Picture: Vuda Marina, Fiji
It’s the 22nd of June. The shortest day of the year in the Southern Hemisphere.
In my whole life, I have celebrated this day as the LONGEST because I spent most of my time in the Northern Hemisphere.
Some people celebrate midsummer while other people celebrated midwinter on the same day.
I find this fact quite fascinating. I guess it’s normal to feel small and insignificant when you realize and experience diversity of life at first hand.
The more I see of the world - especially remote places like the archipelagos (island groups) of French Polynesia - the more I think that humans are not that different despite of all the effort we put into creating the differences.
We and them.
The inner and outer circle.
East and west in Europe.
North and South in the Americas.
We put ourselves and others in boxes to make life simple and seek for people and things that we are familiar with.
I signed up for this adventure with the intention to learn more about new cultures and behaviours but it's much easier said than done. I had to realise that my thinking is much more biased than I thought.
It's just so hard to know what is normal or not in different cultures and the only thing you can compare your experience to is your own past life. This will immediately create a gap and it takes a lot of time and mental effort to fill in the space with a story.
We all have goals and desires in our life, we all have feelings toward other people. Sometimes good, sometimes bad. Having a nice meal with friends and family is one of the purest ways to feel that one belongs to others wherever you live.
Picture: eating out in Rangiora with fellow sailors
We all enjoy the sound of music and move to its rhythm in different ways, and we all talk about the weather all the time.
Picture: dancing haka in the Marquesas
I am on the Western side of Viti Levu, the main island of Fiji until the beginning of July. It was quite surprising for me to see that almost 40% of the population is Indo-Fijian. The Indian culture, fashion, and cuisine are just everywhere.
On a semi related note, I went to a hairdresser for some highlights, but they had no blonde hair dye and whatever you eat, it tastes curry.
I think it was quite funny.
First benefit in being moored up in a marina: electricity!
Being in a marina provides us unlimited electricity because we are plugged in to shore power. This means we can buy more food – if it’s available, see picture below - as the fridges can handle. We can run the fans during the day and make the below deck world liveable.
When we are under way or at anchorage, there is a constant worry about electricity as we have only the solar panels and wind generator usually not enough so we need to run the engine for a few hours before the sun sets. #boatlife
Picture: me looking at the available goods in the market in Tonga
Second favourite thing in being moored up in a marina: water!
Cleaning the boat, washing the dishes, taking a shower, flushing the toilet. All requires water which is limited unless the boat has direct access to a water tap ashore. It is so convenient to know that we can top up the water tank anytime without needing to run the watermaker which is a great gadget but requires power, and if overused, it can break.
Long, hot shower is such a refreshing thing to do and now is unlimited (for two weeks). We are enjoying it very much.
Third favourite thing in being moored up in a marina: mobility!
The thirds benefit of being in the marina is that it provides mobility and freedom.
I can wake up at 6am, grab a coffee in the local shop, and join the yoga session with other sailors in the marina without needing to check with others if they need the dinghy.
You can step ashore anytime without needing to schedule it with anyone. Theoretically.
There is one thing you still need to consider though before getting ashore in our current marina. The TIDE!
We moored up to the land instead of a floating pontoon which means that the height difference between the boat and land is changing constantly.
This is what it looks like to get ashore at low tide.
Picture: Pulling in the boat so I can jump on it
Picture: (trying) to get off from the boat at low tide
The plastic bottles on the lines are rat traps.
***
I went to the cinema the other day with Laura. After eight months of watching movies on the phone from my bed, I went to a movie theatre.
And there was the owner of the cinema and his friend sitting in the back seat while the staff was cleaning the theatre. One of the guys asked us about how come we ended up in this cinema on Wednesday 1pm and if we were influencers? We both laughed and then wondered why anyone would ask such a question of us.
I believe I am an explorer, not a tourist, and definitely not an influencer but from someone who sees two young women (from far away countries) in an empty cinema of Fiji on a Wednesday afternoon can look pretty unusual.
They could think that if we are lucky enough to not to be at work, then we must be doing something different from an average person they are familiar with.
Yes, we are doing something different. We are sailing around the world.
Picture: sailing out from Tonga
Looking fabulous!