Well, we have been here for a few days now. We arrived on the 30th, and spent that day clearing customs, getting something to eat, and then falling into bed at (I am not joking) 4:30 pm (3:30 for Mike) and slept through til Wednesday. We then spent most of Wednesday cleaning up the boat after our harrowing sail down here, and then were in bed by something like 7 pm. Thursday we worked on our bilge and the bilge pump to make sure there were no more problems and our theory about how the bilge filled in the first place was correct. (We are sure it was correct.) We strolled around a bit, had some food, and stayed up until after 8 pm! I can't remember Friday - Saturday I made it to 9 pm. We watched the Chargers game Sunday, had dinner, and finally we are keeping normal grown up hours. At our age, it takes a while to recover from being up all night and being traumatized.
Now I must admit that after we dissected the trip down several times, we realized that but for the flood, the rest of it was handle-able. The strong winds lasted only a few hours, and had I kept up on the barometer, theoretically we would have been aware some drama was about to occur and the sails would have been ready for it. Things had actually begun to die down a bit by the time we discovered the flooded cabin, so without that, our story would not have been so, well, harrowing. Not to get cocky, though. There are still tons of mistakes we can make if we are not on top of things. And me being sick was no help at all, although Mike said I toughed it out well. He told me he was feeling pretty awful when he went below and was manning the manual bilge pump. So it is nice that he understood and wasn't thinking I was being wimpy about anything. I also recently discovered a remedy for seasickness - it is called sturgeron (not sturgeon!) and is not available in the US. It has no side effects like the sleepiness one gets from dramamine, and better yet - you don't have to take it in advance - it is effective even after you start to feel crappy. I don't normally get seasick and even if I do feel funny, I can usually cure it with ginger candy. This time the ginger couldn't do its job because nothing was going to stay down at that point. I am excited to try this stuff.
I learned about it from a fellow sailor we met when we attended the weekly meeting of the Ensenada Cruisers Yacht Club - a loose group of people who live here and who are passing through. (I consider myself living here now because I have no home anywhere else.) They were fun, interesting, and a font of knowlege. One of them has an art studio here and is giving a workshop on watercolors, which I hope to attend. Maybe I will finally learn to use those paints I bought properly!
It is strange to be living like this. I feel sort of like a helium balloon after some kid let go of the string. I feel completely rootless, and it is taking some getting used to. I called my son just to hear his voice - would that he was more of a phone talker, at least to me! But he isn't, so the sound of his voice is about all I got. (I am pretty sure he doesn't read this.) It is also strange not to be working yet not having to worry about money too much. I have had some sort of a job since I was 14 years old (earlier if you count babysitting) and I sort of feel like somehow everything can come crashing down at any moment. I'd like to get to know some of the other cruising women better so I could talk about this stuff. Mike is pretty good - we share a lot of these feelings - but nothing beats talking with another woman who knows where you are coming from. My anxiety level is higher than I'd like it to be, but I guess no dramatic life change can happen without some discomfort. I am still concerned about my blood sugar, as I am really worried about being diabetic. It runs rampant on my mother's side of the family.
We are going back to San Diego in a couple of days to take care of some loose ends, and to pick up some boat spares and other things we (Mike) decided we needed. No argument from me. After his masterful repair-while-underway of the recalcitrant bilge pump, he is my shipwright hero. Anything he thinks we need, he can get. We will take a bus up - there are several options, all pretty easy.
I discovered a wonderful drink - they take clamato juice, zap it up with salt, pepper, worcestshire (I know this is spelled wrong), and a dash of tabasco sauce, and then they add real clams. Its like a meal in a glass. They do make them with vodka or something, but with the diabetes threat, I am staying away from alcohol til things are more under control and the numbers are better. But I love clams, and this drink is heavenly with lots of protein due to the clams and vitamins from the clamato. All without a lot of sugar as best as I can tell. And since I have very little appetite these days, it keeps me going. The loss of appetite is not a bad thing, since I desperately need to lose some weight. That is one area that is going nicely - I have no access to a scale, but there is a dress that I couldn't even get zipped in September that now fits pretty well. And of course the expensive pants I bought at the marine specialty shop are getting loose. But that is all good stuff.
Anyway - that is what is happening now. The woman in one of our new favorite restaurants always gives me a Spanish lesson when we come in, and my Spanish gets better every day. I get a lot of compliments from the people I talk to. I like to speak Spanish, and at times, I am getting to the point it just comes out without having to translate everything in my head first. My immediate goal is to learn to speak in more than just the present tense! Adios amigos, hasta luego!
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