Providencia, Colombia
On Friday night six kids from a neighboring boat called ‘Invincible’ came over and the twelve of them played games under the moon (and boat lights) on the trampoline. They played till almost midnight, laughing and talking and exchanging information. Some people have asked me if, given our lifestyle, the creatures get to interact with anyone. The answer is that with this lifestyle they interact more than when we were on land. The cool part about it is that they have made so many wonderful, long lasting friends from all walks of life and of all ages, rather than just the small clicks of people they surrounded themselves with on land. They have become more open minded, sympathetic and understanding and feel less entitled. It’s so wonderful to watch and experience.
The following morning we awoke to another beautiful day in Providencia. I made up a big potato salad and also coleslaw in preparation for our next crossing.
Since there is no fuel dock here, we had to load all jerry cans into the dinghy, go into town and fill them up, then load them all back in and empty them into Tanda Malaika..then repeat the process till we were all filled up. All the creatures helped Danny with this.
That afternoon Danny and I were going to go for a dive, but Mr Bush radioed us telling us that if we are leaving the next day, we’d have to check out that afternoon since he wouldn’t be there the next day. The time he needed us was not going to allow us time enough to dive, so we met the creatures where they were cliff jumping and we snorkeled. The water was so clear, and our surroundings were beautiful. I went shark hunting, looking in every cave and under ledges, but unfortunately didn’t find any.
When it came time to check out we all went in to town, and after meeting with Mr Bush, who gave us all big hugs when we left, we met with our friends from Invincible and grabbed some pizza. Another cruising couple joined us a little ways into our meal too. We talked about sailing adventures and travel experiences, and all agreed that we love our life on the ocean and are grateful for the opportunity.
Our time in Providencia was so fun. The people are so happy, friendly and helpful. Danny and Mycah went to get diesel cans filled and Mycah was carrying them to the dinghy when two older men stopped their scooter and came to help her. There is no crime there, and everyone is poor so they are one big family helping each other. They keep their island clean, unlike in Panama, and take pride in their surroundings. We really love this place, where everyone rides scooters and small motorbikes, and are quick to smile and wave.
On Saturday we left there and began our approximately 3 day passage to Roatan, Honduras.
Adventures of a Tribe 