At this time of year I like to take a look back; think about what I’ve learned, and what I didn’t! Remember situations and exchanges, both good and bad, and take a little time to consider how I might have done better, and enjoy the ways that I actually did! I remind myself that as long as each year I am closer to the man I want to be, and further from the man I was, I can feel good and a bit more secure that I’m going in the right direction.
The beginning of this year saw me suffering with chronic neck and back pain; a symptom of a lifetime of accidents, falls, poor diet and general neglect no doubt, but being here in Venezuela where hospitals are not free, and not being in a position to take the medical route to recovery anyway, I elected to throw myself wholeheartedly into an exercise and training program, I really had nothing to lose. I began taking Pilates classes and soon discovered how truly unfit I was. I found out that I had virtually no abdominal strength and very poor balance, not to mention the gut which hung over my shorts. I knew I had to do more. After a couple of weeks I asked around and was pointed in the direction of a small independent gym in the old, colonial part of the Island’s Capital City. It’s a region called Pampatar and the gym is called Margarita Fitness Center. I spoke with their resident personal trainer, a wonderful lady called Sacha; a trained Physiotherapist and accomplished deep water swimmer. You may remember my story about kiting across to the next Island 14 km away, well this lady swam across; a much more impressive feat believe me.
As well as two sessions of Pilates, I started training with her twice a week in the afternoons. Training days were long days as my usual wake up time is 6 am anyway; I would be in the workshop till midday then run home for a quick lunch followed by a short walk down to catch the bus for the hour long trip to town. Then it was another bus across town followed by a short taxi ride to the gym. To begin with the training sessions were hard; I would finish each one pretty much exhausted but being a stubborn, and determined sort, I would leave the gym and walk the 3 Km back to the most convenient bus stop. After crossing town I'd catch the 5:15 bus back to El Yaque. Being the 5:15 it would be full of city workers; a multitude of different uniforms with a sprinkling of mother’s and babies who naturally deserved a seat. Often I would stand for most of the hour and a half return journey but didn't mind as I knew I was doing the right thing.
As the weeks went by I felt myself getting stronger; lighter on my feet. My back and neck pain all but disappeared and I was ready to take things further. A friend of mine started at the same gym and soon I would join him each morning at 6:30 and catch a ride in as he took his son to school Monday to Friday. We would train from about 7:15 until 8:30 then head back to El Yaque for a full day at work. This rhythm has pretty much defined my year.
My kiting improved a great deal this year, I think mostly because of my training; being able to stay out on the water for longer than half an hour was bound to help but more than that I feel more confidence in my body. Last year all it would take was a short swim back to my board after a fall and I would be done, blowing hard and barely able to stand, this year has been much better. I began to learn to jump,
and discovered how difficult it is; I tried a few back rolls and learned they are a bit harder. I broke my 11 meter kite and it cost me $90 to fix, then a few months later whilst trying a back roll I broke it again. It hit the water, not so hard but hard enough to cause a two foot tear. As I re-launched the kite the tear opened from leading edge to trailing.
I was about 500meters offshore but luckily a friend was there to collect my board as I body dragged back to the beach. It was a struggle to keep my broken kite in the air and my body positioned so as not to drown but I made it to the beach a few hundred meters down current from my usual landing spot. There was no-one there to help me land my kite and it was here that I made what could have been a serious mistake. Seeing that I was too close to the pier at the end of this part of the beach, I decided to let myself be dragged all the way to the shoreline with the intention to then walk backwards upwind far enough to land the kite and save it from anymore damage. A good plan you might think. In practice it went somewhat differently. I underestimated how much wind was still being caught by my broken kite and was powerless to stop myself being pulled inexorably towards the rocky pier. The harder I tried, the more I slid. I was at the point of pulling my emergency release when a local kid bounded up next to me and ran towards the pier to take hold of the kite as I lowered it. Unfortunately it landed amongst the rocks and got battered about a bit more before we got it completely under control. I thanked the kid, rolled up the kite and gathered my other equipment for the long walk back to the kite school. I was berated a little by my friends who had seen my mistake from afar. What I should have done was lower my kite to the water as soon as I could touch bottom then walk in to shore. As it turned out my efforts to save the kite were in vain anyway as it had reached the age where the material was simply too fragile to repair. RIP.
The destruction of my 11 meter kite pretty much put paid to my kiting for the rest of this year. I have a 9 meter but summer wind is just not quite strong enough for it. I took my friend’s 13 meter out a couple of times but since it isn’t mine I was never going to risk damaging it so no jumping, or back rolls for me.
This year also introduced me to the world of crypto currency. (For those unfamiliar with crypto I suggest typing it into Google, Google can explain it better than I.) A short while after discovering crypto I was presented with the opportunity to join an online blogging community called Steemit. This was to bring about a big change in my circumstances as I was able to earn a little money from my writings. I have always enjoyed telling my stories and Steemit is the perfect platform as one can actually earn crypto currency simply by writing about the stuff one finds interesting. The Steemit community, like any other, has its conflicts and disagreements but it also hosts a wealth of information and creativity previously unseen (by me anyway). The community is filled with truly exceptional people and I can now count some of them as friends. I made a little money from my stories and, for the first time in years, have been able to create a small savings portfolio. For those who know me well, this was a big step for me.
This was the year that my father died. As he always did in life, his death stirred up deep and powerful emotions. Most of these feelings are best left unwritten. Each of us has our own view of the way things should be between a father and a son and since these views are indeed so very personal, I think it would be hard for anyone else to truly understand a relationship not one’s own; maybe I’m wrong about this but I have never met anyone to convince me otherwise, at least not yet. What I will say is that in the end he was just a man, a man who didn’t get much of a good start in life, a sensitive and complicated man who’s beginning so scarred him that most of what came after was shadowed by it. We had a difficult relationship at the best of times and though I wasn’t able to be there at the end, we spoke and I think he knew it was alright. As I write this my emotions are stirring once more so I’ll leave it at that for now.
This year also saw the country I call home, and have come to hold dear, descend yet further into chaos. The powers that be continue to spout bullshit excuses for every failure so do nothing to improve things. In fact their failure highlights a belief I have long held – If one cannot recognise one’s failings one can never grow beyond them. On that note I think I’ll end.
It remains only for me to wish you all a happy holiday; relax, enjoy and most importantly love.