Cruising People

We are heading into our final week(s) here in Grenada. Everyday we have been working on the boat and finishing up final tasks to prepare her for the passage. We have also been trying to get online for the past week but every time something has thwarted our attempts, so we will keep trying and will be posting as we catch any internet signals! We are heading south west hitting La Blanquila, Los Roques, the ABC Islands (Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao) and eventually to Cartegena, Colombia.

But the plans of sailors are even more prone to change than those of average mice and men. The first leg of our journey will take us on a 30-40hr passage cutting across the southern Caribbean above Venezuela. What is ironic is that we are skirting above Venezuela and heading towards Columbia. What I mean by that is only a few years ago Venezuela was the hot destination point for most cruisers and Columbia was a must miss. However the world never stands still and the recent rise of pirates and political unrest in Venezuela combined with the increasingly calm and stable atmosphere in Columbia is reversing the tide of visiting cruisers. Cartegenea has been especially proactive in trying to create a peaceful atmosphere in order to entice visitors. There will be many stops along the world famous islands along the way and we will be looking for wifi to share the pictures and stories as we go.

While we spend most of the daylight hours working on the boat and occasionally jumping off the side to cool off we have been hanging out on the beach at night listening to the stories of other world travelers and cruisers. What makes travel by boat so unique than any other form is that each boat is its’ own little universe, and the people on them always have such distinct and fascinating stories. Take for example this Italian woman we have met anchored off the beach of Hog Island.
Read more

Japanese Home Cooking!

“What would you like to eat for your goodbye dinner party?”

“I want to eat stuff that a Japanese mom would make on an average Wednesday night!”

Normally this would be an absurd answer. Luckily it was accepted as only slightly absurd in this crowd. First of all, I suspect that they are always half expecting me to blurt out absurd and random comments, and secondly they were all Japanese and were quick to figure out what I meant. I wanted a good ‘ole home style cooking that I had grown up with as my “last meal” with them.

Read more