My appointment at the Eureka Clinic was for noon, the Doctor had said that parking would be no problem and he was correct, I was able to find a spot directly in front of the clinic rather than spend 15 minutes or more looking for a free spot as I’d done the time before. I was armed with my e-book and reading glasses and the waiting time went by quickly. The doctor checked me out and found that I was healing about as expected – which is to say quite slowly. He said it would be about 3 weeks before I would be healed and without constriction to movement and without pain. I should still not move around much for a week, but there are no restrictions to my ability to travel (given that I still have painkillers).
Now I have to really make plans on how to proceed. The BVI has become almost prohibitively expensive. Not only has the general cost of living increased, but there are additional fees and surcharges on the boating industry. In addition, the boat yard at Nanny Cay has greatly increased prices and I am loathe to use them due to what I consider price gauging, I would rather spend the extra 24 hours of sailing to go to St. Martin and have a friendlier service for half the price, if possible.
After the medical examination I drove around to the north shore to visit with Malcolm and Candace, but they weren’t at home so I continued onward towards Cane Garden Bay and decided to stop off at Stoutt’s Lookout, which I’d passed many times before but had never actually stopped at. The view from the veranda towards Cane Garden Bay is impressive and I enjoyed a drink, the view, and a cooling breeze before returning to the boat.
Once aboard I tried working on deck to polish the steel and prevent an infestation of rust, but soon realized that I’d been overly optimistic regarding the condition of my back and stopped. I lounged in the cockpit and read a book until the sun set and then made a Spaghetti bolognese dinner and watched the cartoon movie Cars, as Malcolm had told me the story behind the story on that film and it’s inception.
