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Nomadic November

November - December 2023
Yoga and sailing, breathing and being! Read more
  • 45footprints
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  • 46days
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  • TravelerNomadic November
    Day 46

    Canadian Soil

    December 16, 2023 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 1 °C

    Long long day! Flight from Toronto to Montreal landed at 1am and then we were kicked out of YUL arrivals from 2 - 3:30 (after just falling asleep on a quiet bench). I resigned to loud, bright lights and no sleep as the clock ticked on. At 3:45 I headed back thru security and waited till 4:15 to enter the Air Canada lounge. I sat at a table, did a little work, ate beans and eggs (twice) and filled myself with three large coffees. Then headed to my gate and boarded for the final leg. It was nice as there is only one seat per row and 1A was all mine.
    Dad picked me up and we spoke about the car for awhile. Quick hello to Wavey and in my way home. The house was barely clean and will need a good scrub down, the plants a good soak. I opened mail, took a call from SJTC and decided to put my tree up. After, a short walk with Manju to visit Sheila so I could stay awake until 8pm. Once back home I laid on the coach to admire the tree and was asleep in moments. I awoke after midnight to a sweet message from Brian, and made my way to my own bed for a full nights sleep (no Dracula tonight :-().
    Signing off till the next adventure in 2024!    Read more

  • TravelerNomadic November
    Day 45

    V.C. Bird International

    December 15, 2023 in Antigua and Barbuda ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    Strange to sleep in a real bed and take a shower with lots of space. The hotel was old and the equivalent of a Super 6….($173US). We woke early and went to the hotel breakfast at 7am. We watched the cruise ships come in and then decided to walk around. We crossed the street and I took a detour to Zemi art gallery (and found Warri seeds). The owner (Stephen Murphy) had lived in Canada for 25 years and had dual citizenship. Back to find Brian and we walked to the church and around the town, stopping a few times for water. We went back to Zemi and I bought a Christmas ornament (well something he drilled to make into an ornament) and then we went back to the hotel until checkout at noon.
    Back to the car, only to find a parking ticket and then off to Friar Hill Road again…. to Woods Mall. I asked about the cost of a mammogram and then need past images (which I’ll collect when home). Then to Bella Cafe again, to enjoy another smoothie and lunch. We went to Epicuriean Grocery store and found they had lots of gluten free food. They were playing Mary Did You Know (mom’s favourite Christmas carol) and many other tunes. It was the first time I heard carols and it brought tears or happy and sad!
    Then to the airport as flight wasn’t cancelled, Brian came in and I went to the bathroom to change, only to realize that the pants Ashlynn had sewn…. Was done wrong. I found my yoga pants, said a sad goodbye and headed to security. I purchased some fish tacos as I figured I wouldn’t eat till tomorrow again. On the plane now, finishing my writing as my trip concludes, and hoping that Ashlynn is having a wonderful time at the ballet with Hugo.
    I’ll sleep at the airport tonight and catch my flight in the morning.    Read more

  • TravelerNomadic November
    Day 44

    Titi

    December 14, 2023 in Antigua and Barbuda ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Had our regular morning and after I wrote, I asked Brian to drawn in my journal, the image that I see every morning. He happily complied as I finished packing and left a few notes around the boat.
    Many things have been left behind for my return back in January, but my back packed I left Lorena for the last time in 2023. We estimated that I spent 40% of the last 5 months on the boat.
    We picked up a car from Titi car rental that we had reserved. a few days earlier. It was Brian’s first time driving in the opposite side of the road (and he barely drives, having lived in NYC most of his life). He grazed the side mirror and was tense for awhile as we drove to St John’s but slowly started to relax. First we went to the optician to get new lenses for his frames (he will get them in 2-4weeks), then to the Doctor Bowen where we had to wait for 1.5hrs. Brian got yearly bloodwork and physical and everything looks good …. His weight loss is a mystery…. Likely stress from the many changes he’s experienced.
    While at the Doctors my flight was cancelled…. He had an appointment with the dentist across the street and I called Ashlynn and tried to figure out what to do.
    We went to Bella Cafe to try and figure it out. Brian called the rental car place and extended his contract, he then decided to go downtown to the bookstore. He bought King Lear, Midsummer Nights Dream, Frankinstien, The O and another book. Then we saw Birkenstocks — he has hated my falling apart sandals and bought me another pair (Merry Christmas) along with ones for himself. Then we headed to Heritage Hotel (only one of two hotels in St Johns) and booked a room for a night. This is the first time in 10 months Brian has been off the boat overnight.
    We headed to Hemmingways, just around the corner for a wonderful meal. I had the traditional meal (ducala - sweet potato and coconut roll) and salted fish. Brian had goat curry. We then headed back to the hotel, read a bit from each book and went to bed.    Read more

  • TravelerNomadic November
    Day 43

    Shirley Heights

    December 13, 2023 in Antigua and Barbuda ⋅ 🌬 27 °C

    On our full day we decided that we would hike to Shirley Heights. Isabelle can by and this time be had a gf quiche so we had that and Brian’s croissants, along with the papaya, passion fruit and banana yogurt and granola breakfast. Power up before the hike.
    We sunscreened up, packed some food and water and set out! It was about 8km all together and lots of fun chatting, exploring, and taking some photos. Brian did a pastel of a photo he took in Guadeloupe yesterday, so perhaps he will do a few more from photos.
    We walked the road up but a trail on the way down (where I discover land crabs), then a nice walk on Galiean Beach and back up to meet the road (with a brief stop for me in a gift shop (clean the beach youth NGO) and then to meet up with Brian as he walked towards Nelson’s to check on the sails.
    We went to A&F and the sails were ready but Franklin wasn’t back so we settled ourselves at a cafe with our regular drink orders — flat water for me and bubbly for Brian.
    Once he paid for the sails we got a drive to the AYC, got the sails loaded onto the tender and back up onto Lorena. It was blowing pretty hard so we decided not to put them up, but lashed them to the deck.
    Brian washed his feet of the sand and I spontaneously decided to dive in the water. My last swim. We did our 3 laps, took a shower on the transom and then went about preparing a salmon dinner…… while cooking Brian played guitar, and a smile emerged across my face as I realized it was Christmas music. So beautiful— he played his Canadian Christmas CD while we ate and then I finished packing for the morning departure.    Read more

  • TravelerNomadic November
    Day 42

    Hiking

    December 12, 2023 in Antigua and Barbuda ⋅ 🌬 28 °C

    The Royal Clipper anchored close by early in the morning as we were sipping coffee and writing — a beautiful sight! Brian worked on the pastel he had done the day before while I worked. It rained hard at n the morning…. Each day it rains 3-4 times for about 20 minutes. It is always a challenge at night as airflow helps the boat stay cooler but rain often prevents it.
    We needed to go into town to get gas for the tender, and drop off the sails to Franklin. I bought more bananas and passion fruit and the stand across from the gas station.
    We then went to Nelson’s and had a coffee, OJ and split an omelette. I wanted to go see a part of Nelson’s from the signage at the front, so we hiked up…. And then decided to do the entire hike across the crest that took us down to Pigeon Cove / Beach. Back to the boat for salad and sea bass….it has been exciting to have salad again!! Maria invited us to watch Nicholas swearing in at the TOT club (Royal Antigua run club), but we declined as the winds were really strong and we wanted to relax.
    Tough to reconcile that tomorrow is my last fun day on the boat!    Read more

  • TravelerNomadic November
    Day 41

    Yoga

    December 11, 2023 in Antigua and Barbuda ⋅ 🌬 28 °C

    Isabelle from La Brassarie come by the boat most mornings and Brian enjoys a croissant or three. He could eat all day, anything he wants and still not gain a pound! Luck for me, there is no Gluten Free to tempt me.
    Did some work in the morning (call with Lise at SJTC and Lisa about FTHS). Then we went for a swim at noon. I am still working on my diving. I’ve moved from the transom to the side of the boat, but haven’t got the guts for the topside yet.
    In the afternoon, we headed to the Yacht Club where Maria had reserved to do her Less Mills yearly yoga training. We did the workshop but had trouble with getting the Master Class to stream properly. Cindy (Steve) and Alex (Andy) were also with us. Brian had left to do a pastel at Nelson’s Dockyard and came back to work on it as we tried to do the class. Eventually we gave up. We had to get back to the boat and grab a bite to eat before I did another FTHS volunteer orientation.
    The winds have been strong all week and have prevented us from taking down the stay sail and Genoa, but there was a calm at sunset as we arrived back to the boat, so we made haste and decided to take down both sails to get fixed. It was still a challenge but we happily managed.
    It was a great day that was balanced with 4-5 hours of work and equal amount of play! I haven’t done yoga at all during my time on the boat and it felt good to practice.    Read more

  • TravelerNomadic November
    Day 40

    Laundry Time

    December 10, 2023 in Antigua and Barbuda ⋅ 🌬 28 °C

    Up to a beautiful sunrise. Unfortunately, Brian had a rough sleep with nightmares and a sleeping pill….. so he felt groggy, tired and off all day. I must say that I am really enjoying the early to rise and early to bed. Waking at dawn…. And sitting with my thoughts in silence, while sipping coffee (beside Brian) for an hour or more…. is so peaceful! We decided to gather all our laundry and head into Falmouth for a few hours. We dropped two big loads for wash only and it would be ready by 1pm. We went to the gas station and beside it was a fresh fruit place where we stocked up, and then to a little stand for passion fruit, bananas, sorrel (a dried flower that is only available from Nov- Jan and tastes like sour candy) and coffee. Brian did a little search (he calls them peewees). We also had a taste of Sugar Apple.
    We then when to Budget Marine (on our way to Gennie’s another grocery store that is supposed to be cheaper but wasn’t open). It was a long walk, but pretty. We brought the new gas tank and produce back to the tender and Brian tried to switch the tanks, but didn’t have a funnel.
    We headed to Covenant Garden grocery store — they seemed to have alot more this time, including GF bread and Greek yogurt. Back to get the laundry and then to dry it on the boat. We forgot to get extra clothes pin, so we had to be creative (using lines) to hang all the clothes. Once we got back, Tess and Hartmult invited us for lunch. I started to make French Toast (excited about the GF bread) and Nicholas and Marie invited us over. I had a conference call at 4pm (FTHS volunteer orientation) so it was an intense discussion about what to do…. I finished making the toast and we headed to Blue Magic for a quick visit. After my call we went to Cappy’s for a drink with Brian’s German friends. Finding the boat in the dark is always fun, but Brian seems to intuitively know where she is.
    We gathered the rest of the clothing on the boat, made the bed and put away clothing before sleep.    Read more

  • TravelerNomadic November
    Day 39

    Sushi and Dancing

    December 9, 2023 in Antigua and Barbuda ⋅ 🌬 28 °C

    Today we started to prepare for what we anticipated to be a nasty trip, instead ….. a lot of fun! The winds were steady at 20-24knots but we only used the stay sail and with it zipped along at 7-8knots. It was only a 10-12mile trek so we arrived quickly.
    We again had difficulty anchoring, although only tried once, we slid back 1000ft over the course of the afternoon. Eventually, we let out another 100ft and seemed to have set the anchor (mantis/ plow).
    When we arrived, we noticed that we were beside Always (Tim Sanders) who had Ilse aboard. She was Brian’s crew for the delivery and he was hopping to see her. They were leaving for Jolly Harbour and then Panama. She filmed us but didn’t say much…. Brian later learned that they are headed to Australia together— might be a tough passage for someone who gets seasick.
    I did some work, called Leanne to chat and listened to Brian play guitar. We then headed to AYC to try Sushi again (it was great) and have some fun dancing untill the floor became too crowded with people (including Jill, who we meant the first time) and smokers. Back to the boat to relax for the rest of the evening.    Read more

  • TravelerNomadic November
    Day 38

    Duck Fat

    December 8, 2023 in Antigua and Barbuda ⋅ 🌬 28 °C

    Lots of boats in this little cove, so always the fear of sliding or anchor dragging. We set the alarm and all was well through the night. We watched a wedding on shore last night, which was fun, with lots of music filling the air.
    Today, after our sacred time of coffee and quiet writing, we started on work and chores. Brian finished his pastel — he usually does it, sets it on the captains chair or fireplace mantle, and observe it for awhile, then gets the pastels colors out to tweak it.
    Brian set about cleaning the duck fat off the grill and the side of the boat (it had splattered everywhere). He also took fibreglass and covered the Rutgerson so it stay secure and not pop the top cover.
    I worked most of the day, but took time out for a swim and to watch rainbows. We went to shore (as I just wanted to se the clear water on the other side) and walked around for 5 min before heading back to the boat. Lots of kite surfers here and they launch from this spot or their boat…. Fun to watch.
    We looked at the weather and realized that winds would be getting stronger and swells larger. We reached out to a few sailors as we didn’t want to get stuck there…. And decided we would leave in the morning.    Read more

  • TravelerNomadic November
    Day 37

    Non Such Bay

    December 7, 2023 in Antigua and Barbuda ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    AND BACK….. We didn’t make it to the pink beaches, but did decided to jump in for a few laps around the boat before heading back towards Antigua. We sailed with a reef so not to use the bottom batten as the epoxy was still tacky.
    While in route we passed Nikki and Barry (who briefly dropped on the way to take their dog to shore last night) and I also chatted with Ashlynn (and Vinnie) about what to do to celebrate Christmas — we talked about Bota Bota but ended up deciding on the Nut Cracker ballet.
    We arrived back to Green Island and decided to explore Non Such Bay, before settling on anchor on the west side of Green Island. We launched the dinghy, and reluctantly I stayed on the boat to work while Brian went to do a Pastel.
    Steve and Dawn (catamaran named Pilar — pronounced P-lair) who were behind us, and whom we had met in Jewel, decided to re-anchor. I invited them to drop by later, they messaged Brian to decline.
    We bravely decided to try and bbq the duck. I had found a recipe to bake it with the cranberry sauce, but Brian didn’t want the smell in the boat. Google said the BBQ on low heat for and hour…… they were burnt little breasts by the end, but once we scraped the char off, still edible albeit over cooked. Brian’s poor new grill (which he tries to clean after each use, is a disaster).    Read more

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