We are back in the boat and ready it finish the galley with all the finishing touches.
Maddie painted tiles with glazing that I will then mount with 3M 4200. The 4200 will adhere them to the bulkhead while also sealing out water from the gap in the galley.
Tge hope is that we can shove off from the Azores in the first week back. This way we have a lot of time to sail to Porto. I know that the most dangerous thing on a boat is a calendar, and that Cruising was supposed to be the end of our scheduled lives; but two years into the voyage and we are planning on being in Porto near an airport before July 9th, so we can fly to Venice on July 9th. The longer we wait to leave Terceira, the less time we have available to us. This means that we need to leave and fast!
Returning to the boat means that we need to pack all of our belongings into weight restricted bags and set off on s very long journey. The concern that we are forgetting something is looming in the back of my mind because I can’t just “buy it there”.
We are taking everything that we think we need to take to get the boat to Porto and finish our refit. The plan is to arrive, then finish the boat and shove off!
We flew back to the states to visit family, our pets, and earn some cruising money! Last time we came back, I waited a full week before I started working so that I had plenty of time to be with our pets.
A full week just for the pets was awesome! They quickly forgave us for leaving and greatly enjoyed having us home again.
Then I went to work and only saw them after a hard days work. This was fine and after a few weeks of working, we returned to the boat.
We didn’t desperately need the money, so there wasn’t a desperate urge to go to work. The real desire was to be with our pets. This last time was different; we really needed a lot of money and had a very limited amount of time to earn it.
My first day back, I started working like a dog! I was pulling wisdom teeth on multiple patients per day, drilling crowns and fillings, and even doing cleanings. If I was at the office, I was working hard! This went on for a solid 4 weeks, until the day before we are to return to the boat. I have earned the money that we need to pay for our year on the hard at the marina, so the stress of working has been lifted.
I spent all day today with our pets and I realized that while I have been here for a full month, I haven’t really been “home”.
Everyday was work work work, then I would see the pets in the afternoon while I worked on the blog or YouTube vídeos. Then I went to sleep and began the process again.
After a full month of this, we have earned enough money to continue and are ready to leave, but we will greatly miss our pets, and friends & family. This month back home didn’t really feel like “home time” and instead “work time”.
Hopefully, the next time we come home, I won’t have such a chunk of money needing to be earned so I can be more relaxed about it and enjoy our time away from the boat.
Tomorrow we begin our journey to the boat and shortly thereafter we will shove off from the Azores and head to mainland Portugal!
Our mini vacation in Sao Miguel ended and we are now back in the states for a month.
We are here to work and make money so that we can fund our cruising even further. While we are back, we are taking advantage of one type of store that is seriously lacking in the Azores: West Marine!
The fishermen share their store (and supplies) with the farmers. This generally gives you “marine compatible” parts instead of “marine specific parts”. Bronze fittings are limited, as everything is brass plated tin; it looks good, but it will not hold up!
I need to install a new through hull and would have to special order it and wait several weeks for it to come in. The other option is to simply wait a week until we are back in the states and go to West Marine and buy the exact part I need off the shelf!
