Saturday (13 March) we headed out early to the pool. Our usual spot by the lagoon (in the adult area) was not busy but the umbrellas had been removed, so there was no shade available. So we headed to the sun beds near the other pool instead.
During the day Steve and Jo’s friends arrived (James, Leslie and their son Harrison) so they also took themselves to the lagoon pool for some fun.
Early evening we got together with the gang and headed into one of the village restaurants called Jonaz on Food. The waiter was attentive, the food was pretty good and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Until the bill came and the waiter turned on us as he wasn’t happy about us checking it. Hmmm, he was quite rude to us, so we didn’t leave him a tip! Tipping here in Australia is not mandatory or expected so no problems there, but it was all very strange and sort of ended the evening on a less than cheery note.
Sunday morning we headed back to the pool again – this time the ‘oyster’ shaped lounger was available which has a shade cover so we nabbed that for the day, and enjoyed ourselves just bobbing around in the lagoon in between lazing around and reading books. Throughout the day I was struggling a bit with my hip so definitely no more water aerobics for me!!
During the evening it started raining so we had a quiet night in. The rain didn’t let up all night and was pretty heavy. And, of course, on Monday it continued to rain all day. So apart from popping out for a coffee and some shopping at the village IGA we just chilled out down below.
We then headed over to Tamanu for dinner with Steve and Jo – we are very happy to be Steve’s curry recipe guinea pigs. This time it was a beef vindaloo and was absolutely fantastic! Loved it….
Tuesday morning and it was still raining. Apart from heading out for a coffee we had another day of not doing much other than sheltering down below from the weather feeling like hermits. Richard did, however, fix the lights in the heads. To finish off the day we had a Netflix binge. Currently we are watching Season 2 of Designated Survivor and thoroughly enjoying it….
Wednesday morning it was a bit brighter but was still not pool weather. So we took up residency on our dock and took apart our cockpit cushions. Richard scrubbed the inner closed cell pads while I worked on the covers. And that was about it for the day.
Thursday we had plans to meet David and his young family in the afternoon but, unfortunately, they were poorly so cancelled. Never mind we are here for another couple of weeks yet so there is time to catch up with them when they have recovered from the lurgy. I was having another bad leg day so Richard was pottering around looking for jobs to tackle and this time it was the stern shower nozzle which needed cleaning out as it was blocked; then he worked on the stainless on the cooker; followed by the galley taps. Great job and everything is now sparkling again!
Later on we headed to the Cove Tavern for a couple of drinks and some supper before returning to Morphie for another quiet night on board.
Friday morning I headed to the Village IGA for some provisions and then Richard and I had a clean up down below. He worked on the walls in our cabin while I cleaned all the floors, wiped the wood down, and vacuumed the rug. I then prepared dinner for Steve and Jo as we were entertaining them with a boat-made lasagne with salad and garlic bread for dinner. And a lovely evening we had too, despite the late appearance of a few mosquitos because we had forgotten to close the hatches before dark!
This morning, Saturday, and we met Steve and Jo at 8.30am. The only washing machine here in the marina has been playing up so they were doing a laundromat run to Coomera and we had decided to join them.
While the washing was going around in the tubs we all had breakfast out in a local cafe and then went for a drive around the local marinas in the luxury of the car’s air-conditioned environment whilst we waited for the dryers to finish…. Back on board having unpacked all our laundry, the weather is changing again and we have just had a rain shower with the threat of a thunderstorm later. Oh joy!
So not much to report this week although we have really enjoyed being sociable for a change. So fingers crossed for improved weather so that we can have more pool time. Hard to believe that we have been here almost two weeks and have only managed two days so far!
We see that the vaccination roll-out continues at home although there are renewed concerns over the supply chain. The story is the same here in Australia with Europe blocking exports. Papua New Guinea (which is just across the Torres Straits from the top of Queensland) are struggling to cope with the pandemic and many of the vaccines were earmarked to be sent there to help this third-world country get on top of the problem. The Australian Prime Minister is clearly furious about Europe stopping deliveries of ordered and paid-for drugs to keep for themselves despite signed contracts with the manufacturers. Will be interesting to see how this all pans out. Here in Australia they are onto the next stage of the vaccination process and our doctor has told us the surgery will be in touch when it is our turn. So fingers crossed that won’t be too long into the future.
So take care everyone, we are thinking of you all and sending love and hugs. Today’s smile comes courtesy of more Australian cuties – this time some baby dingoes.
Jan