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Date: 20 Nov 2011 14:25:00
Title: Sunday morning - and a day of rest!!
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We had decided that today, being Sunday, we would have a day off.  The most pressing issue we had was that of rapidly diminishing fuel in the dinghy or so we thought as we sat eating breakfast....
There had been a small problem with the watermaker in that it seemed not to be filling the port side tank.  I had checked for leaks under the saloon floor yesterday and had seen none.  John looked today and there was a slight leak from one of the pipes - he was going to tighten it up.  The next thing I heard was a frantic shout from down below to switch off the water pump and drain the system, the fitting had broken off and water was pouring out of the pipes and into the boat!!  The only good thing is that as it is fresh water, there is a limited supply of it, sea water is quite another matter.  So much for a day off - the next half an hour was spent crouching in the cupboard fixing the pipes, with our one remaining spare connector.

 The plumber at work - scrunched in a cupboard and surrounded by bowls to catch the water.

Now to our next issue - dinghy fuel.  There are few if any cars on the island, apart from those owned by hotels to ferry people to and from the airport, and everyone travels by scooter.  On the basis of the amount of scooters, we naively thought that finding a fuel station shouldn't be too hard, and that it would be near the centre of the village as that is where all the scooter rental companies are - wrong!!  Having seen no sign of a fuel station at all in our wanderings here, I decided to consult the guide book to find that there was indeed a fuel station on the island, but there was a catch.  A few years ago a large development on the northern tip of the island was planned, including a hotel, shops and a fuel station.  This was duly started and then due to the recession, I assume, stopped.  The development was part done, and the fuel station had been built, however that was all - the road to the fuel station was still under construction, which probably means not actually started, and was never built.  What the island was left with was 1 fuel station, for the whole island, with no access by road!! The islanders devised a system of bringing fuel around by fishing boat in large jugs which were then used to fill up the boats and scooters in the town - there has been little or no thought to finishing the road since. Added to this, the fuel station had also run out of fuel and there was no way of knowing when they will get any more.  There was talk of fuel on Terre D'en Bas but we didn't have enough to get there & back if they were sold out too.  Eventually, we got the bloke who runs the moorings to go for us, at a charge of €5.  A bit of a bargain as he was away for ages, about an hour rather than the 15 minutes he said it would take, and went to at least 2 islands - at one stage John thought he saw him heading out to mainland Guadeloupe to get the fuel about 20 miles away!!

Once fuelled up we set off to go back to the dive site we went to yesterday - La Vierge. I was gutted I hadn't taken the camera as the scenery was spectacular.

 The pillar said to resemble the Virgin Mary (minus her head!)

 A cave in the rocks next to the pillar - look at the colour of the water and how clear it is!

  The pillar and surrounding rocks.

Today was also the only day we have had a clear view of Guadeloupe. There is a micro climate here and although we are less than 9 miles from Guadeloupe at the nearest point, it has been shrouded in clouds and squalls, while we have just had the odd shower.  It is said that if you see the top of the volcano without any clouds you will visit here again.

 It's a bit hazy but there are no clouds - another visit is surely on the cards!


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