An update on the roaches...  the week we began our tame cockroach eradication procedure with condensed milk and borax we noticed some strange work being done on four large fishing boats at the end of our jetty. We realised that they were sealing every aperture in the boats to fumigate them. The marina office moved all the boats with people on board from nearby and the pest control company filled them with cyanide gas! The whole process took three days. When Richard asked about it, they said they were fumigating for cockroaches and wood eating beetle worms. This was interesting to hear as a while back we found a worm eating the wood under our taps at the sink! Richard had to clean the area and fill it with resin as the little blighter had eaten quite a chunk of the oak. At least it had good taste! So now we have no mercy on any insects we see on board. We are happy to report that our cockroaches are very rare now and those we do find are very sluggish.

For the past three weeks Richard has been treating the skin cancers on his face with a cream called Efudix which he got before we left the UK. This works in the same way as having them burnt with liquid nitrogen. The sun damage over the years has taken its toll and he has needed to do this for a while.  The cream attacks the cancerous cells and kills them and in the process gives the feeling of severe sunburn. He has been very uncomfortable and sore since day ten and has red blotches wherever the cream is working. He says he looks like an albino leopard! He finished the treatment on Sunday and should be much better in a few days. Warning to all... use sun protection cream with a high factor!

On Sunday we went for our usual stroll around the marina and to our horror saw a yacht on the rocks. It was a 30 foot local boat which had been tied to a mooring buoy in the bay. We have just found out that the buoy was only attached to 5 metres of chain and an anchor which is not nearly enough to be safe. It is a really sad sight to see a yacht in this state, and to see the owners trying to salvage what they could on the low tide. We have not even had strong winds recently.

On Saturday we took the bus to the airport to collect a rental car for four weeks. We were going to get one for three weeks but it was E150.00 cheaper to get it for a week more! How does that work? We were delighted when the assistant said we were getting a new vehicle. We have never had that luck before and have a little Golf Polo until 10^th January which is when we hope to set sail.

We will be using the car for stocking up on provisions and to tour the island when our visitors and crew arrive. Janet’s sister arrives next week from Germany for a ten day visit and her brother arrives on 29^th December to do the crossing with us. Our friend, George arrives on 8^th January, hence the departure date of the 10^th. The countdown has begun!

This has been a most relaxing time for us, almost in limbo, but without the anxiety this usually brings. It has been interesting how we have developed a daily routine, showing what creatures of habit we are, even with so few time constraints. We get up and have breakfast, check our mail, the news and Facebook, the latter with eager anticipation to see if there are any new photos of our grandchildren! We sometimes do boat work – Richard re-painted the bathroom floor, reinforced a step with fibre glass, replaced the water pump. We took stock of all the stores and reorganised the back cabins. Janet reads her books.

We take a walk around the complex and check if the lizards are sunning themselves on the rocky wall near the beach and see if any new boats have arrived. We also keep a look out for our lone duck which roams the marina waters. Never before have we seen a salt water duck which dives for fish! Somehow the day slips away and before we know it the time has come to have a glass of wine, make dinner and play our nightly game of scrabble. Richard is up on games for now.... he is SO lucky, and VERY competitive!

Here Christmas is coming too. The complex has lights on the trees and some of the residents have lights in their gardens. We have put up our miniature tree in the boat. The retail complex El Mirador, which was almost deserted when we went there in September, was very busy on Saturday. Busy here, though, is not quite the same as busy in England!