Halloween came and went. Judging by the laughter coming from the Cayuco Club the participants were having a great time and looking at the photos the day after there were some classic costumes.
Election day for the USA was celebrated with voting and a party here. Carol (Androsian) and I acted as International Observers, ensuring one man, one vote. Well we hope we did! An overwhelming majority for Obama, 67%, when the polls closed gave us an indicator of which way the night was likely to go. And it did!
The boaters here were amazed at such a high percentage in our poll which as a lot of them are from Texas and are dyed in the wool Republicans was not really too much of a surprise. Personally it gave me hope that the USA can finally start to get itself back on track again after the appalling leadership of Bush.
I have learned a great deal about politics in the USA since we have been here and most of it is pretty dreadful, not that the UK is any better. Indeed I am currently rather envious of the USA for having a man who really does appear to hold the promise of a brighter future in his hands, unlike our own tawdry Prime Minister, Gordon Brown.
And now the hiatus of the election is over it's back to the reality of a financial crisis, that's not looking too great right now is it? The effect on the cruisers is beginning to be felt. Just here, in this one small marina, in the middle of nowhere(approx 60 boats) there are at least seven boats that I know of on the market. And those are boats that have been used as full time live aboards. There are a couple of boats being laid up as their owners return to full time employment - unplanned.
I think this is just the beginning of a huge fall in the number of cruisers that we are going to see over the next couple of years. Wonder what it will do to boat prices...
Guatemala is still reeling from the huge rainfalls of last month, many areas of the country suffered tremendous damage. And now as TD17 turns in to TS Paloma, predicted to reach hurricane status by Friday, they face the prospect of further high rainfalls. It's tough being a nation in the Tropics.
I hope that the boats that have been leaving the Rio this week are keeping a close eye on the weather. Although the storm is currently predicted to swing North and then North East you just never know and it's all a tad too close to the coasts of Guatemala, Belize and Mexico for my liking.
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