Day 74, Year 1:  Busy Day in Paradise
Date:  Friday, December 30, 2005
Weather:  Another Gorgeous Day, Clear Night Sky, 80 degrees F
Location:  Admiralty Bay, Bequia, The Grenadines

So I started doing the laundry last night, and I am just now bringing in the last of the dry clothes. We called Daffodil Marine early this morning and asked them to stop by and pick up the towels and sheets to launder. I had started the process of washing all of the clothes last night, but drying room in the cockpit is limited. Some things were hung out last night, and of course, it rained. But by mid-morning, I was able to hang out the second load. It is so windy that I am afraid to hang things outside of the cockpit. I think they would quickly be sailing in the wind. Daffodil picked up the sheets and towels and returned them late this evening. I assumed those things would be dried in a dryer. Silly me. We are no longer in the land of dryers. The sun and the wind is the dryer. Sheets love that, but towels feel just a little stiff. I guess this is something we will learn to live with. Not a bad trade off for this fantastic weather.

I also baked bread today. I had looked forward to getting to Bequia and to try some of Doris’ whole wheat bread, but when we stopped by her store yesterday she said the flour she uses to bake this bread is out to sea somewhere-long overdue. She will not be baking the German whole wheat bread until the ship comes in, so I was back in the galley again.

We waited all day for Daffodil Marine to come to the boat to fill up our water and fuel tanks. We called very early this morning, but I think everyone anchored here called them today. Around 1600, they did come to fill up the water tanks, but we will wait until Monday to get fuel as the truck had not come in from St. Vincent. Not a problem since we are not planning on going anywhere soon, but many others in the anchorage were on the radio all afternoon politely checking to see when their fuel would arrive. Daffodil has a great business going here, but was stretched today to meet the demand. Still, ice and laundry pick-up and delivery to your boat, and fuel and water delivered to your front door is not a bad deal. Most of us are quite fine with the wait.

The laundry is folded and put away, the water tanks are full, and so are we. We had dinner on the boat tonight–lemon pepper chicken from Johnnie’s in Charlestown (via the freezer) and a mix of artichoke hearts, potatoes, and green beans. We will spend tomorrow getting ready for the new year and getting off the boat to explore a little . . . finally. New Year’s Eve in Bequia is supposed to be a bit on the wild side, so I’ll look forward to reporting this on New Year’s Day.

051230 Day 74 Laundry Day in Bequia