It is a gloomy, calm Easter Sunday on anchor near the town of Niebla (aka Fog). We’ve been watching helicopters with water buckets heading south in what appears to be a fire fighting effort, but we don’t see or smell any smoke.
Tim asked me this morning “is this what you expected?” and we both had to laugh. I remember an incredible Easter brunch with our daughters, my brother and sister-in-law in St Thomas 13 years ago and that is more what I do have in mind and hope for in the future.
The past 6 weeks have been tedious. I knew there was still work to be done on Agility, but didn’t expect quite the volume of work or number of workers on the boat. We try to be ready by 8:00 a.m. and can have workers on board as late as 7:30 p.m. It can be a long day especially since I have nowhere to be and there is not room on the boat for all of us. We’ve been extremely fortunate that the weather has been nice so I often go on long walks, explore the city, and am at the grocery store and markets constantly . Sometimes I try to hide out in the bedroom and read, but have given up on trying to accomplish anything during the day and that is very frustrating. Tim is more involved in trouble shooting systems and working with Ronnie, but I am primarily a nuisance. 
Last week we took a break and went to Pucon for a few days. It was a great short vacation. There were several English speaking people at the hotel. One of them was complaining about all of the tourists, but we ate it up. After 6 weeks of hanging out with local Chileans, spending some time with Brits and Americans was a welcome respite. I’m not by any means complaining about the Chileans because everyone is so nice, shockingly patient, and helpful, but I am complaining about my lack of ability to communicate well.
We still think we can leave by Friday or Saturday, 4/1-2. Sven, Ronnie’s son and fellow boat builder, will join us on the first leg to Easter Island, allowing us more sleep and more security in having someone aboard to help us work out kinks and fix things that break. We plan to do a quick stop at Robinson Crusoe Island and I’ve broken out the book to read again in preparation.
Other than that, not a lot to say. I miss everyone and wish we weren’t quite so far away during this process. I think of Blue Rhapsody (first boat) and bringing my mom along during the initial preparation periods and flying back and forth to CO. In addition, I skipped the difficult Atlantic crossing and arrived to Greece with girls and mom in tow too. Now it feels very quiet. Quiet and not nearly hot enough for sailing! I have to remind myself that this is all normal and part of the process and the tropics are awaiting. At least I hope all of the islands don’t sink before we arrive.
Jerri