Limericks
Position: 41° 47′ 37”N, 87° 34′ 51”W Back in June I mentioned my late father Kenneth’s love of humour and especially his love of limericks. At his memorial service in Chicago a couple of weeks ago I told one of …
Video: Nazaré, Portugal
Position: 39°36’17.0 N 09°05′ 07 W Portugal’s west coast isn’t the most welcoming geographically. Much like the west coast of the United States, Portugal has few natural havens for sailors. However, roughly half way between Porto and Lisbon lies Nazaré …
Photos: Galicia 2: Finisterre, Santiago, and Cathedral Beach
Cabo Fisterra – POSITION: 42° 52.95’N, 09° 16.31’W Finisterre is the end of the earth. Literally. One of the most foreboding points of land in Europe, sailors for centuries have sung shanties and recounted tall tales of its fearsome weather …
Birds in the Night
Leaning into port tack our starboard (green) navigation light lights up the water. Suddenly it shines more brightly. A blotch moves in the viridescent limelight. Then vanishes. Then reappears, flapping. A seagull, brilliant white in daylight, now reflected with the …
Shorts: The Jump
Position: 41° 8′ 23” N 8° 36′ 35” W This is how local kids entertain the tourists in Porto, Portugal. In the UK it’s called ‘tombstoning’ and jumping straight down from bridges is frowned upon there. There are signs that …
Photos: Galicia 1: Viveiro & A Coruña
Position: 43°22’11″N 8°23’46″W Viveiro and A Coruña are maritime cities on the northwest coast of Spain. Both date back well before the Romans occupied Galicia starting in 137 BCE. Like the Basque Country and Catalonia, Galicia is one of Spain’s …
Entertainment Update – 2019
Unless we’re maintaining some major equipment, like the head, life on Aleta is mostly beer and skittles (or gin and olives as Carol points out). Last year we delved into and made short reviews of some of our pop culture …
Plate Tectonics, Zardoz, and Cider
Position: 43°32’48″N 5°39’54″W Every schoolchild learns that their world floats on big plates. It’s also obvious to every 10-year-old that the land masses of the world should snap together like a puzzle. As an optimistically precocious urchin, I used to …
11 Fun Things to do in Britain
As fair and balanced as this blog is, it’s time to quit pining for the past and talk about the present. Britain offers an incredible number of cool, fun, and interesting things to do in a very small space. Many …