Happy Holidays from the crew of Tisha Baby

Happy Holidays! It's been about 4 months since I sent out any sort of newsletter and I can tell you that rumors of our demise are greatly exaggerated. We spent a lot of the remaining summer months hiding from the heat and humidity inside the boat with our little window AC's running. But we also did some interesting travel and practiced our craft at living on a boat.

THE RIO DULCE

During the summer, we visited Casa Guatemala, the local orphanage, for their children's day. No classes, just a lot of fun and pseudo-sporting events put on by the teachers and volunteers. The events included a race to fill up a bucket from the river using only articles of clothing like t-shirts and hats and another event in which the children roll over a lineup of their team members for time. We were amazed to see how well taken care of and happy these children were. The orphanage is located on the side of the river. The buildings are pretty much open air, though volunteers had been doing some work to better enclose the dormitories so that the rats and bats couldn't get in and bite the kids. The volunteers were next on the list, they had to live with the critters for the time being. The volunteers, along with the kids, raise corn and other crops to feed the kids. I had always expected an orphanage to be a somewhat glum place, but not here. It's a wonderful organization. I'd be remiss, and Sally Struthers would never forgive me, if I didn't put in a plug for donations to the orphanage. Check it out at
http://www.casa-guatemala.org/

In October, Pam's son Abe came out to visit us. The heat was easing up a bit after several days of 100 degree plus temperatures with 95% humidity which just about did me in. It was impossible to work on anything outside without my reading glasses filling up with the continual stream of perspiration coming off my face. And yet, all the locals were pretty content. I guess I just haven't become totally Central Americanized yet. In preparation for some travels with Abe, we secured a dog sitter and, after giving the pooch a good scrubbing, we were ready to go.
















Abe had a warm reception to the Rio by our local friends, led by our Spanish teacher, Ileana.


















Then, after discussing the options with Abe, we decided to forgo the Mayan and Guatemalan cultural attractions and get out to some blue water in Belize.

BELIZE QUICK TRIP

We stayed close to the Rio Dulce in case a tropical storm became active. We motored out the Rio Dulce gorge and then visited Nicholas Cay and later Ranguana Cay and then the little town of Placencia before returning to the Rio as tropical depression 13 was brewing off the coast of Honduras. At the little beach bar at Ranguana Cay, visitors had hung up T-shirts to commemorate their visit. Prominently displayed in the middle of the collection was a BSU football shirt. Go Boise State! Small world...

Travels in Honduras

After Abe's visit, we traveled to Honduras with cruiser friends to see the Ruins at Copan. The Mayan temples were built one on top of the other. If you want to build a big temple, why start from scratch, when the previous leader that you'd just as soon people forget about left a wonderful starting point? At Copan, archaeologists have tunneled in between some of the temples and one can see pieces of the earlier temples by taking tunnel tours. In many ways the temples that were covered up with new construction are in better shape because they have been covered the last 15 centuries instead of being weathered and broken down with tree roots. In the same area is a bird refuge named Macaw Mountain. Since our dog sitter had previously donated two birds to the refuge, we simply couldn't pass up the opportunity. Seen here is Pam with a Macaw eating a button off her shirt.

More Mayan Ruins at Tikal

After returning from Honduras, we made another ruins trip, this time to Tikal in NE Guatemala. I think Tikal has the steepest temples and they were the steepest I care to climb. we were there on a day that was absolutely clear and the views from the top of the temples was amazing.

The Boatyard and Leaving the Rio Dulce for the Winter

After this trip, our next trip was up the river to the boat yard to have our boat hauled and the bottom repainted. It's a marine railway, with big boat carriers traveling up inclined railways made from old railroad rails. We ended up staying in the yard for about 8 days. The crew working on our boat found the poor repairs that had been done years previously that had allowed water to seep into our aft 'sealed' flotation compartments. In the picture here you can see most of the fiberglass cut away from our port skeg. While we were in the boat yard, I replaced the impellers in our motors that provide the cooling water. During the process:

• A bolt broke while one of the boat yard workers was taking the old pump apart for me.
  
• I figured that 3 bolts were good enough on an impeller housing, so I put it back together with three
• In the process of putting the lower end back on, we didn't get the motor's water pipe lined up with the pump and didn't realize it, being too much of a moron to test the motors in the yard with a garden hose attached.

So all went along until all the repairs to the fiberglass were finished, we were painted and had our bill paid and they put us in the water. The port engine wouldn't pump water and so we had to be hauled out again, whereupon:

• We took the lower end to a machinist's to try to get the broken bolt out.
• At the machinist's, we ruined the old seals without getting the bolt out.
• I decided that I'd probably have to get a new motor, so I had them put us back in with the lower end missing from my port engine.
• Some friends heard of our plight and pointed us to an outboard shop in town who took it all apart and repaired it for about $60 US.
• We then had to haul our outboard out of it's well while in the water to attach the repaired lower end. A grueling day's work.

At last, we headed down the Rio Dulce, the repaired motor began to put up an awful squeal. At wit's end, I turned it off, thinking I'd try to get it looked into in Belize. After a couple of days of putting around on one motor, I checked the lower end oil for water and found none, so we started it up again and it's been working fine since. I guess a seal needed a little time to wear in.

We've been cruising Southern Belize for two weeks now and are anchored off the little town of Placencia for Christmas. We just got in yesterday just in time to go to the little community center for the children's Christmas program. Pretty much like any kid's Christmas program, but noisier and with a lot more jumping around and more chaos. It was delightful. We haven't had time for pictures yet here. More later.

Best wishes to all of you
Pami and Richard