Now that we are away from La Paz
(although only 12 miles) we've been taking time to rest and think
about things. Our life has been such a rush these last few months.
Rush to get the boat ready, rush to make it to Mexico, rush to do the
outside of Baja, rush to get into the Sea of Cortez, rush to La Paz,
and then in La Paz it was a rush to fix the things that broke on the
way here or a rush to finish things that will make our lives easier
while in the Sea of Cortez (of course that was in between being
social with the wonderful people we'd met there). Since coming to
Balandra Cove, we've started talking to each other about different
things. Things other than the water-maker, the muffler, or some other
boat part, but our biggest conversation has been about when we feel
we became cruisers. Sounds weird, but it happened so gently for us
I'm not sure, as a matter of fact I know, neither of us can really
put our thumb on a time and place. Was is when we left Portland, or
Astoria, or Oregon, or when we entered Mexico, or when we started
spending more time at anchorage than in a marina? We just can't say.
Each was an accomplishment in it's own, but what makes a cruiser a
cruiser? Is it when we start to experience a different culture from
the one we know? If that's it then I became a cruiser (albeit with
out a boat) back in 2005, when I left my home in South Carolina and
moved out West, but that doesn't really feel right. Was it when we
started moving our home? We could say we started cruising in 2006
when we brought our little boat to Mexico by trailer, but again that
doesn't feel right either. It was our home, but it just doesn't feel
right to us to say that was the beginning. Maybe it was when we left
our home port, but we never really thought of Portland as home. We
lived there a number of years, but it was never a home that tugs at
the heart strings, so again I'm not sure that feels right to say
either. The closest we can come to that definition is when we left
California. We spent 18 months there and both of us love CA, but we
were already on the move with our home and we'd traveled almost 1500
miles in her by that point. So it doesn't exactly feel right saying
that's the point we became cruisers either. As you can see, it
happened gradually and at many different points for us. We both agree
we are officially cruisers (we've put close to 2500 miles under our
keel), we are in a different country far from home, and we are
experiencing new and exciting things all the time. To say we are
soaking up the customs, food, and scenery is a little obvious. We are
trying to embrace Mexico and I think she is embracing us as well.
Well we are cruisers, even if we can't say “when” it happened.
Fair Winds My Friends!
