Whereonearthisjojo

Typical side road of the town Mindelo  The airy cobble-stone road to the to of Mount Verde View from the top of the mountain A cattle egret that must be lost!   It was up there at the top of the mountain The outhouse at the top of the mountain, a very popular place after that 20 minute cobble-stone bus ride.  A little fishing village spot Sahara Dust dunes.  Yes,  sand from the Sahara, extremely fine almost like flour, falls out of the sky and accumulates at certain spots on the island.. Typical country side view.  After 9 days at sea, especially with two of them having been pretty rocky it was a pleasure to sea land. For those of you who have sailed before know,  after many days at sea you have developed sea legs and now that you are back on land you have to adjust to being on solid ground.  So if you see people swaying its not that they are inebriated, its just that they have been at see for a while. To compensate, they sway to and fro when stan...

 Hello Everyone, Some of you have asked what it is like to be at sea for 9 days.  Well it is great.  Only boring people will get bored for there is always plenty to do on board, besides keeping up with friends via email, or updating this blog.  We get wonderful meals, a variety of lectures, movie performances, evening programs such as Magicians, singers, dancer, Ventriloquist  and so on.   Then of course you can walk on multiple decks, or exercise  in the gym. And if that is not enough, you can swim, lounge around the bars and yes maybe in between find time to consume three sumptuous meals.   Always people to talk to if you are so inclined.  We even have stretch,  yoga, arts and crafts, IPhone, bridge, and Mahjong classes.  And if you are into picture puzzles, well you have come to the right place.  There may be more.  But, I a think I have made my point.    Oh and heaven forbid our sea days are interrupted with ...

Our bird friend, a Booby decided to join the cruise and he or she was with us all day yesterday.  We were able to get right close and personal with him or her and it would not budge.  It was busy preening and just enjoying the view.  They are not shy birds as I have found out.  The Booby spent the whole night with us and was again seen this morning though on the deck rather than on that strange contraption.  Now he seems to have flown the coup, probably out looking for breakfast.  They have been known to accompany a ship for up to two weeks.  Hence, I will check later today and see if it has returned.     

 We arrived February 13th in Montevideo and will be staying overnight, as our port of call to Punta del Este was cancelled due to sea conditions not being favorable for tendering.  And, Punta del Este is a tender port. We were greeted with, while cool temperature, bright sunshine and fair winds.  We booked the 7 hour tour to the La Rabida Working Ranch for the first day.  The tour started with a brief glimpse of the city which did not impress me at all but then proceeded for an hour and half through the lovely Uruguayan countryside, which was absolutely gorgeous, even though generally flat.  The gentle rolling hills and its varied vegetation with blue skies and puffy white clouds just was such a pleasant site after many days at sea.  We arrived at the ranch and were greeting by some members of the family on horseback.  We were directed to a large pasture field with many huge shade trees and open-air buildings where we were given a brief history of the ...

  Since we could not complete bunkering ( fueling up the ship ) at Punta Arenas due to worsening weather conditions we made an unscheduled stop in Ushuaia.  It’s a charming town and the most southern one in Chile.  Unfortunately we were not permitted to disembark.  We spend the night there, so a nice smooth night, no gentle movements of the ship to rock you to sleep.  We woke up to a beautiful sunny day. After bunkering was complete we continued on to sail around Cape Horn.  The seas got rougher, the winds stronger, the clouds lingered, but no rain.  For many it was a once in a life time experience.  For me it was the second time, though I never thought I would have that privilege again, especially with what turned out to be relatively decent weather, a rarity.   This area is known for 60 ft waves and gale force winds.  Don’t get me wrong we all bundled up and went outside to experience this monumental moment.  Many a sailers have t...