That news was swiftly followed by a video call from Keenan and Brooke to spend time with the grandchildren. Needless to say, there was great excitement about the Halloween decorations going up around the house, which included numerous painted pumpkins by various family members. There was also excitement over the new X-Box play area that Keenan had setup for the grandsons. Watching Capri, though, cooking a meal for the entire family for the first time was fabulous and what a great job she did, including setting the table beautifully, with lit candles and fresh drinks for everyone. Cooking for six people is never easy, but to prepare an entire dinner at the tender age of 12, is no easy feat. Well done Capri! By the smiles on everyone’s faces, it was a delicious meal too.
By then it was time to hop in the dinghy and await the video call from Customs, scheduled for 0930, to prove that we are indeed in Thailand on our yacht, Paw Paw, and that our faces match the photographs sent to Immigration earlier in the week. The short video call involved us showing our faces to the Customs officials, without wearing our hats or glasses, and then circling around the yacht, making sure they could see the name clearly; all very simple, right? Nope!
Numerous messages back and forth between us and our agent revealed that the Customs office was having a few technically difficulties, but eventually, after a two hour wait, we made contact and completed the task. In the interim, tired of sitting in the dinghy under a blazing hot sun, we dinghied ashore, enjoyed a morning coffee, collected our passports from our agent, containing our new 90-day visas and got back to Paw Paw in time for the successful video conference call with Customs at 1130. Although it was a busy morning, we were delighted to have completed another round of the Thailand officialdom process, our last before our departure, albeit that the cost of all these renewals, including the initial quarantine, have certainly resulted in a very expensive stay.
With all of that out of the way, we eventually weighed anchor shortly after noon and motored south, with the wind on the nose, as usual. Had we been allowed to go across to the islands of Phang Nga or Krabi, we’d have had a great sail, but both provinces are still off limits until 1st November, so we’re told. Roll on the Northeast Monsoon season and the removal of the remaining lockdown restrictions.
En route down to Ao Yon, where we’ve anchored for the night, Elaine enjoyed a phone call from her sister in Ireland, who was a very excited Granny after the birth of Layla-Rose and understandably so. Roy, on the other hand, used the time to clean the bridle, which had, once again, developed a small reef. A day filled with wonderful new, excitement and delight was wrapped up with a barbecue, under a clear starry night, a waxing gibbous high above us and what looked like the entire fleet of the Thai Navy joining us in the anchorage.
