Since Kim and Mike left, we’ve gotten into a bit of a groove (yeah I know it’s been a week, but when there’s not much to do and the pace of life is slow, you get a lot more done). I wake up before David, usually around 6-630a, and start working. I work until 9-10 in the mornings, then we go wander around, or move the boat to somewhere new, or just hang out. David does his online stretch class at 4p, at which point I’ll work another 3-4 hours (I generally have meetings from 4-7p).

I was in a meeting yesterday when a bunch of paddleboarders playing loud techno music went paddling by… had to mute myself.

As for connectivity…

I am typing this while sitting in the marina in Grou (again) and there is wifi at the restaurant next door. I did buy a “burner” unlocked Android phone before we left that is just loaded up with eSIMs for different parts of the world. I generally use that, and it works really well (I just wait until I’m on wifi to do any large file transfers).

Afternoon working, gearing up to have meetings on the downtown canal in Sneek.

Seems we go to the grocery store every other day, but that’s not unusual as we do that in the Bay Area also. We are eating lunch on board (sometimes no breakfast), and most dinners. Yogurt in the morning, sandwiches for lunch, and most evenings salad for dinner. (No I have not lost any weight.) The food here, especially the bread, doesn’t seem to have as much sugar in it as we are used to in America. It also doesn’t seem to last as long – don’t know if that’s preservatives or what. The wine doesn’t have all the garbage we put into it either, and it’s cheap. You can get a good bottle of Bordeaux or Burgundy for under 8 euro.

Food is really inexpensive here!!! And really good – they don’t call it organic, they just call it food.

Speaking of food, if you didn’t know already, eggs are stored on the shelf in the center of the store and not in the fridge. You can buy blue Smurf ice cream at the shop in Grou. And, the Cheetos Goals are gross (I tried them, that was no go, but the ducks will love them).

Eggs on a shelf
Yuck

While we were in Sneek the last couple of days, we organized, cleaned, removed some unused items from the boat, and made it more “homey”. David met a mid-50’s antique store owner there who had been to Alameda when he was 6 years old, and remembered visiting an antique junk store there (David says the store is still there). We were able to get a framed triple Delft tile hanging from him… it was marked 35 euro “but since you are from California, I’ll give it to you for 25.”

Our framed tiles… they are hanging where a TV bracket used to hang with no TV. As I’ve always said, “you can’t get away from it all if you take it with you.” Yes, those are 2 clocks above the doorway… one local time, one California time.

We have a back porch.

In the evenings that seem to last forever, we sometimes hang out on our back porch and watch other boats dock (ooh wee let me tell you, so many people have a real special way of docking). We talk with each other, listen to music and read. We watch people walking dogs (and have a special affinity for people with Westies or Kooikerhonds). We try to translate Dutch signs. And finally, the sun might go down near 11p, and we hit the sack.

Sunset over Grou, around 11pm.

I knew about the standing mast route throughout Europe, and when I was in my 30s and just starting to talk about cruising in a sailboat, I thought it would be fun to sail across the Atlantic, drop the mast, and cruise the canals of Europe. But, I will say the motorboating has me hooked… sailing is a lot of work compared to this type of cruising (you have to put all your moveable stuff away when you go sailing, and sailing requires paying attention.) This is so much easier, relaxing, and requires a lot less attention.

Goal Accomplished

Pinch me… we’re cruising the canals of Europe.