Southern Hemisphere!

I am actually in the southern hemisphere. We should be arriving at our port tomorrow, and if all goes well, we will be happily resting on a mooring ball when we go to sleep tomorrow night. But it is not for certain because the anchorage is up a river estuary and you can't go in except at high tide. Which is not a problem except high tide is at either 4:45 am (when it is still dark) and 4:45 pm, which is still light and should not be a problem. Because the deep channel is narrow and winding, they send a pilot boat out to lead you in. It was a thrill to note our position as south instead of north. But it is a bit confusing, as the numbers are now getting larger when they were getting smaller. I will have to remember and not panic for a bit.

I sure was miserable for a big part of this trip, but it did get better. Right after the last post, Mike decided he was going to turn on the engine because we were still being pushed backwards, and even he couldn't stand any more. Plus there was this: the track on the chartplotter that we left as we sailed looked like a smiley face, as we began heading southwest (or southeast), then slowly were forced due west (or east) and finally WNW (or ENE). It seemed like a taunt. Once we started the motor, we bulled our way through the contrary currents and were finally able to make the desired southerly track. But motoring comes with a price, and the price is that neither of us can get much of any sleep as the engine is really loud downstairs. We have earplugs, but they only help a little bit (and they make my ears itch). So after a day and a night of motoring, I was almost delirious from lack of sleep, especially since I had been such a stress monger for days I was frankly a mess. When we were finally able to turn the engine off and resume sailing, I slept for almost two days straight, getting up only to stand my watch, fix food, and help out when needed. Otherwise I slept. I didn't know it was possible to sleep that much. Mike, for some reason, can withstand the sleep thing better than I do, but he crashes too. He was able to get sleep while I stood my watch, but he has not had nearly what I have had. I will really have to analyze why this trip was so hard on me.

So anyway, I am now a Shellback and no longer a slimy pollywog. That is because I crossed the equator and made a gift offering to King Neptune. Being a Shellback means that I can petition King Neptune. This is something they do in the Navy, and of course they have some horrid initiation that involves crawling through garbage. Mike did not make me crawl through garbage, but we did share a bottle of champagne with King Neptune and some was poured on my head as a kind of baptism. Then I had to take a shower and wash any remaining pollywog slime off. Any Navy guy can tell you about this important ritual.

I have to get going - we are going to send this off, along with an email to Marina Puerto Amistad in Bahia Caraquez, Ecuador. South America.

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