Off to sea!

I know......I know.......I can hear it already. "You get a real job and the blogs come to a screeching halt!"

On the boat!

It has been a busy few weeks, with Levi and I working 50+ hours a week, working to finish details on the fishing boat(s), but no excuses! I know some readers are wondering what we've been up to, here in Alaska.  There has been an endless list of things to prepare and fix. I mentioned the net mending in the previous post, and all is well, nets are mended and on the boats. 1/2 mile of net is a LOT of net (not to mention it weighs about 5,000 pounds dry.....more when it's wet!) There have been loads of other projects as well, but it seems we have gained on it, and the list is finally short.

One of the chores to get ready was an all day trip to Anchorage (Erik and Emma) and filing 6 carts with enough food for 2 1/2 months' long season. We're planning on being more than a little hungry after fishing all day, so we need our 'sustenance' :)   Most of the food stays in Homer, and when we need to re-stock while we're out there, Linda sends it with the fish tenders that come and go from us, bringing our catches to the fish processors. The tenders are huge ships that literally vacuum the fish from our boat (sometimes straight from the net) into their hold and make the 10 hour trek back to town. So we can just keep fishing!

So, we are planning now to leave the day after tomorrow, and are heading out to an area on the way to Kodiak Island, about 10 hours from Homer by boat. It should take us one overnight trip and then we'll be waiting for the schools of fish to start "running"....schooling back to the same creeks and rivers where they were spawned 3-4 years ago. 

Levi and I have been like sponges, learning everything we can about the whole process, and are excited to see the boats start filling with fish. We get paid a percentage of the season's catch.....so the joke is: NO fish will escape on our watch!!

Meanwhile......Miles and the girls are enjoying a bathtub at their disposal!

Berber Village and Family

While we were in Marrakesh and the Atlas mountains, we went to a Berber house to have breakfast (which was actually bread and tea). The Berber people are the native people of Morocco. There was a little girl there, and as soon as we got there, my dad picked her up for a picture and then put her down and then she was reaching for me! 

So I picked her up and when I tried to put her down she wouldn't let go of me. So we went upstairs and she sat down with me and as I was drinking my tea she was reaching for the bread and tea so I gave her some of mine. 

We walked around her house and she showed me where she plays and we played there for a little while. When I had to leave, she wanted me to stay. She grabbed my hand and was pulling me but I had to go so I waved goodbye and she let me go and waved goodbye too. She was SO cute!!

~Emma

Gibralter wanderings

Emma and 'friend'

We made a few trips across the border into Gibralter from the marina in Spain, and really had a great time on this little corner province of the UK.

We took a trip up to the top of the mountain, and saw the infamous apes, saw some caves converted into a concert hall, the Great Siege Tunnels from 1779, and the quaint downtown with it's endless shops of duty-free booze and watches. I mean, does the world really need this much booze and this many watches? I can't believe all the shops survive.
There are other plenty of other shops such as toy stores and music stores that are fun and it's a cool place to wander around. It feels a bit like a miniature London without the fog. The most important thing is they have Cornish meat pies, and our ancestry from Cornwall, England instilled in us (or me at least) a deep love of 'pasties' Very tasty!

Miles wishing he was just a little older ;)

We also found a bowling alley and went bowling with the family from s/v Imagine. It has been several years since any of us bowled and we had a lot of fun sliding around, trying not to throw too many gutter balls! Lily and Zoe had never seen a bowling alley and were NOT excited, up until they got their shoes on and saw what was going on. Now they can't wait until the next time, whenever that may be and they were talking about it for days afterward. 

From the Rock, 

~Hems

.....not everyday!!

We keep on ‘keeping on’….…..heading west through the huge, Bay of Corinth and Bay of Patras, before entering the Adriatic sea and head up the Ionian Islands towards Corfu.

The landscape has changed a lot since passing through the Corinth Canal and the mountians surrounding us are HUGE! Also, it’s much greener and more cultivated. There are loads of citrus, olive groves and of course, plenty of vineyards. Some of the best wine from Greece is reportedly grown in this region. It is a nice change from the dusty Cyclades Islands and somehow feels cooler although we are in full Summer now and at mid-day, you had better be sailing with a breeze or swimming!

Leaving Corinth, we had a very calm day, there was no wind and the sea was very flat…..little ripples now and then. So, we were motoring along, at a lazy pace, when I spotted a group of dolphins in the distance. We’ve seen dolphins throughout the Med several times and it’s always pretty special. Whoever spots them (usually Levi) yells out and everyone who’s not on deck runs out and we watch them jump and swim. We’ve had them stay with us, even in rough waves for 15 minutes or more, and looking over the bow seeing them in the water right below Mehari is spectacular.

This time, Emma and I wanted to try and swim with them, and it was so calm and we had no sails to roll up, we thought it was the perfect time. We put the engines in neutral as we approached, and then turned them off, slowly reducing our speed. They kept jumping and splashing, sometimes in groups of three or four. They were having a ball and I don’t think even noticed us. Once we were crawling along, we jumped in and swam out in front toward where we last saw them. It was only a few seconds and they were jumping around us and I took a mask and could actually see them swimming below us. Rachel was on deck trying to get some pictures, but it’s so hard, when you have no idea where they’ll jump next. So, I guess you have to take our word for it for now, but it was amazing!

The whole experience was unparalleled and very special. I'm sure none of us will ever forget this day!

~Hems 

Walkin' on the Walls

Emma and dad:)

Hanging out with Toni and Larry!

Views from on top of the wall 

A few weeks ago I got to walk on the Ramparts walk With my dad and some friends :) What we did was walked on the outer walls of the Old city. My favorite part was all the awesome views.  The Ramparts Wall was used for the soldiers to protect the city inside and out.  You can still see bullet holes on some of the walls and buildings.......cool!!!


Emma:)

Emma on the Walls!

Emma's Friends

While we've been traveling this past 3 years, I have met a lot of friends from all over the world.  Since I have been in Israel, I have met more friends!  One friend I have met here is Rachel.  She is originally from Uganda,  but grew-up in England. We both have DS's and we love to play doubles, we also love singing with our brothers and sisters. Our favorite thing to do is play cards (Nertz and speed). Even though we speak the same language there are many things we say different :)  Here are some of the differences :)

             what we say.(American English)          what they say.(British English) 

          1.we call the trunk of a car                                  1. they call it the boot 

          2.we call it pants                                                     2. they call them trousers 

          3.we call them diapers                                          3. they call them nappies 

          4. we call it a toilet                                                 4. they call it a lou

          5.we call it dessert                                                  5. they call it pudding                                                                                                                       

          6. we call it Jello                                                      6. they call it jelly                                                                                            

          7.we call them rubber boots                                7. they call them wellies 

          8. we call it a stroller                                              8. they call it a pram 

          9. we call it shopping cart                                     9. they call it a trolley                                                          

         10. we call a trash can                                           10. they call it a rubbish bin 

         11. we call it a passifier                                          11. they call it a dummy                                                     

         12. we call it a hair-tie                                            12. they call it a bobble 

         13.we say that someone is moody                      13. they say maudy 

         14. we call them cookies                                         14. they call them biskits 

         15. we call them comercials                                   15. they say ad-verts 

Rachel and Me :) 

                                                                                                                                                                    

Here are some of the other friends (around my age) I have met while traveling ......... 

Mia  S/V "No Limits"  ~  Spain

Hannah ~ Germany 

Jordon S/V "Zacharia" ~ England 

Chelsea S/V "Connect-4" ~ Australia 

Atayla ~ Israel 

Carolina ~ Russia
Yonit ~ Switzerland
Asya ~ Turkey

                                                                                                                                                                     

It's amazing to meet friends from all over the world!! Thanks Rach for being my "Nertz buddy" :)  

~Emma~      

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

                                                                                                                                                                          

                                                                                                                                                                          

                                                                                                                                                                          

The Jordon River

Today we went rafting in the Jordon River, that was a adventure. The Jordon River is were Jesus was baptized and we got to raft in it! Cool! First we tried on our life jackets, then we listend to the rules then we sarted. There was Lily, Zoe, Mom, Dad and me in one boat, and in the other boat there was Maggie and Levi. They were faster than us but it was ok. There was two bridges and two waterfalls. On the first waterfall Lily was a little scared, but then she had fun. It took about an hour then we went on shore and there was two buses that went back to the cars. We got there to the rental car and drove away, how cool! It was one of the best things in Israel! I would do it  again!


                               By Emma
                                     9 years old.