Anyone who knows me well, knows how I adore Christmas! I love the decorations, the food (especially the cookies!), the baking, the special drinks, giving and receiving presents, the lights and music, the big Christmas tree, the religious celebration of Jesus’s birth, Christmas Eve church service and especially time with our family and friends…yep, pretty much all of it! When we cruise over the holidays, we miss so much of this, but if we want to make it to the Caribbean this season, we need to be heading south at a fast clip and can’t wait to leave until after Christmas.
So we make the best of it and try to conjure the Christmas spirit in the 78 degree sunny weather. I string colored lights around the cabin, put out a 12 inch high table tree with balls and lights, and play lots of Christmas music that we brought with us on our computers. I baked some of our traditional Christmas cookies and brought them with us. I found some eggnog in FL and have been enjoying it in my coffee and had some spiked eggnog with freshly ground nutmeg last night at a party. We asked about Christmas services, but realized we couldn’t exactly take Riggs to church with us for a two hour service and he still suffers too much from separation anxiety to leave him alone on the boat for that long.
I have been feeling a bit sad the last couple of days, missing our kids and friends a lot and wondering if we chose the right path. The kids all got together at our house last Sunday to celebrate sibling Christmas and we had a good video chat with them which made me happy and sad.
We have a major problem with our engine right now and the fix is likely to be very costly and time consuming so David and I have both been frustrated about this. Every day we work on it and try to figure out a better solution which is very wearing. But the funk lifted between yesterday and today thanks mostly to the people around us at the marina and in the community. So many people have come over to offer help, to look in their spare parts for just the right size o-ring that we need, or to offer an extractor to try to get the stuck bolt out, or to offer advice. One guy came over and offered his $300 high temperature epoxy and won’t take any money for it. The employees at the marina have tried to find someone who can weld on the island (unfortunately the two guys who can do it are off island for extended periods right now). They have given us all sorts of contact info for people who might be able to help.
Last night (Christmas Eve) there was a party to celebrate the life of the man who used to own the marina and was well loved on the island. He died earlier this month. This was a community celebration and everyone from the marina was invited too. Lots of great pot luck food and interesting conversation. The setting was so Bahamas. It was in what was once a spectacular pool and gazebo setting overlooking the water. Now the pool has a bit of green water in it, many of the beautiful tiles around the pool have fallen off, the lighting is limited at best. But with the cool soft breeze blowing and the warm feeling between everyone there, it was actually quite lovely. We brought Riggs and of course everyone had to come pet him and play with him. The evening lifted our spirits.
Setting for the Christmas Eve party by the abandoned pool.
This afternoon (Christmas Day) there was a sing along with Christmas and other assorted music here at the marina. It was really more of a concert with several people singing and playing instruments- small children, dogs, elderly, and cruisers all participating. It went on for a couple hours. It was a beautiful sunny day, and again it was just lovely and lightened our hearts as we chatted with people and listened to the music. Later David played some Christmas songs on his trumpet and of course Taps as the sun set.
Our Christmas did not include many of the normal trappings of Christmas, but our interactions with the people around us made it a special couple of days. We feel like we have made new friends here already and feel part of a community that takes care of each other. This is one of the things we so enjoy about the cruising lifestyle.
Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!
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