Hot hot hot!!!

Whilst the children oscillate between laughing hysterically and screaming their heads off down below I feel it’s not a bad moment to write something. So far I’ve been reluctant to write as it’s been like a holiday and no one wants to read about someone else’s one of those... but now, after 3 weeks, it’s feeling more like real life, albeit in paradise!

The main difference is not the confined space, not the lack of dishwasher/ washing machine or hairdryer, it’s the heat. It really takes a lot of getting used to. It is baking. We are sweating constantly; everything, from pumping the heads (flushing the loo), to putting on a swimming costume makes you need to jump in the sea immediately. Fortunately that is normally possible although we have to watch out for some rather nasty jelly fish around here. It’s like swimming the gauntlet!

The next radical difference is home schooling. This has been a revelation. I wasn’t expecting it to give a whole extra dimension to the trip. As we are so aware of teaching, everything is being questioned.... everything is becoming a topic of conversation. One of my best moments of the trip so far was sailing between Salina and Panarea (Aeolian Islands) yesterday and scooping out volcanic debris from the Stromboli volcano eruption a couple of days ago. It was homeschool magic.

Eliza and a little bit of Stromboli

And thanks to Iona, we have a book on the Greek myths.... this could not have been a better start to boat school.... retelling of myths,  made up rap about the gods, a trip to an Ancient Greek theatre and to top it off looking for the Pegasus and Hercules constellations in the night sky. I’m learning so much too....

So, all is well so far. On the whole, the girls are playing together much better than I expected. I wish I could have a magic wand to stop the fighting but I have to remind myself (and George!) to be patient! Thank goodness there are a lot of laughs too.