Not sailing but still exploring

February 23, 2024

Not sailing but still exploring

Not sailing but still exploring seems to be our current theme since November. We arrived in Lagos, Portugal toward the end of November for an indefinite stay, but we estimated we'd leave after the holidays. It's late February and we're still in Lagos, going on 3 months now. That is not a long period of time, especially when we also factor in holidays, work, and winter weather, but sitting still at a marina is not my favorite way to spend my time. I feel stagnant, like I'm stuck in a rut. We're supposed to be cruising, right? But instead we're just sitting still, getting used to unlimited water and power all while accumulating growth on the hull. So it's been a good exercise for me to look through some photos and see what has actually been keeping us occupied. We've been busy, and even though the boat is stuck at the dock, we're still exploring.

We officially start the Christmas season on December 1st when I pull out the decorations. From that point on it's full-on Christmas. Gingerbread houses, festivals in town, shopping, baking--all of it. In between the Christmas spirit, we had the regular monotony of life. School (which seems to take a large chunk of each day), fighting over screen time, cleaning, little boat projects, food prep, laundry, etc. These chores are what always make up our daily lives, it's just that they are usually interspersed between sailing to new fun places instead of making up the bulk of our time. It inevitably starts to feel really dull. And it doesn't matter that it actually isn't dull, nor that this is for a short period of time and it's temporary, nor does it matter that these are #firstworldproblems, when my daily reality doesn't meet my expectations, there is a clash. A clash in happiness, a clash in fulfillment. I've found that this is where some real personal learning can happen. I can be bored or frustrated or doubting, or I can practice patience, going with the flow, looking through a wider lens. I can look inward and be more deliberate about my daily choices and habits. (I'm exercising more, reading more, and generally looking at social media less.) But at the end of the day, I really just want to go sailing again!

An outdoor screening of Elf, complete with mulled wine, hot chocolate, and hot dogs.

After all the Christmas preparations, it's time to celebrate. Our nomadic life can be isolating at times. We meet people all the time--we're sailors, there is always someone to share a drink with in every port! But our friendships are often short-lived and fleeting. So when we find friends that we really click with, it's important to nurture that friendship, because it in turn nurtures us. Meet Jessica and Will, and their amazing kids Avalon and Largo, another nomadic, sailing family. We can gripe about boat problems and at the same time share a core memory and we all just get it. We can talk homeschooling and visa issues, and we all just get it. Living out of the conventional norms brings a certain set of challenges and inspirations and it's invaluable to have people to lean on and learn from without any explanations needed. We met in Lagos in 2021 when we were all prepping to sail to the Caribbean. They were in Paris during Christmas so we spent a few days there together on our way to Sweden. Christmas markets, d'Orsay art museum (breathtaking), eating and drinking in cafes, and just talking and laughing non-stop, as you tend to do with good friends.

Train travel ftw!

It was an early morning departure from Lagos to Lisbon.

Jessica welcome our kids to Paris with every pastry treat you could possibly find at the bakery.

Matilda photo bombing our Christmas picture.

Hello Paris!

Ugly sweater competition

Avalon taught our kids the "sorority squat" pose.

From Paris we went north to Sweden to spend Christmas with family. There was a dusting of snow on the ground when we arrived and over the course of the week that dusting turned to a solid base. It snowed and snowed and snowed. We were treated to a real winter wonderland. Christmas was all about sharing stories and dreams with family, laughing, preparing and eating good food, and spending plenty of time outside in the snow.

After a week in Sweden, I left Hans and the kids in Sweden and flew to Boston to spend my mom's birthday with her. I was able to see her new apartment and meet all the new neighbors. (It's a retirement community and it is a real community. I'll save my communal living soap box for another day, but what a benefit to live in a place where everyone is truly neighborly.) The weather was pretty miserable--just above freezing with rain most days--but we still went on quite a few walks and one nice hike. It was a different experience to spend time with my family without my kids (who we all love dearly, of course), but we were actually able to have sustained, uninterrupted conversations. A novel concept!

I met Hans and the kids back on the boat in Lagos and we settled into marina life. Hans made a trip back to Wisconsin to work and when he returned we drove up to Nazare to watch the Big Wave World Championships. The waves were forecast to be giant, so it felt like a once in lifetime opportunity. It was indeed pretty amazing. The waves were upwards of 15 meters. This type of surfing is tow-in, so the surfers would be towed to the waves via jet skis and then launch off the top of them. Not only were they able to actually surf down the waves, they also did tricks. It was astounding. The crowd was massive and had people from all walks of life and nationalities.

We hired a canvas maker to enclose the cockpit. It's fantastic--an extra room and everything stays dry.

And we hired a carpenter to build us this extra storage space. The boat was designed to have a heater there but we opted for a diesel heater which is installed in the aft locker.

Hans had a few weeks off from work so we hoped to leave Lagos and start working our way east toward Spain, Gibraltar, and the Med. The weather, of course, had different plans. For almost three weeks the wind blew directly from the east/southeast. We didn't have to go anywhere, we're not on a schedule, so we had no reason to sail upwind or bash into waves. Our three week cruising grounds were limited to two harbors: Alvor and Portimao. Another lesson in patience and going with the flow! Regardless of our lack of distance sailed, it is always nice to be at anchor.

We dried out at a nearby anchorage but didn't choose the best spot. No big deal, the boat can go aground and even tip over to the first chine without going completely sideways.

Hans replaced the propeller anode. It was definitely time!

Doing laundry at the boatyard in Portimao.

Boats of all shapes and sizes.

The little village of Ferragudo, near Portimao.

Freja and I took a trip back to the Azores for a long weekend to pick up my residency card. I was going to go alone but Freja begged and pleaded to join me so she could spend time with one of her best friends, and fellow boat kid, Reverie. Sao Miguel is just as wonderful in the winter as it was in the summer. Definitely more rain and so much mud, but we saw the sun every day and still went on some hikes. As a bonus, the hiking trails that were normally busy with people in the summer were empty.

We had a few hours in Lisbon before our flight to the Azores.

brain freeze!

We had a bit of an eventful landing in Ponta Delgada--we came in for landing, bounced twice on the runway and then went straight back up. Abort, abort! We circled around and landed, with some bumps, but safely. This is us after getting off the plane, a little shook up but fine.

Back to the boat and the wind continued to blow out of the east. Since we knew we couldn't sail anywhere, we took a three day trip to Seville, Spain. It was only a two hour drive yet felt so different from Portugal. The city is absolutely gorgeous and Spain's lucrative sailing history was evident in the architecture. Seville was so fancy. All the buildings were ornate, with a massive palace in the center of the city and massive formal gardens took up many city blocks. Seville was the capital of Spain during the time of the explorers and all the ships that set out to find the spices and gold launched from Seville. Thousands of orange trees line the streets and since they are ripe in January and February, the smell of citrus was constantly in the air.

And then it was back to the boat for a few more weeks while we prepare to sail east toward the Mediterranean. The kids have been doing solid schoolwork and we've been swimming at the city's indoor pool on a near daily basis. Swimming is definitely Freja's sport and Matilda has impressed me with how well she can actually swim freestyle. And they've been playing with friends, making art, and building forts at the beach. The weather is perfect, around 18C, sunny, and dry most every day.