Tag Archives: adventures

Stowaways and parrots

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Ssh! I think we’ve spotted a stowaway!

He was fast asleep on a corner wearing the same scruffy jumper and ripped trousers that we’d spotted him in a day or two earlier….

Captain’s Log – Cunard Ship Queen Anne – this is now the 20th day of our voyage…

Today is a “sea day” as we relax on board after time ashore ( as if we’re not always relaxing on board.. No ropes to tidy or passage plans to check, not even any meals to prepare! What can you do except read, write and sunbathe?)

Back to stowaway suspicions – after several sightings in lifts and dining areas, one of us was convinced this person was not an official guest.

“Perhaps he’s sleeping rough in the laundry room and no one knows…”

This seemed a bit unlikely to me, I was more convinced he was a bit of an eccentric kicking against the ship’s dress code – just because he could!

On our entry to the Panama Canal we were up early to watch the ship make her first passage through the canal. As we squeezed in at the rail overlooking the bow and the ship was guided into the first lock with inches to spare, we glanced down at those gathered on the viewing deck below… There he was again! The Stowaway, as bold as brass, taking prime position on the bow and attempting to get help with a selfie on his camera. Maybe he wasn’t a stowaway.

Another emerging theory, floated over captain’s cocktails later, was that he actually owns the company and was an “undercover boss” seeing if he would be challenged by his crew! Had any of them spotted him, I wondered.

It took us all day to pass through the Panama Canal, an amazing feat of engineering, which several nations had taken part in at various stages. After the first locks, the ship emerged into a huge lake which was a surprise. Here we scoured the muddy jungle-like banks for crocodiles or alligators… not a sausage!

Although we hadn’t helped the process, there was a sense of achievement as Queen Anne headed out of the final locks and into the Pacific… we’d done it!

Next stop was Colombia, where we tried to recruit a ship’s parrot.

The port terminal of Cartagena was Colombia’s version of Ikea… not selling flat pack furniture, but frustratingly designed so that you had to zig through the whole maze of shops, stalls and perching parrots, peacocks in trees, flamingos behind fences and swinging monkeys, before you got to the exit. To be fair there was plenty of greenery and nice shaded paths to make up for it and the parrots were friendly.

Cartagena has its own taxi cartel and so there were no cheap rides into the old city. “Farmer tours” took off again and we skirted the ancient walls beside the sea, before wandering the narrow streets filled with coffee shops… but what coffee! We drank ours upstairs at Cafe Epoca, where a spiral staircase without rails led us to the dark wood interior, rich with the aroma of great coffee.

My favourite part of the city was the flag lined streets of Getsemani – formerly a poor area, now cool and trendy, with huge murals on every corner and brightly painted buildings. There were two nice surprises here, one was the price of Mojitos, where they offered BOGOFs, and while sipping drinks in the shade of a street cafe, we were serenaded by a ‘pop up’ group of rapping boys, who called me Barbie! (I wasn’t even wearing anything pink!)

When we clambered back on board, just before the clock struck 1pm, I wondered if the Stowaway had made it back in time… or perhaps he had not risked getting off!

We found out more at our next stop in Guatemala…

Good morning America!

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Captain’s Log – Cunard Ship Queen Anne – this is now the 19th day of our voyage…

Today we’ve docked in Guatemala – a country I’ve only ever viewed on a map until now. It’s an early start for our shore adventure, but the sun is shining and it’s a balmy 23 degrees at 7am!

At least we’re here on time, which is an improvement on New York (our first port of call). Sadly the storm had delayed us and we were 24 hours late which cut down time in the Big Apple by a day. When we finally glided under the brightly lit Verrazano Narrows Bridge and waved to a twinkling Statue of Liberty, dawn was just breaking and the ship breathed a sigh of relief. There is something magical about seeing the lights of Manhattan island glittering against a lightening sky.

Everyone seemed happy to leap ashore and our whirlwind visit included the 9/11 churches of Trinity Wall Street and St Paul’s. The former boasted exemplary toilets (akka restrooms) AND they were free, a church guide informed us! The World Trade Centre memorial remained as moving as the last time we visited – a silence surrounding the site that swallowed all our words.

After a little shopping (you’re in New York – so you have to!) we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge and enjoyed meandering through Dumbo. It’s not an elephant, just a rather cool area of Brooklyn. Nestled beneath the intersection of the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges, it’s filled with quirky shops, cafes and restaurants in converted warehouses and historic houses, some sheltering beneath the atmospheric arches of the bridges.

Misty rain chased us back to the ship and so we hopped on the ferry, now awash with cruise guests of all shapes, sizes and nationalities – slightly conspicuous with their Cunard umbrellas!

Back on board afternoon tea was being served, just in case we needed to top up on calories again.

Our sorties ashore have gone well so far. By that I mean we haven’t missed the boat! This is always a risk on ‘Farmer do it yourself tours’ which turn out to be a lot cheaper than Cunard run ones. The only issue is – if we’re delayed the boat is not waiting for us!

Miami was our next stop and at last the sun decided to shine, so we headed to South Beach for a swim (this time I managed to keep my kit on in the waves!) There was time to phone home and enjoy a mojito on Ocean Drive before catching a cab back to the ship. Our taxi ride back turned out to be a guided tour in itself, as our local cabby explained everything we needed to know about Florida from its history and buildings to Donald Trump and the pandemic. He told us Floridians are fiercely independent and see themselves almost as their own country – hence the number of motorcyclists without helmets. (Let the Reader understand!)

As we waved goodbye to Miami, Donald Trump had moved into the driving seat in the USA and we were headed towards his latest “project” currently called the Panama Canal!

More on Central America tomorrow!

PS Still no whales!

‘Swimfasting’ and paddleboard jeopardy

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I’m suffering from withdrawal symptoms. I haven’t been in the sea since Wednesday and it feels like I’ve lost a limb. Faced with a month without swimming, last week I took every opportunity to get in or on the water – one of the days turned out to be a bit of an expedition and a lesson in tide and winds…

I got addicted to swimming this April, after I signed up for a six-week course of ‘chill swimming’ at the local beach. It was a mad moment, which felt even more crazy on the first morning session when grey clouds loomed and I stared down at the deserted sands framed by a distinctly chilly looking sea.

The group of swimmers was easy to spot, all in woolly hats and colourful changing robes. Our group leader was a lovely guy called Paul who ticked off our names on a clip board, checked on our health and swimming experience and asked us to share a bit about ourselves. The idea of cold water swimming is that it is good for your general wellbeing, creating physical and emotional resilience and it is said to improve your mental health. Paul proceeded to tell us more of this as the weeks went by and we all agreed the chill ‘swimming’ was a highlight of our week.

On the first week, after a brief warm up jumping around on the sand feeling a bit silly, we waded into the sea. Most of us were wearing swim hats, wetsuit gloves, shoes and swimming costumes. The water was 11 degrees. It felt cold. We all went swimming briefly and only spent 10 minutes in the water before we were out, wrapping ourselves in robes and sipping hot drinks. I drove home and jumped in the shower. I felt very cold, but it had been invigorating and I felt more alive and prepared for the rest of the day.

As the weeks went on we stayed in longer and longer, put our heads under, swam a bit and chatted lots. A little community of buddies was being born – the ‘Nippy Dippers.’

What I have loved is the camaraderie of this disparate group of people. We’re mainly women, although we are joined by various chaps at times. The course finished some weeks ago and we have continued to gather at least once or twice a week. Sometimes the sun is out and the water is sparkling blue, at other times it’s grey or even raining and the mist rolls in across the bay. Most memorable times have been those golden summer evenings with the sun sprinkling its rays across the water. Lately the sea temperature varies from 15 degrees to 19 on the warmest days – in April it was 11 degrees – so it’s always warmer than when we started. The waves are there to dive through some weeks and at other times the sea is like glass. But the feeling is always the same, as each of us sink into the water or duck our heads below the surface, the worries and strains of the week fade away, as if the sea itself is refreshing us from the inside out.

Although I’m sad that I can’t be in the water for a few weeks due to an eye operation, I will be reliving one of last week’s sea activities for some time…

It was a sunny afternoon and four of us planned a little paddleboard expedition down the tidal river which ends at Bantham and Bigbury on Sea. All prepared with beers, snacks and water, we set off down the magical Avon river, paddling quite hard against an unexpected wind and enjoying the sights of this peaceful valley, where trees dip their branches into the dark green water and there are hidden delights at every turn. As the current and outgoing tide picked us up we began to glide more freely, and we all managed to bounce through some small waves created by a circling speed boat. 

At the picturesque lagoon just up from the mouth of the estuary, we rafted together and enjoyed our beers as we continued to drift seaward. The sun was sending its final rays across the water and I couldn’t think of anything more beautiful. There was some discussion about staying close to one side to avoid being whisked out to sea by the outgoing tide and we were all cool with that, until we all stood up and rounded the corner.

The entrance was much choppier than expected with the waves kicking up a pace, so we all headed for the beach, which happened to be on the wrong side of the river. Pulling our boards onto the sand, someone said we’d just have to wait for the tide to go out a bit before we crossed over. We were all fairly competent paddle boarders, but only one of us was good in breaking waves. And the waves were between us and our car. Meanwhile a red sun was sinking into the cliffs and it would soon be dark.

While we waited for the tide and waves to drop off, the surfer among us headed off to ‘play’. Three of us stood on the sand and looked at the waves and the stretch of water we needed to navigate. We had a choice – strike out and try to get across now, hoping we didn’t get knocked off our boards by the waves and caught by the rip pulling us out to sea, or wait till it calmed and there was a shorter stretch of water, but cross in the dark.

The Avon estuary entrance at
Bantham and Bigbury on Sea in the winter

My instinct was to “give it a go” now as I would rather not be lost at sea in the dark. My other concern was that I was struggling to see as it was and I wasn’t quite clear where the beach actually was, so I figured any more loss of light would be like paddleboarding blind. Two minutes later, beneath a faintly pink sky and fading light, we headed into the waves, kneeling on our boards and trying to make our way to the far shore, despite waves and the current pushing us out. Shouted instructions about trying to head ‘upstream’, were lost on me and I just kept paddling towards what looked like a shore or a gap in the rocks, hoping for the best. My heart stopped pounding once we got to the beach safely and one of us said: “Of course, it wouldn’t be a Farmer adventure without a bit of jeopardy!” 

The next evening as I enjoyed my last sea swim, just along the beach from where we’d landed the night before, the conditions couldn’t have been more different. No wind meant the sea was pretty flat and that night we wouldn’t have had much trouble making our way across the estuary… but then we wouldn’t have had such an exhilarating evening and a story to share.

Now I can’t wait until my eye recovers and we can set out on some more adventures – at least this time I should be able to see where the dangers are!

Where am I?

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Do you ever have that feeling of waking up and wondering where you are? It’s happened to me on and off over the years – sleeping in strange beds and plenty of unfamiliar rooms for a variety of reasons!

Although we’re always on board the same boat, outside the locations change and so do our neighbours. The other day I woke up to the sound of New Zealand accents on the adjacent yacht and popping my head out on deck, I was greeted by a friendly voice, “How are you this morning?” A few days earlier it had been German accents and before that French.

Our neighbours over the past few weeks have been varied and many. It’s been one of the many joys of this extended trip, getting to meet so many sailors from different parts of the world and often mooring up beside them again at different anchorages and greeting them like old friends, sharing stories of where we’ve been in between and what we’ve seen, along with the inevitable sailing nightmare tales! They’ve also been on hand to help with ropes and getting moored in harbours in various strengths of wind, everyone has been helpful and kind.

The other morning I woke up in the saloon of the boat, as the cabin had got too hot in the night. I couldn’t remember where we were and even more confusing was hearing the twang of “Kiwi accents” again. I’d forgotten that having left this friendly family behind a few days earlier, we’d found ourselves moored next to them again the previous afternoon in a new location.

I’ve loved the friendliness of fellow sailors. The other day, the skipper of a boat anchored across from us in a bay swam over to chat about our sun canopy. He explained how he and his wife had sailed here from Brittany. We talked about our Devon flag and places he loved in England, especially Cornwall. When left he said, “We’re practically cousins!”

In our favourite port on the island of Alonnisos we found our new neighbours were a couple who’d been stranded in Australia during lockdown, and their lovely wooden boat had been damaged, but they hadn’t been able to get back to it. He was a native greek with a shock of white hair and he and his Australian partner shared tips with us on easy meals to cook on board along with sailing tales from around the islands. We nicknamed her ‘Shirley Valentine’ and wished them well with their boat rebuilding in the coming months as we upped anchor and set sail again.

Today we chatted with our new Danish neighbours about places to visit and last night we were back onboard yacht Zigzag – sharing a few glasses of wine with a Cornish couple, we keep meeting up with and who are now anchored a few metres away in this idyllic bay.

When we swam before breakfast this morning, it felt as if we were in our own giant swimming pool. Even in the deep water around the boat the seabed was so clear you could see each little pebble and rock far below.

As we move into the twilight of our time in Greece, for now, it’s clear our little boat is in need of some repair work. Over the past few weeks we’ve both become intimately acquainted with a sponge and bucket that has been filled up daily after each trip from water leaking down below! I’m thinking of buying one as a reminder of the adventure.

In the meantime, I’m gazing across at lush pine trees lining the shore above a bank of white rocks reflecting in the sparkling water. Apart from the heat and the temperature of the water, we could be anchored down the Fal in Cornwall! And I’m reminded that we have plenty of beautiful places to rediscover on our return home.

I’m also wondering how strange it will feel sleeping in a real bed that doesn’t rock and has space to move, or taking a long shower without being worried about using too much water.

But I may well wake up in a couple of weeks and wonder where on earth I am!

The final march out

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Here I am back in the same situation as I was when I first started this blog nine years ago – on the move again and surrounded by boxes! But this time we are heading to our new home, instead of another army posting.

I haven’t done my farewells to our last army quarter just yet, that will happen this weekend when we get it ready for our final “march out”. For non-military readers, this is a kind of inspection of the house to make sure you have cleaned it properly and there is no dust in the plug sockets, mould inside the window frames or even a whisper of grease in the oven.

As I discovered nine years ago, cleaning can be a kind of therapy that helps with the emotions of leaving somewhere treasured and familiar before heading into the unknown.

So, while I’m down on my knees cleaning the toilet, I will also be remembering some of the good times, while looking forward to what lies ahead.

Living on the Jurassic coast has been a privilege and a joy. We’ve managed to walk a whole section of the south coast path from Poole Harbour entrance to Burton Bradstock, with most legs completed there and back. We’ve enjoyed kayaking through caves and paddleboarding as the sunset across Lulworth Cove. We’ve fought off the seagulls, while eating fish and chips from Bennetts in Weymouth, and dreamed of owning a yacht, while watching boats moor up along the quay. 

The amazing stars overhead in the dark Dorset sky have made up for the booming sound of tanks firing day and night on the ranges we live beside. We’ve watched tracers lighting up the night sky on summer nights, and during the day I’ve looked up from my desk and spotted the splash from shells landing in the sea beyond. On the quieter days, without firing, we’ve enjoyed hosting family and friends and taking them to the hidden coves and beauty spots on our doorstep.

This is also the house where we lived through lockdown, which involved walks to the sea almost every day, listening to birdsong on the normally busy road at the back of our garden and a marathon bike ride to Poole Harbour and back again. “Never again!” we said.

I’ll miss all that, but I won’t miss the barb wire lining our fence or the taps that don’t match and the threadbare carpets or magnolia chip papered walls. Or the moles who continue to wreak havoc across our lawns!

Army life has been fun. We’ve forged new friendships and had to say goodbye countless times. We’ve had a run of amazing postings these past nine years, from sunny Cyprus to living on the magical Thorney Island. I’ve also loved my time with the Military Wives Choir, both in Cyprus and in Bovington. Singing with them has lifted my spirits time and again and I’ve met some of the most caring, encouraging and zany women, who’ve also made me laugh. Despite all this, for me it’s time to move.

Change is exciting, but not always easy. After spending a large proportion of my life as an army wife, I’m looking forward to putting down roots, sorting out my garden and having all my stuff in one place at last. But my soon-to-be ex-army man is not so sure. He’s wondering about what’s next, what will life be like beyond the military and where his next adventure will take him.

Although we’re leaving Dorset, we’re not heading so far, just next door to Devon. Our new home, which we already love, will be ready for us to move into in the autumn. In between then and now, it seems we have time for a little sailing adventure in Greece! As long as we pass that final “march out”…

What’s in a name?

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I never liked my own name when I was growing up. Other friends’ names seemed much ‘cooler’ and less old fashioned. I knew Rachel was a name in the Bible and that didn’t help. I wished I had a name like Mandy, Sally or even Jackie and worst of all I didn’t even have a middle name. I guess my parents ran out of ideas by the time they got to number five! So upset by this omission, I gave myself a middle name and for a few years I was ‘Rachel Mandy Reay’ – if anyone asked. To cap it all one teenage boyfriend told me my surname didn’t have enough syllables to be respectable. His was Buchanan!

Giving out or choosing names is a big responsibility. As I grew up Rachel didn’t seem such a bad name – I got used to it. Over the years I have puzzled over names for pets, followed by the joy of picking names for our own children. This was even more complicated as the names had to be agreed by two of us and they mustn’t include names of former boyfriends or girlfriends…

One thing I’ve never done until recently is give a name to a house. All our homes had numbers, although the last one also had a name. It was called ‘The White House’ – not because it had large pillars or an American flag but because it was painted white. But after we’d sandblasted the paint back down to red bricks the name didn’t fit anymore, so we just stuck with the number.

This Spring after a long search we bought a new home in Devon. It’s not a new house, but it’s new to us. It isn’t even a house really – it’s a barn. After several weeks of trailing back and forth and working on the garden and setting up the furnishings, we often referred to it as ‘the Barn’ and we could have simply called it that. But we wanted to invest a little more of ourselves, our hopes, dreams and history into this home, which we hope will be a place to welcome friends and family and even strangers.

We had several evenings of brainstorming names and batting them around for views from the family. ‘Farmer’s Den’ was ruled out early on and so were many popular ‘seaview’ options. After all it is a barn so we decided that should be in the name. We talked about our dreams and what was at the heart of all the journeys we’ve been on so far as a couple and as a family. We love wild places and wild activities, we like space and freedom and we love God. When the name was first mentioned it was so obvious, we knew it was right. Wild Goose Barn was chosen.

Why Wild Goose Barn? Here’s a bit of thinking behind the name, with thanks to a diligent researcher Simon Farmer.

Wild geese are inspiring birds. They can live to 30 years or more. They travel huge distances in migration and are often seen in ‘V’ formation. Geese are flocking birds reflecting a sense of community. This is something we’ve been enjoying in this special part of Devon with the local village, the church and the friendship in the Dolphin Inn. It was here we met a friendly agricultural engineer who came to help us with our ageing mower, while others passed on tips about the best wild swimming spots and generally made us feel at home.

When a Goose flies, its wings create ‘uplift’ for the bird following. By flying in a ‘V’ formation the whole flock actually adds 71% greater flying range than if a bird was on its own. Whenever a Goose falls out of formation it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to fly alone and so quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the Goose immediately in front. When the lead Goose gets tired it rotates back into the formation and another Goose flies at the point position. Finally, while geese fly in formation they make quite a noise sometimes as they honk from behind. This isn’t just a random noise but these sounds are their way of encouraging those up front to keep going and keep up their speed.

Devon has wild geese passing through and shortly after choosing the name we spotted a flock of geese flying in formation one evening. We watched as they changed course and flew directly overhead to continue their journey towards the sea into the setting sun. It was almost as if they were giving us a fly past of approval.

In the old days domesticated geese would have been kept around the barn. The Greylag is the ancestor of most domesticated geese. It is the largest and bulkiest of the wild geese native to UK and Europe.
‘Greylag’ either means “grey-legged” or “grey-laggard”, that is late, last or slow to migrate, or in other words, a loiterer or as we like to think just plain ‘laid back’.

Living near the sea, we’ve become accustomed to a deep sense of rhythm, especially the daily ebb and flow of the tide. And in the surrounding countryside the changing seasons are a part of life too, as farmers plough the fields, scatter seeds and gather the harvest. Migrating birds, nesting swallows all lead to this same sense of rhythm.

The Wild Goose is a symbol going back to Celtic times. In 500 AD the Celts developed a strong sense of spiritual rhythm living by the sea in places like Lindisfarne on Holy Island in Northumberland, Iona in the western isles of Scotland, parts of Wales, Ireland and the South West. And it was here in Iona and then Lindisfarne that Christianity first came to the British Isles. The Wild Goose in Celtic Christianity is traditionally aligned to the Holy Spirit although it can’t actually be proved. It is said, “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” (John 3: 8). In Celtic tradition unlike the dove of peace, the wild goose fired up the mind and soul with song and dance and reveries of beauty. The Wild Goose is all about a spirit of adventure.

We hope Wild Goose Barn will live up to its name and be a place for coming together while offering a base for exploration and adventure. We’d like everyone who stays to receive a renewal of inner strength or ‘uplift’ as they gather with friends and family for adventures along our beautiful wild coastline.
To find out more or if you want to book a stay click here.

Scars with a story

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I am scarred, bruised and a little bit achy today. It’s been caused by a combination of activities on boats and bikes, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Were you one of those children whose knees were always bleeding or scabbed? I was. I also remember standing by the sink on numerous occasions and that awful sting when someone tries to dab them with a paper towel. Most people grow out of this. But my legs and arms chart a tale of adventures over the years, which have included a long white scar on my arm from being caught on the anchor chain of a yacht, an angry red mark on my shin from a mini cycling accident and more recently another deep scar on the other shin from tripping on ancient stone steps in Cyprus.

There have been a lot of these kinds of incidents over the years. The most memorable or dramatic from my childhood was on a cycling expedition in Kent with my brother and some friends. We were hurtling down narrow winding lanes, screaming with excitement, when suddenly a Tjunction appeared in front of us and my breaks failed to stop me. I flew off the bike and wound up with my chin impaled on a barbed wire fence and quite a lot of blood around. After being lifted off the fence, dusted down and told to ‘man-up’, I cycled slowly home and went to find my mother at the bottom of the garden. She was doing something with vegetables and I was looking for sympathy and shock. I told her the dramatic tale. She chuckled, barely glanced at my rapidly healing chin, and said it didn’t look too bad. This must be where I get my sympathetic maternal approach.

Last weekend I tested out my sailing skills in a little dinghy, which turned out to be great fun but very slippery. After sliding around in the bottom of the boat as I tried to tack the bruises were accumulating and then on a rather unplanned speedy arrival at the shore I tried to jump out neatly and grab the boat before it hit the side. After slipping on the mud and rocks as I slid out and spectacularly failing to stop the boat, I found both my knees were bleeding when I stumbled ashore.

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Yesterday two of us cycled round the path on the edge of the island. It was bumpy and very narrow at places – there was even a section a bit like a velodrome where we had to cycle fast to stay upright on a concrete bank which sloped away to the water. I thought like an Olympian, looked straight ahead and kept peddling fast. I hadn’t fallen off for several miles until we reached a gate by a marina where we had to push the bikes for a few metres. After inspecting the boats for sale I got back on as the gravel path widened and within a few seconds the wheels skidded from beneath me and I was lying on the ground with the bike on top of me. My cycle buddy was standing a few feet away holding his bike and laughing. “I saw the gravel and decided to get off,” he said… More matching scars and scrapes on my shins to join the bruises and scabs on my knees.

Now what shall I do today to make my arms blend in… mowing the lawn or cutting trees?

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