Tikkels & Munten

One thing that is both good and bad with being on a Dutch island (ok half Dutch, half French), is that there's loads of different salty liquorice, very similar to the Swedish and Finish stuff, to find in the stores. That's great because I haven't had any since we had friends visiting us back in February or when I flew home to Finland a couple of days after that. But it's also really, really bad because I can't hold myself from eating too much of it when I get it, I mean too much when you can't eat your lunch or dinner because you're already full from the two bags of salty coins and pastels you just treated your poor stomach with. I certainly have no self control whatsoever when it comes to this shit. Shall we move over to the French side, please?

Beach break

My beautiful silk kaftan is from this brand.

We're having a really good time here, in between all work.. Alex forced me to move my ass from the computer today to spend the afternoon at the beach instead and I must say it was a good move. Loving the vibe of this island. Should have less work to deal with and more time for island exploration after the weekend hopefully. 

Purple sky

Caos lonely at the quay, one quiet night in Gustavia, St Barts. St Martin (SXM) in the background.

Hey Randy, you forgot your cap!

Les Voiles de St Tropez

Did you know that the previous owner of this beauty of a boat that we're now busy preparing for a circumnavigation was D Randy West? Yes, the professional racing sailor, multihull captain and author of the famous Hurricane Book. Randy is very well known here in the West Indies, particularly on our favorite island St Barts where he lived for over 30 years, with Duende for some of them. Alex and I had the chance to meet this crazy entertaining man a couple of weeks ago and boy did he have some interesting stories to tell. Look out for more of them in his upcoming new book. I'd also like to suggest you to check out his very amusing first: The Hurricane Book, that's 18 stories from the 18 hurricanes he has survived, all told in a very humorous and informative way. 

Galley friend

These miniature bottles of rum that people left here or I don't know from where we got them, comes very handy in the kitchen. Instead of opening the big bottles, I use these little bastards to add a few drops in the cakes that I bake, in my West-Indian chicken stew, in fruit-salads, over grilled vegetables and every thinkable concoction that could be in need of some sweet improvement. Very practical as there are only very few things in life that wouldn't taste better with some rum mixed with it.

We're home

So we are back in St Martin again. With our new baby, Duende. We're slowly getting used to this new island which will be our new home for the following four weeks at least. Looking forward to spend an extended time around here. It's always kind of exciting to get to know a new place/new country for real, and not just by passing by for a day or two. Particularly appealing is it here in the Caribbean, where a number of countries with many different cultures, people, lives and societies are located so close to one another, just a few hours of sail in between them. There's definitely an island for everyone and for every taste here in these crystal clear waters of the West Indies.

Busy

Sorry for the lack of interesting updates lately, its just that we are so incredibly busy with all kinds of urgent things around here. If I only had the time to process all the photos from these past four weeks, I would love to share with you:

• Pics from the week we spent with Alex family in St Vincent and Bequia


• A story from our rainforest trekking in Dominica


• All the wonderful photos from our day in the waterfalls and beyond in Pitons, St Lucia


• Also I'd like to answer all the questions and emails we've received lately


• Tell you more about our new boat


• Add a FAQ section to the blog

But this we have no time for what so ever, as we're super busy here doing this:

• Writing a long article for the worlds most stylish yachting magazine, deadline Monday


• Snapping shots for several different photo assignments


• Preparing the purchase list for the equipment we need for Duende


• Ordering everything we need for the same


• Preparing the new boat for further travels around the world


• Dealing with new sponsors and partners


• Answering the 20 most important emails in the list of hundreds


• Answering questions for an interview


• Also I'm trying to find some time to write on my book

So many projects and missions constantly going on in our lives, it never ends and being born restless, it really seems like we never can take a step back and chill down. Properly. We definitely have to work on this. One day. Maybe when we get to the Pacific?

And oh, somebody asked us why we have chosen to have someone else moderating the comments that we receive to this blog, and that's simply because out of thirty nice ones there's always one retard trying to annoy us and as you can understand, we have neither time nor space for that kind of bullshit. For the rest of you, you amazing people that send us normal comments, the ones that we actually do read and all of you who've been in touch with us by email and/or through our other social media sites, we love you all and appreciate that you take your time to talk to us. I just have to apologize that we have been late in responding some of the emails that we've received lately, we'll get better on this as soon as it chills down here a bit. I'm sure you know how much we love sharing this journey with y'all.

That's it for now, listen to this great track produced by Alex's brother in the meanwhile if you'd like.

We'll be back with you soon.