Escape from Paradise

2011/12/8 hospitalized

2011/12/8
Suffered thru the long flight with chills and fever. Luckily I had a whole row to myself to Huston Texas. But there was no relief from pain no matter which way I lay. During the lay over, I really got chilled. My teeth were chattering so bad, I thought they would fall out. I left an unsightly deposit at the drinking fountain while trying to hydrate. Then the fever returned. I didn't want to be hopitalized in Texas, so I suffered the next leg to Phoenix.
Soon as I got home, I took a long hot shower. Such a luxury, but the pain was so bad, I went to the emergency room. Good thing. I had a conpletely blocked ureter with a 7.4mm kidney stone. They gave me morphine. Finally pain free. But I will be here a while. They did a procedure to drain the angry puss infected kidney and will do something to blast the stone once I stabilize my blood pressure and infections. I am starting to fear for my sailing career. Its a hard life.

2011/12/07 flying Again

2011/12/07 flying Again

The Panama Canal Transit was quite an experience. Kidney stones were not nearly so much fun. But, I am now on my way back to Phoenix. Leaving behind the rainy season.

Yesterday, I stopped by David's boat and got introduced to Linox. I learned more in one week how to use a computer on a boat, than in the year and a half on my own! All I need now is a sat phone and I will be set for email, weatherfax, navigation, AIS and much more. I was really blown away to be able to finally get everything to work together.

Christmas List

2011/12/05 Going Bananas

2011/12/05 Going Bananas

I have recovered from my fever, what ever it was. Russ went to fix the radio that went out when he had fixed the transmission at Isla Pedro Ganzalez. He wasn't prepared to deal with the transmission again just yet, but indeed did find it was not the coupling come loose again. When all was said and done...the transmission wasn't broken, he probably just didn't have it engaged fully and assumed it was broken again. This time with no proper tool to fix it. He broke that last time. I swear, if he would quit fixing things, more things would just start working on their own!

Anyways, We took a cab to the Canal Administration building to get the deposit back from the transit. The front dest acted as if no one had ever been there before to collect a check! Finally we made it past the front desk to the third floor where Lin Wolfe was sorry to tell us there would be a delay. Big surprise, but there had been an erroneous anchor charge and she couldn't write the check untill it was reversed. Could we come back Friday.

We climbed Ancon hill again. I had wanted to bring a banana for the monkeys but had no chance to buy one. Two big Toucans were in the trees near the benches.

A Kuna, Nataniel, was walking up with two backpacks. He paints feathers. I was tempted to buy one, but don't know about feather customs. And the painting had cruise ships, not sailboats in the canal.

On the way down we met a family who's daughter is in school here. From Colorado.

Passing a residence, a man got out of a car to go inside with a gas can and a banana. Of all the things in the world, I could want right now, and so I asked him. I asked if he could give me just one tiny little piece of his banana for the monkys. He happily gave me the whole thing. He said it was not his whole lunch, I checked!

Sure enough, at the bottom of the hill, the monkys woke up and crawled down to take tiny bits of banana from our hands and gobble them up. Our new friends came to try as well as a mother and small boy. I held the boy's hand while the girl lifted him up to feed the monkey. His eyes were so wide. The mother was so thrilled.

Taxi to Coca Cola restaurant and had the lentil soup and chicken fried rice. Loud. Checked out the Machetaza department store and taxi back. It was a full day.

The ssb weatherfax still eludes me. I can't seem to find a station that gives a fax page.

2 hp Tug

2011/12/01 Sick sick sick

2011/12/01 Sick sick sick

Since the beautiful day on the 27th, my life has been hell! I had recently finished reading "The River of Doubt". I know how Roosevelt must have felt. He was trapped, moving painful few miles each day on an uncharted river, sick as a dog, starving, dehydrated and no relief in sight.

Sunday night I went to bed with only a slight sunburn, a infintisimal scratch on my toe, a cramp in my back, maybe my kidney, liver, or just plain back pain from scrubbing the slime off the kayak. I took two Advil, ate dinner and had a cranberry vodka, and went to bed. Oh, and I got the glue off my finger.

During the night, I felt chilled, I put my coat over me. Then I felt hot and sweaty. I thought maybe it was menopause and didn't think too much more about it. But by morning, I had not slept well and had gone thru two or three more sweat cycles. I had no appetite whatsoever. I lazed around all day feeling like death warmed over. Feeling the worst when at the highest temperatures. Sipping only small sips of water, the last of the bottled water, I am hoping its just food poisoning.

Monday night, I shivered and sweated thru at least 3 rounds and had the strangest weird dreams. Kaliedascopes of body parts and animals and aliens. I felt like my body was telling me how the battle was going inside. It was intense and creative in ways a novelist would have a heydey describing.

Still unable to eat anything and determined to find safe drinking fluids, I opened cans of beets, pinapples, and asparagus and sipped the juices. I needed salts replaced from sweating so I heated up water and put part of a ramen packet in it. (There was no fruit but pinapple aboard, and the only salt was buried beyond my reach.) I have very little strength and feel nauseous when standing. So even using the toilet is a big undertaking. None of my ideas are curing my cravings and I still don't have the stomach for real food. I start fantisizing about hospital food. Yes, hospital food! I want those little plastic cups full of cherry jello and applesause, and vanilla pudding, and ice cream cups. And clean water.

Right about now, I am wishing we had bought ice. Even the fans don't take enough heat away during the middle of the day. I found the energy to read a bit in the book "Where There is no Doctor". I compare all the fever illnesses. I don't think it is Malaria because the fever wasn't high enough to get delirous, though maybe when I was dreaming? It could very easily be hepatitis, it would explain why I am not wanting to eat, but my eyes aren't yellow yet, so I will watch my eyes. There are none of the other symptoms of the remaining fevers, so I look up urinary infections. I go often in small amounts, but there is no pain. My back pain has faded away. Only my stomach feels tight. I finally empty my bowels and its watery but otherwise normal. So I am at a loss. Nothing fits exactly and I can only study so long, I vote for the UTI and take an amoxicillian at 1:30pm. Later in the afternoon, I read the part where amoxicillian is poison if it is hepatitis and the yellow eyes come later. Great! So I don't take any more amoxicillin. I need water! Clean, clear, cold water. We get the boat ready to sail. Head out in strong winds, and tack when the transmision goes out. (another story), anyways, Russ wants to go back, anchor, and fix it in the morning. I shiver and sweat thru a third night.

In the morning, after three hours of blood and sweat, the transmission is working again and we head out again. This time it fails right away and since he broke the homemade wrench this morning needed to tighten the coupling, we go on towards Panama. As usual, the wind is coming directly from where we want to go. It will be a long, torturous, slow route of tacking back and forth. I can hardly help at all.

Even just standing is now a challenge. I managed to stand just long enough though to see a whale glide by with a baby. Russ had seen them spout, but I had seen that before, I could't be bothered to expend the energy to go look, but when I stood to get air and other necessities, I couldn't have timed it better. The whales were no less than 50 yards off the starboard side when they slithered up and out and back into the water, right after each other, almost like they were all one whale. I'd guess as long as the boat or more, mayby 40' for the mom.

About midnight, I remembered the peach nector I had saved from the trip up to see the Embura Tribe. It was heaven, even warm, I felt the sugars and liquid easing my headache and giving me strength. I offered to spell Russ for a couple hours so we could continue sailing. I even made a tack and saw 5 knots. I felt fresh air and saw stars and felt almost good for a couple hours, but easily gave it up when he woke, and returned to my lee cloth bunk and misery of still another round of chills and sweats.

Its now Thursday and I feel a little better. In fact, I am hungry. But only for certain cravings. I find a pineapple in heavy syrup goes down and want more nectar. Apricot, peach, pear and I want water. I have sipped sparingly all I had and my lips are cracked. My skin tents and I have lost probably 10 lbs.

We are still tacking big 120 degree zigzags. The boat does not go to weather well. Then, there is no wind at all. Sitting in plain site of beautiful Panama City, skyscrapers shining in the sunlight, I can point out the bridge of the Americas, Ancon hill, the causeway and yet I can't get there from here.

The ocean is glass calm. A turtle surfaces. He can even make better time. My mocking turtle. Planes fly overhead. I imagine a young girl telling her she can see a pretty sailboat down there in the water and begging her parents to take her sailing. It looks so fun!

Boats go by on all sides but not along our path. We watch for ripples on the water and consider swimming when I ask if the 2 hp dinghy motor would do anything. It takes a while. The dinghy has to be re inflated, fenders figured out and fuel added but we make a knot or two of progress. I steer the boat. Russ sits in the dinghy using it like a tug tied by both ends. It works except when big waves almost throw him into the ocean. Finally after a couple curious hours, the wind picks up and we can resume sailing. We get good strong winds and are going to make it by dark. Only one more challenge.

I am feeling quite a bit better actually and its a good thing. The bay is packed jam full of fishing trawlers done for the day. I run the tiller back and forth as Russ trims the sails after every tack. I had a track of all the twisting and turning as we sailed thru. Fisherman were standing at the rails watching the silly sailboat charging down at them just to turn and duck away. The sunset was amazing and of course I have no hands free to take a photo. After at least 6 tacks, felt like twenty, we reached the sailboat pack and anchor by sail and thats when I accidently deleted the track. We took the dinghy to the causeway in the dark.

I immediately order a peach milkshake and buy a big bag of salty nacho cheddar Doritos and a gallon of cold clear clean water. I am going to live!

Panama...so close...so far away

Glass calm sea

2011/11/25 Ancon hill and mercado de abastos

2011/11/25 Ancon hill and mercado de abastos

Finally today I really did get up early and walk to the Canal Administration Building and up Ancon Hill! A good workout for sure after yesterdays turkey binge.

On the way down, we say 3 nocturnal monkeys sleeping in a tree. They woke up and came to check us out. I hear they like bananas, but I didn't have any.

We went to the mercado de Abastos and toured the streets of produce venders from all over Panama. Picked out a few fresh veggies and caught a cab back just as the rain started.

2001/11/24 Panama Thanksgiving

2001/11/24 Panama Thanksgiving

I have so much to be thankful for... Of course, my family and friends in the US, my health, but at the moment, I am thinking of the cool breeze, the solar panels and 12volt fans, Wifi, and an American style Thanksgiving dinner with the other sailors in Panama City prepared by the local pizza place.

50 cruisers showed up for the buffet style meal. Absolutely delicious moist turkey , gravy, stuffing, garlic mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, mixed vegetables, cranberries, a roll, pumkin and apple pie. Yum yum. Paul wore a mickey mouse tie, blake and sunny sat with Russ, Paul and I. Really great food and company. Since I couldn't be with friends and family, my cruising community really came thru making it a close second.

Yesterday, Aspara got a new dinghy. Christned "Gus"...get it? Asparagus? Anyways, its smaller and has a rigid floor. No water on the inside and air stays in the compartments...yeah! We tried Abernathy's but ended up leaving there with foul weather gear and just as we walked out the door, the skies let loose with a torrential down pour. We took a cab to Centro Marino and stepped out to steaming sunshine. They had a small 8' Mercury inflatable that they were happy to deliver to the dock.

Monkey

Ancon Hill

Beautiful

Overlooking Panama City

Casco Viejo

Balboa Port

I don't know

Ancon Hill

Canal administration building

Pizza style turkey

Turkey Day

My new artwork

2011/11/21 Embera Drua

2011/11/21 Embera Drua

Today, I visited the villiage of Embera Drua. A group of sailors got together and Carmen was our guide. After a winding van ride through the park along the canal, we went up along the Chagres River and loaded into a very large cayuca or wooden canoe with a large outboard. Embera indians wearing nothing more than a simple loin cloth greeted us with life jackets and sped up the flooded river. The rapids were exciting enough to need a bowman with a long pole to assist the engines.

A welcoming commitee of drummers and flutes played as we arrived at the village just as the raun started. After the history talk, we were shown their arts and crafts and offered tattoes. I, of course, jumped at the chance. A beautiful young man proceeded to decorate my calf with a traditional design. I liked it. It should last a few weeks.

I enjoyed the talapia caught in the river and they did a little traditional dance of course. It was good fun. We escaped just before the rain started again.

Sunny day!!!

The canal transit by Susan Barber of Vida Dulce

The canal transit by Susan Barber of Vida Dulce

Our timing was fortunate to meet Russ, s/v Aspara, when we did. He's leaving Panama, having been here the better part of two years, and going to Alaska via Hawaii to visit family. Every cruiser size boat transiting the canal is required to have at least four line handlers, he'd lined up two. You can hire line handers in Colon but then you have strangers on your boat for two days. While I wouldn't call us close friends, we have found enough things in common to keep us talking for hours at Captain Jacks on several occasions so when he mentioned his timing for canal transit we jumped at the opportunity to be line handers for him. s/v Aspara is a 32' sailboat.

We take the local bus to Colon then a taxi to Club Nautico Cartbe. Unlike Cartagena's, this Club Nautico is an actual building, and part of a gated compound with a restaurant, chandlery / dive shop & dingy dock. Cruisers going from the Caribbean to the Pacific usually pick up their extra crew here. Between heavy rain showers we dash to s/v Aspara. When all five of us are on board we motor to The Flats anchorage to wait for our canal Advisor, a canal employee who will coordinate our transit with the Canal Authority. They want small boats anchored in The Flats by noon but the Advisor isn't expected to arrive until later in the afternoon. Five people trying to stay dry on a 32' sailboat is very cozy. Thankfully as the afternoon ticks away so does the rain. When the Advisor joins us at 6:20pm the rain has stopped.

The first part of our transit, three "up" locks will be in the dark. The "up" locks are much more turbulent than "down" locks due of the flow of the water and because small boats are positioned behind the ships in these locks. Heavily laden ships need to use their engines to assist the canal mules to move between the connected locks which adds to the rush of water coming at a small boat. Russ is nervous. We get in position by the first lock and wait for our ship, Meking Star, to arrive. I take photos of the ships that pass by going into the locks but very few of them turn out due to the bright lights of the locks. At 7:15, Meking Star arrives and is tied up to the mules. The lock doors open & she's moved in place. We will be tied up to a Viking sport fishing boat, Becky Lu, which will be tied to the lock wall. Once she's in place, we tie up and the doors close behind us. Up we go! When the lock door opens everyone moves into the second lock; first Meking Star then we untie from Becky Lu, Becky Lu unties from the wall and moves ahead of us to get tied to the next lock wall. We tied up to her as soon as she's in place. This process repeats itself in the third lock. When the doors of the third lock opens, Meking Star is detached from the canal mules and goes on her way. We and the family & crew aboard Becky Lu spend the night tied to a large buoy in Gatun Lake. It's late by the time we get secured to the buoy. We have a celebration drink and hit the sack.

Transiting The Panama Canal Aboard s/v Aspara, Day 2
Susan / overcast, 84 degrees F
11/13/2011, Panama Canal, Panama
Jerry's alarm goes off at 6am. Yikes! By the time we find the offending cellphone everyone is awake. We all slept in our clothes so really didn't need more an half an hour to be ready to continue our transit when our canal Advisor joins us, scheduled for 7am, but awake we are. We're more than ready to go when he boards at a quarter to 8am. Traveling at 5kts the fastest Aspara can go under motor, it's going to be a long day. The Canal Transit photo album, under the Panama one, has lots of pictures of the canal as we travel across Gatun Lake and through the Gaillard Cut. In the late afternoon we arrive at the first of the locks, Pedro Miguel Locks, that will take us down to the Pacific side and wait for Brilliant Sky. In this lock Aspara is tied to the lock wall in front of Brilliant Sky.

In the following two locks, we tie Aspara to a tug accompanying Brilliant Sky. One of the tug workers, Flash according to the back of his PFD, takes the opportunity to chat us up while we're along side. Flash has worked in the canal for 31 years, only 7 more to go to retirement. He expects to work on the larger tugs when they're in service in the larger locks currently under construction. He wrote a song about these new locks which he sang to me in the Miraflores Locks, to the amusement of his buddy. All good.

We exit Miraflores Locks into the Pacific just before at dusk. Half an hour later, Aspara drops us off at the Balboa Yacht Club fuel dock in Panama City. They'll continue to an anchorage in the Bay of Panama where they'll stay for a few days before starting their journey to Alaska via Hawaii. Fair Winds & Following Seas, Aspara!

Centurio bridge

Bio museum

2011/11/19 Panama City

2011/11/19 Panama City

Today, the first orderof business is to patch the dinghy! Every day it is something. Yesterday we went to get groceries with our favorite taxi driver, Rogelio. We loaded garbage and backpacks and real shoes into the dinghy with a broken fishing pole and motored across to the dinghy dock. The little 2 hp sure beats rowing. Tied up to the dock. Ferried across in the little red boat on rope and pulleys and met Rogelio.

Anyways, it started to pour down rain. Rogelio plowed through water over the floor boards as we made stops at the chart store, Mega Depot and Price Smart. We returned with 2 months worth of Peanut butter and canned chicken, filling the trunk with paper towels and toilet paper and even found a big jug of Jellybeans!!!

But, alas, the dinghy was quite deflated! Russ quickly motored toward the boat to get a pump and ran out of gas along the way. I waited in the steps at low tide, praying the rain would hold off. I watched helplessly as he rowed the really flat dinghy slowly to the boat where he had not only to pump up the dinghy, but refuel as well. He returned and we piled it high and prayed the air would hold. It did but barely!

Bio museum

2011-11-17 walking the causeway

2011-11-17 walking the causeway

Going backwards, today Russ picked up his diesel jugs, then we went to do internet.

Yesterday, Wednesday, we checked in with the port captain and walked along the causeway and went past the new construction of the Biodiversity Museum. Designed by Frank Gentry, the architect of the Gugenheim, it looks like a hodge podge of colors and shapes. Not all the pleasing to look at, but certainly eye catching! Unfortunately it won't open till next year. Their were naval cadets doing their exercises and a mob gathered around the ice cream cart as we passed.

We made an appointment to haul the sailboat out on the rails to scrape and paint the bottom. Then stepped into the Balboa Yacht Club for lunch just as the rain came pouring down. Good excuse for a cab ride back to Las Brisas.

The dock is missing a critical piece so we are pulling ourselves across the gap in a little red plastic dingy hooked to ropes and pulleys for only the price of $5 a week. This is tippy and usually full of water and logs block the channel. Keeps life interesting.

Tuesday, we went to visit Indian Summer. They had good info on Alaska and fishing gear. Hopalong has a 10' foldaboat. We met with several other cruisers for pizza and I met Deb and Greg. They plan to go north through the canal. We gave them our tires to use as bumpers. We swapped notes on favorite places each side of the canal.

Monday we spent recovering from having 6 people aboard. We listened to the net and scrambled to get the laundry ready for Gente de Mar and took Paul's lines and fenders back. Paul walked around the islands with us and showed us what was what. I was able to get some post cards and a SD card for my camera. Pescadera's had rain gear, a flag, and the cruising guide. Abernathy's was much higher priced.

Las Brisas Causeway

Panama Canal Transit

2011/11/14 Panama Canal Transit

I am pressed for time, as always in wifi land, but in short...I am aboard a 33' sailboat "Aspara" and we just transited the Panama Canal safely on November 12-13, 2011. We are now anchored off Isla Flamenco and seeing the sights of Panama City.

Isla Flamenco

Bridge of the Americas

Our advisor leaves as we enter the Pacific Ocean

Jerry and Susan are line handlers too!

Two ships passing...big wake!

The lines are flaked out for Pedro Miguel locks

A Rolo car transport ship passing us on the lake

Advisor on Gatun Lake Nov 13, 2011

Russ at the helm of Aspara, Gatun Locks

Panama Canal Gatun Locks Nov 12, 2011

Captain Jack's

Portobelo to Colon

2011/11/11 Colon, Panama

Well here we wait...in the rain...Since I have arrived in Panama City, there have been no days without thunderstorms, but last night and today have so far been the most dismal, dark, and dreary.

Yet, the excitement mounts as now the only hurdle left to making the transit of the Panama Canal is the remaining linehandlers need to arrive on time tomorrow with the lines and fenders.

Upon arriving at Panama City a week ago, I took the bus to Albrook Mall and made the mistake of getting off too early. I had to pay a taxi $10 to take me the rest of the way to the station. Then after catching the express bus to Colon, the bus sputtered and died, fortunately near the Texaco station in Sabanitas. I called Russ to let him know I was here and then I ran out of minutes. He was waiting in Colon and ran around frantically, carrying a backpack full of booze for the transit, to all the possible bus stops thinking that here meant Colon.

They fixed the bus in 10 minutes or so and I arrived in Colon and immediately bought a $2 phone card and called Russ back. 15 minutes later we were on the bus to Portobelo. This is a long winding road and I was glad to have a seat and not be standing in the aisle!

The rain was nice and held off for the dighy ride to the sailboat "Aspara". She looks beautiful! All new paint inside, fresh varnish and everything working great except the ever frustrating refridgerator. We will just have to buy ice for the transit.

I am excited to be here! When Russ called, I was on the plane in less than 48 hours! In the morning we went up to Captain Jack's. He has done a lot of work. The place really looks great too! The table is in, the floor is tiled, new murals...

Dave from Anasu is there, either really early, or he never left...he offered me a taste of his wasabi bloody mary. Wow that's a wake me up drink! He and the bar tender are making up a theme song for the net or something. We eat omelettes and get some ice and groceries and hurry back before the rain.

We sailed for Colon in the pouring rain on Monday and by Wednesday had managed to get admeasured and paid the bank. Now our Transit appointment is set for Saturday afternoon. We are anchored near Club Nautico bucking and rolling with each passing workboat, watching the parade of container ships and cruiseliners pass by mere hundreds of feet away. If it would just stop raining!

Flying over the Grand Canyon

2011-09-25

Arrived in Chicago at 5:30. An hour later, I have been on trains, escalators, through immigration and customs and back through security again. But at least I have phone service again. Of course we have free wifi here. The world is not fast enough for me. I want free instant wifi where ever I go.

So now I have just 2 more flights to go. Shouldn't have to do customs again. I need sleep.

1430 Arizona time. I am on the ground in phoenix. 26 hours of traveling. I am glad to be done. Shorty brought a subway sandwich and a cookie. I wolfed them down. I would take a nap first, but the airlines had to inspect my baggage. Everything was just crammed back into the bags and I need to let my down stuff re-fluff. Actually, I am just so glad to be off that boat, I couldn't care less if I brought back any of it.

Note to self...do more research next time!

The Big Ditch

On the plane again!

2011-09-24

I feel so much better rested! I resorted my luggage down to two bags at max weight and packed the rest in a large duffle. The hotel calls a taxi and I wait at the airport for Jaoa Martins to come to work at noon. He will send my extra things home with his friend who just got of work. We talk while I wait for my plane.

He rides a motorcycle and is in his second year of University. He is studying to teach Spanish and Literature. He is very ambitious and keeps practicing his English with me. He appologized for not inviting me to his house last night. I invited him to stay in Phoenix if he ever comes to the US.

I checked my bags and went to lunch again. I think they think I am homeless because I ate here yesterday too. I discovered another reason to wear long pants. Its not just a dress code. There are mosquitoes even inside the airport.

No problems with security. It is a small airport and very quiet. I don't know if I am happy to be going home or sad to not be able to live my dream. But for sure, now I will be looking for work. The kind that pays bills and restocks the savings account. I don't think I can paint my way around the world like Pat Henry.

Flew a couple hours to Sao Paulo which is south of Joao Pessoa. Had to wait in line to check in again. Different airline. Go through security again and settle in for a ten hour overnight flight to Chicago. I am sure seeing a lot of the world!

Joao Pessoa

2011-09-23

I packed quickly and put everything up through the hatch on deck. At 0600, I hailed a passing skiff who took me to shore. John poked his head out of the cabin and begged me to sail to Salvador. Said I was leaving him in a bind. He has to sail by Nov 14th. But he doesn't stop me. I know why it is so hard for him to find crew.

Severino is still on duty and calls a cab for me and within 20 minutes, I am on my way to the airport even though my flight is not till tomorrow. I know I can be here off the boat and off the street.

I left behind my pack boots and I think my gloves were jammed inside. I would have been happy to have left if it meant just with my passport. Strangely, I think I could do better on my own boat already. But then, I am reading "By the grace of the sea" by Pat Henry. As she solo navigates around the world, it does sound like a continuous series of near misses.

1255. The wind is blowing outside. A small tree bangs into the glass wall of the airport. The information attendant indroduces me to his relief who speaks English. I may yet go find a hotel for the night.

0245 I use the elevator to haul my two carts of luggage upstairs to get lunch. A chef stands outside a buffet and describes each dish with a lovely sounding language that conveys no meaning to me. I choose beans and rice, sliced cooked carrots and beets and a noodle dish. My plate is weighed and the price wrote down. They would not take payment though until I sat down and ate it. A large glass of pineapple juice was delivered and then taken to the right table so I went and did the point and pantomine thing until a glass arrived at my table for me. The beans and rice tasted so good I went back for more. Now they will take my payment.

I returned downstairs and went to the information booth and talked again with Jaoa. Pronounced John, he deduced that I was the Jean from the lost plane a week ago and became my best friend! His English is pretty good. He studyied with the missionaries from the USA. He had found an apartment for $60 Reals and called in a reservation for me. I took a taxi and was blissfully showered and napping within the hour.

2200. I have been reading my book since my nap and now I am ready for bed. Its three single cots with sheets and a towel and soap on each one. I only suppose I won't have roommates, I hope not. I am armed with earplugs and the white noise of the air conditioner.

Oil and Diesel

2011-09-22

Bottom Cleaning Day

In order to make any speed, the bottom has to be scraped of barnacles. They grow quickly here and it is a mess. I don't want to go in the polluted dirty river and so I hold the dinghy by the boat as john scrapes the sides with a putty knife. When that layer is done, he makes a long handle for it with wood and duck tape. Just as he finished round two, Carlos paddled up and will finish up the bottom, rudder and propeller for $40 real. That's about $30 USD. I think it's a great deal, John grumbles.

I don't make any head way with the sat phone. It has to be the phone itself. I am starting to get the feeling that nothing works on this boat. John rewires the auto pilot but the navigation brain shorts out. The ham radio only listens. No proper ground to transmit. I don't know enough to fix that. I am basically out of ways to communicate once we leave the wifi of the marina.

Peanut butter and jelly again. We head to town. It is the only thing aboard that is not more than 2 years past the expiration date. The spaghetti expired in 2000! John leaves used oil in the field. This is not my idea of traveling the world and leaving pollutants behind. John buys diesel. They will hold it while we shop. We check the internet for weather and it looks good for Sunday. Backpacks full of onions and potatoes, we drag the diesel back to the dock.

An unfortunate incident occurs. I have possibly shorted out the anchor light while wiring a plug for my electronics. When I ask if a fuse may have blown, John blew up, i think he has been festering since I didn't clean the bottom of the boat myself. I do not feel good about going to sea with this man. He has been rationing food and dictates what I will eat. and I am wondering just how he deals with real survival issues.

I plan my departure. I find a flight for the day after tomorrow and do not say a word through dinner. His stories of past crew experiences leaves no doubt that this is not the boat for me.

Life aboard

2011-09-21

I didn't sleep well last night. There was no breeze and the mosquitos came out. I saw it get light, then overslept. The sun was pretty high in the sky when I woke up.

My oatmeal was harded in the bowl and cocoa stuck to the bottom of my cup. I threw them out and washed up the dishes. Ate a hard boiled egg and went to work helping John shackle the jib into the forestay. I watched as a horse drove maybe 20 cows along the riverside.

I made sandwiches again and got ready for town. This time I packed my towel and dirty clothes. We waited for the bus, but a car came by and we paid the same as the bus fare and rode to the overpass where we hopped out. Another woman had jumped in along the way and she had to get out so we could exit safely on the right. At the large shopping mall, John found a Portuguese phrase book and USB extension cord for the GPS. I used the women's room in the mall and two ladies kept staring at me. Finally one told me this was the women's room. I grabbed my chest to help her understand that it was OK. I was the right gender to be using the women's room.

Then we walked and walked in search of filters and oil in vain. Our first stop referred us to a larger shop. We walked through the downtown streets and up a steep hill to a circle with 5 streets. There were 4 men playing dominoes on the street. No luck so we caught the bus to the center of town.

The first bus we ask is going the wrong way. We cross the street just in time. This bus is going the right way. He tells us to get on using the back door. Inside is a turnstyle and a man taking bus fare. We get through the style. Barely. No fat people ride the bus I guess. And still no luck finding oil filters or heavy weight bulk oil. John doesn't want to buy it in the gallon jugs. Says it cost too much that way.

We take the train back to Jacare and back down the cobblestone street. Once again, I stopped at Capitain Phillipe's Bar. This time, I ask Phillipe himself if I can buy just a shower. He wants John to pay for a whole weeks privileges at the Marina for $80 real but I just want one shower. Finally he just waves me in. I am really thankful. I washout my underwear and the shirt I have been wearing all week and walk back to to find John still talking to Brian about his anchor welding project. He pays for his repaired boom bracket and we head back to the boat getting 10 galons of water at the dock.

Tuna patties and pineapple. John is deep into sailing instructions. The band is playing loud tonight but at least the breeze is back. I hung my clothes on a line over the hatch. I didn't get my fan wired yet. And I still need a way to charge my electronics. Maybe tomorrow.

Santa Rita

2011-09-20

Train to Santa Rita

This morning I was able to get the new GPS installed and working on the navigation computer. I inventoried the meat locker. Lots of tuna not much else. Hard to find canned meat. Made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and went into town.

Going to town is a daily exersize ritual. First we load all the garbage, empty water jugs and fuel jugs. Then the cart and our two backpacks. We put the oars in the hard shell dinghy. It is probably 7' long. 4 ' wide. Untie and row to Peter's dock.

Today we walk the red light district to the train depot, maybe a mile, and arrive just in time to push through the turnstyle and pay the $.50 real each.

The train cars wobble and the horn blows as we speed down the tracks. At the end of the line we disembark. A police officer points us to the schedule and we have an hour and 15 minutea to do our shopping.

Santa Rita has a farmer's market. John dickers over price and fills his backpack with onions, green peppers, apples, and a cantalope, strapping it to the cart. I carry the tomatoes and grapes in mine. Nick amd the the South Africans are in town too!

Back on the train, we get off at Joao Pessoa in search of shackles, a flame spreader for the stove, and motor parts. We had no luck with the latter. The place we bought the flame spreader was very snotty. Almost refused to sell it! John doesn't come across very well in Portuguese. Anyways, we made it to the 4:07 train and walked back on the cobblestone street full of kids amd bicycles. A few nice cars and many motorcycles. Buying more sweet bread at a little shop.

Now we fill the 5 gallon water jugs and row back across the river to the boat. John cooks more burritos and goes on in detail about celestial navigation. I am falling asleep.

Motor Repair Day

2011-09-19

Motor Repair Day

Finally, I get a good night's sleep. More oatmeal. I have to say its pretty good with apples and raisins but I am not used to all these carbs. I was able to get internet this morning and made a patchy skype call forgetting that everyone I know was 4 hours earlier in the morning. Tried to make the satelite phone work, but the computer doesn't see the comport and the voice has audio but no transmit. The HAM radio is not hooked up to the antenna yet. There is a lot of electical issues to work on. But I did get some journals up by wifi and could check my email.

John has opened up the engine compartment and is scrubbing the water inlet with a battery cable to eject the barnacles clogging it. He will check the oil and install the new oil guage and other repairs. I am still working on inventory so I can make a shopping list for food and supplies.

He talks constantly. There ia no way I can absorb it all, but on the otherhand, I can't help but pick up a few thinga here and there. Chicken sandwich with tomatoe and green pepper and then off to town.

We take a diesel jug and a couple water jugs and the cart. I take all my empty water bottles. Some other cruisers are on the path and John visits with Brian about his welding jobs. They haven't been started yet. Manana. In Intermares, cruisers with a little buggy offer to take our diesel back to the dock and we get a hacksaw blade at the hardware store. I fill my bottles frim the drinking fountain and carry them around in my waterproof backpack. At the grocery store I find some soap and on the way back, I yogi another shower from the marina.

Burritos with hamburger, green peppers, onions, garlic and yogurt. What we thought was rum turned out to be white wine from Sao Paulo. It was terrible with Coke and even worse straight. It went overboard!

I like my little fort. I have a comfy blue down comforter and my Mola pillow. A handy bookshelf alongside. Behind my head is a large hanging locker with all my junk. Lots of hooks around to hand handy stuff and three small drawers for misc. Stuff. Its not real organized yet.

I can look up out the large hatch and see the stars. The nice fresh breeze feels good. Its like being outside yet tucked under a ledge.

Sail Repair Day

2011-09-18

Sail Repair Day

0520 Loud music plays all night. I can't find my ear plugs. Fireworks sound like machine guns. It's light now and I still haven't slept!

John wants to show me everything at once. I can hardly keep my eyes open. By lunchtime, we have put new grommets and slides on the main sail, attached it to the boom and Mast making last minute adjustments to the head slides. Put the sail cover on and hank on the Jib. Starving, we make quick peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and I collapsed into my bunk for a nap. A squal cools down the afternoon and stops work on deck.

After a few hours of sleep, I am inventorying the food lockers. John makes dinner. Boiled potatoes and zuchini with slices of tomatoe and coleslaw. Hot cocoa and conversation until late.

2310 I am feeling drops on my feet from the hole for the anchor chain. Music is blaring once again from the Marina nearby. Got to find those earplugs!

Finding Faraway

2011-09-17

Finding Faraway

0150 Its been a real challenge. I know two words of Portugese and that is more than my driver knows of English. I first went ti the Ferry dock of Cabadelo. Through many scribbled maps and phone calls to a translater, we managed to finally locate Capitain' Philippe Marina. I can see Faraway anchored not faraway, no pun intended, but I don't have a dinghy, no one answers the VHF radio and I don't really want to swim. So I am sitting up for the night with the Seyerino,the night watchman. He is very calm and we would visit if we had a language in common. It is a comfortable temperature and a nice breeze. The clouds cover and uncover the almost full moon. The music from the pavillion is soft and in English. I yogi a shower.

Another man, Waldemier is hanging around. He tries to teach me some Portuguese. He is 39, A Capricorn. January 18, 1972. Seyerino was born January 23 but he is Aquarious. By morning they are friends and offer to take me and my baggage to the boat when their other friend arrives in a little skiff.

They bang into Faraway, leaving a divit as I holler for John, the captain I will be crewing for the next nine months. We will leave Jacare around the end of the month when the boat is ready to sail and cruise down the coast of Brazil, Uraguay, Argentina, across to Antarctica, by Cape Horn and up the Patagonia channels to Santiago, Chili. At least that is the plan.

John is happy to see I made it. He had quite a day yesterday trying to make sense of the delays and having no way to communicate. I climb aboard and have a look around.

Faraway is a 37.5' Ketch designed by William Garden. John built it himself and launched it in 1970. A solid boat with an abundance of sails. It looks good with a fresh coat of paint and I have my own private cabin in the bow. I am exhausted, but I do my best to get aquainted and stow all my belongings.

John has a list of projects to get done before we can sail. He bangs new grommets into a sail and sews on slides. I tried to sleep a bit but There is too much going on. We walked into the town of Intermares and picked up a few groceries and walked back in the dark just in time to join the other cruisers on Mollymawk for dinner. There were at least 12 guests and they all spoke French except The South Africans. John Philip was the entertainment of the night as he talks with grandiose hand gestures. After a couple beers, he had me attempting to speak French for the amusement of the crowd. Isabella and Thomas, Tanya, Roxanne, Ceasar, oh , I can't remember all the names. I need sleep! That's my excuse.

Flying Around the World

2011-09-16

Flying Around the World

0200 Phoenix time: The sun is rising over the ocean. It is a beautiful orange glow thru an open window on the far side of the plane. I am crossing over the equator for the first time. It doesn't matter that the plane is late. I will probably miss my connection. An electical check and refueling delayed our take off a couple hours. I couldn't sleep. I watched "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Water for Elephants" and now the sun is up. I think I lose five hours total so it's probably 0600 Rio time. This leg is 9 hours or more. I am staring out over an even larger wing wobbling through the orange sky. A vapor layer hides the ocean from view.

1300 Rio de Janiero time: I made it to Rio De Janiero. By the time I picked up my luggage and passed thru customs, my connecting flight to Joao Pessoa had taken off. Wheeling two heavy carts around, very friendly Brazillians offered to help direct me to the right place to check for my new flight information. "Just go up the elevator to the third floor and all the way down on my right!" Right, I weave the heavy carts with wheels that don't want to turn corners to the first check in counter. The line wasn't that long, but they sent me across the terminal to another check in series of mazes. No one in line but I push and pull thru the maze like a rat. This time, I get the flight information, but I have to go back and check the bags near where I started at window 19. Another maze, really, there is no one around, yet it is set up for Christmas or something. The first lady says I went to the International window. I need to go to window 9 for domestic flights. Window 9 says she is mistaken, go to International window 17. No one is at 17, but I give the lady at window 21 my best "please don't send me to another window look"and she happily checks my bags direct to Joao Pessora. I on the other hand will arrive at 2150 Joao Pessoa time after a side trip to Sao Paulo.

I haven't made wifi work yet. Haven't made the wall phone work yet. No AT&T service. Captain John is expecting me at 1435. No way to tell him I will be another 7-1/2 hours. It will be dark. It's another 1/2 hour bus ride to the marina. Do the buses even run that late? So here I sit. I have been up 27 hours now with at least 9 to go!

1435 I panic when a line suddenly forms at the gate in front of me. I jump in line to be told go to gate 28. At gate 28 they are takin last minute boarders an again my boarding pass is rejected. I ask where to go and he confirmed I was at the right gate but wait. I wait. Sure enough, they take my ticket and I follow one other passenger down the tunnel and outside to a waiting bus full of passengers to Sao Paulo.

1535 I am standing in line on the tarmac to board the plane. The Brazillians are a beautiful people with beautiful sounding language. I wonder if I will ever speak it. On board, I am offered a butter toffee and I realize I am starved. A pack of mixed nuts followed.

The flight from Sao Paulo to Joao Pessoa was similar. I have climbed a lot of stairs today. Upon landing and collecting all my luggage, I asked around but saw no sign of John. Left my card with the information desk and got 200 reals for the taxi.

2011-09-15

2011-09-15

I have been putting off journaling. I don't know why. Just that so much has been happening and yet really not anything at all. Since I have come home to phoenix, I have had a birthday, watched a lot of baseball, and continuously re-arranged the pile of gear in the living room that ultimately fit into two large red duffle bags, a large roll on suitcase, a Pelican case, a backpack and a computer bag. Total combined weight approaching 250 lbs of what I can imagine being useful at some point in the next 9 months.

Getting the passport renewed and the Brazil visa turned out to be the easy part of the preparation. Just pay money and wait nervously. I scoured sailing books for a checklist of what to bring and I can't possibly fly with all that! Books...I know from my sailing in Panama how precious every book on board is no matter the weight. I want to move into the digital age with ibooks and audiobooks on my smartphone, but I already own more books that I need to read and the best ones still aren't available yet. And, I suspect, battery power will be the big issue. Books are heavy! I settled on the bibles of sailing: Jimmy Cornell's "World Cruising Routes" 6th ed, Beth Leonard's "The Voyager's Handbook" 2nd ed, Nigel Calder's "Boatowner's Mechanical and Electrical Manual, 2nd ed, and the "New Complete Sailing Manual. Then the Insight Guides for Chili and Equador and the Galapagos, an Argentina guidebook, and Frommer's "South America". For good measure, I also brought Paul S. Auerbach's "Management of Wilderness and Environmental Emergencies".

Clothes: I just finished reading "Cape Horn, One Man's Dream, One Woman's Nightmare" by Hemmingway-Douglass. They werr always cold. At the last possible hour, Mom brought over a beautiful blue down comforter and a down jacket. They have to go too! I squished them down with my other down jackets and sleeping bag into a space saving vacuum bag. I sure don't want to be as cold as they were!

Add to that a large duffle of swimwear, layered clothing, wetsuit, neoprene booties, gloves, mask, fins, and snorkle. It all takes a lot of space. Another large red duffle bag full of boat parts, The Pelican case is full of all the survival gear and first aid items that it would hold. The backpack has my harness and tether, strobe light, SPOT, GPS and VHF radio. I also brought my mountaineering boots, crampons, and ice axe. My climbing harness, helmet, ascenders, figure 8, and carabiners are crammed in amongst the clothes. I brought one more bag, the computer bag, full of hopeful electronic gadgets that I will probably not have the electricity nor the spare time to use, but I just can't quite leave home without them.

So, the adventure begins, Shorty drops me off at Southwest Airlines and I am flying out on US Airways. He has to circle the airport again because you can't just back up. There is a fender bender in the drop off zone. The skycap can't get the code right for bag 4 and I have to go inside to check the last bag. Shorty waits in the cell phone lot at 100 F. just in case I can't take bag 4. Inside a man walkes across the security bag area and is being ejected from his flight. He says they stole his credit card! Its tense, but the lady figures out the right code for Brazil and I pay for the 4th bag. I lug my backpack and computer bag through the security check and, as always, they have to re-scan the computer bag to make sure the tangle of cords is not a bomb. Retying my shoes and putting the stuff back in my pockets, I mis-read the gate arrow and went all the way to the far terminal just to turn around and come back.

My flight is delayed. Just an hour, I should still make my connection in North Carolina. I am tired and my back hurts. Who knew you had to get in shape to get on a plane? I should have been practicing hauling luggage through the airports! Nonetheless, I am on the plane. The dusty Phoenix skyscrapers disappear in the afternoon sky. I sit overlooking the large wing wobble and order a Vodka and cranberry.

The first flight!

Heading out to Faraway

A new adventure awaits beginning September 15th. I will be flying to Joao Pessora, Brazil and signing on as crew on s/v Faraway. The plan is to cruise down the East coast of South America, visiting the Antartic Pennisula, and sailing back North on the West side of South America to Santiago, Chili. Planned arrival date sometime in May of 2012.

Panama'

We traveled along with Dave and Brita on Anam Cara to visit the Kuna Islands of Mamitupu, Aligandi, and Istupu. The kids stole our hearts. They took our hands and led us all around their village. Sang songs for us and we even brought them back to the boats. They loved that! We caught our anchor on the water line. That was embarrassing! but we got it loose without damage! And A great chief died and they were having the ceremony when we were there. I was invited to the congresso and even to the burial. I went alone in the kayak and gave a kid a ride back. Sang a Hank Williams Jr. song with the chief's son "I saw the light", Shook hands with all the other chiefs, several times, and watched helplessly while they carried out a woman who died of alcohol poisoning I'm sure.