We are surrounded by water. We float on it, we wash in it. But we cannot drink it - not the local stuff. There is a source for spring water and the first time our tank ran we out - we got our water there, but we could only get 15 gallons at a time and we had to drive to get it. So a couple days ago, the last time we ran out and were very thirsty (4 PM and 85 degrees out), we decided to fill our water tank with dock water. We treated it with bleach (100 gallons water to 1.5 Tbsp bleach) and now we are drinking it. It tastes a little like chewing metal - kind of like water from Northern Minnesota - just like what we grew up with. The kids get a little taste from home.
Not sure if we will fill it again with dock water, but for now we can use water freely which in itself is worth the poor taste.
Carrie
This is the blog for SV Madrona and her crew Griffyn, Tamsyn and their parents Carrie and Owen, as we navigate new waters for our family.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
And School Begins
I officially began home school last Thursday. I had given Tamsyn and Griffyn math sheets, letters to practice and small writing assignments over the past month - but it wasn't organized - just 'busy work' so Owen and I could focus on stowing things, finding food and supplies (endless shopping trips), dealing with laundry (walking to and from a laundromat, hanging clothes out to dry, unhanging them, stowing them), or fixing the boat (an ongoing process that we don't really ever expect to complete). And each time we'd leave the boat on an errand there were always people we would meet along the way which led to a lot of socializing - extending the length of a trip. Sometimes it seems we couldn't even leave the dock for much longer than we planned - Ivar would be there offering us fresh baked brownies (on his boat), or Lulu would wander by and we have to ask her where she was off to (so we would know where one more thing could be found) or Max would come by to help Owen fix something on the boat, changing our plans entirely. On many of those shopping trips we never found what we went looking for (it took many many trips to find a tea kettle). For so many reasons I wasn't ready to begin homeschooling just yet.
And then one day about a week ago Ranger Owen gave them an hour long lecture/demo on Fossils. They were both very good listeners and really enjoyed his presentation and the drawings they did at the end. Tamsyn had started talking about her school routine, how it made her feel part of something, rather than just a passenger or "in the way" as she felt now on the boat. She and I sat down and discussed how much time she spent each school day on Math, silent reading, writing, recess, as well as things like art, music, gym and cultural studies which she did a couple times a week (rather than daily). Griffyn talked too about what he missed - going to the treasure box, going to the library and of-course recess. I noticed over the last couple of weeks that Griffyn was very studious for short bursts. He had had no trouble completing a page of Math or Writing practice. And Tamsyn was eager to begin and feel part of something again. She wanted a project to work on. So last Thursday morning I decided it was time to begin school even though two good friends came by the boat to ask me to join them for yoga.
We have a beautiful old ship's bell on board. When school begins (after breakfast) I ring the bell (one bell). At each recess, I ring the bell (one bell) and at the end of recess, I ring the bell (two bells) and at the end of the school day (three bells). The kids love to "get in line" at the end of recess. Griffyn races to the head of the line. "Just like we did at Lynndale Elementary," Tamsyn says. They line up inside the cockpit at the hatch waiting for me to call them in. We began our day with Math, using the Math curriculum from Lynndale. Tamsyn worked through 5 sheets and Griffyn one. Then it was recess. Then we worked on phonics, Tamsyn loves to lead and was good at coming up with lots of words and Griffyn is working on letter recognition and sounds. We sat on deck and did this with cards while looking out across the water at whatever we saw. Then we came inside and worked on writing - Owen and Griffyn worked on the alphabet while Tamsyn and I worked on answering emails from her friends back home. (Tamsyn reads the emails, writes out what she wants to say and I type it up). After lunch we sang a round "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" and discussed ABAB patterns, rounds and music parts and rhythym.
We all enjoyed school for two days and then it was Saturday and we felt we had earned it. We went for a ride in our dinghy (testing the third repair job) to the peninsula, called El Mogote. We waded barefoot around mangrove swamps, saw a couple different herons fishing and found a dead puffer fish at low tide. There were amazing star-shaped patterns on the sand created by tiny crabs and layers of crushed shells marking the highs of each tide. The water temperature was just like the Rum river (Anoka, MN) in summer, lovely. The day was warm and sunny with a light breeze. The clouds were high in the sky, wispy and whimsical. I watched an airplane's plume disappear into the stratosphere, a sharp line against all those soft thin rounded clouds. Without a working rig or a dinghy, we have only been able to get around on foot or the occasional drive when Owen can drive us. It was quite a treat to be moving over the water - our ultimate goal. We still do not know when we will see the wire for our rig or be able to sail away from the dock, but our friends who have all spent longer in La Paz then us continue to encourage us with phrases like - it will happen, eventually.
Monday was Valentine's Day and it took us a half a day to find Valentine's day treats so we spent the rest of the day eating them (on holiday). Also I had heard that Ace hardware might have some of the things I had been searching for - so I was eager to find out. We found our tea kettle there (the exact same one we had had in Seattle) and also a French Press (for coffee), a French butter keeper, a lovely wooden spoon, a rolling pin, a serrated plastic knife (for cutting up veges) and plastic egg cartons - Wow! So much in one store. I felt like I had died and gone to heaven. I love Ace hardware. Tuesday Tamsyn's desire to learn to sew overtook our formal school plans. We had discovered a fabric store over the weekend and she was eager to begin learning how to sew. Tomorrow we will begin by making an Alphabet to run the length of the settee. I want to make labels for everything on the boat that Griffyn can name.
Our school days last around 4 hours, beginning around 9:30/10 AM and ending around 2:00/2: 30 PM. I am the main teacher but Owen generally helps with Griffyn. Because we are still outfittng the boat, finding things we need and figuring out how to live here, we will not have school 5 days a week. My goal is to have school formally 3 days a week with a day or two of "project days" in between. We also have a Spanish Rosetta Stone program so soon I will add Spanish language lessons to our routine. I want to keep up with Math, reading and writing for Tamsyn regularly either during the school day or in the evenings and for Griffyn to work on phonics, letter and number recognition and eventually beginning reading/writing. He is already doing the simplest math equations.
This coming Thursday is Art Day at Lynndale Elementary. We look forward to making playdough (and working with it), beginning our stalagmites project, building sand castles and found object art and learning to take pictures with our underwater cameras.
Carrie
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Survived the windstorm
We did indeed survive the Norther, though when the big swells came into the docks and pinned us to the dock (against six bumpers) we had moments of anxiety for the boat. Top winds were around 32 knots (which is more in mph), but it was the swells the wind generated, and our position on the north side of the dock which created an uncomfortable couple of nights.
It also got quite cold. We had a low one morning of 47 degrees. I know, I know - don't cry for us. But still. We don't have a heater at the moment. It was nippy. One of things we did today was get Carrie a warmer pair of slacks, as none she brought were up to this cold weather. We also got both kids flip-flops today, and Griffyn got a new pair of sneakers.
Carrie has been great at making amazingly good meals for us, which has been quite an accomplishment in this different culture. Yesterday she made pancakes again for breakfast, and we all were at the table.
Our Dinghy is back and looks O.K., but it will take a ride under power to see if it is really repaired. Tomorrow. Our wire should cross the boarder Tuesday, and come down the Baja peninsula to us by the end of the week. Keep your fingers crossed.
School has been touch and go the last few days as there has been so much to do getting our boat papers, and importation documents for Mexico in order. We've also been going though our mountain of spare parts, identifying them (thanks Paul), and figuring which if any need to be easily accessible. Not many.
Some time back I mentioned these special moments Griffyn has been having on the boat. Well yesterday I caught one on camera. Early morning light becomes a play-thing.
It also got quite cold. We had a low one morning of 47 degrees. I know, I know - don't cry for us. But still. We don't have a heater at the moment. It was nippy. One of things we did today was get Carrie a warmer pair of slacks, as none she brought were up to this cold weather. We also got both kids flip-flops today, and Griffyn got a new pair of sneakers.
Carrie has been great at making amazingly good meals for us, which has been quite an accomplishment in this different culture. Yesterday she made pancakes again for breakfast, and we all were at the table.
Our Dinghy is back and looks O.K., but it will take a ride under power to see if it is really repaired. Tomorrow. Our wire should cross the boarder Tuesday, and come down the Baja peninsula to us by the end of the week. Keep your fingers crossed.
School has been touch and go the last few days as there has been so much to do getting our boat papers, and importation documents for Mexico in order. We've also been going though our mountain of spare parts, identifying them (thanks Paul), and figuring which if any need to be easily accessible. Not many.
Some time back I mentioned these special moments Griffyn has been having on the boat. Well yesterday I caught one on camera. Early morning light becomes a play-thing.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Waiting for " A Norther" to blow in
So it is entirely too long since we shared events with friends and family. We are still on the dock, waiting for wire. But there has been movement in the situation - more on that in a moment.
Tonight as I write I'm sitting at the dining table in our main salon. The boat is gently moving, and the movement is lulling Tamsyn to sleep. Griffyn crashed about an hour ago, and his mom fell asleep on one end of Griffyn's bed about 15 minutes ago.
The fact that I'm able to sit at the table and write is a major improvement in the stowing of gear. Major strides have been made along those lines. Two days ago I cleaned out what was intended to be the boat's "wet locker" - a place you store all the foul weather gear, life jackets, boots and stuff. This locker is termed "wet" because it's designed to hold wet dripping gear, and thus has a drain into the bilge. The previous owners had used this prime real estate for storing all kinds of junk that should be elsewhere.
Well, fed up with the sad state of what should be the most important locker on the boat (it was lined with mildewy burlap, and the locker sides were stained brown with age), I ripped out all the burlap, vacuumed, and painted the whole thing with white enamel paint. This evening I loaded all our life jackets and foulies into the wet locker for the first time.
Other gear is finding a home, and now the place were we had been storing the foul weather gear will become home to something else. It's kind of like one of those old puzzle games - the ones with little square tabs with either a picture or letter on them, and you had to slide all the other pieces around until you could assemble the picture or spell out the word. Each item displaces something, which in turn displaces something else, etc... until they hopefully end up in the place of the highest and best use - or something like that.
Tamsyn and Griffyn are doing pretty well. They are a little wild (hard to imagine) and not always easy the reign in. Much has happened in their lives the last few days. Three days ago I went up to the boatyard at the end of the dock prior to breakfast, and when I got back no one was on the boat. I went aboard figuring they would be back in time. No sooner had I gone one step down the ladder than I heard Carrie hollering for me to come quick - Griffyn had caught a fish, and I had better hurry.
Not knowing how Griffyn had gotten a pole, let alone caught a fish, I got off the boat and followed Carrie down to the end of the dock - some 200 feet away. There were three youngish employees of the boat yard we were at (it was their day off) with poles and a bucket, and Griffyn and Tamsyn - both with poles, and both catching a big 12 inch fish every minute of so. There was an incredible run of these spotted fish whose name I don't know. In a few minutes they had landed eight fish - fish that would end up being dinner that night. So now the kids are very much in love with fishing.
One of our neighbors on the dock is a nice old guy by the name of Ivar. Ivar's got a big old wooden powerboat, and has been much help to us in finding where to shop, and pushing coffee on us in the morning. Now Ivar's in his 70's and has had ten kids through a couple of marriages; his youngest kids are Gabriel and Alejandro. Three days ago I introduced my two kids to Ivar's two kids, and before I knew it they were fast friends chasing around and fishing together at the end of the dock.
Now the wire. At the end of last week, Fisheries Supply in Seattle, who I had bought the wire from, was being very difficult. When I bought the wire, they said it would be no problem sending it to La Paz - they do it all the time. The suggested using DHL, and all would be great. I gave Fisheries a lot of money - and a week later my rigging wire was supposed to be in La Paz.
If you read earlier entries, you know that's not what happened. Turns out that DHL is not, and never has been, a BONDED carried in Mexico. That means they cannot ship Bonded goods for a "Vessel in Transit," and thus goods sent by them have to have huge duty (like taxes) paid in addition to the item cost and the shipping. Well, Fisheries Supply has maintained that somehow we were to blame for the wire not making it to La Paz, and that they filled out all the paperwork correctly.
After numerous communications with DHL Mexico, we determined that there was no way they could ship to La Paz. I pointed this out to Fisheries Supply, and at this point (last Thursday) they said it was my problem, I should figure it out myself. DHL Mexico wanted an additional $650.00 to release the wire. Well.. I let 'em have it. I fired off a ton of emails to folks I know, and the next day they gave me a full refund. Hooray! Now I've got wire on order from a different supplier and am working out the shipping. So, some positive movement.
Lots of other milestones too. We received our first weather faxes over Single Sideband radio. We attached custom made bow pulpit supports, got our vessel documentation from the U.S. Coast Guard, and probably tomorrow we'll get our Temporary Import Permit for our boat to be in Mexico.
Tomorrow we are supposed to get the beginnings of a windstorm called a Norther. A Norther forms when there is a huge high pressure system over New Mexico. That dense air wants to rush to places where there is lower pressure - like the waters to the south of La Paz, and the resultant wind has us in its sights. They are predicting a couple days of high wind and gale warnings. I've re-inflated our bumpers, and put up the running backstays to help support the rig, which is weaker than it should be because a couple of shrouds have been removed. So we wait for the winds to come.
My mission for the next couple of days is to slow down a bit and spend more time with the kids, and balance the parenting load with Carrie more. The boat is starting to come together. Congrats to my friend Michelle for landing a job she'll do great in - my old job in Edmonds!
Owen
Tonight as I write I'm sitting at the dining table in our main salon. The boat is gently moving, and the movement is lulling Tamsyn to sleep. Griffyn crashed about an hour ago, and his mom fell asleep on one end of Griffyn's bed about 15 minutes ago.
The fact that I'm able to sit at the table and write is a major improvement in the stowing of gear. Major strides have been made along those lines. Two days ago I cleaned out what was intended to be the boat's "wet locker" - a place you store all the foul weather gear, life jackets, boots and stuff. This locker is termed "wet" because it's designed to hold wet dripping gear, and thus has a drain into the bilge. The previous owners had used this prime real estate for storing all kinds of junk that should be elsewhere.
Well, fed up with the sad state of what should be the most important locker on the boat (it was lined with mildewy burlap, and the locker sides were stained brown with age), I ripped out all the burlap, vacuumed, and painted the whole thing with white enamel paint. This evening I loaded all our life jackets and foulies into the wet locker for the first time.
Other gear is finding a home, and now the place were we had been storing the foul weather gear will become home to something else. It's kind of like one of those old puzzle games - the ones with little square tabs with either a picture or letter on them, and you had to slide all the other pieces around until you could assemble the picture or spell out the word. Each item displaces something, which in turn displaces something else, etc... until they hopefully end up in the place of the highest and best use - or something like that.
Tamsyn and Griffyn are doing pretty well. They are a little wild (hard to imagine) and not always easy the reign in. Much has happened in their lives the last few days. Three days ago I went up to the boatyard at the end of the dock prior to breakfast, and when I got back no one was on the boat. I went aboard figuring they would be back in time. No sooner had I gone one step down the ladder than I heard Carrie hollering for me to come quick - Griffyn had caught a fish, and I had better hurry.
Not knowing how Griffyn had gotten a pole, let alone caught a fish, I got off the boat and followed Carrie down to the end of the dock - some 200 feet away. There were three youngish employees of the boat yard we were at (it was their day off) with poles and a bucket, and Griffyn and Tamsyn - both with poles, and both catching a big 12 inch fish every minute of so. There was an incredible run of these spotted fish whose name I don't know. In a few minutes they had landed eight fish - fish that would end up being dinner that night. So now the kids are very much in love with fishing.
One of our neighbors on the dock is a nice old guy by the name of Ivar. Ivar's got a big old wooden powerboat, and has been much help to us in finding where to shop, and pushing coffee on us in the morning. Now Ivar's in his 70's and has had ten kids through a couple of marriages; his youngest kids are Gabriel and Alejandro. Three days ago I introduced my two kids to Ivar's two kids, and before I knew it they were fast friends chasing around and fishing together at the end of the dock.
Now the wire. At the end of last week, Fisheries Supply in Seattle, who I had bought the wire from, was being very difficult. When I bought the wire, they said it would be no problem sending it to La Paz - they do it all the time. The suggested using DHL, and all would be great. I gave Fisheries a lot of money - and a week later my rigging wire was supposed to be in La Paz.
If you read earlier entries, you know that's not what happened. Turns out that DHL is not, and never has been, a BONDED carried in Mexico. That means they cannot ship Bonded goods for a "Vessel in Transit," and thus goods sent by them have to have huge duty (like taxes) paid in addition to the item cost and the shipping. Well, Fisheries Supply has maintained that somehow we were to blame for the wire not making it to La Paz, and that they filled out all the paperwork correctly.
After numerous communications with DHL Mexico, we determined that there was no way they could ship to La Paz. I pointed this out to Fisheries Supply, and at this point (last Thursday) they said it was my problem, I should figure it out myself. DHL Mexico wanted an additional $650.00 to release the wire. Well.. I let 'em have it. I fired off a ton of emails to folks I know, and the next day they gave me a full refund. Hooray! Now I've got wire on order from a different supplier and am working out the shipping. So, some positive movement.
Lots of other milestones too. We received our first weather faxes over Single Sideband radio. We attached custom made bow pulpit supports, got our vessel documentation from the U.S. Coast Guard, and probably tomorrow we'll get our Temporary Import Permit for our boat to be in Mexico.
Tomorrow we are supposed to get the beginnings of a windstorm called a Norther. A Norther forms when there is a huge high pressure system over New Mexico. That dense air wants to rush to places where there is lower pressure - like the waters to the south of La Paz, and the resultant wind has us in its sights. They are predicting a couple days of high wind and gale warnings. I've re-inflated our bumpers, and put up the running backstays to help support the rig, which is weaker than it should be because a couple of shrouds have been removed. So we wait for the winds to come.
My mission for the next couple of days is to slow down a bit and spend more time with the kids, and balance the parenting load with Carrie more. The boat is starting to come together. Congrats to my friend Michelle for landing a job she'll do great in - my old job in Edmonds!
Owen
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Photo Post - Found the Camera
Here are a few backlogged pictures. Hope they give a little sense of the place.
****
Sunset from our boat.
A couple of locals along the waterfront walk - the Malecon.
****
Sunset from our boat.
A couple of locals along the waterfront walk - the Malecon.
Tamsyn and Griffyn onboard Madrona.
Carrie in her kitchen...
Tamsyn in her fronds.
Griffyn with his spikes.
And last of all - our boat's interior layout. Hope you've enjoyed. Later.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
The Sky is Falling!
I woke up this morning and something horrible and strange had happened to the sky. There was this puffy white stuff hanging up above the bay - almost like a white ceiling - and I felt uneasy because I had never seen such a sight here in La Paz. Clouds. Feel bad for us.
Well... things have been going along fairly well. Still no definitive word on the rigging wire. They want more money, etc..., and we may have to engage a shipping agent to help us out. Back when I lived in Africa we had an expression there. TIA. This is Africa. It kind of was a reminder to Mzungu's (whites) of where they were, and all that that implies.
Well, I think another expression should be coined - TIM; This is Mexico. File under Manana.
Stowing of gear is progressing. Clothing is put away, snap-lock food storage containers are aboard. Easy to get at provisioning storage areas are cleaned out (we keep finding "treasures" belonging to the previous owners), and food shopping has commenced.
I've set up my work area for the computer. It's at the Navigation Station desk. There, above the desk I have installed a nice "RAM" brand swing arm laptop mounting unit so my computer can be at eye level while I do my interpretive artwork. Also that location for the computer works well for using the computer when it is functioning as a navigational aid while under weigh. We run software called MaxSea that interfaces with one of our GPS units, and shows the boat's position on a chart in real time. We have charts for the whole world (as well as paper charts for large chunks of it).
Currently I'm working on jobs for a nature reserve on the Hudson River in New York state, and am gearing up to finish a half completed project for a wildlife demonstration garden in Edmonds (waiting for text). I also have to update my website with two years of new artwork. Oh.. and a dozen other work related things too.
Tamsyn and Griffyn have begun winter term of school with reading, writing, math, and even some science. As the teachers are uber busy still getting the boat put together, they are still getting off easy compared to what will be the case a week hence. Some of the newness of the boat is wearing off, and now they are finding their favorite spaces (quarter berth), and games (doggie races).
Carrie and I are still mostly attending to the basics; getting the boat livable, while leaving time to make food, do dishes, work on contracts, and a fair amount of walking around trying to find stores that sell the item you really need but cannot find.
We wake around seven; doze for half an hour, then get up around half past the hour. At eight we hear the bells being struck at the naval base next door, much at they have been struck for hundreds of years on navy ships the world round. Then it's to the shower, and back for the morning radio net.
We have a backlog of pictures to share, but as evening rolls around and the kids go to sleep, we find ourselves fading as fast as the twilight here (as we are further south than the Florida Keys night falls quickly). Last night Carrie fell asleep sitting down on the cabin sole while in the process of stowing clothes in a forward locker. My routine of late has been to work for an hour before be, and then when I crawl into our rack - in the V-Berth - I manage to read 1 or 2 pages of the novel I'm reading (The First Man in Rome) before my eyes blur and I find myself re-reading the same paragraph I was reading five eternal minutes before. Bye bye to another day.
Our friend Paul (from S/V Jeorgia - an Edmonds boat) has been so great in helping get our systems checked out. In the last few days we've verified that the Pactor modem (which interfaces with the Single Side Band radio (SSB) is working great. This modem will not only allow us to do email on the high seas through the SSB radio, but also us to download weather faxes and satellite images from NOAA while at sea. So a good thing to have in working order.
We also have a visit yesterday from Steve from S/V Saben (another Edmonds boat). So it's great to have familiar faces from home around. Good to hear from friends back home who are reading this blog. Thanks. Tamsyn is anxious to write about her experiences here.
Wildlife moment of the day - seeing about fifty frigate birds circling like a big school of fish above gently waving palm trees on the waterfront. Sunny tomorrow. That's the news from Lake Wobegon.
Owen
Well... things have been going along fairly well. Still no definitive word on the rigging wire. They want more money, etc..., and we may have to engage a shipping agent to help us out. Back when I lived in Africa we had an expression there. TIA. This is Africa. It kind of was a reminder to Mzungu's (whites) of where they were, and all that that implies.
Well, I think another expression should be coined - TIM; This is Mexico. File under Manana.
Stowing of gear is progressing. Clothing is put away, snap-lock food storage containers are aboard. Easy to get at provisioning storage areas are cleaned out (we keep finding "treasures" belonging to the previous owners), and food shopping has commenced.
I've set up my work area for the computer. It's at the Navigation Station desk. There, above the desk I have installed a nice "RAM" brand swing arm laptop mounting unit so my computer can be at eye level while I do my interpretive artwork. Also that location for the computer works well for using the computer when it is functioning as a navigational aid while under weigh. We run software called MaxSea that interfaces with one of our GPS units, and shows the boat's position on a chart in real time. We have charts for the whole world (as well as paper charts for large chunks of it).
Currently I'm working on jobs for a nature reserve on the Hudson River in New York state, and am gearing up to finish a half completed project for a wildlife demonstration garden in Edmonds (waiting for text). I also have to update my website with two years of new artwork. Oh.. and a dozen other work related things too.
Tamsyn and Griffyn have begun winter term of school with reading, writing, math, and even some science. As the teachers are uber busy still getting the boat put together, they are still getting off easy compared to what will be the case a week hence. Some of the newness of the boat is wearing off, and now they are finding their favorite spaces (quarter berth), and games (doggie races).
Carrie and I are still mostly attending to the basics; getting the boat livable, while leaving time to make food, do dishes, work on contracts, and a fair amount of walking around trying to find stores that sell the item you really need but cannot find.
We wake around seven; doze for half an hour, then get up around half past the hour. At eight we hear the bells being struck at the naval base next door, much at they have been struck for hundreds of years on navy ships the world round. Then it's to the shower, and back for the morning radio net.
We have a backlog of pictures to share, but as evening rolls around and the kids go to sleep, we find ourselves fading as fast as the twilight here (as we are further south than the Florida Keys night falls quickly). Last night Carrie fell asleep sitting down on the cabin sole while in the process of stowing clothes in a forward locker. My routine of late has been to work for an hour before be, and then when I crawl into our rack - in the V-Berth - I manage to read 1 or 2 pages of the novel I'm reading (The First Man in Rome) before my eyes blur and I find myself re-reading the same paragraph I was reading five eternal minutes before. Bye bye to another day.
Our friend Paul (from S/V Jeorgia - an Edmonds boat) has been so great in helping get our systems checked out. In the last few days we've verified that the Pactor modem (which interfaces with the Single Side Band radio (SSB) is working great. This modem will not only allow us to do email on the high seas through the SSB radio, but also us to download weather faxes and satellite images from NOAA while at sea. So a good thing to have in working order.
We also have a visit yesterday from Steve from S/V Saben (another Edmonds boat). So it's great to have familiar faces from home around. Good to hear from friends back home who are reading this blog. Thanks. Tamsyn is anxious to write about her experiences here.
Wildlife moment of the day - seeing about fifty frigate birds circling like a big school of fish above gently waving palm trees on the waterfront. Sunny tomorrow. That's the news from Lake Wobegon.
Owen
Peace on Sunday
With a slight breeze, at 9:30 AM, it was warm (about 75 degrees F) and sunny. The water was calm and shiny blue. La Paz means peace.
Sunday morning we sat in the cockpit eating our oatmeal with raisins and milk. It was a special morning because I had made hot cocoa from scratch. Sunday is different than other days because there is no 8:00 AM weather report, no roll call, no news on the VHF radio – the boating community party line. On Sunday most stores are closed all day. Nobody would be coming by to fix the rig or the cabin lights or the dinghy, the boat yard would be quiet all day, no charters or taxi boats would make big waves early in the morning, waking us up.
We began our day knowing it would be a slower day, no exhausting “shopping” trips. We needed a break from trying to find our way around an open market or even an American-style supermarket where all the prices are in pesos and the names in Spanish. The supermarket was only a mile from the boat. I never got lost physically just psychologically. I spent a long time looking for necessities like baking powder - (unsuccessful), trying to decipher flours types (I bought corn meal), choosing a moisturizer (eventually giving up and choosing the only brand I recognized.) No trips to town trying to find the “dollar” store and ending up in the open market where the banyos (restrooms) cost 4 pesos/person and the lunch and snacks (me and the kids) end up costing more than the containers we never found. No strangers for a whole day – even though they were all friendly and incredibly helpful - I just couldn’t chat with another displaced gringo who told me their life story in five minutes.
Today we would stay at home. We still couldn’t sit in the salon or eat at our table, but maybe I would figure out how to soak (in iodine) all those fruits and vegetables I bought two days ago – so we could eat them. Maybe we would put our clothes in drawers and cupboards today (and throw out those old suitcases), maybe I would find my flip flops and take a shower (at the marina banyo), maybe I would cook something (other than eggs or oatmeal) on our stove in the galley. I was feeling hopeful after we stowed the children’s books and realized there was more room for books. Maybe I would download a kindle cookbook for my birthday (as yet uncelebrated - it was the day we moved).
Maybe …..
The day was full of possibilities and I was feeling as bright as the sunshine and as cool as the light airy breeze off the water. It was a peaceful morning as everyone sat in the cockpit and drank real Hershey's cocoa.
Carrie
Sunday morning we sat in the cockpit eating our oatmeal with raisins and milk. It was a special morning because I had made hot cocoa from scratch. Sunday is different than other days because there is no 8:00 AM weather report, no roll call, no news on the VHF radio – the boating community party line. On Sunday most stores are closed all day. Nobody would be coming by to fix the rig or the cabin lights or the dinghy, the boat yard would be quiet all day, no charters or taxi boats would make big waves early in the morning, waking us up.
We began our day knowing it would be a slower day, no exhausting “shopping” trips. We needed a break from trying to find our way around an open market or even an American-style supermarket where all the prices are in pesos and the names in Spanish. The supermarket was only a mile from the boat. I never got lost physically just psychologically. I spent a long time looking for necessities like baking powder - (unsuccessful), trying to decipher flours types (I bought corn meal), choosing a moisturizer (eventually giving up and choosing the only brand I recognized.) No trips to town trying to find the “dollar” store and ending up in the open market where the banyos (restrooms) cost 4 pesos/person and the lunch and snacks (me and the kids) end up costing more than the containers we never found. No strangers for a whole day – even though they were all friendly and incredibly helpful - I just couldn’t chat with another displaced gringo who told me their life story in five minutes.
Today we would stay at home. We still couldn’t sit in the salon or eat at our table, but maybe I would figure out how to soak (in iodine) all those fruits and vegetables I bought two days ago – so we could eat them. Maybe we would put our clothes in drawers and cupboards today (and throw out those old suitcases), maybe I would find my flip flops and take a shower (at the marina banyo), maybe I would cook something (other than eggs or oatmeal) on our stove in the galley. I was feeling hopeful after we stowed the children’s books and realized there was more room for books. Maybe I would download a kindle cookbook for my birthday (as yet uncelebrated - it was the day we moved).
Maybe …..
The day was full of possibilities and I was feeling as bright as the sunshine and as cool as the light airy breeze off the water. It was a peaceful morning as everyone sat in the cockpit and drank real Hershey's cocoa.
Carrie
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