Six Weeks in El Salvador to Check-up on Lanikai

January and February 2004

We flew back to the states late last April (2003) because we had received e-mails from our daughter that Bill’s mother was not doing well.  Bill’s brother, Rick,  told us that it was not essential yet that we come north but we decided to fly north anyhow.  With the boat securely anchored off Bahía Del Sol and being watched by other cruisers we flew stateside.  Bill’s mother was slowly failing mentally but was doing ok.  It was good to see her before she fell further.   Our presence seemed to cheer her up some as well.  Bill took advantage of our time in S. California to try to find some work.  He was feeling the need for mental stimulation and with the downturn of the stock market a little extra cash would be nice to have in the cruising kitty.  I stayed around S. California for two months then flew to Oregon to spend time with my youngest daughter and granddaughter.  A grandson was expected in October so I was to stay in Oregon until after the birth.  Bill drove up in late July for a short visit as well and to register our new car purchased from a friend in S. California.   Work finally came through for him in August.  It was to be a nine month project.  He has been real busy ever since and seems to be enjoying the mental stimulation.  He did take the time off so that we could visit my folks and our older daughter in Montana for Thanksgiving and the grandchildren in Oregon for Christmas.  Then in January we decided that it was time to check up on Lanikai so off we flew to El Salvador.  Bill was to stay only two weeks and I planned on enjoying the warm weather for an extra month.

 Wednesday, January 21

It has been a week since we got on the plane to fly back to El Salvador to check up on Lanikai.  Bill has one week left and lucky me still has five weeks before I return stateside.  Except for a little rust and lots of dust, everything seems to be just as we left it.  I did need to clean some mildew from the table fiddles and the galley area but not much –  considering that boat has been left alone through the last rainy season.  We seemed to have lucked out and sustained no lightening damage over the summer as all the electronics still worked.  Many of our friends were not as lucky!!  Only the little Libretto computer refused to come alive.  Bill thinks that the clock battery probably needs replacing as we have had the computer for almost 5 years.  He will take it stateside for repair since it is a very convenient computer to take to internet cafes and with us on road trips due to its small size.  Our only other problem seems to be the always cantankerous genset, and then only the worsening of a known problem; a leaking raw water pump that now is frozen up.  It is just another piece of equipment for Bill to haul north. 

It took us three days to recover from the overnight flight and to get used to the warmer weather. Last Friday afternoon we dinghied over to the Rancho with gifts for the children (I had picked up t-shirts at the Disney store for them).  The shirts were a big hit and we visited for a short time with Latita and Juan; discovering that our Spanish had neither lost nor gained anything in our absence.  Roberto and Amanda were scheduled to show up late Saturday so we left with the promise to return mid-day on Sunday.

Saturday we were both tired and lazy.  Reading and resting occupied us until late in the afternoon when we finally dropped the dinghy into the water to go ashore for dinner.  Along the way to shore we stopped to introduce ourselves to Bob on “Horizon”.  While visiting with Bob we noticed a familiar panga coming our way.  Roberto and Amanda had just arrived and stopped by to say hello and invite us for dinner the following afternoon.

After dinner Saturday evening we heard that a Russian Dance group would be performing that evening.  The show was not to start until 9 PM but we decided to wait so that we could enjoy the show.  The waiting time went fast since we had Murray and Colette to visit with.

Sunday morning Bill got the genset running only to discover that it was not pumping water as the water pump was frozen.  Giving up on that project, at noon we dinghied over to the Rancho to wile away the rest of the day, visiting with Amanda and Roberto, drinking fresh coconut water from coconuts deftly opened with a machete by Juan, resting in hammocks and on top of it all we were served a wonderful El Salvadoran lunch.

 Monday

At high slack tide we dove into the water to check on Lanikai’s bottom and see what kind of things were growing on her.  We found lots of moss but only a few groupings of barnacles.  Our effort at bagging the prop had done little good.  The bag had gotten ripped in the current and was now thick with hard growth both inside and out.  Bill cleared off much of the bag and I finished the process.  Then I knocked many of the barnacles off of the prop.  The prop still needed more work to get it really clean but we were getting tired and the current was starting to pick up so it was time to exit the water. 

 Tuesday

The last two afternoons we spent at the Hotel Bar where Bill found electricity to plug in his computer.   He worked while I read or visited with other cruisers.  When we arrived last Thursday the only boats occupied were Tarazed, Windbird and Horizon.  On Monday evening the folks from two of the other anchored boats arrived back from inland trips to Guatemala, (Don and Margie “Black Dragon” and Louis “Black Swan”).   

Bill and I are still eating all of our dinners at the hotel but have started fixing pancakes and coffee in the mornings.  The batteries on Lanikai are fairly dead but do provide enough electricity for some lights in the evening and will activate the stove solenoid.  We tried running the main engine today to see if we can get the batteries to accept more juice.  And we now have the solar controller set to equalize but that seems to be doing little good. 

 Thursday January 22, 2004

Today we were up early and on our way to San Salvador on the 6 AM bus.  We arrived at Amanda and Roberto’s office before 9 AM.  With Fernando as the driver and Amanda as tour guide, we set off to the small town of Illobasco.  It is a town noted for its small pottery dolls and "sorpresas" (small pottery animals that open to show an even tinier scene inside).  We had fun checking out the many shops that mostly had the same items for sale and even purchased a bag full of goodies including three of the sorpresas.  It was fun to be able to make purchases of local handcrafts with the knowledge that we could take them north to our friends.  After our shopping we walked the distance to the central plaza where we found an empty park bench to sit and rest awhile.  While there an ice cream vendor came by and with Amanda’s help we purchased three full cups of rich vanilla ice cream.  We did not get back to San Salvador until 5 PM, entering the city with the evening rush hour traffic.  We stayed over with Amanda and Roberto for the night.

Friday January 23

We got a fairly early start to Metro Centro.  There we visited an Internet Café.  Bill sent out a few letters and picked up a few, but most of our hour there was spent deleting spam from Bill’s mailboxes.

We were on the 1:15 bus back to Bahía and arrived at the hotel at 3 PM, just in time for a swim and Happy Hour beer.

Saturday January 24, 2004

We went into the hotel early so that Bill could spend some time with his computer before we walked down the beach mid-afternoon to Puntilla for a fresh fish dinner.  Our walk down the beach was near high tide, so we were walking in the water and even had to detour to an off-beach trail for part of the trek.  At Don Emilio’s Posada we enjoyed fresh fish with rice, tortillas and a small salad along with several cold beers.  Watching the weekend boats crossing the boca while eating, we passed several enjoyable hours.  By the time we left, the sun was setting and the tide had turned so, in the fading light, we had a little more sand to walk on along the way back to the hotel.  We took advantage of the shore-side pool for a quick cooling dip before returning across the peninsula to the estero side.

Sunday January 25, 2004

We spent almost the entire day reading and relaxing on Lanikai.  We did get written down several lists of things for Bill to take north and to do stateside as well as a list for me to do before I return stateside in 4 weeks.

Tuesday January 27, 2004

Today and yesterday we went into the hotel early so that Bill could again use the electricity to run his computer.  I read nearby and also took the opportunity to walk to the beach where I took some photos for Bill to take north with him and swam in both the sea and the pool.  Tonight all the cruisers got together on Isla Cordoncillo for pupusa night at the little tienda there.  Pupusas are fat tortillas with a filling of cheese, beans or both.

Wednesday January 28, 2004

Another up-early day as Bill had to be ashore with his luggage by 5 AM.  Jose, the taxi driver, arrived on time and swifted Bill of to the airport; I returned to Lanikai to finish sleeping.  When I finally got up I spent the morning cleaning, washing the walls and headliner down with increasingly dirty bleach water.  About 1 PM I heard a pounding on the boat.  Victor and Herson had paddled out in their cayuga to invite me over for almuerzo, lunch.  I towed them back to the rancho.  Latita had cooked a yummy chicken stew which was served with rice and fresh tortillas.  After lunch Wendy finished her homework and we all went for a swim in the estero.  Tide was low so that even Arali came into the water with us.

I returned to Lanikai for dry clothes and continued on to the hotel.  There I showered and purchased a beer.  Only Diane was ashore so we visited until sunset before returning to our respective boats for the night.

Thursday January 29, 2004

Today was a day of discovering problems; right after mister-fix-it had left!  I checked the aft bilge early in the morning, planning on applying some cleaning to it, only to discover that it was full of water even up under the engine.  The bilge alarm switch obviously was not functioning.  I turned on the electric bilge pump and it only fired off a few squirts of water before it quit pumping.  I then found the handle to the manual high-capacity pump but the handle would not go in far enough to pump well.  I managed to get the water out of the bilge with it anyhow by being real careful.  I then climbed down into the now empty but oily bilge to check the pump inlet for an obstruction.  None was found but I did drop a pile of rags down to slop up much of the oil and the rest of the water and I removed the dead alarm switch.  The alarm switch had a corroded wire and was not reparable.  After cleaning up some, I tackled the recalcitrant pumps.  Upon opening the electric pump a wire tie fell out and after several tries I got the pump back together correctly.  Thinking that I had solved the problem I tried it out but it still would not pump.  Herson and Victor again showed up while I was in the bilge and could have been a big help if my mechanical Spanish was better.  As it was, they watched and their presence was comforting in case I occasionally got stuck in the tight confines of the bilge.  I did find the source of the water in the bilge to be a leaking raw water pump on the main engine.  I tried but could not close the engine thru-hull to stop the slow drip.

At three I gave up on chores and dinghied over to the rancho for a frolic with Wendy and Arali in the estero again at low tide.  I followed the swim with a fresh water shower at the hotel and a bowl of chicken vegetable soup for dinner.

Friday January 30, 2004

I checked the rest of the seacocks and found all to be ok except the inlet to the watermaker on Bill’s sea water manifold.  I talked to Colette on the radio about having Murray help me out with the stuck engine raw water valve.  No problem with Murray helping me but he was busy with his well drilling.   I decided to go down and check on the well drilling operation.   Colette gave me a nice tour of their rancho under construction and I checked out Murray’s drilling operation.   He is hoping to find fresh water.  I got there just a little too late to photo the drilling process but I did get some good photos of Murray on his scaffolding above the well.  On the return trip I got our dinghy up on plane for the first time.  It was a blast! And I sure got home quick.

In the late afternoon with low tide I went over to the ranch but today was not to be a swimming day.  Latita sent Wendy off for a watermelon that we all enjoyed instead.

Tonight at the hotel, only Bob and I were around to enjoy Happy Hour beers but we had a nice visit and I again ate restaurant food for dinner.

Saturday January 31, 2004

I went ashore and got about 5 gallons of “agua dulce” from the jugs that Murray is keeping full of drinking water for the cruisers that need it.  The hotel water, although drinkable, is slightly brackish especially this long after the rainy season has ended.   In the morning, at high tide, I went over to the rancho to again swim with the children there.  The three older children went in the water with me.  Wendy gets closer to swimming each day and high tide when she can not touch the bottom pushes her along that path.  After the swim I again went to the hotel for a fresh water shower and I had arrived in time for breakfast.  The El Salvadoran breakfast is quite substantial consisting of beans, cheese, fried platanos, eggs, potatoes and rolls or tortillas.

I spent the afternoon cleaning up my mess from the pump problems and reading on Lanikai.  The weather is still pleasant here so reading in the cockpit is enjoyable.

When I went ashore for dinner I ran into Don “Black Dragon” and he mentioned that they were walking down the road for Pupusas for dinner.  I tagged along as did Bob, “Horizons” and Louis “Black Swan” and his new Irish girlfriend, Ana.

Sunday February 1, 2004

Today was another day of mostly relaxing with a good book in the cockpit.  In the late morning, at high tide, I again went over to the Rancho to swim with Wendy.  Roberto had already come and gone for the weekend.  Wendy, Victor and I had a good swim while Arali watched from the front steps.  Upon leaving I stopped for a chat with Diane, “Windbird” and then raced down the channel to visit with Colette.  Santo, who was to have cleaned our prop Saturday, had not shown up and Colette said that he had taken off for the afternoon and would do it later.  Black Dragon sailed by in the late afternoon dropping their anchor nearby in preparation for a departure from the estero tomorrow.

Monday February 2, 2004

I was up early and on the 8 AM bus to Zacate.  My first stop there was the internet café to write a letter to Bill.  I spent about 30 minutes composing a great letter with all the details of the problems and my steps so far at solutions only to have the letter disappear when I pushed send.  It seems my mail server time had timed out and I had to sign in again.  I ended up sending several shorter letters with somewhat confusing comments.  The big problem was that since I had typed it all once I could not remember what I had retold him when I cut the letter up.  I am sure that frustration played a part as well.  Then I made a quick pass by the grocery store and picked up some Campero's chicken before catching the 10:30 bus back to Bahía.

When I got back to Bahía, one boat had left and another was just arriving.  The second boat planning on leaving, Black Dragon, without a motor could not get across the boca today with the onshore breeze.  The new boat that arrived was Peraguinata with Scott, Sonya and their two girls, Alex and Katrina on board.  I spent several hours repairing the electric bilge pump.  I finally discovered the torn diaphragm, actually with the many disassemblies and reassemblies the tear got big enough that it was visible.  I replaced the diaphragm with a new one and the pump is now working great.

It was out for Pupusas again for dinner tonight with the new and old cruisers.  While eating, Murray stopped by and said that Bill had called and I was supposed to be back at Bahía talking with him on Colette’s phone right now…oh well that was not possible.

Wednesday February 4, 2004

Yesterday, Tuesday, Murray showed up about 9:15 with Colette’s phone and another shot at receiving a call from Bill.  While Murray was onboard he closed the engine raw water intake with little difficulty.  Bill did call and I could tell him that both the pump worked and the leak had been stopped.  I did request that he get a new alarm float switch sent down with Loretta.  She is arriving on the 12^th.

“Black Dragon” left the estero today and mostly under sail but had a borrowed out board from Murray to give them a little extra push.

I enjoyed a short swim with Wendy before heading into the hotel for a shower.  Wednesday’s cruisers night was attended by almost all the cruisers; then we all went off in Murray’s truck for pupusas.

Thursday February 5, 2004

I finished reading my book in the morning and at 12:30 headed over to Amanda and Roberto’s Rancho.  I arrived at just about the same time as they did.  They had other guests with them as well as it was Amanda’s 55^th birthday and they had come to celebrate.  Their guests were an old high school friend of Amanda’s and her husband.  It was fun eating a late lunch with them and trying to understand all the Spanish that was flowing back and forth.  After lunch everyone found a hammock to rest in but I only lasted a short while before I wandered out back to visit with Latita while she washed the many dishes.  We then sat around their small table with three of the children and continued to visit.  Victor had been a good boy and gone to school and was not yet home but the rest were there.  Eventually everyone woke up.  Just after sunset, Juan drove us all in the panga to the Boca where a new sandbar on the far side of the mouth formed a nice swimming hole at low tide.  Two year old Arali has decided that I am ‘ok’ and she really enjoyed playing in the water with me.  Since it was dark I was reluctant to put her down for fear of loosing her but eventually her dad, Juan, took her and she rapidly fell asleep in his arms.

Sunday February 8, 2004

Yesterday, Saturday, I guided Sonya and Katrina, Peraguinata, thru the buses to the Metro Sur shopping center in San Salvador.  There Sonya discovered the trials of getting cash from an ATM card in Central America.  Her card was not associated with MC or Visa so she could not even go into the bank for a cash advance.  She did find some Mexican pesos in her purse but no bank would change those either.  We finally tracked down a Casa de Cambio at Puerto Bus, the international bus terminal, where she got her pesos changed but the rate was terrible. 

We then walked to the old city center.  Along the way we found a “hole in the wall” beauty shop where Katrina got her long blond hair cut shorter and somewhat styled for only $1.75.  Since the bus back to terminal Sur and our bus back to Bahía stopped next to the main cathedral, we walked just a little further to the plaza so that they could view the front of the cathedral, with its bright orange, blue and red tile work.  We arrived back at Bahía two buses and 3 ½ hours later.  Being quite hot and sticky I went over to the Rancho to swim with Wendy.  Roberto and Amanda were already there, so Roberto joined us in the water.

Back at the hotel to rinse off, I joined up with other cruisers for another dinner run for pupusas.

Today, Sunday, the hotel was really full of guests so I spent much of the day onboard having found another good book.  I also spent some time gathering things to take stateside when I return to California in a few weeks.  In the late afternoon, I dinghied over to the Rancho to swim with the children.  The tide was up so I anchored the dinghy out a ways and the two boys swam out to meet me.  Wendy followed them even though the water was over her head and I only gave her a little help when she was almost there.  I guess that our swimming lessons have paid off!!  Amanda and Roberto were at the rancho with the extended family of one of their secretaries.  The guests were also in the water.  I visited some with Amanda but did not stay too long.

Wednesday February 11, 2004

Loretta arrives tomorrow morning and I have spent much of the last few days picking up Lanikai and readying it for her visit.   I also have spent much of my afternoons and early mornings reading in the cockpit as the weather is heating up.  I distributed $5 tips to some of our favorite waiters at the hotel and each day spend some time helping Jose1 and Jose2, two or the waiters, with English.  Since afternoons the tide has been low this week I have not gone over to the rancho to swim with Wendy, but I still visit the hotel each afternoon for a swim in the pool and a meal.

Thursday February 12, 2004

Loretta arrived this morning with four large bags of goodies.  Jose, our taxi driver, met me in Arco at 7 AM and took me to the airport.  He went off for fuel while I greeted Loretta.  He returned at 8 and we were ready with all Loretta’s bags.  It was then the 45 minute trip to Bahía where Loretta enjoyed her first Salvadorian beer.  I ordered us each a traditional breakfast (eggs, beans, cheese, fried platano and bread).  While waiting for the food to arrive I made the first run to Lanikai with the smaller two of the four bags.  After breakfast we both returned to Lanikai taking with us the toy bag but leaving the 80 pound biggy still on the dock.  I called Murray with his panga to help us out with that one.  Loretta napped after her overnight flight and I installed the bilge alarm switch, including the re-gluing of its well-oiled (engine oil) base.  I left the pair of needle nose vice grips to keep it all together until the glue sets - if it ever does.   In the process the fuel hose from the lower tank to the main engine developed a leak.  I guess the extra 6 trips into and out of the bilge was too much for it.

At four when Loretta woke up, we went to the hotel again for happy hour drinks.  Dinner was pupusas at the pupusaria about a block down the main street.  We returned to the hotel by walking down the starlit beach.

Friday February 13, 2004 

This morning Loretta managed to sort through two of her bags, emptying the many treasures that she brought our way.  I stowed what I could and stacked the rest in neat piles for later distribution.  It was then time for a nap as Loretta was still recovering from the all night plane ride.  About noon we went over the Rancho on Isla Cordoncillo and delivered some small toys to “our family”, the caretakers of Amanda and Roberto’s rancho.  In Loretta’s goodies I had found a sand bucket and shovel for Arali, finger paints and some jewelry trinkets for Wendy and a monster watch/compass combo for Herson.  Victor was not there but we left some fishing gear for him.  On the dinghy ride back to the hotel for lunch, we stopped by Windbird so that Loretta could see Diane’s beautiful blue guacamaya birds.  We also dropped off the current Latitude 38.

The afternoon was spent at the hotel reading guide books of the area.  With the low tide we made the walk down the beach to the boca to enjoy a plate of clams with cervesa while we looked out on the low tide rough boca.

We ate dinner at the hotel and stuck around into the evening to visit with Eric Blackburn who was just finishing the writing of a cruising guide to El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua. 

Saturday February 14, 2004

We took off to Zacatecoluca this morning where, unbeknownst to us, it was market day.  Our first stop was the internet café where I sent of an e-mail noting Loretta’s safe arrival.  It was then off to the grocery store to pick up a few supplies and eat a late breakfast in the small cafeteria.  The rest of the morning we spent wandering the many small stalls until we got too hot and sweaty to wander anymore.  Loretta used her video camera taking photos of all the activity.   Loretta bought a machete in a very nice leather case and two El Salvador baseball-type hats.  We stopped for lunch at Campero's where it is air conditioned and the chicken meals are great.  We then had an hour wait for the bus back to Bahía and Loretta made a few more purchases before we sat at one of the bus station cafes to drink a cold bag of water.

The pool at Bahía sure felt good after the bus ride.  Today the humidity picked up and we experienced our first hot humid night since my arrival in January.

Sunday February 15, 2004

Amanda and Roberto arrived at their Rancho in the late morning.  Loretta and I went over for a quick visit but ended up staying until almost dark when Roberto and Amanda left for the city.  We took over the soccer ball that Loretta had brought down and a fold-up goal net.  The boys knew immediately what to do with it all and disappeared into the next lot all afternoon.

Monday February 16, 2004

Loretta and I were up early today and off on an inland adventure.  First we took the bus to San Salvador changing buses to first the city center and then to the east terminal where we caught the bus to Suchitoto.  By noon we were in Suchitoto looking for a hotel for the night.  The posada recommended by the guide book had changed hands and was now a hostel but it took us awhile to figure this out.  We ended up staying at the hostel in a room all to ourselves complete with a bathroom but bunk beds for four.  In our looking for the hotel, we found a super restaurant for lunch.  After checking into the hotel we returned to the restaurant and sat at a table that overlooked the lake and enjoyed a wonderful cooling breeze while we ate.  Suchitoto is a colonial town that was never ruined by the many earthquakes that devastated other cities in El Salvador.  One of the locals told me that the ground under the town is more solid than much of the rest of El Salvador.  We checked out the central plaza and the church, visited children in what appeared to be a children’s club, enjoyed watching the grinding of corn for tortillas and walked down to a park overlooking the lake that had statuary of “war art”.  Dinner was at a pupusaria set up near the central plaza topped off with a small dish of ice cream from a local vendor. 

Tuesday February 17, 2004

Today we returned to San Salvador and puzzled through the busses to get to the Artisans Market and the Archeological Museum.  Loretta made several purchases at the market and we both enjoyed the museum.  About 4 PM we headed off to Amanda and Roberto’s business.  Amanda drove us back down the hill to Metro Centro, the big shopping mall to spend a couple of hours until she could lock up her office.  We spent the night at Amanda’s and Roberto’s place and had dinner at Amanda’s favorite Comida Tipico Restaurant.  Amanda also placed a call to Jose for us, the cruiser’s taxi driver, to arrange for him to drive us around on Wednesday.

Wednesday February 18, 2004 –  A very windy day!!!!

Jose met us at Amanda and Roberto’s office in the early morning.  He drove us out to Joya de Ceren a Mayan site that had been buried in volcanic ash as had Pompeii.  It was rather disappointing because most of the site was closed off to tourists due to fear of the unsafe nature of the tin roofed structures that covered the digs.

We drove on to another Mayan site, San Andreas.  It was a wide open site with two partially uncovered Pyramids and buildings that surrounded two ceremonial plazas in ancient times.  We wandered through the site although it was quite windy.  Then we walked to the ruins of large basins used for indigo dying.  The small museums at both the Mayan sites proved to be quite interesting with good descriptions, in Spanish, of the excavations. 

Jose then drove us up into the hills overlooking San Salvador to Puerto del Diablo.  There we had a great view of the city and Lago Illopango.  The wind was so strong up on top that we had fears of being blown off and only stayed long enough to grab a few photos.  On the drive back to Bahía we stopped at a Campero's for a chicken dinner.  Cruisers night at the hotel greeted our return with great nibblies and friends.

Thursday February 19, 2004

After all our travels and the heat Loretta chose to nap again this morning so we postponed a visit to Murray and Collette’s Rancho.  I went ashore and purchased dinghy fuel.  There I met Elizabeth.  She had crewed on a boat that had stopped at Bahía last year and had returned for a short visit.  On the flight down she had met a group from Canada coming to work at an Orphanage in San Salvador.  After collecting Loretta from Lanikai, the three of us walked down the beach for lunch and a relaxing afternoon at Don Emilio’s, a restaurant on the beach at the boca.  We found out from Elizabeth that the orphanage that she had visited was for “special children” and Loretta and I decided to try to take the large bag of soft toys to them.  The fish lunch was delicious and we even had coconuts for desert, courtesy of another Salvadoreno enjoying the beach.

Friday February 20, 2004

We got a late start due to the re-sorting of the toys, with the orphanage children in mind, but we finally dinghied down to Tarazed’s rancho.  Loretta got to view the construction in progress of the home that Murray and Collette are building.  Their chickens were madly laying eggs and since they already have 8 new chicks and 16 fertile eggs in one nest, the new eggs are all being gathered to eat.   We returned to Lanikai with 5 really fresh eggs. 

The dinghy ride back to Lanikai was accomplished with the usual detours to visit other boats.   Our first stop was to “Windbird” to check out Diane’s hole patching progress.  Then we passed by Quantum Leap to see if Jan had any information on the possibility of a visit to the Iguana Farm where they raise iguanas, turtles and other reptiles for the world’s pet market.

At 12:30 we headed ashore and caught a bus, getting off at the Herradura intersection.  We had quite a wait in the heat but finally the Herradura bus came along.  We rode into Herradura and walked through the town.  Our first stop was at the ice cream store.  While we were enjoying ice cream 5 girls stopped by on their way home from school.  Loretta managed to find 5 necklaces, one for each.  We continued on to the waterfront where I snagged us a ride back to Bahía on a panga full of passengers heading to Isla Rancho.  We enjoyed a 40 minute ride thru the mangroves to Isla Rancho.  There he dropped off his passengers and picked up 4 more before we headed out thru the mangroves again.  He passed by Bahía where he dropped us off on the end of the dock before returning the Herradura for his next run. 

Saturday February 21, 2004

Jan got the trip to the Iguana Farm organized and, this morning, a large group of cruisers took off in cars to visit it.   The tour was wonderful and what I expected to be a one hour tour took 3.  We saw bright colored chameleons, several types of turtles, a rare white iguana, lots of red ones and many of the usual brown iguanas.  I did not see any of the pretty iguanas like the one we saw swimming last year in Bahía Drake, Costa Rica.  It was hot when we returned to Bahía with a stop for ice cream along the way.

In the late afternoon Loretta and I went to the Rancho so that I could swim with the children.  Loretta found a hammock and was soon asleep while I enjoyed a refreshing swim with the children.

Sunday February 22, 2004

We dinghied over to the Rancho early today.  Loretta enjoyed the comforts of hammock, both reading and sleeping - while I took off with Roberto, Juan and the children to the Boca.  At the Boca we enjoyed soaking in the low tide pools on the Tasajera side of the mouth.  There were several families visiting the Rancho with Amanda and Roberto and they enjoyed the pools at the Boca as well.  We also all enjoyed more swimming at the Rancho when the tide got higher.  One of the visitors had brought some chorizo, a tasty pork sausage, that we all enjoyed for lunch along with the usual rice, beans and tortillas. 

Monday February 23, 2004

Loretta took the bus to Zacatecoluca with Tom and Jane off “Promise”.    I stayed on Lanikai to wash clothing and generally clean up readying Lanikai to be left again for many months.  I was invited by Latita to come to the Rancho to eat lunch with the children.  After the laundry was drying on the life lines and the interior wiped down with bleach water I dinghied over to the Rancho.  Little Arali developed an ear ache while I was visiting and her nap did not make it go away so I dinghied Latita and Arali across the estero so that they could catch a bus to the clinic.  Three hours later when I returned them home Arali’s smile proved the trip to be worthwhile.  While waiting for them I returned to the hotel and met up with Loretta for a first afternoon beer.

Tuesday February 24, 2004 –  Our last day at Bahía

Most everything was packed Monday afternoon so closing off and shutting down the boat systems was all that was left for today.  About 10 AM I ferried Loretta into shore with the baggage, paid off our bill with the hotel and returned to Lanikai to stow the dinghy.  The dinghy was brought on board with Diane’s help and after a final check, Lanikai was locked up and Diane ferried me to shore.  We were waiting around for Jose when Diane received a call from him.  He was running late and was not expected to arrive until after 1PM.  Jose finally arrived for us at 2PM and after loading the bags into the taxi we were off to San Salvador to find the orphanage that Elizabeth had told us about.  The orphanage was high on one of the hills overlooking San Salvador with well kept gardens and nicely maintained buildings.  The orphanage is run and supported by a Canadian Italian Catholic group.  There were about 120 handicapped children living there, about half in wheelchairs. They were appreciative of the soft toys and we were given a nice tour of the facilities.   We did not have much time to spend as we had to get back toward the airport where we checked into the expensive Comfort Inn for our last night in El Salvador and our early morning departure.