Andiamo!

I know I’ve been babbling about getting out of the dock the past couple of weeks, but it’s really finally going to happen. It would have happened today if it weren’t for the damn weather. It’s been pouring buckets most of the day, no point in going out on a day like today. So we’ll wait til tomorrow.

There’s been a few issues that have delayed Andiamo’s departure by a few days. First, during my annual engine maintenance session, the fuel pump started acting up, and sucking air. Then, while trying to bleed the air out of the lines and diesel back through the engine, the pump essentially died. Luckily, I had a spare, and was able to install it in short order. Then, that one started giving me trouble. Man, what a pain!

With Luigi’s help, we got the replacement pump working, even though I asked Paul and Linda from Miramar to bring me another one back from La Ceiba just in case. After much haranguing with it, and thanks to Sjelle’s quick thinking and looking up some more info on bleeding the air, we got the air bled out, and started the ol’ dog. With that issue sussed, we were able to move on to some other stuff. The other prevailing issue had to do with all my electronics going on the fritz. I’m pretty sure it’s because I drilled through a bunch of wires when I drilled through a stainless steel post for the instrument panel to install a new wood retainer brace I had made. Oh well, that killed another day and a half!

Anyway, Andiamo is all dressed up and ready to rock. Weather permitting, we should shove off out of here tomorrow early afternoon. Then it’s off to get some serious stuff done over at Luigi’s with the sails and a traveler project we’d been working on. Hopefully we can get all that stuff done on the boat by Monday, which is the day we’d like to find our way down river to catch the evening high tide at Livingston.

Anyway, that’s the plan, let’s see what happens.

In any case, it feels great to be this close to getting out of Guatemala again, and back into the bluewater!

Comment from: Paul [Visitor]

Hey Tonster,
What’s going on? When are you hitting good surf man? I mean, I want to visit, but only when you are near good waves!! hahaha Janet gave me the all clear to go visit – so let’s plan something before I goof up somehow and lose my launch window.
Would you be willing to trek across land – I mean for the waves?
Talk to me man!
Paulie

12/12/06 @ 00:28

So being that it’s Thanksgiving, it’s that time of year for my annual Thank You post! This is where I announce my thanks to all the people who probably don’t get enough of it from me.

Interestingly, most of the people I thanked last year, would still go on this year’s list. But rather than just repeat myself some more, let me just add a few key new names to the ever-growing list. So without further ado (in no particular order)…

Berina Kaur (London)

– Berina is a very cool chick (originally from Singapore) I met in Budapest in summer 2005. We had a great time hanging out there, even though it was just for a few short days. We’ve kept in touch, and we hung out again in London when I was there twice again this summer. Like Stef (one of my other London pals) she gave me posada at her place, saving me tons of quid (London hotel rooms, even crappy ones, are NOT cheap). We hit night spots on several occasions on the West End, ate chinese food at 4AM, and just had an all around great time. On one of my last nights in London before heading back to the states, she took me out with a bunch of her fellow nurses (who were all adorable and fun!) and took me out on the town. One of the best nights I’d ever had in London. I’m really glad I got to hang out with her again, and she definitely went out of her way to keep me company, warm and dry, and properly entertained. So thanks Berina!!!

Robin Bross (Daytona Beach) –

– Robin is the sister of one of my better friends in Daytona, Bobby. Though we’ve known each other in passing for years, we’d only really recently become good friends. When I’m in Daytona, she doesn’t hesitate to whip up a nice dinner and get everybody over to her house for a grand feast. On the day my mom died, she just happened to call me to say hi when I was on my way to the airport in LA to catch my flight back to Florida. She stayed on the phone with me, talked to me, listened to me and comforted me in a way that I will never forget.

Though we don’t talk or see each other as often as I’d like, she’ll always be someone I consider special for just being Robin.

So many thanks Robin!

Paul and Linda Petzold (SV Miramar)

– Paul and Linda were probably the first two people we met when Raf and I came up the Rio Dulce the very first time in Feb. 2005. They took the time to show us around town, and the area in general. Since then, I’ve run into them several times both here and in Honduras. Almost everytime I see them, they always give me comments and compliments about this site, and how they read it all the time. I find that very flattering!

Anyways, they’ve helped me many times without fail, including a few favors in the past few weeks that have made my life a lot easier! So a big thanks for all the good company, conversation, and friendship! They’ll be leaving the cruising world soon, to a house on the beach in Honduras. But I’m sure that I’ll be showing up at their door at some point in the future. Hope they’ll let me in.

– Nick Santos (my younger brother – Port Orange, FL)

My brother and I have had a pretty antagonistic relationship most of our lives. Sometimes we got along, other times we didn’t. There hasn’t been much we agreed on over the years. Things still aren’t the best they’ve been between us, but they have gotten better.

Over the past couple of years, particularly when my mom became more and more ill, Nick was the one who had to step up and take care of her, and help whenever she needed it, which was often. My mom wasn’t the easiest person in the world to deal with, so there was much need for patience and understanding. Nick stepped up, and along with his better half Jenny, took very good care of mom in her final years, and she was eternally grateful. She may not have always shown it, but she was. And so am I.

So thanks Nick, for all you did for mom.

Tomas Didic (Czech Republic)

– Tom and I met in summer 2005, when I sat at his bar in Prague. We got to talking and I ended up hanging out at his bar almost every night I was there. We’d kept in touch over the year. And when I was in Europe again this last summer, he invited me out to Ostrava to meet him and his family. Even though he was on vacation himself from his new job in Dublin, Ireland, he took lots of time out those few days to show me around and keep me entertained. His family took me in, in the warmest way ever, and it was a great experience.

So thanks Tom, we’ll meet again soon mi amigo!

Angelo Verdiglione – (Salerno, Italy)

Angelo is the husband of my cousin Simona in Italy. When I was there this past summer to deliver my mom’s ashes, Angelo essentially volunteered himself as my valet. Right from the moment he picked me up at the train station.

He went out of his way to make sure I had a ride to wherever I needed to go, kept good company with me, made sure I went with him on at least one “guys night out”. And don’t even ask about the awesome drive we took out to Amalfi on his motorbike! Or the night we drove around town looking for a free hotspot so I can take care of important net stuff. He translates my site for my cousin and aunt whenever he can. He came through when even my own relatives couldn’t for whatever reason, and we’re not even related!

My stay in Italy would not have been the same were it not for Angelo’s unsolicited friendship, generosity, and all-around kindness.

Grazie Angelo!

I may add a few more names to this list, but if not, there’s always next year.

And many thanks to you, the people who actually read this thing and get something out of it! You have no idea what that means to me. Your emails, good wishes, and comments really keep it going!

Cheers!

So things have been moving along on Andiamo. Sjelle and I have finally gotten things organized down below to an acceptable level. Repairs and stuff have also been moving along nicely. Luigi should have my sails done by over the weekend, and hopefully by end of next week, we should have Andiamo completely ready to go. We’ll more than likely leave Mario’s soon, as there is no reason to be here other than for the internet. And I can live without 24/7 internet, barely, I’m sure.

Had an interesting experience the other night. While we were just winding down a busy day of cleaning and organizing the salon and a couple of cabins, I noticed our power went out. When I looked outside, I saw that the lights were on at the marina, but I also saw alot of smoke. A second later, I saw that there was a FIRE on the transom of the boat. The shore power cable had gotten rather hot, and started to burn some duct tape I had around it on one joint to keep the contacts dry.

By the time I got to it and hit it with some water, the cable had been fried to extra crispy. It was a pretty big flame on it, and that resulted in a nice little burn mark on the transom. Probably nothing that can’t be fixed or painted over easily. It could have been FAR worse. This is now the second fire onboard Andiamo, and hopefully it will be the last for awhile.

Anyways, I spent the next couple of hours repairing the burnt shorepower cable to get things working again. I’ll be keeping a close eye on it.

In other news, Sjelle still continues to try to sell off her boat, and hopefully she’ll nail down a buyer in good time. She’s had some good interest this past week, so that’s encouraging. We’re hoping she can get the boat sold off soon. I’d really like to get Andiamo back out in the deep blue by end of this month. I’m really itching to get out of here.

More later…

Time flies and stays still on the Rio at the same time. Days go by quick because they’re short. Nights tend to drag on cause they’re long, especially when the weather sucks.

The past week or so, we’ve had some DREADFUL rain. The river started rising like it did over the summer, when several marinas got flooded. Luckily, the rain stopped in earnest soon enough for the river to go back down a bit. Hopefully, we’ve seen the worst of it for a little while.

Been making lots of progress on Andiamo, despite all this. Thanks to Paul and Linda, I got my sails that I had shipped to La Ceiba about a week ago. So once Luigi gives them all a good once over, they’ll be in business. A few hardware and engine issues to deal with (nothing major), and Andiamo will be good to go. Still shooting to get out of here within the next 2-3 weeks. Can’t WAIT!

Sjelle has been working on getting her boat wrapped up. She’s trying to sell it off as quickly as possible. She’s selling certain parts here and there, and that’s giving her a little bit of a cash flow, so that’s good.

Halloween was great! Had a great party at the Sundog Cafe (aka “The Dead Dog Cafe” for that particular eve). Sjelle came up with a funky mummy costume, and I was a “Space Cowboy”. Both very easy costumes to make. Sjelle’s consisted of cutting an old white cotton sheet into strips and wrapping herself up in them. Everything stayed on thanks to the help of a glue gun.

My costume consisted of an old navy flightsuit I “procured” during my navy days, accompanied by a straw cowboy hat, I got at a bar in Guatemala City, and voila! Space Cowboy rides again. Hey, you work with what ya got, ya know what I’m sayin?

The party was quite the event, considering it was pretty much the only event going. A good, well-costumed crowd showed up and there was much celebration. A certain mummy perhaps celebrated a little too much and ended up paying later. But despite that, it was quite fun to watch, let me say.

Anyways, that’s pretty much all that’s happened. The Rio continues to empty out as the cruisers (at least the ones that sail their boats) work their way back into the blue yonder. Can’t wait to do it too!

To be continued…

Cosmo is not coming back. It’s been a good three plus weeks now, and not a sign of him. While I’m saddened about this, I’m also uplifted by the idea that Cosmo is free to roam, hunt and do what hunter cats do to his heart’s content. We have a long history with Cosmo, he’s almost 10, but as long as he keeps his perky, wanderlust attitude, he’ll be ok for years to come.

And like I said before, the boat has never been as clean and fresh-smelling as it is now, so as someone who lives here, I gotta be happy about that. Sjelle has a special affinity for Cosmo, but knowing what she knows now, especially after Cosmo hand-delivered her a lovely dead bat last spring, she seems to be handling the loss ok overall.

So Godspeed, Cosmo, I and everyone you’ve ever wooed over on Andiamo, will miss you.

Aretha and Lucy, by the way are absolutely fine. Aretha has experienced a bit of weight gain the past few months, but we’re working on that. She’s still in outstanding health even though she’s pushing 13, and hasn’t missed a single beat. Still bitchy as ever too. Gotta love her though. Lucy’s still kickin that cute-kitty thing, no worries there.

Well, Cosmo has been making himself very scarce this past summer. I didn’t see him at all onboard Andiamo during the week I was here between my Nicaragua/Costa Rica trip and my stateside/Europe trip. He’d been seen several times around the dock and coming off the boat just shortly before I got back. But I haven’t seen him once. I suspect he’s found a new happy place to call home that doesn’t involve being surrounded by water all the time.

Cosmo has always been the one most prone to wandering and hunting whenever he got the chance. I know he’s surviving just fine wherever he has decided to call home. On the boat, he’s always been a bit clumsy, and very untidy, thinking that the whole boat was his litter box. But on land, he’s in his element. He is a smooth, savvy hunter.

I will continue keeping my eyes open for him, and hope to at least get a glimpse of him now and then. But I’m coming to terms with the fact that he may have already chosen to become a permanent resident of the Rio Dulce, and the Andiamo and myself may be not much more than a memory. I’ll miss him, but I also know that he’ll be happier on land, and Andiamo will be MUCH cleaner, so it’s a win-win for everybody I think.

He’ll be missed though if he does decide to permanently stay away.

I’ll be giving a good synopsis on all that has happened in my last week in Europe as well as the few days in the states prior to getting back to Guatemala. It’s been a busy past couple of weeks! It still amazes me how much can happen inside such a short period of time.

I should have a catch-up post online soon, I’ve already updated the photo gallery, and well, I’m sure there will plenty more to come.