May 08, 2010

Elephant

Thought it was time for another update. I haven't felt much like writing. It is so strange to have a blog and have my emotional roller coaster out there for all. I am pretty sure I am coming off as crazy. I can just hear you now…."have you heard what those crazy Perry's are doing now?"…..Well hope you are sitting down because the story is getting crazier!

The day we arrived back in Panama City we went to the Panama Canal authority to fill out the paperwork to transit the canal! The admeasurer came out to our boat on Sunday and the paper work continued. On Monday morning we had an appointment booked to go and pay our $800 to transit the canal and………we cancelled.

We started thinking that maybe we were calling it too quickly. Maybe we could fix all the recent problems ourselves. Maybe we didn't have to do big enchilada fix. Maybe we could do little enchilada fix? Maybe there was still time to head back out to the South Pacific? Maybe we could order the parts we need and continue on?

So now we sit in Panama City with 4 options written in big block letters on our wall. Each day we continue working on the fixing. Today we finished re-caulking all the leaks on the deck of the boat. My hands and feet are black with the caulking. Tomorrow we will start re-bedding and caulking all the windows. Graham has ordered all the parts we need and is working on a super duper fix for the attaching the windlass to the deck. The parts should arrive within a week and then it is final decision time!!!!

Funny how now that I would love a good rain to see if our caulking made any difference, it only threatens to rain but not one drop falls. I have to tell you though….when it does rain, if it is still leaking inside I may have a break down! LOL.

The other day I met a fellow named Tomek. He was sitting at the next table over from me and I could tell that he wanted to strike up a conversation. Finally he asks me where we are headed. I replied that I wasn't sure. He said how can you come this far and not know where you are going next? I told him a small snippet of our story because I am so sick of telling it and hearing it and even from this bit of info Tomek replied, "The only option is to fix your problems the best you can and keep on going"! It was a bit shocking that this fellow who knew so little about us or the boat felt that we had only 1 option. He said, "I can imagine that you have been thinking of crossing the South Pacific for a very long time. People who are here have usually been planning to be here for many years. Now is your time. Do what you need to do to keep on moving forward."

Tomek was all about doing what needed to be done to keep us moving. He had a calming presence and he made everything seem not as bad as we might think. Now I have been doing this long enough to know that I will probably meet another cruiser tomorrow who will tell me we are crazy to continue on and that we should…..yada, yada, yada….but you know what…..Tomek said what I wanted to hear.

He showed up the next morning at our boat as Graham and I were having coffee. He took a look at our problems and gave us some sound advice. He said that he knows boats and we have a fantastic boat with a few minor issues that shouldn't hold us back. He said that he believed in the law of attraction and that we attract what we want. If we picture a beautiful sail, fair wind, happy times and no problems then this is what we will have. He said that we had to visualize and focus exactly on what we wanted. It was so strange to hear this sailor spouting "The Secret" philosophy! I was all over it and so needed this reminder. I wanted to hug him. We all sat in the cockpit soaking it up.

As he spoke I noticed a tattoo on his right arm. It was the world with a sailboat on top of it and written on the bottom was, "Solo around the world non-stop". I was obviously impressed and I asked when he had done this. I was expecting that it had happened in his youth but he replied two years ago. I asked if he was ever afraid and he said that he would share his secret for dealing with his fears. He said that he imagined the ocean was his mother. He said he loves his mother. He respects his mother. He said that like all women his mother was moody sometimes and it was best not to poke at her at these times. He said if you wait calmly her mood will pass and all will be well again.

The day before I had asked the universe for a sign. I asked that if we were to continue that I would see a purple elephant. That night we were at our friends boat having a drink and I said that the tires and ropes on our boat (for transiting the canal) were a constant reminder of the decision we had to make. Gary says at this point that they are like the elephant in the room that no one wants to talk about. I was flabbergasted. There it was. It wasn't purple but it was talk of an elephant in the same day I asked for a sign! Coincidence? I think not. J

Now calm down mom….we aren't going to base our decision to head back out on an elephant but we are seriously thinking that option #4 "head back out to Galapagos", is the option for us.

We will see what tomorrow brings, for now we are enjoying the ride!

Ps…..it is tomorrow now and today Alex and I removed the elephants from the boat……..

6 comments:

  1. You already know my vote is for option 4.
    I forgot to tell you, after we talked the other day I was watching LOST and one of the characters said, "are we going to talk about the elephant in the room?". Of course I thought of you right away.

    ReplyDelete
  2. So I'm thinking about you guys, and thinking about you in Panama, and the story "Oh the places you go!" by Dr. Seuss keeps coming into my head. Here is an excerpt, but the cool part is at the end of this passage:

    OH! The places you'll go!
    You'll be on your way up!
    You'll be seeing great sights
    You'll join the high fliers who soar to high heights.
    You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed.
    You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead. Wherever you fly, you'll be best of the best. Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

    Except when you don't.
    Because, sometimes, you won't.
    I'm sorry to say so
    but, sadly, it's true
    that bang-ups and hang-ups can happen to you.
    You can get all hung up in a prickle-ly perch. And your gang will fly on.
    You'll be left in a Lurch.
    You'll come down from the Lurch with an unpleasant bump. And the chances are, then, that you'll be in a Slump.
    And when you're in a Slump, you're not in for much fun. Un-slumping yourself is not easily done.
    You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.
    Some windows are lighted. But mostly their darked.
    A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin!
    Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in?
    How much can you lose? How much can you win?
    And IF you go in, should you turn left or right.. or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite?
    Or go around back and sneak in from behind?
    Simple it's not, I'm afraid you will find, for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.

    You can get so confused that you'll start in to race
    down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
    and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,
    headed, I fear, toward a most useless place. The Waiting Place...

    ...for people just waiting.
    Waiting for a train to go
    or a bus to come, or a plane to go
    or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
    or waiting around for a Yes or No
    or waiting for their hair to grow.
    Everyone is just waiting.
    Waiting for the fish to bite
    or waiting for wind to fly a kite
    or waiting around for Friday night
    or wiating, perhaps, for their uncle Jake
    or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
    or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
    or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
    Everyone is just waiting.

    NO!
    That's not for you!

    Somehow you'll escape
    all that waiting and staying.
    You'll find the bright places
    where Boom Bands are playing.

    With banner flip-flapping,
    once more you'll ride high!
    Ready for anything under the sky.
    Ready because you're that kind of a guy!

    HERE IS THE COOL PART: As the character gets on his way, guess what he is riding on? Yep - a purple elephant! He's riding in a heard of elephants!



    Here is how the book ends:

    And will you succeed?
    Yes! You will, indeed!
    (98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)
    KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!

    So...
    be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray (or Artemo)
    or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,
    you're off to Great Places!
    Today is your day!
    Your mountain (ocean) is waiting.
    So.... get on you way!

    Off to Galapagos with you now...

    Chris

    (PS. _ I will put a picture from the book on my Blog.)

    ReplyDelete
  3. OMG Chris, you get the best blog comment ever award!!
    LOVE IT
    I LOVE the great Dr.Suess!
    And the purple elephant....that's frickin awesome!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh my gosh!!!!!
    I could hardly read this. Everyone was standing around the computer and I had to keep stopping to wipe away the tears.
    You guys are amazing! No wonder we'd wait forever for you!
    Maia says: We really miss you guys and hope you get to the Galapagos soon.
    Liam says: I hope you can get to the Galapagos soon.
    Zoe says: Keep working and get here soon.
    Michael says: You're not too late. Lots of boats still here and still arriving. Stock up on ziplock! Once we filled out boat with them, our leaks went away!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Brenda Campbell GerrardMay 11, 2010 at 7:59 AM

    I think the decisions you are making are huge! I know you will make the right one for you and your family. I also am visulizing the you guys heading out across the pacific and making it to where your dreams have been for many years. But when you are done this fanastic voyage I can also see you with a tatoo of your own... a purple elephant! Keep on sailing.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Julie. You so crazy.

    ReplyDelete