Week 2 in Jamaica

It's easy to see how people sail into a port and never leave. We are now into our second week at Port Antonio, Jamaica. Richard, our other crew member left us last week. We all agreed it wasn't working out, so it was sad that he didn't get to see through the adventure he was looking for, but, as they say, that's sailing.

We have sorted out the problem with our HF radio, with the help of a local guy, Richard. Seems the antenna connections were so corroded, we couldn't receive anything. Now we can receive and transmit! Our chartplotter started mysteriously playing up a few days ago, but i think we've sorted that out now too - probably a dodgy adapted card that the microSD card sits in. In the meantime......

......we spent a couple of hours one day on a bamboo raft going down the Rio Grande. Our rafting guide, Keith, was very happy for Ivan to 'take the helm' from time to time......

......we went swimming in the Blue Lagoon - made famous by the movie of the same name - with our fellow boaty friends Ed and Martha........the lagoon is nice to swim in because it has a layer of cool freshwater on top and warm saltwater below. This is because it is fed by some freshwater springs. There is one right next to the lagoon where you can rinse the saltwater off after a swim...very civilised!

We've been checking out the sights, sounds and tastes of the town......the market in any place is always a fun experience

Jamaican apples

me holding the freshly baked bread and a breadfruit


.....and Ed, who has made a science of bread-making, showed me his no-knead method of making bread. although it took up a good part of the day because we were fitting a lot of other chores around it, the bread was my best effort yet in the oven. The secret ingredient was the air-conditioning as  without it the cabin would has been tooooo hot to do anything in. We decided to purchase a small air-conditioner that we can use while in port, so we can get a decent night's sleep. It is soooo good.