Tomorrow promises to be 80. South Florida really is different from North Florida where it's freezing at night - not here. All in all we have been pretty surprised at how much work it is to do this "sail" down south. Besides being much slower than going north, much heavier winds from the north at this time of year, and experiencing the ICW's watch-the-depth every minute, we haven't played much. We went to one movie. We rented bikes one day (Christmas present for Drew). I found an outdoor exercise park with outdoor free machines we used here while Mazu got a little walk. Our daily routine was getting the boat ready to be fixed, fixing the boat, meeting with or talking with workers, doing daily maintenance, running the engine so the frig will continue to run and supporting the electrical needs, running the water maker, and finding things that should have been replaced or serviced routinely that weren't. Tonight's find was a hose in the engine that has never been replaced and should have been 5 years ago. It requires the boat to be hauled out -- $$$. Now we need to do a ton of things all at once - not fun. The weather here is nice, however it's the first great weather we've had. Everyone we speak with tells of stories where they are spending years, yes, years fixing their boat. Hmmm...
Here's the before where the floor needs to be cut open to replace the holding tank. I'll take another picture when the workers are done in March. There will be another cut in the floor a whole lot bigger than these two.
Today's great find was Amigo Market on 27th Street. I kept asking people where I could find a Cuban coffee. Try Starbucks they said - fat chance - they didn't even know what it was. Finally a woman whose father-in-law is Cuban told me the place to go. With our rental car we could drive the 2 miles from the mooring field. The market has a little counter and a few tables in and outside with great Cuban food; no one speaks English, and we could have been in Cuba. The whole store is great. It has a true butcher with huge hunks of meat where you ask for the cut you want, Spanish candy like we get from AJ's parents at Christmas. All kinds of flan and Spanish cookies. Fresh, fresh produce. We bought a package of Cuban coffee that has the sugar already in it. We loved the market and will go there when we get back. AJ told us we must go to Versailles, a Cuban restaurant institution that is first on my list when we get back!
Today I worked on thoroughly cleaning the inside of the dinghy, scrubbing and hosing. Tomorrow all of the vinyl curtains around the enclosure need to be washed with fresh water and put away so the workers can get in easily with the new tank. We need to clear out the forward cabin completely and cover the mattress because there will probably be a lot of sawdust. We must pickle the water maker - put it away until we come back so it doesn't get mildewed, etc. Pack the car, meet with Craig the man who will oversee the project, watch, and move the boat as needed while we're gone. Drew hasn't done any packing yet because he's consumed with emails and explaining the details of what he wants done, ordering parts, giving contact information, etc. So it goes. But every night there is always this:
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