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Larry's LogAfter the movie we went to a large mall and ate at the food court. Very much like a large USA mall except the food was a bit different (does anyone in the US know what a roti is?). After we finished we all wandered around and each couple took their own route. When we got back to the boat, we found Ralph and Barbara had also just gotten back. We said we would try to do this every Saturday, although next weekend was the last before we were scheduled to go home on our visit. Sunday was an easy day although Diane continued sewing. I helped a friend of Ken's in the morning with what turned out to be a simple computer problem and then walked over to visit with Tom a bit. After I got back to the boat, I helped Diane with some measurements on the handrail covers she started. At around 4:30, Jack and Joyce came by and Mike and Dawn from Just Dessert, and Stephanie also came by to go swimming - Diane had invited them earlier. Mike and I were going to try to get his old computer working. So while the girls went to the pool, the boys looked at the old laptop Mike brought over. Mike had also brought over a bottle of Venezuelan rum he bought when they were there recently. Even after a few drinks of some very good rum, the computer was working again but still wasn't ready for any software. Mike was going to download the CD drivers so we could try to get it working with the CD. When the ladies got back from swimming, Jack and Joyce went home, as did Stephanie. Mike and Dawn stayed a bit and we decided to go to dinner so we called Tom and Steph back again and they agreed. Mike went over to get them in the dinghy and we went to dinner at the CrewsInn restaurant. After a nice dinner, we all went home (Diane and I to just across the dock). The next day I went to help Tom and Jack get the elusive stove. Hopefully, it would be there. We left at around 9:30 and Jack drove since Tom's leg wasn't quite up to it. Stephanie stayed home this time, so "the boys had some quality bonding time together." Right! Anyway, we went through the usual paperwork nonsense and finally got to the shed where the stove was located. Around 10:30, we saw it on a pallet being moved to in front of the chain link fence inside the shed where we were standing. So close yet so far, Tom now had to go to the Customs office to get clearance to bring it out, although we would then have to bring it to the Customs office in Chaguaramas. By the time he got through the line at Customs, it was 11. Naturally, everyone there goes to lunch from 11 to 12. One person asked everyone who was waiting outside the Customs area to leave the building while Tom was still on the Customs line. When they started to lock the large sliding doors to the warehouse, we looked inside and saw Tom, who said to meet him on the other side of the building. Jack and I got in the car and went around to the other side to see Tom waiting for us outside the locked doors on that side. The storage officer, as they were called, had said to Tom as he was led out, "go have a nice lunch and come back to see me later". At least we could see that the stove was really in Trinidad. So we went to lunch at Pizza Hut and came back at around 12:30. At that point, we did actually take possession of the stove although we couldn't take it out of the box since it needed to be checked by the guards at the gate inside the packing. In the box, it wouldn't fit in the trunk or inside the car, but we did manage to tie it so it rested on the lip of the trunk so it wouldn't (hopefully) fall out. After some more paperwork, we left the warehouse and went to the gate. We then found out that the gate we had been using was only for vehicles without cargo so we had to go to the "West" gate. OK, after driving around for 10 minutes, we found the West Gate and joined the line of trucks leaving the port. After waiting 30 minutes in line, we got through and were finally on our way. We still had to go to the Chaguaramas Customs office but at least we got out of Port-of-Spain. We got to Chaguaramas Customs, got the Customs officer, and after he very disinterestedly looked at the stove, said OK. Now we could bring the stove to the boat, remove the old one and try installing the new one. This stove was supposed to have identical dimensions and hardware to the old one. We would see. We drove the short distance to the marina and brought the stove out to the dock. I thought we would have to use a halyard to get the stove on board but we managed without using it. Taking out the old stove and installing the new one were pretty anti-climatic, that was the easiest part. We left the old stove near the garbage bin but a local took it within 30 minutes. After relaxing a bit, Stephanie drove me over to the woodwork shop. The projects were basically ready but there were some minor things that needed to be corrected so the owner said that one of his workers would bring the pieces over next morning. No problem as long as they were done right. Stephanie brought me back to my marina and went home. Diane and I went to a marina party later and that was very nice, with good food and rum punch. The last party was the the monthly one that they had on the day we arrived and I had been so sick. So I wanted to go this time and I wasn't disappointed. The next day, Diane went shopping again and I stayed on the boat to do some projects. The woodshop worker came by with the pieces but when I looked at them, some still needed work. He said he would work on them and bring them back later. As I cleaned the ones I kept, I saw they really needed some work too so I lowered the dinghy and brought all the pieces back. I showed the owner what the problems were and he apologized and said he would check them himself before they went out the next time. He said they would be ready by the end of the day but I had my doubts. I went back to the boat and continued with my projects. I had bought a replacement GFI outlet and replaced that and also installed a new a/c outlet where the TV stand would be. Unfortunately, it required going into storage to get the triplex wire I needed, so it took twice as long as it should have. Oh well. The woodwork pieces didn't arrive that afternoon. By the time I finished, it was time for a shower and dinner. Such is the cruising life. Thursday was a busy day again. There was a party planned for that night as a kind of general purpose bon voyage, congratulations, etc. event. Jack and Joyce (Second Tri) were going to leave the next day for Los Testigos and Wally, on Dazzler, had passed his US citizenship test and had come back from Los Angeles. Some other boats were also leaving the next day also. So Diane, Stephanie and Dawn planned this little potluck dinner. Before that though, we had things to do. In the morning, Diane went to make the flight reservations for California to see my brother and mother. Stephanie came by with the car and brought me back to the wood shop where my projects were ready. After looking over them carefully, they seemed OK so I took them back to the boat. Diane was already sewing and she needed my help for measuring and such so I didn't get to do much on installing the pieces. Jack also stopped by bringing some CDs that Joyce had for me. I had promised Paul (Autumn Wind) we would play chess that day at 2pm. We had been meaning to play for a while and we finally just said that this was it. As I got to his boat, he was just coming back from lunch with the marina manager and was actually dressed up, with a TIE. We went below into the air conditioning, he found his chess set and we had 2 games. I won the first after he made a serious mistake and won the second after he missed the consequences of a move. I promised that we would have a rematch after we got back. It was nice to get your mind off boat work for a while. Back at Destiny, I helped Diane a bit more with the sewing and then did a little to install my various woodworking pieces. Diane had already made a Key Lime Pie for the party that night so all we needed to do was take showers and get to the other marina. The party was very nice and the food was good. Diane's pie was a hit and we enjoyed the company although I was sorry to see Jack and Joyce leave. We might catch up to them again in Venezuela but nothing was certain. We congratulated Wally and wished Jack and Joyce a safe trip. Unfortunately, my outboard wouldn't start when it was time to leave, but Mike and Dawn gave us a tow back (another project). |