Morning preparations
I woke up early for some meetings online and programming work but had planned on taking this Friday off for preparatory work on Zanshin at the boatyard. Dougald, my host at the Airbnb, was heading off to enjoy the surf as the winds and waves were both strong and from a new direction. I was met with a surprise at the yard, though.
Boatyard
Not only had nothing been done on the boat exterior, but I was informed that due to the Carnival celebrations the whole island would remain shut down until Wednesday next week. And then they wanted an additional 6 days to sand, prime and paint the bottom! They wouldn’t start on Friday, either – they were shorthanded and would have a short work day because of Carnival.
Inside Zanshin was still in good shape, there were two dead cockroaches that hadn’t been there when I left and a bit of water had leaked into the galley area from a previously unknown leak source; which I’ll have to track down.
Fig N’ Bloggoe
I walked up the road towards Hillsborough and went into the Fig N’ Bloggoe restaurant run by Jeannette, my co-host at the Tree Tops. It is a nice and quaint place, tucked away just out of sight of the road.
Today they had pad Thai on the menu and I grabbed a beer and sat down at a shaded table and read my book. I soon had to move, as a French family arrived to sit at the table just upwind of me and proceeded to light up their cigarettes. But the new table was just as good, and the food was excellent.
Deliberations
I returned to my loft to ponder what I’d do for the next couple of days. Due to carnival the whole island is booked out and I had to search for a place to stay that was within my budget. I have no intention of staying aboard the boat on the hardstand for the duration, as there’s little wind in the marina and the mosquitoes are highly aggressive there. Plus getting up in the middle of the night and climbing down the ladder to go to the bathroom has no appeal at all.
There is an alternative, Belair Cottage, located just below where I am currently staying. And they do have availability as well!
Evening
I enjoyed the rest of the day in the hammock. The breeze is cooling and keeps the mosquitoes away, although at sunset and sunrise they fly to the attack as soon as there’s any lull in the breeze. There’s a citronella coil that I haven’t used and Jeannette has made up a bio-repellant solution that i really should try.
After a light dinner (several crackers and sharp cheddar) I read some more on the porch before drifting off to sleep beneath my mosquito net.