One of my cruising dreams has come true - I have often thought about how wonderful it will be to just jump off the boat into the water when it gets too hot. And now I can do that. I figure I can get exercise even when it is too hot to hike by swimming laps around the boat.
Now that we are in the Sea of Cortez, the weather has changed. The heat here is like the heat in the desert - really hot and dry. I do believe I was starting to acclimate to the humid heat in Mazatlan - when I went out, I still got hot and disgustingly sweaty, but it was starting not to bother me so much. It's hard to explain. I was still really hot and all, with sweat just pouring down in actual drops, but there was a difference all of a sudden. I felt hot but not miserable. BIG Difference. Here, we took a short hike across the island to another beach, and while it was close to 100 degrees, I was actually quite comfortable. I think I have crossed a line with being able to handle all this heat.
Another really good thing is that our water make works great, so we can take all the fresh water showers we want to, which makes things even better. I have been washing my hair in the sea with salt water shampoo, then rinsing down in a fresh water washdown in the shower. I really like the result, too. And I think the weight is starting to come down as well.
The other beach we went to on this island is called agate beach and it is aptly named. We found a lot of them - I found a beautiful green one I am planning to keep and someday have a piece of jewelry made from it. I have also started collecting shells to make myself and ankle bracelet. We plan to send some of the agates to Walt's twin brother Ray, who is a geologist. I hope Ray knows that by choosing geology, he is setting himself up to receive boxes and boxes of rocks.
Today we plan to move Magda Jean to another anchorage on the other side of the island. Walt found it when he went on this epic hike over the highest point on the island yesterday and said the water is even clearer over there. We will stay there a few days, and then move on to a new anchorage. There are many islands around here, and even the small ones have multiple anchorages to experiment with. The only bummer is we woefully underestimated our beer consumption rate and are now officially out of beer. Oh well - there is a small village near where we will be anchored next that MAY have a small tienda and MAY have beer for sale. Here's hoping! It not, it is going to be Countrytime Lemonade spiked with squeezed limes.
We are still eating the jack cravalle that Walt caught - and thank goodness we are almost done with it. I made some chili out of it that was really good, and we had fajitas and last night Mike grilled it. But while it is better than the fish book said (the book said it was inedible) it will never be my favorite. But Mike and Walt believe we should eat what we kill. OK, this makes sense when you are hunting. But fishing is different, and I don't plan to eat every single fish that gets pulled up. I flat out refuse to eat mackeral, for example, although I will make an exception for bonito, which are in that family. Bonito are doable. We are really hoping for dorado. One of our temporary neighbors caught one on his way in here - we were really jealous. Tonight if no bonito are caught, I am hoping to have chicken and rice. I also plan to cut up one of our the gorgeous mangos I bought in Mazatlan before we left. One of the big challenges with cruising is keeping fresh vegetables and fruit. I have been experimenting with those green bags, which seem to be working well. We do have a freezer, but it is very small.
Otherwise, except for swimming, snorkling, hiking, collecting shells and rocks, and just hanging out on the boat, there is not a lot of news. I have no idea what is happening in the world, there could be another war for all I know, or we could have yet again captured the third level commander in Al Queda. (Have you noticed how often the "third in command" has been killed or captured? That has to be the worst job in Al Queda.) It is kind of nice to be so remote, but scary too - I have no idea if my last packet of mail reached my sister to be sent out, and some things like that do weigh on my mind. But I think a lot of that is because I am new at this. I hope to have all this stuff nailed by the end of this year.
It is about time for me to start getting things prepared to move the boat - Mike and Walt will be awake soon. I am glad they are not early risers as I love this time of the morning all alone out on the deck, just watching the water and the birds and the fish. Adios!
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Katie, it took me forever to figure out how to post a comment here--your package did get here and I sent on your mail. Also, thank you for the lemon and lime squeezers! You didn't have to do that. If you get time, will you send me that coconut chicken recipe that you made when we had that party while you were here? I want to make it again.
ReplyDeleteYour adventura sounds too good. Now that Walt's on board, Matt is talking about coming down! I, however, want to wait until you are back at Mazatlan, if you are planning to go back there. Otherwise, we'll work with you!
My love to you all.