Since we left home and began our journey as cruisers, we’ve generally always been in a bit of a hurry. It seems like we’re always going somewhere, where we should have been the day before. If we stay in one place for several days, it’s normally because we have to fix something that is broken, and not because we’re going to relax and enjoy ourselves.

This is mainly my fault, though, since I have a tendency to read and believe everything the guidebooks have to say about any anchorages and little villages, and I’m often afraid to miss that fantastic place where everybody has been - except me!

In the last two weeks, however, we’ve managed to do the exact opposite: Unlike before, we’ve focused only on staying on the boat, and we’ve only moved the boat once. During the first week, we stayed in a marina doing small projects that we both have wanted to do for a while:

Henrik installed a propane alarm and marked the length of the anchor chain, and I dug out the sewing machine and made a tent out of an old sail to cover the front hatch, so we can keep it open, even if it rains.

This week we’ve enjoyed being at an anchorage by a small uninhabited island in the southern part of the Bimini Islands. In crystal clear waters we’ve been swimming, snorkelling, kayaking and SUP paddling, we’ve been walking along the small beaches around the anchorage, and looked at stingrays, who seemed as interested in us as we in them. The reason for this is probably that people feed them. A cruiser in North Bimini told us to bring small squid and let
the stingrays eat off our hands. We dropped that idea immediately, though, since we didn’t know how to get a hold of these squid. Also, we don’t like the idea too much of feeding wild animal, but they were still equally fascinating to watch.

The last couple of weeks have given us pause for thought. Often, we look puzzled at other cruisers, who seem to always sit in the cockpit with a book and a glass of wine after having visited all the local museums. How do they do it? Doesn’t anything break on their boat? But maybe they just don’t want to cover as much ground as as we do!

So from now on I’ve promised Henrik to read the guidebooks with a little more of a critical eye and choose a fewer places to visit. After all, the best experiences doesn’t necessarily happen, where everybody else goes!

Signe Storr Freelance Journalist and friend of Boatshed