OK! Enough Already!

I have been getting a lot of flack from folks who tell me I am not posting enough stuff. So I will try to fill you in on some of the other things, that I wouldn't have thought you would have any interest in.

Last Friday I went to another mall and it was like something out of a magazine, truly, it was so nice. More shoe stores than I could count. There was so much to buy, but I remind myself that we have to get that engine paid off before we can make any major purchases. BUT I found what I could afford, and something Allan would appreciate as well. I found a "Burger King". So I did what any one of us would do, I bought three double cheese Whoppers. The three of them cost less than $9.00 US. And I am pretty sure they were made of beef. Man they were good. My only regret is not getting six of them. Next time we go, I am going to try the "KFC".

Yesterday was a huge work day. The electricity was scheduled to be out from 0800 until 1500 hours so we worked on the deck. I had a laundry hanging before 0730 am, and started polishing the stainless steel on deck. The dorads (sp) and some of the stantions (sp)came out really nice. So that is great incentive to keep going. Al emptied the back locker and a lot of other stuff that we didn't need and was able to stow pretty much everything so now the aft end of the boat looks great. He also scrubbed the teak with some soap and a little bit of Chlorine.

Allan told me there is something wrong with the outboard; it doesn't accelerate, so Al has a guy coming tomorrow morning at 0830 am to look at it. Another Bill in our future. The air conditioner guy came yesterday and filled the air conditioner with some R-22. Ours was down quite a bit. So the bills continue to creep up. Boating is not a cheap hobby that's for sure.

Some fellow cruisers spent last weekend in Grenada and said the place is filled with cruisers. That would have been our choice to stay for the winter. Maybe next year we can get a rider on our policy to be able to stay in Grenada for the hurricane season. There aren't many facilities to fix boats, but it's a great place with lots of beaches and nice coves to stay on the weekends.

Horror to us, we found lil bitty bugs that look like ants. Almost too small to see, but Al and I can see a bug a mile away. By the way, the last entry I thought was a cockroach, wasn't....it was a beetle. My apologies for that. Anyway, when Al found the lil bitty bugs he went nuts with a spray can of bleach and water. If there is anything moving on deck today, they will be getting another application of Allan's wrath. We finished up around 1800 hours, and after having showers, I went directly to bed, while Al just sat sitting straight up. His back was killing him too. I washed all the deck lines, so that may be the source of where the lil ones came from. Man those ropes stink. Nobody told me that, ever!!

So having cleaned the cockpit last week, I will continue with the stainless steel cleaning, and also do some scraping of the varnish. That, I love to do, seriously! I am not breaking any records doing this stuff. Ryen's Quest is going to look loved and beautiful inside and out. I do something until I get sore or tired, and take a rest. Neither Al, nor I took any breaks yesterday so when we finally stopped, we dropped. That's just crazy.

We are considering getting married in Trinidad.

Good night Precious Princess, Nana loves you. xoxox

August 5th - August 12, 2010

It has been a relatively slow week here in Trinidad. Allan visited some of the businesses to talk about some of the work he wants to get done on the boat. I didn't ask for details; can wait for the bottom line. I got a spurt of energy the other day and decided to start cleaning the deck, and began with the cockpit. I was going really good, when all of the sudden I was down, and down hard. I tried calling out to Allan but wasn't sure he could hear me over the a/c below. But he said he heard me call him twice...."Allan...Allan, help me, I fell". In my mind it was merely a whisper but according to Al, everyone around heard me. Oh dear! I was hurt bad, and the pain in my leg was so bad, I wasn't sure what was wrong. The only thing that worried me was being sick in Trinidad. I took a small gouge out of my ankle and expected the side of my leg to be black and blue. I feel that my Angel is working around the clock to keep me safe.

Tomorrow we are heading out to get some provisioning at a bigger grocery store. Hopefully the selection will be better and we can get some meat. I am dieing to have some meat that I can recognize...no more goat, or pig tail, or pig snouts. We have never been so giddy about leaving the boat in weeks. We have also booked a day tour to go to the zoo and the botanical gardens. Apparently the gardens are the oldest in the world; however, reviews on the zoo all lean toward it being bad. I will take photos. People just don't value animals like some other countries in the world. I can see me with a placard out front trying to shut the zoo down. Might need backup from Trish....so Trish if you are reading this.

Below is a photo of what garbage and other stuff can be seen around our boat, on a "good" day.

This photo is what is officially called "Fishing Co-op" but Allan and I lovingly refer to it as Shanty Town. The fishermen stay here through the week, and those who have family elsewhere go there for the weekend. They drive through the marina's at at least ten knots. You can imagine how the boats rock and roll, and this goes on all day and most nights. The first day here I yelled at one of them to "slow down" but didn't realize that there were no "no wake zones" here. Apparently there are laws on the waterways, but there are is no law enforcement. The Coast Guard boats go through faster than any of them.

Good Night my little Angel, Nana loves you. xoxox

Photos -Random

We stayed in this beautiful harbour for a few days.....Beautiful Bequia

Beautiful Canouan Island....We really liked it here!
Familiar vessel, "Liane's Ransom" now doing cruises for groups and individuals. This gentleman is the owner's Uncle. He does a great job!
A stow-away!
English Harbour, Antigue, Race Week 2010

Sopers Hole

Fort of France, Martinique

Tobago Keys, this is where the turtles come to lay their eggs. It's quite something to see!

Kisses to my baby girl, Ryen. Nana loves you to infinity!! xoxox

When Men Get Sick

Poor Allan has been feeling under the weather for three days. We aren't sure if he caught a bug or not, but he has had terrible, wrenching waves of pain in his lower abdomen. Plus, he has been spending most of his time in the bathroom, not getting much sleep, and looks like he has been dragged through a knot hole. Tonight he went to be at 1730 hours and we are hoping he gets a good nights sleep.

In the next few days, we will begin working on the list of things that need to be done on the boat. Just the usual boat maintenance stuff. Bottom painting, and we have to clean the deck as well. She needs to look like she is loved. She is loved on the inside, but to go out and work in the heat is keeping our motivation at bay.

I didn't have any chicken to make him chicken soup, but I did make a nice spicy spaghetti sauce and Allan felt well enough to eat a good supper. If anyone knows how I cook, I can't cook small portions. Like tonight, I made enough spaghetti to feed everyone at a TGIF night at the DYC. I also sent a big bowl over to the boat beside us. They are young guys, probably high school boys, from Sweden who are spending their summer on the boat which is sponsored by the Government of Sweden. It's amazing to see how much they have matured just in the last few weeks. They are very polite and even ask me if they can get me anything at the store when they go. Oh, back to the spaghetti sauce....I had enough to freeze for two or three more meals.

Something else a little off topic....we found another dead dog in the water today. The Taiwan's have been given notice by the police to leave the domestic animals in the area alone. They actually chase the dogs and cats in the area for their own consumption. Man, I hope I am never that broke, or that hungry.

Well, that's it for today. I should go check on Allan to make sure he is still breathing. We both agreed today that although Trinidad is not the best place to be holed up in, at least we are together, and we like each other. That's a bonus!! Be safe everyone, we are thinking of you.

Nana loves you baby girl, I miss you....kisses and hugs from your Nana

Allan and The Air Conditioning Unit

Air conditioning units are a must in the Islands, in my opinion. There are no breezes, and the rain every day makes the humidity curl my hair. There is so much garbage in the water that sometimes the intake gets clogged with stuff minutes after cleaning it out. We have had condoms, plastic bags, sticks, fish, and lots more sucked in, which causes the air to continually drop off. Poor Al is more often fixing the unit than enjoying it. The screwdriver is all that is needed to clean it out. We hired a local who dives with just a snorkel to scrap what he could and he was swimming in the dirty diapers, and dead fish. That's his job, and he doesn't seem to mind it. I am guessing he has a phenomenal immune system.

As I mentioned a few times in previous posts, this is the rainy season in Trinidad. And it rains everyday. More recently the rains have developed into down pours along with lightening, and the most amazing thunder I have ever heard in my life. Yesterday there was a clap of thunder that literally shook the boat. The lightening must have hit somewhere close, because a few minutes later the emergency sirens were blazing not far from the marina.

We met a lot of local cruisers this weekend at a BBQ here at Coral Cove. What a variety of people. There were Africans, British, Canadian, American, Sweden, Norway, and Brazil. One gentleman older than me recently married a young lady from Brazil, and they are expecting their first child in two months.

Everyone brought something to eat of course. I made a Penne Alfredo which was a poor choice. Nobody wants to eat hot foods here, so the selection of salads and dips were some that I had never heard of before. One of the desserts, with fruit, was more of a drink than a fruit dish.

Unfortunately, we didn't stay long enough to enjoy the desserts. Allan was feeling funky with an upset stomach, and after three hours of fraternizing, I am done. We came home at 2030 hours I am embarrassed to say.

Our schedule this week is to go the the West Mall, which is supposed to be a nice place to shop, and I would also like to go to the local market. From what I have heard, it's worth taking the camera to show what delicacies Trini's enjoy.

As we try to be thrifty with our spending in an effort to pay off the cost of the engine, we were truly surprised to find out that last month we only spent $500.00 US for groceries and eating out a few times and incidentals like toilet paper. That's pretty good I think! At this rate, we should have the engine paid off and be able to leave Trinidad in 5 - 10 years. (Kidding) The cost of living in Trinidad is really quite inexpensive. Someone else has told us that Venezuela is even cheaper. It costs $1.05 a gallon for diesel here in Trinidad. Another couple said they bought two barrels of diesel in Venezuela for forty dollars, and two barrels is more than they would use in a year.

Oh, and today I have to tell you about the flying ants. Now I know we have flying ants in Canada, but these ones like to attach themselves to people. I didn't leave the boat all day. Not for anything. And I frantically called for Allan to come and save me from a huge bug in the bathroom. We are not sure, but Al thought it might be a cockroach. We have so much cockroach killer tablets around I don't know why he was in the bathroom sink. I hate bugs. Allan hates bugs too. We aren't good bug people. We have to get out of Trinidad.

Not much to write home about, but this life in Trinidad. It's not safe to go out after dark, you are told not to trust anyone, and people find it easier to steal than to work. And they don't steal small stuff, they go for the big expensive stuff. Take care everyone.....hopefully will have something more interesting to write about next time.

Don't forget to kiss Ryen for me, Nana loves you baby girl.