Hurricane Irene vs. Helena Scuba

Port Lucaya Market

She was just a blip on the radar screen in the Atlantic when I caught the plane for Freeport, Grand Bahama. She could have traveled a hundred different paths but no, she had to make a bee line for Freeport. By the time we did our first dive on Saturday afternoon Irene was named a tropical storm and was located just east of Martinique. Our dive group from Helena Scuba was staying at Pelican Bay and diving with UNEXSO in Port Lucaya on the southern coast of Grand Bahama. We were aware of Irene but not worried, she was far away, and if she headed our direction surely she could not get here before we had to fly out a week later. Sunday morning dawned sunny, hot and humid. We did two great dives in the morning, had lunch at the Dive-In (a small open restaurant located next to the large pool at UNEXSO), did an afternoon dive, soaked in the hotel pool then cleaned up for dinner in the Lucaya Marketplace. This is the typical dive trip schedule: breakfast, dive, dive, lunch, dive, drink, pool time, shower, dinner, drink, bed, and repeat. 


Monday morning Irene was still just a tropical storm located off Puerto Rico with the chance of coming our way on Friday, but we did not care, Friday was our day of no diving before we fly out on Saturday.  It would be fun to spend Friday experiencing the force of a storm from the secure hotel room with games, drinks and munchies.  It is all part of the adventure!  Last year our dive group once spent a day stuck in Belize City weathering Tropical Storm Alex.  We had a lot fun sitting in the bar eating lunch and watching World Cup Football (soccer for us Americans) with other storm refugees from all around the world.  Monday went just as smooth as Sunday, but also included a great dive with about 20 Caribbean Reef Sharks.  When we returned from the afternoon dive we found a “Hurricane Alert” letter from the hotel notifying us of Irene, stating that they are watching her and will update us in the next 24 hours.  At dinner we all talked about staying or going, most of us wanted to stay.  So what if we missed diving on Thursday, again, it is part of the adventure.  The one dive none of wanted to miss was the dolphin dive; we had never before encounter dolphins on a dive.  This dive was going to be the highlight of the trip, thankfully it was scheduled for Wednesday morning, so there was a good chance, at this point, of making that dive.   After dinner and a nice walk along the beach we returned to the room and turned on The Weather Channel, only to learn that Irene was now a category 1 hurricane soon to be upgraded to a category 2 with potential to be a category 3 very soon.  This was a game changer.  It seemed that Freeport could be hit with a storm that could cause catastrophic damage. 

Empty Beach Before Hurricane Irene

Tuesday morning dawned with a nice letter under door informing us that the Bahamas had been placed under a hurricane watch and stating, “We are kindly advising all of our guests to leave the island immediately.”  This is the nice way of saying, “Get the hell out!”  So we went to check with the dive shop to find out when they would shut down the diving to prepare for the storm.  The manager told us they were closing on Wednesday and she very strongly suggested that we should leave as soon as possible.   The last time Freeport had a storm of this magnitude the airport was closed for 10 days and the sea port was closed for a month.  Well this was the death blow to our Bahamian dive vacation.  We went to the hotel lobby to try to make arrangements to leave.

Trying to get out was more difficult than experiencing the storm would have been.  The airlines at the local airport were not answering the phone.  The Continental help desk had a hold time of 14 minutes, so while I was waiting on the phone others went to the computer to try to get flights out.  One lady was able to get a ticket on the last flight out on Wednesday afternoon but all other flights out were completely booked.  The Continental help desk was somehow able to get me out early Wednesday morning with connections all the way to Seattle and I was home on Wednesday night.  The other five people in my group were finally able to purchase tickets on a charter flight leaving right away. 

Even though Irene chased us away from the Bahamas barely half way into our trip we all had a good time while we were there.  Thankfully Hurricane Irene was not too hard on Freeport but she was not so kind to Nassau, other parts of the Bahamas and the Eastern US.  Now it is time to start planning the next dive trip….. 

Russian Sailing Ship Visits Seattle

When you think of school, what comes to mind; an old school house, a large college, on-line classes?  I bet you don’t think about a 354 foot long, three-masted frigate.   The Russian Sailing Ship, Pallada, is a school on the high seas.  Students from eight marine institutions in Russia spend a few months aboard learning their future jobs first hand.  From Vladivostok, she is currently on a North Pacific tour commemorating the 270th anniversary of Russia's colonization of Alaska and the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's pioneering space flight.

The Pallada pulled into Puget Sound August 10, 2011.  The crew was allowed to leave the ship to visit Seattle and the public was allowed on deck to experience the sights and sounds of a tall ship.  Facebook was a buzz about the huge, elegant and mysterious, three-mast ship docked at Pier 66.  Many young girls wondered who the sailors were at Pike Place Market wearing different uniforms and speaking a foreign language.  When I visited the ship on its last day in port it was crowded with people of all ages.  They were in awe of the massive vessel and the hundreds of rope coils spread from bow to stern, all leading to some portion of the 26 sails, totaling over 9000 square feet.  All that rope is confusing!  How on earth do they remember exactly what each rope is for?  When the first mate calls, “Hoist the main topsail!” do they ever pull the wrong line?  I would need them to be color coded so I would know which line went to what sail.   

I most enjoyed watching the young boys, both enlisted and officers, flirt with the pretty young girls who they either met in town or happen to come aboard for a tour.  I saw many girls getting a personal tour while other girls were standing at the stern smoking and talking with the sailors.  It was cute to watch the awkward flirtations as the boys stumbled over their English.  I admit not one sailor offered to give me a personal tour; of course, I am old enough to be their mom.  Maybe I should have looked for the captain and asked for a personal tour. 

Their time in Seattle was short, on Friday they pulled anchor, hoisted the sails and made their way out the Strait of Juan de Fuca.  Next port of call: San Francisco.

The Beginning

It is official, the diagnosis is in and I am terminal.  There is no cure, but there is a remedy.  A prescription that I must take as often as physically and financially possible.  For my mental health and well being I must grab my back pack and hit the road!  To explore the world, to discover and get to know different cultures, different ways of life and living, different landscapes, and different people.  I could easily spend months in one location exploring the city and surrounding area, learning the language or the local dance.  When I get bored I could just move on to the next location I find interesting and start the process all over.  Well, what is the problem?  Just go.  As with most prescriptions it is expensive. If money were no object, I would just go and not come back except at Christmas to see the family. Someone has to pay for all those plane tickets and since I was not born independently wealthy, that person is me.  Work gets in the way of my travels but work pays for my travels.  So it is a delicate juggling act.

Webster defines Wanderlust as a noun meaning a strong longing or impulse toward wandering originating from the German words wanderm (to wander) and lust (to desire).  This describes me perfectly; I have the desire to wander the world.  I use it in the title of my blog to represent a location; a location where I am royalty.  Not a queen or princess since there are many people in the world who clearly out rank me in their ability to travel, but a lady, more than just a commoner.

I expect this blog to be wide range of subjects about living life and trying to travel as much as possible.  Things often don't turn out like we expect so there is no telling where this will go.  I just hope to enjoy the writing and hope that anyone who reads will enjoy the reading.