In Puerto La Cruz we saw many of the people we'd met in Curacao. Unlike gatherings of land-based people, in the cruising world, the last thing you know about anyone is what they did prior to going cruising. You're more likely to know what kind of boat they sail and how they're latest passage went. Liveaboard cruising tends to be a greater equalizer since the wind and waves don't really care about your past life. However, I did find out about the previous lives of a some of our friends, so to give you an idea of their varied backgrounds, I'll describe a few couples we knew.

First there was a older couple in their 70's who'd sailed around the world 3 1/2 times in a 32' Westsail. They grew up literally blocks from one another in a small town outside Buffalo, New York and went to school together from elementary on up. He'd been in the Merchant Marine and was retired from the Navy. I believe they're now land based.

Then there was a couple from Kentucky who had a trawler - yes, we have friends on powerboats as well as sailboats. They both had worked at a bank and his family owned the bank. He once told me "the difference between a house and a boat is that in choosing to live on a boat, you've chosen a home that could kill you". As far as I'm concerned I feel every bit as safe on my boat as I used to in my house; safer, in fact, because if the neighborhood goes down, you can always move. I think they were in Trinidad last year continuing on their voyage.

Another couple we know now sails half the year in the Mediterranean and spends the other half land based in the U.S. The husband, born in Cuba, was formerly an executive with a large oil company and once told me "everyone who is not a leader either follows or gets out of the way". Apparently he was still working on that concept with his very nice and feisty wife.

We celebrated Thanksgiving with all these people and more at Mares Mares, a nearby luxurious marina with a wonderful swimming pool. Even though we were in Venezuela, we had an all American Thanksgiving buffet, which included turkey with all the trimmings as well as a number of other dishes. We really enjoyed swimming part of that meal away in their wonderful pool.

To be continued.