Life in El Salvador, Continued

It has not been dull here.  One thing I did not report about was the big storm we had here last Sunday night (actually it might have been Saturday night).  We had just moved from the dock to the mooring ball, and had taken the dinghy to shore.  We were sitting around the poll laughing and talking and drinking, when we noticed lightening off in the distance.  Everyone noted and wondered how close it would get, and stuff like that.  All of us had our boats open, otherwise it gets real hot inside.  this wen on for about half and hour, when all of a sudden (and I am not exaggerating) the wind came up hard and really fast.  We ran for our dinghy, leaving half eaten sandwiches and our drinks on the table.  We were mostly concerned about rain getting in and getting things like our bed all wet.  but by the time we got to the boat, which was only a few minutes, the wind was a real concern.  We got the dinghy loaded (these days it is suspended above the water hanging off the deck) just in time and ran to close all the windows, hatches, and the companionway door.  It began to absolutely pour down rain, so hard you couldn't look into it or it would hurt your eyes like needles blasting towards them.  The wind howled - one of the other cruisers clocked it at 76 knots per hour, which is considered  hurricane strength.  It maintained that speed for about ten very long minutes, then slowed to 40-50 knots.  We were battened down well, the boat was not leaking, and our mooring held.  Other boats were not so lucky - a number broke free from their moorings and hit other boats, and the ones at the dock really suffered.  One guys boat has a big hole in it.  Parts of the dock were broken, some of the houses lost roofs, and the place was really knocked around.  The locals said there had been nothing like it since the 30s. I was not really scared, because I knew the boat could take it.  I was a bit worried about our mooring, but we were ready to turn on the engine at the first sign of trouble so as not to hit anyone.  Here are some pictures of the damage - I felt sort of ghoulish taking them.

This boat has a big hole torn in the side.  This boat had the most damage.

This is what happened to our friends' solar panels.

Here is the torn up dock.

A local man trying to repair his roof.

The roof torn off a local boat landing.

  
So, it was all pretty sobering.  I feel really lucky that nothing bad happened to us.  So many things could have gone wrong.  I am also extremely happy that we chose to leave the dock.  Although it seems like you would be safer tied up, that is not always the case and often it is worse than being out in the water.  Everyone was pretty traumatized, and we all sat around the pool the next day debriefing each other.  Everyone shared what went right and what went wrong, and all and all it was not a bad experience for me.  I learned a lot, especially about what the boat can take.  As Mike said, "she can take more than you and I can." 

Since that time we have kept busy rearranging stuff on the boat, visiting with our friends here, participating in a pupusa making class (A stuffed tortilla that is the national dish of El Salvador.  I made some for breakfast this morning and they were really good.), had a movie night, and took a buying trip into San Salvador.  We had heard terrible things about San Salvador - that is was dangerous, dirty, rundown, war torn, and a host of other cautions.  We found pretty much none of them were true.

Yes, El Salvador is recovering from a long, brutal, civil war.  But it has been over for several years now, and the city was not any more rundown than a lot of cities in Mexico.  There is a very heavy presence of armed security.  Besides the regular police and army, every business has its own armed guard.  And yes, there are more visible firearms than we saw in Mexico.  It all seems more relaxed here, though.  The guards are friendly and smiling, and they will talk with you, something you never have happen in Mexico, where the regular army troops wear balaclavas.  A guy with a gun wearing a balaclava looks much scarier than one without one who is smiling at you.  There was new construction going on, and everyone looked busy.  It is poorer here than in Mexico, but not so much that it was shocking.  I am sure there are dangerous areas of the city, but I saw nothing to justify such paranoia.  We went with another couple and shared a taxi - it is about one and a half or two hours from here.  There is a strong American influence here, so there are some items available here that were hard to come by in Mexico.

Last night we all had a bonfire on the beach.  Some of us brought our guitars and played and everyone sang.  It was so much fun.  I am going to get more experience playing with other people, and there is a wonderful jazz and classical guitarist who has graciously offered to give me lessons.  I have been away from the guitar for so long now that I have forgotten a lot of things, and I would really like to get to the next step above where I have plateaued out, so to speak.  I still love it here, and we are discussing where our first land trip will take us.  There are ruins, active volcanoes, coffee plantations, beaches, indigenous people, and all sorts of adventures waiting for us.   

This will do it for today.

"I wanted movement and not a calm course of existence.  I wanted excitement and danger and the chance to sacrifice myself for my love."  (Leo Tolstoy)

Life in El Salvador

We arrived here on  April 18 (Wednesday) after a really interesting night to say the least.  We got to the bar on Tuesday night, and you can't cross the bar until what is known as "slack high tide" which only happens once per day.    Slack high tide is when the tide is at its highest point and is neither comiong in or going out.  So we had to spend the night, and decided not to try and anchor off the beach.  We were in radio contact with our friends and the rally organizers, who told us it had been pretty rough.  So not wanting to get beat up all night and having to worry about dragging the anchor, we decided to "heave to" about 14 miles off shore to await the next slack high tide, which would be at about noon on Wednesday.

"Heaving to" is when you make the sails and the rudder work against each other and the boat basically stays put, just drifting a bit here and there,  It is a good way to deal with bad weather when it is too unpleasent to sail.  Used in conjunction with a sea anchor (which we do not have yet) it can be a life saver in huge storms.  But we have used it just to stop at night and go to sleep.

So anyway, we were hove to with our full main and jib rocking us nicely to sleep, at about 7 pm or so.   Then, at about 10 pm, the wind started to absolutely howl, and the boat was not just gently drifting, but was headed out to sea at about 5 knots.  Now it is WAY better to be heading out to sea in conditions like that than it is to be headed towards shore, but neither is really what you want.  So we got up and reefed the sails way in, which slowed the drift to an acceptable level.  Then it started to thunder and lightening like crazy, and the rain just poured down.  It was all very exciting.  I wasn't really that scared,  except for worrying that we might get struck by lightening.  We were delighted to discover that the cabin does not leak a drop. 

The next day all was well, but we were now 18 miles off shore instead of 14.  We then had to go across the bar, which I had planned to do but chickened out as soon as I saw the big waves I would have to go over.  Mike took over and of course drove like a champ.  We got to the marina where our friends and other rally participants were waiting for us on the dock, ready to take our lines.  I was pretty shaky, but glad to be there.  The check in was a breeze - customs and immigration are right there.  Then we got to relax with a bloody mary.  I have decided I really like them.

Since we got here, there has been tons of things to do.  We took out dinghy down the estuary to a little village named Herradura to do some shopping.  We ate dinner at a restaurant that was on stilts right on the estuary.  We took a bus one and one half hours into a town named Zacatecaluca.  We have had happy hours and all sorts of social stuff with the other rally participants. 

First, here are some pictures I took of Huatulco, right before we left.  The first one is me in while we were out shopping.  I am clutching my purse like that because Mike bought a really heavy fishing weight and I was afraid it would break the handle off.

This is a picture of the zocalo, or town square.  It was always full of people either selling things, buying things, or just hanging out.

This is a bird that hung out regularly at the marina.  I love these guys.

Here is me and Mike on our last night in Huatulco.  Actually, we needed to get rid of all our pesos, because El Salvador uses American dollars.  So we ate and shopped and bought stuff - only to discover we didn't leave ourselves enough for the cab ride home!  We had to stop at a bank and get more pesos - the smallest amount we could get and it was still too much.  We overpaid the cab driver and now have a friend for life, should we return. 

We left Huatulco and both of us slept in the cockpit (at different times of  course) because the engine was really loud in the cabin.

And what trip would be complete without dolphins to keep you company?

 That wraps up the Hualtulco pictures, and here is what it looks like here in El Salvador.  We are anchored in an estuary with a resort hotel providing all our amenities.  Not anchored, but moored to a mooring ball.

This is what it looks like here. 

This is one of the free range chickens you see everywhere running around Herradura. 

This is Mike and our friend Ron (from Sundancer) looking inside an oven at the local bakery.  The pastries were excellent!

This is the market where we bought produce.

Here is a picture of how things get to the market.

This is where we hade lunch.  The shrimp was wonderful!

Here is a painting of the Blessed Virgin that was painted right in the street.  Public art rocks! 

This is the approach to Herradura from the estuary.  We discovered (luckily not the hard way for a change) that you have to be very careful when you go there - it gets too shallow at low tide to get back through the mangroves to the mooring field we live in.

 

This is Mike taking us through the mangroves to the mooring field.  He is a great dinghy driver.

 

This is a cashew fruit. You really have to know what you are doing to deal with these - if you start messing with the nut part, you will get a skin rash.  It is a skill.  We cut the nut part off and sucked the juice from the fruit.  It was sort of persimmon-y.

Well, I guess this is all for today.  I do have a lot of other things to report, but I have things I need to take care of.  I love it here and we are not going anywhere (except land excursions) for the forseeable future.  So have a great day and I will pick up the saga later!

"Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing -- absolutely nothing -- half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats."  (Kenneth Grahame)

 

Almost There!

Other than having to motor too much, this has been a really nice trip. Yesterday we counted 45 sea turtles - some of them mating - and that is only the sightings we confirmed. Today we are starting earlier and will likely have an even bigger count. Mike believes this is due to the conservation efforts in Central America over the past years. Some of them have birds standing on their backs. We also had a huge contingent of dolphins playing around the boat yesterday afternoon. Mike said they flash mobbed a turtle, who turned helplessly flippers up in all the excitement.

We would have liked to sail more, but the winds have been really light, we wanted to get there sometime this year, and we thought it was a good chance to see how the motor works under extended usage and how long much fuel is consumed. I don't trust the fuel gauge - the needle jumps around too much. We think at this point there is just over half a tank left - and right now we are sailing, albeit very slowly. But we are only 40 miles away, and can't enter the mooring estuary until Wednesday at noon due to the tide requirements, so we have plenty of time. We will anchor outside the estuary and will make water and stuff while we are waiting.

Right now Mike just called down to me that there are more dolphins playing around the boat. You never get sick of watching them. If there aren't too many at once, we try to find distinguishing characteristics for each one and then name them. Yesterday I had Freckles, Striper, and Greyback. All three named for obvious reasons. The bigger a fuss you make over them, the more they jump around.

Sunday night we had a brief scare - we entered an area where there was lots of thunder and lightning and it looked as though we were going to get hit hard. The wind cranked up to about 15 knots really fast, and Mike got me up (these things always happen in the middle of the night) to help reef the sails down and get everything ready for a storm. There were a lot of lightning strikes pretty close to us, but of course because we were so well prepared it never actually hit us. It was exciting though, and we got to really zip along for a while there. Last night we saw the same thing happen in the same place, but we were well away from it and just saw it from behind. I love lightning if it is not close enough to cause any trouble. A lightning strike to a boat can cause all the electronics to die an immediate and permanent death, even when the boat is correctly "grounded." It is a rare occurrence, but it does happen. And Mike is particularly frightened of it because twice in his life (as a kid in Missouri) he has been so close to a strike that it knocked him down. I guess that would make anyone a bit gun shy, so to speak.

So anyway, we are almost there and I am really looking forward to a LONG shower, clean clothes, and a restaurant meal cooked by someone else. Because of our awesome new fridge, we have cold beer and allow ourselves to have one for dinner and one during the afternoon. We do not pound beers while sailing! Before we left, we bought tamales and two roasted chickens, both of which have made really good, easy to fix meals. But I still have to clean up! Yesterday I actually ate some oatmeal. I make it for Mike all the time, but usually I won't eat it because I was pretty sure I did not like it. I never liked hot cereal of any kind (oatmeal, Malt-o-meal, Cream of Wheat) when I was a kid, so I figured I did not need to start eating it now. And I don't like things with a gloppy consistency. But I tried it and lo and behold it was not bad. I did have trouble with the consistency, though. I ate mine with blackberry jam in it instead of milk and sugar. I figured the milk would just make it gloppy and runny, and the sugar is sweeter than I usually like. But I do make oatmeal pancakes (just add oatmeal to Aunt Jemima and fiddle with the liquids) and I like those with blackberry jam, so I figured why not? I might have some again, who knows. But it is hard for me to try things I think I don't like, and so this is a big step for me. I am not usually a really adventurous eater, fried grasshoppers not withstanding.

That is all for today - I have to get up on deck and help with the sail change. The next post will be from our mooring ball in Bahia Del Sol, El Salvador!

"We believed in Ragged Dick, P.T. Barnum, Diamond Jim Brady, in Andrew Carnegie, D.B. Cooper, Jackie Robinson. In the classless society society, upward mobility, the law of the jungle. We'd seen all the movies, read all the books. We never doubted that we would make it, that one day we would be fat cats in the mansion on the hill. Never. Not for a moment. After all, what else was there?" (T. Coraghessan Boyle. "Budding Prospects")

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com

Cruising the Guatemalan Coast, April 15

After motoring for two days to get through the infamous Bay of Tehuantepec, we finally arrived on the coast of Guatemala. Since we are in no special danger zone here, we turned off the engine and are sailing along merrily. There is about 10 knots of wind, which allows us to sail between 4 and 5 knots per hour, which is fine with us. Even if we had a "four knot rule" we would not have to deal with it. We were motoring because - as I have said before - the area we were in is notorious for bad weather and high seas, which would be uncomfortable at best and downright dangerous at worst. We were subject to no bad weather, but if we hadn't motored all the way, we would still be there. We have been told over and over again not to linger there, because even with a favorable five day forecast (which we had) things can change quickly and then you are stuck. but it is all behind us now, so even if we lose our wind, we can just drift along like we have many times before. Lots of sailors have this "four knot rule",meaning they turn on the engine if the speed drops below four knots. But we bought this boat to sail it, and sail it we will, schedules be damned. Today, however, the sailing has been just about perfect. I got really tired of the constant engine noise, and the heat it produces in the cabin. This is not in any way to be viewed as a dis on my engine. It is so comforting to know that I have a good strong engine that I can rely on to start when it needs to and to do what an engine needs to do. I have had so many piece-of-shit cars in my day that I never take a good running engine for granted.

I really can't say enough about how nice it is out here. A panga came by, and the two guys in it asked us for some water. Luckily we still had an empty clamato jar that I had not yet thrown away, so we were able to help them out. It felt really good to do that. We can make more water any time we want to, so it is no trouble for us. Those guys have to carry it with them, and I guess sometimes they run out before they get back to shore. They didn't have any fish, which was really too bad, as if they did, they would have traded it for the water. Speaking of fish, we caught a HUGE jack cravalle - the biggest one I have ever seen. It must have weighed about 40-50 pounds. Unfortunately, they are not good to eat, even though they are in the tuna family. So we let it go, and hopefully it has learned its lesson and will not go after anyone's cedar plug again.

We are currently flying a Guatemalan flag since we are in Guatemalan waters. We also fly an American flag, but it is a courtesy to fly the flag of the country you are in. Some places actually require it - Mexico is one of them, although I don't think they are very strict about enforcement as we saw lots of boats without one. El Salvador doesn't care, but we are going to fly one anyway when we get there because I like the idea of it. I have no idea what the rules are here, but if they do care, we are ready. We won't be stopping here, but will visit via land trip once we get settled in El Salvador. I want to visit all the Central American countries while we are here - Belize, Honduras, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, and of course, El Salvador. Belize is the only country without a Pacific coast, and El Salvador is the only country without a Caribbean coast. The other ones all have both.

Otherwise, there is not a lot of news out here, which is probably good. We have about 196 miles to go, so we are well over half way. It is nice to know there are people waiting for us in El Salvador. I expect that if things continue as they are, we will be there on Tuesday sometime. The entrance to where we will be moored is through a sandbar that requires a pilot boat to lead us in through a surf break. You have to time it just right and then literally surf in by gauging the wave properly, hence the need for the pilot boat. Actually, it is a pilot jet ski. I am planning to drive the boat in myself, and Mike will videotape me doing it. I will post the video here and on Facebook. I am nervous about doing it, but I really want to do this. It would be easy to let Mike do it. They give prizes to all the women who drive their boats in, and I do not want to be left out. Plus it is a step I need to take. So anyway, that is it for today. I will try and write another post while we are out here.

"Think of our life in nature, - daily to be shown matter, to come in contact with it, - rocks, trees, wind on our cheeks! the SOLID earth! the ACTUAL world! the COMMON SENSE! CONTACT! CONTACT! WHO are we? WHERE are we?" (Henry David Thoreau)

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com

Escape from the Tehuantepec - April 14

Actually, It was pretty anticlimactic. The terrifying Bay of Tehuantepec turned out to be pretty mellow. Of course, we made sure we had a good weather window, but have been told over and over again that it can slam shut in a nonce, leaving the hapless sailor in a big mess of high winds and big waves. But none of that came true for us. The only problem we had was when we first left Huatulco - about three hours out - when the seas got really sloppy and the wind was right on our nose. Since we were motoring anyway, it wasn't as bad as it could have been, but it still slowed us down considerably and was uncomfortable, with the boat pitching all over the place. Then is quieted down, and the most we have had to contend with is very little wind. But since we decided to motor until we are across this place, it has not made a difference. We did put up the jib yesterday when the wind direction was favorable, and it increased our speed nicely. Right now we are motoring along with no wind, and even if there was any, it would be right on our nose.

This is by far the longest period of time we have ever motored. And the engine seems to love it. All the gauges are and have been all along right where they should be. We had trouble with the engine last summer, but after Senor Omar worked on it, it has been just fine. We were nervous about how things would go, because this is where you want to be able to rely on your engine. So I am pretty happy. Right now we are still off Mexico, probably about 90 miles or so to the border with Guatamala. We are not going to stop there, but will go straight on to El Salvador. We will visit Guatamala via land once we get settled. It costs about 150.00 to enter the country if you go by sea, and you have to stay at their marina as they don't allow anchoring. Additionally, I am sure it also costs something to leave the country, so it is easier and cheaper to do it this way, especially since we would only be there for a day or so. Our friends and the other boats from the El Salvador rally are waiting for us. I am wondering if they give a prize for being the last rally boat to arrive - we might win that one.

Like I said, it has been a lovely ride except for the engine noise and the engine heat, which makes it impossible to sleep comfortably in the cabin. Last night I slept in the cockpit, and when Mike woke me for my watch, he slept there too. Since it is so calm today, we have the hatches open and it is a lot cooler in here. I still wouldn't sleep in our berth - it is right next to the engine compartment. While I was on watch just as it was getting light, I spotted a panga right in front of us. I altered course, but we passed close enough to wave hello. It was nice to see someone else up at that time. We have had to avoid several long lines, which can be hell if they get wrapped around your propeller. I wish it were illegal, I hate those things. Today Mike out out a pole, and we caught a bonita, but threw it back. We are hoping for a tuna.

There is a superstition among sailors that you never start a voyage on a Friday. We have sort of ignored that, because when we took our first trip to Ensenada in our 25 footer a couple years ago, we had to start on a Friday because of my work schedule. But this time we really tempted fate - not only did we leave on a Friday, but it was Friday the 13th!

Anyway, that is it for now. We have seen dolphins, turtles, frigate birds, boobies, and the bonito, and it has been a great trip so far. I may or may not get to write another underway post, but if I don't, do not worry, we are fine out here.

"What a long strange trip its been." (Jerry Garcia) (I hope I have not used this previously!)

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com

Underway Again!

Just a quck note to let everyone know  we are on our way to El Salvador.  I will try and update while aat sesa via SSB radio, but of course |I cannot promise that as there are too many variables. Things look good weatherwise, so I am not anticipating any problems.

More to come! 

Why I Came Here

With all the complaining I have been doing lately about how I am eager to get moving, yesterday was a reminder of why I am actually in Mexico.

We went to the beach for the first time in a long time, since Mike was not thinking it was a good idea for him to be in ocean water while he was healing up.  (My mom always said ocean water was good for wounds but then he said a lot of things.)  So we decided to go - clear, refreshing water, golden sand, lots of kids playing around to entertain us - and two guys off by the cliffs diving for and shucking oysters, then  selling them to us on a plate with frresh limes and hot sauce.  They were unbelievably delicious.  (The guys wer cute but I am talking about the oysters.)  They tasted just like the ocean smells at its freshest.  Not a hint of fishiness.  Not too briny.  Just amazing.  Then we came back to the boat and Mike whipped up a black bean and vegetable stew that was fabulous.  All in all, what a wonderful day.

We are still on track to leave Thursday or Friday, unless things change with the weather report.  Everything is pretty well set - we just need to do some shopping for groceries and a few odds and ends. 

The violet swallows have returned and are again trying to build their nest under my solar panels.  This will not do!  I have to get rid of it before they lay eggs and then I hve something bad on my conscience.  I think I might have to lay a towel over the TINY entrance they go into.  We have started calling them "violent" swallows.  Don't get me wrong - I love those pretty little birds, but under the solar panels is in no way an appropriate place for them to live and raise their children.  I salute their propensity for eatng mosquitos at dusk, but they have to live somewhere else.

This morning I got up and went outside to drop off the laundry on the deck for the laundry lady to pick up.  I stood there for a while, just looking at everything here in the marina.  It was really quiet, as the guys who clean and fuss over the megayachts everyday weren't here yet with their radios, and the water was still with hardly any surge.  I could see fish swimming around just under the surface, and birds diving to catch them.  The swallows were dive bombing me because I was invading their space.  A big spotted puffer fish was swimming along the side of the pier, eating whatever crap it is that  they eat.  The birds were all calling out to each other, and jockeying for the best pier position.  I just stood there, taking it all in and being really grateful just to be here. 

"Be yourself; everyone else is already taken."  (Oscar Wilde)   
 

Getting Closer

Time is creeping along, but we are getting a lot closer to actually leaving.  Yesterday we cleaned out the vee berth - like I said, it took about 20 minutes.  Mike cleaned and reorganized his tool closet and tool locker - let's see how long that lasts, he never puts anything in the same place twice.

On that note, one of my best skills is finding things that are lost.  I am very good at it.  I have a system that almost never fails.  First I think about the object, figuring out what it is used for and where we might use it.  Then I staart systematically searching those places and most of the time I find it right away.  (This of course is after Mike has torn the place apart trying to find it.) If I do not find it, I think about the last time it was used and what it was being used for, and then search wherever I didn't search before.  If that doesn't work, I think about all the things that might have gone wrong and caused it to end up someplace weird.  I know it sounds simple, but people rarely look for things that way.  When I was a clerical worker, I was renowned for my ability to locate lost case files.  And the reason I am so good at this is because when I was a kid, my mom would go apeshit everytime something went missing, even something as stupid as a plastic comb.  I got really tired of getting screamed at, and I didn't seem to be able to make things stop disappearing, so I got really good at finding things.  It just takes a logical, systematic approach.

I just discovered the milk is frozen!  I will have to move it further away from the freezer unit.  In the new fridge, we have a bigger freezer compartment, which means the fridge part is smaller.  I don't think it will be a problem.  Mike also accidentally froze some beer - but he thawed it out and drank it anyway.  But I would rather have to worry about stuff freezing when it shouldn't than have to worry about things thawing when they shouldn't.  When we emailed the guy in Mazatlan who sold us all the fridge parts and also included step by step hand written instructions and told him Mike had done everything but the charging and vacuming, he was impressed and told Mike he would hire him any time.  I was impressed to, but not surprized.  One thing Mike can do is fix pretty much anything.  The only thing he will not work on here on the boat is the engine, and that only because we don't have the tools to do so.  That was why he didn't charge and vacume the new fridge - it requires special equipment that is expensive and (more importantly) large and bulky. 

I just read a blog from some cruisers who just left El Salvador - I am so excited to get there!  They took a three day tour of El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatamala.  I don't like such whirlwind tours, I want to spend some time in each place.  All three places have a lot of Mayan ruins to see, as well as beautiful flora and fauna.  It does appear a bit rougher than Mexico, but we will get used to that.  It took me awhile to get used to seeing armed soldiers here, as I am not comfortable around guns, but I did become accustomed to it. 

Anyway - this is all for today.  Happy Easter to everyone!

"I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best."    (Marilyn Monroe)

So Far, So Good

No problems with the fridge, I am happy to report.  We have cold beer and ice and last night on the way home from dinner out, we talked about how nice it was to walk to town and back since we didn't have to drag two huge bags of ice home in a cab.  So now we are focused on getting out of here.

Yesterday we washed the boat down, and scrubbed off all the accumulated bird poop.  We made an unpleasant discovery - the violet swallows were building a nest right under the solar panels.  I had been wondering why I kept seeing pieces of weeds and grass lying on the deck.   I love birds, and these little birds are wonderful, but we had a bad experience when we allowed some of these guys to nest in our uncovered mainsail last year in Mazatlan.  Aside from making a big mess, we couldn't leave when we wanted to because we felt bad about disturbing the eggs.  After all, we knew they were there and pretty much allowed it to happen, so we had to deal with the consequences.  And the consequences were bad for everyone - we kept finding dead baby birds (that looked very embryonic) on the deck.  Mike thinks it got too hot under the sail.   So this time we made sure there was no place for them - guess again.  Honestly, there is barely enough room under those panels for me to stick my hand.  We never dreamed they wouold consider that as an appropriate place to raise their babies.  But luckily when we lifted the panel up, we discovered they were only collecting materials and had not even finished the nest, let alone lay any eggs.  So we washed the area clean with the hose, although it was not pleasent because the birds were sort of dive bombing us and complaining loudly.  Still, I hope I did them a favor and hopefully they will find more congenial nesting grounds than underneath our solar panels.

It is Easter week - or Semana Santa as they call it here.  We had no idea, since I really don't celebrate Easter.  (I don't like jelly beans or other Easter candy, no kids to make baskets for, I don't go to church, and I don't like ham and scalloped potatoes, which was the standard Easter fare when I was growing up.  I am not disrespecting Easter in any way, so don't be mad at me.)  Anyway, we figured it out when we were surprised to find the beach and the town itself absolutely packed with tourists.  Semana Santa is possibly the biggest vacation period in Mexico - everybody goes somewhere, especially to the beach.  All the hotels are full, the shops are crowded, and everyone is having a great time.  There are these guys on the beach selling things, and one of the things they sell are temporary tattoos.  There was the little kid at the table next to us (yes, a restaurant right on the beach) who had one on his arm of a scorpion.  He must have been about six, and spent a great deal of time standing by us flexing his arm, to make sure we saw his new tattoo.  We admired it profusely and he was very happy.  One thing about being here is that you rarely ever see a bratty kid.  I mean of course I have seen crying babies and fussy toddlers - that is just what they do, anywhere in the world.  But you never see kids having tantrums, whining to beat the band, or generally being obnoxious in public.  And you see kids out and about everywhere, even at night, with their parents.  They aren't little robots - they run and play and yell, but never in an annoying, inappropriate way.  And the teenagers are the same way - even when they look like little thugs, they are polite and never obnoxious.  They grab up their skateboards before  you have to jump into the street to avoid getting run down.  They clear the sidewalk when someone approaches when they are walking four abreast.  It is really impressive.   Mike and I were talking last night about how many things we love about Mexico and how we are going to miss it.  I am looking forward to seeing and learning new things, but I really love it here and am having a hard time saying adios.  I will instead say "Hasta La Vista" (until I see you) or "Hasta Luego" (see you later). 

Otherwise, nothing to report.  We have to clean out the vee berth today and I am not looking forward to it.   "Clean" is not really the right word - it isn't dirty, but we have thrown a lot of stuff back there that now has to be straightened out and stowed away properly.  We saved our old solar panels because they can be used by some people in El Salvador, people who live on an island near where we are going who have no power at all.  (The old panels work still, we just bought bigger and stronger ones.)  The rally organizers suggested we bring them, so we did.  Then there is all the other stuff that just sort of accumulates there - like parts for the old fridge that still work, and some other things I am hoping Mike will decide to get rid of.  But truthfully, this is a chore I always dread and it always ends up being really easy and quick.  I don't mind cleaning, but I hate picking up.  And I hate vacuming.  Luckily I did that yesterday.  We have a big, annoying shop vac that we use when we have shore power or when the engine is running f we are anchored.  I have to admit it does a good job, but it takes up a lot of room.  Then all we really need to do is to batten everything down (a 20 minute task that I have down pat) and get our final load of provisions. 

We also cleaned the dinghy bottom and stowed it yesterday.  I was happily surprised to  discover that the bottom was not covered with hard to scrape off barnacles.  It required some scrubbing and a bit of scraping, but it has been a lot worse, believe me.  And the other task we accomplished was to take the fenders up and clean them off as well.  We forgot to do this one time - and when we took off and pulled them up, we discovered the part that hangs in the water was covered with barnacles and other sea matter.  We had to leave them on deck for most of the journey instead of stowing them in the vee berth because they smelled very bad, since we couldn't really clean them properly while underway.   I have seen these stainless steel basket type things you can hang on the rails so the fenders do not have to be stored below.  I want some.  Mike thinks it would work,  but I have never seen any for sale down here, and they would be bulky to try and carry home from the US. I bet Mike could fashion something - or perhaps I can learn some macrame skills and make some out of rope.  It would be nice not to have them taking up space below decks while underway or at anchor.  Space is always at a premium on Magda Jean!

So that is all for today.  Mike is going to check the weather today and we will find out when we get to leave.  Keep a good thought for me - that the Bay of Tehuantepec will be calm all next week!

"He who rejects change is the architect of decay.  The only human institution which rejects progress is the cemetary."  Harold Wilson       

The New Refrigerater is In!

Yup, it is true.  After working on it all day yesterday, Mike completed the installation.  We still had to do some things we didn't have the equipment for, so I called Senor Emilio, who fixes fridges.  (OK, now that it is fixed I will spell it right.)  This is not as simple as it sounds, because Senor Emilio does not speak English.  And while my Spanish has gotten a lot better, technical stuff is difficult and not in always in the dictionary.  So anyway, I looked up the words I hoped would suffice and wrote down what I hoped would be sufficient - talk of charging and vacuming and what kind of freon was needed.  Senor Emilio said he would be at the boat in a couple of hours and lo and behold when he showed up, he had understood me perfectly as he had everything we needed!  The new fridge is now getting cold and everything seems fine.  I hope Mike does not wake up and decide there is a problem, but I supposed anything is possible.  Senor Emilio told us the installation was fine, but the proof will be if it is getting cold enough and cycling on and off correctly.  It seems fine to me this morning, but what do I know?

Anyway, this means we can start getting ready to leave.  It only takes a couple of days to get the boat ready to go, (as I recited as nauseum yesterday) and a day to deal with clearing out of the country.  And of course the weather has to be right as we are going to cross the dreaded Bay of Tehuatepec.  It is supposed to be calming down this time of year, but we don't want to take chances and get the crap beat out of us at best, or have a problem at worst. 

So now - I do have a chore to do - I have to go shopping.  We got Mike's mom a necklace and she wants earrings to go with it.  And I would like a few things myself.  Mike needs new shorts and bathing trunks.  And we have a lot of pesos that need to be used up as El Salvador uses US dollars as currency.

Last night I dreamed I was back in the US visiting.  I went to a class for someone who couldn't be there, and my best friend Sue was in the class.  I decided I was being disruptive in class (just talking and getting everyone else talking and not doing any classwork), so I figured I better leave.  I went outside and get ready to get on a bus, but then realized I had only pesos and no US money for the bus.  A guy tried to give me a ten dollar bill, but I told him that was too much and I couldn't accept it.  So I started looking for a bank.  It took forever, walking up and down the streets.  I finally found one, and the counters were so high I had to jump up to see when a teller was available.  It was at that point I realized I had left my shoes in class and would have to go back and get them.  I finally got some money changed, and went to find my shoes.  But as I was wwalking back to the school, I realized I had no pants on either.  I kept trying to pull my shirt and suit jacket down (I had been dressed as if for court, where I was in an early part of the dream).  The pople at the school  said they had seen my clothes and shoes but we couldn't find them.  I noticed that no one seemed concerned that I had no pants on, so I decided to ignore it.  It went on for a while in that same vein.  It wasn't a bad dream at all, just strange.  It is also one of many dreams in which I lose my shoes.  I wonder why that is?  I love shoes.

Well, I had better get going.  Hopefully I will be back to travel soon, and won't have to bore everyone with my dreams.  But they are very real to me.  It is like I have two lives - one that goes on while I am awake, and another that goes on while I am asleep. Thank goodness I still know the difference.

"Cruising has two pleasures.  One is to go out in wider waters from a sheltered place.  The other is to go into a sheltered place from wider waters."  Howard Bloomfield   

Back to the Installation Project

Yup, Mike is well enough that he has resumed work on the frig.  We think we will be out of here and on our way to El Salvador next week, weather permitting of course.  I am really happy about that.

Last night I dreamed that I had a goldfish or some kind of aquarium fish that I was training to jump out of the water when I fed it.  I had gotten it to the point of sticking it's head out of the water when I woke up.  I wonder if you could really train a fish to do that.  Lots of fish jump out of the water regularly, it is just what they do.  Manta Rays jump out of the water all the time - when we were in the Sea of Cortez this summer, it almost sounded like gunshots when they jumped and splashed back down.  There would be whole groups of them doing it together.  I think they do it because it is fun and it feels good to them and because maybe they are curious about what is above them.  Mike read an article that said rays are pretty smart.  Marlins jump too - and so do dorado.  The more I learn about fish and the more I watch them, the less I want to catch them.  I read in another blog that dorado mate for life.  I have noticed that they are often seen in pairs - and they are one of the few fish I can think of where the males and females look different.  The head shape is different. 

It looks like Mike is not going to have any problems with the frig.  He did a lot of work on it yesterday, including welding (he called it brazing) some copper tubing together.  I discovered copper turns really pretty colors during that process.  We are hoping the frig guy can come on Thursday and that would finish things up.  We discovered a store that sells frozen meats, so we can fill the new freezer unit with plenty to last us until we get to El Salvador and can reprovision.  However, we have vowed to eat less red meat and more fruits and vegetables since Mike's malady is being blamed on a not so great diet.  We have both lost some weight since beginning this new way of eating, which actually is not so new - I was a vegan for about two years until I got bored with it.  I think we will be quasi-vegetarians, which to me means mainly fish and chicken, with meatless days thrown in for good measure.  The interesting thing about the produce here is that while it may not be as pretty as the produce in the US, it usually tastes better.  I think the food here makes less stops between the farm and one's plate.  In the markets you see whole sides of beef being cut to order, and live chickens.  The fish is also very fresh.  All in all, the food in the markets and small stores is better than what you get in the supermarkets here.  And all the different things are clustered together.  One street has the produce stores, the next one will have meats, the automotive repair places are clustered together, and stuff like that.  Once you learn it all, you know where to go to get whatever you want.   And no matter how small the town, or even village, there will be at least one party store, where they rent out tables and things and sell everything you need for any kind of a party.

So with Mike healthy again and the frig well on its way, I have to job of getting the boat ready to be underway.  It isn't difficult - just finding space for things that are usually left out, because you don't want things flying around.  I have gotten pretty good at taking care of that - using towels to stuff around things that might roll, making sure the things in the cupboards are solidly placed, strapping down things that might fall off a shelf, and so on.  We make sure the water tanks are full and we already filled up with gas and diesel.  Friday we have someone coming to clean the bottom of the boat and the through hulls, and the day before we leave we will take the dinghy out of the water, clean it, and stow it away on top of the boat.  We do that last bcause when stowed, it blocks an overhead hatch that we normally like to have open for coolness and light.  We will have one last load of laundry done, put clean sheets on the bed, and make sure all the safety gear is ready to go.  We have strict rules about using life jackets and hooking up to jacklines at night, or when it is rough anytime.  It would be a nightmare to get up and wonder why you hadn't been awakened to relieve your partner on watch, only to discover no one there.  We keep a log while underway that would help in that situation, because one of the things we record each  hour is the lattitude and longitude.  You would look at the last time there was an entry, and follow the GPS track back, and hopefully find the person, but you have to take into accounthow the surrents are going, and really, the chances of finding the person would be slim the more time that has passed.  At least the water here is warm.  In cold water, forget it.  every now and then I read about someone falling off a boat.  So we are careful and always stay clipped on when alone on night watch. 

Well, on that cheerful note I will close for today.

"The only way to get a good crew is to marry one."  Eric Hiscock