serenity
Quite a contrast, coming from the hectic city life straight to the quietest of seasons on a tiny Caribbean island. Being the hurricane season, most boats have sailed down South to avoid being in the region which is most prone to hurricanes. We were around this area during last years storm season so we consider us pretty safe and in the know of how things work and what to do in case we would have a tropical storm coming our way. What I like about this season is of course the lushness and the fact that everything is much more green than in the high season, but also the fact that it is so. very. quiet.
Living on a boat and cruising in busy areas like these during high season (October-May), you are normally pretty exposed to your neighbors. It's not like you can close yourself in like in a flat or a house, as the outdoors is a major part of your everyday life. You basically live in the nature, the boat is merely the place where you sleep, cook and store your things. You eat your dinners in the cockpit, you shower on deck and you have the occasional swim around the boat (when in clean anchorages).
If you haven't found yourself a hidden anchorage, which all most probably are at least a bit busy during high season, you will always have a boat close to your own. Occasionally it can be nice to be in a bustling marina or a busy anchorage, but most often we try to avoid being in too crowded places so we can live the way we wish to and to be able to feel totally free, close to nature, without facing the risk of having your neighbors watching while you're in the shower. It is therefore a blessing to come back to find Duende as almost the only boat in the bay, with a good distance to the rest of the few that are around.
Don't get me wrong, I love a good company and if we meet some nice sailors along the way of our travels I'm the first one to invite them over to our boat for a glass of wine, it's just that it's so relieving to have the peacefulness and tranquility that only a quiet, natural anchorage can offer. And that's basically why I prefer to sail these North Caribbean waters during hurricane season. We have three more months of quietness, by that time we should have made all those stops along the way that we're planning to before we eventually, if all goes as planned, have made our way down to South America.
