Shadow is still with us.
10 February 2010 | Puerto Escondido--buoy 106
Cloudy
As I said in our last post, we are now in Puerto Escondido safely on a mooring buoy. Number 106 to be exact. There are only 14 boats in the entire harbor(149 mooring balls available). Almost 30 are sitting outside the harbor on anchor in the "Waiting Room". They pay a lot less being out there. Yes, anyway you look at it, they get their money. At anchor or on a buoy, you pay Mexico. Don't believe some of the books. If on a buoy, you pay about $13.00 a day and while on your own anchor, you pay about $1.00 per day. You do pay extra for some other services while at anchor that a mooring doesn't. We opted for the buoy since there is another big blow headed our way and due in here by tomorrow morning.
Yesterday, we had planned to have Shadow put to sleep, but when we went to get him, he kicked up such a fuss about being put in the carrier, we decided to leave him alone. Over the past 3-5 days, he has made a rather remarkable comeback for what he had slipped too. He's eating and drinking again and will even jump up on the settees and sit in your lap. For the past week or so, he just laid there on a mat up near the bow of the boat and wouldn't eat or drink for 3-4 days. Now, he is back to what he was. Don't know what caused the improvement, but he is still kicking just fine. In the past, when it came time to take care of one of our cats, they just laid there and had no problem being put in their carrier and taken to the vet. Not this time. He is clearly not ready to go.
So instead, we hitched a ride into town with Dale and Linda off Moxey. They're the same folks we met in San Diego and helped us a few weeks ago during our first stop here. We planned to stop at the local vet--doubles as a pet food store-- and see if he would give us the necessary medication to do the job ourselves when Shadow's time comes. After doing some re-provisioning(bought more food), we stopped by the vets--he was closed for the afternoon siesta. Yeah, that happens all the time down here. Open at 0900, close at 1200, open again about 1500 and close about 1800. It is just the way of life down here. Sometimes a restaurant will be open and sometimes they will just close for a few days. It's not like it is back home. They march to a different, more relaxed way of life down here.
Once our shopping was done, we headed back to Escondido and ferried all the supplies back to Zephyr. We found that the line that attaches the bow to the buoy had gotten wrapped again around the buoy, so with Tracy at the bow and me in the dingy, I slowly tried to unwrap it. That didn't work, so I simply slipped the line from the buoy and retied it. Tracy pulled up on the line to make it tighter to the bow and now there is no chance of it wrapping again. I had to take a swim last time we left here and I really don't want to do that again.
Once the line was clear, I took off for the dingy dock with three of our gasoline jerry cans to get them refilled. If we had taken Zephyr over, it would have cost us an additional 20% on top of the fuel price. It's the same with filling up your tanks with diesel. A 20% surcharge can dig a hole in you wallet. Imagine going to your filling station and getting gas for your car and having them add 20% to your bill because you came in your car. I got the three tanks filled and carried them back to the dingy dock and loaded them on and returned to Zephyr. Tracy was ready with the block and tackle that we use to hoist Dragon(our 8hp out board)so the lifting was easy. While I was gone, Tracy stowed all the supplies we had picked up while in town so Zephyr was all ship shape again.
It has been cloudy here for the last day or so and is still overcast today. We are apparently in some sort of trough of weather that has allowed the clouds to come South for a change. Of well, there can't be sunshine everyday.
Today is my birthday!!! I finally hit 30(yeah, right-mentally maybe)It started with me baking some more French Bread. While the dough was rising, I went up the mast to retrieve the forestaysail halyard the came detached on our trip down from Bahia Concepcion. We slipped the bosuns chair onto the main halyard line and with Tracy at the winch with our Milwaukee drill, up I went. We bought this Milwaukee 90 degree drill when we were first in Newport, Oregon. With a bit from Winch Bit(it fits right in the top of the winch) it make all of our winches electric. Really helps out when the arms aren't strong enough or the winch isn't powerful enough. I danced around the rigging as I went up till I was at the spreaders and grabbed the line and lowered it back to the deck where Tracy fastened it to the life line. The shackle had simply come undone. Down I came(slowly) and on to the next project--I changed out the shackle for a better one on the forestaysail halyard(no reason to go back up if I don't have to). Tracy took off for the laundry leaving me on board to continue with the French bread and other projects.
The dough got punched and shaped into loaves. I forgot to cut the recipe in half(small oven) so we will be having MUCH BIGGER loaves. The oven will only hold one baking pan at a time. While the loaves went through their rising phase, I put on the mainsail cover and the covers for the winches and worked on the internet for a short time.
Once the loaves were ready, in they went and that is where we are now. Waiting for them to be done. About another 30 minutes. I sure hope they don't overflow the pan as they bake. Tracy should be back soon so we can have lunch. With the storm due here tomorrow morning, we want to make sure we are all battened down. The last one(winds to 60mph) caught several boats unprepared. They may forecast 30 knot winds but if you believe the weather people, I have some land down here I love to sell you.
Over the next few days, I'll post some new photos as the internet allow. We actually have a pretty good connection even out here on the buoy. Much better than the last time.
As always, stay tuned, there is more to come.