CURRENT LOCATION: Tied to a mooring ball near Cayo Pirata, in Ensenada Honda, Culebra, Puerto Rico

18 18.400' N, 065 17.842' W

As I sit here writing this blog entry, a tradewind breeze is blowing through the hatches, Prudence is gently bobbing on the choppy surface, and water is lapping at the dinghy tied just outside. It is a sunny day, as most are here in Culebra, and the temperature is in the low 80s (quite comfortable with the air movement out here on the water). It has been 3 days since I last put on a pair of shoes.

Under these idyllic circumstances, a certain amount of lethargy has set in. Oh, I did paddle around the harbor in a kayak the other day for a couple of hours, but it was nothing to write home about. Efforts toward writing for publication or learning Spanish have been nonexistent. I just can't seem to develop momentum on either front. Instead, I have been using computer bandwidth to download movies and TV shows. Consequently, our evenings have been occupied with this rather banal form of entertainment.

During the day I read, I nap, then I read some more. The paperback novels are disappearing at an alarming rate. For variety, I find different places on the boat to perch and read. You might find me hidden below, stretched out in the salon, or see my bare feet kicked over the coaming in the cockpit. Sometimes I am in full view of neighbors or passersby, situated on a cushion on deck (under the protection of our sun shade awnings).

I know, it sounds like a rough life, but there is one thing which somehow prevents it from being quite as ideal as I describe it. There is a tiny taint of underlying guilt I feel for having this abundance of free time and not putting it to a more productive use. Although I have been unemployed for six months, our constant movement of the boat through the first four months and the casual pace of exploration here in Culebra over the subsequent two months kept me feeling both busy and somewhat productive.

Now, as we head toward the summer months, the very air seems languorous to me. There is nothing which really has to be done, so I do pretty much nothing. It is a rare opportunity for me to experience life in the absence of any extrinsically driven exertions. My immediate needs are met. I do not have to report to a job in order to put food on the table. We are not planning for a trip in the near term, so no research is required. The boat is fairly well maintained at this point and currently needs no immediate attention (knock on wood). And, although we haven't seen it all, we have done a pretty good job of getting to know our surroundings. There is not much new 'exploration' left to do here in Culebra.

So, I guess I am left to see what the next few months bring me in the form of intrinsic motivation. With this embarrassment of leisure time, perhaps something will bubble to the surface and firmly capture my interest. If not, then I may become a professional lounge-about. The only challenge therein is to quiet my mind and simply enjoy this unique opportunity to do absolutely nothing.

You may note, dear Reader, that the above was presented as a soliloquy, purposely proffered in the first person. As regular visitors to this blog site, family, personal friends, or professional acquaintances of Sheryl's know all too well, moss will never gather anywhere on her person. She is a rolling stone in all senses of the metaphor. Although quite capable of quiet time, she does not let it envelop her in the way in which I do.

She has broken away from the boat this week on a daily basis. On Monday, she went to town to be trained as a substitute librarian. Granted, the library here on Culebra is not a fancy institution...



...but it is a cause we both believe in (free books). It is also a volunteer opportunity which helps Sheryl become a little more connected to the community.

On Tuesday, she assisted Jan on Irise with some form of hair alteration (highlights, I believe). And today, Sheryl is over in Fajardo with several ladies from here on the island. She is shopping for those things which can be gotten cheaper on the big island than they can here in Culebra.

At this point, we are a study in contrasts: The varied lives of cruisers in their downtime. I simply hope that my tendency toward a state of lassitude will not become an albatross around the neck of my rather kinetic better half. It is wisely stated that, "No man is an island." As we reside and spend the bulk of our time on the island of Prudence we will do well to remember that.