Whose a Cruiser?

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!