After a week of limbo in Lisbon we have taken a leap of faith. We bought flights to the Azores and accommodation for all four of us. It wasn’t the rejections that were hard to take. These were almost to be expected on the ridiculous offers we had made. But waiting for people to get back to you to decide on your next moves entails a certain lesson about patience and humbleness.

Now it was our turn to throw the dice again. The Moody 425 we saw yesterday in Sao Miguel was either going to result in a high high, or a low low. Given that this blog post isn’t labelled ‘Our boat’, you guessed right, it was the latter. Typical of our experience with brokers, we had been assured that this vessel was in great condition, ready to go. What we found was a boat which hadn’t been touched in the past two years and required an endless and costly list of repairs to be attended to before it could even leave the port. All locals who know the boat gave it a value of less than half of the broker’s asking price.

After an afternoon of doubt, sadness and pondering how much harder our journey could get, we are now enjoying a mini-holiday until Sunday. The only regret on my mind is that I left my most powerful weapon – our Nikon 5100 – back in Lisboa with Wilson. So all SmartPhone shots you will get from this wonderous island in the middle of the Atlantic won’t do it any justice.

In the end, we won’t go back to the mainland with a boat in our name, but with a bunch of new experiences, friends and contacts. To share just a few – Rui Soare from Velame in Ponta Delgada was invaluable in sharing his expertise on the boat we were interested in. He says many boats crossing the Atlantic stop over just to have him do repairs on their boats or sails. Give him a shout if ever you are in the area.

An awesome place to indulge in Azorean bliss is the place we have been staying at:  Quinta da Abelheira. It feels like much more than a hotel, almost like a second home. The new owner, Margaritha, and her team (website to be upgraded) have been treating our kids like their own, and us like family. A stroll through the beautiful gardens takes away all sorrows!

Last night, my Ayurvedic chapter talked about dropping the ego, surrendering the Self and all the expectations that come with it, to find true bliss. Here is our chance. Although we do have a dream of going sailing, after two months in Europe and over 30 boat viewings, sometimes it seems we are doing everything wrong. Yet, we are doing the best that we can, as a family, together, and enjoying the journey.

If all else fails, we’ve got plenty of plan Bs which each on their own would be worthy of a blog post for the very least: Sustainable farm and yoga retreat in central America; Expat opportunities and NGO work in Asia; Finishing my midwifery studies to spread more human and spiritual birthing practices around the world; or even going back to Australia to pick back up my yoga classes. All are far from being a bad option.

Life is not all bubbles… Even the biggest adventure contains everyday ups and downs. It contains even more opportunities to accept that real happiness lies nowhere but within.