Today is a boat cleaning day. We pick up and clean as much as possible, but in a good mood, without stress. Which differs from our last trips and we like that.
I spend the morning doing laundry. It's that it's a long on a sailboat. I'm not even talking about doing it by hand here. I go to the laundry not far from the wharf to do a wash. Yes, yes, ONE wash! The rest will be at home, it's still expensive over there: 8 euros per load and 0.50 euros for 3 minutes of drying. Take the laundry, take it out of the boat, walk the entire quay, go to the laundry room, put the laundry there for 30 min. In the meantime, return to the boat, take blankets, go to the laundry room to dry them to remove the humidity 8-12 min, bring them back to the boat to put them in bags so that mold does not settle there. Use other textiles to do the same thing. Put damp clothes in the dryer. Return with everything to the boat afterwards. Put everything left on the boat in bags and the rest (or almost) in suitcases. All that at 24-26 degrees Celsius with no wind. It's hot in titi.
I also take the opportunity to talk to other sailors on the quay. We met a few days ago. Géraldine and Rudolph who have recently been living on their boat full time. They sold their property recently. Now they live on their catamaran with their two Rottweilers. As Géraldine explains to me, it's quite stable for them on the water, it doesn't list like a monohull (sailboat). They have two other Rottweilers but one is seasick and the other can't stand the heat so they'll bring them later. They sail to the Pacific where they have a house built and then rent it. It's fantastic as a life/project! The dogs are adorable, very obedient. Geraldine has already had a breeding school and it shows. If they weren't so big for our boat, I would have one like this. I also ask her how she keeps her vegetables longer because I see nets outside. We have a lemon that turned into a lime in less than 4 days. She also has a basil plant growing in the boat, like several other sailors here. Louis always tells me that he doesn't want to, that it wouldn't grow. I have plenty of examples here. Imagine my smile!
At the end of the afternoon, I take Louis up the mast to change a few rusty pieces. Let's say that the people who took care of the boat in the Azores did not put the best quality. (Actually, I don't lift Louis, I just belay him, like in climbing. Don't worry, I still know a little about it from past experience, for climbing and for sailing. If you had had to assure my brother once, you too would be good, ready for any eventuality. I joke a little, but still, let's say that he has mellowed over time.) After this long parenthesis, let's get back to the main subject: Louis who climbs the mast thanks to the superb steps he has installed and I assure him. So! All this to explain it to you! It's still kinda entertaining, isn't it?
Then we talk to our sailboat neighbor, Alex, who also lives on his boat year-round with his wife. He is retired, but she works when she feels like it, a few months in the places where they stop. She's a nurse, we all know that this job is practically a vocation, so it's great that she can do it in several places. They will leave in a few months for another destination. Alex will watch over our boat while we are away.
Adorable moment: while walking together on the quay, we see a young boy having fun with a stick or a sword, I did not pay attention to it. Another quick parenthesis: he also lives with his brother and his parents on a sailboat. Their mother used to school them on the boat, but this year they are going to school on the island, end of the parenthesis.
Louis, in a playful mood, stops in front of the youngster and pretends to be afraid:
- The child: Password (and he goes into defense mode, almost standing at attention)
- Louis tries 1 password without success and we can't pass
- The child: it is an easy password
We try another password without success
- The child: where are we?
- Louis: In the Canary Islands
- The child: yes
He bends over giving us an almost royal salute and pulls over to the side to let us pass. Word of the day: cute! *Spoiler: for vegetarians, there are 2 photos of cooked meats below
We will then have dinner at our favorite restaurant, you guessed it: Pier 19, for our last supper. We find Vanessa who was off for 2 days. We ask her to suggest something. She therefore offers dishes that are not on the menu. So I take the bites of stuffed fried pasta. Sorry for the explanation, I can't write you the description, it's not on the menu. Succulent! Louis loves it, even though he took the garlic prawns from the menu as a starter, which, by the way, are excellent too. For the meal, according to Vanessa's recommendations, Louis chose a leg of lamb and I was tempted by cooked tuna. I had a little fear because usually cooked tuna is not fantastic, but I was wrong: it was to die for, with a pink mash, sorry for my inaccuracy, mushrooms and small cut onions, yes yes, filled with sweet sauce (maybe teriyaki or sweet and sour). Extraordinary! Both meals! We love it! You understood our tastes Vanessa! We end it all with a chocolate cake that we also had when we arrived and the famous mango dessert! Oh, and two small island honey rum shooters. Supper of the gods! We leave from there by giving Vanessa a big hug each and telling her that we are coming back to see her in July.
We then return to the sailboat and Louis asks me to help him remove the table to see something under the floor. He then removes a few boards and starts playing in the wires/pipes and dirt at 10pm the day before we left. Me, I'm in the captain's corner, a space of 2x2 feet, I secure the table and I wait. Long live the whims of a sailor!
It's bedtime, we'll finish the rest tomorrow!
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