Shannon and Ethan

Up date on Shannon and Ethan-

They are on the move again. This time a 16 day trip to Palau in Micronesia, a tightly clustered archipelago. 500 miles from the Philippines. The main islands are Angar, Babeldaob , Kora and Peleiu. The latter 3 are tied together with the same reef. These islands are part of the Caroline Island chain. This area is where the army veterans of WWII were stationed. I think they plan on swimming with millions of stingless jellyfish and will see the giant clam that can weigh a quarter of a ton. This area is for scuba diving some of the best in the world. They will only be ther 10 days then they are going in the yard for work on the boat.

Update on Shannon and Ethan and the CV9

Their new first mate ( only 3 hrs on the job) is still in the hospital and hanging in. He didn't break any bones just landed on his head while washing the boat. Ethan flew his parents in from London England and his sister to be by his side. Boat insurance payed for their flight and accommodations and also a nurse 24-7. They have made plans for a tempory first mate to arrive March31. The original first mate got married so had to leave the boat. They were sorry to lose him but life goes on. The boss is arriving April 1 with his wife for 2 weeks. Shannon and Ethan hope to take a quick holiday to Queensland ( South Island New Zealand) before the boss arives.

Up date on Shannon and Ethan
They have left Cairns Australia and are heading for Darwin for fuel then off to Bali Indonesia. Here they get their life raft inspected. They will be there for about 10 days then onto Labuanbajo on Flores Island. Here is the Komodo island and the Komodo dragons(very large lizards). Here they will explore the area in preparation for the boss to arrive June first. Yes they get paid to do this what a prime job. The diving here is some of the best.

CV9 up date on Shannon and Ethan

Machu Picchu pic taken from the hike up Hoy a/Wayna mountain

update on Shannon and Ethan taken from her email
Here is some info on our upcoming trip. I can’t believe I have Ethan leaving the boat for 5 days!!

We fly out on Wednesday evening the 15th a quick 2hr flights to Lima Peru. Spending the night there, no time to see the sights as we fly to Cuzco at 7:30am arriving at 9am nice and early to see the sights.

In Cuzco (town closet to Machu Picchu) we are staying at the Liberator http://www.libertador.com.pe/hotel_destino.php?hotel=3&destino=2 The place we wanted to stay at was $750 a night so we sedaled for this place at $355. We have the all day to explore Cuzco.

We catch the train the next day (the 17th) it leaves at 5:30am as its about 4hrs to get to Machu Picchu. The train stops just outside of the ruins in a small village. We will be staying up there for 2 nights at http://www.inkaterra.com/en/machu-picchu we have a room with a fire place! Ethan wanted the suit with the privet pool but it was way too much! It also has THE WORLD'S LARGEST COLLECTION OF NATIVE ORCHID SPECIES (372) That will be nice to see!! It’s a 30min bus ride from the village to the ruins. We will probably book a guide through the hotel to see the ruins and do the hike up Huaya \ Wayna Picchu the Mt. that most photos are taken from. They only allow 400 people a day to hike up. The guide books say that up to 1000 people go to Machu Picchu in a day! That a lot of hikers trying to get up to do the hike. Its first come that got to go. It sounds like the Grouse Grind as its steep and almost all stairs . If we book the tour through the hotel we should be ok.

We take the Train back down to Cuzco on Sun the 25th The Train leaves mid afternoon arriving around 8pm. Staying again at the Liberator Hotel for are last night.

Flying out at 7am to Lima then on to Guayaquil Ecuador (the closest airport to the boat) It’s a 2hr drive to La Libertad where Puerto Lucia Yacht Club is. http://www.puertolucia.com.ec/cms/english/

Im sure Ethan will be sending you some photos when we get back.

OOOPs Shannon is correct I do not read her e-mails correctly. They have not left yet and are still in Pueroto Montt. They will be exploring the area around the big island Ilsa Chiloe and taking a land trip into the lake district and hopefully go to a smoking volcano. They are checking the area out before the guest arrive on March 14 for two weeks. They also want to find some of the hot springs in the area. Then they leave for Ecuador