Well I think this thing still works. I have been having an extended break from blogging. I had an incredible holiday at home and was lucky enough to see and do everything that I wanted. My objective was to disconnect from everything over here and reconnect with friends and family. I actually started writing up a passage of what happend at home and I hope to finish it one day. But things have been moving very quickly since I got back and I have had no time to write, let alone relax.

My first bombshell was learning that my boss has handed in his notice. This is less than ideal but given the stress he has been under for our refit it is understandable. The second bombshell was learning that we were leaving the shipyard as planned. This is incredible and I do not know many boats that have left shipyards on time in the Mediterranean.

Obviously leaving Barcelona was a sad time for me. I had to say goodbye to two very special people Sam and Nancy. When El Fuerte and Uncle Phil left me on RoMa I was a blubbering mess. I was a less a blubbering mess for Sam and Nancy because I was a bit philosophical about it. I travelled across France to see Uncle Phil. I travelled across Spain to see El Fuerte. I’ll fly to middle earth to see my Wife. Family and Friends. Of course I will see Sam and Nancy again. Ain’t no mountain high enough Bitches.

From Barcelona we steamed to Antibes, France. My long dormant French part of my brain has stirred to life. Slowly my Spanish brain will eb and fade. We are here for a little while and I must say it is quite nice to be somewhere familiar I took one of our Engineers to Monaco today and I have to admit I make quite a good walking tour guide. Another avenue to explore, I really am a talented fellow.

Speaking of which. I got to play music for 4 hours at our dock BBQ before we left. I think I did quite a good job and had some good feedback in the morning. I drank a healthy amount of beer.