October 4, 2009 -- we are back! A long flight from Kuala Lumpur to Paris and the TGV from the station at Charles De Gaulle to Toulon. Sister Maria (sibling, not a nun) had come from Lille to join Miew Ling and I at CDG with TGV tickets in hand. It was a treat to see her but better yet, she’d splurged on first class train tickets for us. Ronnie Tan was at the Toulon rail station with his rental car to help with luggage while his wife Idah was hard at work at some internet cafe. Skylark was in good shape if a little dusty as it hadn’t rained since I left Toulon on September 14.
Ronnie and Idah came from Bandol to have dinner with us. As it was Sunday, many places were closed and we ate at a so-so restaurant on the waterfront.
October 5 – a worthwhile day trip to the beautiful town of Aix-en-Provence. The drive through the scenic foothills of the Alps with numerous “perched” villages high on the rugged hills was a treat in and of itself. The restaurant at Aix recommended by the Lonely Planet guide was very good. Aix is a charming town and the street fair with all manner of Provence specialties made for an interesting afternoon. Bought some gingerbread and apricot nectar from the friendly vendors. Back at Toulon, a simple dinner on board and an early night.
October 6 – took the train to Bandol to visit with Ronnie and Idah at their holiday digs by the beach. Ronnie’s friend from long ago, Rudy, arrived in the evening just in time for Ronnie’s famous chicken curry cooked with spices from KL. Rudy is Swiss, born in Singapore and 202 cm tall. He made quite a contrast when he greeted Idah at 150 cm, We had a fascinating dinner conversation about how he became a major supplier of Tilapia - a fish he farms in Asia and Central America for export to North America and Europe, and about politics in Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia.
Oct 7 – Some routine maintenance and oil level checks on the boat. Ronnie, Idah and Rudy visited with us at Skylark for lunch and some excellent Rose wine from the region. It must have been a good lunch as we broke away at around 4 pm.
Oct 8 – Miew Ling and Maria left for Lille in the afternoon after a morning of wandering around Toulon. ML will spend a few days at Lille reacquainting with nephews Frederic and Sebastien and meeting grand nieces Constance and Octavie for the first time, before returning to KL.
Oct 9 - went to Hyeres to visit with Amel and to settle bills for work done. Amel has scheduled Monday for some factory recall work on the Volvo diesel (replacement of a suspect transmission damper for the ZF gearbox). Ed arrived in the afternoon, declaring he was glad to be "back home" on the Skylark. We ate a nice meal on the waterfront that evening.
Oct 10 - Francois returned to Skylark just as a Mistral was predicted by the weather services. A Mistral is a strong wind that blows through the Rhone valley, turns left and then right and hits the coastal areas of the Golfe du Lion really hard.
Oct 11 – the Mistral is blowing really hard with winds up to 40 kts in the harbor. It must be really horrendous out beyond the bay. The gusts threw up sprays of marina water which is probably 50 per cent toilet discharge from the boats.
Oct 12 – the Volvo technicians came to start the recall work, the mistral is still blowing but fortunately, few vessels are including the ferries are running and the chop in the harbor isn't too bad.
Oct 13 - the Mistral finally settles in afternoon – the harbor waters are unbelievably glassy in contrast to a few hours ago.
Oct 14 – the weather conditions between Toulon and Marseille and western Med are tough due to the low pressure to west and the anticyclone east of Toulon. Very rough sea conditions. Watching forecasts for Golfe du Lion – forecast to be not good till Sunday which is now the planned timing for the sail to Barcelona and Valencia.
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