Saturday
The Yanks beside us were partying well into the small hours last night. Their raucous chatter increased in volume as the night wore on.
We awake early. Al has been dreaming winches all night and is determined to have a third attempt fixing the last one that is stuck fast. Al heads off to the workshop with M&S bag full of disassembled winch, I head off for a short run to the beach.
At the beach I meet a local group of snorkeller’s leaving. I attempt communication but don’t have the Spanish to make myself understood. We smile and wave as we go our separate ways.
I explore the trail taken previously by the mysterious taxi driver. It winds through the forest past abandoned military pill boxes and finishes at a new beach. The water here is very shallow and you would have to walk out a long way to get a swim. I don’t fancy it much and wander back.
In the stream that comes from the mangroves I see what I think is evidence of the much talked about crocodiles, another reason to not go swimming in unfamiliar waters.
On my return Al is reassembling the winch. The Eureka moment has not panned out. With strenuous effort he manages to get the winch moving grudgingly. Gradually with more lubrication the winch moves slightly more freely. He decides to have one last attempt to disassemble and now the stuck gear pops out readily. Al completes the winch service and replaces all the pawls. After reassembly the 2 speed winch is now moving freely in both directions. Fantastic success!…
With Al’s guidance I service the windlass (electric winch for anchor chain). This is a much simpler task and is easy to accomplish but is still a learning process for me which I enjoy.
Sunday
The Americans were partying again last night until 12.30. Well past cruisers bed time. I was woken by someone shouting at them to pipe down and am not sure whether it was a neighbouring boat or the marina’s dock managers. Patience is wearing thin!!
I get up at the normal time and we eat an improvised breakfast of plain yoghurt and digestive biscuits. It seems our provisions shopping was not as successful as it should have been.
After breakfast I tag a long with Al on a nature walk around the old military base. We meet a troop of a dozen juvenile coati (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coati) crossing the road in front of us but apart from that there is little to report.
We hear over the radio that SV Delos is pulling into the marina. Unsurprisingly this means little to Al but I head out to at least get a photo of the celebrity YouTuber’s boat (https://svdelos.com)
As the temperature heats up mid morning I take respite in the air cooled gym.
After lunch we while away the afternoon taking it in turns to scrape residual glue from the steering wheel left over after a covering has been removed. Its a tedious but ultimately rewarding job.
In the evening we attend my 2nd Sunday night BBQ. Al once more is the designated fire starter. I have just had a shower so carefully avoid the smoky furnace. It is a very pleasant evening with good company and chat. As we get up to leave Al is asked if he wouldn’t mind doing the radio broadcasts again Mon-Wednesday this week.
As I write this Al is feverishly preparing the broadcast. Researching the weather forecast is very tricky with a poor internet connection.
It’s 9.30pm and we receive word that our Diesel engine mechanic cannot make it tomorrow. He might be able to get here for Tuesday. After waiting a week its a bitter blow.