Gibraltar Ape above
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We took a very short winter stop in Lagos, Portugal 2008
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2008 Diaries
January in Lagos; set sail February 6th
January 25, 2008 -- Back aboard following six glorious weeks in Canada with family, we began preparing our 2008 sailing routes. The Saturday market was on in Lagos, located just in front of the marina across the pedestrian bridge. We took advantage returning with bags of oranges, clementines, tangerines, apples, tomatoes, avocados, lemons, and fruit we couldn't identify, as well, almonds, figs, garlic, lettuce, carrots, cauliflower, and a jar of honey, all for under 15 euro!
January 27, 2008 -- The mercury rose to 26 degrees in the cockpit, making Lagos the warmest place in Europe at the moment. We got out the hoses and washed Big Sky, and then cleaned ourselves up for a night at the Beach Fado bar. We had to hike over the sand dunes to get there, arriving with sand in our shoes.
I read "Things not to do in Portugal: stretch in public; lick your fingers after a meal; write ANYTHING in red ink (that’s reserved for school teachers); or whistle in public. Is that true? Lagos’ population is 30,000 ballooning to 150,000 with tourists explaining all the restaurants.
January 30, 2008 -- This morning, we took Big Sky out for a winter sail, dropping anchor around the corner in the middle of the beautiful grottos, picnicked aboard, returning that afternoon. The ocean was like a smooth turquoise carpet. Cautiously optimistic, we pulled out our fishing gear, hoping NOT to catch anything, since we weren't sure if we needed a license or what to do with it once we brought it aboard. Thankfully, our hooks remained empty. Returning to our Lagos slip on a beam reach, Con called over, "Barbie, this is as good as it gets.”
February 2, 2008 -- The first Saturday of each month is the Gypsy Market. We bought our usual fruits and veggies at the regular market then walked over to the ever-entertaining Gypsy Market. A rooster was being negotiated over by a woman and the vendor. The rooster was held by his feet upside down while the price was being bantered back and forth. The rooster performed a sit-up, biting the vendor who then spanked it, tossed it back into the cage, crossed his arms and shook his head at the lady. The negotiations were over. She continued to point to the rooster, still hoping to negotiate, but was unsuccessful. I think that rooster got the best deal there, however, the two settled on the rooster above.
January in Lagos; set sail February 6th
January 25, 2008 -- Back aboard following six glorious weeks in Canada with family, we began preparing our 2008 sailing routes. The Saturday market was on in Lagos, located just in front of the marina across the pedestrian bridge. We took advantage returning with bags of oranges, clementines, tangerines, apples, tomatoes, avocados, lemons, and fruit we couldn't identify, as well, almonds, figs, garlic, lettuce, carrots, cauliflower, and a jar of honey, all for under 15 euro!
January 27, 2008 -- The mercury rose to 26 degrees in the cockpit, making Lagos the warmest place in Europe at the moment. We got out the hoses and washed Big Sky, and then cleaned ourselves up for a night at the Beach Fado bar. We had to hike over the sand dunes to get there, arriving with sand in our shoes.
I read "Things not to do in Portugal: stretch in public; lick your fingers after a meal; write ANYTHING in red ink (that’s reserved for school teachers); or whistle in public. Is that true? Lagos’ population is 30,000 ballooning to 150,000 with tourists explaining all the restaurants.
January 30, 2008 -- This morning, we took Big Sky out for a winter sail, dropping anchor around the corner in the middle of the beautiful grottos, picnicked aboard, returning that afternoon. The ocean was like a smooth turquoise carpet. Cautiously optimistic, we pulled out our fishing gear, hoping NOT to catch anything, since we weren't sure if we needed a license or what to do with it once we brought it aboard. Thankfully, our hooks remained empty. Returning to our Lagos slip on a beam reach, Con called over, "Barbie, this is as good as it gets.”
February 2, 2008 -- The first Saturday of each month is the Gypsy Market. We bought our usual fruits and veggies at the regular market then walked over to the ever-entertaining Gypsy Market. A rooster was being negotiated over by a woman and the vendor. The rooster was held by his feet upside down while the price was being bantered back and forth. The rooster performed a sit-up, biting the vendor who then spanked it, tossed it back into the cage, crossed his arms and shook his head at the lady. The negotiations were over. She continued to point to the rooster, still hoping to negotiate, but was unsuccessful. I think that rooster got the best deal there, however, the two settled on the rooster above.
February 6, 2008 -- Not realizing that most cruisers tucked in for the winter, we set sail aiming toward the Strait of Gibraltar. Shortly after departing Lagos, the Levente (easterly winds) became too challenging. I pushed the buttons at the pedestal for the main to unfurl, but nothing happened. Con in his calm, methodical manner began investigating all the electronics, first in the engine room, on the pedestal, and then pulled out our manuals. Meanwhile, I steered us toward Vilamoura, a city we had planned NOT to visit believing it to be too touristy. Thirty minutes later, Con quietly pondered the red button on our pedestal, remembering that at some point, he'd hit it, and now realized that it's a "Stop All" feature, which overrides all the deck hardware. Another new learning for us. We set a reefed sail, I corrected our course south to pass Vilamoura and just as we began to settle into our sail, the genoa clew broke free! That's the ring in the bottom corner of the sail that holds the sheets. With considerable danger to his front teeth, Con caught the flapping sail with the metal clew by hand while I furled it in from the pedestal. I scrambled up a bungee cord and went to the bow to hand it over to Con to wrap the sail returning to the cockpit I changed course again for Vilamoura, this time for repairs.
Once inside the marina, tied to the visitor's pontoon, we attempted to take down the genoa, but the sleeve once again wouldn't come down. This problem originated in the Baltic Sea when we had a wild ride from Poland to northern Germany which created the need for genoa motor repairs.
February 7, 2008 -- Peter, the sail makers went up to the top of the mast where the genoa rigging attaches to the main and reported that the genoa wires had untwisted (pictured above). The damage had happened when the cotter pin popped out while crossing in rough seas from the Baltic States to Poland creating the exaggerated twisting of the stay. Below: The beach in Vilamoura is kicked up with February storms; ruins in Evora and the white-washed town of Evora with a crusader castle.
Once inside the marina, tied to the visitor's pontoon, we attempted to take down the genoa, but the sleeve once again wouldn't come down. This problem originated in the Baltic Sea when we had a wild ride from Poland to northern Germany which created the need for genoa motor repairs.
February 7, 2008 -- Peter, the sail makers went up to the top of the mast where the genoa rigging attaches to the main and reported that the genoa wires had untwisted (pictured above). The damage had happened when the cotter pin popped out while crossing in rough seas from the Baltic States to Poland creating the exaggerated twisting of the stay. Below: The beach in Vilamoura is kicked up with February storms; ruins in Evora and the white-washed town of Evora with a crusader castle.
February 11, 2008 -- While waiting for repairs, we've walked all over Vilamoura and the small neighbouring town of Quarteira. The shanty-styled shacks occupied by fishing families are located in superb ocean-front real estate, located just outside the main town. Vilamoura has three of the Algarve's most famous golf courses and the marina is surrounded by hotels catering to British golfers. At the once-a-week Gypsy market in Quarteira we bought flowers for Valentines Day, a crate of strawberries for 2.50 euro, a pineapple for .99 euro cents, and bags of oranges, clementines, lemons, and grapefruits for euro pennies.
February 16 – NOLAN is born! At midnight our time, we received an email that Brit was finally going to the hospital since being in labour since the 14th, and by 3:15 am Nolan was born. We had carried our phone everywhere for the last few days in anticipation, to the grocery store, in my back pocket while vacuuming, in the shower with Con, and on the table with neighbours while visiting over wine. By caesarian, Nolan Ryker arrived, 7 pounds 12 ounces, 22 inches long.
February 21 – With the sail and forestay now repaired, Big Sky was again in perfect sailing condition for our departure. It looked like the winds would be good to set sail in a few days, so in the meantime, I collected a rental so we could explore Portugal's inland western Alentejo region. Alentejo "beyond the Tejo" the River Tagus, the region is unique with sheep, pigs, olive and cork oak trees, grapevines, tomatoes, sunflowers, and fields of wheat and oats. Leaving Con aboard, I walked to the car rental shop and picked up a rental. Leaving the small space near the marina's water edge, I needed to back up or go directly into the drink. For the life of me, I couldn't get it into reverse. A stranger waiting patiently behind me got out of his car and leaned in to show me how it's done. You must use two fingers to lift up the shifter to place it into reverse.
We visited: Evora, the capital of the region, passing gorgeous towns built on the mountain sides where the Guadiana River flows through them. One of the towns was Mertola, a beautiful fortified ancient town, once a bustling Roman centre until the river silted up and it slipped into oblivion. The houses are built in a simple whitewashed fashion on pristine cobblestone streets.
February 24 – We left Vilamoura Setting sail, we were on our way to Vila Real de Santa Antonio. The sea was rough, rain was pouring, and a few lightning bolts shot like javelin sticks around us. We tied in the River Guadiana, in Vila Real de Santo Antonia, Portugal looking across the river to Spain. The next day, we wondered through the pretty town reminiscing on how enjoyable our time has been in Portugal. On our walk to the super market, we passed a band of Gypsies claiming the tarmac for their camp fires, horses and wagons, and tents. We ordered a meat platter for dinner, and studying the menu Con announced enthusiastically, "Oh look! Cream de Cocoa soup! We must order that for dessert." Turns out it's fish soup.
February 26 – In beautiful 25 degree weather with the sun smiling, I was at the helm for the one-mile trek across the Guadiana River to Ayamonte, Spain saying "good-bye" to Portugal like we were saying good-bye to a good friend. Con ceremoniously lowered the Portuguese flag and raised the Spanish one. With the strong current running, it took three tries to tie on. Con had stepped down onto the pier during the second try, and as I shoulder-checked backing us up for the third try, I spotted Con doing the splits balancing one foot on the pier with his toes, and the other on Big Sky's rail not saying a word! I held my breath waiting for a dramatic belly flop, but he managed to climb aboard. If you've seen the Guadiana River, you wouldn't come out refreshed! Once tied on, I jumped off Big Sky to help Con tighten the lines and a Spanish sea gull delivered a perfect dropping on my left shoulder. "Gracias!"
Below: Stormy weather to the Spanish border; docked in the River Guadiara; Villa Real with orange trees everywhere; sunset in Ayumonte, Spain; Fog in Cadiz; replica of Christopher Columbus' ship; and Cadiz marina.
February 16 – NOLAN is born! At midnight our time, we received an email that Brit was finally going to the hospital since being in labour since the 14th, and by 3:15 am Nolan was born. We had carried our phone everywhere for the last few days in anticipation, to the grocery store, in my back pocket while vacuuming, in the shower with Con, and on the table with neighbours while visiting over wine. By caesarian, Nolan Ryker arrived, 7 pounds 12 ounces, 22 inches long.
February 21 – With the sail and forestay now repaired, Big Sky was again in perfect sailing condition for our departure. It looked like the winds would be good to set sail in a few days, so in the meantime, I collected a rental so we could explore Portugal's inland western Alentejo region. Alentejo "beyond the Tejo" the River Tagus, the region is unique with sheep, pigs, olive and cork oak trees, grapevines, tomatoes, sunflowers, and fields of wheat and oats. Leaving Con aboard, I walked to the car rental shop and picked up a rental. Leaving the small space near the marina's water edge, I needed to back up or go directly into the drink. For the life of me, I couldn't get it into reverse. A stranger waiting patiently behind me got out of his car and leaned in to show me how it's done. You must use two fingers to lift up the shifter to place it into reverse.
We visited: Evora, the capital of the region, passing gorgeous towns built on the mountain sides where the Guadiana River flows through them. One of the towns was Mertola, a beautiful fortified ancient town, once a bustling Roman centre until the river silted up and it slipped into oblivion. The houses are built in a simple whitewashed fashion on pristine cobblestone streets.
February 24 – We left Vilamoura Setting sail, we were on our way to Vila Real de Santa Antonio. The sea was rough, rain was pouring, and a few lightning bolts shot like javelin sticks around us. We tied in the River Guadiana, in Vila Real de Santo Antonia, Portugal looking across the river to Spain. The next day, we wondered through the pretty town reminiscing on how enjoyable our time has been in Portugal. On our walk to the super market, we passed a band of Gypsies claiming the tarmac for their camp fires, horses and wagons, and tents. We ordered a meat platter for dinner, and studying the menu Con announced enthusiastically, "Oh look! Cream de Cocoa soup! We must order that for dessert." Turns out it's fish soup.
February 26 – In beautiful 25 degree weather with the sun smiling, I was at the helm for the one-mile trek across the Guadiana River to Ayamonte, Spain saying "good-bye" to Portugal like we were saying good-bye to a good friend. Con ceremoniously lowered the Portuguese flag and raised the Spanish one. With the strong current running, it took three tries to tie on. Con had stepped down onto the pier during the second try, and as I shoulder-checked backing us up for the third try, I spotted Con doing the splits balancing one foot on the pier with his toes, and the other on Big Sky's rail not saying a word! I held my breath waiting for a dramatic belly flop, but he managed to climb aboard. If you've seen the Guadiana River, you wouldn't come out refreshed! Once tied on, I jumped off Big Sky to help Con tighten the lines and a Spanish sea gull delivered a perfect dropping on my left shoulder. "Gracias!"
Below: Stormy weather to the Spanish border; docked in the River Guadiara; Villa Real with orange trees everywhere; sunset in Ayumonte, Spain; Fog in Cadiz; replica of Christopher Columbus' ship; and Cadiz marina.
February 28 – Clipping along at 8 knots 34NM to Mazagon with the sunshine, warm breezes, and the Atlantic lapping gently at Big Sky, we hardly wanted the day to end.
February 29 -- Appropriately for "leap year" we leapt into motion again for an early morning departure but settled in for another cup of coffee once we saw the thick fog. By 9 am it began to lift and we were off to Rota, arriving by supper time. The marina put us at the end of a dock, too big for the slips changing our price from 14 to 33 euro per night. We cycled all over town, stopping for lunch. At the counter paying our bill, they offered us the "complaint book". We smiled and shook our heads. In Spain and Portugal it’s mandatory that restaurants and service stations make their complaint books available to customers. Be warned though. A lady wrote her complaint, two years later the proprietor sued her for defamation of character, and won. She paid the restaurant 5000 euro. Leaving Rota a few days later, a replica of one of the boats Christopher Columbus took to the "New Country" in 1492 was just coming into view through the fog. It was the same size as Big Sky, and it had held hundreds of men. We arrived in Porto Sherry, a pretty town with a beach front and forested area and stayed a night carrying on to Cadiz the next day.
March 4 – In Cadiz, a "thumbs up" shaped city on the south west side of Spain, and about 55 NM to the Strait of Gibraltar. It's my kind of town, because I can’t get lost. It’s 2 ½ km wide with water on all sides, except for the high bridge used as an entrance and exit. Its golden year was 1812.
We had planned a departure the next day, but the sea was filled with white stallions (white caps) and the wind blew strong. Instead, we hiked into town and it's quite a hike from the marina, but with the bikes no problem. We loaded up on supplies, with our last stop in a bakery where everything looked delicious. We studying the selection (by normal standards) too long, finally selecting a fabulous-looking loaf covered in a variety of seeds but on our return to the boat by bike, we lost it out of the bottom of the bag in the middle of a five-street intersection.
Debating our next port that night, we read that Tangier, Tunisia has a massive drug problem with 70 percent of Europe's hashish coming from there and that some officials were in business with the drug lords. Skipping Tangier for now, we carried on along the Spanish coast to Barbate, sailing over the famous sea battle ground. British Admiral Nelson defeated the French and Spanish fleets 203 years before stopping Napoleon from invading England. Great Britain remained British, but Nelson lost his life in that battle.
March 6 -- A local TV crew interviewed me today about the flower market. The interview started in Spanish and switched to English. In the past, it's clearly evident that Cadiz was the favoured city receiving the money to build a fabulous cathedral, but unbelievably, it took 122 years to complete it in 1838.
March 8 – Our sail from Barbate should have been a 6.5-hour sail, but became an unexpected 10-hour sail when we heard a boom and then spotting a plume of water a kilometer ahead. It looked like an upside down waterfall. I got out the camera and caught the next one, even closer. Con immediately turned Big Sky 80 degrees out and away from the bombing. Seeking information on the Navtex we saw no warnings. Into our detour, the VHF came alive: "Spanish war ships (in the coordinates we had been traveling) doing military target practice". With today's RADAR, we were surprised that the military didn’t spot us and give us proper warning. Our sail that afternoon was a rare wing on wing, (sails out on each side of the boat and wind from behind).
March 9 – What a thrill! We sailed through the Strait of Gibraltar, technically leaving the Atlantic Ocean and entering the Mediterranean Sea. I sailed through the first hour or so, and Con hand-steered the rest, as the currents and wind didn't allow the auto pilot to do its job very well. For a day that started out a bit wishy-washy with the winds and waves, it turned out to be a real exhilarating sail with speeds at times more than 9 knots and wind gusts as strong as 36 knots. We settled into Britain, into Queen's Way Marina and cycled to the eastern face of The Rock. It has a sheer physical presence, sitting proudly on the tip of the Iberian Peninsula, overlooking the Strait. The position was a strategic one for civilizations in the past to control movement in and out of the Mediterranean. A few times we had to dodge one of Gibraltar's most famous citizens, The Rock Apes, (Barbary Macaques). They’re tailless monkeys that run ape over The Rock and area. This is the only place in Europe where you'll find them in the wild. Natives of North Africa, people believe they were introduced in Gibraltar with the British garrisons some time ago. We returned to The Rock the next day and took the tram up. Apes were everywhere!
Hanging on cliff sides, stairs, ridges… One ran up a young man’s body to get into his backpack where he had tomatoes stashed. Signs everywhere in every language, including brail state: “Do Not Feed the Apes.” People fed them.
Below: Con navigating passed Tariffa; Cadiz Cathedral; look further for the war practice explosion.
February 29 -- Appropriately for "leap year" we leapt into motion again for an early morning departure but settled in for another cup of coffee once we saw the thick fog. By 9 am it began to lift and we were off to Rota, arriving by supper time. The marina put us at the end of a dock, too big for the slips changing our price from 14 to 33 euro per night. We cycled all over town, stopping for lunch. At the counter paying our bill, they offered us the "complaint book". We smiled and shook our heads. In Spain and Portugal it’s mandatory that restaurants and service stations make their complaint books available to customers. Be warned though. A lady wrote her complaint, two years later the proprietor sued her for defamation of character, and won. She paid the restaurant 5000 euro. Leaving Rota a few days later, a replica of one of the boats Christopher Columbus took to the "New Country" in 1492 was just coming into view through the fog. It was the same size as Big Sky, and it had held hundreds of men. We arrived in Porto Sherry, a pretty town with a beach front and forested area and stayed a night carrying on to Cadiz the next day.
March 4 – In Cadiz, a "thumbs up" shaped city on the south west side of Spain, and about 55 NM to the Strait of Gibraltar. It's my kind of town, because I can’t get lost. It’s 2 ½ km wide with water on all sides, except for the high bridge used as an entrance and exit. Its golden year was 1812.
We had planned a departure the next day, but the sea was filled with white stallions (white caps) and the wind blew strong. Instead, we hiked into town and it's quite a hike from the marina, but with the bikes no problem. We loaded up on supplies, with our last stop in a bakery where everything looked delicious. We studying the selection (by normal standards) too long, finally selecting a fabulous-looking loaf covered in a variety of seeds but on our return to the boat by bike, we lost it out of the bottom of the bag in the middle of a five-street intersection.
Debating our next port that night, we read that Tangier, Tunisia has a massive drug problem with 70 percent of Europe's hashish coming from there and that some officials were in business with the drug lords. Skipping Tangier for now, we carried on along the Spanish coast to Barbate, sailing over the famous sea battle ground. British Admiral Nelson defeated the French and Spanish fleets 203 years before stopping Napoleon from invading England. Great Britain remained British, but Nelson lost his life in that battle.
March 6 -- A local TV crew interviewed me today about the flower market. The interview started in Spanish and switched to English. In the past, it's clearly evident that Cadiz was the favoured city receiving the money to build a fabulous cathedral, but unbelievably, it took 122 years to complete it in 1838.
March 8 – Our sail from Barbate should have been a 6.5-hour sail, but became an unexpected 10-hour sail when we heard a boom and then spotting a plume of water a kilometer ahead. It looked like an upside down waterfall. I got out the camera and caught the next one, even closer. Con immediately turned Big Sky 80 degrees out and away from the bombing. Seeking information on the Navtex we saw no warnings. Into our detour, the VHF came alive: "Spanish war ships (in the coordinates we had been traveling) doing military target practice". With today's RADAR, we were surprised that the military didn’t spot us and give us proper warning. Our sail that afternoon was a rare wing on wing, (sails out on each side of the boat and wind from behind).
March 9 – What a thrill! We sailed through the Strait of Gibraltar, technically leaving the Atlantic Ocean and entering the Mediterranean Sea. I sailed through the first hour or so, and Con hand-steered the rest, as the currents and wind didn't allow the auto pilot to do its job very well. For a day that started out a bit wishy-washy with the winds and waves, it turned out to be a real exhilarating sail with speeds at times more than 9 knots and wind gusts as strong as 36 knots. We settled into Britain, into Queen's Way Marina and cycled to the eastern face of The Rock. It has a sheer physical presence, sitting proudly on the tip of the Iberian Peninsula, overlooking the Strait. The position was a strategic one for civilizations in the past to control movement in and out of the Mediterranean. A few times we had to dodge one of Gibraltar's most famous citizens, The Rock Apes, (Barbary Macaques). They’re tailless monkeys that run ape over The Rock and area. This is the only place in Europe where you'll find them in the wild. Natives of North Africa, people believe they were introduced in Gibraltar with the British garrisons some time ago. We returned to The Rock the next day and took the tram up. Apes were everywhere!
Hanging on cliff sides, stairs, ridges… One ran up a young man’s body to get into his backpack where he had tomatoes stashed. Signs everywhere in every language, including brail state: “Do Not Feed the Apes.” People fed them.
Below: Con navigating passed Tariffa; Cadiz Cathedral; look further for the war practice explosion.
INTO AFRICA
March 12 -- Stepping onto African soil (or Smir, Morocco's marina concrete) sent shivers through my body, "Africa," I said out loud. We'd crossed the Strait south to a relatively new marina. It was hot! Scanning the marina, we identified a restaurant and cleaned up for dinner. Con ordered lamb, I had salmon and we shared a Moroccan salad. Moroccan men are openly affectionate with each other ruffling each other's hair, touching fingertips to another's elbow, holding pinky fingers when walking, and comfortably hugging. Being gay in Morocco is illegal bringing jail sentences, but this sort of friendship affection is not considered lewd. I love how simple it was for our waiter to show his happiness being with his friend by sitting on his knee during his break. The food was delicious and the bill came to $6.50 Canadian and half that was the wine.
March 14 – Wanting to haul Big Sky out for inspection, we decided not to do it in Smir since it was too far from cities, grocery stores, etc. and an expensive hired taxi was the only way to get around. Before sailing north to Ceuta, Spain, a Spanish enclave in Morocco, Con did a few project on the concrete, and when stepping back aboard he watched with great sorrow his trusty Swiss Army knife sink deep into the marina's mud 13 meters below.
Sailing to Cuets, we entered the public marina that afternoon in the heart of the city. You pay for the day you arrive and the day you leave. A fancy way to get another day's fee. It's a city full of interesting diverse cultures. It's as common to see someone wearing jeans as it is to see Jews wearing kippas, Muslims in red hats and long colourful cloaks, Hindu women wrapped in saris, scarves covering heads, covering full faces, or sexy short skirts no scarves. Spanish and Arabic is spoken. Siesta's are recognized between 1-5 pm.
It was the Palm Sunday Parade that evening down the main street and we set off to watch the Catholic church for the service, followed by an amazing display of church parades. Statues of Jesus in every age were hauled out of the churches and paraded through the streets by locals in costumes.
March 12 -- Stepping onto African soil (or Smir, Morocco's marina concrete) sent shivers through my body, "Africa," I said out loud. We'd crossed the Strait south to a relatively new marina. It was hot! Scanning the marina, we identified a restaurant and cleaned up for dinner. Con ordered lamb, I had salmon and we shared a Moroccan salad. Moroccan men are openly affectionate with each other ruffling each other's hair, touching fingertips to another's elbow, holding pinky fingers when walking, and comfortably hugging. Being gay in Morocco is illegal bringing jail sentences, but this sort of friendship affection is not considered lewd. I love how simple it was for our waiter to show his happiness being with his friend by sitting on his knee during his break. The food was delicious and the bill came to $6.50 Canadian and half that was the wine.
March 14 – Wanting to haul Big Sky out for inspection, we decided not to do it in Smir since it was too far from cities, grocery stores, etc. and an expensive hired taxi was the only way to get around. Before sailing north to Ceuta, Spain, a Spanish enclave in Morocco, Con did a few project on the concrete, and when stepping back aboard he watched with great sorrow his trusty Swiss Army knife sink deep into the marina's mud 13 meters below.
Sailing to Cuets, we entered the public marina that afternoon in the heart of the city. You pay for the day you arrive and the day you leave. A fancy way to get another day's fee. It's a city full of interesting diverse cultures. It's as common to see someone wearing jeans as it is to see Jews wearing kippas, Muslims in red hats and long colourful cloaks, Hindu women wrapped in saris, scarves covering heads, covering full faces, or sexy short skirts no scarves. Spanish and Arabic is spoken. Siesta's are recognized between 1-5 pm.
It was the Palm Sunday Parade that evening down the main street and we set off to watch the Catholic church for the service, followed by an amazing display of church parades. Statues of Jesus in every age were hauled out of the churches and paraded through the streets by locals in costumes.
March 18 – Jose, a Belgium man two boats down had been living in the marina knocked on our boat inviting us to join him for his weekly trip to Tangier. He was a calm soul, positive, and curious about the world and in love with Morocco. He shared with us a sense of the Moroccan way of life, and life in parts of Africa. When he was a young man in the 60s, he'd hitch-hiked throughout the continent on the tops of trucks and shared so many of his memories with us. Each one was a beautiful story. He had his own car, and invited us to join him in the morning for a trip to Tangier. Once there, we were transported into a different world.
Our day: Tangier and Ceuta
While waiting for our border papers to be cleared in Ceuta, we watched the steady stream of Moroccan's walking through the border and over the hills to their towns. On average 10,000 Moroccan's walk through the border every day. The drive was breathtaking looking out over the Atlantic Ocean through the Atlas Mountains catching the massive Rock of Gibraltar from time to time. To our right our eyes filled with the glorious blue Mediterranean Sea glistening under the hot African sun. We wound around fresh spring green grasslands with soft Mugo Pine trees dotting the hillsides, and saffron, magenta, and cinnamon coloured sandy rock formations scattered boldly throughout the land. Clumps of white houses sprinkled the hillsides and we could see lots of activity going on. Donkeys or women carrying straw, herbs, or mint on their backs, goat herders tending their flocks, people hand-working their gardens, colourful clothes blowing on the lines, and vibrantly dressed children playing among the sheep, goats, dogs, cats, peacocks, and cows. The Moroccan King is keen to develop Morocco pumping his money into the industry (dam, new harbour, new highways, high-speed railway) to bring Morocco into the modern world. However, it's believed his father, the previous king had taken the money from the people in the first place and this king is returning it through investments in the country. After an hour on the road, we rounded another purplish sandy rock and Tangier loomed in front of us, an incredible sight! We parked the car and finally took that first "step" into an Africa town. Just a few steps, and were enveloped into the centre of the medina, the shopping hub of Tangier. Jose suggested we have a coffee before separating and selected an outside table. The coffee was dark and good. After drawing a map on the back of the napkin for our meeting place at noon, he pulled dirhams from his pocket handing them to us before we set off to find an ATM within the lively marketplace. It wasn’t too hard to find one, and we stuffed the dirhams into Con’s wallet, and my purse. The exchange: 7.50 dirham to CND$1. We let the day unfold around us. Everywhere we looked, their rich culture exposed itself from women in full burkas, children with Shriner-type red hats, men in full tunics with pointed hoods pulled down to their eyebrows, to locals in jeans and leather coats. We had talked about purchasing a carpet for the boat thinking a Moroccan one might be cool and before we could blink, we were in a carpet shop. They’re pros. I was being complimented, mint tea appeared in my hands, and Con was referred to as the "Minister of Finance". Thirty minutes later, we walked out with two beautifully coloured carpets. The irony is that they turned out to be too beautiful to step on, so we tucked them away. We met Jose in the designated spot and walked around the back into the fishing harbor for lunch, sitting at a plastic table under an umbrella. The meal came on a platter and its contents eaten with fingers, the best way. After we'd picked through most of the huge platter, we went to a central bucket to wash up. The moment we stepped away from our table, we were dumbfounded by how quickly our table was swarmed by locals appearing from seemingly nowhere. We had no idea they had been waiting to move in on what we didn’t finish. Filled with guilt, having stuffed my belly, I asked Jose if Con and I could buy them a meal. “It’s not done like that here,” he said quietly. The coins we put on the table for our waiter found their way into the pockets of the hungry. We walked to the bucket of fresh water and it was poured onto our hands for washing. Later, Jose led us through the market and we bought bags of fruit and vegetables. On our return, we stopped in Tetouan just outside Ceuta for Moroccan bread, returning to the boat just before sun down.
Below: Tangier, Tunisia
Our day: Tangier and Ceuta
While waiting for our border papers to be cleared in Ceuta, we watched the steady stream of Moroccan's walking through the border and over the hills to their towns. On average 10,000 Moroccan's walk through the border every day. The drive was breathtaking looking out over the Atlantic Ocean through the Atlas Mountains catching the massive Rock of Gibraltar from time to time. To our right our eyes filled with the glorious blue Mediterranean Sea glistening under the hot African sun. We wound around fresh spring green grasslands with soft Mugo Pine trees dotting the hillsides, and saffron, magenta, and cinnamon coloured sandy rock formations scattered boldly throughout the land. Clumps of white houses sprinkled the hillsides and we could see lots of activity going on. Donkeys or women carrying straw, herbs, or mint on their backs, goat herders tending their flocks, people hand-working their gardens, colourful clothes blowing on the lines, and vibrantly dressed children playing among the sheep, goats, dogs, cats, peacocks, and cows. The Moroccan King is keen to develop Morocco pumping his money into the industry (dam, new harbour, new highways, high-speed railway) to bring Morocco into the modern world. However, it's believed his father, the previous king had taken the money from the people in the first place and this king is returning it through investments in the country. After an hour on the road, we rounded another purplish sandy rock and Tangier loomed in front of us, an incredible sight! We parked the car and finally took that first "step" into an Africa town. Just a few steps, and were enveloped into the centre of the medina, the shopping hub of Tangier. Jose suggested we have a coffee before separating and selected an outside table. The coffee was dark and good. After drawing a map on the back of the napkin for our meeting place at noon, he pulled dirhams from his pocket handing them to us before we set off to find an ATM within the lively marketplace. It wasn’t too hard to find one, and we stuffed the dirhams into Con’s wallet, and my purse. The exchange: 7.50 dirham to CND$1. We let the day unfold around us. Everywhere we looked, their rich culture exposed itself from women in full burkas, children with Shriner-type red hats, men in full tunics with pointed hoods pulled down to their eyebrows, to locals in jeans and leather coats. We had talked about purchasing a carpet for the boat thinking a Moroccan one might be cool and before we could blink, we were in a carpet shop. They’re pros. I was being complimented, mint tea appeared in my hands, and Con was referred to as the "Minister of Finance". Thirty minutes later, we walked out with two beautifully coloured carpets. The irony is that they turned out to be too beautiful to step on, so we tucked them away. We met Jose in the designated spot and walked around the back into the fishing harbor for lunch, sitting at a plastic table under an umbrella. The meal came on a platter and its contents eaten with fingers, the best way. After we'd picked through most of the huge platter, we went to a central bucket to wash up. The moment we stepped away from our table, we were dumbfounded by how quickly our table was swarmed by locals appearing from seemingly nowhere. We had no idea they had been waiting to move in on what we didn’t finish. Filled with guilt, having stuffed my belly, I asked Jose if Con and I could buy them a meal. “It’s not done like that here,” he said quietly. The coins we put on the table for our waiter found their way into the pockets of the hungry. We walked to the bucket of fresh water and it was poured onto our hands for washing. Later, Jose led us through the market and we bought bags of fruit and vegetables. On our return, we stopped in Tetouan just outside Ceuta for Moroccan bread, returning to the boat just before sun down.
Below: Tangier, Tunisia
March 22 – To Chefchouen Jose gently knocked on our boat again, this time inviting us for a trip over the border to Chefchouen. We quickly agreed. The drive took us through the Rif Mountain range to the blue mountain town of Chefchouen, arriving in the crispy morning just as the roosters were calling the town to wake up. The three of us sipped coffee in an outside café believing if a pin dropped on the far side of the town, we'd hear it. Shop doors began opening, goods were rolled out, quiet chatter filled the air, along with the roosters still cawing. The cool morning was lifting and the most incredible blue town emerged. The stone streets and buildings are all painted blue! In fact, it was like being introduced to the colour blue for the first time. Our eyes soaked up so many different hues and shapes. Everything in the medina was artistically displayed. Locals wore traditional clothes, long capes with pointy hoods and curled up toed-shoes. Chefchouen's backdrop is gorgeous and studying it seems like nature in slow motion as she chips away at the mountain side. Crumbling rocks are scattered along the grasses having fallen from the higher lands. Boulders have obviously rolled quite a distance in some cases. And, the green meadows fold into each other leaving a rainbow of green framing the mountain town. This place is awesome, so unique, and will be etched into our brains for the rest of our lives.
Wondering around with Jose was like having a personal guide. He pointed out a Moroccan product in one of the outdoor pharmacies called, “Sahar” in Arabic, and “Huile d’ Argane” in French. It’s an additive to high-end creams and make up, like Clinique and other brand names. Buying it in Europe is very expensive, but I bought 130 ml for under $5 Cnd.
Back aboard, it was Easter morning, and there’s no sign of the Easter Bunny or chocolate eggs in Ceuta. We woke up still feeling spellbound by yesterday's visit to Chefchouen, Morocco.
Wondering around with Jose was like having a personal guide. He pointed out a Moroccan product in one of the outdoor pharmacies called, “Sahar” in Arabic, and “Huile d’ Argane” in French. It’s an additive to high-end creams and make up, like Clinique and other brand names. Buying it in Europe is very expensive, but I bought 130 ml for under $5 Cnd.
Back aboard, it was Easter morning, and there’s no sign of the Easter Bunny or chocolate eggs in Ceuta. We woke up still feeling spellbound by yesterday's visit to Chefchouen, Morocco.
March 26 -- Friends Shirlee and Mark were arriving in Spain on the European coast and we had to get back to collect them. What a sail! We left Africa (Ceuta) with 20-30 KN beam winds and with the 2 KN current at times soared 10 and 11 knots. Reefing in the sails, we sat cozy in the sunshine on our way to Costas del Sol. Arriving that afternoon in Puerto Banus, I began the procedure of checking in and was quoted 230 euro for the night, and with $1.57 Cnd to euro, that would have been $360 Canadian a night. "No gracias," and scooped up our papers with a sideways smile. He called back, "I can get a spot for 130 euro." I shook my head. Our friends weren't arriving for another week, and we'd have been out nearly $1500 Canadian. I climbed aboard instructing, "Untie us Con."
No questions asked, Con untied and we set a new route to Puerto de Fuengirola where you get bangers and mash on tapas, and a week's stay was just 209 euro.
March 28 -- What once was a series of quaint fishing villages along a beautiful sandy coast called Costas del Sol is now one long line of hotels, condos, and shops catering to northern Europeans and British. In 1932, a woman bought a piece of barren hillside and when asked “What can you plant there?” She said, “Tourists!” Following WWII, Costa del Sol became a magnet for the rich and famous. Rich Arabs brought money in during the 70s oil crisis. Antonio Banderas was born here and lives here with his actress wife Melanie Griffiths, also Bruce Willis and Julio Iglesias have properties here. Jennifer Lopez, Prince Andrew and others visit regularly. This morning, we set off for Malaga, the birthplace of Picasso, just 35 minutes north along the coast by train and you're into a charming Spanish culture.
April 1, 2008 -- Shirlee and Mark arrived healthy and happy from Victoria, BC after 24 hours in transit. We let them rest for a day and a half, exploring the markets in Fuengirola, and the warm sunshine before our planned crossing to Africa. Con announced before departure that the dolphins were scheduled in the morning and the whales at 3:30 pm. Wouldn't you know, the dolphins came in the morning (and throughout the day) but the whales didn't arrived until 3:10. "Damn whales," Con complained, “you can never rely on them.” Our 13-hour sail was about as smooth as it could get, averaging 4 knots under sail most of the way. Shirlee kept her eyes on the water for dolphins and Mark took up position at the helm, tweaking the sails ever so slightly for perfection. Mark had sailed before and was thrilled to be back on the water learning about our navigation, the equipment and how Big Sky handles. We entered the Cueta marina about 9 pm and set off for tapas.
No questions asked, Con untied and we set a new route to Puerto de Fuengirola where you get bangers and mash on tapas, and a week's stay was just 209 euro.
March 28 -- What once was a series of quaint fishing villages along a beautiful sandy coast called Costas del Sol is now one long line of hotels, condos, and shops catering to northern Europeans and British. In 1932, a woman bought a piece of barren hillside and when asked “What can you plant there?” She said, “Tourists!” Following WWII, Costa del Sol became a magnet for the rich and famous. Rich Arabs brought money in during the 70s oil crisis. Antonio Banderas was born here and lives here with his actress wife Melanie Griffiths, also Bruce Willis and Julio Iglesias have properties here. Jennifer Lopez, Prince Andrew and others visit regularly. This morning, we set off for Malaga, the birthplace of Picasso, just 35 minutes north along the coast by train and you're into a charming Spanish culture.
April 1, 2008 -- Shirlee and Mark arrived healthy and happy from Victoria, BC after 24 hours in transit. We let them rest for a day and a half, exploring the markets in Fuengirola, and the warm sunshine before our planned crossing to Africa. Con announced before departure that the dolphins were scheduled in the morning and the whales at 3:30 pm. Wouldn't you know, the dolphins came in the morning (and throughout the day) but the whales didn't arrived until 3:10. "Damn whales," Con complained, “you can never rely on them.” Our 13-hour sail was about as smooth as it could get, averaging 4 knots under sail most of the way. Shirlee kept her eyes on the water for dolphins and Mark took up position at the helm, tweaking the sails ever so slightly for perfection. Mark had sailed before and was thrilled to be back on the water learning about our navigation, the equipment and how Big Sky handles. We entered the Cueta marina about 9 pm and set off for tapas.
April 5 -- Con made arrangements in Ceuta for a car rental and the four of us packed a bag for a three-day land trip in Morocco. We drove through the patchworks of rolling farmlands and along the hillsides cut by gentle streams running through the Rif and Middle Atlas mountains and once again entered another world. A world where donkey's milled olives in a backyard by walking in circles with a millstone; where Berber women walked along the highway carrying bundles of mint, hunched completely vertical from the waist; where a man sits atop a donkey who is carrying wheat, barley, citrus, cotton, and propane cans. Time and again, Berber woman and donkeys are the beasts of burden here. We passed trucks filled two and three times the height of the truck from twigs to bed mattresses. Almost everything is made by hand and sold locally. The Berber people seem gentle and social with each other and friendly with strangers, but don’t take their picture! Traditional dress is worn everywhere, from the Berber red and white stripped cloth to the kaftans and jalabas. Women wear full burkas or sari-type clothing with their heads wrapped in different coloured tight-to-the head scarves. The Muslims are called to prayer five times a day through loud speakers. We arrived in Volubilis first, a well-preserved site from the 2nd and 3rd century. Its main commerce was oil but also catered to the Roman's taste of wild animals like tigers, elephants, leopards as prestigious pets and in contests in Roman gladiatorial contests. Nearing the end of the day, we entered Fez, a medieval city, the world's oldest, intact, continuously inhabited medina, and the spiritual and cultural centre of Morocco. Only basic electricity and rudimentary plumbing has been added, but not much else. As tourists, you're fare game for everyone trying to make a living from tour guides to carpet sales people. We arrived hot and tired, and not too well prepared -- no reservation or city map.
We wanted to stay in a Riad, the traditional town houses converted as bed and breakfasts, but the city was too huge, I didn't know where to begin. At one point, I asked Con to pull over, and I jumped out and asked a random local man for assistance. He immediately called a young guy, maybe 16 on a motorbike to pull over. We had been avoiding the many motorbike guys who were aggressively knocking on our car windows while we were driving. I gave in though, and asked for directions to a Riad. He didn’t hesitate, opened the back seat and jumped in with Shirlee and Mark, who were not too comfortable with that. He said, “Turn here, right there, around here… park here, I’ll move the donkey.”
Mark and I followed the boy who led us through the maze within the Fez medina. I tried to remember all the turns and twists we made, looking for signs and smells to find our way back. He knocked on a door, and a man in full Moroccan housecoat-style clothing peeked out a side door looking us up and down, and I guess believing we were okay, he eventually opened the front door. A price was negotiated, we paid, and made our way back to the car, miraculously finding it. It was a fabulous Riat, full of Moroccan antiques and finishings, built in 1344, but the oddest thing was the Elvis velvet painting at the front door. The owners smiled a lot and didn't speak any English except "welcome" and "thank you."
The Fez medina has 9,000 alleys and lanes that wind through the medina with overlapping souks. It was intimidating wandering too far from our Riad because we could be lost for a lifetime. We managed to stay together, shopped for a picnic lunch, and the next day made our way to the blue village, Chefchaouen. We wanted Shirlee and Mark to experience what we had with Jose.
We wanted to stay in a Riad, the traditional town houses converted as bed and breakfasts, but the city was too huge, I didn't know where to begin. At one point, I asked Con to pull over, and I jumped out and asked a random local man for assistance. He immediately called a young guy, maybe 16 on a motorbike to pull over. We had been avoiding the many motorbike guys who were aggressively knocking on our car windows while we were driving. I gave in though, and asked for directions to a Riad. He didn’t hesitate, opened the back seat and jumped in with Shirlee and Mark, who were not too comfortable with that. He said, “Turn here, right there, around here… park here, I’ll move the donkey.”
Mark and I followed the boy who led us through the maze within the Fez medina. I tried to remember all the turns and twists we made, looking for signs and smells to find our way back. He knocked on a door, and a man in full Moroccan housecoat-style clothing peeked out a side door looking us up and down, and I guess believing we were okay, he eventually opened the front door. A price was negotiated, we paid, and made our way back to the car, miraculously finding it. It was a fabulous Riat, full of Moroccan antiques and finishings, built in 1344, but the oddest thing was the Elvis velvet painting at the front door. The owners smiled a lot and didn't speak any English except "welcome" and "thank you."
The Fez medina has 9,000 alleys and lanes that wind through the medina with overlapping souks. It was intimidating wandering too far from our Riad because we could be lost for a lifetime. We managed to stay together, shopped for a picnic lunch, and the next day made our way to the blue village, Chefchaouen. We wanted Shirlee and Mark to experience what we had with Jose.
After checking into another Riad-styled hotel the four of us set off on foot to find a cozy restaurant for a traditional Moroccan dinner. The next day, we hiked the entire town taking in the Moroccan culture and its uniqueness and then drove back through the border along with hordes of people.
Rising early (5 am) we sailed out of Africa back to Costa del Sol, aiming for Caleta del Velez where Mark and Shirlee can take a day trip to the Alhambra. Con and I had visited the palace in 2003.
April 9 – Our plan to do an overnight sail was thwarted due to lack of wind so we rerouted into Almerimar giving us a chance to catch up with Bob and Di aboard "Sheer Fantasy" who were also there. We were off again at 3 am the next morning chasing the schedule to get Mark and Shirlee to Valencia in time for their flight. Our destination on this journey was Cartagena. During the sail while the boys slept, Shirlee and I watched the dolphins riding at our bow. As we approached Cartagena, a submarine cut in front of us. Arriving at 8 pm, totally exhausted, with Con taking most of the watches, we all crashed in bed. The next day while Shirlee and Mark were exploring the city, winds picked up and Big Sky crashed unceremoniously into the concrete, catching fenders under the pier and bending our stainless steel rail like soft butter, and ripping the rubber bumper strip partially from the hull. Con got behind the wheel as I was untying, Shirlee and Mark spotted us and sprinted jumping aboard. Big Sky was heeling in the marina as we tried to keep it away from other boats and the edge of the marina. At one point, I was able to get off the boat and raced into the marinara office to ask for a safer place to tie. They refused. I got back aboard, just as Con decided to take a spot against the wall somewhat more protected. Big Sky continued to heel wildly as we motored toward the new location. All the while, the fishermen were shouting angrily to me not to come into it. Con held steady at the helm moving us into the slot. The cross wind proved difficult, but not as difficult as the angry men now gathering and shouting and motioning us to leave. We came in with a crash, hitting the concrete wall creating more damage to Big Sky's fibre glass. The men stood cross armed, not offering to catch a line! Mark, however, threw the bow lines and someone took it. I threw the stern, but the men remained cross armed, but finally a person appeared and reluctantly tied us on. Con took a big step to the shore and extended his hand as "thanks" and the people took it. I stepped down, saying, "Muchas gracias" with my hand out, and the man I extended it to crossed his arms.
April 12 -- A fabulous day on the water today to Denia, just south of Valencia. We'd stopped in Alicante, with marina fees four time what we paid in Caleta de Velez. Alicante's magnificent palm-lines mosaic esplanade is directly in front of the marina and leads into the old city. The four of us walked to the Bull Fighting Area to learn to Mark's great disappointment that it didn’t open until June. We hiked up the hillside to Castell de Santa Barbara overlooking the Mediterranean Sea on one side, the old city on the other, and the panoramic view of the Spanish mountains in another direction. At some point, I convinced Shirlee to come with me on a short-cut route down the side of the castle hill. We descended nearly vertically all the while laughing at our abserdaty.
April 13 -- A few days ago, we crossed the 000 00.000 meridian (longitude). The zero longitude is the Greenwich, England location, but because the Earth is sphere-like, it wow's out and reaches the location we passed. For a moment, part of Big Sky was in the eastern hemisphere and the other in the western hemisphere.
Sitting in a café on the esplanade enjoying the sunshine and people going by, the four of us got caught up in the activities of the Gypsy's. The Gypsy women arrived in packs, dressed in long skirts, each with compliant toddlers on their hips began making their way through the tables with their hands out begging for money. One Gypsy woman smiled at Shirlee. Shirlee smiled back. The woman said kindly pointing under Shirlee's chair, "You're sweater is on the ground." Shirlee thanked her, bent under her seat and retrieved it. By the time Shirlee had lifted her head, the woman had moved in closely calling aggressively: "MONEY FOR BABY!" We watched a Gypsy man (boss) call all the women to him for a meeting. Toddlers were switched out to a new crew of Gypsy woman who went off into the crowds and the first group set off for ice cream. It's hard to hold any respect for them since their profession for the most part is beggars, thieves, intimidators, and con artists living tax free in public parks and open fields in their caravans.
The next day, we tied on in Valencia, and said "good-bye" to our friends after three great weeks aboard.
Rising early (5 am) we sailed out of Africa back to Costa del Sol, aiming for Caleta del Velez where Mark and Shirlee can take a day trip to the Alhambra. Con and I had visited the palace in 2003.
April 9 – Our plan to do an overnight sail was thwarted due to lack of wind so we rerouted into Almerimar giving us a chance to catch up with Bob and Di aboard "Sheer Fantasy" who were also there. We were off again at 3 am the next morning chasing the schedule to get Mark and Shirlee to Valencia in time for their flight. Our destination on this journey was Cartagena. During the sail while the boys slept, Shirlee and I watched the dolphins riding at our bow. As we approached Cartagena, a submarine cut in front of us. Arriving at 8 pm, totally exhausted, with Con taking most of the watches, we all crashed in bed. The next day while Shirlee and Mark were exploring the city, winds picked up and Big Sky crashed unceremoniously into the concrete, catching fenders under the pier and bending our stainless steel rail like soft butter, and ripping the rubber bumper strip partially from the hull. Con got behind the wheel as I was untying, Shirlee and Mark spotted us and sprinted jumping aboard. Big Sky was heeling in the marina as we tried to keep it away from other boats and the edge of the marina. At one point, I was able to get off the boat and raced into the marinara office to ask for a safer place to tie. They refused. I got back aboard, just as Con decided to take a spot against the wall somewhat more protected. Big Sky continued to heel wildly as we motored toward the new location. All the while, the fishermen were shouting angrily to me not to come into it. Con held steady at the helm moving us into the slot. The cross wind proved difficult, but not as difficult as the angry men now gathering and shouting and motioning us to leave. We came in with a crash, hitting the concrete wall creating more damage to Big Sky's fibre glass. The men stood cross armed, not offering to catch a line! Mark, however, threw the bow lines and someone took it. I threw the stern, but the men remained cross armed, but finally a person appeared and reluctantly tied us on. Con took a big step to the shore and extended his hand as "thanks" and the people took it. I stepped down, saying, "Muchas gracias" with my hand out, and the man I extended it to crossed his arms.
April 12 -- A fabulous day on the water today to Denia, just south of Valencia. We'd stopped in Alicante, with marina fees four time what we paid in Caleta de Velez. Alicante's magnificent palm-lines mosaic esplanade is directly in front of the marina and leads into the old city. The four of us walked to the Bull Fighting Area to learn to Mark's great disappointment that it didn’t open until June. We hiked up the hillside to Castell de Santa Barbara overlooking the Mediterranean Sea on one side, the old city on the other, and the panoramic view of the Spanish mountains in another direction. At some point, I convinced Shirlee to come with me on a short-cut route down the side of the castle hill. We descended nearly vertically all the while laughing at our abserdaty.
April 13 -- A few days ago, we crossed the 000 00.000 meridian (longitude). The zero longitude is the Greenwich, England location, but because the Earth is sphere-like, it wow's out and reaches the location we passed. For a moment, part of Big Sky was in the eastern hemisphere and the other in the western hemisphere.
Sitting in a café on the esplanade enjoying the sunshine and people going by, the four of us got caught up in the activities of the Gypsy's. The Gypsy women arrived in packs, dressed in long skirts, each with compliant toddlers on their hips began making their way through the tables with their hands out begging for money. One Gypsy woman smiled at Shirlee. Shirlee smiled back. The woman said kindly pointing under Shirlee's chair, "You're sweater is on the ground." Shirlee thanked her, bent under her seat and retrieved it. By the time Shirlee had lifted her head, the woman had moved in closely calling aggressively: "MONEY FOR BABY!" We watched a Gypsy man (boss) call all the women to him for a meeting. Toddlers were switched out to a new crew of Gypsy woman who went off into the crowds and the first group set off for ice cream. It's hard to hold any respect for them since their profession for the most part is beggars, thieves, intimidators, and con artists living tax free in public parks and open fields in their caravans.
The next day, we tied on in Valencia, and said "good-bye" to our friends after three great weeks aboard.
THE NETHERLANDS
April 18 -- enjoyed time with our Dutch family and especially our tea times with Nomie.
IN CANADA
May 1 – We set off to Carrot River, Saskatchewan to meet our now 2 ½ month-old grandson, Nolan, nearly a 10-hour drive from the Calgary airport. Driving there is pretty much a straight line, with the exception of two or three bends in the highway. We passed thousands of snow geese along the way.
Nolan is a healthy beautiful baby.
Brit and Kris hired a “Water Witch” to find water on their property so they could dig a well. Delving into the weird science of water witching, we took a hanger bending it into long willow-like sticks and walked around the property. Every time we crossed over the underground river the hanger crossed.
May 6 – In Calgary now with the rest of our family. May 16th we had a backyard barbeque at Nick and Dan's house. Brit and Nolan came into town from Saskatchewan. Lindsey and Courtney met Nolan for the first time.
May 18 – We took Nolan in a snuggly for long walks in Calgary's beautiful warm spring weather.
April 18 -- enjoyed time with our Dutch family and especially our tea times with Nomie.
IN CANADA
May 1 – We set off to Carrot River, Saskatchewan to meet our now 2 ½ month-old grandson, Nolan, nearly a 10-hour drive from the Calgary airport. Driving there is pretty much a straight line, with the exception of two or three bends in the highway. We passed thousands of snow geese along the way.
Nolan is a healthy beautiful baby.
Brit and Kris hired a “Water Witch” to find water on their property so they could dig a well. Delving into the weird science of water witching, we took a hanger bending it into long willow-like sticks and walked around the property. Every time we crossed over the underground river the hanger crossed.
May 6 – In Calgary now with the rest of our family. May 16th we had a backyard barbeque at Nick and Dan's house. Brit and Nolan came into town from Saskatchewan. Lindsey and Courtney met Nolan for the first time.
May 18 – We took Nolan in a snuggly for long walks in Calgary's beautiful warm spring weather.
BACK ON THE BOAT
May 22 -- Big Sky was in the Vulcan Yard, Valencia and the last time we're there. Prices are inflated! We were leaving the next day for Ibiza, as friends Bob and Di, aboard Shear Fantasy are in San Antonio and we plan to reconnect there. That night before, a powerful thunder and lightning storm surrounded us and once again, we wrapped up our electronics and stuffed them into the oven, the most insulated place aboard, hoping to protect them if we were to be hit. Sailboats are built to be grounded through their lead keel which means that if struck, it travels through the keel and into the water, but not before taking out all the electronics. The storm passed and delayed our 5 am departure by three hours. On 18-knot beam winds, we crossed from the mainland to the island being escorted by dolphins by the afternoon. As we neared San Antonio, we heard Bob call us on the VHF. They were at anchor. We went into the marina and caught up with them a bit later.
May 25 -- The sun made its entrance after a few days of rain and the massive lightning storms.
May 27 – Today marks one year aboard. Our first nautical mile was in Turku, Finland and 6,000 NM later, we're in Ibiza. I reflected on the great gift we have living aboard, meeting people from everywhere, languages, learning new cultures, tasting new foods, walking on streets walked upon by century's of historic moment and historic people. The history is evident all around us and it doesn't take much peeling back of the onion skin to see the layers of civilization beneath: Roman Empire, Renaissance, Enlightenment, WWI and WWII, the fall of the communist blocks, and the creation of the European Union.
Well, it turns out we weren't as lucky as we thought during the lightning storm. It zapped our Victron Charger, the heavy unit that provides a charge into the boat from the batteries. We ordered a new one from the mainland, and a mechanic was to come aboard, apparently the only guy on the island that can put it in for us.
May 29 -- Our marina fees in the San Antonio Marina are 13 euro per night. While we wait for the charger to arrive, we visited the old town of Ibiza about 20 minutes by bus. Ibiza dates back to the 6th century BC, founded by the Carthaginians. Ibiza today is a party island, and the friendly little town of San Antonio is sleepy by day; with a few topless bathers, but by night, the main street and disco alley are bouncing with party goers. When we wake for our morning coffees in the cockpit and watch the young people dressed in night wear stumbling home across the sand.
June 1 – My dad's 83rd birthday.
June 4 -- The new charger arrived today via Madrid and was in the hands of the electrician who stated he'd be at the gate at 10 am. "Stand by to open it for me." Con had been waiting patiently for 10 days, for its arrival and when the electrician finally showed at 2:30 pm, Con holding back most of his frustration said, "You said you'd be here at 10 am. What happened?" Rather than respond, the electrician put the charger on the pier and turned to go. "I have other jobs..." Con managed to coax him back, and the work began however strained in the first few hours. By the end of the day, both Con and he seemed to be getting along well, learning new techniques for the installation. When trying to pay the man, both our TD Visa's were rejected as well as my CIBC Visa. He said, "A cheque will do." We wrote the cheque knowing it wouldn't be accepted, and we had about 2 cents in our pockets, needing to get to an instant teller. We sat in the main square scooping WiFi to contact the banks, having the line drop a few times. Finally our credit cards were working again, so Con called the electrician to have him cancel the cheque and use the Visa. He responded casually, "No problem Con, I'll get back to you if the cheque doesn't cash." Six weeks later he contacted Con asking for payment.
May 22 -- Big Sky was in the Vulcan Yard, Valencia and the last time we're there. Prices are inflated! We were leaving the next day for Ibiza, as friends Bob and Di, aboard Shear Fantasy are in San Antonio and we plan to reconnect there. That night before, a powerful thunder and lightning storm surrounded us and once again, we wrapped up our electronics and stuffed them into the oven, the most insulated place aboard, hoping to protect them if we were to be hit. Sailboats are built to be grounded through their lead keel which means that if struck, it travels through the keel and into the water, but not before taking out all the electronics. The storm passed and delayed our 5 am departure by three hours. On 18-knot beam winds, we crossed from the mainland to the island being escorted by dolphins by the afternoon. As we neared San Antonio, we heard Bob call us on the VHF. They were at anchor. We went into the marina and caught up with them a bit later.
May 25 -- The sun made its entrance after a few days of rain and the massive lightning storms.
May 27 – Today marks one year aboard. Our first nautical mile was in Turku, Finland and 6,000 NM later, we're in Ibiza. I reflected on the great gift we have living aboard, meeting people from everywhere, languages, learning new cultures, tasting new foods, walking on streets walked upon by century's of historic moment and historic people. The history is evident all around us and it doesn't take much peeling back of the onion skin to see the layers of civilization beneath: Roman Empire, Renaissance, Enlightenment, WWI and WWII, the fall of the communist blocks, and the creation of the European Union.
Well, it turns out we weren't as lucky as we thought during the lightning storm. It zapped our Victron Charger, the heavy unit that provides a charge into the boat from the batteries. We ordered a new one from the mainland, and a mechanic was to come aboard, apparently the only guy on the island that can put it in for us.
May 29 -- Our marina fees in the San Antonio Marina are 13 euro per night. While we wait for the charger to arrive, we visited the old town of Ibiza about 20 minutes by bus. Ibiza dates back to the 6th century BC, founded by the Carthaginians. Ibiza today is a party island, and the friendly little town of San Antonio is sleepy by day; with a few topless bathers, but by night, the main street and disco alley are bouncing with party goers. When we wake for our morning coffees in the cockpit and watch the young people dressed in night wear stumbling home across the sand.
June 1 – My dad's 83rd birthday.
June 4 -- The new charger arrived today via Madrid and was in the hands of the electrician who stated he'd be at the gate at 10 am. "Stand by to open it for me." Con had been waiting patiently for 10 days, for its arrival and when the electrician finally showed at 2:30 pm, Con holding back most of his frustration said, "You said you'd be here at 10 am. What happened?" Rather than respond, the electrician put the charger on the pier and turned to go. "I have other jobs..." Con managed to coax him back, and the work began however strained in the first few hours. By the end of the day, both Con and he seemed to be getting along well, learning new techniques for the installation. When trying to pay the man, both our TD Visa's were rejected as well as my CIBC Visa. He said, "A cheque will do." We wrote the cheque knowing it wouldn't be accepted, and we had about 2 cents in our pockets, needing to get to an instant teller. We sat in the main square scooping WiFi to contact the banks, having the line drop a few times. Finally our credit cards were working again, so Con called the electrician to have him cancel the cheque and use the Visa. He responded casually, "No problem Con, I'll get back to you if the cheque doesn't cash." Six weeks later he contacted Con asking for payment.
June 6 -- From Ibiza we arrived in the Puerto Andratx harbour on Mallorca hoping for an anchorage but it was too confusing and pulled into the marina for 75 euro per night. The next night, we motored 300 meters, dropped anchor in the beautiful bay for no cost. The pretty Spanish town of Andratx can be seen out our windows situated in a valley. The hillsides are scattered with expensive homes and we’re surround by mega-yachts. We blew up the Zodiac, the first time since Finland and ceremoniously launched it into the sea pulling it behind Big Sky. The next day, we moved on to Palma, Mallorca, the capital city of the Balearic Islands. where for one night's stay we were told they would "have to charge us 10 days worth of tax." We read it's an illegal tax and should reject it, but that doesn't work, since they reject you. The lady marinara said, "It's a crazy tax, but if you don't pay it my boss will take the money from me. But," she said with a lower voice, "I will give you free electricity." We thought that was better than nothing, so I took advantage and used a barrel full of electricity washing clothes, baked a lemon loaf. I went to the office three days later to pay the bill and the lady looked at me sheepishly saying, "Sorry, I must charge for the electricity, my boss is here."
June 13 -- Anchored in a beautiful cala (cove) tucked into the centre of the little town of Ciutadella, Menorca, we were surrounded by a medieval wall with fuchsia shrubs spilling out in vibrant colour down the rocks. Our neighbours are a few dozen local boats and one Dutch-flagged sailing yacht. Above us, brilliant blue skies. We climbed into "Little Sky" our Zodiac and motored ashore seeking an internet café to catch up with family. Two days later, we sailed further north to Menorca and clipped onto a buoy. It too was a pleasant cove, surrounded by green shrub-covered hills, and a sandy beach with new tourist condos.
June 19 -- Toulon, France back on the mainland was a 30-hour 204 NM journey from Menorca. We docked beside the attractive old city in the "Old Dock" in anticipation of our five-month pregnant daughter Nick and Dan's arrival tomorrow night via Paris airport, train to Toulon, and by foot to Big Sky using Con's emailed directions. The Bay of Toulon provides excellent protection from wind and waves and has been a navel base since the 3rd century all the way back to the Roman times. Half of Toulon was bombed during WWII and rebuilt quickly in the early '50's due to housing shortages. The part of the city that was miraculously spared has a wonderful old style which is renovated to attract tourists.
June 21 -- Hours past our anticipated arrival of Nick and Dan, there was no sign of them. We split up and rode up and down the promenade until nearly midnight and assumed they'd taken a hotel. Ready for bed, Con did one more trip out on his bike, and heard his name coming through the night darkness. They'd been walking for hours up and down every marina searching for Big Sky. They'd forgotten to bring Con's instructions. The four of us went to the fabulous daily outdoor fresh market the next day, and through the much needed air conditioned mall. The weather was hot! Mid Summers Day (longest day of the year) we celebrated Dan's birthday in a restaurant bar with great seats to view the Euro Cup. The Netherlands vs Russia. The orange lost.
June 22 -- Despite the prediction for little or no wind, we managed a great sail to our nearly private cove for the night. The water temperature was 25 degrees so spending the afternoon in the water was a relief.
June 23 -- In St. Tropez, we entered the land of the luxury yachts. Dan was at the helm for most of the day and negotiated us through the St. Tropez marina only to learn there was no room. We dropped anchor just outside the marina, climbed into the motored ashore. Early evening, we set off on an overnight sail to Calvi on the French island of Corsica. A few hours into the sail, we watched whales passing, a few hundred meters from our boat, and then spotted dolphins heading the other way. Just before the sun set, Con saw what appeared to be a shark fin. Arriving in Calvi at sunrise was awesome. The town is situated on a rocky promontory with a 15th century Genoese citadel dominating the harbour. Massive bastions protect Calvi on all four sides and the land has a sandy three-mile long shallow beach. Temperatures were in the 30s. A few days later, we were back in another gorgeous turquoise-coloured bay and dropped anchor. Con swam out to check the anchor returning with a nasty series of red welts on his arm where a jellyfish stung. It was irritatingly itchy, but Con never complains. Dan explored the cove by dingy rather than risk being stung too.
June 13 -- Anchored in a beautiful cala (cove) tucked into the centre of the little town of Ciutadella, Menorca, we were surrounded by a medieval wall with fuchsia shrubs spilling out in vibrant colour down the rocks. Our neighbours are a few dozen local boats and one Dutch-flagged sailing yacht. Above us, brilliant blue skies. We climbed into "Little Sky" our Zodiac and motored ashore seeking an internet café to catch up with family. Two days later, we sailed further north to Menorca and clipped onto a buoy. It too was a pleasant cove, surrounded by green shrub-covered hills, and a sandy beach with new tourist condos.
June 19 -- Toulon, France back on the mainland was a 30-hour 204 NM journey from Menorca. We docked beside the attractive old city in the "Old Dock" in anticipation of our five-month pregnant daughter Nick and Dan's arrival tomorrow night via Paris airport, train to Toulon, and by foot to Big Sky using Con's emailed directions. The Bay of Toulon provides excellent protection from wind and waves and has been a navel base since the 3rd century all the way back to the Roman times. Half of Toulon was bombed during WWII and rebuilt quickly in the early '50's due to housing shortages. The part of the city that was miraculously spared has a wonderful old style which is renovated to attract tourists.
June 21 -- Hours past our anticipated arrival of Nick and Dan, there was no sign of them. We split up and rode up and down the promenade until nearly midnight and assumed they'd taken a hotel. Ready for bed, Con did one more trip out on his bike, and heard his name coming through the night darkness. They'd been walking for hours up and down every marina searching for Big Sky. They'd forgotten to bring Con's instructions. The four of us went to the fabulous daily outdoor fresh market the next day, and through the much needed air conditioned mall. The weather was hot! Mid Summers Day (longest day of the year) we celebrated Dan's birthday in a restaurant bar with great seats to view the Euro Cup. The Netherlands vs Russia. The orange lost.
June 22 -- Despite the prediction for little or no wind, we managed a great sail to our nearly private cove for the night. The water temperature was 25 degrees so spending the afternoon in the water was a relief.
June 23 -- In St. Tropez, we entered the land of the luxury yachts. Dan was at the helm for most of the day and negotiated us through the St. Tropez marina only to learn there was no room. We dropped anchor just outside the marina, climbed into the motored ashore. Early evening, we set off on an overnight sail to Calvi on the French island of Corsica. A few hours into the sail, we watched whales passing, a few hundred meters from our boat, and then spotted dolphins heading the other way. Just before the sun set, Con saw what appeared to be a shark fin. Arriving in Calvi at sunrise was awesome. The town is situated on a rocky promontory with a 15th century Genoese citadel dominating the harbour. Massive bastions protect Calvi on all four sides and the land has a sandy three-mile long shallow beach. Temperatures were in the 30s. A few days later, we were back in another gorgeous turquoise-coloured bay and dropped anchor. Con swam out to check the anchor returning with a nasty series of red welts on his arm where a jellyfish stung. It was irritatingly itchy, but Con never complains. Dan explored the cove by dingy rather than risk being stung too.
June 27 -- Corsica from the water is beautiful with lush green bushes blanketing the red granite cliffs that plunge fearlessly into the blue waters. Our books tells us that the peninsula is part of a volcanic complex, with rocks dating back to the Upper Permian era, 248 million years ago. The bottom of the rocks are covered in algae, where sea urchins and anemones and numerous crustaceans flourish. The rugged coastline is a protected reserve, boasting of rare bird species, and 125 species of fish and only a smattering of houses can be seen from the water. The Natural Park Region occupies two thirds of Corsica and a haven for us at anchor, as well as our generator providing us with short bursts of conditioning. It's been part of France since 1768, and the French have kept tourism at a minimum not allowing sprawling high-rise resorts. Our days consist of short route by sea, dropping anchor, swimming, and enjoying delicious cold meals. However, yesterday we deviated from our routine when our hot water hose burst. Steamy water spilled into the bilge and out the starboard side of the boat. Dan and Con located the problem, but unfortunately, the break was too difficult to reach. Dan and Con made a make-shift stopper to cut off the hot water, since the tank doesn't have a shut-off valve,
June 28 -- In the capital, Ajaccio, we explored by foot, climbing the cliffs around the city, walking passed the house where Napoleon Bonaparte' was born, (now a museum). Despite the short proximity to the boat, it was a journey, handicapped by the heat as we were. Later that day, the hot water hose sprung another leak, now making it more urgent to find replacement hose. Once armed with new hose, the four of us set to work. Con in the engine room, Nick and Dan in the kitchen with the break under the oven floor but behind the forward wall of the engine room. Con called out instructions, I relayed to the kids, and after a few sweaty hours, the hose was replaced.
June 29 -- Two days exploring Ajaccio were great, but we needed to get to another anchorage and cool off in the crystal clear waters. Con volunteered to pick up supplies and surprised us that night with dinner: Curry Peanut Butter Banana Soup. Yes, weird but good, made with peanut butter, bananas, chicken, onions, and curry.
June 30 – Bonifacio was our next destination and calling it "beautiful" is an understatement and could be the prettiest place we've visited so far. We arrived after following Corsica's west coast watching the volcanic carved cliffs change into striking limestone cliffs and deep grottoes. It's a medieval village sits high on a cliff over the marina harbor.
July 1 -- The four of us piled into the Zodiac for a spin around and inside the grottoes. Later, Nick, Con and I hiked up to the top of the medieval town again while Dan stayed in the cool pilot house working on our computers.
July 2 -- Nick drove us out of the marina and down the narrow inlet toward our anchorage in Porto Veccio on the east side of Corsica, our last stop before sailing to Italy. Along the way, we dropped the anchor in another stunningly blue and jellyfish-free bay and went for a swim. Water temperature registered 29.9 degrees!
July 4 -- Our 22-hour sail last night from Porto Veccio to Rome was "the best sail we've had in our year at sea," says Con. The wind kept steady on the beam from the moment we left Corsica, blowing us to our destination six hours sooner than anticipated! Nick and Dan left for Calgary that evening.
June 28 -- In the capital, Ajaccio, we explored by foot, climbing the cliffs around the city, walking passed the house where Napoleon Bonaparte' was born, (now a museum). Despite the short proximity to the boat, it was a journey, handicapped by the heat as we were. Later that day, the hot water hose sprung another leak, now making it more urgent to find replacement hose. Once armed with new hose, the four of us set to work. Con in the engine room, Nick and Dan in the kitchen with the break under the oven floor but behind the forward wall of the engine room. Con called out instructions, I relayed to the kids, and after a few sweaty hours, the hose was replaced.
June 29 -- Two days exploring Ajaccio were great, but we needed to get to another anchorage and cool off in the crystal clear waters. Con volunteered to pick up supplies and surprised us that night with dinner: Curry Peanut Butter Banana Soup. Yes, weird but good, made with peanut butter, bananas, chicken, onions, and curry.
June 30 – Bonifacio was our next destination and calling it "beautiful" is an understatement and could be the prettiest place we've visited so far. We arrived after following Corsica's west coast watching the volcanic carved cliffs change into striking limestone cliffs and deep grottoes. It's a medieval village sits high on a cliff over the marina harbor.
July 1 -- The four of us piled into the Zodiac for a spin around and inside the grottoes. Later, Nick, Con and I hiked up to the top of the medieval town again while Dan stayed in the cool pilot house working on our computers.
July 2 -- Nick drove us out of the marina and down the narrow inlet toward our anchorage in Porto Veccio on the east side of Corsica, our last stop before sailing to Italy. Along the way, we dropped the anchor in another stunningly blue and jellyfish-free bay and went for a swim. Water temperature registered 29.9 degrees!
July 4 -- Our 22-hour sail last night from Porto Veccio to Rome was "the best sail we've had in our year at sea," says Con. The wind kept steady on the beam from the moment we left Corsica, blowing us to our destination six hours sooner than anticipated! Nick and Dan left for Calgary that evening.
July 5 – In what's called the Tyrrhenian Sea, we're tied to a tied to a wooden dock, part of an Italian Yacht Club, along a canal that flows near the Rome airport. The manager of the club was pleased to see Canadians and told us, "Your first two nights are our compliments, but if you stay three, we will charge you for three." We stayed two nights and gave them our thanks. Food prices are much better here, and discovered that we can purchase an internet system that uses the cell phone band. To this point, getting internet aboard has been difficult as we've had to pull in external wifi. If we had a European address, we could have purchased an internet plan, but for the first time we've been able to purchase a "pay as you go" plan. All of a sudden, "home" isn't so far away.
July 6 -- Hoards of people populate the beaches, with just inches of sand between them. Restaurants control access. About every 200 meters different coloured umbrellas are set up identifying ownership. It doesn't look too pleasant, but that's summer in Rome. We sailed yesterday to a deserted island just north of Rome arriving 10 hours later. The sun is just rising in our anchorage, with a giant red ball filling up the east instantly warming the boat. We're very close to the rocks, hearing water lapping up at the shore and birds chattering. The water is beautifully clear and so very blue.
Today, July 8th, we remember with love that seven years ago the world lost Larry Radu.
July 10 -- We moved on to the island of Giglio detouring around the rocky shallow ledge and dropped anchor in yet ANOTHER beautiful bay. (This rocky shallow is where disaster struck the Coasta Condordia capsizing four years later, resulting sadly in 32 deaths. The ledge is well marked on all charts.) Italians love the water and are either in the water, about to go in the water, jumping off their motor boats into the water, kayaking, wind surfing, laser sailing, motor boating... With so much coastline, why not. Con and I swam 1.4 km to shore and back, and had to have a snooze afterward. Sunday, high winds are expected, so we've made a reservation in a marina and without an advance reservation, we'd be out of luck.
July 12 -- Italy's western coast north of Rome is lush with cypress trees, wild bushes in full bloom, green shrubs, cactus, and ground cover in full blossoms with spectacular mansions dotting the hillside. It's all so pretty, the land, the blue sea, and at night, the vivid stars. In the afternoon, I motored into Porto Stefano, anticipating 30 euro stay at the quay. What a surprise! It was 150 euro. We said, “No grazie” and backed out, went around the corner dropped anchor – no charge. We returned to the 150 euro spot with “Little Sky” (dingy) tied on and explored the town.
Port Stefano bursts with tourists in the summer and returns to a sleepy fishing village by winter. We read all the menus at all the restaurants along the promenade and up and down the back streets before making our decision that night for dinner. Two times now, (in this city and in Rome) we walked into a restaurant waiting to be seated and the waiters shouted to us "FISH ONLY!" Con both times smiled, nodded waiting to be seated and both times they walked away. Italians are friendly, but odd. Be sure to eat everything on your plate too, or mama will ask you what was wrong. Last night, to be on the safe side, I wrapped my leftovers in my napkin and tucked it into my purse.
July 6 -- Hoards of people populate the beaches, with just inches of sand between them. Restaurants control access. About every 200 meters different coloured umbrellas are set up identifying ownership. It doesn't look too pleasant, but that's summer in Rome. We sailed yesterday to a deserted island just north of Rome arriving 10 hours later. The sun is just rising in our anchorage, with a giant red ball filling up the east instantly warming the boat. We're very close to the rocks, hearing water lapping up at the shore and birds chattering. The water is beautifully clear and so very blue.
Today, July 8th, we remember with love that seven years ago the world lost Larry Radu.
July 10 -- We moved on to the island of Giglio detouring around the rocky shallow ledge and dropped anchor in yet ANOTHER beautiful bay. (This rocky shallow is where disaster struck the Coasta Condordia capsizing four years later, resulting sadly in 32 deaths. The ledge is well marked on all charts.) Italians love the water and are either in the water, about to go in the water, jumping off their motor boats into the water, kayaking, wind surfing, laser sailing, motor boating... With so much coastline, why not. Con and I swam 1.4 km to shore and back, and had to have a snooze afterward. Sunday, high winds are expected, so we've made a reservation in a marina and without an advance reservation, we'd be out of luck.
July 12 -- Italy's western coast north of Rome is lush with cypress trees, wild bushes in full bloom, green shrubs, cactus, and ground cover in full blossoms with spectacular mansions dotting the hillside. It's all so pretty, the land, the blue sea, and at night, the vivid stars. In the afternoon, I motored into Porto Stefano, anticipating 30 euro stay at the quay. What a surprise! It was 150 euro. We said, “No grazie” and backed out, went around the corner dropped anchor – no charge. We returned to the 150 euro spot with “Little Sky” (dingy) tied on and explored the town.
Port Stefano bursts with tourists in the summer and returns to a sleepy fishing village by winter. We read all the menus at all the restaurants along the promenade and up and down the back streets before making our decision that night for dinner. Two times now, (in this city and in Rome) we walked into a restaurant waiting to be seated and the waiters shouted to us "FISH ONLY!" Con both times smiled, nodded waiting to be seated and both times they walked away. Italians are friendly, but odd. Be sure to eat everything on your plate too, or mama will ask you what was wrong. Last night, to be on the safe side, I wrapped my leftovers in my napkin and tucked it into my purse.
July 13 -- Con's business needed him back in Calgary. We booked flights out of Rome, excited to be with the kids again and needed to get into a marina south of Rome where we'd leave Big Sky on the hard. The south wind blew in rain, filling the boat with red Sahara Desert sand. We needed to get back to Rome, and it was too windy to leave the marina.
July 14 -- Again the winds blew hard, putting us in an awkward situation, needing to get 30 NM south and up a river in time for our scheduled haul out, and flight to Canada on the 16th. We untied and set sail in horrendous conditions. Green water washed up and over the boat, with waves mounted higher and higher as the day progressed. With our destination now in sight, Con turned toward the mouth of the river. I double checked the navigation book for depths remembering it was shallow when we entered with Nick and Dan. When the river exits through the mouth meeting the sea, it causes great turbulence and has just 3 meters depth. With the four meter swell we seemed to be riding, we might just stick ourselves a meter into the mud at the mouth! I clambered up he companion-way stairs to Con advising that we go to Ostia Marina, just a little further. Con said, he did not plan to enter, just "wanted to have a little look". He turned the boat back perpendicular to the land causing Big Sky to heel significantly. Further on, we lined up for the 45-meter entrance to Ostia, a deeper entrance. Peering forward as we neared Ostia, I could see the incredibly large swells crashing hard and breaking high on the rocky breakwater. Wearing our life jackets, we were now committed to enter. I stood high behind Con on the cockpit ledge who was standing behind the helm all the while I was encouraging him, “Straight ahead, you’re doing it…” We rode an enormous swells in through the breakwater opening with tremendous speed, as it lifted Big Sky's stern so high the motor revved as if out of the water, dropping us low rocking us violently side to side. A final large wave deposited us too close to the bottom and too close to the beach as we sped through the second inner breakwater opening. Con turned Big Sky starboard and throttled back. Shaken, we could barely talk when two marina's motored up to us and called out, "No room, leave."
I called back, "No. It's too dangerous out there."
They called the office and many minutes passed, with them still saying, "You must leave" and me responding, "No, sorry, too dangerous."
Finally, they showed us to a concrete wall for the night. Con went to pay. I stayed aboard looking at the opening to the inner breakwater where waves continued to roll in. To my horror I saw a small head in the massive waves. A 15ish-year-old boy was attempting to swim through the waves. I couldn't believe it and fought with what I should do next. Go down and call for help on the VHF, or keep my eye on him. If he'd been in the water when we raced in, we'd have split him in two. And then, he disappeared through the corridor. I raced down to the VHF at the same time I heard the marinara's engine and ran back up to the cockpit. They zoomed out the corridor, obviously they had spotted him too. A few moments later, the three came back through the breakwater and deposited the boy near the shore. He tried to climb out of the boat, but fell and stayed half in and half out of the water, trying to catch his breath. The boy was exhausted, but alive.
Con returned, “The wind will change tomorrow, blowing east, so it will not be a problem getting up the river.” I was doubtful. The Med can change into a lion without much warning.
July 15 -- Getting back on the bike, as they say, we motored north toward the river's mouth entering without any concerns, as the sea had turned back into a lamb. Traveling further up the river than we had gone before, it seemed like it was the Bayou (as seen in movies). It took us a while to find our haul-out location, eventually tying onto a pier directly in front of a partially sunken ship. We had to move a police zodiac in order to make room for Big Sky. Our haul out was scheduled for 8 am, and immediately following our haul out, we must leave for the train to the airport for an over-night flight.
July 16 – Looking earnestly through our pilot house windows, and at the clock as it passed 8 am, our scheduled haul out tie, there was no sign of a crane or that a lift. Our suitcases were packed and we were dressed in our travel clothes. Con walked to the office and was informed that a boat had “turtled” up the river and that our lift wouldn’t happen today! We quickly discussed alternatives, and as I was volunteering to stay behind, since Con was needed immediately at his business, we heard a chorus of "Oh Canada, our home and native land,” followed by the Hockey Night in Canada theme song. Looking out the window, we saw a bunch of guys on a small boat surrounded by old tires fly into the pier, bashing into the river's wooden boarder planks, bouncing back. They dismounted from the boat in one synchronized leap, and in a blink, one guy was already driving the crane toward Big Sky. Using a frightening lift style, one crane, about six ropes, and of course straps under Big Sky front and back, she was lifted, and placed gently on land. We thanked them, grabbed our bags, slipped into a waiting taxi, and headed for the train. Big Sky was booked to return to the water September 4th.
July 14 -- Again the winds blew hard, putting us in an awkward situation, needing to get 30 NM south and up a river in time for our scheduled haul out, and flight to Canada on the 16th. We untied and set sail in horrendous conditions. Green water washed up and over the boat, with waves mounted higher and higher as the day progressed. With our destination now in sight, Con turned toward the mouth of the river. I double checked the navigation book for depths remembering it was shallow when we entered with Nick and Dan. When the river exits through the mouth meeting the sea, it causes great turbulence and has just 3 meters depth. With the four meter swell we seemed to be riding, we might just stick ourselves a meter into the mud at the mouth! I clambered up he companion-way stairs to Con advising that we go to Ostia Marina, just a little further. Con said, he did not plan to enter, just "wanted to have a little look". He turned the boat back perpendicular to the land causing Big Sky to heel significantly. Further on, we lined up for the 45-meter entrance to Ostia, a deeper entrance. Peering forward as we neared Ostia, I could see the incredibly large swells crashing hard and breaking high on the rocky breakwater. Wearing our life jackets, we were now committed to enter. I stood high behind Con on the cockpit ledge who was standing behind the helm all the while I was encouraging him, “Straight ahead, you’re doing it…” We rode an enormous swells in through the breakwater opening with tremendous speed, as it lifted Big Sky's stern so high the motor revved as if out of the water, dropping us low rocking us violently side to side. A final large wave deposited us too close to the bottom and too close to the beach as we sped through the second inner breakwater opening. Con turned Big Sky starboard and throttled back. Shaken, we could barely talk when two marina's motored up to us and called out, "No room, leave."
I called back, "No. It's too dangerous out there."
They called the office and many minutes passed, with them still saying, "You must leave" and me responding, "No, sorry, too dangerous."
Finally, they showed us to a concrete wall for the night. Con went to pay. I stayed aboard looking at the opening to the inner breakwater where waves continued to roll in. To my horror I saw a small head in the massive waves. A 15ish-year-old boy was attempting to swim through the waves. I couldn't believe it and fought with what I should do next. Go down and call for help on the VHF, or keep my eye on him. If he'd been in the water when we raced in, we'd have split him in two. And then, he disappeared through the corridor. I raced down to the VHF at the same time I heard the marinara's engine and ran back up to the cockpit. They zoomed out the corridor, obviously they had spotted him too. A few moments later, the three came back through the breakwater and deposited the boy near the shore. He tried to climb out of the boat, but fell and stayed half in and half out of the water, trying to catch his breath. The boy was exhausted, but alive.
Con returned, “The wind will change tomorrow, blowing east, so it will not be a problem getting up the river.” I was doubtful. The Med can change into a lion without much warning.
July 15 -- Getting back on the bike, as they say, we motored north toward the river's mouth entering without any concerns, as the sea had turned back into a lamb. Traveling further up the river than we had gone before, it seemed like it was the Bayou (as seen in movies). It took us a while to find our haul-out location, eventually tying onto a pier directly in front of a partially sunken ship. We had to move a police zodiac in order to make room for Big Sky. Our haul out was scheduled for 8 am, and immediately following our haul out, we must leave for the train to the airport for an over-night flight.
July 16 – Looking earnestly through our pilot house windows, and at the clock as it passed 8 am, our scheduled haul out tie, there was no sign of a crane or that a lift. Our suitcases were packed and we were dressed in our travel clothes. Con walked to the office and was informed that a boat had “turtled” up the river and that our lift wouldn’t happen today! We quickly discussed alternatives, and as I was volunteering to stay behind, since Con was needed immediately at his business, we heard a chorus of "Oh Canada, our home and native land,” followed by the Hockey Night in Canada theme song. Looking out the window, we saw a bunch of guys on a small boat surrounded by old tires fly into the pier, bashing into the river's wooden boarder planks, bouncing back. They dismounted from the boat in one synchronized leap, and in a blink, one guy was already driving the crane toward Big Sky. Using a frightening lift style, one crane, about six ropes, and of course straps under Big Sky front and back, she was lifted, and placed gently on land. We thanked them, grabbed our bags, slipped into a waiting taxi, and headed for the train. Big Sky was booked to return to the water September 4th.
August in Canada
September 3 -- BACK ABOARD
Con worked day and night for six weeks trying to save his business as the recession had struck hard. He'd done all he could, so we said our good-bye's to family and friends and set off for Rome. When it rains it pours...
Rome was sizzling hot as we climbed the ladder with Big Sky still on the hard. Opening the companionway doors, sweat ran like a slow-drip faucet off our bodies. First thing Con did was open his laptop to get back into his business issues when he read that Zoom Airlines had gone bankrupt. We'd previously bought four ZOOM AIRLINES tickets for our kids to join us later this month and next. Con closed his business files for the moment to scramble for new flights. Meanwhile, I researched how to get our money back. (It took many months and much determination and chasing, but we did get our money back.)
September 4 -- Scheduled Lift
Our lift back into the water was booked for the morning. Con walked to the office to settle the paperwork and was casually told, "Oh, the one and only crane operator is on vacation, come back on the 15th."
We had four guests flying in to join us aboard on the 9th! "No problem," the office person smiled, "tell them to rebook."
Instead, Con negotiated a fee to have the crane operator fly from his vacation spot in Sardinia to Rome, drive to the river yard, do the job and return to the island that night. He was arriving on the 8th. Our guests on the 9th in the Ostia marina where this time we had a reservation. With no time to spare, Con still had serious business to tend to in Bologna. While Con rented a Fiat, I replaced our Canadian luggage contents with business attire, zipped the suitcase, and climbed down the ladder. We were off to Bologna just over four hours by car. Driving on the highways was insane. Rules, it seems, are just suggestions. At red lights, we were honked at to go through, people passing on the shoulders, riding up our bumper, and where there are two or three lanes on the highway, they crossed back and forth over the lines and at times squishing side by side making a three-lane highway a four-lane. And, motorbikes! They pass wherever they fit, usually on the shoulder and going twice the speed of cars. Not to mention, Italian parkers are the most inventive.
Con was meeting with the owners of a compressor company in the morning, and unfortunately, all he had aboard was a winter suit, which I'd packed. It was swelteringly weather. As soon as we'd checked into the hotel, we zoomed off to the mall for a summer suit. We found slacks, but the tailor couldn't hem them for a week. We then bought an iron, I used the hotel needle and thread hemming the pants, and the iron to give them a nice finish and packed the whole thing back in his cardboard packing (still warm). We stopped the Fiat in front of the store doors, just as the staff was locking up. Con talked his way inside, managed to return the iron, despite them wanting to give us a store credit. In a few days, four guests would be arriving to meet us for a sailing holiday in a marina up the river. The boat was on the hard, Canadian clothes and stuff tossed all over the boat, no food aboard...
For now, we had to think about our stomachs. Bologna is known by Italians as having the best food in Italy, and our selection for the night was simple but delicious, a four cheese pizza made on a crispy flat crust, with a beautiful salad.
The next morning, Con wore his new pants, looked great and went to his meeting while I sat in the shade outside the business waiting for him. When he returned he said, "We'll see how it goes." Later, we walked around the medieval area's tightly knit brick arcades, towers, churches, and palaces. We studied the bronze statue of Neptune, (1566) with water spraying out of just about every orifice and by siesta time, Con found a comfy bench and fell asleep. I sat beside him listening to the birds.
The next day, we stayed in Florence, one of our favourite Italian places, filled with beautiful works of art and architecture. We walked through the Piazza della Signoria (1299) the site of many of the statues, and then through the Palazzo Vecchio (1540). Michelangelo’s "David" is a copy as the original is inside protected from acid rain. In 1966, Florence a flood covered many historic sites and treasures.
September 6 -- We drove on to Lucca and toured the 14th century medieval buildings. Lucca was popular then as it prospered from its silk trade. Parking outside the walls, we walked about 2 km around the tree-lines old centre. The next day, we moved on to Siene, driving through the grape vine and olive tree rich Chianti countryside. At one point, just exiting a tunnel with barriers to our left and another car to our right, another insane motorcycle driver past us between our car and the barrier (with the steep cliff to his left). He was easily going 200 km on a "crotch rocket" with a young woman holding on behind on the raised seat. Her skirt flying up behind her exposing her cheeks. Our car seemed to be sucked toward the barrier in its void!
Siene boasts of having the most perfect medieval town in Italy and at its centre is the Campo a huge stage for the city is well known annual horse race called the Paslio.
September 7, 2008 -- Baby Rach arrived early! Nick and Dan named him Dexter (Dex) James Rach, born 4 lbs 9 oz. Our second grandbaby, anxious to see the world, arrived 1 1/2 months early. In a sea of stress, Dex's arrival was a joy.
September 8 -- With just 15 hours to go before our guests arrived, still on the hard, we anticipated the crane operator's arrival from Sardinia, (we'd paid for his flight and transportation to the yard and back to his vacation). Thankfully, he arrived, did the task and we motored up the river to Ostia Marina. The moment we tied on, we set off for groceries and fresh flowers, returning ready for our guests to arrive in the morning.
Con worked day and night for six weeks trying to save his business as the recession had struck hard. He'd done all he could, so we said our good-bye's to family and friends and set off for Rome. When it rains it pours...
Rome was sizzling hot as we climbed the ladder with Big Sky still on the hard. Opening the companionway doors, sweat ran like a slow-drip faucet off our bodies. First thing Con did was open his laptop to get back into his business issues when he read that Zoom Airlines had gone bankrupt. We'd previously bought four ZOOM AIRLINES tickets for our kids to join us later this month and next. Con closed his business files for the moment to scramble for new flights. Meanwhile, I researched how to get our money back. (It took many months and much determination and chasing, but we did get our money back.)
September 4 -- Scheduled Lift
Our lift back into the water was booked for the morning. Con walked to the office to settle the paperwork and was casually told, "Oh, the one and only crane operator is on vacation, come back on the 15th."
We had four guests flying in to join us aboard on the 9th! "No problem," the office person smiled, "tell them to rebook."
Instead, Con negotiated a fee to have the crane operator fly from his vacation spot in Sardinia to Rome, drive to the river yard, do the job and return to the island that night. He was arriving on the 8th. Our guests on the 9th in the Ostia marina where this time we had a reservation. With no time to spare, Con still had serious business to tend to in Bologna. While Con rented a Fiat, I replaced our Canadian luggage contents with business attire, zipped the suitcase, and climbed down the ladder. We were off to Bologna just over four hours by car. Driving on the highways was insane. Rules, it seems, are just suggestions. At red lights, we were honked at to go through, people passing on the shoulders, riding up our bumper, and where there are two or three lanes on the highway, they crossed back and forth over the lines and at times squishing side by side making a three-lane highway a four-lane. And, motorbikes! They pass wherever they fit, usually on the shoulder and going twice the speed of cars. Not to mention, Italian parkers are the most inventive.
Con was meeting with the owners of a compressor company in the morning, and unfortunately, all he had aboard was a winter suit, which I'd packed. It was swelteringly weather. As soon as we'd checked into the hotel, we zoomed off to the mall for a summer suit. We found slacks, but the tailor couldn't hem them for a week. We then bought an iron, I used the hotel needle and thread hemming the pants, and the iron to give them a nice finish and packed the whole thing back in his cardboard packing (still warm). We stopped the Fiat in front of the store doors, just as the staff was locking up. Con talked his way inside, managed to return the iron, despite them wanting to give us a store credit. In a few days, four guests would be arriving to meet us for a sailing holiday in a marina up the river. The boat was on the hard, Canadian clothes and stuff tossed all over the boat, no food aboard...
For now, we had to think about our stomachs. Bologna is known by Italians as having the best food in Italy, and our selection for the night was simple but delicious, a four cheese pizza made on a crispy flat crust, with a beautiful salad.
The next morning, Con wore his new pants, looked great and went to his meeting while I sat in the shade outside the business waiting for him. When he returned he said, "We'll see how it goes." Later, we walked around the medieval area's tightly knit brick arcades, towers, churches, and palaces. We studied the bronze statue of Neptune, (1566) with water spraying out of just about every orifice and by siesta time, Con found a comfy bench and fell asleep. I sat beside him listening to the birds.
The next day, we stayed in Florence, one of our favourite Italian places, filled with beautiful works of art and architecture. We walked through the Piazza della Signoria (1299) the site of many of the statues, and then through the Palazzo Vecchio (1540). Michelangelo’s "David" is a copy as the original is inside protected from acid rain. In 1966, Florence a flood covered many historic sites and treasures.
September 6 -- We drove on to Lucca and toured the 14th century medieval buildings. Lucca was popular then as it prospered from its silk trade. Parking outside the walls, we walked about 2 km around the tree-lines old centre. The next day, we moved on to Siene, driving through the grape vine and olive tree rich Chianti countryside. At one point, just exiting a tunnel with barriers to our left and another car to our right, another insane motorcycle driver past us between our car and the barrier (with the steep cliff to his left). He was easily going 200 km on a "crotch rocket" with a young woman holding on behind on the raised seat. Her skirt flying up behind her exposing her cheeks. Our car seemed to be sucked toward the barrier in its void!
Siene boasts of having the most perfect medieval town in Italy and at its centre is the Campo a huge stage for the city is well known annual horse race called the Paslio.
September 7, 2008 -- Baby Rach arrived early! Nick and Dan named him Dexter (Dex) James Rach, born 4 lbs 9 oz. Our second grandbaby, anxious to see the world, arrived 1 1/2 months early. In a sea of stress, Dex's arrival was a joy.
September 8 -- With just 15 hours to go before our guests arrived, still on the hard, we anticipated the crane operator's arrival from Sardinia, (we'd paid for his flight and transportation to the yard and back to his vacation). Thankfully, he arrived, did the task and we motored up the river to Ostia Marina. The moment we tied on, we set off for groceries and fresh flowers, returning ready for our guests to arrive in the morning.
September 9 -- Our Guests Arrived on Schedule Roc, Lori, Brock and Linda climbed aboard for a week with us as we sail the Italian waters.
September 10 -- Our first destination was Anzio. Thirty meters from the Anzio breakwater entrance, Big Sky quickly jerked to a stop! We'd hit an unmarked sandbar. Con maneuvered Big Sky through it using the bow thruster and plenty of diesel. Con reset a course and Roc took us into the marina. Anzio is where the Allied forces landed in an attempt to take Monte Cristo from the Germans in WWII. The gravesite of 7,200 Americans are here.
September 11 -- Yesterday we were stopped in the water by a sandbar and today by the Italian Military Police. We were on our way to the island of Ponze, a six-hour motor/sail. Twenty minutes after leaving the Anzio harbor we heard a siren and spotted a motor boat coming in our direction with great speed. We laughed at our jokes about how we were happy they weren't after us. But then, they came right up beside us announcing that we must redirect ourselves 180 degrees (nearly the opposite direction we were traveling). They were beginning their military exercises. Once into our new course, we heard the shells firing. An American ship called out on the VHF, "This is war ship … stay away by 1000 yards." A minute later the VHF came to life again, "What the fuck is 1000 yards, and where the fuck are you?" About 10 minutes later, the radio sparked to life, "This is warship … in position … stay away 914 meters."
At the half-way point of our journey, we stopped Big Sky in the middle of the sea and swam in the glorious 30 degree waters.
We tied in the centre of the little tourist village of Ponze and the six of us enjoyed an evening walking along the waterway, ending the night with pizza at a waterfront table overlooking the harbor.
September 12 -- Temperatures hovered around 30 with 80 percent humidity, making the air heavy and warm. Blue skies have been replaced with the humid haze giving us a bit of a break from the hot penetrating sun. Schools of dolphins sped past Big Sky, not stopping to at our bow, definitely on a mission.
September 14 -- Preparing for really rough seas, leaving Ventante, we strapped the security line onto Big Sky's port side and everybody put on their life jackets. We headed out of the marina and almost immediately the white caps smoothed out and the sea was about as tame as it can get. Sailing into the beautiful island town of Ischia, the six of us dropped anchor in the bay under the castello. The castle is 115 meters high built on volcanic rock. The island is known for it's hot springs, but we figured the water was hot enough. We got out the snorkels and swam around the boat for the afternoon and enjoyed a fish dinner on the boat. Linda made us all brownies! The rain started and the winds picked up during the night, and the lamb became a lion.
September 15 - Italy's notorious Mt. Vesuvius hovers over Naples and from our spot in the marina, its afternoon shadow just about reaching Big Sky. Today is Brock and Linda's last day aboard. While they enjoyed their day with Roc and Lori, Con and I took a train (about 5 KM) to Ercolano (Herculanoeum) one of the two Roman towns (Pompeii the other) that had erupted in 79 AD and buried its inhabitants, actually preserving them deep under the lava and ash. Thousands of years later, we walked down streets where the people once walked and into their houses, seeing paintings on their walls, kitchens, spas, even their preserved small bodies. In 63 AD the area experienced an earthquake and 16 years later Mt. Vesuvius imploded. The cone or plug collapsed. Gas, pumice and other debris was released with explosive forces and blotted out the sky. The 2,000 inhabitants of Pompeii were buried. By evening, the volcano's inner walls had collapsed causing more destruction as the volcanic mud engulfed Herculaneum. It had been a residential district entombed until the 18th century when excavation began. Naples was build right on top of the city. To visit the area, it's a two-story walk down to reach the ruins. The town has mosaic pavement, paint still on some of the walls, and there are baths, spas, pottery pieces, all still intact.
September 17 -- With Brock and Linda's departure the four of us drove to Paestum and explored the incredibly well-preserved site. There are three almost perfectly preserved Doric temples, considered the greatest in the Greek world, finer even than those of Greece. The Temple Neptune above was built in the 5th century BC by a Greek colony, and later absorbed by Romans in 273 BC. Alongside it is the Tempio di Hera. They lay hidden amid the undergrowth for hundreds of years, nearly intact, until its discovery during road building in the 18th century and again during WWII when the Germans were building a plane runway. A stroll along the ancient streets you pass geckos, ants, lizards, and more preserved remnants from the ancient city. We followed it up with a visit to the excellent museum.
September 18 – Roc and Lori left today and we celebrate our daughter Lindsey's 28th birthday.
September 10 -- Our first destination was Anzio. Thirty meters from the Anzio breakwater entrance, Big Sky quickly jerked to a stop! We'd hit an unmarked sandbar. Con maneuvered Big Sky through it using the bow thruster and plenty of diesel. Con reset a course and Roc took us into the marina. Anzio is where the Allied forces landed in an attempt to take Monte Cristo from the Germans in WWII. The gravesite of 7,200 Americans are here.
September 11 -- Yesterday we were stopped in the water by a sandbar and today by the Italian Military Police. We were on our way to the island of Ponze, a six-hour motor/sail. Twenty minutes after leaving the Anzio harbor we heard a siren and spotted a motor boat coming in our direction with great speed. We laughed at our jokes about how we were happy they weren't after us. But then, they came right up beside us announcing that we must redirect ourselves 180 degrees (nearly the opposite direction we were traveling). They were beginning their military exercises. Once into our new course, we heard the shells firing. An American ship called out on the VHF, "This is war ship … stay away by 1000 yards." A minute later the VHF came to life again, "What the fuck is 1000 yards, and where the fuck are you?" About 10 minutes later, the radio sparked to life, "This is warship … in position … stay away 914 meters."
At the half-way point of our journey, we stopped Big Sky in the middle of the sea and swam in the glorious 30 degree waters.
We tied in the centre of the little tourist village of Ponze and the six of us enjoyed an evening walking along the waterway, ending the night with pizza at a waterfront table overlooking the harbor.
September 12 -- Temperatures hovered around 30 with 80 percent humidity, making the air heavy and warm. Blue skies have been replaced with the humid haze giving us a bit of a break from the hot penetrating sun. Schools of dolphins sped past Big Sky, not stopping to at our bow, definitely on a mission.
September 14 -- Preparing for really rough seas, leaving Ventante, we strapped the security line onto Big Sky's port side and everybody put on their life jackets. We headed out of the marina and almost immediately the white caps smoothed out and the sea was about as tame as it can get. Sailing into the beautiful island town of Ischia, the six of us dropped anchor in the bay under the castello. The castle is 115 meters high built on volcanic rock. The island is known for it's hot springs, but we figured the water was hot enough. We got out the snorkels and swam around the boat for the afternoon and enjoyed a fish dinner on the boat. Linda made us all brownies! The rain started and the winds picked up during the night, and the lamb became a lion.
September 15 - Italy's notorious Mt. Vesuvius hovers over Naples and from our spot in the marina, its afternoon shadow just about reaching Big Sky. Today is Brock and Linda's last day aboard. While they enjoyed their day with Roc and Lori, Con and I took a train (about 5 KM) to Ercolano (Herculanoeum) one of the two Roman towns (Pompeii the other) that had erupted in 79 AD and buried its inhabitants, actually preserving them deep under the lava and ash. Thousands of years later, we walked down streets where the people once walked and into their houses, seeing paintings on their walls, kitchens, spas, even their preserved small bodies. In 63 AD the area experienced an earthquake and 16 years later Mt. Vesuvius imploded. The cone or plug collapsed. Gas, pumice and other debris was released with explosive forces and blotted out the sky. The 2,000 inhabitants of Pompeii were buried. By evening, the volcano's inner walls had collapsed causing more destruction as the volcanic mud engulfed Herculaneum. It had been a residential district entombed until the 18th century when excavation began. Naples was build right on top of the city. To visit the area, it's a two-story walk down to reach the ruins. The town has mosaic pavement, paint still on some of the walls, and there are baths, spas, pottery pieces, all still intact.
September 17 -- With Brock and Linda's departure the four of us drove to Paestum and explored the incredibly well-preserved site. There are three almost perfectly preserved Doric temples, considered the greatest in the Greek world, finer even than those of Greece. The Temple Neptune above was built in the 5th century BC by a Greek colony, and later absorbed by Romans in 273 BC. Alongside it is the Tempio di Hera. They lay hidden amid the undergrowth for hundreds of years, nearly intact, until its discovery during road building in the 18th century and again during WWII when the Germans were building a plane runway. A stroll along the ancient streets you pass geckos, ants, lizards, and more preserved remnants from the ancient city. We followed it up with a visit to the excellent museum.
September 18 – Roc and Lori left today and we celebrate our daughter Lindsey's 28th birthday.
September 19 -- The natural drinking water in Castellemmare in the Golfo del Castellemmare is full of minerals as a result of the volcanic eruptions and tastes like salt. Unfortunately, we filled our tanks. Italy is cooling from its 30+ weather, settling in the mid 20's. We're 30 minutes by subway from Naples, set against Mt. Vesuvius, filled with Italian character from pizza, archeology, churches, castle, plaza's, the Duomo, works of art, markets, traffic and apparently lots of crime. It's said to be ramped with pick pocketers. I twist tied my purse zipper and Con tucked his wallet deep in his leg zipper pocket before we set off. Happily we returned at the end of the day with all our goods.
September 20 -- Tomorrow, Lindsey and Les arrive from Calgary! Today, we rode up the steep gondola to Mt. Inice and took in the breathtaking view of the Bay of Naples. Castellemmare sets off fireworks day and night. It starts about 9 am and carries on throughout the day and into the night, last night ending at 3 am. It seems amateurs launch them from wherever and remnants fall helter skelter.
September 21 -- Lindsey & Les Arrive! We collected the kids from the Naples airport, arriving with a back pack each, ready for a Big Sky adventure. Lindsey's enthusiasm for life bubbles out of her infecting everyone around her. The next morning, we headed to the ancient city of Pompeii, just four stops from our marina by train. In the early hours of the afternoon, August 24th, 79 A.D., the summit of Vesuvius exploded spilling a river of ash and lava from the crater through the city. Pompeii was immediately buried under six or seven metres of earth. It wasn't until 1700 years later that while building a tunnel that by chance Pompeii was discovered. The first explorations began in 1748. Incredibly, people, houses, painting (as above) temples, amphitheaters, forums, and a great wall surrounding the city emerged.
September 23 -- No rest for the jet lagged, we caught a 7:15 am train to Naples, and then a passenger train to Rome, returning to Big Sky that evening. With all-day bus tickets, we took in the sights, including St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City. The Basilica Di San Pietro (St. Peter's Basilica) is the largest Christian church and can accommodate 60,000 people. It represents the heart of the Roman Catholicism and people make pilgrimages to this church from around the world. Peter the Apostle, the first Pope is believed to be buried there after his crucifixion around 64 AD. A shrine was built around 155 AD becoming the first church on this site, surviving until 1452 when the Pope began construction of this basilica. It took 200 years to complete. After many alterations, Michelangelo in 1546, was appointed to make sense of the project. He painted the famous Sistine Chapel which tells the story of Genesis and the history of humanity from the 1st Testament before Christ. It took him four years of painting from a cramped position on his back. He was in his 70's at the time. It was too crowded for us to go into the Sistine Chapel. We carried on to the Piazza Navona for lunch. One of Rome's prettiest squares with the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi and Sant-Agnese fountains. Later we walked to the Pantheon, built in 128 AD, still used as a church and listened to a Latin choir and then bussed to the Foro Romano and the Colosseum. After walking our feet off, we took the train to Naples, and then another to Casstellemarre.
September 20 -- Tomorrow, Lindsey and Les arrive from Calgary! Today, we rode up the steep gondola to Mt. Inice and took in the breathtaking view of the Bay of Naples. Castellemmare sets off fireworks day and night. It starts about 9 am and carries on throughout the day and into the night, last night ending at 3 am. It seems amateurs launch them from wherever and remnants fall helter skelter.
September 21 -- Lindsey & Les Arrive! We collected the kids from the Naples airport, arriving with a back pack each, ready for a Big Sky adventure. Lindsey's enthusiasm for life bubbles out of her infecting everyone around her. The next morning, we headed to the ancient city of Pompeii, just four stops from our marina by train. In the early hours of the afternoon, August 24th, 79 A.D., the summit of Vesuvius exploded spilling a river of ash and lava from the crater through the city. Pompeii was immediately buried under six or seven metres of earth. It wasn't until 1700 years later that while building a tunnel that by chance Pompeii was discovered. The first explorations began in 1748. Incredibly, people, houses, painting (as above) temples, amphitheaters, forums, and a great wall surrounding the city emerged.
September 23 -- No rest for the jet lagged, we caught a 7:15 am train to Naples, and then a passenger train to Rome, returning to Big Sky that evening. With all-day bus tickets, we took in the sights, including St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City. The Basilica Di San Pietro (St. Peter's Basilica) is the largest Christian church and can accommodate 60,000 people. It represents the heart of the Roman Catholicism and people make pilgrimages to this church from around the world. Peter the Apostle, the first Pope is believed to be buried there after his crucifixion around 64 AD. A shrine was built around 155 AD becoming the first church on this site, surviving until 1452 when the Pope began construction of this basilica. It took 200 years to complete. After many alterations, Michelangelo in 1546, was appointed to make sense of the project. He painted the famous Sistine Chapel which tells the story of Genesis and the history of humanity from the 1st Testament before Christ. It took him four years of painting from a cramped position on his back. He was in his 70's at the time. It was too crowded for us to go into the Sistine Chapel. We carried on to the Piazza Navona for lunch. One of Rome's prettiest squares with the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi and Sant-Agnese fountains. Later we walked to the Pantheon, built in 128 AD, still used as a church and listened to a Latin choir and then bussed to the Foro Romano and the Colosseum. After walking our feet off, we took the train to Naples, and then another to Casstellemarre.
September 24 -- With our first land trips completed, we left Castlellemarre following the Amalfi Coast to the Amalfi harbor tying up just before the spectacular dark clouds and wind gusts moved in. The drinking water is delightful, so we dumped 1600 liters of Castellemarre's water filling up with Amalfi's water. After two days, we sailed six hours to Acciaroli. On the way, Les set up the fishing rod hoping to catch dinner, but our 7-NM speed was too fast for fishing. Arriving in Acciaroli we knew we ran the risk of hitting bottom from on-going silting. Con entered very slowly, true to the warnings, we hit and slugged through thanks to locals signaling to move further starboard. About 10 minutes after hitting bottom, we laughed when a dredger showed up to dredge the very spot that we'd hit. Acciaroli is a sleepy by pretty fishing village, apparently a favorite of Hemmingway's, but every place was.
September 28 -- We set off around noon yesterday for an overnight sail so we could pass the active volcano Mt. Stromboli to the island of Lipari which is part of the Aeolian Triangle of islands. With nearly zero wind and plenty of sunshine, we stopped midday in our journey for a swim in the 27 degree sea. By 4:30 am we were less than a kilometer from Mt. Stromboli and stopped the boat to watch the burning lava spew from the top of the volcano. Like clockwork, it erupts four times an hour, every 15 minutes. Dawn was breaking on Les and Lindsey's watch when the boat suddenly died, not moving forward or reverse. We woke immediately. Con donned his trunks and dove below for an assessment immediately spotting the problem -- a huge thick plastic was wrapped around the prop. After many dives, slashing with his fishing knife, he cut the prop free and we carried on to Pignataro. Exhausted from our 20 hour trek, 107 NM, Les organized our fishing tackle and he and Lindsey lazed on the bow of Big Sky experimenting with cheese and prosciutto for fish bate on the end of the rod. They had a few bites, but no takers. There are plenty of "Bermuda Triangle" stories in the Aeolian Triangle (Aeolian, the God of the Winds). Sudden gale force winds come up without warning swallowing some mariners. We didn't suffer a storm.
September 29 -- The wind was perfect when we left the island of Lipari for an eleven-hour sail to Riposto, of which we motored ten. Just entering the Strait of Messina, we decided we ought to give way to the massive-sized Queen Victoria cruise ship just 200 meters in front of us. A month earlier, we'd watched the building of it on TV. Lots of dolphins passed us that day. We moved from Catania 20 NM to Riposta, and arranged for a car rental for our last days together.
October 2 -- It's Les and Lindsey's last full day. Courtney and Mike arrive tomorrow on the same British Airways plane Les and Lindsey fly home on. During our shared time, we toured Pompeii, Rome, Naples, Cassellemarre, Amalfi, Acciaroli, Pignataro, Riposto, Catania and the Sicilian coast to Taomina. We've experienced erupting volcanoes, drove up Mt. Etna, taken an overnight sail, spotted dolphins, swam in the Mediterranean, fouled the prop, ran a ground, tried fishing, enjoyed delicious experimental meals, and ended the days in rousing card games. It was a great 10 days together and for the most part with beautiful calm seas and sunny warm weather.
September 28 -- We set off around noon yesterday for an overnight sail so we could pass the active volcano Mt. Stromboli to the island of Lipari which is part of the Aeolian Triangle of islands. With nearly zero wind and plenty of sunshine, we stopped midday in our journey for a swim in the 27 degree sea. By 4:30 am we were less than a kilometer from Mt. Stromboli and stopped the boat to watch the burning lava spew from the top of the volcano. Like clockwork, it erupts four times an hour, every 15 minutes. Dawn was breaking on Les and Lindsey's watch when the boat suddenly died, not moving forward or reverse. We woke immediately. Con donned his trunks and dove below for an assessment immediately spotting the problem -- a huge thick plastic was wrapped around the prop. After many dives, slashing with his fishing knife, he cut the prop free and we carried on to Pignataro. Exhausted from our 20 hour trek, 107 NM, Les organized our fishing tackle and he and Lindsey lazed on the bow of Big Sky experimenting with cheese and prosciutto for fish bate on the end of the rod. They had a few bites, but no takers. There are plenty of "Bermuda Triangle" stories in the Aeolian Triangle (Aeolian, the God of the Winds). Sudden gale force winds come up without warning swallowing some mariners. We didn't suffer a storm.
September 29 -- The wind was perfect when we left the island of Lipari for an eleven-hour sail to Riposto, of which we motored ten. Just entering the Strait of Messina, we decided we ought to give way to the massive-sized Queen Victoria cruise ship just 200 meters in front of us. A month earlier, we'd watched the building of it on TV. Lots of dolphins passed us that day. We moved from Catania 20 NM to Riposta, and arranged for a car rental for our last days together.
October 2 -- It's Les and Lindsey's last full day. Courtney and Mike arrive tomorrow on the same British Airways plane Les and Lindsey fly home on. During our shared time, we toured Pompeii, Rome, Naples, Cassellemarre, Amalfi, Acciaroli, Pignataro, Riposto, Catania and the Sicilian coast to Taomina. We've experienced erupting volcanoes, drove up Mt. Etna, taken an overnight sail, spotted dolphins, swam in the Mediterranean, fouled the prop, ran a ground, tried fishing, enjoyed delicious experimental meals, and ended the days in rousing card games. It was a great 10 days together and for the most part with beautiful calm seas and sunny warm weather.
October 4 -- HAPPY 25th BIRTHDAY COURTNEY! Yesterday, the British Airways flight brought two-month pregnant Courtney and Mike to us. Adjusting to jet lag, we simply wandered the market for fruits and veggies, and ended the night in a nice restaurant and a pre-ordered a Sicilian birthday cake for Courtney. Tomorrow, we set sail for Syracuse, nearing the south end of Sicily.
October 6 -- Yesterday, we sailed from Catania to Syracuse, stopped part way when the wind died for a swim, their first Mediterranean Sea swim. In Syracuse, Con and I put 10 km on our feet, while Courtney and Mike opted for a less ambitious day. Our walk took us to the Roman Amphitheatre, the largest building of this kind in Sicily, dating to the first century BC, built on a grand scale mostly carved out of rock. Similar to the Rome Coliseum, it was used for circuses and gladiatorial shows. We stopped to watch kayak water polo, and carried on to the Carrefour. With our bags in hand, we had little energy to walk to back to Big Sky, let alone the bus stop. Con stuck out his thumb, and the fourth car stopped and drove us all the way back to our marina. He only spoke Italian and all we could say to him was "grazia, grazia."
October 9 -- A heavy weather system hung over Big Sky in Riposto last night while we were tucked inside playing Hearts. On a clear night, you can see the lava flowing from Mt. Etna. With last night's heavy rain, Con feared that Mt. Etna's fires may be extinguished, which could really put a "damper" on tourism here. The lightning was cracking and booming overhead. Just before bed, the clouds lifted around Mt. Etna and we clearly saw the lava flowing like a river down the mountainside. We were in awe at nature's rawness as we took turns viewing it with the binoculars. Earlier in the day, we motored toward Taormina hoping to play in the water, but the weather system returned and surrounded us, so we turned Big Sky around and came back to Riposto.
October 11 -- On our four-hour sail to Messina, we stopped under the Taormina cliffs to picnic and swim in the 24 degree clean, jellyfish free waters. Messina lies in a high earthquake prone area and has suffered plenty of them. In 1908, an earthquake nearly flattened Messina and to add misery, it was followed by a tidal wave. In WWII, it endured more damage but rebuilding began and the buildings can now withstand earthquakes.
October 13 -- On our way to Cefalu there was a fish feeding frenzy. A pod of dolphins were twisting and jumping as they fed, and what they missed the birds snatched up. One dolphin visited us every so briefly mostly to check us out and then returned to fishing. Since sea sickness was affecting Mike and Courtney, so we tried to detour to Portorosa. It was shallow, and Con entered slowly motoring toward a slip. A marinara called down the pier, "Stern to". Con continued bow to, and the man simply pointed and commanded "Go!" as walked back to his office. We left and were happy to continue since it was a lovely day and tucked into Cefalu.
October 15 -- We set four alarms for 5:30 am to make sure we were to get Courtney and Mike to the Cefalu train station. After two weeks aboard Big Sky, they were leaving on the 7:18 am train for Catania for their first of two flights home to Calgary. We started our holiday together in Catania, sailed on to Syracuse, then north to Riposto witnessing hot lava burning down Mt. Etna. We sailed on to Messina, then through the famous Strait to Portorosa and ended the trek in the pretty medieval town of Cefalu, built on the rocks on top of an ancient Greek settlement. Yesterday, we motored by dingy to the grotto and swam in the 26 degree water.
October 6 -- Yesterday, we sailed from Catania to Syracuse, stopped part way when the wind died for a swim, their first Mediterranean Sea swim. In Syracuse, Con and I put 10 km on our feet, while Courtney and Mike opted for a less ambitious day. Our walk took us to the Roman Amphitheatre, the largest building of this kind in Sicily, dating to the first century BC, built on a grand scale mostly carved out of rock. Similar to the Rome Coliseum, it was used for circuses and gladiatorial shows. We stopped to watch kayak water polo, and carried on to the Carrefour. With our bags in hand, we had little energy to walk to back to Big Sky, let alone the bus stop. Con stuck out his thumb, and the fourth car stopped and drove us all the way back to our marina. He only spoke Italian and all we could say to him was "grazia, grazia."
October 9 -- A heavy weather system hung over Big Sky in Riposto last night while we were tucked inside playing Hearts. On a clear night, you can see the lava flowing from Mt. Etna. With last night's heavy rain, Con feared that Mt. Etna's fires may be extinguished, which could really put a "damper" on tourism here. The lightning was cracking and booming overhead. Just before bed, the clouds lifted around Mt. Etna and we clearly saw the lava flowing like a river down the mountainside. We were in awe at nature's rawness as we took turns viewing it with the binoculars. Earlier in the day, we motored toward Taormina hoping to play in the water, but the weather system returned and surrounded us, so we turned Big Sky around and came back to Riposto.
October 11 -- On our four-hour sail to Messina, we stopped under the Taormina cliffs to picnic and swim in the 24 degree clean, jellyfish free waters. Messina lies in a high earthquake prone area and has suffered plenty of them. In 1908, an earthquake nearly flattened Messina and to add misery, it was followed by a tidal wave. In WWII, it endured more damage but rebuilding began and the buildings can now withstand earthquakes.
October 13 -- On our way to Cefalu there was a fish feeding frenzy. A pod of dolphins were twisting and jumping as they fed, and what they missed the birds snatched up. One dolphin visited us every so briefly mostly to check us out and then returned to fishing. Since sea sickness was affecting Mike and Courtney, so we tried to detour to Portorosa. It was shallow, and Con entered slowly motoring toward a slip. A marinara called down the pier, "Stern to". Con continued bow to, and the man simply pointed and commanded "Go!" as walked back to his office. We left and were happy to continue since it was a lovely day and tucked into Cefalu.
October 15 -- We set four alarms for 5:30 am to make sure we were to get Courtney and Mike to the Cefalu train station. After two weeks aboard Big Sky, they were leaving on the 7:18 am train for Catania for their first of two flights home to Calgary. We started our holiday together in Catania, sailed on to Syracuse, then north to Riposto witnessing hot lava burning down Mt. Etna. We sailed on to Messina, then through the famous Strait to Portorosa and ended the trek in the pretty medieval town of Cefalu, built on the rocks on top of an ancient Greek settlement. Yesterday, we motored by dingy to the grotto and swam in the 26 degree water.
Dolphins on the way to the pretty town of Cefalu, also pictured below.
October 19 -- Con's brother Geert, his wife Loes, and Con's sister Albertine arrived from The Netherlands yesterday, but not their luggage. Despite the bus ride back to the airport, Geert and Albertine returned empty handed. They brought an enormous piece of Gouda cheese, Dutch peanut butter (the best), and other goodies. Outfitted in what clothes we could offer, we sailed to Cefalu. The next day, Con and Albertine hiked up to the Temple of Diana, a half-day trek and came back with fabulous photos of the marina and the town of Cefalu. A large church sits in the centre of the cobble-soned town with the old part making a semi-circle around it to the sea.
October 23 -- Returning to the Aeolian Islands, we tied on the Island of Lipari. We arrived in calm waters, but almost immediately the surges began and Big Sky lifted and crashed down on the water with great force throughout the night. By morning, the sea was calm again, so we filled up with more food supplies, diesel and motored to Stromboli, anchoring below the volcano. By day, the volcano roars while smoke and lava spew out of its top every 15 minutes and only by night can the red hot lava be seen. Early in the morning, before dawn, we pulled up anchor and moved to the north side of the volcano for the best show. We tied to a strong mooring line in 11 meters at the base of the volcano, and again tossed unmercifully throughout the night. There's no suitable anchorage on the northwest side of the island, so we rose at 4:30 am and motored over for the spectacular show. Go to Google Earth and type: Stromboli, Italy you can view the volcano from the satellite image. Geert and Con took the watch and the rest of us went back to bed. I woke to the sound of water sloshing in our bathroom. The hot water hose had burst -- again! We knew that this final piece of the hose to be replaced, so the break came as no surprise, nevertheless, it was just awkward. While underway, Con, with his head and body contorted under the bathroom console and with me balancing the flashlight and various tools for him, he cut the burst hose and within the hour we were back in business again. Last year, when we traveled with Lindsey and Courtney, the hot water hose burst behind the front toilet, then this past July with Nick and Dan, it burst under the lower eating sattee in the centre of the boat.
October 26 -- Geert, Loes and Albertine visited Taomina and area with a rental yesterday. Con and I stayed behind to inquire about Riposto as a possible winter spot for Big Sky. Later, the five of us attempted to peer into the bowels of the Earth (Mt. Etna's crater). The rain was relentless, so much so, that once we reached the 1,800 meters, the four-wheel drive vehicles that would have taken us further had stopped running. On foot we did the final 1000 meters (straight up). The higher we climbed, the less visibility we had, so unfortunately, we made the decision to return down the hill and visit Catania. Driving downhill toward Catania, the rain was washing down the roads like a river. Again, thwarted, we decided the best plan was to return to Big Sky and have a game of cards.
October 30 -- Leaving the pretty town of Syracuse at 7 am heading west anticipating an eight-hour sail, we arrived in Sciacca 28 hours later! Our planned route west was to Agriegento, also known as the Valley of the Temples. Architectural remains of the ancient city are scattered over this valley which the Sicilians consider quite fairylike because of the contrasts of the sea, flowers, sun and temples. Our sail was to be done in two days, but arriving at our planned half-way marina, we learned that it had silted to 1 meter (Big Sky is 2.1) so there was no way Big Sky could enter. Our motor-sail had been nine hours at that point. Consulting our GPS we realized that our next stop would be a marina just below the town of Agriegento, another 15-hours over-night sail. During my shift, I laid down on the cockpit cushions with the binoculars taking in all the stars. The night was fresh, the air comfortable, but not the sea, it was very rough. I saw a falling star that burned a lime green on its descent to Earth. Not another ship was in sight for as far as I could check on our radar (24 NM). The wind changed signaling a storm. Sure enough, the sky filled with sheet lightning and continued throughout the night. Arriving at Agrigento at 6:30 am, we realized with disappointment that the marina was not pleasant. There was enough depth, so tied onto a floating pier, but no access to shore. We turned the generator to make breakfast and afterward left for Sciacca, hoping for something better.
October 23 -- Returning to the Aeolian Islands, we tied on the Island of Lipari. We arrived in calm waters, but almost immediately the surges began and Big Sky lifted and crashed down on the water with great force throughout the night. By morning, the sea was calm again, so we filled up with more food supplies, diesel and motored to Stromboli, anchoring below the volcano. By day, the volcano roars while smoke and lava spew out of its top every 15 minutes and only by night can the red hot lava be seen. Early in the morning, before dawn, we pulled up anchor and moved to the north side of the volcano for the best show. We tied to a strong mooring line in 11 meters at the base of the volcano, and again tossed unmercifully throughout the night. There's no suitable anchorage on the northwest side of the island, so we rose at 4:30 am and motored over for the spectacular show. Go to Google Earth and type: Stromboli, Italy you can view the volcano from the satellite image. Geert and Con took the watch and the rest of us went back to bed. I woke to the sound of water sloshing in our bathroom. The hot water hose had burst -- again! We knew that this final piece of the hose to be replaced, so the break came as no surprise, nevertheless, it was just awkward. While underway, Con, with his head and body contorted under the bathroom console and with me balancing the flashlight and various tools for him, he cut the burst hose and within the hour we were back in business again. Last year, when we traveled with Lindsey and Courtney, the hot water hose burst behind the front toilet, then this past July with Nick and Dan, it burst under the lower eating sattee in the centre of the boat.
October 26 -- Geert, Loes and Albertine visited Taomina and area with a rental yesterday. Con and I stayed behind to inquire about Riposto as a possible winter spot for Big Sky. Later, the five of us attempted to peer into the bowels of the Earth (Mt. Etna's crater). The rain was relentless, so much so, that once we reached the 1,800 meters, the four-wheel drive vehicles that would have taken us further had stopped running. On foot we did the final 1000 meters (straight up). The higher we climbed, the less visibility we had, so unfortunately, we made the decision to return down the hill and visit Catania. Driving downhill toward Catania, the rain was washing down the roads like a river. Again, thwarted, we decided the best plan was to return to Big Sky and have a game of cards.
October 30 -- Leaving the pretty town of Syracuse at 7 am heading west anticipating an eight-hour sail, we arrived in Sciacca 28 hours later! Our planned route west was to Agriegento, also known as the Valley of the Temples. Architectural remains of the ancient city are scattered over this valley which the Sicilians consider quite fairylike because of the contrasts of the sea, flowers, sun and temples. Our sail was to be done in two days, but arriving at our planned half-way marina, we learned that it had silted to 1 meter (Big Sky is 2.1) so there was no way Big Sky could enter. Our motor-sail had been nine hours at that point. Consulting our GPS we realized that our next stop would be a marina just below the town of Agriegento, another 15-hours over-night sail. During my shift, I laid down on the cockpit cushions with the binoculars taking in all the stars. The night was fresh, the air comfortable, but not the sea, it was very rough. I saw a falling star that burned a lime green on its descent to Earth. Not another ship was in sight for as far as I could check on our radar (24 NM). The wind changed signaling a storm. Sure enough, the sky filled with sheet lightning and continued throughout the night. Arriving at Agrigento at 6:30 am, we realized with disappointment that the marina was not pleasant. There was enough depth, so tied onto a floating pier, but no access to shore. We turned the generator to make breakfast and afterward left for Sciacca, hoping for something better.
Temple of Diane, Cefalu, Sicily
Geert, Loes, and Albertine arrive
November 1 -- Geert, Loes and Albertine left this morning for The Netherlands after two weeks touring Sicily with us. Yesterday, we had a fabulous day in Agrigento, the old city which makes the backdrop for the ancient Greco-Roman city. With warm sunshine smiling on us we walked through the Valley of the Temples. The ancient town had nine well preserved temples. The city was founded in 582 B.C. by pioneers from the Greek Island, Rhodes. Earthquakes over the years took much of the city out, but the worst damage was done by early Christian settlers who deliberately vandalized the temples. The Greek architecture is everywhere, with old gnarly olive trees growing in valley groves. It's All Saint's Day, where people come out to the grave sites and pay respects, wash the stones, and lay flowers. We got Big Sky washed up from all our guests, deflated "Little Sky" stored her in the garage, filled the water tanks and food in the cupboards for our planned 7 am departure.
November 2 & 3 -- The wind finally came to Sicily after our two-week wait and did it arrive! It was blowing up to 50 NM in the marina in Sciacca, on the west side of Sicily, the night before we left for Pantelleria, a small town on an island half way to Tunisia. Winds calmed and we sailed on 20-22 knot beam winds arriving in Kelibia in the afternoon. Friendly Customs and Immigration greeted us climbing aboard before we'd finished tying on and began their walk-through-the-boat tour looking in every nook and cranny. "Open" they'd say to Con to a drawer, or knock on a closet for it to be opened. Con opened every drawer, cupboard, closet, until they settled somewhat satisfied in the centre of the pilot house. "Souvenirs for us," the big guy asked Con.
Con just looked at him not offering anything.
He picked up the flashlight clicking it on and off and nodded that he'd like it.
Con shook his head, "No."
"Okay," he said, looking up at the ceiling knocking it, which I think he did to intimidate us as if he'd take it apart. He then said, "Lindt chocolate."
Con went to the kitchen cupboard and pulled it out.
"And one for my comrade," he smiled.
Con obliged, grateful that they weren't looking for anything more. Whiskey is preferred as it can be resold on the black market there, as it's hugely expensive. We didn't carry any, but did have two Lindt bars.
November 4 -- You can taste the red Sahara Desert sand as it blows into Kelibia making the sky pink. About 2 am I felt Big Sky hitting the concrete pier, naked, I grabbed my housecoat and scurried topside and began repositioning our fenders. A weather-beaten sail boat had arrived some time in the night tying to our cleats and the added weight was flattening our fenders. The man from the sail boat, dressed in boxers and Sammy, the marinara appeared, the latter with a handful of extra fenders and the three of us worked on putting a buffer between the concrete and damage. One of our fenders came lose and was nearly swept away to Libya. All the while, Con slept like a baby. Once settled I turned to the two men thanking them, at the same moment the wind caught my housecoat as it flew wide open. The next day, we stopped at the office to pay our bill. Con was shocked at the cost he understood we were to pay at the rickety pier and while negotiating a better price, I was being entertained by a local having me listen to the Harbour Master's recorded music on his iPhone. The Harbour Master finally wrote the price on a piece of paper "39 euro". Con then drew pictures on the paper comparing what you get for 39 euros in other harbours and then the light came on. The Tunisian currency places its decimal point over one to the left and our price was actually 3.90 euros. We all shared a cup of tea and a good laugh.
Tunisia is a land of many contrasts with the Islamic call to prayer five times a day. Men openly affectionate with each other, however homosexuality is illegal. A male greeting might be: a high-five turning into a firm hand shake, followed by four-cheek kisses and a ruffling of one or the others hair. It's common to see men link pinky fingers walking, or touching another's elbow or arm over another's shoulder or wrapped around the back of his waist. People wear stylish jeans, good quality shoes, sweaters, or the traditional kaftan. Roads are loaded with taxis, females ride side saddle on motorcycles. Streets have donkeys, motorized caterpillars and tractors, and Mercedes. It's common to share a taxi and for instance for Con and me to get to town, it was about a dollar (Canadian equivalent). Young school teenaged boys joined us in our cab, and immediately offered us some of their Snickers bar before helping themselves. The outdoor coffee shop tables are filled with men-only, most playing cards and drinking coffee. We haven't seen another foreigner in town (except for the French people on the boat beside us).
November 6 -- Leaving Kelibia in the morning, thunder heads growled to the north and in no time caught us. Rain pelted down, and lightning cracked overhead, Con captured a water spout (tornado) on the water in the distant, (see video below) and about 15 minutes before arriving in Yasmine Hammamet, the sun came out. A week before a tornado had touched blew through Hammamet causing havoc in the yard. Hammamet is a popular all-inclusive resort area for Europeans, boasting the best beaches in Tunisia.
November 2 & 3 -- The wind finally came to Sicily after our two-week wait and did it arrive! It was blowing up to 50 NM in the marina in Sciacca, on the west side of Sicily, the night before we left for Pantelleria, a small town on an island half way to Tunisia. Winds calmed and we sailed on 20-22 knot beam winds arriving in Kelibia in the afternoon. Friendly Customs and Immigration greeted us climbing aboard before we'd finished tying on and began their walk-through-the-boat tour looking in every nook and cranny. "Open" they'd say to Con to a drawer, or knock on a closet for it to be opened. Con opened every drawer, cupboard, closet, until they settled somewhat satisfied in the centre of the pilot house. "Souvenirs for us," the big guy asked Con.
Con just looked at him not offering anything.
He picked up the flashlight clicking it on and off and nodded that he'd like it.
Con shook his head, "No."
"Okay," he said, looking up at the ceiling knocking it, which I think he did to intimidate us as if he'd take it apart. He then said, "Lindt chocolate."
Con went to the kitchen cupboard and pulled it out.
"And one for my comrade," he smiled.
Con obliged, grateful that they weren't looking for anything more. Whiskey is preferred as it can be resold on the black market there, as it's hugely expensive. We didn't carry any, but did have two Lindt bars.
November 4 -- You can taste the red Sahara Desert sand as it blows into Kelibia making the sky pink. About 2 am I felt Big Sky hitting the concrete pier, naked, I grabbed my housecoat and scurried topside and began repositioning our fenders. A weather-beaten sail boat had arrived some time in the night tying to our cleats and the added weight was flattening our fenders. The man from the sail boat, dressed in boxers and Sammy, the marinara appeared, the latter with a handful of extra fenders and the three of us worked on putting a buffer between the concrete and damage. One of our fenders came lose and was nearly swept away to Libya. All the while, Con slept like a baby. Once settled I turned to the two men thanking them, at the same moment the wind caught my housecoat as it flew wide open. The next day, we stopped at the office to pay our bill. Con was shocked at the cost he understood we were to pay at the rickety pier and while negotiating a better price, I was being entertained by a local having me listen to the Harbour Master's recorded music on his iPhone. The Harbour Master finally wrote the price on a piece of paper "39 euro". Con then drew pictures on the paper comparing what you get for 39 euros in other harbours and then the light came on. The Tunisian currency places its decimal point over one to the left and our price was actually 3.90 euros. We all shared a cup of tea and a good laugh.
Tunisia is a land of many contrasts with the Islamic call to prayer five times a day. Men openly affectionate with each other, however homosexuality is illegal. A male greeting might be: a high-five turning into a firm hand shake, followed by four-cheek kisses and a ruffling of one or the others hair. It's common to see men link pinky fingers walking, or touching another's elbow or arm over another's shoulder or wrapped around the back of his waist. People wear stylish jeans, good quality shoes, sweaters, or the traditional kaftan. Roads are loaded with taxis, females ride side saddle on motorcycles. Streets have donkeys, motorized caterpillars and tractors, and Mercedes. It's common to share a taxi and for instance for Con and me to get to town, it was about a dollar (Canadian equivalent). Young school teenaged boys joined us in our cab, and immediately offered us some of their Snickers bar before helping themselves. The outdoor coffee shop tables are filled with men-only, most playing cards and drinking coffee. We haven't seen another foreigner in town (except for the French people on the boat beside us).
November 6 -- Leaving Kelibia in the morning, thunder heads growled to the north and in no time caught us. Rain pelted down, and lightning cracked overhead, Con captured a water spout (tornado) on the water in the distant, (see video below) and about 15 minutes before arriving in Yasmine Hammamet, the sun came out. A week before a tornado had touched blew through Hammamet causing havoc in the yard. Hammamet is a popular all-inclusive resort area for Europeans, boasting the best beaches in Tunisia.
About Tunisia: Locals speak French and Arabic. Tunisia was occupied by France until 1956 when they won their independence and have a president-elected government based on French and Islamic law. There are seven political parties in Tunisia. Islamic groups have been eliminated from the political life of the country, which means that politics cannot be religious or ethnic based. The Berbers are the indigenous (non-Arab) people of North Africa and have inhabited the region from 4000 BC surviving as nomads recognized by their decorative red and white striped clothes and painted faces. Tunisian women living in larger cities have freer independence from men over women in other Muslim country. Polygamy and divorce are banned as is the hijab (veil) from school, however, traditionally their heads are covered. Women are ensured education and equal pay. In rural Tunisia, it's common for the women to hand over all her pay to her husband, or to put it in a dowry for their future husband. Seeing a Tunisian women socializing in a café is uncommon, as pipe-smoking, card playing men generally dominate that scene.
November 10 -- We entered the Monastir marina despite being told that our winter reservation was no longer valid we were given a slip bow into the quay. No security gate controls, just open to anyone passing by and cats. It's a short walk to the Ribat, and to the local medina for fresh food. Yesterday in the Ribat, the movie "Walking with Jesus" was being filmed. We watched for a short time amazed at the detail in the smallest scenes. The call to prayer goes on throughout the day, and the streets immediately fill up with speed walkers (men) heading to the Mosque. At the door, they kick off their shoes and enter. Peeking inside we can see the serious devotion, men kneeling on mats facing east, and bowing to the floor and up in prayer.
Along the street, a man was spinning elastic (see video below), beside him men were working on motorcycle transmissions, and beside them, haircuts for 5 dinars.
November 12 -- Prices in the Yard are excellent. Con is in discussion with them for Big Sky's annual maintenance. Funny, we can have the boat washed for 3 euro but a Lindl chocolate bar in the store is 7 euro and vodka is more than 200 euro.
November 14 -- Gordon Radu, my daughter's grandpa passed away at the age of 89. He was loved by many and will be missed.
November 16 -- With the sunny warm Tunisian days, it's rough knowing we'll be shoveling snow in Canada soon, but we're anxious to be with family again. We walked to the fresh food market for the Sunday live-a-board social barbecue. Nearly all cruisers speak French so holding conversations is challenging.
November 18 -- A major storm circled Monastir last night, and the sky went from dark to black with vertical exploding clouds billowing above and lightning all around us. We wrapped Big Sky in the big blue tarp and stepped into a taxi for the Tunis airport.
The Canadian economy is crashing and a component of Con's business needs him home immediately. We booked flights using a travel agency and needed "cash" to buy the tickets. Emptying two of the three instant teller machines in the main square, we filled our pockets and my purse with wads of small bills. On our bikes, Con was ahead of me when three Gypsy kids attempted to grab my purse. One kid walked slowly in front of my bike so I'd slow down, the second shouted in my face, "Hey!" with her bangs hitting my face, and the third tugged at my purse. I yanked it back to my side and continued cycling. I nearly lost 600 euro on that foiled attempt.
November 10 -- We entered the Monastir marina despite being told that our winter reservation was no longer valid we were given a slip bow into the quay. No security gate controls, just open to anyone passing by and cats. It's a short walk to the Ribat, and to the local medina for fresh food. Yesterday in the Ribat, the movie "Walking with Jesus" was being filmed. We watched for a short time amazed at the detail in the smallest scenes. The call to prayer goes on throughout the day, and the streets immediately fill up with speed walkers (men) heading to the Mosque. At the door, they kick off their shoes and enter. Peeking inside we can see the serious devotion, men kneeling on mats facing east, and bowing to the floor and up in prayer.
Along the street, a man was spinning elastic (see video below), beside him men were working on motorcycle transmissions, and beside them, haircuts for 5 dinars.
November 12 -- Prices in the Yard are excellent. Con is in discussion with them for Big Sky's annual maintenance. Funny, we can have the boat washed for 3 euro but a Lindl chocolate bar in the store is 7 euro and vodka is more than 200 euro.
November 14 -- Gordon Radu, my daughter's grandpa passed away at the age of 89. He was loved by many and will be missed.
November 16 -- With the sunny warm Tunisian days, it's rough knowing we'll be shoveling snow in Canada soon, but we're anxious to be with family again. We walked to the fresh food market for the Sunday live-a-board social barbecue. Nearly all cruisers speak French so holding conversations is challenging.
November 18 -- A major storm circled Monastir last night, and the sky went from dark to black with vertical exploding clouds billowing above and lightning all around us. We wrapped Big Sky in the big blue tarp and stepped into a taxi for the Tunis airport.
The Canadian economy is crashing and a component of Con's business needs him home immediately. We booked flights using a travel agency and needed "cash" to buy the tickets. Emptying two of the three instant teller machines in the main square, we filled our pockets and my purse with wads of small bills. On our bikes, Con was ahead of me when three Gypsy kids attempted to grab my purse. One kid walked slowly in front of my bike so I'd slow down, the second shouted in my face, "Hey!" with her bangs hitting my face, and the third tugged at my purse. I yanked it back to my side and continued cycling. I nearly lost 600 euro on that foiled attempt.
IN CANADA
December 4 -- We bunked into Nick and Dan's house (our house is leased) and enjoyed the kids and Dex. We drove to Carrot River for Christmas with Brit, Kris and Nolan. Courtney and Mike are expecting a girl in May. Les and Lindsey are healthy and happy. Our spirits are filling up with "family" and it's awesome despite the dire business situation.
December 4 -- We bunked into Nick and Dan's house (our house is leased) and enjoyed the kids and Dex. We drove to Carrot River for Christmas with Brit, Kris and Nolan. Courtney and Mike are expecting a girl in May. Les and Lindsey are healthy and happy. Our spirits are filling up with "family" and it's awesome despite the dire business situation.
