Philosophizin'

The community of the world.

This post was written back in June when I first returned from my first season of cruising Mexico. I am just now getting around to using it.

Death is out and about of late. None of his usual lurking behind closed doors and hiding in the nooks and crannies of my mind. These last couple weeks he has been right out front in his finest daywear reminding me that time is fleeting for us all. While I’ve been away all winter I have received missives from numerous friends and relatives who have seen him up close and personal. While I have been affected by the news, the physical distance between usseems to have blunted the impact so that for me it was a rather dull feeling of distress. Upon my return I’ve been faced with several instances that have rather hit me upside the head with the realization that Death is “alive and well” and happily gathering those he wishes to his bosom. Those who have, clearly, not much time left in this life, appear in my thoughts a great deal. I find myself worrying about them struggling for breath and facing the inevitable. Ready or not, Death takes you when he wishes. I do not know how much time I have left in this incarnation but my gratitude for the way in which I have been able to live is beyond measure. It is unusual (at best) to be able to actually “live ones dreams” but that is exactly the gift I have been given. I have been told that this was because I worked and planned everything and while that is, indeed, a part of the answer, I am happy to report that I have also been pushed, prodded, handed opportunities, given obvious choices and occasionally slapped silly (figuratively) by a force much larger than I. God has received very little credit in this whole process but he/she has been quite clearly behind the whole plan. Whenever I leave port I humbly request guidance and protection for the upcoming journey. When at sea in uncomfortable conditions I am sometimes afraid (as all mortals are) but I am never alone. The world is there to enjoy. The gift is life. It is up to each of us to choose how we will use it.

Oh, The Sights You See!

We left Sutherlin yesterday at 9:10 am and after a long day of driving (well, Chris drove and I read to him, tried to do counted cross-stitch, tried to do crossword puzzles, read some more to Chris, and watched the scenery go by) arrived in Red Bluff about 4:30 pm. This is a lovely RV park and the best part is that it is 75˚ and sunny here! As we left the office after registering, I passed a woman going in who had just arrived from British Columbia. She smiled at me and said, “Now THIS is the weather we’ve been looking for!” I had to agree!

As has been my experience in the past upon heading south, as soon as we passed the “Welcome to California” sign the clouds disappeared and we had sunshine, blue sky and warm weather. This morning I dug out my shorts and tank tops from under the bed in anticipation of wearing them today as we get more into the heat of Southern California. I can hardly wait!

The scenery in Southern Oregon and Northern California is stunning this time of year. While the trees in Portland have mostly lost their leaves by now, as you drive south they are still in the process of turning color. The beautiful yellows, golds and reds against the background of bright, green grass, deeper green evergreens and the blue-green background of the mountains is enough to take your breath away. I attempted to take some photos of the gorgeous valleys we passed but they, unfortunately, turned out blurry. It seems that towing a trailer does not afford you the opportunities to just “pull over” for a photo op the way driving an unencumbered truck does. We did make a stop at a lovely rest area close to Weed, CA and I was able to get a couple photos of Mt. Shasta as well as the vista looking west. At one point, Shasta’s base was surrounded by a halo of low-hanging clouds which made her appear to be floating in mid air, but by the time I got the picture the illusion was gone. Still, she is quite beautiful anyway.

An interesting aside. As we crossed the bridges that go over Lake Shasta we were shocked to see that the Lake is extremely low this year, and, in some places only a trickle of water is present.

Today we are hoping to reach Bakersfield. This means a longer day than yesterday but without the climbing through mountains perhaps we will make a little better time. I am hoping Chris will agree to take Hwy 99 instead of I-5 so we have more unique scenery and a few additional options when we decide to stop for the night.

OK, gang, I am off to take a quick shower and then we hit the road again. Until tomorrow…

Southbound...finally!

Finally! We are headed south...and not a moment too soon. The weather in Portland has turned gray, gloomy, cold and rainy with predictions for snow down to 3,500 ft. We slept in this morning, dawdled a bit, did a couple last minute errands and finally got on the road at 1:00. By 5:00 we had arrived here, in Sutherlin, OR and are staying in a very cool RV Park. This place started out as a drive-in movie theatre and now is a lovely, well set up RV park. The office, clubhouse, laundry, shower facilities are in a lovely, bright-yellow barn that you can see from the road (along with the movie screen).

Chris was thrilled to find that we have a pull-through spot (even though he does love that macho feeling he gets from backing the trailer around corners and under low hanging tree branches). It is level and has all the amenities one would want. We can't use the cable TV as the trailer doesn't have an "in" connection but Chris has promised that he will be installing that in the near future. Not that we are all that interested in TV but it sure would be nice to see some news and weather once in a while. If we are close to a station our antenna can pick up a signal but it would seem the signal has to be pretty strong. In Portland we could get ONE station and during the dinner hour (when the news programs are on) the signal wasn't strong enough to pick up. I must admit I'm pretty doggone impressed with this new super duper digital TV stuff.

Each of the spaces here has it's very own patio with a table & 2 chairs so that IF it were warm enough, you could sit outside and enjoy the weather...AND the movies that they still show! We missed tonight's feature as we went to visit Amanda's family but if they show one tomorrow we'll be here with our popcorn and wine! Although, we will definitely be watching from INSIDE the trailer.

This "dirt yachting" is as much fun as cruising on the boat is! We plan to take our time getting to San Carlos so expect to see more updates on the blog. Especially if we have super-fast WiFi like this!! Whoo hoo!!!!

A Different Kind of Summer Cottage

We have a new summer home! After spending several weeks (before and after going to the South Pacific) in my parents' RV Chris & I have decided this "house on wheels" deal works as well as the "house on water" does for us. So...we have purchased a 2005 27' travel trailer to live in during the summers when we aren't on the boat. It sure solves a lot of problems. We have a place to come home to that is ours and we don't have to buy furniture that would have to be stored while we are in Mexico. Further, we can actually move it from place to place so is rather like cruising on land. Both of us are very comfortable with the concept of taking our home with us. Not only can we visit new places but if the next door neighbor starts bugging us all we have to do is unplug the utilities, attach the "house" to the trailer hitch and move to a new area. Easy as pie.
Don't get the wrong idea, though. As with anything else, there are a few good/bad things about trailer life.
Furniture: The house comes with all the furniture built in so no problems with having to buy something to fill up empty rooms. Unfortunately, if you get tired of looking at the pattern on the couch you have to buy a whole new house.
Storage: Yikes! This is very much like a boat! When we first looked at this trailer both of us were amazed at how much storage there was and we talked excitedly about how there was even more than what we have on the boat. Wrong! True, there are lots of cupboards, closets and cabinets, but they are often, in reality, 6" deep and 10" high. For example, my dinner plates will only fit in the angled cabinet in the corner over the couch! We have also converted a closet that was meant for hanging clothes into a pantry so we have somewhere to store food...which we consider to be an essential item.
Still, I have now discovered a resource all my women friends have known about for years: Ikea! They have so many cool ideas for making tiny little spaces do big jobs that it boggles the mind.
When we first got the trailer we had a small dilemma to deal with. We took possession of it on Thursday after 5pm and had to move it into the space we had the RV in. This entailed taking all our stuff (of which we had much more than I'd realized) out of the RV and putting it into the trailer. Then we needed to get the trailer hooked up to all the necessary utilities and take the RV back to my parents. We basically dumped all our belongings in the middle of the trailer to sort out later. Not only did it take a good week to get everything put away but we ended up buying much more than imagined. Things like dishes, silverware, towels, blankets, etc were all needed to set up housekeeping. More "stuff" to find storage spots for. sigh...
Now that we have finally gotten the place pretty much organized it is quite homey and comfortable. Alas, Chris is beginning to make much louder noises about packing it all up and heading south. It seems the summer is truly over and it's time to go back to Mexico. Just when I was beginning to feel settled. Oh well.

Fiji...contrasts and tsunamis

Our last two days in the South Pacific were spent in a lovely beachfront hotel in Nadi, Fiji. And I DO mean IN the hotel! Fiji appears to be a place that deserves some serious exploration but we were continually advised not to venture out into the city. This country has a turbulent history with the last coup taking place in 2006 and it is now under military rule. Our first day there we decided that we REALLY needed to do some serious shopping so we called for a taxi. We were warned by the concierge as well as the cab driver that it is pretty dangerous and we should be very careful. The taxi dropped us at "Jack's of Fiji" where you can buy everything from clothing to kava bowls to an extra bag to get them home in. We bought all three and then some. When we had finally melted the plastic, the store’s concierge called our cab to come and pick us up. Everyone is concerned about your safety, or it would appear so.

That evening the hotel was providing a program of traditional dance and, since we had an ocean view the performance took place right below our balcony. Whoo hoo! We indulged in a wonderful dinner and then purchased a nice bottle of wine to enjoy while we sat on the balcony and watched the show. The Fijians are very talented, as are all the South Sea islanders and the show was super. Each of the islands we have visited have a different style of dancing and the Fijians are no exception. Regardless of where we go, however, my favorites are the fire dancers. There were several young men here who were “playing with fire” but the one I enjoyed the most was the young woman who was swinging two buckets of fire around and around herself.

When we awoke the next morning, Chris turned on the TV while I was in the shower to see if there might be some news on (up to then all that had been available was rugby and religion). That morning was different. There had been an earthquake off the coast of Samoa that morning followed by a tsunami that was now headed our way. Given the information provided by the weather people (that it wouldn’t amount to much in Fiji) and the fact that we were on the west side of the island we weren’t terribly concerned but we did keep a close watch on the water. All we really noticed was the tide receded and came back in quite a bit faster than usual. We asked a couple of the hotel employees if they were worried about the tsunami but, not only were they unconcerned, they hadn’t even heard about it!

Our biggest concern was all our new friends. Most were in Vava’u but the last we’d heard from Hipnautical, was that they were in Apia, Samoa. We sent out several emails and then just waited. Unfortuantely, we were unable to contact the family we’d met who lived on Niuetoputapu island or John & Veronika from Suwarrow. Reports have come trickling in since we returned home and all our cruising friends are fine and had little or no effects from the tsunami. Guy & Karen told us that Nico’s family (on Niuetoputapu) are all safe but they lost their home, their boat and pretty much everything they owned. Still, 10 people are known dead and several missing on that tiny island. Help is trickling in but it is slow. The cruising community has begun gathering together things they can take that will help the people get back on their feet. As for John & Veronika, we have no news. We emailed them but the message was rejected so we can only hope they are safe.

All in all, Fiji was beautiful with sand like silk, warm, warm water and wonderful people and we would both love to go back and see more of it. Who knows…maybe we’ll take “Faith” someday

Tongan Tidbits

The wind is still blowing like crazy and rain flies through from time to time but the temperature is quite comfortable and we are enjoying getting to know a little about Tonga. The local customs are sometimes a little confusing but the people who live here are very friendly and happy.

Chris & I enjoyed taking a short walk up the hill from the anchorage area today to see something besides “downtown” Neiafu. One of the more disconcerting things is that they drive on the left side of the road and the roads are only about a car and a half wide. This can make walking a bit treacherous if you (I) can’t remember to stay on the “wrong” side of the road. The homes here are quite different from those we saw in Samoa. First and foremost they don’t plant the relatives in the front yard. I suspect that is because only the King, members of the Nobility or the government can own land. The yards aren’t much to speak of but that could have something to do with the pigs, chickens and stray dogs (which, by the way, are a Tongan food group) roaming around foraging for food. Also, Tongans aren’t real big on flowers. The only native flowering plant here is Frangipani. There are Hibiscus, Poinsettias and a few others but all were imports and are more prized by the Palangi (white people) than the Tongans.

This country is rife with very unusual customs and restrictions. Some come from the influence of western religions but much goes back way before that. Here are just a few interesting little factoids: The royalty, the nobles and the commoners all speak totally different languages. The members of the royal family and the nobility are somewhat able to communicate but the common people don’t have a clue about what the big wigs are saying.

Rank is very important here and Tongans will avoid speaking to each other until they know which one ranks higher. This is NOT easy to establish. Here are a few of the basics: Members of royalty are the highest rank (this one is pretty straightforward). Nobles are next highest and commoners are lowest (again…makes sense). Men are higher than women…BUT…within a family, sisters are higher than brothers. Relatives on Dad’s side are higher than relatives on Mom’s. Older people are higher than younger. From here it gets very muddy

Tongans have the largest body mass of any other race in the world and they consume 3500-5000 calories per day! No skinny fashion models here.

It is not appropriate for people of the opposite sex to touch each other (hold hands, put arms around each other, etc) in public but it is totally acceptable for people of the same sex to do this.

Tongans do not do anything on Sunday except eat, sleep and go to church.

The clothing restrictions are the most interesting. Women must cover their shoulders and their knees so shorts and tank tops are out. Men are not allowed to go around without a shirt on. Swimsuits are NOT allowed at all (when Tongans swim, they do it fully clothed and usually not in the sun…they do their best to avoid sun). Also, they wear woven mats of all different shapes and sizes and, while they aren’t exactly figure flattering, they are a definite status symbol.

Even though the Tongan people have some unusual traits (and, really, who doesn’t?), they are some of the nicest, happiest, least stressed people I have ever met. I am really enjoying this lovely country and her people…even if I do wish I could wear a swimsuit from time to time!

Note: The photo at the top of this entry is the Governor of Tonga and his wife.

Just the news

We are now in Vava’u which is a beautiful archipelago of islands that is a part of the Kingdom of Tonga. This is truly a cruiser’s paradise. Island after island with pristine beaches and world class sailing and snorkeling. Pretty much anywhere you go is a day trip or less and when you arrive it is another perfect anchorage that you may have all to yourself. There has been a big regatta here which started Friday so we have been enjoying the events. Saturday was a race to another island where a party was held on the beach. Yesterday we came back here as Dietmar had to catch a plane this morning to return New York to work a bit. While he is gone Suzanne, Chris & I will be checking out a few more island anchorages. Far and away this is the most beautiful place we have been to so far.
Chris & I were especially excited to discover that “Julia Max” was here when we arrived. We hadn’t seen them since they left Mexico last Spring. They were leaving for Fiji the next day but the 4 of us got together for lunch and did some catching up. It was great to see them again. Just to prove what a small world it is, we went to a relatively new restaurant here called the Giggling Whale which is owned by a man named Sandy who also has a place in Banff, Canada. Turns out I had met Sandy at a ski show in Portland a few years ago and he & my friend, Mary, know each other quite well!
Last night, we had a birthday party for Dietmar on the boat so Chris & I had a chance to meet more of the cruisers. Late in the evening it began raining and has been steady ever since. The swap meet that was to be held today was postponed but the traditional Tongan feast scheduled to take place one one of the beaches this evening will still go on. We plan to attend but if the rain doesn’t let up I believe Suzanne will be going with the “Follow You, Follow Me” crowd and Chris & I will hunker down on the boat. We have very few warm clothes and totally neglected to bring raingear so we are pretty weather dependent when it comes to outside activities. It does, however, seem to be letting up some so we have our fingers crossed.
I have been getting sporadic reports on the situation in San Carlos after hurricane Jimena went through. It didn’t hit San Carlos but they got winds of 50mph or so and record rainfall of 26” in 24 hours. I understand the storage yard where Faith is had as much as 4’ of water going through it at one time. The office sent an email to all the boat owners explaining that only 4 boats were substantially damaged and if you didn’t get a personal email about it, your boat wasn’t one of them. I am happy to report we did receive one! Still, they are now doing a boat by boat check to look for any damage or water that may be inside. We have also heard from friends who were and are there about what the conditions are like. We are also watching the local forum, and Chris has asked some of his Tucson friends who will be going down to check on their boats to take a look at Faith as well. It is a rather helpless feeling to be this far away from her but know there isn’t much we could have done had we been there. I understand the devastation from the flooding is pretty bad. The main street is washed out and about the only way people can get around is with 4WD or walking. The power and water was out for a while but I believe they are starting to get that put back in place. We’ll be happy to hear something more concrete once someone has a chance to look at the boat first hand.
More to come about Tonga in the days ahead!