Adventures of a Tribe

The Maiden Voyage

Posted on April 1, 2015 Updated on April 1, 2015

This morning when we woke I rushed up stairs to make sure it hadn’t all been a dream…

What I found was water so still, it had the perfect reflection of the surrounding rainforest in it, little birds flying in and out of the maze of mangroves, and sleepy boats laying neatly in their slips.  The only sound was a rooster crowing from some nearby Indian huts, where smoke was rising from their morning fire.

Danny and I quietly untied the dock lines and motored out to where the fuel dock is.

$391.00 later, with both 52 gallon diesel tanks and the dinghy’s gas tank filled, we motored off on our morning adventure.  The great thing about sailboats is that the diesel will last a very long time, since we use the wind to move us, rather than engines.

We passed by beautiful homes nestled in the jungle along the beaches, and a dolphin came to say good morning.  He rode the bow as we moved along, then darted off into the deep.

We sailed past Bocas town, which was already bustling with morning water taxi’s, and headed North with the mountains of Costa Rica in view.  Our Panamanian flag flying proudly in the wind.

After a while we let the anchor down and swam.  The water is incredibly warm, yet cool enough to be refreshing.  We took turns scrubbing Tanda Malaika’s belly.  It’s not until you start to scrub that you realize her size!  We have plenty more to work on tomorrow.

Danny is an amazing Captain.  He handles the boat boat like he’s been sailing it his entire life. I’m one lucky girl to have him as my Captain and Sweetheart.