Back in Europe...

Hmm I'm tired...
been off for a few days, now in a hostel in Faro, Portugal.... killing a few hours before i head for the airport! thought it was about time i updated my blog, just in any case somebody is actually reading it... (thank you Steen for all the nice comments!)
it was a semi-boring crossing. we motored most of the way or so it seems... damn global warming! normally we would have had fair winds... blowing from west to east, but eh for some dark reason, we had head winds or no winds...! so we went very far north to stay out of some bad weather, we managed to do so, and to set a few sails... but eh it was nothing like we expected... we even at one point set stunsails! at one point we had every little piece of canvas flying. but apart from the sailing or lack of sailing if you please, it was one the best crossings I've ever done. the atmosphere was great all the way, nobody had the notorious Mid-Atlantic mental breakdown, i had a great watch, they we're all cheerful and hard working, and they made my life/job very easy by thinking with me, meaning i didn't have to tell them what to do all the time. there where many times, where i could leave it all up to them and do the dishes or whatever... they even set sails without me. NICE!!! then it works... this way they learn a lot, and we can share the workload... if i had to be on deck all the time, i couldn't do my share of inside cleaning or dishes or... not that i really want to clean toilets, but eh if we can take turns with 4 in a watch instead of only 3 then it's less toilet cleaning for everybody... so eh... anyway, we had a lot of fun together, and we all learned something new!!! many nice! but it was a long crossing... about 3weeks,but when you get up 2 a day to go on watch, it seems like double up on time on board!
But eh every once in a while we saw animals... a lot of whales, dolphins, birds and even a SHARK!!! seriously, apparently the biggest in the world second only to the Great white... I was so lucky to be on the bowsprit doing some work, when we saw the fin.... it swam very slowly around us for a while... it was huge! I don't remember the name, but it has no teeth, it's a vegetarian shark! cwazy!!!
the sun was setting, a shark swam around the ship, we could hear whales breathe and some dolphins where jumping, and swallows where flying around... reminding us that we where close to land. It also reminded me of all those times where I've been staring blindly at the sea for hours, hoping to see a sign of life... it's crazy, you know that the oceans is full of life, but sometimes you see nothing, and as the other day proofs, other times you see so much at the same time that you every time you turn your head you see or hear a different animal...!
the swallows made me think of tattoo's... back in the days, when men where made of steel and ships made of wood, sailors would get a pair of swallows when they had sailed 5000NM... you always get them in pairs, for different reasons.
I'm already thinking about my next tattoo... I want a pair of swallows... I just have to find the right design. but i guess that will come.... i don't really need a new tattoo right now. I'm very happy with the ones i already got, and after all i had one done in Baltimore, so eh I'll wait a bit!



well now i just want to go home...

I've been away for what seems like forever, and it's so close now... in a few hours I'll be on my way to the airport... NICE!!
but eh i got the most out of my 2days here... had some tip money left over from the cruises we did in the Caribbean. had decided to use them when i found a place to live, hopefully in Amsterdam, but eh i spent some of them to do something good for myself... so i spent 6hours in a SPA today.... aaaaah that was great!!! the full works... face, feet, massage, body scrub in CHOCOLATE!!! and i finished it all off with a haircut...
it was great, i really enjoyed it... it was nice with a little ego trip, and since I'm here alone... i can do whatever i want...
and i figured that doing that would be cheaper than walking around town... and it definitely makes me feel a lot better than a new pair of shoes and i don't need more things, i need a place to put all the stuff i already got...!!!

anyway, I'm now writing just to keep stay awake... which i should 'cause if i fall asleep now, i don't think I'll wake up in time for my flight. and this little cookie just wants to go home...

but I'm out of things to say.... there's a million more stories to tell, but i can't be bothered right now... sorry, please forgive me...

*Ninon, the little cookie that wants to go home...