How to not sit at home and complain how things cannot be done, but try to fulfill your dreams now and without too many “but”…
We are not rich, we are not poor. Travelling costs something. So we are leaving our home land, and fly over the Atlantic ocean to earn money for our honey year.
Packed in Ikea bags, with smiles on our faces we are entering USA after 25 hours of travelling. We are heading to the Massachusset, where at the end of a curled peninsula called Cape Cod is a small town called Provincetown. P-town is the town full of arts, colors, gays, whales, very nice and kind people and tourists.
The first night we already sleep in our micro cottage, which is incredibly cozy, while we don’t have 2 more roommates. Our romance lasts only one night. The night welcomes us with a storm, thunder and lightning. Short-technical info about the cottage: the size apx. 12×18 feets, contains one room, mini kitchen, mini bathroom, one mini wardrobe. Weekly payment is more than monthly rent of a 2-bedroom apartment in Bratislava. At least we’re not homelesses.
The next morning we handle all formalities regarding to working permits, pick up friends and we are enjoying the first days.
The original plans was to work as much as possible. That means 7 days from morning till evening. Eventually we work only 6 days a week and we are quite happy about that.
I work in a galley on a boat that offers a 3 hours whale watching trips, then as a waitress in the breakfast cafe and waitress during caterings. Janči works also on the whale watch boats and after a few weeks he was promoted to the first mate. Sometimes we feel that we don’t work enough, sometimes we think we work a lot. Working on the boat is definitely enviable… Basically, we are paid for a watching the whales – when the whales are around, nobody buys anything, and thus we can enjoy them too.
Summer goes by without health problems up to Jan’s coxackie virus, which causes him unability to walk for three days. And once again, we left a lot of money at a doctor. Otherwise, we are just tired and sometimes we are sick, but it goes hand in hand with the work on the ship and sea sickness :).
Janči discovers the magic of the sea and ships, and he bought a Chapman’s seamanship Bible – the heaviest book I have ever held in my hands. Every day he carries it in his backpack to work in order to study during the free moments on the boat. Before the end of the summer he is finishing the book :)
We met a wonderful captain who is going to sail on his catamaran to Haiti at the end of the summer and is looking for a crew. We try to meet him as much as possible, we are showing him our interest in the sailing, we’re drinking rum only, we’re buying the boat and learning how to sail, we’re cooking for him our traditional cabbage soup, we’re offering him Tatra tea… and finally! he certifies that he is going to take us as the crew on a voyage to the Caribbean. Departure date is set for 10/17/2012.
Two weeks before the departure, we have a great customer on the boat, who after five minutes chatting invites us to the White Mountains, into his house for the vacation. The most beautiful place where you can be in the fall! It takes him about 10 minutes to persuade us. We reserve a car later that evening, exchange last texts and we are looking forward to our adventure. We are starting our big travel a week earlier thanks to one good-natured man named Ralph and his wife Laura.