January, 2006:

Yup, it was bound to happen sooner or later. Considering that a boat gets broken into in Utila harbor about once a month, I knew my turn was inevitable. It happened Friday night. While I was ashore hanging out with Rob, Lisa and some other people, some local crackheads decided to break into Andiamo and ransack it to all hell looking for cash. There was no cash, but there were two laptops, both of which they stole, along with a video camera.

The worst part though was the damage they did to the companionway hatch to get in. Conveniently for them, I assume, I left a hammer in the cockpit that day after diving under the boat to put in a new zinc on the propeller shaft. They used the hammer to smash their way into the locked companionway hatch, shattering the overhead hatch and one of the leeboards in the process. Considering the anchorage was pretty crowded, that was quite brazen. Still, none of the neighboring boats heard anything.

So, I’ve spent most of the day yesterday repairing the hatch, by overlaying some teak on the shattered portion of the hatch. Looks ok, just have to finish it. I also have to make a new leeboard, which I should be able to do today.

Luckily, I’m insured, it will take awhile, a long while to get paid for the loss, but they ultimately will pay. The local cops here are a joke, and I’m still trying to get a police report made because I know the insurance company is going to want it.

So I try to take a very “zen” view on all this. Yes, it sucks having my boat, my home violated, and my stuff taken. But it also could have been far worse. And it reminds me of the fact that it’s just stuff, and you can’t get too wound up over losing it.

It’s all part of the deal, I guess.

After being stuck in La Ceiba for a good couple of weeks, with crappy weather no less, waiting for parts to come in for my boat’s shaft coupling, it got old. Sjelle for one was becoming really restless, and was ready to go back to Rio Dulce to finish up working on her boat so she can get out of there. I was hoping we can sail to Rio from La Ceiba, but after the last fiasco with the shaft coupling, that was not going to be possible. My sister Judy was still in Guatemala for a few more days, and I was really hoping I can get out there to see her before she went back. So, it was time for a road trip. Sara and Stuart of “Marie”, were still in the shipyard, and agreed to take care of the cats while I was gone. I stopped by the machine shop that was working on my shaft coupling parts and arranged for them to deliver everything to the shipyard so their guys can install everything on the boat while I was gone. So my hope was that when I returned the following monday everything would be in place, and I’d be able to get out of there fast.

So last rainy wednesday morning, we caught a bus out of La Ceiba to San Pedro Sula. From there, we caught a smaller bus to Puerto Cortes. By the time we got there, it was already mid-afternoon, and we decided to spend the night there, and go to to the Guatemala border the next morning. So, we got a room that had cable tv, and settled in. Puerto Cortes is a harbor town, not bad, but not great either. The oddest thing about the place is that after 9pm, EVERYTHING shuts down. I went into town to try to get some to-go grilled chicken, and there was not one place to be found open. I ended up having to go to Church’s Fried Chicken because they were the only place open.

So with our fast-food fried chicken, we settled in the room and proceeded to watch some US network tv, which was the first time for me in quite some time. We got a chance to watch some of “American Idol”, which is still as cheesy as ever. There was another other cheesefest program called “Skating with Celebrities”, which they pair up washed-up B-list celebrities with washed up figure skaters. Sjelle and I somehow enjoyed it, albeit with much guilt.

The next morning, the weather was pretty harsh. It was windy with sheeting rain. I was not all that thrilled about getting on another bus to the Guatemala/Honduras border. Turned out Sjelle wasn’t either. We decided to wait out the weather, and if it didn’t get better by before noon, we would wait until the next day. I didn’t have to be in Guatemala City until Friday anyway because that was when Judy was supposed to arrive there from the archaeological site she was working on.

So it was not a problem for me to stay another day. The weather stayed bad most of the day, so we just stayed another night, and watched some more cable tv. It was a nice break, gotta say. We also found a local seafood place for dinner that had OUTSTANDING food for almost nothing. I had a tail of lobster with rice, veggies and alot more for a little less than 5 dollars. We found out that there was a bus leaving at 6 AM to the border, so we made sure we were on that bus. After a good 4 hour long ride to the Guatemalan border, we had to get off the bus to go through customs and immigration. Lucky for us, there was a large bus heading straight for Guatemala City in a matter of minutes. So we didn’t have to wait at all to keep going. Sjelle took the same bus, but got off at the crossroads where she would have to get on another bus to Rio Dulce, where we parted ways. I would continue on to Guatemala City and be there 4 hours after leaving the border.

Once I got to Guatemala City, I called the hotel my sister was staying at, and told her I was on my way. A cab ride later, I met up with Judy. She was staying in Zone 10, which I had come to know over the past couple of trips here. I also called a friend named Mitzy. Mitzy is a friend of Monica’s, who I met back in Utila on a couple of occasions. The most recent being Christmas and New Year’s, when Mitzy and several other friends were all visiting Monica for the holidays. She came over to the hotel, and met up with Judy and me. We went out to dinner in town, and then afterward, hit a couple of nightspots in “Zona Viva”, which is also in Zone 10. A couple of the other girls showed up to have drinks with us.

The next day, Mitzy offered to take us around town and show us some places. So we took her up on it. She took Judy and me to the Mayan Archaeological Museum, which was quite interesting. It was right up Judy’s alley, because it included a lot of Pre-Mayan artifacts, which was exactly what Judy was working with on that trip. After that, we walked up to the Artisan Market, which has several shops selling Guatemalan-made goods, and other souvenirs. It proved to be a bit too touristy and expensive for me, but Judy seemed to enjoy it and actually bought some stuff.

From there, Mitzy met back up with us, and took us to some other parts of the city, which I would have never gone to on my own, that’s for sure. She also took us to this place in a park that’s home to a HUGE 3-d relief map of all of Guatemala. It was built in 1905 by a guy who surveyed the whole country for the map over a period of 10 years. Fascinating stuff.

Later that evening, Judy got a call that one of her colleagues, and a professor just got back in town. We were supposed to meet up with them for dinner. So that evening, we all met up at one of the city’s nicer Spanish restaurants. I got to meet one of Judy’s professors, and a colleague of hers, Laura. It was a nice dinner, good conversation, and company. After dinner (I had the Paella), we headed back to the hotel. Judy was flying back to LA the next morning, and Laura was going to go on to Antigua to start a week studying Spanish. She asked if it would be possible to catch a ride with Mitzy and me the next day, and I told her I didn’t think it would be a problem.

Mitzy met up with us there, and I headed out with her to meet up with some of her other friends, Maria, Gordo, a few others. We went to a bar called “Rattle and Hum”, a casual bar run by an Australian guy. Everyone else showed up a while after us. Bars close at 1AM in Guatemala City, which is really early to me. After closing time, we went up to Maria’s house for some more drinks. She lives all the way up the mountains looking over Guatemala City, a good 25 minutes away. When we got to her house, it was FREEZING. So after a drink or so, we headed back to town.

The next day, we all met up for the 40 or so minute drive to Antigua. The weather was pretty nice. I asked Mitzy if she minded if I drove, and she gave me the keys. I hadn’t driven in several months now, and I thought this would be a good time for practice.

Needless to say, we made it to Antigua safely. Once there, we met up for lunch with another friend, Lisa, who spends most of her time there rather than in the city. The city was particularly busy that day, as it was a sunday, and many of the local kids were having their first communion at the large Baroque Cathedral just off the central park. So in town, it was packed.

Laura checked into her hotel and then joined us for a drive. Mitzy wanted to take us up this hill outside of town that was adorned with a large concrete cross. After a nice drive up the hill, we hiked about a half mile to get to the park where the cross is. It was a clear sunny day, so the view was amazing.

After a good hour or so up there, we dropped Laura off at her hotel and Mitzy and I went to meet up with Lisa again at her house. Lisa had a very nice small Italian style villa built in one of the better neighborhoods in Antigua. I was very impressed with it. We had some cocktails and talked for a couple of hours.

It was getting close to dinner time, so I called Laura. She sounded rather emotional on the phone, and I asked her what was wrong. She said she had just gotten the news that her grandfather had died. She was trying to decide if she should fly back to the states for the funeral or not. Mitzy and I headed over to the hotel to see if we can help her out any. After several phone calls, she managed to nail down a flight that would get her to where she needed to go to make the funeral. So now she had to come back to Guatemala City with us again.

So after we had dinner, and Laura checked out of the room she had just checked into a few hours before, we got in Mitzy’s car and headed back to Guatemala City.

Mitzy had to work the next day, but she still generously offered to pick us both up and give us rides. Laura needed to be at the airport before 5, and I needed to go to the bus station to catch a bus back at La Ceiba by that time as well. Mitzy got us both where we needed to go, and we were all on our way.

So now, I had a 13 or so hour bus ride ahead of me back to La Ceiba. It was long, but at least the buses were comfortable. I did get back to La Ceiba on time, and alas, the parts had come in, and the boat was fixed. I was VERY happy and relieved to see that.

The next day, we did a short sea-trial to check out the work, and all checked out fine. Because the weather was a bit iffy, and I had to really clean the boat once-over, I opted to wait until Wednesday to head back to Utila.

Even though the weather still looked iffy, it looked better looking off the beach, so after paying my yard bill, I was off. I was single handing, and the wind was pretty brisk off the northeast, so I unfurled the sails and gave it a go. She handled beautifully, and I sailed all the way to Utila. It was kinda nice to do it singlehanded. I hadn’t singlehanded in quite some time.

A few hours after leaving La Ceiba, I was back in Utila, dropped anchor, and was in town getting reacquainted with all my Utila friends.

It was good to be back.

…since Pop passed away. Boy, do I miss him. You can read about him here.

Currently in Guatemala, having visited with Judy for a couple of days while Andiamo waits on some parts in La Ceiba. I’ll be back in La Ceiba by tomorrow evening, and will catch up then.

Comment from: mietsie [Visitor]

You were in my thoughts,

love,

mietsie

2006-01-24 @ 02:37

Comment from: MIchael Greaney [Visitor]

Tony,
Say hello to Judy for me. I still remember you Nick and I sneaking up on your roof and dousing her with water as she was sunbathing in the front yard! You should share some of the roof stories with internet friends!
Mike

2006-01-25 @ 11:03

So it’s a new year, full of promise, hope, adventure, and excitement. And by the looks of things so far, there is also quite alot of boat maintenance in my near future. It started out nice enough though. For new year’s eve, we hosted a potluck dinner on Andiamo for sunset time. Monica and her crew of friends visiting from Guatemala joined us, as did several fellow cruisers, like Rob from “Siqqituq”, Sara and Stuart from “Marie”, and a few others. We had a great evening of cocktails, food, and more cocktails.

After a good dinner and lots of holiday cheer, we all headed ashore, where the new year’s party at Tranquila was in pretty full swing. The place was packed. Last time I saw Tranquila that packed was during Semana Santa (Holy Week, the week leading up to Easter, which is the busiest time of the year for Utila). It was a great bunch of people, and ringing in the new year there was like doing it with a bar full of good friends.

Just before New Year’s came around, Ann, a Swedish dive instructor friend of mine I met on Utila last time I was here, arrived on the island on her way towards Roatan to start a new dive instructor gig. She needed a place to stay while she was there, so she took up one of the cabins on Andiamo. It was cool, because Sjelle, who’s from Denmark, had someone else to hang out with.

Starting literally from New Year’s morning, Andiamo’s troubles began in earnest. To start things off, when we got back from all the new year’s festivities, the batteries on the boat were dead. I’d never seen the batteries so dead, and couldn’t understand why they were so dead. That morning, I discovered that my batteries gassed, that’s where all the battery acid in them evaporated. That’s enough to do it. So after scrounging up some good water to put into the batteries, I had to borrow another boat’s battery to get my engine started up.

After that, came the starter, which I had been battling with for quite some time over the past month since I’ve left Guatemala. I tried to get the starter fixed by a local mechanic who had worked on it before, but this time he couldn’t get any more love out of it. But, he DID have an old Perkins engine in his yard, that just happened to have a starter on it that also happened to be the exact same kind of starter I have on my engine. So I managed to talk him into letting me have that starter so I can get the boat to La Ceiba so I can get mine worked on. He was nice enough to let me take it. After some finagling and even a little rebuilding by yours truly, I got the other starter installed on the engine and working.

Once I got the starter issue squared away, we had a plan to head over to Cayos Cochinos for a day or two, but not before going to La Ceiba to do some shopping and provisioning. Ann came along so she can catch a ferry to Roatan, where she was going to be starting her job.

Once we got to La Ceiba, I discovered some other problems that I had to resolve, that in relation to everything else appeared to be pretty minor. Then a coldfront passed through and made the weather absolutely horrendous, so now we had to wait for that to pass. Once it did about 2 days later, and the weather looked ok, we decided to make a run for Cayos Cochinos. So we left on the early afternoon on the 10th to try to get there.

About a couple of miles out of La Ceiba’s breakwater, I began to notice a smell coming from the engine. Turned out that there was steam leaking out from some water hose, and it was spewing everywhere. We noticed that water temp was rising through the roof. After assessing that there was no coolant or water in the freshwater system due to a leak, I put in some more fresh water and that brought the temperature back down. But because there was a leak, I had no choice but to turn the boat around and head back to La Ceiba so we can figure out the problem.

Once we got back to the shipyard, I checked out the engine, and found the leak. I also noticed that there was a nasty burning smell coming from a bearing on the propeller shaft on our way back to La Ceiba. I tell ya, when it rains, it fricking pours.

The next day, I got the leak fixed on the freshwater supply line, and replaced some bad hoses on the engine. Sjelle and I had a hell of a time getting the engine apart to replace the hoses, but we did get it done. Once I had the leak fixed, I had a mechanic come aboard to help me figure out was causing the problem with the shaft. And in a most illustrious way, and thankfully non-damaging way overall, we discovered that the gearshift cable was no longer operational when I tried to take the boat out for a test spin so the mechanic can look at the shaft in action.

So now I had to replace the gearshift cable, which thankfully I had a spare, which after my throttle cable experience in Belize, I knew I had to have. I also ended up deciding to buy yet another one to replace the throttle cable as well since it was looking kinda rough once we opened everything up. After making those repairs, we did another test spin to ascertain what the problem was with the shaft.

One mechanic was trying to tell me I had to pull the boat out so they can take off the shaft and take everything else apart so they can figure out what the problem was. I was resisting doing that, because I felt that the problem can be diagnosed, and even remedied without the need for an expensive haul-out, which I had just done back in May of last year. I also felt like all this should have been inspected while the boat was out of the water and any potential problems be nipped in the bud. Unfortunately, I took the yard manager at his word that the shaft and prop systems had been fully checked out back then.

Anyway, it turned out that this bearing and mechanism on the shaft were bad, resulting in the need for some parts to be replaced. I may have to have new parts shipped down from the states, which won’t be cheap, or I may be able to have the parts rebuilt or fabricated by a pretty competent-looking machine shop here in La Ceiba. I’ll know more in the next couple of days, and hopefully get this issue resolved so I can get Andiamo rolling again.

I also found out that my sister Judy is in Guatemala until next weekend! I may try to sail back to Rio Dulce so I can go and meet up with her for a day or so, but it all depends on what happens the next couple of days. It would be nice to see her if even for a short time while she’s in these parts.

We’ll see what happens.