When we were in the Azores last summer we were struck by the remarkably large number of holidays. It seemed like every weekend there was some sort of, mostly religious celebration, going on and many spilled into the weekdays.
Easter is a very big deal in Spain and when we discovered that our furler on the inner-forestay as kaput, ordering a new one ran right into the Easter celebration. We discovered the problem last Tuesday and by the time a rigger was out the nex day, it was Wednesday and just about every business had closed for Easter and not opening up until the following Monday or even Tuesday.
Like everything else on a boat, parts often have to be ordered and in this case, getting a new furler that matched what was already on the boat was a “special” order and had to come from Denmark, I think. You’d think that someone would stock it in Spain but NO. Well, here I sit a full week later and I am still not certain that it has even been shipped.
The biggest issue we face is that Brenda flies to Rome next Friday and the hope was that we’d be in Cartagena by the early part of next week, at the latest but after loosing nearly a week to the holiday, I still don’t have confirmation on the delivery.
When we arrived here two weeks ago, I was mostly concerned about the early spring strong north and east winds holding us up. So, now that we have been here for such a long time, conditions have lightened up a lot so even if we only have a few days before Brenda’s flight, we should be able to make it. However, we were counting on having a few days to explore the city which isn’t looking very likely.
If we had a tracking number to see when the package will be delivered, we could at least rent a car, go to Cartagena and spend a night or two in a hotel but until we know when it’s going to arrive, we really can’t leave.
With all of our new found free time, we have also been thinking about fun things to do in the Balearic islands, where we expect to spend most of our time before heading to Sardinia in late May. These islands are part of Spain and are very popular during the summer, leading to tremendously high dockage rates. Think $300+ a night, if you can get a spot.
Fortunately, the rates are a LOT less, perhaps in the $50 range, in the early season, so that’s pretty appealing. Normally, we anchor and hope to much of the time, but with the early season winds stronger and very changeable, we may opt for more time in marinas on this trip.
Whatever our timeline, we are thinking of the fun stuff that we hope to do and have been watching some YouTube videos. I came upon this short piece about a wonderful antique train ride in Palma, a must for us when Brenda returns from Italy.
I had no idea that there would be a train on the island. Can’t wait.
Anyway, here we sit, with no real idea of when the new furler will arrive. The good news is that once it’s here it’s a one day install and then, weather permitting, we are on our way the next day.
Sadly, it’s not just the two of us that are unclear about next steps, as our neighbors from Essex are flying over around the time that Brenda departs and will be aboard while she is gone and then for about a week when she returns.
At this point, there are now four of us that are wondering where we will meet up so learning more about delivery soon will surely help.
Thinking ahead I struggled to find an affordable place to leave Pandora for June through August, the high season in Sardinia, and was quoted rates that would curl your hair, well mine anyway. The only reasonable option I could find was to haul her in Bosa, on the west coast of Sardinia, which looks like a spot we would want to visit regardless.
This short piece gives some highlights of this charming town.
Well, if it wasn’t clear already that I am working hard to keep myself occupied, watching videos on YouTube is proof enough.
To be clear, there’s more to life aboard Pandora beyond YouTube as we also spent much of yesterday clearing out years of clutter that had found it’s way into all of our lockers. Fortunately, there is a thrift shop in town so we headed over there with three bags of stuff to donate.
Still more spring cleaning on the horizon as my “shop” is a total mess and sorting thru a decade of tools and “stuff” will surely take some time. And, sadly, I have time…
For now though, sitting and waiting…