Roaming About

A Life Less Ordinary

Wordless Wednesday – Liquid

It’s been a while since I combined a Wordless Wednesday blog with the weekly prompt of the Daily Post. Since my week has been incredibly busy and I don’t have time for a regular post, I decided to share some photos with you. This week’s Daily Post photography theme is “liquid“. As many of you know, Mark and I lived, sailed, and worked on our 35’ catamaran Irie for eight years, so it will be no surprise that my liquid of choice is water.

As I’m working daily on my memoir, the memories of our experiences aboard Irie are fresh. Welcome to a visual of that period of my life!

The Galapagos Islands

My favorite activity is interacting with and observing wildlife in their natural surroundings. The Galapagos delivered!

All we had to do was look over the side of our boat…

… or jump in the water.

French Polynesia

Liquid in the form of one of the many waterfalls we encountered in paradise:

Waterfall in Fatu Hiva, Marquesas

A unique encounter with manta rays in the bay:

Snorkeling with manta rays

I’d love to be on that boat right now:

A peaceful anchorage – Can you spot Irie?

The Bahamas

Our dogs loved the water even more than us!

And, I’m finishing with one of my all-time favorite photos, in one of our all-time favorite places: Double Breasted Cays in the Abacos, Bahamas.

Liesbet, Kali, and Darwin swimming to the sand bank

What’s your liquid of choice?

52 Comments

  1. Retirement Reflections

    May 16, 2018 at 17:44

    Beautiful photos and wonderful memories, Liesbet! Thank you for sharing them. Good luck with your memoir writing!

    • Thanks, Donna. These are memories of another world, another life… But, one adventure leads to the next, so I better get this cruising one finished in writing, so I can move on, literally and figuratively. Only five days left on this house sit, so I better get my act together and finish the draft I’m working on before then. And, get the camper ready, and this house, and… 🙂

  2. Water is my choice, too, Liesbet. Thank you for sharing your beautiful photos. I love the Bahamas. The water is so clear there, the sand is light colour, and best of all, it’s only about 3 hours non-stop flight from my home city. My Wordless Wednesday post is about Spring flowers.

    • I love your flower shots, Natalie! I’ve only been to the Bahamas once, and with our own boat. I think it must be a very different feeling to fly there on vacation. It sounds so nice and worry-free. Same with the Caribbean. Maybe one day, we will return for a vacation.

  3. Wow! So beautiful! It’s hard to imagine water that clear. How nice that you are able to relive your adventures both through your memoir and your wonderful photos.

    • It’s a bittersweet thing, Janis. As you will read shortly, our life on the boat wasn’t so glamorous most of the time. Yet, when seeing the photos, the good parts jump out. And, those are the parts I miss! Surprisingly, there aren’t many places in the world where the water is gin-clear. The Bahamas is one of them, but not much of the Caribbean. The atolls of French Polynesia are another contender.

  4. You have lived some amazing adventures. Your photos are gorgeous 🙂

    • Thanks! I’m an adventure junkie, Gilda. 🙂 But, of the long-term and soft kind – calculated risks, focused on the intriguing and beautiful parts of the world.

  5. Hi Liesbet,

    Beautiful photos. The dogs look so happy.

    Water is also my choice of liquid. I love the ocean the most.

    I’m looking forward to your memoir.
    Laura

    • Our dogs had a good life, but we miss them dearly! As far as the ocean goes, I have a love/hate relationship with it. Just like with this country (the US). Why all that is will become clear in my memoir. Hopefully, I get it finished this year. 🙂

  6. So beautiful and refreshing – I need to get back to an ocean soon!

    • The ocean has a draw that is sometimes hard to explain. What I miss most about it, is the sound of the waves. And, the snorkeling in clear lagoons, but that is technically not the ocean. The ocean can be a stubborn beast and a tough cookie, when you are a part of it… Do you have any plans to get to an ocean soon, Lexie?

      • I get to the Atlantic coast at least once or twice a year, but I’m not sure when I’ll go next. I have a grand scheme to try and visit Lisa D in Madagascar in August, but the planning is daunting … we shall see!

        • Visiting Lisa would be beyond awesome, Lexie, especially since it didn’t work out in Asia. That would make me extremely jealous. And, you’ll definitely get your “water fix” if you stay on Amandla! Keeping my fingers crossed that the logistics work out. Madagascar sounds like a fascinating country. Please, keep me in the loop about your plans.

  7. Hey Liesbet! What great photos. The water is AMAING and it looks like the dogs had great fun. I doubt Kloe would have liked it all…she isn’t a water dog…but she would have enjoyed sitting on the edge of the boat and watching us for sure. Thanks for sharing. ~Kathy

    • Thanks, Kathy. I think the best thing about our dogs’ lives was that they were with us 24/7, most of their lives. They loved swimming, and playing on the beaches, but in some areas of the world (namely Central America and the Dominican Republic), it was very hot for them. If Kloe doesn’t like the water, she would have a hard time staying cool in those areas. And, on a boat, it’s not that you have a lot of fresh water to spare. She’ll be happy in your beach house at the cool coast, I assume! 🙂

  8. Those are all awesome pictures. Water is obviously THE vital liquid for the planet and our health, but if you asked me which liquid I’d prefer to drink you might get a different answer!

    • Haha! What is your favorite beverage, Anabel? When you say “A”, you have to say “B”.

      Mine used to be rum & coke, but now, my teeth cringe after two sips of a beverage as sweet as coke. I like Porto and my favorite cocktail is pina colada or coconut run and pineapple juice. But, since all that is fancy and expensive, in my humbled life, I usually stick to red wine. Your turn!

      • Red wine is an excellent choice and is my favourite tipple too. However, at the moment we are actually having some warm weather and I am enjoying a nice cold beer! It’s World Whisky Day today too, so I might enjoy a wee dram after dinner. In Gaelic Uisge Beatha (water of life) so i’ve come full circle.

        • Enjoy your variety of drinks this weekend! We’re on to margaritas tonight, since I’ve been craving some Mexican food, and we have to finish most of our tequila before we move in the camper. No freezer means no ice cubes, means no margaritas once we live on the road again! 🙂

  9. Oh, I love these photos, Liesbet. Take me there now, right this minute! 🙂

    • If it would be that easy! 🙂 I”d love to go back as well, if we can cut the expensive flights, or long boat journeys, and, mostly, if we can skip all the boat projects!

  10. Oh wow! These photos are amazing! I feel like I just took a mini vacation. Thanks, Liesbet! Water is my choice liquid..it’s all I drink…well, wine, too. 🙂

    • I’m with you, water and wine are the staple drinks that touch my lips. Wine usually only in the weekend, except when we’ve had a tough day at work, which seems to happen often these days… I’m glad you enjoyed the photos, Jill. How different our life was back then. But, we gave it up for convenience and comfort (to work) and have no regrets!

  11. Water is also my chosen liquid, Liesbet, and those specific waters you’ve shared in particular. They all look like wonderfully idyllic spots. I’d love to visit any of them, but perhaps especially the Galapagos so I could hang out with my buddies, the sea turtles.

    • Luckily, you don’t have to go as far as the Galapagos to see and swim with sea turtles, Karen. We’ve had plenty of chances to snorkel with them in the Caribbean. Martinique and the Grenadines come to mind. That being said, I’d recommend any animal lover to visit the Galapagos at some point in their lives. That place is fantastic! I could show you photos of penguins, blue-footed boobies, tortoises, sharks, different rays, sea lions… for quite some time. A stop there, while expensive, was a highlight of our eight years on the water.

  12. Your dogs look like they are having a blast. Swimming with manta rays would be cool.

    • Swimming with manta rays is truly an experience of a lifetime, Alex. We really lucked out with their unexpected visit to this particular bay. All we had to do was jump off our sailboat and float… Majestic.

      Our dogs did have quite a unique, loved, and happy life. They traveled to more countries than the average American ever will. 🙂

  13. I love the pictures of the dogs in the water. We had a dog who used to love swimming too.

    • Yeah… missing those two. They were the best! Adorable, smart, goofy. We will have a hard time replacing them.

  14. Liquid Joy!

  15. Wonderful images and memories Liesbet, the water looks so crystal clear and the wildlife is amazing. Thank you so much for sharing these and good luck with your writing! :o) xxx

    • Thanks, Xenia. I can’t wait to head back into nature. Although, with Zesty, it will be on another level, and different animals. 🙂 We might even get dogs again.

  16. Incredibly beautiful, Liesbet! Love the perspective looking up into the waterfall!

    • Thanks, Terri. As you can imagine, I have thousands of images of our travels that I’m fond of. If only I had time to focus more on photography, or Instagram. But, as it is, the writing (and translations) takes up all my time. And, soon, travel again. Life is too short!!

  17. The dogs look so happy in the sea. They’re wearing a sort of ‘didn’t I do well, landing here?’ expression. 🙂 🙂

    • They were the most amazing (and lucky, and happy) dogs in the world, Jo. We still miss them heaps, after all those years, and know we’ll never be able to replace them. We will try one day, though, and take our new “adoptees” on their own adventures. 🙂

  18. Amazing photos of some wonderful places. You obviously love the water a lot. Wouldn’t mind visiting a few of those locations myself.

    • Thanks, Jon. Having sailed for eight years, I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with the water, at least this kind of salt water. 🙂 The photos resemble the love relationship – the opposite feelings come in extremes. At the moment, I wouldn’t mind returning to some of these places as well.

      It looks like you guys are quite the travelers as well. I’m looking forward to checking out your blog one of these days. Ever thought about house sitting internationally in between vagabonding?

      • Funny you should say that, we’re actively looking into international housesitting at the moment. Got a few offers currently and trying to plan next year a bit.

        • That’s fantastic! Such a great (and cheap/free) way to stay in different areas and immerse into the cultures. And, get a pet-fix. 🙂

  19. What astounding memories Liesbet. That turquoise water is calling to me. It looks like your dogs loved it too.

    • What is so amazing, Sue, is that one of the highlights of our eight years on the boat was the Bahamas. Right across from the Gulf Stream and not that far at all. If it wasn’t for the cold fonts, coming from your very own country, it would be the perfect winter destination. 🙂

  20. The colour of the water in the Bahamas is astonishing. I remember the ocean in Barbados and in Cozumel had an amazing turquoise colour. I snorkelled in Cozumel and did a diving lesson in Barbados – loved seeing the life underwater!

    Jude

    • I bet the water is similar in Barbados and Cozumel. I’ve never been to those islands, but I remember certain beaches on the Caribbean side of the Yucatan, across from Cozumel, being bright white and bordering aquamarine waters like these in the Bahamas. Fabulous! Most areas are not as shallow, though.

  21. What great photography, Liesbet. The colour of the water makes it look so inviting (even to me – a non-swimmer). You’ve visited some amazing places.
    If I had to pick a favourite liquid, it would be the frozen variety on an ice lolly, especially if it’s covered in milk chocolate.

    • Thanks, Hugh. I could look at these water colors forever (and I did from our sailboat, for many years). The water in the Bahamas is pretty cold, though, compared to other beach and island destinations we visited. That and the cold fronts from Canada bringing adverse wind (shooing all the boats to protected harbors) are the only negatives about the Bahamas in winter. Summer might be more attractive, except for the hurricanes. Your favorite liquid sounds yummy by the way!

  22. Gorgeous photos Liesbet. I can only imagine the beautiful times you’ve had that went with those photos. 🙂 My liquid of choice? I’ll have a margarita please. LOL 🙂 x

    • Hurrah for margaritas! We just finished our tequila, since we don’t have a freezer (for ice) in our camper, so I’m worried it will be a while before we have our next margarita. Mark has a fantastic recipe, by the way. We’ll have to make you one of these sometime!

      As with every lifestyle, there are good times and bad times. These photos to resemble some of the better times, for sure! 🙂

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