The Reality... NOW!!!
Autor: Manuel Alves | Publicado: 2014-02-26T19:27:00-03:00


February 12,
2014



For some
time I have been thinking to write again .

Almost a
year after the last posting on this blog .

Write about
what I went through this period ... Surely the most intense, the more full of
learning, anguish, of happiness , loneliness and companionship period that I
have lived so far.

A year of
loss and rediscovering. Mainly losses and Rediscovering.

One year
ago I was &nbsp;in the same anchorage, North Anchorage,
&nbsp;Carenero Island in Bocas del Toro,
Panama.

Interestingly
, also with the feeling that I should go back to writing.

A year ago
I made a summary of what had happened in our lives , mine and Rafa , so that we
could become Cruisers. Talking about the steps that we made to finally have &nbsp;the feeling that we were living the dream of
so many years.

In one year
, a new phase began in our lives .

Throughout
my life I have had a dream. Distant, almost impossible at first, but over the
years with daily effort, with the help of something higher, universal
conspiracies, destiny, faith, &nbsp;path,
luck, chance and love, especially love, I was able to accomplish.

I dreamed
that one day would be a Sea Traveler. I'd live on a sailboat. would sail from
island to island in search of waves, nature, diving, new friends , new cultures
...

A year ago
I was sitting in an idyllic anchorage with transparent water , living and
traveling in a dream boat for over two years listening to the sound of waves
crashing on a perfect reef, right there behind the island, in a distant country
of different culture, next to the woman of my dreams .

I had
finally realized the dream of my life . 35 years old ...

But ... so
what?

Life does
not end when we do not accomplish our dreams , but also does not end when we
realize them.

The difficult
for the dreamer , when living the dream, is to find your next dream .

His next
mission in life, his new goal, new purpose, new challenge, new Path...

Sometime
after &nbsp;this, Rafa decided to go in search
of their dream . Her dream was no longer living aboard .

She had
lived this beautiful dream for years , met his brilliance and darkness. Donated
herself in a unique way to perform and live this life experience.

&nbsp;Literally gave blood, sweat and tears ,
thankfully most of them , tears of happiness.

But she
felt his new dream was no longer aboard Brava . Decided to return to Brazil in
search of a new realization , a new goal , a new challenge , a new path . In
search of a new reunion with herself , with her dreamy soul.

We had a
sad farewell , full of love, sincerity , kindness and mutual support . Feelings
that every day grow more between us. Hard not to cry remembering the last
moments of her on Brava. To remember how painful it was to accept the fact that
our Paths diverged.

I broke
down, collapsed, went to find myself.

She broke
down, collapsed, and went to find herself.

I found a
sailboat that needed crew to cross the Atlantic out of St Maarten in the
Caribbean and arriving in Palma de Mallorca, Mediterranean Sea.

I was able
to return to find friends a long time not seen, places that for a long time I
did not return, felt emotions that for a long time did not feel.

But even using the unique deep blue from the middle
of the Atlantic Ocean as a mirror to my soul for days and nights of reflection and
search, I still had not rediscovered myself.

20 days
crossing the Atlantic, during which I rediscovered myself as a sailor.

Arriving in
Europe I decided to go for &nbsp;an old dream
that I always postponed.

I decided
to buy a bike and do the Camino del Norte, one of the longest routes of the
Camino de Santiago de Compostela. Cycled for the north coast of Spain, between
Bilbao and Santiago de Compostela, alone, accompanied by a surfboard and the willingness
to surf as much waves as I could along the way, find people, places, knowledge.

I found
much more than that. I found humility, I found silence, I found Peace.

Found that
each one has its own path. To feel that someone else must give up her ​Path to
follow your Path is not Love , but rather an almost opposite feeling. Love is
supporting whom you Love to find his-her Path.

I
discovered that true love between two people is to share joys and sorrows
sincerely as they walk together on the same Path, as long as it lasts. To know
that only time will make your Paths to cross back ... Or not ... but even them &nbsp;they support each other, happy to know that
the other is following his-her path, his-her quest , his-her dream. Because
that´s what dreamers do ....they walk, they dream...

Arrive in
Santiago , keep moving... because the Path never end, it perpetuates &nbsp;in each step that you do.

I did not
know what I was seeking in this Path, but I knew that I had rediscovered myself
as a Pilgrim .

Returned by
bike to Portugal and started to work as Surf Teacher again. Spent a lot of time
with &nbsp;very important people in my life, I
relived emotions , went back to places and &nbsp;had the opportunity to do a reading about my
life in the last &nbsp;15 years . What had
lived since the first time I was in the Azores and the met the Blue Water Cruisers,
SeaTravellers and decided that that was my dream, my life mission , my&nbsp; goal , my real desire , my challenge , my
way, my Path.

Rediscovered
the value of friendships, the insignificance of the time, the pleasure of
surfing, the joy in teaching.

Four months
searching, rediscovering myself. I was once again a Dreamer, Traveler,
adventurer, surfer, friend ...

Returned to
Brazil. Needed to spend some time with my family, my friends, Rafa...

Lived
unique moments with all of them. Incredibly unique.

I
rediscovered myself as a son, as a brother, as a friend...

But I felt
that I still had not rediscovered myself as I needed.

I went back
to Bocas del Toro to rediscover Brava after 5 months.

It was hard
to find my Dream Boat-house in such a bad shape after 5 months&nbsp; closed. Mold, cockroaches, ants and geckos
had taken possession of her. The problems arrived with the Panamanian moisture
or by cables that tied Brava to the dock.

But all the
work of the early days helped me to fight against loneliness. Helped me pursue
goals, create goals, focus...

Two weeks
and four extermination sessions after, &nbsp;Brava was already returning to her normal
state.

Friends
came to visit , the waves were back , sailed again, dolphins playing around,
anchored in &nbsp;transparent water, in the
comfort of a dream boat , happy to be back home , to be living the dream .

Finally I
had rediscovered myself again .

I
rediscovered that this is my path. I'm a Dreamer. I am a Pilgrim &nbsp;I am a Blue Water Sailor, I am a Surfer...

My new
dream is to live on a sailboat and sail from island to island in search of
waves, nature, diving, new friends, new cultures ... to dream, achieve and
dream again. Learn what is hided &nbsp;behind
every corner and follow the Path in search of what the next step will teach &nbsp;me.

Everything
was always exposed &nbsp;right in front of me,
showing me the direction... the love of my family , the partnership of the friends,
the similarities and differences , the rights and wrongs , the ups and downs , the
tireless companion.

I can feel
that an important phase of my life had ended and one even more important starts
.

Let the Pacific
come and. bring on new challenges.

Thank My
God for always guiding me….

Thanks to
everyone who somehow helped me to keep walking.

Good walk on
your Path Rafa. Thank you for hold my hand for such a long way.


Never stop dreaming!