Waffles, anyone?

When the swell is up, the waves splash
over the rocks and onto this twenty-plus foot hill

'Waffles', because we can't seem to make up our minds about what to do next--stay in Sri Lanka or go to the Seychelles. Of course, waffles are a bit of a sore subject on our boat since I nixed the waffle-maker when we moved aboard and Matt still hasn't quite gotten over it.

Matt put out an anchor to keep us pulled away from
the dock, so we don't bang into the wall when the surge is up

On the one hand, we have been in Sri Lanka for over four months and still don't have visas. We have been out of the port area only a handful of times, always with an entourage and only to get groceries and other essentials. We don't know when or if we will get visas and are going a bit stir crazy. Also, our new paint job has taken a beating and we cringe every time the boat jerks against the dock lines. We could possibly go up to Trincomalee and anchor, but not without visas.

We had a visit from a special guest. Reverend
Mendis lives in Chicago and happened to be in Sri Lanka
 now. Friends of my parents contacted him about us.

The Seychelles (where several of our cruising friends are now) has granted us access to enter their country (and the Maldives would allow us to stop on the way), but we would be fighting wind, current and weather a good chunk of the way. Once there, we would need South Africa and, preferably Madagascar, to open up for us at the right time (basically October). With the virus on the upswing in those countries and their borders closed, the situation is far from settled.

So we go back and forth on what to do, depending on the day and how bad the surge is. In the meantime, we have gotten better at shopping for three weeks at a time. Each of the four of us gets a shopping cart and then Matt gets to use his packing skills to make everything fit 'just so' in the fridge and freezer.

My last few pictures are sort of a metaphor (on some days) for our outlook on the world situation right now: rubbish. Everyone probably feels that way occasionally these days, right? Unfortunately, the downwind location of the harbor makes it the final resting point for tons of garbage that flows in from other places. It's a never-ending battle.