No More Punta Mala

Our weather window arrived. We left Ensenada Naranja yesterday (Easter Sunday) and sailed through the night, rounding the point early this afternoon. After all the drama we had before, having to turn back and lose an entire days worth of progress, we just sailed nicely past the bugaboo. It was really nice to get that behind us. At this point, we are about 90 miles from Panama City, where we plan to stop and anchor while figuring out our next move.

There are several things we have to take care of. First and foremost, we need to take care of our taxes. For that we need internet access. I wish we could do them earlier, but there is one document that never arrives until mid March or so, and there is nothing to be done about that. We have to get our documents scanned from our mail drop, print them out (we have a printer) and then do the figuring. This year it should only take an hour or so - it is exactly the same as last year but with slightly different figures. So we just plug in new numbers and off we go. But as it is already April 1, we are pushing it a bit.

The next thing we have to do is get some of our equipment fixed - most importantly, our depth sounder, without which anchoring is a dicey business. Magda Jean desperately needs bottom paint, and we also need to get a new water pump. I am almost embarrassed to write this - some of you must be thinking this boat is an absolute piece of crap, with things breaking every two minutes. But that is just the way things are. I do not know any cruisers, either with old or brand new boats, that do not have the same problems. It is the harsh marine environment. Just when you thin you have everything under control, the thing you fixed two years ago breaks. And you start all over again. I will admit, it can get a person down if you let it.

The sailing on this trip has been pretty good, all in all. All morning, there was a shearwater that flew all around the boat, looking it over. He landed (I was napping and missed this) and spent quite some time climbing all over the boat, checking it out. THen he returned to his mate, who was in the water nearby. This happened a couple of times. Mike suspects he was looking for a nesting site. We have also seen huge rays jumping out of the water in the mornings and evenings, jumping high into the air and twisting in summersaults. I already told the story of the lost pole.

Right now the wind has dropped, and the small amount that is left can't make its mind up as to what direction it wants to blow. So we furl in the big job (to keep it from banging around) and wait for the decision. It seems like there is a period like this almost every day - usually in the afternoon. It's funny - on Thursday we were forced b back due to crazy high seas and winds - now it is like drifting in a bathtub. Were it not for the jellyfish, we could stop the boat and have a swim call.

We are out of fresh produce. It only lasts so long, even in the fridge. Now we are reduced to canned veggies but I think we can deal with it. I made an excellent chicken dish last night, using chicken breasts, leftover rice, canned peppers, and canned tomatoes. It was surprisingly good. I baked bread, and again, it came out beautifully. I make small loaves, because it doesn't keep that well. No preservatives, after all. TOmorrow I may thaw some dough and try my hand at pita, since we have cans of hummos and baba ganoush. A nice little Greek feast, minus the feta.

That is really it for today - we are simply sailing along, slowly but surely, towards civilisation and cold beer. I can hardly wait.

"Oh who can tell, save he who hath tried,
And danced in triumph o'er the waters wide,
The exulting sense - the pulse's maddening play,
That thrills the wanderer of that trackless way?"
(Lord Byron)

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