Life's a Stitch

How much of a whirlwind was that? 63 days, six currencies, and 28 beds worth. We rode on trains, boats, planes, buses and cars and walked another 400+k of the Camino de Santiago.

Now it’s home sweet home, which was well taken care of by son, Bryant, who came to the realization that White Rock isn’t that far from civilization after all. That’s encouraging for the future, but for now we’ll stay put.

I left you last in New York. Next stop was Boston, where we met my sister. Her new Jack Russell puppy stole the show; five wriggling pounds of incredible cuteness.

Next stop was Bermuda where our ship was technically the tallest structure on the island(s).

other than the lighthouse:

My previous visit to Bermuda was 42 years ago and of course it’s changed. Half of the hotels have shut down or been repurposed, the bulk of the tourism being provided by cruise ships. Hamilton, the capitol city has lost its quaintness to growth and traffic not deterred by gas at $9.00US a gallon.

A day and a half at sea took us to the Bahamas, a return to our honeymoon, which then was affordable as we participated in a bartering network. We were booked in for a Windjammer cruise on a four masted schooner, not as romantic as it sounds. While we were queued for embarkation there was an announcement: Who here won this trip on a game show or through bartering? Enthusiastic hands raised, the second announcement followed: This isn’t your ship, please follow the staff member to yours. Reality set in as we were guided to something that resembled a single masted tug boat, providing us with an adventure that included bunk beds, cold water, and interesting guests: a pimp and a prostitute, two drug dealers and a Mormon family who travelled with half of their seven children each year. Makes you wonder about that barter system.

Back to this voyage, the next morning we arrived at Ft. Lauderdale where we were spat off the ship at an unreasonable hour – 8:00 am. A long 20 hours later we were home. And now we’re adjusting to life in our time zone.