Cruising on Minnehaha is very similar, in many ways, to taking a cruise on a large ocean liner.  Both can transport you to exotic, beautiful locations as you sail across the vast ocean with a chance to see sea life, such as dolphins or whales, and enjoy fantastic sunsets.  Depending on the ‘chef’ on the boat its possible to enjoy exquisite meals as you glide along (not the case on Minnehaha, however) and at night you fall asleep to the gentle rocking of the boat.  Sounds wonderful, and it is.   There the similarities end.  With no crew or chef to prepare meals, clean the boat, do repairs,  do the laundry, etc. etc. many of our days are spent doing mundane, routine tasks.    For those of you that have never spent time cruising from place to place on a boat,  I thought I’d show you an example of one of our days in pictures.  This was a day in early April when we were anchored in Simpson Bay at St. Maarten.

   

I check the weather in Mpls and here…glad I’m here today!!

                                                      

 

Time for lunch and errands. Hop in the dingy. First stop lunch at Lagoonies

Back in the dingy to head to Island Water World for some parts including new line for the boat

Time to get groceries…again in dingy. Store are well stocked especially with rum and liquor

Two bags of groceries to schlep across a vacant lot, a beach and thru a beach bar to the dingy dock where Doug awaits.

 

Take a break on the boat to have a drink and enjoy another beautiful sunset

Head back to the boat where we can climb into bed with the hatch above open and fall asleep with a cool Caribbean breeze and gentle rocking of the boat. Ahhhhh.

Cruising is not a vacation… its a lifestyle or in our case, a second home.  It still involves doing mundane chores and doing ‘home’ repairs.  We don’t escape the bills, emails and other administrative tasks that have to be taken care of and its often made more difficult with lack of internet connection (you don’t realize how much you miss internet until you don’t have it.  The world revolves around doing everything online.)  That being said, cruising is a wonderful way to see the world.  Our view of the old and new places we see is very different than being on vacation.  We are a combination of visitor and resident.  We feel like we get a closer look at life in these various locales and we get to meet wonderful, interesting people that may become lifelong friends.  We are new to the cruising world and everyday we learn something from others who have been sailing for years.  They offer invaluable advice and tips and its nice to connect with people who understand daily life on the boat.  We miss our family and friends back home and can’t wait to see them again but while we are here, we will enjoy the beautiful scenery, the sunsets, the marine sea life and the new cultures that we experience.

Apologies for misplaced photos etc.  This WordPress blogging is a challenge but please hang in there…hopefully I’ll get better.

Thanks for taking the time to read the blog.  Love to hear comments and would love any topic suggestions or questions as well.  Please share with others that may be interested.