It's early morning at the marina and the quiet fills the air. A welcome chill presses against our skin and we'd dress against it but we know that by mid day we'll be longing for any breath of coolness.

Instead, we bustle around getting ready to take up our projects and work at them til the heat forces us to stop, burring and blustering as we don our damp work clothes. The coffee burps and gurgles it's finale as the aroma fills the cabin.

"What do you do all day?" our bewildered land lubbing friends often ask when we tell them that we haven't had time for this or that. There is no shortage of projects when you live on a boat and almost everything takes longer than on land.

For instance the showers and washroom are the equivalent of a city block walk each way. Small knots of cruisers gather along the walkway discussing everything from weather to watermakers. It's not uncommon to head up to the washroom (In a marina we use the public facilities as much as possible) and not return for an hour or two. We were once advised not to put on a pot of coffee and run up to the facilities for that very reason.

On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays the fruit and veggie guy brings his truck to the marina parking lot and the shrimp guy usually comes the same day.

When we return to the boat we take up our current project and work til it's done or the heat prevents us from continuing.

The tropical sun eats varnish and paint with a voracious appetite. Cracked and worn areas require sanding and fresh coats must be applied before real damage occurs. Any bare wood must be scrubbed clean of mildew and oiled, many painted surfaces sport a coat of mildew that needs to be washed off with vinegar. Areas of the deck need to be repaired to foist leaks and hardware must be rebedded wherever leaks have appeared.

Electronics ail and die in the salty humid climate and need maintenance and sometimes replacement. Sails have to be inspected for wear and damage, repaired and put back on and lines rigged.

Acquiring provisions is often a full day job unless a friend with a vehicle offers us a very welcome ride.

Dust covers every surface from the non stop construction that takes place at this marina and the boat needs washing every week.

We hire the canvas guy, the bottom scraping guy, the transmission guy, the solar panel wiring guy etc. whenever their skills or equipment exceed ours.

Every job undertaken takes at least twice as long as expected.

A project begun on Monday , something as simple as removing a hand rail to re bed it to foil a leak becomes a 4 day project when one of the bolts turns out to be larger than any of the others. Joe doesn't have a gigantic robertson screwdriver to remove the screw and asks our nearest neighbors if they have one. They all disappear into their cupboards and bilges on the hunt for the tool. Nope, no one has one that big so now it's the extractor. Joe digs around under all the surface clutter of tools, paint, sandpaper and such and eventually comes up with the extractor. Deftly, he removes the recalcitrant screw and the handrail is off.

That took half a day. Now we have to go to the bolt store to get a replacement, but wait we're not exactly sure where the bolt store is located and it will require time to get there on the bus and the guy we hired to look at the transmission has just arrived.

Tomorrow, Joe is working on the head, a filthy stinkin' job that requires a great deal of cursing to get it done right. It's hard to even hire the job done if you were so inclined (and who wouldn't be?). And lucky me gets to clean the compartment into which the holding tank has been leaking once the tank has been extracted. This job also requires cursing and nose plugs. Sounds glamorous doesn't it?

If we get done early enough and have any energy left we seek cold cervezas and chilly pools of water in which to dip our steamy bodies or just ride around in the dinghy creating our own breeze.