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Larry's LogThe next day we got up late and went to a different place in the hotel mall to have breakfast and walked round a bit, window-shopping. We happened to meet another American who captained a 100' motor yacht for a wealthy Venezuelan. He had just had back surgery and seemed to be recovering well - he had been in the country for some time and was very pleased with the medical care as well. Since my urology appointment was late in the afternoon, we walked over to another mall nearby and did some more looking there before eating at the TGIFriday's there. (Can you tell we like hamburgers?) Anyway, we went back to CMD early to get the test results and also got the lab results from the physical I had last July. We then went to the urology area and waited. The examination went fine and the doctor spoke excellent English - she had done her residency at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York and a fellowship in Milwaukee. She asked about my family medical history as well as my own and I was very pleased with her care. Her exam didn't show anything new but she wanted me to get another echosonogram and a biopsy, which I probably should have done before. I mentioned that we were leaving Saturday so she gave me a referral to someone she knew in PLC who could do the test if I couldn't have it done here. She also gave me a prescription for some medication to help with the occasional symptoms. Why the doctors before never did that, I don't know. The radiology clinic, unfortunately, had no time until Monday. We wanted to leave Saturday because of the planned Opposition party political march that was scheduled for that day so I decided to use the referred doctor in PLC. The political situation in the country wasn't improving and we didn't want to take a chance being stuck in Caracas in the hotel while there was violence outside. We got back to the hotel late and just went to eat at the same place as we had with Giulio and Giancarla - again very good. Friday, February 13 was the day the National Electoral Council (CNE) was supposed to announce the validation of all the signatures collected (about 3.5 million) to hold the referendum to vote on whether to keep Hugo Chavez as President of Venezuela. They were expected to miss the date and the Opposition had scheduled a march tomorrow to demonstrate their impatience. There were 5 starting points throughout the city and one was near the bus station we use. Luckily, the march was supposed to start at noon and our bus was scheduled to leave at 10am, so we figured we would be fine. Since the weekend buses were sometimes crowded, to be sure we had seats we went over to the station and bought our tickets in the morning today, just after breakfast. We had a slight problem buying them because we didn't present our passports, only copies of the first page. The ticket agent eventually accepted the copies, so we got our tickets and walked over to the Sambil Mall, close by. We walked around the mall again, had lunch at Chili's again and went back to the hotel to just relax and watch some TV. Dinner was at the Outback Steakhouse, Caracas. They have wonderful meat in Venezuela and we weren't disappointed. Saturday morning, after having the breakfast buffet at the hotel, we left for the bus station, where we again had a hard time confirming our tickets due to the passport copies, which were just black and white copies and pretty torn by now. We had the originals although Diane's was now cancelled by the Embassy since she was getting a new one, but they were 'hidden' along with the cash we had brought, but never used, to pay for my second eye surgery. We had never had a problem before using the copies - the bus line must be getting stricter about it. I finally showed her my New York State drivers license, which seemed to help but she advised Diane to get new copies or use the originals in the future. We had the same problem again getting on the bus but eventually we got on and had a very easy trip back. We saw several hundred people starting to gather (the march was expected to total almost a million) - they had large Venezuelan flags and dressed in the national colors (red, blue and yellow) but seemed peaceful, at least in the beginning. The bus did have to take several side streets to leave Caracas to avoid the demonstrators, which added some time, but there were no other problems. The bus wasn't even very crowded. We got back to PLC around 4pm, leaving at 10. We got an old, dilapidated cab back to the boat and found that Elias was still there but not on the boat. The aft cabin looked very good and he had put some tape across the doorway to indicate that it was still wet. He came back to the boat, we paid him the remainder we owed him for the week since we had given him half before we left, and we all had a beer before he left to see his girlfriend in Cumana. They were going out to dinner for Valentine's Day. I had almost forgotten as it's not a big deal here, or maybe it's just not as commercially profitable as in the US. Anyway, he left and Diane and I discussed what part of the boat he should do next. The boat had stuff all around the cabin and since he needed to do some more coats on certain parts of the aft cabin, we couldn't put the stuff back there or move our sleeping quarters there either. We finally decided on putting some things outside, covered by plastic and moving some other things around so he could do the upper part of the starboard side of the main cabin. That would include some cabinets, shelves and a small bulkhead so it was enough to keep him busy for the next week, along with finishing some of the smaller things. Being tired from the trip, we went to dinner at the marina restaurant and met Pete and Lanie, from Marnel 4, there and had dinner with them. We saw some other friends there also and all asked abut my eyes. I explained that the doctor had said and also told them that I wasn't sorry I had it done, just a little disappointed that my eyes weren't perfect. It was back to hard work on the boat again the next day. I had to get everything ready so Elias could start the new area tomorrow, which required moving things again. In the morning though, I put away everything from the trip and did some small things like put the doors back on in the aft cabin. Diane also helped me move some things out into the cockpit where I could then cover them with plastic, just in case. After lunch but before she went to play dominoes, Diane helped me get the head door back on, and when she left, I could do my work as I needed to - sometimes it's easier just by myself. I took down the headliners and put them on deck - it was dry season and it hadn't rained in days so I wasn't too worried about them getting wet. Finally, I re-arranged some of the stuff in the main cabin so we would at least have someplace to sit. I really wish that there had been a storage room available. Even better would have been a reasonably priced apartment to rent for a month. Diane got back around 4 and prepared dinner before going for a shower. She complained that the toilet still wasn't working - I didn't have the time to fix it before we left and Elias was still working in there anyway, and I didn't have time today since I was getting the boat ready for him to varnish another area. I guess I'll try for tomorrow. The next morning was busy but since I was mostly doing miscellaneous things, I didn't accomplish much. Elias came and continued on the aft cabin in those places that needed extra coats and also did some things outside, like sanding the small pieces that I wanted to have another coat. Diane was running errands and after we had lunch, she went shopping to Plaza Mayor for some food and my prescription. While she did that, I went to work on the toilet. First, I took off the back piece that holds the intake flapper valve, and that seemed fine. The problem was that it was very hard to pump, like there was a valve closed someplace that was creating a vacuum. I put it back on but had the same result, although I was able to close the seacock and flush some fresh water through it to make it not quite so bad to work on. I cleaned up the water again, took of the back plate and removed the bowl. There was nothing clogging it so I thought there must be something under or behind the piston, and that meant taking the thing completely apart. Reluctantly, I did that, got the pump off the mounting base and put it on the counter where I could work on it. Elias was working in the cockpit so I couldn't go there. After I had the bottom plate off I still couldn't see anything wrong. I had carefully taken the gasket off the bottom surface so that I could use it again. I cleaned everything, adjusted the spot where the piston rod was placed on the axle but there was nothing else I could see as a problem. It was too late to put it back together, especially since it was still wet, so I just put it outside to dry off and got ready for the weekly potluck. The next morning we went to the doctor early. The doctor I saw in Caracas recommended him and I thought he was very good. After his visit, we walked around the area a little and found 2 small marine stores where I bought some things. We then went to the mall where I got the prescriptions filled that he had just given me and then went back to the boat. Wednesday morning I finally got to work on the wood board I use to hold the jerry jugs in place on the starboard side since I couldn't do anything inside the boat. It had been sitting there for almost 2 weeks. I got 2 coats of paint on one side, left it to dry and went to work on the toilet for a while but still couldn't figure out anything wrong. I was about to put it back together but when I fitted the bottom plate gasket, I saw that it had shrunk from getting wet and then drying. I had more but decided to use one of the new ones as a template to make one out of rubber. I carefully traced the outline on the rubber sheeting and cut out a new gasket - it would never shrink and hopefully not leak either. Diane came back and although I wanted to work on the toilet, she had to use the counter to prepare dinner and there was other place to work on it so I took off the drawer guide from the lower drawer in the aft cabin that was broken and figured out how to fix it. I would have to get some wood out of the starboard locker but first I decided to get rid of some of the rust on the plain steel guide. I brought it out on the dock, sanded it, got the dust off and painted it with the same enamel paint I used for the jug board. By then, it was time to get ready to go to the Maremares party. We took Janice and Weedie in our dinghy since theirs was out of the water. The party was pretty crowded but we had a good time. I started off the next day moving things around, as I usually do now. The aft cabin was done and the parts that had extra coats were dry so I would be able to put the berth cushions back in. I waited until later since they were out of the way for now, stored in the v berth, so I could work in there easier - I wanted to replace some wires and re-attach the headliners. I suppose it was a good thing I had taken down the headliners since I discovered that the bolts holding down the furling line rope stopper had no nuts underneath. It must have been that way for a long time (maybe since it was installed by the last owner). I don't think it would have come off since the strain is not in that direction but I put some on anyway. Finishing that I went out to paint the jerry jug board again on the other side and then put the toilet back together again. I had already taken it apart and checked the internal parts so I put everything back together and mounted it back in the head compartment. I even figured a way to test it partially it the sink. Unfortunately, it still didn't work right - there seemed to be a vacuum created when I pumped the handle. I'll try emailing the manufacturer to see if they have any suggestions. Friday we went to the mall in the morning - I went on the Internet and Diane got a manicure. Then we both went to lunch and to the supermarket; it was Carnival weekend and we wanted to get everything we needed so we could avoid going to the mall over the next few days - it would be really crowded. Once we got back, I finished putting the bottom drawer slide back under the aft cabin berth - I had painted the metal slide and fashioned a rear support from some plywood. It worked well and both drawers were now in place. I didn't have all the headliners up yet but would probably do that tomorrow. We then went to pick up the laundry (she had been closed as we came back from the mall) and stopped at Midnight Stroller to say hi; they had just come back from Los Roques where their son had his wedding. We went on board and saw some digital wedding pictures on the PC - their new daughter-in-law was very pretty, an ex-Miss Anzoategui (the Venezuelan state in which PLC is located). Andrea also kindly made an appointment for us with the dentist she knew for next week. They were still planning to leave on their circumnavigation soon but had some unfinished work still - hopefully it will all get done. Elias was just finishing for the day when we got back. He was ready to start another area but we weren't ready to make more room to move the stuff in the v-berth cabin. I couldn't put the things away in the main cabin area newly varnished until it really dried (another day or 2) and there wasn't enough room to move the stuff either into the cockpit or the main cabin on the starboard side. Diane and I decided that he could start to put more coats in the companionway area where we wanted more protection anyway. That would give us time to re-arrange the boat (again). We had a hard time keeping up with Elias - he had finished everything by the next afternoon and we had to empty the galley drawers to have him start those. Of course, we were doing other things. In the morning, I rewired some more of the aft cabin so I could put up the remaining headliners. That took longer than expected since I kept finding small problems. Then I had to fix the headliner itself - the previous owner had put in a small hatch in the aft cabin that required the headliner to be cut. The installer who cut the headliner re-attached the fabric with plain staples instead of the stainless steel staples used by the original builders. Of course, they corroded and the only thing holding the vinyl to the headliner board now in that area was the rust. I didn't have any stainless steel staples but I had stainless brads so I used those to hold the fabric after cleaning it as good as possible. I also looked at the light used there and found out why it only worked on low power (loose internal connection) so I fixed that also. After all that was done, I started putting the headliners back up although I had to wait until the varnish around the hatch dried. By the end of the day, I had also re-mounted the jerry jug board and rearranged the headliners that were on deck already. By that time, I was ready for a drink. Sunday was taken up almost entirely with emptying and preparing the v-berth cabin for varnishing. We got up later than usual and got started around 10. Diane didn't even go to the weekly domino game. All we did was get our stuff out of the forward cabin, find someplace to put it (mostly in plastic bags) and then I took down the headliners as well as the doors, fans, etc. We didn't finish, and didn't stop, until about 5:30, when the forward cabin was completely empty. I think it will be at least a week before we can go back in - besides the bulkheads needing 4 coats of varnish, the trim that gets more wear, needs at least 6 or 8. The hatch in that cabin will get 12 coats - it gets a lot of sun. Last night we slept in the aft cabin for the first time in years. I slept in there (if you could call it that) during the passage to Bermuda but I think that was the last time, and we both hadn't been in there since the boat was in Rhode Island. After Elias started, we went to Plaza Mayor to run some errands but mostly so I could use the Internet. The mini-market at the marina had some computers but they're a little slow and it's hot upstairs where they're located. I also had a lot to do and I don't like to monopolize a computer since there are only 4. I was on the 'Net for about 2 hours, updating our 'Destiny Logs' website for most of that time. I had redesigned it somewhat but it required me to upload all new files, about 300 in all. While the connection was fast, the software I had to use was slow. After that, we went to lunch and then had some of the wonderful ice cream from our favorite place. We got back to the boat around 2 and saw Andrea. She asked if I could give her and Gaby a ride to the metal working place across the canal. Their generator's heat exchanger was in need of some repair but the guy at the metalworking shop couldn't work in bronze or copper and the cost to make a new one in stainless steel was prohibitive. Gaby was going back to Caracas anyway to get the new solar panel mounts they just had made so he would get the heat exchanger repaired there as well. I dropped them back at Midnight Stroller and stopped to talk to Ron on Jacobite for a bit. They had come in a few days ago but had just moved to the floating dock across from us. Lena wanted TV. Diane wanted it also but we preferred to stay on the seawall - it was much quieter. I didn't do much else except get ready for the weekly barbeque potluck. |