So after a fun weekend jaunt that took me to Antigua and the roaring volcano, Mt. Pacaya, with the Guatemala City Gang, I finally found time to hop a bus back to Rio Dulce. So last tuesday afternoon, I was back in the Rio, and back onboard Andiamo.
Everything was pretty much as I expected it to be. The cats were a bit skittish on my return, but they went back to normal in no time. Lucy was shy, and hiding up forward in her favorite little nook. I just let her be the first few hours I was onboard. After a while, I picked her and brought her into the salon. She warmed up, and ended up staying on my lap the rest of the evening. Cosmo was needy from the time he came onboard after I got back, and Aretha was totally unfazed by return other than the first few minutes I was back. It didn’t take long for everybody to find their groove again. It felt nice and familiar to be with the cats again.
The boat was STIFLING hot, so I cranked on the AC, but no go. The water pump for it was not working. I got it working the next morning though, by just giving the shaft of the pump a couple of turns with a screwdriver, and away it went. Which is good, because up until that point, I was sure I would have to go into town and buy another pump.
It was nice to finally empty out my two very full duffel bags full of gear. I had picked up some stuff for several people on the river, so I got rid of all that stuff. That lightened the load tremendously. Now I have all my new stuff piled up around the boat. Finding good places for all this stuff will take a little time and planning.
The river is slowly returning to normal after what has been almost a month of non-stop rain. The river rose so high, that several docks in the marina were underwater. This meant that the power had to be shut down, which ends up causing major problems across the board for boat-owners. I was kept updated on the situation by Mike from “Haliai”, who’s been watching the cats and the boat in the absence of Daniel from “Yankee”, who took a few weeks off to go study spanish in Antigua.
Anyway, the river’s rising had horrific effects on life on the river. Several riverside homes and docks were underwater. Stores were forced to stay closed for weeks because of the high water. Power outages were scattered and a common occurrence. It was crazy, and all I can say, is that I’m glad I missed it! In fact, the power went back on my dock on the day I got back. My timing is never that good.
So now starts the arduous task of completing several projects on Andiamo. Nothing major, but all necessary and labor-intensive. Since getting back, I’ve been trying to get myself into the mindset to start knocking out the projects. And I’ve been making slow but sure progress.
It didn’t help yesterday afternoon when I got slammed with a nasty amoeba infection that had me in painful-cramp world, and had me running to the head every 30 minutes. The cramps got so severe, that I went to one of the marina’s owners and asked them if they had anything for it. He gave me two Nodik pills, one which I took right away, and one for the next night. A few hours after I took the pill, the cramps subsided, although the rest of my body ached. That continued for the rest of the night, but the next morning, I woke up feeling ok. So hooray for Nodik!
Other than that, life on Andiamo goes on. I’ve got a good couple of weeks of work (with perhaps a mini-trip to Utila for SunJam next weekend) before I head off to Costa Rica for a couple of weeks over land.
At least that’s the “plan”.
Comment from: Raf Truyers [Visitor]
Hey Skipper,
just to say you did a great job restyling this website!
cheers,
Raf