Mexico, December 1997 (Day 20 of 20)

Day 20 Thursday, January 1, 1998

Santa Catalina Island - San Pedro - Los Angeles - San Jose - Palo Alto

Time to say good-bye to Ray, Ashikin, Ken, and the Sea Star in Avalon. After a painfully early 07:30 rise, Eric and I take the fast (30 kt) Catalina Express back to the mainland at LA's San Pedro (USD 18).

A cab brings us to LAX (USD 40) and I get on United Shuttle to San Jose (USD 86). There, my room mate Dan picks me up and I'm back at home again by 2 p.m.

The loot

I try to catch up on the holiday's events and unpack my loot. Clockwise from center, this is what I brought back:

Stained glass dolphin picture (USD 20), 100% wool rug/blanket (USD 10), Sauza conmemorativo tequila añejo (MEP 110), Cañita 96% pure cane alcohol (MEP 20), 100% wool poncho (USD 16), hand painted wooden box (USD 15), leather vest (USD 20), leather jacket (USD 150), Cuban Montechristo No 4 cigars (USD 40).

It feels strange to be back. Unreal... When I take a shower later, the abundance of water feels luxurious -- warm, thick water. I almost feel a tang of guilt for "wasting" so much.

It wasn't without a twinge of sadness that I saw the Sea Star disappear in the distance this morning, but there was also relief. Three weeks in a small, confined space with the same four individuals becomes a bit hard to endure after a while, especially with tension in the air. On the other hand, it was certainly a good experience. I learned a bit about sailing, a bit more about living onboard a boat, and a lot about people in general. And about myself too, I think.

On this trip I learned...
...how to whip a rope using a sailor's awl.
...how to navigate a boat using both dead reckoning and GPS + charts.
...several knots that I've now forgotten the name for.
...that at sea you often have odd shifts and sleep whenever you can.
...that the seas can be rough and very unforgiving.
...that sea sickness still can be conquered, or at least endured.
...that you can't trust weather reports.
...that you never know how long it will take (or even where you will go) while at sea -- especially if you're sailing.
...that 5-6 knots is pretty fast for a sailing boat, but it takes forever to get anywhere.
...that it's OK to dump any garbage except plastic out at sea.
...that people are never as simple as they seem.