After 7 hours of shopping in Manta at two grocery stores, we are now provisioned with durable goods, i.e. canned foods, paper, plastic, flour, pasta, cookies, condiments, etc. for at least 6 months. 50 cans of tuna was one of our main purchases, that and toilet paper. Manta bills itself as theTuna Capital of the World because of its vibrant tuna trade and the canned tuna is very good. Steve tried to discourage the purchase of heavy canned goods because he wants to sail, not wallow, across the ocean. Portia points out that if we can't eat we can't even wallow, plus what fun is it to sail if we are starving? Steve became more cooperative after he noticed 4 large packages of double chocolate Oreos in the basket.

Upon our return, we spent two hours entering our purchases on the master inventory list, finding places for them on Dream Caper and then noting where everything is stored, a tedious but essential process to avoid confusion and a constant treasure hunt later. We then dinghied to the catamaran Leu Cat for dessert which was a deliciously thick chocolate mousse which also substituted for our dinner because we were so focused on getting the goods put away that we did not have time to eat. So starts the sometimes weird eating habits that come with doing watches during crossings.

Upon our return from Manta, we decided to change our departure date to Thursday rather than Wednesday because the other two boats with whom we are exiting have some obligations to meet on Wednesday. We were somewhat relieved to have another day to take care of business on the internet, to provision with fresh fruits, vegetables, shrimp, and eggs, and to get a bit more Chilean boxed wine (2 cases). We will be very happy wallowers!