Superstitious?

One of the little interesting things that I became aware of about Russians was that they balance there intelligence with a fair amount of superstition.

It’s interesting to have Russian friends who are very well read and versed on many subjects and yet at that moment of ….*

Natalia and I were on Siargo Island in the Philippines surfing at Jungle Reef Resort. One morning we are getting ready to depart to a surf spot via boat. Natalia is standing at the end of the walk waiting for me to lock our bungalow and as I come up to her, a women carrying an empty bucket walks past us. I note it to Natalia, ‘Look, she’s carrying an empty bucket!’
Natalia turns and walks toward our boat, ignoring my comment.

We walk to our boat, put our boards on and get in. Our boatman starts the engine and puts it in forward and off we ‘don’t’ go.
He looks over the back end of the boat.
‘What’s wrong?’ I ask.
‘I’m not sure.’ he responds.
He jumps into the water, which is only waist deep. He bends over, reaches down and comes up with the propeller in his hand.
‘The pin that holds the propeller on has come out.’

We are not going anywhere.

Here is a picture that I painted of our boat. Our boards are strapped on to the front outriggers. See the motor? Yeah! It’s in the shop.

*This particular superstition is: ‘If a women with an empty bucket passes you by in your journey, you will not get what you were going for’.