Crews Inn Marina Again

We launched Aspen at the boat yard and guess what, she floated!

We were very happy to get back on the water. It then took us nearly 10 days to get all the dirt, grime and bird droppings off of the boat. Now we have A/C, power and sometimes the WIFI works again.

We still have breakfasts of Doubles that are sold by the side of the road outside of the boat yard. A Double is made of two pieces of Indian flat bread, chic peas, curry and hot sauce. They cost 50 cents each. Eating the local food here can be very reasonable.

For lunches we sometimes have buss-up-shut. This is like a roti but it is all busted up on a plate. The chicken buss-up-shut is our favorite but you have to specify boneless chicken or you will get lots of bones. Chicken with bones is common here but the yachties prefer no bones. Of course it comes with hot sauce.

The hot sauce here is burning hot so just a dribble is enough to light your mouth on fire. We use it with everything. It probably kills everything it touches too.

In the grocery stores we can usually get brands imported from the US. They are all labeled FOR EXPORT ONLY. It seems that the items from cereal, chips, etc. are all rejects from the US. But they are fine for the rest of the world! There is definitely a difference is quality for these things. For instance, the chips are all mis-shapen, the M&M’s are lacking in taste, and the bacon can be a mixture of thick or thin – all within the same package. You just never know what to expect.

The local products do not have the same quality control measures as in the US. For example the canned green beans still can have sticks mixed in with them. Cans of coke are either from Trinidad or Barbados. Maria thinks that they taste much better than in the US. It must be the ingredient called Caribbean cola, according to the label.

The cruisers information network on the radio each morning has a new person on Mondays. She is Scottish and her brogue is very thick. She talks for about 30 minutes and afterwards we ask each other what in the world she said. It is pretty comical!

At least the weather is broadcast in American since I give it!

Sunday afternoons are special here. It is dominoes time! Quite a few sailors get together and play for about 3 hours. The winner gets the traditional award – nothing, of course. But it is a nice way to socialize and meet other sailors from around the world.

Sail on sail on Aspen…