Marike

It’s taking too loooooong! When we started to get used to the boat, it was fun – we could actually move about doing every-day stuff without feeling drugged.. I baked some bread, we moved about and even started eating inside again. Now the wind has dropped, and the boat hardly rocks at all (no more game of ‘walk-around-without-touching-anything’). Can’t believe I’m saying this, but books are starting to run out, and the lack of exercise makes one lethargic.
Other than that . . . it’s fun to sit at the very front of the boat on the seat built into the pulpit. (Think Titanic.) Sophia’s image of us bobbing about on a circle of water is very realistic – I now understand why the people of old thought that the world was flat. When I look into the distance, I can really believe that it is possible to fall off the edge. You can literally see to the horizon. It’s not the same as seeing all around you where the earth meets the sky. Here, you can actually see the sun shining on the water where the cloud that’s over you (stopping the solar panels from charging the batteries) stops.
The cloud formations are beautiful, and so are the sunsets. (I tend to not be able to stay awake during sunrises.) The light is sharp though. You can’t go on deck during the day and just stare into space with the sun hammering down on the deck. I find myself screwing up my eyes when I try to look at the world.
At night, the sea around us comes alive with creatures. We can’t see anything in the dark water without a torch, and when we shine it onto the water, you see red dots (we assume these are eyes) of the creatures flitting in the water. We have tried to see what they are – they even jump out of the water – but it seems as though it is impossible to see what type of body the red reflector is attached to without actually taking it out of the water. (We haven’t figured out a safe way yet – they are very small.)
Okay . . . something else to write about . . . uhm . . . fish. Okay, we haven’t caught a big fish yet. We put the lines out, but we suspect the reason we don’t catch anything might be to do with the smooth sea. Just guessing here. We’ve had a few flying fish. Little things – I’ve never known much about them, and it seems as though the reason for this is that there isn’t much to know. Little fish with huge fins =)
There was a day that we had a few dolphins (about three – normal, striped ones, not bottle nose) that swam with our boat for almost half an hour. It was nearer the coast, and the sea was rougher. They surfed the waves coming off our bow (no, they didn’t come out of the water) Their fins pierced the water when they came up for breath, their skin is extremely smooth. There was a time when having the dolphin as your favourite animal was all the craze – seeing them now I don’t really understand that. How can you say the dolphin is your favourite animal, if you haven’t even seen it yet? I mean, really – living, not just a photo or a picture. (Btw, that’s what I did – I have now decided that the dolphin is my favourite animal . . . for now 😉
I think I have now written enough – it is a bit boring on the boat, so you now basically know almost everything. The days seem shorter, because you don’t fill them up with productive things you do. (My days tend to get labels, like ‘the day I baked bread’ or ‘the day we played Cluedo twice in a row’)
How’re you supposed to end a blog?
. . . . . . .
Till next time! =D

4 comments

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    • Ricardo on 2015-01-02 at 18:40
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    I believe it’s, “Até a próxima vez” (Until next time), in Portuguese… 😉 – Best get prepping!

    1. We did – it didn’t help.

    • Carla & Lindi Marais on 2015-01-03 at 11:00
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    Hallo Marike, dit is lekker om van jou ook te hoor op die ‘blog’. Ons dink gereeld aan julle en wonder waar julle trek en hoe dit gaan. Ons hou julle in ons gebede! Voorspoedige nuwe jaar! 🙂

    1. Dankie julle! Dis rerig lekker dat ons kan weet daar is mense wat lekker ”saam reis” =D

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