San Diego, CA

The Great Basin Highway, NV looking south between Wells and Ely

My last blog posting was awhile back...
Summing up the highlights of our last 6 months ,we left Australia in july 
destination Indonesia .I must say that the constant and unconditional smiles of 
the Indonesian people remain my strongest memory,this is  a country of many 
diverse cultures and religions  ,there was never a moment that we felt unsafe, 
however poor the area we visited.We sailed with good friends making our 
discoveries more rich by being able to share our experiences together.
 We arrived at the beginning of Ramadam , so we heard the calls to prayer for 
many weeks. The sounds resonated day and night and became normal to us after a 
few days, surprisingly  raw and comforting.
This is the land of volcanoes with dramatic and beautiful landscapes.So many 
remote ,unspoiled places to visit. The markets were vibrant ,full of live 
animals and wares .Locals from all the neighboring villages selling a wonderful 
choice of fruit and vegetables ,weavings and spices. 
The orangutans in Kalimantan stand out as a major highlight of this leg in our 
journey, to be able to be so close ,sitting at arms distance and observing their 
interactions was a wonderful opportunity. I have taken so many photographs which 
someday I hope to organize and manipulate. 
The whaling village  and the Komodo dragons are also in the top ten attractions 
.
There were definitely some tricky and sometimes hair-raising  legs of sailing 
during the 3 months, the usual coral hazards,but mainly strange floating 
obstacles ,pearl farms and fishing nets ,unmarked and unlit standout the most.We 
learned how to skim along the coastal back eddies ,so as to avoid the extremely 
fierce tidal currents. I became brave enough to snorkel in a wet suit, this has 
taken me 3 years to accomplish!
The most disappointing ,sad ,and sometimes toxic experience was the slash and 
burning of their forests,combined with the trash burning ,this was at times 
painful for breathing and reduced our visibility .
We dutifully used deet at sunset and sunrise and kept nets over all ports and 
hatches so escaped from the pesky mosquito bites.
I have to admit that one of our most useful and enjoyable gadgets this year has 
been yet again the iPad, we are now proud owners of two of them. They  have 
served as a navigation system for us with the navionics app. It also serves as 
our car navigating system when we drive around the remotest of 
regions,especially now as google maps has been restored! Video skype is of 
course our best way to stay in touch with family .I could list so many more 
useful apps if anyone is interested?
When we arrived in Malaysia it was the beginning of the rainy season, so humid 
and hot,but luckily we set off for England soon after for a month of family 
gatherings.
There is nothing better than spending time with family ,friends and of course 
our new grand baby ! I can't believe she will be a year old next week.
After a wonderful month in England we came back to the USA.
When we come  home to San Diego we realize what a wonderful place this really is  
to live,in spite of all the fantastic places we visit nothing beats this.
We drove up to Sun Valley mid-december ,stopping off for a few days to catch up 
with Doctor appointments and old friends in the desert, our old stomping 
ground,strange how we took the beauty  for  granted during the 25 years we lived 
there.
We had our 5th and  last undergraduate graduation at Boise state university with 
Josette our youngest ,a very proud moment for us both.
This was our first Christmas in Sun Valley, it was truly magical. I have never 
experienced such cold, -13F at 8am in the morning! The snow was breathtakingly 
beautiful ,so crisp and pristine. It was lovely to have Josette and Julie share 
this time with us.
We are always looking at weather windows on land or at sea, so choosing the 
right time to drive the 1000 miles from Sun Valley to San Diego during the 
winter was no different,as you will see from this photo taken on the great basin 
highway it was magnificent.
We are going to San Francisco this weekend to see James and Katie as they were 
unable to make it for Christmas ,then we will have caught up with all 5 of our 
brood this trip.
I have loved having the last 3 months on terra firma,but we need to get ready to 
return to continue on our journey.We are now packing up all the usual boat 
goodies to take back with us. We will spend a few days in Hong Kong on our way 
back to Malaysia.