visiting from Oregon (notice sand floor!)
Alex’s Curacao friends
Touching up paint in the bilge
Beloved Sarifundy’s (has since burnt down)
Helping friends charge their batteries while their engine is down
Santa Cruz Bay, Curacao
Colombia
Bahia Guayraca, Five Bays, Colombia
Cartagena, Colombia
Maravida was t-boned at anchor
Bailing out rain water
Gloria, flagship of Colombian Navy
Luckily, he doesn’t care what his room looks like
San Blas Islands, Panama
Nargana, San Blas Islands, Panama
River on mainland near Nargana
Friends visiting us in Panama 
Shopping for Molas in Portobelo, Panama
Miraflores Locks, Panama Canal
Buying molas and beaded jewelry off the boat in the San Blas
Leaving the San Blas islands
Sapzurro, Colombia
Back in Cartegena, Colombia
Old friends
Working on Maravida’s deck
Maravida on the hard – Getting ready for paint
Leaving Colombia
Monjes del Sur – Venezuelan Coast Guard station
A mini vacation – staying at Renaissance Marina, Oranjested, Aruba
Gloria in Aruba
Thanksgiving
Back in Spanish Waters, Curacao
The end of our adventure – Flying back to Oregon
