I write this while waiting for our engine to be serviced, or more accurately, serviced again. I’m also waiting for my heart rate and breathing to slow. Neil and I just battled a concrete barrier wall that would have roughed up the boat had we not worked together under tense circumstances. We came away mostly unscathed but pretty dang stressed.

I’ll back up. We are in Ajaccio, Corsica (birthplace of Napoleon) and, while here, we arranged for routine service on our two Volvo engines. Service seemed to go fine, but much to our shock, as we navigated out of the tight marina this morning, one of our freshly serviced engines died. In a boat like ours, both engines are necessary for control at low speed. It was scary, but fortunately Neil was able to keep us safely away from other boats and called for a tow. Unfortunately, the wind insisted on blowing us in the direction of a massive concrete barrier wall while we waited. Neil did a great job at the helm, while I made use of fenders, lines, and muscle to keep contact with the wall to a minimum. We finally made it safely back to the dock with some assistance and are now anxiously awaiting more information. The sweet and remorseful mechanic seems to think that a bad batch of fuel filters is to blame and is off looking for a new one. Deep breath.

Even before this scare, I was planning to write a blog post about highs and lows. This morning’s drama was not our only recent close call. But first, some good stuff. Our last blog post ended with the departure of the boys in Barcelona. After that, we had a very peaceful sail back to Mallorca, which included an incredible sunset at the beginning of my night shift. We arrived back in Mallorca in one of the sweetest little towns we’ve seen, Port de Sóller. It is a seaside village full of cute European families playing on the beach and eating ice-cream. The port town is connected by a wooden tram to its sister village, Soller, in the mountains. The whole experience felt like stepping back in time to what the Mediterranean may have been like a century ago.

Unfortunately, we were not the only boaters enamored with this spot. Each night the anchorage filled with boats anchored very close to one another. One such night, we were eating dinner in the cockpit and became alarmed by how close a couple of boats were. It felt like they were about to hit us. It turns out that we were about to hit them because our anchor had been compromised! Once we realized, we flew into action and managed to get the boat started and avoid hitting some stern Frenchmen anxiously standing at their bow. Once the dust settled it became clear that a new boat in the anchorage had lifted our anchor while they were trying to set their own in close quarters. The responsible captain, a sweet father from Dublin, rushed over in his dinghy to explain. The next morning he delivered pastries to us to make amends. All is well, but we are still unnerved to think of what would have happened if we hadn’t been vigilant, or worse yet, had been off the boat when this happened.

We couldn’t dwell on the what-ifs for too long because it was time to head to Palma, the capital of Mallorca, to collect our next two visitors. My girlie soulmate, Chrys Sullivan, and her daughter Annie joined us for a fabulous 8-night visit. We saw the sights of beautiful Palma together and enjoyed some tasty seafood.

and then enjoyed days of fun lively sails, and beautiful beaches. Together, we visited a small island nature reserve called Calabria. The bay in Calabria was so sheltered and quiet, that it almost felt like a lake of crystal clear water. We were able to swim, snorkel, paddle board, and relax. The morning I circumnavigated the bay on my paddle board was as close to “zero-cortisol” as I can get. Chrys and Annie were great guests, it was sad to see them go.

It was also time for us to say goodbye to Spain. We loved our 9 weeks of Spanish culture and landscape, but other countries were calling. A 60-hour sail, during which we saw dolphins, sea turtles, and lots of bioluminescence, ended at a beautiful anchorage on French Corsica. Corsica is a mountainous wooded island, and our first anchorage had a pretty beach and hiking trails. I enjoyed a great hike to a tower at sunset.

And all of that brings us here… to Ajaccio, where the mechanic has now replaced three filters and all have leaked. It seems that the filter mount is out of alignment and that there is a bigger fix in store. Money and time are at stake but we are safe and sound and just have to be patient. We knew going into this adventure that the highs and lows would be exaggerated in comparison to land life. In a weird way, it’s good to start getting some of this under our belts.