When we were working at Cleo, the weather was hot and dry and we made regular use of the shower blocks to wash away the grime.
Since we lifted in on 2 May the weather’s been less settled – very warm, often steamy, and fairly frequent sudden downpours. These showers often don’t last long, although we’ve had a couple of days that were mostly wet.
Our personal showering habits, however, have become more intermittent! We have hot water if we’re on shore power or if we’ve used the engine. Those days haven’t always coincided with us having the time or inclination to bother with such social niceities! If we’re like this now, how uncivilised might we become after 3 months?
Tonight we’re invited to supper aboard Full Flight, so after launching the dinghy and lowering the outboard on its hoist, it’s time to clean ourselves up. John suggests I go first, supposedly to give me a chance at any warm water that may remain. This is unlikely, and I suspect that I’m actually the canary – if I squeal too loudly, John will opt for a basin wash.
In fact, after the first brief shock, it’s fine, and I remember that this is how we always showered on boats here, unless there was a ‘solar’ shower bag which heated on deck during the day. The possibility of hot water has made us soft – unnecessarily so.
So, both showered and with newly washed hair, we chug over to Full Flight for a lovely evening and a delicious Thai curry. We chat easily and are fascinated and entertained by their tales of sailing in Thailand, Borneo and other far flung cruising grounds.
Although we’re not planning to cruise so far afield, we’re excited to think of all the adventures and new places ahead of us.