Stuck in Velcro (Vero) Beach

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In light of everything going on with coronavirus, we have unfortunately made the decision that the Bahamas is a no go this year. We got started so late and have been reading that some Caribbean islands are quarantining boaters arriving in the country for 2 weeks at anchor before they will let them land. So far we feel fairly safe and somewhat isolated on our boat. Since we stocked up for the Bahamas we have lots of frozen meat, canned goods and dry goods. We hope to move further south before slowly heading north again.

Now for the story of Vero Beach. We arrived at this lovely place on Friday.



Mooring balls are the way visitors are accommodated here.  It gets so busy that most boats must “raft off” with another boat at each mooring ball.  We were lucky as the owners of our buddy boat are not even here so we have lots of privacy.



By the way, the cinnamon buns turned out pretty good considering the small propane oven.


One of the great things about this location is that the beach is a 30 minute walk from the marina - gives us a chance to get off the boat, get some exercise and frolic in the ocean.



We use the dingy to get to shore but sometimes parking is a challenge!


Public transportation is free in Vero - the bus stops outside the boater’s lounge. What a great service - we were able to get to the grocery store today to stock up on fresh food. Life is tough at the bus stop.


Many boaters have their dogs with them and it is not unusual to see a dog on a dingy being ferried to shore. This is very unusual:


This is one of three cats that live on this guy’s boat. He says she will not jump off the dingy to land but will jump on other boats if he gets close enough. Now we have seen everything!

Meals continue to be gourmet style.


Pancakes and bacon for breakfast yesterday.


This morning we walked in the dark to the beach to watch the sunrise. Breakfast of cinnamon buns and oranges on the beach.



Electrical/battery issues continue to plague us. We found a great electrician here and have ordered some parts which should get here tomorrow. However, as Gunter said, we are not unhappy to be stuck in Velcro beach! We finally got a U.S. SIM card for one of our phones and this morning I got a message from T-Mobile that in light of the crazy situation, they are giving us unlimited data for the next 2 months. Amazing!

I will leave you with a picture I sent to our grandson - but he said turtles belong in the ocean, so not too impressed I think.

















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