Up at 5:30, I am excited to begin our journey at sea!
We had a minor issue with the same engine, but again Renan has come through for us and he and Mike have fixed it. We set off down the river again toward Livingston. It is still cloudy and quite chilly. Again the birds and beauty along the river impress us, especially now with the fog rolling out of the mountains.
I made us some big yummy breakfast burritos with Papaya to get us a good start on the day. We cruise right past Livingston this time, and directly out to sea where we head North. The sea is fairly calm and we seem to be making good time. I am learning to drive the boat and take the helm for a while. We had been motoring but the guys put up the sails as I navigate and steer. After all was set we turned on the autopilot, which makes sailing seem like a breeze.
Highlight of the day: A little while later I looked to port and was excited to see a dolphin surface right beside the boat. I jumped up and ran to the bow and saw several others alongside us. Dolphins the first day has to be good luck! They were beautiful and stayed with us for about 5 minutes.
After the excitement died down I decided to go in to make lunch: a big veggie pasta salad. I am trying to keep up my reputation as a cook even in this little galley kitchen with no appliances, a lack of many ingredients, and only the very basics. So far I think the guys are quite pleased.
Unfortunately, just as I put the water on to boil and start cutting up the veggies, the wind and waves picked up. After cruising along so smoothly, seemingly out of nowhere the wind changed and we were taking some huge waves right on the bow. Now it's getting exciting! I was a little nervous however, wielding a knife to chop veggies and boiling water with the waves pounding the boat so hard.
After a couple hours of this, we are not far from Placencia, but we decide to turn into a cove just North of Monkey River to be sheltered for the night. We anchor in line with a few other sailboats and decide to dry out the boat. A huge wave had come over the boat and in through the hatches and soaked my clothes, bedding, and unfortunately both the guys' laptops. After hanging things to dry, we had nothing left to do but relax for a couple hours. I decide to hang in the hammock we purchased in Livingston. After a few minutes I realize I haven't felt so relaxed in a long time. I'm reading Jimmy Buffett's "A Pirate Looks at Fifty" which I feel is very fitting. He is on the eve of his 50th birthday and realizes the movie "It's a Wonderful Life" came out the year of his birth. He looks back on his life thus far and writes that he totally agrees with that line; and as I lay in the hammock, looking out over the gorgeous turquois water at the view of Great Monkey Cay and Little Monkey Cay, I also have to agree. A huge smile on my face, I am perfectly happy at this moment.
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