The time passes so peacefully here in the island chain, making it really easy to let things slide, especially things like this blog. I write post after post in my head while I am fishing, or processing fish, or cooking and cleaning, or swimming, or hiking or some other such pastime, but I never transfer any of that awesome stuff to screen. So everyone is stuck with what I put down here after I drag myself to the computer.
Our plans have been completely discarded, at least until we change our minds again. At this point, w ave decided to spend another month to six weeks here in this archipelago. We are going into Panama City this weekend for provisions and a new computer. THen back out here, and in mid September we will start watching the weather for a trip north to Costa Rica. Although we had planned to go to Ecuador, and we still do, I decided that I want to spend at least a year in South America. We also want to be at Easter Island in early February (for a festival). If we went this year, we would have only about six months in South America. Not enough. We did not stop in Costa Rica on the way down, nor did we visit Nicaragua. This is a good chance to do that. We are also really enjoying it here, and want to spend more time in the islands. So this would have us leaving for Ecuador from Costa Rica in December or January, which is a better time to make the trip, weather and conditions-wise. Then we have a year there before we leave for Easter Island. Perfect timing.
It has been a great time here. We have seen whales, all kinds of birds, and caught new fish. We took a dinghy trip with another boat here and went up a river in the evening, not getting out until it was dark. Again, a really amazing experience. We meandered through the mangroves, watching the vegetation change as the water lost its salinity. We heard strange bird and insect sounds, especially after it got dark. THe jungle, especially at night, is very noisy, especially the bugs. Or what sounds like squabbling raccoons. If you wake up in the middle of the night, there is always something to listen to. The other boat here with us has taught us all kinds of things, like smoking the fish over a fire pit on the beach. They have been great company, spending really good times together but having enough alone time as well. It is a good balance, and you don't always get that. Other boats have come and gone, and it is always fun to meet everyone. Some of these people I have talked to on the radio, and I like meeting them in real life. We also had a picnic/fish barbecue with another boat, who had relatives visiting them. I made a pasta salad and everyone seemed to like it. It was great fun to watch new people fall in love with a place that is special for me.
One interesting thing I must tell you about is the programming on the short wave (SSB) radio. Besides being a way to communicate with other vessels (like on the cruiser's net) and to send emails or make blog postings, you can also listen to programs on it and get weather reports. You can listen to the BBC, the CBC (Canada), and even Radio Kuwait and Radio China. We also got Radio Havana one day, but it was in French so we couldn't understand it. All of these are in English. What we cannot listen to is Voice of America, or any US stations. The US no longer maintains a presence on the short wave radio. The best is Radio China. They do international news, with an emphasis on China. They only report, and there is no opinion or editorializing. They also have general interest programs, and movie and music reviews. It is interesting. Radio Kuwait has an international news show for an hour every day. Again, just reporting, no commentary. Mike says that the US used to have a presence on the short wave, with news regularly each day and other programs, too. But now, nothing. It is a real bummer - so Radio China it is. They also have Chinese lessons. It seems to be a very hard language to learn. I know I haven't learned anything that has stuck with me yet.
As of today, we have been out here for a month. Since we only provisioned for a three week trip to Ecuador, we have been running out of things. We did take two dinghy trips into these two small villages, and were able to get beer, onions, and eggs. we bought lobsters from some panga fisherman most of which went to the barbecue. At one village, the boat that took us there introduced us to the locals, and we spent the day visiting and drinking beer. This other boat has been spending time here for years, and knows everything there is to know about the area and how to sail it. They sail without an engine, making them Mike's idols. The guy is from Newfoundland and the woman is from Sweden. I have also learned how to cook read in the pressure cooker. (I tried it a long time ago and just ended up with a mess in the pressure cooker. Now I know where I went wrong.) Speaking of which, the pressure cooker is now my favorite method of cooking. And of course one pot meals make life easier on the boat.
Well, I am really starting to ramble on, like that is anything new. Mike and I have been spending a lot of time re-evaluating and trying to block out our next moves. We'll see what happens next.
"Concern for man himself and his safety must always form the chief interest of all technical endeavors. Never forget this in the midst of your diagrams and equations. (Albert Einstein)
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