Good Cop, Bad Cop

It's been just over a week since we said goodbye to Alex in Dartmouth and hit the road in our sporty, albeit slightly scruffy, Vauxhall Corsa hire car. I made the most of being in the South West with a set of wheels by arranging to visit friends and family around Devon, Somerset and Bristol, which was a nice distraction for us all. My cousin Lorna, who we visited first, convinced me to go to a boxing fitness class with her one evening. She assured me that I would be fine, and that my fitness levels would not be a problem... oh my goodness, she was so wrong! The class was really amazing; not at a fancy gym or anything, but at a real boxing club with people who certainly looked like they spent a lot of time in the ring, which was exciting. I thoroughly enjoyed swinging punches at huge punch bags; I really gave it my all and worked up a great sweat. Then, with about ten minutes left of the session, we finished up the boxing and I readied myself for a nice cool-down session, maybe some gentle stretching on the floor or something... only to be told that we were finishing up with the most frantic, physically intense circuits session EVER! It was absolutely crazy - I swear we fitted about thirty minutes worth of exercises into those ten minutes, and ever since then I've had trouble sitting up in bed due to my abdominal muscle being completely destroyed.

Watching the Royal Marines bringing their rib ashore on Instow Beach, North Devon

Next up was a visit to the Somerset levels, to stay with some of my closest friends, Jane and Tuff. Over these few days, we quite a bit of driving with the kids in the back of the car and they started to really play up for me, arguing and being loud, and then disregarding my repeated requests for them to behave themselves. I tried my usual techniques (making them sit in silence for five minutes to calm down, threatening to take away X, bribing them with Y) but I just felt that I was fighting a losing battle, somehow. Eventually, I lost my temper and really shouted at them, which did the trick, but I didn't feel good about how things were developing. I got some great advice from Jane, when chatting about things later in the day, but I started to realise how much I missed Alex's authority with the kids. I'm not entirely sure why, as I don't feel that we are that different in our parenting styles, but somehow Alex commands more respect from them that I do. Well, perhaps I do know why... Alex often says I am too soft with them; I can be convinced to give them "one more chance" whereas Alex is very firm and will not budge once he has made a decision, and they know it. With Alex around, it doesn't matter too much as I can rely on him to back me up when I demand their respect, but without him here they seem to sense my lack of authority and I guess it is only natural that they then try to push the boundaries.

Ice skating at the new rink in Bristol, with a penguin called Alex!
Not quite as supportive as the real Alex, but a useful substitute.

In Turkey, I realise now that we had a little oasis of calm. We didn't drive anywhere, there were no timetables or schedules to keep to, we weren't staying in anyone else's house and the children had the freedom to play indoors and out to their heart's content, once school was done for the day. I had very little need to tell them off or demand their respect, and the few times that I did, they listened. Now here in the UK, we've had almost the exact opposite. Lots of driving, plenty of plans to be in certain places at certain times and very little freedom to play outside unless I specifically take them somewhere suitable. We are staying either with family and friends or in Airbnbs for a few days at a time, and I am constantly reminding them to behave nicely, be polite, keep quiet, clear up their mess, pack their bags... it's no wonder they start to get fed up and push back. Especially when I consider the fact that their bodies have been adjusting to the three hour time difference, which has meant they've been waking up too early and then getting overly tired. Every parent knows that a tired child is like a little ticking time bomb, just waiting to explode!

A rare moment of calm in the back of the hire car!

With that in mind, I probably should have factored in some more down-time for us, in retrospect. The weekend, in particular, was very busy since we made three visits over the two days, with plenty of driving involved in between. On the first of these visits, to my cousin Jon's house in Bristol, Beth and Zach both started being really silly towards the end of our stay and I felt really embarrassed by their messing around. I kept my cool whilst in Jon's house, but when we got out to the car I told them off very sternly, telling them how embarrassed I felt and that I was cancelling my plan to take them out to lunch, because I didn't feel I could trust them to behave properly for me. As you might imagine, they both broke down into floods of tears - they were so upset to be missing out on their first ever Somerset Ploughman's pub lunch, and begged me to reconsider, which I would not. Eventually, I calmed down a little and then made a deal with them; if they behaved as expected for our second visit in the afternoon, I would buy the ingredients to make a Ploughman's lunch for their dinner. This bargaining did the trick - they behaved impeccably on our second visit to my sister's dad, Roger (with a little blip at the end due to Zach getting tired, but this I completely understood) and we feasted on a fine Ploughman's lunch at the end of the day.

A Ploughman's lunch for dinner, in our cosy Airbnb

I am starting to develop a newfound respect for single parents, or those who must parent alone for long periods of time for various reasons. That is not to say that I previously thought they had an easy time of it, because clearly having two parents around is always going to be easier than just one, but I didn't really consider anything other than the physical aspects of parenting. I now realise that there is an emotional stress involved in being the only parent on hand for long periods of time, because there is no longer the option to rely on the other parent to support you or the children in times of conflict. Sometimes, as a parent, the need to be firm and consistent means upsetting your child, as they have to deal with the disappointment or frustration at not getting their own way. At such times, I now realise, it is invaluable to have the other parent on hand to comfort the child who, in all likelihood, does not want to be comforted by the parent who has upset them. The classic "Good Cop, Bad Cop" routine. Without Alex here to be the good cop and give them a big hug when they are mad at me, I find it very difficult to stick to my resolve as the bad cop and not give in a little in order to try to cheer them up. Nobody wants to see their children upset, but I realise that must strive to find ways to comfort and reason with them, without undermining my authority. 

Beth, riding a borrowed bike around Peckham Rye Park

Thankfully, we are now with Alex's parents for a week, followed by a couple of weeks with my brother and his husband, so we have the chance to relax a little, catch up on sleep and get back into our usual routine with respect to schooling. As much fun as it is to travel around with the children, it's important for all of us that I don't overdo it when making plans. I need to prioritise periods of stability and calm between our often hectic periods of travelling, to keep us all sane and happy. If I can minimise stress and take measures to reduce the chance of conflict, then I think I can cope with having to be authoritative when necessary, without feeling like a cruel and oppressive dictator!

A beautiful sunset over Westward Ho! beach

Family Weekend at BRNC

We have just come to the end of the most wonderful weekend, spent with Alex down in Dartmouth. The Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC) hosted a Families' Weekend, with various events going on over the two days, and the officer cadets were also allowed out of the college for the first time in over a month. The children and I picked up a hire car from Gatwick on Friday morning and drove to Dartmouth via Bristol (to collect some formal clothes, which my sister kindly took delivery of for us) and then collected Alex from outside the college after checking into our Airbnb. Actually, we completely failed at collecting Alex, since we didn't quite park in the agreed spot (due to so many other cars being there with similar intentions) so we finally managed to meet him down at a car park in Dartmouth town centre, which was only a few minutes walk away. It was so wonderful to see him again, and he looked so smart in his uniform! 

We were blessed with nice weather whilst visiting Alex in Dartmouth

The college are very strict about how the officer cadets must dress when outside of the college in public; they must wear their uniform at all times, and cannot wear anything other than their issued uniform. We went for a walk along the quayside in Dartmouth on the Sunday afternoon and it was rather chilly. The children and I wore gloves and warm coats, but Alex was not able to since he hasn't been issued any suitable gloves that would go with his standard uniform, and he would not be allowed to borrow mine. He was also unsure about whether to wear his foul weather jacket (since it wasn't really foul weather, but had just got a little chilly) so in the end just went out in his standard issue shirt and jumper. Thankfully, we weren't outside long before settling down to eat some fish and chips in a nice pub overlooking the river, so he didn't get too cold.

We cooked Alex gözleme (Turkish pancakes) for dinner on Saturday

Whilst Alex did get leave to stay overnight with us at our Airbnb on the Friday and Saturday nights, he had to be back very early both mornings, so was up at 06:15 both days and headed straight off without having any breakfast. As it happens, the children are still partially tuned into the Turkish timezone, so they were up and able to see him both days before he headed off, and then we drove to the college ourselves to meet up with him there shortly after 08:00. The college is absolutely stunning and steeped in history; it was a real privilege to be allowed onto the grounds, and we very much enjoyed being shown around by Alex. In between the organised events, he showed us where he eats, sleeps and generally talked us through how and where he spends his time, which was interesting and insightful.

Taking the cabin inspection very seriously!

As we explored the college, we were introduced to a great many of Alex's colleagues and their families, as well as some of his superiors. In chatting to them, I was struck by how highly everyone thought of Alex and how well-liked and respected he appears to be there. Of course, I would expect nothing less; I well remember my early years at IBM when he was my colleague, and how much I enjoyed his company on a purely platonic level, but it is very pleasing to see that this is also the case at BRNC. Being the oldest in the intake could have made it difficult to fit in, but Alex is clearly very happy, has made a lot of friends and is easily one of the fittest there. He is also one of the most knowledgeable when it comes to all things nautical, and it was lovely to hear from others in his division (and their families) about how they look up to him and appreciate his support in this area. I could tell how much everyone valued him and it made me feel incredibly proud.

The children were fascinated by all the model ships around the college

Alex got permission to take the children to the playground on the Saturday morning, allowing me to enjoy a couple of presentations in the lecture theatre without worrying about entertaining the children. These I found very informative; it was interesting to see what how important the Royal Navy is in today's modern society. By maintaining a global presence and position of operational readiness, the Royal Navy is able to protect UK interests as well as supporting other countries around the world. It is easy to overlook the importance of having free access to the sea, but the reality is that over 97% of our internet and voice data travels to us via a network of undersea cables, and the Royal Navy is tasked with protecting this infrastructure. Additionally, 95% of Britain's economic activity depends on the oceans, so the strategic positioning of the Royal Navy around global choke points (such as the Strait of Gibraltar, Suez Canal and Strait of Malacca) helps to safeguard these vital areas, promising safe passage and encouraging free trade. Other very interesting topics included international partnerships between the Royal Navy and other countries, the importance of the Royal Navy's role in NATO, information about humanitarian assistance provided worldwide and some news about new technology being used by the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. By the end of the 45 minute presentation I felt very proud of our Royal Navy and was almost tempted to sign up myself.... then I had flashbacks to my very short naval career at HMS Raleigh back in 1998 and came to my senses. Alex is far more suited to the military lifestyle then I ever was!

Whilst I enjoy some presentations, the children set to work hotwiring a helicopter

We were also shown a video covering what the cadets have been up to over the past 5 weeks, which was enjoyable to watch. I thought it was fitting that Alex featured in the video doing some chart work, and I also caught a glimpse of him helming a motor whaler at one point. Unfortunately, there weren't many other clips of his division, since the officer cadet who was tasked with taking a GoPro around during their training in order to get some footage did not often think to bring it along. To be honest, I can hardly say I blame him - I can imagine that with life being as hectic as it is during this initial militarisation phase of training, capturing it on camera is not going to be one of the top priorities in the eyes of most officer cadets!

Exploring the college with these crazy kiddywinks

In the afternoon, there was a very interesting tour of the college, which sadly I had to leave partway through because the children were getting tired and finding it difficult to stay still for so long. Apparently, you can pay to have a guided tour as a member of the public, so I hope to return and do that in the future. The gentleman giving the tour was very charismatic and captivating, giving an interesting account of the college's inception and formation. I would very much like to hear from him the details of how the original HMS Britannia, which was moored in the River Dart, transformed into the impressive shore-based establishment which so grandly overlooks the river today. 

Alex, taking part in the IMF demonstration
(he is in the fourth row back, fifth column in from the left hand side) 

Following the tour, we were taken to the parade ground where the officer cadets gave demonstrations of their IMF (initial military fitness) and ceremonial training, before being dismissed for the day. Sunday morning, we were back to the college bright and early for a Sunday Church service in the College Chapel, followed by tea and biscuits on the Quarterdeck. Prior to the service, Alex introduced me to the Royal Navy Chaplain, or "Bish" as they are informally known; a lovely man called Peter. I had already met a "Bish" in training, who is part of Alex's division, and he is also a lovely man called Peter. How funny that our vicar in Oxford, who married me and Alex and christened both the children is also a lovely man called Peter! It seems that Peter is a very popular name for religious leaders, certainly in our circle!

It's lucky that Beth can read this book without Alex's help!

After being dismissed by the Captain of the college, we spent the rest of the afternoon together with Alex, making the most of his company before he was due back at college at 20:00 on Sunday evening. It was really lovely just to relax together. Although, Alex got a little carried away with his relaxation during a reading session with the children; the poor guy is so shattered he just couldn't keep his eyes open any longer! After a 45 minute power nap, he was up and about again and the children soon had him attending a tea party in a makeshift den in the bedroom. Finally, he took them to bed for the last time this weekend, then headed back to his own bed BRNC, but not before ironing all of his bedding, of course.

A rare picture of the entire family looking smart!

Güle Güle Turkey

Our final week in Turkey has been one filled with mixed emotions. On the one hand, we have been feeling sad knowing that we must say goodbye to these wonderful people, who have welcomed us into their home with open arms, treated us like family and made our time here so incredibly special with their hospitality, warmth and generosity. On the other hand, we have been getting increasingly excited about the prospect of seeing Alex again, as we prepare to return to the UK and head down to Dartmouth for a Families' Weekend at the Britannia Royal Naval College. Perhaps this is the best situation to be in, since it is hard to feel sad for long when there is so much excitement about what lies ahead!

We are all looking forward to seeing OC Mitchell this weekend

I find myself feeling incredibly inspired by Hatice and Muammer, having spent so much time with them and learned so much from them over the past month. In many ways, it is hard to believe that they have only been living this way for 8 years; prior to this, Muammer was a policeman, working in different cities across Turkey. Apparently, in an effort to prevent corruption, civil servants such as police officers do not stay working in one locality for more than a few years, before being moved on to a new area of the government's choosing. Therefore, Hatice and Muammer spent years moving with their family from one place to the next, before finally settling down back on the family farm in Antalya when Muammer retired from the police force. In the relatively short time that they have been there, they have achieved so much that one could be forgiven for thinking that they have always lived this way! They are completely in tune with their land, their livestock and the seasons, using traditional methods of farming, cooking and preserving in order to sustain themselves year round.

We ordered this breakfast from Hatice on one of our last days; 
almost everything you see here has been grown and/or produced by her!

I was very impressed with how healthily they ate. Almost every meal contained masses of fresh produce, supplemented with olives, lettuce leaves, chutneys, preserves and fermented cabbage. Stuffed peppers, bulgur wheat dishes wrapped in lettuce leaves or cooked in cabbage, foraged greens with extra virgin olive oil and fresh lemon juice - their daily vitamin intake must be through the roof! Meat was not eaten very often; I asked about this and Hatice told me that, whilst they love to eat meat, it is expensive so they eat their own slaughtered livestock and they didn't have much available right now. Presumably they will have some later in the year, since most of their female goats are due to give birth next month. Speaking of which, Hatice and I had an amusing misunderstanding in this respect, whereby I thought she was expecting another grandchild and congratulated her, at which point she burst out laughing and explained that it was the goats giving birth next month, not her daughter! Google Translate is certainly invaluable, but not infallible.

One of my kids with a couple of goats, who are expecting their own kids!

Another thing that I really loved about living on the farm is how the wood burning stoves are completely fuelled by wood from the forest; sometimes felled and sometimes fallen, but never impacting the forest itself in a negative way. I found it very satisfying to go for walks into the forest gathering wood for the fire, whether that was collecting pine cones and dead wood for kindling or dragging back larger sections for cutting with the chainsaw. We would see neighbours doing the same and, in fact, it seems that neighbouring families work together in their collection of wood from the forest. One day, when we were dragging down some larger sections of wood from the edge of the forest, Hatice told me to leave the length of the wood I was about to bring, as she said it was for the neighbours. I found it heartening to see that humans can live so well in harmony with a beautiful pine forest, when so often in modern life we see such areas being exploited and even decimated for material gain.

The firewood cutting/storage area also made a great playground!

Still on the subject of fires, I was very interested to learn about how they generate fire lighting materials on the farm. In Europe, use of those white, chemical blocks is commonplace for lighting fires of any kind. Here in Turkey, however, they use a more natural method whereby they burn thin strips of very oily pine to start the fire. This is very effective; the pine fire-lighting strip is highly flammable, and burns hot for a decent amount of time. The oily pine is created by stripping the bark off a section of pine tree (one that is earmarked to be felled in the near future), causing the tree to attempt to repair itself. This results in the wood surrounding the wound getting saturated with pine oil, and this oily timber can then be kept separate and split into long thin fire-lighting strips when the tree is eventually felled. Simple, sustainable and easily obtainable.

Beth, looking rather serious, next to a pine tree
which has been wounded to produce fire-lighting materials

As we say "güle güle" (goodbye) to Turkey, I reflect on what we will take away from the trip. If it were down to Zach, we'd be taking away a bag full of empty shotgun cartridges, a selection of old shoes, various plumbing fittings and a host of other "treasure" that he has collected during his time here. Beth would be likely to smuggle a cat and a few chickens in her bag, given half a chance. In actual fact, upon arrival at the airport this afternoon, I did discover Beth had filled her pockets with masses of the purple variety of myrtle berries. These stain everything blue (including the mouth of the consumer) so I convinced her to bin them all before we went through security, promising to replace them with some other berries upon arrival in the UK (which I have now done). Material items aside (especially as I don't want to be reminded of the plastic container of olives which split and leaked all over our hand luggage), I think the main points I will take away from this trip are:

1. The certainty that we can easily and quickly learn a new language when immersed in it
2. The knowledge that it is possible to live sustainably and in harmony with nature
3. The inspiration that this can be achieved at any point in our lives, no matter how late, and in a relatively short amount of time, for anyone driven to do so and willing to work at it

We will miss this gorgeous forest, and Super Meowsers!

Foraging and Fowl Play

It's incredible how quickly you can learn a language when there is no option to speak English at all. After just three weeks here in Turkey, I am amazed at how much Turkish the children and I have picked up. I still rely on Google Translate a lot, especially when being given instructions (to make sure I fully understand what is being asked of me) or having deep and meaningful conversations over a cup of tea, but I find we need to use it less and less for day-to-day life and interactions. Zach ate a hot chilli pepper at dinner with Hatice this week, which was hotter than he expected (despite both Hatice and myself telling him they were very spicy) and the heat took his breath away. His little eyes started to water, he gulped and gasped for breath, then cried out "su!" meaning water, which really surprised me! Whilst gathering "mersin" (myrtle) berries one day, I could hear Beth talking to Zach around the other side of the bush saying "topla Zach, topla" which means "gather Zach, gather" - I guess she has heard Hatice saying it to us enough times when picking olives!

Myrtle berries - there is also a purple variety here, but they aren't as sweet

The myrtle berries are interesting. I'd heard of myrtle, but had no idea what it looked like or that it produced edible berries. I was intrigued when Hatice first showed us that we could eat these small, oval berries, which are mainly white with a purple-ish hue. We eagerly picked and ate them, but I was a little disappointed in the flavour, which is nice but slightly astringent. Nevertheless, we kept eating them and I took some home as I felt that the flavour might improve once cooked. Initially, I tried cooking them as a sort of stewed fruit dish to put on top of pancakes, but they didn't really soften sufficiently or taste as sweet as I hoped they might, once cooked, so I stirred the leftovers into a savoury vegetable-based dish. This is where they really came into their own! So, we have continued picking them regularly but, surprisingly, I even find that I enjoy them raw now more than I did initially - they seem to grow on you and I often find myself stuffing handfuls in my mouth rather than my bag when collecting them with the children! To be honest, the amount that actually makes it into our savoury dishes is rather measly, since Beth and Zach love eating them raw and are never willing to give me any of their stash for my cooking. We have saved some of the small seeds, and plan on taking them back to Portugal (as well as some pomegranate and grapefruit seeds) in order to try growing them on our land.

Beth chops our foraged greens (this was about 1/3 of what we'd collected)

Hatice also took us out foraging for greens this week, which was a wonderful experience. She had already shown us some wild radish leaves whilst we were gathering olives, and showed us how to cook them by boiling and draining, then smothering in lemon juice, olive oil, a little sour pomegranate sauce and some black pepper and chilli flakes. They are absolutely delicious, and no doubt incredibly nutritious. Anyhow, one day this week we went with her to collect more greens and we came back with a huge bag full of all sorts! Most of them just look like the other weeds growing on the ground, until you become familiar with the features and can begin to spot them. Beth got very good at spotting the different plants we were searching for, and would point them out for us to dig up. I recognised the look and smell of wild coriander, and asked the names of the others we collected, but they didn't really translate properly. One translated to something like camel hoof, but I've been unable to identify anything online with this name. It's funny because, prior to us foraging with Hatice, I would see her going out into the field occasionally behind our house and digging up something or another, and now I know what it was! When we got back home with our foraged goods, we washed them thoroughly outside in a huge bowl of water, then took them up to Hatice's kitchen where we chopped them up and Hatice cooked them with onion, tomato, some garlic and spices. This was all that was needed to produce the most tasty meal, which we all enjoyed tucking into with some Turkish flatbreads.

Enjoying a delicious meal, made almost entirely from our foraged greens

Despite the olive season being pretty much done and dusted, a storm blew through last weekend and managed to cover the floor with masses of olives that had still been hanging in the trees. Hatice and I were unable to resist the temptation, and set out with our buckets in hand to gather the spoils of the storm. It was very satisfying work, as the olives were great quality, easy to spot and plentiful! It's amazing how quickly one can fill a bucket when there are so many within easy reach of where you are currently working. I honestly don't think I'll ever be able to walk past an olive tree again without wanting to gather up any the olives from the floor underneath it. Whilst gathering this fresh crop of olives, I spotted a sizeable spider nearby which almost looked as if it had barnacles all over its back. I was intrigued, and called the children to have a look at it. We didn't get too close, as it looked large enough to give a nasty bite should it want to, but watched it scurrying through the undergrowth (where it was very well camouflaged) and I took a couple of photographs. Upon further investigation later that evening, I discovered that this was a female wolf spider carrying a cluster of spiderlings on her back! 

The wolf spider carrying an impressive amount of babies on her back

As well as another tortoise, this week we saw a European green toad, which decided to seek refuge under one of the little plastic diggers in front of our house. Little did it know that, around 9am every day, an industrious young fellow comes out to put these diggers to work, thereby rendering the toad's hiding place completely useless! However, luckily for the toad, Zach was delighted to find it under his digger and promptly replaced the digger in the hopes that it would stay there permanently and allow him to befriend it. It did stay there a while, but eventually decided to move on to pastures new (much to Zach's disappointment) and we haven't seen the little chap since.

The European green toad, found hiding under the blue digger

Still, we are never far from an animal to pester, I mean pet, around here and the children's attention was soon focused on a skinny young chicken who doesn't seem to hang around much with his older, plumper counterparts. They convinced Hatice to pick him (or perhaps her, I'm not entirely sure) up for them, then spent hours carrying him around the place and feeding him scavenged wheat grains, whilst Hatice and I were working hard tidying piles of wood. At a certain point, I could see neither children not chicken and, suspecting some sort of mischief (as is usually the case when they disappear and go quiet), I went to investigate and found that they had taken the chicken into the house! He had defecated on the bathroom floor, and they had him shut in the shower enclosure with a bowl of water whilst they were cleaning this mess up. I made it quite clear that he was not welcome in the house, so they brought him back outside. A little while later, I see Zach walking around with his little yellow backpack on, and a skinny little chicken head poking out of an opening in the zip! I raced over to set the poor little chap free but, to my surprise, he staunchly resisted his rescue and did not seem very grateful at all to be freed from his carrier. Eventually, I conceded that they could carry him around in the backpack as long as he seemed content to be in there, and on the condition that they wash it thoroughly should he decide to empty his bowels in there. He seemed very happy to hang out with the children for the rest of the afternoon, both in and out of the bag.

Zach and the skinny chicken, hanging out together 

Cats, Goats and a Tortoise

This past week has been very enjoyable here in rural Turkey. We have been looking after Fatih’s cat, Hamur, since he has gone on holiday to Istanbul to see his in-laws for the week, and Hatice and Muammer don’t let the cats sleep inside at night. I was very happy to agree to look after Hamur, as Fatih and his family have been so good to us; it is nice to be able to give something back. Hamur is actually very easy to look after, since he is out most of the day, and then will meow at the window at night when he wants to come in to sleep by the fire. However, he does have the slightly irritating habit of coming to wake us up in the morning with his meowing; usually between 6 and 7am. I now just let him into the bedroom, and he is happy to come and snuggle on the bed, which is very sweet. The first day I did that, he lay down between Beth and Zach, with Zach still being asleep and completely unaware. The room was dark, and when Zach awoke some time later and rolled over, he exclaimed “what’s this hairy thing?!”, which made Beth and I crack up with laughter!

My evening companion; not as interesting to talk to as Alex, but gives good cuddles!

What is also very sweet is that he and the other cat (which the family simply call “kedi”, meaning cat, and my children call “Super Meowsers” for some unknown reason) join us when we go for walks in the forest. They, and one of the dogs, always follow as soon as we leave the property so there is always an entourage, which is rather nice. We’ve been for a lot of walks in the forest this week, both with and without Hatice. On one of the walks without Hatice, Super Meowsers didn’t come so it was just us, the dog (which we call Granny) and Hamur. Hamur was dragging his feet a bit, so the children and I carried on, assuming he would hang around and wait for us to come back (my cat, Mishka, used to do this on walks). However, a little further on, we could hear a pitiful meow from within the forest, and we realised it was Hamur trying to find us! Poor cat! So, we turned back and called, and gradually the meow got closer to us. Eventually, he popped out of the trees and we made sure we waited for him from then onwards. I can’t imagine Fatih would be very pleased if we lost his beloved cat on a walk in the forest!

A walk in the forest with Hamur on the left and Super Meowsers on the right 

Every time we go for a walk, we collect tree bark and pine cones, which are useful for the wood burning stove, as both light easily and burn well. It’s quite nice, actually, to always be going with a purpose, exploring new tracks each time we go. We have seen lots of evidence of wild boar digging around, as well as a lot of empty shotgun cartridges. We hear the shooting quite a lot during the day - in a way, it is a shame, as they shoot the boar to keep the numbers down but do not eat them, due to it being forbidden by Islam! I guess the local lynx and fox population are grateful, at least. We also, completely unexpectedly, saw a tortoise crossing our path in the forest a few days ago! I had no idea that they were native to Turkey or, for that matter, that they could scuttle along so fast! I probably wouldn’t have even noticed it, as it was very well camouflaged against the forest floor, but Hatice spotted it and pointed it out to us.

Getting a photo with the tortoise was not so easy; he was fast!

Back on the farm, we have settled into a nice routine of sorts; we tend to do breakfast, washing, cleaning and home school first thing in the morning, then invariably get invited around to Hatice’s for tea (and usually some kind of snack) late morning. We then help out Hatice in the afternoon, with whatever task she happens to be doing. I’ve helped her pruning fruit trees, rose bushes, planting new trees, general clearing and cleaning around the farm, and dragging larger lengths of chopped up firewood down from the forest. The rose bush pruning was one of the scariest experiences of my life. It was carried out in a rather frantic way, whereby Hatice would tell me where to cut, I would reach up (I am quite a few inches taller than her) and cut wherever necessary with secateurs. She would then use her little pruning saw to catch and drag the cut section of entwined rose bush out from wherever it was tangled, often pulling attached branches towards us both, and then drag it towards an area of dead hedge at the end of the garden. Space was tight, neither of us had gloves, and there were spiky branches flying everywhere! I got a fair few scratches during the process, and was mighty glad when we had finished that job and moved on to pruning the pomegranate trees instead.

Having fun with a bonfire, after clearing some land

Hatice and Muammer also took us to their orange grove one day this week, where we helped to clear the ground and collect fruit, whilst Muammer was pruning the trees. Muammer encouraged me to fill two huge bags full of fruit for myself and the children, so we came home absolutely loaded with oranges and grapefruit! I wasn’t overly excited about having quite so many grapefruit (the children went mad and picked masses of them) since they looked like the standard yellow ones we get in the UK, which are quite sour. I tend to prefer pink or red grapefruit. However, upon peeling one (which was much easier than I expected) I saw the flesh was a light pink colour and it was absolutely delicious! After the orange grove, we visited a load of polytunnels where Muammer and his brother grow bell peppers. There, we were pulling out masses of weeds from between the lines of peppers and stuffing them into a bag for the goats back at home to eat. Once we had filled two huge bags, Hatice beckoned me into a polytunnel and gestured for me to pick some peppers and hide them in my top. She didn’t seem to want Muammer to see, and was telling me to be quick, pick about ten and keep them hidden. To be honest, it was all rather stressful for me, as I felt sure Muammer would notice the bulging pile of what could only be peppers hidden in my top, and I didn’t want him to think I was stealing from his farm! However, Hatice was very insistent, so I did as I was told and tried my best to hide them until I could put them in a bag in the car. I get the feeling Muammer knows that Hatice takes a few peppers when they go there (I mean, how could he not, given her top was bulging with them and he must then eat them at home with her) but perhaps doesn’t want to know and turns a blind eye, due to the fact that they belong to both him and his brother.

Our haul of oranges, grapefruit and peppers!

At around 5pm every day, the goats get brought back down from the mountain by Muammer (who often spends the afternoons up there with them, so they can graze further afield) and are then given some corn from buckets, before being herded into their shed for the night. This is always an amusing time of day, as the goats rarely go straight to the shed and instead run around the place making a last ditch attempt to find anything they can to eat, before going to bed. The children enjoy helping to herd them into the shed, as do I if I am not busy preparing dinner. We all have learned the "ktche" noise used to spur them on, which is quite appropriate because the word for goat in Turkish is keçi, which is pronounced "kitcheh". If I am not out helping, I often hear the children in fits of laughter as the goats misbehave and make a nuisance of themselves. Perhaps the funniest for them was when I had the front door propped open, and a cheeky goat came into the kitchen! They found that absolutely hilarious, as I'm sure you can imagine! I chased that naughty keçi out of my kitchen with a “ktche” and went back to my cooking with a smile on my face as the goat capered off in completely the opposite direction to the shed.

A beautiful sunset, enjoyed with Hatice from the hill just above our house,
whilst picking wild oregano for dinner

Turkish Delights

So, Alex is has officially been shipped off to his Naval training at the Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC) in Dartmouth, and the children and I have made it to Turkey. It was rather touch and go actually getting here, since we almost weren't allowed to fly out of Gatwick! My current UK passport is valid from 7th Jan 2013 - 7th Oct 2023, which meant that it was just over ten years old on the date of our flight (12th January). Apparently a change has come in over the past few months, which means that UK passports must be less than ten years old in order to be valid for international travel. I was gobsmacked when the lady at the bag drop said my passport wasn't valid for travel, wondering where on earth I was going to go at 5 o'clock in the morning, if we weren't allowed to fly! I pleaded with her and she checked with her manager, who also said no. So, I pleaded with him too and gave a sob story about my husband being in the Navy, telling him we were going away for a month and had nowhere else to go. This manager consulted his superior, and I think they got the wrong end of the stick thinking we were off to see Alex on duty somewhere, so they finally agreed to let me fly! I didn't bother correcting his mistake, but thanked him profusely and rushed off to the bag drop as quickly as I could! The thing I find ridiculous about this new rule is that easyJet doesn't check the passport start date, given this is now so important, but perhaps there are plans to put these checks in place. I do hope so.

Our home for the month, complete with friendly cats and dogs

Anyhow, we made it here eventually and are nearing the end of our first full week. We are staying in an Airbnb on an organic smallholding near Antalya, in a small village. We have acres of forest on our doorstep, and are right on the edge of the Taurus Mountains. The location is superb; so remote and peaceful, and the locals are incredibly welcoming and friendly. They keep goats and chickens, and have numerous very friendly dogs and cats wandering around, which the children love. We have settled in so well and I feel it is somewhere I could easily live but, goodness, we don’t need any more plots of land so I will ignore that feeling for now! The Airbnb is managed by a lovely guy called Fatih and the farm belongs his parents, Hatice and Muammer, who live in another house just across the driveway from ours. We have no car and the closest shop is just over a kilometre's walk from here, but it seems to contain mainly snacks such as chocolate and crisps. It did have a few essential items, such as milk, eggs and flour, but it certainly can't provide much in the way of nutritional fare. Hatice and Muammer produce their own honey, olive oil, olives, eggs, goats cheese, bread and much more, so we have bought some supplies from them (at very reasonable prices) and they have been incredibly kind in giving us lots of other delicious foods to try, refusing to accept payment. They have also offered to buy produce for us whenever they go to the shops, so we have plenty of supplies here in the cupboards.

A walk to the shop, showing the edge of the mountains; this photo doesn't do it justice

We spent a few days this week helping Hatice to gather olives; the last of the season. I think that most were collected using sheets spread around the base of the trees over the past few months (these will have been the best quality olives) and the ones we are collecting now are the last to fall from the tree, which will be used for oil. It is quite time-consuming work, since we are collecting them by hand from the floor, and they are often hidden in clumps of vegetation or mud. At first, I think I was being too picky about the quality - I have now learned that anything goes, regardless of how muddy, squashed or shrivelled they are! It has been a nice way to while away the hours, with the children helping at times, but mainly playing games around us whilst we gather. Away from the house, without an internet connection, Hatice and I have no way to communicate other than basic Turkish and sign language, but we get along just fine! My Turkish is improving slowly, such that I can now comment on the sun being hot, or the olive supply of a given tree being plentiful!

Off on a walk to gather olives with Hatice Teyze (Auntie Hatice)

After gathering olives, Hatice has been inviting us in for tea and, often, some food as well. In fact, I don’t think a day goes by (whether we have collected olives or not) when I do not get invited over there for a cup of tea, or given something delicious to eat. We are really being spoiled! When she cooks meals for us, Hatice has been getting me to help out, so I have been learning some basics about Turkish cooking. Hatice says that every meal in Turkey starts with onions and tomatoes… and, from what I can see, it must also contain a LOT of olive oil! The meals always contain lots of fresh, home-produced ingredients, such as fresh herbs, lemon juice from the trees, a sour pomegranate sauce made from their own produce, and so much more. One day we made gözleme (Turkish pancakes) which were filled with leeks, spinach and home-produced goats cheese - they tasted so good!

The children, enjoying freshly cooked gözleme

Last Sunday, the whole family came over to help out on the farm here (children and grandchildren), and that was really nice. Fatih invited me over to drink tea and watch them making huge flatbreads, which go very dry and last for up to six months. They are cooked over an open fire on a very large mushroom-shaped piece of metal, then stacked in a large pile on a tray. They look like humongous poppadoms! The loaded tray is now in Hatice’s kitchen, on top of the fridge, and when they want to use one they simply splash it with water and leave it to rehydrate for 5-10 minutes, then cook with it. These are used to make the gözleme, amongst other things. As well as making the breads, the two male goats were sheared by hand, wood was collected and chopped ready for use in the wood burning stoves and there was a bonfire. There were three boys here around the same age as Beth, so they took her and Zach off exploring up the hill, to the edge of the forest. They all spent much of the afternoon with the toy diggers outside, excavating and moving piles of sawdust and charcoal. They made an awful mess with it all, but nobody seemed to mind and, in fact, some rain overnight soon cleared the worst of it away!

Plenty of natural materials around to dig, such as sawdust, mud and charcoal!

This was also the day that a wood-burning stove was installed for us, and what a huge difference it has made to our lives here! The house has air conditioning units, which can heat as well as cool, but I was concerned about the cost of using them (for Fatih and his parents) so, when they offered the wood-burning stove, I jumped at the opportunity. We don’t need to light it until the evening, since the days are around 16-18°C and the house retains a lot of the heat overnight such that the mornings are not too chilly. I tend to light it around 4.30pm, and within a matter of minutes it is roaring and ready to cook on/in! I especially love the oven, which I have used to cook stuffed peppers and jacket potatoes, so far. Having got so used to avoiding ovens over recent years (mainly due to their energy consumption), it seems unbelievable to be able to cook anything I like in the oven, completely for free! I can see that if you live as they do here, on the edge of a forest with effectively a limitless supply of deadwood to burn, then you can really heat your home and cook your meals without worrying at all about fluctuating energy prices. It is a shame that stoves like this aren’t more commonplace in western Europe. Wood-burning stoves these days will rarely have a place for heating a pan on top, and almost never contain an oven.

Cooking dinner and making tea on the top of the stove, whilst roasting peppers in the oven

Today, Hatice and Muammer took us to the market in the nearby town of Serik. It was the best fresh produce market I have been to, outside of Thailand. Perhaps it was even better than Thailand, in terms of the amount of produce on offer. As is the case in Thailand, it seems that most local people buy their fresh produce (that which they do not grow themselves) at these incredibly cheap, well-stocked markets which run multiple times per week. Our fridge and cupboards are now bursting at the seams, full with onions, tomatoes, potatoes, apples, bananas, and much more, and it cost me very little indeed. It was all rather hectic, since Muammer was doing most of the talking for me, as well as quality control - I don’t think he thought much of my produce selection! He was being very careful to select the best quality items, whereas I was just rushing to fill my bags whilst making sure the children didn’t disappear out of sight! So, it is hard for me to remember exact prices, but pretty much everything was 5-15 turkish lira (20-60 pence) per kilo, and I was buying 2kg of most things. We splashed out on a kilo of kumquats, which I think cost me 20 lira… and I think the children have eaten about half of that kilo already!

We managed to squeeze in a playground visit after the market

Four Years in a Nutshell

Procrastination and perfectionism. These two words are the reason for this post. So many times over the past few years I have considered writing a blog post, but it always feels like such a large task, which gets larger as the months pass by. And so procrastination takes hold. Suddenly, chores like year-end accounts and endless unwritten emails take priority, and before you know it the "Write blog post" task is resigned to the bottom of the to-do list, where it lies unseen for months and then years, having disappeared out of sight due to the length of said mountainous to-do list. Another year passes and resolutions for the new one get made. The "Write blog post" task gets elevated momentarily, sitting so close to the top of the list that one can almost hear the cogs working inside my brain as I formulate the outline of the post but, then, perfectionism sets in. 

More than a year has passed since the previous post. So much has happened; so many tales untold, so many posts unwritten. How should I proceed? A sensible approach would be to write a blog post detailing the most recent noteworthy events, especially given that my memory is not the best. But... I cannot bring myself to do this, somehow. I cannot bear the thought of there being vast holes in this journaling timeline, without them being properly accounted for. So, I begin writing a post summing up the past year, which I must complete before writing about the most recent events. It isn't easy, my heart isn't in it, and I'm right back to the start - procrastination. Damn.

Fast forward to today, and I realise that over four whole years have passed me by! Is it my age, or the fact that we now have two young children which has caused this time to rush past at a speed I've never known before? Perhaps a combination of the two. I find myself here again, wondering now whether to write about recent events, or to try to fill in the gaps from then until now. Only now, I have the most mammoth-sized gap to fill, I know that it is an impossible task. Yet perfectionism will simply not allow me to continue without that gap being filled. So, here goes; four years in a nutshell.

2019

Zach, just moments after popping out in this converted barn in Somerset

Our son, Zach, was born in a barn in Somerset in September 2018, whilst Hope was on the hard in Poole. Unwilling to launch her and set sail until the spring, we escaped to Thailand for three months at the start of 2019, where we thoroughly enjoyed living as locals near Krabi on an eco-farm. Zach started weaning in Thailand, and has maintained a love of spicy foods ever since. Whilst away from Hope, we spent as much time as possible in and on the water, and made memories to last a lifetime*. We finished the trip by charting a sailing yacht with friends, which we sailed from Phuket around Phang Nga Bay, and this made us excited about our return to Hope.

*Mainly possible due to outsourcing my memories to Google Photos.

One of our favourite activities in Thailand - a trip to the market on the samlor motorbike!

We returned to the UK in April and launched Hope in May, whereby we sailed her at a leisurely pace down to Portugal via the Channel Islands, France and Spain. It was certainly a challenge, with both children being so young, but we had an amazing time and were blessed with far better weather than when we sailed Firebird down the same coast too late in the season of 2013. We discovered many things about Hope that we wanted/needed to change as we went along, and compiled a rather large "To do in Portugal" list containing details of these planned tasks. We arrived in Portugal towards the end of September, whereupon we put her into the boatyard in Portimão on the Algarve.

Alex doing the laundry aboard Hope, whilst anchored up in France

We started working through the list of boat tasks, whilst also spending plenty of time with my family (who live in Portugal). At this point, we knew that we would not be ready for any longer passages (such as an Atlantic crossing) in time for the coming winter, so we took our time and planned another trip away for early 2020. Having had such a fantastic time in Thailand, we decided to spend another three months abroad, but this time decided upon a properly cold destination so that the children could experience a decent amount of snow. I found us a three month house-sit in Ohio, and we prepared ourselves for this trip, kitting ourselves out with decent cold weather clothing ready for the coming months.

Rowing ashore in Portugal, in our tender, Glory. Hope can be seen in the background.

2020

We had fun building snowmen in the yard, at our house-sit in Ohio

January 2nd saw us flying from France (where we had seen in the New Year with friends) to Cleveland, Ohio, and we soon settled into a fantastic house-sit there, looking after two lovely Labradors on the shores of Lake Erie. Sadly, it was a mild winter by Ohio standards, but we still had a fantastic time and managed to enjoy some winter sports with the children. Unfortunately, towards the end of this trip, Covid-19 made an appearance on the world's media stage, and we had to return to the UK earlier than planned, for fear of getting stranded in the USA. We found ourselves in the UK amid a lockdown, essentially homeless and unable to travel, but thankfully some forward planning meant that we were able to book an Airbnb in Shropshire for a month (before Airbnb stopped taking bookings) and a hire car to take us there.

Enjoying the view from the top of Caer Caradoc in Shropshire

After much negotiation with the Portuguese Consulate and Embassy, we finally got approval to fly back to Portugal in order to return to Hope, being that she is our home. We did this, completed the two week quarantine and then continued where we had left off at the end of 2019; working our way through the boat jobs. As is always the case, jobs took much longer than we anticipated, but we didn't really mind at all since the whole world was closed for international travel and sailing was pretty much impossible, due to ports around the world being closed. This situation continued to be the case, and so we made the most of the opportunity by steadily working our way through more and more of our maintenance/improvement tasks aboard Hope. 

Beth and Zach, getting involved in the boat maintenance tasks in the yard

As winter approached, we realised that we did not want to spend it in the boatyard with the children, so we began to look for alternative accommodation. In late October, we moved to an apartment on an organic farm called Quinta da Figueirinha near Silves, about 20 minutes drive from both my parents' house and the boatyard. We moved there just in time, as lockdowns were soon brought back in due to the winter illness period taking hold and Covid-19 case numbers increasing. Being locked down on a 36 hectare farm was certainly a lot easier than being locked down on Hope in the boatyard would have been, and we felt very fortunate to have found ourselves in this situation. We were unable to escape the Portuguese winter, but a log burner kept us toasty, we enjoyed walks to gather fresh oranges and we were part of a community of other, like-minded families during this uncertain period. Work continued on Hope as and when possible, and we were able to host Alex's family for Christmas at the quinta due to them making it out of the UK just hours before travel restrictions were imposed there!

A post-Christmas get-together with Mitchells and Shepherds, in our quinta apartment

2021

Enjoying a spot of the good life at the quinta, with the community garden

With money running short and no end to the sailing embargoes in sight, I decided to return to work. I started a remote contract for a fashion company called Lyst, and shared a co-working space at the quinta with another person who was working there remotely at that time. I worked standard office hours Monday to Friday, then would take over the childcare whilst Alex cycled to the boatyard and worked on Hope over the weekend. During this period, he rebuilt our dinghy, so the flimsy foldable Seahopper formerly known as Glory became the sturdy nesting dinghy, now known as Edwina. A lot of Alex's blood sweat and tears went into her construction (along with a few marathon fibreglassing session all-nighters) but, once complete, we took her sailing up the Arade river multiple times and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves doing so. It felt good to be sailing again, even if only in a dinghy! We continued to enjoy life on the quinta, getting involved in a community garden and weekly poker evenings, which was great fun. With some of the extra money I was earning, we decided to pay for the yard to build a wheelhouse extension for Hope and order some new standing rigging, a cockpit cover and some new sails. However, the rigger had some bad news for us; our main mast had some damage and was irreparable, meaning we would have to fork out for a replacement. Not what we wanted to hear, as this would mean delaying our relaunch of Hope whilst waiting for this to be ordered and installed. 

Our first outing on the new and improved tender, Edwina

At the end of June, we flew back to the UK in preparation for Alex's sister Lucy's wedding. This was to be held in August, but we didn't want to risk getting stuck in Portugal due to any travel restrictions, so returned early and made the most of the summer freedom in the UK with various camping trips, a nice house sit in Shropshire and long overdue visits to family and friends. It was on the way back from one of these visits that an important conversation took place between Alex and myself; one which set in motion a plan that had the potential to change our current lifestyle in a fairly drastic way. To cut a long story short (as this is the whole point of "in a nutshell"), Alex shared with me his regret at never joining the air force after university, as he felt he would have preferred military life to a career in IT. On hearing this, I suggested that he should apply to join the forces immediately before it was too late. I feel very lucky to not have any regrets in life (or, rather, I may regret some things I have done, but I don't have anything that I wished I had done and never did) and I didn't like the thought of Alex having this huge regret that he would soon never be able to rectify. Much research, thought and discussion later, he decided to apply to join the Royal Navy as an Officer, and this started the curve ball rolling for us all!

We had a wonderful day at Lucy and Charlie's wedding, at the end of August

I turned 40 in September and, rather than the huge party which I had always envisaged, we drove up to Scotland for a couple of weeks on a technology-free holiday. It was a very special holiday indeed, and we thoroughly enjoyed navigating the old-fashioned way using a 2018 road atlas that we borrowed from Alex's mum, and the Southern Upland Way guidebook. The first thing we did was get stuck in a traffic jam on the M25 because, of course, the atlas had no traffic information. Still, it was good for the children to experience traffic jams in the way we had to prior to the invention of Google Maps! Following this holiday, we drove back to Portugal via Spain, and had lots of fun on the road trip down, camping with the children and visiting Alex's cousin Edwina (after whom our dinghy was named) and her family in Lisbon. After a sailing trip on a charter yacht along the Algarve with some friends, we once again renewed our efforts to complete the in-flight boat tasks on Hope before having to leave the Schengen area at the end of December, due to our post-Brexit 90 day limit being up. The mast and the sails were on order, but neither showed any sign of arriving any time soon.

Picnic overlooking Ullswater, on our drive up to Scotland for my 40th

2022

A nice spot for a wild swim and picnic, in the Costa Rican rainforest

Back in London in January 2022, we were cold and decided to escape the UK winter once again, so the search began for a suitably cheap non-Schengen holiday location. I found great value flights to Costa Rica, and we jetted off to spend two months there, across three different Airbnbs. We had an absolutely super time; the weather was warm, very little English was spoken so we learned a lot of Spanish, the people were friendly and welcoming, and the wildlife was spectacular. We saw toucans, sloths, iguanas, poison dart frogs, huge spiders, macaws, crocodiles, snakes, vultures, monkeys - and all in their natural habitat, which made it all the more special! The rainforest was incredible, and we had fun exploring it, especially in the mountains where we found secluded spots for wild swims in gorgeous clear water. We visited two active volcanoes whilst there, and enjoyed ourselves in the hot springs nearby one of them. We visited a cocoa and coffee plantation, as well as a "trapiche" where we learned about the processing of cane sugar. Our final stay was a month on a dairy farm, where the children awoke at 5am every morning to help milk the cows. It was a truly educational trip, in so many ways, for us all.

Enjoying the hot springs, near Volcan Arenal

At the end of March, we flew back to Portugal where we finished up the remaining boat tasks, then finally saw our new mast being stepped, and launched Hope at the end of April. In truth, she was really not quite ready to be launched, but we couldn't bear to be in the boatyard any longer, so we moved her straight to a beautiful anchorage in Ferragudo on the Algarve, and spent another month and a half there doing more maintenance work both aboard Hope and on the beach (in the case of improvements to Edwina). We also, rather randomly, decided to buy a small plot of agricultural land near Silves, about 20 minutes from my parents. My mum had found it online and thought it a good investment, so sent me the details. It is mainly full of fruit trees (orange, lemon, persimmon) but also has a small agricultural pumphouse with a water well alongside, and an old cisterna, which used to be used for water storage. It has both water and electricity connections, and we saw that there could perhaps be the potential to build some sort of tiny home there, for times when we want to be in Portugal but have not travelled there aboard Hope. Very random but, hey, that's us! 

About to row back to Hope from the beach at Ferragudo

The Schengen clock was once again ticking, and we found ourselves having to leave Portugal towards the end of July, without our new sails (due to delays from the manufacturer). This was a real blow, since we changed the rig such that our old sails would no longer fit. We had shorted the mizzen boom so the old mizzen sail did not fit (and, in fact, this sail had gone missing in the boatyard so we didn't have this available anyway) and we got rid of our furling foresail, meaning our old genoa could no longer be hoisted. We had been given some old hanks (essentially clips which allow us to attach and hoist the old sail) so I spent many hours sewing these onto the old genoa. It worked surprisingly well, but meant that we only had sails suitable for either light or very heavy winds - nothing in between. Nevertheless, we managed to sail down the coast of Portugal and Spain, then into Gibraltar by the end of July, using a combination of our cobbled together sails and the engine. 

Sailing downwind, using our old genoa with hanks sewn on along the luff

We could only book a berth in Gibraltar for a month, since they are now very busy with a multitude of British sailors wishing to stay there in order to avoid overstaying in the Schengen area. There are only a few marinas on the rock, and there are no options for anchoring. Other than Gibraltar, Brits could go to Morocco (as we did afterwards) or Croatia, but the latter has disappeared as an option since the start of 2023, when Croatia also joined the Schengen zone. We ended up being allowed to stay in our berth in Gibraltar for about six weeks, and we had the most wonderful time there. We found Gibraltar to be small, safe and friendly, with great fish and chips and wonderful weather. Alex's mum came to stay for a week, during which time we enjoyed some touristy activities, such as getting the cable car up to the National Park and exploring some of the sights and exhibitions up there.

We found it very enjoyable to watch all the shipping in the bay of Gibraltar

Following Gibraltar, we sailed to Morocco and spent a further six weeks berthed in Tangier, which was very pleasant. We celebrated Alex's birthday with a trip on the bullet train via Casablanca to Marrakech. We explored the Atlas mountains, had a camel ride and visited a traditional Berber settlement where we enjoyed the most delicious home-cooked meal and learned about the Berber culture. We then hosted Alex's dad, who came to stay for a week, and had great fun exploring more of the local area in Tangier on foot and on the tourist open-top bus. One of our favourite things about Tangier was the local food market, where we could buy fruit and vegetables very cheaply and we never felt we were being ripped off or given a different price due to being tourists. We also enjoyed hearing the daily calls to prayer ring out across the city, and we spent some time learning about Islam as part of our homeschooling with the children. 

Wearing traditional Berber dress, ready for our camel ride

Whilst in Tangier, Alex found out that he had been accepted to train as a Warfare Officer with the Royal Navy, starting in January 2023, and so we realised that we quickly needed to prepare for this by getting Hope back to Portugal and into a semi-permanent berth there in Lagos. When we initially talked about plans for whilst Alex was in the Navy, I had envisaged continuing to sail Hope with just myself and the children, but the summer of sailing made me realise that this was not a good idea. Whilst we had a super time, it was very hard work, and that was with both myself and Alex being there to look after the yacht and the children! I realised that an attempt to do so on my own, especially whilst the children are still relatively young, would be rather stressful and I didn't think it would be fair on any of us. So, with this in mind, I decided to berth her in a nice marina on the Algarve, where the kids and I can come and go (within the Schengen limits, of course) as we please.

Watching the sunset before our night watch, on passage from Morocco to Portugal

We sailed back to Portugal, enjoying a lovely night passage with a glorious sunset and full moon. The children took their first night watch with me, staying up until 11pm (at which point I sent them to bed whilst I continued until 1am). Once Hope was settled in her berth, we set to work making plans for the plot of land. We hoped that, if we could convert the pumphouse into a tiny home prior to leaving the Schengen again at the end of December, then that would be another accommodation option for me and the children in 2023. We spent a month or so camping on the land, until it got too cold to be comfortable, but did not manage to achieve this goal. We spent a huge amount of time clearing the land which was thick with brambles and weeds, and there is still more of that work to be done. We did, however, find time to build a shower and composting toilet room, and put a storage shed on the land, in which to store our tent and cooking/camping supplies. So, whilst there is a lot still to do, the children and I can go back there next summer and have fun progressing the work there.

Plenty of work to be done, clearing the land

Plans for 2023

Phew, well, this has turned into rather a large nutshell... a coconut shell perhaps?! Luckily, this last section will be short as, quite frankly, we don't have a clue what we will be doing in 2023! Alex will be training down in Dartmouth and, for at least the first six months, we won't be able to see him at all other than the odd weekend when he is allowed out of the college. Initially, the children and I are going to Turkey for a month but then we will return to the UK to see Alex, and must remain in the UK whilst Zach and I apply for new passports. Beyond that, we will just see what happens... we plan on spending time in Portugal, both on Hope and on the land, and will have to see where we end up in between those periods, when our 90 day Schengen limit runs out. I plan on blogging a little during this new adventure, as a good way of sharing my experiences with family and friends, so let's see how it goes and where we will be by the end of 2023! Exciting times ahead, with lots of opportunities and plenty of unknowns. Pretty much life as normal, then, in this Great Adventure!