October 11, 2021
We came back to Beirut exactly two weeks ago. We haven’t done much. Work, some cooking at night after weeks of eating out. I started teaching in a classroom (students who are fully vaccinated can attend the class), but not for long. We’re moving to Bangkok next Saturday. The movers come on Friday to take all our stuff. We will spend that night in a hotel and then fly the following day.
Friday we had a few people over to say good by; mainly Natalia’s colleagues. No cooking was involved, we had a cater who prepared Indian and Thai food. Yesterday, my friend Ibrahim took us for a short boat ride and we swam for the last time in this part of the Mediterranean sea. It is unlike that we will ever come back.
Even with a new government things haven’t changed much. There will be an election in March but nothing is likely to change then either. Those who are really in charge — the strongmen from the civil war — will stay put for years to come.
Overall, I do not regret having lived here for three and half years; minus the trips abroad that were required to stay sane. But time has come to go.
Bangkok is a good place to live. I was living there some 20 years ago and have wonderful memories. We will have to do a 7 days quarantine upon arrival. Then we plan to rent a furnished apartment while we wait for our container. It is unlikely to arrive before we go to Washington DC and then Grenada (Antares !) for Christmas and the New Year.
DC is a mandatory stop to recover the boat’s gear that has been waiting there since the summer. And, we will pick up Marina who is coming with us to the boat. We plan to sail north up to Martinique or Guadeloupe where they will abandon the captain in early January. I will stay a couple more weeks to bring the boat back to Grenada for the hurricane season. The passage to Panama is scheduled for November, 2022. And yes, it WILL finally happen.
The pics are from the last days in Lisbon (museum and bars) and our last days here (restaurant in the mountains and views from the boat). Next report will come from East Asia…
Sailing to the Pacific 