Pouring rain overnight meant Friday was “cleaning day” with plenty of captured rainwater to get the job done. With the decks getting a constant rinse, the focus was on the interior, taking the opportunity to have another clear-out too. Needless to say, the staff at the Ao Po Grand marina were delighted to receive a fully operational standalone air-conditioning unit, which had served us well, as well as a mini pressure washer, which we no longer needed either; it too had served its purpose. Turning the starboard aft cabin back to our guest cabin, however, was a major achievement, given that the contents of that bunk had been out since we arrived on Penang Island, Malaysia, last June, making the area look more like a workshop than a bedroom. In fact, the last time that cabin was made up was for Justine and Paul’s visit last year just before the world exploded with the pandemic.

A perfectly timed video call from Elaine’s sister in Ireland wrapped up the day, although the news that Elaine’s youngest sister in South Africa had contracted COVID-19 again, but with far more severe symptoms than her previous bouts, was very worrying. Fortunately we understand she has improved since. We wish her and her friends a speedy recovery.

Having accumulated a myriad of errands to run, yesterday was a busy day, starting with an early morning alarm to get ready to collect our hired car. First stop was the Boat Lagoon marina for a few supplies at the chandlery and a visit to Villa Market for all our “goodies”, including Walkers shortbread, Ribena juice, Heinz baked beans, gluten-free banana loaf mix, gluten-free biscuits, Lindt chocolate, etc; in other words, the most important items!

Next stop was the mall and what a waste of two hours we had at the supposedly Apple Authorised Service Centre, iCentre, where Roy attempted to get his Apple watch repaired. Eventually we left empty handed, but with arrangements finalised directly with the Apple Support service to get it couriered to Singapore. By then it was lunchtime, so we opted for a western meal as an early dinner; marinated pork ribs, mash potatoes (fries for Roy) and steamed vegetables. It was exactly what we needed!

However, given that we had wasted so much time trying to sort out the watch, completing the rest of our provisioning became the priority and a bit of a rush, with two more grocery stores still to be visited in order to get everything we needed; a downside to shopping in many countries in this part of the world, since one store seldom has everything. In this instance, decent meat and some fresh produce had to be purchased at one store before everything else could be obtained at another. In our rush, though, we forgot a few errands that will just have to wait until we visit the mall again at some point in the future, although Elaine did manage to find some nice natural linen comfy shorts to wear aboard.

Our drive back to the marina took us through the northern, more rural areas of Phuket Island and we were amazed to see so many plantations; rubber, pineapples and bananas were the immediately obvious ones. However, by the time we got back to the marina it was the spring low tide and an almost vertical ramp down to the dinghy dock; there was absolutely no way we could get the dock cart down to the dinghy. So, Plan B; gingerly carry a bag at a time down the ramp, while clinging to the handrail so as not to slip on the wooden slats, which were wet after another downpour. Of course, getting everything sterilised before stowing was another task Elaine has grown to detest over the months of this pandemic, albeit a necessary one.

It was getting dark by the time we’d stowed all the perishable products, before Roy returned to shore to hand back the car, leaving the non-perishable items to be stowed until today.

Having walked 7.5 Km, never mind all the other physical activities, Elaine’s entire body ached, so a light snack, a shower and bed followed in quick succession, although we did see the beautiful moonrise before it was lights out.

Barely able to get out of bed this morning, Elaine enjoyed a sleep-in until the sun streamed through her porthole. Roy, however, was up with the birds and when Elaine found him in the cockpit, he’d already completed splicing the eye of one of our new mooring lines. After breakfast he completed the second one, as well as cutting the new chafe piping to size; we were ready to pick up a mooring ball again!

The rest of our day was spent napping on and off, as well as opening and closing hatches as each wave of the rain showers passed over us; we definitely had our first true experience of the southwest monsoon rainy season. By late afternoon it had all cleared, allowing Roy to jump in the water to give Paw Paw’s bottom a cursory clean. A call from Keenan, who was on a stopover in Las Vegas and a call from Terence in Australia, passed the afternoon, as we caught up on all their news. It was, however, the loud crashing noise that had us both jumping out of our wits. On a frantic search for the source we found our radar reflector in pieces on the transom; fix one thing and another breaks!

Our day was wrapped up with yet another very pretty sunset.