Home and Away

The end of my time in Costa Rica was wonderful and too short. It was full of goodbyes and promises of staying in touch, which I hope will be fulfilled. I traveled for a week with Greg, Calvin, Justin, and a friend of Calvin's to visit Jessie and her family in Samara, and also spent some time with Kat in San José which was wonderful. We spent a few nights at the Costa Rica Backpackers which is a fun and social hostel near school. Nate came to visit and I got to introduce him to the Catalinas and bring him to Nosara, my favorite place. Leaving was sad but I know I'll be back, it's just a matter of when.

Going home brought a flurry of activity. I took a Wilderness First Responder course at SOLO in New Hampshire and learned a ton and made some wonderful friends. I would wholeheartedly recommend this program to anyone and everyone, even if you don't have a specific trip to plan for, a lot of the medical knowledge is useful in everyday situations and I feel far more prepared to deal with surprises although I hope I don't have to. The lessons in the classroom were informative and everything learned was practiced in the field. 

I also got to visit Mamie and the Bobbitts in North Carolina, and see Chapel Hill with my cousin Julia! It's wonderful to be with family again.

Then came the Newport to Bermuda Race, aboard Dave Caso's Cherubini 44 "Silhouette" with dad, Uncle Ned, my cousin Teddy, Dave (of course), and Terry Watson. It was a rough trip to say the least. I got seasick for my first time and I can't thank the crew enough for helping me out and being there for me over that night. The trip in general (other than that night) was great and I had a lot of fun. We arrived in Bermuda in more or less in one piece and smiling.

Then came the much-awaited Trans-Atlantic aboard the MacNeil family's Morris 48. We kept a blog as a crew (I did most of the writing) and I am going to transfer it here. I will note authors where appropriate.

Thank you for reading!

Eleanor