I’m staying for more than a month in Rio Dulce, Guatemala, a lovely town on the bank of a river of the same name and the lake Izabal. It’s a really great place to be and I’ve met here a bunch of cool guys, both backpackers and locals. And since I think I’m leaving soon for another adventure the right moment for writing a short post about the things I have experienced here and the things I’m thinking about has come.

For instance, I had a great talk with Karyn, an US girl “following the voice of her heart”, about the things we would like to experience. She described the phenomenon of “if you talk about something it just means you want it so go and do it”. This seems to be obvious but I know that in reality it’s not that easy – taking the first step could be hard and perhaps a bit scary. However, nothing happens if you don’t take adequate steps. Still, even if you make the first step nothing has to happen. But that’s okey since it’s actually a good thing, it was not the right time or place for the magic to happen and better conditions come later. I believe that only better conditions can come and then you get the experience of for what you did the first step. I think it has to do something with the balance – you have to take the steps for things to happen but it has no sense to push too hard if things are hot happening as you expected or you are not sure about consequences of the fist step.

I met Irene, a Guatemalteca girl here in Rio Dulce and she was thinking about dreadlocks for more than a year. Later we spent a few days in Livingstone (a city with Garifuna culture) and talked a lot about making decisions, about right timing etc. In the afternoon we went for a walk and met on the street three Garifura girls offering a haircuts, rastas and dreadlocks. Irene just looked at me and said “hoy o nunca” and Garifura girls started their job. I suspect it has something to do with the previous talks :).

The first step is making a decision. Don’t worry about making decisions – I know it, I’ve been asking myself countless times “is it good decision or not?” But now I think this question has no sense at all since good and bad decisions simply don’t exist. The thing is that every decision is unique in its nature and you can make it just once since the same conditions never happen again. For distinguishing between “good and bad” decisions we would need to compare the subsequences of at least two different decisions made under the same conditions. Obviously, this never happens and thus there is no reason to worry about making a decision. For the same reasons it has no sense to regret a decision made in the past since at the moment of making the decision it was for sure the best decision you could ever make. All these thoughts I have to remember myself every day since I tend to forget it when I need to make a decision :).

As some of you may know, I’ve been considering buying a sail boat. Actually, last year I almost bought one in the UK. But I didn’t feel comfortable, was not sure about it and when I was about to sign the contract I backed off. Now, a year later, I signed the contract for a sail boat here in Caribbean and paid the deposit. The night before we agreed on the price I could hardly sleep, I was so excited and looking forward to the new adventure that might come. Completely different feelings then a year ago! So I believe the right time has come now. If everything goes right the deal should be closed in a couple of weeks. And of course I will keep you updated :).

Another thought is “if you are determined to do something the whole universe joins all the forces to help you along the way”. Well, I don’t remember where I’ve heard it for the first time but it seems to me it might be truth. The boat I bought doesn’t have an anchor and chain at the moment but once we agreed on the deal the current owner wrote me: “I want to try and help you with things like an anchor. We can’t have you sailing away without one! I want to make sure that your departure will be a safe one.” What an interesting change of a position, from a seller to a person willing to help you in your next steps!