Hey, y’all! Just a quick update from the Vacilando crew. I know we’re not sailing or posting regularly but I still have some serious love for my Vacilando peeps and our time aboard. We met some of our best friends while cruising and treasure those days but, as you well know, life is about change. […]
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Until the Sand Runs Out
After 20 of the most uncomfortable travel hours I may have ever encountered, the bus squealed to a halt under a concrete mezzanine. Masked passengers shuffled, single file. A crisp, pre-dawn air replaced the barnyard atmosphere and, within minutes, I found myself rummaging through bags of luggage in search of my buried bike. Panic rose […]

Not gone. Not lost. Just…different
Where do I even begin? How about with an email from one of our readers. “Chris and Melody, It has been a long, long time since your last blog post. I hope all is well with you both and just wonder if you have any updates to your journey. Your posts are always quite interesting. […]

Epic Road Trip Part 2: We’re all just one, BIG pop art installation
Did you know that Arby’s got it’s name simply by spelling out the “R” and the “B” as in, Roast Beef? Profound, right? And it’s just one example of our drive-time conversations. We can cover a variety of topics on any given day. How do dolphin sleep? What kind of bird is that? What animal […]

Our Epic Road Trip, Part 1: Gravel or Gold
“You’re driving to Mexico?” “Yes.” “Why the hell do you want to do that?” How do I begin? Where… do I begin? I guess I’ll begin by telling you that I’m gonna break this post into three parts. There’s simply too much to cover. I knew when we told people we were taking a month […]

Filling in the blanks
Every once in a while, I go back and read through some of my old posts to make sure I’m not repeating myself or rehashing the same old stuff. You know, like those GQ or Cosmo pieces that come out every year; 10 Secrets to Rock-Hard Abs or The Art of Getting It On. Actually, I should […]

We tried. We really did
At this point, Melody and I should know if we utter the phrase let’s just rent an apartment for a while and regroup, things are about to get hairy. We said it when we sold the boat in Guatemala (2017). Our little band of nomads ended up meandering through Central America and Mexico for nearly two-years. […]

Jet on a Jet!
Your International flight leaves at 6 am and you have to be at the airport two hours earlier. That means a departure from your hotel at 3:30 am. When you arrive at the airport, you find only customs and security agents. Every concession stand is dark. That means no coffee. Still, in spite of this, […]

New Years traditions and what the color of your underwear says about the year ahead
And just like that, Christmas and Hanukkah 2018 are in the rearview. Kwanzaa celebrations end on January 1. I hope you all made it through okay. This time of year can be difficult for some folks and we still have New Years Eve to contend with. Don’t get me wrong, I love the holidays. We’ve […]

Tiny Living on a Sailboat
I hope you’re having a great holiday season — I can’t believe 2018 is almost over! I just wanted to make a quick post to let you know that I’ve been featured on the Tiny House Lifestyle Podcast with Ethan Waldman. The episode is called Tiny Lifestyle on the Water. In our interview, we talked about: […]

The residue of kindness
The holidays are upon us. And, for the crew of Vacilando, it’s the second year in a row that we’ll be celebrating Christmas and New Years outside the United States. Last year we were in Antigua, Guatemala. This year, we’re in the vibrant city of Guanajuato, Mexico. The high elevation (6800 ft.) means crisp, chilly […]