Travels of Rose & Tom on S/V Sojourn

More Antigua - April

Mon, 05 May 2008 20:34:03 GMT

MORE Antigua & Guadeloupe Travel Logs:

It seems that I was having a thing with animals during my hikes while Tom was gone. I told of the baby goat story earlier. Well I must sound like a mother goat as Vicki witnessed 2 small goats came across hill toward me thinking I was their mother. They stopped immediately and were very upset providing a shreaking Bahhh. The real mother responded and off they went in the other direction. It was very enduring but created a challenge for the young.

Then there was the bull on top a high hill that was tied to a lone tree but rope was wrapped around such that it couldn’t get to any food. I wasn’t sure how often the owner came to check on so thought I would help it out. Well it was as stubborn as I can be and was difficult to chase it round and round as it looked like it was going to charge so I had to use my farming skills! Another hike we found an abandoned horse that was tied short to a tree such that it couldn’t get any food nor water. It was barely alive and standing. We walked closely to it to untie it from tree. It made no jestures of this action and immediately walked toward grass. We had some water so poured into our hats for it to drink. Then it started walking briskly toward and down the road as if it was going back home. It stopped in an area that had more water and softer grass so we left it there and walked toward the horse stable down the road to inform them of this. They said this happens a lot and would bring it some food/water.

I did finally do some volunteer work at Cobbs Cross Primary Gov't thru Principle Mrs. Barton Principle. She still hadn’t spoken to her superiors but I did assist teachers abit one day but mostly I helped the library headquarters staff (2 women) come and reorganize the library. This library looked like it hadn’t been used in quite some time as it looked like a storage facility for anything they didn’t know what to do with. This is a shame as the Gov’t had created programs to promote reading. The staff had mentioned that its difficult to promote proper English as most of the parents don’t speak it. Initially the school wouldn’t allow their slang in the classroom but is difficult to enforce which is why reading is so important. So we cleaned, reorganized and removed MANY OLD and added some new books. As they were trying to figure out what to do with the old books, I mentioned that since this is the start of a 2 week spring break that maybe we should let the children take what they want. It was amazing to watch the children rummage thru the books. The energy amongst the children became a war on who could grab the most. But then we suggested that they couldn’t take any more than their backpacks could hold and to share with their friends. Well most of the books were gone so that temporarily saved the garbage dump. The teachers had a potluck lunch for us so was able to explore more of the local food and juice drink. It was great! I found it interesting that many of the locals had never been on a boat before nor spoken to anyone that lived on a sailboat. They asked some questions of me after I introduced myself but have learned that most are not as curious as me as I asked them questions about their lives.

My folding bike was locked next to the security guard building. I got to know 2 female security guards (Andrea & Keisha) that were teaching me how to communicate like locals. I brought Andrea onto our sailboat as she had never been on one before. She was shocked about how everything in a house could fit down below. I told her that most sailboats are a lot bigger than ours. Keisha spoke of trying to find a way to crew on the boats and travel so I suggested she talk to Janes Yacht service to see what needs to be done.

Lesson One:

To Greet -- whatgwan or howyasay

Response -- meseeif or itday

I did meet many locals. Oliver (the park service employee that worked at the garbage area) whose nephew and brothers girlfriend were severly burned (75 to 90 percent) due to using race fuel to start the barbeque. Cruisers and locals reached out and assisted in providing funds. It was sad to hear the story from Oliver as this women has 2 small children. Joyce and Carl’s friend Elizabeth who works at the Dockyard laundry where I will be bringing gift bag to sister in Dominica. Dutch who moved back and trying to start a outboard service business and said to call if I had any problems. Etc.

Many cruiser got hit by debit card (ATM) fraud in Antigua with thousands of dollars taken from our bank accounts. We finally got the police and local Antigua Bank to alert heardquarters and attempt to fix the problem. So a lot of us were scrambling to figure out how to get money and file reports back in various countries. I was fortunate that Tom could handle this back in MN and Vicki brought down a new credit card (as that had been cancelled a month before due to perceived fraud). So in future we should get money via debit card by seeing a bank teller.

Vicki Staudte came to visit while Tom was away which was AWESOME! After a few days of cruisers parties/games, we decided to leave for Barbuda. Prior to leaving the diesel didn't want to start so had to pump it a few times and then it started. Was abit worried initially as I thought I may have to bleed the fuel pump. We had 2 days of great sailing Mon/Tues 13nm from Falmouth to Deep Bay Antigua and then 30nm from Deep Bay to Low Bay Barbuda. We tried to do too much Wed as we walked in water and some muck on the south side of lagoon 6 miles to village and then back and tried to get into Spanish point but had to tack and decided to be safe and anchor in coco bay for the evening. While in village (Codrington) the Prime Minister (Spenser) was there and so was the camera crew getting info to promote Barbuda. So there we were walking the street and so they asked us if they could interview us. They were shocked to see 2 women sailing here from Antigua. Actually they didn’t even think that this was a sailing destination as there are no facilities. Its true you have to be self sufficient here! So maybe I should pick up local Antigua paper -- but probably on the news. So lots of stars and heard donkey's bellowing throughout evening so now we have heard wind, church bells, roosters, gulls, goats and donkey's while at various anchorages. Thursday we snorkeled at Coco Pt (not great) and then after squall came through we motored 4nm to Spanish point around 12:30pm but was still scary as max sea PC charts were way off in how we could pick our way through coral. (nice lesson that we can't go into challenging harbors at night) We loved the LONG beaches and some with pink sand. I downloaded spot report and Tom would send text of Chris marine report (via SSB) to determine how to get out of here and get to north sound Antigua. We need good sun to get out of here and yet takes 7 hours to get to anchorage in north sound. So abit tricky. I have had my work cut out for me and really would of liked to have Tom here to confirm my thoughts but Vicki and I did GREAT! WOMEN RULE! I just realized tonight that I have more travel hours on Sojourn that he does as every summer I would take her out with women/sisters for a few weekends. At Spanish Pt. we snorkeled during day and then again at night where we saw HUGE lobsters barely able to get out of their hole, a couple spotted dolphin eagle rays and many other fish.

After a night of nightmares Thurs. while sleeping in preparation for fears of departing Spanish Point Friday and all its reefs earlier than should due to sun -- but then decided to depart early via east exit as its easier and it was overcast this am. So departed Barbuda at 8ish and got into North Sound - Parham Antigua (village on north side) around 2ish. Broad reaching with various following seas but acceptable and sailed most of way -- Self Steerer Pierre had difficulty but did help. We walked around what was the capital of Anitgua but now abandoned. Then next day we moved to anchorage between Rabbit/Redhead near Great Bird Island which is a bird sanctuary. Enroute we saw a BIG appearing solo dolphin that must of gotten lost and came inside the reef -- BEAUTIFUL! We found some great islands behind reef to hike and explore caves and snorkeling wasn't great but okay. But there was a N/NE wave and possible Tropical Wave bringing stronger winds which is reason we came back a day early.

After Vicki's departure I sorta rescued a US crew (Lynn) from California off of another solo male sailboat that weren't getting along. It was during the regatta so both of us were gone most of the day so just told her where the keys were and would usually meet up during the evening Classic Regatta events. The classics were amazing and how wonderful to be able to walk up to any boat on the docks for a closer view. RPhurst, Toshtego, etc. hiked to a hill each day for a closer view of the race outside Falmouth. I could of been crew on a boat but had decided that I wanted to go out on the film boat in order to see all the boats. It was most interesting as I met Henry who is 85 yrs old and still races however Maribel was in for service so was a spectator this year. So taught us alot. We even saw a private spectator sailboat get caught up in the mooring lines of a race committe boat. There wasn't that much damage but very dramatic as the committee boat had to release from the ball and yet keep track of the ending mark.

Honeymoon of Tom's return evening of April 22^nd (gone for almost 2 months) lasted four days before the strange events unfolded on Sojourn. At least we are still talking to each other. It was great to see and hug him!! Other cruisers were happy to see their parts, etc.

We had a great sail from Antigua to Guadeloupe and now in Les Saintes. We had heard other sailors that day almost run into a pod of whales but we didn't see any -- Bum! But boy have we had a challenge with systems the last week while in French speaking countries (Guadeloupe), remote anchorages and without service facilities. Link Regulator malfunctioned allowing alternator to overcharge the batteries, batteries not holding charge so equalized (all night with generator) to remove sulfate, oil jug leaked into bilge, water jug leaked into freezer, diesel wouldn't start so with assistance from Bruce MN cruiser (once he arrived in same anchorage) determined it was a bad relay so we by passed it temporarily. Then to make matters worse we thought that since Bruce had a refrig pressure gauge that we should look at our cold plate. Bruce decided that it needed freon so we added but now it must be over charged as the frig isn't freezing as cold as it had been. So now we decided we needed internet to call Adler Barber and ask questions BUT we needed to wait for Bruce as he is still up 1 anchorage and has the gauges. We met up with Daniel Storey after not seeing for 5 months so they offered to store some of our frozen meat that was thawing. This took us 3 days of trouble shooting and monitoring the gauges and believe we have temporarily succeeded but will have it checked when get to a competent refrigeration technician. So this is what cruisers do all day! At least we were anchored at a few beautiful, small French island. I have to say that I (Rose) DIDN’T handle this very well. Not sure how much is menopause starting, menstruation after not having for 2 months or dealing with not being able to control outcome! Regardless I guess I am learning about myself and started reading some self help books. I have chatted with other women about this type of thing and they agree that challenges like this are much different than dealing with similar stuff when on land. Thank goodness for other cruisers as its amazing how we help each other!

Antigua while Tom is gone...

Sun, 23 Mar 2008 01:26:11 GMT

Below are random thoughts of what life has been like without Tom in Antigua:

Happy Vernal Equinox… For you northern neck folks, it means days are getting longer but down here it stays the same. Very little twilight so dark at 6:30pm so no wonder we go to bed by 9pm. Every boat has their amp (batteries) and water nazi which may be the reason you go to bed when dark and up with the sun.

Our friend/mother/grandmother/Dorothy/etc. has decided she has had enough with this pancreatic cancer and is ready to leave us when the Lord allows. We will all miss her wisdom, wit, nurturing, kindness and things that words can't quantify... She will be in our memories always! Its been difficult for Tom/I in different ways.

White ibis/igrit return to their night time mangrove area by me during sunset and are usually gone by sunrise. What’s odd is I often see hawks and a few pelicans flying around during day.

This is the first island where the immigration staff I had was really ANGRY to all white cruisers. I guess this is the closest I have felt of discrimination. I got caught by not asking enough questions during entrance so I will have to take bus to city offices to get a tourist extension when my 1 month runs out. This means having to take a bus into city early, to wait in line in hopes to obtain by paying them $150EC. There is a lot of HUGE BRIT boating wealth that comes here so can understand that they may see me as one of them.

I have been forced to go meet more cruisers for social contact and attempt to get involved in the community. I biked to have 2 discussions with Mrs. Burton, Principle of the Cobbs Cross Primary Gov’t school (grades 1-6) in an attempt to start volunteering by working with possibly 1 teacher that has challenges in their class. It has been interesting to see how long it takes for the politics/approvals to be completed since its been 2 weeks. I guess I am the first cruiser to initiate this action so learning patience. Speaking of patience, I bus to St. John’s with empty propane tank to save $15US as I have more time than money these days. I wait 45 min to get bus closer to filling station, walk 30 minutes hoping to hitch hike but no luck and then wait 1 hour as they went to lunch early. I reverse this route which takes most of the day and you ask what we do….

I rode my bike on palm Sunday to a catholic service and then briefly to an Anglican mass. The bike ride was further than expected (up/down hills) as map was wrong but nice to see all the people moving around coming to/from their church. Enroute back I could hear all the various denominations singing/preaching or evangelizing. I also stopped and made some childhood (carobs call it platting) braid with palm and gave it to 89 yr old friend "Christibell" who couldn't go to church as had flu/cold, to another elderly lady "Alice" that make tarmarine seed jewelry at t-shirt market, to security people that had to work and watch my folding bike, to other cruisers as they gave me alot of palms and I couldn't throw away as they were blessed (catholic guilt coming out). Its amazing a island this small has so many churches -- but they are small.

It doesn’t make sense. I pick up bus to go 2 miles from Falmouth to Cobbs Cross @ $2.25EC (bus continues to St. Johns). I then take bus 15 miles from there to St. Johns @ $2.75EC (about $1.25US). This is all on the same road. BUT if I take bus from Falmouth to St. Johns it is $3.75.

I go for walks with friends most days around 8ish. This island does have wonderful hikes nearby with great vistas. This particular day I was by myself and so stopped by beach and started chatting with carib man. We both started laughing when noticed younger men with 3 layers of baggy underwear/pants barely hanging onto butt. He was told that this fad started in US prisons since they weren’t given belts. I also learned that most men in Antigua don’t marry the mothers of their children if they are carib/locals but will marry if the women are from another Caribbean island.

Another hike I hear a distant baaaing of baby goat stuck in brush. I release it from brush and determine its probably only 1-2 days old. It wobbles over to me. I notice other goats down the hill and wonder if that is where its mother is so I pick it up and bring it there. I leave in hopes that any mother will come to the rescue. I walk to another area and chat with the local carib women selling items and tell them my experience and ask their opinion. They say the mother will come back after finished eating and told me not to touch the tail as the mother will smell human scent and possibly reject the baby goat. I feel terrible as I’m sure I touched the tail. So I start walking back, after finding a water bottle in case I need to give it something to drink. To my relief ALL the goats including the baby are gone. Otherwise I was going to have to go back to my childhood farming days and try to bottle feed this goat until it is old enough to eat grass. How would I explain goat noise coming from a sailboat?

The 12-14' north swell is upon us now but I am tucked away safely in Antigua. I guess this is the left over from east coast storm and finally builds as it keeps coming south.

The mating season for the frigate birds is almost over. The males are still pursuing with their bulging red breast blown up -- even though the females aren't interested -- sound familiar!!!

I mentioned my elderly lady friends Christobell and Alice who both make tamarine seed jewelry in different areas of Falmouth. One is very kind/funny and other is very guarded but still nice. I was talking to ChristobelI and realized that she was almost out of thread so I told her that I will have Tom bring some back for her. Next day I was biking and saw her out on front porch so stopped and she gave me this beautiful bracelet. Prior to this, I had asked Alice if she could make me a thinner version of same bracelet but she didn’t think it was possible even after much discussion. So I told her no worries but asked if she would think about it and I would return in a couple days. Next visit and after more discussion she didn’t think it was possible. I still said no worries. Next visit she says that she made one and sold it same day as didn’t think I was coming back. So now she thinks she may have a new bracelet to sell that other vendors aren’t making. Our past creates our future…. I think this happens to all of us but very prevalent down here with their slavery past.

All the taxi drivers are men. I approach the taxi area in Falmouth where the men are playing cards, warry bean/marble game or just chatting (patawa that I can’t understand) waiting for the next call. I walk up and watch as I would like to learn how to play warry. I’m chatting as they play. Once player got called to service, I was being taught by elderly partner left behind with other drivers pitching in to help me beat him. I suppose this was quite a sight but fun by all.

So that's that for THAT as a local carib marine weather man would say.

Keep those emails coming as we want to stay connected...

More Tidbits about Cruising and Martinique

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 14:22:39 GMT

Decided that I would add some tidbits of amusement about cruising.

When you are in a country that you can’t understand the language even grocery shopping is interesting. I thought I was buying frozen chicken breast and ended up with turkey wings. Do to my frugile background I tried to cook them. I never new that wings could be so tough. Yogurt is difficult to find in the Caribbean and I have had minimal success in making it so the French islands are a good resource. Since Tom likes fruit based yogurt I thought I was buying blueberry but ended up with prune. My frugile mode forces me to eat it and sneak it on Tom’s cereal. So we are know regular as well. What’s interesting is you can’t really find pork BUT you see PINK pickleded pigs snouts. Not only is the cheese and wine reasonable but the vegees must be imported as well as you can find moist carrots, peppers and yams. Maybe its based on the amount of rain as the other islands these item are pretty solid and not sweat. If you didn’t cook the yams in coconut milk you would have to drink lots of water with them to swallow.

You know you are in a more developed carib island when you start hearing other cruisers notifying coast guard (challenge with English to French) about a jet sky drifting 5 miles out from island. The even have pay toilets on street corners. So Tom really had to go so off we went to pay for a pee BUT it ate our coins and no others. So off Tom went to find a bush anyway. So much for civilized nature.

Its interesting that water is relatively cheap $.01E/liter but gas is $1.34/liter (or $7US/gallon). So you make your dinghy trips worthwhile. But then 1E is $2.50 US.

I mentioned before that Martinique has abunch of nude bathers but I had never before seen a sun shield for a penis. So you can learn all sorts of things crusing!

I started yoga again but realized that with all the rain we have had we get enough exercise just in opening/closing hatches and going up/down companionway.

I'll try to jot down and remember to add more amusing items next issue.

Our Love

Rose & Tom

Martinique

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 19:41:00 GMT

Unbelievable – We have been in Martinique since January 4^th!! I guess we should apply for residency. You can see where we are by going to “Links” on this page. We came here to catch up with Adventure Bound before they moved north to British Virgin Islands, then met up with Rain as they were coming south and then decided we might as well stay here since Paul/Vicki were coming Feb 4^th. We have had a great time and really enjoying this island/culture – even though we can’t speak French. We will leave once receive part and wind dies down as its REALLY blowing currently. Below are some thoughts about our time spent there and what we have been doing.

Paul/Vicki came to share our cruising adventure from Feb 4-12^th. We had a great time and showed them all the good parts of cruising (great hikes, snorkeling, cruisers beach parties, car touring, sailing in squalls, carnival, small projects, southern cross/north star/big dipper viewing, Mexican train dominos game, topless women and bottomless male sun bathers, Mount Pelee, etc.). It was abit of a scramble the day before they arrived as our eMachine power supply took a spike at internet cafe and so found parts (by walking all over Fort de France) to fix but blew up again. The next day we found another USA cruiser friend coming back down so (as it was carnival and most things shut down) begged to use the Haggen Das cafe for internet to order spare as the plug in is specific to eMachine. Only to find out the next day that cruiser decided to move to different address so had to scramble to Skype (phone) company to get them to ship to new address. Then had to load drivers from internet (as we thought we had the CD but couldn't find) and setup MaxSea for our nav charting and electronic charts (initially wouldn't work). Because it was carnival and no buses/taxis run in Fort de France (main town) where we were anchored, we moved to anchorage over by airport (Le Lamentin) in hopes that it wasn't a long walk to airport and then catch taxi back. A taxi costs $20 Euro ($30US) to go 3-4 miles. The US policies are killing our budget in the French Euro Carib countries. With my limited French I was able to hitch a ride to airport. So another successful cruisers day with what we have to do to resolve stuff that land lubbers take for granted.

Martinique (supported by France) is a progressive/wealthy Carib island compared to the rest. The parks and roads are well maintained and marked to make it easy even in French to get around. The public transportation is abit expensive and easy to understand. But cheaper to buddy up with another cruiser and rent a car to tour island for $25E (if rent in advance). The views are beautiful both hiking and driving. We buy a baguette, wine, cheese and pate before and then can stop at any view to have lunch. It appears the French government is starting to farm melons using modern terracing techniques. It’s lovely to see dairy/animal farms and so appreciate the ability to buy yogurt. I didn't realize till just recently that most of the carib islands sell veggies mostly at the open air markets and NOT at the grocery stores and that they can be so different from the British islands (carrots and sweet potatoes are DRY/sour). We also realized that most marinas won't charge for water if you buy any amount of fuel but regardless it's only .01E/liter. They even recycle most things including used oil here which is very refreshing. The snorkeling isn’t great as this area is mostly fished out via nets and chicken wire/wood frame traps. I rescued some fish that were inside an abandoned trap by inverting the entrance channel.

I like to attend Catholic Church in most islands. Well I went when there was a festival to bless a new connection road in front of church by having a parade after church. It was crowded and I got pushed deep into a bench so had to wait till communion to get out. Felt like old times! The mass was in French and felt like the old style Latin.

This was our first carnival (4 days before Ash Wednesday/Lent) so was nice to share it with Paul/Vicki. Plus Tom celebrated his 56^th birthday during this event. The parades were abet unorganized but what would you expect in the islands. The French Caribs however move abit faster than the British Caribs and therefore see more Caucasian color. We celebrated in the main city of Fort de France by anchoring outside the city. Most stores were shut down the entire time and events would start at 3pm. Each parade seemed to have the same groups but dressed differently based on the daily event. Paul/Vicki came with red devil masts, horns and clothing so that allowed us to fit in on that day. There is lots of partying and men/women cross dressers so made it most interesting. It seemed that most parade groups had a following as MANY groupies would follow. They would go around and around the same parade route up until around 10-11pm and then drummers would slowly calm down. I’m sure the partying continued but we were well in bed by then. We participated in the black/white devil burning in a smaller town of St. Anne where a lot of cruisers hang out.

We see a lot of topless ladies on boats (mostly French) and bottomless males at beaches which is NOT the norm at other Carib islands. Some of them should leave there clothes on however! Another cruiser told us that some call them "knitters" as they are usually doing this on the beach while topless. Most of them are from mainland France on vacation as you can get a direct flight from Paris to Fort de France. All ages partake in this clothing activity.

Prior to all these events, Tom/I got stuck in a somewhat nerve racking event in a small narrow anchorage with LOTS of small fishing boats around us. The north swell caught us earlier than expected. Around 10pm we were awakened by French men yelling at us and moving their fishing boats from one side of anchorage to other – closer to us. We knew it was too late to move even if we could. The swell was pushing us closer to shore – there was minimal wind pushing us offshore so we motored back to drop a stern anchor in hopes that it would catch. It did but our minds wouldn’t shut down as the noise increased from the volume of water rushing on the rocky edges and beach. We both were trying to sleep but mostly thinking of how we were going to get out of here in the AM once we could see and not wrap a line around our prop or get pushed into shore when pulling anchors. We were blessed and all worked out but we were exhausted and moved to a quiet anchorage protected from the swell and took a nap.

It’s so different this year as we keep meeting up with cruiser friends from last year and continue to meet new ones. So it gives our relationship some diversions which is nice.

We love to hear from you about your lives so email a small clip whenever you can. We plan to go as far north as Antiqua by mid April for the classic boat race and then move faster toward Venezuela to possibly go up Orinoco River to visit Wareo Indians that speak some mixed Spanish. So I need to pick up my pace of learning Spanish. I did start doing Yoga but now need to pick that back up. Don't let ANYONE steal your dream! I read emails from sister Theresa in COLD Fairbanks, Alaska searching for northern lights and freezing -- so life is diverse.

Our Love Always

Rose & Tom

Bequia

Thu, 27 Dec 2007 15:06:03 GMT

We are still anchored in Admiralty Bay, Bequia for a few more days. It is one of the many islands of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Our current position is N 13.00.66 latitude and W 061.14.49 longitude – if you want to use Google Earth to see where we are at. OR you can go to the "Links" section to locate us.

Below are the highlights of being at Bequia during holidays.

- First time since leaving MN that we paid for an internet connection $30US/week so we could Skype friends/family over internet. It costs us $.02/minute to call via Skype – check it out. This is also why I am updating website before it runs out.

- Attended St. Michaels Catholic service with funny priest from Trinidad and lively bango drum music. Still not as lively as the caribs would like but you know the Catholic way! Also went caroling at an Anglican church but very traditional and mostly caucasian.

- Organized many domino/card games with other cruisers. Participated in a couple sunset dinghy drift socials, very fun. Lots of European cruisers arriving from the ARC (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers) as believe this year was the largest (240 boats?). The NE Christmas/Azores High winds keep us cool and batteries charged. Two days before x-mas they layed down and boy did the boats arrive in Bequia. Not every culture has similar anchoring protocol so can be a challenge, especially if near the beach.

- Attended a primary school Christmas concert/play. The people are friendly and small villages are competing with each other in their holiday lighting display & celebrations. In addition, the visiting cruiseship’s and cruisers like us have been lighting up the harbor with their myriad of lights. Continue to search for eggs/butter as it’s a commodity.

- They celebrate the 9 days before x-mas by playing LOUD DJ music from midnight to 6am. The bass sounds almost shake the boat and force us to wear ear plugs, close hatches and turn on fan for white noise. Fortunately its not always near our anchorage. The local vocal and steel pan drum bands are delightful.

- The whaling season is coming up in Jan/Feb by Paget Farms – other side of island. The whaling station is on a separate island near there. They use non-motorized small boats to catch and then drag for processing to this whaling station. Some camp there in order to get any meat. This area is also a big fishing area where they use small wooden colorful rowing/sailing boats. I was told that most of the fish goes to Martinique BUT they won't accept the fish from Bequia unless they are inspected in Grenada. So the fisherman offload to a larger wooden sailboat that takes the fish to Grenada to be inspected prior to then sailing back up to Martinique (as they are fished out). So very few actually stay on Bequia. So they said I need to go to the other side and put in my order once the wind dies down and they will make it happen -- its about $8EC/pound.

- We hiked to Spring/Industry to visit Old Hegg Turtle Sanctuary, since 1995 Orton Brother King has protected the endangered Hawksbill. We also hiked to past Friendship Bay to St. Hilaire’s Pt where it used to be goat grazing fields so is very lovely with many vistas.

- Watched locals participate in a model sailboat regatta where they follow them via kayak around the bay to tack if they run into other anchored boats. Very entertaining!

- Had BLACK drain oil twice get on our hull. The second time we involved the harbor master/etc. and determined that it was coming from the bildge of a large power boat. So they left the harbor but left us to clean/wax/etc. Rose got haircut from local Barber @ $15EC/$6US so somewhat tense but turned out fine.

Happy NEW YEAR and God Bless the entire world, no exceptions! Live your Dreams......

Tobago Cays & Mayreau

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 14:19:07 GMT

Heard it has been COOOOOLD in MN. I do miss the beauty of the snow! Dry season is starting here but I like the rain rinse even if it’s at night. I’ve been getting up and try to collect rain water if we don't have our tarp/rain catcher up. I use it to wash clothes/boat/bodies/bildge/etc. It takes reminding that its winter and Christmas Season. It is important for us to stay connected with you so please keep us tuned in!

We believe that Vicki is coming March 10-15th (Guadeloupe?) and Paul/Vicki coming Feb 3rd-13th (Martinique?). Tom/Marian may come down just no dates yet. We will be in Antigua for Classic boat race April 17-22nd so will need to be there a couple weeks before. Then turn around and start heading toward Macarao/Orinoco River then Venezuela.

Well life is slowing down. We had a nice time in Grenada. Anchored in capitol of Grenada (St. George) lagoon - small European feel to the city but with all carib/black folks that are very nice versus in Trinidad where they are abit more angry -- could be all the govt corruption, costs to live keep going up. It’s the last time we will be able to anchor here as its being taken over by Port Louis Marina. Its a great place have access to St. George. You can walk/bus as everything is up/down hill so have great views. A cruiser Michelle/I were walking yesterday to finally and found some GREAT dense/chewy wheat bread -- Called HOMEMADE BREAD (classic name). We came across a separate catholic boys and girls secondary school on top of the hill -- so they have great breeze/view. I asked the boys where the main office was as I wanted to see if they would like to have our old/work Dell laptop that we no longer need. They said yes -- so I cleared off junk and brought it to them the following day. It was great to watch and take pictures of kids/views. Tom came part way but gave up and went to fill gas/water as we were thinking we would leave today BUT then he dropped the stainless steel lock (replaced by cheaper version at local hardware store for twice as much as US version). We did try to take our fish net and scrape the muddy bottom of the sorta dirty lagoon but no luck. I have enjoyed getting to know some ladies at the market. Big smiles and hugs from all the motherly/round type is fun. Plus they tell us how to make stuff with their spices/food items (dashing, golden apple (so they call it but not an apple), star fruit, cristophene, callalou, tamarind, etc.) We will have to wait till May to get mangos and avocado again. They sell these HUGE land crabs that borrow themselves down these holes in mangroves/etc. They don't appear to have much meat.

Then he decided that we should stay as we have good internet and we are waiting to try to find a cheaper boat and medical insurance provider. Talk about taking A LOT of time. Attempting to understand medical plans (qualified vs. non qualified) and exclusions is very tiring. We thought we had found one but after faxing our medical records/etc. and getting accepted we realized that the exclusions (whether we knew about them or not) didn’t provide us the catastrophic coverage we were looking for. So off to more search.

We also have been searching for cheaper boat insurance. We have just decided on a company in Holland as they cover Venezuela/Columbia/etc. where most US companies don't and its about $400 cheaper/year. We had to figure out how to wire money to Holland bank. Then the issue with the Health Savings Acct. depositing money into my closed TCF bank. Now I can't get it back out BUT thru the help of Teresa to notarize and Dorothea to bring letter to my bank – they were able to withdraw the funds. Yes the life of trying to do this land based stuff while on water in foreign countries is DIFFICULT! At times I forget that I should be grateful for what we are doing.

Decided to wait in Grenada till after the big North/NW Swell (+8') followed by high pressure creating strong NE/E +20 knots creating confused 8-10' seas -- the direction we need to go. So not as many anchorages to hide up north. We organized a cruisers Thanksgiving Potluck. There were about 40 people at Clarks Court Marina pavilion. We did some snorkeling but high seas last couple weeks kept us from doing more -- but I would swim and did some great hiking near Hog Island. Participated in a Hash House Harriers Full Moon hike up Mt. Hartman hills (where the endangered Grenada Dove takes refuge) with about 120 others (alot from the U of Grenada Medical School) -- was great fun. At the end of the hike all the new participants had to get initiated as a Hash House Harrier (no longer a virgin they said) -- so they had us line up. They came from behind sprayed beer gently on us. I was taking pictures so got out of it.

Anchored in the lagoon off of main town -- so there are town noises so no more tree frogs crocking all night. Instead we hear music, cars and occasionally a rooster crowing.

We walked Hog Island that is starting to get resortized. Its very rustic and beautiful scenic views. Development seems to be approaching every island. Unfortunately, they start and don't always
finish but the destruction of tearing out bush/trees and impacting animals is done regardless.

We had to clean up our rusting propane tanks as the aluminum/fiberglass
tanks don't fit in compartment so will tackle that in Venezuela. Also had to fix the wind vane steering as it was locking up. This has been very helpful in heavy seas as our wheel pilot isn’t strong enough. Made some modifications to our SSB to improve range/clarity.

I actually finished a book in 3 days (a record)! And started some others. Also started my Spanish lessons but get distracted.

Tobago Cays were great! We have 2 dive tanks on board. So went diving with some other cruiser friends outside the horseshoe reef by putting a dinghy on a mooring. Also day/night snorkeling. Pretty descent. Even saw a turtle sleeping during night snorkel and lots of lobster/shrimp/crab/etc. No octopus yet. The boat men that would come from Union (10nm away via big motor/small boat) would come deliver baguettes/ice/t-shirts/fuel -- We got to know Walter (our age) – made him some banana bread.

Hung out in Mayreau - windward side to snorkel but wind picked up strong for few days so not good to night snorkel and since out of park could of possibly found lobsters -- maybe on way back down. Hiked the small island to famous Salt Whistle Cay. Helped out at Gov't primary school by hanging with kids and giving supplies. The windjammer sailboat cruise tourist boats would help out but just went into bankruptcy so they are hurting. So when friends come down I will try to have them bring notebooks/composition notebooks/pens/tennis balls for cricket/etc. Kids and I got scolded by catholic priest as we were looking at catepillares. Met rasta Righteous Robert and we shared teary moments as spoke of his mothers death. Don't ever wait to say what you need to someone that you love as his tears expressed.

Had decent passage to Bequia on Dec 8^th and will stay until x-mas as lots of cruisers hang there. Apparently they have lighting events and fireworks. The strong Christmas Winds/Azores High are starting to arrive with winds from NE which is direction we need to head for abit so will have to pick travel windows. Should start seeing the 240 Europeans that just crossed via the ARC (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers) to St. Lucia. That's ALOT of new boats!

We both still wake around 6am and usually in bed by 9pm. It gets dark here all year round about 6pm. A Trinidadian (Eric) has a SSB weather net at 6:30am. He sure is funny with his communication style. Tom is net controller on the SSB Coconut Telegraph on Wednesday 8am. This is a means to keep in touch with other cruisers up/down the island chain as the VHF is only line of sight. So Sojourn is getting known in the islands!

Went to St. Vincent on Daniell Storey’s big boat as they needed to purchase a outboard motor for dinghy. They lost there old one while towing the dinghy – they forgot to tilt it up. So we have been shuttling them around in our dinghy. Mostly went as I wanted to go to Kingstown outdoor market. I think cruisers could write a book about various types/condition of toilets and local transportation! I have never seen SO many people CRAMMED into a local bus and with the potholes in the roads it’s a wonder they last. We will stop this time in St. Vincent as it really is a beautiful island even though others talk about its boat crime issues.

Have a great HOLIDAY! May we all find peace in this changing world.

Our Love Always

Rose & Tom

Grenada - West Indies

Wed, 14 Nov 2007 19:15:54 GMT

We are now anchored in the Lagoon at St. George's Grendad. This will probably be the last time you can anchor here as it is being taken over by building of a 300 slip Port Louis Marina. Progress but another challenge for cost conscious boaters. You can anchor outside but rolls abit as you are wide open to the Caribbean Sea and this is a nice city to walk around and provision. Feels like a quaint European city as it went back from a French to British island, nice fort overlooks of carenage and lagoon. Went to the fish and veggie/spice/fruit/eggs markets this AM with another cruiser. Unfortunately fisherman were partying last night (Friday) as this AM no swordfish or tuna for sale. So try again on Monday. Its only $7EC/lb ($3 US) so very nice so trying to stock up before we leave on Tuesday. Weather today (Saturday) is RAINY with tropical wave moving thru. They need the rain as it was a dry hurricane season apparently in Grenada. Evidence of Ivan (2004) and following drought - still apparent as nutmeg and chocolate factories only running 2 days/week. It takes 7 years for the Nutmeg trees to come back to full production. Grenada is known as the spice island and the rain forest shows this with its abundance of things growing in every crevis. Went on some hikes, tours but of course Sojourn also requires attention in keeping things working.

Prior to that we were anchored on the South coast of Grenada in "Hog Island" (close to Clark’s Court Marina where we go in to get internet and gather for social) anchorage. Very nice, no rolling and a nice breeze to keep you cool. We left Trinidad Friday, Nov 2^nd around 7 pm rather hurriedly after the Trinidadian Customs boat visited a bunch of us anchored in Scotland Bay, staging for a 0400 AM departure on Saturday. They basically told everyone that you only have an hour after checking out to leave the country OR come back to pay customs overtime charges (we were not one of the boats they visited but chose to leave with the "fleet" anyway). We were socializing with other boats so had to quickly prepare to leave prior to eating supper. We don’t understand why customs has this power or why they do this. Its too bad they didn’t tell us that prior to checking out. We had a fast crossing, averaging about 7 knots for the 85 miles, but it was a wet ride! We arrived around 7:30am with a wet/salty bed to wash/dry prior to sleeping. Somehow the forward hatch wasn’t sealed correctly. We have rather mixed feelings about Trinidad, it is hot, humid, usually without a cooling breeze, commercial harbor is a oily/dirty mess but most people are very nice, things are relatively inexpensive and just about anything you want done to your boat can be handled. We will slowly work our way north in the eastern Caribbean and then slowly drift back south for next hurricane season, probably to Venezuela area after going up the Orinoco River and continuing west after that.

It seems abit easier this year -- not missing friends/family as much. We do have more cruisers to hang with immediately vs last year didn't really find them until Annapolis, MD. We met a lot more while in Trinidad. It isn't as hot/humid in Grenada as Trinidad plus doesn't seem to rain as much until a tropical wave goes by. Its nice being out of Trinidad as it was where we did ALOT of projects as we had access to parts, electricity, water, etc. So it was a big push and wasn't very much fun except for the tours we took. But I did like seeing/hearing the green parrots move in AM/PM to different sides of the island and hearing the howler monkeys when anchored. Now we hear goats/crickets. So we are back in a more laid back setting and NOT doing as many projects. There always seems to be something to modify/work on -- recently the sun awning over the main cabin -- it was interfering with the sun on the solar panels and also wanted to incorporate a way to catch water. So works okay but will need to modify again when we take down to move to another anchorage. It sure helps to keep below decks cooler. My (Rose’s) body parts are healing now that I have left project land. Last one was somehow I bumped my knee and can't kneel on one side as there is a nerve which is VERY sensitive. Catching rain water in the dinghy so use that for washing clothes in a bucket -- so washed sheets as Tom is a sweaty thing even when sleeping. We even have a wind scoup/sun awning over the V-Berth hatch. Oh well -- he used to come in handy when we lived north/MN! :-)

We did determine that our fan (relay) on our fridge/freezer wasn’t operating. So Temptress (Clark) assisted with electrical schematic and how to reroute fan around relay. I think now that we aren’t moving so much – we should have more time to pay attention to changes in our systems. So this fix should help with not having to run the 2K generator as often as solar/wind power wasn’t keeping up. We do use generator to equalize batteries every 1-2 months.

We have been hanging with various cruisers since departure. We dinghied to snorkle and visit another bay (La Phare Bleu Marina/Resort) that has a 1900’s light ship delivered via ship from Sweden last year -- marketing ploy for a new marina. It is used as their office, washroom for the marina, museum and fine dining. Apparently in its day there were around 37 lightships in 24 swedish positions marking reefs/harbor entrances/etc. where strong currents/etc. didn’t allow a permanent lighthouse. Snorkeling isn't great but acceptable as you need to search for spots and be patient to look for small things. Saw a baby lobster, turtle, squid, anemonies, small colorful fish yesterday.

We took a local bus/van ($2.50 EC) to the windward (east) side of the island (St. David’s, LaSagesse Bay) to check out some harbors/small villages and hike to the high rocky edges/black sand beaches. It is a beautiful coast and island. Its interesting to see the island after the rainy season vs dry season when we stopped in June enroute down.

I organized a tour via hiring van/driver for day @ $20 US/person to go to back road to get to Concord Falls to hike, to Gouyave to nutmeg factory tour/lunch, across rain forest road to Belvidere (as Windsor road was closed), then Grand Etang lake/forest reserve to hike abit more and learned abunch about the island. Grenada is one of the nutmeg capitals of the world. Lots of the trees were damaged by hurricane Ivan but they are coming back. The women at the factory have to shell 170lbs. of nutmeg a day and are only paid $28EC which is equivalent to $10.50US ! Talk about being underpaid! It was a nice day. These are places the buses don’t go to. The sahara dust (odd for this time of year) made the skies abit hazy. Its interesting talking to the locals – they always seem so laid back and in no hurry. Cruise ships are starting to show up so that will speed the pace abit.

Now for abit of reality living the life of cruising. There are many things that land lubbers take for granted. How do you deal with a HSA electronically transferring funds into a closed bank acct? Did you realize that you can't electronically transfer it back out because its CLOSED. Now I need to mail a notorized certified letter to confirm that I am me when I was talking to them via Skype. Go figure Or dealing with needing to file an amended return when we were back in the states BUT all the records were on the boat? OR wanting to change to a cheaper medical plan and they want all your medical records? Its not always as romantic as it looks!

I am trying to get to the spirit feeding things like music/yoga/Spanish/etc. I said I was going to do this season. Right now trying to get current with journal, changing medical/boat insurance to cut costs, etc. But all I have is time so it should happen. We look forward to our upcoming visitors. Let us know if you have an interest as we would love to share our life with you. It is rustic and cramped but its our home!

Live Your Dreams

Rose & Tom

Trinidad Launch & Tours

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 15:25:19 GMT

Well the trip back went well -- after we fumbled thru how to clear in with our boat parts and frozen meat w/o paying 16% VAT -- first clearing into customs at the airport and then again at 11pm at night in Chaguaramus (where our boat is about 1 hour away). Then boat projects got abit overwhelming in the HOT/HUMID weather. We couldn't get power via the shore power - checked with marina and they said they had power to their cord. So we spent entire day trouble shooting our system w/o air conditioning to realize that it actually was a bad ground on their cable. Lesson -- check simple things first by grabbing another one of their cords. That was with 4 bulging bags brought from the states and boat tore apart.

The next day we learned that the marina's lift was going to be out of commission starting Monday for possibly 1-2 weeks. So that meant that IF we wanted to get launched we had 4 days to get the boat ready. So we had to take off protective wax put on before we left -- but the streaks of smoke fumes/oil from ship forced us to wax and buff again with help of original guy (Ricardo) who we paid to do it. Then we needed to get bottom ready to put anti fouling paint on, grease seacock, redo teak toe rail to fiberglass joint that was starting to leak into V-Berth lockers, plus a bunch of small things, etc.

So by the time that this was done -- I (Rose) started having right tendon shoulder problems and got much WORSE next day during launch. It took about a week for this to settle down. The first few night sleeping were very difficult/teary. Several locals recommended that I see Dr. Boochay (which I believe is a family practice Dr.) but is good with injuries like this as well. So I went to see him at a day that he volunteers at a gov't clinic (it was mother/children's day so I stuck out abit) in a bad neighborhood of Port of Spain so I took a taxi from Chagaramus. He briefly looked at it and gave me some Prednezone 5mg 4/day for 5 days and Dolobene Gel which helped a lot. I actually started sharing my pills/Gel with Tom has he has always had left tendon shoulder problems due to working on railroad.

We got launched and the projects continued for 2 weeks while we were at the dock! We were both amazed with how much stuff constantly needs to be fixed/modified (head rebuilt, teak stripped and sikkons applied, deck washed/waxed, backstay adapted, dinghy repatched, boat put back together). But initially I wasn’t much help so made it very difficult for my type of personality. J

During the last week at dock we went on a few tours of the island besides Tom finally getting to Port of Spain to look around with Sea Cycle. I sorta organized a trip to the Guanapo River/Gorge which was a blast and exhausting. Due to the amount of rain day before, we had to go a different route which meant walking down (therefore up) a steep narrow road then continued through the bush via clay trail to gorge. We called our troop the “thigh burners” as we did so well on the first part of the trip that the bush/gorge guide “snake/Lawrence” asked if we wanted to go another 1-1/2 hours up/down river to a falls. There wasn’t much discussion – so off we continued. There was a diabetic with us that made things abit tricky as lunch was left up the hill and guide didn’t have much fruit left in pocket from trip down. Jesse James (Members Only maxi/taxi service/tour guide) rewarded us on the way back with “doubles” which ended up being dinner as we arrived back around 7pm.

The next trip was to Asa Wright Nature Center (up in mountains for bird watching/hiking – 1967) and Caroni Swamp Bird Sanctuary/Forest Reserve (1921- 200 acres) to see wildlife and red Scarlet Ibis, their national bird. This trip Tom decided to go as it was much more relaxing. It was wonderful to hike and sit watching the colorful birds from their porch. The Caroni boat trip up the mangrove swamp provided much wildlife and ended with the beautiful Scarlet Ibis.

We finally left the dock/air conditioning and went to sail/anchor in the near outer islands (Monos Island and Scotland Bay). It was awesome to be a cruiser again! Scotland Bay provided social with other cruisers and able to hear the roar of the “red howler monkeys” in the hillside.

We are back in Chaguaramas Bay getting internet, solving financial problems, reviewing medical/boat insurance and waiting for weather to go back north toward Grenada. The rain/tides have been strong during the full moon so have been interesting. Happy Halloween!!! The customed kids will be hitting the anchorage this afternoon.

MN 2007 Visit

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 04:03:41 GMT

Our stay in MN was wonderful. I again want to say that we are SOO blessed to have friends and family that attempt to understand our journey and support us along the way. We are sorry if we weren’t able to spend more time with you or missed you during our stay. We do truly appreciate you keeping in touch with us as it still does feel abit strange living our life on water.

I want to thank you for all your encouragement to keep the blog coming. Again I usually don’t even spell check or read these before publishing. Here are some thoughts.

- Spending life on land this time around was more emotionally challenging than we would of thought. Toward the end we felt sort of lost and without purpose. We realized that this is the first time since quitting our jobs and leaving MN that we had this much TIME without much direction. We (especially Rose) weren’t used to this. I was surprised that I would feel this way. Its amazing how programmed we were in our past land life. Sure we had a lot to do to complete our LIST of buying things, seeing friends and family, reviewing finances, searching medical and boat insurance, fixing boat parts, going to routine medical/eye/teeth appointments, going on daily walks, loading the Ipod with Spanish/French, watching movies, etc. BUT this didn’t seem to matter. So I (Rose) started to look within to review what this all meant. This will be a process so I will keep you posted. I bet Tom will as well since he gets to spend 24 x 7 with me. J We have to LAUGH!

- It’s sad all over again to say goodbye to ALL of you, as tears roll down my face!

- A big THANKS to: Vicki Staudte for allowing us to share her home. Tom’s daughter Teresa for providing a car and cell phone to make it easier for us to keep in touch with all.

- Experiencing that we are getting older, as we learned that both of our mothers have a form of cancer that will someday take them physically away from us. So the current hugs and chats take on a different meaning!

- The smells of dirt, sounds of tree leaves, sites of fall colors, cold days warmed by the sun, many hugs, tears shed, eating wonderful fruit and veggies you can’t get down island, Thai food, riding bike on our endless paths (not running into a volcanic hills), swimming in normal lakes (not Lake Superior) that have weeds and blood suckers, taking showers, getting used to using so much water, driving in traffic, handling poison ivy vs. mosquitoes, dealing with medical claims and costs, fixing things in the rental townhome, watching a group of eagles clean themselves as they head south, entire days of rain, listening to loons calling, changing of daylight hours, etc. etc. etc. So many northern dirt dwelling things we took for granted.

- Realizing again that I really do love Tom and appreciate that we are sharing this journey together.

- Now that we are going to travel slower up island – some of you can visit our little house on water and share some time with us. You will see first hand the good with the bad! HeeHee

- It’s amazing how you can gain weight with the conveniences of food and portions in this country.

- We look forward to seeing Sojourn, our cruising friends and getting back on the water.

Live your dreams!

Our Love Always

Trinidad, West Indies

Mon, 16 Jul 2007 02:26:31 GMT

After 13 months of moving – we are hauled out at Chaguaramas, Trinidad, West Indies for hurricane season (July to October). BUT they didn’t tell us that they have earthquakes – we felt our first tonight while I was typing this. We were SHOCKED as we are on the hard and had never felt that movement under us before! Oh well, that’s what an adventure includes I guess. So now we have to think not only about wind but earth moving as we put Sojourn to sleep for 2 months.

The night crossing of 85nm was good with 6-8' seas and wind 20 -- mostly close hauled. A good sail. It was abit of a challenge down in cabin to not get tossed around. Our navigation PC flew off and landed on Rose's foot and got a few other bruises but at least the PC continued to work. We did sail east about 10 degrees so ended up passing oil/gas platform on port. Really didn't see any current issues so ended up 3-4 nm west of our rhumb line. Came abit early to the mouth of the dragon entrance as tide wasn't slack yet -- Oh well -- trip was faster than expected and we even rolled in head sail 10nm out to waste some time. About 3-4 nm out the wind and waves picked up -- not sure if due to cape affect. Arrived to mouth at 2-3 knots of current and calm large rollers against us. It was slow movement but beautiful!

We went directly to Coral Cove as customs dock was full with rafted boats and then were told to go to customs before we could check fully into Coral. Interesting for us to dock as weren't really prepared for lassoing pelican posts on both sides as the tide was 3' low and our boat is so skinny/low anyway. But we managed and were pleased to be done with passages for abit. It’s the first custom/immigration office where they wanted to see both of us.

Its been a LONG time since we were at a marina and had running water to clean the boat! We have a small A/C unit installed and have been taking 2 showers a day -- a luxurious life!!!! Its abit warm in these marinas, but with our shade cover and A/C we are great.

I have been checking out the new neighborhood during the day. I took the local bus $.75 US or $5TT to Port of Spain to get some marine fabric and then to St. James to get my folding bike tire repaired @ $10TT or $2US. That was a trip in learning how to point your finger in the right direction so that you get the right bus to stop. Keeps the mind alert! Its VERY difficult to understand the locals English – it seems that as we progressed down island – it gets more and more slurry and a lot of slang/abbreviations. But if I keep trying to tune by ears – I think I will pick up more each day. I have been walking 6:30am with another cruiser as its amazing how many green parrots fly back/forth at dawn and sunset - Always in pairs. I even heard wild boars back in the mangrove/bamboo bush. We sort are prisioners to our marina gate at night however as there has been some problems with theft – but we are usually in bed about 9pm anyway. The population is about ½ Indian and ½ south African but have a lot of other cultures here as well.

We have worked out tails off looking at all the systems. The normal cleaning, waxing, sanding to add better salt water antifouling BUT also fixing head, bildge, diesel injector timing/oil change, outboard lower unit grease, change oil in generator, corrosion that sheared mainsail shackle, replaced windows on dodger, replace cutlass bearing which requires pulling motor forward, oil teak, wash upholstery, equalizing batteries, fixing wind/speed instrument, fixing VHF remote mic, etc. etc. etc. They say that the cruising population in Trinidad is down but also recommend that we get as much done now vs October as the mad rush will happen with all the cruisers wanting to get put back in the water and move on. So that’s what we are doing.

Its the same amount of work that we used to perform to put boat away for winter in MN but this time its only for 2 months. But then we’re usually not sailing for 1 year straight either! The prices for labor and dining are abit cheaper than US but not much. The groceries are cheaper so we will be doing another heavy provisioning here before depart to go back up. I was surprised that we actually ate A LOT of what I put on boat since Miami. So I did a great job of keeping my baby caker “Tom” happy.

I also decided to create a visual trip log via google map – so view at our website under Links. Its not done yet but will be soon.

Looking forward to seeing you the next couple months back in MN to share more about our journey!

Live Slow, Sail Fast

Rose & Tom