Yesterday we moved Alegria to the anchorage outside the town of Grand Roques to do our official check in. The check in was fairly easy, but consisted of four different stopsspread throughout the island. We were hesitant about checking in as we were worried the coast guard would not give us very much time to stay, and the weather was supposed to be bad for another week. When Fruko checked in, the Coastguard gave them 3 days. Jim and Roxanne on Dawn Dancer checked in the next day and they only got one day, but so did everyone else checking in that day. Roxanne pleaded with Yesterday we moved Alegria to the anchorage outside the town of Grand Roques to do our official check in. The check in was fairly easy, but consisted of four different stops, the guy (through pantomime as the coast guard speaks only Spanish) that a storm was coming and they needed more time, so they received 5 days. So we didn’t know what to expect. The weather looks bad until next Tuesday, so we can’t leave before then. But no problem. Without us even asking, the Coast Guard gave us 15 days. Perfect!!! Of course the check in was not flawless. The last stop was at the airport, and it was here we paid our fees. The official exchange rate is about 2.5 to 1 US, so we wanted to pay in Bolivars. Unfortunately, we were very low on Bolivars, and the check in fee was $343.00 Bolivars. Salt and Light were short too, so while the guys waited with the official, Rennie and I set out to exchange money. Pedro, our first stop could only exchange $50.00 US and at the exchange rate of 4 to 1 that was $200.00 “B”s. We went across the street to the pharmacy and exchanged $50.00 US for me. Our last stop, at the hotel, exchanging another $50.00 US each and we were set. By the time we got back to the airport, the guys had just talked the official into letting them come back tomorrow with the money. After we paid, we headed back to Pedro’s for an amazing pizza experience. Pedro told us about the election coming up, and warned that until the election was over on Sunday, it was wise for Americans to stay in the Grand Roques and to avoid the mainland. Apparently, in this election, most of Chavez’s support base would be voted out, and it was not going to be a good time. The Venezuelan’s were tired of how things were going and were making a big change. I told Pedro that all throughout the Caribbean we had seen schools being built, streets being built all complimentary of the Venezuelan government, and I was curious of how Venezuelans felt about all this money going overseas. He said they were very upset. That money needed to be spent on Venezuelan schools, roads, and people. These were not popular decisions with the people. It seems as if the Venezuelan election will be as momentous as our own!!!
NASA
A Supernova Cocoon Breakthrough
Observations with NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory have provided the first X-ray evidence of a supernova shock wave breaking through a cocoon of gas surrounding the star that exploded. This discovery may help astronomers understand why some supernovas are much more powerful than others. On Nov. 3, 2010, a supernova was discovered in the galaxy UGC 5189A, located about 160 million light years away. Using data from the All Sky Automated Survey telescope in Hawaii taken earlier, astronomers determined this supernova exploded in early October 2010 (in Earth's time-frame). This composite image of UGC 5189A shows X-ray data from Chandra in purple and optical data from Hubble Space Telescope in red, green and blue. SN 2010jl is the very bright X-ray source near the top of the galaxy. A team of researchers used Chandra to observe this supernova in December 2010 and again in October 2011. The supernova was one of the most luminous that has ever been detected in X-rays. The results of these observations were published in a paper that appeared in the May 1, 2012 issue of The Astrophysical Journal Letters. Credits: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Royal Military College of Canada/P.Chandra et al); Optical: NASA/STScI
Read More