The rest of the afternoon was spent waiting impatiently for the girls to arrive. Their flight was due at 4:07 so at about 5:00 we headed for the beach. Didn't have to wait long. We were still standing by the Metz talking to a guy who takes sailboat charters out of Isla Grande in a boat called the "Tequila" when they showed up loaded down with all the goodies they'd brought for us. We loaded it all in the Metz and headed back for the boat. The first order of business was a swim, then a Margarita, then a dinner of the lobster we'd picked up at the market this morning as a special treat.
The girls said they'd almost not made it. Seatac was closed by a blinding blizzard when they got on the airplane but, fortunately, the Delta flight they were on waited for the weather and took off the minute they got clearance. Because of the delay thy were late for their connection in L.A., but again Delta held the flight to Zihuat so they arrived here almost on time.
After dinner it was Christmas in February. They'd managed to bring almost everything on my long wish list: two VHF radios (one handheld and one installed unit), two big zincs for our prop shaft, an anchor for the Metz, and dozens of other things filling two suitcases and Donna's huge backpack. They even got the exact kind of wattmeter which Jim from Ickimisho had loaned me and which worked so well.
Back at the boat we siesta'd a while, then took Metz over to Las Gatas where the girls and I spent some time snorkling behind the reef. Although the water isn't awfully clear, there are an amazing number and variety of fish in the shallows between the reef and the beach. Nan and Donna spent more than an hour Oohing and Ahhing. There was supposed to be a volleyball game on the beach at El Ropo but when we got there there was no one around, so we just swam ashore and walked the beach for a while.
About six o'clock we went to a dinghy raftup near the anchorage. People from about twenty boats brought their drinks and munchies and tied their dinghies together. It was kind of fun and we met a few new people. For dinner we had a real treat, fresh Puget Sound salmon brought down by our visitors! Wow! The four of us pigged out until we could hold no more, then Donna invited Doran, the batchlor from Panache, over to finish it off. When he arrived we were watching Mary Poppins, one of the movies the girls brought down to us. He seemed to enjoy a General Audience movie - said he worked for Disney for several years. After the movie I crashed and went to bed (It was almost 11:00!) so I don't know how long he and the ladies stayed up talking, but they were having fun. Nice day!
The next two hours were spent ogling the animals in the little cove. The water wasn't quite as clear as it was in the Sea of Cortez, but there was a greater variety of life. All the reef fish were there plus lots of eels, octopi, and bigger, faster moving fish that went flashing by; and the water was WARM. We all got sunburned where our heads and shoulders were out of the water. I had the Hawaiian sling which I'd bought from Doran but, as usual, the nice big parrotfish I saw just moved slowly out of range, never giving me a chance for a shot. I did spear a little pulpo (octopus) and immediately felt bad about doing so; the little guys are so easy to get and put on such a display of distress when attacked. This one turned about four different colors, spewed out clouds of ink as he writhed on the spear. We'll see how good he tastes before I know for sure whether I should have taken him.
The rocks, mostly coral, rose right up to the beach which was white with the coral sand. We found a little channel where we could swim in without danger of being brushed on the coral by the surge and got out on the beach. It was as soft and white as it looked with lots of the little Sally Lightfoots running around between their holes in the sand. Neat place for a picnic. The girls and Doran stayed on for another hour after I swam back to the boat. When they finally gave it up Lois had a fine lunch of ham sandwiches waiting for them.
Back in the anchorage at Zihuatanejo, Lois went to work fixing a big salad for tonight's potluck dinner on the beach while I siesta'd and the girls headed off for some exploring on their own. The potluck was kind of fun, must have been fifty or sixty people who braved the surf to come. With the four of us, landing was easy. We came in on one wave then jumped out and ran the Metz up the beach before the next one broke. Coming back was a little wet, but the water's so warm no one minds. Another fun day!
We were about to head off for dinner when Ken and Jane from the Sunglade, the couple who gave me so much help in Santa Rosalia when our refrigeration was down, showed up rowing their home made dinghy. They'd come in last night after spending six days coming straight from Cabo San Lucas. We had a Margarita with them then all went to dinner at La Palmera. Rogillio was playing his guitar again, and we even managed to talk Donna into playing a couple of numbers. Didn't get home until after 11:00.
Back in town, we toured through the market looking for some fresh cream that Nancy wanted to make a concoction of hers and I was surprized that it seemed as busy and open as ever, even on Sunday. We couldn't find the cream though, except in an open container from which a lady would have dipped some, had we our own container. That would have meant doing our own pasturizing so we went to the ice cream store and settled for that instead. This is the week of Carnaval here in Zihuat but it's nothing like the Carnaval we saw last year in La Paz. About the only thing we've seen was a marathon race which was in process as we walked through town this morning.
Back at the boat, Donna and I went sailing in the Ranger while Nan took her fins and snorkle over to the rocks near the anchorage where we later joined her. There aren't as many different varieties of fish here but there is still a nice display. One new and spectacular fish was large (more than a foot long), round in shape, with a bright yellow tail and a long pouting mouth, and which swam in a huge school which hung like a curtain in front of us. They didn't seem at all afraid and I'm sure I could have easily speared one, but that didn't seem cricket.
Lois fixed us dinner on the boat tonight, super tacos. Great!
I stayed on the boat this morning while the ladies went off to town shopping. Got all the stuff on the upper deck stowed, repaired an insulator on the HF antenna, and soldered up a connecting cable for my new wattmeter (it works and the new radio puts out full advertized power).
When the girls got back we hauled anchor and headed out for Isla Grande. The sea was almost flat so we had a nice ride past Ixtapa and the islands on the way. We fished the whole way but never got a strike. Oh well, we can buy fish in the market if we need to. By the time we got to the anchorage, got the second hook out, and stuff stowed it was five o'clock so took a swim, then the ladies started working on dinner. Nan baked me a birthday cake, Lois did her famous Rock Cornish game hen dish, and Donna did the salad. Great dinner!
After dinner they brought out the presents: two pair of walking shorts from Lois, a tape of Robinson Crusoe from Donna, a fine book on Sealife of the Baja and fancy fishing flies (yet to be assembled) from Nan. All in all a very fine birthday!
Spent the day at Isla Grande, first hiking over the island (it really isn't so "Grande", just about a half mile long), then getting our snorkling gear and spending some time on the reef. It was one of our few cloudy days but even without the sunshine the reef was magnificent. We saw more varieties of fish and coral than we'd ever seen before. I stalked a good sized parrotfish for half an hour before I gave up and shot a couple of damsels. I felt kind of bad about doing that (they sort of invite you to shoot them) but we needed some fresh fish for ceviche. Lois whomped up a nice batch which Donna and I wolfed down on the way back to Zihuat.
By the time we got back to the boat Nan wasn't feeling too well and, since Lois was still a little woozy, we decided to run back to Z town where the anchorage is a little quieter. We fished again on the way, this time with the flies Nan made for my birthday, but still no luck. Oh well, I can always go get more damsels. I fired up the barbeque and cooked a couple of steaks for dinner but I was the only one who ate with gusto. Hope Nan is feeling better in the morning.
Some interesting data on the radio this morning. A boat called "Gone With The Wind" was passing through on the way north after a year in Panama and volunteered some information on what to expect on the way down. I didn't get it all down but some of the points are:
* Salina Cruz - no fuel available, not a good place
* Tehuatepec - not as bad as advertized, watch weather
* Puerto Madero - Can fuel in inner harbor on weekends, dredge closes it during the week.
* El Salvador - Checkin easy at Akajutla, port captain welcomes yachts, no visa required
* Costa Rica - Playa del Coco is good entry point, most boats go to Punta Arenas. Best spot there is Isla Muertos where Carl has good food, cheap. Punta Arenas Yacht Services (Ed & Anna) will receive and forward mail, provide services for $1.50 per day including 24 hr guard. Must anchor out. Fueling is easy with stern tie to bulkhead. Can hire work done for 50 to 70 cents per hour. Call on VHF and Port Captain will come out to check you in. Highly recommend Isla Cocos as place to visit.
* Panama - Best not to check in until you get to Balboa, Puerto Amores, just south of border, is a no-no, will cost you money if you stop there. Lots of beautiful small islands where you can stop on the way, Isla Taboga is the best place to stay near Balboa. Balboa Yacht Club is expensive for little help but the only place to check in. There's a ferry from Taboga twice a day. Stay away from Flamingo Island where Norega hangs his hat. Panama works on U.S. dollar system and things are available but expensive.
So much for that! Nan wasn't feeling much better this morning so she and I stayed on the boat while Lois and Donna when off to town to do some last minute gift shopping. It's too bad Nan was feeling low because today would have been the day for some boogie boarding. Big swells started coming into the bay before noon and kept coming in groups of four or five all day and night. The surf was higher than it had been any time in the last two weeks and would have been great fun. Nan, though, could do little but lay on the couch, take lomatil, and sleep. She started feeling a little better by about 2:00, but by then it was time to pack and head for the airport.
We offloaded the bags and Nan on the pier (I didn't want to take a chance on dumping them in the surf), then ran the Metz up on the beach. We waited for a group of big ones to pass then I gave it the gun and Lois and Donna jumped out as we got to the shallow water. We hauled her up the beach just in front of the next roller. Our timing's getting better. We found a cab almost immediately and were at the airport by 3:00 to meet their 5:00 o'clock flight. The airport is pretty nice. It's air conditioned and has a nice restaurant, Wings, which does a job similar to Denny's in the States. A bit high on prices but that's to be expected.
The girl's flight was right on time - we were kind of hoping it might have a mechanical, but they are headed back to the ice and snow. Getting back from the airport with two people was more expensive than going there with four, 20,700 vs 15,000. Lois was all upset, but they've got you with no other choice but to walk. The private taxis aren't allowed to pick up at the airport.
More steaks for dinner, Lois and Nan's from last night, fried this time in soy sauce. Muy bueno!
It took most of the day to get the frost out of the freezer and get it down to freezing again. In the meantime we made water. I decided that, since I plan on changing the filters anyway, I might as well plug them good. Actually, the water is surprizingly clear. The swells are still running and there's lots of rolling in the harbor. We have our stern hook out, so it's not too bad but we still roll around a bit when the reflected waves hit.
After a dinner of Price Club pork chops, which got over thawed during the defrost session, we watched Music Man, one of the movies the girls brought down. I'd forgotten how much fun seventy-six trombones could be.
Laundry taken care of, we went to El Tamarindo, our favorite taco joint, for lunch, did a little shopping, then headed back to the boat. We got out of our clothes, into our swim suits, grabbed the Boogie boards and headed for the beach. The swell was down a bit from the last couple of days, but still running high enough to get a bit of a ride in the surf. This was the first time Lois had tried it and on about the second try she caught one just right and rode all the way up the beach to dry sand. She fussed a bit when she almost lost her swimming suit as she dug her board into the sand and a wave tumbled her, but I think she enjoyed it. The boards really help you ride a wave all the way. It's fun to see her having fun.
We went back to town for dinner at a place called the International where we'd been told there was an excellent piano player. The service was excellent, the food was pretty good and the prices for their Mexican dishes were very reasonable, and we had a good time talking to the pretty little hostess named Lourdes (Lulu), but we heard very little of the piano. He didn't show up until 9:00 and then spent most of the next half hour wandering around talking to people. He played a couple of pieces and seemed fairly good, but I'm not much for sitting around drinking at a bar after dinner so we left about a quarter to ten. Someday we're going to have to go to bed early, get up about midnight, and go out and see how the night people live.
With Doran's machine, Lois did a nice job on the Ranger cover so we now have a good, water shedding, Sunbrella cover which should last. That's important because we use the Ranger mostly for storage and, when we get into the rainy season, it's best to keep things as dry as possible.
In the afternoon we took a little time off from our hard work to try the Boogie boards again. Lois caught one good one again which carried her all the way, and I managed to get several. There's a bit of a technique in getting onto a wave, especially the low ones we're playing with. There's only a few feet before they break where you can get on them; otherwize, you either float over and behind or get buried under the crest. The water is so warm it's great just being out there.
We went into town again for dinner because I wanted to try a call again. Had a margarita and chiliquilles at the hotel where I made the calls (they charge 5,000 pesos at the hotel, but seem to be able to get a call though much faster than from the Large Distince place), then went to a place with no name that the yachties have been raving about for some posole and tostadas. It's a tiny restaurant on the street near the pier and it seemed clean, the food looked good, the service was great, and the prices were certainly right (3,000 pesos for your entre' and a soft drink). The only problem was that the food didn't taste very good - mostly a lack of seasonings other than very hot chili. Maybe we just hit the wrong things, and I know I was spoiled by Maria's posole in Santa Rosalia.
Talked to Al on the Aurora this morning on the radio. They're in Puerto Vallarta until about the first of March, then head for the Marquesas. Quite a few boats going that way. We also managed to get a call through to Howard Nettleton. He and Judy are planning to visit about the 4th of March so we'll have to figure out where we'll be by then. Unless we get all our work done we may still be here. There's no more pleasent place to do it. I think I'm going to send Lois north sometime before then to visit her grandchildren. She's always fussing that she never gets to see them, but when I mention her going for a visit she's always reluctant to leave. This would be a convenient place to fly from, and I'm comfortable alone on the boat here. In the evening we tried to get Bob and Kris to find out what their plans are. We got Brian, but Kris and Bob are out of town and he doesn't know what they're planning.
This afternoon Lois noticed that there wasn't much water coming out of Genny's exhaust, so I went down and checked the sea screen. Sure enough, the sea screen was clear but I could open the sea cock completely and no water came in. I put on my mask and snorkle and went over the side to find that marine growth had completely covered the throughhull intake. I'd been waiting until we were almost ready to leave here before cleaning the bottom, but I guess it's time. Even the toilet is getting hard to work as the growth covers the intake and outlet ports. Manana!
Finally got our water tank full again today after 24 hours of running the HRO. I've been running it in the harbor because the water's been fairly clear and I plan to change the filters anyway. I figure for the time they were here the girls took an extra 1.8 hours, or 27 gallons, of water per day in addition to our normal usage of about 1.1 hours, or 16.5 gallons, and they were really trying to conserve. When I first started keeping records we were using almost 30 gallons per day but, as we've become more conscious of usage, we're now down to about 20 gallons per day including washing, and we're wasteful as compared to those who pack their water in jerry cans. I've been told by some that they get by on about two gallons a day. It's hard for a landlubber to relate to real water conservation.
We went to town this morning to get a few groceries and find some plastic pipe with which to make some bows for the new Ranger cover. No trouble with either, Lois went to the market while I found a hardware with lots of pipe and we were back at El Tamarindo within an hour. I also went by the laundry to pick up our sheets and towels and wasn't too surprized that they weren't done yet. The man said, "Cinco hora!".
Back at the boat, we measured the Ranger for the bows, cut them to length and marked the cover for Lois to sew; then I got out the dive gear and got ready for my big project of the day, cleaning the bottom. What a mess! I went through two tanks of air and worked until I could hardly lift my arms, and I'm still not completely finished. I first scraped the barnacles off the bottom of the keel from the stem to the rudder shoe. For some reason they seem to stick to the bottom of the keel more than to the sides. They came off fairly easily, though I found very quickly that I needed gloves while I was scraping; those little buggers have sharp edges! Next I cleaned all the throughhulls, first with the scraper, then with a screwdriver. The smaller ones were almost closed with growth. The rest of the time was spent on the prop, and rudder shoe and shaft, the metal parts where the barnacles build up the most. It took most of one tank of air just to scrape the four big blades of that 34 inch wheel clean. All the time I was doing it pretty little silvery fish with yellow tails swam around my mask and tool, making sure that I did the job right.
The zincs are still in pretty good shape, all with at least 50% left. The prop hub zinc is starting to get eaten up a bit with some fairly good sized pockets in it but still very much intact. I think we may loose it when it gets so thin it can't hold itself together.
By the time I got through the second tank of air I was so pooped I could barely get myself out of the water. I was also covered from head to foot with tiny shrimplike animals about a quarter of an inch long which looked like masses of maggots sticking to my shirt and legs. I'm not sure where they came from. Maybe they were hidden in the flowery growth I was taking off. I never saw them until I got out of the water. No matter, I shook off as many as I could, then washed the rest off in the shower. Felt lots better after a shower and a margarita. Lois topped off the day by fixing some super tacos. She's learning to cook some of my favorite Mexican dishes and in most cases does better than the Mexicans.
El Martes, 14 Febrero 1989 VALENTINES DAY - ONAN 2955.2
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Well, after a long hard day at the sewing machine we have a fine, sixteen by twelve foot, white Sunbrella awning for the forward deck. And I do think it's going to make the deck more usable. It's nice on the deck, the best place on the boat to get the breeze, but the sun down here is just too hot to sit in - for anybody but a sun starved tourist, that is. Our new awning will make a nice shady sitting area, and it also shades the forward windows at the helm. Lois did all the sewing, making Doran's little machine dance, and I was the pusher. It's quite a job getting a pile of canvas that big through a standard size sewing machine but we did it, about a dozen times.
It was about two o'clock before we finished the awning and got it hung temporarily so that we could see where to put the gromets - I'll put those in tomorrow. By then we were ready for something different, so we took the dive tanks and headed off for Playa Las Gatas to have them filled, stopping on the way back at El Ropo for a swim to shore and walk on the beach.
In the evening we went to dinner at a restaurant called Chili's with a group of other boaters for what was advertized as a Valentine's Day party. It wasn't much of a party, but we had a pretty good dinner and met some new people. One couple was particularly interesting to me; Robert and Rose from a boat named, of course, the "Rob Rose" bought their little 33 foot catamaran in England, sailed it for four years through Europe and the Mediterranean, then across the Atlantic and through the canal. They are from Tucson and are headed back to San Carlos, Mexico where they plan to leave the boat for the summer. They both must be in their mid-seventies.
Coming home Lois and I took a different path than the rest of the group (We were carrying our laundry and three eighteen foot lengths of plastic pipe for the awning) so ended up at the beach first. It was high tide, there was quite a surf running, and it had grabbed one of the dinghies which was getting tossed around by the breaking waves. We took off our shoes and went running out into the surf, caught it, and with the help of a couple of young Mexican men, got it safely back on the beach. It was half full of water so Lois and I couldn't move it by ourselves. Turned out it was from the "Owahi", one of the boats whose crew was eating dinner with us. Bet they are wondering how their boat got so far down the beach and tied to a panga. Our good deed for the day!
First we did the starboard waterline with me lying in the Metz and Lois holding the painters and moving it along as I'd get a foot or two done. We did it that way because the grass is so long and heavy it's hard to work it while in the water. I'd first use a paint scraper to get the majority off, then a stainless steel scrubber for final cleaning. There are dozens of little crabs, less than an inch across, living in the grass. They were quite upset that we were destroying their home. By the time we'd finished the starboard side my arm was worn out and it was getting hot so, since the port was in the sun, we decided to leave it for later and work on cleaning our chain locker.
Now that doesn't sound so hard, does it. Well, the first thing we had to do was get all the stuff out of the locker, so out it came: one six hundred foot line, one three hundred foot anchor rode, six mooring lines, and a couple of buckets on the deck. We then let out about half the remaining anchor chain and started hauling in on the stern hook. What a mess! Our 1/2 inch stern line was about an inch and a half in diameter with a brown grassy growth -- one of the disadvantages of using a stern anchor for more than a day or two. It took us over an hour of scrubbing, a foot at a time, before we got it hauled in. We then let out all that was left of our four hundred foot chain which put us close, but not too close, to the rocks.
'Bout that time Don and Phyllis from Shibumi came over to pay their respects and get our impressions of Zihuatanejo. They just got in from Manzanillo yesterday, so we took a break while we talked with them, then we went to work on the chain locker itself. Actually, it wasn't too bad; there was very little sign of organic matter, mostly sand and rust. I think most of the odor which Nan and Donna complained about comes from the wet chain itself, and I don't know what we can do about that. I hosed and scrubbed out the locker, then we started hauling in the chain, scrubbing each foot as it came. The only really bad section was the fifty feet that had been mostly suspended in the water for the past several days. It was covered with the brown grass. That which had been lying in the sand of the bottom came up clean.
Because of our problem with the stern line we decided to try swinging for a while so, as the anchor came up, we moved over with the other boats and anchored close to the beach. It then took us about another hour to get all the lines and other trash stowed. When we finally finished and took our shower we felt we'd earned our martini for the evening. Lois fixed the last of the taco meat for dinner. What a treat!
.pa
In the meantime, I got a lot done. I checked the steering hydraulics; pulled everything out of the lazarette, emptied the sump, and put it all back again; and patched my dive boot and the broken fitting on the Metz (it probably won't hold but it was worth a try) with neoprene cement. When Lois got back she held the lines of the Metz for me while I mowed the lawn on the port waterline. That almost completes the things on my to-do-before-we-go-to-Acapulco list. I need about another tank of air on the bottom and I'll be finished.
In the evening we had Don and Phyllis from Shibumi and Bob and Rose from Rob Rose for dinner, quite a contrast in personalities. Don and Phyllis are very typical of many sailboaters in these waters. He's a retired builder, they still have a home in San Francisco, their boat is really too small for two people to live comfortably on and it's broken up with three bedrooms and two baths, they motor 80% of the time but pay a big price in comfort for the ability to sail, and she's unhappy, bailing out and flying home while he brings the boat back north.
Bob and Rose are another story. He is 74 and she's not a lot younger. Both widowed, they got married about five years ago and she suggested that they go to England, buy a boat, and sail it home. They've spent the last five years doing just that. Last night they gave us a short summary of their travels in England, France, Spain, Greece, and Turkey. They hit a submerged and uncharted rock in Greece and spent several weeks there in a tiny village where the people took them in and gave them very good care while they waited for parts to repair their little Catamaran. They came home to Tucson two or three times during the trip, but she's been with him the whole way except for a 28 day crossing of the Atlantic. They particularly liked Venezuela where they said everything was available and very inexpensive. I got the impression that they may be a little sad in seeing the end of their long voyage nearing. He's probably realistic in saying he can't expect to go on sailing for many more years, but I'm sure the urge is there. They plan to keep the boat at San Carlos and sail the Sea of Cortez, not a bad plan for a couple of octogenarians-to-be.
.pa
Next, Bob and Kris are coming to Acapulco on the 28th, arriving on American Airlines Flight 847 at 6:52 PM. They're planning on staying through the 8th which would overlap them with Howard and Judy if Howard's original plan of coming the 4th held. Nan said they'd work out the schedule so that there'd be no overlap. In any case it sounds like we'd better get ready for visitors. I'm glad we've got caught up on a lot of our work while here in Zihuatanejo.
We decided to go ahead and check out even though we may stay a couple of days beyond the weekend if Tuck gets here. I don't think they throw you in jail for not leaving immediately. It took quite a while because the lady who does the Port Captain's job also was doing the Hacienda work today. While she was typing up all the receipts we went over to a sidewalk restaurant and were having a cerveza and quesadilla when Ernie and Sue from DX showed up, then Doug and Annette from Free Spirit, then Chris from Magic Carpet. Ernie and Sue had just come back from Acapulco so they gave us some info on that city.
In the afternoon Lois and I took the Boogie Boards over to El Ropo again and played for a while. She is getting pretty good with the board, catching almost every catchable wave and riding it farther up the sand than I can. Every time she gets on one she squeals with joy all the way to the stop. I don't think I've ever seen her have more fun.
We went to Ken and Jane's Sunglade for dinner. Jane made her super homemade, home ground flour, pizza and it was really good! They are planning a new boat, a 54 foot Marco Polo schooner which is moored in Redwood City and which they already own. It's an old boat and they plan on completely stripping and rebuilding it. In his usual manner, Ken has built a beautiful 3/4" model of the boat and they are now mocking up the interior to make sure they've thought of everything. They plan on going back and starting on it next summer, getting it in the water in about two years, then bringing it to Mexico and spending another three years finishing it out. Quite an ambitious project, but they are the kind that will probably do it.
We spent most of the day at Las Gatas, running Genny and making water. With all the company we've got coming we need to make the most of every opportunity. About 4:00 we pulled up and ran back over to the municipal anchorage, got dressed, and went to the beach to wait for Tuck to show. We waited around until about 6:15 and then, after several other people had come in from the airport and still no Tuck, we decided he'd missed the flight and we went to a little restaurant nearby for dinner. When we got back to the boat about an hour later, guess what. He was waiting for us! He'd come in to Puerto Vallarta on Alaska Airlines, riding free in the jump seat, then taken a Mexicana flight from there to Zihuatanejo. He'd gotten to the pier about ten minutes after we'd given up.
Tuck hadn't eaten so he and I went back to the beach for a meal at the same place Lois and I just been, then we had a nice evening watching the videos that he had taken at Jay and Debbie's place at Christmas. He had just gotten his camera, so he had a lot of footage of Giuli and the cabin in the woods. It was fun to see.
Foiled on that score, we decided to go snorkling, hauled anchor, and ran around Punta Garrobo to the little coral beach where we'd gone with Doran and the girls. There, Tuck and I went snorkling while Lois again stayed on the boat tending the watermaker and cooking up some goodies for us. The water was a little clearer this time, and the fish were still there. The parrot fish were no easier to get close to and we had to give up and shoot damsels again if we were to have ceviche. I lost two trying to get them from the spear into the goody bag, but Tuck finally got one with which Lois made a small batch.
We spent most of the morning there, then came back and anchored off Playa El Ropo, swam to shore, and had lunch at La Perla, a restaurant which one gushy lady on the radio had described as, "Not only the best seafood restaurant Mexico, but possibly the world!". Well, I wouldn't quite give it that many stars; for flavor I think Dona Anna's in Chacala was better, but the food was good and reasonably priced for a tourist joint. I had the breaded oysters which were tasty - much milder flavor than the northern oysters we're used to.
About five o'clock we hauled up again and moved back to the municipal anchorage where Tuck talked me into tearing into our VCR. It had been giving trouble on fast forward and rewind, and yesterday it gave up completely, eating a tape even on play. After quite a bit of fooling around it turned out to be a relatively simple problem; the drive wheel needed cleaning. A bit of alcohol on a Q tip had it running right again in seconds.
We had a London Broil dinner on the boat, then watched "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" on our now repaired VCR.
Once we got that all squared away we had a taco and cerveza at Tamarindo's, then headed back for the boat, hauled anchor and ran around the point to Ixtapa where the beach is open to the Pacific swell. We anchored a quarter mile off the beach and Tuck and I took the Boogie Boards and went off to brave the surf. It wasn't what you'd call a heavy surf; there'd be a few fairly large rollers, then quite a period of waves not much bigger than we had over in Zihuat. For a while it went pretty well with both Tuck and I catching a couple of good ones, but then I tried to get a big one just as it broke - not the thing to do I found! It turned the board on end, drove my face into the sand then bent my head under my body until I could hear all the vertebrae in my neck crackle. It then held me under and rolled me around and for a moment I wondered if my neck was broken and I'd be unable to keep from drowning. When I finally got to the surface my eyes were full of sand so I couldn't see and another wave knocked me down again. Needless to say, at that point I was hurting pretty bad. When I finally managed to crawl to shore I just lay down on my board and let the waves wash over me. When Tuck got to me (He'd been quite a bit farther out than I was) I was bleeding from a cut on my lip and a scrape on my forehead and he said I looked pretty bad.
That pretty much cooled my Boogie Boarding for the day. After a bit of a rest I managed to work my way back through the surf in one of the quiet spells and swam about halfway back to the boat where Tuck, who had gone ahead, met me with the Metz. I finally got the sand out of my eyes by standing in the shower and washing them with the shower head. Tuck and Lois hauled anchor and we ran over to Isla Grande, putting out a stern hook to keep us into the low swell there. After a couple of martinis I felt a little better but am going to be sore for a few days. I think I'll keep my Boogie Boarding to places like El Ropo with Lois.
We had lobster for dinner and I let the lady at the market talk me into doing it differently. She split and cleaned them for us then we just broiled them without boiling them first - not a good way to do it! The flavor was about the same, but the texture was sort of mushy. In the future we'll stick to our tried and true method of boiling for ten minutes, chilling, then splitting and boiling with butter just long enough to reheat.
Later we went back to the boat and, after a lunch of ceviche, took Lois with us and went over to the mainland shore to see what was at a couple of palapas among the coconut palms on the beach. Turned out to be a couple of RV park restaurants. We'd taken the Boogie Boards with us so Tuck went after the rollers and I had started to swim in when I looked back and a group of big ones were threatening to bring the Metz, with Lois in it, in to the beach too. The waves were big enough to drag our little dinghy anchor; so, we bagged that and headed down the beach to meet our adventure of the day.
We'd run along the beach past Club Med and the golf course and were about to land on the beach at the hotel when we saw the Rob Rose, the little catamaran from Tucson, AZ, apparently in trouble on the beach. Sure 'nough, their anchor had drug and they were aground. They were in soft sand and in a fairly well protected cove but still, every time a little swell would come along, they get pushed up farther on the beach. Bob was running his engine trying to back off but making no progress. We anchored the Metz and swam in and in about fifteen minutes, with the help of some other people who came along, were able to push them off into deeper water. They were pretty happy we'd come along!
After that we went back to the boat where Tuck spent a couple of hours cleaning up the deck and stainless steel with some rust remover. We now shine all over, including the rust covered stack for the little High Seas heater which we haven't used since we left San Diego. We hauled up the hooks about four o'clock and ran back to Zihuat because Tuck wants to do some shopping in the morning before flying back. Had dinner at the Palmera so that Tuck could hear our friend Rogellio play.
Doran, from Panache, got back last night so this morning we took back his sewing machine and mast cover. He said he'd called Donna in Seattle and she sounded like she might be interested in joining him for the trip to Costa Rica. Nan had mentioned that too, when I talked with her on the phone, but Donna said nothing about it in her letter. I guess she sort of liked the sunshine.
We met Tuck for lunch at Tamarindo's, did a bit more shopping, then Tuck and I came back to the boat for final packing while Lois did some more looking. Doran offered the use of his beat up Chevy station wagon to go to the airport so we had the opportunity to ride around town and do a little sightseeing before heading for the airport. There's quite a bit of Zihuatanejo that you don't see until you get away from the city center. At the airport, Tuck had no trouble getting on the Delta flight. The people there were very friendly, fixing him up with a 75% ticket to L.A. ($65.00) and treating him like somebody special on the basis of his Alaska I.D.. I guess airline employees like to help each other out, no matter which line they work for. He'll get another ticket in L.A. and has two flights out of there that will get him home in time for his 5:00 AM class.
We stopped at the Pemex station for outboard gasoline, then went back to the boat and started stowing things to move out tomorrow morning. We've been here so long we'd almost forgotten how to get the Metz up on deck and lashed down for real travel. On our little trips to Isla Grande we've either towed it or just set it on the deck without tying it down. I think we've got things pretty well stowed; although, if we roll around, we'll find something we've missed.
Lois fixed some of the Sierra we bought at the market for dinner. The first home cooked fish in quite a while. It really tasted good!
Drawing from Aft Stbd tank.
07:55 Anchor up and we're on our way, just one day less than a month since we arrived. We've sure enjoyed our stay in Zihuat! It's a calm, almost flat sea as we head out on the big Pacific.
10:25 Still drawing from the aft starboard tank, but I changed valves to return fuel to the port tank in order to balance us a little better. Our long stay in port has resulted in a list to the starboard because Gennie draws only from the port tank.
10:55 Changed to forward starboard tank. We should have moved about 210 gallons from the aft tank. It was a bit dirty. I'll have to change the Racor filter when we get in.
11:50 All balanced up and we're riding straight in the saddle again. Changed back to return fuel to forward starboard tank.
13:00 Anchored in the little harbor of Papanoa. It's kind of a neat place, formed by a rocky hook in the coastline and protected by two nice rock jetties. Not a sign of a tourist anywhere. It's obviously a working harbor - two shrimp boats and a navy vessel are tied to a well built concrete wharf. It's not as pretty as some places we've been - there are no palms and the brush on the hills surrounding the harbor appears dry and scrubby. There are some modern style houses in the little village overlooking the harbor, and behind the wharf is what could be a palapa restaurant.
We anchored a ways off the wharf in what must be a coarse gravel bottom (If the wind blows we'll be sure to drag), then both took a nap before getting to our chores. Later I measured the fuel levels (Starboard 27 1/4", Port 20 7/8" We'd moved 204 gallons out of the aft tank), changed the Racor filter, and then spent most of the afternoon just watching things going on in the harbor. There was a constant stream of pangas going in and out and also quite a bit of activity on the wharf - lots of trucks coming and going and even some ladies in pretty dresses visiting with the fishermen on the shrimp boats.
We didn't get the Metz down because we'd intended to move on early in the morning, but it looks interesting enough here to deserve a day. In the morning we'll get the Metz down and go take a look at the town.
RADIO NOTE: Mailing address in Golfito:
LAS GAVIOTAS YACHT CLUB
A.P.D.O. 12
Golfito, Costa Rica
Walking through the village was a bit of a surprize. From the boat we can only see the few houses immediately above the harbor. As is typical, there is a wide variety of housing in the village. It ranges from modern concrete and stucco buildings to houses in which the walls are formed by dropping rocks into a framework made of sticks tied together with reeds. Each, of course, comes complete with at least one pig and a chicken, usually many. At one house, which appeared to be the home of the local outboard repair man judging from the number of engines sitting around, a herd of goats filled the yard and front room. As we walked through that part of the village toward the military base, we found that the road heads off across the hill to the beach on the south side of the point. There, stretching along a mile or more of beautiful beach is a very Mexican style resort area. There must be almost a dozen restaurants and fifty or more houses on the south side. All seemed to be deserted this morning except for one nice one on the beach at the end of the road where a few men sat talking over a beer. By eleven o'clock it was already getting pretty warm, so we too sat and sipped a beer in the shade of the palapa while we watched the surf. I would guess that this might be a popular place during the hot summer months.
Back at the boat we did a few catchup chores. I scrubbed the waterline while Lois held the lines of the Metz - that seems to be the easiest way to do it. Looks like, if I do it every week just like I'd mow a lawn, I can make it a not too difficult task, although I suspect we're going to need a haulout before the next six months is over. We started Genny and Lois did a couple of loads of wash to catch us up before Bob and Kris get here. We can replace the water on the way to Acapulco tomorrow. We hear that there is good water on the dock at the yacht club, but I'd just as soon go in full. You can't take Mexico for granted. You never know for sure what you're going to find until you get there.
In the late afternoon a couple of sailboats, the "Sin Rumbo" and the "Oscar Tybring", neither of which we knew, came in and anchored. Both were stopping only for rest, and the Sin Rumbo pulled out long before dawn. We have the luxury of waiting for daylight and still making it to Acapulco before dark. Talked to Nan through the High Seas operator in Miami - she confirmed Bob and Kris and will get our mail and all the goodies we've ordered to Howard.
06:24 On our way as the first hint of dawn lightens the eastern sky. All's calm again this morning. We have what I guess you'd call an undulating sea caused by low swells from several directions crossing.
09:00 Talked to Jim from Ikimasho on the single sideband. He's in Acapulco and says he'll see if he can find us a mooring.
We're paralleling the coast, about three miles out, and inshore along the beach are lots of shrimpers. Must be good territory. Most of this section of coast is beach, mile after mile of sand with palms behind, and mountains rising steeply behind the palms.
15:00 We're still two hours out, but we can now see Acapulco in the distance. It's a clear day and the many houses on the hill to the west of the bay are a dead giveaway. In the whole eight hours we've run the only other boat we've seen is a shrimper and even now, as we approach the big city, we're alone. That's unusual.
17:00 Through Boca Chica (Little mouth, or entrance) into the harbor at Acapulco. True to his word, Jim is out to meet us in his dinghy, leading us to a good spot right in front of the yacht club where we could tie to a fisherman's mooring line. Scuttlebutt has it that the fishermen own all the moorings in the bay and, when a hurricane threatens, come in here to ride it out. At other times the moorings are available to whoever picks them up. At this time of year yachts are on most of them.
We got down the Metz, checked to make sure we had a good mooring line, and settled down to watch the activity in the harbor. There's lots of it. Water skiers are buzzing through the anchorage, boats are coming and going to the yacht club, the Pacific Princess is moored across the harbor and is decorated with a thousand lights, a large naval vessel is anchored in the harbor, and several other ships are on the wharves on the north side. The entire bay, and it's a big one about three miles across, is surrounded by high rises. Our anchorage, and the yacht club, is situated in a natural hook in the bay which is totally protected from the sea by high hills which are covered with what are probably very high priced apartment buildings. We'd heard that the harbor was dirty but, at least on initial look, it appears much cleaner than any big harbor we've been in. Certainly it's cleaner and prettier than San Diego or San Francisco.
Jim had invited us out to dinner with they and Tekijek but by the time we got settled in we were ready to relax, so we took a rain check, Lois fixed our little fish, we ate that, and hit the sack. We'll figure out the system tomorrow.
We spent most of the day exploring our immediate surroundings. Because it was Sunday we didn't try going to town but did a harbor tour in the Metz, talked to several of our neighbors, and checked out the yacht club. The Club de Yates Acapulco is a very nice facility. The parts that are open to the yachting public are the docks and mooring facilities, the restaurant/bar, and the swimming pool and showers. All are first class, at least by Mexican standards. There's fuel on the dock (Although some people have told us they run out quite often), as well as power and water. The pool is a beauty, big and blue, and just cool enough to feel really good on a hot afternoon. We went there instead of taking our daily shower on the boat. That should save us some water while we're here. The whole yacht club sort of wanders around under coconut palma and other tropical trees, a lovely setting.
Across the street from the yacht club there is a Mexican restaurant, a Tastie Freeze hamburger joint, and a genuine Kentucky Fried Chicken place. We tried the chicken for dinner and it tastes just the same as it does in Seattle. We're told that the bus which stops just outside the club will take you to downtown and the big grocery stores for 200 pesos.
On a tour around the harbor we passed several swimming beaches, lots of sports fishing outfits, big freight wharves, and the cruise ship docks where the Pacific Princess was still moored. It looks like you could offload people and supplies almost down town, although it might not be a safe place to leave a dinghy. It's truly an international harbor. There's one big Soviet ship on the dock, a U.S. navy ship anchored in the harbor, and king sized yachts from all over the world in the anchorage and on the docks. One particularly interesting yacht is the "Antipodes" from George, Isle of Man which Lois says looks like a space ship. It's over 100 feet long, has a long sloping pointed nose like a cigarette boat, out-drives and big grids on the stern that look like rocket nozzles, and three huge round windows on the sides. From the chatter on the radio I gather she has an English crew who are having a ball here while the owners are away. I overheard them talking about starting their watermaker so that they could wash down the deck - that's watermaking capacity we can't even think about. They also plan to take on 5000 gallons of fuel, a process which will take several days here.
About the time we'd finished our swim we saw Shabumi heading into the harbor, so I returned Jim's favor of yesterday by going out and steering them to an empty mooring buoy. They'd been running since 2:00 AM but would hear nothing but for us to come to dinner. So, since they only had four pork chops, I went to the Kentucky Fried place and got some chicken to supplement, Lois made a salad, and we had a fine dinner on Shabumi. Don's an interesting guy. Turns out he ran a dude ranch in Oregon near Klamath Falls, a dream he had as a kid in L.A. which he made come true. Too bad Phyllis is bailing out on him; cruising was another of his dreams and he seems to enjoy it so much.
Checkin with the Port Captain was a breeze. A young lady stamped and initialed our crew lists and sent us on our way, done until time to check out when we'll have to pay the port tax. Every city is a little different, but this is more like Zihuat. Walking three or four blocks farther along the waterfront brought us to the next project for the day, two big shopping centers, ISSTE and Comercial Mexicana. ISSTE is a government subsidized outfit and, when they have something, it's usually a bit cheaper so we started there. We were busily loading up when I remembered that I had given Tuck quite a few of my pesos when he was here and didn't have enough for a really big buy. Fortunately, Lois had some so we still were able to get most of the things we wanted from that place. Tomorrow we'll have to go to the bank for more pesos.
We took a taxi back to the yacht club for 5,000 pesos, then struggled back to the Metz with our load, just as happy we hadn't had money for more. I guess we could have hired some help in carrying, but it wasn't obvious how. We put stuff away, got our clothes off, and kicked back to cool off in the early afternoon breeze. The temperature never has gotten above 86 or so, but if you're putting out any effort in the sun, you get to sweating very quickly. So far, we've had a nice breeze each afternoon to keep us cool. Later, we went over to the pool, had a Margarita, took a swim, and sat around in the shade of the palms talking to some of the other yachties. Not a bad place to come back to after a hard day's work.
Along about 11:00 David called on the radio. He wasn't yet back at the boat, but would call again as soon as he'd had a bite of breakfast, about 20 minutes. It was over two hours before he called again. When he finally did he said he'd meet me at his boat in ten minutes, so I took the VCR over to the Copilli. It is a sixty foot "Tempest" cigarette boat, 2000 HP, 55 miles per hour, and plush! I pulled the Metz up along side and waited for about fifteen minutes before a couple of guys who look like they played for the L.A. Raiders came booming down the dock. David was the biggest. We took the machine inside the boat into an air conditioned salon with white plush carpet and furniture (covered with plastic to keep it clean). I started to have real doubts when David plugged in my machine, stuffed in a tape, then ejected it and broke the tape as he jerked it out. He did help me out on one thing; he pointed out that the head should have been rotating as the tape came in contact with it. It wasn't. He was ready to tear into the machine with another appointment in a half hour and I could see disaster approaching, so I demurred, thanked him very much for his help, grabbed my machine, and left. Turns out he's a delivery skipper from Florida who is training a Mexican skipper to run this rich Mexican's toy. It is quite a boat; all chrome and black and white with two entertainment centers, one in the salon which rotates out of the wall, and another built into the master stateroom wall. Comfort and speed.
Back at our boat, I took the VCR apart again in the hope that our problem was a slipping belt but no joy; whatever is keeping the head from turning is hidden in the mass of electronics. I'll renew my search for a repairman. Unsuccessful at that, we gave up and went to the pool for a swim.
This was evidently our day to wait. We'd invited a couple from the boat Scott Free, Ken and Andre, over for margaritas at five; they didn't show up until six. Oh well, we were just waiting for Bob and Kris anyway so no matter. They are a nice couple. From Victoria B.C., they've spent three years on the east coast and in the Caribean and gave us an interesting lecture on cruising there. They spent last summer in Golfito, Costa Rica, and are now working their way back toward the northwest.
About 7:30 we went up to the club entrance to check for Bob and Kris and found two young ladies struggling with bags and bags of groceries. It wasn't until we'd helped them carry the load down to the dock that we discovered they were from Lois' "Space Ship" which is on the fuel dock taking on its 5000 gallons. We won't be needing to worry about fuel for a few days.
When we got back to the entrance Bob and Kris were there with piles of luggage and a huge box for us. At the boat we found they'd brought: Milkman dry milk; data on Costa Rica; a pedastal for my chair, mail, income tax forms, and oil sample kits from Tuck who had flown to San Francisco to deliver them; a smoked salmon; jelly beans; a video tape; and all kinds of fishing gear. Wow, Christmas again! We were until 10:00 PM just looking through all the goodies. More?