1100: We arrived at Marina Chachue and were greeted by two fellow Canadians on Misty Michael. More about Chris and Gerry later.
The marina docks are typical to what we are used to in Canada and the U.S. There are 30 and 50 amp plugs at the dock and potable water! This is one of the few marinas in Mexico where we had potable (drinkable) water at the dock. What a treat!
We inquired about the rates and they varied depending on your length of stay. If you stay more than two weeks then the monthly rate is the way to go as 17 days equals one month. Our plan is to go and visit the various bays and anchor out every couple of days and then come back in to check out some of the sites on land, as there are many. We had also decided to put in a large parts order into Defenders in Miami as the shipping rates to this area are more reasonable and we know that it will take about two weeks for those things to arrive.
The marina has two washrooms, one male and one female and an outdoor cemented shower area with two shower heads in one area. So a couple either showers together or one person takes up the whole place. Oh, and did I tell you that there is only cold water. Thank goodness the cold water here is not really cold, maybe around 20 C. It would not take very much to make this a really nice marina but the FONATUR group just do not seem to have the incentive to do so.
We are within walking distance or a short cab ride to the centre of town and some of the other bays. And all cabs are 25 pesos (about $2) no matter where they take you!
After we got settled Chris offered to take us on a driving tour of the general area. Well that took about three hours. He took us to scenic lookouts and through the town and through high end subdivisions and a few beaches. It was wonderful.
Navy Lookout Hut
View from the Hut Looking at the Cruise Ship Terminal
We stopped for a great lunch where we met Max - informed that we would have to return the next day for warm home made cinnamon buns. Which we did and they were great along with the capacino. We managed a few more visits there during our stay!
Chris and Gerry are originally from Winnipeg and then Nanaimo and I cannot say enough about their generosity. He offered to take David to a good battery store and drive him back to the marina. They have also given us lots of information about the area.
We were quickly introduced to a few other boaters. Ramona and Jan who actually know mutual friends of ours and Jim and Linda. All three of these couples have been cruising for over 5 years! So lots of stories and information to share.
Mexico celebrates on Christmas Eve and these couples had made reservations at one of the local beach restaurants. They were kind enough to join us. The price included a margarita, appetizer, main course and dessert and live entertainment. It did not start until 2100 hours which is the normal time for Locals to go out for dinner so we decided to have a siesta! Good thing as we left at 0200 when the party was still in full swing!
On December 25th everyone rests from the previous nights revelry. Wonder why? Gift giving for children does not take place until the 6 th of January - All Kings Day - when the three wise men brought gifts to the baby Jesus.
Did you know that the poinsettia (Aztecs called cuetaxochitl) originated in Mexico? It is named after Joel Roberts Poinsettia, the first US ambaddasor to Mexico in the 1820's.
We had a nice ham dinner and were able to talk to Mom and Paul and Debbie and my cousin Tarja. David was also able to talk to Carolyn and his sister Susan. No luck with my sister Susan or Australia though!
Boxing Day is just a normal day here. David and Chris went and bought the batteries and I spent the day cleaning the outside of the boat. So Santa was very generous when he dropped off 4 brand new Deep cell marine batteries by the boat!
The 27 th was spent installing the batteries
and re-installing the gooseneck on the boom. Chris had recommended a machine shop that could bore out the hole in the cast aluminum body and insert a sleeve to bring the holes back to their original diameter to fit the pins. The original holes were warn down and we were experiencing a fair amount of play in the fittings. And for those who do not know - the goose neck is what attaches the boom to the mast. Kind of an important part on a sailboat. And having it repaired like new was a lot less expensive then getting a new one - if we could of even found one!
The new batteries seems to have solved one of our issues as the batteries are now able to maintain a charge for a longer period of time.
The batteries may have sulphinated while the boat was sitting in the marina at a low charge. And remember the story about the big rainstorm and lightening and surcharge that we had experienced in Barra just before we left to go to Canada. We are thinking that that may have been the cause for all of these electrical issues. Who knows?
Sidebar: what is sulphinating? When a battery is under charge for a long period of time the sulphates can build up on the internal plates in the battery and the battery begins to lose efficiency. This buildup leads to the deposit of sulphur crystals which then can lead to:
-loss of cranking power
-longer charging time **
-excessive heat buildup leading to "boil up"
-shorter running times between charges **
-shorter battery life **
** we think these three things were what was going on with our batteries.
Storing batteries in temperatures greater than 75F will also increase the rate of self-charging and increased sulfation. This doubles with every 10F. Rise in temperature over RT.
So I guess we can expect to replace our batteries a little more often than we would in the Pacific Northwest!
We put our parts order in - main things being a new furler system for the staysail, a new inverter/charger and a new Balmar 120 Amp alternator. There is a yard here for haul out but there are not very many experienced marine maintenance people. But thank goodness, David, with the help of some of our wonderful cruising buddies, should be able to install everything. But this stuff will take a couple of weeks to get here so what to do with our free time?
Our first choice was to take everyone's advice and visit Oaxaca for a few days. So I will take a break from talking about Hualtuco and give Oaxaca its own blog entry as it most certainly deserves it.
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