Wow! It has been a long time since I posted something here. I use the blogspot blog much more.
Chris & I were invited to crew with our friends on Carinthia during "summer vacation" so after we put Faith on the hard and returned to Portland for a bit of catching up with family & friends, off we flew to Papeete, Tahiti. When we arrived we were constantly pinching ourselves and saying things like, "Can you believe we're in TAHITI?". From Tahiti we sailed to Moorea, Huahini, Taha'a, Bora Bora and Suwarrow (in the Northern Cook Islands)...where we were married! Suwarrow is a lovely, uninhabited island that truly embodies Paradise. This is the island (actually an atoll) where Tom Neale spent many years and wrote about in "An Island to Oneself". The island is still uninhabited except during the non-cyclone season when a Park Ranger (John) and his wife (Veronicka) and children are there. The perfect place for a wedding on the beach at sunset! There were about 75 cruisers in attendance (25 boats) from all over the world and that international community made it all truly magical. After leaving Suwarrow, we sailed to Western Samoa (we were in Apia about 3 weeks before the tsunami hit) and then on to Vava'u. It was a lovely trip and Chris & I flew to Tongatapu and then Fiji before returning to the States. We had both dreamed of cruising in the South Pacific for years & years so this was truly a wonderful opportunity. Now we have a lot better idea about what it is like and whether we want to take Faith there in the future.
We have purchased a very nice little travel trailer for our "summer cottage". It is a 2005 27' Wildwood with a slide out and is perfect for two gypsy types.
Now we are driving south to the sun again. It is pretty chilly for a couple of sun worshipers and, besides, we are anxious to get back to San Carlos to see if there are any "ick issues" due to Hurricane Jimena. We do know that there was water inside the boat (which Marina Seca happily pumped out) but don't know if there was 1/2" or 2 ft so don't know if there was any damage that we'll have to repair. We're anxious to get back to sailing the beautiful Mexican waters on our sweet boat but in preparation for that are determined to take our time on this road trip and begin the transition back to the world of no schedules and no hurry.
Manana land here we come!