lima and barranco on june 17

on June 17 we were lucky enough to get a personal tour of downtown Lima from Susy, Yoya and Luis, friends of a friend.  there's nothing like getting picked up and driven through crowded streets and escorted into amazingly old buildings of architectural grandure.  and they speak really good English matched against our toddler Spanish.  but that's not all.  we were wisked away to their home for a delicious Peruvian meal including chicha morada (purple corn drink), maiz blanco (corn-nut sized kernel corn), papas ala huancaina with ocopa sauce (potatoes with sauce) and rice.  I know there was some kind of meat for Jim but of course I didn't notice that.

After lunch we drove through Barranco which is an artsy little town.  we stumbled into a taller de madera (woodworker) who was carving boxes and restoring old wood furniture.  after a brief walk, and some spontaneous dancing (not Jim, of course), we headed back to the boat.

grandma just happened to be passing by and couldn't resist the music, nor could Luis

la biblioteca

view in Barranco

artist's loft in Barranco

mask made of gold from the museo in Banco Central de Reserva del Peru

inside la catedral

the choir in la catedral - made of cedar

exposed exterior of a really old building adjacent to the parking lot

settling in at la punta, peru

we've been in La Punta, Peru for two weeks now, moored at the Yacht Club Peruano.  On May 28 at about 5pm the travel lift in La Libertad, Ecuador dropped us back into the water and we immediately sailed over to Salinas about an hour away.  We hadn't slept on the boat for a month.  We wanted to have an early evening getting ready for our departure Saturday morning at first light.  We were up at 4:30am so Jim could mount the boards against the stancions that would hold our extra fuel jugs.  We headed out by 6:30am into rough water and a strong wind.  Good thing I'd made soup the night before as that's all we could manage to eat the first couple days while we regained our sea legs.  It took us 8 days to beat (zigzag) our way south to Callao, mostly sailing, against 15-25 knot winds. 

The greatest challenges were avoiding the fishermen and fighting the Humbolt current and headwinds.  Five days out we saw another sailboat and made radio contact with Edi and Michael on Sequitor. 

Our routine consisted of Jim trying to sleep during the day with occasional sail adjustments and i slept from about 10pm to 4am.  Once we were inside the Peruvian border which extends 200 miles offshore, Jim had to check-in at 8am and 8pm - a complex and annoying process of emailing from the Sat phone ($$$$).  Once we were 20 miles out of Callao we had to check-in at 5 mile intervals waiting for them to make radio contact with us (which didn't happen).  This can be a big deal if you can't document your efforts as they can charge you with a substantial fine or send you back 200 miles out to do it right!  Our approach to La Punta was confusing with poor visibility at 6am.  We were shown to a mooring and soon boarded by an agent and 2 health inspectors.  We were officially checked into Peru and $900 poorer.

Since we've been here in La Punta we've learned how to bird proof the boat, get purified water onto the boat, buy an internet stick for the computer, feed ourselves from local eateries, and shop for food and dvds.  We owe a huge thank you to the following people who have made our time here go more smoothly.  Bev from The Lady J showed us how to negotiate the bus system.  Frano (executive chef at the yacht club restaurant) has introduced us to amazing Peruvian food.  Gonzalo (Seven Seas Sailing Assoc. representative) has extended himself personally and professionally introducing us to the culture and help with customs and resolving so many boat issues.  Susy and her family for escorting us around Lima. 

More reports to come. 

too many pelicans to count fly out in the morning and come back at the end of the day

this area was known for their guano until the invention of artifical fertilizers.  it's an endless chore getting  it off our boat

Jim is up the mast creating a bird diversion on the spreaders - lots of boats do this here.  it was pretty annoying to have the boat covered in bird poo hours after we'd moved it to the dock to hose it down.

Callao/La Punta has a serious rowing club, and we pass it each day as we haul our 10 gallons of purified water back to the boat

a month in ecuador

by the end of today the boat will be back in the water and we'll be heading south to Callao, Peru.  we've spent a month here in La Libertad, Ecuador.  during that time we've had 3 trips to different parts of ecuador: Cuenca, Loja and Parque Nacionale Podocarpus in the south; Bahia de Caraquez on the coast; and Quito, Otavalo, and Cotopaxi in the north.  Jim finally finished with the dentist, the keel has been repaired and Chesapeake has new bottom paint.  Below is just a sampling of our travels around Ecuador.  i'll revisit this in more detail in the near future. 

landscape scene from the bus on the way to Otavalo (Jim shot)

one of the many catedrals in Quito

pre-Columbian ceramic artifact in Quito

Jim has a new look - el es muy guapo

Cotopaxi volcano (Jim shot)

animal market in Otavalo (Jim shot)

Otavalo - woman shopping with her dog

low tide in Bahia de Caraquez

on the beach in Bahia de Caraquez (Jim shot)

coffee on the balcony in Bahia de Caraquez

wildflower in Podocarpus cloud forest

from the bus to Cuenca

landscape from the bus on our way to Loja

one of the many churches in Cuenca

Santuario de la Virgin near Cuenca (Jim shot)

Ingapirca ruins near Cuenca

Cuenca

bus shot on the way to Cuenca

isla Contadora in Las Perlas

our first anchorage in Las Perlas was isla Cantadora.  during the time we were here, we saw several boats we'd anchored near in Playita.  one evening we all gathered on the beach at sunset and it was quite a cultural mix - people from the netherlands, south africa, austria, canada, and australia.  we also had a terrific breakfast at restaurante romantico, a cute series of bungalows and restaurant set back on the beach overlooking the ocean.

the patio was inlaid with shells

we took a walk across the island looking at all the beautiful homes with fabulous views.  Jim decided he could settle down here quite nicely.

it is a working island with it's own airport. 

the mosiac stairs outside a very busy restaurant and hotel

this was ground zero for supplies being carried out to film the reality tv show Survivor

and it was also the beach at the end of the runway where we stood for what left like hours in the hot sun, waiting to get a shot of one of the many planes taking off.  as it turns out, they were all going the other direction.

but i did get to see a flock of pelicans

working harbor

 when we were waiting to check in we had front-row seats to watch the fishing boats come and go

more adjustments

well maybe i have too much time on my hands.  at any rate, i wanted to change the look of the blog and this is my first attempt.  most likely more changes to come.  in the meantime, here are a couple random shots of la libertad.

adjustments in La Libertad, Ecuador

we've been in La Libertad, Ecuador for over a week now. you know the phrase "if you can't say something nice don't say anything at all" and that sort of sums up my feelings about this place. check-in to the country was complicated by the language barrier and a confusing maze of ambiguous rules. we had our first med tie experience (stern into the slip) and thankfully the marina provided ample help. the surge is strong so we're glad we have our cargo straps to prevent us from crashing into the floating dock. the weather is a bit cooler than Panama, overcast and only humid middle of the day. we keep the boat screened in against mosquitoes and gnats. the first week was an adjustment to the area and how expensive things are (this is NOT the inexpensive country the crusing guides reported).

the boat was hauled w/o incident last Friday. I watched with a tight stomach the whole procedure which took about an hour or more. it's like having your house moved with everything in it. Jim has been visiting a local dentist inbetween boat projects and I've been researching where to do some land travel. while the boat is on the hard (on land) we've taken a room outside the marina compound. it has AC, a hotplate and a tiny refrigerator and it's clean. it's also across the street from a mall with a movie theatre and food court. it's no different than any US mall with tweens and teens cruising with hormonal angst, young moms with toddlers and families of all kinds. the only difference is the double cheek kissing between all.

we cabbed over to Salinas (a typical beach town) for a change of scenery last Sunday and cabbed over to the other side of La Libertad for dinner last week. both trips reveal a well-worn low-income industrial area.

boat repairs will include fiberglass work to repair the keel, raising the waterline on the hull and new bottom paint. we're expecting to be done in 3 weeks when we'll go back into the water and immediately head down to Callou, Peru.

we had to wait to be escorted into La Libertad so we could anchor.

this is the fuel dock and the office for the marina. we were anchored in the middle of the entrance to await customs, migracion, pt. captain and health guy. it was a pretty cool location because we could watch the abundance of frigates and pelicans do their thing.

here we are at our first med tie. we opted for the side of the marina that had a dock. about $450/week. ouch. water and electricity are extra.

Chesapeake doesn't do reverse well, especially in surge or wind conditions. fortunately we had a lot of help getting into this bay and into the straps.

one of the four guys handing off the bow line

note the guy on the right fending us off the cement wall

positioning the straps into the places Jim marked on the boat

note the wheels on the left are about 3" from the side of the bay

yard manager George talking with one of the marina guys

carefully placing wooden blocks to balance the keel. I find it amazing that the entire weight of the boat rests on it's keel and is kept in upright position by the braces below.

we just cleaned the bottom in Las Perlas less than 2 weeks ago.

chains are attached to the braces to keep them in place. I still find it hard to believe this will keep the boat balanced.

damage to the keel, most likely from the last rock we hit in Las Perlas (more to come about that in another post)

damage to the front of the keel

damage to the back of the keel

downtown Salinas Sunday afternoon

our resident guard cat who seems to have no problem trusting the braces will hold up the boat

this morning work had already begun on the keel (bow)

these guys work fast. oh, that's not Jim, he's in the cockpit taking the helm apart to check for loose screws.

sign at the fuel dock - just one example of the duel-price system we've discovered.

last evening we watched the pelicans jockey for space on the crane. moments later one of the marina guys came by and flicked them off with a halyard. it took all of maybe 5 minutes before they were back up there. it's one of our favorite pasttimes, watching these guys plop into the water. there's also an interesting phenomena with these guys. just after a pelican has dived into the water he pops back up like a cork and there are 1-2 small white birds who join him, often landing on the pelican's head or neck. they're too fast to photograph so far.