Page 90

11 June 2001


It's early morning and Nat's still asleep. I'm sitting on the porch enjoying it before it gets really(/too) hot. I'm glad(/happy) that the deal finally went through.
Of course it's an odd(/a strange) feeling no longer to be "one of the single sailors", but we'll be getting lots of opportunities to sail later on.
Nat woke a little later and I went to pick up bread from the baker. When I came back(/returned) (the) tea was ready.
And even though we were up early, we we're sitting, talking for so long time that we naturally arrived late at the marina and Patrick were waiting for us, but he's getting used to us.
We picked up our clothes and other things at Trojka. I have spent some time explaining to Patrick how everything works etc.
I feel good about selling the boat. I haven't regret it. I'm looking very much forward to arriving(/getting to) Canada.
Nat and I are going to the immigration authorities to make sure that our passports with the various stamps are all right(/in order).
There are particular(/certain) factors that play a part when you arrive by boat and leave the country by plane. We just want to be (absolutely) positive, so we won't be experiencing any problems at the airport Saturday night.
We met "High Drama" at the marina and we had a couple of beers with Ann and Fred, and Jason also came(/dropped) by. He was (together) with Francis, the Canadian from Vancouver from the boat behind Trojka.
After that we met Frideman. He saw Trojka in(side) the marina and came over. The last time I saw Frideman was in Panama. It was quite nice getting an update of where all the others are and how it's going(/they are).

We ate at McDonald's, did some shopping and went back to the house. We made tzatziki and took a nap(/had a snooze) late (in the) afternoon. We didn't wake before around 6:30 p.m. and had some "Greek" and later we packed a couple of bags. We bought one extra today.
I actually didn't think that I had a lot of clothes. But after getting everything together I must admit that it's a whole lot more than I had expected. Nat has bought me some (/a number of) clothes, I wonder if it's a hint?

The busses down here is really something else. They're called "Le Truck" and even with little(/(a) limited) knowledge of the French language, it's easy to imagine what they look like. Most of them are small Mercedes platform trucks and they all have a wooden framework with mounted benches and you are sitting there some 16-18 people. The busses have no timetables, but there are lots of busses(/them) so you rarely have to wait. They'll cover the same route and cost 120 Polynesian Francs, just under 1 US$.

And now it's later at night. Nat is lying and reading and I'm sitting here on the porch(/terrace) writing a little and looking at the stars. They seem so "pale" when watching them (here) from land(/shore).

We're going to town tomorrow. We are among other things to have(get) a tattoo, the same tattoo on the same part of our body(/bodies), which means "Love" in Polynesian. I have always said that if I was to (ever) get a tattoo, it should be in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, not in a small tattoo shop in Havnegade (street in Esbjerg, edit). And it should mean something special, and it cannot be any more perfect for us than right here and now.

We're invited to a turkey dinner Friday evening(/night) at our local friends', together with the same people we made dinner for the other day. One of the couples, a Tahitian man and his French wife. He spoke English. She didn't (speak English), but she's born close to the German border, so we spoke German (instead, edit). All evening (long) she thought that I was German and her husband thought I was American. Apparently I'm not easy to figure out.

Now I am almost ready to leave(/for departure). Everything has been taken care of and we're just waiting. Now the single sailor life(/life as a single sailor) is over. It has been funny(/a lot of fun) and very exciting sailing down through Europe, cross the Atlantic and through the Pacific. I have had an incredible amount of good experiences and only few bad ones.

I have made friends for life, the best I have had.

I'm feeling joy at even so small things that I sometimes think that I'm naive.
I am seeing many things in a different light (now), and in some ways I have defiinitely become another person, at least I think so myself.
I have learned unbelievably(/incredibly) much and have been confirmed(/strengthened) in my belief that you (I) can do it, if you really want to.

But the best part has been meeting Natalie. It(/That) has changed my life completely. Now we're going to Canada. It'll be exciting and a completely new and different adventure for Holden.
It's so hard (for me, edit) to be pessimistic when everything - always just seem to succeed, I'm (must be, edit) born under a lucky star.
(And) I think that my diary(/journal) will continue (in the future, edit), it's just going to a whole other chapter......

Trojka lavet i metal af min lillebror John Holden Foley

Trojka made in metal by John

 

From Esbjerg, Denmark to Tahiti aboard a Junker 22