Well, we are almost ready to launch the boat. Just a few things to tidy up on deck then we will be back in the water next week. Whether we will have left Trinidad by Christmas is another matter, as we need to be alongside for a week or so to finish off the cockpit painting. Mike has still to sort out the fuel line problem and we need to be in the water to run the engine to test it when he has done the job. Also, we have been without a fridge for all these months and the water cooled freezer will take a few days to get down to temperature. If we do get away to Grenada it will feel like our adventures are at last starting again!

There is nothing really new to report for November. We have now got great non-slip areas on the coach roof and side decks with the clever use of sand mixed in with the paint. The paint itself is gloss so will hopefully clean up better than the old emulsion.

Pat did take a day off a couple of weeks ago to go on a ‘hash’ run with the local Hash House Harriers. Not exactly a run (those days are long gone I’m afraid) but the walking was brisk and the exercise was well needed! ‘Hashing’ originated in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 1938 as a kind of cross country run (like a ‘hare and hounds race, following a paper trail) by British Colonial officers and ex-pats. It was named after the Selangor club where the men were billeted, otherwise known as the Hash House by the residents, for the monotonous food served there. Hashing now takes place all over the world and is a social event as well as an athletics  meeting. A bit like a cross between a running and rugby club! It’s a good way to get a bit of exercise and see some new countryside as there are different routes chosen all the time. There were over a hundred people at Macqueripe last fortnight, locals and a few ‘yachties’. Unfortunately Pat forgot to take her camera on the run!

The hash this weekend was over on the east coast of Trinidad, quite a long drive away. The roads are notoriously bad here (even without the extra gridlocks being caused by the security surrounding the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting being held at the moment) so a few of us went back to Macqueripe on Saturday and we retraced our steps at a more leisurely pace! There are a few photos below. Macqueripe is a small beach on the north coast not far from Chaguaramas. The whole area is a National Park and there are stunning views from the ridges we climbed.

There are a few photos of Divali here as well. We didn’t have room last month with all the Angel falls photos.

Before looking through the Photo Gallery have a look at some of our November movies below.

This first one is of the Krishna Temple in Felicity last month. These are of some of the Divali lights. The bamboo cannon which didn’t seem to be working correctly. Mike and Jim moving the engine to release the twisted prop shaft. The sand being shaken onto the side deck Trinni swimming

The rest of the photos are below.

See you next month, hopefully.