Mon 10^th, Tues 11^th, Wed 12^th and Thurs 13^th Jan

Sorry about the long delay but in many ways there has been little to report and again each day always ended with nothing resolved about Sarah’s health.

On Monday morning we were due at the clinic for Sarah’s ultrasound scan at 7.30am. We came ashore in the dinghy, making our way up the river to the waterfront and tied up at Independence Square. Of course this was rush hour here in Bridgetown so there were no taxis in the taxi rank and it was a while before we managed to flag one down and make our way to the clinic. Although we were now a bit late it transpired that the time of 7.30am was not actually an appointment as we had been told, but merely the time they opened! Like everywhere else, everyone was very helpful and friendly and within a couple of hours Sarah had had the scan and we were back at the emergency clinic with the results for the first doctor to review. This was another few hours during which their TV rather frustratingly showed coverage of the same cricket match I had watched the previous day!

Sarah was eventually seen by a different doctor who was very helpful but explained that the appendix was fine but there were a couple of things shown up that warranted a CT scan to clarify. We went off to consider this and the doctor kindly waived any further charge.

Once we were back on board and with Sarah feeling a little bit better, we decided to move Serafina from where we were to a new point much closer to the beach and further round the headland out of the swell. This was a great move and we now at least were rolling a good deal less which made life considerably more comfortable, although it was further to travel by dinghy to the town.

On Tuesday we contacted Sarah’s GP at home who has been incredibly helpful and as a result we elected to go ahead with the CT scan here to see if we could lay all the fears to rest.

So on Wednesday we tried to make the arrangements to have this new scan, but of course nothing is quite that easy! We tried to telephone the doctor at his clinic and were told to call back after 1.00pm when he came into work. At 1.00pm our phone call merely resulted in us being told that we had to come in and see the doctor in person, so we went ashore in the dinghy and found ourselves once again sat in their waiting room. (The TV was now showing a live  one day international cricket match between SA and India) and Sarah was eventually seen at 3.34pm. He helpfully gave us the paperwork we needed and told us we could now contact the CT scan company to arrange the appointment. It was 3.55pm and the scan company closed at 4.00pm. Fortunately it was very nearby and so we phoned ahead and walked round (slowly, Sarah still in a somewhat delicate state!) in time to be allowed in. They were very helpful as well (everyone in Barbados has been so kind and friendly and helpful) and cheerfully gave Sarah an appointment (a real one) for 10.00am the next morning. The only downside was the barium drink that she needed to take in three doses between 10.00pm and 10.00am the next day.

Thursday morning saw us arrive 30 minutes early at the scanner company which was no problem and they immediately processed Sarah and by 11.00am we were out, however although we had two copies of the CT scan on CD’s, the report would not be available for a ‘few days’ although they subsequently suggested that we ring on Friday in case it is done by then. So the situation now remains that we have to wait for the report and then email it off to the UK for a second opinion before we decide anything further.

We then caught a bus back into town and made our way on foot towards the cruise ship terminal to see a craft workshop area that was actually very disappointing. Bridgetown plays host to an extraordinary number of cruise ships and the least we have seen on any day so far is two and frequently there are three or four including on Monday, the Queen Mary 2.

So to date we have seen very little at all of this island but we have had offers from the two sets of people we know here to help us get out and see a bit more soon. As one of them put it, it would be a shame to sail all this way and only see a handful of medical facilities! Furthermore we have been repeatedly told that Bridgetown is the very worst side of the island in pretty much every respect and so we cannot say that we have seen Barbados until we get out a bit more. To that end, Steve and Chris have agreed to hire a car with us on Monday so we can do a bit of exploring. Also their friends Bob and Lynn (with the yacht in Marmaris, Turkey) have offered to have us all over for a BBQ on Sunday. We plan to stay until at least Tuesday afternoon so we should get some ground covered between now and then.

Everyone we have come across so far have been wonderful and it is just so refreshing to meet such happy and polite people everywhere. Shopping in the small local ‘supermarket’ is entertaining with most people offering a cheery ‘good morning’ or whatever, which always demands a similar enthusiastic response. Everyone smiles and it is hard to have anything less than a very positive feeling about the people. Even in the clinic waiting rooms, new arrivals offer a big hello to all those already waiting and the positive response from them all  is almost very vocal.  We have been mighty impressed by the absolutely immaculate turned out children in school uniform – Sarah is quite happy to admit that she could never produce such a well starched and pressed sets of clothes, let alone coerce our two into them!

With both of us being under the weather since we arrived here, there is a growing list of jobs to do on board, but we do at least have no time constraints on us. We are catching up with all the laundry and on the plus side we have found that the solar panels and wind turbine are coping very adequately with us sitting out here at anchor all the time without access to mains power. We do occasionally run the generator but this is only to power up the water-maker so we have plenty of fresh water for the washing machine and showers on board etc.

The weather has been quite unseasonal we are told. Certainly we did not expect so much cloud and so many torrential downpours which have continued all week. However it is very warm and beautiful when the sun is out and we cannot complain especially when we hear how things are back home.   Although we have resorted to wearing our waterproof trousers to combat the choppy seas and occasional downpour on our trips ashore in the dinghy (unlike all other boat owners we have seen, but turning up in a clinic with a salty wet seat really isn’t possible!)  Sarah is also still convinced it’s too cold to get wet on the way ashore!