Guadeloupe Part 2

   We have settled in to our maintenance routine here in Point-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe.  As you can see by the picture to the left (encrusted salt covering our decks), the boat needs some work.

Here's a typical day:

0600 - Chris wakes up and works a couple hours on his navigation book.  Eats whatever is in the galley left over from the night before or scrounges for candy before Kellee wakes up.
 

0700 - Kellee wakes up and has nothing to eat, so she starves.

0800 - We get to work on boat projects.  Some of the stuff on tap includes:
         
           - Work on finishing the new sail cover for the mainsail that we started (using our awesome sewing machine).
           - Touch up the varnish around the boat.  It really takes a hit in the tropical sun, so maintenance coats are unfortunately necessary.

           - Clean the entire boat, inside and out.  It is amazing how dirty a little boat can get with two people living on it.  Fortunately, we live in about 150 square feet of space, so it doesn't take too long! 

           - Haul Kellee up the mast to check all our fittings and lubricate anything that needs it. 

           - Replace a couple worn lines such as our auxiliary lifting halyard which we use as our shower-holder...very important.  

           - Clean and inspect the drinking water tanks, which tend to accumulate funk pretty rapidly.           
           - Conduct our routine engine preventative maintenance, such as changing the zincs, cleaning the engine, tightening anything loose, checking fuel and water filters, checking the oil, etc etc.  This time we unfortunately discovered the heat-shielding around our engine exhaust hose was starting to come apart, so we took it off, cleaned it, and re-installed it better.
       

1100 - Lunch Break!  Walk about 300 yards to the grocery store and pick up a baguette, ham, and cheese, as well as fruit and a tasty beverage or two to eat on the boat.

1200 - During the heat of the day, we tend to work inside, doing stuff like:
          - Renewing our distress-beacon registration.
          - Researching our next port calls.
          - Working on videos or editing pictures.
          - Siesta
          - Uploading or downloading various internet stuff.
          - Fixing any wiring or electrical issues.  This week we installed a new galley light!

1500 - After it cools down a bit, back outside for a few more projects such as:
          - Whipping frayed lines, or tightening up stuff that is working loose.
          - Shining the stainless steel around the boat.
          - Cleaning snorkel gear and other toys.

Of course during the process there are frequent breaks during the process for physical and mental refreshment...

1800 - Dinner onboard.  With a grocery store nearby, it makes it easy to supply with fresh food.  Lately we've been experimenting with bread recipes - last night was an easy cornbread recipe, tonight is a no-yeast flatbread type thing.  We'll see! Occasionally we eat out - there is a pizza place nearby with specials for 9 euros.

Evening - with an internet connection here in Point-a-Pitre, it's easy to loose a couple hours catching up on things we've "missed," like the Harlem Shake, apparently.   

So, not a bad lifestyle here in Guadeloupe!  The only negative thing we've seen so far are the rats on the pier which are about the size of small cats.  So we try not to venture out after dark.  Luckily we are "med-moored" which means the boat doesn't touch the pier at all, so hopefully we are safe!

Here are a few pictures from last week's snorkeling that we didn't get to upload last time: