Just catching up on the last week….

Scott went to the port captain’s office with Igor, our neighbor who’s boat was hit during the strong front a few weeks ago. Igor is trying to get some kind of restitution, but I’m not sure if it will pan out. The owners of the boat in question have flown to Cuba, and have yet to return.

Scott went to help tell the story, and relay what the port captain said. He speaks little Spanish and no Russian, but everything seemed to get conveyed in the end. Igor has been very grateful for Scott’s help, and has invited him come and visit in Russia…”in summer,” adding…”my country cheap!” I’m not sure if that’s enough to make us buy a ticket, but it was a nice gesture. Igor is a good guy, and I hope the issue works out for him.

After helping Igor, Scott and I wandered to the north end of town, and had lunch outside the Mercado, where locals sell their fresh produce and goods. The four small stalls are crammed with people during the lunchtime hours, where the food is good and cheap!

We played more Mexican train dominoes, and are honing our skills. Everyone’s rules are just a bit different, which keeps it interesting. We are looking forward to getting a set for ourselves, although I’ll never play one on one with Scott!

Before the latest front arrived, we re-anchored the boat. Each time the wind shifts 180 degrees, the anchor changes direction, caving out a ball of gunk. If we don’t re-anchor, it eventually scoops such a big clump that it no longer holds. Here is what came up on our anchor as we raised it.

The stuff is soft, but thick and tenacious. Scott has to shove it off of the anchor.

Friday night meant a trip down to Oscars, for pizza. We squeezed the Aluminum Princess between two boats, and then did an acrobatic act getting up to one of them and onto the pier.

Keeping with the food theme, we visited El Varadero again, this time with our friends on Lucky Seven. The food was just a great, and this time I remembered to snap a photo of our dinner platter, before it was ravenged.

We finally enjoyed some calmer winds and water. I haven’t seen an anchorage this glassy since we were in the Bahamas last November.

Rain soon followed, and Scott decided to take advantage of the free water. After setting up our rain catchment, to fill the water tanks, he decided to wash the boat. Every inch of it was covered in salt, and it was good to rinse it off.

When the rain ended, the boat was rinsed and our tanks were full. We collected 250 gallons in just an hour of rain! Scott then went over to Lucky Seven, to help hoist Kevin up his mast and change out a part.

That’s the last week in a nutshell. Here are some more photos.

“Shells Sink, Dreams Float. Life’s Good On Our Boat!”