24 April 2010
High on the "jobs to do list" on reaching Papeete was a repair to our Aquapro tender. Every single handle has now come off including the fittings for the rowlocks. This tender was new only last July and in spite of repeated attempts to make a warranty claim from the suppliers and directly to the manufacturer we have come up against a brick wall of unhelpfulness. It is without doubt the most disappointing purchase we have ever made. I spent two days repairing the stitching to our canvas cover made only last November in Gran Canaria. The trouble when we are continually on the move is that you can never confront any one with their poor workmanship. C'est la vie! When we return home I am going to get my good friend Irene Aldridge to do lots of lovely canvas covers for Voyageur. Her work is of the very best.
Evil Weevils!
Poor Ronja. They have discovered weevils in packets of rice bought in Ecuador. I know the feeling. We have had the same problem albeit on a lesser scale. Our one weevil infested bag also bought in Ecuador, is "peanuts" to their forty! Our bag was smartly dispatched overboard. Combining buying these goods in a third world country along with a tropical heat is a recipe for disaster. I well remember seeing a cockroach crawling amongst jars of instant coffee in a supermarket in La Libertad. Now I always try to keep space in my freezer for the rice. Even if the eggs are in there which they probably are, at least they don't hatch out. What the eye doesn't see..... I empty the contents into a large dry bowl and if I do not see any crawling creatures within a few minutes then they are confined to the cooking pot. Some people would have you believe that you can cook the little devils regardless, but there is only one other creature I am prepared to share my dinner with..... David!
Susan Mackay