A black cloud looms on the horizon as our water-maker is
having issues. (We desalinate sea water to make fresh water.) The first red
flag emerged a couple days ago when the water-maker produced water slightly above
the recommended salinity level. While in St John, Tom called the manufacturer’s
customer service and they assured us that it was perfectly drinkable at this
level. Great, problem solved! Or so we thought. However, on our crossing to
Culebra the water stays brackish. It’s not potable and too salty to even use
for showers or cleaning. Since the water-maker needs to be run daily, we tend
to carry a light load and it’s come to bite us as we are precipitously low.
At Culebra, we moor off the ferry dock and buy enough to
last us a couple nights. Before we head to Vieques we fill the tank with 70
gallons (at $.25/gallon!), which we calculate will last us 6 days. This painful
process involves filling three 5-gallon buckets and siphoning them into our
tanks. Despite waiting until evening, Tom is a sweaty mess by the time he has
completed the task, so we reward ourselves with dinner at Zaco’s Tacos. The cool backward garden contrasts with the
concrete jungle outside. The tacos
aren’t bad either.
Fortuitously, the next few days bring scattered showers and JT
strikes upon the idea to collect rainwater. He and Tom construct an impromptu
cistern using the buckets, hose and funnel. Over 2 days, Zoe and JT enthusiastically
collect 30 gallons of (free!) water, which we use to clean and shower. It’s a terrific lesson in ingenuity and we
are proud of their efforts.
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