What I miss and what I like

Racing in the Bahamas.
My job was stowing the anchor chain below during the start and taking photos.

Here are a few things I miss when I am on land and away from the ocean:

* Sunrise, sunset and sun in general especially at this time of the year. I am an early morning person and love to watch the sun slowly rising out of the sea. Or at sunset, it almost feels as if we should hear the hiss of steam when it sinks down. We had some spectacular ones between Sicily and Tunisia as well as in Mexico where the sky was clear. And even in harbour or at anchor, all I have to do is poke my head out to see the sun. Where else can you have a 360 degree view?

* Coffee or drinks and eating in the cockpit - in good weather of course. And speaking of coffee and drinks, I really miss the way the Spanish, the French and the Italians make coffee. I have not had ONE single cup of coffee in a paper cup all summer. And the one euro per bottle wine in Spain. Actually, friends found a very passable, Italian red for E1.79 for a five litre box in Marsala, Sicily. The cheapest bottle of decent wine in Canada is about $10 and the Spanish table wine in a carton costs here $11.

* The gentle rocking of the boat at night.

Things I really appreciate on land:



* Access to English books and Internet. Which reminds me... if you're waiting for an email from me, I will respond as soon as my new keyboard is installed and I can access all the letters I sent to my Outlook Express. Also, I noticed that in Mozilla Firefox my Flickr badge on this blog overlaps the text. Not in Explorer. I reduced the size of the badge already and will continue to search for the answer to the Mozilla format problem. Until then, please try viewing the blog in Explorer, that way you'll also get the menu side by side with the text. Thank you for your patience!

* Access to shops and services - finally getting a new keyboard!!! And it's such a relief to be able to speak in English to the store staff and get answers to most of my questions.

* A (relatively) stable community if I stay in one place for awhile. I really want to at least in winter. Perhaps in Ontario where my sons live... It's been warmish and sunny there lately.

* Access to a bathtub!

Strange things I forgot about living on land:

* People let the water run when they brush their teeth. Some public washrooms in Europe are already getting smart and adding foot pumps for the water faucets. Much cheaper than those fancy ones with sensors.

* I measured once how much water goes down the drain before hot water comes out of the tap. Almost a gallon! So, usually I end up washing my hands in cold water.

* The bathroom in most homes is bigger than my entire cabin.

* The kitchen is so big that I get my daily exercise just making coffee.

* People in Canada don't seem to mind lining up at a cafe to get their coffee and snacks.

What I avoid:

* Fluorescent lights
* Noise
* Line ups
* crowds

What I wish for:

* comfortable chairs in restaurants and cafes that invite lingering (and spending more money).
* jeans and pants that reach the waist instead of the hips.
* more places to sit down when shopping without having to pay for it.