Sinterklaas

In line with Dutch tradition, Sinterklaas arrived with his black assistants (zwarte Pieten) from Spain mid November by steamboat to deliver little presents to children who set their shoes (with some food for the horse that Sinterklaas rides over the roofs of all houses) at the fireplace and who sang Sinterklaas songs before they went to sleep. Assisted by her parents Nina did all of this yesterday evening and this morning she found her efforts rewarded....On December 5th Sinterklaas celebrates his birthday and this will also be the 'grand finale' with lots of presents. Last year Nina and Anita were at the Dutch club in Chicago where Sinterklaas and his (politically correct) rainbow colored assistants delivered presents to the Dutch children. Back then Sinterklaas was way too frightening. Let's see how this year goes....

Sailing the BVI

The last 10 days we spent sailing the beautiful British Virgin Islands in a chartered sailboat. What a fantastic vacation! With 15-20 kts trade winds blowing practically every day we visited almost all of the islands while circumnavigating the main Island Tortola. When not sailing, we chased dolphins and sea turtles in our dinghy, watched pelicans hunting for fish, relaxed on quiet tropical beaches and swum around the boat. Apart from an occasional rain shower, the weather was fantastic. Nina kept us updated with the weather forecasts from Babcia. On the last day, when we were on our way returning the boat to the charter company in the capital Road town, we had to share the canal with a huge cruise ship. We will certainly return to the BVI for more sailing, but probably when the kids are a bit older. Nina and Stasiu did not completely buy the concept of living for a good week on less than 20 square meters with sweaty bedrooms and rationed water supply. The main advantage for them was to sleep every night in a cradle that was continuously rocking....