Back On Board! Shipyard.

Back on board! We have been back on board for awhile now. If your wondering how it is during *shipyard, well, its a contrast!

On one hand we are in a shipyard where all that is going on is hard work. It's not like a nice port downtown or dock by the beach. Dirty filthy work going on everywhere. Work that needs doing.

But on the other hand we are in Las Palmas in the Canary Islands. And it's beautiful!

Shipyard is full of challenges and projects that need to get done. We have had no AC for a few weeks and maybe not for a few more. We have had scheduled times of...

• no water
• no electricity 
• no internet (which is important for work)
• undrinkable water (we have plenty of bottled water and the main water can still be used for showers, teeth brushing, toilets...) the salt content was too high for consumption.

For Tyrone they have had many challenges in Food Service. We sometimes cook our meals for the whole crew in the crew galley(or the public kitchen). Which is about 1/6 the size of the galley we usually use. And last Friday we had the pleasure of prepping food and chopping vegetables by flashlight last Friday. (no window in the galley)

Currently we have many projects going on in the galley and dining room.

• new equipment getting installed
• drains getting fixed
• pressure washing
• preventative measures for pest control
• work on our big freezers and refrigerators...

What can you do when there is absolutely no way to cook? Order PIZZA! What else? HAHAHA - And we have also brought the boys to a pizzeria where they could watch the chef's make their pizza from scratch! 

Stephanie has been working on getting ready for the field service and school for the boys. Working on "summer work" in preparation for school. Taking the boys out for fun times at the parks and beach here on the Island.

One of our favorite parks is about 20 minutes walk from the ship. It has a small outside cafe where we can sip a "Leche, Leche" while watching our kids play. This drink is a coffee mixed with steamed milk sitting on top of condensed milk. Or if you like it a bit stronger (like Tyrone) you get the "Condensada". Which is strong coffee sitting on top of condensed milk. Either way ($1.25), you mix it together...Mmmm. Unless of course coffee isn't your thing. Then fresh squeezed juice? -- Did I mention Tytus and Ezra playing nicely at the park?

Every year we are in shipyard we have our own projects team AND port workers. The port we use is Astican. Towards the end of our stay the Astican Port invites us to what some would call lunch. But it's more of an event. What happens is this:

• They pick us all up from the ship in coach type buses and head to the destination
• Our soccer team and their soccer team play in a real stadium style field. 
• Afterwards there is lunch for everyone
• Fun water games for the kids
• Live music and dancing

Have your kids ever sat with friends and clinked "wine" glasses together as they all yell "cheers" with Fanta soda spilling out? Yes, both funny and scary as you wait for glass to break! -- Oh yeah, this year our team won!

*Shipyard is the preparation and repair time for our next field service. Guinea!

The Barton Family

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