Preparations for Travel

24 August 2012

Last night I thought about the difficulty Henrique has had in getting labour, the laid back approach to work that I've seen for myself, and the ease with which the hull paint could be damaged by using the wrong compound or the wrong technique; and decided that I didn't want the cleaning and polishing of the hull done unless I was present to oversee the work.  I tried his phone with Skype and got no answer so I decided to walk to his house.  Anyway, I needed to return several sets of charts that he had left with me to see if I wanted to order any.

I had his address and had no trouble finding the house because they all display their addresses.  Henrique's property has a ten foot long half hull model at the front which is like a beacon to boating people.  He was home and I apologize for disturbing him at his home but that was not a problem and he was a most gracious host, offering me a cool drink of matte which I accepted and enjoyed very much.  I looked around at the tools, equipment, materials all over the place and said “This is a man's house”, and indeed it was.  We talked about my leaving for Rio on Sunday and he wrote down the various trains and stations that I would need to visit the mountain tourist sites of Rio.  We discussed the social, economic, and political situation in Brazil.  I then explained that the charts were great but I had all of them in electronic form, and what I really needed was a large scale chart of the South Atlantic to Cape Town.  He understood.  (I'll see if I can get one in Rio.)

Then I told him that I would prefer to be present during the hull work on my boat and I would see him about the job when I returned in early November.  He had no problem with that, other than muttering that it was only a simple polish job. (But I knew better.)  As I was leaving he told me that I was welcome to use any of the extensive set of tools and equipment on his premises, which I very much appreciated. 

I walked back to the boat, had lunch and a nap, and shortly after getting up I got a visit from Henrique.  He brought with him a large book of photographs of Rio to help me prepare for the trip.  I thanked him very much and told him that I would enjoy going through the book tonight.  He told me to take the book to Rio with me, because he didn't need it back until my return from the USA.  I told him the name of my hotel in Rio (Mundo Novo) and he replied that it was close enough to simply take a taxi to Sugar Loaf Mountain and Christ the Redeemer on Corcovado Mountain with its spectacular views of the city, rather than the train.  What a person.  He's becoming a friend.

In the late afternoon I did some preparatory work for my departure.  I broke down the Swarbrick anchor and stowed it at the foot of the clothes locker.  I then filled  up the fuel tanks and they took 35 liters.  Over the last 20 days I had run the engine an averate of 1.15 hours a day, using an average of 1.52 liters per hour.  This was a combination of about 15 runs at 1500 rpm and 5 runs at 1000 rpm.  I still have 120 liters of fuel on deck and will probably stow it in the cabin along with the outboard motor during my absence.  Brucui is a wall managed and very secure marina, but let's just say that I want to help things by adhering to the principle “Out of Sight Out of Mind”.

I will dedicate tomorrow (Saturday) for packing.  I must be ready for an early departure on Sunday.

I decided to dine out at the restaurant. It is an amazing experience.  As usual I was the only customer  and had my own dedicated waiter.  My favorite is “the works” hamburger with chips.  I asked for a Heineken and the waiter presented me with an ice bucket with two Heinekens.  The hamburgers are the best that I have ever eaten: double beef, bacon, cheese, a fried egg, and the the accoutrements.  I could barely rise from the table when I was finished.  The cost was only 15 Reals (I had only 1 beer) so I gave him 22. While I was enjoying the last of my beer after the meal Henrique came by.  He gave me the complete Costa Verde bus route from Rio to Santos, including the distances to every stop.  He also brought a magazine with a bilingual section covering various  scenic spots in the Angra region.  I take it with me to the USA to show to others and to help me plan my boating in the region when I return.

Later in the evening I went through the book of photographs.  Forty six photographers were let loose on the city to photograph whatever they wanted.  My interest, given that it will be my first visit, will be in the South Zone (Zona Sur), which includes Sugar Loaf  Mountain, Christ the Redeemer, and the beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema. (I wonder if the girl is still there.)

25 August

As if to remind me of what I would be missing, Bracui presented me with the best morning yet: a crisp, cool, cloudless morning with only a whisper of a breeze over the still waters.   During the 1-hour break between the two Skype sessions to Australia in order to recharge the Acer battery I cleaned out the refrigerator and ice box compartments.  After the second Skype session I returned to the boat and started packing.  By 1 PM all was packed except for the Acer and Toshiba laptops.  Working off a checklist that I had put together over the previous week I think that I had packed everything that I would need.  I even remembered the Safeway card.

I felt so good about the situation that I cracked an ice cold “Antarctica” pilsner (“Desde 1885”) to celebrate and build an appetite  for lunch. (As if I needed one!).

The trickiest aspect of packing was the myriad power packs, cables, and adapters for the laptops and video and still cameras.  The cameras each have a special cable for uploading images to the laptop.   Fortunately every power pack transformer that I have, for the cameras included, can deal with voltages from 110V to 240V, but they must have 110V and 220V plug adapters, including for two 220 plug standards for Brazil.