Interesting times....

Here in Cayman. The election is won, not by my Minister. Such a shame as he has achieved wonderfully while in office. There are others to come, who we're not sure yet, and what form the Government takes. It's interesting being inside an election. Watching the brave former ministers coming to clear their offices, greeting their former teams. It must be so tough putting on that brave face.

So, next week will be the one when we find out who goes where, who our minister will be and if the chief officers will stay or be moved or heaven forbid, leave entirely. Politics seem a little crazy to me. Parties potentially making wholesale change when things, in places, are not broken. People stamping their mark. I hope all the briefings we've prepared, the information we've gathered convinces them to not change too much.

If there's one thing I've learnt about school reform, it's that it takes time. A lot longer than four years, a generation at times. I'm not here for much longer, not exactly sure of my leaving date. My trip is planned thanks to Lynsey at STA Travel in Auckland. A good deal on an around the world ticket. I leave NYC on 8 August and from then on am free traveling with points where there are flights to other places.

I'm heading to the UK for some time with Didge, maybe a tour of Scotland, then on to see Di. That's a bit of a treat and more about that later. Deb is excited that I'm coming to see her and the family in Brunei and I can't wait for some Callie time in Singapore. Meeting Frankie for the first time will most certainly be a highlight. Then home for a bit. There's a lot to do between then and now, lots of distractions here keeping me occupied out on the water.

I actually got sick last week, so not like me. I lost my voice, others sighed with relief, and I'm thankful it's back again now. As usual, I didn't take much time off work, so much to do as I exit this place. I really must attack my wardrobe this weekend, sigh. Shoes, so many shoes and what to do with them all!

8 weeks

And counting until I'm traveling again. The planning is underway, the airfare priced, the itinerary loosely mapped out, the timing purposely vague to allow for flexibility. I hope to fit in a sail or two on the way, take up one of the many crewing opportunities that are advertised. I suspect I need a smaller bag to be able to do that, to travel even lighter than I do.

It's odd being at the end of a contract, business as usual while tidying up the loose ends. I've had a fantastic time in Cayman, made some excellent friends who I will keep in touch with. I was with some friends last night and they were convincing me to come back, offered to find me a new job and help me set up my business. My new business. More on that later as it evolves. I know I need to buy myself some more time and flexibility, hopefully this is the way to do it. I will also maintain contact with Cayman and surrounds so it's not too much of a goodbye.

My trip home is looking complex. Lots to see and while I have the occasional traveling companions, I will be mostly traveling on my own. While I don't mind that, I still feel a little trepidation about being out there with no back up. I know others who sole travel feel the same way. Liberated yet fearful.  Liberated because you don't have to worry about how the person with you is experiencing the journey, although a lot of the joy of traveling is sharing experiences with another. Fearful because you are on your own; no one to watch your bags while you go to the loo; eating in a cafe on your own; no one to tell about what you saw when you looked up; no one to share the decisions or the wine.

I'm really lucky because I now have a travel companion for Scotland. Didge is heading home to the UK and is at a loose end in August, Scotland here we come. I fly through Ireland on my way to London so there's the potential for a few days in Shannon. I'm meeting Di in Genova in September, I can't wait for that. Some good time together exploring one of her favourite places. Once I hit the UAE it's a journey to see friends and family, exciting to catch up.

Jobs for now are getting the house packed up and the bits going home ready to freight; selling the car and boat; sorting the take with me, send home and give away piles of clothes and shoes; and generally keep out of mischief. The Sail Club's ball is on Friday, I'm about ready for a good night out.

Have feet, will travel, Antwerp

Sleep......

So, I must be getting old. It's Friday, it's almost 11pm and the music that's rattling my windows is getting to be annoying. Annoying in that way things get annoying when you're not part of enjoying the action. Tonight I'm tired, it's been a long week. Last night I was out enjoying Elaine's company. It was her birthday, she hadn't told anyone so we got to celebrate with her daughters and some other friends.

It was Tim's birthday too, in New Zealand time. It's actually today and we talked last night for a short time. We are planning to skype this weekend, the time zones being what they are it can be difficult catching each other. I do wonder when the music is going to go. It's actually unusual for me to hear anything other than peace and quiet here at my place. There must be an outdoor party for me to hear it this loud. 

Last weekend was a sail club weekend with Rick's birthday on Friday evening and some interesting discussions. One was with Mike who has offered me some work photographing tourists enjoy the rays at Stingray City. I said yes so must follow up on that. The banter was fun, everyone there relaxed and on fine form. Saturday was the 12 hour sailathon, a fund raiser for the youth team. We got in the mix in the J22 to support the youngsters. They all made the time, peer pressure keeping them going, and then enjoyed food and a relaxing swim. 

Sunday I was on the race committee boat, wine in the heat is not so good for me and it was an enjoyable afternoon on the water followed by more food. This weekend there's racing on Sunday. I'm getting plenty of sailing time, time in and on the water. I'm still waiting for the music to stop, I never thought I'd say that but really, house music is great when you're dancing to it. Not so enjoyable when one is trying to sleep. 

Di inspired me to review my old pics of Rome by posting one recently that she took at that time. A time  we spent wandering and enjoying the early morning light, the peace that is the hours just after dawn in Rome, in spring. It seems like a life time ago that we were there, so much has changed since then. The photo below is just as taken, no adjustments, with my old camera. It's one of my favourites.

Home time

I've been a little boring lately. I've discovered Netflix. A friend told me I'd get addicted quickly, what do you expect after so long with no TV. And oh how addicted I've become, addicted to some gentle and heartwarming movies. The kind only the English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh can make. I'm missing out on sleep catching ones I've never seen before and revisiting old friends like Once.

Some of the treats have been Dear Frankie; An Englishman who went up a hill  (yep, that seems to be the title!); and My Life so Far (a true story). These are quite old movies with the likes of a young Hugh Grant and Gerard Butler as stars. I'm not sure of what tonight's treat will be, half the fun is in the choosing. Suffice to say, I'll have an evening in.

I'm in need of some evenings in as things are drawing to a close at work and there's so much to do. I've got eight days of my old job left, then two months on a new project. Two months with about six months work attached so I'm not sure how that will go yet. I just may need to get some rest now before it starts. Then, all things going well, I'm off traveling. Taking the long way home to avoid a New Zealand winter and to make sure I don't mess up my tax status by staying for Christmas.

The price of a round the world ticket looks a little excessive so this weekend I'm checking the best options for travel. The plan is to leave here, go for a road trip in the US then fly to London; train to Belgium to spend time with Di and her lovely crew; head off on an adventure there, Spain and Italy come to mind; then onto Poland; down the Adriatic coast to Greece and Turkey; on to Georgia to see Natia if she's home; down to the UAE and then heading south via friends in Brunei, Singapore and Perth. Catching up with friends is my plan so I hope you are all home and I get to cuddle the new additions to your families and meet the new and special people in your lives.

Melbourne is my first destination to see the newly weds; then up to Brissy for some Eve and her mum and dad time and over to Christchurch for some digging in the sand pit time with Noah and his mum and dad. I should be able to catch up with everyone in Christchurch because I will have time this trip to do just that. I'm not sure how long this will take, I'm in no hurry and taking a much needed break from full time work. I have a few projects I'm working on, exciting and different little projects so watch this space.

Movie time, I feel a rom com coming on.

NYC, what a treat

Decisions

There's plenty to think about at the moment as my contract comes to an end. The not so small stuff that I do usually sweat. What do I want to do? Where will I go next? How am I going to get there? Well, actually that's it. Three questions that cover most of life's decisions. The first about the most important decision, the others about pretty much everything else. Dilemmas, decisions, actions on what's next.

Top of my list is to have a break, a decent piece of time out and about. Some summer exploring and catching up with friends in the US, Europe and the UAE, then off home to spend some time with my lovely grand babies and my family. Some extended time in Australia and New Zealand, in summer and over Christmas. I'm really excited about taking some time out, being able to do this is a privilege.

View from the top

History

"Here lies the body of
Mr William Hamersley
Merchant who departed
this life August 3rd
1752 aged 65 years"

It was a little disconcerting to look into the graveyard of the Trinity Church in Manhattan and notice a headstone through my lens that had my date of birth on it. Not the year of course unless I've held my age particularly well. What I discovered when I saw this was how little I knew of American history. In particular, the history of New York City.

I didn't realise that NYC was already a large Dutch and English settlement by 1700. I didn't realise the role it played in the colonising of America and the revolution, the war of 1776. I was more than a little humbled by this fact, my guide was kind about my ignorance and was able to share the history he knew. When I got home I found the book New York by Edward Rutherfurd in my local bookstore so I'm enjoying revisiting NYC in the old days and learning more about this interesting city.

Wall Street and surrounds were a thriving financial centre even back in the 1700s with the merchants trading with the home country through the port. Through the place that I stood and took photos of the tall ships and the old fish market, what a thriving place it must have been in those times. I'm really enjoying reading about the building of the Trinity Church and how religious differences were transported into the new city. Visiting places through stories is how I managed to travel when the boys were young and travel was impossible, now I get to visit places as well as read about them.

A truly tall ship

Around the Island

Easter weekend sees the round island race, head out of North Sound and turn right, keep going to East End then turn right again then go straight past South Sound to the finish line along 7 Mile Beach. Simple. Well, not quite. What an exciting couple of days out on the water. Blue Runner is a J37, the swells were 2.5-3 metres and the wind 24 gusting 26. Add a spinnaker. It was exciting.

Blue Runner in the fore ground and Java Knight

The photo was taken from East End in the place where two currents meet and chop and cross waves are fierce. The waves are breaking on the reef, that's quite a way off shore so the photographer, from Harbour House Marina, must have had an excellent zoom. Actually the photo really doesn't do the conditions justice.

We had a few issues in the tough conditions and came close to broaching a few times under spinnaker. Seven hours of being battered, wet and cold we arrived at the finish of the first day. Day two was only around four hours. Lots of lessons learnt, the main one for me not sit down wind of someone who gets seasick. Actually, even people who don't usually get sick did on this trip.

My poor rail mate was looking green so I suggested he retire to the back for a bit, I offered him my emergency zip lock bag. Then I felt a warmer wave, yes poor man had chucked all over me and the next person down the rail. We had to stay put as we needed the weight. He retired, I turned off my smell senses and waited for the next wave, grateful for the cold wash down. My cast iron belly held up, eating chips on the rail with fellow kiwi Aaron, waves washing over and making them a little soggy and adding salt.

It was funny, I had actually taken part in this race during my first weekend here. I got to race the second day, I was blissfully ignorant of the fact we were racing. The conditions on that day were very calm, thankfully. So still in one piece, body a little sore from the pounding and grinding, and nicely warmed up, I'm at home enjoying an evening chatting to the kids and friends. I love the Internet, how did we ever cope without it?