Wednesday, March 28. Deb should really be writing this blog, but I have not been able to prod her into it, so maybe she will add something later. When I got up (I don't get up at dawn, I get up when the sky – through the hatch above my head – turns from gray to blue. That is usually between 0630 and 0700.) Anyway, when I got up, I saw a USCG cutter coming up the channel. It cruised around a little bit (somewhat limited by its draft) and then docked in the same general area that the Columbian war ship had been. It's amazing how small the cutter looks next to the big cargo ships. Rene has arranged to return our laundry about 1000, all nicely washed and folded, a double load for $20 US – not cheap, but reasonable. Shortly after that, Craig took Liz & Deb in and dropped them at Nene's to go shopping for the day. They had a handheld VHF to call when they returned. I spent the morning (and part of the afternoon) fighting with the computer trying to get Skype for Windows installed. The Airmail program that we use for email over SSB, all the navigation programs, and even the booster antenna we have need Windows, so I reluctantly have set up this computer with Windows XP, the only decent version of Windows. For whatever reason, I could not get Skype to install nor would Flash Player. I did all the updates for Windows, ran diagnostics, and finally I installed (successfully) older version of both Flash and Skype. Flash did an auto update to the newest version that worked (go figure). Skype works fine and the version I have is only a few months old so I will stick with that. While I was doing this, I also made a couple loaves of bread. After lunch, Craig came over in the dinghy and we went out to check out the anchorage by Rose Island as a possible staging point for our departure to avoid having to run the whole channel in the dark. The buoys are all lit, but that almost makes it worse as they all flash on different intervals and it is hard to judge the order. I took my handheld GPS and we ran down to the #6 buoy, hung a left and ran towards the island, checking depths and plotting a track. It turns out we can get quite close to the island, very sheltered. We then explored some more, had a beer at The Regatta Bar & Restaurant, checked out some of the big oceanside hotels and marinas and wandered back to our boats. Bill from Orion had invited us for sundowners and so I made some more conch salad which is always a popular app. The women did not return from shopping until 4:00PM. Deb bought a San Andres bag and towel, a short for me and a dress for her, and some shoes. Only spent ~$180,000. At 1700 we went over to Orion. Craig & Liz from Salida were there and a couple from Reveler whose names I have already forgotten. We are the only cruisers left in San Andres at the moment. Reveler is leaving tomorrow, but Orion is staying for another week or two at least until Bill's wife returns from US. Bill gave us a tour of the ship, and “ship” she is. Orion is 70' on deck with another 8' of bowsprit. She is riveted steel and schooner rigged. She spins a 50” prop! Bulwarks are about 30” high and there is more deck space than you can figure what to do with. The interior is furnished mostly from Icea – leather sofas, normal table and chairs, full queen bed, standard 110V refrigerator, 52” TV, etc. We had a great time and once again skipped supper after all the apps. Maybe Deb will write about the shopping later.