Recap...FRANCE!

We had an epic journey to France to pick up Katreina! It was my first time back in the country since I was in high school (and that's been a hot minute!), and Frank and Trent's first trip to France. We were also joined by Grandma Sue who was on her second trip there. 

The main purpose of the trip was to get Katreina and meet her family so we spent a few days in Tours to do just that! I really like the town and can see why K was so happy there with her amazing host family. We visited her school and favorite stores, began our diet of fresh croissants, and walked miles along the streets with their charming mix of old and new buildings. While we were in town, we explored a few nearby sites of the Loire Valley--Chateau Villandry and Chateau du Clos Luce--but most of all just enjoyed staring at the face we haven't seen in person for 10 months.

So happy to see our French student!

Tours was a beautiful city!

Chateaux Villandry and its beautiful gardens.

Chateaux du Clos Lucé, final home of Leonardo da Vinci.

The five of us piled into our rental car, left the Loire Valley, and headed south toward the Dordogne River Valley. Along the way we stopped at the Village des Martyrs in Oradour-Sur-Glane to witness the horrors the Nazis inflicted on this country village on June 10, 1944. We spent a few days in the Dordogne exploring prehistoric art in the Cro-Magnon caves and enjoying the old town of Sarlat-la-Canéda. We visited Lascaux IV, Grotte de Rouffignac, and Grotte de Font-de-Guame, which was a real treat as only 78 respiring humans are allowed in each day and we somehow secured same-day entry. This region has much more for us to explore in the future!

"Remember" Oradour-Sur-Glane

Cro-Magnon Caves!

Sarlat-le-Canéda was such a great little town!

We spent a few days on the Brittany (Bretagne)/Normandy border in the cutest little carriage house as our base for a journey to the Mont-Saint-Michel Abbey, great dining on the Bretagne coast in Cherrueix, and a visit to the fortress port city of Saint-Malo. It was so cool watching the fisherman drive tractors out onto the sand at low tide to harvest mussels, clams, and oysters along this coast and the seafood was delicious!

Mont-Saint-Michel was unreal!

The Bretagne Coast and out cute neighbors at our AirBnB!

And we finished our trip in Normandy. As Trent is really into WWII history we stayed in Bayeux for a few days so that we could take our time and visit the historic locations. We visited the village of Ste-Mere Elise, Utah Beach, Pointe Du Hoc, the WWII Normandy American Cemetery, Longues-Sur-Mer Gun Battery, Omaha Beach, Port Winston artificial harbour, and the Battle Normandy Museum to learn about Allied and German planning and execution of D-Day and the war that continued afterward. Driving across Normandy really gave me a better appreciation of the geography (and the spread of our airborne forces). While the landing beaches are of great significance to the history of D-Day, on a hot weekend in June they were crowded with happy families enjoying the cool water--it was nice to see that such carnage could be replaced with joy. While in Bayeux we also checked out the Bayeux Tapestry which details William the Conqueror's rise from duke of Normandy to kind of England (and does so with some pretty graphic needlework in some spots!) over 70 yards of stitched scenes that were completed so the illiterate masses would know the story.

Ste-Mere-Elise, Utah Beach, and Pointe Du Hoc

Port Winston, Longues-Sur-Mer Gun Battery, the WWII Normandy American Cemetery, and Omaha Beach. These days were so moving and educational!

Bayeux was a beautiful village and we were able to eat a really good meal out!

We wound down our trip in the port city of Honfleur for no better reason than it looked like a cool, walkable port town with lots of good restaurants. Our group split up some for the day, but came together for one last wonderful dinner.

LOVED this little port village! As a sailor, it was great to be back near the water.

Driving in France wasn't so bad, even with our midsize car. They drive on the right, they love roundabouts (and as a former New Englander I was cool with that), and people actually only drive in the left lane to pass! Brilliant! Highways were easy, but narrow roads in some small towns were a little exciting! Parking in the cities and old town areas was tight, but we managed. The only real challenge was the stupid "AdBlue" emissions additive that we apparently were low on from the minute we got the rental. After some fabulous translation by K and the purchase of 10L of AdBlue and two funnels, we were good-to-go and wouldn't have the car shut down on us for the rest of the trip! (It's an EU diesel thing--you've been warned.)

We had one unplanned adventure on the trip--COVID. It got us all early on and while it definitely impacted the amount of time I spent at cafe tables sipping French wine, I am thankful that we all had only a day or two of minor symptoms and had nice, roomy AirBnBs to quarantine in. We were able to limit our contact with others, lay low, and make decent meals (and the grocery had great 3 euro wine!). Since most of our plans had us outdoors anyway, we only had to cancel a winery tour and tasting and we had plenty of flexibility in our trip to adjust. 

Yep, it got us. But at least our symptoms were mild and our quarantine spot was lovely!

~Jo, 1st Mate (or is it Lead Travel Agent???)

Why Lake Worth just works for us

Lake Worth (West Palm Beach), FL has just "worked" for us coming and going to the Bahamas over the years. It's pretty much the northernmost "easy" crossing point and has been an easy place for us to do last-minute provisioning and COVID requirements. The inlet is easy to navigate day or night (ok, maybe not on sunny weekend afternoon with all the small boats!) and I also like the option to dinghy over to Peanut Island for some exercise.

Trent & I were pretty excited to see the bottom!

There are many anchoring options from North Palm Beach to West Palm Beach. Perhaps the biggest challenge is where to get fuel and pump out. We emptied our holding tank while we were offshore so we didn't have to worry about that, even with an extended stay on the hook. Fuel was a little harder as one of the main fuel docks in the area is currently shut down, but we hit one we were familiar with in North Palm Beach to top up. Dinghy landing spots run from $16 for a few hours in Riviera Beach to free under a bridge or at the West Palm Beach Public Dock (locks are recommended at those), or the Palm Beach Sailing Club (PBSC) lets transients tie up and use their showers/trash/parking/wifi for $20/day when they have space. We were lucky and got in with PBSC before they had to close it down as the dock was FULL! It's a great place to get mail, tie up safely, and meet other cruisers.

We rented a car for three days and could have Uber'd to the rental place, but there is actually a local bus that got me there for $2. We picked up a big birthday present, propane, COVID vaccine boosters, and LOTS of provisions while we had the car. We also hit Walgreens for a drive-through COVID test--that was SUPER easy and we had our results in less than 2 hours. We also hit downtown WPB for some great happy hour dinners (Crazy sushi deals and all-you-can-eat tacos? Yes, please!) while we had the car! Returning the car was just as easy with another bus ride back.

A stupid amount of food and booze; we got shot up; momma got mail!

PBSC is walking distance to a drug store, bank, really good taco truck, and a few local laundromats that aren't fancy, but they work. There are also a few Latin grocers that had plenty of good fresh food for our taste. A little further walk or a bus ride gets you to a big marine chandlery. And it’s a short dinghy ride to Peanut Island.

Heading to the laundry that is next to Dani Market (an awesome Latin grocer!); Trent stylin' for a walk around Peanut Island with another cruising family. 

We started to make plans for a departure and were happy to have old friends on S/V Pleiades anchor nearby. Trent loved reconnecting with friends so we made the decision to celebrate his birthday a little early so we could ensure he celebrated with friends and that we had help eating a big cake! We also met some other cruisers on S/V Northern Light that were about to celebrate a birthday, so...party on S/V Lehe Paine! It was so great to celebrate with a crowd, especially as we had all knocked out COVID tests!

Birthdays are so much better with friends! We celebrated Trent and Rob with a chocolate-peanut butter swirl cake and "COVID-safe" candle ops; Trent got his new Xbox!

As we looked at weather windows we realized we needed another COVID test to meet the Bahamas timing requirements. Without a car this got a little more complicated, but not too bad. We went with a free option at a CVS testing center that wasn't a drive-through. We could reach it by bus so we made a day out of it, hitting Game Stop to sell some old games and Target for, well, Target as we were out.  

Between Uber, Lyft, the bus, and rental cars, this place is just easy. And it works for us!

Impressions of Athens and some tips for Greece

While I’ve been in Greece for two and a half weeks, I’ve spent the majority of my time in and around Athens. I know there is so much more to discover here, but I’m saving that for a non-solo trip! So while I can’t speak to all of Greece, here are some bits from my time in Athens.

The room.

I like staying in AirBnB’s over hotels for most trips, especially a long one like this. Normally I would figure out a good neighborhood to stay in, then look for a place, but I locked in on this one early in my initial search around Athens due to its nice price and great reviews. After a little research into the neighborhood I decided to go for it and I definitely made a good choice! My apartment is in the Kolonaki neighborhood which is known for its posh shops and great dining. It’s also where many foreign embassies (including the U.S. one) and universities are. And what really sold me—I am surrounded by green! There is a small park right outside my gate, but I am also steps away from trails that wind up Mount Lycabettus. Add in the easy access to transit and this place fits me like Cinderella’s slipper. It’s a nice 1-bedroom with a garden patio, kitchen, fantastic shower, super cozy bed, and a washer. I am minutes away from coffee, bakeries, souvlaki, the grocer, fine dining…everything. And I feel safe here which is kind of important when traveling solo. 

That blue flag is my Athens home in Kolonaki! 

Sunset from Mount Lycabettus on my first night in Greece...I picked a GREAT place to stay!

Getting around.

I made my way around Athens mostly via metro, bus also via bus, tram, and ferry. All were foreigner-friendly, pretty clean, and reliable (except for one bus breakdown!). A lot of this infrastructure came about when they hosted the Olympics and seems to have been maintained well. In my time here, I’ve spent just under 45€ on getting around town the entire time, and that includes my 18€ to get to/from the airport on the metro (there is also an express airport bus that saves a few €, but I like the metro!). The pass I used afforded me unlimited rides across the transit system, so I didn’t really think about it much. I also spent 23€ on a fast ferry ticket to Aegina Island and 3.60€ on island busses while on the island. There are tons of taxis, but I didn’t use them as there just wasn't a need. Scooters and motorcycles rule the roads here—I was tempted to ask someone to zip me around town on the back of one, but figured that would be frowned upon by the hubs. Oh, and this isn’t the place to be glancing at your phone while trying to cross the road, even if it is “green” for pedestrians—cars want to turn and will, right along your thigh if they can! Also, when Google Maps says a walking route is "mostly flat" it's a lie--there are hills everywhere unless you're just walking straight down Kallirrois Street. I should have buns of steel after this trip (sadly, I left with buns of feta and spanakopita instead).

Ferries, trams, metro trains, busses, and my own two feet--it's easy to get around Athens!

So what are some things I learned about?

• Language--It's literally all Greek! A solid background in mathematics helped me with reading a bit, but the fact that the majority of the people around Athens, especially those with businesses, speak English to some degree really made my lack of fluency in Greek a non-issue.
• Toilets--Do not flush paper! The pipes are really old and narrow and just can't handle it. There is always a little bin right by the toilet for any paper to go in. Don't be grossed out—it's completely normal. We saw this in Central and South America as well, and it's even a practice here on Lehe Paine in the composting head for the ladies. 
• Are Greeks loud? You know, like in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding?" Maybe! But what that movie really got right was the food culture. Dining is a big, social, sharing event. This actually challenged me a little as a solo traveler as some places didn't have a lot of small plates so I had to order conservatively rather than getting the three or four things I really wanted. But it was so common for dinners to last hours (and start at 2100!) with people just sharing a bunch of dishes. I loved seeing that and can't wait to travel with my peeps so we can eat all the food together! And lots of places bring a shot of liquor and some sweets at the end of the meal and you won’t see it on your bill. 

There may have to be a post dedicated to this amazing food!

• While I'm on food...coffee. Greeks love their coffee! In my neighborhood there was one block with four cafes in a row, all packed and all serving up yummy pastries and coffee to clientele that would take away to work or linger in seats on the sidewalk for an hour or so. Freddo cappuccino was my favorite choice when out, but I also had a sweet Nespresso machine in my apartment so that I could make a morning cup and head right back to bed for some reading. 
  
• Grabbing a cheese pie or spinach pie (spanakopita) is easy on about every block. And so good. And for 0.50€ you can grab a koulouri, a bread ring loaded with sesame, from a street vendor, bakery, or cafe. 
• And for the love of all things holy, PLEASE stop mispronouncing gyro! It's like "YEE-roh" folks. Roll those r's and order a delicious pork gyro pita! 
• "Wolt" is like Uber Eats in Athens. I didn't use it because I didn't have a need to, but saw these guys everywhere on scooters and bikes. 



So much good coffee and take away!



• Corner convenience stands—You can get the newspaper, crisps, candy, ice cream, a razor, deodorant, beer, soda, pretty much anything at these little convenience kiosks that are all over the city. 
  
• Subway ruins—It’s said that you can’t put a shovel in the ground without hitting something of archaeological importance here. In the case of the subway system, they seem to have celebrated that and many have excavation features and displays showing what part of the ancient city you are in.



Monastiraki, Syntagma, and Evangelismos Metro stations were just a few of a the highlights.



• Smoking--Lots of people smoke, like a lot more than in the U.S. Ashtrays are on the tables and since I sat outside all the time it wasn't a big deal for me, but if that's going to get your panties in a bunch it's probably not a place for you to visit.
• Body image--I had forgotten how confident and amazing European women are! Women of all ages were baring their bellies during the heat wave and when I went to the beach I was wearing the most fabric out of the female beachgoers in the 40-60 age bracket...pretty impressive considering I had my daughter's bikini on. I am going to try to embrace my curves and lumps from here on out!
• Tattoos--I saw so many great tattoos! Mostly on the under 40 crowd and most all of them were really nice blackwork. It was a little hard to resist getting my own little souvenir!
• Trash—Rather than placing your residential bin out on the corner in Athens, there are pairs of dumpsters (one for trash, one for recycling) on just about every block. Folks just take their stuff down to them, step on the handy foot pedal to pop the top, and toss their trash in. Combine that with trash cans along the street and I thought it was all pretty clean. 



I just loved this concept for some reason!



• COVID--Can't travel globally without mentioning this. I thought COVID measures were handled well in the areas I visited. Masks were required on all public transportation and at some cultural events, and security did enforce it. Masks were also required inside businesses. That got a little tricky as so many are mostly open to the outdoors. Outdoor dining is the norm this time of year, and I don't think they really spaced the tables out any differently than normal. I didn't personally eat in any of the super packed tourist cafes and when I went out I picked a table or seat away from the main pedestrian path so I always felt comfortable. A lot of the locals wore masks out on the sidewalks and in the packed outdoor market, and I did as well. COVID testing to return to the U.S. was pretty easy to find and complete, and Greece has a country-wide max cost set on tests--60€ for PCR, 20€ for rapid antigen. 

So now that you know all of that, what does a solo gal do with 2+ weeks in Athens? I’ll get to that… 😉

~Jo, 1st Mate and solo wanderer

Travel—why solo and why now?

Kaliméra! As I’m waiting to board a ferry in Greece I figured it’s a good time to explain what the heck I am doing here—now—and why I am alone.

Why solo?

Is my marriage failing? I don’t think so! Am I having a midlife crisis? Perhaps! Do I miss solo trips like I used to go on when I was working? YES!!! And was my husband’s passport getting renewed when I decided to do this? Yes. :)

Look, I love my family and if you’ve been reading this blog for a hot minute you know we love traveling together A LOT. But if you spend almost every waking moment concerned about the needs and wants of others you are probably neglecting yourself to a degree. And while I’m mostly talking to the parents and partners here, single folks can get wrapped into the care and concern of others, too. 

Back when Frank and I were working we both traveled as part of our jobs. For about a two year stretch one of us was gone for at least a week every month, and sometimes one of us would be gone for several weeks at a time. The “away” team member would check in with the “home” team, but really they only had to care about their own needs for the most part. Work trips became a mini-recharge for me as a wife and mother. What does everyone want to eat? Not my problem! Want to wake up early and see the sunrise? There’s no one to have to crawl over or worry about waking up! Want to just lie in bed for an hour and do nothing? Go for it! I’m not saying my family stops me from any of that when I’m home, but rather I do! I stop myself. I don’t want to bother anyone, I don’t want anyone else to have to worry about anything that I can take care of, and I sure as heck don’t want to slack on stuff around the house by lying in bed.

And I would also take weekends to see my girlfriends and he would take hiking trips with his buddy. At the end of any of these trips, no matter which side I was on, it was great to talk about our unique experiences and learn about new places from one another. And yeah, maybe distance did make the heart grow fonder! 

So I am solo in Greece! Frank does want to come someday so I’m considering this a recon trip, but I am definitely enjoying a little bit of traveling on my own agenda.

Why now?

There is a Level 4 “Do not travel” advisory for Greece from the CDC due to COVID right now so I get that my decision might not make sense to everyone. But I am vaccinated and readily wear a mask when asked or when I feel like a space or crowd requires it. And between my desire for some solo travel (it’s been over two years since my last true solo) and wanting a distraction as my daughter leaves us for 10 months (and Frank’s passport being “in the mail”), now seemed right! I was actually looking at a trip to Spain when I stumbled upon a good deal on a flight to Greece that departed from the same airport the Katreina was leaving from within an hour of her flight—this would allow me to be with her just a little bit longer! And I found a great place to stay in Athens that was affordable, in a great neighborhood, and close to transit. So…Greece, now!

This trip is two and a half weeks long. While even a few days alone in the mountains would have given me the recharge I need right now, this long trip to a completely new place is also helping me learn a bit about myself…what really makes me happy, what causes me to be anxious, and what do I really want out of the next few years. And I can’t wait to share my experiences with the home team!

The marina in the Port of Aegina, Saronic Islands

(the end of my ferry journey!)

~Jo, 1st Mate

Weather pushes us to...Illinois!

With weather on the east coast looking pretty crappy last week, the kids and I made a quick decision to hop on a plane to see some family for four days. It was crazy, busy, and so much fun! My parents dropped everything to provide airport taxi service with 18 hours of notice and loaned us a car so we could make the most of our brief stay. We toured town (great revitalization in progress!), visited friends and businesses, visited with my parents and my sisters, and enjoyed a night around the fire with friends. 

The highlights...

The kids loved looking through old photos at Grandma and Grandpa's house!  We found some real gems.

The downtown area of my hometown is really looking great! The "phone on the building" confused the kids a bit...I gave them some quarters so they could try it out.

Oh, so much emotion here! My dad is finally slowing down and will close the retail side of his HVAC business this summer. So many memories were made in this building and through the business! I learned so much watching him and working alongside him over the years. And the kids loved the collection of pinball machines he has in the store. 

Our trip included fireworks, walks on the railroad tracks, skateboarding with awesome borrowed boards, and visiting some of my classmates at their local businesses. So many great people welcomed us and helped us!

Family time included a trip to see my sisters/aunts/cousins for a night and a trip to clean up the resting places of the previous generations. 

So thankful for this friendship and the memories we've made over the years! The kids enjoyed some country fun and got to meet a lot of friends, old and new.

 

The kids also managed to get their first COVID vaccine while we were there which is huge for some of our upcoming plans... 😉

My soul needed this trip more than I realized. I have been away for a very long time...too long, but with travel opening up and us settling into our nomadic existence, I think we will be back relatively soon.

~Jo, 1st Mate

Are we medical tourists?

We have doctor appointments coming up in northern Florida so we took advantage of some good weather to make a run outside to Fort Pierce Inlet. We had a great visit from some dolphins and when the wind finally filled in from the west we had some fantastic sailing! Arriving there on a Sunday afternoon was...exciting, but we made it all the way to Vero Beach and took a mooring at the City Marina. It's our first time here!

Beautiful day offshore!

I've made no secret of the fact that I am ready to be vaccinated and we had appointments set for our first shot next week, but...a quick check of the CVS website revealed that we could get rolling with our first shot right here in Vero the day after we arrived! The location was about 6 miles from the marina, but Vero Beach has a pretty awesome free bus service that, given enough time, could get us there for free. And since the forecast was for stormy weather, a bus would be great!

So that's what we did. We started our three-bus trek to CVS only to discover that the final bus of the journey wasn't running (thanks for updating your website, GoLine RT!) and no Uber/Lyft was in the area. Great day for a workout, right? With a 35-minute power walk we made it to our appointment only five minutes late. Check-in, shots, waiting for a reaction, and a little shopping took less than a half hour...easy process. We decided that if we were going to have to hoof it back we might as well grab some lunch (margaritas, Negro Modelo, and Mexican food!) first. It may have taken us two hours each way in crappy weather to take care of this, but I'm so glad we did. Does this make us medical tourists? Visiting Vero Beach to get a shot (and some protection from weather)? Maybe!

Two buses and a walk each way...in the rain!

Tomorrow we will get groceries delivered to the marina, do laundry, do school, and check the weather for options to continue north. There is a crewed SpaceX launch Thursday morning that we admittedly would love to be around Titusville for. Hope it works out! Oh, and Vero Beach is alright! Even though we didn’t get to explore too much and the weather has been super soggy, the marina facilities and staff are very nice and we could certainly imagine returning.

~Jo, 1st Mate

Change of Plans?

We knew there was a possibility of changing COVID requirements when we made our jump to the Bahamas and the first of those to impact us directly is here. 

We have been in Eleuthera for four days and last night the OPM released this new guidance. What does that mean for us? Maybe nothing.

We currently have 21 days left on our cruising permit in the Bahamas and we need to check out at a Port of Entry on our way out. Prior to this notice we were planning to hunker down for a front this weekend then either:

1. Head to the Abacos (new to us, not as much time as we would like to spend perhaps helping out, shallow for our draft in many places, puts us in a great spot to cross back to northern FL); 

2. Explore some more of Eleuthera, then head to the Berrys (love it, easy check out, shorter hops); or

3. Stay in Eleuthera for the duration of our permit (pretty much how we left last year, but this time we are allowed on island).

In all honesty the new COVID order hasn’t changed much for us. It would mean that we would have to find a place to test here in Eleuthera and in the Abacos or Berrys if we go there and stay for more than 5 days, and incur testing expenses, but otherwise our options are unchanged. So we will move the boat today to get set up for this blow and talk about our options as a family! (All weather-dependent, of course!)

Also, having been in the Bahamas at the start of this pandemic and back again a year later we continue to be impressed with the communication and adaptability of this small, geographically dispersed nation. Their online health visa tools are easy to use and make allowances for gaps in connectivity and weather delays. Their rules cover locals and visitors, and generally have clarification for travelers via plane vs boat. Are there some kinks? Sure. But are they proactively trying to keep their people safe? Absolutely.