Goodness Gracious me…..what a palava….. Being sick ain’t a good look!!

Trust me!!!But at long long last I am bouncing on back and have a good amount of catching up on this ole blog to do!!
My last healthy entry was just after our Callisto Caribbean season had come to an end back in May..

I must admit I never thought I would be as happy as I was when i arrived on US shores.. I did love the Caribbean..

LOVED IT…

but USA meant just a hop skip and a jump (and a 2.5 week sail!) to Europe which meant home which meant family and friends, which I love!!
I managed to surprise my Aunty, Uncle and cousins on their trip to New York…

I “bumped” into them in downtown Manhattan and hijacked their time there We had a freak storm which totally shut down NYC - Excellente! It meant my flight got cancelled and I got an extra day with them!!!
I also managed to hook up with an old friend, Riad, who partied out with me in Manhattan and then met up with me the next weekend down in Miami for an equally stupendous weekend in South Beach!!
And if that wasn't enough a group of us went to see The Killers perform in Fort Lauderdale -

what an excellent live band!!!

Then it was button down our hatches and sail back on over to Euro land… we left Florida Fort Lauderdale and stopped off in Bermuda for a few days (avoided a storm) then hot footed it over to The Azures and then through the boating equivalent of the M25 - Gibralter straights - and ended our epic journey in Marseille.
The crossing wasn’t as sunny or smooth as going over there but there were Dolphins and Whales galore - and few wavy moments

(which I secretly enjoyed!) and just good times - I really love crossings (passages!!), its not every day you get to be in the middle of one of the worlds greatest oceans!!!

Coming into the Mediterranean brought up a real sense of coming home. And home I was bound.. But first I headed over to Barcelona

for a weekend of fun - the train ride from Southern France across the Spanish border is a journey well worth the effort! After visiting some familiar faces

I popped on down to Granada where me and Dee,

my beautiful mother, spent a lovely few days saying Hi again after 6 months, we cruised round the Alhambra Palace
(one of the wonders of the world!) and lapped up all the beauty of the Andalucian Sierra Nevada mountains.

After the Spanish assualt on my senses I came home for a reunion with all the gang.. I visited all the babies who are little bigger

and all my mates who I miss just that little bit more..

This time the homecoming theme was much more family orientated than the normal “woooooooohhhh im back , now I’m gone, uh oh now I’m back again!!” stylie.. I loved it! There was a little Southern adventure where I hooked up with my Grandma in Eastbourne,

a Bournemouth night out with Riad

and some guys from the boat and even a little drive around Swanage. England in the sun really is a beautiful place to be..

So, after all that fun and frolics I found myself back on board the mighty ship Callisto and ready for a summer season of cruising the Med and working my little toush off… But alas, that was not meant to be! After welcoming our owners on board I promptly fell sick and didn’t recover or return to the boat until 1 week ago!

Its been a testing time, Hepatitis A is not something I would recommend, but there is nothing like a big ole shock to help you make a few life re-evaluations!!!

After spending the last 2 months practically bed bound, I am back on board gingerly getting back into the swing of things - and between you me and the Ether I’m loving having things to do, there is only SO much Richard and Judy daytime TV one can take!

So much so - and I promise this entry is nearly over - I took myself over to Cannes this weekend

to catch up on some shopping and more importantly to watch Achive perform with the Cannes Orchestra - a truly amazing musical experience and a great start to the road of recovery.

During sickness delirium I have toyed with the idea of leaving yachting and taking some time off, returning to Colombia and snuckling on down in my own little casita. But opportunity knocks and with a little step up on board and a season in the Maldives on the cards the sabbatical will just have to wait a while.. at least until my health (and my bank balance) is back up to fighting fit (bouncing around the world) capacity.. Another 6 months aboard the good ship Callisto awaits!!!!

Bring it on!