Update: Wherabouts and Blogging

The internet access situation hasn’t improved, the blog has been quiet, a lot has been going on, and there are so many stories I want to tell ! That calls for a different approach for the blog, and you will have to bear with me here.

But first, a quick update, and I will try to be as concise as I can (which is more challenging than crossing an ocean to me).

UPDATE AND CONTEXT:
– as you know, in March we made a 3,000 mile non-stop passage from the west coast of Mexico to French Polynesia
– French Polynesia consists of 5 groups of Islands: The Marquesas, The Tuamotus, Society Islands (which includes Tahiti and Bora-Bora), Gambiers, and Pitcairn. For the remainder of 2016 we will be cruising the first three groups, and the Marquesas was our first stop
– Last week, we departed from the Marquesas and set sail to the Tuamotus on a 4-day/ 500-mille passage to the atoll of Hao, our first chosen destination there
– Along the way, we where surprised and clobbered by a strong weather system (more to this on an upcoming story). Heavy rain, strong winds and seas that where building by the hour. Of course, wind and waves’ direction where OPPOSITE to our course to Hao
– After battling against the elements for over 24 hours in hopes for the weather to improve, exhausted and seasick, we finally realized we had lost the opportunity to reach Hao, and headed on a more benign course towards the atoll of Makemo, some 120 miles to the NW
– That’s where we currently are, safely anchored behind a reef in an impossibly beautiful bay, inside the atoll

STORYTELLING, THE INTERNET SITUATION, AND FAMILYGONESAILING GOING FORWARD:
Not that I have any literary ambitions, but I love writing our stories here. However, I have found it more challenging to keep the blog updated the way I used to. Here’s the situation:
– I still have stories and images that I want to share from the time we have spent in the Marquesas
– New stories are being made almost daily, especially now that we reached the Tuamotus
– Our access to the blog is limited to the following: ultra-small bandwidth via our satellite phone, which enables me to post mostly text (like this one) and eventually one or two low-resolution images. And very-slow wifi that we can find sporadically on internet cafes on the villages we visit
– Moreover – and I know it will be hard to believe – I haven’t had a lot of availability to write and edit long, image-loaded posts the way I used to before.

As a consequence of all above, our stories are accumulating and the blog is remaining quiet for long periods, which I don’t like.

So, here’s what will be happening from now on:
– MARQUESAS UPDATES: whenever I have access to decent wifi, I will publish posts with the remaining stories we have from the time we spent in the Marquesas. There’s about 4 or 5 of these “in the oven”
– THE TUAMOTUS DIARIES: I will see if it is possible to keep publishing short updates with our satphone. These will be quick stories of our day-to-day here in the Tuamotu atolls, sometimes followed by one or two low-res images (I already published one, by the way, just check the Previous Post)
– The TUAMOTUS ALBUMS: this place is possibly the most scenic we have been to as of yet, and I am looking forward to sharing images of it here. These will be in the form of our “normal” posts, which we shall publish sporadically, whenever decent wifi is available and after we are finished publishing the “Marquesas Updates”.

Ok, there we have it. It feels tidy, practical, if not a bit confusing … ?!?

Uuufh, so much for conciseness !!! If you’ve read thus far, THANK YOU FOR BEING A FAITHFUL READER, and for being with us along this Journey. Have a great 2nd half of the week !!!