I'm still alive!!

July 15, 2009 Korinthos, Greece
Ahhhh man it’s been a while since I’ve written!! So let’s see, since my last entry I sailed up through the Suez Canal, across the Med passing Cyprus and over to Alanya, Turkey. I had another crew position lined up already, starting mid June so that left me with about 6 weeks or so to play in Turkey! I found a couple of really rad guys in Izmir to stay with, and we had a really amazing time.
I was able to travel around quite a lot and really see the country. Some Italian and Finnish friends and I rented a car and took off down the coast for a ten day camping road trip to Olimpos, then Cappadocia and finally Pammukale. Really incredible places!! We also visited the ancient city of Ephesus as well as the resting home of the Virgin Mary.
After our road trip I set off for Istanbul and spent a good 8 days playing and seeing all of the crazy historical sights. It is definitely one hell of a town!
On June 12th I said goodbye to my friends in Izmir and took a bus to Kuşadasi, where I met up with John the captain of Galene. The boat had been out of the water for about 18 months so we spent a week straight getting it all put back together and ready for the water. We finally launched and took off for Greece! Since then we’ve been slowly cruising through the Islands of the Aegean making our way west. The plan as of now is to take the ship back to Australia via Gibraltar, then across the Atlantic to the Caribbean, through the Panama Canal and then across the Pacific. I’m planning to join John for the whole trip, but you just never know what will happen so I guess we’ll see!! It will definitely be an epic adventure.

So I’ve been gone for almost 7 months now and I’ve learned a lot of things. I’ve had a lot of time to think and I have a few suggestions for a happy life. Please let me know if you have any comments.
1) SMILE
2) Always make funny faces at small children when their parents aren’t looking
3) Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables
4) Make music whenever possible!!
5) Drink plenty of water and beer, stay away from wine that comes in old water bottles
6) Ahamdulellah
7) Read Ecclesiastes!!
8) Whistle while you work
9) Please don’t litter
10) Lavaş Lavaş!

Love Willy