There were a few tense moments this week when the bamboo supports and formwork were removed from the concrete first floor and balconies. We are pleased to report that everything stayed where it should and is solid as a rock. My sister Jackie will be relieved to know that the pillars are straight as well! The next floor is already taking shape, not so much concrete this time; just the pillars that make a reinforced concrete frame to attach the wood to. I even got to climb up to where our bedroom balcony will be to get a look at the view, which is awesome.
Our plan to order things earlier than needed has paid off. We have windows for the basement ready to be installed and the wood is on a container making its way from Guyana. It should have been here a few weeks ago but there was a hold up at the other end, their rainy season came early and they weren’t able to cut the wood. Now it will arrive in St Lucia just when we need it, we just have to hope that it is good quality and properly kiln dried.
Wildlife update: Love is in the air! Birds are collecting grasses to make nests and herons are pairing off, making raucous noises at each other, which seems to work for them. We have baby herons that are actually quite big, they are a muddy brown colour but seem to be getting their blue feathers quite quickly. The other thing that is happening is caterpillars. They are falling of trees in their thousands, attaching themselves to pipes, bamboo poles or anything else hard and upright on the building site. They then quickly harden off into a chrysalis and a day later they emerge as butterflies. I am sure this whole process takes much longer in UK. This lot seem to be in a great hurry to take to the skies. As a result the whole place is covered in yellow and orange butterflies, it was like walking through a coloured snowstorm on my way back from the lot yesterday.
Last weeks day of rest was spent sailing with friends to Rodney Bay on Saturday night to go to a Thai restaurant. The next morning we had a cooked breakfast at anchor and then climbed the hill on Pigeon Island to the old fort. It was great day out even though we hadn’t gone far. We swam after lunch and had a good sail back. This week’s day of rest is being spent on the lot. Jeff wants to have a big bonfire while the workers are off site and I am going to do some weed clearing and garden planning. It may not sound like a rest day but we both like spending time up there. It is always so cool and peaceful and the time we spend there usually results in good ideas for both the house and garden.
Right, I’m off to take this week’s photo and to walk off the excesses of last night rum and coke session, hangovers are worse out here!

The view from the top of our lot.

I’m Back!

Mission completed, we now have a container full of pool furniture, bedroom furniture, gas range cooker, bedding and sheets. I also shopped for light fittings, electrical stuff and drill bits. These bits I secreted on my person or in my bags and got through customs with much ease and smiling. When asked what was in my large holdalls I just said it was boat spares and he seemed happy enough with that.
I was very keen to see how much had been done on the house whilst I was away and I wasn’t disappointed at the progress. We now have an area for a kitchen, stairs down to land level, walls going up where a downstairs loo will be and also a study area. The surroundings have greened up considerably since the start of the rain and everywhere is getting back to lush St Lucia.
When I first got back to the boat there was a beautiful flower arrangement there to welcome me home, I think I must have been missed
It is always important to stay up as long as possible when you first arrive from the UK flight, so we went off to Chateau Mygo for drinks then dinner and I did really well until I was told to get my head of the bar and stop snoring. We were in bed by 10 pm and I slept through until 9am.
We were up on the plot again this morning so I could get a closer look at everything. It really is quite exciting to see the whole thing grow and take shape, I hope I don’t get too impatient for it to be finished as we are a long way off yet.
This afternoon we are sailing up to Rodney Bay with Doreen and Truls so we can have dinner there, stay the night and then have a days sailing tomorrow.
The weather is changeable but remains hot and steamy between the showers. It is also quite breezy at the moment and the seas are big. All this will settle down before the week is out and certainly before the next blog is written.

Ready for the off.

The only way to put concrete where you want it.

All done in 2 hours

The start of the next layer.

It’s suddenly gone very quiet here. After 4 weeks of living on the boat with no less than 3 or 4 ladies I now find myself alone. So, having never composed the blog before, despite Jan’s excellent instructions, anything could happen!!

Fi’s friend Waggy left on Sunday and has subsequently learned that she has gained a First in her engineering degree – congratulations – and Fi left on Tuesday only to discover that she is to become a Pilot Officer and Flight Commander on the University of Wales Air Squadron; an extremely talented pair of young ladies.

Jan also left with Fi to spend 10 days in UK shopping for furniture to fill our container. That makes up the trio of accomplished ladies as Jan would definitely get a First in shopping if such a degree was available.

So I am left to drink Piton beer and continue with the house build. After weeks of preparation we eventually caste the first floor on Wednesday and we are now the proud owners of a complete concrete hurricane shelter. However, Kenrick the foreman is not one to standstill and the last 2 days have been spent removing the wooden formwork and preparing the steelwork for the pillars and columns for the next floor. Despite buying myself a new claw hammer – so I could stick it in my belt like the rest of the team - sadly I have been restricted to removing the wood and de-nailing the old formwork. I have asked Kenrick when I will be allowed to actually build something and have been told that if I stay with the team for the next 3 houses, he may let me put the finishing touches to the front gate!

So that’s it for this week. The sun continues to shine, it rains occasionally, but it never lasts and is always warm, and the beer remains refreshingly cool. Normal service will be resumed next week when Jan returns.

A few photos of last weeks activities.

The rainy season might have started. We have had rain every day for the past few days. It remains hot and sunny in between the showers and already the vegetation is looking perkier. We went off to the East coast with the girls and some friends yesterday where we only had one huge downpour. It happened soon after we got into the sea to body surf on the big rollers. We sat on chairs in the surf and enjoyed a refreshing rain shower that washed the salt off. We must have looked barking mad to the locals who were sheltering under a nearby tree. We had a great BBQ of duck and fish - not normal BBQ fare but Doreen had a surplus of duck and needed to get rid of it. The duck had been pre-boiled and then barbequed with a hoi sin sauce – delicious!

The house build has slowed a little due to the rain. It is a Lucian tradition that as soon as the first drops of rain are felt the entire workforce all rush for shelter! This can result in no work at all being carried out at the height of the rainy season. Jeff is now devising a pay structure that is based on hours actually worked rather than a flat daily rate. The build itself is still at the preparation phase prior to the big cast. The amount of wood and steel involved is amazing and there will be 38 cubic metres of concrete poured on top of it. Will the bamboo scaffolding be able to cope? We’ll find out next Wednesday when Fi and I will be safely back in UK. No doubt we will get a blow-by-blow account by e-mail, and if Jeff can master a blog input, there should be some pictures next week.

Fi and Waggy have continued going to the gym, kayaking and walking, so are both looking fit and tanned. A friend of ours took them off to a bay around the corner for a photo shoot. He is a very talented amateur photographer and got some great shots of them both. Tomorrow is Waggy’s last day so we are off to the Two Pitons for lunch at the Dasheen restaurant and then onto the waterfall at Canaries for a swim. We have to go south first as Jeff has an appointment to see an ENT specialist about his ears. The infection has left him very deaf due to all the debris so hopefully this guy might fix him up properly.

Each night when we have visited Chateau Mygo for a sundowner, Fi and Waggy have taken the fishing rod. They actually caught a red snapper this week and got a round of applause for their efforts - or perhaps perseverance. You really need live bait, which is only available if one of the locals has been using his cast net to get the tiddlers. So the next purchase has to be a cast net of our own so we can become independent fishermen.

There is no great news from Marigot. A few dogs are pregnant - fathers unknown, mangoes are lying all over the roads and the land crabs are getting a bit more active, probably building up to their mating season; apart from that all is well.

Bamboo is used to support the form work.

It has been a week of “Hellos” and “Goodbyes”. Waggy (AKA Sarah) arrived on Sunday after an uneventful but enjoyable flight with Virgin. Fi and Jeff went to collect her from the airport whilst Tess and I stood by to help Doreen with an unexpected sailing party of 40 people from Martinique. In the event not so many people made the annual Hobicat race from Martinique to St Lucia as the winds and seas were quite big, so we were able to sit and drink a beer and enjoy the band. We stayed there all evening and introduced Waggy to everyone we know and they all said that she must be Fi’s sister, which has become a daily comment from anyone who meets them. The Lucians love to know where all the friends and family fit in and ask about everyone they have met long after they have returned to UK. It was a little squashed on the boat but nothing we couldn’t cope with. Sadly that problem has now eased as we said goodbye to Tess on Tuesday, after having a really good time for the past fortnight. We also said goodbye to some Australian friends that have just bought an ex- Moorings boat and are planning to sail her back to Oz. They are in Grenada at the moment getting some electronics fitted and doing last minute jobs before the big journey starts – good luck to you both if you are reading this.
Fi and Waggy have got into a good fitness routine already, as they are both preparing for fitness tests on their return. They use the gym, go sea kayaking and swim every day and then we try to take a walk up to the lot, which is a bit of a killer at midday as it is so hot and there is very little shade. This hardship is offset by the fact that mangoes litter the route at the moment, so there is always sustenance to be had on the way. We just need to take wet wipes to keep ourselves clean!
Still no significant rain, so the build is on schedule. This week has seen the positioning of wood and steel all over the area that will be the ceiling/first floor. The place looks huge now that we can see where the balconies spread out. We opted for smaller inside rooms and a larger veranda as many people have told us that most living is done outdoors.
This week’s wildlife update is a sighting of an Osprey high above the bay and also the presence of 8-inch high seahorses in the bay. They have been spotted by the rocks, near the spit, on the other side of the bay. We shall take the dinghy over and snorkelling gear and hopefully be able to confirm the rumours. I would be so excited if it were true, as I have never seen them in real life before, so watch this space!

Fi and Waggy having fun!