After my last blog Sheilagh and I loafed about in La Cruz for the weekend, not even venturing off our boat on Saturday. Actually I did get off the boat and into the water with my fins and snorkel gear to make sure there was no line still caught in our prop from the trip down from San Blas, and to check on the state of barnacle and plant growth on the bottom. There was no line tangled in the prop, and the bottom was amazingly clean for having been in the water for a month since our last cleaning. Maybe it was because the boat been moving pretty actively during this past month.On Sunday we took a local bus to the neighboring town of Bucerias, the one I had kayaked to on Thursday, and wandered around town for awhile. The street vendors were out in force with things that every tourist should want – sling shots, very tiny bikinis (no, Sheilagh wasn’t interested) and other beach wear, jewelry of all sorts, serapes, blankets, table cloths, sombreros, sunglasses, etc. Since we didn’t need anything, we were a disappointment to the vendors generally. One vendor asked us how many blankets we wanted to buy (not “do you want to buy”), a closing tool I had employed in the past to sell software to large corporations – “How many users shall I sign you up for?” Others used very good English to try to get us involved in a conversation as “friends” before trying the hard sell.
We had lunch at a table overlooking the beach, and managed to catch a bus ride back sitting on the rear axle, since there was no other room in the bus. We had learned long ago to avoid that area of the buses down here because they usually have no suspension, causing the passengers to rise out of their seats at the numerous speed bumps in the road. We levitated several times on the way back, and not in a spiritual manner. We stopped at the local marina and yacht club at La Cruz to find it much improved over its condition last year, with a bar under the thatched-roof second story and a beautiful view of the northeastern part of the bay. We’re sorry to say that the margaritas were small and expensive; so we had just the one drink apiece and retired to the boat for our afternoon naps.
On Monday morning we were due to enter the marina at Paradise Village in Nuevo Vallarta, where we are now. We got some fuel at the La Cruz fuel dock, which turned out to be a lot easier than getting fuel in the main Puerto Vallarta fuel dock, where formerly we had to wait our turn after the fishing boats, pangas, and wave-riders. La Cruz has put two lovely young ladies in charge of the fuel dock with attractive white uniforms – a great marketing ploy. It turns out that there are enough male hangers-on at the fuel dock that the young women don’t have to do much handling of the hoses themselves; so the white uniforms are kept spotless.
We motored over to the eastern side of the bay about five miles away and came through the channel at high tide, keeping just to the right of the dredger that has been operating every time we’ve been here. It was very relaxing to finally tie up to a dock after a week of anchoring out, and being able to sleep on a calm surface. We immediately sprayed off the salty deck with fresh water, and in this case did not reward ourselves with a beer, since we had expended very little effort in tying up.
Here is where I mention that for the price of a couple of nights in the local hotel, we have the run of the place for a month, along with fresh water, electricity, cable TV, showers, and swimming pools. On the first of January we plan to head south to some other ports of call, as we did last year, but for now we are just being tourists, although tourists with some task list items to accomplish before going south.We have some work to do at the top of our mast to replace a wind indicator that a large bird bent beyond usefulness, and to fix our anemometer. Sheilagh and I have decided that it’s my turn to go up this time; so I’m delaying as long as possible. In fact I got a bad sore throat a couple of days ago and have been medicating with aspirin, rest, and the hot-water-honey-and-alcohol drink that has proven effective in the past.
So far we’ve been to the marine supply store twice, involving bus rides to and from and some walking in between to get to the correct bus station. Here there are some bus stations that only serve longer range buses, and some that serve more local ones. Even if a long-range bus is stopped in front of a “local” bus station for a red light, the drivers will not pick you up. Luckily there is usually someone at the bus stop who will explain which bus we should catch at that particular station.
We heard that we could get a 15% discount at the local marine supply store if we pay in cash (5%) and if we are members of the Vallarta Yacht Club (10%). We satisfied both conditions, but only received a 5% discount. When I approached the owner about this, he admitted he should be giving us a 15% discount, but the inflation of the peso in Mexico has stopped his practice at the present time. At the moment a U.S. dollar is worth 13 pesos, 30% higher than the 10 pesos it used to convert to. It’s hard to argue with a storekeeper who has to buy many of his products from the U.S.
Sheilagh and I have both spent some time lying around the pool, reading more and more books, and appreciating the warmth of the weather here compared to the weather anywhere else. Our ABC station being broadcast here in English in Puerto Vallarta is from Buffalo, New York, for some reason – rather than from California as one would expect. Therefore we get weather reports that sound horrendously cold and nasty. Those reports make us feel even better about being down here in the warmth.
I’ve been lying low and doing as little as possible while trying to beat this sore throat problem. There’s a big party in the Vallarta Yacht Club this evening to celebrate the end of The Banderas Bay Blast (sailing, eating, and drinking to support some charity or other), and I’m too tired to even walk one block to the club. There was a sailing event and party on Wednesday and Thursday, too, at a couple of outlying locations, but neither of us had enough energy to go to those either. We like to think that we’re getting more selective in our entertainment rather than simply lazier as we get older.
Being sick is no one’s idea of a good time, but I remember it being a lot worse when the work-a-day world required that certain tasks be done anyway. Now I can just take the time to be sick and use it as an excuse to put off doing things I wasn’t in the mood to do anyway. I know I’ll be feeling a lot better just about the time that Sheilagh comes down with what I’ve got. Then it will be my turn to take care of her. I hope everyone who reads this is enjoying good health during this pre-holiday season.
Sheilagh will be a year older next Monday, and we’ll have a quiet dinner with friends to celebrate. With Sheilagh’s preference for meat we’re thinking of a Brazilian restaurant to satisfy her cravings. At a place like that she won’t have to eat any vegetables or salad, which she still pushes around her plate without touching much of it as she did in her youth. While I usually take a bite of food from each of the food groups on my plate, insuring that everything gets eaten in a clockwise or counterclockwise fashion (yes, it’s a bit anal retentive I admit), Sheilagh is less logical and always attacks the meat first. After she eats the meat on her plate, she goes for seconds on the meat, before tasting the veggies or whatever else remains from her first plateload. However, if desert is available, there’s nothing that could cause her to finish anything but the meat. I’m not sure how we got our daughters to eat responsibly with Sheilagh as their mother and model.
Nevertheless she turned out well, and our kids and their kids are thriving as can be seen to the left: Daughters from the left are Kimberly, Megan, Stephanie, and Melissa. Granddaughters from left to right are Melissa's children Delaney, Riley, and Paige. The grandson is Evan James, sitting in his mom's lap. More later . . .
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