Back with Christine at last

Christine's Atlantic Circuit
Peter Lansdale
Wed 9 Nov 2016 10:01
Lynn and I arrived in Las Palmas on Monday the 7th and it has been pretty full on since then. Our afternoon flight arrived a little late but we were out very quickly, collected the hire car, and despite some difficulty in finding the exit to the car park we were soon driving back into the marina. It felt very good to be back but there was plenty to do.
 
After a visit to marina reception we had to see the car park man to get a card. "See" being the operative word as the conversation was mostly in sign language what with our lack of Spanish and his non-existent English. Heavy rain came pouring down mid-mime and we were immediately soaked. We were just in time to call into the ARC office to arrange to register at 9.30 the following day, before driving down to the pontoon to unload the bags when the 'heavy' rain upped the ante to 'semi tropical'.   A quick unpack to get some dry clothes and then off to eat.
 
Tuesday morning and off to register, a process which takes half an hour but was efficiently carried out by the charming Peta. Booked in for the safety inspection for 15.00, so we spent the day sorting the boat, chatting with Ian and Manuela onboard Mr X, and collecting tickets for various seminars.   The party tickets will be collected later, but the nightly "Sundowners" will ensure we get to meet our fellow ARC adventurers and the excitement will be rising exponentially as more and more boats arrive.
 
The safety inspection went well despite a technical discussion regarding grab bags and the life raft requirements. Time to change and off to our first Sundowner, free drinks and samples of some very good Serrano ham and local cheeses - after which we were invited onboard  Mr X where our lovely hosts shared their dinner with us...finding a date to reciprocate might be a problem, given our full on programme.
 
Here's a pic of our newest crew member and latest Mascot - The intrepid Sailor Ted......
 
Sailor Ted all ready for off.
Bye for now.  Peter & Lynn