January 18 The North winds blew and the cold front and its 40 some degree air did not appear rowable this morning. Green heron was in position. There were a ton of emails to answer and the two blisters that tore off my left hand yesterday persuaded me that a wise decision would be to put in a rest day here at the Tropic Vista. Besides this is a vacation.

We went to breakfast next door where I had crepes with fresh strawberries and whipped cream! A training diet for a human version of a manatee, I suppose. If you haven’t seen a manatee before, think about a combination of a drowsy hippo covered with mud, barnacles and unfortunate propeller scars on its back. No quick responses or motions seem to be in its repertoire. A friendly, curious mass just pushing itself into your space now and then, it feeds constantly on what we would call slime. Content and undemanding it glides from one handout to another.

From all the reports we have heard this day about negative temperatures in New Hampshire we should not object to some sub 60 weather. But we don’t have warm clothes and the room has no heat. I suppose the need for heat here is pretty rare. Finally after shivering while writing this afternoon I turned on the little electric stove in the kitchenette. Yes, I turned on all the burners and the oven and said heat me up. Heather could not believe I had done this. The little room has warmed up quite a bit because of it.

We went to dinner where we were alone with one other couple. Small talk about the weather led to what we were doing in an open boat in this weather and eventually to the poor leprosy patients in Ecuador. Mike and Maureen then gave us their phone number with the request that we feel free to call them if there was anything we needed. I have really gained a lot of faith in mankind in the past few weeks. Sure, there are people like the park warden at Bahia Honda and the driver of the power boat yesterday that tried to swamp us but so many others have been most friendly and kind to us. I hope I have been as friendly to strangers traveling through New Hampshire!

Tomorrow sounds like it will be cool but not cloudy and not quite as windy. I will be warm enough in the boat rowing but I am not sure about Heather. She will wear her foul weather gear over her polar fleece. We go to bed early, after studying the charts.