A series of emotions
06 October 2010 | In transit
Oct 6th 2010 - Wed
After very little sleep for me (more for Jim) we were up and out early this morning and aboard a southbound jet for Trinidad. We flew over the Bahamas and nearly all the Caribbean chain. We had a fresh view of the amazing turquoise water, spits of sand and islands, both populated and seemingly deserted. After leaving the southeastern edge of the Bahamas by air you can clearly see the distinguishing depth marks from white (dry land) to pale green (a few inches to a few feet deep) to deepening shades of turquoise until you see a clear edge, like a freehand line drawn with a marker and on the other side nothing but deep, deep blue. After we passed in to the deep water I experienced a wave of apprehension. "Can we really do this?" "What was I thinking!?" It dogged me for a while, but the closer we came to Trinidad, the further it receded.
We landed about 1:30 and had a smooth trip thru Immigration and Customs to be met by the smiling welcome of Jesse James. OK, Yes - I do belong here and YES I can do this! It's warm 90+ and a rainstorm douses us for about 20 minutes. When we left in May, the surrounding hills were dry and brown. Now after 5 months of almost daily rain, the hills are lush and green. We arrived at Power Boats about 3:45pm and were welcomed back like family! I cannot say enough about the lovely people here, who are warm and friendly and unfailingly helpful. Boat Key, apartment key, convenience cards and a promise to visit when they open in the morning. As we were driving in I look ahead to see our mast, and is it? could it be? Hallelujah...it is! A gorgeous wonderful surprise there on the spreaders....a beautiful Raymarine radar dome! And another welcome surprise...they booked us into apartment #6 which is approximately 50 feet from the boat, just over the dockside market! Our front door faces Chagaramas bay and the bathroom window looks out over the boat. It's windy and the tide is up, the waves are lashing at the boardwalk, a sweet sound to fall asleep to tonight.
After a breeze thru the market downstairs for a few staples, takeout hamburgers for dinner and a shower I am slightly refreshed, so...let's go take a look at the boat. Uugh! I am constantly amazed that a boat left out in the rain gets dirtier than one used/lived on - and this is no exception - she's unbelievably filthy on deck! Everything looks in order below but I'll be cleaning from stem to stern before we can do anything else. The heads, especially the starboard, are crying for bleach but the fans are still working, the solar panels doing their job, and everything else looks in order. The AC is not installed yet however, so working below will be limited to very quick trips until that happens. There is plenty to do above in the meantime...(like stare up at my new radar!)
So we are here! And after a series of emotions (excitement, apprehension and fear, to name a few!) I am currently very happy and very tired. Tomorrow the work begins!