December 19, 1997-A Day On My Own
Hi folks,
Yesterday I was awake at first light but I stayed in my bunk reading, until, looking through the aft hatch, I saw sunlight shining on the boat bringing it's welcome warmth after a cool night.
Judy is away for a while helping her sister in San Diego and I don't feel much need to have any kind of schedule, so I didn't move until 7:30 when I finally got up and walked to the veggie truck to buy some fresh bread and eggs.
The veggie truck driver charges a little more than I pay at the supermarket, but his stuff is very fresh, particularly the bread which is often still warm from the oven.
After eating breakfast and washing up I started on my project for the day: a sail belonging to another cruiser which needed a new leech tape sewed on. I worked on that sail all morning and it still wasn't done. It is hard work pushing and pulling a big genoa down through Wing's bow hatch and through the sewing machine to put on a new leech, and by noon the day had turned hot, with a clear sky and bright sun, even though rain was predicted, and I was sweaty and tired. I took a break and went over to Far Niente to see what Carl and Joann were doing.
They too had been hard at work on their own boat projects, and were ready for a beer, so we all sat down in the shade of their awning and took a breather. We drank our cold Pacifico’s and watched the activity in the marina.
Lots of boats should be coming and going these days, since the weather has calmed down from last week's northerly blow, and Far Niente's cockpit affords a front row seat for any action. Of course at noon on a hot day in Mexico things get a little subdued. In fact, in the heat and blindingly bright sunlight nobody seems to be moving anywhere, no boats coming in, just a few people shuffling along the quay with their big hats on and heads tilted down to shield their eyes from the sun.
Even sounds seem subdued at this time of day, so it was a very peaceful show we were observing.
Afterwards it was back to work and then in the early afternoon, just as I finally finished the job, Guillermo showed up and helped me fold the sail. We also folded one other big sail I'd worked on the previous day. We had a cold beer and talked a while. Guillermo is our bow man when we race here, and he works on Landfall, a big old wooden ketch owned by a guy from Acapulco. He likes to come by Wings where he thinks he can practice English while I practice my Spanish and we can talk about racing.
Neither Guillermo or I are too good at the other's language, but we get by, and besides, it is mostly an excuse to drink Pacifico's. Yesterday Guillermo talked about whether he would be able to finish the varnishing of Landfall's cabin sole before the owner shows up this weekend, he had one coat drying already, and he was worried about rain, since he had removed the floorboards and was varnishing them on deck.
I didn't know what to say, so we both shrugged our shoulders and took a long pull on our beers.
Then Guillermo told me about the discos he was going to most nights and we talked about music a little. He told me about a radio station in Mazatlan which plays a mix of Spanish music and modern US rock and roll, which I immediately tuned in; a nice find in my opinion.
After Guillermo left I showered and caught a bus to town. I'd been working long hours for the past week, hadn't taken time to shop, and I had no food on board. I wound up at the Central Market because that was where the first bus which came by took me and there I found most everything on my list except liquid dish soup (liquido para platos). Plus I was hungry and I'd decided to eat out rather than come home and cook, so I headed out in search for taco stands and a store which had dish soap.
I probably covered three miles wandering back and forth through the old town between the market and the beach and I found my dish soap as well as several good taco stands.
These stands sell small tacos for about $.50 and I sampled several. Usually I stand behind the crowd and watch what people order. Sometimes you have to order what you want by name, and I knew "Taco", "Gordito", "Vampiro", "Gringa" and some others. I usually stick with what I know, or if it looks good I just point.
Some places just have one item, and all you have to do is tell them how many. My favorite is a "Vampiro" which is a toasted corn taco with melted white cheese, charcoal grilled beef, and salsa. Yummy! Finally I caught a bus for home; it was 7:30 P.M. I watched Mexican TV for a while and at 10:00 P.M. I turned off the light. All in all it was a pretty nice day, but I still wish Judy was back.
Fred (by himself), SV Wings, Mazatlan
Yesterday I was awake at first light but I stayed in my bunk reading, until, looking through the aft hatch, I saw sunlight shining on the boat bringing it's welcome warmth after a cool night.
Judy is away for a while helping her sister in San Diego and I don't feel much need to have any kind of schedule, so I didn't move until 7:30 when I finally got up and walked to the veggie truck to buy some fresh bread and eggs.
The veggie truck driver charges a little more than I pay at the supermarket, but his stuff is very fresh, particularly the bread which is often still warm from the oven.
After eating breakfast and washing up I started on my project for the day: a sail belonging to another cruiser which needed a new leech tape sewed on. I worked on that sail all morning and it still wasn't done. It is hard work pushing and pulling a big genoa down through Wing's bow hatch and through the sewing machine to put on a new leech, and by noon the day had turned hot, with a clear sky and bright sun, even though rain was predicted, and I was sweaty and tired. I took a break and went over to Far Niente to see what Carl and Joann were doing.
They too had been hard at work on their own boat projects, and were ready for a beer, so we all sat down in the shade of their awning and took a breather. We drank our cold Pacifico’s and watched the activity in the marina.
Lots of boats should be coming and going these days, since the weather has calmed down from last week's northerly blow, and Far Niente's cockpit affords a front row seat for any action. Of course at noon on a hot day in Mexico things get a little subdued. In fact, in the heat and blindingly bright sunlight nobody seems to be moving anywhere, no boats coming in, just a few people shuffling along the quay with their big hats on and heads tilted down to shield their eyes from the sun.
Even sounds seem subdued at this time of day, so it was a very peaceful show we were observing.
Afterwards it was back to work and then in the early afternoon, just as I finally finished the job, Guillermo showed up and helped me fold the sail. We also folded one other big sail I'd worked on the previous day. We had a cold beer and talked a while. Guillermo is our bow man when we race here, and he works on Landfall, a big old wooden ketch owned by a guy from Acapulco. He likes to come by Wings where he thinks he can practice English while I practice my Spanish and we can talk about racing.
Neither Guillermo or I are too good at the other's language, but we get by, and besides, it is mostly an excuse to drink Pacifico's. Yesterday Guillermo talked about whether he would be able to finish the varnishing of Landfall's cabin sole before the owner shows up this weekend, he had one coat drying already, and he was worried about rain, since he had removed the floorboards and was varnishing them on deck.
I didn't know what to say, so we both shrugged our shoulders and took a long pull on our beers.
Then Guillermo told me about the discos he was going to most nights and we talked about music a little. He told me about a radio station in Mazatlan which plays a mix of Spanish music and modern US rock and roll, which I immediately tuned in; a nice find in my opinion.
After Guillermo left I showered and caught a bus to town. I'd been working long hours for the past week, hadn't taken time to shop, and I had no food on board. I wound up at the Central Market because that was where the first bus which came by took me and there I found most everything on my list except liquid dish soup (liquido para platos). Plus I was hungry and I'd decided to eat out rather than come home and cook, so I headed out in search for taco stands and a store which had dish soap.
I probably covered three miles wandering back and forth through the old town between the market and the beach and I found my dish soap as well as several good taco stands.
These stands sell small tacos for about $.50 and I sampled several. Usually I stand behind the crowd and watch what people order. Sometimes you have to order what you want by name, and I knew "Taco", "Gordito", "Vampiro", "Gringa" and some others. I usually stick with what I know, or if it looks good I just point.
Some places just have one item, and all you have to do is tell them how many. My favorite is a "Vampiro" which is a toasted corn taco with melted white cheese, charcoal grilled beef, and salsa. Yummy! Finally I caught a bus for home; it was 7:30 P.M. I watched Mexican TV for a while and at 10:00 P.M. I turned off the light. All in all it was a pretty nice day, but I still wish Judy was back.
Fred (by himself), SV Wings, Mazatlan
Labels: Mexico
posted by wingssail at 11:48 PM
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