Ringing in 2006!

The Sinclairs - the Mountains - Gran Canaria

Hola! We had a great Christmas and New Year while staying in the port of Las Palmas on the island of Gran Canaria! We had a great Christmas dinner with our friends from the sail boat Gilana. Laura and Mike and their 17 year old daughter Liz joined us for our four course meal.

We started with appetizers of shrimp with aioli sauce and fresh bread! Our second course included a “Jeanne-Dorf” salad with crumbled cheese and balsamic dressing; in addition we had an Asian style spicy cucumber salad. Our third course included cumin carrots, green beans with ham, cheesy broccoli and cauliflower, herbed potatoes and a roasted turkey. For desert we had palmeras “elephant ears,” Laura’s English Plum Pudding with custard, and chocolate pastry treats! Our bellies were full!

Christmas came to "Quest"

Jack, the dock angel from Gilana!

We rented a car for a few days and drove to the mountains to see the interior of the island of Gran Canaria. The day we traveled was windy and chilly. The mountain air was a refreshing change from the port town of Las Palmas.

While we were in the mountains we stopped for lunch and had the “Menu del Dia.” In Spain it is normal for people to have a great lunch with a glass of wine for about $7.00. We had a choice of soup or salad for starters. The main course we could have a steak of tuna or curry chicken. And for desert you always have a choice of flan but all of us chose to have chocolate mousse.

For the New Year we were invited to dinner aboard Gilana. Laura made some lovely appetizers of dates wrapped in bacon, garlic bread, and black olive spread. We had salad along with our main course Lasagna. For desert we had a chocolate orange mousse and a fire works show that lasted until 15 minutes after midnight.

Our harbor was going crazy with horns from the commercial and cruise ships in port. The sounds were really melodious. Jeff and I went to bed around 0100am but the party on the docks went until 0500am.

Quest & Gilana sharing New Years aboard Gilana!
Since we have been in port since the middle of December we have been spending some time in the local establishments. One that we have frequented is called “Cheers.” We have tried it for lunch and dinner however we like visiting in the evening most when Norm and Woody are present. We have a great time trying to communicate with the “Spanish Only” speaking employees. Jeff and I have been given nicknames of Jane & Tarzan from California. We in turn have given the bartender Octavio the nick name of Elvis. Alicia is the server and we have nick named the manager, Don Johnson. They are truly wonderful people who have welcomed us as locals. In turn we have burned them music cds and surpassed our eating out budget! It is not what you know, but who you know.

Alicia y "Elvis" Octavio - Cheers!

Jeff, Don Johnson, Alicia, Octavio, Jeanne, Chef

We’ll be departing this lovely port town in a few days. We’ll be crossing the Atlantic. It usually takes between 18 and 24 days depending on the trade winds. We are expecting landfall in Antigua around January 22 – 25. We hope all of you will enjoy tracking us via satellite. Drop us a note so we have something to read when we get to the other side!