Vi turns up to have another go at the generator, but this time he brings along a real expert. After some very simple re-wiring is done (wiring the breakers the way the last ones were done wasn’t working) Mike starts the generator and it produces electricity at the right voltage level – thank God for that. We can now relax.
We had been intending to go into Nadi to buy some malaria tablets. Vanuatu is apparently rife with malaria (depending on who you speak to and which website you visit). Irene from Tucanon has been checking that everyone is aware of the dangers and is going into town along with Susan and David from Voyageur to buy them. I have already checked out the pharmacy at the port, which helpfully (?) sells everything except drugs and they ring the one in town to check if they are in stock. There are only two doses of the ones we want, and as Irene is the one organising everything, I feel it would be a bit off of us to sneak in and buy them. In the end, JB comes up trumps as he bought enough for himself for the whole trip and is now leaving in Australia so when he visits us for a lunchtime beer, he offers us his remaining supply.
Mike and I have been putting off cleaning the boat while we have engineers trampling all over it (that’s his excuse anyway) but when they leave, we can ignore it no longer. Connecting up the hose and getting the Ajax out, we scrub the decks. I think that I can get away with just hosing the dust off the bimini but as I rub my hand over the top, it leaves prints and I realise the whole thing needs to be rubbed down. Walking over the bimini is not easy. There are just two thin strips which have supporting structures below so I resort to lying on my tummy with the hose protruding from underneath and wiping my hands across the surface, producing the dirty bimini equivalent of snow angels. On top of that, I end up soaked and looking like a contestant in a wet tee-shirt competition. The local guys cleaning A Lady look highly amused.
Sylvia and Simon turn up at the boat and we arrange to give them a lift over to Musket Cove tomorrow as they want to say goodbye to everyone.
It is boiling hot (trust us to start cleaning in the afternoon) and after a couple of hours we are both exhausted. We finish the tub of ice cream from the freezer and have a lie down before going to Lulu’s to meet John and Donal for a drink.
The boys order a long beer. I think it means a large beer. In fact it means a huge amount of beer in a very tall container which has a column of ice running through the middle and a tap at the end.
Photo: Donal, me, John, Mike and one very long beer
Mike and I then meet Jutta and Jochem to go to the Indian restaurant and on our way there we go into the Ugg boot shop. I order some bright pink slippers for myself and Jutta and Jochem both order boots. They will be made in the morning and delivered to the shop by 11 am.
We have another good meal (well except for Mike who makes the mistake of ordering duck curry which is mostly bone).
Photo: Me, Jutta, Mike and Jochem
On the way back we bump into a gang of WARC crew members who are still at Lulu’s and drag another table over to join them. Mike gives up and goes back to the boat, leaving me with a band of drunken reprobates. But I only have one glass of wine! Honestly. As no one at the table had been there for my birthday party last week (their boats hadn’t arrived) they sing Happy Birthday to me, then Jutta sings it in German.
Photo: Me, Joe and Jutta
Photo: Jared, Fabian, Bev and Mo
Photo: Bev, Mo, Oisean, Donal and Fabien
I decide that I need to make an exit after the one glass is drunk, and leave the drinking to the younger ones. I’m sure that a couple of hours later I can still hear Jared singing – but I could have been mistaken!
No comments:
Post a Comment