Travel Companions

I am a firm believer that you learn a lot about a person when you're traveling with them.  How flexible are they?  How do they interact with strangers?  What food do they enjoy?  In fact, it sealed the deal that John was the man for me when we made our first road trip from Florida to Boston together.  Anyone that can be trapped in a car with me for 20 hours is a keeper! (just teasing... I'm actually a blast on road trips)  

Anyway, whenever you're traveling with a large group of people, there is bound to be some conflict.  It's been my expereince that there is rarely a moment when EVERYONE is happy.  You can imagine my hesitation when I set off on a trip to Bocas del Toro, Panama with my Coastal Management course: twenty individuals of various ages, pretty much complete strangers to one another, about to embark on an academic trek to a small chain of islands.

It started off a bit awkward... even after 5 weeks of class together, we still didn't know everyone's name.  All it took though was the first cracking open of a beer at 10am once we landed in Panama City.  After that, it was balls to the wall.

NEVER have I been with a group this large and this diverse and had such a crazy, drama-free adventure!  We successfully balanced our daily academic progress and late night partying as we gave rise to the most epic trip ever.  Needless to say, I had a spectacular time getting to know my classmates and I'll never underestimate new travel companions again.  

Here are a couple of shots from our exploration

Panama City, Panama





Bocas del Toro



Red Frog Beach





Zapatilla Cay



Drive through Costa Rica



Costa Rican street art

Panama Canal

Irrational Attachment

I think I have the hoarder gene.  I wouldn't necessarily call myself a materialistic person but I have a severe problem of giving up trinkets from the past.  Do you have a box or bag of worthless crap from elementary school and beyond?  Stuff that should have been thrown away the second you got out of college and moved into your own place?  Is your junk drawer overflowing to the point where a second junk drawer is considered?  What about a hall closet that keeps collecting more and more mess?  Well, this person is me.

I came to the realization that this might be a problem the other day when I lost my water bottle.  Yes, the very water bottle that inspired me to name our adventure blog.  I laid in bed, mentally retracing my steps, and a tear came out... I kid you not.  As pathetic as it sounds, I just couldn't bear to think of this water bottle, a companion of mine for the past 5 years, sitting alone... getting trashed by some stranger on the streets.  My water bottle has been with me through thick and thin and has always pulled me out of any obstacle... its the best adventure comrade a person could find.

I knew I was being ridiculous but I couldn't help it.  Regardless of the ungodly time (1am) I jumped in the truck, returned to the site where I remembered having it last, and scoured the field.  Seeing the blue plastic glow in the moonlight was a breath of fresh air.  I had found my water bottle!!

You see, its not the actual container that triggers such strong emotions (although, camelbak does make pretty incredible water bottles).  It's the memories attached to the water bottle that keeps me loyal.  When I see it, my mind is flooded with thoughts of overcoming obstacles, laughing and crying, kissing and hugging, climbing mountains, diving deep oceans, soaring above tree tops... These are my happiest moments in life and my water bottle was by my side each step of the way.

Suffice to say, it's is a relief to have my trusty bottle buddy back.  Now I understand the despair that John went through when his bottle was run over by the neighbor (we'll save that story for another day).  Just stay hydrated and happiness will follow.

Love,
John-Kristen-Reef-Caya     

The best adventure of them all...

WE'RE GETTING MARRIED!  

After four amazing years of living/laughing/loving, John and I have decided to take it to the next level.  We've always known that we'd spend the rest of our lives together but this promise made to one another is very exciting.

We'll keep you posted as things progress.  Right now though, the only thing on my mind is WEDDING WEDDING WEDDING!!

The hunt is on...

A floating home

Yesterday was a momentous day.  John and I took a huge step towards our cruising goal.  We went from virtual to tangible as we walked through a few boats for sale.

For the past year or so, John and I have been ravenous with online boat postings.  We'll make a pros and cons list for the boats that catch our eye.  It seems, however, that each time we find one that has more pluses than minuses, it's sold by the time we contact a broker.  No loss though... when it's meant to be, it will happen (that's what we kept telling ourselves).

Finally, John made the leap.  He found a boat that interested him and before we could convince ourselves that it wasn't worth it, we called the broker and set up a time to check it out.  He took us to a couple of other boats first and they were lovely.  Nice, comfortable, in sail-ready condition but these just weren't our boats.

As the sun was hanging low in the sky, we met our future.  She's spacious, she's well maintained, she's absolutely perfect but... she's out of our price range.  John and I are still going over our possibilities but even if we don't make the offer, I still don't feel like we're at a loss.  Seeing this beautiful vessel unveiled exactly what we're looking for.  It solidified our goal and showed us the right direction for our cruising journey.

I hope to see her again but if I don't, I wish her a life of endless adventure with her new owners.

Love,
John-Kristen-Reef-Caya

       

A Masters in Life

My ideal classroom

I'm currently taking graduate classes part-time at my dream school enrolled in my dream program.  In the midst of registering for Spring courses however, I'm yearning for adventure even more.

Since I'm teaching high school full time, there is a limit to the types of courses that I can take.  So far, its been a real challenge finding available courses that are applicable to my career and that are aligned with my professional goals.  The stress that class registration alone has brought me this month has made me second guess if this is the best path for me.

There are so many different Master's degrees: Master's in Science (M.S.), Master's in Arts (M.A.), Master's in Ed (M.Ed.), etc.  My question is... what about a Master's in Life (M.L.)?  Why shouldn't I invest the same amount of time, energy, and money into building a mobile classroom on the water where I can have genuine hands-on, experiential learning of Marine Science.  Why shouldn't I add a cruising trip to my resume and tell future employers that I chose to earn a M.L. degree instead of an M.S.?

Please don't misinterpret my thoughts, I appreciate the rigorous learning that is fostered in a classroom and I feel that there is much to be learned from the experts that have dedicated their lives to a particular subject.  If I didn't have this outlook, I wouldn't be a teacher.  I simply want more credit allotted to the learning done outside of the classroom.

I bet there are many of you out there that would agree.  This could be the new educational wave of the future.  I wonder what university will be the first to offer an M.L. degree?

Love,
John-Kristen-Reef-Caya
     

Feeling Free

Oh how I love Freediving...  

Its been about a month since John and I have been diving and that is waaaay too long for us.  We decided to ditch the tank to go for a more streamlined dive this past weekend.  Our friend Kevin took us out in his boat and we cruised around looking for a good site to jump in.  It didn't take us long to find the SPA (Sanctuary Preservation Area) boundary buoys of Molasses Reef.  Even with the 15 knot winds blowing onshore, the visibility of the reef wasn't too shabby.  

We hung out at the reef for a while, holding our breath long enough to check out the great life thriving among the impressively healthy coral.  After about 20 minutes of continuously pushing my limits, I was gasping for my next breath on the surface.  John looked over at me a bit perplexed making sure I was ok.  It seemed as though my freediving skills were a bit rusty.  Its understandable considering I've had a tank strapped to my back for each dive in the past year.  SCUBA is my true passion and I love the leisure approach of staying down for extended periods of time.  However, it felt good to jump in without the excess weight and its a good thing I did because breath holding is definitely something that you need to keep working at.

John and I could've stayed in the water all day but we had to get back to our puppies who were waiting for us at the house (the sight of them watching us through the sliding glass door as we left without them was so sad... these pups wanted to go diving too!)  Overall, it was a splendid day on the water and we hope to get out there more in the upcoming weeks. 

Love, 

John-Kristen-Reef-Caya

***Shout out to my beautiful little sister Lisa who turned 14 on Friday and to my adorable niece Brooke who turned 2 on Saturday***

It sure was a fun-packed weekend!!!

The long road ahead...

So I mentioned that this is just the beginning right?  John and I have a LOT of work before we achieve our cruising goal.  It would probably be a good idea to cross off two very important things from our "to-do" list.

1) Learn how to sail
2) Get a boat

We've been tiptoeing around both concepts as we tried to figure out if this was just a fantasy or actually something we'd like to pursue.  Since the itch just won't go away, we're launching the new lifestyle of becoming sailors.

Boats are nothing new to John and me.  We work on the water and we play on the water.  Its a logical step to start living on the water.  The big adjustment will be learning how to efficiently capture the wind.  John has some childhood memories on sailboats and I've played on a Sunfish or two in my time but I'm gonna go out on a limb by saying we have PLENTY to learn.  We want to be fully prepared for the experience (which is the advice that we've been gaining from our recent research of all things cruising).

A couple of weeks ago, John and I took our first sailing class.  We were both pleasantly surprised how naturally it came to us.  We are now officially converts.  Here is a list of the things that we appreciate so much more on a sailing vessel compared to powerboats.

•   The quiet
• I never realized how noisy the engine was until we turned it off as we hoisted the sails.  Silence is a beautiful song and the background melody of the cloth lapping in the wind is just so peaceful.  
• The work
• It seems like there is never a dull moment on a sailboat.  I like being active.  It's hard work but there is something about each task that actually relieved our stress.  Mundane daily problems were washed away.  And, we slept like babies following a full day of working on the water.
• We were feeling green
• No, not seasick but eco-friendly.  John and I try to live as sustainable as possible but fuel usage on a powerboat is inevitable.  Once we were traveling with the wind, we felt so much better about ourselves (not to mention the money that is saved from using natural resources!).
• Its primitive
• We viewed our act of sailing as an ancient art.  John says this is his favorite part.  He enjoyed "harnessing the wind" and I almost expected him to start Aaargh-ing like a true pirate.  It was as if he was a part of history, taken back in time as he sailed the seven seas!       

While there is much more to be learned about sailing, its comforting to know that we are enjoying ourselves.  Next on the horizon is to start checking out boats... actual boats (not the endless online surfing that we've been doing for a couple of years now). 

Until next time... 

Love, 

John-Kristen-Reef-Caya