Our bikes have been resting in the garage for far too long so we pulled them out and went for an exploratory ride this afternoon. The wind has been blowing hard so giving some relief from the 33c we've been having. We took the bikes in the dinghy to the fishermans wharf and set off south along the coast. We passed a nice beach and just off the beach a long tanker. Not sure if it's delivering oil or waiting here before going up to the refinery in Willemstad. Just beyond the beach and above us on cliff was a Napoleonic tower which we climbed and explored. Like many old monuments in the Caribbean it's a leftover from the time when the European countries were fighting for ownership. And like other fortresses we've come across, open access and free to roam. We went up stone steps to the first level and found cannons covering the sea area below us and then up a rickety iron ladder to the very top except the ladder wasn't quite long enough to enable me to step off the top rung and up to the top, David had to hold my wrist and pull me up. Going up was OK, being lowered down was a greater test of my belief in his ability to hold me. As I've written before, David is strong. He can pull me up using a one arm-to-arm grip.
Good views across Spanish Waters from the top of the tower and a fun little find.
After the fort we headed north, our mission to find a stranded pilot whale we'd read about that beached here 3 months ago. He's only a baby and is being kept alive by volunteers and the sea aquarium staff until the next pod of pilot whales passes the island when they'll take him out to sea in the hope that he joins them and can return to the wild. It seems the head of the aquarium has trained Sully to follow his research boat like a calf would it's mother and this is how they'll get him out of his enclosure. Unfortunately misfortune intervened and we didn't find Sully this afternoon. The bolt holding the pedal on David's bike came undone and fell off. Our new mission is to find a bolt to fit and repair it.
After the fort we headed north, our mission to find a stranded pilot whale we'd read about that beached here 3 months ago. He's only a baby and is being kept alive by volunteers and the sea aquarium staff until the next pod of pilot whales passes the island when they'll take him out to sea in the hope that he joins them and can return to the wild. It seems the head of the aquarium has trained Sully to follow his research boat like a calf would it's mother and this is how they'll get him out of his enclosure. Unfortunately misfortune intervened and we didn't find Sully this afternoon. The bolt holding the pedal on David's bike came undone and fell off. Our new mission is to find a bolt to fit and repair it.
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