The Revenge of La Cruz

Ok, Ok, I am back with the living and back to the blog. We last left you all as we were coming into Sayulita to throw the anchor out and catch a couple of waves before we headed to Punta Mita to anchor for the night. We ran out of diesel just as we were going to make a very tricky anchor drop and that meant that I was going to have to bleed the fuel injectors to get the engine restarted before we made a most ungraceful landing on the beach with the twenty thousand pound Rocinante. I won't bore you with the details but to say all went well and we got the engine re-started in time and my diesel mechanic status is intact.

We did manage to paddle from the boat and into a couple of nice waves before it was time to weigh anchor and get to Punta Mita before dark. We were hoping to find more waves at Punta Mita but alas the surf gods were not smiling on us quite yet. Punta Mita is the beginning of Banderas Bay which is best known for the city of Puerta Vallarta. It is a small town and we of course had to try out some of the local tacos, guacamole and cevice. It was excellent.

The next day we repositioned about 12 miles south to an anchorage outside the La Cruz Marina where there were fifty plus boats on the hook. We dinghyed in and met up with some friends that we had met along the way. La Cruz is a very friendly town with a fair amount of gringos and lots of restaurants and some good music. It was at a Gringo restaurant that I came upon the "Revenge".

To make a very unpleasant story short, I was sicker than the proverbial dog for the better part of a week... the good news is that I lost several pounds. It is here that I want to digress and talk briefly about the health care system in Mexico. After a couple of days, I knew that it was time to go and see a doctor and get some drugs to relieve my symptoms. Upon visiting the harbormaster, he personally called the doctor in town to make sure he was in. He was willing to come to the boat, but I elected to make the walk into town to see him and so Chris and I made the short journey into town. The doctor's office was in the middle of town and was attached to a small pharmacy with living quarters upstairs. I was greeted by the doctor personally and he ushered Chris and I into his small office/exam room and shut the door. He proceeded to have me lie on the table while he poked and prodded and asked all of the usual questions. He quickly came to the conclusion that I had a bacterial intestinal infection or something to that effect and he prescribed three prescriptions that were immediately filled next door. Total time with the doctor and the pharmacy equaled under a half an hour. The cost for the doctor's visit was 250 pesos, which is approximately 20 dollars (less than my co-pay at Kaiser, not to mention the $600/month membership) and the three prescriptions were another 20 dollars (again less than my drug co-pay at Kaiser) and to top it all off there was no waiting at all to see the doctor or to get the prescription filled. Can you imagine this same scenario in Marin County??? OMG...I would still be waiting to see the doctor and I don't even want to think of the cost!!! Ok, Ok, don't get me started... No wonder so many American's are now seeking their health care in Mexico instead of the U.S.
Well, I have about worn out the keyboard for today, but I will try to get you the real scoop on how much fun we are having now and where we are... Maῆana.

P.S. The real meaning of Maῆana is "not today, but not necessarily tomorrow".