Boat parts finally arrived.

October 20, 2006   Friday

Puerto La Cruz, VZ

Our boat parts arrived very late Monday afternoon – both shipments within 15 minutes.  After many, many faxes, emails and telephone calls.  The duty on the watermaker end caps was $185 USD!  So, our total cost including shipping and duty was about $1200 USD for only four silicone end caps with “O” rings, and extra set of “O” rings,  a one-inch long bobbin and “O” rings to connect the two membrane tubes, and a single dose of pickling powder.  A little expensive for such simple items!  But, of course, no alternative.

We installed the new watermaker parts early Tuesday morning before it got too hot.  Only took us 2 ½ hours this time; whereas, it took us about 6 hours to replace the membranes last time.  Any task is easier the second time around.  Bill also installed the new oil sending unit on the Yanmar engine; took about 20 minutes for that simple job.
Won’t know for certain that this fixed the high oil pressure gauge readings until we get out of the marina to test the engine at high revs.

So one would think we are now ready to go – but, nope.  Bill wants the Onan generator checked out before we leave here.  There is an Onan distributor/service center located here.  We have been trying to get him here since last Friday.  Each day we are told that he will come out the following day; he finally arrived about 10 this morning. 

The generator has been somewhat difficult to start since we first looked at this boat in St. Martin way back in March 2005.  Sometimes it starts the first time you push the button; sometimes it doesn’t and you have to try several times before it finally starts.  It only starts on the first attempt about once every three times.  As luck would have it, the generator started perfectly every time that the rep was here.  He spoke no English; we speak only “un poquito” Spanish.  Bill is afraid that the circuit board might be failing; Judy thought that this guy would not be capable of diagnosing an impending circuit board failure.  He didn’t have any of the computer type diagnostic equipment that would be needed to accurately diagnose a circuit board.  He found no problem but cleaned the contacts.  Only time will tell if corroded contacts were the problem.  Does sound like a logical, typical problem on any wiring on any boat.

Judy thought this was a waste of time and preferred to wait until we reached Curacao, where there is another Onan distributorship/service center.  It would be immensely easier to have parts shipped to Curacao than to VZ, plus English is spoken in Curacao.  But doing it here made Bill feel better and this little adventure is filled with small sacrifices to one another’s preferences.  If it will make Bill feel more comfortable for the next month, then waiting around here for a few more days isn’t that big of a deal. 

Yesterday Judy went back to La Cava, the meat market and bought our meat provisions for the next 5 months.  They cut and vacuum sealed the meats to Judy’s requests and are freezing it.  We will pick up the frozen, packed meat tomorrow.  This is what she bought:

2 whole beef tenderloins, trimmed and cut into 2-inch filet mignon

A 7-lb prime rib roast (for Christmas dinner; must plan ahead since we should be at an uninhabited island for Christmas)

8 very large prime rib steaks, cut 1 ½-inch thick and trimmed well

3 kilos (6.6-lbs) very lean ground beef, made from tenderloin & prime rib

20 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded flat

10 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, not pounded

3 whole chickens, split in half

4 pork chops

This entire order cost a whopping $158 USD!  That is less than the cost of just the tenderloins back home.  This type of meat market is called a frigorificos.   A frigorifico is a step above a carniceria (butcher shop).  A visit to her frigorifico is considered somewhat of a social occasion for many Venezuelan women.  She is given a bar stool to sit across from her butcher and watch him prepare her order and allow her to approve each step of the process. 

The price of the meat is government controlled and should be the same in all butcher shops.  The exception is chicken parts that are sold at a higher price if sold separately (but worth every penny and still inexpensive by US prices).  The chicken here looks and tastes much better than what we used to buy in the US. 

If you buy the meat entero (whole large cuts) it is cheaper and the butcher cuts it to your specifications for free.  The whole large cuts for the tenderloin and for the prime rib each cost 9,150 Bs per kilo; that translates to $1.60 USD per pound.  You are expected to tip the butcher.  A normal tip would be 5,000 Bs to 8,000 Bs, depending on the size of your purchase.  That translates to less than $3 USD.  Judy tipped the primary butcher 20,000 Bs and his helper 8,000 Bs.  Still very inexpensive.  Of course, the USDA would have a fit over this type butcher shop.  They definitely do not follow the proper USDA requirements.

We paid another guy (Jose) to wax our topsides and hull and all stainless steel and clean the dinghy.  We supplied the products.  Jose spent 3 ½ days working very diligently on this job and finished this morning.  He did a great job.  We had paid a guy in Trinidad to do this same work back in July, but everything looks so much nicer with this second cleaning and waxing.  The topside gel coat doesn’t look chalky anymore; it looks smooth and shiny and lustrous like it should.  Jose charged only $192 USD for all this work.  We were happy to pay this amount rather than slave in the hot sun ourselves.

Judy turned our paperwork over to our agent this morning after the Onan generator guy left, but it was too late to obtain exit clearance today.  So we should receive our zarpe (exit clearance) on Monday afternoon and will set sail early Tuesday morning.  She also notified the marina office to prepare our final bill.  They will owe us a refund but we aren’t counting on receiving it.

Bill is feeling nauseous today, so he is glad we will be staying put for a few more days.  He would not enjoy going to sea feeling this way.  We have eaten exactly the same foods and Judy feels fine, but Bill’s delicate digestive system is acting up.  It is difficult to find foods for him to eat these days besides plain meats and rice or potatoes, as he keeps adding foods to the list of what he will no longer consume.   And Judy loves almost all foods and enjoys trying new dishes and gets bored with the same old plain foods that we eat day in and day out. Hoping he gets to feeling better very soon; Judy wants to go eat pizza before we leave on Tuesday.  He can drink a beer and watch her eat it if pizza is on his list of “don’t eat” that day.