In the final analysis, I’d have to say that the cruising life is MOST of what it’s cracked up to be.
We stay in beautiful places. We always have an ocean view. We hang around as long as we like, and then when we get curious about what’s around the bend, we simply move on. We meet an amazing variety of wonderful people along the way, from all over the world: fellow cruisers, locals and expats.
We take photos of our anchorages and our leisure activities and post them to this blog or to Facebook. No doubt the landlubbers among you picture your last vacation in a tropical locale… perhaps even your honeymoon. You extrapolate from there and imagine that we’ve left all our worldly cares behind, and are living one big, long extended vacation.
Islas Tortugas in the Gulf of Nicoya
But unlike a vacation, we can’t simply defer life’s little necessities. We still need to get our bills paid, and go grocery shopping, and get a haircut. When we go grocery shopping, as cruisers we get to call it ‘provisioning.’ That makes it sound more important to us somehow… but it’s still just grocery shopping. Made even more of a chore due to not having a car, not knowing where provisions can be found in each new location, and not knowing what will be on the shelves when we get there. Even when we do find ourselves with reliable internet, it’s no help at all in locating shops in a given town. For that, you must rely purely on local knowledge.
Last week Stan made a provisioning run while I readied the boat for our departure the next day. Having barely survived the transition to living without Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods for the past two years, he nonetheless included ‘sun-dried tomatoes,‘ and, even more optimistically, ‘martini glasses‘ on his list. (Turns out it really offends his sensibilities to pour our daiquiris freshly chilled from the cocktail shaker into… ACRYLIC! So he decided to embrace his inner snob and buy some glass martini stems.)
He returned from the store. With onions. Not very pretty onions, at that: they had some mushy spots and were covered with fruit flies. (Are onions fruit?? These flies said yes.) But we have learned that we get what we get. They also had fresh ginger, a welcome surprise.
It is often said that a life of full-time cruising amounts to doing boat projects in really exotic places. That does sum things up pretty well. Boat maintenance is ongoing, all the time, with minor repairs required not infrequently. When cruisers encounter each other, they always talk about where they were last, maybe where they are going next. And invariably, what system or piece of equipment currently needs repair or replacement. We don’t know a single boat that hasn’t been ‘stuck’ someplace, lingering longer than they would have, waiting for a critical part to be shipped. But that said, we do get ‘stuck’ in some fabulous places!
Lush and tropical Bahia Drake
In Drake Bay, we watched two pairs of Scarlet Macaws frolicking and cackling in the treetops. Bird watchers travel from all over and hire guides to catch a glimpse of these birds, pretty rare even in most of Costa Rica. Yet because of our ability to drop anchor in remote locations and stay awhile, here they were right in front of us. And since arriving in Costa Rica, it’s common for us to listen to howler monkeys making their haunting, primeval cries in the trees as we enjoy our morning coffee.
In the interest of full disclosure, Stan’s sweating it out in the engine room right now, upgrading the sea water pump to one of our air conditioners. I’ve been cleaning the galley and getting some laundry and online banking done. But let me leave you with some photos taken over the last week or two:
Los Sueños Marina
White Faced Capuchin Monkey
Basilisk. He wouldn’t turn his head for the camera, but he’s got a crest back there like a dinosaur.
More Monkey Business
A short video clip of Scarlet Macaws in the pouring rain. They mate for life, yet never seem to run out of things to talk about.
Dragonfly
Hornbill, I think. What kind? I don’t know… a pink one!
Stork
Someone is not flossing regularly. That IS in the wild, but yes, with a telephoto lens.
Golfito (means Little Gulf), on a misty afternoon
We truly are very lucky to lead the life that we do!
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