03/16/2010, Is that possible?
I'm tired and my eyes hurt from looking at the computer screen for most of the day working on technical equipment write-ups. Who's crazy idea was it to try and do some work while out cruising in the first place? I did manage a little nap while another Bakersfield native (Fred from SV Aunt Sur) came by to use our internet connection. I laid down in the v-berth studying USCG regs and when I woke-up, Fred was gone. So I can't really say how long I was out or how long he used our internet connection, but I have felt tired for days now, ever since the trip from Barra to Las Hadas, Manzanillo.
I'm fortunate that I'm getting a great high speed WiFi signal here because my TelCel Banda Ancha card is having what appears to be a typical issue. Every 30 days you need to send in a text message to the system to activate your next 30 days of usage. If you don't then the system defaults to charging you a rate per minute which can eat up several months of prepaid internet credit in a matter of days! I'm not able to send the text message, so I'm not using the card and will make a trip into a TelCel store sometime Tuesday to begin what I'm sure will be an all day affair, but it will at least give me a good excuse to go into town, and if I time it right, find a nice little taco stand for lunch!
Las Hadas will be our farthest point south this season before we head back up into the Sea of Cortez for another hurricane season and without a doubt, this place will leave a great impression and memory of the best the Mexican Gold Coast has to offer. The weathers fabulous, the views are stunning, and there is every service and product available that you could want or need only a buss ride away. Having met a few cruisers that make this area their yearly winter home makes perfect sense after seeing what this place has to offer. My impression of the so-called Mexican Gold Coast got off to, shall we say a, rocky start with the poor La Cruz anchorage, but it's been redeemed with Tenacatita and now Las Hadas. However, I must admit to a little feeling of unexplained uneasiness or slight feeling of being unsettled in the last few days and weeks. At first I thought it was the area, but I can still feel it even here in what can honestly be described as "paradise". Maybe it lingering questioning of our decision to spend another summer in the Sea of Cortez rather than continuing to points south or maybe it's just some type of general cruise bla.
Nothing is really broken at the moment (at least that I know of) so the to-do-list is pretty empty. There is the dingy wheel that turned into a pretzel the other day during a beach landing that needs fixing and then there are some items that have been on the list for so long I could just as easily erase them form the list as do them. But all in all, things are going great I'm just tired and worn out and it's the first time I've felt like this in our now 18 months of cruising. I'm sure the "Fun" I'll have at the TelCel store will help, but at least it will give me a chance to try and explain a technical issue in Spanish! But what ever Tuesday might bring, it's Blackberry Margarita night at the bar overlooking the anchorage, so come 1700hrs local time, everything will be going Great!
| Cruising Mexico 2010 |
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Comments [4]
03/14/2010, A Trip to Wal*Mart
Taking a major provisioning trip to the grocery store is often an all day family affair while out cruising. First it's getting there, then there's the taxi or buss ride back to the marina, the loading and unloading of the dingy, and then the mess of finding a place for everything. This was our day, and as I sit here at 2134hrs with the rest of the crew sleeping, piles of food are still laying around the boat. We haven't been to what many would consider a Supermarket since we left Mazatlan on December 21st, so our trip to Wal*Mart here in Manzanillo, was as much entertainment as it was to restock the boat. We were out of most of the basics and it definitely showed by the size of our grocery bill! Standing in the Manzanillo Wal*Mart, you could close your eyes, spin around, click your heals together, and when you open your eyes believe that you were back home. The Wal*Marts are just as big, just as cluttered with stuff you really don't need, while having the "lowest prices in town". Just from the length of the receipt, you can see why it took two shopping carts to carry all of our provisions. It's "groceries" when living on land, but to make it sound more cool, we cruisers call our groceries, "provisions". And rather than going grocery shopping, we go provisioning, which does make it sound more exciting doesn't it!
We spent a total of $198.91 with our most expensive purchase being $25.77 for a 7.08lb block of Mozzarella cheese. I'm sure there are local cheeses that perhaps are just as good and at rock bottom prices, but everyone has their weakness, and this Italian boy's is needing REAL cheese to melt on our home made Pizzas! All in all, food prices are lower here in Mexico (quite lower) than they are back in the States; however, if you must have your American brand and style of food, then get ready to add perhaps a 1/3 to 1/2 more to your food costs, as our Mozzarella cheese example shows!
With a trip back to the States planned for this June, we are already making a shopping list of things to carry back that are either too expensive down here, or just flat out impossible to find:
Skippy Chunky Peanut butter (10 jars)
Fennel Spice (for home made Italian Sausage)
Real Butter (another 12lbs)
Brown Sugar
Soft Scrub cleaner
Costco Mozzarella and cheddar cheese
Powered Parmesan Cheese
Pepperoni sticks
REAL Q-tips (holy smokes, the ones down here are like putting a needle in your ear)
Costco olive Oil
Black Olives
| Cruising Mexico 2010 |
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03/13/2010, In the heart of the Mexican Gold Coast
After as less than stellar trip form the Barra Lagoon to Las Hadas in Manzanillo Bay getting the anchor down and having this view was a welcomed sight. Today was the first day I can remember that all four of THIRD DAY's crew was slightly sea sick! There was a NW and SW swell rolling today making the sea a confuzed mess.
Looking around at Las Hada makes you feel like you left Mexico and are anchored somewhere in the Med! This for sure is the Mexican Gold Coast. One of the grand resorts is having a big wedding tonight so the boats in the anchorage have been warned that a fireworks show will be going on above our heads at 2130hrs tonight, talk about a welcome!
| Cruising Mexico 2010 |
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