Page 37 of The Hitchhiker in Panama
Eivind put his hand on my bare thigh and gave me a squeeze.
“From here,” Jonas said as he traced a line in the air, demonstrating, “we sail southwest. We pass over the equator, and what is called the doldrums; there is no wind there. Then, when we find wind again, we turn west and sail until we hit the Marquesas.”
Jonas told me more about the Marquesas, a cluster of island groups in French Polynesia— an overseas territory of France. They were the islands farthest to the east, and where sailors would make their first landfall after crossing the Pacific Ocean.
“How long will it take you to sail all that way?”
“Maybe twenty-five days. It depends on the doldrums.”
“Wow, okay. And then what?”
“We will sail the islands a little bit: many small places in French Polynesia, including Tahiti and Bora Bora, then the Cook Islands, Tonga, New Zealand. There I will sell the boat.”
“How long will that take you?”
“We sail to New Zealand around November. That is where boats go to escape the cyclones.”
“That will be an amazing trip. I’m so jealous of all the travel, but I’m not sure I could handle being on a boat for twenty-five days.”
“Do you get seasick?” Eivind asked.
“A little. I’ve been on small boats before for day trips out in the ocean. It wasn’t pleasant, but I didn’t vomit. I guess you can’t get seasick if you want to sail around like you are doing.”
“That isn’t true. I get seasick a little bit,” Marcella told me. “I have thrown up once or twice, but it gets better after a few days. Plenty of sailors deal with it.”
“It tends to get a little boring though,” Eivind said. “You have to be able to entertain yourself for a long time.”
“What’s the longest you’ve been out at sea for?”
“Eivind and I,” Jonas said, “with our other crew members, we did fourteen days across the Atlantic.”
“And you?” I turned to Marcella and Elayna.
“I have sailed across the Atlantic, on a different boat before I met Jonas. It took us nineteen days at sea,” Elayna said.
“My longest sail was onEik, coming to Panama,” said Marcella.
“That’s amazing. Are you nervous?”
Marcella laughed. “Yes, of course. Everyone is on some level. I don’t enjoy sailing much, but it’s a good way to travel. Good for the environment and good for the soul, I think.”
I nodded, trying to imagine what it would be like out there. Eivind’s finger traced a small circle on my inner thigh and I tried not to get too distracted.
“What are the plans for tomorrow?”
“Well,” Jonas said, leaning back, “I did check the weather forecast for this week, and we could leave on Monday.”
“Really?” Eivind glanced at me. “That is sooner than we thought.”
Jonas shrugged. “Yes, but we are ready. We need to stock up on food and do a few projects, but mostly I think it is time. Tomorrow we will do some more shopping, stuff like that.”
“My flight is Monday too,” I said.
“Where are you flying to?” Marcella asked.
“Bogotá, but I won’t have much time in Colombia. I had to cut it short to make it through the canal with you.”
“And then?”
