Are You Sure You're Having Fun?

Since our last post we have been asked this question by family and friends back home.

 "Are you sure you're having fun?"  

 We most certainly are. We enjoy being here and soaking up this cruising lifestyle. It is hard to go somewhere and learn new things if you cannot sever your ties from the old and sail into the new. Even if one never left the dock, boats still break down and parts fail. Were we still stateside we could perhaps be lured into the mindset that it may be easier to hire someone to fix the current problem rather than give it a whirl ourselves. But then we would miss out on a great education.

Heading back to French Harbor, Roatan from Cayos Cochinos this past Thursday. A gorgeous day but very calm and we motored for a couple of hours until the winds came up enough to sail.

Our misadventures and travails have just made us stronger.  As our cruising friend Chip says, "Cruising is really just fixing your boat in exotic places."  We can now fix anything, just about anywhere, in just about any conditions, without all the proper tools. As we visit with other cruisers we have learned we are not alone in adventure and misadventure stories. This common thread is a given; if you sail your boat you will need to fix something, at sometime, and it most likely will always be at a bad time. Key is, we all learn from each other;  what to do, what not to do, and what could be done in the future should such and such arise. There must be a diploma out there somewhere for the skills we have acquired, that we can frame and hang on the bulkhead. This blog could be viewed as the course syllabus and proof that we are sailing through the curriculum.

All that said, we have had good times, met great people and by days end are still happy to call Leap our home. She is a good strong boat and will carry us on to more adventures.

Happy Hour Palapa at Fantasy Island where cruisers meet to celebrate and commiserate

Brooksy Point Yacht Club where cruisers had a "tailgate" party and watched the football playoffs and will also gather to watch the Super Bowl.

Views around the marina.

View from Leap - Jack's Harbor View Grill (not visible) is off to the right, up the hill

Following four pictures are of the local village across the small bay from the marina

The Garden Path going up to the restaurant

Below are some of the critters that keep us entertained.

A Watusa - hops along like a rabbit. 

This big boy - about 4 feet long - joined us for Happy Hour  

He wants bananas....

and is waiting patiently.

Another iguana retired for the night.

Sleep is closing in

Our friend David joined us for a week. This photo was taken during our return to French Harbor from Cayos Cochinos this past Thursday.
David also took an underwater video with his iPhone during our snorkeling outing, of the lobsters in the Marine Preserve here in French Harbor.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyfYaG9d2G0&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Enjoy!

The man solely responsible for the Marine Preserve and the Iguana Sanctuary is Sherman Arch - on the right with Charlie. He has taken us and our friend David on two outings in his truck, around different parts of the island. We will be sharing more adventures with Sherman and anticipate more stories to come.