Follow the ADVENTURE

Dominican Republic

  • Thankful

    We had to leave Puerto Rico after 3 months as Davy was only on an ESTA visa and could not extend it, even with Covid causing countries to remain closed.

    Therefore we were super thankful that the Dominican Republic let us in. Technically the country wasn't opening until July 1. The Commandante at the time let us anchor in the outer harbour and stay quarantined until the 1st of July. 3 and a half weeks stuck on board was no picnic, but we had food and supplies to carry us through.

    When we finally could check in we were happy to find out Wendy's (not fast food) but local bar and watering hole was full of local cruisers and knowledge of the area.

  • On the Hard

    Where to begin. If you follow us on Youtube you will know just how hard our time on the hard was.

    10 months of work to fix and repair our vessel. Originally we thought we could be back in the water in 2 months... how wrong were we! Everything takes ten times longer than intended, as you have to find supplies, deal with the extreme heat as well as rainy season. We had large amounts of rain and some other major issues.

    The boatyard we were in is still closed to this day as they hadn't renewed their permits and I would not recommend it.

    On splash day I had never been more happy to escape that place.

    Floating is where we belong!

  • Luperon

    Luperon harbour is quite beautiful with its mountains in the background, which act as a hurricane protector, providing shelter for hundreds of boats during hurricane season.

    We never thought we would be here this long BUT we have made awesome friendships that we will cherish forever.

    Some of our favourite experinces include:

    ~ exploring Jarabacoa and the mountains

    ~ Beach side in Cabarete and Sousa

    ~ Splashing down the 27 waterfalls (during Covid when there was no tourists except us)

    ~ Road trip to Barahona (twice)

    ~ The colonial district of the capital Santo Domingo

Puerto Rico

  • Quarantine

    We decided to upgrade to a catamaran. A hurricane damaged one that we intended to fix in the Cayman Islands while still working.

    Unfortunately we didn't know that Covid was about to happen and how long it would affect the world and travel.

    Davy left Cayman March 7th 2020 to go to Puerto Rico and prepare our new home for the journey to Cayman. However the world shut down March 14.

    No more cruise ships were to come to Cayman which meant our jobs were gone for the foreseeable future.

    I got one of the last flights out of Cayman and arrived in PR to Davy and our new home.

    We then spent 3 months in quarantine basically. Luckily we were in San Juan Bay Marina and had a small community that we were quarantined with. We were able to get some of the basic things we needed to fix the boat and prepare for normalcy.

  • Our New Home

    A 2014 Fountain Pajot Mahe 36 catamaran. It has a beautiful modern layout that we love. It's a Duo version so both sides are identical with a large aft cabin and full shower and bathroom in the front section of the hull.

    Our new home did go through two hurricanes in 2017, Irma and Maria. She was located in Nanny Quay BVI's for Irma and was a part of the massive pile of boats.

    She had sustained a lot of damage, loosing the rig, part of the cabin top and damage to both sides of the boat. It was a big project but something we intended to do and when finished we would be on beautiful catamaran for a fraction of the price.

    Of course everything takes more time than originally thought and more money. Especially with Covid in the picture it made things a little bit challenging at the beginning of this chapter.

  • San Juan

    San Juan is a beautiful place to be stuck! There was walking paths around the water and a beach that wasn't too far away. However during the height of Covid even the beach was off limits.

    We didn't get to explore as much as we wanted to but were super thankful to be somewhere safe and comfortable.

    There was a cute kitten that we started feeding at the marina and made lots of great friendships with other boaters who were here.

    One of the handy things about being in Puerto Rico was access to stores like Wal-Mart, West Marine and Sam's Club. We were able to find parts and supplies that would have been more challenging or expensive in other parts of the Caribbean.

    We were able to stock up the boat with lots of good food before heading to sea.

    We stayed exactly three months leaving June 7 to head towards the Dominican Republic.

Cayman Islands

  • Work and Travel

    When being a cruiser you learn to live frugally, however sometimes you need to top up the savings account.

    Davy is a dive instructor as well as a boat captain so in the Cayman Islands his CV was gold. He got a job with Cayman Diving before arriving and started work the week after arrival.

    I am a divemaster and as soon as the company met me they wanted to hire me on as well.

    In the Cayman Islands you have to be off island in order to get a work permit so this meant a trip home to Canada for me.

    Working in Cayman was awesome. It felt like the real world after being secluded in Jamaica and the Bahamas for so long.

  • Diving

    The diving is world class in the cayman islands. Beautiful coral reefs and interesting ship wrecks including the ex USS Kittiwake.

    The waters are all protected so you are only allowed to anchor in a few locations. However with that being said they have fantastic and safe moorings available on the George Town side that are free for cruisers to use for up to one month.

    Mooring here is amazing because you are located on beautiful reef!

    You can simply jump off the back of the boat and spend hours enjoying the fish and reef.

    Cheese burger reef is a favourite and there is an ocean front Burger King if your hungry!

  • Sting Ray City

    In the North Sound is one of the islands biggest tourist attractions: Sting Ray City.

    It started out as a sandbar where fishermen would clean their fish upon coming back in. The sting rays would all gather around for a feeding freenzie.

    Only a certain number of boats are allowed and you are only supposed to bring maximum two bags of squid to feed the rays.

    The females are more friendly and can be held (under water only) for a kiss and a cuddle. Apparently it's 7 years good luck if you kiss a sting ray.

    Davy and I ran a 52 foot catamaran with up to 88 guests for a few months while working with Cayman Diving.

Jamaica

  • Port Antonio

    After spending a good chunk of time in the Bahamas arriving in Jamaica was a beautiful sight, MOUNTAINS!

    The sounds and smells of lush trees and forest (among other things) was fantastic.

    The people were very friendly and the marina we used for check in was superb. Erol Flynn Marina. Port Antonio was a great first stop in Jamaica, when you enter in through the cliffs and mountains it's like arriving in Jurassic Park.

  • The North Coast

    We choose to travel along the north coast towards Montego Bay. We stopped in a handful of small bays along the way including, Oracabesa Bay, Discovery Bay and Lucia Bay on the other side of Montego.

    One of the greatest parts of Jamaica was every morning it would down pour enough rain to clean the decks and fill the water tanks. It would then clear off and the rest of the day would be beautiful and clear.

    Lots of history to explore and cannons to search for.

  • Favourite Spots

    A lot of people were concerned with our decision to go to Jamaica, concerning safety. We had no issues while we were there, the people were very friendly and helpful.

    One of our most favourite locations was the tiny bay of Oracabesa. It's not very large but the small fishing community is helpful and loves to talk at the end of the dock. It's also the home of a James Bond beach which was cool to see in person.

    Overall would highly recommend a visit to Jamaica!

Bahamas

  • Bimini

    What can I saw! Look at that water!

    Arriving in Bimini was a dream come true. The water colour was incredible and we almost couldn't believe our eyes.

    We crossed the Gulf Stream leaving No Name Harbour in Miami at 3am. We arrived at around 2pm in Bimini.

    The check in process was painless and we couldn't wait for what laid ahead.

  • Favourite Spots

    Overall the Bahamas is one of our favourite cruising locations. The water is STUNNING!

    One of our favourite locations was Hogsty Reef. A small atoll between the Crooked Islands and Great Inagua.

    It's not always possible to go here but lucky for us we had the prefect wind conditions for nearly two days.

    Lobster, fish, healthy reefs ... It's STUNNING!

  • Minimalist Lifestyle

    The Bahamas taught us to be more minimalistic in our lifestyle.

    It is expensive so learning to live with what you have, fix things ourselves and live off the sea were only a few of the skills we picked up.

    Sometimes less is more and when you have this beautiful water all around what more do you need?

USA by Boat

  • Chesapeake Bay

    When we stepped on board the Catalina 36 we got "The Feeling!" that this would be our home. We both looked at each other and knew it was the one.

    We spoke to the owner and asked if we could sleep on board that evening and we would do the contract and payment the next day.

    Everything went well and we were excited for this next chapter of our lives.

    Being based in the north end of the Chesapeake Bay was fantastic. It was summer, it was warm and we were prepared to get her ship shape.

    Also being located here it gave us a great area to learn the new boat!

  • The Dismal Swamp

    Once we left the marina where we purcahsed the boat we were excited to start cruising. We decided to take the Great Dismal Swamp route which turned out to be one of the most scenic, beautiful parts of the ICW.

    There are two types of people in boating, the people who admit to hitting bottom and those who lie about it! Everyone touches bottom at one point or another and the dismal swamp was the first place this happened to us. With almost a 6 foot draft it was bound to happen but luckily nothing major happened, just a slight "dunk" noise.

    We would highly recommend this route! Beautiful!

  • Inter Coastal Waterway

    We had a love hate relationship with the ICW. Parts of it were absolutely gorgeous however it did mean for a lot of long days motoring. Which meant lots of fuel.

    However the locations we got to stop in were very beautiful. Small historic towns to busy city centres we saw it all.

    We choose the ICW because there were a few hurricanes around. We hid out from Michael in the Solomon Islands. 

    When we arrived in Miami we were excited for the idea of travelling to the Bahamas.

    Looking back we would definitely consider doing parts of the ICW again. Maybe travelling slower and exploring different locations that we passed by.

  • New Zealand

    After 3 amazing months in Asia we went to New Zealand for approximately two months. Erica still had a couple months on her working holiday visa and we wanted to travel a little bit together before heading back to Canada to start looking for a boat!

    New Zealand never disappoints, it was beautiful and it was nice to be a little more routined. Living in one place instead of changing hotels every other day.

    We mainly stayed in Auckland but we would go on adventure dates on days off.

    The picture above is from the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. If you get the chance it is a life changing trek!

  • Canada

    Time had come to take Davy to Canada to meet the family!

    We had started discussing what we wanted to do. Find work again in the South Pacific, stay in NZ or why not buy a boat to sail the world.

    Canada was beautiful in June when we arrived and Davy got to meet the whole family. We stayed for summer and we went on a few road trips to search for our perfect home!

    We searched a few marinas near Barrie, Belleville and Toronto, but didn't find exactly what we were looking for.

    We packed up the car ready for yet another road trip.

    Of course stopped at the iconic Niagra Falls before heading to the states.

  • Let the Boat Hunt Begin!

    Before leaving Canada we searched online and found 16-20 different boats located on the east coast of the states.

    We had packed a tent and an air mattress and hoped to camp along the way. However once we got closer to the big cities camp sites were few and far between so it became road side motels.

    We stopped in Rode Island, New Jersey, Boston and Maryland. Of course as fate would have it the last boat on our list was the ONE!

    We stepped aboard the Catalina 36 in Essex Maryland and knew she was the one. Slightly more than we wanted to spend but she didn't need much work (or so we thought) and we happily moved right in that very day!

Nepal

  • Chitwan National Park

    Nepal has lots of beautiful national parks where you are able to go on safari and explore the wildlife. The hotel we stayed at in Chitwan National Park was beautiful. It was Erica's birthday week so we got upgraded to the best room they had.

    Right outside the hotel there were wild elephants who came to bath in the river.

    One safari on Erica's birthday we were lucky enough to spot a rhino! Unfortunately no tigers for us but it was a very beautiful afternoon spent driving through the sanctuary. It is a wildlife sanctuary so you are not guaranteed to see anything. This is the way we prefer it. We do not want to support parks they capture animals and force them to perform.

  • Kathmandu

    The bus ride into Kathmandu was very memorable. The long drive through mountain roads that were very steep. I did not want to look out the windows as you would look straight down into a vast valley. We didn't experience any accidents but the roads were scary to say the least.

    As we got closer to the city the desturction from the earthquake in 2015 was still everywhere. The roads were terrible and many buildings still lay in pieces yet to be repaired.

    Kathmandu is the jump off point for many backpackers to begin trekking base camp. You can find many stores selling equipment and supplies needed for Annapurna, Everest and other treks in the Nepalese mountains.

  • Base Camp

    Pokhara was our destination after Kathmandu where we met our guide and sherpa for Annapurna Base Camp.

    I had decided on Annapurna because I heard amazing reviews from a friend I met in New Zealand, who had completed it.

    It did not disappoint. It was stunning!

    Davy had not prepared for this trek as it was a last minute decision to follow me and leave his job in Fiji. It was a challenge and at one point he did want to follow a river to the ocean, "ALL RIVERS LEAD TO THE OCEAN, I belong at sea level or below!"

    However we made it to Base Camp together and it was an experience neither of us will forget.

India

  • Places We Visited

    India is a very large country offering a variety of historic sites and culture. We only planned 3 weeks in India so we had to choose only a few locations.

    We flew into Delhi and stayed at a nice hotel in New Delhi. Unfortunately here we did succumb to Delhi belly and were forced to stay at the hotel for our first day. One of my favourite memories of Delhi is Davy's $2 haircut where he got a full face mask and massage included.

    Next stop was Agra for the beautiful Taj Mahal. Definitely ticked off the bucket list here. Well worth a visit.

    Jaipur was a fantastic choice as well offering historic sites and the pink city! We were in Jaipur for the Holi festival or festival of colours. This festival celebrates the arrival of spring and good harvest. The people throw paint powder at each other and celebrate in the streets!

    Finally Varanasi and the Ganges. Here we took a cultural tour of the city and visited the burning ghats.

  • Overnight Trains

    Travelling around India we did what most backpackers do and we used the trains. The trains are very inexpensive and get you from A to B. I like to be early for everything, Davy finds this slightly annoying especially here. We arrived at Jaipur station for our overnight train to Varanasi. The train was scheduled at 8:00pm, we arrived at 7 (Davy will say 6). When we arrived and checked for our departure the train was already delayed 3.5 hours. By the time the train actually arrived it was 6am and we had spent the entire night in the train station.

    I would highly recommend travelling with a fold up hammock as I think Davy saved our relationship by pulling this out!

    This actually turned out to be okay in the long run because we got to see the sites between the two locations which was very eye opening into the smaller towns of India.

  • The Ganges

    As far and culture goes India is full of it. From the food to the many temples we visited it was an awesome experience.

    Varanasi is one of the holiest cities in India, where it is believed that if you are cremated here and your ashes released into the purifying water of the Ganges your reincarnation cycle will end and you will reach Nirvana.

    People come from all over India to bath in the Ganges for the belief that it cleanses your sins.

    We hired a local boat for a sunset cruise one evening and Davy jumped into the Ganges to cleanse his sins. Our guide was shocked as most Westerners don't do this. The Ganges is rated as the 7th most polluted river in the world. Needless to say Davy's boxer shorts were thrown out after that dip and he took about 4 showers but as he even says to this day it was something he felt that he just needed to do.

Sri Lanka

  • About Sri Lanka

    Sri Lanka is a teardrop-shaped island in the Indian Ocean. With a population of about 22 million people. Sri Lanka is a land of great cultural diversity which makes it an excellent travel destination.

    There are many temples to explore, mainly Buddhist and Hindu which are located in very beautiful locations around the island.

    The capital city of Sri Lanka is Colombo which offers many sites and is located on the west coast of the island.

    Sinhala and Tamil are the official languages. About 25% of the people can speak English but be prepared for some translation issues.

  • Must See Spots

    We started in Negombo where we went out on a Sri Lankan sailing vessel. Stoped in Kandy and saw the Temple of the Tooth, went on safari in the Udawalawe wildlife park and climbed the 2243 metre conical mountain located in central Sri Lanka, Adam's Peak. (recommend climbing before sunrise, the view at the top when the sun comes up is spectacular!)

    Colombo is definitely worth a visit as the central commercial district. The tea plantations are a beautiful site as well.

    Sigiriya or Lions Rock is an ancient rock fortress and worth a visit!

  • Fun and Games

    During our travels in Sri Lanka we tried to stay on a strict budget so we invented a game: who can book the cheapest hotel but of the best quality?

    Erica definitely won this challenge as we stayed in a few beautiful but cheap locations. Davy lost SO many points by his terrible pick in Adam's Peak. It was inexpensive however we were in the middle of nowhere (not as close to the hike as we hoped ... 2 hour drive) and the restaurant on site only served the same 2 dishes.

    Also even if on a budget do not take a tuk tuk through the mountains! Trust us!

The Beautiful Fijian Islands

  • Davy

    Before Erica arrived in Fiji, Davy was working on Kuata Island scuba diving with bull sharks and managing 5 dive centres around Fiji.

    Fiji is known for its crystal clear waters and beautiful remote islands. There are 333 islands total. Davy was based in the Yasawa Islands with some of the best scuba diving.

    Bull sharks are fabulous creatures who are a little misunderstood. They have terrible eye site which makes them dangerous in murky water, but here in Fiji they are beautiful to see up close!

  • Erica

    Erica came to Fiji for a short holiday to explore the islands. She was on a working holiday visa in New Zealand and decided to hop over to Fiji to go diving.

    Starting out in Nandi I did a short tour of the main island.I got to go bamboo rafting and experience kava ceremonies all over the island. (kava tastes a little bit like dirty sock water and makes your tongue numb)

    Moving onto island hopping Kuata, Manta, Octopus Resort and Blue Lagoon were some of my favourite stops.

  • Fell in Love

    Erica only planned to be in Fiji for 3 weeks ... I had a flight booked back to New Zealand but after getting to the airport I realized I did not want to leave just yet. Had to get the staff at the airport to get my bags off the plane and then stayed in Fiji for an additional three months!

    During this time Davy helped me get my Divemaster certificate and we enjoyed the beauty of Fiji.

    Kuata Island only had one resort and restaurant so it felt like a family, beautiful beaches and a small mountain hike made it a beautiful place to live. BULA

Before I met Davy

  • Travel

    When I graduated from university I decided to go to Australia and travel for a few months. I soon realized a few months wasn't enough! I stayed in Australia for a year working and travelling around the entire country, including Tasmania and the wicked west coast.

    New Zealnd is another country that stole my heart with its beauty. I stayed in NZ for nearly two years before I met who know who. Similar to Australia I travelled the entire country of New Zealand, even little Stuart Island in the south.

  • Favourite Places

    It is so hard to choose favourites! I have been to 26 countries to date and just like Davy every one of them stands out for different reasons.

    ~ South East Asia was a place where I grew as a person. Travelling solo here was eye opening and I created amazing friendships.

    ~Dubai. Dubai was a country unlike any other I visited. My cousin lived there at the time and the inside knowledge she and her husband provided was awesome.

    ~Oz and NZ will forever be two of my favourite countries.

  • Canada

    Canada is a beautiful country and I am very thankful for having travelled my own country as well.

    Most of the countries I have been to remind me of different spots back home and I love to be able to compare memories as I go.

    I worked with a lot of people who were travelling Canada so you can say I got bitten by the travel bug from them.

    Travel is a part of who I am. I have become strong and independent and have had so many incredible experiences.

Before I met Erica

  • Travel

    I decided I wanted to go for a year of travel so I packed my bags and left England in '99. I sold my house and packed my bags and 25 yers later I'm still going! I have lived in many different countries and experienced many different cultures and wouldn't change any of it.

    To date I have travelled to 36 countries and would love to see them all. Travelling in the Caribbean has been a blast but ultimately I would love to see us back in the South Pacific.

  • Favourite Countries

    Every place I've travelled sticks with me for different reasons but some of my favourites are:

    ~ Fiji. Fiji is just incredible. The islands, the colour of the water, I would go back in a heartbeat.

    ~ Australia. The land of Oz has always been a favourite. It was one of the first places I travelled too and come on what's not to love.

    ~ Thailand. I have lived in Thailand for 6 years of my life. Mainly in Koh Pang-an, working as a dive instructor and photographer.

  • Norway

    After some time in the tropics I moved to and lived in Norway for 10 years of my life. Here I learned to speak Norwegian by working as a plumber with my good friend Ulf.

    I have two incredible daughters still living in Norway and wish for the chance for them to visit with us at any time!

    One of my favourite things to do in Norway was salmon fishing but I have to say I don't miss the cold of winter.