Confidence and the Summer of 2015
In April I left this Blog at the point where we arrived in Barra de Navidad. I cannot believe that it is already the end of November. Where did the spring and summer go? Sometimes I wonder how I held down a full time job, looked after a house and a boat as just having the boat seems to be enough for me.
At the end of April David decided to head up to Victoria to see family, make arrangements for assisted living for his mother and get the condo ready for sale. Well making arrangements for assisted living is not as fluid as one would like so it looked like he was going to be there for a while.
I had decided to stay with the boat. David left me with a list of daily and weekly activities from running the engine every week, re-pickling the water maker, washing the decks and watching out for hurricanes! My daily routine on the boat was minimal. And there was only one hurricane(Carlos) that threatened us in June. I had to prepare the boat for the worst but I was lucky that it really did not materialize. The rest of the time I spent at the gym or in my pool.
Some nights I stayed on the boat and some times I stayed at our friend Armon's house in Barra. We met Armon in Chiapas and he was one of the people that we went on the road trip with to Pelanque. When he found out that we were returning to Barra for the summer he graciously offered us his home as an alternate place to stay. This was wonderful as it gave us a dry place to store the sails, a big table for sewing and some of the luxuries of house living! Like a toilet that flushes!
Now I did have some of my family a little concerned with the thought of me staying by myself in Mexico. But I assured them that I was safer here than in Victoria. We have started to make friends with some of the locals. They knew that I was on my own so they were always looking out for me. Armon's house is a 10 minute walk to the water taxi. It usually took me an hour or so as I had to stop and talk to people along the way. With my little bit of Spanish, though getting better, and their little bit of English conversations were slow! But we managed to communicate. It is a good thing that there is some French in my blood as the arm movements also proved to be helpful.
Next is a little walk through Barra just so you can see for yourself. I start out calling for the Taxi Aquatico to come and pick me up at the marina. In the picture below I am actually waiting for the taxi to take me back to the marina with the water taxi ( panga) in the background.
Fortina or Maguel or Emilio or Ramone will come and pick me up at the boat. I just call them on the VHF radio 24/7. Round trip is $30 peso, about $2.50.
Once off the boat I turn right and head up the street. My first stop is the Pescadoria or fish market.
It is best to get there in the early morning as most fishermen go out at night so you are ensured of fresh fish. Red snapper, Marlin, tuna and shrimp are plentiful. One block further, I turn left and stop at the panderia where I pick up fresh cinnamon buns or chocolate croissants.
I limit myself to once a week when David is around but right now I am abstaining! One of my best finds, growing around the big tree in front of the bakery, is a large bush of basil. So it is a must to go this way whenever Thai or Italian food is on the menu. Best of all - it's free!
Then it's down the second of two main streets to Blanca's tienda where I get my fresh fruit and vegetables, cheese and just about anything else I require.
Delivery day is Wednesday and Saturdays so I try to time it so I can be assured of fresh produce. I can also get fresh fruit and vegetables from the farmers selling their goods from the back of their trucks. It is hard to turn down 3 kilos of perfect Roma tomatoes for $1.75. The same for a kilo of avocados or oranges, delivered to your door. Once in a while David and I take the bus and head into Manzanillo and go to the large grocery stores. But during the summer months business is slow so I try to support the local businesses as much as I can.
A few blocks further and it is another right turn to the butcher.
Yuri does not speak any English so it is always fun trying to place my order. I can order just about everything in Spanish with the aid of pictures and sign language. His meat is all free ranged and he will cut my pork chops and steaks and bacon to whatever thickness I require. All his meat is frozen except for for the bacon and the hamburger (ground fresh) which is a good thing as it makes our freezer system work more efficiently.
One block over and I reach Margarita's.
She will cut and color my hair, pedicure and manicure for about $35.00 and does an excellent job - as good if not better than I used to get in Victoria. One more block and I get to the place where I get my laundry done - less than going to a laundromat in Victoria. And they supply the soap!
One more block and I am at Armon's house.
View from the canal side.
There are a few other places that I spend time at including Ramon's. I can get an inexpensive meal, fresh fish and watch tennis or baseball and free wifi. Ramon has kind of adopted me while David has been away. Then there is the little Hawaii store where Louis will bring in anything I ask him for, including Tillimook cheese from Washington state!
But after a coule of months on my own it ended up that I missed David too much - amazing after spending the better part of two years n a 37 foot boat, 24/7. But I did. So I found a cheap flight to Victoria and went up there for 3 weeks. Met up with friends and family. Spent a week at my friends resort in Comox. That was fun as we tricked my sister into coming for a visit - she thought David was going to be there by himself. I had not told her that I was going to be in Victoria. She was a little surprised when she saw my face in the other side of the glass door into her suite! The time was not nearly long enough but we did make the best of it! We earned our keep by putting a refresher coat of paint on the chairs. Roz and her David have been busy with the new renovating. Placed looked fabulous!
We also went down to Bellingham for the day to pick up some boat parts and meet up with Armon, Eulalie and Eric. Armon's name had come up as a possible crew member for the crossing to the Marquessas. We just wanted to confirm that he was still interested. Happy to say that he was and is very excited about it. Eulalie and Eric, who own the boat Elizabeth Jean, we one of the couples that we met crossing the Tehuantepec. They were also on the road trip in the state of Chiapas. It was nice to get together and get caught up on every one's adventures. They are now in the Caribean after passing through the Panama Canal last spring. You might recognize them from previous pictures with regards t that road trip in Chiapas.
Then I returned to Barra, checked on the boat and then flew to Sauot Ste. Marie for my mother's 90 th birthday party. It was quite a party with representation from all of my Mom and Dad's family. All of her brothers and sisters and my Dad have passed on so it was very special to have at least one member from each family present. My sisters and brother and brother-in-law were the caters - tea at the church for about 60 people, come and go for another 75 with appetizers that would make Martha Sturart proud and a sit down prime dinner for 54!
Needless to say we spent a lot of time in the kitchen along with gardening, painting, renovating and decorating. And of course none of this would have happened if not for the amazing organizational and planning skills of our sister Debbie.
This was one of many lists for us to follow.
Special mention to Susan for all of her ideas - some assembly required!
Excellent job by Paul on the prime rib as Master Chef!
Stuart who did anything he was told, including making the decorations. As you can see he really was having fun.
And then there were Heather's mice!
But the best was the smile on Mom's face through out the week.
And then it was back to Barra and rest. I am just not used to working or playing so hard!
