Return to Vancouver

We are back in Canada. Linda's mother became very ill while we were on passage from Easter Island to Chile and upon arrival in Valdivia we started making preparations to return home as soon as possible.

In previous years we have stored Curare on the hard in a hot climate. This year she has been left in the water and it is going to be chilly and damp. We could not do as much washing and cleaning as we have done in the past because things would not dry, but we did as much as we could and Curare will be OK for the four or five months while we are away.

In addition to getting Curare ready for the winter we also had to arrange air tickets for ourselves and Jessie dog. Obtaining our tickets was easy with the help of Carol Fuller, a great travel agent in Canada,  but Jessie's ticket was more time consuming (and expensive).

We have flown Jessie home twice before so we knew what had to be done but every country has variations on the animal flight procedure and Chile was no exception. We were flying Air Canada and wanted Jessie to be on the same flights but at 68 pounds she is too heavy to travel as baggage so we had to ship her as air cargo. This meant:

• purchasing a live animal cage ($400.00)
• a visit to the vet ($24.00)
• a certificate from Chilean agriculture($30.00)
• renting a car to get us to Santiago ($520.00)
• toll fees on the highway ($34.00)
• gasoline for the trip ($125.00)
• meals (~$120.00)
• three nights in hotels ($210.00)
• a one way air cargo ticket ($1,500.00)
• a vet certificate in Canada ($35.00)
• a miscellaneous pick up fee to cargo at YVR ($50.00)

Having Jessie dog in our lives - PRICELESS

Comments

[J-G Nadeau]

Hi Guys
Great to hear that you are back safe and sound. Hope Linda's mom is doing better. Interesting report on Jessie. We will probably be facing similar issues next season with Rosie. We plan to be in El Salvador for next summer's layover. Any experience with that country?
If you get a chance to come to the Island give us a call at 250-=382-8602.
Cheers, J-G, Fran and Rosie

[Kara and Chris]

Thanks for posting your stories about Jessie! We are preparing to set sail next summer and we are excited to be bringing our dogs, Bella and Colter (not that it was a matter of "if" they were coming, just "how" to embrace off shore sailing with our whole family). We have a lab and a GSP who have grown up on our sailing adventures. Their first adventure was a six week trip on the Coast of B.C., Bella was 8 weeks and Colter was 11 weeks - They are both six years old now. So naturally, when we decided that we would sail off shore and head down to Mexico, Central and South America, Bella and Colter were obviously coming along. It's been fun to follow your blog and learn about the unique aspects of sailing with Jessie off shore. Thanks for sharing! We love it!
Kara and Chris.