Drove 5 hours yesterday: Quito-Nanegalito (1h); Nanegalito-Los Bancos (1h); Los Bancos-La Union (1h); La Union-Quininde (15 minutes); Quininde-San Mateo (1h); San Mateo-Casablanca Same (45 minutes). At night, I was having dinner with friends in a restaurant at the beach when the deluge started. It continued overnight. Several houses were flooded. Stones fell from the edge … Continue reading Casa Blanca, Deluge
I am in Quito, Ecuador visiting my parents. Arrived Saturday. It took me 27 hours from Beirut with stopovers in Frankfurt and Panama City. Didn’t sleep much. I was seating in economy class, middle of the plane, window seat. At least people don’t bother you there when they go to the WC. Watched four … Continue reading Ecuador, 27 hours, and the Pope
Time started to run very fast since the last passage in Antares. I was looking forward, then, to the holidays season and my daughters' visit. It's all over now. They are back to DC with their mother and I am here, in a city dispirited by winter, trying to get some work done. And for the … Continue reading Wrong Year, Adaptation, Preparations for Grenada
Beating into fresh trade-winds for over 36 hours is some form of masochism. But we really didn't have the choice. Since my last post I have been rather busy trying to get some work done (therefore the silence). I could only schedule 7 days to sail Antares from Turks and Caicos to Dominican Republic. Richard … Continue reading Antares @ Puerto Plata – Dominican Republic
It's Friday morning and my landlord's driver, Hossein, is taking me to the department of motor vehicles in his white Vespa, slaloming between cars in the freeway. I'm seating in the back tense and immobile so as not to disrupt the balance. We have a mission: registering the motorbike and getting new plates. Can it … Continue reading Beirut: Chaos,Greek Gods, 260 Kms
I've had the chance to discover the Lebanese health care system (the private part) from the inside. Thursday, early in the morning, I was admitted to the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC). The goal: removing two hernias that had been developing over the last couple of years. Nothing serious, I could have waited … Continue reading Beirut: Surgery for Safety at Sea / Stop Drinking ?
The flow of cars in Charles Helou highway, which our apartment oversees, never dries-out; neither late at night, nor before dawn. Like in a river, there are changes in volume; sometimes the flow almost stops and spills over the side roads. But the vehicles are always there, the sound waves of their engines aggregating into … Continue reading Beirut: Ride, Traffic, Wine, and Entropy
