The whole crew on our visit to Thunderball Grotto.

The whole crew on our visit to Thunderball Grotto.

On our second day in Black Point, Carter had decided that he was bored with Mom and Dad for company and it was time to find himself some new friends. Up to that point in the trip we had seen precious little of other families on cruising boats and even Dan and I were ready for some interaction. Carter attempted to make a VHF call by saying, “Calling all vessels, are there any kid boats in Black Point?” to no avail. Then, as we were coming back from a water run some motion caught my attention out of the corner of my eye. Little people! We saw a few kids jumping off of their boat and swimming not too far from us.

Our crews plus that of another boat family on Del Max.

Our crews plus that of another boat family on Del Max.

Carter and I unceremoniously ditched Dan and the water jugs to go check out the action. Sure enough when we pulled up to their boat, Zazen, we found three girls with their parents enjoying the warm water. And thus began our first foray into buddy boating, as we made arrangements to meet at the beach.

The two bambinos!

The two bambinos!

Dan and I quickly became friends with Fred and Adrienna but not as quickly as Carter and their youngest daughter Paloma. For the next week, the two were practically inseparable partially because we all enjoyed each other’s company so much and partially because the two of them would drive us crazy asking when we would meet up again. Marine, Penelope, and Paloma were a joy to be around and Fred and Adrienna were the type of friends that come quickly but we hope will last a lifetime. (Sorry if we spelled any of your names wrong!)

Oh to be a fly on the wall during this conversation...

Oh to be a fly on the wall during this conversation…

We made our way back north with them, seeing sights for a second time in a new light with another family to share them with. On one long hike, we never quite made it to the destination we had intended, but Carter and Paloma managed to have a great time anyway jumping in puddles, picking fruits from bushes, and having the enlightened conversation of four-year-olds. When I asked Carter afterward what he thought about the hike he replied, “Mom, it was very hot and very amazing.” Well put.

While we only spent a week together on the water, it felt like we had known them for years by the time we had to say good-bye. This was the end of their trip and only the beginning of ours so we unfortunately had to part sooner then we (or the kids) would have liked. Such are the friendships made while traveling. We look forward to meeting more cruisers and hope to see the crew of Zazen again in the future.