Sitting at the dock of the bay

That's the moon on a morning in Dolphin Bay

 As I was sitting on the dock, looking up at the stars without the interference of light pollution, I remembered a few days ago the amazing brightness of the moon. It reminded me of what I had read about pagan religions, and how many rites and rituals are based around the full moon. It just makes sense, when the moon is that bright, you don't need artificial light to lead your way, and it's a great time for a group of people to get together without help from the sun to see what you're doing.

I let my mind wander more as the wave tips pushed along the bio-luminescence. It may seem that I really do fly by the seat of my pants... Maybe it looks like I willy-nilly pick up and go someplace new with the blind faith that 'it will all work out', 'que sera, sera', and all that. I actually go into almost everything with a plan a,b,c,d,e,f,g, almost to m.

 

I always, no matter what, have a plan called 'if all else fails, I can always...'. This plan is usually something I've done before and know I can do again. The 'worst case scenario' of: I could borrow money if I'm in a pinch, I could go back to job xyz, I could live at xyz's place.

My diving board for most of my radical choices has been my firm knowledge in my 'if all else fails, I can go back to xyz, no matter what' plan. You can always go back to something, you will survive. 
I'm sure you've seen studies on happiness and the happiness of one nation compared to others. I've based my personal life happiness on my 'worst case scenario' plan. I don't look at how good things are, I look at the 'if all else fails' spot. Over the years it seems to get better and better. The moment I change it, or notice it change, I feel a huge wash of gratitude because, hey, my worst case scenario is better than rock bottom, it is better than it was.

Sitting out on the dock, with the stars and sea, I realized I could change my 'xyz', I could always come back to right here, and do it all over again. Never has my xyz also been a possible plan b and c. So for me, that means my diving board to spring off of just got a whole lot better. If I had never taken risks my xyz would have always stayed the same and I would have continued to have lived fearfully close to it.
Not all adventures work out the way we hope, but that doesn't mean it wasn't an adventure or a leap off the diving board. I recently read a facebook status of Nancy, the current housesitter of 'The Treehouse', who I've been corresponding with for months, that read:

"I think the challenges of rainforest living have helped me discover that I'm not the adventurer I thought. :-( It's just too hard. Sadly, we're going to go home earlier than planned. "

I was thanked for my positivity when I responded with:

"It's a tough house, so it's not just the jungle. Maybe there's another place that will crop up for you without as much chaos. You made the leap to go, that's where the adventure is!"

In a true adventure, you never really know how or where it's going to end. And, more oft than not comes with some great stories, because the finite details are unforeseeable. For most though, the biggest, hardest part of an adventure is making that first jump! Taking risks, and jumping off your diving board isn't nearly as scary, when you know what level the water is at, when you know the depths you're jumping to. If you know 'the bottom' will be right back where you've been before.

 

You might physically and habitually be right back where you were before, but the catch with that, is any good adventure will leave you a little changed, a little more self aware. If you're worried about making your next jump, check out these amazing cliff diving photos.

Hello & Goodbye

The new house sitters have come and gone. Having recently been surfing myself and having watched 'Surfer, Dude' with Matthew McConaughey, I'm able to better empathize with their 'wanting a surf vacation' situation. On the second day they said "Hey, you didn't tell me the cockroaches were the size of my phone" While laughing I thought that was the best size description. The roaches do range from Nokia to iPhone.

In just three days they realized it was not the job for them. I can't blame them. They are coming to a very different environment than Jenn and I were blessed with. We had a bay full of excited cruisers and a motor boat to get ourselves into town among other things.

As a suggestion to any traveler: if you are going someplace new and staying for a while and making a commitment ASK QUESTIONS. You know what happens when you assume (ass/u/me) Don't go with information from two years ago. A lot can change in two years.  

Jenn and I were so excited to be living in a tree house with no address in the jungle. We absolutely loved our time at Cerro Velero. It was exactly what we were looking for. We made friends that we are eager to keep in touch with and visit with again. The dogs, Gelie and Indie have stollen our hearts. No matter how rustic the house seems to others it was perfect for us. It has been an inconvenience without having a boat but luckily the community here was very generous with us. It's hard to believe that time is already at a close and soon I'll also be saying goodbye to Jenn.

Jenn & I on the Camino Nov 2011

We met someone just the other day who on parting said in a way that warmed our hearts "I hope you miss your plane!" One of the biggest jokes of Bocas apparently is "I'm leaving soon". Jenn and I have floated ideas of other destinations. We're both excited to see where we meet up over the years. Road trip in North America, Horseback in Central America, live in Italy, our original plan of India? Pull a destination out of a hat...

The day to day in Panama

A praying mantis visits our vlog

In catching up on stories about Paris I've been leaving out details about Panama. Jenn and I have been doing a fun nightly Vlog that we're already excited to look back on. It's probably funniest for us. Now, how to explain Dolphin Bay, Bocas del Toro...

Me with a Kinkajou

A paradise to look at, with a great community feel. I have come in contact with more bugs and animals then ever before. I've gotten acquainted with a kinkajou, a possum, cicadas, dolphins, birds, snakes, fish, leaf bugs of all sorts, howler monkeys, sloths, ants galore, dogs and horses. Everyone that lives out here is a character with an amazing warm heart. Everyone looks out for each other here and together the cruisers and expats have made a welcoming Bay.

The view from the tree house

I usually wake up between 6-7am and enjoy a coffee as I look out onto the Bay. Jenn and I like to take in the view as we listen to the morning Net, a radio show that everyone in the area participates in. Sometimes we play a game of cribbage and are usually content just making fun of the trivia questions. We're the youngest house sitters in the area and the questions are usually about things 'before our time' and prefaced with "this is an easy one". (If it's so easy why do only two people ever participate with answers?) So sometimes we'll shout out ridiculous answers just for our own enjoyment.

Rana Azul "parking lot"

 The rest of the day is filled with house sitting duties (general clean up, walking the grounds, maintaining the solar batteries, feeding the dogs, paperwork for the worker) reading, writing, learning something new about sail boats, socializing and exploring the area. Every Wednesday there's a game of Mahjong but we've only been a couple times. Every Sunday the restaurant Rana Azul is open and it's a great way to see everyone in the area to catch up, enjoy some drinks and buy eggs. That's right, we buy our eggs when we go out to the restaurant from another patron who has hens. The weekly supply sells out pretty fast so we try to get there by noon.

Watching friends watch dolphins

We go into town to get our gas, propane, and food supply once a week. We use the propane for the stove and fridge. The gas is for the boat and generator. Our boat Cricket recently had some problems so we've been relying on the kindness of others to take us into town. We've had enough sun that we've only had to run the generator when we equalized the batteries for the solar energy.

The Treehouse

Jenn and I call this place the Treehouse. It's raised off the ground and level with the canopy of the surrounding trees. It's completely off the grid, running off solar power with a back up generator to use when needed. There are two huge water tanks that catch the rainwater that is collected from the large circular roof. We were happy to discover that if we're not catching sun, we're catching rain and always replenishing our basic needs. The washing machine runs off the solar energy and all the rain water is filltered first through a regular sieve to catch debris and then though a filter. Sometimes we put the rain water through another filter before drinking but we usually drink right from the tap.

A Troller (left) and a Panga (right)

The only way to get around here is by boat. There are no roads in the jungle and we're lucky to have a few well maintained foot paths. Jenn and I kayak around from time to time and love to visit the boats in our bay. That's right, only here 45 days and we're calling it "Our Bay". We've had a few cruiser dinners, pot lucks and juice bars where we've invited newcomers and returning boats up to the Treehouse so we can brush up on our sailing vernacular.