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Fun Stuff

The Beautiful Chaos of Havana, Part 2…

Rainbow over El Malecon - click on any photo to see the full Album on Facebook!

Part 1 can be found here.

After a few days in Havana, I discovered myself getting vaguely comfortable with how daily life worked. The routine was both basic and comfortable. Have my breakfast, usually consisting of some pressed black-market ham and cheese, and some rather dry toasted bread. Get the espresso pot going with some of Karen’s good black-market Venezuelan coffee. I’d then walk over to the living room and click on the rather large flat-screen and watch some state-TV news, which was usually all that was on during the morning.

Unfortunately it was quite boring and a bit on the sugar-coated side. If you were to believe all the feature stories, Cuba’s government was: actively patching up all its potholed roads; fixing schools; installing traffic lights in dangerous intersections; and ensuring that all citizens have adequate transit service to and from work. (more…)

Intrepid ‘Andiamo’ from Phil’s Eyes.

Great shot by Phil, check out more on his FB album by clicking the link!

This is one of many future contributions Phil will be making to the Andiamo Blog. I’ll be setting up his own section on the site once he builds up a bit of an article count…

Tony invited me to pitch up in Panama and see if i could help with running some of his sought after trips. I’m Phil, Philip Morris, as in the cigarettes but not part of it! Done some sailing and a bit of world living & travel. Panama is good. Panama is different. Its in that crazy sort of untamed way that you LIKE to see when you need to escape from too much civilisation. So…also…getting your gear together and charging out to Andiamo for an island break heightens this appeal. (more…)

… think I’ll buy me a football team…

The Mighty FC Gildan, before their semi-final match...

A couple of months back, Dino, Andiamo’s fearless Kuna crewman, came and asked me a favor on behalf of his home island’s soccer club. For the first time in a few years, his club’s team qualified for the Kuna Yala soccer championship tournament. (more…)

Flattery will get you everywhere with me…

Edin, and his Arctic beauties.

Edin and Laura, a cool British couple who sailed Andiamo last year, shared some nice pics of some lobster that they cooked up for Edin’s recent birthday. What was particularly nice and flattering about this was that they cooked the lobster “ala Tony” using my personal recipe that I do often on Andiamo. (more…)

A Flattering Andiamo Haiku… :)

Alex Langley, a grad student who recently came aboard Andiamo with his merry band of colleagues, sent me this little haiku not too long ago… 🙂

Through clear blue waters
the bow slices straight and true
The Andiamo!

A Bad case of SWS (Snorkeling Withdrawal Syndrome)…

Vicky, a recent guest from Nebraska, sent me this disturbing photo of her husband Bob, having the dreaded Snorkeling Withdrawal Syndrome (SWS). This is by far the worst case I’ve ever seen in all my years. And being in Nebraska in the winter, it can only exacerbate the condition. As can plainly be seen in this picture. Our hearts go out to Vicky and Bob, and we can only hope that he snaps out of it. That or at the very least that they have a spring thaw and FAST! ;p

This is just too sad... Don't let this happen to you. Get Help!

Be Afraid. Be VERY Afraid…

The dreaded Babyhead... don't gaze into its beady eyes!

The dreaded Babyhead... don't gaze into its beady eyes!

Despite the rather rocky beginning for the last trip, things appeared to be blissful and happy aboard Andiamo. The sun was shining, the dreadful rain that had been pounding San Blas for several previous days had finally ceded. All the guests were surprisingly upbeat and ready for their sailing adventure despite their late arrival to Andiamo due to endless problems with their 4×4 ride over. (more…)