I've had help from Friends in High Places. Bob Carroll visited Teresa at the apartment building where I lived during those two summers. She seemed happy at the prospect of seeing me back and made apartment no. 8 available to me from the 8th to the 12th or whatever other days suited me. Knowing that I'll have accommodation waiting for me makes my return to La Paz very much easier, and I am grateful to Bob for his help. I'll have a chance to thank him personally over dinner on the night of my arrival. The cost of the accommodation, by the way, will be 250 pesos or about $20 per night. I'll take my alarm clock with me because I don't want to miss morning coffee with the guys at the Palapa of Knowledge, Wisdom, and Truth.
That will mark the beginning of 3 days of catching up with friends, prowling around the town in the clear and sunny weather, tacos and enchiladas for lunch, Pacifico Clara beer, walking along the Malecon along the waterfront in the evening for a cone of the best double ice cream on the planet, and margaritas overlooking the bay while I wait for dinner. It will be a tough three days, but somebody has to do it.
On Monday Jean Davies drove me to Seattle for shopping at Fisheries Supply next to Gas Works Park on Lake Union. She made it all possible because it would have been extremely difficult and downright dangerous for me to have attempted to find my own way in Arnold's RX7. Fisheries Supply (http://www.fisheriessupply.com/) is by far the best boating shop that I've ever seen, an opinion heard many times by their staff.
Walking in to Fisheries Supply was the realization of a dream of mine since rounding the Horn and I was determined to keep calm and take my time in working through the list of 10 items. Jean was very helpful and seemed to enjoy learning a lot about the bits and pieces that go into boats.
Item number one was control lines for the Monitor wind steering. I gave the man my specifications of 1/4" diameter, strong, low stretch, and highly resistant to abrasion. He told me that most people use 12-strand "Amsteel", with a tensile strength of 7400 lbs. I purchased 16 meters (52') of it, enough for two sets of lines. If the line is as strong as I think that it is, it should last for years, as did my original lines. The idea is to avoid at all costs having to change the lines out at sea, and I think that I have ensured that.
I found a hand fuel transfer pump, something that has been eluding me since Mexico. This should eliminate the messy ordeal of fueling in a rolling sea using an open plastic bucket.
Then I got help in finding two extremely bright strip lights each with 24 LED's. The lights, including switches and wiring, cost only $32 each. They will be replacements in case of failure of my cabin, navigation table, or galley light.
There were many small items such as sealants, fuel stabilizer, marine wax, and electrical connectors that are trivial for someone living in the USA but difficult to find by a visitor to Argentina or Brazil. I purchased two 17 Oz containers of the marine restorer and wax because it is likely that I will polish Pachuca's hull myself by hand when I return to Brazil.
I then dealt with the flaky deck light where the tiny halogen bulb burns incredibly hot and yet is not protected by a cover leaving it exposed to the elements. After getting help in getting a replacement bulb I was shown a better model of light that uses a large diameter halogen bulb that is self sealed. At a cost of $72 I thought that it was worth a try. The mounting method is the same as with the old light but it uses four fasteners instead of two, which will mean drilling of 4 holes for pop rivets. I don't think that I have a pop rivet gun on board but rather than purchase one and add to the weight of my luggage I'll probably try to borrow one from Enrique in Bracui.
After a leisurely ninety minutes or so I had 9 of my 10 items crossed off the list. The only thing that we were not able to find was a suitable wire mesh toaster for open flames. But I was not concerned about that because there are plenty of camping stores on the Kitsap part of the sound.
We then found our way to Ivar's on Lake Union and had a lunch of their renowned red chowder. Jean asked why only the white chowder was on the menu and the waiter replied that the red chowder is an "insider" thing and not advertised. Jean established her credentials as an insider then asked me if I still wanted the white chowder. I told her and the waiter that I too wanted to be an insider and ordered the red chowder. It was a great clam chowder, accompanied by a chilled bottle of white wine. By sheer luck it was Tuesday, and on Mondays and Tuesdays bottles of wine are at half price. (Elisa and I had similar luck at Ivar's on the waterfront.) I told Jean that the more bottles of wine we ordered the more money we would save, but we prudently held it to only one bottle.
It was approaching sunset when we got on the Kingston ferry and our car was parked with a good view to the front so I took some videos from inside of the car.
We telephoned Arnold and Sandra from the ferry, much later in the day than we had expected, and Sandra, bless her heart, was preparing dinner for four at short notice. There was more good food, copious wine, and enjoyable conversation.
No comments:
Post a Comment