November 3, 2010 Welcome to Antigua, again.
I'm sitting here in a villa in Jolly Harbour, waves of ac puffing over me, and we're waiting to go to the boatyard. Can't quite leave the villa yet because there's a fella upstairs fixing the ac in the bedroom. Michelle and Charlie have been here for three days, and have been quickly compiling a list of what doesn't work in the villa. Fridge, water heater, ac.... So it's situation normal on all fronts. Lovely day though, some heavy rain in squalls zooming through, but the sun is out again, and we're anxious to go have a look at the boat.
Trip down was uneventful. Luggage arrived with us, yay, and we had the unusual treat of being the only passengers on the hop from Nevis to Antigua at dusk last night on a twin engine Otter. We sat just behind the pilots, two Dutch fellas, and Randy was reminded that this was a Canadian-built plane when he noted a warning on the control panel about ice formation.
We were the only people checking in in Antigua, and the immigration lady gave us 60 days, no problem, and then the Customs man recognized us from Jolly Harbour and gave us a very warm welcome, shook our hands and waved us through. That's a first.
When Michelle and Charlie arrived, they were told they could only stay one month, that two months could not be arranged. Oh, no, Can NEVER Be Done when you came in through the airport. Go figure. Cruisers always compare notes on these things and laugh. Some people are charged for bringing boat parts, others, no. Is it bureaucratic confusion? Constantly changing rules? Changing mood of the official? It's a mystery, always.
And then there's the taxi driver who has "no change," meaning he'd like us to give him two US 20 dollar bills for a $25 fare. We made him wait while I dug in the nether parts of my wallet for the small bills I'd squirrelled away from last year. Blah.
Now I'm back from the boatyard, and we had a lovely welcome from Steven, Ray, Mario, Danny and Lindsay. They take such good care of us. The painters and varnishers in the yard all welcomed us, and they laugh when they ask if Randy is doing his own work again this year.
Nancy Dawson is fine - dirty and lonely looking, and some very obvious varnish and paint jobs have lined themselves up in our absence. There was one bad leak in the hatch over the engine which delaminated the bulkhead, so that will have to be removed and replaced.
Off to work - It's now Friday, which has been designated sand-the-hull, flush-the-water-tanks, paint-all-the-detachable-bits, and paint Marjorie. She's looking very much in need of sprucing up! More news to follow. With photos I hope. Wifi access is worse than ever here - the coffee shop has closed, and a bank with unsecured wifi seems to have changed hands over the summer....
I'm sitting here in a villa in Jolly Harbour, waves of ac puffing over me, and we're waiting to go to the boatyard. Can't quite leave the villa yet because there's a fella upstairs fixing the ac in the bedroom. Michelle and Charlie have been here for three days, and have been quickly compiling a list of what doesn't work in the villa. Fridge, water heater, ac.... So it's situation normal on all fronts. Lovely day though, some heavy rain in squalls zooming through, but the sun is out again, and we're anxious to go have a look at the boat.
Trip down was uneventful. Luggage arrived with us, yay, and we had the unusual treat of being the only passengers on the hop from Nevis to Antigua at dusk last night on a twin engine Otter. We sat just behind the pilots, two Dutch fellas, and Randy was reminded that this was a Canadian-built plane when he noted a warning on the control panel about ice formation.
We were the only people checking in in Antigua, and the immigration lady gave us 60 days, no problem, and then the Customs man recognized us from Jolly Harbour and gave us a very warm welcome, shook our hands and waved us through. That's a first.
When Michelle and Charlie arrived, they were told they could only stay one month, that two months could not be arranged. Oh, no, Can NEVER Be Done when you came in through the airport. Go figure. Cruisers always compare notes on these things and laugh. Some people are charged for bringing boat parts, others, no. Is it bureaucratic confusion? Constantly changing rules? Changing mood of the official? It's a mystery, always.
And then there's the taxi driver who has "no change," meaning he'd like us to give him two US 20 dollar bills for a $25 fare. We made him wait while I dug in the nether parts of my wallet for the small bills I'd squirrelled away from last year. Blah.
Now I'm back from the boatyard, and we had a lovely welcome from Steven, Ray, Mario, Danny and Lindsay. They take such good care of us. The painters and varnishers in the yard all welcomed us, and they laugh when they ask if Randy is doing his own work again this year.
Nancy Dawson is fine - dirty and lonely looking, and some very obvious varnish and paint jobs have lined themselves up in our absence. There was one bad leak in the hatch over the engine which delaminated the bulkhead, so that will have to be removed and replaced.
Off to work - It's now Friday, which has been designated sand-the-hull, flush-the-water-tanks, paint-all-the-detachable-bits, and paint Marjorie. She's looking very much in need of sprucing up! More news to follow. With photos I hope. Wifi access is worse than ever here - the coffee shop has closed, and a bank with unsecured wifi seems to have changed hands over the summer....
posted by Susan at 9:35 AM
2 Comments:
I've been waiting to hear. So glad you are back in your second home -- almost. It was warm here today -- 17 degrees -- and rainy, very un-November. But if I'm honest, I guess you aren't really missing anything -- yet! -- OXOX Susan Z
Assumed by inactivity on blog that a move to Nancy must be forthcoming. Glad you've made it back and glad Tomas hasn't left you any extra work.
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