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
My main achievement today was to update this site. I added a "Menu." It sounds simple, but it took me a while to understand how WordPress works. I did it because the blog that was documenting my travels with Antares is evolving into something that resembles more a journal; which I need to have. … Continue reading Updating the site, another Blog, aperitif
I submitted the book proposal this morning. I have a couple of papers to finalize but otherwise my days are starting to have less structure again. I’ve had some more meetings and conversations about job opportunities but there is still nothing concrete on the table. I am not missing work, at least not my old … Continue reading Beirut: uncertainty, coffee, Harley, and the next passage(s)
I am slowly settling down. The apartment remains almost empty; our furniture, I estimate, is now in the middle of the Atlantic. I give it at least two weeks before we have our “stuff” in place. I miss my white chair the most, our bed second. I already see that not everything will fit, including … Continue reading Beirut: Second week
Natalia, the two dogs and I arrived yesterday afternoon. She has a new job here and I, after eighteen years at the World Bank, will be looking for something new to make a leaving. Hopefully something that will give me more time for sailing. For now, we are loving the new apartment and the neighborhood, Mar … Continue reading Moving to Beirut
Sailing to the Pacific 