Many journeys and events have happened over the course of this past year. In November of last year we left the Rio Dulce in Guatemala and headed to the Bay of Islands, Honduras (Roatan, Utila and Guanaja) spending 3 months there. As Virginia was expected to join us in Panama in March, we headed toward the Panama Canal with intermittent stops at the Colombian Islands of Providencia and San Andreas. She has chartered us for the past 2 years and as she is graduating from College this year she will probably not join us again for awhile.
After many repairs and services to the boat ( it is endless and we recently met a boat named FIA-fix it again) we left Shelter Bay Marina and toured the Chagras River (damned to create the canal) and than headed to Bocas del Torro in NE Panama near the Costa Rican border. Met up with some friends who have become "life-long" buddies, Gil and Kathy aboard Endorfin.
Back to the Canal and than on to KUNA YALA COMARCA- The San Blas Islands and home of the indigenous Kuna Indians. We spent 2 1/2 months traversering the area of over 300 Islands, were invited to many islands by the natives, and celebrated via a Chicha festival (the coming of age of young women). Marc is in processs of working with people there to bring internet services to the islands and raise money to fund uniforms, books and shoes to the children, while providing a service to boaters.
Back to Canal and Marina to fly to states. In august, my daughter Julia and Husband Eric celebrated their wedding in NH which had occured in January on a cruise to Belize (unbeknownst to us all). It was a wonderful celebration and my daughter, Daneka and husband, Ari and grandson, Ben flew from Israel to join us. Family also flew in From Indiana.
What would a trip to the states be without visiting all the family. We flew to N. Carolina to celebrate Marc's parents birthdays (mike and dot are 91 and 92 respectively). Marc's daughter, Nikki and his sister, Diane and husband, Ned were wonderful additions to the celebration. Nikki had recently returned from her cross country journey to California and was searching for a job to replenish the kitty and get on with her career. She had previously beeen a middle school teacher and is now teaching again and working on a master's degree.
We returned to Panama and headed again to the San Blas Islands for 3 weeks before heading to Cartagena. Once again we left the boat to return to the states for my nieces wedding in Indiana in November.
Upon on our return we toured inland Colombia, via rented car and Marc got his "indy 500" /nascar fix. He loves driving in third world countries with the trucks and curving mountain roads. It all began when he travelled from Germany to Afghanistan in his VW camper bus when he was 20. I, on the other hand, grip the seat and try to read. I completed the book, "Why Men Don't Listen and Women Can't Read Maps ( I was the navigator) a borrow from my dear Sister- in- law, Ann.
The trip was wonderful (car ride aside). We spent 3 days in Bogota -crowded like most big cities but unique with Spanish Colonial history and wonderful museums (gold, Botero) and we visited many small towns and villages as we headed to Medellin (know throughout the country for its wonderful display of lights during the holidays). We spent 1 day in Santa Rosa de Cabal where there are hotsprings and enjoyed 4 hours of being pampered with dirt piling, mud bath, frutotherapy, oatmeal/honey rub and culminating in a 1 hour massage. Eat your heart out everyone it costs us $40 each. We have met some wonderful people who have befriended us and even have either led us to places we could not find or travelled with us to get somewhere. And we have made business contacts for the ventures that we are involved in. We believe we have sourced organic herbs and found a pharmaceutical company to formulate and bottle our products.
One of my highlights was finding the "Tagua" factory I had found online. Tagua is a palm that produces a seed that becomes hardened (similar to coconut milk that becomes a gel, than hardens) but it becomes so hard upon drying that it was used during WW2 to produce buttons for military uniforms all over the world- it is called Vegetable Ivory. It is still used for buttons, but is mostly used to produce jewelry, sculture and whatever else an artist can produce. The owner, Elain Misrachi, gave us tour of the factory and I saw first-hand how they process the seeds. Of course I bought many of theirs, but I have many that I found while hiking and will try to replicate the process.
We happened to be in Bogota at the time the "Annual Artisans Expo" was scheduled and had the opportunity to see products from all over the country both indigenous and modern artists were represented. Much creativity and time are invested as all products are hand made or assembled.
We are now back in Cartagena with fellow boaters and our plate has been full. We have enjoyed dance performances (my favorite of course) traditional and modern. We just attended a performance that was a collaboration with the Univ. of Texas, Austin, and a local College. What a great cultural exchange and the dancing will be performed in Texas in March. We went to a Christmas Ball (no black tie but sandals and colorful shirts with dinner and dancing), a Chiva bus tour (many gringos travelling around the old town on a very colorful bus with musicians (marc brought his drums) and lots of rum stopping to dance at the ocean and on the walls of the old city. There is volleyball 3 times per week, we walk at 6 am before it gets hot (think 86 degrees with 90% humidity) and on Christmas day there will be a huge christmas dinner (pot luck). So we will be among friends.
Marc is organizing an event for New Years called "Saillights Cartagena 2009" that is a showing of lights on sailboats throughout the anchorage and marina. Children from the local Barrios (think very poor) will be brought onto the boats and given a gift. We had a traditiion of taking children from a foster home onto the boat at christmas time in NH, so the tradition continues. A light show will follow with boats flashing their assigned colored lights to music. I will be placing Lumieres down the waterfront.
I look forward to the coming year when I will fly to Israel for the birth of my granddaughter, and to NH for the college graduations of Julia and Virginia. Marc may go back to Thailand for a Buddhist retreat update. And of course there is our Canal crossing and a new journey to follow on the Pacific side of South America (Ecuador, Peru, Chile).
As our families have grown it is difficult to come together withh our children on the traditional holidays-Daneka,Ari and Ben in Israel, Virginia in Indiana, Julia,Eric, Peter and Jada in NH, and Nikki in NH. It is the family that we will miss the most. We will think of all of you as we celebrate in a very untraditional way with a community of friends and in a place we call our home for now.
Much love to you all
Happy Hanakah, Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad, Happy New Year
Let there be peace among us for we all are one.
Pati and Marc
aboard S/V AlphaWave
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