Aruba – Caro Babbo

I get voted off the island, twice

This is the last post of my time with James Everson on Zingaro. The series starts here.

Port Townsend Washington, 10 February 2020 – “I’m flying out tomorrow. You can stay on if you’d like…” There were a number of sentences that followed, but that’s the only one that really matters.

The Greeks, or someone like that, said start a story in the middle and then work out to the edges. Instead, let me start with where we left off, and work to the end.

Stuck in Aruba with the busted boat blues again

Paardenbaai, Aruba, 4-FEB-2022 – Yes, I’m still here.

There is a frustration with blogging in a world that is changing. If I can get the words down in a specific moment in time, then I can edit them at my leisure. I didn’t get this written last night when the world was at a momentary stasis.

That moment passed and by this morning things changed.

Congress Pressures Social Media Companies, James suffers; I feel like we’re stapled to the dock.

Renaissance Marina, Aruba, 28-JAN-2022 – There is an invasion of thoughts and observations as I’ve sat here on a dock for two weeks. The cross-cultural jump feels tectonic, like the two plates of the earth that are my life and experience shearing against each other and moving me to this Neverland.
If you stay with me for this, I’ll try to build the three-dimensional terrain that I find myself parachuted into.

Waiting for parts in Exotic Locations

Renaissance Marina, Aruba, 20-Jan-2022 – The parts were in Miami last we heard. From there they should have gone onto a ship and then come to Aruba. Directly? We don’t know. How many stops along the way? We don’t know. How long might the parts sit in customs? We don’t know.

I’m on an Oyster 485-03: a 48.5 ft British-made boat, built in 1993 in Wroxham, Norwich, Norfolk, UK.*

Some background: The owner of the boat is James Evenson who I have known virtually for five years and in person the last two years. After the literal breakup of the catamaran Zingaro, James with the help of his Patreons and through a Kickstarter campaign purchased this boat in Curaçao.

Other people’s boats

SEATAC, 17-JAN-2022 – I was speaking to John Riley not too many weeks ago. I was telling John that being away from my boat meant that I don’t have much to write about. John said, write about other people’s boats.

And so I shall.