What a week!
Here’s a Story for Ya!
I recently did the math. It has been 33 years since I graduated from high school. Just keep that number in mind as I share a story of serendipity and reunions.
With the invention of Facebook those of us who use it have had the opportunity to reconnect with people from all stages of our lives. Even though I sometimes find it to be a continuation of high school popularity contests I do enjoy seeing how people have changed, or not, and finding/ re-friending people I once knew.
Probably 10 years ago I connected with a guy I knew of in high school but didn’t really ‘know’. I can’t remember us ever having an exchange of any kind and that, I am certain, I would remember as he was one of the cool kids while I was most certainly NOT! Well, I friend requested him and then, as all normal people do, proceeded to Facebook stalk him to see what he had been up to all of these years.
Looking through his limited posts I noticed he and I actually had a great deal in common. I left it at a cool observation. However, when I found out that he was visiting the PNW for a class I reached out and we had a brief exchange. It was around Thanksgiving so of course I invited him to join my friends, family and I to our holiday gathering. Unfortunately the distance proved too much for his comfort so that chance to meet up was missed. We’ve not been in touch since.
That all changed just about two weeks ago when I received a voice message from this guy. It appears that he is considering pursuing the possibility of buying a boat & sailing the Sea of Cortez, just like me. Of course he is!!!
How he came to reach out to me was quite the serendipitous event. As he was looking on Facebook Marketplace, pursuing potential boats, he came across one that looked interesting. He began to explore further then noticed that the woman selling the boat and he had a mutual friend. Yep, you guessed it… ME.
So, seeing that I am currently living this life he thought to send me a message and open conversation about this idea of his/ours, maybe gaining insight as to how he might proceed. With finding myself head over heels for this new way of being in the world I am certainly one to encourage others to try it on for size. Responding to his message I did let him know that I am still just a babe when it comes to the in’s and out’s of life as a cruiser but I would be happy to help in whatever way I could. J and I set up a time to talk more on a phone call. This was to be when I was on a mini vacay over in Tulum and I would make it happen.
The phone call took place on Tuesday, March 2nd. Although, again, I didn’t really know this dude, but rather of him and was a wee bit unsure of how the call would go. To my surprise it was easy to chat with J. We compared notes, shared about our commonalities, caught up on what we knew regarding old school mates from back in Alabama, and of course got around to boats. If I remember correctly we talked for around about an hour. In the call I, off the cuff, threw out the invitation for him to come hang out with me in La Paz to get a refresher feel for this ideal life he had in his head. J has done some sailing, and even lived aboard for a brief amount of time. He was not an absolute green horn.
Little did I expect that he would decide to come to La Paz a week to the day later! At first I mentioned a later date to give me time to settle back in to the boat and complete my dive courses before receiving guests. I don’t know if he even heard that! He seemed pretty stuck on Tuesday, March 9th. No worries. I rally like a boss!!!
I got home from Tulum on Sunday, March 7th. My open water dives were to begin on March 9th, the day J was to arrive. He was flying into Cabo then catching a bus to La Paz, arriving in the evening. I didn’t even have a chance to clean up the boat! Maybe you know that feeling of coming home from a vacation but before you unpack, put things away, & tidy up you’ve got to go back to work. Well, take that and envision it on a 38’ sailboat. There was nothing for me to do but to accept my guest was going to have to endure a messy boat. Oh well.
Meeting up with J outside the bus terminal was more comfortable than I expected. I may not have known him back then but he certainly was familiar. Now that’s all well and good walking along the malécon of La Paz but then you factor in the fact that he and I will be sharing a tiny space for the next several days…
Luckily it went swimmingly! J and I got on like two long lost BFF’s! Hiking, sailing, and even a road trip where the direction was decided literally in the flip of a coin we had a ton of fun!
Open Water Dives!
During J’s stay I completed the first two open water dives required for me to receive the PADI certification. Aimee and I began the course together, enjoying the process. After several days in a less that thrilling, but most certainly chilling (super cold), pool we were excited to get the dives underway.
This next video is a combination of all 4 of the open water dives done in two days. Gary was assisting the instructor Jay. Since we were such a good group he had more time on his hands to film our underwater adventures.
And below is from day two alone. Due to weather we had to postpone these final two dives for a week or better. Believe me when I say I welcomed the break!
Once I had these dives completed and a written final passed I became PADI certified! The Fang Ming was a deeper water dive which I found a bit uncomfortable getting into. With low visibility and no land to orient to I had to talk myself calm so I could make it down. This was the moment I realized reef diving is just fine for me! Saying that, however, once I got to the wreck I geeked out a little and enjoyed the dive. Still, I find warmer water and more light most enticing.
Thats enough fun and adventure to report for this post. I hope you are enjoying the updates as I can get them up.
;-)
More soon…
~ Cheryl