Enjoying the warmth in Florida now☀️☀️☀️.

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  On our way we stopped at the quaint little town of Saint Augustine, a former Spanish colonial Outpost that has kept its rich historical past very well preserved.



We met with Steve Johnson, a colleague of Muriel from P&W who happened to be vacationing for a few days at his place there.



In Florida, we set our “base camp” at our friends Fred and Marc beautiful house in Vero Beach.

Real fact: after our hiking adventures, it took a double wash to get a decent smell back on our clothes! 😁😁

Besides abusing our friend’s washer and dryer, we spoil ourselves in comfort and luxury for a few days. Fred has a horse, Jimmy, and Muriel enjoys it!



They also have a great home with a semi indoor pool! And we all enjoy it!



That's a frame with bug screen, so the home is kept wide open. Vero Beach is going through a heat wave and temperature is reaching the 80ies!



After a couple of days of farniente we go for a kayak tour at the Round Island State Park. We're impressed by the manatees that swim very close to us. We paddle to a couple of “spoil islands” that simply exist because they are the piles of dirt digged to create the intracoastal water way. On our way back dolphins get close enough we can hear them breathe. Cool!



Plans are changing: Marc and Fred are inviting us to go to the Bahamas in a couple of weeks on their 44ft Hunter sailboat. It's an offer hard to refuse, even for Muriel who's easily subject to seasickness.

So we start preparing the trip: adding extra water and gas containers, etc.

The one thing Joao will be missing is his windsurfing gear! No luck finding any for rent.


We also prepare for our next hike: crossing the Apalachicola National Forest using the Florida Trail; at least 5 days backpacking in autonomy to cover about 70 miles. More on the next blog!

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