I AM the BLOG!

Hello hello,
I have a great back log (or back blog...) of posts I've been meaning to write and didn't.
I think the next post will explain why (teaser, yes, why not). Turns out that I do find the chronological order of events important so I'll start from where we left off.

Back to August,
Remember John and Vicky? our friends from Boston who came to visit us in Viequese in January. The original plan back then  was to have them stay on land and we were to pick them out on 'daily charters' taking them around. We didn't plan on wracking our boat, and ended up staying with them on land. It was still a lot of fun.
Well John and Vicky did it again! they have decided to come meet us again in the beginning of August, and we've set the destination at Union Island. Union Island is one of the Grenadines of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and a good base for visits to other small islands in the area.
We were real excited to have our first guests (except for The Malatrasis of course). The plan was for them to stay in a nice place on land, and for us to meet them each morning and sail around. same plan as in January, only this time we actually had a floating boat! never underestimate that!

The reunion was great! the kids and us were really happy to see them again.
John, who used to work with Oren, told us people back home kept asking him if he reads this blog, his negative answer was followed by a statement "I don't need to read the blog, I come here to see with my own eyes! I AM the blog!!!" well, for a week there, you were right!

John "I AM the blog" 

Vicky Getting a ride to the beach

We had a great time with them, and tried to show them as much of the Grenadines as we could. it rained almost every day, but we got enough sun shine and great weather too.

Part of the itenerary was a trip to the Tobago keys where John and I got to snorkel with a lot of turtles. Such a great experience!

John went in the water before it did and the rough weather prevented me from finding him (it was pouring rain and there were high waves). But I really wanted a picture with a turtle... So there. I give you my dirt ever selfy with a turtle ;)

John and Vicky  have been engaged for almost 3 years, and we talked a lot about actually tying the knot, and were very very very very happy and excited to hear that a month later the have spontaneously went ahead and did it!! Mazal Tov!!

Gur's birthday was teo days after they were supposed to leave and not to miss it, they have decided to take us out to dinner and celebrate an early birthday.
Birthday boy was happy as they get, with Pizza and cake you just can't go wrong :)
Happy early birthday my child!

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Frozen – The Musical!

A few weeks ago, Mika and Catherine from the S/V Bendecida came up with the idea to rehearse some of the songs from the excellent Disney movie “Frozen”. That idea expanded to include a few other kids, and very quickly became a bay-wide event with kids from neighboring boat taking place. Darya volunteered to help produce and the kids started working on a script, costumes, and songs. The Premiere was announced on the Net for anyone interested to come and watch.

For those of you who have not been living on a boat in Grenada – the Net is a “morning briefing” using a predefined VHF radio channel (number 66). Every morning, the weather is announced, as well as any social activities, special offerings to the cruising community, and general information and help regarding anything from shopping buses to engine parts. This goes on every morning at 7.30 and is a backbone of what we have come to call “Camp Grenada”. I guess it is the equivalent of listening to the morning show in the morning rush hour traffic on the way to work…

The Cast

Back to the production – The production was a great success! It was great seeing how well the kids got along and initiated this play out of thin air within a very short amount of time.

Olaf, Anna, and Elsa in Act I

As an Encore, Darya and the other moms decided to put on their own version of “Do you want to build a snowman” named “Do you want to build a burger”.

Listening to the words just now, I realize how meaningless and surreal they must seem to anyone that has not been spending time in Prickly Bay, Grenada. So for the sake of clarity, I hereby provide you with a partial urban marine dictionary to “Camp Grenada”. This should give some better insight into the day-to-day life down here. It is tough, but someone’s gotta do it...

• Build-a-burger – Every Friday, the bakery at the Port Louis marina offers discounted burgers where you get a fresh baked bun, pick your toppings, get your burger, and munch away. The line often stretches way back and it has become a weekly get-together event.
• Shopping buses – Organized buses go out from various bays to take you grocery shopping.
• “Darren at the Bar” – The owner of the Tiki Bar at Prickly bay, which has become a community center for activities ranging from Domino’s, Chess, Yoga, Live music, and more.
• “Back to 68” – The VHF has replaced the use of the conventional home phone. A special channel (68) is designated to hail other neighboring boats, and conversations then usually Switch to a different channel (i.e. "Okay, Switch").

Cool rainbow in the bay. Just for the heck of it.

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Down Island

I had to get that previous post out of the system before I could tell you more about what is going on with us here in Lala land. 

And since I promised an uplifting post, I'll start with some uplifting shots, to give you an idea of the setting we're at

The view from a peak in the island of Cariacou. 

Our back yard

Sandy island (it's an island and it's sandy, can't get less creative then that)

When we reunited with our friends from Endless pleasure, back in January, we were boat less and clueless and yet Steph, who was sure it's just a matter of time before we're floating again kept repeating these two words like a mantra: "down island". 

"You should come down island with us" she used to say, "see all the different islands and travel all the way to grenada for hurricane season. Our original plan was to go back home in July, making out way north to Florida and never going south of the BVIs. But still she repeated, "come down island... Come down island..."

As you know, she was right, it wasn't too long before we were floating again, and our set back made us prolong our trip and so we found ourselves, just as Steph suggested, going down island.

Some boat work and repairs and other issues made us go slower then our friends on Endless pleasure and Perry, and I guess slower then many other cruisers who and so we were meeting very few boats along the way. That was the case until in Dominica we finally got Lucky! 

Literally. 

In the anchorage there we mat Kevin and Marina from Lucky Seven and have been boat buddies ever since. 

It's good to have another boat close by and when it has good people on board it's even much better!

To make things even better we were blessed (literally) to meet Bendecida soon after in St. Lucia. Bob and Molly are sailing with their fun and sweet (sorry John) teen agers and a great bond has been formed with kids and grownup alike. 

Together we were lucky to celebrate Oren's  birthday! Once again celebrating with friends! With Pizza and cake, just like Mika suggested! It doesn't get better than that!

A few days later we celebrated Molly's birthday too. 

Happy birthday to both!!

Boys bonding while grown up are playing Mexican train domino. 

And so, we've actually made it to Grenada. Well technically we're still  a little north, in Cariacou, but it does belong to Grenada so here we are!

We've been improving our fishing technics, and although the fish we catch are still smaller then we'd hope for, they add up to great meals!

All in all, life is good :)

I'll sign off for the day with some more fun pictures and a hope for storm-free days (and nights). Thank you Steph for talking us into coming here. We wish you guys were here with us! 

Hang in there

Darya

Oren hanging in here 

Challah day

Care-free kids exploring with a glass-bottom bucket. 

Local fruit guy, in the comfort of your own boat, st. Lucia 

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15 seconds

The past few weeks were very hard for me. 

Here we are, enjoying the amazing views of the carribeans, and the total freedom this adventure has granted us, while back home in Israel war is on. 

Thousands of missiles have been fired on Israel from Gaza during the past 3 weeks. Targeting the entire country, including my home town, Tel Aviv. 

Sirens go off on a daily basis, in some parts of the country, on an hourly basis. These sirens can catch you anywhere and they give you a 15 seconds warning. 15 seconds. That's all the time you have to run for the nearest shelter if one is near by, or out to the stairwell if you're not so lucky, stop at the side of the highway leave the car and dodge by te side of the road, cover your kids body and their little ears and hope that no one gets hurt. 

While my sister is doing that with her kids, aged just like mine, and my not-so-young parents are doing that, and all my friends are doing that, on a daily basis now, I'm teaching my kids to snorkel, fish their dinner and run on the amazingly white sand. 

That's doesn't feel right. 

Everyone should be able to spend their summer running care free. 

This war is a first for me in more than one way. It's the first time I'm so far away from home in such a time, it's the first time it is effecting the life in Tel Aviv, the bubble of all bubbles, and it's the first time so many of my friends have kids who are fighting out there. I spent many sleepless nights lately praying for their safe return and,  naively, for peace. 

I hope you can join me in a prayer for peace. 

Darya 

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Camp Del-Max

Friday was the last day of the school year in Massachusetts. That makes my kids 2nd and K graduates, ready to enter Kita gimel and Kita alef (3rd and 1st grade in Hebrew) that's a big deal! Huge! 

First of all it made us realize how long we've been on the go; over 6 months have passed since we've raised anchor and started this adventure. The end of the school year was no where near site when we left. It was cold and it was winter, and everyone was thinking of the winter break or the spring break but the end of the year?! Who would have thought we'd still be afloat by then (and of course after the accident, who thought we'd float again...)

But that's not the only reason why it's a big deal. 

In Israel elementary school doesn't start with kindergarten. Kindergarten is still all about being kids and having fun (or so I'm told...) the real milestone is first grade and the fact that Gur just graduated from his pre-school phase even in Israel is mind blowing! 

On the weekend Gur got a letter from a friend back home who told him school was over and he was starting camp on Monday. 

When he told Oren about the letter we both congratulated them on their graduation and Oren suggested that starting Monday they will also start camp: camp Del-Max!

What is that? The kids all asked. "The best camp in the world!" Replied Oren "first of all, it's on a boat! You get to do all kinda of fun activities, like hiking, snorkling, sailing and more. You get to visit new places, learn new things and meet new friends" the kids thought for a second and then Gur said:"you need to make a schedule!"

"I will" said Oren "get me a piece of paper and a pen" Gur quickly got him a pen and paper and Oren started adding activities to the schedule while the kids are throwing in more and more suggestions :) everyone was excited! I explained to the kids that it's an overnight camp, which made it even more exciting. By the time the schedule was on paper we asked them if they think they'd want to sign up for such a camp. Without hesitation Gur took the pen and wrote down his name on the back of the schedule. Mika and Arbel quickly followed and the list was closed. We have 3 campers and camp is officially on!!!

We introduced ourselves as their staff and said we might need name tags for the first few days. Gur quickly grabbed Woden laundry pins and wrote each name on a pin. He then handed them out and he and Arbel proudly wore them. In fact the first thing Arbel did this morning when he woke up was clip on his name tag. Sweet!!

We told Mika who didn't like the clips that we'll try and remember her name without it. We did!

Today wa. The first day of camp. It started with a dinghy ride to the boulangerie for croissant au chocolate to go around and a stop at what is probably the best playground in the Caribbean. 

The day continued with a hike up the mountain to Fort Nappleon. With it's amazing views of the Iles des saintes. Islands of the saints, where we have been for the past few days. 

On the way back to the boat we have continued our on going Mango hunt. Almost every house on the island has mango trees and we are trying to get as many as we can without trespassing. Not an easy mission but we're getting there. 

The afternoon snack today at camp Del-Max was a fresh mango-carabola smoothie. YUM!!

At dinner the kids have all agreed they had a great first day at camp and are looking forward for tomorrow. And the staff? We had a pretty great first day too :)

Stay tuned. We'll tell you how it's going. 

Oh! And by the way! Are you reading these posts or just hitting like when you see the link on Facebook? You might have noticed I haven't posted for a while. Lack of Internet connection was part of the reason of course, but also a mild case of writers phobia. That there's actually no one out there but my parents who actually reads this. I think if it hadn't been for my friend Adi who complained it might have taken even longer (toda neshama!)

So, in the spirit of camp, if you did read this far, and you are on Facebook go ahead and comment with you favorite animal. Mine by the way will be on the first comment ;)

Remember to use sunscreen!

Love you all

Darya 

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A few thousand words

Haven't blogged in a while. 

We are finally back in the Virgin Islands, this time from the comfort of our own boat. 

Words can't describe the beauty we're surrounded with, and so this time I've decided to simply let the pictures tell the story....

On the passage from Culebra to St. Thomas we've had the best sailing conditions and were greeted by a pod of Dolphines who escorted our boat for a while. 

We celebrated the Israeli Independence Day. Flew the flag, sang songs and made a traditional Al Ha Esh (BBQ). 

Yes. We took the flag with us, more then 5 months ago, just so we can fly it on our Independence Day :)

On the short way from st thomas to St. John we we hit by a cold front with heavy rain, cold weather and even hail... 

The rain was very heavy that a few hatches started leaking again. Not fun. 

We finally got back together with our friends from endless pleasure who we've missed so much. Good to have you back guys!!

By the time we got to Maho bay we were greeted by an amazing rainbow. A sign that the storm has passed. 

Maho bay is also home for a lot of turtles who pop up ocasionaly to breath and say hi. Every turtle brought a smile to my face. I smiled a lot in Maho bay :)

In Maho bay we also finally got together with Perry, our new buddy boat, a family with 2 kids who are also going down island. I've 'met' Jen through a Facebook  group of families sailing wth kids but it took us a while to get together. The kids are having a blast playing together and so are the adults. 

With Perry we mat Brit who's sailing solo now on his cat. Brit is a surfer/kite surfer and showed us some of his skills in sandy spit. 

One morning Mat from Perry poped out from under our boat with a Conch he found. We waited for it to come out. 

This one was too young to eat, so we throwe it out. But they did treat us to some conch fritters they made with conch they foun earlier in their journey. Delish!

Mika got her first recorder lesson from dad. She did so well! 

Oren and the other big boys got to go diving in sandy spit. 

I'll sign off for now. More stories next time. 

Leaving AT&T Land again so will have limited reception. Not sure when the next update will be. But you can follow our location using the where in the world map on the web version of this blog. 

Stay dry. 

Darya 

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Happy Birthday Mika

A short post about one big girl :)

Tuesday was Mika's 8th birthday, the second birthday we're celebrating on this trip. 

The excitement was building up with a very serious countdown that has been going on for a little over a month. 

Those who know her know how lucky we are. She's the sweetest, happiest, most cheerful and optimistic person I've ever known. And she's my daughter!

Her smile lights up my day, every day. 

A day before her birthday her brothers were busy preparing their cards. 

Gur made her a flower and Arbel made her a card. Remember he's 3.5. And made this card ALL by himself including signing his name. I was impressed! 

Mika was hoping we can invite Ciro's daughter, Katalina, to celebrate her birthday with us. 

As you remember, Katalina and her mom Laura came to meet us when we arrived in Puerto Rico from the Dominican Republic. A journey Ciro helped us with. We spent a nice day at the beach then and there was a great connection between the two families, adults and kids alike. When they heard it was Mika's birthday they invited us over for dinner. We happily accepted, and so, just like the first birthday on this journey, Mika's birthday was celebrated amongst friends. Such a heart warming experience! It made us, but more importantly Mika, very very happy. Thank you Malatrasi's! We love you!

They got the cake! All we had to do was add candles

Katalina naturally took the role of an older sister

Birthday amongst friends, can't beat that

Today we got to spend one last day with them, rode the dinghy to shore and had fun trying out their little Sun Fish (Oren did)

Ciro guiding Oren before sending him off alone into the strong wind. 

Later on we tried fishing from our boat, and Katalina even cought what we think was a huge Remora before he managed to get away, taking our bate with him...

If the weather is in our favor, we will leave to Culebra tomorrow (we are now anchored off off the little island of Isleta )

We will miss you Malatrasi's! But with our low budget production, I'm sure we'll meet again!!

BTW, we got our tracker back! You can check out our location again at http://share.delorme.com/daryaelias 

Or on the web version of this blog. 

May we always celevrate amongst friends!

Happy birthday Mika!

אוהבת אותך עד הירח ובחזרה

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