Who said Travel was enjoyable?

Following 30 hours of 'tear your hair out' travel, It's taken me 2 days to reach a frame of mind where I don't want to strangle someone, and can actually write calmly about my experiences without resorting to foul language and feeling a desperate need to stick hat pins in a voodoo doll.

But, before I continue, I should point out that Delta (an airline I absolutely despise) had surprisingly the most wonderful flight attendants on the flight from Atlanta to London, they were friendly and attentive, it took me quite by surprise, and reminded me of the attention I used to receive in first class.

I've become quite complacent over the last few years about the treatment dished out by miserable, dissatisfied, sour faced flight attendants, but then I fly coach these days.  In first class the attendants have to be nice.  I became quite used to the special attention one receives in first class service, and its been a bit of a slap in the face moving back to coach.

Usually I manage to snag an exit isle or a front seat, but this flight was so overbooked, Delta seem to do that a lot, and the miserable desk clerk curtly informed me that I had no chance of changing my seat.  The flight was so full I only saw one empty seat, but at least I was fortunate to be seated next to someone very nice.  The airline food was absolutely disgusting, I just couldn't eat it, and breakfast was really special, some slimy, sour tasting yellow gunge in a soggy bun,  it's almost insulting the bad food they serve.

Upon landing in Gatwick I was greeted with more problems at the car rental desk, and after an hour and a half of trying to sort it out, waking poor Bob and Danni on the phone at 3:15am desperate for help, and throwing a few tantrums, I eventually gave up and decided to take the train instead.

As it turned out, train travel was lovely, all the trains ran on time, they were immaculately clean, and comfortable, and the views of the countryside were spectacular.  I had to change trains twice, at Reading and Bristol, but there was only 5-8 minutes between the trains so there was no waiting around, it was all very easy, other than that I was lugging a bloody heavy, huge great suitcase with me, without that, the train travel at least would have been great.  Whoever said travel was enjoyable probably has their own plane, professional chef, and a chauffeur!

Back in the beautiful West country, in the stress free, relaxed atmosphere with my Mum, it's given me the chance to wind down and forget at least for a couple of days all the trauma of travel, even the trials and tribulations of dealing with airline staff and car rental companies... Sadly I'm boarding a plane again on Wednesday to take the long flight to South Africa, I'm excited to be going but dreading the actual trip.  I'll be taking my own food with me this time.

The weather here in England is lovely, and Mum and I have been driving around the beautiful English countryside enjoying the views.

Wells, Somerset, UK

Somerset Countryside

Killing Time !

Just killing time here at Panama airport, posting some photographs of the very lovely, Bocas Marina, 

possibly the most friendly marina I have ever had the pleasure of staying at.

I can fully recommend this marina to anyone visiting the area, and don't whatever you do miss eating at 

Dyllan's lovely cantina on the waterfront, possibly the best burgers I have eaten, no floppy thin 

processed stuff here, just real juicy home-made burgers, served with fresh crisp salad and fries, OH and 

the fries are to die for, I'm actually glad I'm leaving because if I stayed any longer I would be gaining 

even more weight.  The prices are so good, make sure you tip well.

Thank you Dyllan and Dana we really enjoyed our stay, and look forward to returning soon.

The Cantina

One of the many beautiful flowers in the grounds

Here I go Again

So the next leg of my adventurous life begins today.  Ferry boat to the airport this afternoon for the flight to Panama where I spend the night. Thursday morning flight to Atlanta, Thursday evening flight to London, arrive London Friday morning, pick up hire car drive to Bristol, arrive at Mum's and go to bed for a few hours, I hate jet lag. Then I have a few days to adjust to the time change before flying on to South Africa, I'm expecting to have plenty to write about there, if I'm not sleeping.

Life (and Death) in The Bay...

Monday 20th June.  Location: Bocas Marina, Bocas del Toro

We were all up early this morning to take Niki to the airport, I use the word "airport" cautiously! Bocas airport is very much under construction, and aside from the runway, perfectly resembles a building site.  We almost had to climb over rubble to get to the desk, fortunately the plane looked to be in good order and left on time.  It was sad to see Niki leave I probably won't see her again until November.  The trip to the airport was very quick, it involved a 5 minute dinghy ride, followed by a 5 minute hike through town.  The island of Bocas is basically a runway with a tiny town built around it.

Across the bay, crystal clear, clean water

Later in the morning Bob and I went back to the same place we snorkeled yesterday, but this time with trusty camera in hand.  It didn't take us long to find the same spot we were in yesterday, and Bob managed to get some pictures of the Lionfish,  who according to a local we spoke to, told us of a competition being organized (for fun) to see who can kill the most, because lionfish are not indigenous to this area; it's true that Lionfish are indigenous to the Indo-Pacific, not the Caribbean, but you can imagine how I felt about such a competition, I said the fish were worth more than the people who would do that! Perhaps not the best response, but I can't condone killing creatures for the sake of it, to kill for food is one thing, but to kill for fun is sick. Anyway I'll get off my soap box now! Here are some of the photo's...

Lionfish & Angelfish

Colorful sponges ans brittle stars

Beautiful Cushion Starfish

Floating Doctors

Friday 17^th June.  Location: Bocas Marina

Nic studying local area book, while we wait out the rain

Aside from the water taxis transporting locals and tourists from the mainland of Panama to Bocas, the water was still and the bay peaceful.  With the davit fixed, and Woops-a-Daisy miraculously still afloat, and still there! (We hadn’t locked her up overnight, almost hoping someone would steal her, no I’m just kidding) We all headed over to the marina to arrange to bring Daisy alongside, where we met Dana the very friendly Harbor Master.  

Bocas Marina

Once all the arrangements were made we headed over to the main town on the island, tied the dinghy up outside one of the local markets and walked through the little town sightseeing, The rain came about 15 minutes later so we darted into one of the café’s overhanging the water, and sat there with a beer until the rain stopped. 

Bocas Water Taxi outside town

We picked up some groceries in the market and headed back to the dinghy.  I couldn’t resist running up the steps to a gift shop selling hand carved wooden elephants, Danni has a passion for elephants and I thought it would make a great gift, sadly I face-planted on the top step, how embarrassing! And no I wasn’t drunk, certainly not after only one beer, the shop assistant rushed over to assist the idiot sprawled on her top step (ME) but I quickly jumped up, smiled, brushed myself off, and limped away as quickly as my bruised legs would carry me. Ouch !  I can be such a clumsy oaf at times. 

Beautiful Bocas Marina

Later as we pulled Daisy into her slip at the marina, the whole place was a hive of activity, people were busy everywhere preparing for an event taking place that  night to raise money for “The Floating Doctors” a group of professional Doctors that live aboard their boat and travel from island to island treating islanders that can’t afford or don’t have access to treatment.  

Floating Doctors Boat leaving the fuel dock at Bocas Marina

The evenings event was a fashion show, with a buffet, raffle and auction.  There were local vendors selling their crafts, a man carving wood with a chain saw, and the best amusement of all, drunken sailors.  As I’ve said many times we’re a strange bunch, and no funnier than when drunk in public.  Watching everyone was more entertainment for me than the show, although the show was great, and judging by the number of people that attended probably a great success.

Daisy alongside at Bocas Marina

Everyone in this marina is very friendly, we must have had a dozen or more people admire Daisy, and welcome us to the marina.  I think this would be a nice place to stay for a while, you would never be lonely or short of a drinking buddy…

Needing that Vodka Tonic !

Thursday 16^th June.  Location:  The Zapatilla Cays

So this morning just for a change it rained! I cooked omelets, grilled tomatoes and bacon for brunch.  We’re down to our last few ounces of drinking water, although we do have gallons of beer, nothing new there, Daisy’s always well stocked with alcohol!  However, the need to get to a shop and buy water is pretty urgent now.  We headed out around 11am, and made the short trip up to the main Bocas area, I slept the entire way.  The lagoon was really difficult to navigate with the depth rising frighteningly fast from 60 feet to just 6 feet, Bob’s charts on the area couldn’t have been more inaccurate, and we almost ran aground a couple of times.  

Once we were safely anchored, the plan was to shower, change and go ashore check out the marina and buy water; sadly Daisy had other plans, one of the davits refused to function, meaning we couldn’t lower the dinghy into the water, this discovery preceded 7 hours of working to release the dinghy from the malfunctioning davit and get it safely into the water without injuring either ourselves or the dinghy, it was a lengthy difficult procedure, and not without many associated problems, which I won’t go in to.  Then we (we being the royal we, meaning Bob) had to dismantle the davit, investigate the cause of the problem, drop one of the parts into the lagoon, cuss, swear and throw a few toys around, and then work into the night putting the damn thing back together.  In the midst of all this, once the dinghy was in the water Niki and I went ashore and bought the much needed water.  Dinner was late, and no exploring was done, but it’s just boat life, and I did have the vodka and tonic I desperately needed, all be it without ice  :o(

Lionfish...

Sunday 19th June.   Location: Bocas

This is posted out of date order because I was so incredibly excited at what I saw today I couldn't wait to post it:

Snorkeling off the island this morning we came across this amazing reef with millions of brightly colored sponges and tube worms, and the largest collection of brittle stars I've ever seen, sadly we didn't have the camera with us (how typical).   The seabed was a profusion of color, with yellow, red, purple, blue and white coral, sponges, tubers, and fish it was breathtaking.

Info and photos from Google on this amazing fish, (click on this link)

Without a doubt the most exciting sighting was of three Lionfish, hovering around a crevice under a giant coral rock, they were quite large about 8 -10 inches across.  For those of you unfamiliar with Lionfish I have posted a photograph here taken by John White, which I found on Google.

Lionfish are the most graceful, beautiful fish, they look almost like floating plants with their long wavy, delicate spines.  This brightly colored fish is most commonly found in the shallow waters of the coral reefs around the Indo-Pacific, I have never seen one in the Caribbean before, so my first actual sighting of not just one, but three, was really exciting.  Don't be fooled by their beauty, Lionfish have very venomous fin spines that will give you an excruciatingly painful sting.

Photo by John White

This copied from a google site, on the effects of the sting by the Lionfish:

A person punctured by one of the sharp spines will immediately feel strong pain. Rapid swelling of the affected body area develops which may make the movement of limbs very difficult. Lion-fish stings can cause nausea, breathing difficulties, paralysis, convulsions and collapse. Even death may occur in exceptional circumstances. Most people survive in spite of the great pain. The venom in the spines remains active for days, so even discarded spines should be treated with caution. It may take several months for a full recovery and if the sting is left untreated, gangrene may develop. 

So, needless to say, being very aware of this we didn't venture too close, particularly as they seemed to be guarding a few hundred babies...

WOW it was an exciting morning...

Daisy's Stationary Store

Wednesday 15^th June.   Location:  Bluefield Lagoon

Word spread quickly among the school children of Bluefield Lagoon, that the lady on the big blue boat has pens!  And so they came, by the boatload, with their angelic smiles, and sweet faces, wanting pens and pencils, who could resist?  I gave as many as I could find, leaving Daisy quite pen poor, with only a couple left on board, I need to remember to bring plenty back with me when we return next time.

hard to resist this sweet face

 I suggested we leave quickly before more children arrived and I had to tell them in whatever sign language I could muster that I had no pens left to give, that would have made me feel really mean, and I didn’t like that, so we weighed anchor and left.  Happily for Bob there was enough wind to raise the sails and we enjoyed a quiet sail over to the Zapatilla Cays. The snorkeling is supposed to be great around these 2 Cays.  We dropped anchor about a mile offshore, as it was so shallow, then launched our sad, damaged, little Woops-a-daisy and motored over to the island where we tied up to a mooring buoy and swam ashore. 

Snorkels were an absolute waste of time we couldn’t see a thing, because of all the storms lately the seabed was really churned up and there was zero visibility. The Zapatilla Cays are a sanctuary for the seriously endangered Hawksbeak turtle; visitors to the island are asked to be careful not to disturb the turtles or their precious eggs. I couldn’t help wondering how well the local Indians respected that request. Back in the San Blas islands the Kuna Indians have over-fished and practically wiped out the turtle population throughout that area. We didn’t see any turtles, or eggs, but we did see hundreds of little yellow sand crabs, and enjoyed a lovely walk around the island, and some fun in the surf.  Late afternoon another storm rolled in; this really is not the best time of year to visit this part of the world.  Our evening was spent relaxing and watching television, “Life” a series with David Attenborough.

It’s quite odd being here alone (meaning the only boat) we haven’t seen another boat since we left Shelter Bay. Where is everyone, are we the only people crazy enough to be here in rainy season?

Fab Blog

For those of you that really like my blog, check (out my daughter) Nic's blog because you'll love it, her writing is much more colorful, and actually quite brilliant... Another perspective

   Click on this link ---    Nic's blog :o)

Woops-a-Daisy !

Tuesday 14th June.  Location: Bluefield Lagoon,

Everyone was so tired today, suffering from the after effects of the exhausting leg of our trip yesterday, we decided against moving on, and instead just hang around the lagoon; the water was still, and the surroundings beautiful, it seemed a really pleasant place to stay for a day.  When we arrived here at 3am this morning, the only single light (aside from the moon) came from the shore, at night we couldn’t work out what it was, but we discovered at daybreak that the light was from the Indian villages communal toilet, which is a small hut on stilts at the end of a boardwalk out over the water. Nicolette renamed the lagoon “Poofield lagoon” consequently we won’t be doing any swimming here!  

It was a day for resting, and for repairing the hole in the dinghy, caused by one of the tree branches that went straight through the bow during our river expedition on Sunday.  The poor dinghy looks so sad and pathetic now with patches and worn tattered areas, she hangs dejectedly off the davits like a limp rag: I really think it’s time for a new one.  Our dinghy’s called Woops-a-Daisy, and she’s really starting to live up to her name. We received lots of visitors today; several of the Indians from the village curious about us came over in their dug out canoes.  It was difficult attempting conversation with them as our Spanish is only a pathetically embarrassing handful of words, Nicolette fared a little better, but the trouble was they didn’t want to leave, they just hung around for ages determined to have conversation, I found it very frustrating.  We had a group of school children come over and I gave them pens and pencils, which they seemed delighted with.

  A lady and an adorable little girl about 4-5 years old came over and I gave the little girl Nicho-San’s pink bunny, and a hat, I bought a bunch of bananas for $2 from the Mother, and gave her some earrings. I realize that seems a strange thing to give, but with sign language I understood that was what she was asking for, and she seemed very happy with them.

In the afternoon we inflated the dinghy (once again) and went for a ride around.  There were many Indian villages up and down the hills surrounding the lagoon.  The land rises straight up from the water and lush vegetation grows with prolific abandon out of the rock; we didn’t see any beaches. We did however see several dolphins and lots and lots of jumping fish. It was pleasant to spend a day relaxing; tomorrow we head over to one of the outer islands so we can snorkel and swim.  There’s no doubt that we’re in rainy season, as more heavy storms moved in late afternoon, but at least it’s keeping Daisy’s decks washed off nicely… 

PAYBACK !

Monday 13^th June.  Chagres River, Panama.

Another glorious but steamy morning on the Chagres River.  We were all up at dawn to begin the next leg of our journey, a 50-mile trip to our next planned stop along the coast towards Bocas del Toro.

Chagres River

As I attempted to drag the comb through my shiny from sweat, and sun lotion soaked, wind tousled hair, I couldn’t help but wonder what adventures awaited us today. The sun was shining brightly in a beautiful blue sky as we motored slowly out of the river and back into the ocean.  Sadly the calm didn’t last for long, less than an hour out at sea clouds started rolling in, the skies darkened and thunder rumbled ominously in the distance.  I hate storms, I mean really hate them, and never more than when I’m out at sea; a friend of mine who also has an Oyster sailboat, has been hit 3 times by lightening, so I think I have cause to be concerned.  The sea grew rougher and rougher as the storm built, the waves were huge, and Daisy was rocking and rolling around like a cork, we were headed straight into the wind and against the current, so no sails to stop the rocking, and not a lot of speed either; it was slow, rough going.  Both Niki and I took up the horizontal position on deck, incapable of performing the smallest task.  Niki turned a luminous shade of green and I was not far behind.  Having been off the boat for 4 months this was not the gentle introduction back to seamanship I had hoped for. It took us 7 hours to reach our planned anchorage, only to discover the water was so rough we couldn’t drop anchor safely, Bob suggested we move on to the next island where there was another anchorage, “only another 10 miles” he said (I was not a happy bunny) but there was no other option open to us other than to continue on.  I had needed to pee for the last 3 hours but hadn’t dared venture below decks for fear of vomiting everywhere; the situation was getting desperate, but it was going to have to wait.  We reached the next anchorage in half-light, to find it exposed, choppy and rolly, not at all where we wanted to be in the current conditions, so the dreaded decision was made, to continue on through the night to Bocas del Toro.

The sea was incredibly rough and we were all completely drenched from the huge waves breaking over the bow and filling the cockpit with water, I was starting to feel real despair, I couldn’t believe this nightmare journey would continue for another 12 hours, when suddenly we were joined by a pod of young “Atlantic Spotted dolphins” (STENELLA FRONTALIS) that were loving the conditions as much as I was hating them.  They swam with us leaping out of the water beside the cockpit, and darting this way and that in front on the bow, leaping through the enormous waves.  They stayed with us for almost an hour, and proved a welcome and effective distraction from the dreaded storm, seasickness and bathroom needs. The Atlantic spotted dolphin is probably the most common dolphin in the Gulf of Mexico. They are really pretty, quite small at only 6-7 feet long, and have spots all over their underbelly. We couldn’t take any photos because we were all too busy hanging on for dear life just trying not to get washed overboard.

The journey through the night didn’t improve, and at one point both Niki and I simultaneously rushed up on deck to vomit violently, either side of the boat, Niki on starboard and me on port, just as Bob was heating himself up some tomato soup, OH what a bloody awful mess, but the waves were so big they quickly washed the decks clean.  Poor Bob was left to do everything by himself, and cope with 2 sick miserable women.

Around 3am under pale moonlight we pulled into a lovely lagoon, OH the peace and quiet, and still water, what absolute bliss.  We dropped anchor, and everyone collapsed into bed thoroughly exhausted. I think this trip was the payback for my wonderful day yesterday.  Was it worth it?  Ask me later right now I’m sleeping…

Chagres River

The spectacular Chagres River

Hitchhikers

Two beautiful little birds that sat on one of the spreaders,
and hitched a ride up the river

A RIVER OF CROC’S

Sunday 12^th June.  Location: Chagres River, Panama

Bob was the first up on deck this morning, to watch the sunrise and the creatures in the jungle surrounding us.  This is just another magical place that my husband (the adventurer) has dragged me to; although now I’m here I’m really grateful that he did. As I sat quietly watching the steam rise off the water and settle like puffy white clouds around the tops of the trees, I couldn’t help wishing that Scoop, Danni, Edi and Paige were with us.  This truly is an amazing place. The heavy rainstorm last night had resulted in a very humid morning.  Walking up on deck was like walking into a sauna, I was immediately drenched in sweat. Daisy’s air-conditioning had worked well to keep us comfortable through the night, but now phew…

The scenery surrounding us was surreal, it’s both wonderful and reassuring to still be able to find places on this planet totally un-spoilt by man, this place is as natural as Mother Nature intended.  The jungle was full of noises and activity, beautiful colorful butterflies the size of my hand, flocks of noisy parrots, kingfishers, insects and monkeys, they were everywhere you looked, easily spotted swinging around by their tails high up in the canopy of the trees surrounding the river.  The stillness of the river otherwise, was soothing to the soul, and I felt very privileged and blessed to be able to see it first hand. Bob pointed out all the small circles of bubbles rising up through the water disturbing the otherwise glass like surface. “It could be Crocodiles” he said with a smile, I looked around and there were indeed several circles of bubbles just a few feet off Daisy’s bow, I counted 10 of them.  “Let’s get in the dinghy and go exploring” Bob said!  “OH lovely” I thought, “what a great idea, lets all pile into a small soft sided boat and float around with a river full of croc’s! What did he think his name was “Dundee?”

So, anyway, after breakfast we covered ourselves liberally with anti-bug spray, (even though surprisingly there was a distinct absence of bugs) and motored the dinghy quietly and slowly up several of the smaller inlets off the river that ran into the jungle.  We stopped periodically to take photographs, and just watch the antics of all the monkeys, we saw a troop of the little white faced monkeys and quite a few of the howlers, who, according to something Niki was told, are the loudest creatures on the planet, and if the noise we were experiencing was anything to go by I would agree whole-heartedly with that.  

The river which started out about 20-30 feet wide narrowed significantly as we ventured further up it, to just a few feet across in places, barely wide enough for the dinghy, and we had to duck and push our way under the overhanging tree branches.  A couple of times spiders fell off the branches into the dinghy, this didn’t go down well with either Niki or myself, although I have to say I was actually more concerned about the croc’s that Niki was pointing out.  When something much larger than yourself, with a ginormous mouth full of razor sharp teeth and bug ugly eyes that are looking right at you, is only a few feet away from the soft sided craft your currently sitting in, it doesn’t really do much to instill confidence for your safety.  We moved quickly on, and I reassured myself that we did at least have the motor which, I like to believe can travel at light speed when required.  I had a flash back to the time Danni was with us in Los Roques, Venezuela, when we had to flee an attack of thousands of mosquitoes. The dinghy had done us proud that time.

It was an amazing morning, I felt as though I was on a David Attenborough expedition.  We rowed (well actually Niki and Bob rowed) up and down a couple of the river inlets, Bob was looking for a place to pull the dinghy up so we could go exploring, I can’t say I was disappointed when we couldn’t find anywhere, the jungle at the rivers edge was very thick, and the footing sticky mud, perfect for the croc’s, not so much for me in my brand new Coach sneakers.

We saw one of the beautiful, rare and amazing panama butterflies, each of its iridescent blue wings stretch about 4” across, sadly it flew too fast for me to catch it on camera.  The riverbanks were crowded with land crabs with huge white front claws; there were red crabs, bright blue crabs, and snow white ones, in abundance all along the shoreline and on the overhanging branches.  We stopped for a while to watch a pretty little black and white kingfisher, and I took some photographs.  The jungle air was filled with a heady scent of jasmine, although we only saw a few of the flowers.  We photographed a very unusual looking lizard sitting on one of the overhanging branches, it had a large odd shaped crest, I’ve never seen one like it before.

Daisy on the Chagres River

Beautiful Kingfisher

After lunch we moved Daisy to anchor in another spot a little nearer to the mouth of the river, we had planned to go ashore at a place Bob had read about, where there is supposed to be good access to the jungle, sadly the storms moved in and we had to retreat inside the boat for the rest of the afternoon.

It had been a truly incredible day, but over the last 4 years of this adventure, I’ve become increasingly aware that everything has its price, and every ounce of joy is often followed by a pound of despair; I’m wondering how long it will be before I have to pay for the wonderful day I’ve just enjoyed.

Back in Panama...

Well done American Airlines, we had great flights, and they were all on time, the entire luggage arrived with contents undamaged, Bob’s driver was waiting for us as we came through customs, such a successful trip.  If only all flights were this way.

Sadly I was travelling coach (using up an old ticket) while Bob and Niki were in first class, they were having ice cream and cocktails while I could barely get a glass of water from my most miserable flight attendant, who was obviously not enjoying his job and making it clear to all around him. However, all was not lost, I managed to snag myself a window exit isle seat, and I was sat next to a lovely lady, and I had masterchef on my Mac, so I enjoyed great entertainment during the flights.

Our first morning back on Daisy started early, while I took the 8am bus to the supermarket to do the provisioning, Bob took Niki into the jungle to photograph the monkeys.

The weather here is hotter than usual and there is little wind, it’s really humid and we’re all soaked with sweat, the lovely hair-do Paige gave me, that looked so chic when I left, has turned into a ball of fluff from all the humidity and I now look like a bush woman, welcome to boat life (sigh)

Shelter Bay Marina

In the afternoon while Bob worked on the refrigeration, Niki and I scrubbed the decks, and filled the water tanks.  Despite liberal use of sun tan lotion we both got quite burnt. 

A large container of cleaning solution burst in Nicolette’s bathroom and flooded the under-sink cupboard, but at least it smells clean! Boat bathrooms frequently smell nasty no matter how often you clean them, another joy of boat life!

Filling the diesel tanks at Shelter Bay

Both Niki and I have collected a dozen or more mosquito bites, and I’m making every effort not to scratch them, but they’re so damn itchy…

Saturday we are off up the river to go jungle hiking, this should be interesting, watch this space…

For Now !

Less than 24 hours till I leave, I've still not looked at packing, I can already see that this is going to be another late night panic pack, I just can't seem to help myself.

I'm not sure when my next post will be, it all depends on whether we can get Internet where we go.  I know Bob plans on some jungle exploration, and Bocas del Toro looks lovely so I should have plenty to write about.  Or maybe I'll find something to write during my hours at airports waiting for flights...

Enjoy the glorious summer weather everyone, I'll be back soon :o)

So Disappointed !

Sunday was such a busy day, with Bob having been home just a day and a half and leaving again that night, I was trying to spend time with him, and get everything ready for him to leave, and for the first time in months I didn’t get out to see the horses, but I didn’t worry about it because one of the workers at the barn responsible for turn out had assured me my horses would get turned out every day, and he would call me if for some reason they couldn’t do it.  Sunday was such a lovely day and I was happy to think of my horses out in the field enjoying the fresh air and sunshine, instead of standing in a dark barn. So I spent the day at home with my family, which was lovely.

Monday arrived with a very early morning start following a sleepless night of worrying about all the work needing to be done, I was completely bogged down with paperwork and phone calls and errands to finish in the preparation for leaving on Thursday.  Here I am once again running away to sea abandoning my responsibilities, but I don’t do it without a huge burden of guilt, and as you all know running away to sea is not exactly my choice.

However, moving on… I knew the horses were taken care of, something I didn’t need to worry about.  But as the day went on I became more and more depressed through trying to deal with incompetent idiots. Honestly I don’t know how businesses ever stay in business, the level of inefficiency is astounding, and the rudeness of people who are paid to assist you is just incredible, every little thing is done to make life difficult, but I think the thing that upsets me the most is the outright dishonesty, the lies people tell to pull the wool over your eyes, or to cover their inept capabilities, mistakes or laziness.  Integrity is a word that is given no value in businesses today.

By the end of the afternoon I was nursing a massive headache, I was exhausted, frustrated and angry, I couldn’t deal with any of it any more, I decided to go and spend some time with the horses.  My level of frustration with everything was such that I cried all the way out to the barn.

When I arrived, I found everything exactly as I had left it on Saturday afternoon, meaning they hadn’t been turned out, they had been left standing in the stalls for 2 whole days.  Today had been bad enough; this was like the straw that broke the camels back, just further proof of inability and inefficiency, and “I don’t give a fuck” attitude.

When I asked the employee about turnout I was told that they didn’t get turned out today, when I was well aware that they hadn’t been turned out in 2 days, but he was too chicken shit to tell me that, his reason for not turning out  “the tractor broke down and there was a water leak to fix !”   

Disappointment is not a strong enough word.

God help me, I have little to no faith left in the human race as it is. Sometimes I feel as though I’m falling through a vortex of crap…

Panic!

I got up at 5am this morning after an almost sleepless night, my brain wouldn't shut off, I have so many things to organize and do before I leave at 4:30am on Thursday morning.  A morning when you can guarantee I will be sound asleep when it's time to get up!

I kept putting the light on all through the night to write down notes of things I must not forget to do. I still haven't booked a marina for us to stay in, I still haven't arranged to have Daisy's bottom cleaned before we leave, I'm still trying to sort out health insurance. I hate, hate, hate, hate, hate health insurance companies they are hateful, nasty, evil organizations, that deliberately make everything so difficult and impossible to understand it makes you want to smash something, so you end up just signing because you have given up any hope of trying to understand all the hidden clauses and exemptions, of which there are so many the policy looks like a draft of War and Peace...  

I haven't even thought about packing yet, and I have to pack for 3 continents!  I still haven't bought an outfit for my niece's wedding, I hate shopping for clothes these days, so I'll probably just drag something old and moth balled out of my closet and end up looking like the poor relative!  I don't have anything suitable for a safari, all my cotton clothes are white or bright colors, the lions will love that, they will see dinner approaching from the far horizon... ARRRRGGGGGHHHHH

I have a pile of bills to pay today, and I need to sort out the fact that my stupid bank, Fifth Third seem unable to pay my rent on time, instead they remove the money from my account 5 days before its due, and then send my landlord a paper check 10 day later, so they have had the use of my money for 10 days, and my rent is paid 5 days late.  I can wire transfer money here from the Caribbean in 3 hours and yet the bloody Fifth Third bank is incapable of transferring money from one account to another when its just down the road (sigh).

So much to do and so little time to do it, so I'm sitting here making more lists, and typing this to try and relieve my building frustration, it's only 6"30am so it's still too early to start making calls to all the sad and incompetent idiots who, I know are going to get me wound up tighter than a drum, OH boy do I need a drink and it's not even breakfast time yet, actually kidding about that, coffee will do for now! Lots and lots of it caffeine overload...

Now which idiot do I call first?

Savoring the Moment

So the clock is ticking, and I'm both depressed and excited at the same time, to be leaving.  Depressed at the thought of leaving because I love being here with Edi and Danni so much, cooking for them, spending time with them, helping them in whatever way I can, actually feeling useful.  My children are so special I will never tire of being with them.

And I really love spending time at the barn with the horses, I feel so at peace when I'm there, just being near them makes me happy. Grooming them, giving them extra hay, and treats in their bucket when they come in from the field, bathing them on sticky hot uncomfortable days, when I get more of a bath than they do "seriously"... I even don't mind mucking out, it makes me happy just to know they have a nice clean soft stall to lay down in, I scrub the water buckets, so that they are so clean even I would drink out of them, am I nuts?

I wander through the isles of the barn every day and sneak extra hay and carrot treats to all the other horses that are left standing in a dark barn, when I feel that they should be out in the fields, enjoying the fresh grass and the sunshine, they all look so sad, it breaks my heart.  Danni tells me off, saying I shouldn't give treats to other peoples horses without asking, because perhaps they shouldn't have them, and maybe she's right, but what can an extra flake of hay or a piece of carrot or apple hurt?  I know Danni's right, but I'm going to do what the hell I want anyway because I never live by other people's rules.

The trouble is now when I enter the barn and say hello to my horses, all the horses in the barn nicker and whinny, because they recognize my voice "it's the treat lady!" they all say to one another... and I can't resist, I'm buying 2 large bags of carrots a day, I really hope Danni doesn't read this...

Also I love having a fabulous kitchen to work in, and great, fresh ingredients just a stone's throw away, for the first time in 4 years I really feel as though I have a home again, but now I'm getting ready to leave once more!  The tomato plants I planted 6 weeks ago, are growing like triffids, and they're going to produce a bumper crop of fabulous tomatoes and I'm not even going to be here to enjoy them :o(

On the other hand I'm excited because going back to Daisy means new adventures, new lands to explore, and much more material for my blog, writing has become a real passion of mine, and living on the boat provides me with so much to write about. I shouldn't complain, especially since this trip Niki is coming with us, for 10 days at  least, so I'm really, really excited to be spending time with her.
But I'm still sad to be leaving, I don't suppose I can expect to have it both ways!