catamarans and other things

We arrived home from Cuba at 2 am Tuesday morning. After unpacking and picking up all my messages and emails and reminding the cats they did not own the house, I finally fell asleep after 4 am. The alarm went off at 8:30 the next day and I was amazed I made it through a French class and some office work and a movie without nodding off. Now that I have explained my blog silence and elicited your pity for my sleep deprivation, here are some random thoughts from my time away.

1. Catamaran rides are more fun on a really windy day. Though I loved the calm days for floating in the ocean, everything being calm all the time makes you sleepy and lethargic. Wind and waves get you somewhere. Some turbulence is good and necessary and don't freak out if you get soaked!

2. For some reason, nudists like to stand when at the beach. And read books while standing.

3. Machetes are awesome tools in the hand of an experienced wielder! They can slice open a green coconut at the perfect angle, giving you a hole just big enough to fit your straw into so you can get at the coconut juice. I have a bit of a phobia about knives so I didn't stand too close, but I admired the skill of the gardener. There is something to be said about working with a tool for years and years and mastering it.

4. It is totally acceptable to eat 2 heaping plates of watermelon for supper.

5. Salt water makes even me more buoyant! I found myself praying for buoyancy this past week as I struggled with my nagging swimming deficiencies. It was so encouraging to float on my back unaided in the ocean for some minutes without feeling the familiar panic. Hmmmm, when Jesus calls us the salt of the earth, perhaps he is calling us to buoy others up, to carry them, to lift them out of panic and sinking and help them float on top of their troubles.

Picture #1: catamaran near the beach on a fairly calm day

Picture #2: Cuban men in Remedios

Picture #3: catching the sunrise one day over the ocean.

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outWORD by Matte Downey

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