This is an expression we hear from folks back home, so figured it was time to write an entry or two with this title. Many dream of tossing it all in and hitting the road, or in our case, the sea lanes. Hanging out in Mexico is certainly blissful for the most part, with primarily warm, sunny weather (El Niño notwithstanding), deserted beaches - but with palapas selling $1 beers or $4 margaritas - and great food.
So far we have not felt any threat to either our property (with the exception of Cabo San Lucas) or ourselves. In fact the Mexican people we have met have been super friendly and helpful, and rarely do we feel we have been charged "tourist" prices for anything. There is no apparent signs of the drug related gang warfare that hits the headlines back home, nor is there any sign of panic or fear of the H1N1 "swine" flu. The only possible evidence of health precautions is that all the supermarket staff who handle food wear gloves and masks - and maybe this is standard practice anyway. And internal security is limited to the occasional pick-up truck loaded with soldiers packing some serious hardware.
The food is great, and although our preference for dining out are the street taco stands, touch wood we have not suffered from Montezuma's revenge in any meaningful way. The boys are brave enough to use the most picante of the sauces that are presented, and we have even invested in picante soy sauce to liven up the rice we eat on board. The yoghurt is divine, and fortunately, the drinking yoghurt is realistically priced. Maybe the Mexican dairy industry is not protected at the expense of consumers the way the Canadian hobby-farm dairy industry is. Fresh fruit and meat seem to be genuinely fresh, especially when purchased from the market, and judging by the flavor, we'd swear that all the chicken is free range.
Needless to say, we are still hanging out in Las Hadas - although we do have plans to head back up the coast as soon as the weather is agreeable. Last night, an abnormal low pressure system touched down slightly north of our anchorage, and for a while we had a gusty SE straight into the anchorage, followed 2 hours later by a dramatic 120 degree shift to the SW. Apparently 3 boats near us dragged anchor, likely as a result of the sudden wind shift. Rumour has it one boat clocked a gust at 37 kts. It also bucketed rain all night, and for most of today (February 3), so it really did feel like being back home. We have stayed here a few days longer, partly to catch a soccer game on Sunday afternoon. Finding the "stadium" was a challenge - take the R2 bus, get off at the 2nd dirt track through the banana plantation, and walk for 10 minutes. We were rewarded with an exciting professional 3rd division match, with the local Club Americas de Manzanillo thumping their opponents 5-1. The local team is a farm team for the 1st Division Club Americas team. We walked a different way home, stopping at Walmart for a few provisions, and were surprised t be met by Boxing Day Sale sized crowds, as it seems that half of Manzanillo visit Walmart late on a Sunday evening.