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Diane's Diary1/16 Wed I made my famous biscuits this morning & invited Mima over for breakfast. Then Larry walked over to the marina to see if the boat part was in. Unfortunately, the boat store doesn't monitor the radio so we have to walk over there, which takes about 10 minutes. Anyway, the part is still not here. I did some emails when Larry was gone. I went back to talk with the owner to see if we could find out from FedEx what the problem was. I called the company in the US. They had given CS Services the wrong tracking number. We got the right number from them but when they tracked it on FedEx while I was on the phone, they discovered the part went from IL to Hawaii to Alaska to Puerto Rico to St. Lucia & then was on its way to Martinique. So, why did we pay expedited Fed Ex charges when they couldn't deliver it on time? The shop owner said he had to go to FedEx at the airport the next day anyway, the part was supposed to be there & he would pick it up. Nice guy- he has been extremely helpful & I would recommend him anytime! We would like to write an article for the Caribbean Compass telling of our great experiences with him. I hope we get it written! Steph & I took her dinghy over to the supermarket in the afternoon. We didn't get back to the boat till after 5pm. I invited them over for turkey enchiladas for dinner so I had to make all the dinner when I got back . I was tired from all that walking to the marina & shopping. I usually like to get dinner made early in the morning so I just have to pop it in the oven. The heat definitely gets to me during the day & I have found making dinner this way works better for me! Anyway, I was so tired, I went to bed at 9pm! 1/17 Thurs I walked over to the marina office this morning but the owner of CS Services was not around as he had gone to the airport. Good, that means the part really did come in. We will walk back to the marina later today. We walked back to the store later in the day (remember the French islands have siesta time from 12:30- 2 or 3 pm. It really makes a lot of sense in all this heat) to see about the part. Guess what? The wrong part was sent!!!!! Actually, it was partly Larry & the US store's fault- not the Martinique store. So, now we have to order the part & wait for it all over again! Oh well, looks like we will be staying in the marina longer. Actually, paying for the slip for 18 days is equivalent to the monthly rate so we might as well stay for the entire month since the only extra cost will be for water. So, we told the marina to switch us to the monthly rate instead. With the wind still howling, it makes a lot of sense. The only thing I don't like about being here is we can't swim since the water is polluted. I did several hand loads of laundry while Tom & Larry took the dinghy to find out about the part. When they came back, Steph & I went over cruising notes for Venezuela. Since they spent a lot of time in Puerto La Cruz, they were able to give us lots of info. They also gave us info on Margarita, & Merida. It really helps to get the heads up on different ports before you get there. Other cruisers are always the best source of information since it is unbiased. Anyway, Larry & I spent a quiet night together on the boat having leftover enchiladas & watching videos. 1/18 Fri Mima went over to Ste. Anne by dinghy. We offered to watch their dog Clem for the day since we know she doesn't like to be left home alone. Larry went to the store & I was by myself on the boat. Clem was very good. Except she scared the hell out of me - she was topside when I was down below. I went upstairs to find her & couldn't. I thought she jumped off our boat. I got really scared as here I was dog watching & couldn't find her. Steph told us they have to lock her down below as she used to get off the boat & try to follow them when they weren't here. I was hoping she didn't do this! Fortunately, she was on Mima looking for Tom & Steph. I couldn't get her to come back on our boat so I managed to get her down below on their boat & put the hatch boards in so she couldn't get out. Later, I heard her crying so I let her out & brought her back to our boat. Crisis averted! I did some more laundry. I also updated my logbook & did some emails. I made penne a la vodka (Mima had the vodka we have been out of vodka for a while. I was going to buy some but vodka has been very expensive so no way. I'll wait till we get to Margarita when Smirnoff is $2USD per bottle.) & Mima made some of the Lomito steak from Venezuela that was very good. I like it better on the bar-b-que but we aren't allowed to grill on the dock. Jan 19 Sat I called Mom & Dad this morning. Apparently, they didn't receive the 2 emails we sent regarding our extending our cruise for a little longer. We wanted to discuss it with them since they are helping us out so much & wanted to see if they would continue to do so. Anyway, I also helped Larry with reconnecting the chain plate for the forestay. I hand washed some more towels. I'm actually trying to get some stains out that I think came from the wooden clothespins bleeding. In the afternoon, I defrosted & cleaned the freezer with the blow dryer since we have electric. Afterwards, we couldn't get the refrig to start up again. At first I thought it was just because the blow dryer caused the thermostat to go so low. I put all the frozen food in the refrig portion along with the frozen ice packs & ice I had. I didn't want to lose all the food. By the next morning, the refrig still hadn't come on & I was concerned I would lose all that food. Larry looked at it & a wire had come off while I was defrosting it. Thank goodness that's all it was, I thought I had done something to the refrig. Next time I think I'll go back to the hot water method! We went over to S/V Piano this afternoon at 4pm for a swim & drinks. They are in a beautiful cove in Marin where the water looks OK to swim in. We enjoyed our visit with them. Except the dinghy engine keeps stalling out again - for some reason it doesn't appear to be getting gas. Jan was nice enough to dinghy back with us in case the engine quit as we were going against the wind. Larry kept pressing the fuel bulb & we had no problem. We have had a lot of wind today. The Christmas winds are definitely with us. I remember how we didn't enjoy them last year in St. Martin. Anyway, we watched another video tonight. Jan 20 Sun I was up at 7am this morning- the wind was really howling last night so I didn't get a good night's sleep. Larry fixed the refrig this morning- thanks goodness it was only a wire that pulled off. At 10 am we walked over to the marina with Mima to watch the yole races. It was really crowded compared to last week - the place was packed. I didn't know they had so much interest in the races. They had about 20 of these boats approximately 30 feet long. We really enjoyed watching them but in a way last week was better as it was so crowded this time it was hard to see well. We had some French fries & beer & accras from one of the vendors. After the races S/V Lady J came into Marin by dinghy & we had a drink in one of the restaurants while we waited for them. We all went back to Mima & had a picnic lunch with food from both boats. At 6:30pm, Steph, Larry & I walked back over to the marina as they were supposed to have dancing & bands. We waited a while but the dancing never started so we left. I was having terrible stomach cramps. I wound up having diarrhea the whole night long- Tom did also. I think it was from the accras & will not have those again! Could it have been food poisoning? From now on, I think I will avoid fried foods in the islands. The few times I have gotten sick are when I ate fried food. We think they just don't change the oil very often. I think that's probably what gets me sick. 1/21 Mon I still was not feeling well this morning with severe stomach cramps but no more diarrhea. I walked over to the marina but knew I was definitely sick as I was sweating severely. I came back & made some soup & laid down for a nap. I wound up sleeping from 1-4pm. After I got up, I felt much better. I made some corn soufflé & Steph made chili. We had dinner on Mima. Larry & Tom sat around drinking all day!! They normally don't do this, so Steph & I didn't even say anything to them. 1/22 Tues I washed some more towels this morning to get the stains out. I walked over to the marina to check on the part. It's a miracle- the part is in!!! They will test it this afternoon & told us to come back later. I walked to the bank & small supermarket in Marin. I didn't buy anything there, as I don't think the supermarket is very clean! Larry walked over to the marina in the afternoon & the part checks out ok. It cost us $80 to get the part from the US- the part was only $30 but the shipping was over $40. We didn't have to pay for the wrong part, as the storeowner will keep that part in his inventory. Nice guy! Larry will test the part on Destiny to make sure that is the problem tomorrow. I made a crabmeat casserole dish for dinner & invited Mima over for dinner. |