January 11th, 2021
We have been here in Casa Blanca for almost one month and it is likely that we will stay for yet one more. The reason is that Beirut is, again, under lock down; a severe lock down with all business closed. It seems the Lebanese partied hard during the holiday season and the number of, new, daily infections has increased dramatically and is expected to hit the 5k mark; a high number for a country with only 6 million homo sapiens. There is still no new government and the economy continues to tank. It is a disgrace.
It was good having my parents and siblings around during the holidays. The logistics involved in feeding the family and keeping the house in order increase exponentially with the number of individuals, but it was worth it. They are all gone now — along with most of the people who came from Quito to receive here the new year. Natalia, Marina and I now have the house and the beach for ourselves, though we won’t enjoy much the latter, at least during the week. Marina is back to virtual school, Natalia is back to virtual work, and I have a couple of deadlines this month. I also need to go back to the “finca” to coordinate various activities.
Not knowing how the COVID situation will evolve also means not knowing when it will be feasible to go back to Antares to continue the trip. I haven’t given up. Marina, who as I have mentioned will be coming back to Beirut with us ( if we are able to go back), has a three weeks vacation in April. It could be a good time. The owners of the boat yard tell me that the mast was fixed and that Antares is doing fine. I hope they’re right.
We have a beautiful afternoon today. I m waiting for the sun to get closer to the sea so that I can go for a run at the beach. It’s brutal right now. My arm is doing much better so after running I have started to exercise again.
No big plans for the night. It will be a dry night and we’re not cooking — there are some leftovers for those who get hungry. Most likely it will be a reading night. Yesterday I started a new book: 2030: How Today’s Biggest Trends will Collide and Reshape de Future of Everything by Mauro Guillén (non-fiction). I’m not sure yet whether I will recommend it.
(in the pics the first is year 2020 burning. toward the end one of the best paellas I have ever prepared)
Sailing to the Pacific 