Last year while shopping for some new placemats for our kitchen table Bev came across some very unique ones that reminded us of our European bicycle trips. Basically, they're a print of an old bicycle with the saying " The Journey is the Destination" , when we reflect on this it reminds us to slow down and enjoy the ride. It's with this approach that we explore the local areas more and enjoy the simple things in life. Although we will be glad to get out of Oriental as soon as possible we are making the most of our time here.

We were very relieved on Friday afternoon when the email arrived from UPS saying our transmission had been delivered.Sailboats are notorious for have very poor access to the engine but fortunately for us it is not the case. Our engine is located under the galley counter near the centre of the boat allowing great access for service and repairs. I could change the transmission myself however, for warranty purposes it's advisable to hire a mechanic. Pete, who help diagnose the issue, will be here at 8 a.m. Monday morning and with any luck we'll be done by lunchtime. The plan was to leave right away however, there's a tropical storm on the way that's going to hammer the coast for a few days. Our dilemma is, do we leave and get a day's travel under our belts, or stay here till it blows through. As much as we want to go, wisdom says all the good anchorages will already be full so we might as well stay put for another day or two, to be debated.

Our days start with coffee in the cockpit as we watch the harbour slowly come to life, the first arrivals are a few morning walkers closely followed by the local fisherman. Speckled trout are the prizes around here and the biggest we've seen so far is 23 inches. We try and spend the morning doing various chores on the boat, mainly preventative maintenance and cleaning so when we leave we can push hard to make up some time. Of course there's always time to wander the docks and chat with other sailors. Whittaker Point Marina is a beautiful spot but it's quite a hike to downtown so instead we take the dinghy around to the town dock and do our exploring from there. We've enjoyed wandering the streets, checking out the beautiful old homes and touring the various shops. Friday we popped into a local restaurant during happy hour for a snack before heading back to Dagny. iIt happened to be the local hangout and it was quite a hoot as we met a few of the colourful locals.

While picking up the transmission Friday afternoon from the Clubhouse I met another Etchells sailor who invited me to sail with him on Saturday. It was the last race weekend of their season topped off with a social get together at our marina. I jumped at the offer, after all I have never sailed an Etchells in November while wearing shorts and a T shirt. The sailing fraternity can be quite small at times and at the social it was interesting to find out just how many common friends some of us have. As it turns out one of the guys I crewed with remembers seeing our boat and talking to us on the radio in the Bahamas in 2019.

Today's picture is of a nice speckled trout, as you can see they were literally 10 feet from out transom.