Jimmy's Tricycle

I have mentioned tricycles before. They are the primary means of local transportation for most folks. If a family has money then they buy a motorcycle, more money, a personal tricycle, and then a car of some kind, most often a multi-cab. They are tiny minivans or pickups. The rest walk or pay to ride these. I pay 8 pesos (19 cents) from the apartment to Drydock(2 miles) where the boat is and 10 pesos(25 cents) from there to Danao (3 miles), where the hardware stores are. Otherwise it is a bus for $1 each way to Cebu(20 miles) to the real hardware stores.

A tricycle is a motorcycle with a side car. Most are Honda 155 because that is the largest Honda that is imported to the Philippines. Trinda had a 'discussion' with a neighbor cause she thought Honda didn't make larger, but Trinda said we used to have a 250.

Anyway here is a street full of them. They seem to be mostly the same style in each city area. This is Bogo on the north tip of Cebu island and here they are like a mini 2 seat stagecoach. And they usually put 4 adults plus toddlers inside and 2 or 3 more plus the driver on the bike.

Around Carmen and down to Cebu they are more like a one seat buggy with 2 stools that fold down inside the front for 2 more. So 8 total again.

Jimmy is having a custom tricycle built at a welding shop in Bogo that specializes in tricycles. He will probably be the first foriegner here to own one. Almost all of them (us) buy cars or import big bikes.


These photos are here just to show the quality of this guy's work. Most of the tricycles around Carmen were not ever pretty or stylish, just functional. But these have very nice paint jobs and quality looking workmanship.



A front view of Jimmy's. It is big, open and the driver gets a windshield too. In Carmen they carry a sheet of plastic and tie it up where they can barely see over it in the rain.

Again from the back, open wide and long. It will have wooden slats for the floor and padded cushion seats.

The roof will cover the entire rig instead of 2 separate roofs. Where the hand is will be padded seat at a matching height with the motorcycle. The reasoning for Jimmy to get one is cars cost more, lots of ways, insurance, gas, oil, parking, etc. But he needs to cary boat and building supplies from the near stores. So the floor is long and flat enough to carry a stack of 2x4s or such. It should seat his whole extended family (more than 8) or a couple of couples for an outing.

Dinner and Varnish

We went to dinner at one of the very few local restaurants with friends. This one is known as "The German Place" even though its name on the sign out front is clearly "RuMi Pic Nic" for Ruth and her German husband, Mike".

Anyway the food is always really good and of a variety of ethnics. I usually have "Hunter Strussel", Trinda orders "Chicken Cordon Blu" and we share a "Chop Sui" just cause it has lots of vegetables.


This is James, s/v Fandango and friend Mildred. She used to be the waitress in the cafe in Zeke's marina. There is a long story, but I won't put it in print. He had hopped to discourage her affection, but failed...???



April is a boat girl and girlfriend of the owner of the boat next to Jimmy's s/v Mango. Trinda and she go shopping often together. Next is Jimmy's niece Chiree and Jimmy himself.
We had a very nice dinner and BS session.



There are two covered work sheds in Pepe's area. Both are now littered and hung with wood from our boat! These are mostly doors.


And these are hatches, sliding cabinet doors etc.


It is getting shinny down below. The varnish we chose in Majuro was semi-gloss. All that is available here is high gloss. It will be pretty, and we can always add a coat of semi-gloss over it later if we can't get used to it.

News and Update

First the news: Trinda and I are officially 'OLD"!!! We signed up for Social Security and received our first check. The money will sure help, but it does feel OLD!!

Again, here is a shot of the family that run the little "eatery" across the highway from DryDock.


The first coat of varnish on the floors. I tried to get pictures of just the walls being finished, but they never looked like much. BUT this does!!! I was beginning to think I'd never see this day. This does feel like progress.

Of course there are still 2 more coats of sanding sealer and 3 of topcoat to go, but it looks varnished now.

Woodden Indian

Jimmy, of s/v Mango, is building a guest house in his back yard here in Danao/Carmen. He was in town, saw these and couldn't resist! They will look real nice on the veranda! That's the guest house in the background, but you can't see it for us. hehehe.Of course I had to join in!

Pepe's Birthday

Trinda LOVES having her picture taken!



Pepe carrying the cake Trinda and April brought from "Goldilocks".


The "Three Musketeers", Louie, Rico and Mike.

Me, Don-Don, Linden, and Louie eating.

Mylene acting like the guys like her.
Temy is Pep's younger brother, and Pepe in his new hat.

The guys .....


Don-Don

Sunday

The guys had asked if they could work Sundays so they would have a better chance of finishing in time to earn the trip. Well most of us worked Sunday... The oldest (he's been sick several days this week already) and the youngest( something about a new girlfriend) didn't make it, so there were just 4. We did make some progress though. I think we'll be able to move back aboard Friday. It is the day the rent will be due if we don't move out. The floor may be needing one or two more coats, but Trinda decided she could just get up early and go visit someone while they work.

The inside will be very close to finished with the painting and fixing work. Not counting reinstalling everything. There are no drawers, doors, cabinet doors, towel racks, light fixtures, instruments, etc. mounted anywhere. I have half of the new LED lights up, but not even all of them. The toilet is even sitting in the store room waiting for me to finish putting in new gaskets.

Trinda has gotten acquainted with a couple more of the Filipino boat girls. They went to the resort together, where they seem to have had a great time. Also have gone shopping to several 'new for Trinda' grocery stores. They are also trying to teach her to cook the local food. I like it fine. Tonight we had BBQ pork, but fried instead of grilled as no grill in the apart. It is usually on a bamboo stick and charcoaled. Also left over chop suie from yesterday's lesson.

She is teaching them some of our dishes and also how to crochet. One she has hired to do the laundry and help clen the house. Minimum wage is P250/day which is just less than $5. Trinda would NEVER have a maid, but it seems no problem to pay a friend to help her for the day!

This country , as most of the world, is 240 Volts in the wall plugs instead of the 110 volts we are used to in the states. I brought the computer/DVD player system to the apart. I have a cheep step-down transformer to 110v but it seems a little strange. Every time you touch anything you get this little tingle! Lots of the movies don't seem to play right. I hope that when we get back aboard all will be well again. When our 110v things break here, there is NO replacement for them. It is not possible to buy it, only 240v stuff. Our vacuum cleaner, really a shop vac, is wearing out. It cost about $45 in Home Depot, but is $250 here! And then it would be 240v! Of course a shop vac is too big to sneak in past Customs and their high import duty.

Putting the mast up.

Here is the main mast before we put it back on. We used the crane on the ship in the background.


High-tech moving company in action! My six guys and Jimmy's six made light work of moving the two masts the 100 yards out to the street and back in the slipways where the crane is.

Linden, Louie and Temy pose in front of the ship just after we (they) carried the second mast over. I realized I had my camera in my pocket. I'm sorry I missed the other guys on the crew.


Here the masts are back up, we are back in the slip in Pepe's boatyard just in time for the rain.


Since the boat is looking good again, I asked them to help the rain get some of the accumulated grime off the deck. These "anonymous" gentlemen had almost too much fun in the rain. They did a nice job scrubbing the deck in the downpour.

Masts Back Up Trinda Back

Today we put the masts back on the boat! Finally! I was beginning to wonder if we'd ever get them back.

Of course I forgot to take the camera out of my pocket even though I recharged the battery last night. Maybe one blurry picture.

Laast week Trinda and a couple local girls from the marina went to a vacation resort, Santa Fe, a bus and ferry rida away, an hour each. they had a good time for 3 days.

Yesterday was the local fiesta day for the neighborhood close to the drydock. Jimmy and Charito invited us to their place for roasted pig (whole pig on a stick). Great food, beer and Trinda has discovered Tandauy Ice, a rum and citrus bottled drink. A great time was had by all.

Last week I told the gus working on the boat" If you get finished by Sept 1, I take you all to the Camotoes Islands for the night." They are 15 miles away, but no one on the crew has ever been there. They have been working extra hard and even asked if I'd let them work Sundays (for pay though). I'll probably take them anyway. They are mostly good kids (one is 50, 2 32, the rest 20 to 23).

The walls and ceiling are finished except for touch-up. Nothing is re-installed, no lights, doors, hooks or fittings of any kind.That will be a challenge!