OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

I chatted to friends about this when I was back in the UK in June. Living the kind of life we have currently chosen doesn’t remove frustrations or worries. They just become different ones. Okay, we don’t have to concern ourselves with getting the bins out on Monday night for a Tuesday morning collection or having to be home between 8am and 6pm to receive a parcel that might arrive today or not.

Our current frustration is that of the metric v imperial reality. In many ways the US and UK are similar and in others so so different. We use gas on the boat to cook. We currently have 3 small Camping Gaz cylinders that fit into a treasure chest style locker on the foredeck of the boat. They have metric fittings. Furthermore we cannot get them refilled in the US as the gas of choice here is propane and Camping Gaz contains butane. In the Caribbean getting them refilled was a piece of cake…. Nobody was at all bothered about what substance went into what tank.

So we seem to have spent several hours (well Dave has to be strictly accurate here) researching propane bottle sizes and fittings. We now have one bottle that fits size wise but the attachments are imperial and not metric. The guy in the hardware store did his best to sort us out but it was a case of ‘nice try, no banana’. We probably have about a week’s supply of gas left before we run out completely. The prospect of no tea will resonate with some of you.

Anyway, to conclude what is turning into a slightly dull story here, we have an adaptor on order, plus another propane bottle and in a few days we should be sorted.

On a much more exciting and less domestic note, we are now in Maine. It’s a bit like Scotland, just much warmer! Although it does rain and the fog can roll in. The scenery is delightful….a mix of deciduous and coniferous trees, hills with views over the sea, trails to walk and bike, granite rocks to climb, inlets and islands to explore and so so many lobster pots to avoid, especially when motoring. We thought Portugal had plenty of pots. Forget it. There are forests of the things everywhere waiting to snag your propellor if you’re unlucky. Blighters.

We bought a year’s pass to the National Park which allows you be the park legitimately but also gives access to a plethora of free buses which crisscross the area. Hop on a bus, travel to the start of your trail, walk the trail and hop on another bus home. So civilised. There are also about 50 miles of carriage roads that were prepared at the beginning of the 20th century which are traffic free and great for cycling.

We spent yesterday anchored in a cove near the village of Winter Harbour and explored the Schoonic Peninsula. We picked wild blueberries and saw a Bald Eagle. Not at the same time.