{"id":4192,"date":"2016-04-07T13:44:59","date_gmt":"2016-04-07T13:44:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.argoknot.com\/?p=4192"},"modified":"2016-04-07T13:50:13","modified_gmt":"2016-04-07T13:50:13","slug":"a-united-nations-of-sailors-in-cayo-largo-de-sur","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.argoknot.com\/?p=4192","title":{"rendered":"A United Nations of Sailors in Cayo Largo de Sur"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yesterday\u00a0(April 6), on the dock in Cayo Largo, these flags were flying from boats: New Zealand, Britain, France, Russia, Switzerland, Luxembourg<\/em> (no kidding!), and the US. Those who had recently moved off the dock to anchor out flew flags from Norway and Sweden. It\u2019s a veritable United Nations of sailors!<\/p>\n

Since there aren\u2019t two boats from any one country (except the Scandinavian countries) this feels like a true melting pot, and the eagerness we all feel to get to know each other gives this place a special friendliness. It\u2019s just amazing. People have had boat issues, engine troubles, or even just a longing for cheese, and everyone wants to help. I can\u2019t speak for the more pressing issues (though I know Bob has ferreted around in the workshop looking for items for others), but I\u2019m happy to report that on Pandora<\/em> we\u2019ve been particularly helpful in assuaging the longing for cheese. We still have some cheddars from the US, good brie from France, and a wonderful Bella Vitano from Italy.<\/p>\n

The head of this marina is named Pier, and he has worked here for over 30 years. He\u2019s got lots of stories to tell, and I wonder if he fully knows what stories are told about him! After hearing recommendations to come here from anyone who has already visited, we then heard that \u201cwe must meet Pier.\u201d He just returned from vacation yesterday\u00a0morning, and made a bee-line to Pandora<\/em> when he saw our big US ensign flying from the stern. He invited Bob to visit him in his office where he could show Bob the US flag he has displayed on his desk. He used to keep it hidden in his desk, but has recently taken to displaying it.<\/p>\n

\"4-6-16a<\/a><\/p>\n

He also has a photo with Fidel taken decades ago. Pier certainly looks younger, but it\u2019s hard to imagine Fidel getting any older than he is in this photo! Certainly there are no photographs showing a\u00a0more current\u00a0Fidel.<\/p>\n

\"4-6-16a<\/a><\/p>\n

Late in the afternoon\u00a0afternoon we met the Russians, six men who have chartered a catamaran for their yearly vacation together. Everyone brought out their flags for the photo op. It turns out there are rotary clubs in Russia, and Olag Karpeev (the captain on this charter) is president of the International Yachting Fellowship of Rotarians.<\/p>\n

\"4-6-16c<\/a><\/p>\n

Tonight as I write this, they are having some adult beverages (Vodka perhaps) while listening to old American pop music. The BeeGees, I kid you not!<\/p>\n

Oh! And I\u2019ve found the perfect souvenir to bring home\u2026.a Cuban kitten! Man, the kittens here are adorable! There are a group of cats that hang out near the marina restaurant that remind me of the \u00bc ocelot that a friend of mine used to have. Very sleek cats! I wonder if these are the same kind.<\/p>\n

\"4-6-16a<\/a><\/p>\n

She likes Bob a lot. \u00a0Maybe she’ll follow us onboard before we leave…<\/p>\n

\"4-6-16a<\/a><\/p>\n

And then there is this tiny new black kitten that would be just perfect for my daughter in law, though I\u2019m certain that Rob thinks they already have too many cats. It\u2019s all a pipe dream anyway, since there is no way I could get these kitties into the US. Too bad for me\u2026<\/p>\n

\"4-6-16a<\/a><\/p>\n

Yesterday\u00a0we said goodbye to the two charming British men of a certain age, who are sailing an Island Packet 50\u2019 out of Southampton. The owner, Jeremy, has been around the world in this boat, and often in the company of his childhood friend, Richard. Neither one of these men\u2019s wives like to sail, so they often sail the long distances together. Jeremy\u2019s wife may join him later in the spring along the ICW in the US, and perhaps I\u2019ll meet her when they pass through Long Island Sound. Jeremy has invited Bob and me to visit them near Sissinghurst Castle, and when I mentioned I that I been there once with my good friend Lesley, Jeremy replied that I must have seen his large Georgian house \u2018right next door.\u2019 Wow\u2026<\/p>\n

Also the Swiss couple left yesterday\u00a0afternoon. When they arrived we could not believe it was the couple who had been the first to look at old Pandor<\/em>a when we put her up for sale last spring. In the end they bought a different Saga, Discovery<\/em>, owned by a friend of ours. We can\u2019t wait to tell Carl that we saw his Discovery<\/em> in Cuba. It\u2019s amazing how small the world really is.<\/p>\n

\"OLYMPUS<\/a><\/p>\n

This week Lars, on Luna<\/em>, also has two childhood friends visiting from Norway. We spent an evening together hearing about the two friends\u2019 wives and children, as well as stories from the three men\u2019s childhood together near Oslo. Even their parents are all still friends.<\/p>\n

\"4-6-16a<\/a><\/p>\n

Yesterday evening\u00a0we invited the young New Zealanders, Garth and Monique from Heatbeat<\/em>, onboard for drinks. They got married just before leaving for their long voyage, three years ago. They arrived here yesterday afternoon, after a long non-stop sail from Honduras. Garth is 32, and Monique just turned 30 last month. They are the same ages our two sons, so how could I not feel maternal toward this adorable couple? Monique saw me knitting today and told me she has some crochet projects on Hearbeat<\/em>, and some rope that she\u2019d like to use to crochet containers to sit on their shelves for additional organization. Great idea!<\/p>\n

Monique and Garth onboard Pandora<\/em> last night.<\/p>\n

\"4-6-16c<\/a><\/p>\n

There is a prodigious variety of sea life and island life here along with all the visiting foreign boats. Some of the little cayos nearby are inhabited by iguanos. I found this out quite by surprise when I looked up from gathering shells and found a herd of them in all sizes \u00a0coming toward me. \u00a0This was the big male.<\/p>\n

\"OLYMPUS<\/a><\/p>\n

There is live coral flourishing all the way to the beaches on these little islands. There are large and small conchs all over the beaches and shallow waters, and they are alive, along with the puffy red sea stars. You don\u2019t find that in the Bahamas anymore.<\/p>\n

Bob took this wonderful photo of a sea star, and I think I want to use it as one of my small format tapestries for the future.<\/p>\n

\"4-6-16a<\/a><\/p>\n

Right in the marina, if you look into the water around the boats, or up where there bar is on shore, we can see giant tarpin with ramoras swimming nearby. Everywhere there are angel fish, sargeant majors, blue tangs and powder blue tangs, parrot fish. It\u2019s very colorful. The water is so clean and clear. I wonder if all that will change, and how quickly, when American sailors start arriving by en masse in another few years.<\/p>\n

\"4-4-16b<\/a><\/p>\n

The beautiful marina at Cayo Largo. \u00a0No wonder Pier is proud of his work.<\/p>\n

\"4-6-16a<\/a><\/p>\n

And Pandora<\/em> on the dock (she’s the one with the dark green hull) viewed from the bar.<\/p>\n

\"OLYMPUS<\/a><\/p>\n

Everyone has listened to me whine about not having talked to my kids in over a month now. Both the Brits and the Kiwis have offered for me to use their satellite phones to call the boys, as long as I can keep it to under<\/em> 3 minutes! I\u2019m certain I cannot do it. I can imagine myself saying \u201cHi, it\u2019s Mom\u2026.start talking and just GO until you hear me hang up!\u201d \u00a0I\u2019m not sure I could be counted on to hang up in the allotted time.<\/p>\n

So, although I am still very homesick, it\u2019s incredibly interesting here in Cayo Largo. Bob wants Pier to come to the US this summer and give some talks to various sailing groups. I hope he can make it happen. \u00a0And Lars might come up our way\u2026.and the Brit, Jeremy\u2026and who knows, maybe even Garth and Monique (the New Zealanders) will get blown off course from their intended voyage to Bermuda and on to Europe and find themselves up the Connecticut River.\u00a0\u00a0 Summer could be very interesting\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yesterday\u00a0(April 6), on the dock in Cayo Largo, these flags were flying from boats: New Zealand, Britain, France, Russia, Switzerland, Luxembourg (no kidding!), and the US. Those who had recently moved off the dock to anchor out flew flags from Norway and Sweden. It\u2019s a veritable United Nations of sailors! Since there aren\u2019t two boats […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fine-craft"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.argoknot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4192","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.argoknot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.argoknot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.argoknot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.argoknot.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4192"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.argoknot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4192\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4220,"href":"http:\/\/www.argoknot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4192\/revisions\/4220"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.argoknot.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.argoknot.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.argoknot.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}