My Quarantine

Nearly five months after COVID entered my life, the shock is slowly wearing off and I’ve had lots of time to reflect. It’s been the strangest, most uncomfortable, unknown time of my life, a feeling I share with many others. We’ve been trying to make the most of it and continue to choose the ‘least bad option’ (motto of 2020?). Here’s what this has looked like for me. 

This past March, we were packing our boat with months worth of food. Not to survive a world pandemic but to cross the Pacific ocean. Fenton’s birthday was celebrated on the eighth full of laughs and love. We packed and packed and were two days away from leaving Mexico. Then, Fenton was on an airplane heading back to the states. The overnight decision to head home was not easy on anyone here and we still miss him daily. The last time I was on land in any sort of town was the trip to the airport. This started our first round of quarantine. We quickly realized that we were going to be in Mexico for a while when all of the neighboring countries and islands shut their borders. So we picked a few islands to head toward with our two buddy boats. We had to break quarantine a couple of times within our group, we went last minute shopping, we had to bring Willie to the vet, small things that we all needed to do. By the time all three boats had gone two weeks without any human contact it had been 6 weeks. Six weeks was a long time for us. We didn’t have any fresh food for a majority of the time and not being able to see any friends stinks. However, we did get a lot of Scout work done and we got to go swimming off the boat. Looking back on it now, it didn’t seem like that long. We talked to our friends on the VHF or radio daily and had fun playing hangman, guess the lyrics, 20 questions, and other small games that didn’t require being together. We even watched movies ‘together’ some nights, we would agree on a movie, start it at the same time and then give commentary on the radio while the movie was playing. We celebrated Lucy’s birthday and Easter on quarantine which gave us an excuse to party and celebrate the good times. 

Once the 6 weeks were up, all of the kids got together on one boat to eat a delicious breakfast together. Lots of hugs and remembering we could get within six feet of one another were shared. We spent a good chunk of our COVID days (so far) in a small bay called San Juanico. We had beach barbecue’s, played volleyball, went swimming, and just enjoyed each other’s company. Sally and I spent our birthdays in this bay and had a lot of fun running around celebrating our second birthday in Mexico. 

We started school up again, I am now working on my senior (how did this happen?!) year. Besides school, I’ve been having a lot of fun with my buddies here. I watched all 9 Star Wars movies with the boys on Utopia, created a dance with all of the girls on Arena and Utopia, attempted (and nailed) a full on Italian dinner with a good bud, and have been spending most of my time in the water. It’s around or over 100 degrees everyday now. I have also been working through a photography class with the mom and boys off of Utopia and have been really enjoying having some classmates. It’s also fun to document a crazy part of history. 

More recently, we’ve been moving around again. Hopping from anchorage to anchorage and getting to explore the new places as they come. It’s been nice seeing new spots and having small adventures every day. We’ve been trying to keep the blog more up to date so I won’t go into the specifics but it’s been a lot of fun. While we are off of “quarantine” within our bubble, we have yet to see any other people. Our little group sticks together and we make sure that we play it safe. It’s such a crazy time but having two other families to share it with is something I will forever be thankful for. I know I am so lucky to be where I am always but am definitely feeling it now more than ever. It’s been one heck of a rollercoaster but we’re holding on and enjoying it. 

I like to believe that something good is going to come out of this, not sure what that will be yet, I guess time will tell. However, I know that for me personally, I have made a really good friend within our bubble, I have learned that life is so crazy unpredictable and I have been taught to ride the waves as they come, I appreciate the solitude that living on a boat brings even more, and I feel a connection to all other humans around the globe. We are going to get through this, no matter how hard and scary and devastating this is. 

As I start to realize that COVID isn’t going to disappear overnight, I’m slowly adjusting my lifestyle and learning that the smallest things can bring the most joy in this upside-down world. I’m sure that this pandemic has affected everyone differently, so I thought I would share my chunk of the story. 

-Heidi