Mexican AAA

Our hero...

For all of the doubters and naysayers.  For Janet and Larry H. and other friends and family members who thought moving to "dangerous" Mexico was an insane idea. This blog's for you!
On Saturday we took a day trip by land to Todos Santos, a small city about an hour away by car. Todos Santos is said to be a charming town with aspects of Sausalito and Key West, lots of artwork and shops and very gringo friendly (they take US dollars). We were riding with friends who had had a bit of trouble with air conditioning in their car, so Bill and Larry spent a few minutes adding freon before we took off. Dana was driving and we hadn't gone very far before the car overheated. We pulled over and the guys got out checked things out and thought they had rectified the situation. We debated going back to the marina and retrieving my Mazda but decided, as Bill put it, to have an adventure.
All went well on this leg of the trip. We left the air off while in town but found the engine temp was steady once out on the highway. Larry and I were happy to see that the construction of two years ago had been completed and the trip to Todos Santos was comfortable and uneventful.
We spent a lovely day in the city (more about that later.)
Before leaving the area we drove around some of the residential areas reached only by deeply rutted dirt roads, climbing steep hills that overlook the Pacific Ocean. As we headed back to the highway which would return us to La Paz the car began overheating once again. We turned off the engine and let it cool off, the guys agreeing it might be alright once we got up to highway speed. Not so. Within a couple of miles steam began rolling out from under the hood and the gauge read H!
We pulled off to dirt area and with the city in the rear view mirror and what looked to be a house a few hundred yards back, we knew it was time to reassess the situation.  In my mind we had few choices: we could leave the car and walk back to Todos Santos and get a motel; the problem there being the next day was Sunday and who knew if a repairman would be available. Larry always travels with a basic tool box but we didn't have anything with us which meant we were at the mercy of whomever might be available. Or we could drive on stopping every ten minutes to cool down and add water.

Yep!

Soon I saw a green pickup truck make a u-turn, come back and pull in behind us. The man pictured above (I believe his name was Ernesto) got out...and spent the next hour plus trying to help us get back on the road. He spoke no English and with our pitiful Spanish most communication was done with hand gestures. We ALL understood muy caliente! This gentleman offered to walk with Bill to the house (which turned out to be a bar) for more water. Dana had suggested -several times- that there might be a vapor lock and it would seem that she was right. In any case, more water was required and this time the bar owner returned with his contribution, a three liter container of water. This craggy-faced guy asked my name and told me he is called Emilio. Soon after that a young man, Christian, came walking up, carrying some groceries, took off his shirt (uh huh...) and began offering advice as well. By general agreement the engine was started and water poured into the radiator; at last the engine cooled down and it was deemed safe to drive back to La Paz.

Muy caliente!! Mas agua!
We all understood those words.

Now these three Mexican men, who spoke virtually no English and  did not know each other, were much kinder to us than most Americanos would have been to some Mexicans sitting on the side of the road in Ft. Lauderdale, or Raleigh or just about any place else in the States. I wanted to take all of their pictures, but Ernesto seemed so uncomfortable with picture taking I didn't want to embarrass the other two.
There are bad people and bad areas everywhere. But I feel safe here. I love the spirit of the Mexican people, the sense of family, the fact that several generations of a family can be out having fun at ten o'clock at night on the malecon. I love that these three men stopped to help strangers with no thought that they were doing anything special. I raise a glass to our three guys and say thank you. We all agreed it was time to pay it forward.
 So if we invited you to come to the Baja to visit and you have hesitated for fear of peligroso conditions....fuhgeddaboudit! Ya'll come on down.
And yes, we traveled swiftly and safely back to La Paz and celebrated with cervezas and a few games of pool.

Where has the time gone?

I looked at the calendar today and realized I've been back in La Paz just over a month. We haven't sailed yet but that's coming soon. We plan a relatively short visit to the islands north of here, an opportunity to try out new gadgets and make sure everything is in good working order. Larry continues to work on Milagro and we've made a lot of improvements since our return:

We've had the mast cleaned and the slides lubricated and the halyards inspected.

Shiny mast...

We've had our anchor winch rebuilt.

Sergio's fine steel work

Since installing blocks and a steel plate on the foredeck, our mainsail can be raised or lowered or reefed from the cockpit using the electric winch Larry and Tarzan (more about him later) installed in the cockpit.

Our brass compass mount has been polished 

      thanks to a talented fellow boater and with new glass and stainless cover our beautiful  Danforth compass is ready to sit proudly in the cockpit.

Larry spent days learning to splice ropes, practicing
until he had it down to an art form, then utilizing what he had learned in building the lazy jack-type sail control system of his own design which helps to control the mainsail when it is lowered.


Sound proofing purchased in the States now covers the inside of the hatches to the engine room; ahhh, quiet.

Our dinghy has new chaps to protect it from the sun and weather and Larry has mounted wheels which will make it easier to beach the dinghy when we are cruising.
At this point in time our electronics systems are virtually complete. The chart plotter can now interface with the AIS (crash avoidance system) and a new  GPS antenna provides position data to the VHF radio.

We have a new smart controller for our autopilot. Just like at "home," we can watch TV and control the autopilot at the same time...if we can find the correct remote!

The space holding Buddi's cage has been tiled...beautiful hand painted Mexican tile which is incredibly inexpensive - no, cheap! One sarcastic friend refers to Buddi's redecorated space as "the princess' palace."

I continue to do the shopping, meal preparation and cleaning and laundry while overhauling, reorganizing and eventually mapping the boat's interior, readying Milagro for sailing adventure. I'm also available to play scrub nurse, handing Larry tools or holding something in place or giving a back rub after he has spent hours bending over one project or another. And I continue to work on my Spanish.


In between projects (and I probably missed some!) we spend time with friends, return to favorite restaurants and try new ones, play music and cool off in the marina pool late afternoons, enjoying the occasional cerveza or margarita or, my personal favorite, limonada natural. There's also time to read and enjoy a movie, walk (a friend and I are doing about four miles a day, now), paddle a kayak or just hang out with some really, really nice people.

Before I retired people would often ask, "Don't you think you'll be bored after a little while?"  It never occurred to me that boredom would be an issue ... and I'm happy to report I was right!

Alive...

Ahhhh...the perspective of 24 hours. Okay, maybe I was somewhat melodramatic yesterday, but we sure were sick! Larry and I are among the living today, not feeling terribly spunky but we'll make it. Thinking of marketing the La Paz Quick Weight Loss Plan. ;)

The good, the bad and the ugly...

We two on Milagro have had a super time (the good) since arriving in mid-June...until today.
We are currently fighting either food poisoning (the bad) or a stomach virus (the ugly). Larry started with symptoms during the night and is definitely sicker than I am, but I feel perfectly rotten. I just keep telling myself, this too shall pass...and if it doesn't, I've requested that neighboring boaters shoot me...please.They shoot horses, don't they?
Will write again if I live. 

Marine life in the marina

Two days ago I went kayaking with a friend.  The water was smooth, like a mirror, and we paddled to an area north of the marina. We'd seen a lot of fish in there on previous trips but this time, just a few small fish and a couple of good sized starfish and a sand dollar. We decided to paddle toward the breakwater and within minutes were surrounded by thousands of fish, with any number of varieties. I was wishing I had our underwater apparatus and our movie camera, particularly when I spotted a large eel hanging out...literally...of a hole in the rock formation.  The current was moving gently southward and we drifted for long time, not talking, just watching the marine life below. So very cool.

This big guy was next to our boat early one morning.

Then last evening, as we were leaving our boat after dark, I was amazed to see dozens of tiny green lights glowing in the water. It was eery, looking like something out of a film about extraterrestrials. Larry informed me that we would be seeing many, many more of these phosphorescent creatures when we are sailing.

Fish keepin' cool in the noonday sun...

So much to see, so much to learn..

A lifetime ago, when my children were toddlers and older, I loved the way they viewed the natural world, marveling at each new thing: a locust shedding its carapace, a bird building a nest, a flower bud becoming an apple. Such a long time since I felt this awe, this wonder. It's late, but not too late.

Yoga and saxaphone concert

This morning I attended a yoga class in the center of downtown La Paz. A friend had introduced me to this very gentle class; I found it relaxing yet excellent for maintaining range of motion. I arrived a few minutes early to be greeted by a different instructor. This charming lady spoke no English and my paltry Spanish doesn't cover Sanskrit yoga terms. That's okay, I told myself, I have practiced enough yoga to follow along.
At precisely 9:30 the instructor said, "Levántese" and I was off to a good start as I rose from lotus position. We then moved into what I recognized was a form of Ashtanga, much more vigorous and flowing then the style of yoga to which I am accustomed. The is emphasis on the form of breathing know as ujjayi which takes some practice. Oh well, I thought, I'll hang in there as long as I am able and quit if things get uncomfortable. I felt I was doing quite well when my instructor paused; a young pregnant woman (due in two weeks I later learned!) entered the room. Through a bit of English and a lot of lightning-speed Spanish we agreed that the remainder of the class should be directed toward the latest arrival. Whew! That let me off the hook and for the next 45 minutes we had a easy-going class with lots of supported poses and a marvelous 10 minute savasana...I almost fell asleep!
As I retrieved my shoes and purse I heard music coming from across the street. There is a bagel shop just a few doors down (their bagels rival my favorites, Einstein Bros.) and above the shop a young man was playing a saxophone in an open window. The melody was haunting and I stood there for some time just listening. Wow, yoga and a live music before 11:00 a.m. ...can't see how the day could get any better!
Larry had dropped me off at the yoga studio on his way to fueling up the car and picking up some boat parts. I had insisted on walking back to the marina as I am really trying to get into my "best possible shape" and overcome the yummy, calorie laden meals of late. I would guess that the walk to the Malecon and the path to the marina was about two miles, which would have been a pleasant jaunt had the temperature not climbed to nearly 100 degrees. The sun was blistering hot and I had not brought water so I was happy to be back to the air conditioned boat and several huge glasses of agua!
It's a good life and getting better every day.

Fourth of July

Fourth of July was laid back, and truly interesting in what didn't happen. Although there is a large contingent of Americans in La Paz, we knew of only one party, hosted by a generous fellow gringo, to which we and the rest of the community had been invited. There was the promise of roasted pig, corn, potatoes and the obligatory cerveza along with a huge fireworks display.
Another boating couple invited us to ride with them to El Centenario for the celebration, but we opted to stay in the marina and enjoy a quiet day. I went kayaking in the morning with a friend. and then Larry and I rested in the heat of the day with air-conditioning and a good movie. That evening...a different kind of adventure. We had been invited by other frends to join them at the "best sushi place" in town. You'd think that after my previous I-can't-possibly-eat-a-whole-fish episode I would have said a resounding NO, a thousand times NO! I've never eaten sushi and although it is not currently on my bucket list it seemed a shame not to at least give it a try. So, as the sushi chef began to prepare dishes, swearing to wow me, I drank my beer and tried not to picture this meal swimming around with its friends. I'm rather embarrassed to admit this, but oh-my-gosh it was all delicious. I don't remember the names of all the dishes we had but each was tasty, a bunch of great flavors swimming (ha) around in my mouth. Larry liked it as well and I think was as surprised as I. Will I ever have sushi again or will I swear off animals as food in any form? I don't know...but I'm glad to have added this item to my bucket list.
As for the big Fourth of July party? Rather glad we didn't go. It seems the policia decided they should be the ones to set off the fireworks (on the roof!!) of our gringo acquaintance's house. One of the officers accidentally dropped a lit cigarette into the box of fireworks! They began going off but heading down, not up, and a number of people in the crowd were burned, although none seriously.We tried not to laugh but, come on.........
Anyway, to all our friends in the States...belated happy fourth of July...hope you also did exactly what you wanted to do and had as good a time as we did.

Vegetarian?

I have been a lacto-ovo vegetarian since the late 80's. For years I fibbed and told anyone who questioned me that I became a vegetarian for health reasons. You see people often gave me an argument (I've never really understood why!) and tried to convince me that this was an unhealthy diet; it was just easier to pretend there was a medical reason for my choice. But in recent years I have decided that honesty truly is the best policy. And although the vegetarian thing was just a "little white lie" I began to feel unfaithful to myself and my beliefs. As I told one granddaughter, a devoted carnivore and an accomplished deer hunter, if I can't kill it I won't eat it.
However when we moved to Mexico and it appeared we would be spending a lot of time at sea, I made what I thought to be a practical decision: I would supplement my diet with fish. I mistakenly thought it might be difficult to acquire fresh dairy much of the time, and milk, cheese and yogurt supply much of my B12 as well as a large percentage of my protein. On returning to the eating of fish I discovered I could eat - and enjoy - the fillets of most white fish and fresh salmon, but shellfish, which I had once loved was, to put it politely, unpalatable.
 But last evening we joined our old and new friends for one last dinner as the four were leaving for San Diego this morning. I wasn't really hungry and tried to find something "light" on this menu which was geared almost entirely to fish with a couple of beef dishes.  I finally chose red snapper veracruz. Previous experience led me to believe I would be getting a nice fillet of fish with a delicious sauce of tomatoes, olives, onions and peppers. Well, the sauce was all I hoped for, but the fish...... it was deep-fried and  whole - head, tail and eye intact. I just stared at it, picked up my fork and began to poke it. Thank goodness no one had a camera handy as I am told my expression registered somewhere between aghast and revolted. I didn't say anything but the entire table laughed uproariously. Tawnya, who speaks fluent Spanish, called our waiter and explained politely that I couldn't eat the fish as it was presented. He came over and picked up my dish and remarked in English, "Okay, but it won't be as pretty!"
My plate returned with only fillets of snapper and sauce and I ate a good sized portion of my dinner. But I have to say, I am rethinking the eating of fish because,truthfully, I still cannot bring myself to kill one and  I now know that I am unable to look a fish in the eye and then eat it as it stares at me. I'm probably anthropomorphizing here...even dead and fried I could see he was giving me a doleful look.

Dinners with friends

Eating out is a way of life here in La Paz. I can - and do  - fix regular on-board meals: full Mexican breakfasts with huevos, tocino, tomates, tortillas y jugo, sandwich lunches and full course dinners. But both Larry and I enjoy not only the great variety of really good local restaurants but the social aspect of getting together with friends.
On Friday we joined a few friends on Eva G to say goodbye to a young waiter from the Dinghy Dock restaurant here in Palmira. I barely knew the fellow but others assured me he was a super young man deserving a great send-off,  and I'll take any excuse available for a get together with good friends. I offered to contribute a cake and a bottle of wine for the occasion.
The designated hour arrived and Larry and I walked down the dock to the Eva G. Margaritas seemed to be the order of the evening but I expected this to be a long night  and, as I am somewhat of a light weight, I opted for a glass of red wine. We waited for the guest of honor to arrive....and waited....and waited. We all continued to enjoy our beverages and at some point our hostess decided to whip out some heavier hors d'oeuvres as stomachs were beginning to rumble. By now we were all devouring everything on the antipasto tray, as well as chips, salsa, peanuts and other goodies.  Still no guest of honor and still no dinner.
Jorge did arrive, much, much later, but by that time the party goers were more than a little tipsy and too full of pre-dinner goodies to eat much else. Jorge's excuse for the tardiness was "a woman friend" had detained him: enough said. Back in Florida we often kidded certain friends, late for nearly every function, for being on "Cuban time." Same principal here I guess...we'll just call it Mexican time. 

Good time!

We had made plans on Saturday to join friends from San Diego who had recently moved their sailboat from La Paz to San Diego. They had flown into La Paz to join other friends of theirs who are renting a house here for several weeks. Susan and Dennis Ross, our aforementioned "tour guides," completed the party. We caravanned down the malecon to La Pazta where it was cool and comfortable inside after a very hot and sticky day. We had a room to ourselves and plenty of elbow room for the eight of us. The service was excellent I ordered gnocci verde (spinich gnocci) with a gorgonzola cream sauce...absolutely scrumptious! I looked up some reviews for this restaurant the next day and saw that one diner had remarked about the gnocci dish, " the sauce was so good I wanted to lick the plate!"  Me too!

Looking down on Marina Palmira

It was a delightful occasion with good conversation and good food, an enjoyable mix of old friends and new acquaintances. We ended the evening driving the vacationing twosome back to their rental digs on one of the hills overlooking Marina Palmira. The view was spectacular and the house, built on the very edge of this hill, most interesting. Altogether another wonderful evening in paradise.