There were four other boats in the anchorage with First Light last night. All of them sailboats. The wind has arrived and is blowing a pretty steady ten knots or so and we are seeing gusts to 15. All the sailboats are gone. When I look around all 360 degrees there is only one other hint of human kind besides our boat. It is a small cottage tucked into the trees along the edge of the inlet. At the moment I don't think anyone is in it.
Daughter middle called a little while ago. She got a call from a Canadian number and no one answered when she picked it up. Spam of course. But with us pretty far out of touch she called just to make sure all was well. Surely it has been years, since the last time we were in the Bahama Islands, that there has been this much room between us and the rest of the human family. I have to admit that I am enjoying the solitude. Sometimes I think the entire human family could use a break from itself. Everyone needs a chance to remember that we are all self aware, conscious beings. At least to some degree we are all responsible for the choices that we make, and have no responsibility for the choices others make. A choice we might make may not be the same someone else would make. As long as no one is injured, no one is oppressed or taken advantage of, and no one is coerced solely for the benefit of another, different choices are just that, different choices. It would be pretty boring if we all made the same choices about everything. It would be pretty depressing if we weren't allowed to make choices, being forced to live at the dictates of others. Others who, let's be honest, may not have our best interests in heart.
It may well be that we will not be the only one in the anchorage tonight. The forecast is back to twenty knots of wind for tomorrow with an 80% chance of rain. There are piles of billowing clouds filling the sky to the East. Those are associated with the low that was once a hurricane and is weather moving away from us. The low to our NW is dragging a cold front over us this afternoon. That low will bring the rain forecast for tomorrow. As a place to bail out for someone who is finding the ride less than comfortable out on bigger water or who is trying to get some miles in before the worst of the weather arrives? This would be a good choice.
Deb's Take:
This morning dawned clear and calm, the proverbial calm before the storm. Given that my knee has been acting up and hiking isn't all that pleasant, I decided to launch the dink and go for a row for some exercise. The bay that we are in has a bunch of really neat coves tucked all around its sides that beckon.
An hour and a half passed without my even noticing as I rowed into all the little coves and just sat there in the quiet. It's true—we all need a break from the human family once in awhile, a chance to float along in solitude in the quiet and smell the fresh pine and listen to the mating calls of the herons and to watch the antics of the river otter on the rocks. I am incredibly blessed to be here and to be able to experience this and I just needed a reminder this morning that in the large scope of things I'm really only a very very small part. It's a good thing to be reminded of once in a while.
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