You’ve Been Traveling Around, Now What?

What happens to travelers when they finally “go home?” After all the planning, saving, determination, downsizing, chaos and sometimes sheer terror of leaving everything behind. After traveling, backpacking, sailing, or living in another country is done and you find your self back in your hometown. Some may be lucky enough to have a home and job waiting for them but for the most of us we will need to re-build our lives. Many people might find this stage un-nerving enough to not want to leave in the first place. What we have found is that the things we learned about ourselves while traveling and living overseas has shaped us in more ways than we expected, including being mentally ready for this next phase in our lives. In the past year, between getting ready to go and actually being out there we have gained a whole new level of confidence in ourselves and what we are capable of. It also allowed us to meet many people that by sharing their stories and being by them we have learned a lot of valuable lessons that might have otherwise taken years to learn. One of the most important things that we actually might have learned is simply to actually start believing that we could be and do anything we wanted, as long as we were committed and willing to work our butts off. Today I’ll look at what a few of us “travelers” are up to when they find themselves back “home.”

John and I have been back since Christmas and we’re staying at his family home in Andalusia with his parents. We are not sitting around watching TV though, we are starting on phase II of operation Hop & Jaunt world domination via friendly fire! Long name but basically it means we have finally found the cojones to start a project we’ve always dreamed of doing: starting our own design and advertising business. Initially a home business but hoping to take make virtually anywhere with us with the power of the internet! The goal is to be location independent and to try and make money online as much as possible. We’ve always been designers, both of us having been caught doodeling on our notebooks since grammar school. Until recently we just thought we needed to be “grown-ups” and have a regular office job with an actual paycheck, insurance, and a commute, preferably with a cranky boss or two thrown in. It was while we were out that we had a chance to meet other designers , bartered with our work, dabbled in freelance, and slowly but surely realized that our parents were right, we were pretty good at this. Most importantly we realized that we CAN do it. So starting this year we have made concrete steps to open up our own free-lance design shop and on-line business! Our ultimate goal is to become our tagline:
“traveling designers.” Setting up shop where ever our laptops plug in, preferably in tropical climates but we’ll start one step at a time. 2010 the year that shall Hop & Jaunt!

Current Office Of Hop & Jaunt: Aly Planning The Next Adventure During Break! Don't Ask Why There's Milk AND Wine On My Desk..

We're Back In America

For those of you who have been following our blog for a while you might recall that the first sailboat we were on, Quercus, was my parent’s sailboat. We had met up with them in Grenada and sailed together through the Venezuelan Islands to Curacao. While in Curacao they sold Quercus and headed back to the good ‘ol U.S. of A. Once I get a hold of our old photos I will introduce you to my family but let’s just say for now that my parents are one of the original adventurers, having sailed, lived, and traveled around the world for the past 25+ years. My parents bought a small wooden boat in the middle of the Pacific, and in 1986 when I was two and my sister was still in my Mom’s belly they packed their suitcases for the first of a thousand time.

Read more

LIFE ABOARD & ABROAD

Life Aboard & Abroad

Since we’ve been back stateside, we have had plenty of questions about life aboard a sailboat.  So we’ve decided to answer some of those questions in todays blog by describing what life aboard was like for us.  Feel free to post new questions in the comment area below and don’t forget to help us win a trip to Argentina by clicking here!

Life Aboard:  The Day Begins

The sun is nature’s Alarm Clock.  It happened every morning despite our best efforts to crawl further into the shadows of our bunks.  Still, there was no hiding from the sun once it rose high enough to shine through the open hatches.  But it was a nice, gradual way of waking up.  Nothing like the annoying screaming of my alarm clock now.  But thinking back on the size of my small quarter berth, I don’t think I’ll ever complain about having a small apartment again.

Sleeping soundly in my bunk.

Once we had crawled out of our bunks and had a good stretch it was time for a shower.  Nothing shocks you awake like diving off the boat into cool Caribbean waters.  I miss personal hygiene being this simple.  It was as easy as falling over board.  Since most bathing was done outdoors, modesty really wasn’t a practiced concept in most anchorages.  Eventually, we got used to seeing our neighbors’ bare asses …and having them see ours.

Our morning shower.

Shave Optional:  On days that I deemed a good shave necessary I would shave with a bucket of saltwater and a dull razor.  I definitely don’t miss this.  Its unbelievable the amount of hair that gathers all over the boat.  It was a daily chore just having to sweep it all up.  So it was just easier to do all my shaving over a bucket.  Thats probably why I didn’t shave so much.  And I have no idea how Alyson managed all her shaving.

Next comes a saltwater shave from a bucket.

Transportation:  Life without a car

Its strange.  I love to drive, and I drive a lot.  My ole pick-up truck has covered a lot of ground in the past 10 years, and I would definitely rather drive 1000 miles than fly the same distance.  That being said, I didn’t really miss having a car at all.  As a matter of fact, life without a car forced us to plan better, be more resourceful and more outgoing.  Which in turn, led to new friendships and experiences we would not have made otherwise.

the Dinghy:  Our dry way of getting to shore.  Even though we got along fine without a car, there was no living aboard without a dinghy.

Going for a Sunday Drive

Read more

Sailing the Southern Caribbean

Today’s post is a little different. Instead of me droning on for an hour, for you slow readers, or twenty-eight seconds, for those realizing they got the wrong site, I would like to present you with a cinematic master piece. A MONTAGE!!!

But before you cringe let me also say that it has music, and dolphins jumping, and oceans, and an amazing car race with scantly clad women….OK the last part is a lie.

It’s a video re-cap of our sailing journey across the southern Caribbean from Grenada to Colombia, over 1000 nautical miles, 7 months, and 2 sailboats later.

So go pop some pop-corn, sit back and relax!

Sailing The Southern Caribbean from Hop & Jaunt on Vimeo.

It’s also on YouTube if you have a preference.

Read more

Hop & Jaunt’s Top Ten of 2009

Happy New Years from the Crew at Hop & Jaunt Travelouges!  We’re excited about the new adventures and travels that lay ahead in 2010.  But before we jaunt into the last year of the decade, lets hop back and take a look at some of our favorite experiences from the past year.   Its Hop & Jaunt’s Top Ten Favorite Adventures of 2009.

10.)  Beach Bumming at Roger’s Bar on Hog Island, Grenada

Roger's Beach Bar - Hog Island, Grenada

Roger’s Bar on Hog Island was our first Caribbean experience after joining Alyson’s parents on Quercus.  Roger’s ramshackle beach shack not only had the appearance of being thrown together with driftwood, bamboo and palm leaves, but it literally was put together with nothing more than driftwood, bamboo and palm leaves.  Many afternoon ’sundowners’ turned into late night ‘howl at the moon’ sessions underneath the glow of the single 12 Volt powered light bulb.  Live reggae music, sand between your toes and always a cold beer set the perfect mood for mingling and socializing with the  locals and sailors from around the world.  To read more click here.

9.)  Baby Sitting a Whale in Curacao

Giving baby Sully a tummy rub.

While boat sitting in Curacao we decided to try a little baby sitting as well.  We volunteered to watch after a 10 foot baby pilot whale that was being nursed back to health.  Sully the pilot whale was beached by his family after becoming too ill to keep up with the rest of his pod.  Efforts by local marine biologist and volunteers helped to restore the baby whale back to full health.  We spent a few nights lying by Sully’s pen keeping him company as he vied for our attention by requesting several belly rubs.  It was an experience we will always remember.  Unfortunately efforts to integrate Sully back into the wild have failed, and there are talks that he will be moved to a tank in Sea World, San Diego.  For more click here.

Read more

The Secret Cove

(Continued from Post 1     and 2   of sailing to Colombia)

The seas grew minute by minute we raced to the boat and managed to pull up the anchor in record time. Especially considering that the swell of the seas had gotten so rough that the bow was now dipping into the sea before coming up high enough to see the beginning of the keel. With John man-handeling the anchor, Paul on the wheel and me waving a bunch of kids foolish enough to be swimming out to us away Sunrunner headed back out to sea. As we wearily watched Riohacha fade away behind us we prepared for another all-nighter until the next possible anchorage. Though we did get a few smaller squalls and some drenching rain falls in the early half of the night by the time the midnight watch was winding down the wind had disappeared completely. It is said that you always have either too much or too little wind when out sailing. This night was a case and point. My watch was from around 2 am for three hours, but as John had to practically pull up the anchor by hand in Riohacha, due to the rough sea conditions, I decided to let him sleep longer. Plus, I have always loved night-watch all alone with my trusty shuffle providing the background music. Enveloped by the dark night and sea with only Orian as your fellow company is not a bad way to spend a few quiet hours of your life.

With no wind we were barely making a couple of  knots. It did not truly matter  as we were off schedule anyway with the mad-dash out of Riohacha it worked out better to be barely moving and just waiting for the sun to rise. We were looking for Rio Palamino and were sailing only a mile or two offshore. In the dead of night as we were very, very slowly approaching land I started to see lights from shore. Not knowing the topography it was very disconcerting to see red lights hanging in various heights along the coast. Normally at sea you can tell a lot by the lights you see on the horizon. Red, green, and white at dirfferent alignments can tell you what type of ship going in what direction even if you can see nothing else. Thus seeing random placed red lights up high and low with randlomly flahsing white lights was starting to play games with my mind. When the sun finally began to rise I saw the reason for the floating lights, the land rose dramatically out of the water and shot up into mountains. The lights were from power poles strung through the mountains. The long and tiring night was rewarded by one of the most beautiful sunrises I have ever seen. From the ocean looking east onto land we saw rising up, white beaches, then lush tropical green jungle hills, then behind it the snow capped mountains of the Andes. We all got on deck and watched in awe for at least an hour while we slowly sailed along the coast.

 

Read more

Cabo de la Vela: the Cape of Sails

John & Aly on SunRunner

(Continued from previous posting):

The next morning we awoke around 4am.  Surprisingly, the weather forecast from the day before was correct.  I couldn’t believe the drastic change in conditions.  The howling 30 knot winds had just abated.  The seas were reasonably calm.  It seemed so unreal that weather could switch from such harsh circumstances to practically nothing in under an hour.  It was as if someone had flipped a switch.  Afraid that it was too good to be true, we didn’t waste any time.  We pulled up anchor and ‘got the hell outta Dodge’.

With renewed spirit we set off for the small Colombian village of Cabo de la Vella.  As I said before the winds had seriously dropped, and SunRunner was making only 4 knots under Genoa and mizzen.  The roughly 40 mile trip would take us a little over 10 hours, but we didn’t mind.  Better to be going somewhere than sitting in Bahia Honda.  The sun was bright.  The skies were clear and blue.  It was a nice, lazy and relaxing sail. 

Alyson tanning on deck.

By mid afternoon we had cleared the Guajira Peninsula and sailed into the nice little bay off Cabo de la Vela.  It was an interesting little place.  The village was settled by the Wayuu indians, and now the town functions as a fishing village and ecotourism destination.  Yes, now we had arrived in backpacker country.  And every year dozens or perhaps even hundreds of backpackers venture to the tiny village of Cabo de la Vela to enjoy the beach and sleep in authentic Wayuu indian houses (they are made from the hearts of cactus, you know). 

Read more

Sailing into Curacao

July 9th

Spanish Waters

As “Land Ahoy!” echoed through Quercus, our sailboat, a flock of neon pink flamingos flew past us headed back to Bonaire. We had sailed out of Kralendjik, Bonaire, earlier that morning and after another quick down wind sail we were rounding the southern tip of Curacao. The wind was 20-25kts with the waves around 5-7ft and we were under full genoa and main. Our destination in Curacao was Spanish Waters, one of the most protected natural harbors in the Caribbean. A perfect hurricane hole outside of the main hurricane paths. Curacao actually has two such natural harbors, and ever since Columbus’s scout “discovered” Curacao there has been a political tug-of-war between the Spanish and Dutch over the island. In the 1800s Dutch finally gained total control and it has remained a Dutch island for the past two hundred years.

The entrance to Spanish Waters is a very narrow channel no wider than 50-75ft at the most. It is extremely difficult to be certain exactly where the entrance is just by eyeballing it from the rolling ocean for the first time. As we neared the marked spot on our charts Mom and I went forward as look outs and John and Captain manned the helm and sails. Just as we were approaching this critical point in our trip I spied a Coast Guard cutter steaming full speed at us from our rear. While we had to contend with a stiff breeze and choppy seas this ship’s wake was twice as large as the waves in the ocean, some 9-11ft! As it continued toward us at that reckless speed I could see that it would cause wet and rough trouble for us.

Read more

These are the people in your neighborhood

The crew on a Swan 86 Racing Yacht.

The time we spent in Bonaire, gave us the opportunity to make several new friends and meet up with old ones.  Since most boats sailing in the westward Antilles have to visit the same islands, you get the chance to see some of the same people over and over.  You come to remember them more by the name of the boat and less by the names of the actual people.  Here is a quick blog about some of our favorite people and most memorable days while in Bonaire.   

The Young American Vacationers:

Our first week in Bonaire we met Richard and Tiffany.  They are a young American couple from Springfield, Missouri who had come down to the island on vacation.  Tiffany, who is a dive master, had visited Bonaire before and had returned with Richard to share the experience.  We happened to bump into them while having sundowners at Krael’s dockside bar.  They rocked and exponentially improved the already great time we were having in Bonaire.  It was great to sit, have a few beers and talk with people our own age, especially such interesting people.  Tiffany has spent years diving and told us all the good spots to hit along the waters edge.  She even does spelonking or cave diving.  Richard was awesome, too.  He kept us entertained and laughing with stories of bar tending, his stand-up comedy, touring the states with his band, and driving an ambulance.  We had such a great time with them that we all decided to meet the next day to do some snorkeling together.

We make friends with Tiffany and Richard while having sundowners.

Late the next morning, we headed out together in Quercus’s little dinghy to a spot they recommended.  The reefs along the island sit under about 30 feet of water.  The water is so clear though that the fish and corals are clearly visible from the surface.  We swam along watching the countless varieties of tropical fish passing beneath us.  The colorful coral sloped out of visibility and into the dark blue backdrop of the sea.  We even passed over scuba divers unaware of us swimming through their bubbles above.  I now regret not having purchased an underwater camera to document some of the incredible sights.  

Read more

Welcome to Bonaire…Land of Flamingos, Topless Dutch Girls and Free Rum Punch

Scene of Kralendjik from the boat

Welcome to Bonaire…Land of Flamingos, Topless Dutch Girls and Free Rum Punch.  The above is all true, but actually Bonaire is really famous for its diving.  Renowned internationally as a scuba paradise people come from all over the world to explore the waters of this exceptional diving mecca.  It was Sunday, June 21st (the first day of summer, Fathers Day, and my little brothers birthday) and we had just motored into the alluring bay of Kralendjik (pronounced Kra-len-???).  We had spent the past month making our way west through the windward islands of the Lesser Antilles.  Finally, we had arrived in Bonaire (the B of the Netherlands ABC isles).  We couldn’t have been more ready.  As we eyed the colorfully painted buildings along the waterfront, we couldn’t help but salivate over thoughts of ice cream, cold beer and cheeseburgers.  Soon those dreams would be coming true, but first things first.

Read more

Los Roques, “Life on the Rocks!”

The crew of Hop and Jaunt enjoying the beach.

Our next destination, as we headed west, was the small archipelago of Los Roques or “The Rocks”.  It is a group of islands that sit very low in the Caribbean Sea north of the coast of Venezuela and eastward of the reknowned ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire, & Curacao).  The islands are surrounded by shallows of reefs and is kept as a Venezuelan National Marine Park.  It is reputed to be one of the best marine parks in the Caribbean.  The passage from Tortuga was pretty calm.  We left about midday and sailed throughout the night.  Our only difficulty came about a mile off shore of our approach to the narrow channel between the reefs on the southeastern side of the island chains.  As fate would have it, this was the moment when our water pump on the diesel shredded its impeller and brought our faithful Mercedes engine to a halt.  The damaged impeller (being the result of some shoddy workmanship done in Trinidad) left us floating between the winds and the reefs with nothing but sail.  Fortunately, for Quercus and the crew, the Skipper had the foresight to have installed a backup electric water pump that was connected within mere minutes.  With danger averted we made our way slowly along the channel and into the inviting anchorages of Los Roques.

This is a map of the Los Roques Island Chain. We entered through the narrow channel at Boca de Sebastopol and motored up along the reefs to Crasqui Island where we anchored.

Los Roques is really a fascinating place to see.  Beauty from horizon to horizon.  The water is deep (we anchored in nearly 25 ft) and so clear that the sandy bottom was easily visible.  The sandbars and shallows of the bay glowed with a bright aqua green in stark contrast to the dark blues and indigos of the deeps.  The land was outlined with sandy white shores and green vegetation in the form of mangroves and palms.  Our anchorage at Crasqui Island was nearly in the center of the archipelago and the islands and beaches surrounded us in nearly every direction.  It was a relatively quiet place.  There were a few small restaurants and Posadas (or inns) along the beach front.  Our only neighbors were a couple of large fishing boats and one other American sailboat.  It was so quiet and tranquil the first couple of days that at times it felt like we were the only ones there.  Having spent the past month sailing through such amazing places, I began to notice how accustomed we were becoming to the beauty of each place.  All of our conversations started sounding more repetitive and less sincere ( “Look at how pretty the beach is.”, “Look at that pretty sunset.”, “Isn’t the water pretty?”)

The beaches of Los Roques.

After spending a couple of relaxing days at anchor, we were surprised one morning to find large crowds of people on the beach.  The groups were brought in on small open pirro boats along with their beach chairs and umbrellas.  I assume that the largest island Gran Roques must have a hotel near the airport where Venezuelan vacationers come to enjoy a little holiday.  On this morning Alyson and I went up to the beach to enjoy the surf and sun.  The winds were rather still and the sun was so bright, it was a perfect day to spend enjoying the scenery and the beach.  We all piled into the dinghy and motored ashore to join the rest of the crowd.  I have to admit beforehand that this was one of my favorite days since we’ve been out.  Alyson and I walked down the white beaches (with sand as soft as flour) until we came across the perfect spot.  As I’ve said there were many people on the beach that day, and laying out on their blankets right beside us was a group of young and lovely Venezuelan girls sunbathing topless.  (Bless their hearts).  These young ladies were not shy.  They would frolic with each other in the water, rolling in the sand and the waves while laughing and bouncing.  It was some of the best wildlife I’ve spotted so far.  At one point a flock of sea gulls descended on their blanket and it sent them running around and screaming.  The bravest of the bunch attempted to shoo the birds away by running into the flock and then began barking, which was a pretty funny sight.  Perhaps the girls weren’t too bright, but they did put on an entertaining show.  Enough to distract us from the beauty of the islands, which was rather amazing anyhow.

Read more