Blue Fern Adventures

Tag: Getting started

Are our stars aligning? Or déjà vu?

The build-up

Recently it was announced that our airport would remain shut for an additional 30 days to 30 September but that bi-weekly flights to Gatwick were in the works. The press release from the Governor’s office stated “My team is actively working with BA about a fortnightly flight for the next couple of months starting in mid-September. As the press release said, discussions are at an advanced stage.”

So we have a tentative departure date (mid-September) and Europe is managing its increased cases. It also means we have approximately five weeks to complete all our To-Do List items. While progress has been made in the last few months, it’s still a daunting task!

Or will we get close to departure only to find that lockdowns are announced and that we are back to square one?

Keeping following us (we’re on FaceBook and Instagram too) to find out what happens!

We have a motorhome

The build-up
Motorhome arriving in Veron

Our new motorhome has arrived at Euro Camping Cars today! We have a motorhome!

This means that the itchiness to start our travels increased 100%!

But at home we still don’t have an open airport. And we still have a lots of loose ends to tie up at home. So it will still be a while before we see the motorhome for ourselves.

As soon as Amelia saw the photograph she pointed to the area above the cab and exclaimed “My bed!”

Enough posting on our blog, I have a To-Do list to work through; I don’t want to be the one who is responsible for delaying the start of our travels!

As we come to the end of May

The build-up

We still in our holding pattern; some things have changed but many have not.

Before the end of the pandemic, Gary had submitted his resignation effective 31 May so he is in his last week at work. He plans to enjoy being a stay-at-home Dad before taking on his new responsibilities of chemical toilet emptier and chief chauffeur!

The production date of the motorhome has been pushed to early July as the factory had been closed for a while.

Playing in the rain
Playing in the rain

Amelia has been taking the shelter in place restrictions. Yes, there was disappointment when the complex’s pool and followed by the beaches were closed. Luckily those have re-opened. Amelia had been looking forward to being home-schooled so her education has progressed well. Her maths, writing and reading have all come along well and she has developed a sense of humour! Plus she and Daddy have been riding bikes most days so her cycling skills have improved too. Did I mention she is also an expert on Zoom (she has 3, sometimes 4, school Zoom calls a day).

We are waiting to see when Europe opens its external borders and to see how the different countries fare as they ease the lockdown restrictions. We are hoping that we can depart sometime in September or October.

We’re in a holding pattern

The build-up

Wow! How the world has changed in the last two weeks since the last update! And unfortunately the vast majority of the change has not been for the better.

The Cayman government has been very proactive. Schools were immediately closed and cruise ships were not allowed to dock. This has been followed by shutting the airport, asking people to work from home and banning gatherings to an evening curfew (which will run for 2 weeks) to a 2 1/2 day lock-down. The lock-down eases tomorrow and we will have a 10-day ‘shelter at home’ order (soft curfew).

This hammer approach appears to have worked and we have one potential local transmission of Covid-19.

The motorhome is scheduled to be built in Germany and collected from a dealership in France. Plus to fly to Paris we need to transit through the US.

So it is looking like the trip’s commencement date will be delayed. Given how fluid the situation is and how quickly things change, we are not thinking about when we will start the trip. Luckily the trip will be long enough that a few months delay isn’t the end of the world. Image if we had only decided to travel for a year.

Flightfeeder tracking
Drop in number of planes spotted is remarkable

In the attic I have a FlightFeeder , a device that listens for radio signals from ADS-B aircraft transponders and decodes them to determine aircraft positions. The global airline shutdown can be seen here in the Caribbean. The FlightFeeder recorded 439 aircraft on Saturday, 14 March (Saturdays typically record the most aircraft) to a low of 71 aircraft today! Cayman shut its airport on Sunday, 15 March, and other countries in the Caribbean and Central America shut their airports over the next week.

Let’s do our part to help the world and flatten the curve before we worry about travelling.

Breaking the news to my colleagues

The build-up
Breaking the news to Gary's colleagues

Gary used this world cloud art to break the news to his colleagues that he was leaving. People got close to figuring out his riddle which is impressive given we live on an island and hardly see a motorhome!

There were a lot of “Wait, what did he just say?” followed by “Can I be your porter/chef/baby-sitter/insert your role here?”

The cloud art contains details on our vehicle, and route/places we plan to visit.