The seas were angry that day, my friends...

                         
                                    Seas so angry, even a fake marine biologist would be a little freaked


               Well, the good news is, Espiritu is safely anchored at Providencia Island, Colombia.

                              Heading north from the Canal, we first visited Isla de San Andres,
                                        then our current home, Isla Providencia.


     It´s been a squally, wet and wild couple of weeks since we first left Panama and headed north. We bashed into 10 foot seas and squalls, which have been pretty much unrelenting. Right now, you can practically set your watch to them. They blow through about every 3 hours around the clock.

   What made our passages extra challenging was the mechanical problems which plagued our motor. First we blew a gasket at 2AM in the middle of a squall south of San Andres. Chris tried to fix her, but unfortunately the motor would not run. So we had to sail into the anchorage at Isla San Andres without a motor, in the middle of a squall, in 27 knot winds. No problem! We got her in and the anchor down.

   After buying and replacing the gasket in San Andres, we headed north to  Isla Providencia. As we were again bashing into north winds and taking breaking waves into the cockpit, the fuel tanks got flooded with sea water, so we had to again sail into harbor under sail, with the motor going in and out, this time in pitch blackness and again in the middle of a 25 knot squall. Fortunately our friends on Talaria and Liberation II came to our aid by jumping into their dinghies and leading us into the anchorage at Providenia by flashlight.

  Let´s hear it for the Brotherhood of the Sea!

  Chris has worked very hard finding the seawater access point and has repaired it. So now, we´re waiting out the squalls and storms here at Providencia Island with several other boats. We are all so very tired of the rainy season.

  We´ve been in the thick of the rain, lightning, squalls, waves and wind for more than 6 months. When will it end?  Staying positive is challenging. But we know that the key to keeping a positive attitude is focusing on the little things. Like bacon.

 
                                                              Bacon is good


   For reasons unknown, we were priced out of the bacon market in Costa Rica and Panama.We´re talking $10.00 a pound. Lord knows why -- we certainly saw enough pigs sitting by the side of the road in Central America. Anyway, we haven´t had bacon for months.

  To our happy surprise, here in Colombia, a big-ass package of the good stuff is 5 bucks!

   Yee Haw!

    This morning, as the latest squall rumbled and blew around us aboard Espiritu, I cooked bacon. Amidst the happy sizzling sound, and the tantalizing aroma, Chris and I literally danced and cheered with happiness.

  You know the scene in "Swingers" where Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau are excitedly driving to the Nevada border, and they cry excitedly: ¨Vegas, baby! VEGAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSS!"

        Well, this was us, except we were yelling excitedly: ¨Bacon, baby...BAAACCCOOONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!"

  Yes, it had been that long. And yes, it was good.

   I believe it was Bertrand Russell who said that it is impossible to live a happy life without being without something you want. So learning to live without, and learning to make do, has been a big part of our journey so far. And anyway, we all know you simply can´t eat bacon every day, right?