We celebrated the departure of the old year and the bringing in of the new, with an international crowd in the Eastern Holandes. We started with a great potluck feast aboard Vagabond with Lili, Otto, and Paul and Maureen from Calypso. Then, about 50 boaters gathered on the little island after 2000 (8 pm). One boat brought in a generator and strung up lights and a sound system. It was very festive. Everyone shared treats and had adult beverages in hand. Some brought in old flares and shot them off as midnight approached. The full moon (a blue moon - a second full moon in the same month) shone brightly in the sky. Some had a stash of fireworks that they set off. A few built a life-sized "doll" - a coconut headed, yarn-haired, paper-stuffed shirt and pants that got thrown in the bonfire at midnight. People were invited to write on the doll anything they wanted to be "gone" in 2009 and those things would be burnt. The thing (with a bit of help from gasoline) went up instantly.
People danced on the sand and partied until 0300 under the moon and sparkling lights. We actually made it past midnight and were back aboard Astarte around 0100. It was a very fun evening. The crowd was filled with Aussies, Germans, Swiss, South Africans, Canadians, Americans, Panamanians and certainly others. That's really the fun of cruising.
We hope for a 2010 that is filled with good news on every front globally - peace, economic recovery, health breakthroughs, environmental successes and genuine happiness worldwide. To all our friends, family and readers - we hope your own wishes and dreams will come true, and that everyday will be healthy, happy, and filled with wonder. We are grateful to be starting 2010 in paradise.
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