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On the second day of our stay on the beautiful island Grand Los Testigos, we decided to sail over to the neighboring North Observation Bay, home to a small fishing village. We were eager to meet Venezuelan fishermen on their native land, having previously lived near them in Coral Cove Marina, where they generously shared their fresh catch with us.

We anchored right in front of the village, which boasted a picturesque beach. The village was quiet, likely because it was the weekend, and many of the fishermen had traveled to the mainland. One boat, however, was bustling with activity—women were preparing nets, and men were equipping the boat for fishing.

Launching our SUP, we paddled to shore like primitive seafarers on a pirogue—or maybe the reverse. On the beach, we found an elderly couple sitting in their yard among the smoky haze of a fire meant to ward off mosquitoes. They were calmly mending nets. Our limited Spanish got us through a polite greeting, and though we couldn’t converse much, the simplicity of the scene left an impression.

We wandered along the shore, adding to our collection of photo memories. When we reached the far end of the beach, a commotion drew us back to where we had first arrived. A cacophony of frigatebirds circled above an incoming boat, their cries signaling an exciting find. As we hurried back, we discovered a feeding frenzy as the birds snatched discarded fish scraps from the water.

A friendly woman approached us, holding a freshly caught and still very much alive spiny lobster. She offered it to us with the words: “No dinero” (No money). This put us in a tough spot—our unspoken rule is to avoid killing beautiful sea creatures. Years ago, during a trip to Nova Scotia in 2005, we’d bought a live lobster for a birthday dinner, only to end up releasing it into the ocean. Since then, we’ve avoided live lobsters, spiny lobsters, crabs, and even fish when possible. But here, faced with a generous gift from the heart of the fishing village, we had to make a choice.

Iryna, ever the diplomat, asked if we could trade the lobster for a dead fish instead. The villagers were happy to oblige and offered us a large tuna, which they called Bonito. It was more than enough for three delicious dinners. Thank you, kind residents of the fishing village!

As we prepared to leave, a woman approached us with a simple but heartfelt request—did we have Wi-Fi on board? Her daughter needed to get in touch. We gladly shared our password, and it was heartwarming to see the connection bring joy.

Whether it’s fish or the Internet, sharing what you have is a beautiful rule of neighborliness—and one we’re happy to live by.

Los Testidos Islands (Witness Islands) are located far from the Windward Islands and Trinidad, making them very tempting for lovers of secluded anchorages to visit. We anchored in South Observation Bay, which was remarkable for us. The archipelago includes 6 islands, inhabited by a population of two hundred fishermen and a coast guard garrison. The Coast Guard did not fail to visit us immediately and conduct a detailed inspection of the boat. Not finding anything prohibited for import, they wished us a pleasant pastime during the permitted 48 hours, which we took advantage of. The uniqueness of the island of Grand Testidos is made by a huge mountainous sand dune, thrown across the island and filling the entire underwater coast with sand – this makes the water near the coast look azure, again reminding us of the waters of the Bahamas. We walked along this sand mountain from shore to shore, coming out to the windward side of the Caribbean Sea. It seems that the constant and strong easterly winds simply throw the sand from one side to the other. It was a great disappointment to see masses of plastic bottles brought here by the Caribbean current from the Windward Islands – is this not evidence of the harmfulness of using plastic bottles? The Witness Islands have witnessed plastic madness, probably, instead, it would like to witness human intelligence. Kill plastic before it kills you!

This day has come! The beginning of the new year has become the beginning of our new journey, the beginning of a new stage of our project Sail for Science. Two months of intense work on the boat in conditions of constant heat, frequent rains and lack of ocean breeze are over, we are free to sail wherever we want. We decided to sail west, exploring new islands and countries, and conducting CTD measurements along the South of the Caribbean Sea. In the first leg it will be Panama, and there we will decide where to go next – the Panama Canal and the Pacific Ocean, or the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.

We are heading for the remote Venezuelan Islas Los Testidos- a 100-mile night crossing. The weather is windy and choppy, but everything is fair, even the rain:)