Sunrise on Tuesday January 10
In the morning, Eric was sore from the inverter project. We added bleach to our water tanks before we topped them off, which is something that needs to be done every few months when consistently making your own water. We also turned our big freezer back on, which had been off since well before we’d left for San Diego.
Continue readingI had a good time in our last trip to La Paz. Not much to report, just talking to boat people, going shopping, and eating out. I had a huge burger with double everything, and then a cookies ’n cream milkshake after that. We went to a whale museum. I almost lost my breakfast when the guide showed me dolphin organs. I also played with Oceananigans, Double Deuce, and Sirena. I also met a new boat kid named Jackson.
J’ai passé du bon temps lors de notre dernière visite à La Paz. Pas beaucoup de choses à dire, j’ai juste parlé avec d’autres matelots, fait les boutiques et mangé dehors. J’ai mangé un énorme burger avec le double de chaque ingrédient, et un milkshake au cookies and cream après ca. Nous sommes allés à un musée sur les baleines. J’ai presque rendu mon petit-déjeuner quand le guide m’a montré des organes de dauphins. J’ai aussi joué avec Oceananigans, Double Deuce, et Sirena. J’ai rencontré un nouvel enfant de matelot qui s’appelle Jackson.
I had a lot of fun in Ensenada Candelero, too. There were a bunch of kids. We played Hide and Seek in hills where the hike is. I fell. We played D&D, and that was fun.
Je me suis aussi beaucoup amusé à Ensenada Candelero. Il y avait beaucoup d’enfants. Nous avons joué à cache-cache dans les collines où il y a le chemin de randonnée. Je suis tombé. Nous avons joué à D&D et c’était amusant.
Monday, January 9, continued... When we went inside, we noticed that the refrigerator/freezer was off. Eric realized that the inverter had shut down. He started the generator and realized there appeared to be something seriously wrong.
The inverter reported that there was 1.6 volts in the battery connection; but the battery said it had 13 volts. Eric measured the voltage at the inverter and the 1.6 volt reading was correct. He measured the voltage on the other side of main fuse and it registered at 13 volts. It appeared the main fuse was blown.
Eric tried the inverter by-pass switch so we could power the inverter circuit with the generator, but it didn’t work. This created a new set of questions: was the by-pass switch defective or wired wrong? Or was there a bigger problem with the inverter?
Continue readingHere is the nearly-full moon during the sunrise on Monday, January 9.
We arrived at the Museum of Whales and Sciences of the Sea at 10:15. Our friends on Sirena met us there. The entry fee was $2.00 USD per person, with an extra $1.00 USD per person for the guided tour. We opted for the guided tour. The museum was small, but the tour was detailed and informative, lasting about an hour and a half. In addition to whales, the museum also had displays on dolphins, sea lions, manatees, turtles and more.
We started in the evolution room, where the guide explained that ocean mammals, such as whales and dolphins, were originally land mammals that went into the sea for food and eventually evolved to live in the sea. He talked about how the different sea animals have evolved. For example, whales nostrils evolved from the front of their face to the top of their heads, and whales have a tiny foot that is currently evolving away. He talked a lot about how similar the bone structures of sea mammals were to various land mammals, especially humans.
Sunday (January 8) was a mellow day. We went out around 10:30 to search for the whale museum. This time we found it, only a few thousand feet north of where we’d turned around yesterday. Sigh. If only we’d gone a little farther… The museum was closed on Sundays, and it closed at 1400 (2:00 pm) the rest of the week, so we couldn’t have gone on Saturday, anyways.
We picked up a few more groceries, then headed back to the boat to do more chores. In the evening, we went to dinner with the Saphira crew at a restaurant on the malecon called Bismark. A lot of street vendors that came by, including musicians.
