We have been at Puerto Montt for almost a week now. Don and Rita of SV Limbo arrived the same day we did and they are next to us at the dock. All of us are preparing to return to the US.
We will haul the boat on May 1st and store it on stands in the boat yard for the months that we are gone. This is also supposed to stop the clock on the temporary import permit on how long that boat can remain in Chilean waters before we would have to either leave or pay duty.
On Thursday, Rich with a little help from me, removed the fuel tank that is under the salon floor. It has been leaking and Juan the welder came that evening to take it to his shop to pressure test for the leak and to fix the weld. We are hoping it will be returned today so we may reinstall it.
On Friday, Don and Rita showed us the ropes for taking a bus into town and to important places such as the lavadaria, the Unimarc and Jumbo supermercados, the Sodimac hardware store and McDonalds (yes we needed a fix of unhealthy food). We also checked out some other stores looking for dehumidifiers (deshumidificador). It will be necessary to have something to reduce the amount of moisture and condensation in the boat so it will not be totally covered in mildew on the inside.
We have removed the headsails, the side solar panels, the cockpit table stowed them below. More items will be stowed below.
In addition to stowing things from outside, I have been going through some of our clothes that we will not be taking with us and vacuum packing them to reduce the affects of mildew. It will be a while before we are wearing shorts and t-shirts in South America, probably not until next year sometime.
The marina has free wifi and hot showers though the bathrooms are not heated so I dress quickly after my shower. There is a lounge with a pool table but we have not played yet. Maybe tonight.
We are looking forward to seeing friends and family when we return to the states. Please drop us a line if you want to get together. Our plans are still a little nebulous but we will see what we can do.
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