Now back to work.
08 May 2015 | Gan, Adduu Atoll
Partly cloudy with rain earlier
With Yolo gone(on their way to Chagos) we can start on some projects we have put off. Not because of them but because they were such fun to be with that there just wasn't time to do the work stuff. OK, we did take some time off yesterday afternoon to do a bit of snorkeling but just a bit as there doesn't seem to be that much in reefs over here worth snorkeling on. Primarily, it was to cool down in the water. Of course the water is still in the upper 80 degree range but it sure felt good getting into it. We had all in all, a sunny day but the occasional storm came and went not really doing anything. It just looked nasty every now and then.
Today, we hauled out the sewing machine(Tracy's nemesis) and after she took down the bimini, she started replacing the stitching. Out here, the sewing threads only last about two years and then they start to biodegrade in the sunlight. She examined all the seams and replaced what was needed. While she was doing that, I grabbed a tub of stainless steel polish and took off for the bow to clean as much stainless as I could. That's the bow pulpit, stanchions and dorades. Add in the stainless steel rails next to the mast and boom and there was plenty to do. I used 3M's marine Metal Restorer & Polish and it seemed to do a decent job. To make it work harder for me, I grabbed one of the green scratchy pads that's used for heavy duty cleaning. I scrubbed and scrubbed and eventually the rust came off. Now I don't know if it puts on a layer of protection like wax so I sent 3M an email asking if it protects the stainless steel that it has just cleaned. Hopefully we will hear back soon. Both of us had had enough but 1130 and stopped. I got about half the stainless done and Tracy finished the bimini and got it reinstalled. Good thing too as it started to rain about 1300.
Tracy bought some frozen chicken in Gan a few days ago at "Happy Mart", a small store along the waterfront that sells all kind of things. From bottles of water through meat, they have quite a bit in their little warehouse. What is nice is that the meat is all frozen so our freezer doesn't have to struggle to get it chilled and frozen. She bought several big chunks of chicken and 4 "chubs" of hamburger. No clue as to the quality and fat content yet but when you have so little beef in the freezer, even fatty beef will do. Today, she brought out another skinless breast and used the pressure cooker. She'd cooked up one a few days ago and it turned out to be a bit tough. One of those pieces of chicken that can get stuck in your teeth. Not tender in the least. Once pressure cooked, it got a bit tenderer but it still came out a bit tough. This time, she cut it into small pieces and it was better. She made a Sweet Mango Chutney Chicken served on rice(also done in the pressure cooker). Strangely the recipe didn't call for any spices. No salt nor pepper. We both added it once we had it on the table.
The rains stopped after about a 15 minute blast but there is more on the horizon. It's that kind of day out here.
The picture today is of one of the houses on the island. You use what you have and they have plenty of coral so that is what they build many of their homes with. Layer of coral, layer of cement, layer of coral, layer of cement till the house is done. I can't imagine how long it takes to get all the pieces of coral to build an entire house but you can't beat the price since it's free for the taking.