Sunsets in Marathon

Three weeks in Marathon have flown like they did in Miami Beach! Neither John nor I had ever been to Marathon before we chose it as our cruising destination. Fortunately, it is as beautiful and cruiser-friendly as we had hoped.

People on our dock at Marathon Marina are very social. Many of them are regulars here in the winter. Happy hour at sunset is a daily, well-attended event. Every evening, fellow live-aboards grab their conch shells, which have been drilled out and made into horns, and gather on the dock near Island Chariot. Our dock has a clear view of the sun dipping into the ocean. Just after the sun sinks out of sight, everyone raises their conchs to their lips and blows into them like bugles to signal the end of the day. The sound is like a cruise ship honking upon entering a channel. Last Saturday at the Big Pine Flea Market, I purchased a conch so I could join the choir. It’s the closest I’ll get to a Pamlico Community Band experience in Marathon! Just prior to sounding the conchs, we all wait with heightened anticipation for the illusive “green flash”. When conditions are right, just as the sun disappears you can see a split second of green light. Conditions are rarely just right. We were fortunate that only three days after our arrival we witnessed the “green flash”. Beautiful!

Elvis Ann is enjoying Marathon, because we have made so many new friends. She frequently entertains the happy hour crowd with parrot tricks while we all wait for sunset. More than anything, Elvis Ann loves attention. She sits on John’s hand. He holds her talons and gives the commands. She swings, hangs, cradles like a baby in his arms, lays on her back into his other hand, falls over dead when he points his finger at her and says “bang!”, and turns around in a circle. The “bang” trick is a real crowd pleaser. John gives everyone a chance to “shoot” her and say “bang!”. Elvis Ann performs perfectly every time!

We have made many good friends here and are in no hurry to leave…