One month

It's only been one month?! Holy rolly anchorages and big dark rain squalls Batman! We must have entered a time warp. It really feels like it's been closer to three months. One month doesn't seem like much of a milestone. I mean, it's no more than a long-ish vacation right? What's the big deal? Four weeks on a boat in the tropics. So what. Checking in on things back home and not much has changed. Looking back, not much changes in four weeks in our old shore side life. It's pretty predictable. But boy have we changed and that's probably why it's felt more like three months than one.

The first really big change that we've noticed is that days seem to blend one into another. There are highlight days for sure, but the rest are so laid back that one could easily be two or three. It's so easy to lose track. There are other changes as well. We're getting a bit more used to the heat, though the fact the wind is up certainly helps. The motion of the boat isn't as uncomfortable except for when it gets violent enough to throw unsecured things off tables and shelves. Getting around town and finding the basics isn't full of uncertainty, and the bits that are uncertain, like what they'll have at the store, are now expected and we're good to just roll with it. We're starting to make some personal connections here in St. Vincent which reduces the isolation feeling a bit. The boys are fighting less (a little) which suggests that they are settling in and feeling less uncertain. And we're building a level of confidence with the boat systems, boat handling and navigating in these waters. Trips to Bequia or the smaller islands are filled with less anxiety now that we have an idea of what to expect.

We've all experienced so much this month but there are several things that have really stood out. Highlights from the past month definitely have to include the hurricane. That was a pretty amazing experience and everyone is glad that there was little drama involved for us. It could have been much worse. And it was for many people on St. Vincent and many more on St. Lucia. Seeing the devastated banana plantations and all the homes with roofs blown sometimes two houses down really made that all very real. Aidan's highlights need to include singing with the parrot at Barefoot (he's been teaching it the Star Wars theme song) and learning to snorkel. Austin has said that his highlight was seeing real iguanas running around in the wild but a close second was snorkelling on a "nemo reef" as he called it. He had been looking for a reef as rich in life and colour as the one depicted in the movie Finding Nemo - I told him that was just Hollywood and over exaggerated, but then Austin found one that was very close and it really was quite spectacular. Getting the time to finish a book, visiting the turtle sanctuary and swimming with turtles are highlights for Carla. For me, the thing that I think I've enjoyed the most is all the new things to learn. Every day there's something new, a new challenge, a new experience or a new revelation as something that I've long read about finally happens or clicks. And I think that we're all very happy to be doing so much together, and most of it in the outdoors. Which is exactly why we're doing this.