In January for the first time Informed us About the fact that a Hungarian family has two children who exchanged daily life at home with restrictions on sailing around the country. After crossing the Atlantic, they anchored in the Lesser Antilles, and as our new connection revealed, the voyage slowed down at this point as well. However, Anna and Dominic do not mind it at all: during these weeks, they launched raids from the French side of the island of Saint-Martin towards the surrounding islands, or they spent the seemingly unlimited free time with the boaters of the area.
We missed the traditional carnival on the island this year, but we kept our little carnival on the boat with the family. We made a costume, a mask, dressed as a juniper pirate girl, kate an indian girl, she was a dome shark, I was a chef
Anna says after inquiring about the details of life there. This role as a chef is definitely linked to the unimportant fact that the toaster in the ship’s kitchen is broken, but the new role is already on its way to the island and Anna is desperately looking forward to the package.
There are many things that keep you from continuing. On the one hand, things are moving here at a comfortable ‘Caribbean’ pace, so some important work on the ship has yet to be completed. On the other hand, there are also bureaucratic problems associated with the coronavirus epidemic that make it difficult to get started. According to current plans, they will first fly to Panama, stop in Curacao and Colombia, and then cross the Panama Canal to the Galapagos and French Polynesia. However, this is only a rough concept, as its precise designability is not what most characterizes this part of the world.
What is certain is that they must leave this region, i.e. the areas affected by the hurricane, by May at the latest. Another complicating factor is that after the Galapagos Islands, everything in the Pacific has been sealed off. We applied to French Polynesia to enter the authorities more than a month ago, but we have not received a response yet. If they are rejected, we need to change our plans. We need to rethink where we can go.
Due to the growing number of Europeans craving romantic circumstances, having whites is no longer considered a special affair there. European sailors, including Anna, are welcome. This may also be due to the fact that many of the surrounding islands are connected to Europe, so it is relatively easy to travel between them.
Clean yard, normal boat
The ship itself is somewhat similar to the man’s apartment at home. It also provides continuous maintenance and renovation work. This is also the case with them, with the difference in the salty marine environment, strong ultraviolet radiation, constant vibration and movement that put an extra burden on their home. Gradually, they can only move forward with certain tasks, such as installing new solar panels and installing navigation devices. It’s not clear to people accustomed to the wildlife lifestyle, but maintenance work also includes removing algae and other organisms that have grown to the bottom of the ship. If not peeled off, this could mean a speed loss of up to a knot and a half of vessel speed. Then the bolts are tightened, the condition of the ropes on board checked, and the solar panels are cleaned.
Two weeks ago, the ship’s engine starter battery deteriorated. At first we borrowed one from a neighbor, but it didn’t quite fit, and we had to buy another. Our generator is also malfunctioning, and we were able to partially fix it, but part of it needs to be replaced. We are waiting for that now
Dominic says.
Land shopping is a special adventure. There is a medium-sized crowd in Marigot, and it can be easily reached on foot from the boat harbor. If they want to buy more, they go to the Dutch side. There is a large grocery store there about a 20 minute well canoe, plus a 15 minute walk. And if you have to buy a lot of hard things or things, they seek help from a friend who lives on an island and takes them by car so that they don’t have to wear shoes as much.
A few cases, the Caribbean lax
Fortunately, the number of epidemics on the island is low, there are no severe restrictions, almost everything is open, everything works. In shops and other indoor places, of course, it is necessary to wear a mask formally, but this is noticeable only with the already mentioned Caribbean indolence. It is also evident from this that, despite their long time there, the Domiys were not fully integrated, as they strictly adhered to the rules of hygiene and distance. They do not go to large crowds, restaurants, or bars.
Just a week ago, schools required young children to wear masks. At the local parents, of course, he immediately beat the security, and one morning they began to protest against him, and the ship also heard whirring, cheering and screaming. There was no word on the outcome of their move. Antigen testing and PCR are free of charge on the island. If people notice symptoms or plan a trip, they go and get tested for themselves. Dominicans also meet other sailors, and meet up occasionally, but these are offshore programs, and their regular friends follow ground rules too. Recently, with a Polish family who lived on a ship for 5 years and had two sons the same age as Anna’s daughters.
In any case, there is plenty of room to maneuver on the relatively small island of Saint Martin, and more on board. Therefore, it is very good to go to the beach every day or two, to take care of the necessary things, or to walk to the castle ruins, watch the sunset, get to know acquaintances, friends … there is a lot of life on the island, tourists come and go, but still I hear little about the disease.
The school is on the other side of the earth
As good parents, Anna and Domy regularly sit down to study with the girls, trying to keep up with the Hungarian classmates at home. However, due to the time lag, they are not yet able to participate in homeschooling via the World Wide Web; You have to sail a little to get the opposite time zone out of it.
Today, for example, we started forming letters and swapping letters written in the sand after we swam on the beach next to a turtle. Physical education is already in place by swimming and swimming again on the beach, and then arithmetic examples can be drawn and written on the sand. Then study the environment, starting with aquatic and terrestrial plants and animals, and when the sky is flooded again, the wind picks up, begins to rain, knowledge of the weather is also shown in the picture; On the beach we continued the morning studying the rocks and coral reefs.
Of course, this is not the most common method of learning, it is often sitting at the table, children learn in the traditional way (textbook, work book), the mentioned case was an exception that “looks like a class trip”.
The power of media
At first, the family stayed at home with a wider kinship, wanting to share their experiences with friends, but since they were at the forefront in the beginning note On the World Wide Web, and Instagram– You also have a page, more and more comments received that want to see more photos and videos and read more diary entries. At that time, not only knowledge was applied, but also many new unknown acquaintances.
However, it takes a lot of time, and the right tools and equipment to capture and crop photos and videos, so they asked their followers for support, not without results. This was an assurance that the work would continue. They also want to launch their YouTube channel soon.
As a result of our first article, the audience has signed up for the Dominicans. From the radio show Plasik to Reuters, they have been contacted by many media outlets. as they say,
The explosion of press came to our lives suddenly, a little unexpectedly, unprepared for us, as we had no experience in this field. Meanwhile, we were pleased with the many positive reactions.
As a result of appearances, they received a lot of encouragement and support from Hungary and many parts of the world (for example: Italy, Spain, USA, China, Korea, Japan, India, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Panama, Fiji). Sometimes, they also encountered sweetness touching.
Everyone from teens to adults has appeared on our Message Board. One of the big surprises was the seventh grader at an elementary school in Csongrád County, who began to follow our path through their teacher, and also included material for geography lessons the areas we go to and which we write about. They sent a photo with the inscription “Good slice!” They painted it with their own hands. It was a great pleasure for him. Lots of people wrote that we travel for them, and they get to places we only dreamed of.
An American couple thanked them for taking pictures with them 40 years ago, just now Spent on San Martin Island Remember the honeymoon moments. TBayes wrote about rethinking their decisions that were so far postponed in the wake of Anna and Domi’s trip; However, the most poignant things were whenThey learned that the father would include their travel experiences in an evening story For their children so that the little ones are more open to the world.
(Cover photo: sailingteatime.com)
