Ajaccio, Corsica

On 27th of October we arrived in Corsica. The sail over was nice and going the strait of Gibraltar was really cool. The sail was mainly along the coast and we got in a storm which was kind off scary but more exciting. Since we were going so fast through the storm we had a lot of time to kill so we anchored off the coast of Mallorca. That was really nice and we had our first swim call. At seven a.m we got woken up for fitness and instead of doing our normal fitness we got to go swimming. Everyone was jumping off the side and the water was clear, bright blue and warm. On the first day in Corsica Opa and Mary were there to see me. Which was really nice. We walked around Ajaccio and had a great lunch. Then we went to see the house of Napoleon. That was really interesting. Then we went for an amazing dinner. Thanks again Opa and Mary! The next day we went on a hike which was 6 km up a mountain. The views were amazing. After the hike we went for a picnic on the beach. The rest of the day we had free time. The next day we went to the governor of Ajaccio's house and he made a very nice speech. We had the rest of the day free. And today our last day we have the whole day off. I'm in an internet cafe right now and I'll be hitting the beach for the rest of the day :)

Next stop: Malta!!!

Pictures from Aveiro

beautiful sunset on the way to portugal

the beach :)

lisbon, cathedral

Aveiro, Portugal

I dont have much time to write something but Portugal has been great. I love it here. The sail over was five days and very nice since it got warmer everyday because we were heading south. We saw tons of dolphins which was really cool. We got to Portugal on the 14th and had to stay on the boat for a day since the customs couldnt clear us. That was really unfortunate since we were all anxiõus to see portugal and it was superhot. But the local newspaper came by and took some pictures and interviewed our first mate. The next day we were on the front page! the next day we went to a maritime museum which was really nice and the mayor of Aveiro and the Canadian ambassador came to the ship to have lunch with us. It was really interesting to hear about all the Canadian and Portugese relations. The day after that we took a 3 hour busride to Lisbon and had the day of there. We did a lot of walking around and my friends and I went to an aquarium. We saw some really cool fish there. Lisbon was beautiful. Today our last day we had off and so I went to the beach with a bunch of people. It was really hot but the water was cold. But it was really relaxing after all the walking everyone did in Lisbon. We leave tomorrow morning (18th Oct) for a nine day sail to Corsica!

I'm in Dublin!!

After being in Horta we set off for a nine day sail to Dublin. It wasn't as tough as the first sail but we had to learn all of the 148 lines on the ship and be able to identify them blindfolded!

It was a lot of work this sail and it was exhausting. The highlight from that sail was definetly seeing the Bounty a ship that was built in Lunenburg in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. We saw the ship from a distance and we both changed our courses to meet up. We sailed right next to the bounty with a whale in between us. We sang a song with them, they shot off a canon and we blew our horn. One of the teachers on the ship plays bagpipes so he took out his bagpipes and started playing them. It was an amazing experience. Then arriving in Dublin was great. I love it here. It was great being in a city again. And of course the shopping has been fabulous. On port program we went to a farm about an hour and a half outside of Dublin. We got to hurd sheep, milk cows play in mud and the highlight for me was when they tought us Irish dancing. Everyone was so into it and we all had a blast. Then on our last night in Dublin a few friends and I went to a fashion show which was in a shopping mall. It was amazing! We leave today Oct 8th and it will be about a five day sail until Aveiro, Portugal! I can't wait!