Into Temptation

Current status on the "escape from Colombia" saga is that Im/We're in a bit of a dilemma...

Last I wrote, we had arranged for a captain of a yacht to specifically come and pick us up from Turbo. That was on the evening of the 4th of June (assuming he would leave on the morning of the 5th)
The plan was for him to sail to Sapsurro and then email us. Then we would ride down the next day, and load bikes/depart the day after.
But, that plan also involved it taking just two or two and a half days for him to get there...

... Its now the afternoon of the 8th of June and we have not heard from him... By my version of the schedule (which will undoubtedly be disputed by the captain if I were to ask him!!!), that makes him more than 24 hours late...


And the dilemma is that there is another boat that will leave directly from Cartegena on the 12th and will definitely leave and arrive "on time" (German captain). The trick is that this guy needs "commitment" by tomorrow (9th) if we want to sail with him instead.

So, the temptation is to "blow off" the guy who is out of touch and over schedule and go with the guy who is here and ready... But Id feel bad about that because the other guy is definitely on his way specifically for us... But Im also really annoyed at him for misleading us about the schedule... Deliberately as far as I can tell... Other captains can run their boats on punctual schedules so I dont see why this guy cant too...

And Im in this with Greg too, so its not an individual decision...
Weve had some initial discussions about our options and though things may yet change, it seems to be panning out like this...

If we have not received definitive communication from the captain "en route" by tonight (36 hours over due) then we will change our commitments to the other captain.
If we were to hear from him after that, it would still be way more hassle to go with the old plan at that point compared with the other captain... So I think we have a "decision point" defined.
If we do get confirmation by tonight then we will be riding back to Turbo tomorrow and proceeding with that plan. But I doubt this will happen (we shall see )

...But if I do have to change my commitment then I know it will have cost the other captain money to come get us and even though I feel justified in changing my commitment due to the size of the delay, I will still feel bad...
So, I think all I can do is leave him a token payment of $100 (Which of course is an extra $100 that I would certainly rather not spend) which should cover about a good amount of his costs for food/fuel. I cant put any similar expectation on the other rider Im with (Greg) - He will make his own choices about what is appropriate or not.


So, despite my best efforts, the plan keeps changing and people keep saying one thing and then doing something else...
And now it looks like Im getting sucked down into the same behaviour in response to their behaviours! But even though I really dislike that sort of thing, if I do it, it will be by my own choice, and I cant blame others for it...
I would be doing it because Im impatient and I have my own agenda ...And its a cheap escape to say "He made me do it".... No, my behaviour is my own responsibility... And Ill have to live with my choice!


So, apart from the ongoing saga, the real point of this post is the dilemma of this sort of situation where we can find our-selves "manoeuvred" by circumstances into behaving in ways that we dont normally, and really "dont want to"... It happens to us all from time to time, and the "chain of events" can lead us into some very "bad places" if we are not paying very careful attention....


... stay tuned for the outcome...