Sea Kayaking around Amorgos

This larger island is part of the Cyclades Islands and has a line of rocky peaks down its spine and long stretches of bright blue water along it's coastlines under 300 to 400 metre high cliffs (the film 'The Big Blue' was filmed here so the coastline may be familiar to you.). If you're looking to base yourself on one island or in a smaller region, Amorgos and the tiny un-inhabited islands off its Southern coast (The small Cyclades) which are only a few miles away from each other make a good choice. Though rocky these islands still have some green life on them and small secluded beaches waiting to be arrived at by kayak.
The paddling in this part of the Cyclades is relatively calm and there is a lot of sheltered terrain. It also helps that the peaks are so high because if it's blowy on one side of the island you can pop around to the other side to suit conditions.
Amorgos has two major towns, both with pretty white washed buildings and spectacular views. It also has a very famous monastery which has been built dramatically into the side of the cliffs. Only two monks live there now (they don't really get along that well either.) but they will give you a guided tour inside the narrow rooms built over 300 m on the cliff.

La Rosa Nautica Headed to Bogota

Lima, Peru’s famed seafood restaurant La Rosa Nautica, which is set on a pier that extends a hundred meters from the city’s shore into the Pacific ocean, is opening its second restaurant in Bogota, Colombia.The restaurant should be open by mid-December 2010. They are also planning to open a third La Rosa Nautica franchise in Argentina. The restaurant in Lima sometimes gets knocked on by critics because the high number of tourist buses that frequent it, though the setting is spectacular and the food, most notably the ceviches and fish dishes, are always consistent. When I have family in town, it’s usually the first or last place we go. This is not the first Peruvian restaurant to expand to Bogota. Gaston Acurio’s La Mar and Astrid & Gaston have established themselves in the Colombian capital, as has Rafael Osterling’s Rafael.

St. Martin: Home away from Home?

Barbuda was our last real stop before arriving in St. Martin, on February 3^rd. As always we enjoyed our pretty and peaceful environment in Low Bay. There seemed to be more sailboats than last January, but we didn’t feel crowded. Once in a while, we took a break from work, for a walk on the 11 mile beach, sinking into the soft sand up till our ankles. Darwin loved it here, we missed his joyful presence, and this time around, the weather was just wonderful, even a bit chilly to swim.

One afternoon, I convinced Mark to join me in the dinghy towards one of the reefs. He remained in the rubber boat, bopping around, enjoying the sunshine, while I braved the cool water and snorkeled around for a bit, seeing multiple colorful fish on the damaged reefs and two stingrays. On the way back to Irie, we passed over large patches of grass. We could see big white spots from above the water and I joked that they were probably all conch. Mark urged me to put my mask and snorkel back on to check it out. Indeed! Tons of conch!

Within seconds, I donned my fins again and went diving for dinner, only picking the adult ones with a big lip. Twenty minutes later, I found enough sea creatures for a few meals. We felt happy and successful to finally find some food in nature. Every fishing attempt this season has failed miserably. Even worse: we lost all our lures in the progress! Once back aboard, Mark cut the animals out of their pretty shells and cleaned them up a bit. They would turn into delicious meals over the following weeks.

Publish Post

Now we are back in St. Martin with mixed feelings. It is the third time we will be spending four to five months in Simpson Bay Lagoon, focusing on our business and other work. The Wirie “factory” is back in production. The list of boat projects is long again and so are the chore and the grocery list. On the other hand, it is great to see all our friends again and spend some fun evenings together.

Mark and I also have a wedding to plan and our friend Karmen, who is an aspiring travel and wedding photographer (www.meanderingmoments.com) is practicing on us, as we speak. So, just like previous years, it is all about finding the perfect balance between work and pleasure. St. Martin is not a bad place to achieve such a thing!