Diary of a liveaboard during lockdown - CV Week 12

Sunday 31 May to Saturday 6 June 2020.

The week started with the happy announcement that the province of Malaga would move into Phase 2 on Monday.  This was great news for local businesses as it meant they could expand their available seating areas and open the interior for 50% of normal capacity.  Just as well because the weather at the start of the week was miserable, rain wind and thunderstorms. Apparently not usual weather for the Costa del Sol this time of year, but certainly becoming the 'norm' for us!

The weather improved later in the week, which was just as well as we had bought a new sun shade for the fore deck and someone was eager to get it up and fitted.  I have to say, it does an excellent job and does look a better than the various bits of curtain and gazebo we did have up.  We were so pleased with it that we splashed out and bought a matching cover for the cockpit.  

One of the restrictions lifted in Phase 2 was accessing the beach.  Walking along the promenade over the last couple of weeks with the beach cordoned off had been quite a sad sight, so with no restrictions in place,  I expected to see the beach packed.  How wrong I was.  I walked along the promenade for a couple of miles and was shocked by the lack of people on the beach, bearing in mind what we'd seen in England.  In total there was probably a couple of hundred at most.  They really are taking the advice of slowly slowly serious!

Monday saw the fish dock spring back to life.  Over the last few months there had been some activity, with smaller fish boats going in and out but now, the big boys were back in business.  We can only assume that demand has increased now that restaurants are open and whilst not at full capacity,  they are certainly able to cater for larger numbers.  It wasn't until the dock sprung back to life that we realised how much we'd missed the noise and chatter of the fishermen. Hearing them again was very reassuring. 

Meanwhile,  back on Offbeat, it was time to finish off some jobs that had been hanging around.  Mark got busy finishing the aft cabin where we sleep. As much as I love 70s disco, you can only sleep with shiny silver insulation for so long.  So, to finish the cabin off and to get rid of the cork that had been hanging around for weeks, Mark glued the cork to the wall and ceiling. It does look nice now it's finished, but we can't make up our mind whether to varnish it or paint it.  Oh well, that's a project for next winter!

For my part, I was on sewing duty again.  We had to make some adjustments to the new foredeck shade, so whilst Mark was glueing and corking, I was sewing and hemming.

The week ended on a high again, as we celebrated our granddaughter Olivia's 13th birthday.   It's hard to believe she's now a teenager,  the years have just flown by, but she's growing into a beautiful young lady and we hope to be able to celebrate her birthday with her properly when she comes to visit.