How is to come home?

Salsa af Stavsnas
Ellinor Ristoff Staffan Ehde
Sat 29 Aug 2015 06:57
Most blogs stop at the same moment the crew leaves the boat. I myself thought many times it is sad that nobody writes about how it is to come home.
To bad Im just as bad, but for instance now as Im trying to write this blog I am interrupted the whole time.
No reason for not doing it but I guess it shows what the driving force is. After all we are mostly writing for friends back home and once there, why would they bother?
Well we do have friends that are not at home, thanks Dianne and Graham for pushing me this morning, your mail from Savusavu made me go back to work on the blog again...
So, let me try to give you a summary on what life is about when returning.
Well first of all our hero, Salsa, is in Australia and it looks like she will get some new great owners that intend on taking her with kids and all back on adventure.
Unfortunately Salsa has made a few hiccups she never did before, all years we had her the engine never failed to start. Now when she is being taken to surveys etc the engine simply won't start.
The broker is struggling to get it fixed. There are a few issues before the buyer is satisfied, but all in all we think the deal will come through. It is hard to be so far away while things are happening that you would like to attend.
So the rest of the family?
We have settled in a wonderful house northeast of Norrtälje, the Baltic sea very near, and the wonderful archipelago of Roslagen (we have 25000 islands here!).
We live on the countryside with just one house visible from us, about 300m away. In the house we have over 200 square meters to live in plus double garage and a basement that is 100 m2!
What a change in space!
Suddenly we have washing machine, dish washer, electric oven etc etc...
When you say that you leave the comfort zone going away in a sailboat, you could surely say you leave the comfortable zone as well.
The kids have started school and it has worked out very well so far, it is nice to be home with your own language, and there is a concern from the teachers that newcomers will find their place.
Erika has asked that nobody makes it official that she has been sailing for 3 years, she is concerned to be treated as a "normal" child, as a start.
Andreas does not care, but nobody else seems to care either.
The weeks we have been home have been extremely social of course, family getting together, family visiting us and we have been touring around (we got ourselves an old Volvo, but it feels like limousine)

Ellinor has taken up a lot of administration to get back to work and I am getting in touch with clients, updating my work etc. 

People are mostly very cool about our journey, they will say things like, what a great thing you have done! But further than that very few will want to know more.
These are the most common questions:

How does it feel to be back home?
Our answer is, Great! Comfortable! Still summer in Sweden will be more interesting to see what it feels when the winter sets in...

What was the greatest experience on the journey?
The disaster relief work in Vanuatu

One single place you will always remember?
Fulaga in Fiji

If we would want to go somewhere for vacation, what is the best place you have seen?
Fiji, if you get away from the crowd
Colombia

This question  is good,
did it turn out as you expected?
No, it was more of everything, more work than expected for instance...


This will do for today