Commodore
January 31, 2023

Tuesday 31 January – Saying goodbye to Isobel & Chris in the old town

It was wonderful to have a relaxing morning and to get a few things straightened on the boat. We still had some fibre glassing to do to to make sure the leak in the bilge was stopped. The generator had to be serviced, Rowan has found a leak that has meant the generator has been sitting in salt water, which is not good. The guy spent all day on board and finally found the offending leak in the metal outlet pipe, just a pin prick, but enough of a hole to squirt plenty of water. Luckily the generator company Cummings are based here at the marina, Rowan was able to to get the right people to the boat to assess it as it is still under warranty.

Widge and I caught a taxi to the big supermarket, doing our dry good provisioning for our Pacific crossing. The reality is we need to stock up with stuff to last us to Tahiti as there is not much available in French Polynesia and what little there is is hugely expensive. We filled up 3 enormous trolleys and realised quite correctly that no more would fit in the old taxi, who was waiting for us. We had 90 litres of uht milk, 12 gin bottles, crates of tonic water, beer and coke, plus a whole lot more.

We had to be back by 4pm as we were meeting Isobel and Chris in the old town for supper. It was the usual manic rush, and then getting all the shopping stored away in the boat, with everything coming out of cardboard because it attracts cockroaches.

We made it into the old town, poor Rowan came later as he and the generator engineer were looking for solutions to the leak. Our taxi took us through a pretty dodgy area and suddenly we were into respectability, with loads of beautiful old buildings being restored and a huge police presence around. We had drinks on a roof top bar where Rowan managed to find us and then we went out and had a delicious Peruvian dinner. Definitely the best food since getting here. Isobel and Chris have had a wonderful stay they were looking tanned and relaxed, not looking forward to returning to winter.