Next Phase

I started the day by going to the Bravo market and getting a long overdue hair cut.  Using the Google translator I wrote down all of the instructions (e.g. medium cut, trim eyebrows & moustache, raise side burns) in Spanish and handed the note to the barber.  I included a comment about the possibility of paint in my hair because I had been painting my boat but he seemed to think that I wanted my hair tinted and told me several times that he could not do it.  Fortunately a colleague walked in, read the note, and explained to the barber what I was trying to say.  Paint in the hair was no problem, and I should not even mentioned it.  For 70 pesos (less that $6.00) I got the works, including a moustache trim worthy of Rhett Butler.  (No, I've got no illusions about looking like Clark Gable.  In fact, Brenda can verify that a museum attendant told me that I had the facial structure of Pancho Villa (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pancho_Villa))

After returning to the apartment with fresh fish, fruit, and vegetables I loaded up my backpack with books and other items and headed for the marina.  At Club Cruseros Roger Wise spotted me while I was dropping off some books and told me that he would like to see the site for the new refrigerator compressor when I had it ready.  I told that I would have it ready in about 2 days.  He mentioned that he already had the new unit on hand.

At the jetty gate I found my two favorite people in La Paz having a chat.  Bob Carrol had visited Pachuca hoping to have a look at my Maxwell windlass.  I invited him and Ib to come on board and have a look at the results of my weeks of labor.  The timing was perfect because that part of the boat was in good order after my photography session for the blog.  Pachuca was looking her best.  Hey, I'm only human: it was nice to show off the fruits of my labor to peers whose opinions I hold in high regard.  We then started talking engines.  Ib had not seen my new engine so I proudly slid back the cover (still human with all its flaws).  The ensuing scene could be compared to three women clucking over the characteristics of a new baby. 

After lunch and a nap at the apartment I began serious work at 1.30 PM.  My plan was modest: start clearing out the starboard quarter berth, wiping dust off everything that came out, with the aim of taking out the Danfoss DS 2.5 compressor out the following day.  By 3.30 PM the area was clear.  After a 30 minute break over a cup of English Breakfast tea I started on the removal of the compressor.  I got lucky because the four bolts holding the unit down were of stainless steel (a pat on the back for my predecessor for a change) and with a little patience I had the compressor out and the area cleaned at 5 PM.  I then paid a short visit to Roger and Jean on Avalon to tell him the news.  He was pleased and will visit Pachuca in the morning.

The most important step of any job is to get started.

One photo shows the old compressor which never stopped working even though it was surrounded by leaks.

Another shows the compressor site under the starboard quarter berth.  At the bottom of that photo is a stainless steel diesel tank.  On top of the tank are the old compressor's electrics, which I left intact so that Roger can identify the wires coming out of the harness.  At the top of the photo you can see the dome protecting a computer fan that I installed with Arnold's help to extract heat from the area.  You can see the fan's electrical wire dangling below.  I've had a belly (and lung!) full of painting, but I may take the opportunity to paint that area before the new compressor goes in.

Finally, one of the delights of riding my bicycle back to the apartment: the La Paz waterfront.  As you can see it is low tide.

It will be a sad day when I have to leave this place La Paz.