and ever such a lovely day. Yes, we did make it. Only took us 8 days after the first aborted departure. We left Balboa, Panama the first time and got 18 hours out before realizing that our battery bank would no long retain a charge. Humm. Not a good way to start the longest journey we have made to date and to a further port than we have previously visited. So, back we went to Balboa to do further diagnosis of the problem and then obtain new batteries. Ouch. It is only $$$'s, right? Took us 3 days and we were on our way yet again. New batteries, topped off fuel and happy wishes from our friends still in the anchorage. As for the trip - it was long. I thought it was 1000 miles we sailed but Rich corrected me. It was only 935. The extra miles went in tacking back and forth into the wind which, as expected, was on our nose. We experienced many squalls with mucho rain and shifting winds for the first 4 days. After that the wind stayed in the 18 to 24 knot range with rather large lumpy seas. The battery failure was just the first of many. The regulator on the alternator went bonkers and Rich found a way to disconnect the alternator yet still have it run (just no juice coming out) and put in a switch to so we could charge only when needed. What a clever boy. Lots of other small problems that we'll solve while here so they will no longer be issues. The largest of these was the rudder wobble. During one of my early morning watches I started hearing a definite icky noise coming from the steering column, rudder post area. It continued to get louder and more worrisome so I woke up Rich and asked him his opinion. Turns out there are 4 screws that hold a circular ring which the top of the rudder post goes thru. This ring keeps the rudder from moving side to side. Well, all 4 of the screws had come loose and the ring and the rudder post were twisting back and forth. YIKES! We worked together and tightened them down and all was well. Had to do this again the next day as well but it all held together. The strong wind and large seas really worked the entire boat and especially the rudder. Rich is working on re engineering the whole structure for additional strength and safety. Whew! That was just a bit to close for comfort.
And so the journey passed and here we are. Today is our 5th day in Bahia. To check in with immigration we took a taxi (1 hour ride) to Manata, another coastal town to the south. Loved seeing all the farming land, rice paddies, fat happy pigs, brahma type cows and houses built of bamboo with braided palm leaves. Most of these houses supported on poles to stay above the flood plane. Yesterday we went with some other cruisers (Carina and 5th Element) to San Vicente via a large vehicle and pedestrian ferry. The vehicles pay a fee but pedestrians are free of charge - as many as can pack themselves between the railing and the vehicles. While waiting for the ferry on the Bahia Caraquez side we talked with a group of 15 or so students - all between the ages of 16 and 18. They come to the Bahia side to attend classes and live in San Vicente. We had a lot of fun trying out our limited Spanish and their smattering of English. San Vicente is just on the other side of the estuary here and appears to be a small but busy city. Sure we'll go back and explore some more soon.
Yesterday was also the first day of Spanish classes. In order to travel further inland in Ecuador and Peru we really need to improve our vocabulary. I want to be able to really converse, not just "how much is that" and "where is ???". So, Spanish lessons 5 days a week for an hour and Rich and I will get out in the town and practice, practice, practice! OK! We'll stick around Ceilidh and do some of the chores that identified themselves on our trip down in the next week or so and then start thinking about local adventures via bus and boat. I have taken some more photos and will work on getting them up on the web next week. I'll post a link when they're live. For now, love from here to you
from the yin side.
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