Back to a routine - more or less

We are still enjoying the serene surrounds of Norman Island. We still find it beautiful here and each day we discover something new or doing something exciting. Being here now for nearly two weeks has help us to get into a semi routine. Very much to the delight of Carlos and Julia we also have started our schooling routine again. We had a break of three weeks and I felt they needed some brain motivation, so now we are back to timetables, reading and writing into our diary. Sven has kept himself busy with cleaning the bottom of the boat, reparing the anchor winch the second time round...this time it only takes half the time, which puts a smile on his face. I go for my daily morning walk, enjoying my Yoga practice in between, on top of the Island.

Autsch......I slipped of the stairs yesterday and broke my second right toe, that hurts and has now turned blue and violet. However this morning I did not want to miss my yoga practice and crawled up the hill and had to shorten my sun salutation....too much bending of the toes.....

Today Carlos and Julia had their first dive lesson.....they loved it very much and could not get enough of it.

Busy days in Paradise

The days seem to race away from us. Jay and his brother Michael delivered our spare part and we are filled with joy and appreciate Jay’s effort and support in that matter. It has saved us lots of time and money. We had Jay and Michael over for dinner twice and went snorkeling with them around the corner. The snorkeling was awesome and we saw lots of interesting, colorful, big and small fish. At night we went over to Willy T and I had the pleasure to experience the craziness on that boat. Sven already had enjoyed it a few evening before and had said to me, it is something you need to see. Well…. I have seen it……. I have done it and I don’t need to do it again….this is as much I will say to our visit on Willy T.

The next day Jay and Michael left to go back to St. John. Michael had to leave the next day to go back to the City and Jay is counting down the days till his family is coming back to St. John. We took Julia and Carlos for a big walk around Norman Island. We walked for two hours, right on top of the Island and you should have heard the moaning and cursing that had come out of our children’s mouth, unbelievable. Luckily I can still remember having to go for a walk with my parents on a Sunday afternoon…..was not one of my favorite’s activities, so I had a good giggle while listening to Julia and Carlos complaining all the way. However when we came back and cooled off after a swim and had a cold drink they actually thought it was still a cool day and Carlos suggested to go hiking again, only if he can decide for how long we are walking and if we take more water for drinking, Carlos you are so diplomatic and sweet and I love you for that. Julia still refuses to walk another meter with us and that her end of the story! We will have lots of fun in your teenage years my strong minded child Julia and I love you very much.

Invitation for Lunch

If a stranger comes to your boat and ask you whether he can invite you for lunch and entertain you for the afternoon....what would your answer be? Yeah !!!......thats what we said..........
Both of our friends left this morning to go to Virgin Gordon, another Island a bit further on. We still had to wait for our part to arrive. Jay had emailed us and said that it had arrived in St. John and he was going to deliver the parcel and will meet up with us in a couple of days when he was coming over with his brother Michael. So we decided to take it easy for the day and just relax in the sun. Just as we had spoken the words a lady came by and asked us, if we fancied a nice lunch on their boat? We looked at each other and weren’t sure if we had heard right. We always fancy a nice lunch, especially if we don’t have to prepare it ourselves. The deal was that they needed a “nice looking” family for some photo shots on their Motor Yacht in return they would feed us something to eat and drink. Of course we accepted the invitation, we quickly brushed up as much as we could and went over there. Wow, did we get spoiled by Peter and Ruth on Analiesa. We had Tuna Sashimi and Seaweed Salad for lunch with a very nice glass of white wine and for desert they served Ice cream with fresh fruit, yummy! After they had finished taken pictures from us eating, they invited us for some fun. Julia and Carlos went on the air tube and afterwards I went Water skiing. Wow, I still could do it after ten years out of practice, my children were very impressed with their mum, and I paid with a sore body for a couple of days  They filmed us swimming and kayaking and afterwards I took Charles and his assistant up to the top of Norman Island for some Yoga shots. We did the Sun Salutation as the sun was going down….there are no words to describe that experience…. apart from stunning!!!! We all agreed at night that this was very special and that we all had a marvelous day.

Shopping trip with a difference

Did you ever go shopping in your sailing boat? Today we had to renew our Visa for the BVI’s, where have the last three weeks gone, I really don’t know. However this meant that one of us had to go into Road Town to pay the Immigration Department a visit. We tried to organize a water taxi, but it all turned into a major mission, so we decided to take our Yacht for a drive into Road Town, the capital of Tortola. While Sven goes to deal with our Visas, I planned to go shopping. We asked Jamey and Mornay if they would like to come as well for a shopping trip to the supermarket. Bob and Jonathan stayed behind with the children, lucky Sven to go shopping with three beautiful Ladies . It doesn’t happen every day that we go on a shopping trip with a yacht; I thought this was special and fun. On the way to Road Town we ran under engine, but on the way back we were able to set sails and everyone helped. Arriving in Road Town we were looking to pick up a mooring ball, but couldn’t find anything, so we docked right in the Yacht Club. Sven made his way to the Immigration Department and the three of us raced around town to get everything that we had on our lists. Efficient as we are we finished everything on time and just came out of the supermarket as Sven finished his Visa business. Great Timing! Quickly back to the boat, unloading our rubbish, getting some drinking water and then we untied the boat and off we went home again under sail. All four of us were happy with our own achievements for the day! Coming back to Norman Island, Bob and Jonathan were lying exhausted on the sun lounger and the children played happily on the beach with their hermit crabs. At night we all had dinner together and that finished this great day beautiful. Tomorrow I have a big day ahead of me, washing and cleaning the boat, so this will give me a break of having too much fun in the BVI’s.

More Island Life to enjoy

The last couple of days have been full of entertainment for children as well as for the adults.

Norman Island - the way we like it

Even though the Bay is reasonable sheltered from the wind, we had a few gusts moving through the night that kept us awake and made a hell of a noise as our yacht circled around the mooring ball. Waking up in the morning was bliss and we were greeted by the amazing colours around us. A swim and breakfast woke us up and we discovered a mooring ball on the other side of the Bay, closer to shore, more sheltered and closer to our friends, so we untied and moved JUCA onto another mooring ball. After all that effort we needed to have a rest on the beach! We hang around the beach, chatted to each other, had a few swims to cool off and enjoyed each other company very much. The children are happy and get along so well we hardly noticed them all day. They are busy collecting hermit crabs, splashing in the water, playing volleyball and whatever there is on offer for them. In the afternoon we all went for a walk up the Island. Wow, what a wonderful experience…..haven’t done something like that for years and if that is what 2011 has got in mind for us, bring it on….we are ready for it! Another early night for me and Sven, Julia and Carlos watched a family movie before settling in for the night.

A New Year - sailing to Norman Island

We had a long sleep in on our first day in 2011. We had made no specific plans for the day and wanted to make up our mind as we go along. Bob and Jamie had decided to sail over to Norman Island and had asked us whether we wanted to join them. We did not really know what to know, as we are a bit handicapped with no anchor winch. They left at 10 am and promised to let us know if they are any mooring balls and if they could hold one for us. When Jonathan and Monet also left an hour later to sail to Norman Island, we quickly got our body and mind into gear and followed both of them. By that time Jamie had already emailed us that they were holding a mooring ball for us, so we knew for sure we had a place to stay for the night. By two we were ready to leave and it took us only an hour to go to Norman Island and it was a very pleasant trip. The wind was up and the sun was shining, it felt good to feel the breeze on my skin and hair, these are the moments I love the best. When we arrived in Norman Island we were please that Jamie and Bob had tied their dinghy to a mooring ball, because the bay was packed with cruisers. Wow, the Bay of Norman Island looked so inviting, they had a beach, and the water invited us to jump into it straight away. We were so happy that we made that move and followed our friends. We said hello to everyone, ended up having a beer or two on “Calibra” and settled on JUCA for an early night.