20th March

18 20 N
64 56 W

Weather: sunny most of the day, raining in the evening, wind n/a, waves n/a

Today was going to be bulk shopping day, not something that any of us look forward to but it has to be done. After gathering up our bags we set off in our dinghy with Dale and Lorie following along in theirs (we took 2 dinghies as the shopping was going to take up all available space on our return), we managed to snag a couple of tie up spots on the dinghy dock - no mean feat as there were some huge dinghies tied up - turned out they were waiting the arrival of some new batteries and would need to be close in to the dock to load them into their dinghies - they weigh a ton so I can understand why they needed to be so close. Once ashore Gerry wanted to check out something in the chandlery, I really didn't need to go in the shop with him so waited outside but Dale and Lorie decided to check it out, just in case there was something they couldn't live without! All three came out having bought nothing! We then headed across to the safari bus pick up spot opposite Pueblo supermarket to await the arrival of a bus, it wasn't too long await and the four of us climbed aboard for the ride to the Price Smart super store which is a bit like Sam's Club - you have to be a member to shop there and Gerry was the member so we have no choice but to take him along! When we arrived at the stop we all had to take our lives in our hands to cross the very busy intersection but a couple of very kind drivers stopped for us and held up the rest of the traffic whilst we crossed the road. The short walk to the store takes us past an Auto Zone shop and Gerry wanted to check out if they had any fuel filters to replace the ones that he has used recently so he and Dale headed in that direction whilst Lorie and I continued on arranging to meet them inside the Price Smart store. As we rounded the corner and the entrance to the store came into view we were a bit dismayed to see that there was a huge queue outside and they were limiting the amount of people going into the store, there was a security guy who was making sure that it was orderly and had everyone spreading out to make sure that there was sufficient "social distancing". We joined the queue with our carts and found ourselves almost around the next corner of the warehouse but everyone in the queue was patient and calm and accepting of the new "normal" we watched out for the guys as they were expecting to find us almost finished with the shopping and near to checking out - ha, they were so wrong. We were still in the queue waiting to get into the store when they appeared and joined us in the waiting line. It really didn't take very long and we were making our way inside, sanitizing the trolley handle and our hands, before browsing the shelves for provisions. The entire store was well stocked with just about everything however I think there were limits being put on toilet rolls, hand sanitizer and the like but as we didn't require any of those things I didn't take too much notice of the signs. We split up as we needed different things and Gerry and I had agreed that it was a meat and coffee run for us so we headed in that direction first and filled our trolley with the things that we had discussed buying. It was a little different for Lorie as they had never been in the store before and had to browse every aisle in case there was something there that they needed. Gerry and I had finished shopping long before they had but we couldn't checkout as Gerry is the only one with a membership card which is required to check out so we stood around waiting for Dale and Lorie to finish their shop before heading to the check outs. The social distancing thing was in operation here too, there were blue taped lines at intervals which you had to stand behind as you queued and again everyone took it calmly and in their stride - they are very patient people to say the least! Once we had paid I headed outside to pack our bags a bit better and to get rid of some of the excessive packaging whilst Gerry waited to use his card to get Dale and Lorie through the check out. Once we were all out of the store and our bags repacked in a manner ready to carry we trudged back down the road to the safari bus pick up point and waited for one to arrive, pouring ourselves and our bags into the somewhat limited space aboard. The ride back to the harbor was soon over and we were making our way back to our dinghies when Lorie decided that she was going to buy some oil spill mats from the chandlery so Gerry and I continued on to our dinghy, loaded it up and was about to set off when Dale caught up with us and suggested that we all unload our shopping then dinghy back to the dock and go ashore to have lunch at Wendy's then do a trip to Pueblo to pick up even more shopping. Gerry and I were going ashore later anyway to buy some soft drinks but we agreed that lunch was probably a good thought so we headed to our boat, unloaded and stashed the groceries - bagging the meat into smaller quantities before freezing them and then with our now empty bags in tow we dinghied back to the dock and made our way to Wendy's. We noticed a change in Wendy's operation today, every meal was now being served up in a take-out bag - no trays anywhere but you could still sit and eat in the place. Having said that not too many people we eating in, we almost had the place to ourselves. With lunch out of the way we crossed the road to Pueblo supermarket and there Gerry and I went straight to the beverage aisles to collect what we needed, we had agreed not to do a general shop today as it would have made the bags too heavy to carry. We were done quite quickly and were waiting on Dale and Lorie to finish their shop when Dale saw us and suggested that they might be a while and we should head back to our boat and we would catch up with them later for dinner. Back on our boat with the drinks unpacked and stowed I began to prep a salad which was to be our contribution to dinner, we dinghied across to Gypsy Palace at around 5.30pm - just after it had poured with rain for a few minutes, arriving in the dry but with wet butts from the dinghy seat - nothing that a rum thingy couldn't fix!. We had delicious beef kebabs - steamed of course because that's how it happens when it rains! along with a pineapple casserole and my salad - a good meal to finish the day. Lorie was keen for us to watch the movie Moana but when they looked through their collection they hadn't brought it with them - aw, shame! Instead we watched a movie which the 3 others had seen but I hadn't called Passenger before calling it a day and heading back to our boat for the night. One thing we did discover today whilst on the safari bus was the source of the fire from the other night, it was a lot further away from the harbor than we had previously though and apparently started in a Bridal shop with all the shops and offices nearby affected including a fruit and vegetable shop and a Doctor's office. From the bus the inside looked completely burnt out but the outside didn't look so bad however I don't think any of the places are operational for the time being if my photo is anything to go by.