February 3, 2008    Superbowl Sunday

With the NY Giants and the NE Patriots showing their best defensive moves, we watched the game after the Sunday Potluck get together at Club Nautico.  With the fans gathered around the only TV available, a rather small unit,  the bummer was that since it was the Espanol channel, we missed out on all the great commercials that are known for the "superbowl status".  We are not avid football fans and it didn't matter to us which team won, but we went for the party, which is usually a good one.  And this one, didn't disappoint.

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Glass of water, anyone?

February 4, 2008    Oh Bye Galley

We are at anchor off of Club Nautico and have to dinghy to and from the dock to collect Eder and his associate, Alexander who once onboard begin the process of tearing out our old countertops, and along with it, our sinks.  Within the span of a couple of hours, they have the sink and old countertop up on deck and as Eder starts tearing away the old insulation around the freezer box, he immediately notices that it is waterlogged.  Well, we are not surprised by this.  We had counted on that.  But, as the old insulation is torn away, the freezer box is surrounded by wood that is rotten.  Now this is a "Problema".

Eder says that he can make a new fiberglass freezer box, but it will take more time.  We have no other option at this point, so he makes up another contract for this project, and we give him a deposit down. The next step is to call in more men,  the "Hermanos Malos" (bad brothers) who are known for doing very good work, the best actually,  in refrigeration. Luckily for us, they are available and at Club Nautico.  How bad is that?  It is necessary to tie off the refrigeration lines and have the cold plate removed from the freezer box.  Another contract is made, a deposit down,  and signed by the bad brothers who will return when the freezer box is installed to reconnect the lines and recharge the refrigeration system.   Eder and Alexander along with our old freezer box, sink and old countertop are dropped off at the dock in the afternoon with the promise that he will have the new freezer box made in 10 days.  Meanwhile, we are onboard in camping mode.  Dishes are washed in the forward head and we live out of a cooler. And ice is purchased everyday. The only way to get a glass of water to drink is to use the spigot that is now free and clear

February 5, 2008  Visa Extension Day

Wow, we have been here for 60 days, so we have to meet the immigration officials to have our visas' extended.  With the help of our "agent" named Manfred, a German fellow who upon appearance has had plenty of good ol beer, picks us up at Club Nautico and drives us to the office.  A form is filled out by each of us, then we are fingerprinted, our passports are stamped and good for another 30 days.  All this for $80,000 pesos each. 

February 7, 2008   Field Trip to San Jacinto

A day trip was arranged by Maria Elena s/v Not So Interim and Lilyana s/v Caima, to travel to San Jacinto, a town about 2 hours away that is known for their handmade hammocks.  Fourteen of us piled into the van and as we traveled through the countryside, the scenery wasn't the prettiest.  Flat, sometimes swampland, and mostly unattractive, we arrived at our destination ready to shop.  The shops are all along the highway, which makes for a noisy and dusty experience.  We thought that it was going to be a quaint little town, with the shops in and around the square.  But, hey, it had more of an open market atmosphere,  and we perused all of the items in all of the shops.  Don't want to miss anything.  But, with all the tiendas selling the same stuff, it is kinda hard to miss anything.  Several ladies bought the famous Colombian sombreros, a very tight weave alternating between black and tan colors.  The best ones do not show a seam.

We had lunch and enjoyed a delicious typical plate of the day along with a few very cold cervesas.  Shopping is a thirsty affair.  Best to wash down the dust.  A visit was made to a family who lives there and makes the hammocks by hand.  They were very gracious and allowed all of us into their home to watch.  The lady of the house was working on one of the large looms  and demonstrated the process. There were three large looms set up each had different colors.  It takes a day to set up the loom and then another 10 days to complete a hammock.  The man of the house was in the other room with a much smaller loom which makes belts or headbands, take your pick.  We all screamed for ice cream  on the way home, so we stopped and enjoyed a dip or two.

February 14, 2008   Happy Valentine's Day

Eder and his associate, Anuel,  have returned, after a 10 day leave,  and begin work on the refrigeration box.  The front panel has to be cut away so as to get access to the box.  The top has to be torn away also to achieve access to the back of the box.  The men are in destructive mode.  And soon we are looking at a refrigeration box that had little or no insulation around it.  Now granted our boat is 28 years old and what insulation there was has probably been deteriorated to nothing for years.  This is why we have been having to run our generator twice a day for a couple of hours at a time so as to keep the refrigeration cooled.  That is a hard thing to do when you are in the tropics with no insulation around your boxes! This project is a must do.

The refrigeration box was connected to the countertop and it is now unsupported.  So, we have to have a brace made that supports it from underneath.  Nilson, the carpenter, will have to be called in.  We place foil  insulation in two layers on the front of the box and line the hull behind the refrigeration box and glue a layer of blueboard on the bottom.  We wish we could buy more of this blueboard, since it is the best insulation, but we cannot find it here.  The blueboard we do have was given to us from s/v Que Linda, Doug and Linda, who acquired it from s/v Kukla, Cosmo and Donna.  That is one of things I love about this lifestyle,  that help is always there, a lending hand when you need it.  There is quite a gap between the box and the outside hull and all that will be filled in with the pour in kind of epoxy insulation.  Eder places the new corian countertop on top of the refrigeration box to make sure of his measurements and call it a day.  We are happy with the color of the corian and it is nice to have space to sit things on when trying to cook dinner!

February 15, 2008   Organization in the Shop?

Now, remember back in January when we had acquired bids from Nilson and Eder? Well, earlier this week, Nilson had called to come once again and make sure on the measurements, and arrived onboard  with a diagram of the new cabinets for the shop.  With our handy electronic dictionary that translates English to Spanish and vice versa, we learn new words, such as "gavetas" for drawers, ancho is wide, and largo is length.  We go over the diagram and make sure that everyone is in agreement.  Then the next day,  Nilson, comes out and makes a wooden frame of the layout in no time at all.  So today, Nilson brings all of the wood, varnished doors and drawers, that look absolutely beautiful.  He spends most of the day in the shop, only coming out of there for lunch.  We hear him sawing, hammering, and using the screwdriver drill.  At 230pm, he comes out of the shop and says that he is done.  Aaron and I take a look at his work and can't believe just how gorgeous it is.  This really spruces up the shop. Aaron has always wanted wooden cabinets and had to settle for the plastic drawers we found at Target before we left Florida.  And  while he is here,  we ask him if he could make a  brace  to support the refrigeration box.  Luckily, we have some wood onboard, and with a few simple measurements, Nilson works his magic and within an hour we have  good support under our box.  Nilson, he is our amigo!  Now, Eder can proceed manana with reinsulating the refrigeration box. 

February 16, 2008  Let the Epoxy flow

Eder gives us a call this morning and ask us to meet him in the restaurant at Club Nautico at 9am.   He tells us that we need to go with him to buy the insulation, which is a 2 part epoxy.   First stop, is Home Center for the spray kind of insulation; 4 cans for $66,000 pesos.  Next is the epoxy place where 4 gallons sets us back $240,000 pesos.  And we need to buy a some formaldehyde for when we leave the boat and I tell Eder what I need to buy and he and the taxi driver know exactly where to go.  We are told from fellow cruisers that have left their boats here for an extended period of time, that leaving formaldehyde in tin foil containers throughout the boat will kill any pests that have a thought about setting up a home on our boat in our absence. After lunch, Eder drills holes into the counter way in the back and begins to pour the epoxy down the hole.  Immediately the epoxy begins flowing out from underneath the refrigeration box and onto our cabin sole in two places.  Oh no no no, as we try to wipe it up before it sets.  Well, the varnish where the epoxy ran onto will have to be revarnished.  Eder says, "no problema".  It takes all afternoon for Eder to complete the task of pouring epoxy in and waiting for it to set up, but when he is all done, the insulation has filled in nicely around the entire refrigeration box.

February 17, 2008  Nilson returns once more and once more

In the afternoon, Nilson makes it back to install our front panel on the refrigeration box.  He has to make some adjustments but gets it back on with minimal problemas.   Nilson also makes the trim piece that has to be made to cover up where the front panel was cut.  He takes the trim piece back with him and comes back the next day to install it and the stain that he used matches perfectly.  You really have to look hard to see where the cut was made. Buen trabajo! Eder called to say that he could not make it back today, so it will be manana.

Manana comes and Eder meet us in the restaurant at Club Nautico and says that the freezer box is taking more time and that it won't be done til next week.  Bummer, but what can we do.  So we wait. But, we explain to him again, that we are hauling out at Todomar on the 21st and it needs to be finished by then.

Febuary 20, 2008     Where, oh where is Eder?

Several days have passed and when we visit s/v Kaija's Song, Gary and Kaija, we find Eder and his crew are onboard.  They are working on finishing their job as well.  We ask Eder about the freezer box, since the deadline date is approaching fast.  He asks us to call Todomar and ask if he can work on the boat while it is on the hard.  Aaron calls Frank at Todomar and we decide to postpone our haulout date until the 24th.  Hopefully, this will help the situation because we really want our freezer box installed and hooked up to see if it runs properly.  We definitely want to finish our contract with the "hermanos malos", the refrigeration brothers before we leave for the USA.  If there are any problems with the refrigeration, we want to be able to buy the parts in the USA and bring them back upon our return in December.  So, I call Eder back and tell him he has until the 26th to finish the job.  He is much obliged for the extension in time.

Meanwhile, the mess onboard Blow Me Away is still there, and I still like to cook onboard once a day, lunch or dinner.   Eating out all the time is not an option.  Lunch is much cheaper than dinner, and it is the same typical plate, of either beef or chicken, rice and a small salad and soup.  It's very  bland, but lunch is cheap, $2.50.  But us gringos, have to satisfy our tastebuds, so I fix meatloaf, or spaghetti, or chicken stir fry over rice.  This also uses up the last of our provisions onboard.  A lot of provisions that we will not use before we leave are distributed between friends.  I don't want to keep onboard any sugar products or pasta for sure.  Those pesty weevils make their presence known!  And dish duty is  a pain to do.  The forward head sink is very small so all the big pots and dishes have to be washed outside on deck.  Aaron and I swap dish duty agreeing to either getting head or deck duty, take your pick!

February 24, 2008     The tanque has arrived!

Good news today.  Eder calls and says that he has our freezer box, which is called "the tanque" in Spanish.  It took longer to make he explains because his amigo that he contracted the job to, did not do a very good job.  It was too thin, so Eder had to make it stronger in thickness.  We are very grateful for his diligence and when he and his associate Anuel, arrive, we observe first hand how well the freezer box is made.  Eder did a great job.  Yes, it took longer than expected, but we would rather have it done right.  The freezer box is approximately 16" x 24" x 30" and it one side tapers at an angle as it is positioned against the hull.  Eder and Aaron proceed to glue the foil and the rest of the blueboard around each side of the freezer box before it is mounted.

While the men are up top, I prepare the freezer area by taping  the foil insulation making sure there are no gaps.  With this done, and the freezer box well insulated on the outside, it is time for it to be mounted.  Eder and Anuel try to place it but the freezer box is too big to fit into the space and the divider board that Nilson had made has to be removed.  No problema, says Eder.  But, the screws that held the divider in place are very stubborn and one of them has to be drilled out.  Eventually, the divider is removed and the "tanque" is fitted into position.   What an accompllishment!  Now it is time to pour and fill the epoxy insulation around the freezer box to keep it in position.  Only half of the epoxy is used leaving room for the Hermanos Malos, the refrigeration brothers, to do their job tomorrow..

February 25, 2008    The Bad Brothers Return

The "Hermanos Malos" (bad brothers) return and now it is their job to mount the cold plate into the freezer box and reconnect the lines.  They come prepared it seems, all of the equipment makes it onboard, and they set to work.  Within an hour, the cold plate is mounted, lines reconnected, but when it is time to use the dryer, (which is crucial)  it does not work.  There is a short, so Antonio, the senior bad boy, is shuttled back to shore, to get it fixed.  Renaildo, meanwhile waits ever so patiently onboard!  Eder and Anuel finish up some details and we break for lunch

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After lunch, work resumes and the dryer is now functional.  The refrigeration is then recharged and it seems to be running correctly.  The "Hermanos Malos" have once again fulfilled their reputation of being the best in the business.  Aaron and I breathe a sigh of relief knowing at this point that the refrigeration is working.  We run it for an hour and a half, and then shut it down.  All the cold plates are cold at this point but making water puddles at the bottom of the boxes since there are no doors to the boxes and condensation is forming.  Eder and Anuel  repainted both boxes before breaking for lunch and filled in with fiberglass any cracks and dings in the refrigeration box;  so, we don't want to do any damage to the paint and fiberglass job.  The rest of the epoxy is filled in around the freezer box, (the tanque).  And the Corian countertop with our sink is placed into position.  Eder had our sink repolished and it looks brand new.  But, (it seems there is always a but), the countertop is too low, it does not match the height of the refrigeration box countertop, so Aaron and I make a run to Home Center by way of taxi and buy 3/4" trim about 12' long.  The trim is then cut and screwed into place, the countertop is then glued into place as well as the sink.  It has been a full day of work, and our last day at anchor.

  We dinghy Eder and Anuel back to shore at 6pm, take a quick shower ourselves at the marina, and walk to Danna's just a half a block away for dinner.  We are both so tired and worn out, that it is hard to concentrate on what needs to be done before we raise anchor and motor to Todomar for our haulout tomorrow morning.

Eder says he will come to Todomar on Wednesday to do some more work.  There is still alot of work to be done before the job is finished, but we know that it will not be completed until we return in December.   The freezer box lid needs to be cut out of the corian and the faucets need to be reinstalled, the backsplash needs to mounted, etc. etc.  

February 26, 2008    To Haulout We go

Well, this is it.  Our cruising days are over for now.  Last minute details are taken care of: the marina bill is paid, one last email is sent to family,  our last so longs are said to good friends, and email addresses are passed between us. I say a farewell to my fellow exercise class buddies and I promise to keep up the routine.  No pain, no gain.  I'll remember all the moans and groans, but the payoff is worth it.  I'm ready for haulout!

     The bottom of our boat and dinghy was cleaned five days ago  by Jaime, who works for Club Nautico.  This morning we have him clean our anchor chain, because we don't want to have the remnants of this filthy harbor inside our boat for the next 10 months..  We raise anchor at 11 am, and motor 45 minutes to Todomar where we wait patiently to be next in line for haulout.

At noon, we are told to head into the haulout slip, where we run aground and sit.  No need for fenders   At 1230pm, Yovanis, the yard manager, asks for a picture of a previous haulout, so they can position the slings correctly.  A diver borrows a mask and dives underneath our boat, well sort of, we are still aground, and manages to place the slings in position under our keel.  It is a tense moment when the lift begins to raise our boat out of the water.  The slings are holding, thank God, and in good position, when the lift begins its slow movement forward and across the yard to where Blow Me Away will be sitting patiently for our return.

 Eight stands are placed against her hull and boards are set under the keel, then the lift slowly descends our boat onto the stands and she is now "on the hard".  We plug our electricity cord into the breaker provided, but we have a problem, reverse polarity.  So, we manage to get Yovanis and the electrician to replace the plug ins and rewire and thankfully we have power as it should be. We manage to do a few more things onboard before calling it a day at 6pm.  We are told that dogs are set loose at 7pm, and the bathroom is in the main building some distance away.  We decide that it would be best to get a hotel room; we don't need to be dealing with some serious Colombian guard dogs late in the night when we have to go to the bathroom!

February 27, 2008    Hasta la Vista, BMA!

This is the last day to secure and store the boat properly.  We arrive early and set to work.  Thankfully, we had met Jorge yesterday, a young man of 24, who speaks English very well.  He is the foreman of the crew working on another boat here in the yard.  He agrees to help us out for the day, and Aaron and him work on washing the sunbrella sun cover, cushions, and boat and stowing the dinghy on deck.  The boat is filthy, from the Cartagena city grime. Meanwhile, I spend my time down below, packing items needed, cleaning cabinets, clearing out what food is left and give a bag of leftover goodies to Jorge.  The inside of the boat is not as clean as I would of liked it to be, but with all the work that was going on right up to the end, it just couldn't be helped.  Our icemaker has quit working, as a last parting thought.  It will not freeze the cubes.  Hopefully, it is something simple and can get it fixed when we return.  We love that icemaker and so do many of our friends.  It is another full day of work, but by 6pm we are all done, packed and ready for a rum and coke.  As we walk slowly away from our home for the last 2 and 1/2 years, many memories come to mind, all the joy that our boat has given us, the good friends that we have met along the way, it is sad to part ways, but we must return to the USA to replenish the cruising kitty.  It's back on the road again for eight months, travelling the highways and byways of the United States, and earning enough money to return to our boat and cruise for another year or two.  It is, as our good friend, Susan on s/v Sipapu, so rightly puts it, that we are taking our retirement in segments, enjoying life now while we can, for who knows what the future will bring.   

Outside of the boatyard, we try to hail a taxi, but instead two motorcycles stop and offer to take us to our hotel.  Well, why not?  Luggage is placed on each of the gas tanks in front of the driver and with our backpacks on, we climb aboard.  This is so Colombian and this thrill was worth the $1.50!