Live Your Dreams

Panoramic views from atop Castle Hill

Sisters exploding out of the free pool at Riverway

BBQ picnic - Ibis birds circled us as we ate

Jez (my awesome little sister) and Tam (also awesome) visited us again for a few days holiday from their hectic WWOOFing schedule. Willing Workers On Organic Farms seems to these days be a pretty broad category - they have so far worked in a 4 star restaurant, a tropical fruit winery and now a rainforest resort! For those who have never heard of it, WWOOFing involves working about 6 hours a day in return for food and board - it's pretty popular with backpackers as an affordable way to travel. 

Tam with Boxy the car sporting her new sticker.

As always, it was super fun to hang with family and take time out to just be silly and have fun. Some highlights include BBQ's on the Strand, swimming at Riverway and at the Rockpool, climbing Castle Hill, driving Boxy (who is now sporting a blue stripe and a name sticker!!), dancing in the rain on the beach at night, eating too much ice-cream, drinking amazing wine from the winery they'd just been working at (www.shannonvalewine.com.au), and playing heaps of board games on the boat. Jez and I jogged the Strand and she taught me some techniques like standing up straight and going slowly which helped me make it further before running out of air. My aim is to be able to job the whole Strand (about 4Km return I think).

The pain in my back which I've had for over a month now (brought on by sleeping at a very rolly anchorage on Maggie Island) decided to become more of a nuisance and so I caved in and went to to a physiotherapist. I think my body was telling me to get into Pilates again because, after doing the pilates-based exercises the physio recommended, I'm almost 100% better! I realised that I have been a little slack with my fitness training - probably as a result of not really having a set routine. Usually I include exercise as part of my daily work schedule and, since I'm not really working, I haven't really been doing it! Sure, I've been walking a lot and jogging a bit, but that's nothing like core strength exercise! 

Agreeable graffiti atop Castle Hill

I'm feeling re-invigorated to work towards achieving my dreams. For a while now, I've felt as though I'm in limbo - happy to take time off from being a teacher, but unsure about whether cruising on a boat is really for me. I realise now that a big reason for my wanting to leave was to get away from my job which I had allowed to take over my life. Teaching is a very intense profession and I didn't really manage to develop balance between work and life because the job was so demanding and I'm a bit of a perfectionist. I think I burned out and need a break before I'm ready to teach again. So, I've extended my leave again - this time until 2012. For now I'm happy doing boaty jobs and looking after Rene while he works between 40 and 50 hours a week. These are some of the jobs I've been working on: repainting the transom with topcoat 2pac, de-rusting and then painting the ceiling and supports for the cockpit cover, de-rusting and then re-painting a spot of rust found inside a storage locker and de-moulding and cleaning (as usual).

Painted cockpit cover ceiling

Scraping away rust

While we were cruising, I always felt as though I was half-living. Part of me was always questioning whether this was what I really wanted to do. Was I just doing this as an elaborate way to take a break from my career? Did I really enjoy sailing or was it all too scary? Did I just want to live in a little house/flat by the sea? Am I even built for sailing, being so white and unable to tan? Should we be having kids and/or paying off a mortgage like most people our age? Didn't I miss all of our friends and family back home? Was this whole cruising thing just Rene's dream built from nostalgic memories of his childhood? and so it went on....


For a while, I decided that I didn't wish to continue - I was listening to my fear. But I didn't want to just return to Brisbane and to my old job already did I?
No. 

I want to travel - I always have.  

We chose to buy a yacht instead of a house so that we could live and travel long-term. I know now that I really do want to continue to live on Anhinga.

Cheeky grins at the Rockpool