Bermuda for family, a wedding, house and Airbnb

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Our main purposes for traveling home to Bermuda was to, see the family, set up our Airbnb and to attend our Godson’s wedding and paint the outside of the whole Warwick house…..all of which we accomplished!

We left Aeeshah at Catamaran and Chico aboard Aeeshah, but in the care of our good friends Gillian and Gordon. They had in fact been Chico’s caregivers in Panama too. We took the regular boat ride across to the mainland, however we were with friends and shared private transport to the city. It was a treat! That was a very pleasant change from the regular Litegua bus ride. I was actually feeling dreadful, I had been suffering for several days from what I suspected was chikungunya, which was in fact confirmed by the Dr. after blood tests confirmed it was chikungunya.

Once back in Bermuda we were able to drive from the airport to Gavin’s where we were house sitting. He, Katie and the girls were visiting family in California. We really enjoyed staying at their house, especially as it might be sold this time next year, it was a last chance. Each day we would drive to our house in Warwick to work on the Airbnb and the exterior of the house.

Airbnb

We had decided to set up an Airbnb in our lower level of the house as otherwise it sits empty. However we had no idea how much work this entailed.

The whole place was basically redone, from the painting to all new furniture, appliances, soft furnishings, gardens, etc.

I basically worked on the inside and the gardens. The previous summer it had already been painted and most of the furniture was already in place. I shopped for the appliances, the numerous extras and the basics that need to be in place. I refinished surfaces, scrubbed, polished, washed and touched up.

The appliances arrived and were installed, the ceiling fans installed, lighting both indoor and exterior was redone, new curtains hung, new rugs laid, absolutely everything was replaced, replanted or redone.

Then there was all the online work, information to be gathered, paperwork to be filled out and submitted to government, and the final details to be finalized.

At last just a few weeks before we were due to open we were ready. We are all excited to welcome our first guests in just a day’s time.

Exterior of the house:

Our home is quite a challenge to paint. The roof had been already painted and repairs done before we returned, but the walls awaited us.

Now with Bermuda homes you can’t just slap on a coat of paint, no…..they have to be prepared. The walls are all power washed, the bubbles in the paint are scrapped, the cracks are chipped out and refilled with cement, then there is an underseller to apply and finally the top coat applied. It entails an awful amount of work.

We had the help of Ivan and briefly Ethan too. Nearly the entire 6 weeks we were home John and Ivan worked on the outside. We are so thankful to Ivan for his help. Finally it was finished and it really looks grand! And hopefully won’t need doing for 4 years.

The wedding:

Mark our Godson married Claire on a lovely sunny day at Turtle Bay, St. Davids. The wedding was on the beach where we had chairs facing the sea. Their ceremony was the tying of an unbreathable knot of love and devotion.

I was very grateful for my hat as it was bright sunshine. After the wedding we all went to The Tempest Bistro for a wonderful lunch.

It was a lovely break from work for us and we were actually able to see some of beautiful St Georges.

Good Friday aka Kite Flying Day:

To all of us Bermudians Good Friday is Kite Flying Day. It is a day where families fly kites, picnic, eat codfish cakes and hot cross buns.

So why do the Bermudians fly kites on Good Friday? The story is that a teacher was trying to explain to his students during his Sunday school how Jesus elevated himself to Heaven. It is an explanation of Christ’s Ascension, he launched a kite that represented Christ by the cross sticks to explain the story. The flying of kites was a born.

We as a family went to Gavin’s house to fly kites, plus we had an Easter egg hunt for the little ones, oh and bubble blowing too. As there are 4 grandchildren under the age of 3 it is easier rather than going out to a park.

We had a wonderful time. Plus Chrissie made the codfish cakes, and a batch of Portuguese beans.

We all supplied the hot cross buns and Gavin made a wonderful kale salad with kale from the garden. It was a wonderful day!

Playdates and such:

John and I or just John or I would go to Gavin’s for playdates with the grandchildren, – just the 4 younger ones.

Plus we also did a fair amount of babysitting, usually not together but separately to spread our services around. We both enjoy seeing the little ones and can’t wait to see them each time we are home.

Claire and Allan visit:

Claire and Allan are a couple we originally met in Trinidad in 2014. We were on the hard (on a slip) together, in fact our boats were right next to each other, about a foot apart.

It was then that we acquired Chico. They were the first friends to see him and they remember all our stresses when we “lost” him in the bilges of Aeeshah. Then we would meet up over and over again through the years.

So when we heard that they had arrived in Bermuda on their boat we had to arrange to meet them for a day out. We met them in Hamilton and drove them along the South shore stopping to see the beaches.

To the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse and then on towards Somerset and Fort Scar through Somerset Village and to Woodies for lunch. We continued into the Royal Naval Dockyard where we walked around and Allan arranged for his fuel.

We travelled back via the West side road in old Somerset and stopped at Somerset Bridge. Back towards Hamilton we travelled the Harbour road to our home for drinks. It really was a lovely day, the weather was brilliant, and we all enjoyed each others company.

Chico’s staycation:

All this time Chico was relaxing at Catamaran under the watchful eye of Gillian. She was sending me updates on his antics, most of which were very amusing. Here is just a taste of Chico’s antics, or in other words what he got up to with Gillian:

“Lardo, 31/03/19

He stops by during the day – rain or shine – and usually flops on the refrigerator or the deck – usually near the birdies. Today, Gordon was working on the new refrigeration compressor in the engine room. Well, he wasn’t taking “no” for an answer. He had to go down there and check everything out. What a character.”

01/04

“He’s had a very ordinary day and no signs of anything wrong with him. I let him out at 5:45 and he promptly trotted his butt right over to our boat. I went back to bed thinking I might catch a little more sleep before the net. After I got up three times to stop him from terrorizing the little birdies I gave up on sleep and decided to fix myself a cocoa. When I got back to my cabin, he was sprawled on my bunk with his head on my pillow preening away. I reclaimed my pillow and one half of the bunk. He was good for about a half hour then went up and started with the birdies again. I gave him a couple squirts with the hose and he left in a huff. A half hour later, the net is almost over and I hear a commotion in the cockpit. He’s back and he’s brought me a little birdie. I confiscated it. It had lost a couple feathers and left a little puddle of poop in my hand before flying away. I told him what a bad kitty he was. I could tell he didn’t give a shit.

This was a very different day for him. Since you left, he has mostly stayed on your boat or ours. He wasn’t spending much time on land. Today, he spent most of the day on land. It was dead quiet. No guests. Only nine boaters here and the staff. He was really enjoying himself. I hated to lock him up. He was having such a good time and totally relaxed. Laying on the dock in the shade, rolling on his back with his feet up in the air.

TTFN (tatafornow) “

“While you’re up, would you crank up the fan a notch ?”

08/4 “Chico

Chico is doing fine. Everyday is different. I let him out as soon as I wake up. I think he goes to shore for awhile. Eventually he winds up in our aft cabin and usually listens to the net with us. Then he hangs out for a while sometimes, then we go back to his boat and feed him. Sometimes he stays in his boat all day. Other times he sleeps on your deck and sometimes he spends the afternoon sleeping on our deck. Who knows. Yesterday, I was at the pool at 3 pm and he came sauntering through the pool area and then headed off into the bushes. I was surprised he showed up at the pool so early. The only other people there were the Tonicats and she had her phone music on at 10,000 decibels. Maybe that’s why he left. I thought I might leave too.”

09/4 “Chico

He must have smelled the bacon, he just showed up.

12/4 “El gato malo

If he is not in the boat and I walk the loop between the bathrooms and the pool and call his name he shows up. The girls who work here laugh when I go looking for him. They call him the “gato malo”.

14/4 “El gato malo

Let me tell you that today was one bitch of a day. Everyone w/o AC was miserable. I let Chico out about 5:30. He did not come over to our boat once today. He went to land this morning right away. When I got up I had to go find him to feed him. I saw him leave the boat ten minutes later. During the early part of the day, I would just do the loop every 2-3 hours . He would always meow when he heard me so I could see where he was and that he was okay. Around three I went up to the pool to join Lequesteau. There was a whole bunch of vacationers up there too. I guess because I was there, he just made himself at home around the pool. Walked around, bumped heads with strangers, rolled on his back and showed his belly. It was almost embarrassing. Rosa was behind the bar and I kept trying to hide him under a table so that she would not notice he was there. Pfft! Everybody loved him except Mike on Ecos ?? A very peculiar guy. Even Stan – who comes by a lot in the morning – would not touch him at first – now, he pets him and talks to him.”

15/4 “The bar fly

Everyday brings a new surprise. Our little darling spent most of the day on the boat sleeping off his busy day of yesterday. About four Gordon and I went up to the pool. I’ve been trying to low profile him. He has become quite comfortable up at the pool. Yesterday he was up there but he pretty much stayed under a bush. Forget that today. The pool was very busy and he was determined to be the darling at the piscina. He marches right across the pool deck and heads for the bar. I picked him up several times and moved him to another part of the property thinking he might find something more interesting there. No way! Five minutes later back at the pool.

Everybody was laughing at both of us and all the little kids wanted to pet him. For a while, he was at the far end of the pool sitting under the traveller palms with just his head sticking up over the grass – watching everything that was going on and thinking nobody could see him. Out of the blue, he starts across the pool deck and when he gets near me, he breaks into a full run and heads straight for the bar – where Kevin and his family have just arrived. That time, I grabbed him, with everybody laughing and took him to my boat – where he stayed for about an hour – before he disappeared again. But by then it was dark. He turned up again about 8:15. I fed him and locked him in the boat.

I hope when you get back he minds you better than he minds me.”

16/4 “The little darling

Everyday is different. Let him out this morning about 5:30. It started to pour about 15 minutes later. He came racing back to our boat and jumped into the aft cabin. Thank goodness he got on Gordon first cause he was pretty wet. It rained until nine. We all slept in. Then, we went back to his boat and I fed him and he stayed on his boat all day. Came outside about five. Came over to our boat about 5:30. Hung out till 7:30 then he pissadeared. I turned him up about nine up at the POOL. Only he wasn’t hanging out on the deck. There were about 40 people in the pool and the deck was wet. So, he was hanging out under the bushes watching everything. He didn’t really want to go back to the boat but he did. “

19/4 “The little darling

I don’t know what happened . He couldn’t get enough of the pool for about three days and now he won’t go near it. I usually put him in around eight which is usually when he is ready. Tonight, supper was real late and I took him for a walk around 7:30. He stayed pretty close for about a half hour and then he pissadeared. About nine, I went back to the boat and got the container of crunchies. Shake that a few times and he always turns up. So, he didn’t go to bed until after nine tonite.”

22/4 “The little brat

Last night or this morning he busted out. I put the aft hatch down at night, but, if it isn’t going to rain I leave the little portholes open. He managed to squeeze his fat ass through one of those portholes. I returned to my boat after I realized he was out and I was looking the docks for him. All of a sudden he came around the two bathrooms corner and he was moving pretty fast. Something must have spooked him. I think he knows he did something bad cause he’s been pretty quiet and he is staying on his boat so far today.

Also, he must of got into a tussle with something cause when I was brushing him a couple days ago I noticed slight swelling on his tail about 3-4 inches down from the torso. When I felt a little more I noticed a couple punctures. They didn’t abscess or anything and he’s okay. This would have been before Romeo so I don’t know what he tangled with but I doubt it was bigger than him. What a sissy ! He was obviously running away if he got chomped on the tail.

The guests have left and the pool belongs to us again. This place was a zoo during Holy Week.”

29/4 “Chico

No internet for seven days. The brat cat is just fine. More tomorrow.”

01/5

“Your cat has defected”

06/5 “The brat cat

I think he had a scrap tonite with the stray marmalade.

Here’s the update on his pantry. Whiskas – 4 Nine Lives – 11 Fancy Feast – 26

Treats and crunchies almost out – certain to be empty by the time you return.

No catnip anywhere. Tssk!

I looked at your bedcover today. He must be sleeping on it cause it looks pretty scary . As in YUCK! Gasket still hanging from port porthole . Other than that, all is well.

Are you expected on the 11th?

Three degrees hotter than hell here.”

07/5

“The darling at the piscina”

07/5 – John to Gillian–

“John has a theory that the cat is suffering from lack of proper nutrition, depression, and general low self esteem, to name just a few reasons.

Oh and I forgot STRESS.”

08/5 “The cat

I can understand the stress angle. Our old cat Chester, he hated the boat. He was over ten years old when we moved him on the boat with us. He never liked it. He hid all day and did a total freak-out when he heard the windlass. He didn’t like loud noises anymore – he was just getting old.

I don’t know about nutrition except that he loves crunchies. It’s tough to get canned food down him. I have figured out that most of the time he leaves half or more of it. Even if I make sure that he doesn’t get a lot of food late in the day, and then give him canned food for overnight – he still rarely eats it. Sometimes he eats all of it, but, not very often. Mostly, he licks the gravy. I’ve also saved him pieces of bacon, ham and cheese. Sometimes he’ll peck at it. I poured some milk in my glass two mornings in a row and turned my back on it for two minutes to find him lapping the milk out of my glass. And, it’s boxed milk no less. I can only stand it if I mix chocolate or vanilla in it. When we went to Puertos Barrios I bought a small bag of dry cat food and it’s in a jar on the floor of the cockpit. He knows where it is. He’ll sit in the cockpit and stare at the jar.

Gordon’s sister had five cats and she couldn’t stand the smell of canned cat food. Those cats ate dry food all their lives and were pretty darned healthy cats. Twenty years ago when we sailed with Fannie and Chester I only fed them Hill’s Science Diet – mostly because most dry cat foods were in paper bags but Hill’s was in a sturdy plastic bag and survived intact for long periods of time. Occasionally, I gave them canned people tuna and scraps from the table.

I don’t know about low self-esteem. That would be a tough one to figure out. He does seem lethargic though. When we walk him, 90% of the time he just walks with us. Sometimes, he’ll take off on his own and we go sit by the pool until he shows up or we just go back to the boat and I go look for him around nine. That is, If I haven’t heard a cat fight before nine. Every now and then he does a jump and bolt where he suddenly just takes off into the trees at a dead run. I think he could be depressed. He might be confused right now because he spends his days here, but, at night I lock him up on your boat. I don’t think he likes to be alone. When he naps on the boat I think he likes the background noise. He knows someone is here.

But hell, I’m not a cat psychiatrist. He is a big cat, I don’t mean fat, I mean big. Sometimes, these bigger cats wind up with cardiac issues. They were just never meant to be that big. Even the Maine Coons if I remember correctly have a shorter life span. I’ll have to check that tho.

We’ll be waiting for you on Sunday with bells on.”

08/5 “That cat- Gillian

It just occurred to me that you two are fucking with me ???”

09/5 – “Jen to Gillian

Oh dear Gillian, that was John, I didn’t even know he pretended to be me and sent you that bogus message, he really is a bugger sometimes….well you owe him one now. I can assure you I’ve never had worries about Chico’s: ” lack of proper nutrition, depression, and general low self esteem, to name just a few reasons. Oh and I forgot STRESS””

09/5 “Dear John

I thought you were dead serious about poor Chico. It wasn’t till later that I realized you were fooling. At any rate, He’s resting quietly on the freezer. We are careful to not close any lids on his tail. If he’s on a lid we want to get into we just slide him to another one. Usually, he doesn’t even wake up.

Well, this morning I went over half asleep to let him out. The boat was further away from the dock than usual and when I reached for the dock with my foot, I didn’t make it. Somehow, I wound up suspended between the boat and the dock with a death grip on each. I flailed around for 10-20 seconds trying to get my feet onto something . When that didn’t happen, I gave up and dropped into the river. I swam over to my boat and got Gordon to come back to your boat and lower the ladder so I could get out. Then, with my soggy pink pajamas on, I trotted to the bathroom for a shower. It is a very fast way to wake up.

I have never been in that river. Creepy water. Chico kept looking over the side of the boat saying “mew” “mew”.

Can’t wait for you two to get back. “

09/5 “Exercise

I’ve been trying to get Chico to get some exercise in the evening. I took him up to the pool around five. And, the kiskadee flycatchers pecked his butt all the way down the dock. He actually flopped at one point and I had to go down the dock and pick him up. I think they don’t like him because they probably have a couple nests on these boats. They are nesting on out radar bracket and probably someplace else close by. When they see him in the open they go after him. Anyway, I don’t think he’s getting any exercise. He just likes to sit by the pool and watch everybody. He is friendly with TukTuk tho.

I will never be here again during the month of May. It has been very hazy too. It has been said that they are burning the fields and that is why ??? Like it ain’t hot enough, let’s start a bonfire.”

10/5 “Dear John

The little darling broke out of the boat again this morning. It appears that he squeezed his chubby little butt through the other small porthole in the aft cabin. The one on the starboard side which I have not been closing at night because I didn’t think he could reach it. Well, he can and he did. The gasket is intact but about 1/4 of it is not in place. The screen, however, did not fair so well. It is broken in half and about 1/2 of the screen has been ripped from the frame. I’m sure anything can be fixed if you have enough glue. Or, if you have any spares you might want to bring them back with you. I have been leaving the aft hatch open several inches at night to let more air in. Last night I only covered half of it with the screen. I’m surprised he didn’t try to get out that way. It would have been much easier ???

At any rate, he is resting now on the freezer. Poor little thing has had a busy morning.

It has been ugly hot here. Two nights in a row now I have got up after going to bed and hosed myself off on the deck.

Looking forward to your return. Bring kitty treats.”

11/5 “The river

Yes, I did go for an early morning swim. Got a couple bruises to prove it.”

10/05 “The electrical storm

Chico just turned up on the boat. We went to town to try the Surf and Turf at Bruno’s with Tica and Four Seasons. When we left he was sleeping on the reefer. Right after we finished eating we started hearing thunder and seeing lightening . We hopped in our dinghy and raced back to the marina. Just as we pulled our new old dinghy up undercover near the bodegas, it started to pour. I raced to your boat cause I had left the aft hatch open. I went below to make sure everything was okay. Didn’t see the cat but didn’t look for him either. In the meantime lightening and thunder are crashing all around us. I was sure someplace in the marina had been hit. Meanwhile Gordon is holed up where he parked the dinghy. As I ran down my dock, the boat cover was flapping and ballooning and snapping. The wind at that point was very strong and we heard later on the radio that someone clocked it at 50 mph. Checked my boat, no cat. Okay, must be on Aeeshah. We had a brief gap in the downpour for a few minutes so I ran back to your boat. No cat on either boat. Shit! Since I was already soaked anyway, I took a brief spin through the grounds calling his name. No cat. The storm started two hours ago and there is still thunder and lightening in the distance and it is still raining. Here comes the cat – soaking wet.

Not a care in the world and acting like “big deal – a storm”. He had to have been totally spooked by the storm. I know Gordon and I were. Actually, he looks a little subdued . Hope your trip isn’t too harrowing.”