Back from Europe
We just returned to the US from a 7 week trip to Spain and Portugal. It was a very good trip. We flew into Porto, Portugal where we spent two weeks, after which we took a train down and spent a week in Sintra, Portugal. Lastly, we flew from Lisbon to Bilbao, Spain where we spent 4 weeks in San Sebastian, Spain and the surrounding Basque country.
Affording An Early Retirement
After the recent publishing of my ebook, Charting An Early Retirement, I have received a few inquiries from readers spanning several aspects of our retired life. The questions all had a similar theme; the readers want to know some of the nuts and bolts of how we actually afford our retirement. I thought in this post, I would provide a few more specifics about our lifestyle and how we are able to afford early retirement.
Cruising the Northern Abaco Cays
In early May we departed Hope Town and had a nice 3-hour sail down to Treasure Cay. We spent three days at Treasure Cay as the weather was still not cooperating. It was blowing 15 to 25 Knots out of the Northeast making passage around Whale Cay impossible. The weather has been unusually windy this spring. However, this stop did allow us to provision and top off our fuel and water tanks before heading out.
Springtime in the Bahamas Means more Cruising
Around the beginning of April many cruising boats in the Bahamas for the winter season start heading back home. As a result the number of social activities here in Hope Town starts to decline. My wife and I do not head home in April as we find that the springtime is the best time to cruise in the Bahamas. These months, after the winter weather settles down and before the hurricane season begins, have the best weather for sailing and fishing, In addition, the water temperature gets much warmer creeping up into the high 70s and low 80s Fahrenheit, so it is ideal for snorkeling and diving.
Cruising the Exumas
My wife and I participated in many activities in Hope Town during the Christmas holidays. These activities are what make Hope Town a real community and such a great place to be. We attended the Hope Town School Christmas play and helped build the settlement Christmas village for all the children on Elbow Cay to enjoy. There are also many adult activities such as singing Christmas carols around town, attending Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve parties at friends’ homes on land. The local Bahamians also put on several Junkanoo parades during the holidays, which is similar to a Mardis Gras parade.
Returning to the Bahamas After Hurricane Season
After returning from Canada, we spent about 6 weeks in Maryland visiting with family and friends, buying needed items for our boat, and visiting with our doctors. In mid-October we flew to New Orleans to visit with more family. After spending a nice week in New Orleans, we flew to Fort Lauderdale, FL and made the hop to the Abaco area. But this time we flew into Treasure Cay airport instead of Marsh Harbour.
More Canada
We have just returned from Canada and I thought I would post some pictures. The second half of our Canada trip was visiting the Canadian Maritimes, specifically Prince Edward Island (PEI), Nova Scotia, and Cape Breton.
Summer in Canada
After spending the month of June visiting family and friends and seeing all our doctors, we took off to Canada. This past winter season in the Bahamas we met and befriended several cruisers from Canada. They all invited us to visit them this summer. Having never been to eastern Canada, we decided to take a trip up to the area this summer.
Back From the Bahamas for the Summer
We spent most of April and May cruising around the familiar Abaco cruising spots, Guana Cay, Man-Of-War Cay, Little Harbour, and Treasure Cay. Even though our major boat leak repair is fixed, we still had some problems with some of our electronics when Satisfaction was returned to us in February. I am not sure why this would happen as the repair job had no reason to touch any of these electronic systems. However, this did not stop us from cruising the local spots.
Back on the Water
I have not posted to my blog in about 3 months because, frankly, there has not been much to talk about. Our major boat repair was completed in Mid-February, but we have been dealing with other boat issues.