_______________________________________________

Captain´s Diary #4, 8/27/02, by Paul Harmon

As I already stated, we were moored in Tiquina for several days while we were repairing our boat, and actually completing the boat. Our goal was to set sail Wednesday evening, sailing West toward La Isla del Sol. It is important to describe how the wind works here. Usually the wind blows from West to East about 15 hours a day. This makes it extremely tough to sail toward La Isla del Sol. We get wind from East to West about 3 hours a day, starting around 1:00 am. This is why we were having such a tough time getting into the Strait of Tiquina.

Wednesday, September 4, we completed the things we needed to do to the boat. Everything was on schedule. In the early evening we had some rain and the sky looked wicked. I was not looking forward to another rain storm on the boat. All day long, everybody in the town would come up to me and talk about the project. Most were warning me about how dangerous this next stretch was. There are rock cliffs with no beaches that will tear up any boat that is blown against them. The water is extremely deep and it is very difficult to get an anchor to take hold. In one place there are whirlpools that can destroy large boats. You do not want to get stuck there when the wind changes on you. Most everybody seemed to know about the project. Most everybody seemed to be pulling for us, yet they did not seem to believe we could make it.

At 10:00 pm Alexei, Chris and Kenji arrived from La Paz. We were waiting for that 3 hour wind from the East that usually comes around at 2:00 am or so. But at 10:30, all of a sudden the wind started blowing from the East. We rushed to set sail and had everything moving within minutes. The wind was blowing strong, exactly the way we needed it. We were sailing quietly but fast, like a ghost hovering through the night. Then we heard individual shouts from the shore, cheering us on, as we snuck out of Tiquina. We were moving beautifully, and the boat was responding to our every command. The sail was full for the first time since we first entered the water well over a week ago.

The wind continued, 11:00 pm, 12:00 am, 2:00 am, 4:00 am. The wind stayed at our back much longer than normal. The adrenaline was apparent in all of us through the entire night as we sailed past all of those rock cliffs that we had been warned about so much. At daybreak, we had sailed almost all the way to La Isla de la Luna when the wind died. We broke out the oars and paddled for about an hour to reach the island. As we reached the point, several of the crew members jumped to the beach. We threw them a rope, and they pulled this giant boat as we used poles from the boat to continue traveling around the island. We continued another ½ kilometer by this method. It was very effective and very fast.

Around 8:00 am we settled on a beautiful beach. We anchored. We broke out our little stove and cooked a nice breakfast as we let the beginning of a beautiful day come upon us. After eating, we all simply fell asleep on the beach. We were exhausted and still reeling from the adrenaline high. After a couple of hours we woke and hiked to the top of the island where we visited some amazing Inca ruins, looking down over the water. We returned to our beach where we all basically fell asleep again.

We were waiting for the evening again where we would have the right wind. This time it came at just a little after 7:00 pm. We set sail and headed for La Isla del Sol, right in front of our turn towards Copacabana. The wind died when we were over 1000 meters from our new destination. We had to row again. We rowed for hours not moving as fast as we wanted to. We were all exhausted. We were beginning to wonder if we would make it or if we would have to find some way to anchor. Then the wind shifted near the shore some how, in our favor, and it carried us into the island. We moored. Since many of the crew were from this island, they headed for home to sleep and recover until the next day. We all fell asleep fast.

The next morning, Friday, September 6, was peaceful and relaxed. As the sun came up we could see what we could not see at night as we arrived. Right above our heads on the hill sloping to the water were again Inca ruins. Simply amazing. After eating breakfast, I went around to a secluded beach to take a much needed bath. Yes, the water was freezing, but somehow it was very refreshing. I was interrupted as the small motor boat that had been following us for filming purposes showed up around the corner. They came to get me as the wind had started to blow in our favor, straight toward Copacabana. It was about 12:00 noon. Justino, the boat builder, and Fraulan, the "Jack of all trades", were there, and only one of the crew from La Isla de la Luna. Of course Kenji, Chris, Alexei, and I were there. We could not wait for the others. You never know how long the wind will blow in your favor. So we set sail and left the small motor boat behind to bring the others when they arrived.

The wind was not too strong, but it was in the perfect direction. We sailed steadily straight towards Copacabana. Before too long, we could see Copacabana in the distance. An hour or so after setting sail, the others joined us from the motor boat. Our excitement grew as we sailed closer and closer. We sailed into the naval base port in Copacabana a little after 6:00 pm. The captain of the base greeted us and welcomed us and permitted us to leave our boat docked there.

Less than two days after setting sail from the Strait of Tiquina, we arrived in Copacabana. Quite a milestone considering the odds we were given by just about everybody. Quite a milestone considering all the problems we had just getting to Tiquina in a boat that simply was not ready to be on the lake.

The next day, Saturday, September 7, around 11:00 pm we began to try to move our stone. We started off with about 17 people. We used one large thick rope, and a bunch of poles for levers. We moved the stone only inches at a time. After lunch some of the soldiers from the naval base joined us. We had about 25 people in all, and we were barely moving the stone. In total we probably moved the stone about 30 meters. Tomorrow is another day and we will try some more. The process is good because it generated a lot of discussion in terms of how to move such a stone. We will have the opportunity to test and document various methods.