After arriving on 6th we settled in and spent some time 'doing the touristy bit', catching up with jobs and finally making sure Ticketeeboo is best ready for our little passage from Tenerife towards the Caribbean.
We spent the first weekend mostly socialising ant testing our livers again. We met new friends Margie & Marcus (s/y Island Kea II) when they heard us calling 'Marina Tenerife' (the marina few miles to the north of Santa Cruz Marina, where I thought we had a booking) and said "You don't want to go there. It's better here in Santa Cruz Marina". Needless to say we made a point of going to their yacht and meeting them. Cut a long story short (as yeah does) we also met plenty of their friends (more than 20 on one night) when they invited us for 'drinks and bowl of rice on Island Kea - very cosy as well tasty it was too!
Another cheapo/none-limo Cicar car-hire meant we could explore Tenerife, it's mountain & coastal roads and we visited the volcano at Teide (3700m) where we had to catch our breath after just a few minutes trekking at the top lift station (having donated €50 to get us up the cable-car).
When seeking out the local Carrefoure 'biggie' supermarket I somehow managed to put us in a 'taxi & busses only' road........... which I couldn't get off when it became a single road! Idiotic taxi drivers honking like heck making no difference because there was nowhere else for me to go..... until finally the restricted road came close to a traffic-light junction. It was green to-go and I wanted to depart this soddin lane for the normal road and some feller wouldn't let me in so I needed to be 'bold and forceful' and he didn't like it. Unfortunately neither did the hidden (unobserved) motor-bike copper on wheels. Surprise, surprise, this friendly policeman came alongside my window and indicated I had done wrong. "Me?" was I surprised! When he proceeded to talk rather quickly I just had to indicate my bewilderment ans said "I know I made a mistake". What else could I do (except telling Sue "Don't laugh woman!" The very nice policeman on wheels told me to go to the left (which I obediently did expecting to pay a fine) only to find he wizzed-off (presumably thinking I wasn't worth the biovver) with bigger fish to fry? We were happy to find the Carrefoure supermarket with 2 floors of underground car parking. Unfortunately, complete with BIG trolly of foodstuffs (as well more liver-testing liquids) we started looking for our hire-car on the wrong floor........ and there's a lorra Cigar hire-cars all looking identical when this predicament presents itself! We were happy to return our little hire-car intact that evening.
Lots of boat jobs done and dusted. Some expected (servicing main engine and gearbox, as well generator engine). Some disparagingly unexpected (broken stanchion base due to crappy weld) and binimi repair (job in-progress because first attempt by sailmaker resulted in some additional and unexpected ventilation). Stainless polishing is virtually relentless - no sooner started than never completed! New aft locker (one of two) now has independently wired auto/manual bilge pump (beggers belief why manufacturer did not fit bilge pumps in each of our two aft lockers when there is no other way of them draining, other than to wait until it would be too-late needing us to bucket and chuck-it?). Now we have one done and one 'in-progress' awaiting my some additional bits for me to fit.
During our final few days on board Sue progressively slipped into home-mode saying 'so-many more sleeps to go' each day, whilst greatly looking forward to seeing Grandkiddies next!
As a final treat, we had a local Indian dinner (24 hour cheek squeezer) on our last night. T'was very good until 0500 next morning, when I realised I had forgot to pick-up hire car that night before going to Indian restaurant! Fortunately, at 0830, when I made my way to our favourite Cigar car-hire office at the ferry terminal, my name was at the top of their listing. As as some sort of a reward, they gave us a fancy Alfa Romeo (upgrade they said) which I interpreted as "Mr Douglas" this is your lucky day to be paying us to deliver this car to Tenerife South Airport for us today". No bother but I don't desire one though. This in-bred gas guzzler uses more fuel than the little cut-down Corsa we'd become used to during earlier excursions on islands we've visited!
That's about it then for now. We loved landing Manchester at 0130 next morning in freezing cold (after leaving Tenerife's 24ºC when we dropped-off the hire car in glorious late afternoon sunshine). Oh yes, first incoming text on landing informing us that our heating boiler is on the blink (not for the first time either) so we knew our fridge and freezer would likely be the place to get warm that evening! For the first time in years (and I mean YEARS) we fought over feet-rights to the only hot-water bottle on our first night home in bed. The boiler man is due here tomorrow - by which time our log-burners will have saved us from a chilly fate!
Over the forthcoming days and weeks many of our friends will progress towards the Caribbean. They all have 6516, 8131 & 12359 (kHz) appointments at 0800 & 1900 UT each day on Susans Atlantic Crossing Group - the cruisers net everyone is talking about! Our thought will be with them and we wish everyone a safe and exciting passage and hope they all look out for Ticketeeboo, when we expect to be a month or so later.
In meantime BFN xxxxxxxxxxx (Grandkiddies No2 arriving NOW)
