Since Sunday, March 16, was Palm Sunday, there was not much going on in Portsmouth. We strolled the town. Things were quiet. Our trip was postponed to Monday, so we were going to catch a bus or hitch a ride to see some of the countryside. However, our plans were foiled--no one seemed to be out and about except for those sitting on their porches or walking to and from church.
Although our day was quiet, we met a lovely storekeeper who sold us some eggs and the three limes she had. A local fellow, brother of the shopkeeper, was very insistent that we buy the six mangoes he had for sale. They were far from ready to eat, but he told us they would be ready in about three days--or, we could eat them in a salad as they were.
Sunday evening we invited our neighbors, Fran and Chris from s/v Changes, over for cocktails. They are from Toronto and have a beautiful Hylas 49. Fran taught 2nd grade in the 70s when they were sailing in George Town, Bahamas. They had wanted to enroll their home-schooled daughter in the school for socialization skills, but were told because of the shortage of teachers, they couldn't take her. So Fran became a teacher there for a season. Now that daughter, a marine biologist, is teaching on the Concordia traveling from the Cape Horn to Capetown, South Africa.
On Monday, we went to Chaudiere pool with several cruisers. The pool is located several miles east of Portsmouth. We hired a local driver, Cornel, to take us there and pick us up. The hike down the mountain was only about 30 minutes, but was quite steep and a little slick with mud.
The entire trail was covered with a spectacular canopy of palm trees and other lush rainforest growth providing shade for the trek. Upon reaching the bottom, we were treated a beautiful waterfall with a refreshing pool of fresh water. Of course, we all jumped in for a swim. The hike out proved surprisingly to be quite a challenge for me. I am truly and shamefully out of shape after over a year on our boat with little opportunities for exercise and workouts. After hiking back up to the road, we walked about 2 1/2 miles to a small town where we were to meet Cornell for the ride back to town. We were very anxious for a cold drink, but the first "snackette" we came to only sold beer, and some of our group wanted a rum punch. So, the shopkeeper hollered down the street to April to open up as there were people who needed a drink. With that the second shopkeeper hopped next door to her snackette and proceeded to serve us all--although the beer was warm!
Today we 've hired Anderson, a local fellow who paddles around on a surface drumming up business, to clean the sides of our boat. He gave us a reasonable price and seems to be a friendly, goodhearted young man and our boat sure needs the attention. He cleans the hulls by kneeling on his surfboard scrubbing with a vinegar solution. Looks like a hard way to do it, but we've seen the results of his efforts. So we're pleased.
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