Firstly here in El Salvador it is their actual winter (if you can call it that as it is the wet season), but this is the first hurricane hide out season we have done, and it is now over.

When we arrived here I know Tracy had only just realized that we would need to stop to avoid bad weather (hurricanes in the north) and significant rain and lightening to the south, given our policy of enjoying cruising we wanted to avoid the bad weather so like 36 other boats we had decided to settle in Bahia de Sol for the summer, (6 months). We were ready for a rest and change as we have mentioned before we have learnt that about 3 months of moving is our limit, so pulling over the bar was welcome.

But after a week to 2 weeks we started to make plans, we were not going just sit still we wanted to explore and experience. This was a very refreshing thought for Tracy as she had honestly expected us to keep moving all year. Forgetting hurricanes in the southern hemisphere. But we started to really relax in those first 3 weeks here as weather was not an issue the anchor was not an issue, no dinghy beach landings etc, it was work on boat and clean up and re stock.

We then decided to do South America a big dream for me and Tracy to re visit some places and go to many new ones. That trip South was by accident well planned as we left in Late April still in the hottest time here, and it apparently stayed that hot for 2 ½ months while we were away. Yet the we left, bys charged with confidence and want to experience.

I will not go through the trip, but it really confirmed to me how well we had become a good travelling unit, as we switched from boat, to 2 duffle bags and each a small bag on our back and  that would last 3 months in sub zero climates to tropical climates, and we just jumped on planes, entered hotels learnt how to fit into all styles and sizes of taxis with everything (usually showing the driver how to load).

Already in the  year the boys had grown in confidence and personality, each with strong characters but both as a team, and we had developed closer bonds especially me as I was not going to work each day. The trip through South America took the boys development to another level, they craved for knowledge, asked questions, wanted to explore. We still had a dally routine of trying to sleep or rest in the afternoon, but they found hotels a second home, no issue with crowds and taxis, (as long as we were there), they won hearts everywhere with their blue eyes and white hair. But certainly for them and I found how to educate use the kids museums and things around us (for Tracy this was more natural through her training) but Sean would sit with me and do maths, he would ask questions and things about what is around us, and we discuss. I enjoy this very much and want to keep this up as we go through the rest of our lives. We found other families doing the same with their kids, and often our boys were more confident, and instantly went off to share and play and engage with others, this was a joy to see.

In many ways the Trip to South America will probably be the highlight for us in this year of so many great experiences, but I think we will look back and see it as a major turning point in the kids development, especially Sean. His Confidence on returning was huge, and willingness to talk and engage.

On returning it was nice to come back to not so warm climate, to familiarity of Gijima, (boys loved the toys) and the friends we had developed on the way down the coast and when were here. I think this is the other big thing you do not realize when you start cruising is the friendships you build we met many lovely people and enjoyed times with them as we came down the Mexican coast. But they are all pass through friends like with all travelling the most common thing is “good bye” but with the summer over you are spending 6 months with the same boats and you develop a community together. Out of those boast we have made some fantastic friends who we will stay in contact with, and we expect they will turn up on our doorstep in Australia or on a boat next to us in western pacific.  If we had not stopped we would have missed this.

The next big thing of the 6 months was being able to get into enough of routine to allow Tracy and I to get probably the healthiest we have been in years, with regular exercise (rowing in the morning for me), and then Tracy with the exercise classes and then Tracy could move on with her other hobbies of Guitar and photos.

Sean has taken massive steps in violin here, and his language skills have grown without him even raising it. Alex as well. But Alex has developed probably most of all, he is now confident in his own way, stands tall, he asks questions, he is now potty trained (a huge step for our trash issues when not in ports).  We have been able to get into the morning routine of school and education, Alex is now swimming, Sean is like a fish, and both are engaging with other adults and kids well.

The boat is in better shape than ever, I have got many of those deferred projects by allocating 2 hours a day no matter what, so while everything worked smoothly on the way here I would expect things to be even better in the next 6 months.

It has been a good time for Tracy and I to really sit back and reflect on what we want to do, where boating fits what we like and what we want and can do. This lead to the decision to ship the boat to Australia instead of sailing. We have also read many blogs of friends doing the crossing this year with kids our age, while they have achieved the crossing and had great experiences, it was certainly not stress free and relaxing with the kids. So we have been able to see that we both like cruising the boys like it, and the family time on the boat when we away is like none other. So we want to continue, but we also realize that we like destination cruising where we are not doing long passages and we can have calm anchorages and explore. Certainly we have become good at over nighters and multi days, but it is not our preference, and we defer the pacific islands for a couple of years while the boys grow. It also became very clear you need hobbies / developments to work on, I had the boat, some Invensys work, and Weather I was learning, Tracy had Guitar, photos, and Spanish, and we both had the boys so our days were very full but we can see from many of the boast around they were occupied but have become more restless to move on than us due to needing things to do, others who have many things to do have seen the summer fly past.

So as we come to end of our stay we also have a clearer picture on the future we will use Australia as a base, Tracy and I feel happy with the dreams and ideas we have for the next couple of years, they will change but we understand our limits and our capabilities, our confidence has grown, and our desire to travel and explore has grown even more.

While the 3 months at the beginning of year and the 3 months we are about to embark on have daily new experiences, I suspect it will be these 6 months which will be lasting experiences that certainly shape the boys lives and out looks even though they probably will not remember huge amounts of them.

Like all times when you are busy experiencing things it goes fast and I cannot believe we looking Halloween in a month, the Ha Ha leaves in a month, how the time has gone, to so many people they think we are not busy when cruising but even when still the day starts early and finishes late. It has been a good time, El Salvador has been good to us, the people fantastically friendly, and the opportunities to travel from here are great. 

We have travelled a lot in these 6 months, but as I saw in the pool Happy Hour we have many friends, and we are relaxed and Healthy. I am so proud of Tracy and Boys how they have developed in a unit that loves to travel and handle hotels, buses and we all take it in our stride. Yet love the little things and coming home. The next 3 months will finish our American experience which has taken 10 years but we have seen most of it from Alaska to the southern tip of Chile, and most of all lived it with the people. Again our simplification of life has given us the freedom and relaxation in travelling and moving, that is on water and land, we must maintain this. Leaving here our Spanish is much better, our understanding of people, and central America is greatly improved, and my understanding of South America has dramatically gone up. These rest periods in cruising are a natural part of cruising and good part if you leverage them as we did to travel and experience, we look forward to many more.  

Our thanks go to El Salvadorian people and the support they have given us.