Back at the crew house I met people from all over- Swiss,
French, German, Ukrainian, South African, English, Columbian, Argentinian,
Indian and two LA dudes. It was a united
nations of people hanging out. We all
decided to go to the Soggy Dollar Bar to dance and be merry. I was amazed at the camaraderie and a unity
of hanging out with people from different back grounds, all travelers enjoying each
other’s company.
The second day I walked through neighborhoods and past a
graveyard until I happened upon a sign saying “Journey On”. An auspicious messaged followed by the next
message when I got back to the hostel.
This one from Jenny- “we’ve arrived come to the soggy dollar bar!” I went back to the Soggy Dollar Bar but no
Jenny. Then another message “we have gone french”. Let me explain, there are two sides to St
Maarten, an island divided Dutch and French and I’d been on the Dutch side all
along. Then another message: “I am
sending bam bam in the dinghy now… be gentle with him, he is young- ask him to
dance for you”. Then, before I know it I
am whisked away by a handsome Ukrainian guy who looks like the actor from Blue
Lagoon on a dingy under a bridge through a light mists over to the French side
of the island. Whew! We meet Jenny and the Captain on the dock-
and thus another part of my time in St Maarten begins.
Journey definitely on.
Being on the boat was a dream. It was a beautiful boat; the crew was nice
and so much fun. There was laughter, work, silliness and smiles. We got acquainted and I adjusted to the boat
for a couple days while we waited for something to be fixed. The day we left St Maarten white butterflies
flittered about the boat as the airplanes (the airport is quite close to the
harbor) took off, it was all magical. As
I looked back there was a beautiful rainbow framing the island. Surreal.
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| airplane from the boat in St Maarten |
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| Bam Bam and I dancing on the boat |
In the span of a couple days we sailed on through the
British Virgin Islands, past Puerto Rico (which is a huge island and I waved to
my friend Maddie in San Juan) on to the Dominican Republic which was the final
destination for the boat to be delivered.
I helped as I could, cooking, cleaning, trying to observe and learn as
much as I could. I stayed up for night
watch with Bam Bam as we looked at the stars and he showed me how to watch for
lights and changes in weather. As we
approached the DR a massive cleaning day had already begun. Making every crevasse clean, wood glow, white
shine and metal sparkle took a lot of work and the final product was
astounding. It was hard work but worth
every moment. We were escorted into
Punta Cana, DR and welcomed by waves by construction workers still building the
port. The colors were bright and there
were palm trees on white sand beaches.
Welcome to the Dominican Republic.
Journey on further.
Jenny, the Captain, Bam Bam and I explored the Dominican
Republic by flashpacking (packing in a flash) out of our rental car from
apartment to hotel and glamping (glamorous camping) with hammocks set up next
to restaurants on the beach with security guards at night (I was safe mom, I swear!). The people were so kind, the country is quite
large and has a pretty good infrastructure.
There were hearts everywhere, coconuts, beautiful beaches, rainforests, small and large towns. We saw so much of the country. One of our last night’s glamping in Las Galeras I awoke in the
middle of the night to horses running on the beach through the trees and awoke
again at dawn to them running the other way.
It was a magical place.
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| glamping in Las Galeras |
Journey farther on to places unknown and known.
Jenny and I decided to head to Roatan. Our home in the Caribbean. We left the guys and traveled by bus to Haiti
en route to Roatan. The border crossing
was intense. The same island, Hispaniola,
turned from lush green hills and beautiful beaches to grey dust and mucky
lakes. The further we drove into Port Au
Prince the more rubble and dust we saw.
Hundreds of people walking around, there were no smiles and everyone in
a daze. It was a shock from where I had
been only 2 weeks before in St Maarten with the super mega yachts, restaurants,
hotels and bars- smiling people on vacation or hustling the vacationer. It was dark, yet still some light- the buses
were painted bright colors and had spiritual sayings on them. And we had gracious hosts at our hotel and the
best beer I’ve had in the Caribbean. Mexico City, New York housing projects, shanty
towns in Caracas, Venezuela, and poor towns in Central America had no match for
the despair I saw in Haiti. One of the darkest places I have seen in my travels
so far. Someday I’d like to go back.
The next day we were off by plane, a day in Ft Lauderdale
into San Pedro Sula and finally to Roatan.
Jenny’s best friend Ruthie picked us up from the airport. We arrived at Sundowners Bar, greeted by
friends, just as the sun was setting. And
so a new journey begins in Roatan. One month
7 countries!
Journey on.
The message journey on has been a reminder of going with the
flow. It’s a process of finding the rhythm within me- again trusting my intuition,
taking care of myself, making plans that could be broken at any time, being
okay with change and communicating with others.
There are ups and downs of travel- new people, new situations, and figuring
out the basics. There is so much beauty, people with open hearts, so much magic
and wonder as well in this journey. When
I get stuck its journey on. A friend on Facebook
posted today “Forget what happened yesterday or what you need to accomplish
tomorrow. When you live in the moment,
insights will fall right into your lap –this is where the magic happens. Self love is… being in the moment.” People have been asking me, how long will you be here (in Roatan) and where next? I don't know and it's pretty fun being here now and new adventures are always around the corner. Journey on and be in the moment.
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| beach art from treasures found <3 |
