Okay, so this is just a quick blog, but I just met a sloth named Pippin. He is 8 months old and the girls that I met yesterday (Kendel and Quin) adopted him after he fell out of a tree and would not go back up. After we download the pictures I'll post one, but I just wanted to let you know. We have to go over to our new friends on the boat Wasabi for dinner. Bye!
Monday, December 29, 2008
Arriving in Panama
So yesterday we arrived in Panama! As we approached the break wall (entrance) we noticed all of the huge ships surrounding us, so many that we stopped counting. Since the trip here was really rocky and rolly with 15 foot seas and 25 knots of wind, we were ready for some calm water. First we decided to go through the little entrance and sail across the inside, but that was soon changed. As we looked at the entrance we noticed a 500 to 600 foot ship barreling at full speed out the entrance. This, we thought, is not the place for tiny boats like us to go through. So we took a hard right and headed for the main entrance. Using AIS, Daddy looked at all the ships around us to make sure that they were not heading towards the entrance also. Since everything looked okay, he pulled out the video camera. As soon as he walked out the door, he spotted another ship and went in to check it out. Apparently it was 500 feet long, heading towards the entrance and, if it kept it's course, it would enter three minutes after us. Since that wasn't a problem, we just put up the jib and took out the video camera. After making a big seen about how scary it is to be chased by a ship, Mommy made a joke and said that there was a ship coming out of the entrance. Daddy freaked out and turned off the camera. Then we all laughed and put the camera back on. Soon we were thought the break wall and on our way to Shelter Bay Marina (the place that the boat will be staying at for the next month while we are away). I must say that it was pretty scary passing through all those ships so close to their bows. After talking to an American man (this was a big deal since anyone we talked to on the radio for the past couple months was all Spanish except for our cruising friends) on the radio who told us where to go on the dock, it was a frantic rush to get out all the fenders and lines. Once everything was out and ready we all stood on the bow and looked at all the ships, still amazed. Soon we were at the dock and exploring the marina. It's really nice and there is a pool and a good restaurant. Oh yeah, and the people who helped us dock live on a boat here and have two daughters ages 13 and 15! They are really nice and I played with them and a couple other kids until around 6:00 last night. Anyways, after an American lunch at the restaurant, Cole and I hung out with all the kids for a while. So today we basically swam at the pool with all the kids for the whole day. It was really fun, and even though four of them speak Spanish we still kind of understand what they are talking about. Tonight is pot luck at the restaurant, yum! bye!
Friday, December 26, 2008
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Merry Christmas everybody! This year's Christmas was really fun! On
Christmas Eve Mommy made a really good dinner and we watched the movie The
Grinch Stole Christmas. I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow
since I was really excited for Santa to come. In the morning we (Cole and I)
woke up at 6:00 and ran to the other hull to wake up Mommy and Daddy. Since
Santa had come Cole and I pulled them out of bed so that we could open our
presents. When they finally got out of bed Cole and I immediately started
ripping open presents. My favorite gift was a bead kit. There was all
different colored beads with string and elastic. I have already made Harley
her Christmas gift out of that (I am going to attach a couple of beads to
her collar). After we had opened everything Mommy made a big breakfast and
we ate our new coconut that we got from Fai Da Te (Fai Da Te means do it
yourself in Italian. I have a feeling that it will be a phrase that I will
use). It was really yummy and once we were done Cole and I said "Merry
Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!" on the radio. It was really fun. For
the rest of the day Mommy cooked and all the kids and Dads collected wood
and made a fire. That afternoon all of the boats in the anchorage (33) came
to the beach to do a pot luck. There was all sorts of amazing food and
really, really good deserts. The kids on All The Colors brought their kites
and so did Cole, so for a little while everyone was flying kites on the
beach. Cole got a really cool kite from Santa. It has two handles and you
can steer it. Also it's really huge. Soon our fire was ready and so we
roasted bread on sticks over the fire. The bread was amazing, but it was
really hot and Giulia and I swam afterwards. Once we were dry, we noticed
that all the other kids were playing a type of American football. So we ran
over and asked if we could play. We soon chose teams and they explained how
to play. Here are the rules:
1.the point of the game is to get the ball.
2.If you have the ball, run and pass it to your teammates so that the other
team doesn't get it.
3.If you want the ball then do whatever it takes to get it.
4.Try to have a basic plan for your team.
It was a super fun game and since Giulia and I were really fast, and on the
same team, once we had the ball it stayed with us. Soon everyone had to
leave and so the game ended. As I was getting in the dinghy I had a
wonderful idea. My idea was that since this was my last night with Giulia,
she should sleep over. To make things shorter I will just tell you that we
watched a movie and stayed up until 1:15 in the morning. We had the best
time! The only reason that we went to sleep is that when Daddy came down to
shut hatches when it rained he said "go to sleep or your mother will kill
me". Giulia and I thought that was pretty funny but five minutes later we
were fast asleep. We are now in different anchorages, and tomorrow we will
be moving on to another anchorages (We are going to the states and Puerto
Rico in SIX DAYS!!!). I have Giulia's email and we plan to visit them in
Holand when we get to Australia and New Zealand. After that all of us our
going to stay in our house back in R.I. It should be fun! The weather is
kind of yucky today, cloudy, rainy, and windy. Anyways, Merry Christmas and
Happy Holidays! Bye!
Christmas Eve Mommy made a really good dinner and we watched the movie The
Grinch Stole Christmas. I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow
since I was really excited for Santa to come. In the morning we (Cole and I)
woke up at 6:00 and ran to the other hull to wake up Mommy and Daddy. Since
Santa had come Cole and I pulled them out of bed so that we could open our
presents. When they finally got out of bed Cole and I immediately started
ripping open presents. My favorite gift was a bead kit. There was all
different colored beads with string and elastic. I have already made Harley
her Christmas gift out of that (I am going to attach a couple of beads to
her collar). After we had opened everything Mommy made a big breakfast and
we ate our new coconut that we got from Fai Da Te (Fai Da Te means do it
yourself in Italian. I have a feeling that it will be a phrase that I will
use). It was really yummy and once we were done Cole and I said "Merry
Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!" on the radio. It was really fun. For
the rest of the day Mommy cooked and all the kids and Dads collected wood
and made a fire. That afternoon all of the boats in the anchorage (33) came
to the beach to do a pot luck. There was all sorts of amazing food and
really, really good deserts. The kids on All The Colors brought their kites
and so did Cole, so for a little while everyone was flying kites on the
beach. Cole got a really cool kite from Santa. It has two handles and you
can steer it. Also it's really huge. Soon our fire was ready and so we
roasted bread on sticks over the fire. The bread was amazing, but it was
really hot and Giulia and I swam afterwards. Once we were dry, we noticed
that all the other kids were playing a type of American football. So we ran
over and asked if we could play. We soon chose teams and they explained how
to play. Here are the rules:
1.the point of the game is to get the ball.
2.If you have the ball, run and pass it to your teammates so that the other
team doesn't get it.
3.If you want the ball then do whatever it takes to get it.
4.Try to have a basic plan for your team.
It was a super fun game and since Giulia and I were really fast, and on the
same team, once we had the ball it stayed with us. Soon everyone had to
leave and so the game ended. As I was getting in the dinghy I had a
wonderful idea. My idea was that since this was my last night with Giulia,
she should sleep over. To make things shorter I will just tell you that we
watched a movie and stayed up until 1:15 in the morning. We had the best
time! The only reason that we went to sleep is that when Daddy came down to
shut hatches when it rained he said "go to sleep or your mother will kill
me". Giulia and I thought that was pretty funny but five minutes later we
were fast asleep. We are now in different anchorages, and tomorrow we will
be moving on to another anchorages (We are going to the states and Puerto
Rico in SIX DAYS!!!). I have Giulia's email and we plan to visit them in
Holand when we get to Australia and New Zealand. After that all of us our
going to stay in our house back in R.I. It should be fun! The weather is
kind of yucky today, cloudy, rainy, and windy. Anyways, Merry Christmas and
Happy Holidays! Bye!
Monday, December 22, 2008
Our Christmas Tree Improvements
Hello everybody! Today was so much fun! Since Cole had a test today we
couldn't invite anyone over until he was done so that he could concentrate.
After he was done though, I invited Gulia over to play on my piano (she has
been playing for 5 years). After she taught me a couple things we decided to
play around and listen to the songs that were on the piano's memory. In the
end the piano's volume was at full blast and we were dancing, and singing to
the songs. It was really fun (All my best buddies- you would love Gulia. She
has lots of energy just like us! If she didn't' live in Holand, all of us
would be best buds!). After piano was over the Dads came back from spear
fishing and everyone (the whole anchorage except for a few boats) went
ashore for the 5:00 pot luck happy hour. Mommy brought her amazing dip with
some chips. Everyone else brought some amazing stuff too, and we ate so much
that we got back to the boat and didn't eat dinner! Anyways, we met this
other kid boat from Australia that is also going through the canal. We are
going to sail with them through the Pacific, and luckily there is an 11 year
old girl on board named Monica who is really nice. They invited me over to
their boat and tomorrow after school I'm going to go and play Monopoly.
Anyways, after the barbeque we came back to the boat and set up the
Christmas lights. It was really cool, and we set it up like a tree, and hung
it up on the mast. Once we had it up and the lights on, the boat in front of
us cheered. Since they are the "Christmas light boat" we were happy that
they liked our little tree. Time for desert, so I've got to go, bye!
couldn't invite anyone over until he was done so that he could concentrate.
After he was done though, I invited Gulia over to play on my piano (she has
been playing for 5 years). After she taught me a couple things we decided to
play around and listen to the songs that were on the piano's memory. In the
end the piano's volume was at full blast and we were dancing, and singing to
the songs. It was really fun (All my best buddies- you would love Gulia. She
has lots of energy just like us! If she didn't' live in Holand, all of us
would be best buds!). After piano was over the Dads came back from spear
fishing and everyone (the whole anchorage except for a few boats) went
ashore for the 5:00 pot luck happy hour. Mommy brought her amazing dip with
some chips. Everyone else brought some amazing stuff too, and we ate so much
that we got back to the boat and didn't eat dinner! Anyways, we met this
other kid boat from Australia that is also going through the canal. We are
going to sail with them through the Pacific, and luckily there is an 11 year
old girl on board named Monica who is really nice. They invited me over to
their boat and tomorrow after school I'm going to go and play Monopoly.
Anyways, after the barbeque we came back to the boat and set up the
Christmas lights. It was really cool, and we set it up like a tree, and hung
it up on the mast. Once we had it up and the lights on, the boat in front of
us cheered. Since they are the "Christmas light boat" we were happy that
they liked our little tree. Time for desert, so I've got to go, bye!
Yoga
boat. Cole is doing a test today, and we are going to the happy hour
barbeque tonight with all of our friends. Bye!
p.s. Two days 'till Santa comes! YIPPEE!!!!!!!!!!
Friday, December 19, 2008
The Daily Cammi News
Hello! The past couple days have been so much fun! We did lots of sailing
and are now in an anchorage called the swimming pool (there's another one
called the hot tub, and the island is called barbeque island!). We met a
really nice family on the boat called Fai Da Te. There is an 11 year old
girl, Julia, and two boys, Luca and Sergio. The kids and their parents are
only visiting their grandparents for a month, but they are really nice and
lived on a boat for two years when they were little like Cole and I. They
are also a really cool family because they speak so many different
languages. Also, we met a boat called All the Colors. They have three kids
on board, a girl and two boys. They are from Australia and are completing
their circumnavigation of the world. Anyways, last night we did a barbeque
on the beach with All the Colors, Fai Da Te and Albatres. It was so much
fun, and I learned a new way of making hot dogs. You take a stick and rap
bread dough around the top. Then you roast it on the fire for about 20
minutes or until you can easily pull it off the stick. Then you stick the
hot dog inside. It was really good, and I had one and a half! We also had
fish, and meat grilled on the fire. We had so much fun! Yesterday, after I
finished school I decided to do a composition. This is what I came up with:
and are now in an anchorage called the swimming pool (there's another one
called the hot tub, and the island is called barbeque island!). We met a
really nice family on the boat called Fai Da Te. There is an 11 year old
girl, Julia, and two boys, Luca and Sergio. The kids and their parents are
only visiting their grandparents for a month, but they are really nice and
lived on a boat for two years when they were little like Cole and I. They
are also a really cool family because they speak so many different
languages. Also, we met a boat called All the Colors. They have three kids
on board, a girl and two boys. They are from Australia and are completing
their circumnavigation of the world. Anyways, last night we did a barbeque
on the beach with All the Colors, Fai Da Te and Albatres. It was so much
fun, and I learned a new way of making hot dogs. You take a stick and rap
bread dough around the top. Then you roast it on the fire for about 20
minutes or until you can easily pull it off the stick. Then you stick the
hot dog inside. It was really good, and I had one and a half! We also had
fish, and meat grilled on the fire. We had so much fun! Yesterday, after I
finished school I decided to do a composition. This is what I came up with:
How I Would Change My Room
If I could change my room I would make it magical, and huge. The way
I would make it magical is that it would stay the same size, but if I pushed
a button a porthole would open up and I would step in. Inside the porthole
there would be my much bigger and fancier room. First, I would paint my
walls purple, and have point shoes painted on too. Next, I would design all
my furniture. My bed would be a white bunk bed with a purple, green, blue,
and pink bed spread and pillows. I would sleep on the top bunk and so all of
my stuffed animals would be set up on the bottom. After my bed I would
design my desk. It would be white and have little, purple flowers painted
on. Underneath the desk there would be pink, green, blue, and purple canvas
bins for me to put all of my writing and drawing stuff. Next, I would make
an area for my dolls. It would have all different designs of the doll closet
and bed that I had back at home, and there would be three of them. Then, I
would get one bitty baby bed, and two sets of twin bitty beds too. Next to
all the beds there would be an area for my bitty babies to play with their
toys and books. Also, there would be identical areas for practicing ballet,
one for me and one for my dolls. There would be a black floor just like at
Festival, and a full wall mirror. Then, next to that I would have two
walk-in closets, one to put clothes in and another for all of my dance
things. Also next to the dance space I would have a black grand piano.
Also, there would be big windows that showed what it really looked like
outside. The windows would have purple, blue, pink, and green shades that
would tie back to open them. Also the windows would open, but no one outside
would see them. If it were raining or dark, I would use the air conditioning
and overhead lights. On one of the walls would be a corkboard, but wouldn't
look like one. Here I could hang anything I wanted no matter how heavy.
Next, there would be a door that leads into my own bathroom. It would have a
shower that doesn't use the boats' water and a toilet you don't have to
pump. The walls would be the same as the ones in my room. Finally, the floor
would have a white carpet and everything would be impossible to stain. I
know that my room would be impossible, and would cost tons of money, but
don't you love to dream?
Do you like it? Mommy and I are going to do a yoga class on the beach with
some other cruising friends. There is even a woman who lives on a boat here
that is going to teach the class! I am really excited. Mommy needs help on
making homemade bread, bye!
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Moons, Stars, Planets and the Weather
As lots of people may already know, Daddy is the San Blas weather man and I
am the astronomer. Every morning Daddy announces the weather on the SSB at
8:30. Then I announce what I found about astronomy later on the net. It's
really fun, and one person complimented me this morning. It was also really
funny because when people were talking about leaving the island they are at
and going to another one they would always say "....if Tom thinks that the
weather will be okay, and we'll have a fast trip."It was hysterical! Zen is
now the boat to know if you need info (hahaha it rimes!). Anyways, now there
is four kid boats here! Monkey Feet, Anemos, Migo, and Someday Came! There
is only two girls my age, but the boys are nice too. Yesterday really
reminded me of a day in Prickly Bay, Grenada. The first thing I did when I
woke up was run upstairs and grab a piece of Kuna bread with cinnamon for
breakfast (the Kuna bread is amazing!). Then the net came on and I announced
that there would be two upcoming meteor showers (December 14 and January 3).
At around 8:45 I started school. Right before lunch (11:00) I jumped in the
water and swam to Migo with my string so that we could make bracelets
together. Joanna said that she would love to make bracelets, and since I
have lots of string we just used mine. Soon Sophia (her mom) said that she
would be making pasta for lunch and asked if I wanted to stay and eat with
them. I really wanted too, so I called Mommy on the radio. She said that I
could, so soon I was eating this amazing pasta with some type of fish. It
was so good! After lunch Joanna and I finished our bracelets and Blake from
Monkey Feet came by to escape from the littler kids for a while. So
Jonathans' (her brother) decided that we should all play cards. We all
decided that that was a good idea since Jonathan has trouble walking (he has
a disability). After playing lots of different card games we all got bored.
Jonathan watched a movie and Blake, Joanna and I played tag in the water. It
was really, really fun since Joanna kept on tricking Blake to the point
where he had no clue who was it. Just as we were about to get out of the
water Cole and Mommy came by in the dinghy. Cole asked us if he could join
us since he was all alone on Zen (he was on Monkey Feet, but the younger two
boys wanted to go back to their boat so Cole came to Migo). We were happy
that he came because now we had enough people to play a really fun card game
called squares. At around 4:30 Joanna said that she wondered when her
parents were coming back since a boat they knew was coming over to their
boat at 5:00 for dinner. Just as she spoke her parents came back in the
dinghy. I decided that since they had guests coming over in half and hour
that we should probably leave. So Blake took Cole and I back in his dinghy.
Dinner was bananas foster, French toast sticks, pineapple, raspberry juice,
scrambled eggs and bagels. It was really yummy! After Cole and I finished
washing the dishes we all sat down at the table with pop-corn to watch the
movie Master and Commander. It was a really cool movie, but some parts were
really gross. I'm going to go pick up Joanna and see if she wants to come
over. Bye!
am the astronomer. Every morning Daddy announces the weather on the SSB at
8:30. Then I announce what I found about astronomy later on the net. It's
really fun, and one person complimented me this morning. It was also really
funny because when people were talking about leaving the island they are at
and going to another one they would always say "....if Tom thinks that the
weather will be okay, and we'll have a fast trip."It was hysterical! Zen is
now the boat to know if you need info (hahaha it rimes!). Anyways, now there
is four kid boats here! Monkey Feet, Anemos, Migo, and Someday Came! There
is only two girls my age, but the boys are nice too. Yesterday really
reminded me of a day in Prickly Bay, Grenada. The first thing I did when I
woke up was run upstairs and grab a piece of Kuna bread with cinnamon for
breakfast (the Kuna bread is amazing!). Then the net came on and I announced
that there would be two upcoming meteor showers (December 14 and January 3).
At around 8:45 I started school. Right before lunch (11:00) I jumped in the
water and swam to Migo with my string so that we could make bracelets
together. Joanna said that she would love to make bracelets, and since I
have lots of string we just used mine. Soon Sophia (her mom) said that she
would be making pasta for lunch and asked if I wanted to stay and eat with
them. I really wanted too, so I called Mommy on the radio. She said that I
could, so soon I was eating this amazing pasta with some type of fish. It
was so good! After lunch Joanna and I finished our bracelets and Blake from
Monkey Feet came by to escape from the littler kids for a while. So
Jonathans' (her brother) decided that we should all play cards. We all
decided that that was a good idea since Jonathan has trouble walking (he has
a disability). After playing lots of different card games we all got bored.
Jonathan watched a movie and Blake, Joanna and I played tag in the water. It
was really, really fun since Joanna kept on tricking Blake to the point
where he had no clue who was it. Just as we were about to get out of the
water Cole and Mommy came by in the dinghy. Cole asked us if he could join
us since he was all alone on Zen (he was on Monkey Feet, but the younger two
boys wanted to go back to their boat so Cole came to Migo). We were happy
that he came because now we had enough people to play a really fun card game
called squares. At around 4:30 Joanna said that she wondered when her
parents were coming back since a boat they knew was coming over to their
boat at 5:00 for dinner. Just as she spoke her parents came back in the
dinghy. I decided that since they had guests coming over in half and hour
that we should probably leave. So Blake took Cole and I back in his dinghy.
Dinner was bananas foster, French toast sticks, pineapple, raspberry juice,
scrambled eggs and bagels. It was really yummy! After Cole and I finished
washing the dishes we all sat down at the table with pop-corn to watch the
movie Master and Commander. It was a really cool movie, but some parts were
really gross. I'm going to go pick up Joanna and see if she wants to come
over. Bye!
This email is via satellite phone. Please do not send any attachments.
Please reply with your email only. Delete all other previous email threads.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Welcome to the San Blas!
We are finally near the Panama Canal, which is only two hundred miles away
from where we are now, the San Blas. The San Blas are a bunch of little
islands only and hour or two away from each other and are part of Panama.
The only people living here are the Kuna Indians who only live on certain
islands. The Kuna Indians are shorter people who speak either Spanish or
their local Kuna language. I'm not exactly sure which, but I know they don't
speak English. As I type, a Kuna is coming up to the boat and trying to sell
us something. Mommy is speaking in Spanish and he's speaking so fast I
wouldn't understand him if he was talking in English. I guess Mommy gets it
though. Anyways, we arrived here from The Rosarios on the morning of the
eighth. It was a very quick trip, and we cut of four and a half hours of how
long we thought the trip would take. We left at 4:00 in the afternoon of the
7th in the perfect wind, and five to eight foot seas (eight feet was more
than I liked, but it was okay). Mommy had already made pizza since we were
supposed to have dinner with Tara Vana that night on our boat. We left
without much warning since the wind magically picked up and turned to the
correct direction. We all ran around the boat doing this and doing that, so
that we would be ready to leave. But after pizza dinner under way, Cole and
I went into Mommy and Daddy's cabin to watch a movie (Cheaper by the Dozen).
It was a good movie and by the time we were done, desert was out and ready.
Soon we were all outside on the deck slowly falling asleep, and wondering if
I should do a watch tonight. I ended up being awake for an hour or two, so I
guess that counts. Cole and I slept in the main saloon, because it was
quieter, less bouncy, and much more interesting (you get to listen to people
talking on the radio, and watching the radar and the chart on the computer).
When I woke up the next morning Cole and I started planning what we would
have for dinner (not breakfast, it's not a typo). Here was our plan: the way
Nonna makes scrambled eggs, crunchy French toast, pancakes with raspberries
and chocolate chips, bacon, sausage, English muffins, and bagels. It had
sounded really good when we thought of it, but here is how it turned out to
be (which was much better than just thinking of it): Nonna's scrambled eggs,
pancakes with raspberries, bagels and really good mandarin juice. It was
really good, and our whole day was basically surrounded around thinking
about what we would have for dinner. We arrived in an anchorage in the San
Blas at about 11:30am, and saw at least one boat with kids aboard. We didn't
do much all day, so we met them yesterday. It turned out that there are two
kid boats. The first boat Monkey Feet is a Australian and Canadian mono hull
and has three boys, Talon, Radick, and Blake. They are three, seven and
thirteen years old. It's really funny because they know a bunch of boats we
know such as Tara Vana, Migo, Salt and Light, and one other boat that I
don't know the name to, but I met the girl that is onboard. The second kid
boat was a yellow mono hull named Anemos who are German. They have two boys
aboard who are much younger. We didn't really talk or see them much, but
Monkey Feet knows them. For the rest of the day Cole, Blake, Mommy, Daddy,
and I went ashore to the little islands to check them out and play on the
beach. Monkey Feet had made a lean-to on one of the islands, and since it
fell over we worked on that for a while to repair it. After exploring for a
while we headed back to the boat for dinner. Cole is just rapping up school
now, and I finished a little while ago. Mommy is going to make lunch
sometime soon, and Daddy is on the lookout for logs (these huge trees seem
to be stuck in the current or something, and they keep floating by. Daddy
occasionally runs to the side of the boat with the boat-hook to make sure
the log doesn't hit. It's actually really funny, but sometimes it taps the
boat as it goes by). I'm tired of writing and Mommy is taking lunch orders,
so I gotta go, bye!
from where we are now, the San Blas. The San Blas are a bunch of little
islands only and hour or two away from each other and are part of Panama.
The only people living here are the Kuna Indians who only live on certain
islands. The Kuna Indians are shorter people who speak either Spanish or
their local Kuna language. I'm not exactly sure which, but I know they don't
speak English. As I type, a Kuna is coming up to the boat and trying to sell
us something. Mommy is speaking in Spanish and he's speaking so fast I
wouldn't understand him if he was talking in English. I guess Mommy gets it
though. Anyways, we arrived here from The Rosarios on the morning of the
eighth. It was a very quick trip, and we cut of four and a half hours of how
long we thought the trip would take. We left at 4:00 in the afternoon of the
7th in the perfect wind, and five to eight foot seas (eight feet was more
than I liked, but it was okay). Mommy had already made pizza since we were
supposed to have dinner with Tara Vana that night on our boat. We left
without much warning since the wind magically picked up and turned to the
correct direction. We all ran around the boat doing this and doing that, so
that we would be ready to leave. But after pizza dinner under way, Cole and
I went into Mommy and Daddy's cabin to watch a movie (Cheaper by the Dozen).
It was a good movie and by the time we were done, desert was out and ready.
Soon we were all outside on the deck slowly falling asleep, and wondering if
I should do a watch tonight. I ended up being awake for an hour or two, so I
guess that counts. Cole and I slept in the main saloon, because it was
quieter, less bouncy, and much more interesting (you get to listen to people
talking on the radio, and watching the radar and the chart on the computer).
When I woke up the next morning Cole and I started planning what we would
have for dinner (not breakfast, it's not a typo). Here was our plan: the way
Nonna makes scrambled eggs, crunchy French toast, pancakes with raspberries
and chocolate chips, bacon, sausage, English muffins, and bagels. It had
sounded really good when we thought of it, but here is how it turned out to
be (which was much better than just thinking of it): Nonna's scrambled eggs,
pancakes with raspberries, bagels and really good mandarin juice. It was
really good, and our whole day was basically surrounded around thinking
about what we would have for dinner. We arrived in an anchorage in the San
Blas at about 11:30am, and saw at least one boat with kids aboard. We didn't
do much all day, so we met them yesterday. It turned out that there are two
kid boats. The first boat Monkey Feet is a Australian and Canadian mono hull
and has three boys, Talon, Radick, and Blake. They are three, seven and
thirteen years old. It's really funny because they know a bunch of boats we
know such as Tara Vana, Migo, Salt and Light, and one other boat that I
don't know the name to, but I met the girl that is onboard. The second kid
boat was a yellow mono hull named Anemos who are German. They have two boys
aboard who are much younger. We didn't really talk or see them much, but
Monkey Feet knows them. For the rest of the day Cole, Blake, Mommy, Daddy,
and I went ashore to the little islands to check them out and play on the
beach. Monkey Feet had made a lean-to on one of the islands, and since it
fell over we worked on that for a while to repair it. After exploring for a
while we headed back to the boat for dinner. Cole is just rapping up school
now, and I finished a little while ago. Mommy is going to make lunch
sometime soon, and Daddy is on the lookout for logs (these huge trees seem
to be stuck in the current or something, and they keep floating by. Daddy
occasionally runs to the side of the boat with the boat-hook to make sure
the log doesn't hit. It's actually really funny, but sometimes it taps the
boat as it goes by). I'm tired of writing and Mommy is taking lunch orders,
so I gotta go, bye!
Nonna- Cole and I have been saying that your scrambled eggs are the best in
the whole world, and we were thinking that it would be cool if you could
make them for us in 23 days when we see you. See you soon, and love ya, Cam
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Dolphins, scurfing and going to a different anchorage (all in one day)
So we are now in a place called The Rosarios. The Rosarios is a bunch of
little islands really close together, with a couple people living on them.
All the islands are really beautiful, and there are no mosquitoes (this is
key to liking a place). Anyways, today we did lots of different things.
First........after I woke up we went into the kitchen to get myself a pastry
thing for breakfast since Mommy was still sleeping. Then I dragged my school
books up the steps into the saloon (this whole time Cole has been up and
doing school so that he could finish early and go play with Oscar). Then
Mommy woke up and started helping Cole with math. About half-way through
math I found a problem that seemed completely impossible (to me, lots of
word problems with exponents in them are impossible). So I got Daddy (who
had been up before Cole to check the weather for today), and he started to
look at the problem to see if he could help me. Daddy couldn't figure it out
either, so he said that now was the perfect time to move to the other
anchorage he had scoped out this morning. So Mommy told me to do all the
problems that I could, and then I would be done with school. The other
anchorage was only on the other side of the island, so it only took about 30
minutes to get there. After we got into the anchorage we saw that Tara Vana
was already there and anchored (Tara Vana came with us to The Rosarios so
that they could teach us how to water ski since they are professionals. Oh
right, I didn't tell you.....back in Cartagena one boat announced that they
had water skis for sale, so we bought them). Tara Vana taught us how to
water ski yesterday, so we thought that we might be able to do a little
skiing today along with scurfing on our new board (we got that in Cartagena
too as an early Christmas gift). After we dropped the anchor, Cole and I
jumped in the water and swam around with Oscar for a while. Soon we had to
go to lunch. At lunch Mommy and Daddy told us that we would be going to the
aquarium to see a dolphin show that was on another island in dinghy
distance. So at 1:30 we all jumped in our dinghies and went over to the
aquarium. As soon as we arrived we could tell that they were closed. We
still all wanted to see when they opened, so we went to find the people who
ran the shows. They told us that the shows were tomorrow, but we could swim
with the dolphins instead. Of course we all really wanted to do this, and
since I have never done it before, I was very enthusiastic. The people told
us that we should come back at 3:30 in our bathing suits. We all decided
that only Cole and I would go. Since Albatres was going to be leaving before
5:00, they thought that it might be too close if they did the dolphin thing.
When we got back to the boat Cole, Oscar and I wanted to go scurfing, so we
pulled out the board and jumped back in the dinghy. Cole got right up on his
first try, and I was up for a little while before I fell. Then I decided to
go on my knees and see if I could stand up. I didn't work, but we were
running out of time, so Oscar went. He went around on his stomach for a
while before we brought him back to his boat. Then we picked up Tara Vana
and went over to the aquarium. Let me tell you that swimming with dolphins
was SO MUCH FUN!!! Cole and I got to go together with two different dolphins
and their trainer (who spoke to us in Spanish, but she was really nice). The
male dolphin was 21 years old and we played with him the most. The female
was 40 years old, but she kind of just swam around. Here are the things I
got to do with the dolphins: pet him, talk to him (and he talked back), he
pushed me around the pool area by pushing his nose against the bottom of my
feet, and feed him fish. It was really fun, and the dolphins were really
cute and loved to play. One of the dolphins loved to come up behind me and
freak me out by knocking me over. Today was so much fun! I have to go to
Tara Vana for dinner now, bye!
little islands really close together, with a couple people living on them.
All the islands are really beautiful, and there are no mosquitoes (this is
key to liking a place). Anyways, today we did lots of different things.
First........after I woke up we went into the kitchen to get myself a pastry
thing for breakfast since Mommy was still sleeping. Then I dragged my school
books up the steps into the saloon (this whole time Cole has been up and
doing school so that he could finish early and go play with Oscar). Then
Mommy woke up and started helping Cole with math. About half-way through
math I found a problem that seemed completely impossible (to me, lots of
word problems with exponents in them are impossible). So I got Daddy (who
had been up before Cole to check the weather for today), and he started to
look at the problem to see if he could help me. Daddy couldn't figure it out
either, so he said that now was the perfect time to move to the other
anchorage he had scoped out this morning. So Mommy told me to do all the
problems that I could, and then I would be done with school. The other
anchorage was only on the other side of the island, so it only took about 30
minutes to get there. After we got into the anchorage we saw that Tara Vana
was already there and anchored (Tara Vana came with us to The Rosarios so
that they could teach us how to water ski since they are professionals. Oh
right, I didn't tell you.....back in Cartagena one boat announced that they
had water skis for sale, so we bought them). Tara Vana taught us how to
water ski yesterday, so we thought that we might be able to do a little
skiing today along with scurfing on our new board (we got that in Cartagena
too as an early Christmas gift). After we dropped the anchor, Cole and I
jumped in the water and swam around with Oscar for a while. Soon we had to
go to lunch. At lunch Mommy and Daddy told us that we would be going to the
aquarium to see a dolphin show that was on another island in dinghy
distance. So at 1:30 we all jumped in our dinghies and went over to the
aquarium. As soon as we arrived we could tell that they were closed. We
still all wanted to see when they opened, so we went to find the people who
ran the shows. They told us that the shows were tomorrow, but we could swim
with the dolphins instead. Of course we all really wanted to do this, and
since I have never done it before, I was very enthusiastic. The people told
us that we should come back at 3:30 in our bathing suits. We all decided
that only Cole and I would go. Since Albatres was going to be leaving before
5:00, they thought that it might be too close if they did the dolphin thing.
When we got back to the boat Cole, Oscar and I wanted to go scurfing, so we
pulled out the board and jumped back in the dinghy. Cole got right up on his
first try, and I was up for a little while before I fell. Then I decided to
go on my knees and see if I could stand up. I didn't work, but we were
running out of time, so Oscar went. He went around on his stomach for a
while before we brought him back to his boat. Then we picked up Tara Vana
and went over to the aquarium. Let me tell you that swimming with dolphins
was SO MUCH FUN!!! Cole and I got to go together with two different dolphins
and their trainer (who spoke to us in Spanish, but she was really nice). The
male dolphin was 21 years old and we played with him the most. The female
was 40 years old, but she kind of just swam around. Here are the things I
got to do with the dolphins: pet him, talk to him (and he talked back), he
pushed me around the pool area by pushing his nose against the bottom of my
feet, and feed him fish. It was really fun, and the dolphins were really
cute and loved to play. One of the dolphins loved to come up behind me and
freak me out by knocking me over. Today was so much fun! I have to go to
Tara Vana for dinner now, bye!
Monday, December 1, 2008
Pinch and a Punch!
Pinch and a punch for the first of the month! Today it is 90 degrees on the first of December (that's the first time that's ever happened, shmeesh). Anyways, I just finished school, and I am looking at a huge cruise ship docked next to the anchorage. I'll give you a basic idea on what I did today already: 1. I woke up and pulled out my reading test. 2.Cole decided that he wanted to detach a line from the dagger boards and swing on it. 3.Daddy detached the line and Cole and I swung on it for a while from the trampoline to the deck. 4. The huge cruise ship came in and docked next to the anchorage. 5.Daddy told Cole and I that we had to start school and eat breakfast. 6.Cole and I put our breakfast (pastries) on the back deck to warm up, and I finished my reading test while cole started math. 7.We got our breakfast off the back deck and Cole ate it with a knife. 8.I finished school, and read Cole two stories for his school day (history and reading). 9.I came to the computer and started righting this. Okay, that is about all I've done today. Oh wait...............we just got a call on the radio from Tara Vana saying that they would like to play Taboo with us this afternoon. Taboo is a game that they have and say it is really fun. I am really excited, and we are going to go over in an hour and a half! I've got to got to get my test pages for Mommy, bye!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
