10 Signs That It's Time to Move On
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We once heard that the two happiest days of a sailor's life were when he bought that shiny new boat, ready to begin the dream of sailing off to far away, exotic places, and the day he sold that same old hulk, which required piles of money and a full time commitment just to keep it afloat. In our book, the former is true, but we doubt the latter will ever be true. It will truly break our hearts if and when the day comes that we have to part with Nine of Cups.
Now that we have our boat, for us, the two happiest days are when we arrive at a new port after a long passage, when we are eager and excited to explore it, sample the new culture and food, and meet the local people, and then the day we leave that port, heading for some new, exotic port of call. No matter how wonderful each place is, there comes a point when we know it is time to leave. Here are our top ten indicators that it is time to move on:
1. The “A-List” chores are completed, and we are starting work on the “B-List” items. Some ports are so wonderful, we are actually beginning to do a few “C-List” items.
2. The local green grocer and chandlery owner not only recognize us, but know us by our first names.
3. That crisp new map we got from the local tourist info kiosk is now dog-eared and almost unreadable.
4. We know where the locals eat and all the shortcuts to get there.
5. We've figured out the local names for all the weird fruits and vegetables, we know how much the locals pay for them, and even how to prepare them.
6. Those clean sheets we put on the bed when we arrived are now in the dirty laundry bin, but the rest of the laundry is clean.
7. Our route to the next port is plotted and we've started looking at passage weather forecasts.
8. The propane tanks are full. The fuel tanks are full. The water tanks are full. The lockers are restocked with provisions.
9. Marcie has started researching and making up a list of the sights to see at our next port, while David has started a new to-do list.
10. We are getting antsy, really antsy, to move on.
Mauritius has been a wonderful port to visit... but now it is time to move on.