What a fantastic reception at Bruinisse! When we enter the lock halfway through the Keeten, a very fast motorboat suddenly comes towards us ... is that customs or ...? No, Ralph and Chris surprise us with a reception! Once we arrive at the lock, family and friends are shouting and waving. How very nice and welcome that feels !!!! They even decorated the lock gates with beautiful banners and a place of honour in front of us! A very warm welcome!!!!!
And then through the lock and there's Bruinisse's new marina! We don't know it back after a year. Simon (the harbour master) allowed us to moor the Brandaan on the floating terrace of the new restaurant. There's no better place to have an arrival drink! All family and friends see the boat, climb on it and explore how we have been living on that boat all year!
And after that a drink, we must not forget that it is also beautiful summer weather and we sit outside on the terrace overlooking our beautiful and brave boat telling, telling and telling ... not everyone we have been able to speak at length (and also some family and friends are still on holiday), but we will make up for that in the coming weeks!
It was a wonderful sailing trip and such a fantastic welcome fits in perfectly with that!
Simon has taken care of everything for us; we received the car the day before so we can drive again, a great spot in the harbour with new pennants for the mast! Because there's not much to see on the Brandaan that there are 15,000 miles more on the counter, except for our old pennants that we deliberately left hanging ... there are only a few wires left.
Thank you all very much for this fantastic welcome!!!!!!
Well, then back home in such a big house (too big according to Mira 😉 . Ellen thank you for all the good care of the house and cleaning. We can roll in our bed, and that's great because we were only home at 01.30! The girls had some trouble with the large room so after a while they were awake but nice together in 1 room, just like on the boat.
It doesn't feel quite 'home' yet, but that is starting to come more and more by the hour and won't last long. It still feels a bit like being 'in between' two worlds .... the sailing trip has ended and life here is not yet fully underway. A strange sensation that also belongs to this trip. The girls are more flexible than us ... they are already playing with their friends and find it totally fine to be back. Anyway, we look back on a fantastic year with many wonderful memories. Here we can tout for a long time to come!
This is 'provisionally' our last travelogue... why provisionally? Well, this trip definitely tastes like more. So you never know what the future's gonna bring. Thank you all very much for reading, reacting and following our journey so faithfully!!!!
Hi Mira and Toin and the kids.
Welcome home! I really enjoyed your reports and photo's. I'm gonna miss them.
I hope to see you at Achmea's again soon.
Greetings Bernard van Gils
Happy homecoming with you! It's a good thing you're back, even though I would have given you a longer trip. In any case, have fun rediscovering your home in the Netherlands.
Goodbye, Jaap Lock
We had a lot of fun following your journey over the past year.
It has gone as we can judge without major problems (fortunately). A fantastic memory and an enormous experience for both you and the children.
I hope you can regain your rhythm, but this experience takes no one away from you.
Thanks for the nice travel reports and photo albums.
Goodbye
Rinus & Marjanne Krijnen
Hello Mira and Toine.
Welcome home.
I've read all your reports over the past year and found it all very impressive. Apart from the sailing terminology (water is not my thing), I found the local descriptions, discoveries, exciting moments on the boat and the encounters very interesting to follow.
It will take some effort to do 'normal' again.
Thanks for the travel reports.
Wim Adriaansen
Hi Mira and Toine,
What a fantastic year. The empathy was sometimes like reading an exciting adventure book in which we couldn't control the pace of reading ourselves. (Sometimes you want to read a bit faster or more when it gets really exciting).
Welcome home! Unfortunately everything comes to an end, but there is also a new beginning attached to it!
Thanks for all the updates!
greetings,
Alex Cords
Hi, Brandaan family.
We spoke to you with "Brandaan" because that was your name in our contacts with our loved ones of the Barbarossa. We were loyal readers of your blog, because we came to know more about them than they told us about themselves. Without going into details, we have noticed that you have been a great support to them, both in a personal and a material sense. We are more than grateful to you for that. Thank you very much. Loek and Reed.
Hello,
We'd love to get in touch with you. We have such sailing plans and are curious how you eea. have arranged with the compulsory education officer and school. Unsubscribe from the GBA, for example. Would be great if you would like to share your experiences. Thanks in advance.
Suzanne Cook
swjkok@xs4all.nl