A month ago I left the boat and headed back to the UK. I try to get back during August/September to visit friends and family, it’s also very hot on the boat.
The trip home was easy and despite the UK being beset with public sector strikes, the trains were running fine on that day and I was soon back in Liverpool reunited with Kathy. As I left a hurricane had started to make its presence known and was on course for the Baja Peninsula, early tracks had it just missing the boat, but it was a worry, eventually it passed La Paz without causing too much damage, just a lot of flooding.
The flight back to the UK, via Amsterdam passed over Galway and Liverpool, but sadly didn’t want to stop at either, wouldn’t it be cool if they had bell pushes like the busses!
Liverpool was busy as usual, plenty of tourists and nice late summer weather, I managed to leave just before it turned to Autumn (Winter to most civilised people).
After a week in Liverpool I popped over to Galway for a few days with Tim & Asta before they headed off for a long sailing break in our old cruising grounds in the Ionian. It was great catching up and enjoying the great cooking and fresh bread always on offer at Tim & Asta’s home on the waterfront
Flying back from Galway to Liverpool one gets to see the scale of the offshore wind farms, below is just one of many in the Irish sea. I’m a big fan, I know plenty aren’t but given the current alternatives, i.e. mass extinction, then I’m cool with it.
I toyed with the idea of buying a bigger apartment in Liverpool while I was there and looked at several possibilities, mostly in the new build/off plan area, so I could rent it out until I finish this bout of cruising, but I didn’t see anywhere that really excites me, also, I was aware that the UK was heading for big economic troubles, and I wondered if there might soon be a property crash, which looking at the current forecasts seems distinctly possible.
Another job I had to tick off was changing my registered doctor, I joined a practice in the University area of Liverpool and below you can see the entrance. This is in the cluster of victorian buildings that house the Liverpool school of Tropical Medicine and has played a big part in finding treatments for diseases like Ebola/Aids/Covid19 etc. I’m looking forward to seeing inside the builing as compensation for my next illnes!
Another thing that happens in September is that Kathy, my daughter Yasmin, my best friend from school days, Dave and myself, all have birthdays. So Yasmin generously hosted us in her house and Isaac (my son) drove up from london so we could all celebrate another year passing.
So no sooner had I arrived, and I was on a plane flying back into La Paz.
I took the shot below of a local fisherman after he returned to the dock a few boats along from me, he passed me on the way out and the pelican was sitting on the transom all the time and he was feeding it any fish bits he didn’t want. It seemed like the bird was his pet and seemed quite happy to go along for the ride. I didn’t see many scenes like this in Liverpool 😉
I have been on the boat for 3 days now, everything was perfect when I returned, the boat has had a good wash from the hurricane and everything was still working.
I set out this morning to kayak over to the Magote and explore a little mangrove creek. The entrance is silted up so you need a high tide to get in and there was a big tide this morning so off I went at 8:30 before it got too hot. It was an easy paddle and I had a swim before returning. While paddling around I had a video chat with Kathy who told me there had been heavy rain in Lpool and it was quite cold, I must say I felt a little bad about that, but it didn’t last. I’m hoping Kathy will be flying out to the boat soon, I’m not sure she would like the heat as it is right now.
Arturo has left La Paz, he has moved to live with his new girlfriend over on the mainland, I’m hoping to visit him later in the year as he is only twenty miles inland from a port I can sail to. So I have lost my translator and dining companion, consequently I’m stepping up my Spanish learning.
Apologies to all my friends I had planned to visit but didn’t make it. Can I blame an old lady for messing up some of my plans, probably not, hopefully I will get to see everyone when I get back next year.
I’m planning to spend a week or two doing some programming work and a few small boat jobs before heading back out to anchor in the islands, I’m keen to do some swimming / snorkeling with the fishes before the water cools down too much. It’s around 30c right now, but will be dropping quickly, and in a few months a wetsuit might be required. When Kathy arrives we may well head over to the mainland and then travel south, possibly as far as Acapulco.
Paul Collister