Musing from the Road

In the days of the Vikings and wooden ships, men whom couldn't swim were often recruited as sailors for trans-Atlantic journeys. It was believed that if you couldn't swim you'd be more apt to preserve the ship at all cost versus saving yourself by swimming ashore. Greg, the proprietor of Canoa Beach Resort, drove his VW bus all the way to Panama from the US. His wanderlust got the better of him, as he had intended to drive the bus all the way to South America. With the exception of the pesky 99 miles of the Pan American Highway affectionately known as the Darien Gap, he would have easily accomplished that mission. After languishing for a few weeks trying to figure it out how to get his trusty VW bus to the next continent, he ends up just giving it away (since it wasn't legally imported, he can't sell it).

Luckily, he goes for drink at the local marina to drown his sorrows. At that time, he is introduced on the phone to a Yacht owner looking for deck hands on a southern voyage. He's told to return the following day to meet in person. Most marinas charge a day fee to dock based on length of the vessel, so for the most part, folks just anchor the Yachts in the bay and come in via dingy on the days needed. As a rookie deck hand, Greg ponders all night what questions the Yacht own might ask the next day during his vetting process. He's convinced himself that there is nothing more important that proving he's not going to be a liability as he's an excellent swimmer. With that, he rendezvous the next day at the Marina with absolutely nothing other swim trunks. Imagine his surprise when the Yacht owner comes up to the Marina in the dingy, and asks Greg to spot him the $5 docking fee. To which Greg only has his swim trunks, and no wallet. The Yacht owner is bit weary now that the potential deck hand doesn't even have $5 to his name. And how to explain this logic and not sound daft?

All is well that ends well, and Greg and his buddy are hired. The Yacht has some mechanical issues and it takes about 5 months to land in Ecuador. When Greg finally gets back to land, he had intended to participate in a paragliding (?)contest.


However, he's missed it due to the mechanical delay. He also doesn't intend to stay long term in Ecuador but his pent-up manhood gets the best of him. Somewhat unplanned, 9 months later, a little mini-Greg enters the world and Greg finds himself as an American Expat hotel manager.


Today is our first day off riding, and the ocean is angry today. And the storm is suppose to brew all day--the wind is howling and the rain is persistent.


The attack crabs are even on patrol. This one was on my door stoop.

While Canoa might be a good place to get out and see, given the crappy weather I think it's good to find a place to read and just soak up relaxing. Tomorrow, we have another day on the Southern Pacific before we head back to coolness of the Andes mountains.