Central America, El Salvador and Guatemala

July, August & September  2005

Monday July 25, 2005

We arrived back in El Salvador last Thursday about noon after an all-nighter in airplanes and airports.  It took us two days to recover from the lost night's sleep.  Saturday we went over to get photos of the new school building that the cruisers had constructed for the children of the island while we were away.  The last of the roof panels were going up so I got some photos of the work in progress.   We then went over to Hotel Pacific Paradise for lunch and to use the wireless network reported to be there.  The lunch was good although a bit pricy and the wireless allowed slow connection to the internet but only allowed web-mail and we could not get to our server to send our e-mail.  Bill can at least use it for checking his mail before we run off to Zacate to pick it up.

Yesterday, Sunday, we breakfast at Hotel Bahia with Murray and Colette catching up on the latest happenings in the estero.  Then following a few hours of clean up on the boat, we had lunch at one of the fish palapas over the water on Isla Tasajera.  I have not stocked the boat with food since our return as we leave again tomorrow morning to take the car across the border for new papers.

Friday July 29, 2005

Tuesday we took off early to drive to Antigua.  Chris, Beth and 7 year old Yvette (from AquaMarine), traveled with us.  The border crossing entailed one of our longer waits as Bill got behind an agent with papers for several trucks.  Bill has spent most of his time here in Antigua, at the internet café downloading files from Unisys for his most recent project with them.  They did not get their act together until after we had left Oregon with our fast internet connection so Bill is taking advantage of the closeness and the fast connections here in Antigua.  I am spending my time reading the latest Harry Potter book, number six, that came out just before we left the states.  We are also taking advantage of the many fine restaurants here and eating too much but it sure is good food!  I plan to take a basket of fresh vegetables from the market home with me so that I can once again start cooking on the boat. 

Monday August 1, 2005

We got back to Lanikai late Saturday and it was hot and muggy.  There has been no rain since we left for Antigua so maybe we are in the dry spell that occurs sort of mid-rainy season.  The sky was clear yesterday with views of the volcanoes behind the spectacular green hills.  The vegetables that we brought back from Antigua were beautiful and we enjoyed a tuna salad yesterday and fresh pineapple for breakfast today.  Bill spent more time yesterday with his Unisys project while I finished reading the Harry Potter book 6.  There is a waiting line to read the copy that I brought south with us so it is already passed off to another boat. 

Today I was feeling crummy with the cold that is going around here so I rested, reading some, while Bill got his computer stuff ready for a trip to the internet café in the morning.  We did finally get the coffee purchased in Antigua, delivered to Colette in the late afternoon before we headed off to the pool for a swim.  The pool has warmed up to almost bath water but it still refreshes especially when you get out all wet and not sweaty.

Wednesday August 3, 2005

Yesterday while Bill drove into Zacate to the internet café, I went to San Salvador with Colette.  We purchased a teacher's desk, plastic storage bins and some books and puzzles for the school on the island.  While Bill and I were stateside the cruisers tore down the old lean-to kindergarten classroom, poured a cement slab and built a steel classroom with grated openings at the top of the walls for ventilation and light.  Since there was money left over from the construction, the cruisers have decided on some needed furnishings to finish up the room.  We also had a donation to purchase books and educational toys.  Colette and I had a grand time picking out books with thick pages for the youngest children.  We also found a 10-book children’s encyclopedia for the older children and some great wooden puzzles.  Bill spent much of the day at the internet café as the internet was very slow and he had several problems with his contract to work through.   

Tuesday August 9, 2005

The estero was busy this last, long, weekend with vacationers from San Salvador.  Most of the city was closed for the four days from Thursday thru Sunday.  Bill spent much of those days getting the GPS, Radar, his new digital compass and computer connected so that they can talk to each other.  Sunday and yesterday we stayed in Colette and Murray’s house to keep track of their animals and a watch on the boat yard while they headed again to Honduras to renew their visas for another 90 days.  Bill spent the time on his computers and I took the opportunity of an empty boat to sort and inventory the canned goods storage. 

Wednesday August 10, 2005

Monday was the first day that the new school building was put into use.  Many of the cruisers went to greet the children as they arrived and to put the finishing touches on the interior for them.

Tuesday, we drove into Zacate to use the internet café but it was closed for remodeling so we turned around and drove into San Salvador.  The internet café there was so much faster that Bill plans on driving the extra 20 minutes next week as well.  He is currently working on another Unisys project and has occasionally large downloads to get.  Since he only connects once a week they pile up for him.  Yesterday he also picked up a USB floppy drive and today is working on getting the small travel computer up and running again.  His first act while we were staying in Murray and Colette's house killed the poor machine.  Something hickupped while he was installing a new goodie on the computer and it from then on could not be booted even though he spent all of Sunday trying.

Monday August 15, 2005

Sunday, we finally met Amanda and Roberto’s daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter.  Bill and I spent a lazy morning on the boat then headed over to Tasajera for a wonderful fish lunch eaten in a palapa over the water.  On the way home, we stopped by the rancho to visit with Juan and Latita.  When we got to the rancho we could see the hammocks up and people around including Roberto.  We spent the rest of the afternoon visiting with our friends and admiring the little one who is now 5 months old.

Bill still does not have our little computer working although he claims that he is getting closer.  Tomorrow we go to San Salvador for more internet time and he has a list of “more tools” to download.

It has been hot but since we have had rain every night since Thursday it has been nice and cool for sleeping.  The rains have been strange as they start with a thunder storm but after the storm passes we continue to get rain for almost the rest of the night.

Wednesday August 17, 2005

Yesterday we went into San Salvador so Bill could spend a few hours on the Web at an internet café.  We took three other cruisers into town squeezed into the back seat and after dropping them off, we missed a turn so ended up spending 20 minutes to travel the short distance to the shopping center.  The city is full of one way streets, no left turns, and you-can’t-get-there-from-here’s.  With the late start at the internet café we were a little late getting to Limdisa where we met Amanda.   A call from her got us back on track!!  We all went to their home for a wonderful soup for lunch with Roberto, Amanda, Carolina and Edmundo.  Lunch was a two hour affair with lots of visiting in two languages. 

Friday August 19, 2005

Yesterday was a rainy day and it rained much of the time, some of it coming down so fast that Bill filled 5, 5 gallon jugs for another boat in less than 30 minutes with his little bilge pump in the scuppers.  Bill spent most of the day and into the night trying to recover our little travel computer.  He did pick up lots of help from the web Tuesday but so far only little success with getting the machine up.  Today I have lots of laundry water but am waiting to see if the dryer-sun will appear before I dump the laundry into the tub.

Wednesday August 24, 2005

We have had lots of rain all the nights but one this past week but enough sun during the days that the laundry got done.  I even washed the many towels that cover our seats. 

Monday Murray came by in the morning suggesting that he might be able to haul our boat in the late afternoon.  Bill and I spent the rest of the day readying the boat.  Bill made one attempt at getting to the lift but the channel was not quite deep enough.  Bill was a little delayed at getting to the channel, as while he was driving around waiting for the high tide the engine overheated and it took about 30 minutes to get it running again.  There were four dinghies ready to help and they quickly pulled him off the mud.  He dropped the hook again with an overheating engine again.  There was a planned attempt in the morning so after a few beers at the hotel while the engine cooled down he replaced the engine heat exchanger with the saved original one that was still good and removed the thermostat.  The engine ran cool after that.  Yesterday he completed the job by cleaning out the cooling system with a commercial radiator cleaner.  We did not try the channel again in the morning as Murray wants to work more on deepening the channel first. 

Today we drove into Zacate so that Bill could purchase a short piece of radiator hose which he found to be bad on the engine.  It was probably the source of all the over-heat problems!  I made a grocery run as we have been hitting bottom on fresh veggies for several days.

Saturday August 27, 2005

We have had very little rain the last two nights and even got in some good star viewing early in the evenings.  After two weeks of very wet nights it was a nice change!!  Yesterday, Friday,  we drove into San Salvador only to discover that our little Sony computer is not marketed south of the border - hence the special Sony CD drive that Bill needs is not available here.  The trip was not a total waste as Bill did get two hours on the web.  We took home two other cruisers with us and stopped in Olocuitla for yummy pupusas. 

Cruisers are starting to think about leaving for Costa Rica but Bill and I feel that until the rainy season is over - November 1 - it is not worth heading south.  Most of the anchorages are exposed to the summer south swells that come in.

Sunday September 4, 2005

We made two more trips to the big city this past week.  The usual Tuesday trip was spent mostly at the internet café, but just before lunch we drove over to the shop area and took in two pieces of stainless steel rail to be bent into a sort of 's' shape.  Bill needs the bent tubes to redo two of the bow pulpit stanchions.  Friday we made a quick trip into the city to pick up the tubing.  Of course it was not ready when we arrived in the morning but it was ready when we returned at 11:30.  From there we returned to Bahia stopping for hamburgers at a new restaurant near the hotel that has opened up in the last month.  The burgers were great with fries and only $1.25 each.  The beer was also cheap at $0.85 each. 

Bill spent yesterday, Saturday, morning futzing with one of the tubes and finally getting it the way he liked it.  The next step is to get Murray to weld on the base so that it can be attached to the hull.  Once it is on, he can cut the other side so it can be fixed as well.  This project got started because one stanchion had to be cut (many months ago) so the chain would fairlead to the bow roller with the new electric windlass.

Today a group of cruisers met at the hotel and took a bus to San Marcelino to eat lunch at one of out favorite restaurants overlooking the ocean.  Everyone agreed that the food was good and the cooling ocean breeze comfortable.

Thursday September 8, 2005

Yesterday there was a wedding on the beach.  One of the cruising couples, Dennis and Michelle (from Aquastrian) had decided to tie the knot and we all had a grand time celebrating it with them.  Bill was not feeling well so he returned to the boat before the wedding and potluck, but I got to enjoy it all.  I got a ride both to the hotel pool for a swim and back to Lanikai from the great folks Dana and Judy on Paradiso.

Tuesday we made our, what is becoming weekly, trip into San Salvador for internet access.  While there we visited with Amanda, Carolina and Edmundo and were invited to their home for lunch where we saw Roberto in passing.

Friday September 9, 2005

Last night we discovered that the heat exchanger to heat - with waste engine heat - the water in our water heater was leaking antifreeze into the fresh water.  This morning was spent re-plumbing the heater out of the fresh water system and then running water to rinse out the lines.  We also succeeded in emptying the forward smaller water tank which we plan of filling with fresh rain water over the next few good storms - whenever they come.  We have not had a good rain storm in almost a week now.

This afternoon we went to the official opening of the kindergarten room that the cruisers funded and constructed.  It was an interesting celebration with "thank-you"s all around, a dance group and singer as well as the official ribbon cutting by Colette.  After the ceremony donuts were served to all. 

Monday, September 12, 2005

Saturday Bill got the starboard side stanchion installed at the bow replacing the one that he cut off for a fair lead of the anchor chain to the new windlass.  Yesterday he removed the port-side stanchion and got the new one ready for welding, which Murray did for us this morning.  Both projects took much of the day to accomplish, in the heat, leaving us too tired for much else.  Bill did spend some time on his computer both days, actually getting a new FotoAlbum program to me with many bug fixes. 

Today Bill got the new stanchion into Murray and he got it welded and back to us within an hour.  Today we played some with the freezer compressor again trying to cut down of the RFI coming from it.  Andy on Soy Libre had picked up some magic boxes to cover the freezer controller that were suppose to do the trick but so far it has not seemed to cut our RFI back at all.  After our efforts today we are returning the box to Andy and continue turning off the freezer when we want to use the Ham radio. 

Thursday, September 15, 2005

Tuesday we went into San Salvador and spent the entire day, mostly at the internet café, but also over an hour at the big hardware store, Vidri's.  We tried out the new salads at Camparo's for lunch and they were ok.  In Vidri's Bill ran into Dan from one of the other boats (Tricia Jean).  He had taken the bus in but was purchasing too much for a bus trip back, so he returned to Bahia with us.  We got back to the hotel with a light rain falling and a dark black cloud on the horizon.  I took off toward Lanikai with the groceries as the black cloud approached and made it back to the boat just as the wind picked up.  I got the groceries into the cockpit and the boat closed up before the rains hit, but the wind was sure howling.  The waves in the estero picked up with the wind and current in the same direction and I had fear for awhile that the dinghy - now tied alongside the Lanikai - might flip.  One glance at the windspeed meter early-on showed the needle all the way up to 60mph but after I got things settled down the wind stabilized at 35-40.  When the wind finally dropped to under 20 I got back into the dinghy to return to the hotel to pick up Bill and the rest of our purchases.

Yesterday we got the new port side stanchion installed with much complaining of my old body being squished into the starboard side of the anchor locker and reaching across the plywood divider to get nuts and washers onto the bolts that Bill pushed in.  After our project was completed I fixed lunch then paddled the kayak ashore to empty it of water and clean its bottom.  In putting the anchor locker back together Bill discovered that the doors not only did not fit quite right but the upper one was slowly delaminating.  He did some filing and gluing, then while waiting for the glue to dry, he started to go through the West Marine catalogue to see if there was anything that we could not live without.  An e-mail received from our friend PJ yesterday indicated that they were planning of flying down to travel south with us to Nicaragua. 

Saturday September 17, 2005

Yesterday and today we got the spreader light bulbs replaced.  This required many trips up to the mizzen spreaders, a trip to bring the fixtures to deck level, a trip to reinstall the fixtures and a third trip to re-attach the wires.  Bill also had to make a trip clear to the top of the mizzen to replace the burned out anchor light, since it lasted almost 4 years we have nothing to complain about.  The bulb actually lit up when I covered its solar controller as Bill got to the top of the mast but he replaced it anyhow.   Murray has been dredging and digging out his channel to the lift in hopes that Monday afternoon Lanikai will be able to be hauled out for new bottom paint. 

Today we tried out a new restaurant on the estero for breakfast.  It was an ok breakfast although pricy for this area.  The owner came by our table, as we were getting ready to leave, to tell us of his free buffet that he was setting up early in the afternoon to celebrate his opening.  We stopped by Paradiso and soon the message was spread among the fleet and many checked out the free food.

Tuesday September 20, 2005

I am sitting in a hotel room early this morning with our boat almost out of the water.  We got the boat into Murray’s lift yesterday afternoon but the water dropped too low before the straps could be adjusted correctly.  There is some thought that one of them is lifting on the rudder. So Lanikai sits in the sand within the travel lift until low tide last night so it can be seen where the strap is and then readjustments could be made with this early morning's high tide.  Murray has spent the last few days dredging his channel and having his crew dig so that it would be ready for the Lanikai.  Bill will return to Lanikai this early this morning to watch the work that we hope will be occurring.  Our hope is to get her bottom cleaned and three coats of paint onto her today so that she can be dropped into the water with the next morning's very high tide, just about sunup tomorrow.

Wednesday September 21, 2005

Lanikai is now securely tied to one of Murray’s buoys.  Yesterday was a struggle as Lanikai did not get onto the land until almost noon.  Struggles with the strap placement on the travel lift, a dead panga motor, and a second broken hydraulic line delayed the movement ashore.  Once she got ashore she was pressure washed then wet sanded until the old paint was clean and very thin.  The painting went fast but it was well after dark before the fourth and last coat was completed.  Colette fixed us a nice spaghetti dinner which was much appreciated.  After the last coat was finished Murray moved Lanikai back to the well hanging over the water and dropped us down to just off the bottom so that he could replace his dam to keep the high water from flooding the rest of the yard.  It poured all night and the yard flooded anyway but at least it was with fresh rain water.  When I climbed off Lanikai at 4:30 in the morning to get the dinghy bailed-out in case it was needed, the dock was at least 6 inches deep in water.  Since Lanikai had to be backed out of the ditch, Murray tried to pull it with the panga and it got stuck in one side or the other several times before they were clear of the channel.  Dana, Paradiso, came over with his dinghy to help keep Lanikai straight in the channel and pull her out of the mud when she wasn’t. 

The other excitement of the haul out was the replacement of the cutlass bearing.  Bill could not get the shaft out due to a frozen bolt.  We had to go to plan B.  Murray filed down a hack-saw blade to about 1/3 its width and they used this blade to cut the bearing from the outside.  This took much time and a very patient Jose to do the cutting.  Several times during the day it looked like we would not make it, but we needed this morning's high to travel thru the channel as the water will not be this high again for another four weeks.

Saturday September 24, 2005

The last few days have been a struggle for Bill as the little Kubota diesel engine that runs our battery charger will no longer start.  Actually it started on Thursday, when it started after much effort but without enough oomph to run the alternator.   We charged the batteries with the main engine and Bill thought that readjusting the valves the next day should solve the problem.  Well, he spent two days playing the the engine and it only got worse.  

More boats are talking about leaving and some have left only to encounter bad weather and rolly anchorages.  We have had rain all night and much of each day since we were launched.  Tomorrow Bill and I head off to Antigua for (hopefully!) the last time to renew paperwork for the car and our visas.