If would like to follow my 15 day cruise then read the previous posts here: Venice (1)Koper (2)Sarande, AlbaniaI had zero expectations of Sarande, because I knew absolutely nothing about Albania, so arriving on this gorgeous coastline was a real surprise. Our cruise ship docked early in the morning. We had a good breakfast aboard and then got a tender boat across to the harbour in Sarande.

KoperTo follow our Cruise trip read blog (1) here: Koper, SloveniaWe boarded cruise ship Norwegian Star from Trieste, Italy. It was a two hour Train ride from Venice and an easy walk from the train station to the Cruise Terminal. The Norwegian Star is one of the smaller ships in the fleet and more suited to couples rather than families with children.

In April 2023 my husband and I joined my parents on our first ever Cruise. We didn't know if we were "those type of people" but the adventure was exciting and worth a try. My folks had already done a couple cruises and convinced us it was the right way to see the world. So we went all in.

So if you read my previous blog you will know that in September my son got 6th place in the Open division at Nationals for Climbing. We are so proud of him and his achievements. He went from a brand new skinny kid climber in January 2023 to a strong young man in 2025.

So what’s been happening in your world? Well it’s been a pretty crazy year. Here are the highlights before I delve deeper. Daughter turned 21. Daughter turned 21. Son made top 6 at Nationals for lead climbing. Son made top 6 at Nationals for lead climbing. Daughter got married. Daughter got married. Son finished High School. Son finished High School. No more homeschooling for me - yeeehaaaaaa!!!No more homeschooling for me - yeeehaaaaaa!!!So qualified to represent South Africa in June - 😳So qualified to represent South Africa in June - 😳

Well it has been almost a year since my last post and I finally feel inspired to get cracking again.For an entire year I posted daily blogs and was well rewarded for my efforts. But that year also took its toll on me. The need to write and edit, capture photos and layout an outline of my blog and then execute eventually became a grudging effort and I had lost my enthusiasm for my space in this world.