Adventure?

A very wise Sister Goddess said to us recently: "You're the ones who wanted adventure!!!"
And with that statement we began to ponder the meaning of "adventure". The dictionary defines adventure as "an undertaking usually involving danger and unknown risks" or "to expose to danger or loss". Clearly NOT what we have had in mind as we have previously said; "we want adventure". We realize that what we clearly intended was the rich and varied experiences that we personally and consciously create and evolve from. Sometimes it may involve risk but only as an outcome of the experience, and not as an intended part of it.

These last 5 weeks in Greece have certainly been filled with much more danger and potential loss than we even care to remind ourselves of. And while we are thankful for the lessons learned, we are equally thankful to leave them behind and begin with an easeful heart and mind to create clearly what we do want. And what do we want now? Gentle, cool, peaceful, safe and romantic coves to rest and slow it all down as we process the life lessons as they unfold.

Out of it all has emerged a deep appreciation and pride as to who we are as "Richard and Willow". As each equally committed to "us" as the "One", through each and every challenge we have been an awesome team!!! Our love runs deeper with more respect of each others ability to take on the challenges of the moment. To see and know this truth has been the biggest gift of it all.

"I love you, I love myself
I love myself, I love you." Rumi

It's All Greek To Me

Leaving Syracusa, we literally blew into Greece. After a 2 night sail with rip-roaring winds we blew in mightily to the Greek Island of Zakinthos. We learned that sometimes you really can sail too fast (especially at night with only one person on watch), so we reefed the sails and still sailed on at 8+ knots. Thus began our windy, tumultuous affair with the Grecian winds called the"meltemi".

We continued east throught the Gulf of Patras and the Gulf of Corinth (the gulfs between mainland Greece and the Peloponnisos Peninsula). The coastline in the Gulf areas was beautiful and we passed under a suspension bridge which is the longest cable-stayed bridge in the world--impressive. We anchored overnight outside the minute medieval harbour and it's castle while the dolphins played around us.

Passing through the Corinth Canal (cut through limestone cliffs) we arrived at the islands around Athens.

We spent several days anchored off a little island near Aigina and even took the dingy ashore to feed the wild peacocks, deer and goats. We enjoyed a sweet anchorage off of the island of Angistri and found refuge from the winds in a protected area around the island of Poros.

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You tell us---is this a goat, ram or some exotic African critter????

And then of course, we had to spend a little time doing the "tourist" thing at Athens. Spent a very hot day walking and exploring the Acropolis and all of the surrounding ruins with great food in the old city called the Plaka. It is awesome to imagine the magnificence of ancient Greece but we find that we are so much more interested in the people and places of the "here and now", present day experiences.

We have been wonderfully surprised with the friendly, ever helpful, warm and generous people of Greece-- and they speak English too!!!! We totally understand the saying "It's Greek to me" as we look at their writing and alphabet and are once again so thankful that English is the universal language. The Universe has definately taught us to ask for what we want and the wonderful Greek people have stepped up and met our wants and needs time and time again....Thank you.

So, "It's all Greek to me" has taken on a real life meaning for us since we arrived in Greece one month ago. So has "Don't have a clue" as we have navigated these new waters and territories. This past month has been the most challenging for us since we arrived in the Med 3 years ago. And while we are thankful for the lessons and new insights, we are tired and plain worn out! Seems as if we are continually "sailing upwind", and we know that is not an easy or smart thing to do.
Examples of "sailing upwind":
Buying a new Delta anchor as it is reported to be the best for this area, and watching it day or night "not stick" whether we are in an anchorage or port.
Watching it catch something it shouldn't have while a crazy French woman shrieks in middle of the night. (But that's another story too scary to tell).
Wondering why we didn't know it was HOT here in Greece. It remains 100+ degrees here every day,(but it's a dry heat-hahah). If this is what we wanted we could have stayed in the Tucson desert in our air-conditioned house drinking margaritas!!!!
Living in a hyper-alert state as we try to make peace with the ever present and strong meltemi winds (while our great anchor doesn't stick).
And this must be the year that our sacred sailing vessel needs loving care and tune-ups with a multitude of repairs.

The list goes on but let us say that we are hot and tired and spending some quiet time deciding what we want to be and do next. The opportunities to "be with what is" have been abundant and sometimes we meet the challenge and other times we don't. But it has given us pause to rethink and recreate what it is we do want, as we are real clear with what we don't !!! We love our life here on EcstaSea but think we will probably head back west and not go to Turkey this year as it is undoubtedly hotter there. We will rest in some sweet peaceful cove until our heart's desire leads us on.........

Siracusa, Sicily

After an easy two day sail down from Stromboli, we arrived at Siracusa on the southeast coast of Sicily. What a charming town full of life and vitality. The harbor is right beside the old town and an easy walk to everything. Beautiful fountains, plazas, and old ruins all within the city.



Church in the plaza.















Old ruins of an Apollo Temple.




Town Plaza








So we have enjoyed long walks in the old town, eating wonderful Italian food. Although we have to admit to being tired of Italian food (no matter how good), as so far this season we have been in Italy (other than our 3 days in Tunisia). Not just Italy, but Italian islands where the variety is limited. Makes us appreciate the great variety of restaurants in the good ole US of A.
We did find a good Chinese restaurant and ate there 2 nights in a row. There is just so much pasta one can eat!!!! But we found fresh, homemade canolli at the market and we have eaten more than our fair share of it.....

The outdoor market was the highlight of entertainment. Abundant fresh fruit and veggies with all manner of smelly, stinky fish. Everyone is there shopping every day and the stall owners are yelling and hawking their wares with great enthusiasm. Very, very theatrical and sometimes just too much sensory overload but always great fun.



Willow and Rover at the market.




So many fresh cherries, peaches and watermelons.








Notice the big swordfish lying there.






We took a day and went to the old Grecian and Roman ruins just outside of the city. Impressed and amazed at the advanced structures of aqueducts, theaters and stadiums built by the Grecians and Romans way before the time of Christ.
We went to the old Christian Catacombs---tunnels underground that held 20,000 bodies within a 2.5 acre radius. We were unable to take pictures of the catacombs but we were astounded.







We have been so appreciative of our time here in Siracusa as we found a great "do-it-all" kinda guy named Piero who was able to take care of some of our boat projects that needed to get done. The challenge (which seems to be an ongoing one for us) is the communication issue. His English was picollo and our Italian is almost non-existent. He tried so hard and would get frustrated and we would try so hard and get exhausted. But "bless his heart" he was able to fix our Raymarine radar, our frig, and pump up our batteries. All very, very important projects---and he was even able to find us a new and different kind of anchor that we will need in Greece and Turkey for weed and mud anchoring.
When we are in "Tucson home" and something needs repair we just go to Ace Hardware or Home Depot, buy the part and fix it ourselves. Or worst case scenario, we have to call a repairman who speaks English and he fixes it. Sometimes here on our "EcstaSea home" we find it so difficult and frustrating that we have to remind ourselves why we are doing this. And we remember that all of these challenges are a part of our desire to push our comfort zones and expand our awareness and consciousness. We find ourselves more in the "here and now" as everything is new and challenging and we can't rely on old, easy habitual patterns that require no awareness. All of the adventure and travel to such beautiful places is magnificent and magical, but the real purpose and magic lies in "being here now". And we just need to remind ourselves of that once in awhile.....

Thank you Siracusa, thank you Sicily, and thank you Italy!!!!!! And now we sail off on a new adventure to a new country, new language, new food and new customs.
Greece, here we come............

Stromboli....The Oldest Lighthouse

Traveling south from the Italian Island of Ischia we made straightway for the Island of Stromboli. How we love the islands!!! Stromboli is probably the "oldest lighthouse in the world". It is the oldest "active" volcano from ancient times to the present and guided Odysseus towards the Strait of Messina. Unlike Vesuvius, Etna, and Mt. St. Helens it releases its pressure bit by bit, day by day, instead of building up to a big bang. A beautiful island with a very small village that we anchored off of.

How fortunate for us to be anchored here with the natures fireworks on full moon. As sun set we sailed to the other side of the island (the active volcano side), catching a spectacular sunset.





Along the back side we caught this picture of the smoke plumes billowing above the cone but unfortunately our camera couldn't focus on the actual fire display once it got dark. But you'll just have to take our word for it--- it was fiery and spectacular and quite a celebration for Mother Moon........














We were in awe floating on water between the fiery sunset, fire billowing into the sky and the fullness of the moon. Awe-struck and oh so thankful....We have a beautiful Mother!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


It was an unusual experience to wake up and see volcanic ash all over the boat. We have had lots of "things" dirty the boat....... but ash......that's a first.

Stromboli...........thank you!

Italian Islands

After our energy clearing ritual after Tunisa we had a peaceful 2 night motor-sail north to the Italian islands off of Naples. We landed mid-day on the picturesque island of Capri. It is reported to be the most famous and beautiful of all of Italy's islands. It has monumental limestone cliffs, dramatic and awesome but a little to busy and hectic with day traffic from Naples for our taste. So we spent a quiet night there and then moved on to the island of Ischia the next day.


To us, Ischia is the crown jewel of Italian islands. Lush, green and tropical as it is a volcanic island.
We found a quiet cove right under this castle and dropped anchor for days. This is our picture window right off the stern of EcstaSea. It is an Argonese castle first built in 474 BC, then destroyed and rebuilt many times over the years. It was great fun to tour and explore it.



This is a picture of the boat from the top of the castle....



















We toured most of the island, eating at a little mom and pop restaurant almost every day. Real homemade italian cooking.
We spent a day of R&R at a thermal hotsprings called Poseidon Gardens. See Richard with Poseidon!!!!!
They had a number of pools with varying degrees of heat and beautiful pagodas to lounge under and with several glasses of wine we were soooo happy.






Enjoyed our stay immensely on Ischia but needed to move to the close island of Procida for better protection from a storm heading our way. And what a storm with thunder and lightening and buckets of rain all night. We kept thinking we should be more concerned or worried than we were but felt so safe that we slept like babies. The rain has continued for several days now and we are happy being cocooned and "rocked in the bosom of EcstaSea".....
In fact it truly is like being in the womb--surrounded by water, Yemaya below and the heavens pouring all around us---Divine!!!!!

Time to move on now and travel south to the volcanic islands off of Sicily.
Did we mention that we LOOOVE this Life?

Tunisia

TOTO, I DON'T THINK WE ARE IN KANSAS ANYMORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fully aware that we create our own reality and life experiences whether it be landing in Kansas, Oz or Tunisia, we have to admit that the Tunisian trip was quite a surprise.

Many of you are probably wondering why Tunisia at all so here is the logical, easy explanation. Since we have an American boat not registered in the European Union we have to leave the EU every 18 months or we have to pay an exorbitant tax. Soooo, our 18 months were about up and the easiest way to alleviate this situation was to make a quick trip to Tunisia (the closest non EU country). So we picked EcsaSea up in Sardinia where she had wintered and traveled south.

We are wanting to share our Tunisian experience with you, fully aware that it is just "a story", albeit "our story" without conveying the negativity and challenges we had. Thinking that we are pretty open minded and hearted, we were surprised at how quickly the circumstances challenged that assumption. One of our purposeful intentions is to "have an opinion" without "being our opinion" and to be aware of our judgments. Tunisia reminded us that we still have a ways to go on that one.....

Several surprises for us were:
Entering the harbor at Side Bou Saiid we ran aground as there was a shallow sand bar that no one had bothered to mark in any way. Who's to know? It was a rude start but no damage and no problem thankfully.
Going through customs upon entering a new country we were surprised as the customs agent inquired if some of our liquor was for him. Particularly the unopened Vodka bottle. So the price for an easy entry was 1 bottle of vodka for a Moslem man, plus a bag to disguise it as he took it off the boat. This practice continued with every one we met. Does forced tips = bribes?
Willow as well as Richard was painfully aware of the yoke of patriarchy prevailing through out the land. Richard always being the free thinker that he is, wants to start a new business here. "Rent a Birka" or possibly paper disposible birkas, cheap. Affording the western woman traveler the opportunity to fit in, without the unnecessary expense of buying her own. After all, it's unlikely that a western woman would ever again wear her birka to a prom, social event or even a halloween party. No birkas were seen but lots of head scarves and no man would address Willow---always asking for her husband. You know how well that went over for her.....They are pleased that they are the first Moslem country to outlaw polygamy but there still exists a heaviness in regards to women.
They are a secular country but a young one so old customs still prevail.
Flies........Everwhere flies, annoying, buzzing and irritating as hell. Did we mention the flies?
Richard broke the flyswatter and Willow couldn't find anyone who understood or anywhere to buy one as it doesn't exist in their awareness and apparently flies aren't a problem for them.

Willow got a tattoo on her hand before she could protest as she was just walking down the street. It supposedly shows she is married but we aren't quite sure as one of the dock hands was always pointing at it and laughing. Hopefully it will fade in a few weeks.
What's up with this toilet thing? No toilet paper but a funny little flexible tube with a valve. Kind of a crude do-it-yourself bidet.
There's so much more but we think you get the idea........

Tunisia is a very young country. Only 50 years old and has had only 2 presidents during that time. And we did have a great time sightseeing in the Medina (the old city of Tunis) as we strolled through the underground maze of little shops set back in time. It is set within the boundaries of 7 mosques, which unfortunately we weren't able to go into. We also visited the ancient ruins of Carthage. Once it was one of the largest cities in history founded in 814 BC it was well known for for it's size and fame and was the capital of the huge Punic Empire which covered the whole Mediteranean for centuries. Very impressive.





Museum of ancient relics, statues, and mosaics found in Carthage.










Carthage bath houses still standing by the sea.









We realize it is unfair to evaluate a place after only 3 days but 3 days was totally enough for us
and we were happy to sail away.

After traveling a hair-raising night with tankers and freighters all trying to run us over as we sailed north, we realized that we were bringing with us all of the negativity we had created while in Tunisia. We had small but significant challenges on the boat, one of which had Willow going up the mast to fix the problem. EcstaSea has a carbon pole which Willow was hoisted above resulting in millions of carbon fibers like little prickly cactus stuck in her arms and legs by the time she was finished . We finally just had to laugh out loud at the irony of prickly, irritating stickers all over us --physically, emotionally and even spiritually.And with that awareness a strong desire to "let it go".......
And to help us with that intention 8 dolphins appeared to playfully remind us to let go. The stayed and jumped and played along the bow for a very long time and we knew they were there to remind us to clear the energy and start fresh again. So we ceremoniously made a gift of the prickly clothing to the sea.




What a view!!!!!








And feeling free and clear of the darkness we had conjured up we continued sailing north peacefully and easefully.

PS..... Did we remember to mention the flies????????

Timelessness

Once again we have entered the world of "Timelessness" as we sway with the gentle movement of the wind and sea anchored here on the southern coast of Sardinia. Lapping waves, a cool breeze, aqua blue water, green hills, cloudless skies, rocky cliffs, seagulls......but mostly, timelessness.

Soooo, back to time. Our time in Alghero, Sardinia
where EcstaSea was wintered has been sweet. We felt like we were coming back home, to a place familiar where we enjoyed our favorite lasagne and sunset walks along the old seawall licking our coconut and chocolate gelatos.

EcstaSea was wonderfully tended to and taken
care of all winter by our friend Dominic.
Thank you Dominic--- we could never have made it without your generous help and communication skills.
EcstaSea was polished and waxed while out of the water and she sparkles like new. With just a few matters to tend to she was in the water and ready to sail on as were we.

We spent our first night at anchor at our favorite cove below Capo Caccio and slept like babies with the gentle rocking movement all night long. The wind and Yemaya have been extremely gentle with us as we are adapting to an ever moving home. So gentle, in fact with so little wind and waves we have had to motor down the west coast.

Our first day out we expressed our desire to see dolphins and there they were playing out a ways off of our portside stern. Well, the next day we were smart enough to ask them to come and play up close and personal with us and no more had we asked and there they were. Four big beautiful dolphins swimming at our bow, rolling over to look up at us as we hung over the sides getting as close as we could. We aren't quite sure what the proper dolphin language, is but we did our best as we whooped and hollered as they jumped out of the water and seemed to take as much delight in us as we did in them. The reminder for us: to ask specifically for what we want..........

So here we are bobbing at the southern end of Sardinia enjoying the timelessness before we embark on our adventure to Tunisia in a few days.