Logbook and Photos

Update 13 - Christmas & Final Update 2006 from Canada

(Reprint of our recent newsletter sent to family and friends)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all, from the heart of a Canadian winter. We hope this final update from the crew of TIOGA finds you all enjoying another festive season with family and friends.

It's hard to believe the changes we have undergone since our August update from Paris. As you may recall, we had taken down our mast in the south of France and were motoring north through France towards Belgium and ultimately Holland. The canals north of Paris were very busy with commercial barge traffic and far less quaint than the ones to the south so we moved fairly quickly through Belgium into Holland. We left TIOGA for a road trip into the battlefields of World War I and even stood on the spot the famous Red Baron took his last breath. Standing in the trenches of the front line and visiting war memorial after war memorial was shocking to say the least and was probably one of the most moving experiences of our trip. Our time in Holland visiting relatives was special and allowed Joel and Gerrit a chance to create a bond that will keep the Dutch/Canadian connection strong. Another highlight of Holland was a visit from Chris' mom for our final two weeks on board TIOGA including a pleasant visit to Amsterdam. In late October, after three weeks of unloading 5 years of STUFF and shipping 18 boxes via post to Canada, we sadly left TIOGA, just north of Amsterdam with a yacht broker for sale. With 5 weeks to go before our Dec-2 flight home from Manchester, UK to Calgary, Canada, we decided to squeeze in a quick trip to Oslo, Norway to visit old neighbors from Calgary as well as s/v Stroller, a great sailing family we had spent time with in Seville, Spain. After a great week in Norway, it was back to Holland for final farewells before taking the high-speed catamaran across the English Channel to England. Between a week in London and two weeks zig-zagging across the country in a rental car to visit Chris' relatives, we really finished off our trip with a bang! We even unexpectedly spend a day in Wales!

After all that - after visiting 32 countries over 55 months - we are officially landlubbers back in Alberta, Canada once again. The day after we landed we were welcomed home by a great blizzard that had us battling snow at Sheila's family farm for two days! Oh well, the boys couldn't have been happier playing in the snow with their cousins and snowmobiles while Chris cleared snow.

Well, we are slowly getting used to being 'The Richards' family again, rather than 'The Tiogans'. Until we make some decisions as to where we want to live, we will continue to home school Joel (grade 7) and Gerrit (grade 5). Currently, both the cities of Red Deer (80,000 people) and Calgary (1,000,000+) are in the running, each offering their own set of pros and cons. Chris has begun a preliminary job search in both cities and the job market is extremely strong so no worries there. We'll keep you posted!

We are currently completing our website travel logs since Paris, but at least our position report shows us back in Canada! Where does all the time go? Check back in January for the closing chapters of this life adventure at www.tiogaadventures.com.

In closing, we look forward to catching up with you over the next few months or crossing paths with you over the ensuing years. We will be in Alberta for the foreseeable future, a fine place to visit - our house is your house should you come our way. Until then, have a wonderful and warm Christmas Season and all the best in the 2007!

Sheila, Chris, Joel and Gerrit 'The Richards' +1 403 614 2003(new mobile) Richards@tiogaadventures.com

…and our new van with this year's Christmas tree

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