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!