Settling in to Licata

Thursday 8th October... LINDA - Month 1 in Licata started with us having an easy Friday after our long overnight journey. In fact i went to bed at 9am until lunchtime and Dean (who never rests) got the folding bikes out. Dean must have been glad to get them out of his cabin workshop. 

Dean removing the bikes from his cabin

Up the stairs they go

One up, one still folded

Giving them a once over

Next and a most important job was to dismantle the GPS antenna. It has been playing up all season and keeps losing its position, driving us mad most of the time setting off alarms. So this had to be sorted once and for all for our sanity. After a lot of deliberations and research, Dean ordered a new one.

Friday night was happy hour at Cafe Letteraio in the marina, and there was a lot of us there. We were only allowed 6 at a table, so when we arrived we had to sit with a couple we had not met before. It was good to meet new people, and this lovely couple were a young American lady and Spanish guy so interesting stuff.

One of Linda's jobs was to repair our flags which were all in a sorry state. We need to keep the Cruising Association flag so we cut up the Italian flag and used it for repairing the CA flag. Unfortunately the Black Country flag is beyond saving. It's obviously been a windy season.We have a spare Italian flag for next year.

Cruising Association flag

The sad Black Country flag, red part completely missing

..and a very torn Italian Flag

On to Saturday and Phil & Cris on Bora La arrived from Marzamemi. It was a very windy day. Saturday night there was an Oktoberfest celebration at Blue Sky bar and it was a good night and well attended. The staff were dressed up and really playing the part.

Free pretzels

Phil & Cris at Oktoberfest

...and Dean with his 'BIER'

The staff were up for it, dressed and playing the part

Sunday was a nice day, however we decided not to go to the BBQ and instead took a bike ride around the marina and all along the long breakwater right to the end. Half way along the breakwater we came across a couple of cats. Of course i stop to say 'hello puss' and before i knew it i was surrounded by about 30 cats. They just came from everywhere, obviously assuming that i had food. There were so many i couldn't get the bike going again.

Dean recognised this boat from 2 years ago in Almerimar

Stopping for a bike rest and having a look over the breakwater

The sea was a lovely colour

Marina on the left, open sea on the right

The first cats approaching

Then suddenly....

I couldn't get past them

Boat coming in

Looking back at the fish farms

Weird shaped blocks making up the breakwater

Harbour entrance

Blocks and blue sea

....and ME

So Monday we went to play Darts. Another part of Licata entertainment. It was fun and again we met new people. I'm not sure what game we played but it was a team effort and we played on opposite teams. The crowd are very welcoming. Apparantly they play Bridge as well but we've yet to give that a try. 

Dean has been busy getting quotes for replacing the plastic windows in the sprayhood. They have deteriorated a lot in the sun, especially the one on the top, which we use for watching the mainsail being hoisted. He wants to get covers made too, but at the moment it seems very expensive. Dean gave the dinghy a thorough clean and folded it up, putting it away safely in the lazzarette until next year. Most of the people we know have dinghys with hard floors and they have to leave them outside all season. Dean took a lot of time choosing what he wanted and it's working well for us.

Cleaning the dinghy

Leaving it to dry

Onto Tuesday and we cycled to Lidl. A one and half mile trip. We left it until siesta time so that there would be less crazy drivers on the road.  I'm afraid there were still a fair few around. This town is full of one way streets, and although it's a straight run coming back, to get there in the first place is quite a rigmarole, It was worth it though as we got some lovely crusty bread called 'Ciambellone'

Saffy hasn't been too bad, fairly settled and sleeping mostly. We take her for pees every three hours. Here she is guarding my reading book.

So today we walked to find out where the airport bus goes from for my trip home next week. On the way we found a shop called Dr Weed.... looks dodgy to me, 

And finally back in the marina Dean popped into the Chandlery and i waited outside, taking this photo of our Friday night Happy Hour bar

This afternoon a dog followed Cris back down the pontoon, and it obviously was looking for a drink of water. Dean to the rescue...

Friday 16th October...Dean 😟  Linda managed to get a place in the shuttle taxi to the airport today so Saffy and me are now home alone for two weeks. 

We took a sort of organised trip up to the castle last Friday, there are some other ruins there also. We walked past the dead center of Sicily on our way there!

The old jokes are the best!

People are dying to get in here...lol

Also on the way we passed some castle "grazing" in a field about the size of my old back garden.

A few photo's of the castle. 

Three captains

Linda hiding

Some shots of the view:

Some other ruins covered over to p[reserve them

On the way up

I have to pace myself with the winter jobs or I run out and get board. While I had the hose out to fill the tanks with water I flushed the outboard engine through with fresh water.

Sunday of course is BBQ day at the marina.

Yikes

Meanwhile Saffy has been keeping guard when we go out!

Another of the jobs this year is to replace the LCD hour counter screen in the rev counter.

That's better

We also had the Italian driving school show here in the marina car park for a few nights, doing doughnuts, driving on two wheels and skidding about. In true Italian style no turn signals where used!

We've been out for a couple of walks to try and find our way about, unfortunately Saffy can't make it any distance now, anyway we found quite a nice park nearby.

I had an Amazon delivery here this week, the seal on the fridge door has split and of course it's only available as the whole door! I'll see if I can get this to fit.

I had some parts turn up which I ordered from the chandlery here in the marina. I thought the solar panels on the bimini needed some more support and also made a neater job of the forward straps

While we were out on a walk about we called at the local wine shop. They delivered that day at 5pm. Vino rosso at 1 euro 80 and bianco at 1 euro 60 per litre. 😄

Thursday 22nd October....Dean  OK Lets see, Linda is back in the UK at the moment so Saffy and me are having to survive by ourselves. Saffy suggested that we would drink no alcohol while Linda was away, bloody stupid idea if you ask me so it's just Saffy that's tea total this week. Although she's not well at the moment, I think her age has finally caught up with her.

So this week we have been servicing the engine, oil and filter, fuel filters, water pump impeller, gear box etc. It's all looking good I have now started to use the 20 liters of oil that I bought last year. I spent  a day doing the washing, some in the new lavanderia here in the marina and some in our own small washing machine on board. We had the usual happy hour here on Thursday and again on Tuesday, I had a pizza also on Tuesday 5 euro, bargain. I was invited to brunch on board Boro La on Sunday, American style yummy. 

New marina laundry

My new dive cylinder turned up from Amazon and I managed to get some air put into it from one of the other boats here that has a dive compressor on board. I'm just going to use this for cleaning the bottom of the boat, my small 3 liter cylinder is too small, this is 12 liters. To day I have been fitting the new door seal on the fridge. 

Another Amazon purchase as the original only comes with the door at 200 euro. The fridge is a tight fit and has a remote compressor so it's difficult to move any amount to get the door off. Lets hope it works a little better now.

Barely surviving

Saturday 31st October... Scarey...Dean. Anyway those of you that follow us closely will have noticed that I forgot about the blog on Thursday. Whoops. I've been a bit busy with cleaning and things and especially hunting. Yes you read correctly...hunting. I've managed to get up to date with most of the jobs and now need to wait for Linda to arrive with more spares and bits. I've been out and about to the happy hours but now that the media virus is back, big yawn. Well a lot of the things here have changed so happy hour is from 3pm to 6pm, it's a bit early really but you have to make the effort you realise.

Anyway back to the hunting, I decided to check the water heater, it's just like the emersion heater at home only different. I pulled back the seat cushion over the locker and there waiting for me was a huge cockroach. It was about the size of a small cow I suppose. You will remember I think it was mentioned some time ago a similar incident last winter. I chased it around a bit and eventually managed to suck it up the vacuum hose. At least now it's off the boat! I took the whole vacuum up to the bins and managed to wrestle it to the ground and smash it's head in with a stick in the end.

Now to see where he's been and what he's left! Yes it was a male cockroach. Don't ask! I found a small hole in the weetabix packet where he'd chewed through the wrapper, luckily there only for Linda's breakfast so not so bad. I found a few droppings about and had a good clean up under all the lockers and storage areas. I bought some poison spray and trap things from the local hardware (Arkwrights) but there's been no signs since.

During one of our lovers conversations on the phone a few days later. No not the cockroach, Linda and myself! Try and keep up please. Anyway she mentioned that we had found a small hole in my cereal packet recently but thought nothing of it at the time so I've been eating that for the last few weeks....yuk. Sorry no photo's of the cockroach hunt it was just too big for the camera. 

My special cockroach repelling device might look half asleep and quite docile but she is in fact ready to pounce at any moment and can release her deadly impact on any predator, she is just like a coiled spring...ish.

The next blog for November will be called 'Thesee's countdown to Winter in the sun'