Ms. Misses

I know you are sick of hearing about tropical island paradise. I thought I would start this post out with all the things I miss about "regular" life that I hope you are getting to take advantage of this summer:

I miss surfing the south swells that make all the lefts in CA light up.

I miss visiting my brother and sister, aunts, uncles and cousins.

I miss going to baseball games. (Go Padres)

I miss biking down Sunset Cliffs (SD) and Westcliff (SC) and checking all my favorite spots.

I miss summer music festivals.

I miss getting intoxicated and surfing my favorite waves (No Surf and the Lane).

I miss air conditioning.

I miss In-n-Out burger. And burritos.

I miss skateboarding around San Francisco.

I miss feeling like a local.

I miss not being covered in bug bites.

I miss drinking beers with my good old friends all afternoon. And all night.

I miss having good internet access all the time (although sometimes a blessing in disguise).

I miss the redwood forest and that dank NorCal tree.

I miss you.

Yes, there are many things about my previous lifestyle that I miss. And there are things about my current lifestyle that I do not like, mainly that I am salty. Seriously. I am always salty. Sure, I can rinse off or even take a shower if I am really feeling fancy, but inevitably I will kayak into the beach or to somebody's boat, or go for a swim again, so that I am always salty. My sheets, which do not get washed very often - gross, I know, but you wouldn't do laundry either if you were hundreds of miles from civilization either - are not only crusted with salt, but with sweat, sand, dirt, bug spray and anything else. Sexy, I know. We aren't called dirty sailors for nothing. It is not a lifestyle to be embraced by the faint of heart.

However, this lifestyle lends itself to seeing and doing some really cool shit. Another laundry list:

There are these little white birds whose undersides glow green when they fly over the water of the lagoon. Cool.

The other day I was snorkeling and a huge manta ray with a 9 foot wingspan cruised by, just minding his own business, but was being watched (as was I) by a grey shark, a black tipped and a white tipped reef shark.

I have learned how to hack open coconuts with a machete.

I can wear a bathing suit 24/7 and never get cold.

I often run into huge sea turtles when I am swimming.

I have made friends with people from all over the world.

Today I was snorkeling while my friends were spear fishing. I watched Randy shoot a fish and promptly become surrounded by 20 reef sharks who were sent into a frenzy at the smell of blood. He managed to get the fish up to the boat without it being eaten by the sharks, but they followed us for a while after.

We are in a ridiculously remote place and yet there is always somebody to talk with, ice cubes for drinks, and cocktail parties every evening.

Spending an afternoon in a hammock in the shade of a coconut palm reading a book is (nearly) a daily activity.

Although we might not find any lobster on our night walk along the reef, we are guaranteed to see some cool fish and an octopus or two.

The stars are brilliant out here.

I currently live (albeit temporarily) in a freaking tropical paradise - little islands covered with palm trees, white sandy beaches, turquoise water abundant with wildlife.... Dude.

And so, as you can see, there are trade-offs to our different lifestyles. I don't want to get too mushy or preachy, but the moral of the story is that this is a beautiful life and you can make of it what you want.
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At 7/29/2011 7:48 AM (utc) Rutea's position was 13°14.85'S 163°06.47'W

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