March 27, 2009

March 27, 2009

Ahoy from Namaste, Thompson Bay, Long Island

Hi Everybody!

It is hard to believe we have been on Thompson Bay for almost 2 weeks! How fast time passes on Namaste. I wish you all a Happy Spring! I can almost smell the cherry blossoms.

We were greeted by many of the cruisers we met while in Georgetown upon our arrival on Long Island. While here we have been getting to know each other better. We have especially enjoyed some extended time with 3 couples on sailing vessels Loafer’s Glory, Fox Sea and Adamant. We first met Vicki and Bob from Fox Sea in Beaufort, North Carolina and again in Charleston, South Carolina. I believe we will meet up with them again in Eleuthera. Pat and Lynn from Adamant designed and built their own boat and traveled here from Georgian Bay. Anne Marie and Larry from Loafer’s Glory are traveling for two years. They plan to spend the summer in Luperon, Dominican Republic before traveling down to Trinidad next fall and winter. We continue to enjoy making friends on the water beginning with the greetings “Where have you been? Where are you going?”

As we get to know more of the cruisers we are discovering many self-reliant individuals. Some of the cruisers are retired. Some have retired early. But many are couples of modest income that decided to sell their homes and alter the course of their lives dramatically. We also meet many like ourselves who rent their homes are take some extended time off before returning to their careers or finding new endeavors. While this is a unique adventure from the perspective of friends and family back home, it is something more and more couples are choosing after their children leave home and they are free to make different choices.
We rented a car for a day to explore more of this 80-mile long island. We explored the beaches at the north and south ends of the island. One thing that is still hard to get used to is the amount of trash on the ocean side beaches in the Bahamas. On Stocking Island the cruisers clean up the ocean side beach and it was lovely. The park beaches are also kept clean by rangers and volunteers. Still, on many of the beaches through out the Bahamas one will find plastic containers, shoes, ropes, nets, barrels, glass bottles, toothbrushes, batteries, television tubes and more washed up on shore. At the edge of beautiful and pristine water lies the underbelly of our culture.

So we tend to ignore or make use of what we find when walking the beaches. Chris has been gathering colored netting to make a protective cover for the front of Derby, our dinghy. He is pictured on the deck beginning his weaving project. I overlook the garbage and center my attention on shells and sea beans. The sea beans are dark, round pod seeds that can be polished and made into jewelry. There is another umber and ochre pod aptly called the hamburger bean. These small and fragile seeds float to Bahamian shores all the way from distant Africa. I am not sure what plants they come from yet, but will soon find out and let you know.
We also visited Dean’s Blue Hole, one of the deepest blue holes in the world at 660 feet deep. The photo I have included does not capture the sea green and blue colors of the water. At present there are young men and women free divers from all over the world gathering and practicing for the upcoming free dive competition in April. We watched as a woman from Japan and a man from New Zealand dove down 275 feet before rising again to the surface. The scuba divers who go down with them during the competition will take an additional 4 to 5 hours to surface after authenticating depth for the contest.

There must be 100 churches spread among the 35 settlements here on Long Island. The two churches shown in the photographs are in Clarence Town. Father Jerome, the hermit cleric of Cat Island designed the large, blue and white St Peter’s Catholic Church and the St. Paul’s Anglican Church. He arrived from England in 1908 to help rebuild churches after a hurricane. He built 4 churches on Cat Island as well as a medical clinic, convent, monastery and a technical school. He chose to live as a hermit in a cave while living on Cat Island and is buried there now.
I just finished reading The Story of the Bahamas by Paul Albury, which Pat and Bim so generously left for us. I continue to gain respect for the resilience of the Bahamians. Throughout a 400-year history here they have overcome every adversity handed to them by man and nature. A life lived mainly from the sea is not an easy path. Island life can be harsh and isolated with few of the modern conveniences we have become dependent upon. Yet these people are ready with an understanding smile and yielding grace. We continue to enjoy the generous spirit of our hosts here In the Bahamas.

I mentioned how fast time flies here on Namaste. We purchased Namaste a year ago March 17th. We moved aboard just over 7 months ago. We have been traveling on her for 5 months. Over the last few months I feel like I am shedding time like layers of winter fleece. Chris and I are thankful for the gifts of a life tuned to the rhythms of nature. At first it was hard to release the secure furry feeling of a scheduled life. How will I know what to do? Or when to do it? I now have ample opportunity to nakedly practice not knowing every moment’s outcome. I am continuing to open myself to the mystery of each moment. How rewarding to let go of the confining cloak of expectation, image, and judgment. I continue to catch myself looking for the warm, sheltering blanket of a plan, a picture of the future or a conclusion where my mind can firmly seek cover. And again I alter my thought’s course toward presence, open, naked, presence. And I thought I knew what my work was before we even embarked on this journey! So many surprises!

The upcoming weather is looking good to sail to Conception, a small island just east of us. It offers little in the way of protection from strong winds so cruisers must find a good long window of opportunity to sail there. It is part of the Bahamian National Trust. It is uninhabited and surrounded by clear water and lots of coral. There are several other boats headed in the same direction. We are lucky to have been provided this opportunity to go there.
I will upload this and upcoming blogs as Internet access allows. Connections will be fewer, weaker and further between for the next couple of weeks.

Hope you all have a great spring.

Peace and Love