We have been really busy the last few weeks - getting everything ready to head out. We (mike)fixed all the things that were broken, as well as a few things that weren't, but were heading for it. The boat is in great shape. We spent the last couple of days provisioning - we must have enough stuff on this boat to feed us for six months if we fished and played our cards right. We still need to get fresh vegetables, but plan to do that the day before we leave.
I am eager to get out of here. First of all, I do not have the temperament to be an illegal alien. It is nerve wracking for me. Any kind of a truly criminal lifestyle is something I could never tolerate. My nerves won't take it. Another reason is that it is simply time to move on. I am eager to see Costa Rica, as well as being eager to get out to sea again. I miss it. I was up really early this morning, early enough to see the aftermath of the early sunrise. It made me realize I miss my late night/early morning watches, when I pass the time by guessing exactly when I will see the first glimpse of the actual sun rising over the horizon. The colors are amazingly beautiful, with the water turning from pink to lilac and finally to blue.
it has also gotten even hotter and more humid and I am sick to death of cleaning mold off every surface. It isn't hard to do, but it is a pain to keep doing it over and over again. I was happy to discover that nothing was hurting the clothing in the hanging lockers and shelves - I had visions of everything we don't wear often being totally ruined by mold and/or mildew. Thank goodness that did not come to pass - although I suppose it would have been a good excuse to buy new clothes.
In fact, one of the things I do miss about not living a regular life on land is buying and wearing cute clothing and shoes. I once had over 45 pairs of shoes, with a large proportion of them being variations of the black pump theme. Now I wear crocs and flip flops, if any shoes at all. I have a pair of hiking boots, which I avoid at all costs because I now hate heavy things on my feet. I also have a pair of Keen water sandals, that are pretty heavy duty and are worn for things like hikes where you have to do through water. Which happens a lot here in the tropical jungles. I did keep one pair of black open-toes ankle strapped heels, because they go well with the one good dress I brought. I never want to wear anything nice, even when we leave the boat to go out. It is so damn hot and humid that anything nice is ruined from sweat the first time I wear it. I am waiting to go back to the states to wear some of the gorgeous blouses I bought in Maya Land.
So what else is new? Really, not a lot. We just live sort of day to day, getting things done and trying not to sweat to death. Every time I wipe the sweat from my face so I am not blinded by all the water flowing down, I remember how in junior high in Wisconsin, it was a terrible insult to walk up to someone and say "Sweat much"? Or to call someone a "sweat." Not a "sweathog" - that came later with the TV show, but just a "sweat." Now if someone asked me that I would tell them they had no idea what sweating really was until they spent some time down here with me. Sometimes I feel water dripping on my feet and I realize it is running off my face as I lean over cleaning something or putting something away. But the funny thing is, it doesn't bother me like it used to. Not really. I never thought this would happen, but it has. I think I could handle bikram yoga now.
So the plan is to leave sometime next week. We want to do one more load of laundry, and say good bye to all our friends here. We have to go to the produce market. And there will likely be a few things that crop up requiring a trip to some store or other. We are having some friends over to the boat tomorrow evening - they have the same kind of boat as Magda Jean is, a Valiant 40. Theirs is about ten years older than ours is, and there are some design differences, but it is the same boat all right. We Valiant owners are a special breed, all right.
Anyway, I had better get going. Time to do something around this boat. Guess what - I just heard thunder. That must mean the daily rain shower is on its way. Hopefully we can skip the lightning this time.
"Oh but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now." (Bob Dylan)
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