This has been one full month…two weeks to pack up my life and say hasta luego to everyone and everything I know, to jump on a plane and then a boat to say hola to new places and faces. I haven’t had time to properly describe circumstances and details, but I will be at sea for 3-4 weeks…there should be plenty of time for contemplation and composition.
Apologies for sideways photos in the last post’s slideshow below, I think I have figured out how to do this journal sharing business…
This selection of images captures some of the events and emotions of the past two weeks (some photo credits to Brian and Cher as well). A birthday party for Brian was a feast of ceviche and cervezas, I made friends with the Mexicans in the pool and spent time with the expat and snowbirds that live in Barra de Navidad. Each has a story and each is a character, each a new friend who shared their experiences relating to this voyage of mine and relating to our wander around the global home.
We’ve been busy with projects and provisioning, sailing and hoping the swallows don’t build a nest in the sail. Kayak hasn’t been sailing for a month and the birds were hoping to call it home. Yoga on the boat is a great way to watch sunrise and keep ourselves balanced, the extra challenge arrives with a wake. Not sure how well a rocking boat will allow for tree or eagle pose, but we’ll do our best to keep strong and healthy, grounded and stable.
Stocking the boat requires taxi aquatico rides for aqua, fuel, supplies and groceries, finding ways to store and keep produce is a challenge and I’m sure we’ll learn what does and does not work by the time our vegetables begin to squish and mold :s
Personal preparation has included connecting with artisans Charly and Jasmin, lovely souls from Colima. Charly turned my natty dread into a hemp wrap and we shared stories and lessons we’ve learned as we’ve grown older, if not wiser. I spent time with kindred souls here in Barra, only to say Hasta Luego, I’ll see you again! Nautical swimwear was a must have as well, of course…
This morning Cher, Brian and I had a final breakfast together and prepared to leave the safe flat laguna of Barra. We had to motor out of the lagoon until halfway across the bay to Melaque. We hoisted sail and jib and sailed for 30 minutes to the next town from Barra. Here we’ve picked up avocados to enjoy immediately, without waiting for them to soften, picked up insulation to keep the sides of the boat cool, soaked up quesedillas, cervezas and liquados, as well as last minute internet time.
Seista is the hottest time of day, but somehow we always get to land for errands between 2 and 4 pm. We walk around in the heat and the dust, only to find that the ferraterrias (hardware stores) are closed. This usually calls for lunch. Saying adios to Cher was strange, only because she’s been a staple in helping us prep for our journey, and she is hitting the road to hitch and ride trains towards Mexico City. She’ll be catching a boat from Panama to head west, final destination Australia, but we may see her in the belly button atolls of French Polynesia.
I’m as ready as I can be, I have “worshipped the earth with the souls of my feet” (lyrics: Chris Murray) as much as a girl can do in the years she’s been given, and now to pay respects to the ocean.
I hope to research, explore and learn about plastics in the ocean, how they break down and how people are helping or hindering this process, and where this eternal substance ultimately ends up. Visiting small island nations will allow me to experience and showcase effects of global warming on these small coral atolls. I hope to raise awareness of the health of the ocean which subsequently affects the life within it as well as our lives on land.
Be well, dear friends, and I’ll pop up again soon…special delivery in 3-4weeks.
Muchos besos….
XOK
Green in the Blue 