T-Minus 5 Sleeps

5 more sleeps and then I'm off to La Paz, Mexico to embark on the first leg of my quest: find a sailboat that's crossing the Pacific. Man I wanna cross that ocean. It's been a dream/goal since the end of 2004 when I first started seriously learning to sail. Back then the idea was to learn to sail, buy a boat and cross the Pacific single-handed. That plan has been altered a bit due to a few years of getting older and wiser + a global recession, but the crux of it remains: CROSS THAT OCEAN! One of the things that came up for me in my endless hours of alone time in Africa was that long distance sailing (cruising) as a lifestyle is still very important to me. And before I do anything that's going to get me more "settled", I want to try it out.

So now the plan is this: Head down to La Paz where lots of boats are congregated, many of them bound for the Pacific. See if any have room on board for one more and who want the extra hand on deck. If I strike out in La Paz, I can head on to Puerto Vallarta, where there are many more boats preparing to go. If i strike out there, I admit my confidence may be shaken somewhat, but I'll consider moving on to Panama. I don't think it'll come to that though. I'm hard-working, able-bodied, an experienced blue water sailor, without an itinerary... and being a cute blonde single girl can't hurt.

Am I scared? Um, ya. This little plan of mine is by far the least amount of structure I've ever had when setting out on an adventure (of which there have been several). My mom is asking me questions like, "Where should I start if you don't end up where you say you're going to end up after X days?" Gotta love her though, she's behind me 1000%.

I'm mostly excited and ready to go for it though. It's gonna be fantastic. Tom Petty's "Into the Great Wide Open" fits.......