Savannah is coming home today and has been chosen to be an official GLA ambassador! Giant Ruby eggs, skyscraper sunflowers and “Little” Heather arrives!

Savannah has been volunteering in Bali, Indonesia for the past 3 weeks and returning home this evening!!! She has traveled this long journey solo where she met up with her mentors and 22 young adults for the Global Leadership Health Initiative Program. She left as our 16 year old daughter and is returning as a full on world traveler! It was surreal for us knowing we would be sleeping as she would be boarding her flight in Bali around 0300 our time to begin her long journey home.  While we slept (the evening of Wed into Thursday) she texted as soon as she landed Dubai as we were sipping our morning coffee. We did ask her to text when she was through security and on her flight so we would hear the beep while sleeping and make sure everything was alright.. She’s currently sitting in the JFK airport about to board on her final flight home! During her long layover in Dubai she filled me in and we caught up for the first time in weeks over face time. Yes I cried…! She also shared sweet notes from her peers and the amazing ones from her mentors. Not only are we over the moon stoked of her efforts while in Bali, she also kept up with the GLA blog with limited internet and finding the time to write. I loved reading these posts! She was very pleased to inform us that she was chosen as an official GLA  Ambassador along with 3 other peers! The notes from her mentors made me cry with sheer admiration and proudness.  We’re so proud not only of her travel accomplishments but her efforts put forth while attending  the Bali- Global Health Initiative Leadership Program. Its been a surreal few weeks knowing when we go to sleep our “baby girl” would carry on with her duties and adventures and when we would wake up we would say good morning and she would be saying good night via WhatsApp.  Usually parents go to bed after their children are all tucked in… we would be sleeping while she was off on adventures and tell me about them before she went to bed and we just waking up! Still trying to wrap my head around it!

Meanwhile after returning from our sailing trip we caught up around the house such to get ready for “Little” Heather and her adorable family that arrive the day before Savannah arrives!  Heather is nicknamed “little” and i’m “big” such that our names were not confused when we were young! Heather is the daughter of my ex husband, whom I loved as my own from the very first day we met, and I helped mentor her since she was 4 years old. She’s now almost 32. The curious thing is how much Savannah and “Little” Heather resemble each other so it’s easy for people to really think she is my biological daughter, the resemblance is so strong! Regardless I love her the same but I keep a safe Mama bear distance from her Mama Susie!  😉 whom I adore. (she’s my Ex’s ex… lol)Trust me.. tons of funny stories over the years!

On the home front.. Ruby has been laying giant eggs! She loves her new organic food and she has been following me around and jumping on me like a little puppy!  Sunflowers are HUGE and i’ve begun the harvesting and drying process. I do have some that are soaking now and ready to roast tomorrow!  Some of the stalks grew this year to over 10 ft tall!  We’ve had a special few weeks on the boat but my yard missed me!!!!! Dogs, kitty, Ruby and fish were spoiled rotten thanks to our downstairs full time tenants. We worked out a great summer arrangement as part of their 1 year rental lease for the summer housesitting duties.. win-win!

Notes on Baus Haus: We are planning to re open the Baus Haus bed and breakfast July 2019!!! We will do so on a part time basis such that we can still enjoy our  beautiful space with friends and family a couple of weeks out of the month,  while continuing to open our home and  host our wonderful guests of which many will be repeats… we’re very excited about this! Especially my Mother N Law who wants her downstairs all to her self.. along with my mother.. i’ll let them battle it out! haha  Here is the link to the Airbnb if you are not familiar! https://abnb.me/EVmg/TalbhlZ1J

Link to the GLA blog that Savannah kept up for the group: http://theyoungleader.experiencegla.com/bali-global-health-initiative-june-29-july-19-2018/

Link to the GLA program that she attended: https://www.experiencegla.com/destinations/teen-programs-asia/bali/bali-global-health-initiative/

Ooops we got a little behind in the blog writing adventures! Honeymooning eventually turns the brain to a sub par thinking state! So now is Jim’s turn to write!!!

So Heather asked me to write the blog about our trip West from Prickly Pear. Basically it went like this. Hoisted jib, sailed by mountain point, mooring occupied, sailed by George Dog, too rolly, sailed by Beef Island, nixed the Scrub island hike, sailed by Nanny Cay, too much of a pain in the ass to dock and hike the mountain, went into West End, cleared out of customs, motored to Leinster Bay, picked up a mooring, hiked 5 miles, Heather began cooking dinner, cell coverage sucked, motored around to Francis Bay while I held the rice cooker (it ain’t gimballed), picked up a mooring after dark, ate great, and went to bed…. Heather’s description of our days are sooo much better than mine. That was basically that day, now she is laughing at me and asking for me to continue the rest of the trip so here goes.

The next morning over coffee we burned 2 hrs trying to figure out what we were going to do with our day, meaning whether we sail to St. Croix or hang in St. John. Then sail home.  So we chose St. Croix, stowed the dinghy, hoisted the sails and headed South. It was blowing 15-20kts and it was a sporty ride off the South Coast of St. John. The wind tempered a bit about half way through the crossing (about 35 nm), and we were visited by a number of boobies giving us an aerial dive show… tons of flying fish. At one point Heather was on the bow taking photos and noticed our roller fuller system was beginning to come apart. We eased the load and were able to crank down on the set screw just enough to keep it from moving. We continued on our way and it got REALLY sporty as we got closer to St. Croix.  Approaching Buck Island and a further review of the regulations, we realized we needed an anchoring permit of which we did not have.. ooops. After a brief lecture of how I needed to become better versed with these types of regulations we formulated a quick plan B (otherwise known to common folks  “we changed our mind again”): Green Cay Marina.  We dropped the sails and Heather proceeded to drive us through a hairball 8ft deep, 60 foot wide, dog leg entrance, followed by a 180 in a very cramped basin and a perfect landing at the T dock. Damn that’s hot! Then my wife made me get off the boat for a 3 mile power walk, because she said it was good for me… yay. So that puts us at Wed evening.

Thursday morning our friend Isabelle (who lives on island with hubby Bill) picked us up to show us around and take us to DPNR for anchor permit. Since that involved filling out forms and taking back to DPNR, Isabelle kindly took us to the airport to get a rental car with loads of local knowledge to begin exploring St. Croix.

We explored Christiansted in the afternoon and met some great shop owners who shared all our post hurricane frustrations. Great little town, but definitely scarred from the storms. We had a great onboard meal of pasta and sausage and chilling on the aft deck in the quaint little marina.

Friday morning we headed back to DPNR to drop off paper work and went by a little bistro where we had the most AMAZING cinnamon bun! and I thought my wife had the  most amazing buns. he, he… but there is some serious competition in the form of their pastry.

We then proceeded to the St. George Estate Botantical Garden where I told her to take a photo of the “great house” as I want to build this for our future retirement home. Needless to say the next 2 hrs was basically dragging my wife around the garden as she had multiple plantgasms.  Guess I need to step up my game. Maybe I should wear a lei… We then drove to the North Coast and found a little narrow overgrown, one lane, steep ass path down to the Coast, which turned into the North shore road and a beautiful drive through Salt River and back to Christiansted. After our return to the boat we then drove out to Isabelle and Bill’s place and saw her incredible studio (she’s a world renown artist and athlete) Heather scored a very nice painting! We then piled into our rental jeep and she showed us Point Udall the easternmost point of the US. Meanwhile Bill blasted off in his bike to meet us at the top of Goat hill where we hiked after seeing the point. Gorgeous evening hike and we saw the sunset at the same time Savannah saw the sunrise in Bali. That evening we had invited Bill and Isabelle over for dinner and Heather prepared steaks in the cast iron and a pasta/parmesean/veggie casserole and foccassia bread. Also, Cherries, cheese and crackers for appetizer and Isabelle brought a delicious salad. A nice quiet dinner quickly morphed into a dock party as our neighbors who had just sailed back in and were leaving to the states the next day invited themselves over using two bottles of French Rose as their entry tickets. Turned out to be a very interesting and entertaining couple especially the guy, “Ernie”, a PhD forensic pathologist who speaks 6 languages, sometimes all at once. He and his lovely wife Loretta, an environmental engineer, have their own toxicology business in Houston. Between Ernie’s jokes, fear of sharks and flared for drama it was all Heather could do to keep from putting him in his place, especially after he commented on Savannah’s homeschooling history. I must say I’m proud of Heather for taking the high road and not kicking his ass off the boat! Meanwhile Bill paddles in after sunset and diverted Ernie’s further attention! Next thing we know 3 lady live aboards from up the dock are stepping into the cockpit also with wine tickets… they only stayed for a short while and we proceeded to have an amazing dinner.

Saturday we went for a run near the marina, begin prepping the boar for leaving her for the next 10 days as I do not have time to sail back for a meeting that just arose… imperative that I attend, and need to prepare Sunday with documents that arrived by mail. Bill and Isabelle invited us over for a tasty lunch and we ended up buying 2 inflatable sups and a surf sup for myself! Then Isabelle and Bill showed us a Sugar Mill ruin and Heather and I were off to hike the Jack and Isaak trail on the Eastern part of the island. Gorgeous shoreline single track trail. We returned to the boat, showered and again met with “IsaBill” for diner in town. In our parking lot sat a centuries old Baobab tree which was majestic and the story more fascinating, that the seeds of these trees often times traveled across the ocean in the mouths of slaves.

Sunday morning we finished prepping the boat, returned the rental car and checked into jetblue. The flight was a quick 25 min but the jackass at the helm opted to fly through every m’f’ing cloud instead of deviating around them which made for a very bumpy and harrowing flight. I’d much rather have my wife sitting in the left seat. I’m planning to share more thoughts soon on the situation in PR stay tuned.

We rode out Beryl on the SW side of Prickly Pear with a few other full timers. We did clock 43kts on the anemometer and our neighbors on a Amel super maramu said they clocked 46kts. Thankfully no thunder or lightning and only brief periods of heavy rain. The worst part of the storm was our weak coffee!!! We had a super cozy morning with dark skies and howling winds. Jim thankfully still had good reception and was working most of the morning. I made some jewelry and caught up on some life pondering and deep thoughts. lol (always scary…)

After lunch it was wonderful to sea shades of blue between the lulls! The Sahara dust this summer has been thick and has coated everything. Think heavy pollen in the Spring.. this is a heavy yellow, sticky dust. However that dust and winds that blow it all the way across the Atlantic keep the storms from organizing!  Let’s hope the season continues the trend of either no storms or weak ones.

By afternoon I was getting a little stir crazy so we decided to go for my first official paddle  post surgeries earlier in the year. Last few months I have not been allowed to lift or paddle, so I’ve been very diligent about following these rules as the complications were not fun and I certainly don’t want to go through that again!  I can’t even tell you how good it felt! We didn’t bring our regular cruising boards (helps the temptation) so I paddled my 9′ surf sup  board almost 3 miles and did some silly chair riding stunts (and I didn’t fall!) and wake surfing behind the dinghy. Seriously made my day. I cannot wait to start logging miles again, I swear by the mental and physical benefits of paddling! Just being out on the water and staying fit at the same time.. if you haven’t tried SUP you should!

We then dinghied in with our new boat neighbors and met up again with newlyweds Dustin and Marta for a chill evening of great conversation and delicious chicken roti and a taste of white wine. Wonderful evening! Dinghy ride back was a mile of wet, dark, and choppy mess back to the boat!

Notes: We had dolphins playing at the back of our boat for a brief period and this boobie caught a balihoo and swallowed it whole shortly after  taking flight with her catch. She quickly landed and gulped it down. Then we watched her in amazement as she bobbed and trying to figure out if that was such a good idea or not! The photo of the hatch is the reflection while laying in our bed. Kind of cool to be facing aft but seeing forward!

Notes: I will post more jewlery items to the Baus Haus page. Most necklaces are $25 and made with hand picked genuine seaglass, tiles, or stones from our beaches in Puerto Rico that either myself, husband or daughter have picked! Years ago I had a booth called “Island glass” but now keep all items under the Baus Haus.  Each piece is unique and usually strung on leather, or chord and ribbon. They are adjustable and great for hanging your sunnies or readers off of when not using! Please send me a note if you are interested!

Notes: If you enjoy the blog please sign up and officially “follow”! Thank you!

We initially decided we would sail to Norman Island to take advantage of the cooler wx from the effects of Berle, while enjoying the many hiking trails that Norman offers.  We cast off and sailed out the channel markers of VG Sound. Just past Mosquito Island we looked back and the sky was the most brilliant blue and it was an absolute gorgeous day. So we decided to regroup and turn around and spend the day with friends instead!

On our return we anchored off Mosquito island in clear, shallow waters and dinghied over to Leverick to pick up Marta and Dustin. I’ve known Marta for over a decade. Great surfing pal and fun chic! Super awesome to meet her husband Dustin and we spent a wonderful day catching up via snorkeling, day sailing and sundowners.

During the snorkel I got zapped by my first box jelly fish. Damn that hurt!  So thankful I did not have a reaction as the Box Jellies are pretty intense and it was only on my hand. We usually see them in the later part of July.. so I wasn’t really looking out for them yet. Thing was huge for a box!

Late afternoon we moved the boat from Mosquito over to Prickly Pear and left the dinghy on the mooring ball to save it for later as we Jib sailing around the Sound. was Such a treat sailing in flat water and 20kts of breeze! We cruised around weaving in and out of the empty mooring fields of Saba Rock and the Bitter End with several passes and 7 kts under jib alone!

After returning to the  SW side of Prickly Pear we had our transom showers, sundowner and headed back to Leverick Bay in the dinghy. We said our farewells to Marta and Dustin as they had evening commitments. Meanwhile Jim and I enjoyed an evening dinner at Pussers and talked with the locals. Wet and wild ride  in the dinghy after dark back to the boat!! Good stuff and awesome day!

Savannah was not able to take photos last night (her day) as they volunteered at a nursing home in the AM and worked at a school in the afternoon. She’s really enjoying her time with her team, meeting new people and learning their culture.  She has been face timing on WhatsApp and once a day and i’m getting to meet all of her friends. I think it’s so sweet everyone comes over to say hello!!! They also all want to go sailing with us next summer! lol get in line! hahahah

Baus Haus Notes….. June of 2019 we will re open the guest house. Throughout the year I will be hiding Baus Haus treasures: vouchers for free nights, gifts, and apparel. If you happen to find one, or a friend does, or even a friend of a friend finds it and posts the prize on one of our social media pages, they (or you if you’re their friend) will be a winner!!!  Think “geocaching gifts” by the Baus Haus! https://www.facebook.com/BausHausPuertoRico/?ref=br_rs

We had a fun day just tinkering on boat and exploring in the N Sound.  Shelling was off the charts, literally beaches covered in old conch and treasures! While snorkeling we found 100’s of legal sized conchs, absolutley incredible. I took photos of several of my favorites before setting them back down. At one point while snorkeling I thought I bumped into a tiger shark head on. Nope.. just me and Jim crash collisioning while snorkeling, I mean what are the chances of that!??

Saw the biggest cowfish of my life on our evening snorkel and of course did not have my camera, but she was at least 1.5 ft long and fat as a basketball in my underwater vision. She was so friendly and curious, I held my breath as long as I could looking at her with my mask literally about a foot separating my snorkel face from her fish face. Soon after the cowfish encounter I had a large ray befriend me while trying to swim all over my arm, usually they are easily spooked so this as well was absoutly incredible to experience! I don’t know if it was because we were snorkeling at dusk or we just encountered some subdued marine life, but its something I will never forget!

Earlier in the day while scouting the shore by dinghy, with the storm induced lack of vegetation I noticed a giant “cave” hole in the side of a cliff along the water. Of course I had to climb up and check it out!! SO COOL.  We felt like little kids exploring and playing all day.

Once getting back to the boat we showered and cooked and enjoyed the blustery evening. Dinner was fresh conch sauted in butter, onion, garlic, cloves and orange peel. Served over fresh squash and pasta with homemade butter/honey biscuits.

Soon after dinner we enjoyed our evening chat with Savannah. We shared very funny stories and some belly laughs. One of them being when Mom went to fix the trah bag in the shower that was filling with air from the wind coming through the hatch. Well it’s attached to the shower handle, so just as I entered it was enough pressure on the handle to turn on the shower and soak me!!!  I also sent her a photo of her last year’s summer crush that we saw. She’s going to kill me for writing this here. She said that was a tease sending her the photo but “Thank youuuuuuuu soooooo veryyyy much!!!!” hahahah I seriously love the sense of humor the 3 of us have a family. It’s a little whacked but I wouldn’t change it for the world. She’s still going to kill me for writing this.. haha

Sleep was on and off.  For one, this boat with a Texas flag the size of TEXAS moored just in front of us and their flag whipped and snapped all night long. WTH… We had a squall go through in the early am with a lot of rain which is fantastic for the islands, and thank goodness enough to rinse off most of the Sahara dust that our boat is covered in. It’s been thick to say the least. Not sure my sinus can handle much more.

Having a blast. WX is fair next day or so with tropical storm Beryle passing S of us. Thank goodness she is weakening but man it’s WAY too early to be thinking of storms right now. Tis the season…

H

Super hike to the top of Virgin Gorda! We paddled in together on “Sarah’s” almost  sinking SUP!!.. to begin our journey to the top of the mountain. We ascended 1300 feet but it was a little less steep than our previous hike on Jost Van Dyke, however still a great work out!. We made our way to the road via the beach that was full of beautiful black sands, coral and shells. Then found a small path that lead to the road that switch backed with a wall of mountain on one side and views to the anchorage and VG sounds as we came around the mountain! It was 3 miles literally of UP to reach the trail head. On the way we passed a beautiful bar and restaurant “Hog Heaven” that overlooked Virgin Gorda Sound with views to Anegada. Spectacular! Not long after passing this I about had a cow.. literally. There was a GIANT bull just laying on the side of the road chewing away. Reminded me of hiking in Yellostone and seeing all of the Buffalo.. He stopped chewing as we passed by and we did not have to run for the hills! lol Continuing up we finally arrived to the trail head. It was a short half mile that was full of hiking perfections: boulders, rocks, wild orchids, wild bromeliads, wild century and pineapple plants. It was my hiking heaven! Arriving to the top was non climatic since the lookout tower had been destroyed by the last year’s hurricanes. There was a lone ladder that we climbed and scaled some boulders looking for our “surveyor collection” photo! We did not find one nor a view, but the flora definitely made up for it. Once back on the road backtracking our steps all I could think about was whether Mr. Bull was still there. He was… except this time standing on the other side of the road. I’m hoping the video will upload, as we walked by I told Jim “Don’t look at him..” hahah The bull kept turning his head toward us as we walked by!! whew.

Seven miles later and 3 hrs of hiking in the heat of the day felt like a marathon. We stopped a lot to admire the views and take photos as well.  Once back to the boat we quickly secured everything and had a quick bite to eat before pulling anchor and heading to Anegada for our friends Aida and Loredana’s wedding! We knew sailing over that there was a chance that we might not get in due to the shallow depths but would at least make an effort. The sail over was blissful and fun beam and hearty reach for a couple of hours! Our Grand Soleil 46LC handles the wind and seas so well and is super fast! We sailed over with a reefed main and still making over 8 kts!

As we approached the channel we turned on the Volvo and dowsed the sails. We draw 7.5 ft and decided our “go around” would be at 8.5 ft since it was fairly rolly. We made it to the farthest red buoy and depth went from upper 8’s to 7.5 in an instant. We didn’t touch the sandy bottom but I turned her on a dime and got the heck out of there. I don’t think I’ve ever clinched my butt so hard!!! We then decided to try another anchorage around the corner. Decent water, but had to dodge some coral heads to make our way in there. Winds were nuking and it was even rollier. We went as far as we could and had to make another “go around” as even had we been able to get in it would have not been a great anchorage, especially in light of the wind velocity in our 48 forecast from the little cat I storm S of us “Byrle”.. So we bailed and sailed back. You can see our GPS track.. the little jog is where we raised the main and started sailing. We thoroughly enjoyed the sunset sail back and picked up a ball West of Saba Rock. Showered, dinner, talked with Savannah and bed!

Savannah said her fever broke twice in the night. I spoke with her this AM and she said she is MUCH better and her day was amazing. They did a lot of volunteering and she was in charge of recording weight and height, followed by pizza on the beach and swim. She’s about to write in blog now for today’s (yesterdays..) events! She was able to post in the blog yesterday as well and I will add the link here! Photos below are photos she sent via WhatsApp. :)) http://theyoungleader.experiencegla.com/bali-global-health-initiative-june-29-july-19-2018/

Things of interest I forgot to add yesterday.  We used 36 gallons of water in 7 days and 12 gals of diesel..!  The little birdie in the photo sailed with us for awhile from Spanish Town to Long Bay! Was he a hitchhiker or a messenger..?? :))

Note I was wearing my favorite shirt EVER in honor of our new hero and celebrity Jerome Rand!!!.. for completing his solo circumnavigation of the world aboard the “Mighty Sparrow”! We were fortunate enough to see him come through the North Sound on his journey a few weeks ago. His mother Irma was so kind in sending our family the official shirt of the “Mighty Sparrow”!!! We are wearing them proudly here in Virgin Gorda. Thank you sweet Irma!!!

Did I mention how dang heavy the Kayak that we salvaged the day before is!!??..It was a bit much to put on the deck with the already dingy and sup.. so we tried towing.. it worked, sort of… So we turned around (5 min de-tour) and went back and grabbed a ball to put her on the deck successfully minus my big toe.. ouch. Then took it off the deck and left it with the B-line bar in Manchioneel Bay via a couple of paddlers that took it in for us. lol

After finally stowing all of the toys, we motored upwind 17 miles to Spanish town dodging the thickest of thick sargasso. It’s everywhere! We took our route through the mooring field of Marina Cay. Another harsh reminder of last year’s hurricanes. There were no boats in the mooring field but we did see folks on the island doing work. Good sign. Scrub island had many boats, but still without roofs on many of the buildings. Great Camano also took a massive hit with many nice homes minus their roofs.

Spanish Town was supposed to be a quick fuel and water stop and also to grab an impeller for the generator. Jim can’t seem to get enough tinker time on her and they are getting well acquainted. While waiting, and waiting on the part we went to our dear friends Sarah and Paul’s boat per their request and instructions and grabbed the inflatable paddle board (ours blew up), paddle (Jim forgot his at home lol), and a fishing rod (I lost the reel on the way up)!! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts Sarah Baker!!! Their boat was severely damaged in Irma, the second storm which her husband rode out the eye in. Not just one storm but TWO storms, cause that’s the kind of guy Paul is.. First was??? .. then Irma.  I’m hoping they regroup and consider repairing their boat.. it’s not the same with them here on their frequent visits to the islands from CO!

While waiting at the fuel dock I reached out to a sweet, long time surfing pal Marta and lo and behold she was only 5 min away!! We have not caught up in years so it was wonderful to hug her neck and catch up briefly before getting kicked off the fuel dock! She’s beautiful as ever and we’re hoping to rendezvous on Sunday in the North Sound of VG. Weather permitting…. Looks like TS Byrle is not kidding around.

Leaving Spanish town we headed a short distance to spend the night in Long Bay by Mountain Point. Easy departure to Anegada for our future schedule.. Once setting the anchor in a sandy bottom we jumped in with our snorkel gear to check the Delta and take a look around.  Within minutes I think I found the oldest conch in all of the Carribean!!!  it had to be at least 20 years plus based on the thickness of her lip. I took a couple of photos and gently free dove back down and gently set her back where I found her in 20ft of water. Amazing. We snorkeled for about an hour before we got freezing cold! Seriously! You’d be surprised even in summer how the breeze and water will cool you down to white hands!

The goats were really bleating this evening, but the best part is we had this anchorage to ourselves for a little awhile then we were bombarded with the “Sail Caribbean” fleet and about 100 kids!!!!! I couldn’t decide if it made me miss Savannah desperately or I’ve gone to the dark side and do not want see any signs of teenagers! lol

Sleep was pretty crappy I must say. Super blustery and winds were coming off the mountain in gusts of about 25 kts. Around 0300 the pointy end was 180 degrees from when we went to bed and our ass was a little too close to the reef for comfort. We had a lot of anchor rode out and it held fast but not without worrying about it.

We were able to connect with Savannah both morning and evening and spoke on video chat via Whatsapp yesterday and this AM. They visited an orphanage and did community service checking vitals as well as assessing mosquito larvae in standing waters in and near the village. Tomorrow they will set up make shift camp for the villagers to come for medical care. Savannah’s job was taking bp. She said the kids were so happy to see them, performed for them and tons of hugs and affections.  As soon as the blog is up I will share. She said she’s been really tired to write and there as not been sufficient internet to post.. but will do so soon so there will be more details to their daily activities.

Unfortunately Savannah is pretty sick, along with a few other students and a mentor. She’s 101 fever and feels pretty crappy but is toughing it out. She’s in good spirits despite. She said the girls are amazing and they are making lasting friendships. There are 22 girls and 2 boys.. Also she has been practicing her Spanish daily with a girl from Ecuador. They are already planning next summer with Savannah volunteering on their farm and we taking them on a sailing adventure.. I love this!

Ok off to try and hike to the highest point on VG.

Over morning coffee my husband said.. “I have a challenge for you… go see if that buried kayak on the beach is salvageable”. Uh…. for those that know me.. challenges are not taken lightly! After morning coffee we dinghied over and at first sight it looked like it was probably only half a kayak. Either that it was buried with so much rubbish that it would probably be broken once uncovered.  I wish I had taken a photo of the “before” but the camera was in the dingy that floated a way while we were trying to dislodge this thing! Not too far away, but not worth going and retrieving just to take a photo. We were up to our ears in brown recluse spiders, webs, mud, crabs, logs, timber, fallen trees, drift wood, rotten leaves and mounds of termites to get this thing out! We had to lever with two by fours, wedge, dig, and this nonsense went on for a while. Luckily we were in a secluded anchorage with no one to witness this madness!! Low and behold it was a perfectly good glass bottom kayak.. with a seat! We unscrewed all of the screws holding the glass so we could take apart and clean. It was full of mud and spiders.. yuck. Put it back together and enjoyed a little tow behind the dinghy with some great views. This is going to be so much fun to have!

From there we went exploring in the water. Lots of baby lobster that were friendly as ever! They are not in season but fun to watch them be so curious! Conch are in season however.. I found 3 keepers!.. just gorgeous shells but decided to leave them as I found them. After getting back in the dinghy, Jim again sort of challenged me and said.. “Man.. conch ceviche sure would be tasty for lunch”… growl.. I flip over backwards and turned my personal built in navigations system on for re-finding the conch! I actually found them! I’ll try and post a video of cleaning for the meat and preserving the shell if internet allows. Its quick if done right. Before harvesting I prepared my work area with the tools needed. A butter knife, filleting knife, a cracker, old towel and cutting board off the aft swim transom.  I then prepared lemon, lime and red onion in  a big bowl to “cook” the conch. Followed by adding pre -made 7 bean salad in vinegar liquid that was perfect. I had forgot vinegar this trip so this was ideal! What a delicious post snorkel lunch served with crackers and goat cheese!

After chilling a bit in the afternoon we headed out again for some exploring. I saw a little red box on the beach. Looked like a red crate from a distance so I for sure wanted to check that out. They make great one use storage bins for shells that we find, plus “cleaning the beach” as we can. Turns out it was a tackle type box filled with about 20 flares scattered on and round the rocks near the box! They were just out of date and a little ragged to keep for any particular reason but we put them in the dink anyway.  Walking back I also found a huge sunbrella cover!! So.. rolled it up and took it as well. On our exploring we found a little hut on a patch of beach under a tree that survived the storms. So we secured the tarp over the already make shift wood that had been placed and left the flares there. Kind of fun adding to the already cool hut. I’m sure if the local kids made it they will surely be surprised to find the goodies! We may leave the kayak in there as well… :))

We followed up the fun day with an evening snorkel and found litereally 100’s of milk conch bigger than the palm of your hand and feisty!!  I love taking photos of the conch that I find and leave. These were pretty amazing. Like anything.. balance and only keep what you eat. Believe me there are plenty shells out there that have already been harvested in the water.. which by the way is illegal.

Dinner was left over gnocchi… :)) followed by jewelry making and reading. Lovely Day!

Savannah has been hard to reach but I do know the locals gave the group fireworks to celebrate the 4th of July. Which is neat because the were celebrating on July 4th which was the 3rd of July for us! I’m still trying to wrap my head around the 12 hr time difference and a day! She said the evening was so much fun with a bonfire, food, dancing and setting off fireworks to celebrate!

Also they are rolling up their sleeves and visited a birth center while we slept.. I just chatted briefly with her now and she said they had an amazing day and everyone was so nice. She will try and write in the blog soon and but did not have much of a chance to take photos during the their day.

What an absolute blissful sail from Culebrita to Jost Van Dyke! Winds were North then continuing to almost full South making optimal conditions and almost 1 tack to St. Thomas. We hugged the N side of St. Thomas for some site seeing while sailing into all of the coves and bays for fun and scouting out future gunkholing possibilities as Savannah likes to say!

Arriving to Jost Jim paddled in on the inflatable to clear customs and called me later to say he was hitching a ride back since the inflatable blew up with a sizable hole.. gaping if you will!!! I mean how do you not laugh! Luckily he had all of our documents in the dry bag. We do have a dinghy but was not planning on splashing her until arriving to Anegada.  Jim hitched a ride back with a local about to “jaw” is way out of the boat. Local, “I need $20 dollar for da service”. Jim, “is this your boat??” Local, “No”. Jim, “Does the owner of the boat know you took the boat?”  Local, “No, dats why I need 20 dollar.. 10 for him and 10 for me.” Priceless…

Ok so about the hike! HOLY steep and hot.  We climbed to the top of Jost just over 1000 ft in elevation gain in 1 mile with only 3 long and steep switch backs. Views were amazing. We did a total of 6 miles and total elevation gain of over 2000ft and getting another surveyors mark find! Absolutely spectacular terrain, views and work out.  I have a thing for old rutted roads and love photographing them anytime I see them and these were off the charts! Jost by far takes the cake for trail trekking… Many other trails left to explore as well.. we will take our sore quads this morning for more exploring.

Savannah is continuing to enjoy her time in Bali. They were invited to meet the Prince of Bali and invited to dinner in the Palace where they were treated like royalty and given a private show after dinner. Savannah noticed that soccer was on and she asked if she could watch for a moment and the Prince told her that was for “Men” only.. women were not allowed to watch sports…. yep.. that went over well!!!! Savannah said the dinner was SO SPICEY!!..homemade habanero sauce. They returned back to base camp later than planned and she thanked me for sending her with tums..and asked about soccer results!!! lol

Savannah did not buy any Civet pooping coffee beans.. The cute little animals are known for being fed the beans and pooping them out for the most expensive coffee in the world. She didn’t want to support this as she learned many force feed these animals the beans..

After our hike and lunch aboard we motored over to Manchioneel Bay on the S side of Little Yost Van Dyke, where we spent the afternoon reading, making jewlery and just chilling out. Dinner was hamburger with sauce and veggies over gnocchi. yum!

Notes: The evening before we decided to eat on shore at Foxy’s. It was a limited menu and food was just fair for the price. However customer services was superb! We really love our evenings on the boat cooking and relaxing away from the “party scene” not to mention saves a lot of money.

Post hurricane notes on Yost Van Dyke: We saw a lot of upside down ATV’s, white military grade tents for housing and new construction beginning. Beach bars are open and restaurants with limited menus. All in all the island is hopping with charter boats and tourist!

Lifestyle notes: Not preaching.. just sharing some thoughts on alcohol. I’m not judging anyone who drinks more or less and it’s no comparison… For almost 8 months now Jim and I have limited our alcohol intake significantly. We have a 2 drink limit before dinner time. No day drinking or over indulging on the weekends, holiday, vacation or special events.  You would not believe how wonderful this is. In past, especially on boat trips and on the weekends, it was so easy to crack a beer with friends with lunch or while sitting in the water and chilling. The problem we found is for one it’s not healthy and the other it ruins the evening because you’ve probably had too much by then and you’re so tired that you keep drinking to re energize your buzz.., and then ruins the next day because you over indulged. So even if you over indulge just one time, life is too short to mess up a clear headed evening and the next day. I personally have a hang over with anything over 2 drinks. So 3 is max if the occasion warrants. Yesterday after our hike we stopped into a beautiful beach bar on white bay near soggy dollar bay. Talk about a perfect scenario to order a cold one after a long hike at high noon. It came easy this time to pass on the brew and order 2 sparkling waters and a local soda “ting”! The rest of the afternoon was pure contentedness and clear heads with no lingering tiredness that booze causes. We love our new lifestyle!!!!!! and much healthier.

Savannah is happy, healthy and having the time of her life!!! Her WhatsApp voice messages melt my heart every time. Her photos and excitement are a treat to hear before bed and upon waking. It’s so weird to process that when we say goodnight she is saying good morning! She’s learning a bit of Balinese and making new friends. All of this leaves me with a an overwhelming sense of joy and contentment. They recently packed up camp and  headed 3 hrs to the North side of Bali where they stopped and toured rice paddy fields, ate lunch on a mountaintop over looking the volcanoes, visited the Water Temple and ate a dinner at a restaurant that donates all of there monies to a local hospital and they learned about this particular foundation. They are launching now into the community service and starting to roll up their sleeves.. She LOVES the food and says the papaya are incredible. I will add the link to the blog so you can read directly of their adventures. Beginning on blog post July 1. Savannah and Sarah will head up the GLA/Bali blog as the chief organizers. You can imagine how excited I am to read these blogs! I will share as they are availalbe. http://theyoungleader.experiencegla.com/bali-global-health-initiative-june-29-july-19-2018/

Meanwhile, Jim and I are having the time of our life!!! Seriously we are having so much fun!!!! We had a glorious sail to Culebrita and spent the afternoon snorkeling, hiking and swimming. During the sail I decided to put a line out and see if i could catch dinner and instead caught a BIG mess.. my drag was too loose and i lost the damn reel! We were able to retrieve all of the line.. every single mile of it… but lost the reel. (i’ll plan to make bracelets out of the line or spool it onto another reel when we got home) :))

After getting settled, we jumped straight in the water to snorkel for a bit and of course check the mooring ball and see how close our keel really was to the bottom.. pretty close! lol… Snorkel was wonderful. Clear and many schools of beautiful blue tang playing in the reef with small waves breaking over them. So beautiful! After our snorkel we hiked to the top of the Culebrita light house. A pleasant 2 mile loop with copious amounts of goats! They were everywhere! The hike is not long but very satisfying. The frangipanis are in full bloom and you could even smell them down wind of Culebra.. sweet salty air and the trail was loaded with them. The Sahara Dust was wicked on the sail up but was also quickly dissipating so we had some nice views from the ruins of the old light house (more details on the history of the lighthouse to come). The SW side of the island is also lovely with the views of the turquoise waters, and tons of vegetation coming along nicely, especially baby cactus and tons of wild aloe vera!.. and did you know that giant clusters of hermit crabs climb trees?? The trail switchbacks down to and along the water’s edge and finally backtracking through a little grove of native trees and brush to the beach. Vegetation is coming back strong despite the goats and storms!  The palm trees along the beach were knocked over and thriving while growing horizontal in an artistic and lovely way!

So about dinner…Last evening after an amazing day I decided on a one pot meal of multi colored potato, carrots, onion, chicken thighs, spice, butter, broth, seasoning and a little olive oil in the cast iron, cooking on the little outside gas grill. This way while it slow cooked I could sip a sun downer and enjoy the evening knowing dinner was on and dishes would be minimal! A lovely evening it was! We sat on the aft deck and watched the sun go down, gazed, talked, laughed and it felt like an old fashioned first date! Buzz was good and we were getting hungry so after checking on the food and taking a photo of how beautiful it was we turned off the gas and decided to let it cool for one more drink. Just as we sat down I heard a “CLANK-KA-PLOOSH. I tried with all might to have a moment of denial denying that was our dinner that just when overboard. Jim is just standing there with his “oh shiiiiit” expression. No one moved.. or said a word for like 5 seconds. I said.. “Jim.. well you better go after that cast iron before it rusts and pick up the chicken before the fish get them”.. then we completely bust out laughing.. and continued to do so the rest of the evening. We ended up eating the last of the chicken salad that was meant for todays 5 hr sail, served over pork filled wontons.
My heart is very happy this trip…