We have been in Whangarei since our last blog, doing little apart from jobs on the boat and weekly outings with the Hash House Harriers.  After a good intial reponse to her medication, Sarah’s thyroid is now not co-operating and the doctor has had to increase her medication again. This means it would still be more than a month before Sarah got the OK to sail to the Pacific Islands, and staying in New Zealand any longer could give us problems with visas and the immigration services, so we have decided to fly home for a few months.  That will allow us to escape the worst of the New Zealand winter; this week Auckland had the coldest night it has had for 3 years, and our heater chose the following day to break down.

Since we left the Eastern Carribean in January 2017, we have logged 9300 miles, visiting 11 nations, including over 20 different islands and 3 countries in Latin America.  We are so lucky to have the opportunity to see these beautiful places.  So here is a recap of some of the highlights in pictures:

The 3 day trek to the lost city in Colombia.  Hard work but really worth the effort

The lovely couple living alone on Waisaladup in the San Blas Islands.  The woman made Sarah

a bracelet of beads – a smaller version of those on her own legs.

The transit through the Panama Canal, with our fantastic crew, Emily, and sailing into the Pacific for the first time

Surfing through the entrance to Bahia de Caraques in Equador, and Arios who piloted  us out again,

and took a fancy to Sarah’s straw hat.

The fantastic rooftop bar/restaurant in the Secret Garden Hostel in Quito, where we were the oldest

guests by several decades

The Galapagos, where the sea life has right of way...

... and the birds look as if they have been dipped in paint

Learning just what a great boat ‘Serenity’ is as she sailed her way across the Pacific

The stunning Marquises with their forest clad hills and spiky skylines

The contrast to the atolls of the Tuamotus, with their perfect sand beaches and turquoise water

Watching men (and one woman) throw spears at coconuts on a pole – Bastille Day celebrations on

Kauehi in the Tuamotus

Our host, Bill Marsters, who looked after us during our stay on Palmerston, where everyone is

decended from William Marsters and his 3 wives

The lagoon at Palmerston where we snorkelled between meals with our host family

A humpback whale and her calf swimming between the moored boats at Nuie

Evenings with other cruisers at Big Mama’s Yacht Club in Tonga as we waited for the right weather

for the passage to New Zealand

Anchoring at North Minerva Reef, 250 miles on our way, with no land in site and just the circle

of reef protecting us from the Pacific swell.

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