Yippee – a handy toilet!

Splashdown. Astarte looks fantastic and is back in the water with her new bottom paint, repairs and a wax job. She gets more cosmetic work than Barbara! Anyway, the yard experience was very positive at La Ceiba Shipyards in La Ceiba, Honduras. We got out of the yard for about 1/3 less than we paid for the last bottom job in the states. And it's nice not to have to climb down a ladder and walk a distance to go to the bathroom.

We spent nine days in the yard (plus a few hours at the boatyards dock on the tenth day). If we didn't have issues with our credit card working at the end – we probably could have saved another day in the yard. It was a problem on the boatyard's end – not our bank's! But, overall, the yard experience was very positive. The workers were pleasant, capable and conscientious. Many spoke English. The up and down on the ladder had us tired by the end. Michael did a lot of the work himself including changing the cutlass bearing and removing and re-installing the prop and shaft; waxing the hull and changing thru-hulls. The yard did the bottom job and some glass repair at the keel. They took the paint down to the hull and repainted an epoxy primer as well as several coats of new bottom paint. Hopefully it will all last for several years. Because of our centerboard, we had to be in the lift sling for a little while so the board could get sanded, primed and painted. This actually worked out because we were waiting for our credit card to go through with the payment. They don't put you into the water until you pay the bill. They had an issue on their end of the transaction that held us up for an entire day.

We enjoyed all the animals around and Daniel the 17 year old "bicycle" shepherd (he would often round-up the cows, bulls, sheep and goats at the end of the day using his bike). The guards, Daniel and some of the workers forced us to practice our Spanish regularly which was good. They would all come by and hang out by the boat to chat. Maybe it was because Barbara was always baking some goodies and would share. But it made the experience more pleasant for everyone around.

We finally got splashed at the end of the workday on Wednesday then had Cesar align the engine on Thursday morning at 0700 and we were on our way out of the yard by 0830. Our first boatwork in a foreign country was a positive experience. Of course the bill in Lempira is frightening – but converted to dollars it was quite reasonable.

We had a motor sail after leaving the yard but it was good as we needed to make water and really charge up the batteries. We got moored at Cayos Cochinos at noon. So all is good. We're doing some clean-up but plan to relax for a few days then get on with cleaning the interior of the boat for our upcoming guests.

It's good to be back floating and letting the waves rock us to sleep. And it's even better to be able to wake up in the middle of the night and go to the head on board!

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