I'll admit it--I've been feeling bereft lately. This whole Covid thing has changed the entire face of our cruising plans, and completely altered my dream of what I thought cruising with my family was going to be like. But you know something I've started to realize and maybe finally accept? What we're doing isn't all that different from what I really wanted to do. I'll try to explain...
When Joe and I decided we wanted to take our family out of our normal world and go cruising, there were a few overall goals, no matter where we went. After all our time exploring Southeast Alaska, we knew we loved going to remote anchorages, being the only boat, or at least one of just a few, in some secluded little nook, enjoying whatever sights and experiences that spot had to offer. That was high on the list, naturally, but even more important, especially in terms of traveling with our children, was experiencing the different cultures and people this world has to offer.
I've found myself grumbling at the amount of the time we have spent at a dock during this journey so far. I love the times out at anchor, when we can jump off of Kyrie, swim around and chase the fish, explore the beaches, etc. Even though there have been good reasons we've spent dock time--a broken outdrive, a pandemic lockdown, respite from heat and humidity, and now, a damaged sail--I've still felt somehow we weren't spending our time the "right" way and were somehow missing out on something. I mean, it was a bit jealousy-inducing to see photos from friends in the Bay of Los Angeles with whale sharks and beach bonfires and hikes with other friends.
However, I have to stop and reel my thoughts back in. Those times we had to stay at the dock have had their moments. La Cruz was full of meeting new friends and realizing just how many cruising families there are out there. San Blas let us really to get to know another family as we created our own little bubble to survive the lockdown, as well as see how a small town could shut itself off from the rest of the world to try to keep their people safe and still be welcoming to those outsiders who were stuck there. San Carlos gave us a front-row seat as a community crawled back to life after the shutdown. We got to see how locals and ex-pats reacted to everything reopening, for better or for worse. It also gave us a bunch of chances to explore some other communities, with friends, or just ourselves.
And now, Santa Rosalia. This is the kind of town we wanted to spend some time in. It really isn't touristy, or at least not foreign-touristy. The history of this town is incredible. It is a town built by mining, started by the French. The architecture is completely different from other places we've seen in Mexico, and the ruins from the foundry and other mining paraphernalia make me think of towns in the California foothills, like Angel's Camp or Grass Valley. We've wandered around town a fair bit already, and have had a lovely time eating tacos (which we think are the best we've had in Mexico yet!) and trying to remember our Spanish so we can converse with the locals. As usual, a lot of them speak better English than we speak Spanish!
Joe and I went out on a mini-date this afternoon to find Pan de Muerto, but also to find yet another place to eat tacos. We talked about how nice the weather was--it's finally cooled down and the norther that was blasting through here has eased--and how lovely it was to be able to leave the kids for a little while and enjoy some time just the two of us. That was when I was at last able to articulate these thoughts. I told Joe that this--wandering around a town, enjoying the scenery and the food--was one of the reasons we went on this adventure. We've been mourning the loss of something (I'm still not absolutely sure what we're mourning. Perhaps just the freedom to be able to move around as we please?) and forgetting about the rest of the experiences we're having and the memories we're making. Paul said it best, and someday we will learn this valuable lesson: "... I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances..." Cruising during this time of Covid may not be what we thought our cruising experience would be, but maybe, just maybe, we can still have an amazing time and make incredible memories.
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