Monday, October 31, 2011

Saturday ~ Sunday - Moving and Cocoa's Birthday Party

Pictures added for yesterday.

Saturday was moving day so I got Beth up early and we checked out of the resort and the marina.

Unfortunately it was windy in the aftermath of Rina and it was blowing directly across the boat.  As we untied the dock lines, the boat was immediately pushed to port and up against the sturdy pylons that were protecting us during the storm.  One of the dock line was being particularly difficult to release and one of the guys from another catamaran was in his dinghy and helped us free it.  Once that was clear we motored away and back through the channel to El Milagro.  We were actually the third to return to the marina and with the wind, docking was a challenge.  I miscalculated the turn into the slip and went wide so a few corrections were necessary but the staff at El Milagro were on hand to grab the dock lines and pull us into proper position.  As I was securing the stern lines, Beth was attempting to hand Cocoa to Julio and missteped and fell into the water between the boat and the dock.  Cocoa was safely on the dock but Beth bounced off the dock on her way down.  Eric, Julio and the others quickly pulled Beth up and onto the dock.  She was soaked but apparently OK.  The rest of the day was spent relaxing and organizing the boat.  I pulled the dinghy out and cleaned it, re-inflated it and put it back in the water. Shortly afterwards, it began to rain which continued throughout the night.  About 7pm, Beth and I went to town to pick up another Birthday cake for Julio who's birthday was today.  We decided we would share Cocoa's birthday with him tomorrow.  Beth went to sleep early and I followed about 11.

Sunday Beth was feeling the pain of her unintentional swim on Saturday.  Her left wrist was bruised as well as her right side at the hip.  I spent part of the morning draining the dinghy which had collected about 5 inches of rain water and hanging it back on the boat. She spent the majority of the day relaxing on the boat while J, Jerr, Chris, Gabe, and I helped pulling other boats back to the dock.  We started with Mahalo Nui.  We borrowed Julio's boat to motor to her dock and J and Chris motored her back while Jerr and I stayed about Julio's boat.  The docking of Mahalo Nui was almost as interesting as when we docked but overall uneventful.  We took Julio's boat back and went to get one of the boats Gabe keeps an eye on.  This one would have to be towed as it has no working motor.  It was stuck well in the mangroves and the mud.  It took a good bit of pulling to get it out and under way.  The dock space we put it was a bit too shallow so its barely off the bottom and will have to be moved tomorrow.
Then it was time for Cocoa's 10th birthday party.
Everyone came out, including "Fish" which is Bill's bird and of course Sally.















Friday, October 28, 2011

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Friday 10/28 - aftermath of Rina

Well the major effects of Hurricane / Tropical Storm Rina began last night near midnight.  The wind and rain were pretty bad.  It only lasted a few hours then it was just wind.  The power went our just after 11pm and was restored by 8am.  The resort has standby power so we were only without power for a short while.  There is some debris from the palm trees laying around, numerous puddles but overall, it isn't bad.  J dropped by early on the way to check his boat and I went down to check Second Chance.  She was right where I left her with everything intact.  It appears we all weathered the storm without any issues.  Right now the weather is partly cloudy and a gentle breeze.  We may still have some wind and rain on the way but nothing like last night.




The day so far has been just partly cloudy with a nice breeze.  The marina has been very busy as the exodus occurs.  We decided to leave tomorrow and spend the day getting the sail back on and packing up so we are actually ready to leave in the morning.  The resort staff is busy cleaning up all the palm fronds and other debris from the property.  I am sure by tomorrow it will be hard to tell anything happened.

We did suffer a bit of damage from the storm.  The starboard flag halyard broke and took at least 10 minutes to fix.  Everything else is perfect.

Beth was getting things ready to depart in the morning as well as checking Catie and Cocoa's costumes.

She did find a little time to enjoy being in the room with a huge bathtub

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Thursday - Rina Approaches

I will be updating this page throughout the day so stay tuned.

8am CDT  Up early and checked the weather.  Rina has already lost some steam and is teetering on the edge of a tropical storm and a category 1 hurricane.  Its track continues to be northwest which will take it further inland and strip it of even more power.  They are forecasting it to be a tropical storm by the time it gets to us.  The current weather is a light sprinkle and just barely a breeze.

The really big news is that J and Jerr's insurance company has finally made a decision.  They have decided that "Mahalo Nui" is a total constructive loss.  This is sad but good news.  J and Jerr are just submitting the final documents in order to get paid.  They will have to decide to purchase a new boat somewhere here or head back to the states and look there.

With the storm, day of the dead may not be much of a celebration around here.  We can hopefully have Cocoa's 10th birthday party with everyone at El Milagro as we prepare for our departure.  We hope to be underway by November 3.

 10am CDT.  Rina has officially been downgraded to a tropical storm.  When it finally arrives at Isla it won't be much more than we had last week which was a couple of days of wind and rain.  The projected path has it hanging around for days which will just be annoying.  I went down to check on the boat while it was just sprinkling and about 1/2 way there it started pouring.  The boat is in good shape, just sitting there waiting to go somewhere.

The 4pm cdt report shows Rina diminishing even quicker.  It is a tropical storm and finally turned north. The weather here really hasn't changed, off and on again showers with a slight breeze.  We are just hanging out around the resort playing cards and watching TV.  There isn't much to do since most of the town is closed down.  




We met up with J around 6pm and went into town.  I have never seen it so deserted.  Fortunately one of our favorite restaurants was open, Don Chepo's.  We were the only customers and they were happy to see us. The food was good as always.  We hit the 7-11 and headed back to the resort.  The current weather is a light sprinkle and light breezes.  We have settled in for the night and all is well.


Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Wednesday 10/26/2011 The Calm before the storm.

I was up at 5am and checked the weather on the computer, no major changes there.  I went outside and could see stars with just a few clouds and then went back to bed.  The morning was sunny and very nice.  I took a few pics around the property.




Around 10am, the dockmaster called and wanted me to move the boat to another slip.  There were three sailboats next to each other and one of the owners was overly concerned that should the wind and waves start pitching the boat that the masts could hit and create a bigger issue.  While that scenerio was unlikely, it did make sense so I agreed and headed down to move the boat while Beth took a bath.  The dockmaster had about 5 guys to help so it was nice and easy.  The wind was minimal and I was able to back it out of the slip and into the new one without any problem.  The guys retied all the dock lines and even added a few more so Second Chance is really well secured.  About the time we were all finished, a shower popped up but only lasted about 15 minutes.  Beth headed into town to order the cake for Cocoa Birthday party which is now Sunday evening, weather permitting.  Checking the latest weather, the storm has actually been downgraded to a Category 1 hurricane and is expected to weaken further before it gets to us.  It should only be tropical storm strength by the time it gets here in the early morning hours ( 1 am ) Friday morning.  We are constantly watching the reports and as long as power and the internet stay on, we will have information.   The 7pm report is keeping its forecast track to the west of us which is very good as well as being a tropical storm when it hits.

So for the most part, we are relaxing in a very nice resort in paradise.  Due to the storm the resturant is closed so we might have to order delivery again.  The good news is that Beth and I both are both better so at least we won't be facing the storm sick.  We will keep you posted as things develop.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Tuesday - Preparation for the storm

The wind had died down overnight and it was a calm sunny morning.  One look at the weather and a different story was on the horizon.

 
Our reservation was in danger of being lost because of the impending hurricane.  I got Beth up and within 1/2 hour we were motoring to the Isla Mujeres Yacht Club & Resort.  We apparently took one of the last available slots as the people that followed us in didn't have a spot.  We are positioned between two large boats on a floating dock.  We spent most of the morning securing the boat, adding dock lines, taking the main sail off the boat, stowing the dinghy and doing our best to make sure the boat would stay put. The entire area was busier than I had ever seen it with boats coming here from Puerto Morelos and Cancun to hide in the hurricane hole.  The weather today was breezy with off and on rain but not bad.  Tomorrow will be worse.





She is tied with 2 lines off each corner, 1 off each side and two off the main forward anchor cleat. All the covers are off so they can't blow away and everything is closed and double checked.  Now we just wait and hope for the best.  Beth and I got settled into our room which is very nice, king size bed, big bath tub, nice flat screen tv with cable.  The resort has backup power so hopefully we will have power through the storm.  We made a trip to the store to get essentials for the room and moved a lot off the boat so we would have supplies.  The 5pm weather report was a bit worse, it looks like they are predicting a Category 3 hurricane by the time it gets here.

The wind and rain will start tomorrow and we will make several trips to the boat to recheck everything and those around us.  One of the biggest dangers is someone else breaking loose and hitting your boat.  We are protected by 3 sides by dock and boats that can't hit us.  Our stern is slightly exposed but not too bad.  We enjoyed being in the resort and ordered our Pizza Rock 2 for 1 Tuesday pizza for dinner.

The late forecast hasn't changed much and most of the computer models are starting to agree.  I don't like the idea of it hitting in the evening.  Now its just a wait and see.  This storm is huge !


Monday, October 24, 2011

Sunday ~ Monday

Sunday was a good lazy day.  I got the new fuel filters installed and hung around the marina working with Eric, Jamie and Julio on the construction of a concrete umbrella.  Not sure how sound building an umbrella out of concrete is yet but that will be checked out on Monday when the concrete guys come back.  All we did was build a mold.  Beth slept most of the day which is good.  When she got up she was feeling a bit better and we went into town for a late lunch/early supper.  We tried a new place and the food was pretty good.  I think we have tried about everywhere on the island now.  Our intentions were to work on getting the boat ready for its next trip but the ice maker quit working so I worked on that but couldn't find the issue.  Will play with that more tomorrow.  We relaxed watching TV until bedtime.

Monday.  Our friends down in Rio Dulce shot us an email that alerted us to a storm heading this way.  Right now its just a tropical storm but forecasts have it turning into a hurricane and heading right for us.

 I headed to the grocery store to get food for the boat.  I guess its a leftover habit from living in those areas that get snow.  Snow in the forecast run to the store and buy bread and milk.  Either way, we needed stuff on the boat.  Currently the plan is to wait an see what tomorrow holds.  We have a reservation at the yacht club which is in the hurricane hole ( a protected lagoon ) at the Isla Yacht Club as well as a hotel room for Friday night just in case.  The forecast actually got worse later in the day.

 Now it appears to be aiming for a direct hit on Isla Mujeres.  If that happens I suppose the officials will order everyone off the Island and to Cancun to ride out the storm.  Right now, we just wait and see.  J and Jerr got all their stuff off their boat and our boat and are going to try to get their boat hauled out for the storm.  Still no word from the insurance company.

As for the storm, there are at least 5 computer models of where it could go.  2 scenarios have it cutting across the Yucatan peninsula and missing us completely, 2 have it missing us to the east and of course, the one above.


Beth cooked dinner, we watched TV, listened to the wind outside, did the dishes and waited for the next forecast.  It didn't improve.


There are still numerous models that have it going in different directions and only time will tell.  As it stands at the moment, we will be taking the boat to the Yacht Club either late tomorrow or early Wednesday as a safety precaution ( $45 per night ) .  The associated resort has a room, which we can bring the babies, for $50 per night as it is the low season.  Keep your fingers crossed for us and we will keep you posted.



Saturday, October 22, 2011

Thursday ~ Saturday

Thursday:  Beth was about as sick as she can get before allowing me to take her to the doctor.  Fortunately for her she did start showing signs of improvement as the day went on.  I left her on the boat to rest and get better but there wasn't really much going on. Still no word from the insurance company.  Somehow, one of the bikes went missing from the dock.  After a bit of searching it was on the bottom just in front of the boat.  Its unlikely it was blown in as the wind was less intense than the previous days.  Regardless, J, Jamie and the staff helped me rescue it and rinse it off.  Later that afternoon, it had a flat tire.

Friday:  J and I went into town to see if we cold get a new tube for the bicycle.  Fortunately, we found a comparable tube and new bike seats too.  We grabbed some burgers and took them back to Beth.  She was feeling a bit better and was actually hungry.  Still nothing from the insurance company other than we should have a decision soon.  ARRRG.  I started on the bicycles and got the seats replaced but the tire took a little longer than it should have so darkness came before I finished.

Saturday.  I finished the bikes and headed off to Cancun to pick up some parts for the boat and possibly some things we can't find on the island.  What should have been a couple of hours of shopping took most of the day but I did get the boat parts.  The knee was pretty sore by the time I got on the ferry back to Isla. When I got back, Eric the owner of El Milagro, was having a little party and everyone was in a festive mood.  The parties at El Milagro are always good parties and generally there is one every couple of weeks.  They will be hosting Cocoa's birthday party next Saturday.  Beth and I snacked on some of the provided goodies and headed back to the boat.  Beth had cleaned up the boat some and made spaghetti sauce for a nice spaghetti dinner.  A very good indication that she is feeling much better.  We decided it was time to start getting things organized for departure.  We want to stay here to check out the Día de los Muertos here on Isla.  Its more of a week celebration than just a day.  It ends on November 2.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Monday ~ Wednesday

Monday was another exciting day. Not !
The majority of the storm had passed over us in the night so the morning was much calmer, not raining but still overcast.  Jamie and Julio had enlisted the aid of another fishing boat around 7 am and helped get Bill and Ryan, the father and son sailing up from Panama, get out of the mud and mangroves.  They successfully pulled them free around 10 am and by 11 they were safely tied up to the dock.  Still no word from Mahalo Nui's insurance company.  Around 1pm .J, Jerr, Gabe, and I decided to take Julio's boat out to Isla Contoy to see how Gabe's boat had weathered the storm.  It is about a 45 min ride to Isla Contoy in Julio's boat.  We had a problem locating the boat even though it hadn't moved.  The waves were much higher than when we were here last and had completely buried the boat in the sand.  The mast was off and we eventually saw that the boat had broken apart and was almost completely submerged in sand.  There wasn't anything left to rescue so we returned back to the dock.  Beth was feeling worse so we stayed in the rest of the day.  I began feeling better so hopefully the worst part of my cold is over.

Tuesday  Still nothing from the insurance company.  They email and say they expect a decision that day but they don't actually do anything. Very Frustrating !!  Beth was feeling worse so we left her on the boat to rest.  The back wheel on one of the bicycles lost its bearings and J and Jerr remembered seeing a bike shop in town so we headed into town to get new parts.  We found the bike shop easily and the parts were a total $2.  Since that didn't take any time at all, we wandered around town for a little while and when it started raining, we ducked into a cafe and had lunch.  Once the rain stopped we headed to pick up some flavored water for Beth, checked on our UltraMar passes and headed back to the marina.  I fixed the bike and tested it out so they are all ready to go again.  We ordered Pizza Rock's two for Tuesday for dinner.  Still the best on the island and at a two for one price, can't be beat. The storm has moved on but the wind remains.  It has switched to coming from the south and we were getting a pretty rough ride at the dock.  It was actually rougher with the wind from the south than the entire storm.  While walking the dogs for the last time of the day, I noticed a guy at the next marina struggling with a boat that had broken free in the wind.  I went over to offer assistance and once that was done, I stepped off the dock and into a hole twisting my right ankle and going down hard on my left knee.  The pain was excruciating and the dogs were no help at all.  Being 11pm or so, there wasn't anyone to help.  After laying on the beach for a few minutes, I hobbled back to the boat with the dogs.  The knee was already swelling but the ankle seemed ok.  I rinsed all the sand off in the shower and we headed to bed.

Wednesday:  The winds were worse and the boat was really getting rocked.  J and Jerr had left for Cancun early.  A couple of the guys on the dock helped us reposition the boat and dock lines so it wouldn't rock so badly.  My ankle was ok but the knee was a source of constant pain and the cane came out of hiding. J and Jerr returned from Cancun about mid afternoon, still not having heard anything from the insurance company.  A mutual friend of ours in Rio Dulce found a boat they may want to look into should the insurance company actually total theirs.  Beth wasn't feeling much better so we were pretty much vegetables all day in front of the TV.

Monday, October 17, 2011

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Sunday, October 16, 2011

Saturday ~ Sunday 10/15-16/11

Saturday started out very windy and rainy and stayed that way most of the day with a few breaks.  Beth and I are still sick so we were not planning on doing much.  During one of the breaks I headed to town to resupply Beth with her flavored water and pick up something for dinner.  I got chicken breasts, hamburger and ham ( or at least what passes for ham here ) to give Beth a choice for dinner.  She chose chicken quesadillas which were pretty good.  Afterwards I cleaned up and settled in for the night with the sounds of the storm outside.

Sunday:  An uneventful evening but tropical storm winds and rain all night.  Got up around 4am to check the dock lines and make sure everything was ok.  Awakened again around 8am when we heard a call for HELP on the dock.  It was J as Mahalo Nui had broken a dock line.  While there wasn't any immediate danger we all got up and reattached a new dock line while I added a few to Second Chance.  One of the guys from another boat, "Adventure", who had come in from Panama earlier in the week was on the dock and they had dragged anchor during the night and their boat was stuck in the sand/mud right up against the mangroves.  The wind was howling, pouring rain and pretty intense waves.  Jamie, Julio, J and I got on Julio's boat to go and help, hopefully pulling them free and to the marina.  Julio's boat is a small powerboat, completely open, with a 60 hp motor. Unfortunately its 60hp motor is only good for about 30hp and with the 4 of us onboard, it wasn't much.  We motored over and got a line on the Adventure but with the wind and waves, we couldn't budge her.  While we were trying we managed to get caught in the mangroves and J and Jamie got out of the boat and pushed us out. That was the end of the rescue attempt.  We didn't have enough boat to pull her free and the weather was bad.
We returned to the dock and battened down and settled in for the day as it was forecast to be nasty all day as the makings of a tropical storm was sitting on top of us.  As Beth and I are still sick, we stayed in most of the day except to take the dogs out and watched tv most of the day.  I cooked a roast which was pretty good but nowhere as good as the ones I used to make.  The good news of the day is that with all the rain the boat doesn't leak. 

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Monday ~ Friday

Monday Eagerly awaiting to hear from the insurance company on Mahalo Nui but only got a message that the insurance company was considering it a total loss and they would let us know in a few days.  A month has passed and they still don't have a final decision, gotta love insurance companies.  Reminds me of dealing with them when the house burned down.  We hung out around the marina, chatted with the new people that arrived but overall, we are just twiddling our thumbs and wasting time.

Tuesday  Today was another warm day.  I headed to town early to do a little shopping. This is the slow season and lots of the shops are closed.  I got back around noon but it was too hot to do much outside so we just chilled on the boat in the AC.

Wednesday:  J and Jerr still have heard nothing so they continue looking online for a new boat in the event the insurance company totals their boat.  We are all considering a road trip down to Rio Dulce to go boat shopping if they find one they like there.  Beth was feeling a bit better today and went into town.  She enjoyed a massage on the beach thinking it might help her back.

While Beth was in town, J and I took Second Chance to the fuel dock and repositioned her on the dock to minimize wakes from passing boats.  It takes up two slips this way but Jamie was ok with it as long as he knew he could move it if space was needed.
My cold is progressing the way colds do, I am feeling a bit better, maybe just a couple of more days and I will be fine.  Overall things remain quite boring. No fish around the marina.


Thursday Started off rainy which ended around noon and remained overcast all day.  No word from the insurance company and not much else to do.  J, Jerr and I went into town to rent a few videos and pick up a few things at the grocery store.  One of the guys on the dock has an additional boat that apparently broke free of its anchorage during the night and it wound up about 12 miles away on a beach north of Cancun.  Jamie and Julio went with him but failed in their rescue attempt.  I volunteered J and myself to rescue the boat tomorrow since we have such vast experience.  Jamie is going to arrange a pump as the boat is awash and no one is going to get it off the beach while its full of water.  Eric, the owner of El Milagro wants me to try to get his network working as well as the security cameras.  Its not too hard and it will give me something to do.
Beth is feeling pretty bad as her cold is at its worse.  My cold is starting to subside but we both feel miserable. My knee isn't swollen but I am feeling some pain while walking.  I think rest is the best thing for it and as I have time, rest is easy. Its fighting the boredom that takes work.


Friday:  Started out overcast and then proceeded into sporadic downpours.  The forecast doesn't look good for the day as we are sitting under a low pressure that may hang around for a couple of days. Beth was fully sick and needed to just rest.  We were watching a movie when around 11am J came down to the boat to get me as he was preparing to go rescue a boat.  It was J, Jerr, Gobi ( the boats owner ) and myself in Julio's boat.  Jamie and Julio had gotten us a pump so we loaded up the boat and we were off.  First stop the gas station to fill the 3 gas cans. 2 for the boat and one for the pump.  We then headed north to Isla Contoy where the boat had beached herself.  It is about a 27 ft monohull sailboat with a swing keel.  She was sitting upright in about 2 feet of water but the waves were breaking over her port side and had broken out the two windows in the cabin and she was full of water.  While approaching the boat, a wave caught us and pushed us onto the beach and swamped our "rescue" boat.  We were able to get it out of the waves and onto the beach without too much difficulty.  We started the pump to empty the rescue boat but couldn't get it primed so we wound up just bailing it out.  Our attention turned to the beached sailboat and how to get it emptied of water and unstuck. 
The rain had pretty much stopped but the forecast wasn't good.  We were sitting under what will probably become the next tropical depression and it wasn't moving much.  The wind was pushing the waves into the boat.  We attempted to attach a tarp from the boom to the lifelines to keep the waves from crashing into the boat.  This was somewhat successful as it slowed the ingress of water down but didn't stop it.  We put the pump on the upper deck of the boat and got it started but after trying for an hour, we couldn't get it to actually pump.  This was the same type of pump we used on Mahalo Nui so we knew what we were doing but just couldn't get it working.  Gobi rescued some of the stuff in the boat and we loaded it into our rescue boat.  There was no way we were getting this boat off the beach without getting the water out.  We all pushed the rescue boat back into the waves from the beach and began heading back to the marina.  The ride was rough with waves in the 2 to 4 ft range and an overloaded and underpowered boat.  Each wave sent water over the rail soaking us further and filling the boat with water.  Gobi kept bailing as we made the 5 mile trek back to Isla Mujeres.  We arrived soaked to the bone but safe and sound.  Jamie, Julio and the rest of the people on the dock were surprised to see us back without the other boat. 
We all got cleaned up and J and Jerr cooked up some chicken quesadillas.
I worked on the wireless for Jamie and when it began raining again, I called it a day.

Monday, October 10, 2011

Saturday ~ Sunday 10/8~9/2011

Saturday: Beth was up early to keep her nail appointment and didn't come back to the boat until about 2pm.  I used the time to update the blog, website and post pictures from September in the photo album.  While the internet here is quicker than most places we have stayed, it still takes alot of time to do that.  I also watched a good bit of TV and just generally relaxed.  I didn't get any work done on the boat but did come up with a plan of how to do a few things to further improve life on the boat.  As we will be here until early November I have time to take care of those chores.  Beth's back is bothering her again and she may seek a chiropractor on Monday.

Sunday:  I was up early and Beth was having a sleep in.  I took a stroll from the marina into town and walked the north point beach from centro all the way around to the public access beach.  Apparently Sunday is a good day for the locals to come out and play on the beach.  Nothing really going on but it killed a few hours.  When I got back to the boat, Beth was up and still feeling pretty bad.  She decided it wasn't a chiropractor issue so she took a muscle relaxer and was out for a good part of the afternoon.  She did wake up and prepare a nice meal for the dogs and I but didn't have much herself.  Hopefully we will hear from the insurance company on J&Jerr's boat tomorrow.

Friday, October 7, 2011

Monday ~ Friday

Monday was another relatively relaxing day.  There isn't anything to do on Mahalo Nui until we hear from the insurance company so I went on a bike ride and looked around the island. Beth decided it was the day to trim the babies and somehow I got roped into holding Catie.

J and Jerr looked at boats online in the event theirs is totaled.  We made an appointment for the babies at the vet for tomorrow.  For dinner we all headed into centro Isla and wasn't impressed. We took Hija (pronounced Eha), a dog J and Jerr were babysitting from Puerto Aventuras, as it would be our last night with her.
Hija and Sally

Hija enjoyed table service and even found a friend to play with.  Catie and Cocoa haven't really warmed to having another dog on the boat so I don't think they will miss her.We have learned that the locals get a much better rate on the cabs and ferry's so we will talk to Jamie tomorrow to get an ID card.
The sunset Monday evening

Tuesday started out kinda stormy and it proceeded to rain all day.  I checked out the inverter on Second Chance but didn't find an obvious issue so I contacted the company for advice.  I also cleaned the air conditioner but managed to kill the shop vac so thats on the shopping list for our next trip to Cancun.  Still no word from the insurance company.  Beth and I took the babies to Dr. Delphino and he remembered seeing the dogs before.  He wants us to bring a poop sample tomorrow just to make sure everything is good.  We ordered pizza delivery as it was still raining and chilled on the boat.

Wednesday:   Everyone was up early as the babies got everyone up.  I was headed into Cancun to do some shopping for things for the boat. J and Jerr were looking into an apartment nearby and Beth had to follow up with the vet.  Still nothing from the insurance company on what to do with Mahalo Nui.  I left about 9am and after the taxi, ferry, buses, taxi and ferry ride back, I returned around 3:30pm.  I managed to get about 1/2 my list purchased.  Beth returned from the vet and errands around town about 5.  While the vet didn't find anything definitive, he prescribed a pill for them.  J and Jerr were successful in locating an apartment right here at Milagro Marina so they are close by.  We relaxed watching the latest episode of Fringe.

Thursday:  Still no word from the insurance company.  We all headed into downtown Isla for a late lunch.  We dined at Rolandi's Italian place.  The food is a little expensive but very good.  We watched the locals for awhile and got even more bored.  We headed back to the marina, chatted with other sailors on the dock, exchanged a few stories and then Beth prepared a nice BBQ chicken and we all enjoyed it.  Afterwords we just relaxed.

Friday:  Another day without hearing from the insurance company and Jerr is getting pissy.  J and Jerr went into town while I worked on a few things around the boat.  Beth went into town in the afternoon to do some grocery shopping and make a nail appointment for tomorrow.  At least I got something constructive done today and may do a bit more tomorrow.  The weather here is much nicer than the last time we were here, it isn't as hot and we get a nice afternoon shower each day.  The only problem with being on Isla is that we have pretty much done everything there is to do here so we get bored easily.  Beth made a nice Beef/Pasta dish for dinner and we relaxed further by watching a couple of DVD's

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Second Chance
Latitude:21.24356
Longitude:-86.74097
GPS location Date/Time:10/07/2011 21:10:39 EDT

Message:Living the dream !
All is well.

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Second Chance

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Monday, October 3, 2011

Sunday

Sunday was a nice relaxing day, just like its supposed to be.  We heard from Brenda and Leon and their trip back was safe and they are back in Ellijay. There isn't anything we can do on Mahalo Nui until we hear from the insurance company, tomorrow, Tuesday, or in a week.  The little projects on Second Chance are minor tasks so no real hurry to complete those.  On the dock is a couple from Australia who recently purchased their boat in Punta Gorda, FL and are in the year long process of sailing it to Australia.  It is not a trip I would envy but they seem well prepared and have a good boat for the trip.  He is having problems with his autopilot so J and I have added our 2 cents worth which hasn't helped the issue but we all traded stories. I took a ride into town and picked up some groceries to make chicken tetrazzini for dinner.  I spent a good part of the afternoon cooking and everyone seemed to enjoy it as it disappeared quickly. We all relaxed with one of the new DVD's that Brenda brought us and did alot of nothing.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Friday - In Cancun with Brenda and Leon

Ah, Waking up in a fantastic resort with central air.  Very nice but honestly, I miss the boat and the babies.
Brenda, Leon and I chatted for a few hours before they had to leave and Beth slept until about 11am. Beth and I roamed around the resort and had a nice lunch.  Brenda and Leon returned around 3pm and we hung out in the lovely air conditioning for the afternoon.  We heard from J and Jerr and the insurance guy met them and it is still unclear what they are going to do but the insurance guy did say to expect a decision by Tuesday.  Apparently the power was cut off around 8 am to the section of Isla Mujeres where we have the boat docked and J and Jerr tried to keep cool and keep the babies cool.  The power didn't come back on until 11pm.  Neither of us thought about the fridge so we lost a few things.  Meanwhile, Leon, Brenda, Beth and I were out on the town for their last night.  We took them to the "strip/Vegas" section of Cancun and went to dinner at Caminero's for their best meal thus far. 
Us with the whole Caminero's crew
Brenda enjoyed taking pictures of everything and was such an obvious tourist it was almost embarrassing.  We thought about hitting a club but it was already 11 so we headed back to the resort.