Naked Artemo

We checked on Artemo and work is well underway. She basically looks naked. The coach roof is stripped down to nothing and you can see right inside her. When we arrived, there were about 5 guys working hard on her and the woodworking guy was off to the side, shaping new wood to put back in. The fiberglass for the new roof is also sitting there. It was strange to see her in this state. On one hand, I felt relief that Artemo would be completely looked over and refinished but on the other hand, I wondered it she would ever be back together. It seriously looks like an impossible task at this stage in the game but I am sure it has been done before. We definitely have at least 2 months of work left.

Graham is going to come down on the weekends and start with some of the jobs that will be easier when everything is stripped out like it is. Such as wiring and plumbing. We are going to focus on homeschooling the kids and getting to know Grenada.

The kids went last night to stay on Grandpa Griffs and Cheryls boat. In order for them to stay on the boat we needed to grab a couple of items we had shipped to them and bring them to our apartment. We didn't realize that this was actually a little shifty with customs. After we loaded up the taxi with our dinghy and self steering geer and tried to leave the yard, customs called us back and so began our first run in with the law.

The customs official told us we weren't allowed to take stuff off another boat and that we were breaking the law and there would be HUGE fines. We were already sweating from the heat but we started to sweat even more and our hearts started beating and our hands started shaking.....Our first instinct was to lie! I don't know what we were thinking. We told the fellow that we were just taking the stuff out of our Dads front room, so that the kids could spend a couple nights on the boat. Eventually after he spoke to his boss and had us sign a sworn statement, he let us go but told us we needed to checked back in with him when we put everything ....BACK ON THE BOAT!!! So now we need to figure out a new plan.

We should have just told the guy the truth but we weren't sure which rules we were breaking. We don't want to take all 6 boxes and the dinghy back to Dads boat, so we will let you know what new plan we come up with.

Last night was strange alone in the apartment without the kids. I like it better when they are around. We went for a walk and met a crazy guy with a couple coconuts and a machette, and I think he told us some stuff about his girlfriend but his accent was so thick it was hard to make out, all I have to go on was his actions, which were very graphic.......very strange.

We are heading to Dads boat today and we will spend the night with the kids and them. They are heading out on Tuesday for Venezulla so we need to get our visiting in.

Julie