wow, time flies when one tries to launch a boat. we have been working for four weeks.
short walk to the neighbouring and charming village cacique to stretch the legs. the jungle of the national park is still waiting for me. as they tell me it is super difficult to find the “right” path even with a machete. due to the poisonous snakes, scorpions and spiky plants, they recommend better to have a local with me. the issue is I haven’t found a knowledgable person who likes to walk yet – Im still looking for someone to take me.
just before the launch. we are happy and proud of our achievement. is she going to float?
and finally we were able to put whisper back into the water – her element where she belongs. not rigid and awkward on the hard – fluent, smooth, delightful and graciously rocking in the passing waves.
now we live on a boat the dream came true. in the far we can hear the waves break on the reef. some creatures crawl around whisper and the crackling can be heard in the salon while writing and posting this. in order to get on land we need a dinghy. however, we are that close to the jetty that we use our paddles instead the motor. but we are in the water!!
the work continued on deck. so exciting to check the rigging and put the sails up. of course we both had to go up the mast to enjoy the view at 14.25m above sea level. not that easy to work up there. two sails are up, one more to go. we are going sailing real soon – wooohoooo!
something I guess only a boat owner will ever truly empathise with: 1 step forward, on a good day 2 steps and on a bad day 3 steps back. this is how it goes: engine reliability check done and batteries charged – celebration, bilge pump alarm goes off as the bilge is full – oh lord, search for the cause… fresh water tank down by 200 litre, oh no. problem detected quickly, a hose from the water heater is leaking. in the meantime, not far away, as it is a 12m boat, another leaking hose was detected in the bathroom. I spare you with the details.
having said that, we love our new life here. being our own bosses, working in our own pace, our own rhythm. where time doesn’t matter unless you want to buy some vegetables from the rolling vendor or not miss the yoga class – which I managed to miss on a regular basis. yes, I did miss many of them – so unlike me. time started to stretch, it became fluent, even liquid, like the water we are surrounded in. we get up with the sun, eat whenever we are hungry, rest when we are tired and go to bed when we are sleepy – we are flowing through the day. we have our idea of what tasks we feel like to accomplish in a day, but do not hold onto a specific schedule. tasks are done, whenever the time is right for them to be done. may it be today, tomorrow or the next week. a caribbean phenomena or purely the bliss of living in the moment?
Much love from Panama
Sabrina
ps: my thanks, gratefulness and appreciation to everyone who has supported me on my journey to create this website. a special thanks to Jessica, little wild bird with the currently broken wing, for your support and being my sparing partner in the whole video, audio and editing world – I hope you will be proud of me one day ;D sending you our love and healing powers that you can spread both your wings soon again. x