Sat Phone
So who wants to be the test call for the Satellite Phone?
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July 27, 2006
July 25, 2006
Hot Hot Heat
Well, we made it down to Guat alright, barring a few minor incidents, but you know, things happen.
We just got back from a run on the boat, shot some amazing footage. Things could have gone a bit better, the boat has a lot of junk on the bottom from sitting for a year that needs to be cleaned off before we can get some good steerage out of it.
Because of that and a heavy breeze we could not dock the boat and had to anchor and ride a dingy in.
Oh well. Lots to do. Later.
Address
July 25th, 2006
On the way over we shot some great footage and, right before the engine died, pulled into the slip that has become our home. Our address is simply:
Bruno’s
Abajo del Puente (under the bridge)
Rio Dulce, Guatemala
Central America
No zip code necessary.
Here I am determining fender (don’t call them bumpers) placement.
We have a boat!
And here she is, The Saltwater Cowboy.
We replaced the fuel filters and attempted to take her from one dock another dock. Captain Chavez was at the wheel to slip her out of a tight parallel parking job. It was so tight, and the boat was not maneuvering very well, and in fact we crashed into the boat parked right next to us.
She probabaly has five years or however long of growth on the underside of the boat. So we can hire a Guatemalan to clean the bottom and it should make the difference. However, we were stuck because we couldn’t get into the other tight spot at the other dock. So the rest of the crew went in with the dinghy and I am sitting here offshore waiting for them to come pick me up.
Going to go check on the anchor.
July 24, 2006
Into the Jungle
July 24th, 2006
We took a bus into the jungle to find our boat and captain.
The bus ride is not recommended. When Jack and I took it the road had fallen off a cliff (if you look closely you can see the road stripe heading into the hole, as a tow-truck winches up a semi):
Six hours later, we arrived, but we had to hunt down our boat captain, Chavez. We took a small boat (a lancha) through the jungle, and looked out for anacondas but only found these guys:
Then we found a dock path through the jungle, which we followed…
…and followed…
Until we found our captain relaxing on a friend’s boat.
Tomorrow we go after our boat!
July 23, 2006
Life Rafts and Ladrones
We had a day in the city to locate a life raft. There had to be one somewhere. Our search oddly led us from a coffee barron to the Israeli embassy, then to an admiral in the Guatemalan navy. When he didn't know where one was, I became pretty sure there isn't a life raft in the whole damn country.
On the way back to the hotel, as we were at a stoplight by the bank, ladrones (robbers) zoomed past us, stopping at the car in front. They pulled guns and dragged the driver out, shouting “rapido rapido!” We were so close we heard the gun cock. Fortunately, the blast never came because the guy gave them his money and they let him go. Although they did hit him with a metal folding chair for good measure.
Jack and I slinked down in the back of the taxi and decided to get the hell out of town.
July 22, 2006
I'm off
Shoot me an email if you want my contact info
Hello all and greetings from the Saltwater Cowboy and crew
Jack, Travis, and I are currently experiencing an extended delay in Guatemala as we rebuild our boat and prepare for the ocean. Since many of you have written me wondering what the hell is going on, here it is - the journey so far.
We arrived in Guat City wearing our cowboy hats. The lady at the border smiled and asked if we are Vaqueros, which we took as a good sign.
We found our hotel driver, who told us not to give our bags to anyone and watch out for thieves. He took us to his bus and locked us in, for safety he said, and went to find other people. The camera equipment is heavy and expensive, so we made sure to watch our backs.
Guatemala City is a very poor place surrounded by natural beauty. Perfectly shaped volcanos, like those children draw, overlook what are mostly shacks or simple houses. Many of the businesses are guarded by shotgun, often of the sawed-off variety. We ate at Hooters, and our waitress was from Ukraine. To be a Ukranian girl working at Hooters in Guatemala City.
July 7, 2006
danielson
I caught Danielson last night at Watler's on Washington. It was a pretty good show, for those in Austin I recommend checking it out at Emo's tonight.
July 3, 2006
phones
So I don't know what most of yall think, but I believe that cell phones have just been getting worse and worse over the years
So, the government (chinese that is) 
broke my old phone, which I liked a lot. It worked well, it synced with my computer, the battery was pretty good, the menus were easy to navigate, all in all, it was nice.
But then it got broken, some how between China and Cali, it just stopped working. It flicks on, goes blue screen and flicks off.
So I moved on, to the Moto Slvr, thinking that since it was years newer than my phone, it would be years more advanced. And it wasn't. It was stupid. It didn't sync properly, it didn't have little things like auto-time and date update, auto key lock, and other things that one would think would be on such a fancy phone. So I researched how to make it better, and I found out. I had to flash the phone, but of course that went wrong, and I bricked it, so now I have a broken slvr.
I moved to my backup phone, which isn't that great, but 
it has some nice things about it. For example, it has an everything is OK alarm on it. On the front is a green light that constantly flashes (yeah, it's real annoying if you are trying to get to sleep since it is so bright) but if something happens, say you get a text or a call, it flashes red, letting you know that things are not OK, which is great since it doesn't vibrate. And also it deletes outgoing text messages automatically, so I am not reminded of texts that I send out late night.