Holy moly you guys, it’s been two years today since we set sail from San Diego for good. Sorry for not keeping the blog up to date, but I figured this momentous occasion would be a good opportunity to do a post. This blog will be lacking in photos, but will be full of sentiment. Here we go…
Before embarking on this cruising journey two years ago I remember being told to be careful, that this break from work would make me stupid. While this may be true in a professional capacity, it’s certainly not true in other areas. This trip has opened our minds more than I could have imagined. Let’s dig in to our favorite life changing realizations.
- Let’s start with language. We’ve been able to speak and understand enough Spanish to happily navigate through all types of situations. My favorite memory is going to an auto parts store and watching Brad pretend to start a generator, complete with sound effects. While we don’t always know the words, there’s certainly other ways to communicate and get the point across. The locals are happy to help, especially if you’ve got a smile on your face and make the effort. As with anything else, a good attitude gets you a lot further than a bad one.
- Fish identification. Through our snorkeling exploits we’ve learned to identify numerous species of fish. I remember feeling overwhelmed by all the different fish we would see, and trying to find them all in our reference book. Now they’re easy to identify. Through Brad’s spearfishing efforts we’ve been educating ourselves on what tastes good too!
- Cooking. Being on the boat in Mexico has taught us to work with what we’ve got in our galley. A grocery store with everything we want or need is hardly ever an option. Plus the effort to get to one can be very time consuming. This has led us to be creative in the galley. We’ve learned quite a bit from other cruisers at potlucks, tasty treats and recipes are constantly being exchanged.
- Fishing. While hooking a fish is actually a relatively rare event, when we do hook one, we’ve learned how to handle it. With only two of us on board we each take our positions. Brad tends to the fishing line and I tend to the boat and sails. The goal is always the same, slow the boat down without causing a ruckus, and landing the fish! Brad can get the fish filleted and grilled in record time!
- 70mph is fast! After being on a boat going a top speed of a fast jog, you can imagine that driving 70mph can be terrifying! Brad and I have been known to set the cruise control just so we go fast enough. What an unexpected change this has been! Sorry in advance if you ever get stuck behind us on the road, we are never in a hurry these days.
- Being in the moment. This is probably my favorite part about the journey we are on. When you’re sailing along you’re often checking to see if any sail tweaks can be made, making sure your course is true and hopefully, enjoying the ride! The mind is no longer thinking about news, politics, traffic, and things we cannot control. Instead it is focused on what we can control. It’s quite liberating!
- Learning how to be a sailor. This might sound silly because you’d think this would have been achieved before the trip. But as with anything else, the experiences out on the water have helped to hone our skills. We are now confident in our anchoring skills, dealing with incoming storms and gale force winds. We even flew our spinnaker for the first time not too long ago (many thanks to Chris and Beth from CC Rigging for the lessons). Things in general are becoming much more proactive rather than reactive which makes for a happy boat and crew.
- Learning a new culture. This is one of my favorite things about our trip! My impression of the Mexicans has always been a positive one, but actually interacting with and viewing their culture on a daily basis is downright amazing! Did you know that it is quite often that a local will tell us “Buen provecho” as they walk by us in a restaurant? They’re telling us to enjoy our meal. The Mexican culture is so polite and I love that they treasure their children. In our two years of being here there are maybe three locals who have been rude to us. Think of being in the states, you’re lucky if only three people are rude to you on your drive home from work!
- Problem solving skills. I remember the days where broken or misbehaving parts were quickly ditched and new ones were sourced. Being on a budget, and often away from stores has taught us (mostly Brad) how to repair rather than replace. His skill sets have grown tremendously from plumbing, electrical, technical and any boat related item you can think of. He is our go to “fix it man.” The boat and crew are in great hands!
- Dinghy driving skills. We are each skilled enough to take the dinghy just about anywhere. Although, I rely heavily on Brad when we are taking the dinghy to shore in surf conditions. Otherwise taking the dinghy to a dock is a cinch with maybe a couple of splashes and soaking along the way.
Bonus skill, diving! Brad has been teaching me how to dive and we’ve purchased a dive compressor to fill our scuba tanks. Learning how to dive has taken me WAY out of my comfort zone and Brad has done a wonderful job of teaching me all the necessary skills. I can’t wait to learn more as we continue our cruising adventure!
Super Bonus skill, making lifelong friends. This is something I really struggled with before, but since being on the boat I feel that I’ve become less shy, and so has Brad. Plus the people we are meeting instantly have something in common with us, we all live on boats! The bonds we share as cruisers go far beyond potlucks and stories. We’ve learned that you’ve got to put yourselves out there in order to make those friendships happen. And often they happen quickly!
So while I may have forgotten how to find the present value of a loan with seasonal payments, I’ve got plenty of other tricks in my bag and so does Brad. We’ve gained plenty of perspective and that’s what this trip is all about. Cheers to living and learning! May this post find you happy and healthy!
