Carla’s first blog:
Hi there everyone : )
I thought some of you might be interested in hearing about my first impressions. Not that I have experienced much sailing yet because we still haven’t really moved from this beautiful area. But we’ve been doing some work and I am getting to learn what it means to make a boat your home. I thought having an “outsider’s” view on that might come in handy for some who might wonder whether it’s really difficult or very different. I’m long-winded, so this will be a bit long I think. Hope you don’t mind. And there’s so much I am learning I might have to come back some other time and write some more.
Alex is a little nervous right now, he keeps on interrupting me and wants to know what I’ll be writing about. He just told me “you being on the webpage is as or even more important than you coming to live on Splendid”. I see how much it means to him.
We’ve gone from one person to three really because, a few days after I came back from Patagonia, Chuck arrived as well. Funnily enough he and Alex met through this webpage and have been writing to each other for quite a while whereas in my case I never even thought about sailing before. Back home sailing is for rich people really. Or for marines, they usually start with military training and then leave and become merchant marines. This is just my opinion but I’d say our average Argentine citizen knows nothing about it and does not even imagine some people just live on a boat.
Now when I met Alex I was blown away by the idea but not without some hesitation involved. I’ve been a nomad for twelve years, I just don’t need a home at all. The idea is sometimes hard for Alex because he really wishes I get to love Splendid as much as he does but the thing is, what I love to do is travel. I love moving. I like being able to just go anywhere anytime. I never travel with a plan or much money. Because then I am just ready to go through any doors that open as I move. And having to do some work in exchange for accommodation or food gives me real amazing experiences. At the beginning, when I have some money, I stay at hostels and just get bored. But then when the money’s running out (like two or three weeks later) I can be swimming somewhere and meet nice people that are going fruit picking somewhere they know and then I like to just pack my clothes in ten minutes and go with them. And maybe at the fruit farm I might meet other people that are going for a jeep ride somewhere for fun or volunteer at some community and I like to just be able to go with them. This is exactly how I met Alex. I was in a bus stop waiting to get to some little rural island I knew nothing about and we started talking, he offered to take me to a few islands in the dingy, I found him an interesting guy with clean energy so I said yes. And, after a few days, when he invited me to live with him, I had nothing back home other than a couple of boxes at my dad’s garage. I went, gave most of my clothes away to my older niece and came back with the stuff I thought I could use here. Owning anything is just a drag for me. Even the idea of owning property somewhere and living on rent is stressful. I’d have to be watching if the tenants are paying or if something breaks, I’d hate it. I have received good money from my family twice and instead of getting a car or buying a house all I did was get some clothes for myself (I’m a hoodie junkie), a good camera, presents for my family and then I went travelling until the money was all gone. At first, owning Splendid and having to look after it seemed like stress to me. We can’t just go places whenever we wish, the weather has to be good, you have to pay for a marina if you want to travel on land. And I just don’t know how to love any kind of object. I jump in the water many times a day because I need to feel I am in nature and not in some man-made thing keeping me away from it. I am a real hippie, I tell you.
I’m writing this just to give a little background information because it really explains how Alex and I and the whole project of travelling together became real so quickly. We’ve only been physically together for 23 days and it feels like we’ve known each other for years. The thing is, we are really similar and we’ve been living very similar lives only that he was doing it in the sea and I was doing it on land. We had a couple of discussions in which he said that living on land is being part of the system and I totally disagreed. Sure, I had to do some work to eat and continue travelling (either teaching children somewhere for nine months, which I absolutely love doing, it’s no effort at all I could rent a nice flat and enjoy some luxuries or travelling I would get odd funny jobs like working in a rice field or a bar somewhere) but that’s just because I don’t want to stay on a little piece of land and grow food. My sister has a beautiful life with her family, they live in the country and don’t use much money. They build everything themselves and produce their own food. Their children are growing in a beautiful environment. The way Alex shoots fish you can still hunt on land if you want to do so. And little rural villages are quite similar to these anchorages. I don’t really see such a big difference. And it’s not like you don’t have rich, selfish or narrow-minded people living on boats! It’s not that everybody is really chilled because they live here, in just one week here I’ve already had to endure a long conversation with someone who would not look at me in the eyes once because Alex and I were living together and not married. There’s good and bad everywhere and nothing’s perfect. You only live once and it’s important to live the life you want. Whatever that means to you.
But there’s something really amazing about living on a boat and it is that it is a house that moves. As silly and simple as it might sound, when what you like doing is travelling it is just the perfect thing! You don’t need to work to pay for flights or buses because if you’re patient you can just go nearly anywhere in the world with wind and solar power. It’s clean, good karma and it’s just nature all around you. And we can do a couple of charters now and then (I like having people around, there’s always something to learn from everyone and I believe most people have a beautiful heart that shines bright if they feel confident enough to open up to you) and use some of that money to buy fresh fruit, nuts, oats and nice tea. Save some money to go home once a year or every eighteen months to visit my lovely family and friends (in the picture I’m talking for free on Skype with my sister Juli in the mountains, we are still very connected here). And there’s nothing I love like water. I can swim for hours, it’s my element. You can really have a good life in the sea. And I did not expect to meet someone as wonderful as Alex, ever, so right for me, so similar and so complementary it feels just like a gift from the universe. Some people kept telling me, with this envious grin on their face, “when you finally fall in love with someone you’ll want to stop travelling and have a house and all, settle down”. All I could hear was “wish I had the courage to live like you do” so it didn’t make me mad. But then people who love me kept telling me “when you find the right person, loving will be a lot easier and you won’t have to change, things will get better. You just haven’t found the right man yet.” Everything tells me I finally have.
Chuck’s first guest blog:
It is hard to believe a week ago Alex and Carla were waiting for me at the airport. My luggage missed the flight due to my long lay over in Atlanta. However, everything was delivered to my room by the next evening. The price of rooms are comparable to the states ($80 a night). We could have stayed in a hostel for $12 for a dorm bed or $30 for a room to yourself. We bought provisions which Carla carefully arranged in two backpacks. The prices are much better than Tacoma, WA on almost everything. After two nights all three of us were itching to get out of the city. I could feel the stress easing away the farther we got away from the big towns. I would not call Puerto Lindo (the community nearest Splendid) uncivilized though. It has several restaurants. Free water for the cruisers. Free internet for all customers, though cruisers can use it without paying for anything. The anchorage is very quiet and peaceful. Alex and Carla are great teachers and mentors. There is no stress to do or not do anything. Though Alex asks me what I want to do several times daily. We discussed going to the San Blas Islands but the weather offshore is worse than I wish to experience. I asked to go to Isla Grande, an island half an hour sail away, for a change of pace. Once we got there we found the anchorage was rollie. We took the dingy into town for a snack and a beer (see my pic). Alex did not get upset or anything when an hour later I mentioned I wished we were back in the old anchorage. We pulled anchor and followed the way points back. We swim as many times a day as we can. There is no pressure to get into the water. I personally have to ease into things. I sat on the ladder the first few minutes the first time. Then I eased in the water never straying too far from the ladder. Neither Alex nor Carla laughed or made fun of me. I made a comment later that the only person to be laughed at would be the one not here trying and learning. Some might say I am missing things like the reef. But I am less stressed than normal. I am enjoying doing things at my pace without holding Alex or Carla back. I would be content to hang out right here for the next week. Yes the San Blas Islands sound great. I have heard them compared to the San Juan Island back home. I do not intend to stress myself just to see them. There are about a half dozen boats for sell in this anchorage alone. I am already planning my next trip where I come down and make an offer on one of them.
Hi guys it’s me (Alex):
Chuck is gr8, we are having fun. We all went to the reef today and I shot a few snappers for dinner. Chuck brought be a GoPro video camera which straps to my head in an underwater housing so I can take it spearfishing, it’s AWESOME!!!!! We just watched the first footage from it.
It sure is different having 2 extra people onboard. Chuck is an easy guest to have around and he is really into the idea of cruising on a boat. We are having some problems getting fuel as everything is closed and we can not pass on the road due to carnival, and the local stations are dry. The markets are also lacking some items due to a conflict in the north with the Indians. Apparently the Panamanian government is trying to mine on Indian land and they are REALLY unhappy about it. Some people have died in the protest and they are blocking some of the roads & traffic. You know me, I’m with the Indians as they just wish to live in peace.
I like Carla 
Life is good here we will be off to San Blas soon to film.
Peace, Love, & Coconuts
Alex