Among the projects on my list while alongside in Puerto Vallarta was to clean-out the bilges. This is never a pleasant task, and it is one I had been putting off for quite a while, but with Edi away to Vancouver, this was a good time to attack it. The bottom of Sequitur's main bilge is about 1.1 metres below the level of the cabin sole, and it is into here that all her other bilges drain.
Condensation from the fridges and freezers eventually ends-up here, as does any condensation on the inside of the hull, as well as the inevitable spillage of grey water when cleaning the filters in the shower sump pumps. In addition, there is a bit of unavoidable spillage when cleaning the sea water strainers for the engine and generator cooling water intakes, and there is always a small amount let in when popping out the speed and log transducer in order to clean it of barnacles. All this water makes its way to the lowest point of the bilge.
Nobody has yet designed a sump pump that will remove the last bit of water and leave a totally dry bilge; there is always a flow-back. Also, the float switch for the pump needs a certain depth of water to keep the pump on, and once the water level is no longer able to keep the switch on, the pump stops. What I am saying is that there will always be a shallow pool of water at the bottom of the bilge. This would not be so bad if the water were fresh and clean, but there is some sea water, and the micro-organisms in sea water very rapidly decompose into a sewer-like stench.
A more pleasant task was installing eyebrows above the opening portlights in the cabin sides. Because the sides of the cabin slope in, and because the portlights open inward, if they are open when it rains, it rains into the galley, the pantry and the after head. I had found some covers online last September, a week before we left Vancouver, and the order arrived the day before we sailed out. The box had sat in my to-do locker since then. We can now leave the six portlights open for ventillation and ignore the rain.
Among the reasons Edi had gone to Vancouver was to pick-up a starter relay for the generator. For one reason or another, its arrival was delayed, and Edi extended her stay until it arrived. She filled her waiting time by shopping for things to bring with her on her return flight. She picked-up the relay on Thursday afternoon and listed herself as stand-by on Thursday night's redeye to Montreal and on a connection to Puerto Vallarta from there early Friday morning.
She juggled a 55-kilogram train of luggage onto the Sky Train, made her flight to Montreal and after an early-morning dash through the terminal from her late arrival, made her stand-by connection to Puerto Vallarta. I walked over to the terminal from the marina and met her as she came out through Customs. We haggled-down a taxi rate and piled in for the short ride to the marina.
Among the things Edi had packed in her luggage were four beef tenderloin steaks from our favourite butcher. She had sealed these in a Lock-and-Lock container and they made it through Customs without a hitch. We thoroughly enjoyed one pair for dinner on Friday evening topped with bearnaise sauce and accompanied by gnocchi in a Portobello mushroom sauce and steamed asparagus with mayonnaise.
We spent most of Saturday shopping. First we took a bus to Walmart to pick-up a case of wine, a kilogram loaf of butter, three kilos of yogurt, three kilos of coffee, many cans of soup and tetrapaks of various things, such as salsa verde, sliced mushrooms and heavy cream. After lunch we took a bus to the Mega downtown to look at it and to transfer to another bus to take us to Costco. After 5750 Pesos, they let us out with a wonderful selection, which included such things as four kilos of boneless and skinless chicken breasts, a kilo of jumbo scallops, a kilo of jumbo prawns, four litres of artichoke hearts, two litres of sun-dried tomatoes, two kilos of crimini mushrooms, two kilos of asparagus, a dozen red, yellow and orange peppers, two dozen bagels, large blocks of gorgonzola, gruyere, brie and aged cheddar, three dozen cans of Tecate and a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Champagne.
We carefully packed our Costco haul into four large boxes and five large nylon/canvas bags, and then negotiated a taxi ride back to the marina for 60 pesos. After we had loaded it all aboard, unpacked it and sorted it into the fridges, freezers, pantry and storage lockers, in the early evening we took a bus into the downtown Mega to top-up our stock of fresh fruit and vegetables. We were back aboard shortly before 2100 after an all-day shopping spree that cost us 7,675 Pesos, about $625.
On Sunday we played tourist. We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast in the cockpit, with toasted bagels, cream cheese, smoked wild BC salmon and capers, washed down with cups of hot coffee. We took a bus downtown to the hotel district and then walked along the malecon. There are many wonderfully whimsical sculptures along here, such as this one of the stone-eating man turning to stone. Looks like you are what you eat.
Another interesting one is "In Search of Reason" with its pillow-headed characters ascending a ladder to the sky.
The grace, expression and fluidity of the dancers in this one caught our attention.
The broad malecon narrows as it enters the beach area, and the beaches begin to sprout a profusion of umbrellas, both cloth and thatched.
Under some of these, entrepreneurial cooks have set-up temporary kitchens that produce a wide variety of fare for the beach set. Much of the fare is grilled skewers of what-have-you, which are then toted around the beach by vendors.
This fellow was selling grilled lobster tails and was armed with a holster filled with your choice of sauce.
As we walked along, there was a traditionally-dressed mariachi group serenading a small gathering under the straw umbrellas.
We paused for an hour or so at a table at a beachside restaurant and had a couple of Coronas as we watched the passing scene. Then we walked back through the old town to the main plaza and the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadeloupe. The exterior is considerably more impressive than is the interior.
We continued walking northward, back to where we could catch a bus to the Soriana. The route we chose was a bit off the tourist track, and our surroundings were quite obviously of a different economic category. We bought a few poblanos and some cilantro at Soriana to top-off our pantry, and then caught a bus back to the marina. Its route went through some rather impoverished areas, not slums, but not far above. Even in an apparently prosperous place like Puerto Vallarta, Mexico's widespread poverty is very much in evidence. Once we take a few steps away from the thin veneer of tourist and snowbird developments along the beaches, the hills with views and other fashionable areas, and move through and beyond their layer of supporting infrastructure, the picture is not so pretty.
Back onboard Sequitur, we refreshed ourselves with some fresh blackberries and papaya with yogurt. Then we spent some time reorganizing the fridges and freezers. We have managed to fit almost everything in, leaving out only a dozen large coloured peppers, which are so fresh, they will do well for the day or two it takes to liberate space in one of the fridges.
Sunday evening's dinner was a celebration of Edi having sold her house, a celebration of our now being un-tethered from our old worlds, and a celebration of our being free to go and do as we please. For dinner I prepared tarragon chicken, and served it with basmati rice, crimini mushrooms in a cream and sauvignon blanc sauce and steamed asparagus with mayonnaise. With this we opened a bottle of Champagne Veuve Clicquot.
Our intention is to leave mid-day on Monday the 15th and head south stopping to anchor in Ipala, Isla Chamila and Careyes on our way to Tenacatita Bay. We will likely be without internet connection for several days, possibly a week.