Wind-Borne III - Journal

Puerto La Cruz Venezuela and Trip home to Toronto Canada

April 1, 2005, Toronto, Canada

No matter how hard I tried it was taking me forever to burn an album of pictures that I wanted to take to my sister’s house in the afternoon.

When I finally finished we got ready to leave. We stopped at The Butcher Block Café for lunch again this time having some meat pies. I had forgotten how good their meat pies were. When we left there we stopped at a Mac’s store for some lip balm. The air is so dry my lips and nose are starting to bleed. Anyway we went in and found that the original owners (more than 30 years) were still there and working. They are retiring in 2 months and have bought a house in Greece by the ocean. We received a wonderful greeting from them and I did get some Blistex for my lips but they wouldn’t let us pay for it. We left there and went into the subway station. We were going up to Sheppard to take the new Sheppard subway line that wasn’t even built when we left. My sister Beverley and niece Heather picked us up at the Fairview Mall and drove us to their house in Ajax.

All four nieces where home this day. Sarah, who will soon graduate as a police officer, gave us a gift of Durham College T-shirts. Mary the musician played some wonderful pieces for us on both the piano and the French horn. Diana, the youngest wanted to show us that she was learning to play the trumpet. I had her teach me a few things and the rest of the family said that after listening to me play they would no longer complain about Diana’s playing. My sister ordered Chinese food for dinner and afterwards I played a game of Romoli with the kids. It was well after 9PM when my brother-in–law Greg, drove us home.

April 2, 2005, Toronto, Canada

Well, the beds were made and we were dressed but still eating breakfast when Darrin and Dominique arrived with our grandson Liam. We couldn’t believe how much he had grown since we last saw him. They stayed and visited all morning and we had a great time with Liam. He is a smart little boy and is almost a mirror image of his dad.

It was cold, windy and it had been snowing all morning. We braved the elements and headed out. As we were walking to the subway entrance we stopped and visited with the owners of our corner variety store and our pharmacy. We were surprised to see them still here as they had mentioned retirement before we left. Both have been running their business in the same location for over 30 years.

We had enough time to roam a new store called Solutions and pick up a couple of things from the Future Shop before Kelly’s hair appointment at 4PM. We got a wonderful greeting from everyone at the hair salon (David Hillis) and David even offered to cut my hair as a gift. I declined but later he joined us at Grazies for a drink and talked me into it. I told him I would call and come see him next week. Robbie at Grazie gave us a great greeting as well. It was just like old times. We sat at the bar and talked with almost everyone while we had dinner.

It was cold and still snowing when we left to go home. We walked out of the restaurant planning to hail a taxi but there was a bus pulling up so we took the bus and made it home in less than 10 minutes.

April 3, 2005, Toronto, Canada

I was up and out of the house before Kelly and Rick were even ready for breakfast. I walked to Loblaws to pick up some appetisers and a dessert for dinner tonight at our next door neighbour and friends Harry and Sylvia. It was a terrible walk, the driving ice pellets were stinging as they hit my face and I was freezing. The good thing was that my boat shoes still had good tread and I wasn’t slipping on the slushy sidewalks.

I got everything I needed and was at the checkout counter when the cashier informed me that she didn’t have a large enough bag for the cake box I had purchased. I explained that I was walking not driving and asked if maybe there was some string that she could just tie it with so that I could carry it. No such luck! When I thanked her for trying and said that I would manage the man behind me in the line offered to drive me home. I took him and his wife up on their offer and was home in no time.

In the afternoon I worked on the computer and had a siesta. We were to be at Harry and Sylvia’s house by 5PM. Our friend’s Mike and Angie as well as Bill and Huguette who were to come for dinner had to call and cancel. Almost 2 feet of snow had fallen in some areas and the highways were blocked with accidents. Poor Sylvia had cooked a huge roast and it was wonderful. We had to make up for the others who didn’t come and eat a little extra so that there was only a reasonable amount of food left over.

It was very late when we returned to our own house.

April 4, 2005, Toronto, Canada

Our investment adviser and previous boss, Carl, was to visit with us at 9AM but he called and said he would be a little late due to the snow. He arrived a little after 10:30AM and had a nice but short visit with us before running off to his next appointment.

Heather, my niece arrived at lunchtime and we headed out to spend some time together. Rick left at the same time but he was going to renew his driver’s licence.

Heather and I walked from Yonge and King St. to the Mountain Equipment Coop Store where we both bought a new backpack. We were in and out of there in less than 10 minutes. The next challenge was to find a new pair of Naot sandals for Heather. We tried all of the outdoor stores in the area and then walked up to the Eaton Centre were we hit almost every shoe store on each level. We finally gave up and made our way back home just before rush hour.

April 5, 2005, Toronto, Canada

Harry, our next door neighbour had offered to chauffeur us around in the morning. Our first stop was the Rigging Shoppe where we had a few things on order. We always get a nice greeting when we go in there because the owners names are Carolyn & Rick as well. We had a nice visit, spent way more than planned and moved on to the next few shops. It was just before noon when we decided to stop at a Tim Horton’s Donut Shop for a coffee.

As we were sitting in a window seat, Rick who was facing outward informed me that my Aunt and Uncle (Fred and Eva) were walking across the parking lot towards us. We were all very surprised to see each other and had a nice little visit before leaving.

When we arrived home I went right to bed. I hadn’t felt well when I awoke this morning and now desperately needed a siesta.

It only got worse. Rick went and got some nice home made chicken soup for me from Ken our butcher and I couldn’t even eat that.

April 6, 2005, Toronto, Canada

We cancelled all activities for the day and I remained in bed being pampered.

April 7, 2005, Toronto, Canada

I seemed to be getting worse not better. I couldn’t even eat dry toast. I sent Rick to the Pharmacy to see if he could get some Cipro for me. He returned with the Cipro and some terrible tasting stuff to replace my electrolytes.

I spent the day in bed again while Rick went downtown to meet with his sister who was in from Vancouver for the day and his brother who arrived from Kingston. They all went for lunch and caught up on old times. He returned home after seeing them off on their train to Kingston that left just before dinner.

April 8, 2005, Toronto, Canada

I awoke this morning feeling a bit better so Rick and I took the subway down to the Eaton Centre where I wanted to purchase a few souvenirs for our friends back in Venezuela.

That didn’t take long so we got back on the subway and made our way down to the Queens Quay building on the harbour front where Kelly is working. We had lunch together and I even tried a bit of fish. Rick and Kelly had humungous hamburgers. Afterwards we went up to her office and met some of her co-workers. By the time we left I was really dragging and not feeling well again. I returned to the house and went right to bed Rick went on to an appointment he had at Sunny brook hospital to pick up a repaired hearing aid.

This was getting crazy. I figured that it was the tap water causing my problem but since I grew up on Toronto tap water I was sure my body would adjust. The problem was I was missing too many days of our trip to wait any longer. I switched and started drinking bottled water. With the lack of humidity here I have been drinking so much water that I didn’t want to have to pay for it but it was my last resort.

April 9, 2005, Toronto, Canada

I couldn’t believe the difference! I awoke feeling much better which was good because we had a busy day planned.

We took the subway down to the large Loblaws on Harbour Front where we were to meet our friends Patrick, Darline and Jack (Arctic Wolf) at the eating area (Marché). We had a wonderful reunion and not wanting to push my luck I had nothing but clear tea. When we left them we walked across the street to the first brand new West Marine store in Toronto. We had a few things to pick up here but we also wanted to meet a guy named Larry. We have heard from friends that Larry has been singing praises of our web site to many cruisers heading south. Our friends Jeff and Susan (The Raggy's) were going to meet us there. We started down the first aisle in the store and immediately recognised our friend Peter from Outer Harbour Marina who we had run into in Fort Lauderdale when we were heading south. Who was helping him… no one other than Larry. We started to have a conversation with the two of them when Jeff and Susan showed up. If that wasn’t enough, Carol (Privateer) who is now working at West Marine came over to say hello. It was like a wonderful party.

When we finished in the store and said goodbye to everyone Jeff and Susan drove us to the beach where we stopped at a small pub for lunch. I was still hesitant to eat much but I was also starving so I had a clear broth soup. We had a wonderful afternoon talking about so many island things with Jeff and Susan who are leaving this year to come south. Eventually we had to leave, we said our good byes and they dropped us off at the subway.

On the way home I picked up some cheese and crackers to serve our friends Angie and Mike who were coming for dinner. It was about 5:30PM when they arrived and I was now famished. Dinner was to be Chinese food so we placed the order and put out the appetisers. We had no sooner start on our cheese when the food arrived. It had been less than ½ hour. Again I was a little worried about eating and I was now suffering from major cramping so I started with a bowl of wonton soup while watching the others dig into this feast of different dishes. Eventually I had a little chow mien and some beef. It tasted wonderful and the cramping continued. We had a wonderful evening and caught up on so many things that had happened since we’ve been gone.

April 10, 2005, Toronto, Canada

I awoke feeling 100% myself! I was raring to go but Rick said he wanted to rest a little longer. This isn’t like him and a couple of hours later when he was still in bed I knew we had a problem. He was now going through exactly what I went through. If we had both been ill at the same time then who would pamper whom? He slept most of the day and missed all of the warmth and sunshine. He won’t believe me later when I tell him what a gorgeous day he missed.

In the afternoon, Kelly and I went down to Yonge and Eglinton for a Lick’s Hamburger. I had told her that I wanted one really good hamburger before we left and we couldn’t think of any place better than Lick’s.

Afterwards we looked at books in Indigo’s before returning home.

Harry and Sylvia had again invited our friends Bill and Huguette from Niagara for dinner. This time the weather co-operated and they had beautiful driving weather. Although Rick was not well he really wanted to see them so he put on a brave face and we went next door. Sylvia had cooked a huge meal last week so this time we were going to order in.

Originally we talked about pizza but Harry suggested Chinese food.

Really that was perfect because this time Rick was able to have some wonton soup and I had the real food. He did very well but eventually had to excuse himself and return home. It wasn’t much later when we all said our good byes as Bill and Huguette still had to make the return trip home which would take about 2 hours.

April 11, 2005, Toronto, Canada

There was supposed to be a Toronto Transit strike today but it was averted by a temporary agreement on Sunday. This trip has been pretty eventful. In addition to both of us being sick which is extremely rare, the first weekend we had a major snowstorm with driving ice pellets.

During the week a news report identified that there had almost been an electrical brown out in Ontario caused by two reactors shutting down at the same time. One was at the Bruce nuclear station and the other was at the Lakeview nuclear station. The Pope died. Prince Charles and Camilla were married. There is a major Canadian political scandal unfolding in the news daily. If there had been a TTC strike today it would have been all we needed to convince us never to return.

It was Rick’s turn to be pampered and rest. I mixed him up some of the terrible stuff I had to drink to replace electrolytes. He is not a good patient and since he didn’t like the taste he refused to drink it. I eventually walked out to the store and bought him some Gatorade to drink. In the afternoon he was able to eat some chicken noodle soup.

April 12, 2005, Toronto, Canada

Rick was still not feeling well. I made him some dry toast and left many bottles of water and Gatorade for him before leaving to go to my sister’s house for the day.

I took the subway to York Mills station where I caught a Go Transit bus that went to Ajax. It took about an hour and when I got to the stop where I was to get off, I could see my sister Beverley, waiting for me.

We had planned to visit a lot of stores today but had a few other things to do as well. We went directly to Wal-Mart where I found a few dress patterns to take back with me. We also went into Home Depot next door to pick up a few items on Rick’s list. It was then time to rush back to her house and make lunch for Diana her youngest. It was only 10:45AM but the school runs on shifts and she has the earliest lunch. She arrived with her friend and they only had about 20 minutes to eat before they had to rush back to the school for “Battle of the Books”. As soon as they left we hurried over to Tim Hortons and picked up soup and sandwiches to take with us for lunch with my Aunt Frances. Two of my cousins David and Brian joined us as well. We had a nice visit but had to hurry back to Beverley’s area and pick up Mary from school. We got her home just in time for the arrival of her music teacher and I was able to hear her have her French horn lesson, which was quite enjoyable. Next we went to Costco, Staples and the Bulk Barn. Sarah, another niece came along with us. Before going back to the house we went to pick up Greg, my brother-in-law who teaches in Pickering. Beverley took the side roads back to the house because rush hour traffic was bad. Greg drove me back to my house and Beverley was crossing her fingers that Heather, her eldest daughter would be home soon with the other vehicle as she needed it to get to her Girl Guide meeting tonight.

I arrived at the house just in time to greet my friend Kerry, who came all the way from the west end of the city to visit with us. Rick was feeling better but not well enough to join us for dinner. Kerry and I waited for Kelly to arrive home then we all walked out to Gamberoni’s, an Italian Restaurant. We caught up on what was happening with all of our mutual friends and had a few laughs as well.

When we returned to the house Kerry left and I worked for a while on the computer before going to bed.

April 13, 2005, Toronto, Canada

Rick got up and showered while I started organising things to be packed. It was about 10AM when we went out for a little walk together. We stopped for a coffee then went into the Butcher Block Café to say good bye to Ken. We walked north on Yonge and then south just to give Rick a little exercise. We stopped in to say hello to Dr. Larry our neighbourhood Vet. He was a little surprised to see us and took the time to talk about our travels for a while. Eventually we returned to the house where I continued to get things ready for our departure.

About 3PM, I left Rick at home and again took the Go Transit bus to my sister’s house in Ajax. My niece Sarah was singing with her choir tonight and I wanted to hear them. Before the rehearsal, Beverley made us some nice baked macaroni and cheese for dinner. The choir was amazing! They were practising for a performance scheduled for this coming weekend, which of course I wouldn’t be able to attend.

It was about 9:30PM when we arrived back at my house. Rick was next door visiting with Harry and Sylvia so I stopped in to say good bye to them as well.

Kelly had checked my web site work on the pictures and with a few corrections said that I was ready to go ahead and publish the new pictures. It was almost 11PM when I finished everything and went up to bed. Rick had already set the alarm for 3AM and we had booked a car to pick us up at 3:45PM.

April 14, 2005, Toronto, Canada

We were up and ready to go by about 3:15AM. I took a few minutes to raid Kelly’s fridge and pack a lunch to take with us. We had some yoghurt before leaving and hoped we could get a coffee at the airport. The Toronto International Airport was barely open when we arrived. We had to wait for the check in counters to open but we were able to find some coffee. It wasn’t long and we were through the line up for check-in and into the security line up. The airports were all well organised and we didn’t wait long anywhere. I think that we got a bad impression on our incoming trip to Toronto but we now realise that that was all related to the Easter and spring break madness. We had 1½ hours from the time the American Airlines flight landed in Miami until the Aeropostal flight was to take off. We collected our bags then hurried from the A-wing ground floor to the F-wing second floor to check in, get our boarding passes and go through security again. A couple of weeks ago I would not have thought it was not possible. It was a snap. We even had time to relax before boarding. Although no food was served by American Airlines, we received a hot meal (and it was good) on Aeropostal from Miami to Caracas. We were also served a nice ham and cheese sandwich, cake and beverages on the trip from Caracas to Barcelona, which is less than an hour flight. Leo, one of the taxi drivers from the marina was at the airport to meet us. He had us back to the marina by 8:30PM. We slipped aboard quietly and both said it felt wonderful to be home.

Already we could feel the warm tropic moisture returning to our dried up Canadian skin.

April 15, 2005, Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela

We had an amazing sleep, this was probably because we were so exhausted and partially because with the heat we could again sleep without the weight of sheets and duvets on top of us.

There was a lot to do in the morning. First on the priority list was to change some money. Once we had some Bolivars we were then able to tackle the rest of our list. We gathered and lugged all of the dirty laundry to the laundry lady. I put away the last of our items that I had unpacked last night. We took a taxi to the Fiorca Plaza where I dropped off all of Roberto’s clothing at the dry cleaners. Lastly, we stopped at the grocery store and picked up some food. That was it for today’s chores.

When we returned to the boat I made some lunch and we had a siesta. It was 3PM when we awoke and called Joan (Mainly) on the radio to see if they wanted to join us at the pool for an “in pool Happy Hour”. They did and many of our other friends came as well. We were able to catch up on all of the happenings that went on while we were gone.

It felt sooooo good to be back!!!

We had a nice fresh fish dinner at El Ancla restaurant with Karen and Ralph (KaraDream) who just returned from a trip to Peru. It was a nice evening. We gave Marie Elena and Roberto the gifts we brought from Canada for them. Roberto put the “Canada” boxer shorts that are covered in red maple leafs over top of his shorts. He then slipped on the matching socks and red hat before modelling his outfit for the whole restaurant. There was a jazz band playing this evening at the restaurant but we called it a night at about 8:30PM.

Back at the boat we noticed that our lips are no longer swollen and sore. My nose is no longer bleeding. The blisters on my toes and heels from wearing shoes have started to heal after an afternoon soaking in the pool. We've shed the long pants and again are wearing shorts and bathing suits. Did I say that it felt good to be back?

April 16, 2005, Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela

I guess we’re back in the groove again. Rick and I spent the morning washing paradise off the decks. There hasn’t been any rain for months and the winds have been strong enough to provide a good layer of dirt everywhere. With the two of us scrubbing it didn’t take long and everything was sparkling again. When we were finished it was time for lunch and of course a siesta. We awoke in time to hear the laundry lady calling us on the radio to let us know that our laundry was ready. Rick picked it up for me and I had it all put away before 3PM when Orient Canvas came to see us about our new canvas. They arrived on time and didn’t stay long so as soon as they left, Rick and I got ready to go to the pool for happy hour. We met Dan (Mainly) there but everyone else was either sleeping or at the bullfight. The bullfights are held every April and just like last year we chose not to attend. In Venezuela they kill the bulls and it was something that neither Rick or I wanted to see.

April 17, 2005, Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela

We slept a little later than normal and since it was Sunday it seemed appropriate. Breakfast was eggs Benedict at the Ancla and they were excellent.

We’re still working on our to-do list and the next item was to check the chain plates. The boat is 20 years old now and chainplates are something that unless checked could be a disaster waiting to happen. Pulling them is not an easy task so it will probably take us a few days to remove them all. The first one out looked to be in very good condition but from what we understand, appearance isn’t everything.

April 18, 2005, Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela

The chainplates might take us a little longer than I first estimated. We removed the second one today. It again looks good but we have ordered some red penetrating dye that should be here on Wednesday. This should let us find any invisible cracks in the stainless steel.

While we were gone another fundraiser was planned so I was asked if I would make some posters to announce a Trivia Night this Tuesday for the benefit of Fundamigos. This is a very worthwhile cause where volunteer plastic surgeons and orthopaedic surgeons from around the world work along side Venezuelan doctors and perform surgeries. These include cleft lip and palate repair, clubfoot repair and the reduction of fractures.

We the cruisers get to help in pre or post surgery as well as in the actual operating room or for those who are not quite up to that there is help needed in the kitchen. I volunteered but said that I would help wherever there is a shortage of volunteers. I was informed today that they need me in the operating rooms, which means that I will go for special training ahead of time. This might be a good time for Rick’s sister who is an operating room nurse to pay a visit.

In the afternoon I mixed a marinade for the steaks and made some coleslaw for the pot luck barbecue tonight. Since it was Monday the pool was closed so we just watched TV for a while and had a siesta.

There were so many people that came to the potluck dinner it was standing room only. We had arrived early and shared a table with Mainly and Kismet. There was a nice mix of dishes to choose from and therefore we all had a great meal.

April 19, 2005, Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela

It’s a holiday in Venezuela again. Today was the Declaration of Independence. (Independence Day is celebrated on July 5th.) All of the stores were closed so we just continued to remove another chain plate.

In the evening we attended the trivial pursuit fundraiser and had a riot. Our team the Diez Amigos (Mainly, Kismet, Distant Drummer, Sylvester and Wind-Borne III) came in third. We were leading for the first 20 questions but fell apart with the last 10. It was all for a good cause and a great way to raise some money.

April 20, 2005, Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela

We needed to run a few errands today and one was to get our hair cut.

The salon in Plaza Major that we like to go to isn’t normally open until 10AM so we planned our arrival around then. By 10:30AM we learned that it was a waste of time they were taking an extra day off after the holiday. We picked up some coffee at Unicasa before taking a taxi to Fiorca. I wanted to shop in the grocery store at Fiorca and pick up the dry cleaning we had taken in last week. We ran into Marie Elena and her daughter Claudia who were also shopping and offered us a ride back to the marina. The laundry wasn’t ready yet so we left it for another day.

In the afternoon Potter delivered the red penetrating dye we needed to check the chainplates Except that after he left we found it was blue and not a penetrating dye. Since we wanted to get on with this job, Rick took the chainplates that we had removed to the welders in the yard.

They showed him that two of them were starting to get small cracks and one looked good but required some testing to make sure. It didn’t matter because at this point we had decided to replace all of them. With that issue resolved we now needed to have them make us some new chainplates.

They gave us an estimate using 316L stainless, which sounded reasonable so know we just have to remove the other three plates which involves a little more work.

While Rick was running around in the yard I baked some oatmeal cookies to take to the potluck dinner tonight. Wednesday night is just a small group of people who get together and supply their own ice and charcoal.

In many ways it’s much nicer than the Monday night get together that can sometimes be very crowded. I also made some hamburgers for us to eat and Rick seemed to enjoy them more than the steaks he had the other night.

April 21, 2005, Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela

This was the beginning of the difficult chainplate removals. We have an awful lot more behind closed doors on the starboard side of the boat than we had on the port side. Rick disassembled and removed part of our built-in entertainment centre. The TV and CD controller had to be completely removed to give him access to the aft chainplate. He also had to drill some holes (that will not be visible when he’s finished) in the divider wall between the chainplate compartment and the cupboard. The divider wall had been permanently glued and fixed into place by the builder and if he had tried to remove this side as he had the other it would have damaged it beyond repair.

At 2pm Rick had an appointment with Rafael to take him to a stainless steel bolt place. It really pays to hire one of our special cruiser taxi/translator guys for things like this. He was gone and back in less than 30 minutes. If he had set out on his own to try and find such a place it might have taken him weeks and he might never have found it at all.

Shortly after Rick returned Joan and Dan (Mainly) returned from town as well. They had been to town and looked totally exhausted. Joan only said three words “The pool now”! We were on the dock talking to Mike and Lynn (Wombat of Sydney) so they and Ray and Kayla (Kismet) joined us as well.

Kayla and Mainly had made some new noodle seats out of mesh fabric, which they brought along to try out. They were an instant hit! Lynn and I are going shopping tomorrow so I’m going to pick up some fabric to make a few to keep on board Wind-Borne III.

Rick and I went to the Ancla for movie night where they were showing a comedy called Woman on Top.

April 22, 2005, Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela

It appears as though we may have moved into rainy season quite early this year. We haven’t had any rain for months but today was overcast and it rained off and on all day. We even had a clap of thunder in the afternoon.

Rick dug out the umbrellas and we went to town with Mike and Lynn (Wombat of Sydney). Lynn and I wanted to find some of the mesh fabric so we could make a noodle seat. The fabric store was our first stop and we both purchased enough fabric for a few seats. We had to walk by the bulk dried fruit and nut store where Lynn and Mike stocked up on enough dried fruit to last them a couple of months at anchor. Rick then wanted to see if he could find some basic clock parts in the Japanessa Bazaar (pronounced Haponnesa) for our ship’s clock that has stopped working. He didn’t find the clock parts he needed but we’ll look elsewhere on another day. Mike came along because Rick was going but he was glad he did when we went into the Japanessa Bazaar. He was in awe and said he would have to come back another day to find all of the electrical components he wanted. Meanwhile he purchased a new set of Allen keys that had a balled top. Just what he needed. By the time we finished shopping it was almost noon and the stores were about to close. We went for a light lunch at a local restaurant. The waiters at this restaurant know Rick and I because we’ve been here a few times. When we walked in they gave us a wonderful greeting and talked away to us as though we understood everything they were saying. We were able to catch maybe one word in ten. After lunch we waved down a taxi and wouldn’t you know it, we had ridden in this taxi before and the driver remembered us and where we lived he also gave us a nice hello.

Back at the marina, Joan (Mainly) brought me the pattern she had drawn for her noodle seat. I made a copy for myself, Lynn (Wombat) and Karen (KaraDream). After I delivered all of the patterns Wendy (Kamytoo) who had the original noodle seat asked if I would make a pattern for her as well. I promised to do it tomorrow.

Mainly and Kismet are planning to leave on Monday we and KaraDream joined them for a special dinner at Da'Giorgio Restaurant. This is Kismet and Mainly’s favourite restaurant and we had never been there. The service and the meal were amazing. They also provided complementary appetisers and after dinner liqueurs. The meals were cooked to perfection and the servings were so large that none of us could finish. While we were there one of the condo owners that we talked to recognised us and came to say hello. At a table near us there was a lady I recognised but couldn’t remember from where. When I went to say hello she said we met in January when we were involved with the filming of a commercial.

April 23, 2005, Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela

I started my morning by making the noodle seat pattern for Wendy while Rick removed the very last chain plate. Many of the cruisers here have never removed their mast and even though the majority of them are keel stepped they can’t imagine removing all of the chain plates at one time. We used to remove the mast every year and would not even think twice about climbing it before connecting the shrouds. I guess we have them in awe with our lack of concern. Later in the morning I met with Janet who is one of the Fundamigos organisers and Jaime who is helping by holding a Mexican BBQ next month for the cruisers to raise some money.

We went to the pool in the afternoon but got out when we heard some heavy-duty thunder close by. One of the locals has assured us that the rainy season is not upon us already and that we just have a weird weather system that is bringing the moisture down from the Andes to the coast.

Rick made some great spaghetti sauce for dinner and we ate down below all closed up.

April 24, 2005, Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela

It rained steady all night long and we have acquired a little leak that we will have to track down eventually. My priority item on the to-do list (for Rick) was to disassemble the water pressure pump. Lately it has been pulsing which I’ve never noticed in the past. Rick pulled it apart and cleaned it for me. He said it looked fine and didn’t require servicing but when he replaced it the pulsing was gone. I think he did a fine job.

I prepared some posters for the BBQ and Janet and I exchanged emails all morning trying to arrange a day when we could go out together to some of the marine stores for raffle freebees associated with the BBQ. I had almost every day free but Janet runs on a tight schedule. We finally agreed to meet this Wednesday.

We went to the restaurant for eggs benedict this morning. There were fewer people than usual and that’s because many of the cruisers went to Tortuga for the weekend. Once a year many of the cruisers go for a cleanup party. We couldn’t take our boat (no chainplates) but we were going to go with Norm (Pawnee) a single hander with an 80 foot boat. Well he ended up stuck at the dock with propeller problems. 

We had a pool party in the afternoon. Rick played dominoes by the pool with Kamytoo and KaraDream. I floated and gabbed with Mainly and Kismet in the pool. We were all celebrating and saying goodbyes with a few liquors. KaraDream gets hauled out tomorrow then Ralph and Karen fly home to BC for the summer. Mainly and Kismet are heading west tomorrow. Joan and Dan will continue up through Central America while Kismet will leave the boat in Curacao for hurricane season then return and maybe join us for Christmas somewhere in the Windwards.

I made a Sunday night pot roast. I don’t normally cook pot roasts but I wanted to give it a try. I used the pressure cooker and it turned out wonderful. I will definitely try it again.

April 25, 2005, Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela

It was a very overcast, still, and humid day that we thought would result in a good rain or thunderstorm. We were totally wrong it just stayed hot and humid all day. I had a lot of work to do on the computer today so although it was warm below it was a good day for it.

I printed up a sample poster for the fundraising barbecue that Jaime is arranging for Fundamigos and gave that to him for review. I waited around for Carlos but he didn’t show. There were some demonstrations going on (tires burning) not far from the marina so the traffic was backed up terribly.

Rick replaced the regulator on the engine with a new one we brought from home. He also replaced the screw for bleeding the air from the engine with the proper one from home. Although the lights on the regulator indicated that it was regulating properly the amp meter wasn’t showing any amps being generated. After replacing the alternator and still having the same problem, Rick tapped on the ammeter. Unbelievable! The needle had been stuck. That was a little frustrating but now that it was registering, as it should, it indicated that there were only 50 amps being generated. This could be the alternator or it could be because the batteries are totally charged. Rick decided to keep the charger turned off for a day or two to see what we would get out of the alternator.

While he was working on the engine I was working on our recipe collection. Kelly our web mistress has said that because our collection is growing she will reorganise the recipe collection of the web site for us. Meanwhile I have to get my additions and changes to her before this can be done.

In the afternoon we had Rafael take us to a Stainless Steel company in town. We wanted another estimate on having new chain plates made. The yard at the marina doesn’t seem to use true 316L stainless. The company downtown does and we definitely want the 316L. It took us a while to find the place since I had the wrong address but a quick phone call by Rafael straightened us out. On our way back to the marina we asked him to take us to Pollo el Rey in Lecheria so we could pick up some nice rotisserie chicken to take home for dinner. Our trip back to the marina was quick, as the protesters had gone home. It seems that most protests here finish in time for dinner.

April 26, 2005, Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela

We thought that today might be a good day to try again to get our hair cut. We took a taxi from the marina just before 10AM so that we wouldn’t arrive too early at Plaza Mayor. When we arrived we found that the majority of stores had still not opened yet. We sat on a bench near the hair salon where we could watch and wait. It was about 10:30AM when the nail place across for the hair salon opened so rather than just sit and wait I suggested to Rick that I could pass the time better by having a manicure and pedicure. It was perfect timing when I walked out an hour later with beautifully shiny nails the hairdresser arrived to open the salon. It wasn’t our usual hairdresser but we had become desperate and couldn’t wait any longer so we both had a cut. I felt we had accomplished quite a bit in one morning. We left and went to the Fiorca Plaza where we were finally able to pick Roberto’s clothes (that we had borrowed) from the dry cleaners. Rick suggested that while we were there, we should have lunch at the Chinese Restaurant.

When we finally returned to the marina there was barely time for a siesta before happy hour in the pool. The weather today was much improved. The sky was totally clear and there was a good strong breeze.

The pool was empty when we arrived but eventually Tom (Scrammin) joined us for a while and then Darlene (FunTicket) arrived with her company.

Back at the boat the batteries were down enough for us to run the engine and see if the alternator and regulator were going to do what they should. The engine was difficult to start and when it did start the ammeter was registering less than 50 amps. I was not hopeful but Rick took a can of WD40, removed the cover on the ammeter and gave it a little spray. Within seconds the needle was moving freely and registering almost a full 120 amps.

We celebrated with dinner at the Ancla Restaurant where Roberto was serving some really nice pork back ribs.

April 27, 2005, Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela

I met with Janet (Fundamigos) at 10AM. There are six marine stores in the area and we were able to get to five of them before noon. The last was to far away for us to be able to arrive before noon when they close.

Our mission was to obtain some gift contributions for a raffle. I’m not sure how well we did as we left literature at each location and Janet will follow up within a couple of days. When we returned to the marina we had a meeting with Jaime, Marie Elena and Roberto to discuss the Barbecue plans.

Rick had a very good morning (with the boat to himself), he replaced the electric fuel pump and the engine was now starting like a dream. I thought he had replaced the fuel pump a few months ago but he assured me that he had just cleaned and replaced the existing one. He also swapped out the alternator for the spare one and replaced the regulator for the spare one to ensure all units were working.

We had an enjoyable happy hour at the pool. Initially it was our own private pool but Wendy and Lorne (Kamytoo) joined us, then Irene (Distant Drummer) and Rondda (who with her husband Bruce now rents Nanou’s apartment) showed up as well.

We had a quick dinner and then went up to join Rondda and Bruce in their apartment for drinks.

April 28, 2005, Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela

We had booked Rafael for a couple of hours today. There were a few things that he could be of great help. First we went to see our stainless steel man to give him a deposit. Oh, oh!! He didn’t want us to pay him in Bolivars he wanted American dollars. Meanwhile I had already written a cheque and had our total budget for May in Bolivars. The good news was that to save us writing too may cheques he would start the work without a deposit and we could pay him with one cheque when the work was finished. We agreed knowing that poor Kelly would have to shuffle money again for us.

Our next stop was a photographer to have some new passport pictures taken. I took along the instructions from the internet and Rafael explained to the photo shop that Canadian passport pictures had very different rules. They are larger, must have a neutral or white background, smiling is not allowed and we needed the photo shop stamp and date on the back of one of the pictures. The pictures turned out not bad and only took a half-hour.

We stopped for coffee and a snack then continued on. Next we went looking for a new spare fuel pump. The first place we stopped had quite a few but not the size we needed. We went to a second store that had the exact one that we had removed. Rick was ecstatic! We still had time left so we decided to look for some electric connectors that Rick wanted for his “spares box”. We went a few places and found every type and size other than the ones he wanted. There was no rush so we decided to call it a day.

When we returned to the boat neither of us wanted lunch. I helped Rick lift the outboard motor on the deck since we haven’t used it in ages and haven’t flushed it he felt it would be a good idea to put some vinegar in the water cooling system to clean any calcium build up that might have accumulated.

I then relaxed and read for a while but Rick was on a mission. In the hot afternoon sun he stood in the dinghy and removed the finish on the port side bottom rub rail. He did the same to the starboard side more than a month ago. He is going to leave them naked as they required continuos maintenance when finished with Cetol.

At 3PM on the dot, Rick was back in the cockpit announcing that it was time for happy hour in the pool. We again had the whole pool to ourselves for a while then Tom and Yvonne (Scrammin) joined us. We thought others might come as well but it was just a small group today.

We had some nice pork chops, fresh beets and mash potatoes for dinner. This was the third time I’d used the pressure cooker and I think I’m beginning to like it. It sure does save a lot of time and propane as well as tenderising the meat.

April 29, 2005, Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela

As soon as breakfast and the cruiser’s net was over we got ready to go downtown to have our spare computer repaired. We bought this computer from friends who told us that it had a problem with spontaneously shutting down. Prior to purchasing it I checked the internet and decided that it needed a good cleaning and a bios update. We were taking it to a repair shop to have this done. As we were getting off the boat another friend Mike (Wombat of Sydney) offered to help by cleaning it and even updating the bios if I didn’t want to do that myself. I was nervous about the bios update because the machine would sometimes run for hours but other times just minutes before it would shut itself down. I hadn’t loaded any of my files on this computer yet so I was quite fearless. I sat and watched Mike take the whole thing apart and clean and vacuum it. He did a wonderful job and I was extremely impressed that when he was finished there was only one short tiny screw left over. While he was working on the hardware, Lynn (his wife) was checking the internet for any information that would help us. The moment arrived for the big test. We turned it on and had a new little problem. The operating system

seemed to have a problem. It wouldn’t start. The one thing I neglected to get with the laptop were the recovery CD’s. I tried mine and Mike tried his but neither would work. Well, at least it’s nice and clean so next week we’ll work on trying to find a solution to the (hopefully) software problem.

While I was off our boat for the morning Rick took the opportunity to install a new gauge in the holding tank. This was one of the to-do items that I had requested he work on while I was not around. The timing was perfect. When I returned to our boat I would never have known that he had been into something so gross except that the tank monitor was again registering.

We hit the pool at 3PM sharp and had lots of people join us today. Rondda was there, Yvonne and Tom (Scrammin) joined us after a dominoes game. Two new cruisers Tom and Janet (Sovarn) were surveying the pool so although they didn’t come in for a swim they stayed and talked for a while. It was later than usual when we left the pool and the Jazz band was already starting to play at the restaurant. We all met there for dinner and Rondda’s husband Bruce played and sang Beatle songs when the band was taking a break. It was a fun evening.

April 30, 2005, Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela

Rick returned to stripping and sanding the rub rails today. At least he started before the hot noon time sun. I meanwhile started cleaning and organising cupboards again. Although there has not been a change in temperature, it must be spring because my brain is insisting that I start “spring cleaning”.

The afternoon was spent in the pool with Rondda and Bruce. It was relaxing and refreshing. We had leftovers for dinner.