That is about how things stand right now. We are waiting for some wind, any wind, to get us moving toward Salvador. we are still in western Panama, in a beautiful anchorage that we have all to ourselves. It is starting to be the off season now for cruising between Mexico and Ecuador,so when I run my radio net it takes way less time and there will come a time when no one checks in. A few of us just keep it going until the season picks up again. I have been doing this net for a couple of years now, although I couldn't do it from Ecuador and I am not sure if I can do it from Salvador. There is radio reception there of course but maybe not clear enough to actually run the net. The anchorages are up river estuaries, and there can be a lot of interference. To be honest, I know very little about how the radio stuff actually works, I just know how to use the mike and talk on it.
As I said, it is gorgeous here, so if we have to be stuck, this is the place. We are here alone 99% of the time, except for the monkeys we hear in the jungle. There are lots of birds, and there is always fish actiOn to watch. By that I mean big jumpers out towards open sea, which we don't want to catch. A really big fish is hard to handle,and our freezer is only so big. Our sport fishing days are over. Now we just fish for food. And even more fun to watch - there are schools of small fish that hide underneath our anchored boat and come out periodically to feed on alga or plankton, or other even smaller fish. Never a dull moment.
Although we do have an engine and fuel, we don't carry enough fuel to motor all the way to Salvador, at least I don't think so. We need to save the fuel for things like dodging lightning cells while underway, getting into tight anchorages, avoiding shores if the wind and currents are trying to push us there, things like that. Plus the engine is loud and it is almost impossible to get any decent sleep with it going. This is an especial problem for Mike, who never gets enough sleep anyway when we are underway. We ave a watch schedule, but if something goes south on my watch, I need to get him up to help me deal with it. There is no way around that. Certainly I do not get him up for every little thing, there are many things I handle on my own with no problems. It seems like everything goes smoothly on his watch, and then as soon as he is settled in the bed, everything changes. As time as go on, I have learned to handle lots of stuff alone, but some stuff requires more strength than I have. Plus, to be honest, Mike is a bit of a control freak, and there are things I am under orders not to even try to do alone. And I am too lazy and without enough ambition to complain about that. I get plenty of sleep while we are underway and there are few things I like better than being all comfy in my bed, listening to the water rush by outside the boat. It is an amazing feeling to think that only a few inches of fiberglass separates me from the open ocean. I really love it. Sometimes I just lay there listening. If only I did not feel so guilty about getting so much more sleep than Mike! But I guess it cannot be helped. But I must add that another great feeling is when Mike is asleep and I am running the boat. I feel very tender towards him, like I would fight anyone who ever tried to hurt him. There are times when my heart feels like it is full to bursting during my watches, like I am overflowing with love for him. Maybe this is too personal, too much about me, but it is one of the best things about being out here. It is just us, and we need to take of each other.
We have already run out of beer, but who care about that, it will help us lose some weight. I have not missed it at all. We did save two cans for en we arrive in Salvador to celebrate. We don't drink at all when we are actually underway, it is a generally bad idea. The only thing it would be a true tragedy if we were to run out of would be coffee. At that point we would probably swim to Salvador, towing the boat behind us. Otherwise, we have plenty of food aboard and can stay out here quite a wile if we had to. But we are hoping to get out of here at the end of the week, as the weather gribs look as though the wind might pick up then. Until then, here we float. As Vonnegut would say, "and so it goes."
"Beauty is an enormous, unmerited gift given randomly, stupidly." (Khaled Hosseini)
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