Second time lucky! Arrival in Europe

We've finally arrived back in Europe after switching boats in St Maarten. On the boat,  Mel led a daily yoga practice which Steve and 8 other passengers regularly joined in with.  Steve became quite jealous at the delicious and abundant food Mel got served after she'd explained to the chefs what was needed for a balanced vegan diet! The delay and change of European arrival port (Lisbon instead of Malaga) meant missing out on some days with Steve's parents who were meeting us in Malaga. When we eventually arrived there,  we were surprised to find Steve's sister,  nephew and niece there too! Luckily we still had a few days to enjoy the beach together before they headed home. We are now on a train to Santander where we will catch the final boat of our journey - the Santander to Portsmouth ferry. Stop press! While writing this we received a text saying our ferry has been cancelled due to a technical problem! We'll keep you posted on the alternative route we take.

Annnnnnd...........back to sant maarten

Last Saturday we sailed away aboard the Star Flyer (shown below, dwarfed by other cruise ships) headed for Spain. The wind was blowing against us so we used the engine.  Unfortunately, 3 days out, something on the drive shaft broke.  After bobbing around for a bit, the engineers decided that they couldn't fix the problem at sea and, therefore, we had to hoist full sail and return to sant Maarten. So now, a week after leaving, we're back where we started! The Royal Clipper (the ship we came out to the Caribbean on) has been diverted to pick us up and take us to Portugal. Still, on the upside, we get an extra 2 days in the Caribbean. Everybody is in

good spirits and most people have chosen to switch over to the clipper (they could have had a flight home instead). Worse things happen at sea!