Right now the boats here in the Rio are beginning to come to life again as everyone returns from wherever they spent the hurricane season. We are wrapping up a few projects ourselves, and should be ready to cruise on again soon.

One of the projects on our list this season was to get the window frames taken care of. They were covered in probably 20 layers of paint that was flaking all over the place. Aside from being ugly, there was the potential for the exposed wood to rot and water leaks to begin. To head it off we hired a crew to strip them down, fill with epoxy, sand nice and smooth again, layer on another 4 layers of epoxy, 3 layers of primer, and 3 layers of paint. With nineteen windows this was a pretty huge task—two guys, full-time, for two weeks.

When we pulled the doors off for varnishing, a couple of the hinges just fell apart. Fortunately there was nothing special about them and we were able to source some heavy-duty replacements to fit right back in place.

The cats here are deeply in love with our family. Even when they aren’t out and about all it takes is for Ali or the kids to make a tsss-tsss-tsss sound and they come barreling out of the trees at a full sprint. Amazing the love a little cat food and head scratching will get you.

Living in a boat that is being worked on isn’t very much fun. For a week we have had no view of the outside world.

Almost time to spray a little paint on.

Because the workmanship here has been so top notch, and the prices so low, we can’t turn around without spotting “just one more thing.” These cabinets covered in outdated electronics has always kind of irked us. Big holes cut to hold car stereo tape deck players, an 80s anemometer connected to nothing, etc. I had fun just yanking out another twenty pounds of wiring that ran from nowhere to nowhere. The wood is out and we’re now waiting on the replacement panels. It’s like cosmetic surgery for the boat—not necessary, but makes us feel better.

These are the docks that run all over the marina and well back into the jungle above the crocodile infested waters. Okay, there are two crocodiles, so not exactly an infestation, but they aren’t little. The kids were playing with friends one night after dark, running around playing whatever it is kids play with flashlights and darkness, when Lowe fell in. Ali and I were inside cleaning up dinner when Ouest burst through the door, “Lowe fell in!” and then ran right back out.

We flew out the door and chased Ouest through the docks to an area between two cabins where we found an older girlfriend of theirs helping to pull Lowe up onto the dock. The docks were way too high to climb out, and there are no ladders or any way to get out anywhere. Lowe had managed to scramble up onto a fat pipe running out of one of the cabins and Rita had helped him make it up the rest of the way.

The drama was over in seconds. Lowe came home, changed clothes, and was back outside inside of a minute. Everyone continued on with their game, slightly more carefully than before.

Two things that struck us afterwards. The first is how Ouest immediately ran for help. I’ve long since lost count of how many times one of them has run up to us saying, “Lowe/Ouest is hurt!” or “Lowe/Ouest needs help!” We run off after them and usually find the other is hanging onto a tree branch with legs struggling to find a catch, or a bike twisted up with a kid underneath and bloody hands and knees the only casualty. We love how their immediate instinct is to get help—how they are always there for each other. Always. My brother is a lot younger than me, so growing up I didn’t have that same sort of sibling connection. I always had close friends, but nothing that even remotely resembles the bond that these two have.

The second thing that struck us is that Lowe fell into water in the dark, where he regularly sees crocodiles, and yet he was fearless. He did what he had to do to get out, gathered himself without a tear, said he was okay, changed out of his wet clothes, and went right back out as if nothing had happened.

He did bust the pipe though. I went up to tell the ladies at the front desk and their only reaction was concern over whether he was okay. The maintenance guy then grabbed a roll of bailing wire, hopped in a dinghy, and fixed the toilet pipe with all the skill that I would have applied to the same project.

Walking to the swimming hole. Ready for anything.

Rubber trees.

Usually people pay for this foot treatment in the shopping mall.

Everyone who stays at Tijax becomes good friends with Oscar. He is the go-to guy for absolutely anything that we need, and he’s just an all-around great guy. He invited us to his dad’s house for his son’s fourth birthday party. Our kids would go to the dentist to have a tooth pulled if it meant whacking at a piñata, so yeah, we were down for a birthday party.

Trying to pop a balloon with their bellies.

Almost done.

Finally beginning to get a peek at the outside world again.