Swimming and cruising friends

When Tessa turned 2 yrs old we put her in an intensive swim/float program, called Infant Self Rescue.  For 6 weeks, she would swim 5 days a week for 10 minutes in a one-on-one swim/float session with the excellent IRS instructor Heather.  Tessa loved it, it was the first thing she mentioned in the morning.  At the end of the program she was in the pool fully clothed and with shoes, and was able to float for 5 minutes as well as swim to the other side of the pool.  It made us feel just a tad more comfortable knowing she could do this (and I say a tad, as we fully realized it would only give us a tiny bit more time if she ever were to fall in the water).  Then, sadly we didn't see a swimming pool for months, too busy with prep for this trip.  And it showed when we first started to swim again. Tessa loved going to the pool, but she didn't want to do any swimming or floating….

Well, that has changed since we are in Barra, and visiting the pool every day. Now we are back in the
saddle again, so to speak. She jumps in with gusto, goes underwater, and can’t wait to do it again. We have to slow her down, and make sure she does her floating too.  It’s a pure joy for us to see how much she loves it! And it's one reason for us to stay here for a few more days, and to find more places with a pool.

The great thing of this nomadic lifestyle is that you meet wonderful people, and when it clicks, you quickly become good friends. You have the luxury of unscheduled time to get to know each other, and from the start you all share a common zest for adventure. The sad part of the lifestyle is that we are all in transit, and not always on the same travel path. Who knows when and if you will meet again? Our friends aboard Desire, as well as Astraea will be jumping off to the South Pacific next month. Luckily for us, our friends from Let It Be will also go back to the Sea of Cortez in the Spring.  Such is the reality of the cruising life, and we know we will eagerly following our friends travels down South via email or Facebook, while we will be heading up North again soon.

Desire's crew Tom and Britta, and Tom's sister Suzanne