6 March 2010
That is except for the anenometer which has an internal fault. When David went aloft he could not find anything amiss so after an email to B&G we have a new printed circuit board being sent to Cowes which Suzana will bring out to us in Pappete, Tahiti. We suspect lightning damage. Until then we will manage by the traditional method of putting a wet finger to the wind. No, it is not quite as crude as that. David has attached tell tails to the mizzen shrouds, low down enough so that we can see them at night without having to lean out of the cockpit. We also have a hand held anemometer to read the wind speed. This morning David changed the generator oil and cleaned the engine water filter. On checking the generator he found that an impeller needed replacing. The manual says to change it every 500hours but our experience is that they are lasting no more than 200. We made a last trip to the Mercado Municipal. I could not resist buying another pile of passion fruit. I have discovered that if I scoop out the pulp and store it in an airtight container it will keep for weeks in the freezer, very many days in the fridge. The papayas are in season too and we love to have a half one each for breakfast, drizzled with fresh lime juice and the centre filled with passion fruit. It is simply delicious. We made a final visit to the internet cafe to download some weather. The winds are looking good for our departure, south easterlies 10 to 15knots. So with predicted beam winds we thought we would dig the mizzen ballooner out of the depths of the cockpit locker before lethargy sets in as in inevitably does once we are up and running. It was quite our favourite sail on Stella but have yet to fly it aboard Voyageur so she is in for a great big treat! It is also wonderful to show off a little, flying all four sails at once!
Adios Amigos
Everybody is more than ready to leave. For those who did not take a long cruise around the islands it must seem like a very long time indeed. Our impressions of Puerto Ayora this second time around were not good. It seemed more "down at heel" than we remembered. Tourism has obviously been affected by the world recession. Tonight we met up with Rodrigo, our tour guide, in a local restaurant. He told us that he does not have another group until the 20th March. Fragata, our tour boat sits here in the anchorage "out of service". Once more..... David and I have "done our bit" along with many others on the rally for the local economy. We attended "Happy Hour" every day in the Rock Cafe which served as rally HQ during our time here. We took the five day tour, now far too expensive at US $1800 a head. We bought t -shirts, presents, souvenirs, ate dinner ashore every night. The town seemed twice as busy as on our previous visit but not with tourists, rather locals. Internet cafes have sprung up all over the place, a sign of the times, but the supermarket was just as grim. It had not improved one iota in four years. The people however were still very friendly and welcoming. So now we put away our Spanish phrase books and pick up the French. French Polynesia, our next landfall is a whole different "kettle of fish"!
Susan Mackay