Zero real boatwork. Nada. Zilch. That’s the reality of the last few days. We’ve been pretty busy doing nothing. I haven’t even made it to shore to drop off my car at the mechanic. And there have been social commitments. Lunch at the local marina. Eating and drinking under my trampoline-tent-thing. Dinners on friend’s yachts. And an epic party on Rob and Laurie’s yacht- Southern Comfort.
It’s A Small World
We’re in a pretty remote place. Puerto Lindo can be a beautiful place, but it’s not easy to get to and though it’s popular with cruisers – there are more interesting places. That said – it seems like everyone ends up here. Even if it’s just stopping through between San Blas and Shelter Bay (a marina). Tons of sailing bums cruise through here. And the anchorage is small enough that we notice all the new boats. And last night every boat in the anchorage got an invite to Rob’s party. Most showed up. Many were familiar faces.
Eating
It’s funny – when you have very little that you must do, you find yourself thinking about food alot. Which leads to really planning meals. And then you spend inordinate amounts of time cooking. That’s a massive change from what I’d do when I was in my previous life. I used to just call in delivery. Or pick food up from a local store. Or have my ex-girlfriend pick it up from somewhere. Needless to say – there’s been a huge shift in the food department onboard. I think Damo helped with that, we spent a lot of time talking flavors and ingredients. I think it’s also a result of having people to cook for.
All that said – the most popular meals are super-simple. Good cheese, olives, salami, and crackers is a hit every single time. Add some wine, and you have something people will fight over. Those kinds of meals are best under the trampoline-tent. It’s really hard to duplicate that experience – eating great food, drinking wine midday, with view that’s to die for.
The Party
With the Aussies leaving, things were supposed to begin winding down. It’s been quite the opposite though. Aside from fixing an issue with the head (which, I’ve decided, is the worst job in the world) and sealing some hatches – we’ve been slammed with social obligations. Mind you, this is a great problem. Arguably, one of the best – second only to too many big, dumb fish.
It all kind of came to a head yesterday. It started out yesterday morning. I was reading in my cabin when I heard one of the girls jump into the water, and then crack up laughing. I got up and went outside. Chels told me to look at Rob’s boat. It was a sight. He’d strung up every flag he had onboard. It was, at this point (8AM), that I realized I was going to be drunk that evening. Possibly very drunk. Rob loves a good party, and loves throwing them. So when he heard the Aussies were leaving, he found that to be an excellent excuse to host a shindig.
I took it easy all day – I didn’t even have a drink with lunch. Chels and Sarah drank Sangria with lunch. I was in full-blown party-prep mode, meaning not a drop of alcohol before the party. I figured that would at least allow me to be able to weave my dinghy back from Rob’s boat.
We were fashionably late to the party, having to get some beer from town beforehand. With that accomplished we headed to Southern Comfort (Rob’s yacht). Onboard were all of the usual suspects and some newcomers – most passing through.
Everything started off pretty innocently. Small drinks and sober people. Naturally, after a couple of hours that changed. I was several Rum’s deep, so I don’t remember recognizing other people being drunk. And when the boat’s rocking – you all end up walking in zig-zags anyways.
Eventually there was some dancing. Then there was some more drinking. Then everyone started to go home. Then we decided to leave.
I wasn’t capable of operating my dinghy at this point, and friends being friends – they made it pretty clear that Chels was “driving.” But before that happened I managed to fall off my dinghy, just to make sure everyone knew my condition. Then we made it back to S/V NOMAD and Chels tipped me off the dinghy again. That’s borderline mutiny. I would kick her off the boat, but, well – she’s leaving…
Anyways – that was the girl’s last night here. The captives are free. Tomorrow they’ll be gone, and I’ll work on getting my life back in order. I’ll definitely pull the tools out and get to work. And my alcohol consumption will drop dramatically without the Aussie vagabonds encouraging my bad behavior. Sarah is heading back to Austrailia shortly and Chels is heading to Costa Rica. Hearing about Sarah going back reminded me of how much I really, really will hate to go back – if I ever do. Going home seems like quitting, right now.
The next crew-member on this little adventure is supposed to be a handy guy, and with the complete lack of productive action over the last week – it’ll be really nice to have somebody who can handle a wrench.
Freeing the Captives
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