Day: September 30, 2016
Watching Matthew
The past couple of days we have been laying low as far as sailing goes. Hurricane Matthew has been moving west, parallel to Puerto Rico, and it was unsure at what point it would turn north. While sitting around eating breakfast, Danny asked us all, “what would you do if in bad winds, the line on the mooring ball broke?” We all gave our answers, and decided that the best bet initially would be to simply drop anchor. It’s good to be thinking ahead…Most of us went in to town to do a little laundry and purchase some sugar, and were once again met by homes and businesses painted in bright colors.
Aidan and Gabriel skated on their penny boards all around town, enjoying some smooth roads and sidewalks for a change. It’s been so fun to spend time with my mom and sister. Check out how much the sun has bleached my dark brown hair! (yes I’m the frumpy one on the right with no make up on!)
We watched clouds move in and wind increase, with waves reaching 10 – 12 ft. Danny called from the boat, saying that Tanda Malaika’s weight in the intense wind had been a bit too much for the mooring ball, and our stern was almost in the mangroves. He and Emma dropped anchor. How’s that for coincidence!??? I told him we’d make our way back and help move Tanda Malaika to another location.
On our way out of town, Aidan mentioned he’d seen a bakery, so we stopped by and bought a few things to take back. It was tough trying to choose.
Along the road there are always beautiful and interesting things to see, like gorgeous flowers and pods and wooden paths that lead to places I’d love to explore.
These air plants have always fascinated me, and they grow everywhere here.
Once we arrived home, we pulled up anchor and motored through the mangroves to find a good place where we’d be protected from the wind. We found just the spot, and settled in. We have paddle boarded, been swimming and snorkeling, found a sunken boat, lay in the middle of a bait ball consisting of thousands of silversides, read and goofed off, and sent Gabriel up the mast. He loved it so much he stayed for a while and sang.
It’s been fun relaxing, and the wind has kept us cooler than we would have been. This morning I took advantage of the wind and washed a few things and hung them to dry, and I also sorted through and reorganized Danny’s tools. Tonight I made taco salad for dinner at the creatures request, and we enjoyed our meal at he stern salon before the mosquitos arrived.
This evening Danny pulled out his guitar and Mycah and Gabriel sang for a while. I always love that.
Looking at Hurricane Matthew at this point, we are in the clear to continue east tomorrow. We are grateful that it is not hitting Luperon in Dominican Republic.
Tomorrow begins the month of October. It’s a tough time for us as we clearly remember a year ago, at this point we had less than a week left with my brother as he was living with 9 cancerous brain tumors from metastatic melanoma. I recall every word he said to me. Every smile. Every time we held hands. I miss him so much.
Adventures of a Tribe 