Where are they now? Recs and Juniors ‘Race across the World’ July 2020

3rd July
Junior Squad This week a long row to the Island of Socotra which is UNESCO World Heritage site and known as the “the most alien-looking place on earth”.  It is a part of Yemen. There are 700 endemic species, a few less than the Galapagos. We are lucky enough to see Monocentropus ( a breed of tarantula), Socotran chameleon, and a Socotra sunbird in a Dragon Blood tree.  We also got to taste some Socotran pomegranate. Long row ahead. Next stop India.
Rec Squad Watch out for Somali pirates!  We are still rowing hard across the Pacific but nearing Polynesia and the date line. 12 weeks to do half way around the world is impressive but we now want the interest of island hopping. Also, our supplies of Caribbean drinks are running low!

13th July
Junior Squad
So we are out in the middle of the Arabian sea so no fun stop offs this week but lots of rowing so good practise. Unfortunately for us, from June to August the winds flow from the Indian Peninsula’s south western region.  Lots of algae sargassopsis zanardinni which is endemic to the Arabian Sea. We have seen lots of marine life tuna, sardines, billfish, moonfish, green turtles, hawksbill turtles, dugongs, blue whales, humpback whales, Minke whales, sperm whales, and orca whales.  No Sharks yet.
Rec Squad We managed a massive number of kilometres last week and at last got on dry land at the Marquesas islands in French Polynesia. By Friday, we were 560k on route for Tahiti but now there are fabulous islands to rest on during our route. Fabulous to be on dry land again after the main bit of the Pacific and now we feel we are on our way ‘home’ again. Luckily, we are all old enough to appreciate the cocktails!
Malcolm has worn out his turbo trainer, and everyone is really looking forward to more water time. A bit of canoeing has gone on plus some sculling. Best success story is Ruth learning to ride a bike!


30th July
Junior Squad
Sorry we have not had an update for 2 weeks but we had a very long stretch in the Arabian Sea.  But now have managed 2 stop offs first one was to Kochi in India. We went for a stroll along Marine Drive. For breakfast we had Puttu and Kadala curry. Puttu is a preparation of ground rice, layered with coconut shavings (and sometimes banana), and then steamed; while Kadala curry comprises kala chana or black chickpeas cooked in roasted coconut gravy. As we love an opportunity for a row, we went out on Vembanad Lake which is the longest lake in India.
Next we headed to Columbo in Sri Lanka.  We visited the Gangaramaya (Vihara) Buddhist Temple and luckily for us another lake to row on, Lake Beira.  We had plenty of tea and lots of nice food including Roti, Lamprais and Kottu. 

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