Blogs from Atlantic, Oceans and Seas - page 36

OK. I admit it. I love to fly. Not the trek to the airport, or the security lines, not hoping to find a free space in the overhead or that my seat mate might be Samoan.....but when I look out of the window at the clouds or the lights below, it is still magic to me. Here I am at 35,000 feet traveling to another adventure. I do miss the pillows and the blankets, I do miss having room to stretch out but I will be in FL in 2:49 hours. I have my own seat and no one is asking "are we there yet". I hear it's 81 degrees and I think of a pool and green shrubs and I'm a happy camper. In two days I'll be boarding the M/S Zuiderdam where I expect ... read more

Geo: 18.3333, -64.6167Today, our adventure takes us to Norman Island, and then to the west bank of Tortolla. The sail form Virgin Gorda Sound to Norman Island took across 22.5 nautical miles of open sea.Norman Island is uninhabited and privately owned. The island is about 600 acres, and about 2.5 miles long and is reportedly one of the locations of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale of YARRRRRR "Treasure Island." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Island The morning .... routine for lack of a better term .... is becoming pretty consistent. Wake up, head topside for some fantastic views, talk with everyone about how freaking awesome this is, grab some breakfast, have our 10 am briefing, and then head out for the day. We've all pretty much gotten past the "I'm horrible with names," "good to meet you" phase. "So where ar ... read more

Geo: 18.5026, -64.3681After a fairly rough night at sea, travelling 78.6 nautical miles from Anguilla, we arrived at Virgin Gorda around 9 am. For a lot of people this was a relief. The trip last night was a choppy rockin' and rollin' one .... and not the good rockin' and rollin'Heather and I were top side for the arrival. What a spectacular experience. I really had to make a conscious effort to not talk like a pirate while we came into port ..... It was harrrrrrrrrrrrd.But here we were ... Virgin Gorda:  <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgin_Gorda" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgin_Gorda</a>  Virgin Gorda is the third-largest (after Tortola and Anegada) and second most populous of the British Virgin Islands (BVI) with a population of around 4,000. ... read more

Geo: 18.2167, -63.05Well this day started out ..... Interesting. Woke up to a heavily pitching boat. This ain't no cruise ship kids. It's only 360 feet. When it's rough out ... You feel it. So far though I am one of the few without the seasick patch. Rocking doesn't seem to bother me all that much.Our sail from St. Maarten to Anguilla took us 23 nautical miles last night.Anguilla (pronounced an-gwil-ah) is a British overseas territory in the Caribbean, It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Peurto Rico and the Virgin Islands, and directly north of St. Maarten. It has a population of around 15,000 people. For more about Anguilla: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anguilla.Ok ... cut to boat scene in .... 3 ..... 2 ..... 1 ......Had breakfast ... read more

Geo: 17.9826, -66.295So, we've been here for some time. Much longer than expected. Although I'm in serious need of a long, white sand beach, the locals that we've met have made our time here incredibly enjoyable. We met Ricardo and Marjeta our first week here at the local swimming hole and have been spending time with them ever since. They are kind, generous, fun-loving people who live in absolute paradise! If I ever move ashore again, this is the kinda digs I wanna have! ;) They invited us for dinner and a bonfire. Great food, friends, and a rockin' fire. Nice job, Ricardo! Also, local bar owner, Janso and his wife Anna have been spectacular hosts within this small community. They run the "cruiser's" bar, "Sal Pa Dentro" and make sure to help out all the ... read more