Spending Christmas at home was exactly what I’d hoped it would be. Seeing family and friends, lots of good food, some time to relax, and reminding myself what cold weather and jeans and a jacket feel like. Anika came down from Holland and hanging out with her was a special treat. All too soon my two weeks are over.

Yesterday, on the 31st, I board a surprisingly full plane and fly back to Grenada. After a smooth ride, my taxi guy picks me up and drives me to Benji Bay and also ferries be back to JACE.

She is looking good. What a relief. Leaving your boat unattended on a mooring is always a bit nerve wrecking. At least for me. But everything onboard is in good order. Batteries are fully charged, the engine comes alive on the first attempt, and I see no signs of damage or mold or any other problems. I open all the hatches and quickly the boat cools down and I am welcomed to a spectacular sunset.

I am hungry and don’t have much, if any, food aboard. There is only one restaurant within dinghy range but that has a reservations-only New Years Eve party. So I end up subsisting on granola with water (I thought I had UH milk aboard but don’t). Oh well.

And I am tried. I picked up a travel cold, my nose is running and my throat a bit soar. So I go to bed before 9p. At midnight, the fireworks wake me up and I spend a few minutes sitting on deck watching and reflecting on the year past and the one ahead.

Jetlagged and having gone to bed too early, I have a somewhat restless night. I wake up exhausted and my cold got a bit worse, now also sporting a headache. I go for a swim but feel rather slow. After breakfast (thanks to a pancake mix) I am so tired and achy, I go back to bed and sleep some more.

By midday, I feel better. I bake a bread and start working away at my todo list. I still have not heard from Tevin, my fridge guy. I hope he will have time for me the next few days or I could be stuck here for a while.

Highlight of my day is my fresh water pump. The replacement part (pressure switch) arrived the day before I left (thankfully) and now I am able to install the original pump (with the new switch mounted) instead for the semi-working one. Ah, such a luxury to have full and immediate water pressure! The shower tonight will be marvelous. So important to enjoy those little pleasures.

Since I still don’t have food (all stores closed today and my fridge down), I treat myself to dinner at the above restaurant, gobble down (I am hungry) lovely fish tacos and chocolate cake with ice cream for good measure. Slow but good first day back.