July was spent up to our eyeballs dealing with the engine. My Spanish increased by leaps and bounds, as well as my knowledge of diesel engines, as I communicated with Rudy regularly. We had to order a ton of parts and got the best deal from a distributor in Ontario. I don’t know what purpose NAFTA is supposed to serve, but it appears to have no positive impact on North America trade. Turns out it was less costly for me to fly to the US, get the parts and fly back with them in my suitcase than to have them shipped here and pay taxes and duties. Go figure. So I made a trip to the US. Al stayed in Rio Dulce and I flew to my sister Jean’s near Philly. The Bukh parts were shipped there from Ontario and I packed them away in my new suitcase. I had a great visit with Jean and her husband Gerry, hanging around their pool and eating fresh corn, tomatos and peaches… mmmm. Ken and Ann came up from their new home in VA, and together we drove to MD to visit my oldest brother Robert and his wife Marilynn. I was really glad to go and have some time with my siblings.

I returned to Al and Carina in early August and we met Rudy in Guat City to deliver all the engine parts to him and the machine shop working on the pistons. Since Rudy works full time at another marina, the most that he can work on our engine is two days a week. We knew this when we hired him and did not expect to go anywhere in the boat this year, so it’s okay. But this engine rebuild has taken a very long time as a result.

Back in Rio Dulce I was playing my new keyboard with the Sweet River Band, and we played at the Cayuco Club every Saturday night. We had some great parties! We had been playing regularly since May, and felt like we and the audience needed a break. So we decided to use the month of September for rehearsal only to learn a bunch of new songs, then resume performing in October. Al and I needed a little get-away, too, so we returned to El Remate for a few days and had a wonderful time with Umberto and Saida at the Sunbreeze Hotel. We visited a remote village and Mayan site, Uaxactun, with Umberto, Saida and their two boys. Four local boys acted as our tour guides through the ruins. Saida was born and raised in Uaxactun, and we were welcomed into her aunt’s home for a delicious home-cooked lunch. It was a very special day for all of us.

The machine shop in Guat City Zoom	Rudy and his helper Guillermo Zoom	Mario's Marina employees Zoom
Cayuco Club employees Zoom	Sunset in Rio Dulce Zoom	A Mayan temple at Uaxactun Zoom
Our guides- Daniel, Genaro, Oscar and Axel Zoom	The town of Uaxactun from atop a temple Zoom	Darwin, Genaro and Oscar Zoom
Our lunch hostess Urbana and Jocelyn Zoom	The old airstrip in Uaxactun Zoom	Now used for horse pasture Zoom