Sailing Day

Sunrise

Despite little wind, cold and some rain, it was a sailing day today. Eric's brother Marc showed up while we were eating breakfast, announcing that he had a boat and we had a six hour sail planned. We gobbled up our French toast and strawberries and grabbed as many jackets and warm clothing we could find and met Marc at the dock and off we went. We passed under several bridges to get out to the gulf, looked for dolphins playing off the boat, sailed up the coast and back into the bay. Eric and Marc sailed, while Tara, Maya and I played cards and read down below. It was a two or three person boat and there was little room or patience for us on deck, so we hid and kept busy. Eric and Marc are good sailors, having sailed all their childhood, and Marc has been obsessed with boats for some time. He is a miracle survivor of 70+% burns on his body after surviving an explosion on his boat over two years ago. He is covered with cloned skin and is a marvelous example of modern medicine. He spent months in a medically induced coma in the Tampa burn unit and survived skin grafts and operations to bring him back to life. He is an incredibly lucky person to have lived through his ordeal and has a second chance at life. Sailing is his passion and he is building a boat in his backyard which is almost seaworthy.

Sailing

Sailor

I was surprised how quickly the hours flew. Maya, Tara and I had little to do, but we joked and played and read and cuddled to get warm. It was so cold! It rained a little. We were lucky to be wearing our skijackets! My mother had asked what we needed for Christmas when I informed her that we had no warm clothes, she bought all of us warm winter jackets, which we needed today on the water in the rain and the cold. It feels much colder in St Petersburg than it did in Quito! I imagine it is because it is very humid here and in Quito the dryness makes the temperature tolerable. My mother complains that she feels cold and of course in comparison to Edmonton where it is 40 degrees below zero, it is balmy here, but the humidity makes it feel much colder, and the biting cold seeps into ones' bones and one truly feels it!

Tara and Maya Reconnecting

My calm and relaxing vacation here has not started. I have yet to take my long and leisurely walk down the beach. I did not cook much today, which was a relief. We had steamed stone crabs tonight for dinner, which were delicious and did not take much work. My plan is to stay out of the kitchen as much as possible these next few days and to work on getting the kitchen looking more like it did when we arrived, rather than the whirlwind it has been since we arrived.

Looking for Dolpins

The sunrise and sunset are entrancing me. I am remembering how much I enjoyed living on the beach and hearing the tide come in and the birds screeching. This is a beautiful place, it feels like paradise, and I feel lucky to be here.

I Love Sailing