Hi all, well its rather hot down here at the moment, 30C with 90% humidity. It brutal at mid day and was hard for the first few days but we are just now getting use to it. Jan had a tough go at first but she is managing better at now. ( wet tee shirt allll the time). Been working hard on the boat to get her ready to go by the weekend, there is beautiful and deserted islands nearby with white sand beaches just beckoning us to come and play, but not yet we can’t. Lots of cleaning, we found a bit of mold in a couple of cupboards so we took absolutely everything out of every cupboard and cubbyhole ( Maiatla has soooooo many) and cleaned and used an anti-fungi agent. Been nuking the boat so much with agent orange that I would have had concerns about becoming sterile… that is if I werent already. We also did a major boat provisioning by taxi for the trip down the coast which included beer and Mexican chicken. For those who are used to north American style chicken, down here it has a yellow color and that is what its supposed to look like before force feeding of crap to hens cooped up in a barns, as seems to be the way up north. I also took on a co-captain to accompany us along this perilous coast. A quiet fellow from the Caribbean that often stands with one leg raised up, perched on one thing or another... funny hat with a feather. I have sailed with in the past. A strong headed fellow but for the most part, we seem to get along quiet well, but I must admit that he has, in the past, been responsible for some of my more infamous decisions. . So as a result, I will keeping him about to consult only with from time to time but he will not be permitted to take full command. His name is Captain Morgan. Everything is always an adventure down here as our trip back from the grocery store, which entailed flagging down a taxi pickup truck for the ride home with all our purchases. It may not sound too scary until you remember that few- if any people have taken a drivers test to get a license- if you have 300 pesos you BUY a license and hit the road- no exam, no booklet for the rules of the road and here, a “Alto” sign (stop sign) is a mere suggestion and only comes into play if (and when) there is an accident to assign blame. Dinner tonight was pizza and beer at a canteen overlooking the Marina Mazatlan and the Pacific Ocean. Then after sunset it was back to the boat to check emails and get ready for bed. …beats working for a living. More later. Andy and Jan of Maiatla in Mazatlan Mexico- Panama Bound. Pics are : loading groceries into truck/taxi. Our cruiser friends from Salem Oregon- Mark and Kathy of Sweet Chariot and me so scared of the way our driver was speeding along that I asked my old friend Capitan Morgan for help! ( Not really but I sure thought about it). oh and yes Jan cleaning up in the galley after dinner. well thats it.
Posted on: Tue, 12 Nov 2013 04:23:21 +0000