The Next Chapter, cont- From the beginning. Buying a boat in Italy

In March of 2018, we were back in Michigan for Spring Break.  We had a list of our wants and needs for a boat and we were actively looking on the internet for the “right” boat.  Ideally, we wanted a boat that had already sailed the world because it would already be set up with all those things we needed.  We wanted at least two bedrooms (called cabins or berths on a boat) and two bathrooms (called heads). I love me a good bath, so a bathtub was on my “if I can dream” list.  

 

Significantly, major hurricanes passed through the Bahamas and Caribbean the previous year, wrecking many sailboats, so we were advised that prices of boats in the US and Caribbean had gone way up.  It made sense to us, then, to look in the Mediterranean for our boat.

     I had signed up for a “Women Who Sail the Med” Facebook group in order to get more comfortable with the idea of sailing. One day during spring break a woman advertised her boat. They were a family of four with two young girls. They were going to be completing their circumnavigation in the Med in July and wanted people to be aware that they were looking for a buyer. This boat checked all our boxes, was in our price range, AND had a bathtub!  We emailed them to find out when we could see it, and it turned out that they were in the Red Sea, in EGYPT!  What were the odds?  It seemed like fate.

Upon returning to Egypt, we made arrangements to have a driver bring us to their location in Hurghada so we could see the boat.  It was better than we imagined. These parents, being ultra protective of their young daughters, had two of everything incase one thing went out.  They had two radars, two autopilots, two chartplotters, and parts to rebuild every system.  The boat was well-equipped with solar, water-maker, etc. It even had 3 cabins, so one could be used as a garage. It seemed to good to be true.

                              This picture was taken in Hurghada where we 

                              looked at the boat. We couldn’t find any other 

                              pictures from that day.

We kept in contact with the family for the next few months and Gary made arrangements to meet them in Italy at the end of July for a “survey”.  This is basically a complete inspection by an expert in boats.  We had no doubt that we would own this Beneteau Oceanis 44 by the end of July. It seemed ideal.

In July, Gary flew from Michigan to Italy.  I had booked him 2 weeks in an Airbnb to give him time to complete the deal before he would be able to move aboard.  He brought his bike over so he’d have transportation.  

                         Cute, reasonably priced Airbnb. Gary loved it!

love 

 

We were so excited, the family so relieved to have a buyer. 

If you have been on our boat, or if you’ve followed our journey, you may be asking, “But, UPBound isn’t a 44 foot, 3 cabin Beneteau? What happened?”

This “dream boat” had a problem.  

In an effort to make it “perfect” and as safe as possible for his daughters, the owner had decided to have a whole new hull put on it, in Croatia.  He noticed what he thought was an osmosis bubble, and some unscrupulous business people had taken advantage of his lack of knowledge and convinced him it would be best to tear the whole bottom off the boat and rebuild it.  Except, Croatia has NO regulations on the boat repair businesses.  The family pulled into port, full of emotion at just having completed an amazing adventure. Gary was there to greet them. Their boat was pulled out of the water for the inspection, and immediately the whole hull began to bubble.  Our inspector explained to them and to us that the people in Croatia had failed to put the hull on correctly, totally skipping a layer of epoxy. He estimated this boat would have sunk within 2 years.  

This picture shows the damage from the moisture that penetrated the fiberglass

We were heartbroken, but this young couple was devastated.  Likely they had spent the majority of their life’s savings on this boat and adventure, only to end on such a sad and sour note.  

A new hull could be put on the boat, but this would take a lot of time and cost a lot of money, and still not be guaranteed to last very long, so we walked away.

After that, Gary enjoyed a lazy, solo beach vacation in Italy, then returned to Egypt early to welcome the new Schutz staff and give them tours around Alexandria.

                                            Trieste, Italy  This is where he flew in to Italy.

                   Gary was able to ride his bike from his Airbnb to visit this uniquely walled city.

                                                 Palmanova, Italy

                                          But, he spent most of his time at this huge beach.  Grado, Italy

 

 

The Next Chapter - Life Aboard a 42 foot sailboat

 April 26, 2021 

In June of 2019, my job in Egypt was complete. This blog so far 

has been a testament to just how much we learned in just 3 years of living abroad. As first-time expats, everything was a learning opportunity.   We grew and changed quickly.  While living in and learning about another culture, we also learned much more about our own country and culture.  Because we lived in a commune-type situation, living with many of the same people we worked with, often even in the same building as our classroom, we grew personally and socially.  These new diverse set of friends, from all regions of the US as well as several different countries, taught us to see things from a variety of perspectives. As we were afforded many opportunities to travel, we were constantly improving our understanding of geography, history, culture, not to mention we got really good at knowing how to plan and book affordable and interesting vacations in a hurry. 

So, in June, we said our goodbyes to friends in Egypt and moved aboard S/V UPBound in Italy. S/V stands for “Sailing Vessel”.  That was just one of the thousands of things I would learn within the first few months. As newbie sailors, we had a very, very steep learning curve.  

One of our first tasks was to come up with a new name for our boat because, after all, we had no idea how to pronounce her old name “Orifiamma”.

Why has it taken me nearly 2 years to write a blog about sailing?  I am not sure.  I have come up with a lot of “excuses”, each with a grain of truth, but honestly, I am not sure.

I do know that sailing and living on a boat requires a LOT of time-consuming work.  Before we sailed, we regularly watched a few sailing videos on YouTube.  Honestly, I don’t know where these You-Tubers find the time to sail, keep their boat in good working order and presentable, film, and edit.  There is always something that needs to be worked on, and, because tools are generally stored in your main living space, the whole boat gets torn apart every few days.   It’s not like we have space for organized tool boxes- nope- everything from screwdrivers to spare parts for the engine, the toilets, the cupboards, etc is loose in boxes under the seats, and you dig for everything because invariably, what you need is closest to the bottom and back of the storage area.  So, everything takes twice as long to fix on a boat as it might in a house.   No, I am not the mechanic in the boat- but I often have to help find something or another.  So, is lack of time why I haven’t written?  Probably not. 

This part of the boat is called the salon.  The table and seating is on the left, along with the television set, and the navigation station to the right.  The engine compartment is accessed under those steps. This area is also where all the tool are stored.  If you go up the steps, you are in the cockpit, where we spend most of our time when sailing.

This is our galley area.  The stove is on a gimble so the stove stays level, even if the boats is leaning.

 

Swabbing the deck

Jobs continue on land.  The bottom needs anti-foul paint every few years to prevent barnacles from growing on the bottom.

When on land, everything has to be hand carried to the boat.

  

The original mattress needed replacing

 

Before we actually sailed, I dreamed it might be all about enjoying beautiful sunsets, swimming, watching wildlife, relaxing, reading, and exploring new places and meeting new people. Plenty of topics to write about, right?  Well, sailing DOES include all of that, maybe I will eventually write up some of those stories.

The battery on my laptop died before we set sail, so all writing is now being done on my IPad.  I switched phones before we crossed the Atlantic, so early photos are saved on a hard drive with only a few put on Facebook. Newer photos are on an Android, which makes getting them on this Ipad, then onto this blog challenging for my (lack of) techy skills.  Definitely that is a contributing factor.

Other big reasons for not writing- FEAR, VULNERABILITY, and UNCERTAINTY.  Working overseas, living an expat lifestyle, traveling by plane to exotic locations was MY dream.  This much more physically demanding, one-with-nature lifestyle of sailing the world, definitely Gary’s dream.  I was quite certain we would DIE before we got to the Caribbean. The Med was NOT an easy place to learn to sail.  The wind was generally either too much, or too little.  It swirled and changed directions quickly.  I will probably write a post about wind ( but don’t hold your breath.).  

 The other challenge in the Med was finding any sense of community.  In the Med, most people are on charter boats, with friends and family, and no interest in meeting new people.  Cassandra and Blake were with us until late June. After they left, I didn’t find another English-speaking woman until mid-August. It was a very lonely time.  I love my husband, but let’s be real- a woman needs to talk to other women.  

Early on, we didn’t know how to use our instruments, we didn’t know how to determine distances, just how fast is a “knot”, what is a nautical mile, and how far could our boat sail in an hour. There was so much uncertainty about literally everything!  We had to meet our son and his wife in Barcelona September 1.  We had planned a month in Croatia to gain us some time out of the Schengen- just how long would it take us to get there?  Were we in this way over our head?  How do you write about all of these things?  

We have been back in the USA for a year now.  It has taken me a long time to process all we have experienced and learned.  We spent last summer on land. We have been living on anchor all winter.  We are currently motor-sailing in the Atlantic Ocean, along the coast of Florida.  It is my first sail since last June.  It is a beautiful day, 12-15 knots of wind.  I can honestly say I was really looking forward to sailing today and am ready to start writing about some of our adventures, the good and bad.

If you’re reading this, leave me a comment.  I’d like to know what kinds of information you are looking for and what kinds of questions you might have. Shorter, more frequent blogs, or more photos?  A blog about the worst experience we had?  Places and people or the nitty-gritty of everyday life aboard?  Looking forward to hearing from you.

Siwa's Nicest Resident

 I like things to be researched and planned out.  It makes me somehow feel like I am in control, I know what to expect, how much money we will spend, and I won't regret the things I didn't get to see and do, because I will have prioritized my time and plans.  I didn't do that for my 4 day Siwa holiday and truth be told, I was feeling pretty anxious. I had booked a hotel online on a whim at the last minute.  It seemed most hotels were booking up fast, and so I booked, not even calling to check for a resident's rate.  I didn't notice that I had booked an Ecolodge - no electricity and dirt floors, 10 km from the city.  I didn't  book a guide - something you always must do when traveling in Egypt.  Instead, I asked the hotel for advice and they just said "Come and we will arrange tours".  

My thinking immediately turns negative when things are not as I expected, Gary is much better with uncertainties.  He has more of the adventurer's spirit.  He trusts that things will just work out.

Which leads me to the story of how an unplanned adventure down back streets in the Siwa oasis, 20-some miles from the Libyan border, in 100 degree heat lead us to meet the sweet man in the photo above.

It was our first full day in Siwa, and we had decided to take a cab into town to see what all the fuss was about.  We had been told "Siwa is one of my favorite places in Egypt"  "You just have to go"  "It is really unique", but very few details other than that.  

So, we got to town - and other than a big falling down castle looking thing in the center, it looked like the rest of Egypt.  We weren't impressed and Gary wanted to just call the driver to take us back.  I just wanted to get a little exercise, which I thought meant we would walk around town and look at the various shops.  Gary decided he would like to walk to the lake he saw on the map.  Thinking it would be towns and shops most of the way, we took off with one bottle of water each.

After walking nearly an hour, mostly through sparsely populated areas and date palm areas- we lost all internet and phone connections.  Our water was getting very low, it was almost 100 degrees, getting close to 11am and the heat of the day.  No internet meant no Google maps, and were we even on the right road to get to the lake?  How did the Bedouins and other desert dwellers survive?  I was ready to start a fight - turn back to at least find some internet connections again.  Gary was sure the lake was "right around the next corner".  Turns out, it was.  Turns out, we were back on a main road and we had an internet signal again and phone service!  The lake was a big disappointment - not fresh water as we had assumed, but dirty and salty, right next to a waste water facility!

So, it was time to call for a driver and wait out our time under the date palms near the lake.

As soon as we entered the grove, we saw this shelter.  You will notice in the second picture, that the shelter even had some shelves inside, but no sign of anyone currently living there.

And just as I was taking this picture, a middle-aged man, the man in the first picture I posted, stepped out from behind one of the palm trees, barefoot, dressed in a gallabaya (a long, cotton dress-like outfit that is common here)

Oh no!  Had we trespassed on his home?  We gestured we were very hot and could we stay?  We gestured we were waiting on a ride back and we had taken a long walk.  He gestured for us to follow him back into the denser part of the forest.  My fatalistic mind went right to "Oh my gosh, no way, he probably has a weapon or something back there and we are going to be robbed."  But Gary said, "Let's just see what he wants to show us".  So we took about 20 steps to where he had some palm branches spread out on the ground and he asked us to sit with him.  

As I looked around, there were more of these shelters. What was this place?  A homeless area or something?  

We heard a donkey braying in the distance.  "Is that your donkey? Gary asked, imitating the donkey's bray.  He laughed and nodded his head.  He gestured and asked us if we are together.  I had Gary show him his ring.  He laughed and smiled - a big, toothy smile.

 I said "Ana Laura" (Meaning "I am Laura" and Gary said his name and we asked him his name.  We aren't sure if he didn't want to tell us, or wasn't sure what we were asking, but after trying "Mohamed?" "Youseff ?" "Ahmad?"  He finally said "Mohamed"

Our driver called and wanted to know our exact location.  I had sent him the google map location, but he could not believe we had walked there, so he was sure we were mistaken.  We handed Mohamed our phone, and he and the driver talked.  Mohamed explained our location, then looked at us and gestured walking.  We laughed and nodded our head and his eyes got big as he told our driver that we had indeed walked there from where we had been dropped off.  Mohamed questioned us how we had walked that far, so I pointed at my tennis shoes and said "Good shoes"

Soon, he gestured he had to go.  He went back further into the forest, soon returning with some white date tree flower type branches that he wanted to show us.  Gary gestured to ask him if he eats those?  He handed one to Gary and gestured that he should smell it.  Gary mimed biting it and he laughed and shook his head no.  

He then pounded the branch on his hand and white dust flew up.  "Oh," Gary exclaimed, "He's pollinating the trees!"  He left again, returning with many of these branches, holding the material from his gallabaya in his teeth to make a pouch for these branches.  I asked if I could take a selfie with him.  

This is the photo I shot.  What I didn't expect was his reaction.  As I turned on my camera to take this photo, he seemed confused.  His teeth still held his gallabaya.  He seemed to slowly realize the person in the camera was him, letting the material out of his mouth and raising his head a bit to get a better look at himself. SNAP, I had the volume turned up on my camera and it seemed to surprise him as the picture momentarily froze, then disappeared.  I tried to offer him a little money for letting us stay there and for letting me take his picture.  He absolutely refused and I didn't want to ask again for fear of insulting him.   When I put the camera down, he pointed at my phone. I was still not understanding his fascination.  I assumed he wanted to see the picture, so I showed him.  He wanted to see this camera again.  I handed the phone to him on selfie mode.  I was still not getting it.  I was thinking he just wanted a better picture of himself, so I snapped a picture when he had his head up high (first picture) and then it all became clear.  I sat back and just let him be - my camera on my phone on selfie mode, him, quietly studying his aging face for what may have been the first time.  He turned his head back and forth, looking closely at all his features.  When he handed it back, I decided that maybe he would be even more amazed when he saw the video feature - so I took this short video.

By this time, we were fast friends. 

Gary then wanted to know more about how he pollinates the trees, so we asked him to show us.  Obviously, I will never be a vlogger or photo journalist, because he gestured for me to video-tape him, but it didn't click in my mind what he was asking. Gary figured it out.  However, by then, he had already shimmied up the tree and was in the palms.  I took a poor video of him up in the branches, but then my phone rang and it was the driver - and the phone stopped video-taping.  He came down the tree and again talked with our driver, who was on the road just out from the date palm grove we were standing in.  However, we didn't know this, so Mohamed gestured that the driver was here and we should follow him.  He walked us to our car, but before we could get there, he asked me to show him the video.  Unfortunately, we were again in the sunlight and what little bit of video I got could not be seen.  We thanked him over and over and parted ways.

Sometimes it is best just to go with the flow.

Hot Air Ballooning over Luxor

 Being pretty afraid of heights, I never, ever saw myself going hot air ballooning. Besides for the fear of heights thing, I had once been pinned to the ground by a hot air balloon! Once, around 2000, when our kids were about 5 and 8 years old, my mom had rented the Re/Max balloon as part of an advertising celebration.  It was one of those tethered balloons that allow people short rides up and down.  It was down at Ludington Park, in Escanaba, Mi.  Since this was a Re/Max balloon, my mom and dad were expected to be among the first to take a ride in it.  There was some discussion as to whether or not to go up that day because it was getting a bit breezy.  They decided to do so anyways, and just as it lifted about 10 feet off the ground, a huge front hit and with it, wind gusts of over 20 mph.  I had been standing about 20 feet away from the basket when the wind hit, tipping the balloon and basket and sending the basket skipping along the ground towards me and 8 year old Christopher and 5 year old Cassandra.  As we turned our back to the balloon and started running, I saw the shadow of the balloon extending out before me on the ground as it started to flatten out, blocking the sun and making everything dark.  Behind me I heard the screams as my parents and others who were in the basket were holding on for dear life, hoping not to get hurt.  I pictured us being run over by a basket heavy with people.  All of the sudden, Chris and Cassandra were gone. Only the lights on Cassandra's shoes could be seen as they turned and ran out from under the balloon.  They were smart enough to look around and run perpendicular to the balloon rather than parallel as I was doing.  They were soon out of harms way -while I, on the other hand, tripped and fell - lying prostrate on the ground as the balloon came down on top of me, but the ropes finally held the basket down so it was no longer skipping along the grass.

With that whole event in my mind, and the idea of hot air ballooning over Luxor being presented as an option, I was understandably a bit nervous.  But, these last few years have been about letting go of fears and building confidence - so, I agreed to this newest adventure!

Boy, was I glad I did!  This had to be one of the most enjoyable experiences I have had so far. 

We awoke early, before sunrise, to make our way to the West Bank of the Nile where the balloons were being aired up. The newer-looking basket held at least 20 people.  It had a very thick cushiony pad that we stood on, with rope handles all along the inside.  The feeling of standing in a basket being lifted only by a balloon filled with hot air was surreal.  For whatever reason, my fear of heights was gone.  It actually felt safe and natural.  Perhaps it was just the fact that I was distracted by the beauty of it all and the realization that I could see the Nile in the distance and ancient temples and the Valley of the Kings down below.   People say that SCUBA diving is very quiet and peaceful (though I do not really agree with that) - but riding in a hot air balloon is the most peaceful, quiet thing I have done.  

They say the most dangerous part of hot air ballooning is the landing, but we had a perfect day and a very knowledgeable pilot who set it down expertly.  Somehow, it seemed safer to be landing on a bunch of sand, in the middle of a desert rather than those horror stories I have seen where balloons get caught up in a bunch of electrical wires on their descent in more populated areas.   Several area children raced after our balloon as they saw it begin to land in order to beg for money from the passengers. 

Firing the burners, warming the air to lift the balloon

This is the point they tell everyone to quickly get in!

Just starting to lift off while others are about to go, too

Floating over a temple

Sunrise over the Sahara, Nile cuts across in the foreground

Our pilot

A couple of balloons still to lift off

Firing up the burners to lift us higher

Gary kept asking the pilot a lot of questions.  I was afraid he was going to ask if he could pilot it for awhile!

Ground Crew