It’s still not unpleasant, to be honest, but we have all of our washing hanging up outside. Granted, it’s getting a good fresh water rinse, but I think a 2 day rinse is plenty and we’d like to leave with things as dry as possibly (at this rate I guess “as dry as possible” means “soaking wet”…!).
Kirsten came over this morning with a bunch of bananas for us – yum! That may not seem too exciting, but we had hoped to restock with some fresh food while we were here however there is nothing available! Apparently the locals live on a diet of fish, rice, coconut and a few papaya and bananas, with staples delivered every 3 months on a supply boat. When we asked where she got them, she replied ‘it’s a secret’. Who cares – we have some more fresh fruit! Cruisers are super generous wherever we have been so far – there’s a real adventurous spirit and everyone wants to get to know everyone, plus I guess we all know how we miss certain things on a passage, so can appreciate what the offer of a few bananas means.
We headed over to the village again today to see Immigration and spotted a shop hiding in an inconspicuous place (well, we assumed it was a shop due to the VB logo painted on the wall… and we were right!) Our enthusiasm was short lived, however, when we saw what little they had available to buy – tinned food (of which we already have more than enough), cordial (at $12 for a 300ml bottle they can keep it!!), soy sauce, crackers and Weet-Bix. In our excitement at seeing something familiar we bought a box of Weet-Bix, plus a packet of crackers (like Sao’s) and a cake mix (a great treat halfway through a long passage!). Three items. $22. Interesting enough, it was $22 whether we paid in US dollars or Australian dollars (so of course we paid in AUD, convincing ourselves that this somehow made it a bargain…). I guess it supports the community though, and we were able to improve our pantry ever so slightly (trust me – on a passage food becomes the highlight of the day!!). Stu hoped for some more beer, but they had sold out (already – and the supply boat was only in a few days ago!)
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It is owned by a lovely couple and crewed by a young skipper and his wife who does the cooking and cleaning. Not a bad way to earn a living! We were surprised to see it here when we arrived, and to our delight the owner paddled over this morning to invite us (along with everyone else in the anchorage) to a ‘pot-luck’ dinner tomorrow night (‘pot-luck‘ meaning everyone bring some food to share, and a bottle of something .) Of course we accepted – and then reality kicked in. We are down to our tinned food (apart from some fresh fruit) and pantry staples, so what on earth do we cook?? It’s looking like a pasta dish. Or a rice dish. Or a tin of beefaroni. Spam? The Gun Boat will no doubt have fully stocked fridges and freezers (they are cooking a meat dish, much to Stu’s utter delight), and numerous options. I just hope our meager offering goes down ok with everyone! I also hope that not everyone brings pasta…!! Also – “bring a bottle” – of what?? We have no wine and only 4 cans of beer. We’re doubting a bottle of soda water would be acceptable… Looks like we’ll have to bring out the big guns and head over with our bottle of gin and some tonic water. Although, being on alcohol rations, we may have to resort to decanting some gin in to another container to keep on our boat so we don’t drink the remainder of our ever-shrinking supply – we’ve still got a way to go!
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