Homeward Bound
| Vessel Name: | Integrity |
| Vessel Make/Model: | Bavaria 37 Cruiser |
| Hailing Port: | Corpus Christi |
| Crew: | Bob and Cris Gerlach |
| About: | Starting a new life living aboard on June 1, 2011. We are retired but not tired and we're off on an adventure of a lifetime together. |
25 March 2012 | Simpson Lagoon, St Martin
13 March 2012 | Portsmouth, Dominica
22 February 2012 | Atlantic-Caribbean
08 November 2011 | Lanzarote, Canary Islands
24 October 2011 | In the Shadow of the Rock of Gibraltar
14 October 2011 | Fuentarabia/Hondarrabia, Spain
12 October 2011 | Northern Spain
08 October 2011 | Granada, Spain
03 October 2011 | Almerimar, Spainish east coast
28 September 2011 | Mahon, Menorca, the Balerics
11 September 2011 | Missina Sicily
04 September 2011 | Corfu Greece
25 August 2011 | Ay Eufimia Harbor
20 August 2011 | Corinth Yacht Harbor, Greece
14 August 2011 | kalamaki Marina, Athens, Greece
07 August 2011 | Today, Kalamaki Marina, Athens
04 August 2011 | Monemvasia, Peloponnisos coast
27 July 2011 | Milos Island, Greece
19 July 2011 | Serifos Greece
14 July 2011 | STILL in Syros
Recent Blog Posts
25 March 2012 | Simpson Lagoon, St Martin
A new delay, such is life
Hello all you blog followers. We begin this entry on March 19, 2012. We are tied to a mooring in Falmouth Bay right next to English Harbor on the Island of Antigua. We are surrounded by mega mega yachts, the sort that only Bill Gates or Tiger Woods could dream of affording.
13 March 2012 | Portsmouth, Dominica
The Leewards
It’s surprising how little distance can be covered in so much time. Sailing is a slow business at the best of times.
22 February 2012 | Atlantic-Caribbean
ARC 2011 Gran Canaria to St Lucia
Wow! Time sure flies by it has been over two months since we made it across the Atlantic, albeit second last in the Rally and there hasn’t been much thought of adding or updating the blog. In fact we apparently got so wrapped up in preparations we forgot to post some of our travel. We left Lanzarote [...]
08 November 2011 | Lanzarote, Canary Islands
first long passage accomplished
November 6th, Marina Rubicon, Lanzarote, Canary Islands
24 October 2011 | In the Shadow of the Rock of Gibraltar
Ten days away, ten days to the next post
21 October
If you water it, it will grow
14 October 2011 | Fuentarabia/Hondarrabia, Spain
14 October
Today finds us in Fuentarabia/Hondarrabia Spain. The place was named Fuentarabia when Cris lived here. It was a little fishing village with few tourists. It is located adjacent to France on the Bay of Biscay. When the Basques managed to gain influence here apparently they felt it needed to be renamed something more "Basque'y" sounding so there you are, now the official name is Hondarrabia. It is 8:30 am and I am up checking email and waiting for room service to bring breakfast (included in the room price). We are inside the old walled part of the city at a hotel that was converted from being a long ago Bishop's home (that begs the question as to why he needed a home with so many bedrooms, what with supposedly being celibate, hmmm?) Anyway it is a massive 5 story stone edifice that has been done up very nicely.
The autostrada, highway, expressway, whatever you want to call them are excellent in Spain. We covered over 1100 km in a matter of 12 hours including stops for food coffee and fuel. Not to mention not seeing so much as one policeman except where a truck had broken down. I suppose it is a little crazy to drive so far for a one or two day visit, but since we had to accelerate our schedule to get to the Canaries on time and missed out on touring Italy and some of Spain that Cris wanted to tour, there had to be some compensation for her as she was an extremely good sport about the disappointments. So now she has seen her house from 40+ years ago, still there, still charming and well kept. The town however must have been watered very regularly as it has grown and grown, the one airplane a week airport is now a bustling International destination, and what used to be fields between downtown and there is now just more housing, the beach that was once large and sort of lightly populated is much smaller and in its place is a huge marina and adjacent facilities. So, that old line "you can never go home again" once again proves true, after so much time "home" has changed so much that it isn't really home anymore.
Today we will tour a bit, Cris will visit the Beauty Shop (not that I think she needs it but we do have a difference of opinion on that subject), go to the Basque section for a Basque dinner (whatever that might consist of, I've never heard of "Basque Cuisine"), and on the morning of the 15th head on back down the road a piece to the boat, home sweet boat. Then with Elle having joined us, a few days to change the oil, buy food and water, and do a few other routine maintenance things, we set sail around the 21st weather permitting, for the Portuguese Island of Madeira about 600 miles out in the Atlantic.
Today's picture is of Cris standing in front of the old homestead in Spain (now tell me, don't you all agree that the Beauty Parlor visit is totally unnecessary?)
Today finds us in Fuentarabia/Hondarrabia Spain. The place was named Fuentarabia when Cris lived here. It was a little fishing village with few tourists. It is located adjacent to France on the Bay of Biscay. When the Basques managed to gain influence here apparently they felt it needed to be renamed something more "Basque'y" sounding so there you are, now the official name is Hondarrabia. It is 8:30 am and I am up checking email and waiting for room service to bring breakfast (included in the room price). We are inside the old walled part of the city at a hotel that was converted from being a long ago Bishop's home (that begs the question as to why he needed a home with so many bedrooms, what with supposedly being celibate, hmmm?) Anyway it is a massive 5 story stone edifice that has been done up very nicely.
The autostrada, highway, expressway, whatever you want to call them are excellent in Spain. We covered over 1100 km in a matter of 12 hours including stops for food coffee and fuel. Not to mention not seeing so much as one policeman except where a truck had broken down. I suppose it is a little crazy to drive so far for a one or two day visit, but since we had to accelerate our schedule to get to the Canaries on time and missed out on touring Italy and some of Spain that Cris wanted to tour, there had to be some compensation for her as she was an extremely good sport about the disappointments. So now she has seen her house from 40+ years ago, still there, still charming and well kept. The town however must have been watered very regularly as it has grown and grown, the one airplane a week airport is now a bustling International destination, and what used to be fields between downtown and there is now just more housing, the beach that was once large and sort of lightly populated is much smaller and in its place is a huge marina and adjacent facilities. So, that old line "you can never go home again" once again proves true, after so much time "home" has changed so much that it isn't really home anymore.
Today we will tour a bit, Cris will visit the Beauty Shop (not that I think she needs it but we do have a difference of opinion on that subject), go to the Basque section for a Basque dinner (whatever that might consist of, I've never heard of "Basque Cuisine"), and on the morning of the 15th head on back down the road a piece to the boat, home sweet boat. Then with Elle having joined us, a few days to change the oil, buy food and water, and do a few other routine maintenance things, we set sail around the 21st weather permitting, for the Portuguese Island of Madeira about 600 miles out in the Atlantic.
Today's picture is of Cris standing in front of the old homestead in Spain (now tell me, don't you all agree that the Beauty Parlor visit is totally unnecessary?)
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