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.