Yesterday afternoon we ran into the crew of S/V Hipnautical at Pepe's Dingy landing. We were heading back to the boat after an afternoon of walking the local flea market and dropping off our 7 � kilos of dirty laundry at the local lavandaria where for 8 pesos/kilo we would receive it back cleaned and folded. S/V Hipnautical is another cruising family with a 10yr old son. They have been out cruising for a little over a year now, after casting their dock lines back on November 30th 2007. We have been talking to them via email for almost three years as we both were planning and preparing our boats for the trip. Ours was just another chance meeting indicative of the cruising experience. Out of all the more probable big city destinations, we finally meet them at Pepe's Dingy landing in San Blas, a small town and infrequent cruiser stopping point that currently only has 3 cruising boats in the immediate area.

We invited them aboard THIRD DAY and the kids spent the evening playing and watching movies down below as the adults chatted and exchanged experiences in the cockpit. This experience of meeting people for the first time, hitting it off, and then spending the evening together over dinner and sundowners is part and parcel of the cruising lifestyle and something that is hard to explain due to lack of a point of reference. The following "made-up" example is something that takes place with great frequency while out cruising and can help bust the cruising myth No2, that deals with lack of social interaction while cruising:

At the corner 7-11, you run across a family buying some candy and sodas while driving their RV through town. While your kids start playing together like long lost friends, the parents start talking about how their kids are doing in school, how RV is holding up, and if they have been able to find good medical care in the area. Seeing that the kids are getting along and you enjoyed the chat, you invite the family to your house for dinner. During dinner it comes out that their car is having air-conditioning problems, so after dinner the two dads head into the garage to see if they can fix the air conditioning, while the moms discuss everything form how their kids are doing in school to what's the best way keep bugs out of the house at night. By this time the kids are playing like long lost friends and back in the garage, the dads find out that a seal in the compressor unit failed. It turns out that you just happen to have a spare which you give them and refuse payment because just last week, someone gave you the same type of assistance with your lawnmower, so you figure that you owe someone a favor. The evening goes well so you invite the family along with you on a family trip you are planning tomorrow to the local museum followed by lunch at the town's best Hamburger stand. They accept your invite but only on the condition that you bring your family to their RV tomorrow night for dinner, which you gladly accept because you would love to get a tour of their RV. You end up spending a full week with your new best friends, swapping stories about each others pasts. When you do eventually depart, you exchange information and arrange to see them again when you are in their home town.

The above "made up" scenario happens almost every day in the cruising world all around the world's great anchorages and marinas. In a busy anchorage or marina you actually have to work hard to have a diner alone because boat pot-lucks are as common as a quick run up to your local fast restaurant or coffee shop. The main difference being that people work at not making eye contact with the person sitting in the booth next to them, while out cruising you would pull up a chair at the strangers table and offer to share your SantaFe chicken sandwich for some of their Western Bacon cheeseburger. Try that at your local Carl's Jr. and you are more likely to expand your wrap sheet rather than your circle of friends.

Just this afternoon, we were planning on working on the boat for the afternoon when we heard the hail of S/V Lea Scotia requesting information on entering the San Blas estuary. The next few hours were spent talking them into the anchorage and then catching up with old friends. Cruising is about building the type of relationships with people and places that doesn't happen back in what we call "the real world". But it does make you stop and think about which world is more "real" at the end of the day. Social overload is far more common while out cruising than lack of social contact, for both adults and kids, it's just another cruising myth that gets busted by the reality of cruising.

(Author's Note: Busting Cruising Myths will become a frequent addition to our blog. Next up will be Myth No3: "What will you do with all that time". Perhaps I'll get to this one as soon as I find a free minute!)