Day 223 - It Costs How Much To Live In BC?!?

As luck would have it, Jaco was busy again today. That left me time to pack & organize my stuff. I visited the shops briefly to say goodbye to Maria, met a Jeweller from South Africa (actually he lives in the town next to Jaco!) & helped Jaco a bit more in his office. 


The packing didn't actually happen, but seeing as I'd brought along an extra bag, I wasn't worried. I was going to do laundry, but then someone mentioned that in Alaska they close the laundry facilities for most of the cruise to save water & thus having to carry more grey water around. I accepted that it would be just as easy for me to have a bag of dirty clothes that I could easily wash once I was home. It would be in non-chlorinated water & healthy detergent too.


Speaking of chlorinated water, I am pleased to report that Jaco actually prefers the shower filter now & best of all, my eczema didn't show up this time! It must have been the water! That shower filter was a great investment!


We went for dinner at the Steakhouse tonight. It was a really great evening. We went with Rebecca & her friends, Daniel & Megan. Tim, Rebecca's husband, was also supposed to join us, but he was on call & had a patient. We enjoyed a wonderful meal & great conversations. Daniel works in the Arctic on tugboats & Megan works for the Canadian Coast Guard. She used to work on ships & it turns out I was on a ship at the same time she was! (Duh - prior to this time!) :o) Rebecca was celebrating her promotion tonight! She'd just been confirmed as Senior Second Officer! Congratulations!


We were talking about where to live in Canada & of course, we agreed that the west coast would be the ultimate place to live if we were going to try & escape the long, cold winters. However, the cost of housing came up. I was amazed to hear that houses were in the $800,000 to $900,000 range! Yikes! I guess we'll see about that!


So there you have it. My last day at sea for a very long time. I'll miss the sound of the water as it brushes past the sides of the ship, along with the gentle sway of the ship as I fall asleep. But rest assured, this prairie girl will find her way back to the water... Just give me a little time to tie up some lose ends on land...


Love & hugs,
Maria & Jaco
xxxxxxx

Jaco, me, Daniel, Megan, & Rebecca

Our South African waiter, Craig, took the photo. He's good! He could shoot Resi anytime! :o)

Day 187 - Tortola, BVI

Today was Tortola, BVI – British Virgin Islands. I had never been here before & obviously neither had Valentina! Much to my surprise, Valentina was allowed ashore! I had slept quite late & by the time Jaco was finished with clinic, we were ready to head out.

We were on a mission to find a shower water filter. We took a cab to the local plumbing shop & to my complete & utter glee, they had ONE left! Hooray! Oh please let this take away my eczema. Did I mention it’s all over my feet, legs, arms, neck, chest, back, belly, face… Horrid. Simply horrid. I even took drugs for it yesterday! It’s that bad!

After our plumbing stop, we headed downtown. Perhaps we missed the ‘downtown’ others were referring to, or perhaps there just wasn’t really a downtown. In any case, we didn’t see a whole lot, but we enjoyed ourselves. Valentina had a nice long walk & we took her to a little craft market, which was right by the water. I was going to walk her into the water to cool her off a little, when I realized the concrete pad we were standing on was COVERED in urchins! Gulp! Thank goodness I didn’t take her another 2 steps! She would have been one lame puppy!!! Poor thing! Close call!

We wandered along the side streets & checked out the artsy little shops off the beaten path. It reminded me a little of St. Thomas, which is part of the US Virgin Islands. We stopped in a wig shop & the wigs were cheap! $24! I wanted to try a few on, but we didn’t have much cash with us, so onwards & upwards…

We stopped for an Italian gelato – Pink Grapefruit! Yum! Then, it was time to head back to the ship. Jaco had clinic & Tweet Pea was pretty beat. She drank & then slept straight away! I wandered back out for a souvenir & then took her upstairs for my dinner & sailaway. It was really pretty as we sailed out of the harbour. I think Jaco can work in the BVI – that would be fun!

After dinner, I took Valentina to the shops to say hello to a few of the girls she met a few days back. They were completely enamoured with her. In fact, one of the girls was headed on her break & asked if she could take Valentina with her. Away we went to the crew bar. Everyone was excited to see her! She had her fill of cuddles & kisses! Although she was a little disappointed to find out they didn’t serve doggy biscuits at the bar! :o)

Tomorrow is St. Maarten & I’m not sure if Valentina will be allowed off or not. Fingers crossed we can enjoy another day at the beach!

Hugs & kisses,

Jaco, Maria & Valentina

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Papa susses out the sights

It's a happy tongue!

Local craft market

Cute & kitsch touristy stuff

Investigating the water

She loves her Papa - check out that smile!

Mama's turn!

The Happy Family

Cute lil' side streets with unique shops

Sunset & sailaway

Daniela & Valentina hit up the crew bar!