tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47565539560678983312024-02-07T22:08:25.660-08:00Life Aboard the Magda JeanThis blog is about our adventures living on a sailboat and roaming here and there.katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11732553406952887890noreply@blogger.comBlogger313125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4756553956067898331.post-41749138791256381452018-04-07T13:46:00.000-07:002018-04-07T13:46:35.372-07:00Fly SeasonIt's fly season and if there is one creature I hate above almost all else, it is the common fly. And they are coming in by the droves, and since no one in Costa Rica seems to believe in screens, we fight flys all day long if the door is open. And the door is always open. That means lots and lots of flys in the house.<br />
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Now I am grateful that we don't seem to have the "circling flys" that we had in San Diego. That is when about 10 of them decide to simply fly around and around in circles. Not too fast, not too slow, no apparent agenda but to simply circle in the air. I hate them especially because they are very hard to kill. They never land on anything. I would get so frustrated that I would wildly start swinging the fly swatter through the air which is a waste of time and energy because everyone knows it is almost impossible to kill a fly on the wing.<br />
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Lately Mike and I have taken turns going on these fly kill sprees. I've killed 11 during one session, and I have killed two at a time, no small feat. Diego the dog does not care for the swinging fly swatter, but since he isn't making any moves to kill the flys himself, he will just have to learn to deal with it.<br />
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Flys - a scourge of life<br />
Destroy the serenity<br />
Of a quiet day<br />
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There! That's my fly hate haiku. I am too lazy to write a sonnet. I suppose the answer is to find someone who can make screen doors. It can't be that hard. I bet Mike could do it if he wanted to. But he has enough projects.<br />
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Things have been going fine around here, though construction of our pizza oven and patio are at a standstill - we were told there is stuff being held up in customs - I say go deal with it and get my crap so we can get on with it. Customs can be very hard to deal with, I know from personal experience. So while I am sympathetic, I do think something needs to be done, like a personal visit to the office. That sort of thing often works.<br />
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It is still dry season here, and one of the interesting things about the dry season is the explosion of flowering trees. There are all colors and it is amazing, especially since the landscape is otherwise a bit dry looking. We have several in the yard. And we have another tree - lengua de gato - that is covered with little white flowers. These little white flowers are going to turn into these blue berries that every animal and bird love to eat. Hopefully Diego will not chase them away yapping infernally. One can only hope, anyway.<br />
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Today is a quiet day, and all I can hear are the birds and the bugs. Mike and Diego are taking midday naps. Life is still good.<br />
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"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony." (Mahatma Gandhi) katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11732553406952887890noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4756553956067898331.post-90003152244636957592018-04-02T13:13:00.001-07:002018-04-02T13:13:27.125-07:00Monday: Just Another Day to A Happy RetireeI think I am going to fret about something here. But its private, so maybe not. I guess I'll have to think about it. Sorry for that.<br />
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We have been steadily at the house since we got back from the states and I am glad about it. I feel pretty well settled in for now at least. We have some things we have to take care of here - like getting on the list to have high speed internet and to get one of our cars registered.<br />
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The internet thing will involve visiting the ICE (ee-say) office and getting on some list. ICE is the electricity entity for Costa Rica. I have no idea if it is going to be difficult or not. We already went once but were turned away because we didn't have our corporation papers with us. (Side note: in Costa Rica,, foreigners set up corporations to do business. Our bank account is in our corporation's name, for example. Some people put all their cars and real estate in the corporation, but we haven't done that.) So now we have to go back, this time with our papers. We'll see. I want this internet if for no other reason than I can have Netflix.<br />
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The car registration is more intense than it is in the US. You have to have your car inspected, and if it does not pass inspection, you can't get it registered and can't drive it. It is called "reteve" (reh TEH vay). They check your brakes, and a bunch of other things that I can't remember. They check the tires. So we plan to take our car t our mechanic and make sure it will pass, and fix anything that needs fixing. Then we'll make an appointment with the reteve people and get that done. We have two cars and we already did it for our other (newer, nicer) car. It seems like a hassle, but it runs quite smoothly and it helps keep crappy cars off the road. It is always nice to get that sort of thing out of the way. The only thing hanging over my head at this point is taxes!!!<br />
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Now that I have bored everyone including myself silly, there is not lot going on around here. The weather has been awesome, with beautiful clear skies, lots of wind, and temperatures barely exceeding 80 degrees F. Mike and I have taken to having our coffee on the back porch and just gazing to the mountains in the far distance. This is the season to burn the sugar cane fields, so we can see little fires dotting the horizon. In the daytime we can only see the smoke, but at night we can see the flames. We are above that fray so we don't have to breathe in all the smoke, but because it is at pretty much the same level as the fires, the wind blows ashes all over it. They are sort of sticky and we definitely have to use the power washer rather than just hosing off the deck. <br />
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Also right now we are having our outside remodeled, sort of. We are adding a large covered patio that will house an outdoor kitchen. The pizza oven is going to be the first thing built, and we have to search for just the right grill to be added. We want a smoker and a cook top as well as the grill and the pizza oven. I already make really good pizza if I do say so myself, and the new oven will make it better. This is all Phase One - Phase Two will include a pool. And I still want desperately to buy the lot next to us. Plus I want to buy this farm I have had my eye on - the price keeps dropping. The sellers are apparently heirs who really need to sell it.<br />
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(I certainly do not need a farm. I know this. I would never be willing to do the hard work - in fact, I'd be looking for someone to sharecrop it. But I don't think I'll be buying that farm soon, no matter how much I want it. It's completely irrational. I still want to go look at it, but I won't because it would not be fair to the seller.)<br />
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Anyway, there is a lot of construction noise going on, which is not always fun, but they are making great progress. I don't know how long it will be before we move into Phase Two after the completion of Phase One. It is completely overwhelming for me, thank goodness for Mike. Plus I am NOT comfortable with the amount of money we are spending. Mike says we are fine, and I trust him because he is sensible about money and handles it all. I could handle it of course, but he wouldn't be able to not constantly kibbutz, which would bug the crap out of me, so I let him do it. I have certain things that have to be met or I get too nervous, and he has shown me that those fears are groundless. Nevertheless, I have PTSD about money things, and as long as he says things are okay, I am going to believe it. That is how much faith I have in Mike. While I may get furious with him at times, I do trust him with stuff like money (and whether or not an outfit "works"). There, that is what I was alluding to in my first paragraph. Yes, I am nervous about money. It is hard for me to spend money. It is hard for me to talk about money. I don't even like to think about it, really. I want the taxes done and not hanging over my head. I hate this time of year because it is time to think about money. You can't get away from it. And you know what makes it all so totally stupid? Our taxes are easy. No problems. But I still hate it. Not good for my mental health, always precarious under the best of situations, ha ha ha.<br />
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Next week I think we are going to go down to the boat so Mike can get to work on all the things we bought for it in San Diego. And he plans to pretty much rewire the whole boat so he will finally have the electrical system of his dreams. I will have to stand there and hand him tools and stuff. Maybe he won't need help and Diego and I can go to the swimming pool. But one good thing is that we decided to get a portable air conditioner so when he has to spend a lot of time working inside. We had one of these a few years back and it makes things a lot better. We only used the old one (and will use the new one) when we are at the dock. And I don't want to let it make us go soft. I am proud of the fact that we can be happy and comfortable even when the cabin is like 90 degrees F. As long as I have a fan on me, I can handle it.<br />
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Well, I think I should wind this up as I am really beginning to babble. Life is pretty good.<br />
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"Your net worth to the world is usually determined by what remains after your bad habits are subtracted from your good ones." (Benjamin Franklin) <br />
<br />katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11732553406952887890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4756553956067898331.post-12583581172289946752018-03-29T10:25:00.001-07:002018-03-29T10:25:43.050-07:00Home is Where the Bed IsWe just got back from a trip to the US. We usually do it once a year, and try to make it correspond to a visa run. We got to see my son and his fiance (my future daughter-in-law) but of course there was not enough time - we made the trip without much advance planning (well to be honest pretty much no advance planning) - but we did get some really good visits in and I am so delighted Danielle will be part of my family. I also spent time with my aunt and my cousins. It was also a great visit, and something that does not happen very often. We have not always been real close, but I love my extended family very much.<br />
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Going back to San Diego is getting strange. It does not feel like home anymore, which is okay since it's not. It is somewhere I used to live, albeit somewhere I lived for a long time. I really loved San Diego, and i still do. it just isn't home. The US isn't home. It is just a really easy place to get stuff it is hard to get down here. And the food is really really good and you get a lot of it. Too good and too much. This time I made an effort to limit my intake and did not gain any weight, at least not that I noticed. Nothing that fit me when I left did not fit when I got back, and such has not always been the case. Once when we went to San Diego, Wisconsin, and Arkansas and came back fat as hogs. It was horrible, but fun while it lasted.<br />
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I am always glad to get back HOME - what ever I am calling home at the time. HOME is an interesting concept to me. I call every place I am sleeping "home" while I am sleeping there. My hotel room is home, my tent is home, and my boat is home.<br />
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My boat, of course, was the only real HOME for seven years. Where ever it was, that was where home was. My stuff was there. my bed was there. I knew all about everything there. Even when I knew nothing about the area we were anchored/moored/docked in, it was still home. It still is - especially if I am going straight to the boat instead of the house after a trip. Nothing felt/feels better than unpacking and stashing the suitcases away, then surveying my tiny domain and feeling like an empress. The fish around the boat - those are MY fish. The birds that most people consider to be pests because they hang around the boats and make messes - MY birds. I don't even really mind cleaning up their messes and dealing with their nest building. They are part of my little empire.<br />
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Then we got this house. Now I am like Eleanor of Aquitaine - I have to travel between my domains. I never thought I would own a house again. And I never thought I'd do it in Costa Rica. But I did and here I am, sitting at the table in my kitchen writing this post. I have a cup of coffee and I can see my orchid tree with its gorgeous pink and magenta flowers. (Side note: In Costa Rica, some of the most beautiful flowering trees flame out brightest in the dry season. I didn't expect that, but then I have a lot to learn about the tropics. So the flowering trees stand out even more in the dry season because there are fewer leaves on the trees. Just branches of flowers. The leaves start to appear when the flowers fall off. While the temperature doesn't change much, you can still tell a real change in seasons just by watching the flora change.<br />
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My dad used to bitch about California, saying that there was no "weather", and his tone left no doubt in my mind that "no weather" was in some way indicative of a place less character-building, less challenging. Something like that. I have no idea what he'd say about this place. I think he'd like the boat, and if he were alive he might like to have a sailing vacation with us. My mom would like it here at the house, because it is up in the mountains and nice and cool. If she were alive, she could live with us (we might build her a little house of her own on the property) and take care of the chickens we (c)(w)ould get. I don't know if she would be much help with the garden. I don't see enjoying the boat - too hot even with the fans. And frankly, i just never thought she was that much of a water person when it came to boats. She liked water-related activities, like fishing and beach-walking and water-watching, but that seemed to be it.<br />
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I am losing my mind sometimes over being so lucky. Almost every day I think to myself "How did this happen?" "How did I manage this?" It seems like some huge mistake might have been made and I was accidentally given someone else's future and the mistake will eventually need to be rectified. Not really, but that thought is ever present. I have had that feeling in some form about some thing pretty much my whole life. Even though it has never come true.<br />
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So enough for today. I am trying to figure out what this blog will be now that Life Aboard the Magda Jean is only part time. Hell, let's be honest - I am trying to figure out what my life is going to be now.<br />
Signed, Always at the Crossroads <br />
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"Never does nature say one thing and wisdom another." (Juvenal)<br />
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katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11732553406952887890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4756553956067898331.post-11226268305027089242018-03-11T14:09:00.000-07:002018-03-11T14:09:49.277-07:00To DateWe have been living here in Costa Rica ever since, then. It will be three years in July.<br />
We haven't just been sitting around the house though.<br />
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We spent two weeks last summer in Newfoundland, with our good friend Wayne. We met Wayne in Bolivia, and we've been visiting back and forth and meeting in different places for about four years now. He lives in St. John's, and as a restaurateur (among his many other talents) took us to all the best places there. And the food was awesome. I also learned to eat some local delicacies. Cod cheeks are delicious other than one little part that is sort of slimy. Then I had this fish and potato dish that was wonderful food in thee "comfort food" genre. I just wish I could remember the name - it was kind of a funny name that sounded like it should have something to do with beer, but it doesn't. I also had these little salted fish that were a snacky sort of thing - a bit too salty for me. I also had cloudberry jam (called bakeapple but it has no apples.) We had other berries as well - crowberries are the ones that I can remember now. It was all wonderful.<br />
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It is also breath-takingly gorgeous up there. It is all rocks and ocean and these strange little pools that pop up everywhere. We took a boat ride and saw whales and puffins. I have never seen a puffin before, and though I have seen a lot of whales at different times while sailing, these were pretty spectacular as there were lots of them all around us. It was a very rugged, rough seeming place nature-wise, and the people are wonderfully friendly. When we told people we were really enjoying ourselves and wanted to return, they all said "Don't come in the winter!" No problem there - Mike absolutely won't go anywhere cold. I would be kind of curious. After all, I am from Wisconsin.<br />
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Then at Christmas, we met up with Wayne and two other friends and spent the New Year in San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua. We rented a nice house with a pool and a great view - it was a good time. We spent New Year's Eve literally drinking and dancing on the beach <span style="background-color: yellow;">along with</span> a ton of other people. Mike and I not only stayed up past midnight, but we stayed up until like 3 am. We even (or at least I did) took a swim in the pool after we got back from the beach celebrations.<br />
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Besides all of that, we have been enjoying the boat. Like we planned, when we start craving hot weather and the beach, we make the 2 hour drive to the marina. We've been going out for day sails, or spending the night at a nearby anchorage. And believe me, the boat adventures have not been over.<br />
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I know that some of you (those who don't sail) wonder why we are always making repairs to the boat or having things broken down. I do not blame you for thinking that. As I know I have said before, it's the constant breakdowns that would drive me away from sailing. But the marine environment is hard on everything. So everything breaks eventually, and when you own a boat like Magda Jean, you must resign yourself to this reality. It doesn't matter if the boat is 30 years old or brand new. We all have these problems.<br />
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Anyway, we decided that this year we would get the cosmetic work done on the boat we have never ever done - painting the hull. It was always in need of a new paint job, and it was further messed up when we were in a marina in Mexico - the name and most of the paint rubbed off one side because of the way they tied us up. Further, when we changed the name of the boat when we got her, the style and color of the lettering we chose at that time turned out to be one of those things that looked way better in our heads than in actuality. So we decided to renew the name as well.<br />
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The marina where the work is to be done is south of us, in the Gulf of Nicoya. We figured it would be a two day sail, more or less, depending on circumstances, of course. We were really excited about getting underway - it had been awhile since we undertook a multi-day sail. So we headed off with optimism and high hopes (I know that is probably redundant but I don't care).<br />
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We sailed down the coast at a wonderful speed - way faster than usual and a comfortable ride as well. Everything went well until we hit the mouth of the gulf. Because of water pouring out of the gulf into the ocean, our speed dropped. And we also lost our wind. So we decided to turn on the engine and motor sail.<br />
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That was going very well - until it wasn't. Of course the engine crapped out on us. Right where it is most needed, too. Mike worked and worked on it, and although he pretty well guessed what was wrong and that it would not be a hard fix. Well that is all well and good - but we still had to get to the marina. It was only 50 miles away, across the mouth of the gulf. I swear we could almost see it. But with what wind there was being unfavorable, it took us two solid days to sail that 50 miles. You have no idea how tedious that gets. You know it is going to be like that, but speaking only for myself, it is torture going back and forth, back and forth, feeling hopeful that you have finally passed some landmark you've been staring at all night, only to have it appear again, making it look as though you have made no progress at all. And sometimes it's true - you have made no progress at all. Hence 48 hours to go 50 miles.<br />
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But just as we started to approach the harbor entrance, the wind picked up and we were able to sail proudly to the breakwater, where we did need assistance to get into our slip.<br />
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The boat was hauled, and the work done was fabulous. We took everything down to the gel coat, and redid it all. The bottom not only got new paint, it got a new barrier coat. The stripes are now bright and jaunty. The name is on the stern instead of the sides, and is now easier to read and much better looking. It took a month and a half, but it was worth it. The shipyard is no south-of-the-border-bargain, but the prices were fair and they came in under estimate, which trust me never ever happens.<br />
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After the boat was splashed, the engine guys came to visit. They agreed with Mike the problem was with the fuel system, and we did all kinds of things to the system, sine I am not a mechanic that is the best explanation you are going to get. After they finished, the engine was working beautifully, better than it had in years.<br />
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While the boat was being painted, we stayed in a rented condo in Manuel Antonio, nearby the marina. Again, this is an area we had not explored too much. We loved it - lots of animals and birds (macaws right outside the windows) and the beaches there are really nice. I liked renting an umbrella and chair, since I need to be out of the sun as much as possible and I liked the part that the guys handling the rentals would also go get you a beer. The surf was gentle, an the next time I go I am going to make a complete fool of myself by taking a surfing lesson. <br />
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We left the marina with some regret, as it was really fun there and no more expensive than where we are. But it is further from the house, has more lightning, and the sailing is not as good due to the way the winds are. Now understand they treat us really really good at our current marina. But the new place was really hopping and we'd have more company, and you can walk to town for dinner and beer, or choose from the myriad of places right there at the marina. Food for thought, any way.<br />
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One important thing to know is that part of our engine problems are due to under use. Mike always wants to sail, no matter how slowly, so the engine never really gets to operate under what they call a full load. We decided we should actually motor for much of the trip so as to give the engine a work out.<br />
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We motored along nicely, enjoying the beautiful day, watching seabirds, spotting turtles, all that sort of thing. It was my birthday, and my only wish was to be underway. So that night I went to lay down for awhile, while Mike was at the helm. I was sleeping peacefully until I awoke when the engine stopped and Mike called me. "I need you to put up the sails! The engine crapped out!" I got up and I do not mind telling you I was seriously pissed. Mike kept apologizing, and I kept telling him it was not his fault. He screwed around with engine, and again determined that this was not a big deal, he could fix it himself, but not until we got to the marina.<br />
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So again we found ourselves trying to sail out of the Gulf of Nicoya, with its strange, arbitrary currents (at least as far as I m concerned) and, of course, pretty much no wind. When you have no wind and no engine, you have no steerage and just have to drift around, using the sails as best as you can to keep the boat moving forward. It is hell, truthfully. The winds flick around to all directions, requiring tack after tack. You have to go up on deck and pull the headsails round manually because the wind is not strong enough to push the sail around. I get panicky and anxious because I can't control the boat, and that is no fun, I hate feeling like that. Plus that means Mike doesn't get much if any sleep, since I can't always make the tacks by myself.<br />
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There are volumes and volumes written about storm handling tactics. But there is literally nothing telling you how to handle no wind, no current, and no engine. All you find are instructions to use a spinnaker, but you can only do that with the wind on your stern. We had the wind on either side of the nose. <br />
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One we worked our way out of the gulf, we finally hit the Papagayo winds. These are the same winds that pinned our ears back when we sailed up from Panama. This time, we welcomed them. We reefed back the headsail and put three reefs in the main and sailed beautifully along the coast and again right to the breakwater for the marina. Of course we then had to be helped to our slip.<br />
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So that pretty much brings this blog up to date. The boat is in the marina looking gorgeous, although Mike has not fixed the engine yet. We are planning a trip to the US starting Tuesday (it's Sunday today) and going to the 26th. We will see Steve and get boat parts, and are going to spend two days in my most favorite city anywhere, Ensenada, Mexico. I am almost more excited for that than anything else. We are also going to go to Temecula with Steve and Danielle (my future daughter-in-law) to look at wedding sites. They go to wineries up there all the time. I am really excited about that, too. Finally I am going to have a daughter! Girl things! Shopping! Lunches! Life could hardly be better!<br />
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"I detest all men; some because they are wicked and do evil, others because they tolerate the wicked." (Moliere)katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11732553406952887890noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4756553956067898331.post-22949840288644411232018-03-03T09:59:00.000-08:002018-03-11T12:20:53.923-07:00Ch-ch-ch changes . . .March 3, 2018<br />
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I am writing this from my house in Costa Rica. When I retired, we (Mike) swore we would never own real estate again. But as I noted in my last post, Mike started making noises about staying here. We both liked it and were getting more and more comfortable. We started to make friends. We found favorite beaches and rivers and jungle trails and birds and flowers and spent lots of time visiting them. We remained living onboard Magda Jean at Marina Papagayo, pretty much by ourselves but for the occaisional transient cruiser. <br />
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One day, while indulging my hobby of reading real estate ads, I found one of those too-good-to-be-true ads and showed it to Mike. Because it was so cheap and because it was in an area of Costa Rica we had yet to explore AND we needed to go to San Jose anyway and it was on the route . . . we made an appointment to see the place.<br />
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We did not buy the house. It was a wreck. Only one area was even close to being finished, which was the kitchen, half bath and a party area. It looked like a bachelor pad in the 70's - hideous red painted wood paneling, smoked glass cabinet covers and red cabinets, weird lighting, a huge pool table, and a very nice piano, wrapped in shrink wrap. The pool table's claim to fame was that it had been purchased from one of the members of Three Dog Night who needed the money for heroin. The seller assured me he had papers proving the pool table's "provenance." Regarding the piano, the seller told me proudly the "keys had never been unlocked." It looked like a really nice piano, but I pondered the: (1 availability of a piano tuner in Costa Rica, even San Jose; and 2) whether said piano tuner would be willing to drive several hours (a good part of it on dirt roads) to the house to tune said piano. I decided that even considering the pool-table -with-awesome-provenance and the never-unwrapped-piano, I would have to pass on the deal. Plus - the seller was really sketchy and I wouldn't buy a coconut from him.<br />
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After we got back to the boat, we decided that if we wanted to buy a house, we really needed to contact Mike's cousin. We didn't want to give up Magda Jean, but the idea of having a home base was appealing. We were still not sure what we wanted to do as far as cruising was concerned, and although living in the marina was fun, it was very hot and a little bit lonely. We were no longer a part of the cruising community - as much as we ever were really a part of it - yet we had no community on land. I don't think this was Mike's motivation - but I was feeling it. I did know he was the first to suggest taking this seriously, this idea of getting a place in land here in Costa Rica.<br />
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Rene, Mike's cousin, has been selling real estate in Costa Rica for 25 years. We decided we didn't need a beach home because we had the boat. Plus, it is very hot at the beach and we'd have to use AC all the time. We like the area around Lake Arenal. (Side note: I really preferred the Volcan Turrialba area, but that volcano is erupting so that turned out to be a bad idea.) Arenal is cool, the countryside is gorgeous, and although it is pretty rural, Costa Rica is not a big country and it doesn't take too terribly long to get to stores and things like that.<br />
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Rene emailed be a bunch of places in the area that matched what we said we wanted. I sorted through them, and was ble to eliminate two thirds of them, for various reasons. We then got together and discussed he ones left, and finally arrived at seven that we wanted to look at. I was pretty excited about it - I never thought I'd be buying house in a foreign country. Very very cool.<br />
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We looked at the most expensive place first - it was really out of our reach, we would have had to scramble a lot to raise the money. We next saw the cheapest place - too much work. When we got to the place we ended up buying, Mike jumped out of Rene's car and said "This is it!"<br />
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You would think things would end there, but things got really crazy. I almost don't believe it myself and I was there.<br />
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As the process to buy the house went on, emails flew quickly and furiously between us, Rene, the escrow agent, the sellers, and a couple of lawyers. Mike and I were happy how smoothly things were going. We transferred our down payment to the escrow with no trouble. Everything was pura vida, as it should be.<br />
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Eventually, it was time to make the transfer of the balance of the payment for the house to the escrow agent. A few days before we planned to transfer the money, the escrow agent sent new wiring instructions. We thought that was strange, since the new bank was in Eastern Europe. We aren't stupid, so we emailed Rene and the escrow agent. Rene thought it sounded weird, but then emailed us that it was the seller's choice. Since everyone had assured us that this was the way to go, we initiated the transfer.<br />
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A couple of weeks later, the escrow agent started sending me emails asking when the transfer would go through. I called our bank and was informed the transfer was complete, and gave me some confirmation numbers, which I provided to the escrow agent. He kept insisting there was something wrong with the transfer. I was getting irritated, so I gave up emails and called him. I told him, "look, it was your idea to send the money to Slovakia or where ever it was." He pauses a second and then said "I never did that." "Yes you did" I said, and I'll prove it. I'll send you the email." So I hung up the phone, called up the email and forwarded it, and then called him. I almost threw up when he said "I never sent that email."<br />
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You guessed it. It was a huge scam. The scammers infiltrated the email of either the agent or the escrow or the attorneys and as soon as the word "closing" came up, they sprang into action, and re-routed the money. The money was gone.<br />
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I called the bank - they were horrified and immediately put their security on it. I couldn't blame them - they only did what we told them too. After a few days, the bank told me there was no more they could do.<br />
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I called the FBI. After being told they could neither affirm or disaffirm whether the matter would be referred to an agent, I actually got a call back. The agent was awesome, and even though she told me I wsa pretty much SOL, I felt better. She told me they get calls about this sort of scam every day, in her office alone. She said the scammers were very good, and none of us involved were moronic rubes, which is what I was thinking about myself.<br />
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The sellers still wanted to sell us the house, and we had money in the bank from the first transfer for the down payment. We upped the down payment, and came up with an agreement that suited us all. The sellers still get to use the house six weeks each year, for the wind surfing season. We also got to know each other during this process, and are still good friends.<br />
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A day or so after signing all the related paperwork, we were eating lunch at a restaurant when my cell phone rang. That itself is rare, no one ever calls us. It was the bank in San Diego. The guy there told me "you are not going to believe this, and we didn't either, but your money came back. All of it." After I finished crying and thanking him for the good news, he told me the bank had no idea why it came back after all the time it was gone. It showed as though the account number was wrong or some bounce back like that. I called the sellers and the agent with the good news, but they wanted to keep our new deal in place, wihch was fine with us. <br />
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After this was all over, we all got together and compared the emails sent to and fro during the process. Each one of us had been hacked, with fake messages taking the place of real ones. They didn't make spelling or grammatical errors in the fake emails, and it was sort of beautiful how it all went down. I still have no idea how or why the money was returned. The escrow agent called the bank in Eastern Europe and complained bitterly because his name was on the fake account. My FBI agent told me they did reach out to contacts in the banking world there.<br />
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So in March 2016, we moved into our house. It was sold fully furnished, down to the last napkin and pillow case. (Luckily for us, the sellers had great taste.) We have an acre of land, with a front view of the lake and a back view overlooking the countryside, looking towards two volcanos. These views are incredible, and they change every day depending on the weather. Our backyard abuts a private 80 acre game preserve, of which we own a share. We are woken up every morning by howler monkeys, and toucans and arikaris are daily visitors. We also have coatis and agoutis, and beautifully colored squirrels. It is very windy up here (hence it is a wond surfer's paradise) and there is plenty of excitement during the rainy season.<br />
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So - that brings us up to one year ago. I am going to stop here, and will catch up to the present the next time I sit down to write this. Once that happens, my blog may take a new turn, since I am no longer a full time live aboard. We'll see.<br />
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"There is nothing so stable as change." (Bob Dylan<br />
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<br />katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11732553406952887890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4756553956067898331.post-65759029524621181762016-10-10T13:23:00.001-07:002016-10-10T13:23:48.607-07:00Vivienda La Pura VidaWell, I am back. And I know it has been awhile since I wrote anything. And the only excuse is the usual - I am just plain lazy. <br />
I just can't seem to get my act together <span style="text-align: center;">to do this. Why? I have no idea. But I am super lazy, and I can think of no other explanation.</span><br />
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Anyway, we are back from another trip to the states. That makes three this year! This time we went to Wisconsin. The ostensible reason was to go to my nephew's wedding. And it was beautiful and I would not have misssed it for the world. It was outside, at the bride's farm. The weather was beautiful, and since the wedding was held over Labor Day, I am here to tell you that the weather in Wisconsin at that time can be nice like it was, or rainy, or cold. The fortunes smiled upon the bride and groom, and all went well. My sister Buffie and I used the occaision to go all out - we got our hair done, and I learned how to wear false eyelashes. Now I have wanted to do that for years. However, every time I tried in the past, I could not get them on properly. This time, with the aid of a magnifying mirror, I had no problem. But one has to have a magnifying mirror. I think I looked fantastic if I do say so myself. My other sister also knocked it out of the park with this polka-dotted skirt made out of some chiffon-like material, and a simple back top. Also a pair of the cutest ballet flats I have ever seen. So the Riley girls made their presence known!<br />
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Ok, enough of my vanity. But I rarely ever have the chance to get dressed up anymore. It is too hot here for one thing. Anything nice will be ruined the first time I wear it. If I don't spill on it (which Ican't blame on the weather), I will sweat it to death. So when given the chance, I am going to do it up for all it is worth. <br />
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We have been wating for a very long tme now to get back out to sea. If only for a couple of days! But Mike is concerned about our anchor chain. We spent months at anchor, both in Ecuador and Panama, and that takes a toll on the chain. I personally thought it should last longer than two years, but Mike says no. There is a lot of rust on it, and he is afraid that if something exciting happens while we are at anchor with the wind or water or both, the chain could part. That would of course be disastrous. Not to mention we would lose our expensive anchor. So here we sit, while the chain is on order. We are supposed to get it at the end of the month, but since everything comes out of Miami, and Hurricane Matthew has just passed through, there may be a delay. I hope not. I am not, however, holdng my breath.</div>
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Since returning from the states, we have travelled some more around Costa Rica. As I have said before, this is an amazingly beautiul country. I don't even have words for it, and for me not to have words should show you all something. I am never at a loss for words. I have seen an anteater, which are much bigger than I though they woud be. They have gorgeous golden and brown fur. But they are mean. They have very long claws, and they can lash out quickly. Farmers don't like them because they can kill inquisitive dogs. The claws did look very long and curved, and they gleamed in the reflected light. We also saw a jaguarundi, which is simply a small panther. It was running across the road we were driving on. Unfortunately, it went by us too fast to get the camera out. So you will have to take my word for it. We have also seen more and more different kinds of birds. I could watch them for hours. My favorite are the motmots, which have strange tails and a lot of attitude. They are also very colorful. I just can't get enough of it. <br />
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I spend a lot of time just thinking about things. I also think that someday I may just crawl inside my head and not come out. I'm not sure what that would look like, but it has an appeal to me. It is part of the reason why I like my night watches. I break each hour up into 15 minute segments. I can easily keep myself amused for 15 minutes. If I do that four times, it will be time to make my log entries. I can drag that out for at least 10 or even 15 minutes, so you can see how it goes. I like to think about things without anyone interrupting me. It can get embarassing, because sometimes I get so deep ito it that I start talking out loud. Lots of the time I am not even aware that I am doing it. My mom used to tell me it was the first sign of insanity. But I only "answer" myself if I am playing two parts in my head. So I guess as long as I am aware of the cast of characters, I can keep on doing it as much as I want to.<br />
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Good news - I went to the dermatologist for a check up and she found absolutely no sogn of any cancer. She did use this little tube of something really cold to have at a couple spots, but they weren't cancer and the scars it left have already gone, so all is well on the health scene. I was getting sort of nervous for about a month before the exam, in spite of the fact I have followed all the instructions given to me after the first melanoma. I stay out of the sun, utilizing long sleeves, long pants, a hat, and sun screen. So I no longer have a beautiful tropical tan (at least by my standards) but I guess I will live longer. I have a cousin that died from melanoma, and I don't want that to happen to me.<br />
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That brings up another topic - health. I now spend quite a bit of time thinking about it. Despite all my mother's fussing, I have yet to contract either pneunomia or tuberculosis. When I was in college in Wisconsin, she was constantly telling me to be careful, not to catch a cold or it would turn into pneumonia and then to TB. Now she had to know it doesn't work that way, but it didn't stop her. In fact, I have enjoyed pretty robust good health. But sometimes I feel as though I am falling apart, piece by piece. Things just aren't as easy as they once were. When I had my shoulder fixed, the surgeon told me that he found osteoporosis and that I should be careful not to go breaking anything. Now I am very clumsy by nature, and I have always fallen, tripped, and otherwise knocked myself around a lot. I never had any ill effects from it - no sprains or broken bones. Just scrapes and bruises. But now I can't be so cavalier. I guess this is just part of the aging process. I still get surprized when I realize that I am 60 years old. I thought I'd be smarter by now.<br />
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But no one wants to read about someone whining about their health. Heck I knew I was getting old when I talked to one of my sisters and we spent at least 20 minutes discussing what medications we have to take and why. <br />
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Right now it is cloudy and hot and we are expecting rain. It is the rainy season here. We have only two seasons in the tropics - hot and rainy and hot and dry. Summer is the wet season and winter is the dry season. The dry season is the top time for tourists here. Here in the marina, in the northern part of the country, we are in the driest part of Costa Rica, where the tropical dry forests are found. I lived in San Diego long enough that it is still a big thrill when it rains. And I love the thnder and lightning as long as it isn't close to us. A couple of weeks ago we went up to the mountains and while we were there, they had a huge thunder and lightning storm. I laid on the bed in our awesome hotel room and watched the storm. It thundered and lightning-ed and the view over the mountains was incredible. It went on for several hours and buckets of rain fell. The dirt roads we had to take to get there were pretty messy the next day, but Mike is a superb four wheel driver, and we had no problems.<br />
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I am really happy we are not in the US for this election cycle. If only we get our absentee ballots in time! <br />
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Other than the chain issue, Magda Jean is in fine shape. I am getting eager to take her out and see what all our new sails can do. One of the ones we ordered did not come back as we wanted it to - we aren't sure what happened. Instead of the genoa we wanted replaced ( a genoa is a big foresail) we got a big Yankee. (A Yankee is a sail that is cut higher than a genoa.) But I have a feeling that we are going to like this new sail better. e will be using our staysail a lot more, and between the three sails (the main, the staysail and the yankee) we have a lot of different sail arrangements we can make. The yankee will also be easier and neater to furl up partway when we need to reef our our sails and decrease the sail area. I think we will do better in light air, and will find it easier and smoother to deal with the smaller sails when we need to tack. The genny could be hard to handle if the wind came up and caught us unawares. And I think we can sail with the yankee alone in higher winds. I like the look of it, especially in conjunction with the stay sail. Another thing - when we looked at the plans for the rig drawn up when the boat was first built, it appears to have had a yankee rather than a genoa. With the genoa, we could only use the staysail under very limited conditions. With the yankee, we will use it a lot more often. I think this new sail combination will cause the boat to be in better balance. The better the balance the better and smoother the sailing. Come on, chain!!! I am waiting for you!! But I have pointed out to Mike that there is no reason at all why we can't just take her out for the day, returning to the marina rather than anchoring out. He agrees, but it hasn't happened yet.<br />
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Anyway, I think it is time for me to wind this up. We won't be leaving Costa Rica any time soon, other than for visa renewals and a Christmas trip to Nicaragua with a frined from Newfoundland we met in Bolivia. Our current permit for the boat ends in July, but we can probably renew it if we want to. Or we can sail somewhere else for three months and then come back and start the whole thing over again. Who knows? <br />
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"It's better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick." (My Dad) <br />
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katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11732553406952887890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4756553956067898331.post-23117350089953053412016-05-02T11:17:00.000-07:002016-05-02T11:17:21.737-07:00A Long Time ComingI know I have been totally remiss in not updating this blog more often. I am just lazy, no more, no less. We are in Costa Rica, basically living at the marina. <br />
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What have we been up to since the last post God-knows-how-many-months ago? A lot.<br />
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First, I had to have rotator cuff surgery. Everyone told me how painful it was ging to be, how hard and miserable the physical therapy would be, and so on. But guess what? Except for the first few days after surgery, there were no serious pain issues. I did have to keep my arm strapped tight to my torso for about a month. Then I just had a sling. I did have physical therapy, but I liked it. It felt great. There were times when it was uncomfortable, but otherwise it was not that big a deal. I now have a full range of motion on that side, and before the surgery I couldn't raise my arm to even make a pony tail. Mike had to do my hair!! Not good!! But I am pleased with the results. <br />
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It even caused us to make some new friends. One of my nurses was exceediingly kind to me, and we got to talking. About a week after the surgery, she and her husband came to visit us on the boat. We have since visited back and forth. We spent Christmas Eve at their house. They have been over here for swimming. And they are both heavily involved with horses. Antonio runs a stable, and Mike has been riding with him in some horse parades, called "topes." (toe-pays.) It is total immersion into Spanish as neither of them speak English.<br />
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Another fun thing was that my son, Steve, came to see us in September. It was a great time. (I hope he thought so too.) We spent several days at anchor and got some sailing in. He got to jump from the boat into clear water at an anchorage otherwise deserted except for us. He met some of our friends, and all in all we had a perfectly marvelous visit. I miss him terribly, and am glad to see he is doing very well and is happy.<br />
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My shoulder sidelined us from doing any sailing or much else for a couple of months. We decided to take a trip back to San Diego, to see Steve of course, but also to get some new stuff for the boat. We got new sails, and a bunch of other things. The bags coming home were really heavy, and we were worried about all the baggage overweight charges we'd have to pay. But then a small miracle happened. I discovered that we could fly first class for $100.00 more per person. And, we each got two free bags. Problem solved! The oeverweight charges would have been a lot more.<br />
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But there was more to this trip. We left Costa Rica with a good friend on his boat. He needed crew to go to Mexico with him, so we happily volunteered. He was in a hurry to get there, so we did motor most of the way. I will tell you this: watches are a lot easier with three people instead of just two. <br />
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We went with him as far as Puerto Chiapas (aka Puerto Maderas) and then caught a bus to San Cristobal de Colon, which is located in the mountains in the state of Chiapas. It is one of my favorite spots in Mexico. Mike bought me some beautiful amber jewelry. I love amber, and now have a nice collection. Most of my pieces have bugs in them that you can see. <br />
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After that, we took another bus to Oaxaca City, another favorite of mine. The food is to die for - I love mole (moe lay) and they have four different kinds at least. This is also where they regularly eat grasshoppers, known as chapalines. (chop a leen ays.) Mike of course ate a bunch of them, and even had a bag he snacked on. I have already tried them and felt no real need to chow down. They don't really taste like anything except what they are cooked in, which is usually a combination of chiles and lime. The crunchy ones are fine - sort of like croutons, but some of them are sort of squishy and I don't like that. So I left the bug eating to Mike this time. While we were there, we returned to a small town where they specialize in rug weaving, using wool they spin themselves, then using natural plant based dyes and hand looms. It is amazing to watch and Mike bought two gorgeous rugs for the floor in the cabin.<br />
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When we got back from San Diego, we were dying to go sailing and stretch out our new sails. We spent about a week getting ready, with plans to be out and about in the boat for a month or so. On the day before wwe planned to leave, Mike was going around the boat, checking to see that everything wasin sailing order. To our absolute horror, we (Mike) discovered there was a broken turnbuckle on our backstay. <br />
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For those who ae not familiar with sailboats, the back stay is one of the wires around the boat that connects from the mast to the boat itself. The job of these wires (cables, really) is to hold the mast up. The fact that this was broken meant that there was no way we were going sailing. No way, no how. Mike immediately rigged up some rope (lines - when a piece of rope is placed on a boat, it becomes a line. There is no such thing on a boat as a rope.) bypassing the broken turnbuckle to hold things in place. Theoretically, if a strong enough wind hit the boat from the wrong angle, it could result in the mast falling down. This is not very likely, but if we tried to sail her, it would be disasterous if it did happen. So we are marina bound again, at least until we go to Arkansas (for my mother in law's birthday) where we ordered our new one sent. As usual, we start our trip with almost empty bags and return with them bursting. <br />
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So right now we are just living in Costa Rica, and Mike has been making noises about wanting to stay here. I have always leaned towards Mexico, but I have to admit it is really nice here. Almost the whole country is like a preserve, or a national park, or something on that order. We have been to hotels in the mountains (we go up there sometimes to get out of the heat), and each time we go we seen new birds and animals. I have seen three different kinds of monkeys, agoutis, coatimundis, deer, and even a kinkajou. The squirrels are beautfully colored with stripes down their backs. Even here at the marina we can take a walk and see monkeys and all kinds of birds. I can't get enough of it.<br />
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We have no idea what we want to do next, or where we want to go. Mike is making noises about maybe staying here. Who knows? We have 15 months before we need to get the boat out of here, and we might be able to obtain another two years. One never knows. Mike and I have to leave for at least 72 hours as we can only get 90 day visas. We have usually taken the trip to Grenada, Nicaaragua, when the need to leave arises. Nicaragua is wonderful. It is a lot less expensive than it is here, which is always a nice change. We have plans to take a land trip to Panama, as there are parts we were unable to visit as we couldn't safely leave the boat unattended. There is a town called Bosquete (boes ket tay) up in the mountains that is supposed to be very nice. There are a lot of expats living there, or so we have heard. <br />
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Mary Ellen, I am sorry we didn't make it up to see you - we weren't there long enough and had to make the rounds of all the marine stores to get the stuff we needed. And for you if no one else, I will try and overcome my incredible laziness and work on keeping this blog up. <br />
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So for now, we are happily living in Costa Rica and loving every minute of it. Who knows what the future holds for Magda Jean and her intrepid crew of two? The present is just fine, thank you.<br />
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(Sorry, no quote this time.) katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11732553406952887890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4756553956067898331.post-58323444800803778302015-09-10T14:07:00.000-07:002015-09-10T14:07:37.672-07:00Pura VidaWell, we never made it to Nicaragua. <br />
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I re-read my last post and noted I had discussed the need to maybe have to stop in Costa Rica and wait out the winds. I also noted we were enjoying our sail, with the winds sort of pulsing up and down.<br />
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Things kept up like that - it was actually sort of fun. We kept reefing the sails down when the wind hit, and then letting them out again when it died down. Our first clue that something might be changing came when we noticed the wind was coming up faster and harder. We finally left the reef in even when the wind was down, although that made us go slower than we wanted to. But reefing the sails is difficult once the wind has already come up, and since the gusts were getting closer together and stronger we decided sacrificing speed for control was worth it. Of course eventually the winds, which gusted up to about 40 knots, with sustained winds in the 30s.<br />
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Along with the increased winds came the dreaded fetch. Fetch occurs when wind blows accross the water and stirs up waves. If the current and the wind are acting in opposition, giant waves can be the result. We did not have that, but the waves that did develop were large and choppy enough to constantly knock the boat off course, affecting the speed and making things generally uncomfortable. We should have been able to fly along under reefed sails in that kind of wind without too much problem, but the wave action caused our speed to drop to less than 2 knots. The only way to improve that situation was to head towards shore and hug the shore as much as possible. Since these were easterly winds, coming off the land, the water closest to shore was the calmest. So we turned on the engine and headed towards shore.<br />
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We sailed along for awhile, but after checking our weather information, it became apparent things were not going to get better any time soon. The further north we went, the worse it was going to get. And since we couldn't make any speed, it would be days of misery to work our way north. So I insisted we stop in Costa Rica. After studying our sailing guide books, we chose an anchorage and dropped anchor.<br />
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Now, a word as to why we didn't want to stop in Costa Rica. (I hope I am not repeating myself, but I am far too lazy to re-read my old posts and see if the issue had been addressed previously or not.) When we left El Salvador in 2012 or so, we discovered right after heading out to sea that our depth sounder was not working. We did not want to try and anchor without a depth sounder, so we bypassed Nicaragua and Costa Rica and went straight to Panama City, where we knew we could get it fixed. And additionally, most cruisers bitch constantly about Costa Rica. Most of the people we knew were either lukewarm about it or flat out dislked it. The major complaint is that Costa Rica is expensive. And it is true, it is not cheap here. It is a LOT more expensive than Mexico or Salvador, but less than the US, for the most part. Nothing crazy by our standards. The other complaint is that the officials are hard to deal with. Stories abound about people who have had to flee in the night after being threatened with boat confiscation for small infractions. The officials were described as hostile and uncooperative. <br />
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After sitting around for a few days on the boat, we started to talk about what we wanted to do. I admitted to being tired of feeling like I was always running away from something, like weather issues or immigation requirements. I didnt want to just give up the whole thing, but I wanted something to change.<br />
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It seemed to me we had reached a strange and difficult point. What to do next? We decided that if we wanted to cross the Pacific, the boat needed some major upgrades, startng with new sails. There are also a lot of little things to fix as well. And then once you get there, where do you go? There is Australia or new Zealand. Both are a long way from anything else. And the weather between Polynesia and those countries is starting to get more and more dicey, with no real storm season any more. And then where to go from there? After the burglary, I did not want to go back to Puerto Amistad in Ecuador. There wsa supposedly another place to go n Ecuador, but couldn't get any sensible information about it. It just seemed too overwhelming. I wanted to stop, regroup, and sort things out. I kept most of this to myself because I was not ready to have that converstion with Mike. I did not think he would react well to any suggestion we not keep moving on. But he did agree that we should check in to the country and take a rest at the marina here.<br />
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I was stoked about that. We reached the marina by email, and arranged for a slip. We found out that the check in services through the marina required the use of an agent and would cost about $750.00. Forget that! So we raised sail and went a bit closer up the coast to Playa de Cocos, the check in point. The next day, we went to the Port Captain at 9 am to begin the process. We had all our paperwork in order and the officials could not have been more pleasent. They were thorough, asking questions that no other country asks, but did not ask us for a cent. After that, we walked about three blocks to immigration. Again, everyone was wonderful and did not ask us for a dime. Then it was back to the Port Captain, and then we caught a bus for the airport at Liberia, to handle customs. The bus ride is about half an hour. We then went to customs, handed in our papers, and within another half and hour we were done. Even with a stop to get our phones set up with service and internet, we were all done by noon. <br />
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That gave us the right to stay here for 90 days. We really started to like it here. The marina turned out to be a marvelous place, with great services and amenities, like a work out room, a nice pool, and a laundremat. The bar also serves decent food. It costs us about $1300 per month to live here, including water and electricity. The marina is part of a big hotel and condo and really fancy home complex. We can hear howler monkeys, and the water in the marina itself is so clean and clear it seems like we are docked in a giant aquarium. The depth is about 25 feet, and we can usually see the bottom. None of the other boats here are liveaboards - most of them are fishing boats or huge catamarines with absentee owners. We are the only people actually living in the marina. It is kind of odd, but fun too.<br />
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We also rented a four wheel drive car. Costa Rica has good roads, but also has a lot of dirt roads and jeep trails. We have been exploring all over this area, and love it.<br />
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So here is what happened - Mike decided he loved it here and was in no hurry to leave. Of course I was in agreement. Then, while visiting with the marina manager, I discovered there was a way to keep the boat in the country for two years. Without gonig into a lot of details, it seemed to me that it would meet all our needs for the time being. We do have to live in the marina, but as long as we are paying our fees here, all we have to do is file a "float plan" with the marina and we can sail where ever we want to without all the usual formalities, which are a bit onerous here. And this is a great place to sail - it is easy to day hop from anchorage to anchorage, all within an easy day sail of or marina slip.<br />
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So we decided to stay here, for at least the next year or two. There is way less lightning here, although it remains an issue. But the risk is way less, especially here in Northern Costa Rica. The other really great thing about being here is that Mike has a cousin living here. They have not seen each other since they were children. She and her husband have lived here for 20 years. We have visited with them twice and we all get along well. There is also a very large expat population here, and we are finding it easy to make friends. And the Costa Ricans are wonderful - I cannot say enough. By the way, "Pura Vida" means "Pure Life" and is sort of a Costa Rican "aloha." That sort of tells it all, better than I ever could.<br />
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"Before all masters, necessity is the one most listened to, and who teaches the best." (Jules Verne) <br />
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<br />katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11732553406952887890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4756553956067898331.post-65259617341298074842015-06-27T09:15:00.000-07:002015-06-27T09:16:12.766-07:00Now VoyagerRight now I am sailing off the coast of Costa Rica, and it is gorgeous! We have had a pod of dolphins around us for a whole day now, including last night. We have seen jumping marlins, a Giant Pacific Ray, all sorts of interesting birds and butterflies, and a host of other sea life I am happy beyond belief to report that the lightning is noticeably decreasing as we get further north. The last couple of nights it has only been behind us, and not close enough to make us nervous in the least. That is not to say we are ompletely out of danger, but we have mitigated our risk somewhat.
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<br>As much as I love Panama, it was good to finally be able to put it behind us and get moving. It is very unusual for there to be such a lack of wind in the area. That is why we are a month behind - when I looked a over our logs, I realized that it too us over a month from the time we left Panama City until we finally cleared out of western Panama. We did get to see some beautiful new anchorages, and we have vowed to return on our way back and check them out again. Panama really does have something for everyone.
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<br>We are not planning to stop in Costa Rica other than to wait out the winds, and hopefully that will not be for more than a week. Then we will head on to our destination, Puesta del Sol in northern Nicaragua. We decided to go there after talking to some friends about it. Sine it sounded really nice, we decided since we had been to Salvador we should try some place new. If we don't like it, we can continue north. But I have wanted to check out Nicaragua, and I also want to have visited every country in Central America. We may seem to be inconsistent, but that is just the way we do things, changing our minds on the fly.
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<br>Everything is fine here with us Our food supplies are holding out just fine, and we are nowhere near running out of coffee, which would be the only thing we would really hate to do without. I don't want to jinx anything, but we also seem to be losing weight nicely. So no negativity here, and we are both simply enjoying the cruise. Today the wind keeps going up and down, in a pulsing sort of way. We think we are starting to feel some of the winds we will be avoiding later. They are called papagayo winds, and are caused by strong winds in the Caribbean blowing through a gap in the land area across and over Lake Nicaragua, in southern Nicaragua. This is something everyone out here has to deal with, as they used to occur solely in the winter, but now seem to blow almost all hear round No one can tell me there is no such thing as global climate change For proof, I can tell you that all the cruising route books are practically useless now, as the weather patterns are no longer reliable at all. There have already been three hurricanes in the Pacific, and that is way too many for this early in the season.
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<br>But enough of that. As I said before, we are fine and happy. Here is a little quote on what is required of a sailor
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<br>"And last on this short list, he must heal well Scrapes, gouges, bruises, cuts, sprains, strains, and occasionally burns appear as if miraculously, often without my knowing their cause; a kind of stigmata of the sea." (Webb Childs, "Storm Passage: Alone Around Cape Horn.")
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<br>for information see: <a href="http://www.sailmail.com">http://www.sailmail.com</a>katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11732553406952887890noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4756553956067898331.post-65289957652709851452015-06-13T16:22:00.000-07:002015-06-14T13:34:14.164-07:00A Slow ProgressWe continue our way on towards either Salvador or Nicaragua, but I think we have decided on Nicaragua. We haven't been there yet, and the facilities sound like we would like it. And if we don't, we can always head on to Salvador later. The place we are heading is called Puesta Del Sol, which means sunset. There is a marina, mooring field, and a hotel complex which means there is a pool, to cool off from the hot Nicaraguan weather. Friends of ours have been there, and speak highly of it. And I planned to visit there anyway, at least on a land trip from Salvador. That also means that the trip will be about 100 miles shorter than to Salvador, which helps with our fuel consumption issue. We also had a great discovery in the fuel realm - we have been averaging about one half gallon of fuel per engine hour, which is damn good.
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<br>Right now we are in an anchorage called Bahia Honda, and I think it may be the prettiest anchorage I have ever been in, bar none. We are surrounded by jungle, with birds and moneys calling out to us. The fish are jumping all over the place, and the rays are also throwing themselves up out of the water and landing with a loud splat. If you have never seen a ray jump, you have missed something. I have never seen anything that looks so simply joyful. A local man came by yesterday right after we got here, and sold us some avocados and limes. He is supposed to come by today with pineapple, onions, and potatoes, as well as bread. We still have plenty of meat in the freezer, and the other day we caught a big sierra, which Mike was able to filet into eight separate meals. So with this new produce, we have better meals than ever. The onions were the most important part, truthfully. Almost everything we make uses an onion.
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<br>Mike and I are lucky in that we have pensions, and don't have to live off a "cruising kitty." All we have to do is tighten our belts for a couple of months, and we an afford pretty much whatever comes our way, especially something bad (like a lightning strike) because we are insured. But there are a lot of cruisers who are not insured, and when something really bad happens, they are completely out of luck. Sometimes it means the end of the whole thing. We know a man in Panama City, whose boat was struck by lightning last year and all of his electrical systems were completely destroyed He can't even really live on it anymore, let alone sail it anywhere The sad part is he lives on social security with apparently little to no savings, and he is stuck. Really stuck. He can't afford to get it fixed, and now I suppose he will have to sell it for a song and where he can live as cheaply as he does now, I do not know. I suppose he couldn't afford insurance if he wanted it, but I know a lot of people who say their insurance is "prudent seamanship" I have also heard it said (by one who is not insured but I know could afford to be) that people who are insured are not has careful as those who aren't. Prudent seamanship is all well an good, but it is no good whatsoever against a lightning strike. We are at least as careful as the uninsured, maybe even more so. Interestingly, there are a lot of libertarian types out here who simply do not agree with the whole concept of insurance, asserting it constitutes "betting against oneself" I don't think so, but maybe I am wrong. All I know is that if something bad happens, we will be pretty much okay. If I decide I want to stop cruising, so be it, but I want to make the decision myself and not have it made for me by some horrid accident.
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<br>The local guy just came by and brought us pineapple, more avocados, the potatoes, the onions, plantains, bread, and some delicious bananas. We paid for the stuff and also gave him some fishing line, a nice lure, and some hooks. He promised to come by tomorrow with some papaya.
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<br>So I guess that is all for now. We got some rain, enough to wash the deck off. Now we need more so we can collect some water. Nothing beats drinking rainwater.
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<br>"For what's the point of breeding children, if each generation does not improve on what went before?" (Hilary Mantel)
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<br>for information see: <a href="http://www.sailmail.com">http://www.sailmail.com</a>katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11732553406952887890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4756553956067898331.post-5866722861733564652015-06-06T11:51:00.000-07:002015-06-06T11:52:58.440-07:00Rain and More RainIt has been raining every day here, as we sit and wait for some wind to come along and help us work our way to our destination, which seems at this point to be years away. Not really, but it does seem that way. So we download weather information, and what do we see? A crazy weather pattern, that looks for all the world like a hurricane where a hurricane should not be. We have been watching it for a couple of days now, and it is not really going to become a hurricane, but it is going to cause our current anchorage to become untenable. With no wind to speak of now, we are going to have to move to a safer place and we will leave tomorrow. There is a really good spot not all that far from here, and we will just have to motor there if we can't sail it. This diddling around would not bother me at all were it not for the fact that there is family business requiring signatures and I am worried that I am holding the process up. However, we will arrive eventually and then all will be well.
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<br>One of the benefits of being out in the middle of nowhere is that you an only eat what you brought on board when you provisioned up in Panama City. So if a person is smart, and not hungry when shopping, that person will not choose to buy him or herself a bunch of fattening snacks and things like that. And I am smart. When Mike buys candy and chips, I try to make sure he gets the kind I don't like. So that way, there is nothing but healthy things for me to eat. I am remembering the things I learned in Weight Watchers, like drinking a lot of water, using glasses of water when I get the urge to eat without really being hungry. I am only eating when I am actually hungry. So without jinxing it (I hope) I am losing weight. Hopefully on my next visit to the US, I will look as awesome as a nearly sixty year old woman can look.
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<br>Otherwise, I do not really have anything newsworthy to report. We listen to the howler monkeys every day, and one day we got to see them all perched in a tree that did not have a lot of leaves. Usually we can hear them but not see them because the foliage is too thick. That was a treat.
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<br>I am trying hard not to get edgy and nervous, but sometimes my generalized anxiety gets the best of me - it took me years to recognize free floating anxiety as something that just happens and is not related to anything being wrong in reality. It is something that will pass, especially if I sit quietly and take deep breaths picturing myself blowing all the anxiety out of me through my exhales. I used to sit and frantically review everything that was happening, trying to find a reason why I had that overwhelming feeing of doom. The only way I can describe it is this: it is the exact same feeling I got as a child when I was walking home from school with a bad report card, knowing without a doubt how much trouble I was in and how I was going to get yelled at. That sick feeling in your stomach, like you are going to throw up but not quite, and throwing up won't help anyway. Now I can stay on top of it, and just do my deep breathing until I can blow it away (most of the time, anyway). If anyone reading this has this problem, try the breathing - take deep breaths, hold them a bit, then blow them out hard like candles on a birthday cake.
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<br>But I digress. I am reading a lot of English history these days, so if anyone is curious about the Plantagenets, just ask me. Or the War of the Roses. When we still had internet access, I downloaded a three volume set of English history. If anyone has any suggestions for any good books about French history, let me know. That is going to be my next stop. BUt you know, I can't get over the fact that nothing ever seems to change. Just when things look like they are settling down, someone gets a bug up their ass and everything goes to hell again. Same hassles, new faces. And everyone has God on their side.
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<br>So with that, I will end this post - a rambling, pointless post, the result of too much time on my hands and too much time to think about things. But it is still better than the best day working, so I still feel lucky.
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<br>"Chance favors the prepared mind." (Louis Pasteur)
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<br>for information see: <a href="http://www.sailmail.com">http://www.sailmail.com</a>katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11732553406952887890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4756553956067898331.post-18854876456563504702015-06-01T10:12:00.000-07:002015-06-01T10:20:16.047-07:00No Weather TodayThat is about how things stand right now. We are waiting for some wind, any wind, to get us moving toward Salvador. we are still in western Panama, in a beautiful anchorage that we have all to ourselves. It is starting to be the off season now for cruising between Mexico and Ecuador,so when I run my radio net it takes way less time and there will come a time when no one checks in. A few of us just keep it going until the season picks up again. I have been doing this net for a couple of years now, although I couldn't do it from Ecuador and I am not sure if I can do it from Salvador. There is radio reception there of course but maybe not clear enough to actually run the net. The anchorages are up river estuaries, and there can be a lot of interference. To be honest, I know very little about how the radio stuff actually works, I just know how to use the mike and talk on it.
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<br>As I said, it is gorgeous here, so if we have to be stuck, this is the place. We are here alone 99% of the time, except for the monkeys we hear in the jungle. There are lots of birds, and there is always fish actiOn to watch. By that I mean big jumpers out towards open sea, which we don't want to catch. A really big fish is hard to handle,and our freezer is only so big. Our sport fishing days are over. Now we just fish for food. And even more fun to watch - there are schools of small fish that hide underneath our anchored boat and come out periodically to feed on alga or plankton, or other even smaller fish. Never a dull moment.
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<br>Although we do have an engine and fuel, we don't carry enough fuel to motor all the way to Salvador, at least I don't think so. We need to save the fuel for things like dodging lightning cells while underway, getting into tight anchorages, avoiding shores if the wind and currents are trying to push us there, things like that. Plus the engine is loud and it is almost impossible to get any decent sleep with it going. This is an especial problem for Mike, who never gets enough sleep anyway when we are underway. We ave a watch schedule, but if something goes south on my watch, I need to get him up to help me deal with it. There is no way around that. Certainly I do not get him up for every little thing, there are many things I handle on my own with no problems. It seems like everything goes smoothly on his watch, and then as soon as he is settled in the bed, everything changes. As time as go on, I have learned to handle lots of stuff alone, but some stuff requires more strength than I have. Plus, to be honest, Mike is a bit of a control freak, and there are things I am under orders not to even try to do alone. And I am too lazy and without enough ambition to complain about that. I get plenty of sleep while we are underway and there are few things I like better than being all comfy in my bed, listening to the water rush by outside the boat. It is an amazing feeling to think that only a few inches of fiberglass separates me from the open ocean. I really love it. Sometimes I just lay there listening. If only I did not feel so guilty about getting so much more sleep than Mike! But I guess it cannot be helped. But I must add that another great feeling is when Mike is asleep and I am running the boat. I feel very tender towards him, like I would fight anyone who ever tried to hurt him. There are times when my heart feels like it is full to bursting during my watches, like I am overflowing with love for him. Maybe this is too personal, too much about me, but it is one of the best things about being out here. It is just us, and we need to take of each other.
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<br>We have already run out of beer, but who care about that, it will help us lose some weight. I have not missed it at all. We did save two cans for en we arrive in Salvador to celebrate. We don't drink at all when we are actually underway, it is a generally bad idea. The only thing it would be a true tragedy if we were to run out of would be coffee. At that point we would probably swim to Salvador, towing the boat behind us. Otherwise, we have plenty of food aboard and can stay out here quite a wile if we had to. But we are hoping to get out of here at the end of the week, as the weather gribs look as though the wind might pick up then. Until then, here we float. As Vonnegut would say, "and so it goes."
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<br>"Beauty is an enormous, unmerited gift given randomly, stupidly." (Khaled Hosseini)
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<br>for information see: <a href="http://www.sailmail.com">http://www.sailmail.com</a>katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11732553406952887890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4756553956067898331.post-85774200758751754932015-05-29T07:51:00.000-07:002015-05-29T07:53:05.626-07:00Back on the road . . . sort ofHere we are, on our way to Salvador. We left Panama City on May 7, and since that time we are still here in Panama, slowly sailing with either no wind or lightning. Neither are optimal for our purposes. I used to love thunder and lightning, but now I am in horror of it. I have too many friends and acquaintances who have been struck and lost all of their electronics - usually to the tune of at least $30,000 to fix, not to mention the hassle of trying to find someone who can actually do the work and do it right.
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<br>The night before last, we had to use the engine to literally dodge around lighting cells. Mike was masterful, handling this boat like one of those NASCAR drivers, only slower. We pulled in here at 3 am with no moon, so we couldn't see anything and had to navigate in using our radar. Then, to add insult to injury, it started to rain. The problem with rain is that when you are using radar to navigate, rather than to see what is way up ahead of you, the rain shows up on the screen and causes the screen to be one big blob, instead of several little clearly defined blobs that are indicative of things to be avoided. But here we are, safe and sound, so we managed. I mean Mike managed - I sat there helping him look out. Too bad I no longer have the excellent night vision I had as a kid. Moonless nights with cloud cover are difficult. A fact of sailing life. So now we wait, for some kind of break in the weather.
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<br>At least we are in a gorgeous anchorage. Yesterday we heard the howler monkeys calling. In fact, they have just started up again. The beach butts right up against a dense jungle, and the air is thick with the smell of plumeria. There are wild orchids everywhere,growing on the big ceiba trees. We can see and experience all this from the boat. We also have a bucket of mangoes that we picked at our last anchorage, so we are living well. Our only disappointment is that the fishing has been terrible. I have caught basically nothing this year. Everyone, including the local panga fishermen, are talking about it. Thank goodness we have a freezer full of store bought food. If it were solely up to me this year, we would starve.
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<br>The Panamanian military came by and checked our paperwork, which of course is in perfect order. Even though it is always in perfect order (except once when I lucked out) I still break out in a sweat every time someone in a uniform asks to see my papers. Too many WWII moves, for sure. Even though none of these guys sound like Claude Rains. And they usually smile. And they are usually 18 years old. But still.
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<br>But other than that, things could not be better. I do not mind going slowly,I just feel bad because there is some family business I need internet to take care of and I don't have it now, and won't until Salvador. I can send and receive basic email with no attachments, via SSB radio (the way I am posting this and why I have no pictures to accompany it) but that is all. So it is frustrating because I do not want to be a hold up to the process. It is one of those "serenity to accept the things I cannot change" things, and the virtue "Patience" has never been my strong suit.
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<br>Anyway, this will be a short post. I am fine, Mike is fine, Magda Jean is fine. Although our pace is slow, we are learning to stop expending energy fussing over what may happen next, but to simply accept and experience as deeply as possible what happening in this moment. Not as easy as it sounds, but when it works it is amazing. The adventure continues.
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<br>"Please don't understand me too quickly." (Andre Gide)
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<br>for information see: <a href="http://www.sailmail.com">http://www.sailmail.com</a>katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11732553406952887890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4756553956067898331.post-11905747544082831792015-05-07T08:04:00.000-07:002015-05-07T08:11:52.687-07:00"I've been one poor correspondant . . .I've been too too hard to find. But that doesn't mean you ain't been on my mind." Okay, quoting America of all bands is not going to win me any prizes for either the depth of my intellect or my level of music appreciation. And they had to be one of the most overplayed bands of the seventies or whenever it was. But it still describes how I feel about letting this blog go as long as I have.
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<br>And there is no real good answer - my usual general laziness mixed with what we had going on.
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<br>I think we left off with us in Panama. I did tell of our two guests/crew members who rode with us from Ecuador to Panama - Wayne and Marcos, hailing from Newfoundland and Australia respectively. We met them in Bolivia, on a bike and boat trip that took us from high in the Andes down into the Amazon basin. Marcos was the guide and Wayne was another of the participants. We had a blast with them on the boat.
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<br>After they left, we spent some time enjoying the Perlas Islands. At that point, we dove on the boat (which means diving under the boat to see what is going on down there) and discovered that when the Ecuadorian pilot caused us to run aground, we did suffer damage to the rudder skeg (part of the boat that hangs down to protect the rudder. Here, it did its job well.) To fix it required us to have the boat hauled, which was planned anyway for new bottom paint. So we spent most of the month of March with the boat on the hard (in the shipyard). We do not stay on the boat when it is on the hard, and I don't think this yard would have let us do that even if we wanted to. So we stayed in a nearby hotel, so we could go everyday and check on the boat. It is always sort of a treat to stay in a hotel - there is the big king-size bed, the unlimited water for showers, air conditioning (which makes one truly appreciate the HOT shower. We have the ability to have hot showers on the boat, but we never go there. It is too hot to want to take anything but a nice cool shower. I do not want any more warm water on my body, thank you. The constant sweat is warm enough.), and of course Cable TV, which usually includes the following English presentations: CNN International along with one other channel which seems to play the many, many permutations of the show CSI, as well as NCIS or whatever the initials are for the one about naval intelligence. We just sit there eating junk food and watching junk television, but who cares - it is never for very long. But I always miss the boat, especially sleeping in my own little bed with the nice soothing rocking motion.
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<br>So the damage was fixed, and insurance did pay fort some of it, although most of the work fell within the deductible. Then, right after we got back on the boat, I went to the doctor because I had a slight case of conjunctivitis, and knowing how icky it is, I went in right away to catch it before it got bad and before Mike caught it. So while I was in there, i decided to have the doctor take a look at two spots on my skin, one of which my sister (who is a nurse and knows about these things plus she is a survivor of two malignant melanomas) told my did not look good. I of course blew that off. Then right before I went in I noticed a spot on my upper arm that looked funny. You must know that I am covered with freckles and various other spots and skin tags and whatever, so it is hard to keep track of all the spots and what they might be doing at any given time. But I decided "What the hell, I am here, I might as well get this addressed now so I don't have to periodically think about it." The doctor looked at the one on my chest (we never got to the one on my arm) and she said "You need to see a dermatologist." "okay" says I. "No" she says. "you need to see one this week.) So I did, and of course you can guess the rest. I had a malignant melanoma on my chest, and a basal cell sarcoma on my arm. The dermatologist/plastic surgeon got all of the cancer, so I am right as rain currently.
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<br>It did give me a scare, though. I had been walking around with the melanoma for well over a year, and had it not been for the conjunctivitis, it would still be there. I have a cousin who died of skin cancer, and I am told it is a bad death. I feel like I dodged a bullet or something. I suppose I am making too big a deal out of it, but it scares me to think I really could have screwed the pooch here but for something completely unrelated. I guess this also messes with my master plan of getting through my fifties without any cancer.
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<br>Now I have no choice but to be careful with the sun and I would be horribly remiss if I did not warn everyone to be careful with this sun before it is too late for you. The price of a beautiful golden tan is not worth it! Go to the salon and get a fake one if you simply must have one. I was never one of those who baked themselves all summer, and was always pretty careful to use sunscreen, but it still happened. I endured my high school years at Laguna Beach High School in the early seventies being constantly asked (and always in a snotty tone) "Don't you ever go outside?" I would patiently explain that as a redhead tanning wasn't really something I would ever excel at. Then they would point out someone close to redheaded with a nice tan and tell me that I could do it if I really tried. I hope things have changed at that level, because that is when the damage starts that ends up with surgery and cancer. What I had is not the result of my being on the boat, it is damage that set in a long time ago. But I have now moved from tank tops to long sleeved t-shirts, and if anyone anywhere asks me why I have no tan I am likely to want to punch them in the nose.
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<br>But enough of that. I am fine now and that is all that matters. Things are fine, the boat is in great shape, and we are ready to move on to new adventures.
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<br>One thing happened that was very interesting and I doubt we will ever experience anything like it again. One morning we got in the dinghy and went in to the dock. Our plan was to do some shopping and then get a few beers and something eat. As we pulled up to the dock, we saw our favorite driver, Roosevelt, waving to us from the top of the ramp near the dinghy dock. He told us he had a favor to ask of us, One of his relatives had died, and the family wanted to ashes scattered in the Panama Canal. He asked if we could take two family members along with the ashes into the entrance to the canal in our dinghy so this could be done. Of course we said yes and so that happened. Our anchorage is right by the entrance, so we went up in there and sat quietly while that family said a prayer and then released the ashes into the water. I felt pretty honored that we were able to be of assistance. If my sisters are reading this, I would like to tell you it went smoother than it did when we took mom out on Islandia Sport Fishing.
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<br>Later on, another local friend asked if he could come on our boat, as he had never been on a sailboat. So we took him out for a couple hours just sailing around the bay (thank goodness we chose a day where there was enough wind to do so!). It was a fun time for all three of us.
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<br>Once the boat was fixed, it was time to think about what we are going to do. Staying in Panama is not an option due to the horrendous lightning once the rainy season is in full swing. (It is just starting now.) The best way to avoid it is to return to Ecuador, but there are two reasons why I do not want to do that. There are only two truly viable anchorages in Ecuador - one is in Bahia Caraquez (where we were before) and the other is near two towns called Salinas and Puerto Lucia.
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<br>I won't go back to Bahia Caraquez, and I have never said that about any other place, even those I was not fond of. The anchorage there is supposed to be secure, with round the clock security, but after we went to Colombia for two weeks, upon our return we discovered we had been burglarized. I did mention this before, but as time has gone on, we have discovered that more and more things were stolen, and all indications are that the burglars had plenty of time to not only go through the boat completely and then put things back the way they were. Right away we noticed the missing computers (three out of the four were broken, ha ha ha) and some of the boat equipment (i.e. our best ratcheting winch handle!). But it was not until later, much later, when I dug deep into one of the closets for the few pieces of jewelry that I saved. The thieves got in there and stole all my gold chains, plus (and this is the one that hurts and I cannot forgive) my sapphire ring that Mike gave me when we first got together. That is the only piece of jewelry i have ever really cared about, and I do not want to return to Caraquez and have to look at all those workers around the anchorage (and we know it was one of them, there are no other possibilities) and wonder which of those people I regarded as friends did this to me. And yes, I am taking it personally. We were not the only boat this happened to, and everyone else feels the same way. The people running the anchorage do not seem to care. So I am not going back. It would be too hard and I am not good at staying suspicious and angry, it is too hard.
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<br>The other place is an unknown entity. There are two yacht clubs there, and supposedly there are some moorings that can be rented, but nobody knows for sure and nobody knows how much it costs. The clubs do not answer emails (I have sent them in both Spanish and English), and the only person who has actually been there was on the hard for repairs and spent no time there in any anchorage. I do not want to get all the way down there only to discover the alternatives are really expensive mooring rentals or a crappy anchorage with no decent place to dock the dinghy. So that is out, since we really need to keep our expenses down and save up some money.
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<br>While we were ruminating over what we wanted to do, our friends suggested we go back up to El Salvador, but to a different place than where we were before. While El Salvador does have lightning issues, it does not seem to us to be as bad as Panama. El Salvador is very inexpensive, especially compared to Panama. I had been intrigued by this place (called Barillas) since before we went to Salvador originally, but we went to Bahia del Sol instead as that was where the El Salvador Rally went and where our friends at the time were going. Again we will be anchored in a river estuary, and will rent a mooring (affordable!) near a really nice resort where we have use of the pool, etc. If we don't like it, we can go further north back to Bahia del Sol. We can also go south when the rainy season winds down and stop in Nicaragua. I do hope we can do some travel in Costa Rica and Nicaragua while we are there - Costa Rica has a lot of lightning issues too, which is why we are not spending the season there. But I do want to see both of them, and who knows what will happen.
<br>
<br>We had planned to return to Ecuador and go from there to the Galapagos and on to Polynesia, but the medical stuff and the boat damage through our scheduling off. So we plan to head back here (Panama) and do all the preparation for that big trip to begin in February next year. We need two new sails and a bunch of other things to make a sail that long and serious a true reality for us. This year, a number of boats trying to make the trip had to head back this way because of boat problems like rigging issues and things that MIke wants to replace on MJ before we head out. We know of one boat that sank and the couple aboard was rescued by another sail boat. Both of those boats were over 1000 miles from any shore. There is another one out there now that is creeping towards Polynesia with damaged rigging, and a mast that is swaying in the breeze. I don't want to be any of these people. And we could very well be, so the most important thing is to make sure the boat is in the best shape it can be in.
<br>
<br>So now I have brought things up to date. This has been a really dynamic year so far - and even with all the bad things I can't say it has been a bad year so far. I don't feel that way. I (we, actually, Mike agrees) have had some experiences that taught us a lot, not only about the boat, but about each other. Things between the two of us may never have been better, and that is because both of us have taken some lessons from people and things we have encountered just in this very short time period, of less than six months. It is amazing how much one can learn when one wants to learn. But you have to be willing to accept and recognize the lesson when it comes to you. And for Mike and I, that is key.
<br>
<br>Anyway, I am going to wind this down now. We are currently in the Perlas Islands, and are slowly meandering up to El Salvador. For those that worry, we are in touch every day on SSB radio, and there is always someone out there who knows where we are and can help arrange for assistance if everything went south, which it is not going to. So I wish everyone all the best possible.
<br>
<br>"How sad to think that nature speaks and mankind doesn't listen." (Victor Hugo)
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<br>for information see: <a href="http://www.sailmail.com">http://www.sailmail.com</a>katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11732553406952887890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4756553956067898331.post-66557045380822230382015-02-23T06:43:00.000-08:002015-02-23T12:22:52.563-08:00Here in Limbo . . .Which is where we are until we can get this boat hauled out and determine the amount of damage she has actually suffered. The skeg itself can likely be a pretty easy fix IF we can find someone here in Panama who does fiberglass work and that should be pretty easy. Our concern is that the skeg is really strong and the force it took to break it off may have damaged the integrity of the hull itself. The best way to explain it would be as of there had been an earthquake that did some noticeable damage, but in actuality damaged the foundations as well. And the purpose of the skeg is to protect the rudder itself from damage, and it did it's job there, but now that is partly missing, the rudder is no longer protected. So that is where we are and what we are waiting for.
<br>
<br>We are still in these gorgeous islands, swimming, beach combing, and trying to catch some fish, although my fishing luck this year has been terrible. I will keep trying. Tomorrow we leave for Panama City, as our crew member, Anya, is leaving the boat and I will miss her. We had a lot of fun together, and I loved having another woman around. I have learned that having crew changes the dynamic of the boat. It has been interesting.
<br>
<br>Two days ago the three of us boarded a friend's boat, and the five of us sailed off to another island for the day. This island has a store on it (albeit with a very limited, expensive selection)and all of us were able to obtain more beer, eggs, and produce. We also got some frozen pork chops! It was great fun to sail on someone else's boat. In fact, I love riding on a boat when I am not responsible for it. Being a passenger is great fun. It is also very interesting and educational to see how different types of boats sail. This particular boat seemed very easy to sail, or maybe it was because our friend is so skilled at handling it. It was a ketch, with a center cockpit. I liked it.
<br>
<br>There really isn't anything more to report, news-wise. We are fine and healthy. Lots of our time right now is spent trying to plan for each and every scenario that could arise depending on what happens with the boat. To top that off, we were, even before the damage was discovered, thinking about selling this boat and getting a different one. Things are up in the air, and that is exciting but also stress inducing. It is really hard and uncomfortable for me to have to just sit and wait and let things unfold. I want to come up with a solution NOW!!! But I can't and I just have to deal with that, and not get crabby about it.
<br>
<br>Since it is close to my birthday, I always use this time of year to reflect on me and what I want for my life. I know that sounds self centered, and I even sort of cringe when I read it. But it is my life, and while I do not ignore the needs of the other people in my life, I need to know what I want for myself. I do feel that everyone has a basic right to consider their own wants as long as the needs of others are not trampled on. I know I seem to be the sort of person who has no problem standing up for myself, but in truth I am full of hot air and not nearly as together as I present myself. (Of course, there is always a good chance that I am way off base and everyone knows what a wimp I am.) But as I get older, and realize that I have outlived my mom and will have outlived my dad in seven years, it is starting to occur to me that I really only have a certain amount of time left. I do not want to waste it, and part of not wanting to waste it is realizing that I better think about what I want so I do not waste the time I have left thinking no problem, maybe some other time. There is no "some other time". There is only now. So I need to step up and take care of my own needs and wants. Nobody is going to read my mind and drop something into my lap, so to speak.
<br>
<br>Anyway, enough of that sort of nonsense. I am here in these beautiful islands and I will enjoy them while I am here. I will also enjoy what Panama City has to offer me, and I do not hate cities like Mike does. To compare the islands and the cities is the height of apples and oranges and I will not do so. I like them both. So on I go.
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<br>for information see: <a href="http://www.sailmail.com">http://www.sailmail.com</a>katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11732553406952887890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4756553956067898331.post-28285466030503358992015-02-12T06:48:00.000-08:002015-02-12T06:53:59.207-08:00Celestial NavigationI know it is surprising, two posts in such a short time period, but I am trying to get better, so this is a good start.
<br>
<br>We are still at anchor in the Perlas Islands, and now there are a total of five boats in our anchorage, and all of them are Canadian. We are calling it Little Canada and there has already been a Prime Minister elected. Alas, since we are not Canadian, the best I think we can hope for here on Magda Jean is refugee status. Anyway, one of the other boats is having a birthday today (Feb 11) so we are having a party on the beach and then drinks and stuff on their boat. It will also be a good time to get acquainted with the boats we have not met yet, as two of them just came in yesterday and I have only talked to them on the radio. I am now doing one day a week as a Net Controller for the Panama Pacific Net, but one day a week is all I will do - I did it alone for several months, and had only one or two other Controllers for many months when we were here before. I love doing it, but not all the time.
<br>
<br>The other exciting news is that we (yes, WE, I am actually learning something myself) are learning celestial navigation. We each have our own sextants. I have only just begun to actually use mine, and have to practice it a lot more, just learning how to get the shots lined up before we ever start trying to make real plots. Oops, it is time to try it again, I will be right back!
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<br>I am back now, and it only took me two minutes to go up on deck and get the sun in focus and lined up with the horizon. So now I have to get accurate. The math involved is not hard, just basic arithmetic, but the concepts are hard for me to get my head around. It is all geometry, lines and arcs and angles and points and I was never really good at that, but I do finally understand the concept of everything being measured in degrees and minutes, and these degrees can correlate with time and distance and all sorts of things. Luckily, most of the really complicated computations are contained in these almanacs, so you look up your numbers and find what you need to determine where you really are. It seems like (at this early stage) that the almanacs assume certain things, and you have to do the math that makes your numbers translate to the numbers in the almanacs. Something like that. I guess if I can't explain it, I have a lot more work to do.
<br>
<br>It is HOT out here, and the humidity is pretty high. At least we have the whole ocean to swim in and cool down. The fishing has been terrible - in fact, I was reduced to buying fish from a local who brought his panga aside with a nice selection. I could not help but notice that most of the fish were reef fish, rather than the migrating ones that we usually catch. The more I fish, and the more I learn about fish, in some ways I don't want to catch them anymore. But I know that would be hypocritical, since I have no plans to stop eating them.
<br>
<br>Otherwise, there is really no news to report. We plan to stay out here through the month if we can, but our stores are running low. The locals have plenty of beer and stuff like that, but the tiny village never has produce (other than potatoes and onions if we get there on a good day)or eggs for sale. We did get some papaya and some wonderful limes, but that is all. When mangoes are ready, we will be able to get plenty of those and there are a lot of mango trees on these islands. Mango season is not quite here yet, too bad for us. Oh I forgot - we did get some plantains, and Mike fried up some patacones, which are little plantain rounds. They taste a lot like potatoes when they are green like the ones we have. As they get riper, they get a bit sweeter, but never as sweet as a banana, and you always want to cook them. Anyway, with the stores running low and the fishing pretty bad, we have been reduced to going through what we have and trying to conjure up decent meals out of our meager produce and meat rations and canned stuff. So far it has gone pretty well. Mike made a dish with that colored pasta shaped like corkscrews with canned diced tomatoes, fresh onions and garlic, and spam (of all things). I was highly skeptical to say the least, but it was really quite good. We also found that a can of chopped up spam will flavor split pea or bean soup quite well when there is nothing else available. Who knew?
<br>
<br>So anyway, that is it for now, and I am going to go up and take another sun shot, see how it matches with the other ones. I feel like Captain Cook!
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<br>for information see: <a href="http://www.sailmail.com">http://www.sailmail.com</a>katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11732553406952887890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4756553956067898331.post-56340500816104775032015-02-09T05:18:00.000-08:002015-02-09T05:19:34.236-08:00RecapOk, Ok, I am really sorry that I let this go so long. I really have no excuse other than my normal ones of laziness and some technical issues. But we are well and happy and doing fine. Since I do not have internet access where I am, this is being posted via SSB radio, and that means I can't check to see where I was the last time I wrote. I am pretty sure I reported that we had completed our land trip to Bolivia and Peru, and returned to Ecuador. This all happened in early November.
<br>
<br>Anyway, both Bolivia and Peru were amazing beyond belief. Peru gets a lot more visitors (because of Machu Picchu) than Bolivia, so their tourist structure is better. But the Bolivians are wonderful, gracious hosts. When we were in La Paz, we ate lunch at this little place that catered to locals, but the food was cheap and plentiful, so we started going there. Every time we came, the staff all came to welcome us, and other customers would come to our table, introduce themselves, and shake our hands while asking where we were from. And even though our government is not a big fan of the Bolivian president, Evo Morales, (and vice verse) the people are happy to meet Americans and ask questions about us. It was a wonderful experience. Peru was the same way, although to a lesser extent since they are used to tourists. Being in Lima was like being in a cold, cloudy, LA. La Paz is very different, definitely a developing nations type place. (By the way, I have learned that nobody uses the phrase "third world" any more. The proper phrase is "developing nation". And if they are coming out of a big civil war, like poor El Salvador, the proper phrase is "post conflict developing nation.") The smaller towns in Peru were more like Bolivia, with out the sophistication of Lima or the Machu Picchu staging areas.
<br>
<br>So anyway, we got back to Ecuador and everything was fine, except we were missing a really nice (and fairly expensive) ratcheting winch handle. We use it to help winch the sails in, and while we do have other handles, this one was the one I preferred. We had left it in the cockpit, so I suppose we should have known better. But that was all, and the work we had contracted to have done was done very well. There were no real problems with the boat that we did not know about before we left, which was good. One of the problems with a boat is that when they sit around for awhile, they tend to have things just stop working for a myriad of reasons. We knew that the alternator was not working properly, and we did not have the fridge working, because we had to replace the evaporator. So Mike got all that done, and did a fine job. We had an engine pro come in and look at the alternator situation (because it kept not working right after a fix) and he figured out what the problem was and fixed it, so we are now in real good shape. And Mike got the evaporator changed and the fridge fixed; so we are happy about that.
<br>
<br>We had also made plans for some friends we met while traveling in Bolivia to come and meet us in Ecuador and sail with us back to Panama. But because of that, we were going to have visa trouble - so without going into all the boring details of how visas work in Bolivia, the easiest way to solve the problem was to leave the country for a couple of weeks. We ended up hopping on the bus and going to Colombia for two weeks. This time we headed north out of Ecuador and went through Quito, which is a really interesting mix of old and new. It was one of the first cities in Latin America to be declared a World Heritage Site. Then we ended up spending two weeks in southern Colombia, in a really rural area full of coffee fincas, forests, jungles, rivers, and lots of waterfalls. We fell in love with it and I really thought Mike might buy a coffee finca. It was tempting. We learned how to make maracunya (passion fruit) juice. I have now eaten cuy (guinea pig), goat, llama, alpaca, at least as far as I know. All were really good, with the alpaca being my least favorite although I think what I ate was just not prepared very well (it was really tough and a bit gamey). So now we can hardly wait to get back to Colombia and see more of it. I want to go to Cartagena.
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<br>When we got back to Ecuador, our friends showed up, and we all took off for Panama. Our friends (an Australian and a Newfoundlander)
<br>were real troopers and handled the trip well. One of them had sailing experience, for the Newfie, well, it was his first time in a sailboat. This is not a really fun trip or a nice sail. The water tends to be rough and somewhat disorganized, so the boat rolls around a lot. The current is against you coming this direction, as was the wind. Because these guys had to be in Panama by dates certain to get back to their jobs and whatnot, we ended up having to motor a lot rather than try and tack down sailing into the winds. The engine is loud, so it is hard to sleep. But they claimed to enjoy themselves, and asked to return again some time. I reassured the Newfie that this was NOT an example of a fine sail. If the conditions were always like that, no one would ever do it. Another wonderful thing was that our Newfie friend bought us a present - a bottle of Scotch (Macallan or Macallen) that cost SIX HUNDRED DOLLARS. It was not nearly as horrible as other Scotches I have tasted, but Mike appreciated it more than I did. Still, it was impressive. I felt sort of sorry for the bottle - I bet it planned to live out its days in a fine oak cabinet with leaded crystal panes. Now it lives above our stove, living next to a bottle of cheap local rum and a can of Crisco.
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<br>After we returned to Panama, we re-provisioned, took care of some chores, and set off for the Perlas Islands, where we spent a number of months in 2013, and a bit of 2014. That is where we are now, and have been out here for over a month. We don't have internet out here. We also have a crew member, a woman from Oklahoma we met in Panama City. She will be with us until we get back to Panama City (in a couple of weeks) and then we have boat stuff to do.
<br>
<br>Now the kind of crappy stuff. While we were in Colombia, our boat was broken into and burglarized. They took four computers (two of which were old and did not work well, one that was totally broken, and one really cheap one that did work. Luckily, they left one (A good one) and we had our newest one with us. They also stole a bottle of hot sauce (which made Mike furious). The hatch over the vee berth is broken now. The area was supposed to be patrolled, but there have been a number of break-ins there, and it really seems like the people running the place do not give a shit. It is all really sad. And then - but a bit of background is necessary. This anchorage is in an estuary, and you need a local pilot on board to guide you through the entry, as it is very shallow other than a narrow channel. You also have to go over a surf break. AND it is very important that you go through on the high tide, not before and not after. So our pilot was late, and while he was directing us we ran aground about four times. The pilot looked totally clueless, and really had no idea which way we needed to go to unground ourselves. Mike finally got us going again, and while we sailed on to Panama, we did not notice any problems with navigation or how the boat performed. But when we got to the islands, Mike and I dove under the boat and noticed (to our horror) that about a third of the skeg (a part of the boat that hangs down in front of the rudder to protect it) was torn away. We seem to be sailing okay without it, but it is very important to have. And the fact that it broke right off might indicate some serious problems with overall hull security. It could be like the beginnings of a cracked foundation on a house. So we are hauling the boat out and will have to get a surveyor out to assess the damage. We are going to call our insurer once we get back and find out how they want us to handle it, as the damages might be high. I am hoping they have a local agent (and in Panama that is a real possibility) that can help shepherd us through this. SO keep good thoughts for us that all works out well. We had to have the boat hauled anyway for its yearly bottom painting, so we will have to see. We should know in about a month - that is how long it will take us to decide to leave the islands and head for Panama City (about 45 miles from where we are anchored) and get our haul out scheduled. It is a total bummer, but we will just have to wait and see what happens with it.
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<br>That brings us up to date here. I apologise to anyone who was worried about us, but remember that no news is usually good news here.
<br>We have a lot of safety stuff including emergency GPS beacons that can be set off if we are in trouble, and any ship that is close will come and rescue us. We always have people know where we are going and when we can expect to get there, and other cruisers watch out for each other and keep in touch while traveling via the SSB radio. So again, all is well, sailing is great, and the beaches and
<br>warm water cannot be beat! (P.S. As an added safety feature, we are studying celestial navigation.)
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<br>for information see: <a href="http://www.sailmail.com">http://www.sailmail.com</a>katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11732553406952887890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4756553956067898331.post-23758469091868008802014-10-18T12:35:00.001-07:002014-10-18T12:35:51.673-07:00Time to Go Home<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2M8SlJTqen4ctxC0k_vjSRtRJpkFZ1hD8IJlCaKAMzbtoxD66h0o_g0MUCxDB7d5wownCbz8KpWV2j4-URb1Db4YvAXEMA6Sa4JC5gTDY27FcpoJ5bflurVcG0n9RExxD1xLHTQfm4-nn/s1600/2014-10-14+11.47.33.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2M8SlJTqen4ctxC0k_vjSRtRJpkFZ1hD8IJlCaKAMzbtoxD66h0o_g0MUCxDB7d5wownCbz8KpWV2j4-URb1Db4YvAXEMA6Sa4JC5gTDY27FcpoJ5bflurVcG0n9RExxD1xLHTQfm4-nn/s1600/2014-10-14+11.47.33.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
Yes, this is Machu Picchu. Everyone comes to Machu Picchu. It has been a long time since I saw so many tourists - probably on my last trip to Disneyland. Machu Picchu is spectacular - the sheer size, the amazing stone work, and its incredible location high in a mountain valley of sorts. It is not as high up as La Paz, but it is tucked into the mountains and is not easy to get to. You take a train from Cuzco, and then take a bus up up up to the entry. There is a little town at the foot of MP - it is called Agua Caliente (there are apparently hot springs nearby) and although it was described as an unpleasant place in Lonely Planet (they do not get everything right) it is a charming little place. It is only really there to service those going to the mountain, but I still liked it. <br />
<br />
Mike and I made a mistake when we got there - we got off the train and hopped aboard the bus, only to discover that we should have bought our tickets in town, and tickets were not sold at the entry to MP. Now that was not so good, because it was a 30 minute bus ride back down, not to mention double bus fare. But after a bit of standing around and sort of pleading with people ("There must be way!") we were told that we could buy tickets through the only hotel at MP, which was right by where we were standing. And it was only about $7 more per ticket than it would have been had we bothered to read the signs at the bus terminal. SO no harm, no foul - except that I am sure we looked like fools.<br />
<br />
We are back in Cuzco now, and plan to leave here and begin winding our way back to Ecuador on Tuesday (Today is Friday). We will bus it across the country like we did getting here. We did have an interesting thing happen to us when we took the bus from La Pas to Cuzco a couple of weeks ago, more ot less. It was actually pretty weird and unpleasant. We were riding on one of these overnight buses where the seats lean way back and there is a little fold out foot rest to put your feet on. When that footrest is up, you can't see the floor. So anyway, Mike and I were riding along, dozing in our chairs, and chatting every now and then about nothing in particular. We head a cat meowing, and started talking about the poor kitty trapped in its car carrier, and speculating whether the cat carrier was more comfortable than the bus seats. All of a sudden we smelled this truly awful smell. Mike said "The cat has shit its crate." I didn't think it smelled like cat poop, but then it has been a long time since I have smelled cat poop. We started giggling and making jokes about "shitty kitty" and "CAT-astrophe" and stuff like that. In the meantime, although we paid no attention to it at the time, the guy behind Mike got up and went to a different part of the bus. Mike and I tried to sleep, but it was hard with that awful smell. But there were only a couple hours left in the bus ride so we dealt with it. When the ride came to an end, Mike reached down and pulled his footrest back and I screamed out "Do not put your feet down!" There, under Mike's foot rest, was human poop, several handfuls of it. We freaked out, to say the least, and realized the guy behind us must have pooped himself, and then threw it under out seats. We could not think of any other way it might have gotten there. It was not there when we got on the bus. Thank goodness it did not get on us! That has to be the strangest thing that has ever happened to us. <br />
<br />
After Cuzco but before MP, we went to the Sacred Valley, which is a series of little Andean towns between Cuzco and MP, all of which have their own ruins and Incan things. We stayed for several days in a town called Pisac, where we hiked up high into the mountains and visited some ruins. It was a difficult hike, especially so at over 11,000 feet, but it was worth it. We also just kicked back and enjoyed the little town. Then we left and went to another little town called Ollantaytambo. This town is actually an Incan town, and the walls of many of the buildings now in use were built during that epoch. The streets were narrow and winding, and surrounded by high walls. (We never failed to remark on how the enormous tourist buses navigated around them.) While we were there, we had another really interesting experience - we underwent an ayahuasca ceremony. <br />
<br />
For anyone who has not heard of it, ayahuasca is a hallucinogenic plant used quite widely by the jungle people of Peru and Bolivia, as well as being known elsewhere in South America by other names (for example, in Colombia it is called yage). William Burroughs came to South America specifically to try this, and it is not something you buy in the street and take home to get high on. We went (with two American girls and a German girl) to the home of the woman who administered it to us. I have done plenty of drugs in my day, including LSD, but this was really different. I don't think I got as much out of it as others did, but it was an interesting experience and I want to do it again. It is something that really should be done in a controlled setting with a leader you feel comfortable with. The effects are hard to explain - I did not have any hallucinations, but some really odd physical sensations and spent a lot of time thinking about strange, random things. Mike had a completely different experience, as did everyone else. It was different for everyone. I was a little disappointed that my experience was not more profound, but considering how nervous I was it might have been that I needed to show myself I would not lose control and send my brain off into some stratosphere, never again to return to reality as I know it. (I was really afraid this might happen.) So that is why I want to try it again. Hopefully I will get the chance to do so, someday, somewhere. <br />
<br />
So anyway, as the title of this post says, we are on our way home. I miss the boat and I want to cook my own meals again and sleep in my own bed, and feel the boat moving beneath me at night. <br />
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"I live in my own little world. But its ok, they know me here." (Lauren Myracle)katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11732553406952887890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4756553956067898331.post-65994333896629077642014-10-03T12:40:00.000-07:002014-10-03T12:40:12.533-07:00Wandering AroundAs I write this, we are in Pisac, Peru. It is about 20 or so miles from Cuzco, in what is known as El Valle Sagrado, or the Sacred Valley. It is a small town, although usually overrun with tourists. (At the risk of being pretentious, Mike and I prefer to refer to ourselves as "travelers" rather than mere "tourists.) As usual, I think it is amazing here and am enjoying myself tremendously.<br />
<br />
I know I have skipped some of the wonderful places we were in Bolivia, but short of going back and re-reading my earlier posts (which I can't stand to do, I hate to read my own writing almost as much as I hate the sound of my own voice) I don't remember what I have written about and what I have not. So instead, I will talk about Peru.<br />
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The food is better than in Bolivia, but that is because the tourist infrastructure is better. I have eaten some of the best curries I have ever had in places that seem to cater to English tourists. It is easier to get a "real" breakfast. The street vendors are a bit more assertive (some would say aggressive) than the street vendors in Bolivia. And things are a bit more expensive. But both places are wonderful, the people are very friendly, and since we are accustomed to the altitude now, we are having a great time.<br />
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I am getting sort of homesick for the boat, and do have some concerns about the fact that there is no one to water the batteries as often as we do it. I have expressed this concern to Mike, and he is not that worried about it, so I suppose I shouldn't be either, as he knows way more about this sort of thing than I do. That is my only real worry about the boat in our absence. There are no concerns about weather problems there while we are gone, as this part of Ecuador has extremely benign weather. No storms will come up and blow us off our anchorage. Rain will only give the boat a nice cleaning. The anchorage does have security. So I guess there is no real need for concern. I am considering asking a friend if he is willing to water the batteries, but again, Mike says it is not necessary yet.<br />
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I have no idea how long we will stay here in Peru - maybe for the rest of the month. Cuzco (Cusco? I see it both ways) is a great place to be. We stayed in a great hostel, and for one glorious day got to have their best room, which was way up top and had an amazing (sorry about that word again) view of the city. We only got it for one day because it was booked up for the other days we stayed there. When we get back, we will try and get it again. I suppose if we were willing to make reservations, we could have it without any problems, but Mike always says "If we make reservations we are tied down!" So that is that, we will see what happens when the time comes. We had heard that Cuzco was expensive, but there are lots and lots of reasonably priced hostels, and really, it is only expensive if you compare it with the rest of Peru. I haven't really noticed any great differences. I have decided that I like staying at hostels - they are friendlier and you get to meet other travelers (hostels tend to attract travelers rather than tourists, sorry for the reverse snobbism again) easier than you do in a regular hotel. <br />
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Speaking of other travelers, we have met so many wonderful new people while visiting here. Just the other day we met a couple from Australia, and had drinks, then dinner, and then they located us at our current dwelling here in Pisac and I had breakfast with them before we left. It was so much fun, and as an extra treat, they were close to our age. Most of our new friends are young enough to be our children, so it is a great treat not to be so much older for a change. We talked about everything, and I was really sorry to see them leave. We are still in touch with friends we met while adventuring in Bolivia, and two of them are planning to meet us in Ecuador and sail up to Panama. Although it is totally redundant to say, I am totally enjoying myself, and Mike is too. The only problem I have is trying to curb my buying. I have to keep reminding myself that there is limited wall space for art, no place for knick-knacks, and no real need for the GORGEOUS sweaters they sell here for incredible prices. I was able to buy one for myself because I somehow managed to lose my all purpose zip up the front sweatshirt, and then I could not resist a pullover as well. I shall just wear the hell out of them while I am here. I also got myself a moonstone pendent, some silver bracelets, and some new hoop earrings. But there is so much more I could buy were I not ruthless with myself. And I even have to be careful with presents, because we can only transport so much in our backpacks. <br />
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Here are some more pictures from the places we have been so far:<br />
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This is me and our guide hiking in ToroToro National Park near Cochabamba, Bolivia. We finally hiked all the way into a canyon, with over 800 steps. I was very proud of myself for getting back up in almost the same time it took to hike down. Uphill hiking is NOT my favorite thing to do.<br />
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These are dinosaur tracks. Although there were no dinosaur bones found in Bolivia there were lots of tracks found. <br />
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We went to a ladies wrestling match in La Paz. It was way better than any WWF action! <br />
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Now on to Peru - this is the main square in Cuzco (Plaza de las Armas). It is also known as Plaza of the Tears because the last Inca to strike out against the Spaniards was killed here. </div>
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The time has come to end this post - my internet connection is getting dicey and I have a horror of losing all my work. So I will continue to have a good time in Peru, and will endeavor to update this blog on a regular basis.</div>
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"Make your mistakes, take your chances, look silly, but keep on going. Don’t freeze up." (Thomas Wolfe)</div>
katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11732553406952887890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4756553956067898331.post-69623555765404796132014-09-28T14:43:00.001-07:002014-09-28T14:43:55.638-07:00More South American StoriesWe are now is Cusco, Peru, but I am going to try and finish up our Bolivian adventures before I move on to Peru.<br />
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While in Bolivia, we went on a four day trip to the Salar de Uyuni, which is a HUGE salt flat area in the southern part of Bolivia. At one point we could see into both Chile and Argentina. It is way bigger than Bonneville.<br />
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Here I am in a chair made of salt at a hotel made of salt. The walls were made of salt bricks, whitewashed with more salt. We stayed at a different salt hotel, but it was just like this one.<br />
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This is Mike standing next to a pile of - you guessed it - salt. We toured a plant that turned this salt into table salt. If you lived here, you would never have to buy salt. Just break off a piece of ground and put it in the soup.<br />
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The whole place looked like this, with the ground broken into hexagonal shapes. It went on for miles and miles. We were there in the dry season, and in the rainy season the whole thing is covered in really shallow water. It is hard to visit then, although warmer. We were pretty cold.<br />
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Here I am, standing on salt. This is what it looked like for most of the trip. <br />
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Our driver and guide made lunch for us every day while we were out. They set up a nice table and the food was great. <br />
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Our guide, Victor, set up these great photos. It was really fun to see them.<br />
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We also learned that flamingos do not just live in Florida. We saw so many here at the various lagoons. The color of the lagoons is determined by the minerals in the water. It was really cold, and I am surprised these birds did not mind it.<br />
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There were literally hundreds and hundreds of them. You weren't supposed to get too close, and we respected that, but there were a lot of tourists that seemed to be ignoring that very reasonable request. <br />
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Anyway, after we finished the Salar de Uyuni trip, we decided to go to the city of Potosi, which is famous as the source of more silver than anywhere else in the world. It is said that the Spanish took enough silver from Potosi to build a silver bridge from Potosi to Spain and still have enough silver left over to ship it to Spain over that silver bridge. While that may be hyperbole, it is true that Bolivian silver propped up the Spanish empire for literally hundreds of years. Potosi is an interesting city, built at the foot of a big mountain where all the silver was found. It is still mined today, and there is still some silver, but there is more copper, zinc, tin, and other metals.<br />
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We took a tour of one of the mines. The miners still have a very hard life and the techniques are pretty much the same as they were in the 1500s. I had mixed feelings about taking the tour, from both a safety standpoint and because I felt sort of intrusive about it. But after some soul searching and talking to locals, we decided to do it. The tour begins with a trip to the mining market, where we bought gifts for the miners. We bought dynamite, coca leaves, and large bottles of water and soft drinks.<br />
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This is one of our fellow tourists inside the mine. It was dark and very close inside.<br />
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This is me holding two sticks of dynamite with the wire and blasting cap in my teeth. Mike was way more enthralled with the dynamite than I was, despite the picture.<br />
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Another one of us inside the mine.<br />
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That is my back as I head deeper into the mine. It did not seem to be very stable. I just kept telling myself that there were no reports of any dead tourists.<br />
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These are some of the tools that the miners use.<br />
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Here I am with my bandana over my face because of all the toxic dust in the air.<br />
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This is the little god-like thing that the miners regard as the deity who rules the underworld where they work. They believe that Jesus rules the heavens, but "tio" rules below. They give tribute to him with cigarettes, liquor, and coca leaves.<br />
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Here I am with a couple of the miners. They were taking a break from their incredibly hard labor.<br />
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We had to walk over this bridge, and it was scary as hell. It was a long way down beneath it.<br />
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Well, this will be it for a while now. We are trying to decide at which one of the incredible restaurants we are going to eat tonight. There is still more to tell about Bolivia, before I can begin to describe the wonderful things about Peru. I am glad we get to stay pretty much as long as we want to - the boat is safe and sound in a quiet estuary, so we are free to wander on. Life is good.<br />
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"With freedom, books, flowers and the moon, who could not be happy?" (Oscar Wilde)<br />
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katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11732553406952887890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4756553956067898331.post-78867916133302949792014-09-13T09:32:00.001-07:002014-09-13T09:32:36.967-07:00My Take on This Amazing CountryBefore I launch into more stuff about what we have done here, I thought it might be a good idea to describe some of the interesting things we have discovered about Bolivia and the Bolivians. It is like no other place we have been.<br />
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Firstly, they like their pizza, and it is really good. Even the smallest, most remote place we have been has a pizzeria. They use those special ovens, and even though I don't like pizza, I can tell it is good by the smell, the look of the crust, and the raptures everyone goes into while eating it. I can make pizza and it is good because I can make a good crust, but I think they have me beat. <br />
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Second, they have the US beat on displays of public art. As I read somewhere, and it is true, even the smallest of villages have at least two Blessed Virgins and one Bolivar. There are statues of everyone who ever did anything noteworthy in Bolivia. And the buildings have murals painted on them. I love that. The parks are filled with fountains and sculpted plants.<br />
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Third, there is graffiti everywhere. It cannot be used as the marker of a bad neighborhood, because it is literally in all different parts of every town. It is not scary because if you look closely, it is all boyfriend/girlfriend stuff rather than cryptic gang crap. <br />
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Bolivians are very friendly and always want to know where you are from. And even though officially the US is not in favor here (we have no embassy, we were kicked out a few years ago along with the DEA) no one has ever treated us badly. I think speaking Spanish helps, even though I am far from fluent. However. this trip has been a real immersion experience for us because there are many times when the people we are dealing with speak no English. We have even decided when we tour a museum or church or whatever, we choose the Spanish language tour instead of waiting for an English one. Both of us are learning a lot from that, and I don't think we miss much. When we went on our trip to the Salar de Uyuni (a giant salt flat area that I will tell more about later), although our guide spoke English, we told him we wanted to speak Spanish as much as we could. So that is what we did. When we ran out of words, we switched to English. We helped him learn new words as well, so it was a fun exchange. People are very curious about the US and how things are done there<br />
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The shopping is to die for - I almost wish I lived in a cold climate so I could buy some of the gorgeous sweaters and other knit goods out of alpaca, which is the softest wool I have ever felt, even giving cashmere a run for its money. But all those lovely things would do is sit in my closet, probably getting ruined in some way. I think we might get some ponchos, though, because once in a great while it gets chilly on night watch. We were eating dinner one night at a rooftop restaurant- I forget exactly where - and it started to get pretty chilly once the sun went down. We were dressed for the sunny day, and the waitress brought two ponchos over for us to wear while we were eating. They were wonderfully warm and comfortable. They also sell silver jewelry and I am seriously contemplating new earrings and maybe a bracelet.<br />
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The mountains are absolutely huge and impressive and almost dwarf the Colorado Rockies. All the towns are surrounded by volcanos (God forbid these dormant giants should ever decide to wake up, it would be a horrible disaster) that all have mythological stories about them. In fact, the religious aspect of Bolivia is another wonder. Everyone is pretty much a devout Catholic, but with overtones of the original polytheistic religions of the indigenous people. For example, the earth itself is thought to be the Goddess Pachamama. There are many rituals associated with her, and she is also associated with the Virgin Mary. It is easy to see why Catholicism works here, the church seems to be very tolerant about this. Even the shamans, who would be considered witch doctors in the US, always have pictures of Jesus and different saints around their shrines while at the same time they are conducting their various rituals, like burning llama fetuses and other objects in an attempt to bring good fortune or cure various problems. This is something even upper and middle class Bolivians take very seriously. They consult these shamans (for lack of a better term, they are called "brujos" here, which means witches, but there are nuances that make it pretty well untranslatable into English) and fortunetellers on a regular basis. <br />
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Another interesting thing here is that there are many, many people here for whom Spanish is a second language. These people speak Ayamara or Quechua, depending on where you are. There is also sort of a mixture of Spanish and these languages, which means that you can be chatting along nicely in Spanish only to encounter a word that you can't understand. And some people, like in the markets, don't speak much Spanish at all. This country has a HUGE indigenous population that never really culturally assimilated to the Spanish culture, and ever since Evo Morales was elected, there has been a resurgence in the various indigenous groups asserting their unique cultural ways. There is true diversity here, and although there is still some discrimination against the indigenous population, it is not very evident to an outsider.<br />
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Now a word about Evo Morales, who is certainly controversial in the US as he does not like us, is a former coca farmer, and threw the DEA out. Most people here seem to like him well enough. The indigenous and poorer people really like him. The income of the poor has doubled since he came into power, and the percentage of people living in what is considered abject poverty has dropped from 40% to about 17%. The rich people do not like him very much, as he nationalizes things and did this deal where it is now limited how much land one entity can own, making things better for small farmers but delivering a big hit to agribusiness. There is no real freedom of the press here, but then that is pretty much the norm all through South America. He did some fancy footwork to allow himself to run for a third term, and I think he suppresses dissent, again something not uncommon in this neck of the woods. He is planning to do something with gasoline (Bolivia is working on dealing effectively with its oil resources) that I do not completely understand, but people are not happy about it as it is believed the price of gas may rise. But having said all that, he seems to be well liked, even though he makes incredibly stupid statements that he later has to take back. So I guess only time will tell on that one.<br />
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About coca. Coca growing is a big business here, and not just for the drug cartels to make into cocaine and sell to Europe and the US. People use it here for many things. Coca tea is for sale in any grocery store. It is supposed to aid digestion, help with the altitude, and other things. It does not make you high in any way - actually it is soothing, like any other herbal tea, like chamomile. People do chew the leaves (Not exactly chew, more like sucking a huge wad in one side of your face), especially people who do hard physical labor. There is no stigma at all to it. The leaves are sold openly in the markets. When we visited a working mine in Potosi (again, more later on that) we were expected to buy bags of coca leaves in the miner's market as gifts for allowing us to gawk at them while they worked. You can't get high off the leaves, and all I felt (yes, of course I tried it) was that my cheek got numb on that side. I did not notice any help with the breathlessness effect of the altitude. I had more effects from chewing betelnut in Taiwan. But it is a way of life here, and I have not noticed any coke freaks hanging around causing trouble. In fact, we have been approached way less by drug dealers here than in any other place where we have spent time. (Mike's pony tail and beard seem to attract them). I haven't even seen too many drunks, even though these people are not afraid of their alcohol. The Bolivians believe in any excuse for a party, and a party involves lots of drinking. As a side note, Bolivian beer is very good.<br />
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So that is all for today. I have been sitting in my hotel room (while Mike takes a midday nap) because it was pouring rain outside. But since the rain has stopped and the sun is coming out, it is time to get outside and explore more of the wonderful city of Sucre.<br />
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"Make your own Bible. Select and collect all the words and sentences that in all your readings have been to you like the blast of a trumpet." (Ralph Waldo Emerson)<br />
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katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11732553406952887890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4756553956067898331.post-56293040969096824572014-09-11T16:03:00.001-07:002014-09-11T16:03:24.521-07:00Amazing BoliviaWhen we told people at the marina we were going to spend a month in Bolivia, one man said he couldn't imagine what we would find to do in Bolivia for an entire month. Well, I can state with confidence that we could spend a year here and not get bored for one second. Let's see, where to begin?<br />
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We began by going to visit some pre-Incan ruins between La Paz and Lake Titicaca, known as Tihuanaco. They are mostly made of mud, but there is some stonework that is simply amazing. I can't see how they managed to fit these stones together so tightly. I have pictures, but need to get on the other computer to post them, so that will have to wait. No one knows how old these ruins are, or even for sure what culture built them. <br />
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Next, we took a bike ride down what is described as the World's Most Dangerous Road, so named for the HUGE amounts of accidents that have occurred on it. Since a new road has been built, it is not quite as dangerous as there are few motor vehicles on it. It is mostly for bikes now, but it is still not for the faint of heart. You start at about 15,400 feet and went down 64 kilometers, dropping 11,000 feet. Luckily we stopped a lot to keep the group together, or I would likely have killed myself. It was the best bike I have ever ridden, however. It was not technically difficult, but you had to be real careful of our speed. Not only that, but the edge is a sheer drop off. I just tried not to look at that part. I did not fall down once, so I was pretty proud of myself. It was freezing cold at the top, so I was bundled up as though I was in Wisconsin in the depths of winter. It got a bit warmer as we went down the mountain, so it was comfortable by the time we ended the ride. We all had a beer, and we got to tour an animal sanctuary. The monkeys were pretty cute, but you had to watch that they did not climb on you and try to get into your pockets. Then a van took us back up into La Paz. It was so much fun - and not all that difficult except for the speed management issues.<br />
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After that, we went on what is pretty much the most exciting thing I have ever done. We took a six day trip from the high Andes mountains into the Bolivian Amazon basin. We began with three days of biking. It was the same company we went on the other bike trip with, and we got the same guide. The biking was much more difficult than the other trip, and not just because there was plenty of uphill riding. We were on a road, but it was a rough dirt road strewn with rocks and lots of hairpin turns as it was a switchback. The first day I did pretty well, although always bringing up the rear. There were ten of us - two Canadian guys (Newfies, to be exact, the best kind of Canadians), two New Zealanders, four Belgians, and me and Mike. Our guide is Australian, and the other guides were Bolivian. Between all of us, there were five languages spoken. It was a great group. Mike and I were old enough to be the parents of all the other riders, but it did not matter. We all got along great, and most of us are now Facebook friends. Our guide is going to meet us in Ecuador in December and will sail with us to Panama. We met two others later on in Potosi and had a great lunch. Anyway, the first night we stayed in a nice hotel after a hard day of bike riding. <br />
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The next day it was back on the bikes for more thrills and excitement. I was doing really well until a motorcycle came tearing around a curve and hit me. (Clipped, to be exact.) It knocked me off my bike and right into a rock cliff - which was good because if he had knocked me to the other side of the road I would be dead now at the far bottom of something I couldn't even see down. I was not hurt, just sort of banged up, so I quickly jumped back on the bike before anyone noticed there was anything wrong. Unfortunately I forgot to see if the bike was still working - and immediately did a header right over the handlebars because the back brake was no longer working. I landed flat on my face. All I could think was that I had broken my teeth and would be spending the next eight months in and out of the dentist's office. By that time, Mike and one of the guides had come to my aid. Miraculously, my teeth were all intact. I did bruise my chin and ended up with a scrape on my upper lip that looked like a Hitler mustache. I rode in the van for a bit until we broke for lunch, and then my bike was fixed and I was on my way once again. That night we stayed at a VERY primitive hotel with straw mattresses and the dirtiest bathroom I have dealt with in a long time. But we did get to clean off the road dirt in a waterfall. I slept like the dead on my surprisingly comfortable straw mattress. <br />
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So after eating breakfast we were off again for another day of biking. I was doing fine until for some reason I am still not clear on, I did another header over the handlebars. I landed on my head this time, and all I have to say is thank God for inventing bike helmets. I wanted to keep riding, but I knew I was too beat up after the previous day and would likely keep falling and thereby upsetting all my fellow riders. So I rode in the van with one guy who was feeling sick and another guy with a bad shoulder. That night we stayed in a slightly better hotel in a tiny little town at the river where we planned to catch our boat for the rest of the trip. The town was like a wild west town, and there were no other tourists. We got to sing karaoke with the locals, and I made some new friends - these lovely local girls who showed up later and tried to convince us to stay for the weekend, when there would be a big party in town. It sounded like fun, but we did have to be on our way.<br />
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The next day we began our boat trip. The boat was a big dug out long boat. One of the new river guides stood in the very front giving instructions to the man in the back who was handling the outboard. It was sort of like white water rafting, with the boatmen steering around sticking up rocks and shallow spots. We got some good video of the action. The area we went through was a gold mining area, which was interesting to look at although it made the river muddy because it was all sluice mining. There were big operations with bulldozers and all, as well as little operations with one guy up to his waist in water with a homemade sluice. We camped out - I had forgotten how much I like sleeping outside. We did this for three days. On the second day we hiked up to a waterfall and swimming area again and although the water was cold it was wonderfully refreshing and fun. We had a cook along and she made wonderful meals for us, some of which were eaten as we motored along on the boat. I really enjoy being on a boat when all I have to do is ride and not have any responsibility for anything. We had a campfire each night and roasted marshmallows and to know each other better. On the last day we ended up in a town called Rurrenabaque, and spend the night at a nice comfortable hostel. We all enjoyed beer, pizza, and pool and then said good bye - that was hard as we all got to know each other well and got along great. Mike and I stayed an extra day, and then flew back to La Paz. Everyone else left the day before, but we wanted to explore the little town a bit. This had to be one of the best things I have ever done. (The Hitler mustache lasted for about a week and a half. It is gone now, as is the chin bruise. My record for exciting falls without getting seriously hurt remains intact.) <br />
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Anyway, I have done enough typing for one night. I have more adventures to tell about, and some great pictures. Right now we are in the city of Sucre, and there are some great restaurants, one of which we will try out tonight. So - more to come!!!<br />
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"Help someone when they are in trouble and they will remember you the next time they are in trouble." (From the wall at Oliver's Pub in La Paz, Bolivia)katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11732553406952887890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4756553956067898331.post-5189377106698079172014-08-16T16:07:00.001-07:002014-08-16T16:07:55.924-07:00Peru to Bolivia (This is a new version of something that disappeared when I hit a wrong button and then couldn't reverse it. So if something is repeated, it is because of that.)<br />
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We are now in La Paz, Bolivia, and have been here for about five days or so. It is simply amazing, and I am sorry to keep using the same superlatives over and over again, but words like "amazing" are the words one really has to use if one is to be truthful. <br />
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We left Lima and took a bus to the Peruvian city of Arequipa. I liked it better than Lima because it is smaller, and easier to negotiate. The overnight bus was very comfortable, and I slept beautifully. We spent a couple days there, visiting museums and looking at the three giant volcanos that surround the city. It was a lot warmer than it was in Lima, and we enjoyed that. We toured several museums, all of which had mummies that were found in the surrounding volcano areas. One of them was not really a mummy, but rather a frozen body that is amazingly intact. It was a tiny bit creepy to see it, with the hair and skin and everything, but extremely interesting at the same time. She (it is the body of a young girl) is kept in a sort of see through refrigeration unit. The artifacts found with her included gold and silver, as well as beautifully woven textiles. We also toured a very large convent, in which lived nuns who were entirely cloistered from the day they entered the convent. It is related to Catherine of Siena, who was, as it turned out, the first nun who was also a doctor, although she never had any formal training. Part of the convent is still a cloistered residence for some nuns, and I figure most of them are elderly now. It was fascinating if for no other reason than for the incredible collection of religious art. <br />
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After Arequipa, we took another bus to Bolivia. This trip was more difficult because it was not a straight shot. We rode at night from about 11:00 pm until 5 am, at which time we stopped for a bit, and then had to check out of Peru and into Bolivia, then wait a bit, then got back on the bus and continued into Bolivia. This is at Lake Titicaca, by the way. We had to change buses there, and at one point had to get off the bus and on to a ferry to get across part of the lake. The bus then got on another ferry (after disgorging the passenger weight) and we all met up on the other side of this enormous lake. (We did not visit here, as we plan to do so on our way back.) The ferries were just large wooden barges, and I was really surprised that the one the bus went on was able to hold it. After that, we finally arrived in La Paz, where we easily got a taxi to the hotel. Unfortunately, I started getting sick as we left Peru, and just got sicker as we traveled on. Mike was sick for a day, but he got better fast. I am still sick, but not so much that it is slowing me down. I did spend my first whole day here in Bolivia in bed, feeling like crap. But that is all over now. <br />
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La Paz is truly a vertical city, and it has to be seen to be believed. I don't mean vertical like New York, with high rises everywhere, but rather geographically vertical. From every direction when you look up, you see crazy twisted streets going up and up and up every which way. I have been completely out of breath every time I walk any where. The people are friendly and many of the women (young and old) wear indigenous dress - these gorgeous full skirts with shawls and bowler hats. I have not figured out how the hats stay on, as they are worn perched on the top of the head at a rakish angle. No hatpins in sight. <br />
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On our first day when neither of us were too sick to enjoy it, we went to the main square. While we were sitting on the steps looking at our maps, we met two men who stopped to talk to us. They were sort of dirty and disheveled, but very pleasant and friendly. They told us they had just gotten out of prison. Then, before we could react to that, told us they were still actually in prison. If you are in prison here, they let you out for twelve hours a day. Then they have to go back. Both of them were in for cocaine problems, with one of them in for many years because he had a lot of it (2 kilos, he told us) so he is classified as a narcotraficante. The other guy was in for a shorter time because he only had a few grams. They were both Canadian. The short timer was waiting for some money to some via Western Union, upon the arrival of which he would apparently be able to buy his way out. No such luck for the other guy. Both of them were very polite and friendly, and did not ask for money or anything else. A very interesting encounter to say the least. <br />
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We have plans for the next couple of days. Tomorrow we are going to visit some ruins just outside of town, at a site that is way older than the Incas. And the next day we are going to take a crazy bike ride on what is called the World's Most Dangerous Road. We go down at least 3600 meters in about four hours. (That is more than 10,000 feet.) And a week from Monday, we are scheduled to begin a six day trip into the Amazon basin. We will bike down from the Andes mountains, then take a boat down a large river through the jungle. We will be camping for part of it. My main concern is keeping up with the group. There will be six of us, plus our guides. I am excited beyond words.<br />
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Anyway, that will be it for now. We are taking lots of pictures and I am really looking forward to sharing them here and on Facebook. <br />
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"Money can't buy happiness but at least you can go sulk in Aruba." (Seen on the wall at Oliver's Travels, a pub here in La Paz.)katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11732553406952887890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4756553956067898331.post-15040962333140811852014-08-08T10:57:00.000-07:002014-08-08T10:57:06.666-07:00Winter in AugustYes, that's right. It is winter in August here in Lima, Peru. The sky here is white all day long, and it is chilly enough that I need a jacket and real shoes and socks. I have not dealt with that in a long time. But it is kind of fun. And the cool temperatures are easier to deal with when hiking or just walking around the city proper. One does not get all hot and sweaty.<br />
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Lima is HUGE. It reminds me of LA the way it is spread out. We are staying in the Miraflores area, which is like the La Jolla of Lima. I wanted to stay in the city center, but we were dissuaded and this is actually ok. The room is comfortable, and since we are only here for three days, it really doesn't matter. It is more expensive here than in Ecuador, but still affordable.<br />
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I like Peru. The people are friendly, and the food is to die for. We have not had even an average meal since getting here. I have eaten goat and I must tell everyone it is absolutely delicious. If you like lamb, you will love goat. I thought it would be stronger or gamier than lamb, but it has a milder flavor. I have no idea why it is not more popular in the US. I am going to miss it when I can't have it anymore. The ceviche here is also amazing, with some different twists to it. I love the stuff, so finding new varieties is a treat. They also serve something called lomo saltado, which I thought must have something to do with salted meat, but again, not so. Lomo saltado is sort of like stir fried beef and vegetables, served over rice. (By the way, they eat tons of rice down here. It is served at almost every meal.) It was wonderful - although I saw what I thought was a slice of red bell pepper and popped the whole thing in my mouth. It was not a bell - it was a really hot pepper. My mouth was on fire! I have never seen a pepper so big be so hot. Usually (at least in my obviously limited experience) the bigger the pepper the milder the taste. Mike loved it. <br />
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We are here in Peru because we are on our way to Bolivia. We spent a couple days in Guayaquil, Ecuador, then caught a bus out of Ecuador to a place called Chiclayo. It is not really a tourist spot, but there were a few interesting things to see, one of which was a section of the public market dedicated to herbalists, and to the supernatural. It is apparently not unusual for Peruvians of all walks of life to consult with curanderas or shamans. They sold all sorts of strange things, and one of my favorite parts of it was the scent - it smelled like herbs. Although I love those public markets, they usually do not smell very good. This was a real change. They sell this cactus called San Pedro cactus which is related to mescaline. I have not tried it. It is legal down here. The shamans use and administer it.<br />
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They have several archeological sites right here close by and we have been to see them. While in some ways not as impressive at first blush as Tikal or some of the big Maya sites, they are still incredible in that everything is so well preserved. The Lima area is the driest capital but for Cairo. They measure their rainfall here in millimeters per year, not inches. The structures are all built from adobe bricks, and everything buried within pretty well stays there intact unless and until it is uncovered. The pottery, metal work, and textiles are amazingly intact. The quality of the weaving was astounding. These are earlier cultures than the Inca, who did not come into their own until the 1400s, about one hundred years before the Spanish arrived. But what they accomplished in that short time is nothing short of miraculous. I could go on and on, and Mike took a ton of pictures that at some point I will include here. But right now they are still in the camera. <br />
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Tonight at nine pm we are catching a bus for a city here in Peru called Arequipa. We are stopping there primarily to break up the bus ride (it would be over 30 hours from here to La Paz) but it sounds like a great place in itself. We will spend a few days there, then head on. It takes a while to get from Ecuador to Bolivia unless one wants to fly, and it is pretty expensive, almost as expensive as it was to fly to the states from Ecuador. It seems as though flights within a country are reasonable, but as soon as a border is crossed it gets expensive. And since we spend way more than we had anticipated spending when we were in the US, we need to be a little more conservative with our money than we might usually be. So buses it is, and it is not really too bad. They have these buses called cama buses, which have seats that fold down flat so you can sleep. It makes for a nice overnight trip - they give you a little dinner (usually chicken and rice) and play movies. After a couple of hours, it is nice to curl up and go to sleep. Since it is nighttime, you can't see out the windows anyway, so it is perfect. Even in the semi-cama buses, which only fold down 160 degrees instead of 180 degrees, it is quite comfortable for sleeping. They give you blankets and pillows. The movies they play tend to be action movies, which are pretty easy to follow even when they are dubbed into Spanish. Sometimes we get lucky and they are also subtitled in English. We are talking about American movies made in English, dubbed into Spanish, after which English subtitles were added. But I have noticed one thing about watching movies in Spanish with English subtitles. I find it very distracting and I have a hard time concentrating on one or the other. I find myself listening to the Spanish and then trying to read the English. It is hard to explain. I never have that problem if the movies are in French or some other language, just Spanish. Interesting.<br />
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They have these dogs down here - special dogs, called Peruvian Hairless. They are bigger than the hairless dogs in Mexico, and have been here for thousands of years. They are sort of odd looking, but seem to have very outgoing personalities. They are considered sort of a national treasure here, and the people are very proud of them. I personally think they are wonderful and would not mind having one. But then again I love all dogs, even the funny looking ones. <br />
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So it is fun to be on the road. We have three backpacks - two big ones and a day pack. It is easy to carry all out stuff, and there is room for anything I might want to buy. I am trying to restrain myself until I get to Bolivia, or else I will spend all of my allotted turista money too early in the trip. It is hard, though. They sell beautiful things made from llama and alpaca wool, and it is just too bad I have no place to wear stuff like that. It is too warm all the places I go, and we have no intention of sailing to cold places. Call me a weather wimp, so be it. <br />
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All and all I am doing fine, as is Mike. I feel so lucky to be seeing all these amazing things and meeting wonderful people, both the local people and visitors from all over the world. We met two guys from Finland. There were two men at breakfast this morning who sounded like they were speaking Russian. There are lots of people from France and Germany. Everyone is friendly and there is a good sense of camaraderie among all the travelers, which makes for many interesting conversations.<br />
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So far we have not been in the high mountains, so I have yet to see what altitude does to me. I think the highest I have been for any length of time was about 10,000 feet, when I went skiing in the Tahoe area. I did not notice anything then, but we will be going much higher than that (La Paz, Bolivia is the highest capital in the world at about 3660 meters, which is just over 12,000 feet, I think) and all the guide books talk about the importance of taking it slow and acclimating before becoming too active. So we shall see. I plan to follow all the guidelines so I can enjoy things, and not get laid low by altitude sickness symptoms, like headaches. All I really remember that was different being higher up in Tahoe was finding myself getting winded a lot faster than at sea level. And I am no athlete, ask anyone that knows me. One good thing about the trip so far - I am losing the weight I put on while in the US. I can never move back there or I will be as big as a house before I know it. <br />
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On that note, I will end today's entry.<br />
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"Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow." (Anita Desai) <br />
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katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11732553406952887890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4756553956067898331.post-46426637113378514832014-07-21T08:20:00.000-07:002014-07-21T08:20:28.654-07:00Back in Ecuador<br />
The title says it all, back in Ecuador. Actually, we got back almost two weeks ago. It was really good to get back, good to get home and sleep in my own bed, with the boat rocking a bit in the estuary tidal swings.<br />
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We spent almost two months in the US, visiting our families. The visits were overall good, because I love my family and I have been missing them. Some people were doing really well, which was heartening and made that part of the trip truly enjoyable. But not everyone was in a good place, and I felt really helpless with my inability to fix things for everyone. <br />
That sounds harsh, and I feel bad about it. I wish things had been different. I wish I could make things different. I am not being really articulate here, but that is because it hurts so much to see people I love having difficulties. It hurts worse than if it were happening to me. But it is not about me, and I can't make things change. <br />
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However, having said all that, I still had a wonderful time with people I love. It has been a long time, and the babies are not babies any more, but are little kids. The little kids are teenagers. The teenagers are adults. A lot happened while I was away. I got to see almost everyone, and I only wish I could have made that happen. Arkansas is a beautiful state, and the hotel we stayed at in Little Rock It was not only gorgeous in an Old South style, the service was impeccable as well. It was true luxury in every way. Then we stayed at two different resorts, and one on a river. Both of them had wonderful views of their respective bodies of water, and there were lots and lots of different birds and animals. Between Arkansas and Wisconsin, we saw an amazing amount of deer and different kinds of birds. While fishing on a lake in Wisconsin with my brother and nephew, Mike and I got to see a bald eagle with her nestlings in their nest. It was large and made of sticks. Really large, as a matter of fact. And the babies looked to be about ready to fledge as they were at that awkward stage birds go through. You can always spot them - their feathers are always sort of ruffled, and they act confused. And although they look like adults, and are as big as adults, they fuss for their parents to bring them food just like a tiny baby bird. There were loons, and herons, and all sorts of different kinds of ducks. We loved it. <br />
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Another great surprise was Minneapolis. I have to admit I harbored a terrible prejudice against Minneapolis, based on my general dislike and distrust of Minnesota in general. This is a legacy from my father, who used to frighten kids selling <span style="background-color: yellow;">subscriptions</span> to the Minneapolis Tribune, asserting in a loud voice that "this is a Wisconsin oriented household. We get the Milwaukee Sentinel. We have no interest in an out of state newspaper." (It is important to know my hometown in Wisconsin, Eau Claire, is only 90 miles to Minneapolis while being about five hours away from Milwaukee. Lots of people in Eau Claire augmented the local paper with one from Minneapolis. My dad was viruently of the opinion that nothing good comes from Minnesota. At least that is how I developed the prejudice.) Anyway, I discovered on this trip that Minneapolis is a great city. There are parks and historical preservations all over the city center, and they have a light rail system that takes you between the suburbs and the city center, as well as to and from the airport. There are restaurants to die for, with all kinds of different foods. I got to see a couple of old college friends, and one of my best friends ever while visiting in Eau Claire. And we took a river canoe trip in northern Wisconsin, where one of my sisters lives. It was, again, a beautiful trip. We had a bunch of my brother in law's family with us, which included little kids. After we were done, we went to their home for spaghetti dinner. We stayed at my other sister's cabin, which is where we got to go fishing. My stepmother fattened us up with her good cooking, and took us to her art studio. <br />
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We also went back to San Diego to see my son and to get boat parts and bring them back here to replace broken things here. It was of course great to see my son, as I have really missed him. We all went to some of our old favorite restaurants, and there were people there who remembered us - AND even remembered our regular orders. Mike and I took a drive into the mountains and were sobered by how incredibly dry everything is. We had never seen it that bad, even on times of other droughts. It was scary, when we thought how easily the area could go up. The previously burned areas looked as though they were in the process of desertification. But the beaches and the ocean seemed cleaner. I also got to to see three of my favorite former co-workers, another treat. But by the time we were supposed to leave, I was ready to go. I feel better down here. I missed my boat, I missed my own bed, and I just wanted to come home. I wish more people would come and visit us - for me that would be the best of both worlds - seeing my family in a place I am coming to love.<br />
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A couple of days ago we took a taxi (cheap enough that why bother with a bus is what I say) to a little beach town about 20 kilometers (about 12 miles I think) from here. It was a great little beach town and we plan to spend a couple days there, just kicking back on the beach. After that, we are preparing to go to Bolivia for a month or so. We hope to leave in a week or so. So what else did I do that I have not mentioned? We spent a coupe days in Guayaquil, which is the largest city in Ecuador and is from whence we flew in and out of the country. It was an interesting, bustling town, and in one of their large plazas, there are literally hundreds of iguanas in all shapes, colors and sizes roaming the park. I was busy looking at a particularly interesting iguana, there suddenly from above came a literal stream of water. I jumped back but not fast enough to avoid getting my leg splattered with pee from a huge iguana in a tree above my head. It was really funny to me and to everyone who saw and laughes as well. Needless to say, I took a very hot shower when we got back. Our little town here is opening itself to us more and more as time goes on. There are a number of places to go and things to see that you only find out about is if a local tells you about it. Like Mike said, we are starting to dial in to the secret handshake. It is making our stay even more enjoyable, as there is more to this place than we thought. <br />
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So anyway, Mike is in the process of fixing things with the parts we brought back with us. Since we will be leaving again pronto, we are leaving some things undone until we get back from that trip. I am excited about Bolivia, and also excited about being a backpacker again like we did in October 2012-January 2013. It was a great feeling to just go here and there on buses without having to drag luggage anywhere. And as long as you take every opportunity wash your clothes, you can get away without needing a bunch of different outfits. I also like to make sure I leave room for all the things I will buy along the way. I have been accused of both buying too much stuff and paying too much for what I do buy. But I hate to haggle, and if I am happy with the first price, so be it. There does not appear to be much haggling for things here, the prices seem to be what they are, except maybe for the tourist kiosks along the waterfront on weekends. But I have heard it is like Mexico, and is part of the economic culture. We'll see.<br />
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Now I am up to date here, but I know I have left a lot of things out. As time goes on, I hope to remember them all, but with my short term memory problems, I am not holding my breath.<br />
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katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11732553406952887890noreply@blogger.com1