Life got serious, though, when the paper charts and additional cruising guides were hauled out and sorted for our Indian Ocean crossing and for the South African coast to Cape Town. While Elaine was busy with this, Roy researched the bolt holes along the Mozambique coast, particularly the sandbars around Bazaruto and Inhaca islands.
Next was getting an inventory together of what we actually had onboard in terms of toiletries, household cleaning supplies, food in the bilges, food in the saloon storage areas etc, an exercise that rolled over until yesterday, since we took a break to dinghy ashore and enjoy some delicious southern Thai cuisine at My Beach Resort; Pla Tod Kamin (Crispy Calamari with Turmeric and Garlic) for starters, Moo Hong (Phuket-style Braised Pork Belly) as our main course and Saku Peiak Maprow On (Natural Phatthalung Tapioca Pearls in Roasted Young Coconut) for dessert, accompanied by a cold beverage - Another day, another coconut!
Our day wrapped up with a chat to Elaine’s sister in Ireland and a movie, but not before we had another visit from our “pet” crab, that keeps returning to Paw Paw’s starboard stern step, even after it has been shooed away numerous times. It has obviously decided it’s safer on Paw Paw versus running the risk of getting caught by the fishermen.
Since yesterday was the usual “off day” for Elaine, she dinghied Roy ashore so he could enjoy a nice long walk while she returned to bed for an hour or so. However, after collecting Roy, it was lovely to then dinghy back to shore to meet friends on the beach and enjoy a lunch together at the restaurant, At the Beach. Sitting at a large table and chairs positioned on beach sand with a cool breeze blowing, enjoying a few cold beverages, a very tasty meal and a good few laughs, was simply wonderful. Our lives we’re starting to resemble the normalcy of pre-covid albeit that we were all fully vaccinated, social distanced and outside!
Roy continued to be the social butterfly for most of the afternoon enjoying a long chat to Craig, off Il Sogno, and then to Terence in Australia. He did, however, assist in the inventory exercise by clearing out and cleaning the wine rack area and refilling it with wine from the bilges. For some weird and wonderful reason it had somehow got filled with half bottles of water, bottles of juice, bottles of cooking oil and an open bottle of gin.
By the time we’d completed the inventory, we were amazed at the inordinate amount of provisions we actually had onboard, especially tins, jars, booze and staples. It was stashed everywhere we looked! We can only assume that it all accumulated through the myriad of lockdowns we’ve been through and wanting to be sure we wouldn’t run out of anything.
Today was laundry day, although the clouds had rolled in again, and a day for getting a few other chores completed, like defrosting the freezer; the latter Roy’s contribution to today as he nursed a sore shoulder. Elaine also revised the Ship’s Stores List and the Alcohol List for clearance into the Maldives, as well as collated our Provisions List of items we don’t have onboard as yet. Fortunately our provisioning exercise won’t be the monstrous job we thought it was going to be. Eventually we feel organised and almost ready for our departure from Thailand, although the weeks are ticking by rather quickly now!
