It has been more than a month now that I am officially not allowed to go ashore here in Portugal. You might think that I would get bored in the few square feet of my floating home.
Luckily, this is not the case at all: As already mentioned in the lasttwo blog posts, I actually see my situation quite relaxed. I am much better off here at anchor next to Ilha Culatra than many people ashore (and also at sea).
Sailing-wise, there are no news, of course, but in order to let you participate a little bit in my everyday boat life here I want to share some impressions of my past weeks:
Culinary Highlights
What makes me very happy is that the situation has forced me to cook exclusively on my own. While I usually go out eating frequently, I now make a virtue out of necessity and try other dishes than my standard pasta, vegetable pans or lentil curries in ahora’s galley. In addition to my stomach, my cruising funds are thankful for this initiative.
Thanks to gifts from the friendly fisherman, who also provides me with food, and to Micha from the neighboring boat, who has become a real fishing freak, fresh fish, but also other specialties, such as mussels or octopus, is now on the menu almost every day. I definitely won’t starve here… 🙂
Thanks to Micha and my local fisherman friend, I have now practiced to gut fish…… and to prepare them for delicious meals.Completely new for me was the cooking of two octopi with beer and onion.After an hour in the pot, the beasts were much less slimy…… and extremely tasty in a salad and in pasta sauce.I also cooked fresh mussels from the sandbank in all sorts of variations. Simple, tasty and healthy.
Easter and my Birthday
In the past two weeks there was not only Easter, but I also celebrated my 33rd birthday. This was by far the most unusual „birthday party“ in my life…
I celebrated Easter with these three new friends. Unfortunately, none of them survived the party… 😉In contrast, my new neighbour, the cormorant, is still doing well.For my birthday, even some real people came to see me and we had a social distance cup of coffee in our dinghies.Wanie from a neighboring boat even baked a cake in the pan. I probably won’t forget this birthday so quickly…
Everyday Boat Life
Even if the pictures above look like paradise and leisure, I am actually working more than usual these days. My online projects want to be kept going, and I also use the time to do tasks that I had always neglected.
If it’s not too windy for the dinghy ride, I like to move my office on board of Zen. (The catamaran of Rainer, which I can just „watch out“ for.)On Zen there is also enough space for yoga, …… and other gymnastics exercises.But despite the „full program“ there is still enough time to enjoy a coffee in the hammock. And to reread this great book again, which influenced me a lot in the choice of my boat and in my travel preparations.
So, that’s it for now from my side. Big „jumps“ aren’t possible right now, but as always I try to look forward to things in a positive way.
I wish you all good health and that you are well. I very much hope that we will all be able to return towards a more normal life soon. Until then: Keep calm, carry on and try to make the most of your situation!
Thanks Leah! Crazy times call for incredible stories. Hope you are doing well… Just listened to your song on the Sailing Conductors album the other day… 🙂
