Sailing Around the World: Talk to Me

I just got off the phone with Martin and unfortunately the trip was postponed until Thursday. The swells are too high and they want to wait it out before they attempt to cross the Atlantic. Better to be safe. Of course, I would have liked to have seen Martin sooner rather than later. It will be almost 9 weeks by the time we see each other again. Way too long.

Even though Martin and his crew weren't able to shove off today, it was nice to have a long, relaxed conversation with him tonight. A lot of the times that we talk, it's late into the night for Martin and he is on his cell—which isn't cheap. As much as he wants to talk, he's exhausted and in the back of our minds, we know the bill is quickly racking up charges. Today, Martin went to an internet cafe and we were able to do some much needed Skyping on our computers. Lily especially enjoyed seeing her dad on the computer screen.

When traveling, if you see something that says, "Zona Wi-fi" you stop and pull out all your gadgets and start downloading. Martin and Garry couldn't look happier to get in contact with the outside world.

Because of Lily's disability, she doesn't talk. She does most of her communicating through her eyes. When Lily meets someone she usually takes a good 15 seconds and looks deep into their soul with her eyes. It's disarming and so tender. During our Skype time with Martin, Lily nuzzled up to the computer screen and looked deep into her daddy's eyes, as if telling him that she loved her daddy. It really was so special to see her responding to her dad and wanting as much as she could to communicate with him. I am so grateful that she could have some much needed daddy-daughter time with him.

Projects. Constant projects.

It seems that every time Martin and I talk, he is hard at work on the boat and elbow deep into a project. Martin said that they worked almost 14 hours on the boat just fixing things today. I asked him if this was going to be a "constant" and all he could say was, "I sure hope not." Luckily we will always have crew there to help us. However, the ongoing joke with cruisers is that projects never end and lists just get longer. Hopefully those lists will lessen by the time we reach the Panama Canal and we will have most of the kinks worked out and be able to just enjoy one another AND Amara. Maybe we'll even be able to enjoy all those sunsets that I keep reading about.

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While Amara has been tied to the dock, Martin said that he has seen some beautiful boats. This one for example. This is one gorgeous BIG sailboat! What a beaut!

He has also seen a family carrying on with their daily life... just on a boat.

What Martin has come to understand is that regardless of the things that we see as impressive when it comes to boats is that a man's boat is HIS boat... or HERS. Everyone loves their home, because that is truly where their heart is. The size, the luxury and the sails—it doesn't matter. A love for one's boat is truly a labor of love. Take for instance, José and his boat...

The entire time that Martin, Patrice and Garry have been busily fixing and maintaining Amara these past 5 days, José has been working just as hard on his.

I love that José has the same pride for his boat that Martin and I have for Amara... perhaps he even has a little more. I'm always impressed when I see someone living out their dreams. I would hope that everyone we know doesn't let circumstances hold them back and that they can shoot for the stars and live out their dreams. That means YOU!

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Now for a tour...

While in Las Palmas, Martin and Garry have had a chance to take in the sights of the city. Here are some great photos that capture the essence of the Gran Canarias.