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Recently when Mike had to make a trip to La Esmeralda I decided to tag along to see if I could find a replacement radiator for our generator.

For some time now we’ve had an issue with our radiator being plugged. Even though I made sure we had the proper additives in the cooling system, and I always captured and reused the coolant anytime the system had to be opened so that we could reuse the mellowed water, we still develop crud in the cooling system which plugged the radiator. Because the radiator is working at reduced capacity we can only run the generator during the cooler hours of the day. The present radiator will only get worse. We’re limping now, but we could be down for the count soon. It was worth a trip to see if a substitute radiator might be in the offing.

The town of Esmeralda has gone through many generators and has many carcasses lying about. I was hoping to come across a radiator which we could use.

It was May Day, May 1 when we made the trip. Being as it was the day celebrating the workers of the world, all of the government workers had the day off. The guys I needed to see work for the government and had the day off. So instead of being at work they were at a party that was being held for the town workers. I explained my situation to them and they wanted to help. I’ve help them many times with issues they’ve had with their generator and electrical system in Esmeralda, so were good friends. And since they were having a party they insisted they feed me before we go up to the generator. They had some very tasty meat they had been grilling and some other local fixings to go with it. There were other people there as well, some who were sort of dignitaries from other villages, but the locals insisted they feed me first. One thing I’ve learned about indigenous culture, and I’m sure it applies to all cultures, is that you need to do what they ask you to do, what’s culturally right for them, if you want them to be comfortable. If you do what feels right to you, as a way to show them respect, it doesn’t come across to them as that. For example, when you’re eating with an indigenous family your plate of food might be ready before the food for the rest fo the family. When they hand you the plate of food they expect you to eat it and not wait for their food to be ready. If you don’t begin eating they will think that you feel uncomfortable, or don’t like the food, or there’s some other problem. They won’t think “oh look at how nice and polite he is”. So in this situation in Esmeralda the right thing to do was without any sign of discomfort to just begin eating, which I did, though they had given me more than I really needed so I encourage the others of the table to partake which they did. Another reason we were waiting is because the fellow who drives the town truck, who was going to give us a lift up to where the generator is, was tied up with other things. The generator is at least a mile from the town. Time dragged on and eventually I was able to arrange a ride up to generator on a motorcycle. I inspected the radiators that they had available and didn’t find any that were exactly what I was looking for. I did find one or two that we could make do in a pinch, in case ours ever goes out completely.

The pictures above were taken at the party, some of the partygoers, and some of the people that were doing the food prep.

We’ve been having a problem with the plugged radiator for many months. I’ve looked high and low and can’t find a replacement. I’ve done a number of things to try and improve the condition of the radiator and the best I’ve only been able to achieve temporary results.

I tried the normal radiator flush liquid a few times, white vinegar once, and also have blown out the radiator using a trash pump to force high volumes of water through the radiator under pressure.

The first time I flushed the radiator with the trash pump Bobby gave me a hand. After that flushing the radiator was good for a couple of months. But then the temperature started to creep back up and eventually the generator started tripping on high temp in the heat of the day. So then Joseph and I blew it out again but that time it wasn’t even good for a week.

So now were only running the generator in the mornings and evenings. I don’t know what were going to do is we can’t seem to find a replacement radiator. I guess one this one completely fails will send it out and have it repaired.

Our current generator has an MWM International Brazilian made diesel engine. The alternator bracket had very limited travel which greatly limited which belts we could use. The bracket also was not rigid enough which allowed a lot of vibration.

One day Joseph and I got around to modifying a different bracket and fabricating an extension for the adjustment arm to correct the problems with the original bracket.

Now the alternator is rigidly held in place, with plenty of travel. It’s a big improvement. We also corrected a slight alignment problem the alternator pulley had when using the original bracket.

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The work continues on my house. Yesterday more poles were gotten from the jungle, and today they will be put up if the rain stops.

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The next step is to put the palm thatch on the roof, and the following step is to make the lattic to which the mud will be applied for the walls and the application of the mud. The finishing touch will be the door and electricity.

Some friends and I recently made a gas run to La Esmeralda in my metal boat, with my new Parsun 15hp two stroke outboard motor. It seems kind of like cheating using a store bought motor after doing so much work on my home made diesel long tail motor.

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The trip went well. Getting gas is always a huge process. One has to stand on line and present your ID and prove you have things that consume gasoline (or diesel if you’re getting that) and then you’re allowed to pay for your gas and/or diesel. Then you stand on another line to actually get your fuel pumped. Add to this that La Esmeralda is 50 miles away by river, so you have that trip back and forth.

But getting away from Cosh for a while is always fun, and La Esmeralda is a neat place.

Besides getting the gas, I helped a number of people with technical things. One fellow needed his HF communication radio’s memories programmed with the local frequencies, the mayor’s office needed their radio programmed, a friend needed her fridge trouble shot (turned out to be an electrical wiring problem in her house which I trouble shot), I helped a guy with a computer, the military needed help with a computer but I ran out of time, and I checked out someone else’s radio. I always end up doing a lot down in La Esmeralda.

The construction of my new house is going quickly. The pole of choice for the main poles is  the heartwood of a tree, which after the outer softer wood is removed leaves a very dense pole which is almost indestructible, which is impervious to rot and termites.

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So far Cacique and his crew have five of the six main poles in the ground. One more pole and then they begin the rest of the frame which will go fast. Then there’s the lattice of small slats which make the mesh onto which the mud walls will go. The roof will get covered with palm thatch and it’s done. I expect to be in my new house in just a few weeks

I really like Cacique and his family. He has a very large extended family, and they’re very nice people. They treat each other nicely. They’re always together. Tonight we all were watching a horrible B grade (or less) combat movie, but we were having a good time. There were probably twenty of us watching the movie. I like how everyone gets together. The Yanowamö prefer to be social and mix and mingle. Being alone is boring even if you have more freedom and less headaches.

I really like their part of the village. It’s right on the edge of the jungle and being there really feels like being in a Yanowamö village in the jungle. The rest of Cosh feels like a country club with lots of grass. There’s more grass here than an 18 hole golf course has. So I really like being down by Cacique and I’m going to like living in that part of the village.

Work on my diesel outboard continues. During the replacement of the driveshaft I discovered that I didn’t have the driveshaft’s outer carrier properly aligned with the engine. So I cut the frame apart and reassembled it. In fact it took me a few times to get it right. Part of the problem is that the welds want to pull the work as they cool, skewing the alignment.

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Through communicating with a number of people via mechanical/boating forums I learned that I must support the drive shaft in the middle. Originally it was only supported on the ends. Temporarily I have a piece of plastic water pipe stuck in there, but I have some real plastic bushings/bearings on their way. I’m also thinking about using a self lubricating sintered bronze bearing.

The construction on my new house has already begun in earnest. The family that is giving me a place to live and is building me my house is moving very quickly. They’ve already cleared the land and begun getting the heavy main poles that will be the base for the supporting frame. Construction will go very fast now.

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Tonight I moved into the latest place I’m living. It’s the seventh place I’ve lived here in Cosh in 5 years. And I also found out that I only have use of this place for the next five months. So it won’t be long till I’ll be in residence number 8. Five months is going to go by quickly so I’m going to start building my new house ASAP. I’m not going to bother settling in here physically or mentally since it won’t be long and I’ll have to move on.

Of course being bounced around to all these different places is difficult and points out how this place really isn’t home. It’s not someplace I can think of as being secure in the future with any permanence.

I’m hoping that at some point I can find a place to live for the long term. I doubt that will ever be here in Cosh. I really like being here and want to live here long term and I have a lot to offer, but that doesn’t seem to count for anything.

So it looks like soon I may be back living in the village. I’ll have to see how it goes finding another place to live. If I can’t find another place to live I’ll just have to rethink my plans and  go from there.

The situation of living where I was became untenable. Even though I paid for my house and the work that was done on it, the family of the man who built it for me acted as though it was still theirs and they could expect certain things of me just because I was living there. Miguelito, the man who built the house was really quite reasonable, but some of his family had different ideas.

Over the time I lived there we enjoyed periods of great harmony and friendship and fun, but also periods of struggle.

This last struggle became too big. It all started with Miguelito took some of my eggs, and then his wife lied about it. I discovered the truth and confronted them, and Miguelito’s wife became really ugly about it, as did some of their extended family members. It’s all about kinship in a Yanowamö village. Miguelito and I pretty much had everything worked out and had moved on, but the village couldn’t stop talking about it. Initially the talk was done by Miguelito and his wife’s family, with everyone saying what a jerk I was, and Miguelito and his wife didn’t have a problem with that. But then when people found out what really happened, that Miguelito and his wife had taken my food and then lied about it, and the talk of the village was about how they were being stupid that really stirred things up.

It became obvious to me that even if this one could be weathered, this was not a situation that I wanted to continue living in. So I talked to Mike who has a spare house that is not being used, and I’m going to move into a room there for the time being.

I already miss my little mud hut with the thatched roof. The fresh palm fronds smelled so nice. And it was nice having my own place, even though it didn’t have running water or a bathroom. It was a cool little house. I hope to have another one like that again soon.