Back to Our Winter Boat...

Our flight from Cuba arrived back in Toronto around midnight.  We slept at an airport hotel and twelve hours after landing crossed into the States by car.  Three countries in one eighteen hour period. A bit of a whirlwind!

We both love a road trip and we chose a nice scenic route through the States.  On the way we took a very welcomed pit-stop in Charleston to visit with Dave and Michelle on the boat Just Us. This is a new boat for them and WOW, what a beauty, a fifty plus foot Viking.  Jeff was drooling all over the engine room with two big Mann Diesels and still plenty of room to move around comfortably. Thanks Dave and Michelle for the hospitality!  We look forward to catching up with you in Fort Myers.

The next stop was St. Augustine to have a visit with our buddies Connie, Joe and their sweet puppy Chase on board the boat Chesapeake.  Chase was rescued by Connie and Joe last year and they had a bit of an "adjustment period" with him as they all got used to each other.  He's like a new dog now.  So settled, relaxed and calm.  It was so nice to catch up with them.

We couldn't put if off any longer.  Gran Vida was parked in a boat storage lot for the summer which is located in the sugar cane region.  When we dropped her off we saw the burning of the stocks going on, with the thick, black smoke, and we knew she was going to be dirty.  Not to mention that Hurricane Matthew had just passed close by and had thrown up some wind.  We arrived to find the boat had been moved to the work area as requested, in one piece but very dirty!  After a quick survey we spun on our heals and headed out of there.

No, we weren't being lazy, Brian and Janice, our friends from Ontario and from the boat, Fugitive, were visiting their condo in Naples and had invited us over for a visit.  Their hot tub was very much appreciated after several long days in the car.  We enjoyed a great visit and a nice dinner out.  Thanks Brian and Janice for the warm welcome.

Back at the boat we put our noses to the grindstone and started in on the clean-up.  After a week of thorough cleaning, re-organizing, buff and waxing, mechanical repairs, washing/waterproofing of the canvas, bottom painting and a start on the metal polishing, we were launched and on our way.

The plan for this month is to stay in the municipal marina in Fort Myers and continue to work on the boat, cleaning, sprucing it up a bit along with socializing with other boaters.  Throw a little golf into the mix and what's not to love!  Sounds like a gran vida to us!

Check out the shine!

Cuba

Early November. The first snowfalls were beginning. Jeff had finished work for the season. The boat was hauled out of the water and about to be shrink-wrapped for the winter. The American election, which we really were preferring to avoid (no offence to our American friends!) was set for November 8th.  What to do?  What to do?We decided to treat ourselves to a week get-away at an all inclusive resort in Varadero, Cuba.  We'd never done anything like that and we weren't sure what to expect.

It was lovely. Most of the week was spent lazing or playing ball by the pool or on the beach.  There was a show every night which was actually pretty good!  One was a show in the pool with synchronized swimmers dressed in sparkly costumes.  Of course Jeff and I had a blast making complete fools of ourselves trying to replicate some of the moves the next day in the pool (not to mention sinuses full of water).

We took two excursions, one to Havana with a couple we met from a small town outside of Edmonton and their two teenagers, Christine, Peter, Korban and Kindra.  The other excursion was a jeep safari, where we got to drive our own little 4-wheel drive.  We shared our vehicle with a sweet young couple from Toronto, Taylor and Hamad.  On the agenda for the day was a visit to a spot for snorkling, an underwater cave with a natural, crystal clear pool for swimming that was absolutely beautiful and probably one of the most refreshing experiences in a long time, a little fishing boat we used to take a spin up a river, and a farm, where I got to ride a bull (Save a cowboy, ride a bull).

Here are a few highlights:

Every day was warm and sunny, with only a couple of very short rain showers all week.  

Days were spent playing ball on the beach or in the pool and chatting with other vacationers.

Many long walks along the shore were enjoyed.  One day we went out on little hobby cat, with feet dangling in crystal clear turquoise water. We even stayed up really late and danced a few nights away in the disco!!  And guess who was leading the congo line (Hint: Jeff).  It was a nice escape.