Projects. Cooking. Snorkeling.

The cruiser life is simple. You have an ever growing list of projects - things that need to be repaired, cleaned or replaced. You have to do a daily fresh food check to see if anything is spoiling - and if possible, find fresh fruit and vegetables. You have to plan what you'll eat that day for breakfast, lunch and dinner and prepare it. And you have to plan what other activities will be on the agenda for that day - is it a travel day, a snorkeling day or a social day? Or perhaps a combination of all!

Yesterday (Halloween), we stayed at Aridup and did lots of projects. Barbara cooked all morning - she cooked up beets that were looking like they were starting to soften (the first time she ever cooked beets!); some mackerel that Tumshi provided and made a smoked fish dip; some cole slaw from a cabbage that was on its last legs; and omelets for breakfast/lunch. Michael refilled the grease reservoir for the stuffing box and added lube oil to the engine (though he is still celebrating fixing a big electrical problem that he solved a few days ago) and we cleaned the bottom of the boat. We did also manage to get a long swim and great snorkel in along the beautiful reef that runs around this island. Michael even managed to get to the other side of the reef. It was a good long swim. In the afternoon, we played a dominoes game aboard Astarte with our friends from Tumshi (and enjoyed the fish dip). Michael claimed victory.

Today (Nov, 1st), we'll move on to another small town. We had to change propane tanks this morning - which means if we can find propane there - we'll fill up. We also need more diesel and hopefully it'll be cheaper. It's a long travel day though - we have 25 miles to go and it's through the reefs.

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