A rollie-pollie night and sea-legs!

We anchored in a somewhat protected spot off of Estapona, Spain.  The water LOOKED flat, but appearances can be decieving.  That calm water brought in groups of 1-2 foot rolling ripples.  They looked like nothing, but the boat rocked from side to side all night.  And waves come in sets, as you probably have heard.  Flat calm for 15 seconds or so, then rock/boom/ rock/boom rock/boom.  Just when you're about asleep.  

Finally I did fall asleep just after sunset, which is at about 10.  It was fitful.  Then promptly at mid-night, fireworks.   The Spanish seem to have more stamina in the middle of the night than at any other time of day.  The streets were crowded with cheering crowds watching the fireworks.  Kids, babies, families.  Our kids slept through it.  I went back to 'sleep'.

We are on shore for an hour or so today, just to check email and get a few supplies before taking off for a 3-4 day passage to the Baleric islands (Majorca, Minorca, etc). Now on land, we feel sick and dizzy.   Once we get to the Balerics, we expect to have warm waters and more time in one place.  And calmer anchorages!!

I have been keeping up with work.  I love having the connection to 'the world', which I miss dearly sometimes and other times wonder why I was so attached.  Aethan misses his friends a lot and could use an email (send to whitleyjl@yahoo.com) or to his webpage. 

Hope all is well with you.  Ciao!

07 July: Gibraltar

We arrived in Gibraltar a day earlier than expected.  We were going to stay the day in Tarifa, but when we got there, wind was gusting to 20 knots, and there was a lot of boat and ferry traffic in and out of the harbor.  With no marinas, we stayed on the anchor.   Lots of wind and a lot of waves, and even though our anchor was holding fast, it is just unnerving.  We had planned to blow up the dinghy, explore the town, and maybe even take a day trip to Morocco.  I had a gut feeling that we were better off just staying the night and leaving in the morning for Gibraltar. The boat stayed firmly anchored all night; I didnt feel up to trusting it for another day.  Tarifa would have been fun to explore, and I feel like we missed out (at least this time) on Morocco, but I could not have ejoyed Morocco while I was worried that the boat would be slip sliding away on our anchor. 

So, the jury is still out on Gibraltar.  Love that they are an English outpost with fish and chips, monkeys, pounds and pence.  Just speaking English makes life so much easier.  We will explore island more tomorrow...today was about getting settled in.  However, it is very developed and certainly does not have that mediterrean quaintness and friendlieness.  In fact, people here are a bit brusk.  Maybe it seems that way because we know what they are saying?

Kids are growing and maturing already.  Independence is growing day by day.  Very cool to see.  Especially with the boys doing the family laundry (so cute) and the dishes.  It is very big.

Wish I had more time to really write, but more soon.

Not quite tourists...exactly

Tourists come to new places and stay in comfy hotels, eat in upscale restaurants, and see the sights.  They are observers, but do not deviate far from their own customs and routines.  Locals, on the other hand, live their lives with routine and familiarity.  We are somewhere in between those worlds.  

Marinas are generally found on the outskirts of town, sometimes near industrial ports, and off the beaten path.  Oh, god, how my feet hurt!!  We walk to town each day, but eat at 'home' as much as we can.  We are in constant search for wifi to help keep up with responsibilites of working, cooking, shopping for groceries and lifes necessities. 

Grocery shopping/provisioning.  It is a treat and a challenge, but also frustrating and baffleing.  As I expected, beautiful fresh produce, meats and cheeses are in the 'mercado'.   Everything else is in the SUPERmercado.  Among all this freshness, milk comes in those perma-fresh unrefrigerated boxes (hello...I would like some fresh milk please!!) and there is a limited selection of spices (your basic oregano, basil, cumin).  Fortunately, bread and pastries are ubiquitous...ah, sweet heaven!!  I dont know if Europeans are into unprocessed foods.  I will see a wheatberry or a box of Kashi before we return.  The price and availability of cosmetics are high.  Loreal and other drugstore brands are really expensive and appear to be high end.   My beloved Clarins products even more expensive here than in Wheaton Mall.  Aveda?  No.  Foods like Organic Tempeh?  Fugettaboutit.

Yeah yeah yeah, it is a different culture.  I am amazed at how I have become so dependent on the everyday guideposts of branding.  I NEED WholeFoods to show me the way to organic soy sauce and local veggies.  I trust branding to assure me I am eating pure, wholesome, healthy foods.  At home, I wistfully yearned to buy our milk from the local creamery (but it is too fr-king expensive) but how nice it would be to provide my family with the most wholesome farm-fresh milk one can imagine.    Here there are no such guideposts.  Instead, one buys freshly filleted fish, chicken or beef at the market while-you-wait.  Fresh baked barras (baguettes).  Amazing fruit.  But here, it is just ordinary food.  It is all beautiful, but where does it fit in the US marketing backdrop? There's no one to show me the way, or to give me the validation I seem to desire.  I dont know whether the fish was farm raised, local, or caught on a hook.  It is just fish.  I dont know if it is a mackeral or a cod.  I dont know whether I feel better or worse about what is going in my body and what I am feeding my family.  I feel upside down.

Oh well. Kids are still eating hot dogs.  Hamburgers.  PB & J.  At least those are universal.  FOr the most part, kids eat junk, be it natural, organic,  locally grown or Oscar Meier. 

Even if the majority of my groceries are from Safeway, I just take comfort in knowing that overpriced commerically organic foods are just a short drive away in my Volvo XC.  I suppose I will have to either unwind from the marketing or educate the European masses.  The former seems more likely than the latter.   

July 3, I think

I can honestly say that I have already lost track of the days.  I was surpized to hear that yesterday was the 2nd.  I had no idea whether it is a Saturday, Tuesday, or 2nd Wednesday after the full moon.  My watch uncerimoniously stopped working two days after we arrived in Lisbon, so now I have no idea what time of the day it is, either.  This is going to make tracking my hours for work challenging.

We sailed here to Cadiz arriving yesterday on a two-day sail (that includes night sailing, too).  I can honestly say that I really dont like night watch duty - which is only needed when we are passagemaking - not when we're in port or anchored.  We break it up into 2 to 3 hour shifts starting at 8 pm: 8 pm to 10; 10-1; 1-4 (that is absolutely the worst - but Code readily takes it on); and 4-7 am.  During night watch,  I read, do needlepoint (have a headlamp), do some yoga, and take 5 minute cat-naps after scanning for boats or obstacles.  It is chilly and wet (with the dew), very dark, and I find it creepy.  There is no depth perception, so far away looks near, and a crabpot buoy will appear out of nowhere. Sometimes we'll pass a school of fish that will start jumping around the boat.  It is easy to semi-hallucinate in that sleepy state, so I think that I hear Code's voice, or swear I see boats that arent there.  Just being out in the water without any sense of orientation (except for radar, GPS, and the compass) is enough to make the mind a little loopy.  It makes me very grateful when the sun comes up.

I am still working on both the OGAC (pediatric HIV) and BioMarin projects.  I use wifi when I can and work off line most of the time.  I like the sense of stability it provides, and it is great excuse to sit in a park or a square alone for a while.  I do get anxious if there is too many days between wifi connections, though.

I have already started a list of things I wish I had, most of all a portable handvac (like a dust devil).  There is always something stuck in the nooks and crannies that I have to brush out.  The handvac would be awesome.  Also, since our microwave does not seem to like the EU electrical system, I wish I had an alternative to using the stove (gas).  I think we might get a small toaster oven just so I do not have to use up tons of propane for cooking.  Lastly, I wish I had my glue gun.  What was I thinking, not bringing it?  There are some things I brought that I do not need- not yet, at least. I really dont need my hairdryer, although I might at some point appreciate it when it is too chilly to let my hair just dry naturally.  The other thing is that we brought hanging shelving.  I dont know why that seemed like a good idea at the time, as we really want to avoid putting holes in the boat to hang them. The 2 gallon water jug seems useless, too, since it is easier to use the sink (although the cold water is not any colder than the ambient temperature).  Our plan was to have it on deck, but going below isnt a big deal.

Overall, I am happy with what I brought.  Seven bathing suits is about the right number.  And of course, I have used and am happy that I have all 5 pairs of shoes I brought (two pairs of sandals, a pair of running shoes, a pair of Keens, and a pair of regular old mary-jane flats).  I have had occasion to wear each pair.  Of course the kids were flip flops most of the time, but they do have tevas and a pair of sneakers.  What we didnt bring, we can either live without or purchase here.

30 June: Sines for the day

We are in the fishing village of Sines (I think it pronounced Sheen-esh).  I went to the grocer today, but still have to go to another market to get fresh meat, fish, and produce.  IT is an old fishing town, but it has a nice Library, which is where I am now.  I like it better than Lisbon, which was very nice and interesting, but small is easier to manage.  Less overwhelming, I guess.

It is bright and sunny today, as I think it is most days.  Kids are on the beach with Code.  It is nice to spend so much relaxing time with him.  He can finally just relax and rest for a while.  

We did a long boat ride yesterday and the seas were quite lumpy.  Everyone got sick, except me.  I just felt a little green.  We took some medicine and it helped us all, but we slept the whole day.

Tonight we go to a place called Faro to spend a few days.  We do not expect to find internet access, but you never know.  After that, we will go to Cadiz , our first stop in Spain.  It is a bigger town, and will have all the accoutrements needed. 

We will do our first night passage after dinner.  We will go foar about 24 hours of sailing.  Fortunatley we did find the seasick meds yesterday afternoon.  I also said ´the hell with it´and gave the kids 1/2 patches of scopolamine...even if it is not approved for kids, it has to be better than watching them puke.  They both hung in there like champs. 

It is amazing how much one sleeps on the boat (OK, maybe it was the meds).  I had 2 two hour naps.  Then a full nights sleep. 

Yes, I am drinking the wine (moderately).  How can you not when an amazing bottle of red is $3-4?  I will have to detox again when I get home...