Across the Gulf of California towards San Blas
23 December 2008 | San Blas, Nayarit, MX - The Estuary
Virginia

A couple of our friends have blessed us with wishes of "God Speed." It is a lovely old fashioned phrase that makes me think of flying capes and secret, sealed parchment, kind of Three Musketeersy and romantic.
This little boat is romantic in her own way, with her kerosene lamps, pin rails and tarred rigging. Speedy she is not. Amongst the other cruisers going our way we have developed somewhat of a tortoise persona; as in the Aesop's fable "The Tortoise and the Hare." Slow and steady wins the race. We leave port they catch up and pass us as they wave gaily from their bigger faster boats. Funny thing is that with all that can break down on a large boat with complicated systems we have found that we are seldom the last ones into the next port. We have no electric pumps to clog up or multiple fuel tanks to switch and her size makes sailing Mandy less intimidating for a shorthanded (two person) crew. Don't get me wrong, we will have our share of mishaps, but we are thankful at this early stage in the cruising game that it will all be in slow motion.
One of the systems we do not have on Mandy is a dedicated place to shower. We use what is a very pleasant method of getting clean, especially in the warm climate we are in here. We go for a swim, then we use one of the solar shower bags we brought to shampoo and wash etc in the cockpit area which is a perfect little square tub for the job. Everything on the boat has to have at least two uses and the cockpit is no exception. Anyway, recently the cockpit has looked as though a dog just had a bath in it - with clumps of hair stuck to the sides and in the drain holes. We both needed haircuts badly and the day before yesterday we were discussing where and how to go about that process, one option being to have a go at each others hair with the scissors.
Today is Winter Solstice. We visited the little town of San Blas, it was Sunday and we expected to find everything closed up. When we arrived in the plaza at the center of town we were pleasantly surprised that it was full of life and anything but sleepy. I sat in the shade for a while watching all the activity, mostly local families enjoying the day together before Christmas week. In the center of the plaza was a large band stand where a woman seemed to be busy doing something while several people sat around watching her. There were signs up nearby and as I sat I began to translate the sign which announced, low and behold "Haircuts - Gratis, Saturday and Sunday 9.00 until 12.00" I laughed and called Richard over and we took our place amongst all the waiting customers while the student hairdresser practiced her craft. We tipped her and signed her client list for her diploma, very happy to have found a way out of the pending butchery. Life sometimes just works out that way.