We have been living aboard for one month now. At times it feels like we have just started our adventure while on other days our previous life seems so far away.
Sometimes I have the feeling that I can go back to our apartment in Belgium, that we still have a job waiting for us, that this is only a vacation. But whenever I think back to the month of July realisation kicks in. Saying goodbye to dear family, friends and colleagues, emptying our apartment, selling or giving away almost all our stuff, arranging the administration for our departure,.. Discovering the world by sailboat was something we fantasised about for years. Slowly and with every little step we completed on our to do list it became a reality.
We have been sailing in the Netherlands for a month now, visiting places we know so well from our weekend trips and our annual vacations. Anchorages, uninhabited islands and locks that are so familiar (mainly in Zeeland). This is also one of the reasons why we first stay in the Netherlands, to get used to sailing again and everything related to it and to get used to our new life.
I have to be honest, it was not easy to adapt and leave my restless mindset behind. The first week we moved our boat daily to a different place until we both said that this is not what we had in mind. The month of July was so busy that all we wanted was relax but on the contrary we gave ourselves unnecessary obligations. So we listen more to our body and mind and anchor for a couple of days to just relax and reflect.
Happy to say that our little floating house is doing well and the more days pass by, the easier it goes. We really created a routine in the meantime. Getting the boat ready for departure, anchoring, doing locks, hoisting the sails,… Even stupid things like cleaning our boat after dinner (a small space gets messy quite quickly). Doing the dishes, putting away things we don’t need anymore, vacuuming, … having a routine makes it so much easier to live aboard.
Somewhere on my cell phone there is still a refit to do list that is not 100% finished but for now I try to ignore it. The biggest things are installed and ready to use, the rest will come by itself. And we have time, nothing has to be in order right away. That may be the best part of the whole story, the ability to schedule that time how we want it to be. Every day I am so grateful that we get to experience this.
Sailing El Burro 