Missing family =(

Here it is the day after Thanksgiving. Larry and I had a very pleasant time with around 250 (!) other cruisers at a really yummy dinner.  The Club Cruceros provided turkey and gravy and cruisers brought individual side dishes. Marina Palmira where we are docked graciously provided tables with white linen cloths and we had a glorious if breezy day to enjoy.  As you can imagine there was a huge variety of stuffing, sweet potatoes, casseroles, salads and breads not to mention an enormous table covered with every sweet one could wish for including, I'm guessing, 15 to 20 pumpkin pies. As a volunteer I had been assigned to "man" the dessert table and was happy to preview if not taste test all of the goodies. Fortunately friends "saved us" a place and we had a most enjoyable afternoon. And like good Americans everywhere, yes, we over ate!
But despite the nice get together I was a bit lonely. We are a blended family and like others we have gone separate ways and also lost family members over the years; yet throughout these years we developed and then amended traditions.  Recently it has been my pleasure to be cook's assistant (o.k., dishwasher/dryer) to our daughter's mother-in-law as she expertly cooks an enormous holiday dinner for whatever family is available to come.  Besides the wonderful side dishes and  desserts she makes a very special macaroni and cheese dish for the vegetarians in the family.  It's so good that the carnivores always dip into it as well. Thanks S, I missed you this year!

Family gathering in Florida

Although our adult children and grandchildren are spread out (Philadelphia, the Cotswolds in  England, and the Raleigh area of N. Carolina) we have in the past spent holidays with some if not all of them.  I missed seeing them this year. We talked to a few of them, but it's not the same.  

2006

I'm happy to be in La Paz, but that doesn't diminish the pull on my heart strings. I miss the smiles, the hugs, the MIMI!'s, the smells of holiday cooking (yes, even the vegetarian misses the smell of turkey cooking) and the laughter.
Maybe next year....

Getting into the groove...

I haven't written recently as it seems nothing terribly exciting has happened. That's not to say we are not having a great time.

And I'm going to get out of here.....how?

"Wish I'd bought a bigger boat!"

Larry continues with projects, in particular installation of a new wind generator and an updated radar and GPS system, and they are near completion. So many of these projects are very slow going as Larry has to climb into tight places to remove old wiring and install new. Wiring for the radar is quite thick and over 40' long and it took a full day of pushing and pulling (with a little help from the first mate), often moving a bare eighth of an inch at a time, to get it through the steel tubing. Still, we are making progress and that's what counts.And it isn't all work. There is just about as much social life as one could want here in La Paz, between Club Cruceros activities and the steady stream of festivals and activities within the city. For racing fans you might be interested to know that the Baja 1000 finished here in La Paz with  Mexican winner for the first time in, I believe, 43 years. Very exciting and very, very noisy!
Yesterday morning we went to a seminar on sailing to El Salvador (hopefully a destination next spring), then back to the boat to get items to "trade for coconuts" at a boaters' swap meet, then on to Walmart, yes Walmart, to shop for the week, then back to the boat where we welcomed our new next boat neighbors over on deck for drinks and a snack, then on up to the Dinghy Dock Restaurant for a bite to eat with our new friends.  Altogether we had a full day and finally climbed into our bed at 10:00 p.m., a late night for us!
I continue to take Zumba classes three times a week, the most fun I have ever had while exercising, and to ride my bike. And of course there are regular household duties such as cooking, cleaning and laundry as well as the more unusual things such as filling the water tanks and playing assistant to whichever hat Larry is wearing at the time: mechanic, plumber, computer genius! I think we are both finding it a full and fulfilling life and each day zips by.
In the meantime we want to wish all our stateside friends a very happy Thanksgiving.  Of course we will miss seeing friends and family over the holiday but we will get to have a full Thanksgiving dinner put on by Club Cruseros and that looks to be a lot of fun. I had planned to make a pecan pie as my donation but so far have been unable to find pecans, which is academic as I have discovered my oven has "hot spots" and I don't want to inflict a partially burned pie on my new friends; perhaps pumpkin squares with cream cheese icing...mmmmmmm.
Until next time...hopefully to tell you about our first sailing adventure....

Red tape...

Some time ago I wrote, with confidence, that we were heading to the local immigration office to get our "green cards," actually our temporary foreign resident cards.  Apparently red tape is the same the world over, because here it is three weeks later (and about $400.00 USD poorer)  and we are finally, officially, card carrying Temporary Foreign Residents.
After two visits to the Mexican Consulate in  Orlando, many hours of paperwork which resulted in a two inch thick file folder, fingerprints and multiple (bad) pictures, and about $250.00 each, we thought our FM3's (temporary resident visas) were in perfect order. We were told all we would have to do is "check in" at the La Paz immigration office within thirty day of arrival.
When we went to the office some three weeks ago there were only a few people there and we got to the front of the line fairly quickly.  Once there it became apparent that our Spanish was not up to the task as the officer looked at our visas and began telling us what we would have to do.  He turned the computer screen our way and kindly clicked through a number of pages to show us the process, but again, it was all in Spanish and way above our level of understanding.
      A quick aside: this is, after all, Mexico, and I don't think that the locals should learn my language in order to accomodate me. That being said, it was obvious that we were going to need some assistance and fortunately we knew right where to go.  There is a small business in Marina de La Paz which caters to gringos like us and will, for a fee, walk you through the paperwork and legalities. This is the same office that helped us long distance with our temporary import license which listed EVERY item, in Spansh, that we were bringing into the country. Of course there was another fee (we're still not sure exactly what for although we have an official receipt) and then we waited for an appointment.
Today was the day and we met with Salvador from Eco Naveria, who speaks perfect English as well as Spanish and understands the ins and outs of immigration. After about an hour wait we went to the desk, signed papers, had our fingerprints taken -again - and then received our laminated temporary resident cards.  I thought they should have given me a little Mexican flag, too, but no such luck.
Thanks to our new friend Salvador we got our cards, good for a year and renewable, as well as park passes and fishing licenses.
Maybe it's being retired, maybe it's the laid back atmosphere, but situations such as this no longer stress me and I find them more interesting then aggravating :).

Food! the Super Burro

I'd had a morning filled with way too much exercise (a bike ride, a zumba class and a yoga class), so Larry was kind enough to pick me up at Marina de La Paz and I went with him as he did a bit of shopping for boat stuff. We went to nearly ten shops looking for a particular spark plug to no avail and finally gave up when our growling stomachs told us it was way past lunch time.
We opted to get fuel and a good washing for the car before going back to the boat.  There was a considerable wait for the car wash so we decided to go across the street for something to eat at Super Burro. This was our first time at this establishment although there are a number of them around town. We sat on stools at an outside counter; I had two small quesadillas (no meat, please) and Larry had the super burro, an embarassingly ginormous burrito with beans and steak cubes.  There must have been at least a pound of meat on that burrito and it was, I swear, a foot and a half long.  Larry called it delicious and said it was probably so good because the burro was free range.  He also reminded me that he only had one burrito whereas I had eaten two quesadillas.
One of the things I found annoying about cruisers tales, on DVD or in book or internet form, was the constant reference to food.  "Don't they ever think about anything else?", I'd ask  Larry.  "When we move on the the boat," I assured him,"food just won't be all that important to me." Ha!  Maybe it's the air, maybe it's the delicious Mexican food but whatever it is I have become a food talker, too.

Chilaquilles, potatoes, frijoles, fresh o.j. coffee and of course, tortillas.

From the time we get up in the morning we start discussing our food options for the day.  Will it be coffee, bacon, eggs and sliced tomatoes with tortillas and o.j. eaten on the deck or do we have some business in la centenario which will take us by La Cocina de Maria where we can get the best chilaquilles, superb coffee,  a hot sauce that will burn the inside of your mouth  and eggs cooked exactly the way you like them?  We discuss options in detail and, because any one of the options would be fine with both of us, we come to an agreement with ease.  Now when I talk with adult offspring in other parts of the world I always mange to turn the conversation to my last meal and how good it was.  Honestly, I have actually taken pictures of plates of food!
I don't know if this makes us more a part of the cruising community or not, but it is indeed a way of life for us now, too.

Shopping in Mexico

Grocery shopping in Mexico presents its own challenge.  Other than the marina store and a multitude of local tiendas there are several major supermarkets in our area of La Paz, all of which bear some resemblance to Publix or Winn Dixie in the S.E. states.  We have a new WalMart supercenter, Ley's, Soriana's, CCC's and Armbruro's.  Many of these stores have pharmacias within the store, but don't look for OTC eye drops, contact lens solution, facial products or other such goodies as may be found either in Publix or Walgreens.  I'm sure they are here somewhere, but still haven't found all of them.
The strange thing for me is finding bras and panties on the aisle next to laundry detergent and thousand dollar fishing poles at the end of the beer aisle.  Still, we have managed, with electronic translator in hand, to find almost everything we want and certainly all that we need.  Apparently my translator goofed when it comes to "yeast." Whenever I give them the Spanish word clerks simply shake their heads, shrug their shoulders and, I'm pretty sure, make the loco sign when my back is turned.  Consequently I've not yet baked bread which is somewhat of a disappointment to Larry. I'm sure there is yeast to be found somewhere here in La Paz and for now I will just enjoy the hunt.
Oddly enough, one of the household chores I've always enjoyed is shopping for food and then putting everything away when I get home; I guess it's knowing that the pantry is full that gives me satisfaction.
On a sailboat the challenge is two fold: first where do I put all of the dry goods, and secondly how do I make all of the vegetables and fruits safe to eat.  Although Milagro is spacious for a boat of its size it is still a problem finding room for foodstuff.  In Florida I often bought in bulk but here I can barely find room for 1 extra pound of coffee or a 12 pack of diet Coke. This is something I have to work on as when we cruise I'll be stocking for weeks and maybe even months!

After washing and disinfecting...don't they look fabulous?

Secondly, not only the "retiring in Mexico" books, but local cruisers as well suggest strongly that all fresh items be cleaned in the following manner before ingesting.  Each item should be washed with a few drops of detergent and then rinsed in running water.  Then they are to be soaked for 30 minutes in large bowls of "safe" water to which either a recomended amount of disinfectant drops or chlorine bleach has been added.
So far the extra steps have proven effective.  Larry's answer is to eat fewer vegetables as they are hardly his favorite, but for me they are the best part of any meal so the effort is worthwhile.
At first when we shopped we simply pushed a handful of pesos toward the clerk and hoped she gave us proper change.  By now we are better at comprehending Spanish numbers and currency, and we know how many pesos exchange for an American dollar, so we are a bit more savvy.
Each shopping trip is an adventure as we meet new people, learn more vocabulary and see more and more of the city.

2 sailors…not sailing…yet



The whole purpose of being on a sailboat is…to sail.  I would probably be happy using Milagro as a floating house and never untie the dock lines.  But Larry loves the sea and blue water sailing and the agreement we have is to sail,  out to the islands, up into the Sea of Cortez and then on to the South Pacific. Yet so far the dock lines remain tied.

There are a lot of reasons for this. Right after arriving in La Paz I became ill (let’s just say my digestive system had not yet acclimated to local food and water) and remained pretty much incapacitated for that first week. When I began to feel better it became necessary to clean up the inside of the boat, then locate and move our personal belongings (sheets, towels, dishes, pots and pans, flatware and cooking utensils as well as clothing, toiletries and, of prime importance, Buddi’s cage) from the trailer to the boat.



Dining table during plumbing period.



That done we discovered shortcomings in the water system and Larry spent days installing a new water pump, a new sump for the shower, and a backup bilge pump as well as what seems like miles of marine pipe in all sorts of hard-to-get-to places.  Now there is a new GPS system to be installed in the new navpod, as well as adjustments made to the radar.  We need to work out what needs to be done to get the water maker working and, frankly, I don’t know what else.

Feeding the captain!

My jobs include care and feeding of

the captain, keeping everything ship shape, swabbing the decks (no kidding, I really do swab the decks), finding and handing the proper tools to the captain, and shopping for food and other necessities. And yes, it keeps me busy, although I still find time read, take a zumba class and watch the occasional DVD (we don’t have TV. hookup here so we don’t even watch Spanish television.)

So for those friends and family who are asking, “Are the 2 sailors ever going to sail?” the answer is yes…soon…we hope…we’ll let you know.

ZUMBA!

Zumba instructor on the right, her lovely daughter on the left

November 6^th

Zumba. I had an opportunity to try Zumba in Tequesta when invited by a library patron to join a class last year.  I opted out thinking it might be too strenuous for my then 64 year young body and on the advice of my spinal surgeon that I not engage in high impact anything!

Well, many months and a few pounds later I decided to try a class which is about 1 km from our marina and I’m so happy that I did.

Zumba is an aerobic workout of dance moves set to Latin rhythms.  One can do a low impact version and still get a sweat drenching workout.

Zumba instructor silhouetted against Bahia de La Paz

 Our instructor is a gorgeous 30 something who speaks English.  The setting is a large room right on the edge of the bay with enormous California style windows on three sides that open to let in the wonderful ocean breeze. The workout is challenging but fun as well and an hour passes very quickly.  All this for 250 pesos a month or less than $2 per class.  I can bike to the class and have a coffee or smoothie after at Freak Dog Café which is right next door. 

I love La Paz!

Mas grande burrito de monde

November 4^th

Yesterday we experienced La Paz’s efforts to build a 2.6 km long burrito which would best the current record (whatever that may be) in Guinness book of World Records.  I kid you not!

At midnight on Tuesday police closed off the Pichulingue which runs along the Malecon and dozens of local restaurants began lining up tables which would run 2.6 km down the main thoroughfare, We rode bikes there (with Larry carrying Buddi in her backpack) around 10:00 a.m. to find a crowd beginning to gather A truck was moving ever so slowly down the street, pushing out dough to make the gigantic tortilla while chefs in full whites, masks and plastic gloves covered it with plastic wrap.  The whole spectacle made us laugh but it was taken quite seriously and guarded by local police, navy guys in spiffy whites with batons and federales with AK47’s!  Guinness staff members in official red polos rode back and forth the on backs of Harleys driven by guys who could only be Mexican Outlaws.  The locals were as amused as we were.

We stayed about four hours enjoying the festivities, but the burrito was not completed until 7:30 or so, after the restaurant staff filled and rolled it.  We went back around 8:00 to see what was happening but it was so crowded we couldn’t get close and finally gave up before learning the outcome.

I’m hoping that the burrito, whatever the outcome, was put to good use feeding the hungry.  On the other hand, who wants to eat a burrito that’s been sitting outside in the hot sun for 12+ hours.

First trip on the water

Sunday, October 31^st

Still having problems with wifi connection.  Neither desktop nor laptop will connect 90% of the time.  We can get in occasionally, and then it drops off right in the middle of an email.  We spent the morning working on that and then gave up, frustrated.

It was a beautiful day so we decided to get on the water in our dinghy.

Captain Larry pilots our dinghy, named TTFN, around Costa Baja Marina

  First we needed to give it a bath; after 5,300 miles and several weeks in a dusty parking lot it was, well, filthy. An hour later it was clean and we backed it down the marina ramp and into the water.

What a wonderful afternoon. The sun was shining and a stiff breeze was blowing. The bay was a bit choppy but still a pleasant ride.We went all the way south to Marina de La Paz and the naval installation, then out to the Magote and in and among the moored boats, then north to Costa Baja…altogether a 3 hour ride. Our new Suzuki engine ran like a champ and the dinghy held up well after its road trip.  It was really fun and so good to be “on the water” and away from chores for awhile. We hope to get everything immediately necessary installed and secured by next week (?) and then head out, on Milagro, to one of the island anchorages recommended to us.