The last obstacle was the arm. Since 2008, the right arm has been broken, fixed, broken again, was absent for about a year, then replaced with something that looked like tin and fiberglass to hold it all together.
In a nut shell - this is what Dieter did: First he cut the arm off, removed all the material that had been used to hold it in place the past year or so including the old cement on the inside. A piece of the bronze was missing so he had to reconstruct that. The day he arrived to weld the new piece back on, it had to be fitted. Then...a hole was drilled in the back of the part that was in place to allow a steel rod to slide thru the top piece, thru the new piece - back into the hand. Once the hollow part was welded back on, a small hole was left at the top thru which new concrete was poured into the arm so it would be solid.
The first photo was taken in February. I cannot begin to thank Dieter enough! All in all he made 16 trips from his home in Jaco - 20 miles up the coast - to Esterillos. Some were trial runs, a few meetings, try this.....try that. She has been a very unique, challenging project...but he stuck it out and for now...I'v gotta say....She's looking good. She is not perfect and there is alot more that could have been done...but for now - she is solid and not going anywhere for a very, very long time :)
Pura Vida
