All systems go! It didn’t all work out quite as planned but everything functions now, my tension was vastly overdone, and the sun is shining – and this fellow flew in to perch right next to us on Retriever.

Joshue dove down to plug the thruhull, Che tried pulling the fitting out but it just wouldn’t come and there isn’t enough room in that little cubbyhole under the floor boards to get tools in there to work at it. So – plan B – install an inline valve. Back to town to get one of those. Joshue’s plug worked and very little water came in through the open seacock as Casey put the new valve in place. My vision of water pouring in was a total non-event – thank goodness.

Speaking of buying boat parts – Richard at RAM Marine is opening the Central American West Marine Store on Dec 27th. Most folks have been in for previews and some shopping – the nuts and bolts section is said to be wonderful – and it will be so nice to have a wide variety of replacement parts, tools, and general boat things readily available.

The new scuppers are in place – and it hasn’t rained since. Rick (Home) mentioned that his drain when the dinghy is in place – and so did ours - but since our dinghy is in the water more often than not, this still works for us. Thanks Rick!

Martin and Karen threw a birthday party for Keith the plumber and we were happy to join the local expat crowd for that celebration in Gringo Bay.

Annie, our yoga teacher, is up in Antigua right now so I led my first ever yoga practice on Saturday morning – and with 3 lovely and encouraging women in Annie’s thatched roof shala in Jennifer’s garden was just about the best way I can imagine to do it.

With the bits and pieces of remaining work finally done on Madcap, we untied the lines and motored over to Gringo Bay (Buenavista Bay) for a few hours at anchor. The swimming was wonderful – in 30 C water – and in the afternoon we followed Martin and Karen along the path through their jungle to the local soccer field. Our plan had been to go up river to Tortugal on the afternoon breeze, but we couldn’t pass up this experience – and we are so very glad we stayed. A wealthy Guatemalan dug out a canal on the upstream side of the point and cleared some land – probably with the goal of future development, but in the meantime, it has become home to the soccer field. It is an ideal setting with the field nestled low between two little hills – the only disadvantage being the water just off to one side - from which out of bound balls frequently had to be fetched. Four teams of adult men aged 20’s to 40’s were playing in this final tournament and we knew 2 of the players – Bilo played on the yellow team and Joshue on the blue. We perched on a bench on the hill along with the locals – women selling tortillas and chicken and coleslaw and beer and pop – and children milling about – lots of future players. It was a real family affair. Martin is a natural with the ninos – teaching them to whistle through blades of grass and doing acrobatics – his headstands put us all to shame.

We left before the games were over so I don’t know who won, but it was a great afternoon. After tea with Karen and Martin we dinghied back out to the boat to enjoy a gorgeous starlit night swinging gently on the hook. What a pleasure to be here.

Next stop – Tortugal River Lodge where we will tie up once again. We’ll join the cruisers in the area for Christmas Eve Potluck and dinner at Kangaroo on the 25th.

(We’re here at Tortugal now!)