A Clean, Fresh Start!
January 1st, 2020 – posting a little late, but hey…the days are busy and full!
It’s stormy tonight, the lightening illuminating the sky and the rains are cool and heavy. Inside Arena, the temperature has reached the moderately uncomfortable temperature of 33 degrees Celsius, the result of warm, humid air, 9 kids in the salon watching a movie, and a hot stove from making sopes, rice, and refried beans. This evening, with the lure of free, fresh water, the girls and I stripped down to only the necessaries (for our neighbours’ sake) and showered in the downpour. It was cold enough to cool our core temperatures so thoroughly that goosebumps were forming as we scrubbed clean.
In these rains, Arena has been completely washed of past waves and storms. With the dawn of a new year, we are now ready to journey into 2020 with clean bodies, anticipating all of the opportunities that this year will undoubtedly bring.
We are currently in Bahia Tenacatita, a beautiful anchorage full of nature. The beaches are lined with palm trees heavy with coconuts. The hillsides are green and lush, inhabited by strange birds and creatures. The anchorage is full of boats longing for community, making memories with bocce ball at 230pm, floatilla appies, and conch blowing to signal the setting of the sun. I do believe we have found a piece of what we have been longing for!
While I keep a handwritten journal (or actually a few since I lose them in rotation) of thoughts and events, I can’t seem to find the motivation to sit and write a blog post more than once every 4-6 weeks. Posting pictures with a little caption on Instagram/Facebook seems to be easier and less time consuming, but, admittedly, it is less personal and maybe a little less honest? I never post the pictures of the kids scowling because they are tired and grumpy, or the mess in the boat, the barnacles waiting to be scraped, the pile of laundry waiting to be washed, or #stupidarguments.
So many times, when Arena is finally settled for the night, I sit in the cockpit and wish I’d done this, this, and this differently. I wish that I’d let the kid put their arms around me when I was ridiculously hot and not wanting to be touched. I wish that I’d chosen a softer word, the more gentle approach, the silence for listening. Life happens out in the beautiful anchorages too!
But then there are days like yesterday! Yesterday was one of my very favourite days to date. Our friends on SV Distant Star had found a secret trail through the town and up a dry riverbed, through fields and into the forest, leading us to a small fresh water waterfall that washed into a cool pool in the rocks! My heart nearly burst with joy to jump in, letting the salt wash off of my skin and hair, embracing the complete beauty of this place. We sat in the cool of the water and shade, in the wonderful company of sv Distant Star and sv Maya, feeling our core temperatures settle to near Canadian body temperature, letting the little fish peck at our legs and feet :). Some of the kids jumped off the high ledges above while others cheered them on from below. 14 of us, soaking up creation.
We are so privileged to be here. We know that. We are no more deserving than anyone else, but we are trying to embrace this gift of a life with everything we’ve got. Our plans are fluid and we don’t know what our future looks like. We have goals and ambitions and hopes and dreams, but ultimately, we are desperately trying to live to our full potential now. That feels like a lot of pressure some days, and other days, so effortless! We are only promised this moment, no more, no less! How we use this moment is always our choice.
Happy, happy New Year, friends. May this year bring peace and love, adventure and excitement!
A recap of events to catch up:
We left Mazatlan on December 8th, heading for Bahia Matenchen. The pre-pump for our watermaker decided to give up which was a little disheartening. The trip was further complicated by the RPM gauge deciding to take a hike. The RPM gauge eventually decided to come back from vacation, but Jamie had to scrounge around the boat to find a motor piece to revive the watermaker. The solution? He sacrificed the forward head bilge pump to use parts for the watermaker. Voila! A fix with the small disadvantage of no forward head bilge. The kids would just have to wash hands and brush teeth elsewhere until it could be fixed. No big deal, right?! They’ll remember it’s out of service. They won’t turn the tap on in the bathroom and spit toothpaste into the sink, making extra work for anyone…..
Arriving in Bahia Matenchen was magical. Although the water wasn’t clear due to the sediment from the nearby rivers rushing into the bay, the water was tepid and littered with adorable brown bat rays flapping the edges of their bodies just above the surface of the water. We spent about 30 glorious hours in this bay, never touching land, but enjoying the warm water and the view of beautiful flora along the shores. This is where my fear of crocodiles was born and, to this day, I am on the lookout for those creepy creatures. They have no reason to be in salt water as they are fresh water crocs in the rivers, but someone with a very healthy imagination entertains all kinds of scenarios in which they are all of a sudden out of their element and on the hunt for a pair of generous thighs to munch on.
Once the sun begins to set in this paradise, another nasty creature emerges called jejenes (“hay hay nays”), the Mexican no-see-um. They are everywhere in this bay because of the mangroves. This was our first encounter with them and I can honestly say that I strongly dislike them! They are prolific hunters, and they are not easily deterred. Ada counted a staggering 37 bites to one of my arms while we were pulling up anchor at dusk. That’s just counting the bites on one arm and I happened to be wearing only a bathing suit! So so horrible.
Arriving in La Cruz on Dec 11th, we anchored with our watermaker pre-pump causing more problems and a lazy jack back on the deck of the boat. We are waiting for some stainless steel rivets to properly secure the lazy jack up as the aluminium one that was available to us at the time of repair just wasn’t strong enough to hold.
La Cruz is a wonderful place and the sailing community is very active and friendly! We were privy to free outdoor movies and presentations at the marina’s amphitheatre, free yoga, new sailing friends, lavandrias (laundromats) that fold your clothes for you, and a great local beach. We had the privilege of spending almost a week visiting with our friends, the Wagners, from Vancouver Island, then with the Bruins family from Edmonton for another 4 days. I am in awe of the love and commitment our friends have shown to us, bringing Canadian candies and gifts, much needed supplies and most importantly, the gift of their time. We’re the lucky ones to have such awesome people to share our life with.
Christmas Day was an interesting first for us. Our first time away from Grandmas and Grandpas and aunties and uncles and cousins, no big tree, no homemade Christmas baking, and very few gifts. We chose experiences over gifts this year. 2 nights in a hotel with a pool in Puerto Vallarta. We were SOOOO excited to sleep in real beds for the first time in almost a year. Jamie slept like a log in the bed, but I couldn’t sleep! Why? Not a clue, but there it is, in all my disappointment. The hotel rooms were a total of $47USD/night and were wonderful. We had internet and TV with cable, air conditioning, a fridge that opened vertically, a cold pool and even a book exchange with a few English titles – we picked the Enid Blyton 3-in-1 book!
Saying “see you later” to friends, our people, our support from home, is always bittersweet. We are so thankful for the time we have been given, however short that time may be. When the busyness of Christmas was over and Arena was quietly rocking in the bay, we were unable to function for a full 24 hours. 24 hours was what we needed to reset, then the itch to move on grew quickly. We were ready to lift anchor and keep moving south!