What do you do all day when you are cruising? It is a question we hear a lot. As we are in Rota, Spain, and have temporarily reached a point of full on “relaxation” mode, we thought some insight into what this entails might be of interest.

To begin with Rota is new to us. So we need to get our bearings.

Priority number one is Vodaphone to sort out our 3G Internet system for which we paid several months in advance and is not working. This entails a trip to the marina office to find out where to go  (they do not know), calling a cab (he does know), taking a four Euro ride (cabs are cheap in Spain), and then waiting in line for half an hour. So far we have killed half of the hottest part of the day.

Priority two is fresh produce. Three blocks back there was a small produce shop.

Off we trudge – did we mention it is hot – to find a wonderful, if compact collection of fruits and some veggies.

The proprietess picks out the items you resquest. The cherries and peaches are wonderful which will lead to further activity.

We now have two full bags of fresh sustenance. We need to call a cab. But these folks do not have a phone. We head back to Vodaphone who kindly make the arrangememt.

Back aboard Linda has to stow the new aquisitions while Steve goes to work in the engine room. It has not been given a thorough cleaning since leaving the UK in late May, so that is where we start. Cleaning serves three purposes: it cleans, is a great way to look for incipient problems, and it makes us feel good.

We finally find the closest (mini) super market to the marina this morning, but are disappointed with the quality of the produce and the size of the store. Still we filled up three big carrying bags of groceries and walk it back to the boat; which gave us a good weight-bearing exercise workout plus cardio. Back to the marina office to find out if and where a larger super market is located (this will require another cab ride tomorrow).

Over the next three days we will do the following chores:

• Check engine room liquids.
• Inspect hoses, wiring, and belts for condition and chafe.
• Replace a bad oil pressure sender on the starboard engine.
• Test manual shift/throttle system.
• Check shift and throttle cable end fittings.
• Flush water maker with fresh water.
• Replace a series of old wire ties.
• Replace life line lashings.
• Straighten one slightly bent pushpit rail.
• Reorganize forepeak.
• Modify support system on salon hatch awning system.
• Lube door and dinghy locks.
• Tear down, clean, and lube rowing dink sliding seat bearings.
• Replace faulty AIS antenna.
• Check salt water strainers (they are clean).
• Remove cover plates on two engine and genset salt water pumps and inspect impellers (all OK).
• Give outside several fresh water baths.
• Do an underwater inspection of hull and prop zincs, and give them a quick wire brushing.
• Remove piece of polypro line from starboard stabilizer.
• Replace a damaged floorboard support strut.
• Clean and organize swim step lockers (long overdue!).
• Catching up with laundry (one or two loads per day).
• Give decks a scrubbing
• Clean windows
• Polish stainless stantions
• Defrost upper freezer
• Clean refrigerator

Meanwhile, those peaches are calling out to us, and the galley is in production with:

• A peach pie.
• Large quantities of boiled pinto and black beans with secret spices for the freezer.
• The usual 2.5 meals + snacks each day.

We still have to find the big supermarket, and do a major provisioning to tide us over the next six to eight weeks (basics). In addition, for recreation we need to:

• Get in some formal exercise; weights and yoga
• Read
• Do a bit of Internet surfing.
• Maybe watch a movie (if we can stay up late enough).
• Cut Steve’s hair (way past due).

Sarah, our youngest is coming to visit in two weeks, so there are a few things to arrange for her to bring. These will all be sourced on the Internet, which takes some time. The list is pretty short, and includes:

• Replacement EPIRB (same cost as shipping ours back and forth and having a new battery installed).
• Acquiring a salinity tester to check watermaker product.
• Tea towels for the galley.
• Medical prescriptions to last the next four months.
• Vinyl striping tape.
• Gas cap for our Honda two HP outboard.
• Unsalted, no sugar added peanut butter (cannot cruise without and not locally available).
• Extra battery for Panasonic G2 camera.
• Moveable Feast and Islands in the Stream by Hemingway (have to read Ernest when in Spain). Linda read for Whom the Bell Tolls about the Spanish Revolution and was mightily impressed.
• Mrs Dash spice (one bottle).
• New head for Sonic toothbrush.
• Barts Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream.
• Dried apricots (non-preservative style).
• New Yacht ensign
• 2010 Nautical Almanac
• Replacement Furuno PG500 compass (ours is acting erratically and we don’t have the time to send it back for repairs).

Then there are the e-mails – an average of 50 per day.

Yesterday we noticed a US  flagged yacht (rare around here) we had last seen in the UK. We went by to say howdy, and drinks turned into dinner, and lots  of interesting dialog. We know some of the same folks, and as they have spent a lot of time south of 40 degrees south, we were interested in some of the seamanship issues.

This weekend other cruising friends return to their boat berthed nearby and a long time sailing buddy from California who lives in Rota is back, so there will be some socializing going on.

We still have to give the interior a thorough cleaning, have a bit of dialog with the locals on our dock (in our admittedly limited spanish), and while all of this is going on we are also taking daily excursions into Rota to get a feel for the town, but we’ll leave that for another blog.

And of course we need to get in a bit of sack time.