Projects Galore in Mazatlan

Friday, May 1.
Happy May Day. John and Sandy got back from their trip to the Copper River Canyon. They said it was a great trip.

Dave was fixing coffee in the French press this morning when it exploded and burned his left forearm just by the wrist which is the real tender area. Unfortunately I ground the coffee beans too small and it created a huge pressure and blew out the screen you push down to make the coffee. He ended up with a 2nd degree burn. We put ice on it right away and kept doing that on and off until it quit burning. Then he put Aloe Vera on religiously after that. I felt really bad.

Outside of that not much is going on here. This is a holiday weekend for the Mexican people. It is their independence day. We are seeing a few more Mexican families at the resort to enjoy a mini vacation. Turns out these people were from Mexico City coming where it is warm to keep from getting the swine flu.

I worked on my blog most of the day and for the first time since I started it I actually got it posted on the first of the month. I didn’t have as many pictures this time. Once the blog was posted I read for a while and then I had to get up and go do my stair climbing. I came back to the boat and read some more. Then I decided to go for a brisk walk around the resort. I just haven’t been getting enough exercise and I’ve been sitting too much. I thought of walking around town, but decided I wouldn’t see much because everything is closed. This is a big place so I’ll just walk around the grounds. As I passed the pool with the slides I saw quite a few people in the pool and thought that the water must be warming up because there were a few adults with their kids there. I’ll have to try it out one of these days.

Dave got an email from Jim Dixon saying he is getting the solar panels ready for shipment.

John and Sandy invited us to go to the pool and hot tub and then come over for dinner. The water in the pool, that has the slides, is warm now so it is refreshing. When Dave and I got to the hot tub area we found John and Sandy in the pool to cool down before moving to the hot tub. So Dave and I joined them in the pool and it was a little chilly when you first got in but was really refreshing after that. We talked for a while and then moved to the hot tub. After soaking a while we got out, rinsed off and Dave and I went back to our boat to dry and change clothes and John and Sandy went to their boat to do the same. After we got dressed we walked to their boat and had cocktails and then salad and bread for dinner with chicken. It was really good. Then we looked at pictures of their trip to Copper River Canyon. It looked like a neat trip. The Mexican people up there make baskets out of pine needles and sell them to visitors. They don’t have any modern conveniences and they walk from their homes everywhere. There were a lot of trails not many roads. I hope Dave and I can visit there before we leave Mexico. There are a lot of places we can visit around here if we take a bus, train, or rent a car.

After the pictures we said goodnight. It was a fun evening. Their daughter Angie and her husband Dave will be visiting them in a couple of weeks and then I think their other daughter Mindy and family will come down after that. When their company leaves I think they will be leaving for the Sea of Cortez. We won’t be far behind them.

We found out from Sandy and John that Marina Palmira in La Paz, has changed ownership and have raised the rates. The cruisers that were there left and went to the other marinas because it got too expensive. So now we are second guessing whether we will stop in La Paz. If we do it will be to anchor for a couple of days because the other marinas are full. I had planned on doing my final provisioning there but it makes it hard to do a lot of shopping and lug it all back to the boat in the dinghy. Dave has emailed Palmira to find out what is going on and then we will make our decision when he finds out. The Mexican people don’t do good business here. They want more money, but they raise the rates so much that cruisers can’t afford to stay so they leave. But they don’t seem to care. They will get the fishing vessels and big power boats to pay the price. It all comes down to money. They don’t realize that if you lower the price more people will come. Oh well. So we shall see what happens.

Saturday, May 2.
It’s pretty quiet here. There are a few Mexicans down here looking after the boats and washing them as usual. There are few people at the pool. Things are slowing down. I have heard it will be this way until June then it will pick up for a couple of months with August being very slow due to the heat and humidity.

Dave keeps putting the Aloe Vera on his arm. He says it doesn’t hurt anymore. It is still red.

Well it is time for me to do some walking and get the blood circulating. I walked my stairs and enjoyed the views. Then I went back to the boat. It was so warm on the boat that I decided to go to the pool with the slides and sit there because you can feel the breeze. So I walked over there and found John and Sandy lounging around by the pool. I visited with them a little and then walked toward the point and sat and read my book and enjoyed the breeze. I also enjoyed watching the kids and adults play in the pool. There was one little girl that wanted mom to come with her down the slide, but mom didn’t want too. The little girl didn’t want to go by herself so her and mom disappeared for a while. Later on here she comes with dad. Dad took her twice down the slide and then the little girl was brave enough to go by herself. She had a blast. It is fun to listen to the laughter of a little kid. It was going on 5 o’clock so it was time for me to leave and go back to the boat and see about dinner. I said goodbye to John and Sandy. Once back on the boat I started to fix dinner. After dinner I went up and took a shower and then relaxed for the rest of the evening. There is a party over across the water. I’m hoping it doesn’t get too loud.

Dave and I watched some T.V. and then we finally went to bed. The music was a little loud and sounded like music for young people. I think it will last a while. Darn. I hope we can get some sleep.

Sunday, May 3.
It sure is quiet around here. There is only one person at the pool so far. The workers don’t show up until 10:00am. The party across the water went on until around 2:00-2:30am. I didn’t sleep much. The music was pretty loud and it was in a building. Imagine what it was like inside?! I was able to sleep some after the music ended. It has also been warm which doesn’t help either. I’m not complaining just stating facts. I don’t mind. I’d rather be here than in the cold. I’ll take whatever comes my way.

It was pretty warm so I decided to go to my favorite spot by the channel opening to the marina and grab a lounge chair and sit and read my book. It was so nice. No one else was there and the breeze felt good and so did the sun. It didn’t seem really hot with the breeze. I sat in the sun for a while and then decided I needed to move into the shade. I tried to doze but just wasn’t tired enough. I was there until around 5:00pm then came back to the boat. Dave and I had a cocktail and sat and enjoyed the breeze. Then I boiled brauts and Dave cooked them on the BBQ. We had brauts and chips for dinner. After dinner and cleanup Dave and I went outside and smoked a cigar. It was such a nice night. The humidity hasn’t set in yet. After that we went below and watched some T.V. Then we went to bed. We shouldn’t have trouble sleeping since no bands will be playing tonight.

Monday, May 4.
It is going to be a hot day today. Dave and I have been trying to drink Gatorade to keep our electrolytes up. Unfortunately every time you move you sweat. It is just a fact of life. You just figure you will get a shower at the end of the day.

We met the lady that has been doing the net control for a long time. Marty and her husband Peter just got in this morning. They had a better trip than we did coming north. They had NW winds and were able to motor sail. Bummer!! Well you just never know what adventure awaits you. I guess God knows we can handle it. He says He won’t give you more than you can handle. So there you go.

We ran the engine for a while to make sure the heat exchanger and all was working properly and then Dave and I changed the transmission oil and put new oil in. Then we ran the engine and shifted into gear. That didn’t sound good at all. There was a clunk when the gearshift engaged. Dave looked at it and sprayed some WD40 on it and worked it until the button below the gearshift handle moved in and out easily. It had a bunch of gunk in the handle and I don’t think we were able to pull that knob out all the way because of it. It has been like that since we have had the boat. That knob when pulled out keeps the boat from moving. When Dave engaged the gearshift it sounded a lot better. I think he will take the mechanism apart and see if the rest of it needs to be cleaned. The gearshift has always been hard to push and pull so maybe now it will work like it is suppose to. After that was done and things were put away, we had lunch. We needed to go to Wal-Mart to get some propane, wine, and a few other things. So we decided we better leave now.

We took the bus to Wal-Mart, got most of the stuff we needed. I will have to come back another day because they only had 2 bottles left of the green canister propane and we need much more. We prefer those canisters as to the long blue ones. Whatever we can get I guess is what matters. After we checked out we walked across the street to catch the bus back. It was a long wait. We had buses coming but just not the one we needed to get back to the marina. So we waited and then finally one came along and we made it back to the marina. We took the stuff to the boat and I put them away.

Dave’s arm blistered a little. But he continued to put the Aloe Vera on it and it looks better. He is losing the first layer of skin so it is pink, but it is getting better. I ground the rest of the coffee beans so they weren’t as fine this time and the French press works great. So if you have a French press, don’t use really fine coffee grounds in it.

We had rib eye steak, baked potato, salad, and bread for dinner. It was filling. So much so I didn’t finish my steak or potato. That is o.k. because Dave will get the steak in a sandwich tomorrow and I’ll have the rest of my potato for lunch. It all works out so you don’t have to waist any food.

After dinner was over and dishes done we were invited to another cruisers boat to visit. There were 2 other couples there we knew. We had a fun time. We stayed for a while and then it was getting late so it was time to leave. Actually we all left at the same time. Dave and I walked back to our boat and went below and watched some T.V. There wasn’t much on and Dave was going to bed so I turned the T.V. off and played a few of my computer games and then went to bed.

Tuesday, May 5.
Happy Birthday to our grandson Eian!!! He is 10 today. He sure is growing up fast. I will call him this evening before we go to watch the outdoor movie. They are showing the movie 300 tonight. We have seen it but like I said it is fun to see them on a big sheet in the open air.
Dave’s arm is healing. Every day it looks better and better. Thank goodness.

Dave checked his emails this morning and found an email saying the solar panels are here and we can pick them up. He got instructions on how to get to the place he needs to pick them up from and then had to figure a way to transport them to the boat. As it turned out the head of security for the marina offered Dave his truck which was really nice. They must like him a lot. Dave really didn’t want to drive so he thought he would check with John on s/v Denali to see if he could take Dave to get the panels. He finally got a hold of John and he said no problem. So while Dave went off to get the panels I stayed behind to wash the dodger, bimini, screens and cockpit. We haven’t washed it since we have been back. If we are going to put solar panels on top of the dodger I want it to be clean. Dave timed his trip perfectly because I had just finished cleaning when he got home. We unpacked the two panels and put them in Eain’s stateroom for now so they are out of the elements and will stay clean and unscratched. Dave said it wasn’t as easy as he hoped it would be. The solar panels were supposed to be at a place called aeromexpress but when he got there they weren’t there. They told him he had to go to the airport at the cargo office to pick them up. That is a long way away. But John had a few other things to do so he got them done and Dave got the panels and all is well. Now he just has to figure out how he is going to install them.

Our projects are going to be done soon and then we will be leaving to go into the Sea of Cortez. We still haven’t heard from Marina Palmira on rates. We’ll just have to wait and see how that goes. Dave was hoping to get some batteries for the boat in La Paz. We’ll see.

I fixed lunch for Dave and finished putting the cockpit back together. I washed the cushions and the pads on the floor so everything is clean.

John and Sandy are coming over at 6:00pm for margaritas since today is Cinco de Mayo!!! A good reason to drink margaritas you think? After John and Sandy leave I will fix us a salad for dinner and then at 8:00pm we will go watch the movie.

I’m off to the shower and so is Dave. Ramon the canvas guy is suppose to come out tomorrow with the cover to hang above the deck on the bow and the side curtain for where the refrigerator and freezer are. That will be nice to have the shade over our stateroom. It’s been staying warm at night. Yes!! We do have air conditioning but we don’t want to use it all the time. We are really going to need it in the Sea. We run the fans a lot to keep air circulating which helps. There has been a little bit of a breeze too which helps. Dave said we are supposed to get 20% chance of rain on Thursday. It will probably cloud up and if it does rain it will evaporate before hitting the ground as warm as it has been. A little rain would be nice. WAIT!!! Did I just say rain would be nice??? Well it is warm rain not cold so there is the big difference. HA!!! You thought you had me there didn’t you? Fooled you! Cheers!!!!

John and Sandy came over a little after 6:00 pm and Sandy brought a feta appetizer with her. We fixed margaritas and had her perfected appetizer on crackers which was very good. When we finished that I cut some pepper cheese and added crackers. That pretty much was dinner. We had a good visit and probably around 8:30pm or so John and Sandy said goodnight. We didn’t go to the movie because we remembered it was pretty bloody and gory so we are skipping it.

I called to talk to Eian to wish him a happy birthday but nobody answered the phone so I left a message. I’m sure they were busy or he was in bed.

Wednesday, May 6.
It is a hot day today. Dave walked to the ATM machine this morning so he will have money for Ramon, the canvas guy, when he shows up. It will be nice to have that cover over the bow since I’m sure it will cool the boat tremendously. Our neighbor George, across the dock from us had a cover made for his boat and he said it helps a lot.

While Dave went to the ATM machine, I vacuumed the floors and the panels for the fans and air conditioners. It was time. I checked the units for the refrigerator and freezer and those stayed pretty clean. My other shark vacuum gave up the ghost and I have been trying to find a replacement but with no luck. I already have a 1.0 gal wet/dry vacuum which I have been using but the attachments for the shark don’t fit the hose for the wet/dry vac. I was going to take all those attachments and put them by the dumpster for someone else to have if they wanted when Dave had a brilliant idea. He cut an end off one of the attachments for the shark and tried to attach it to the wet/dry vac. Well with some finagling, he managed to get one of the shark hoses that attaches to the floor attachment to work. I tried it out and it works great. It will do until I can find actually attachments for the wet/dry vacuum. Dave is pretty clever so I think I will keep him around!!!!

Today Dave put one of the solar panels on top of the dodger to see how it would sit. The mounts were not tall enough to keep the junction box off the dodger. So he will have to have some made out of stainless steel which is better than the aluminum ones. Not good for salty conditions. He had a piece of wood he cut to fit underneath one of the ends of the panel and it worked great. He was seeing if the height was going to be good and it was. All he needed was an inch. So now he will have to contact the stainless steel guy, Rosette, and see if he can make 12 of those pedestals for us. We would have 6 for each panel and have rubber glued onto the feet so it will give a little and not scratch up the fiberglass under it. Then all he needs to worry about is how to get it wired to the main panel. He tested the solar panel to see if it was putting out volts and it was, 19 volts. Among trying to help Dave with the panel and all, I managed to wash the underside of the dodger. Next I want to polish the stainless steel. But I won’t do that today. I’ve had enough of the heat. I fixed us a sandwich and then helped Dave put the solar panel back in Eian’s room.

Dave is checking parts he needs to get the panels in. So he is making a list for a Home Depot visit and drawing Rosette a pattern of the feet that will mount the panels.

I am done for the day and toying with going to the pool to cool off. I wanted to work on the stainless steel in the cockpit but that can wait until tomorrow.

It looks as though many of the people that were here went home. The pools are pretty empty. People are back to work and school now and the threat of the swine flu is easing off. There were no cases reported here in Mazatlan. Like I said before it is just too hot for it to survive here. This is a good thing for us.

Dave called and talked to a person at Marina Palmira. The gal that used to work there doesn’t any more. There are no more cruiser special rates and it is 62-64 cents a foot. It is about the same there as it is here. I think we will go and spend a couple days or so there so Dave can check out batteries and I can provision some more.

I think it is pool time now.

I’m back from the pool. The water was cool and refreshing. Dave and I had a cocktail and then it was dinner time. We had a salad. After that we just relaxed.

Thursday, May 7.
Mr. Rosette came by this morning so Dave could explain to him the brackets he wants made for the panels. He gave him a drawing of what he wanted with measurements and then asked him about the welding job and holes cut into the stainless steel for the solar panel wires to go through. Mr. Rosette quoted a price of 4000 pesos, about $305 U.S. His workers will be here next week to do the welding and Mr. Rosette will have the brackets done for the panels to set on by then too. Then Dave will work his magic and put the panels in.

After Mr. Rosette left Dave waited to hear from John about when he was leaving to do errands. One of the places John was going, Dave wanted stuff from there too. So around 10:30am or so John called and said he was ready to go. Dave met John and Sandy at the top of the dock and off they went. I stayed behind to clean up the boat and work on the stainless steel. I took laundry up to the laundry lady and she said she would have it for me in a couple of hours. That was amazing because usually you get it back the next day. That would work for me. I was also waiting for Ramon to show up with the cover for our bow. As I was coming out of the laundry room by the harbor master office, I met Ramon. He and I walked down to the boat and he explained he would get the fabric today. He said because of the swine flu scare a lot of businesses closed for a few days so he couldn’t get his fabric. He has 5 jobs he is working on and so he has been put on hold until the fabric arrives. He assured me he would get the fabric in, cut it and the cover would be on the boat by Sunday. So it was a little disappointing as we were really looking forward to having some shade. It’s been so warm it is hard to sleep. Ramon went to the boat next door to us and got an order to make something for him then left.

I took the travasak bedding (it is like a sleeping bag and one side has a summer weight and the other a winter weight and then sheets that Velcro top and bottom inside the sak) and the cover for the mattress pad up and washed them. I dried the mattress pad cover and then brought all the laundry back down to the boat as Norma, the laundry lady, was finished with my load. Once on the boat I hung the bedding over the sheet lines which are above our stateroom to help shade the deck below and dry everything. It actually helped cool it off down stairs a little. I worked on polishing the stainless steel, but had to use the aluminum polish because that was all we had. I really didn’t like the results because when you rubbed it off you had to really rub it but still left a film on it. I called it quits and decided I would do more tomorrow. I went to the bow to check on the bedding and it was dry. I took them down and brought them inside then I went back to the bow and hung a blue tarp over the hatches to keep the heat out. It works well but works better when there is a breeze. By this time Dave came back and asked about the cover. I told him what Ramon said and he wasn’t happy because he thought Ramon already had the fabric here in his shop. That is what happens. We just have to wait a couple more days. I went below after hanging the tarp and started to put the mattress pad on the mattress when my right shoulder gave me a pain. I moved it and it hurt even more. Uh oh!!! So I took an ibuprophen and went back to working with the bed. The pain was strong enough that I cried out and Dave asked what was wrong. So I told him and he asked if I needed help. Yep!!!! So he put the cover on the mattress and I was able to nurse my shoulder as I was putting the travasak on the bed with the sheets. I finished the job and called it quits. I need to rest the muscle. I put my suit on and went to the pool and hung out with John and Sandy for a while. I got into the pool right after picking a chair next to Sandy. Ahhhhhhh!!! Now that is what I’m talking about!!! I got out and sat and read for a bit then talked to Sandy then Sandy and I went to the hot tub to soak for a little bit. It was hot but I needed to relax the shoulder muscle. Then I went down the slide into the pool with Sandy and went back to the boat. I changed and Dave and I had a cocktail and relaxed.

There is usually a screen up for a movie, but we didn’t get a flyer today so we don’t know if there is a movie or not. They didn’t have an advertisement by the pool either like they usually do. So we asked around and found out the movie was Flip with Adam Sandler. I’m pretty sure we are going to watch it tonight. They put the screen up while Dave and I were eating dinner. John and Sandy are going to the movie too after they get back from dinner. After we finished dinner I made some popcorn and took that up with us and a bottle of wine. We held a couple of chairs for John and Sandy but they didn’t come so we figured they decided not to watch it. Shortly after I took our jackets off the chairs we were saving for them, they showed up but the chairs had already been taken by someone else. Suddenly here comes Sandy and she sits at the bottom of my lounge chair. Come to find out they had already seen the movie so they said hi and goodbye and went to their boat. The movie was cute.

Friday, May 8.
Not much going on today. I am going to go to Wal-Mart and look at bathing suits and get a few other things especially the propane canisters. George said his wife; Jackie, was going so I asked if I could hitch a ride. After she defrosted her refrigerator, she and George were ready to go and so was I. We got to Wal-Mart and they went one way and I another and I told them I would meet up with them later. I didn’t get a swimsuit. They were expensive and I think I can buy one cheaper at Mega. I got the propane and the rest of the stuff I needed all the while trying to keep an eye out for Jackie and George. I didn’t see them so I figured I would see them in the grocery section. The grocery section was the last place I needed to go before checking out and I went down each isle and still didn’t see them so I figured I better get busy and check out because they are probably finished. So I checked out then went to the ATM and got some money for Dave. I went outside and put most of my stuff in my back pack and waited for Jackie and George. I went across to the parking space where they were parked and the car was gone. At first I thought I may have just forgotten where they parked, but no, they had left. So now I had to go back into the store to the ATM machine and get more money so I could take a cab back to the marina. I had too much stuff to carry onto a bus. There was a guy in a pulmonia that was waiting outside the store so I got a ride from him. We got back to El Cid, I paid him and he was kind enough to tie my loose bags together so I could carry them. I got to the boat and Dave said that Jackie and George got home just a few minutes ago and wondered if I was home already. He said no. They said “Oh”. Dave said “no worries” as I would get back alright. Jackie and George said they looked for me but couldn’t find me so they thought I had left. I said I looked for them and couldn’t find them either and then noticed the car was gone and knew they had left. I told him no worries. That is just the way it goes sometimes.

After the things were put away, I sat outside to catch some breeze and read my book. Tonight John and Sandy and us are going somewhere for dinner. We were thinking all you can eat ribs but then we found out that Munchkins was having a special on them but you had to be there before 5:00 pm. George and Jackie invited us to go with them, but we told them it was too early to eat. So they went alone. Sandy had some errands to do and also take a cruiser to the airport. When she got back her and John went to the pool for a while and they called us asking what we were doing for dinner and we said we didn’t know. So they said after they get back from the pool and get dressed they’ll stop by and we can discuss where we are going. We finally made a decision to go to a restaurant John and Sandy have been. They wanted our opinion on the food because they were thinking of taking Angie and Dave there for dinner one night. It wasn’t far from the marina and it was a cool little place that was on the beach and the setting was very tropical. We were the only ones in the restaurant but we had a wonderful dinner. We all ordered shrimp cooked in different ways. Mmmmm!!! We had margaritas and watched the sun set. It was really nice. Then we went back to the marina and said good night. It was a really nice way to end a hot day.

Saturday, May 9.
Happy Birthday to Michael, my step son, Dave’s son. He is still in Iraq so Dave sent an email to him to let him know we haven’t forgotten him. He is 37 years old. Yeesh!!!! The kids are sure getting old eh?

Dave and I had no energy today at all. We should go to Home Depot to get bungie cords for the deck cover. It would cost us more for Ramon to supply them then if we bought them. But we decided we would go to Home Depot tomorrow and go to Henderson Meats today and get some steaks, pork chops, chicken, and lunch meat. So that is what we did. It’s within a short walking distance from the marina. When we got back from there, we were walking toward the dock where our boat is and saw a bunch of black smoke rising up at the other end of the marina. So we had to go and investigate. It turned out to be a little run about boat that had just filled up with gas and shortly after they left the gas dock, caught on fire. One story was they turned the fan on after they had started the engine and the other story was they did something that caused a spark. No explosion just fire and some sizzling. I guess there were 4 guys on the boat and only one of them got burnt, but not badly. They all swam to shore. The boat had pretty much burned to the water line when the fire department showed up across the channel where the boat stayed thank goodness. They were there to keep the grass from catching on fire. So that was the excitement for the day. Thank goodness the wind was blowing from the south because it blew all that black ugly smoke away from the marina. I’m glad no one was seriously hurt. After I found out what happened I walked back to the boat to put the frozen meat away and make a sandwich for Dave and I. Dave stayed behind for a little while and then came back to the boat. We had lunch and then I read for a little while. I was trying to get cool, but the wind would only blow a little at a time. So my next move was to the pool. I had a dip in the pool and then sat on the lounge chair in the shade to cool off. I had fun watching these two little boys play in the pool. Whenever I watch the kids play in the pools I always think of my kids when they were that age and also the grandboys which make me chuckle and smile a lot. After I took another dip in the pool and rinsed off, I saw Dave and asked him to make us a cocktail because I was on my way. When I got back to the boat and changed, Dave had a screw driver made and I took my book and drink outside to the cockpit and sat out there where there was a nice breeze finally. Dave played his submarine game.

I saw Sandy walking and asked her what time to meet tomorrow morning for the market? She said her and John were going to breakfast at the marina restaurant and wanted to know if we would join them and then we would leave and go to the market after that. So I told her it was a plan. She asked if we were going to happy hour at 6:00pm, at the bar, and I said we didn’t know about it. I guess they are starting that up again (the hotel) and it was 2 for 1 drink with some snacks. It was announced over the net this morning which we didn’t listen to. I told her we would be there. As we were walking to the bar we saw Ramon and he said he was on his way to our boat to take a final fitting for the cover. Then he would be back tomorrow to install it. Finally!!!

We got to the bar and there were a few cruisers in there so we joined the party. We saw some people we already knew and met others we didn’t. John and Sandy came a few minutes later. We all had a good time. The bar was supposed to have some snacks for us but all they brought were some chili nuts. Someone told them there were supposed to be snacks so about a half hour later we had some goodies to eat. It was getting close to time when happy hour was going to be over so we said goodnight and went back to the boat. We watched some T.V. then went to bed.

Sunday, May 10.
Happy Mother’s Day!! Dave and I went up to the restaurant and joined John and Sandy for breakfast. We all got served champagne and coffee and then we partook of the buffet. They had all kinds of good things. When we were done with food and champagne, we paid the bill and then John and Sandy took us in their car to the Sunday Juarez Market. It was huge. It was also very warm and I didn’t feel like looking at everything. Sandy was shopping for grandkids and I was just looking hoping to see a dress or two I liked. Dresses in the heat are more comfortable than shorts. Most of the clothes had been used, but in very good shape and were clean. I didn’t find anything I liked. After walking a few blocks, Dave had a brilliant idea and that was to get something to drink. All of us got lemonade. It was very tasty and hit the spot. We slowly walked back to where the car was and then we left. Had it been cooler, I may have been more interested in looking at everything, but not when sweat is rolling off you. I know!!! What a party pooper!!!! Oh well. Sandy was pretty uncomfortable too. Even though she had a nice cool dress on she was also sweating. On the way back to the marina John took us to Home Depot so Dave could go in and get bungie cords. Then we came back to the marina. I thought of hanging out at the pool, but there was a nice breeze on the boat and I was comfortable sitting and reading with the breeze blowing on me. I got e cards from my two sons and both grandsons. It was nice to be remembered. Ramon was supposed to come back today and put the cover on to check the fit. He told us he would be here around 4:00pm. When 6:00pm came around we figured he wasn’t coming. After all it WAS Mother’s Day and he would have been in trouble if he didn’t spend it with his wife and son. I’m sure he will be here tomorrow. The blue tarp we hung over our stateroom does help keep some of the heat out, but I am looking forward to our white cover.

We BBQ’d chicken to make chicken sandwiches for dinner. Then we had a glass of wine and relaxed. We watched a couple movies and then went to bed. It was a nice day.

Monday, May 11.
I defrosted the freezer, started the ice maker, cooked macaroni for salad tonight, and then moved outside to polish stainless steel. I had heard from several cruisers how WD40 works really well in getting and keeping the spots and rust off. So I am going to give it a try. It works really well and it is quick. I only polished under the dodger as it was getting pretty warm so I took a break. I came back to at least do the port side under the bimini. Now I am done for the day. I will do the other side tomorrow. There is a nice breeze and all I want to do is sit where it will blow on me and cool me down.

We are waiting for Ramon to show up. We know he will be here today, just don’t know what time. I planted myself in the cockpit facing toward the bow with the breeze on me and read. It felt good.

Ramon finally showed up around 1:00pm or so and put the cover on to fit it. It looks good. He also brought the panel for the side of the boat to cover the hull to keep the freezer and refrigerator cooler. It fits perfectly. As Ramon was putting the cover on, he noticed he forgot to put a handle on the top so the spinnaker halyard could hold it up. So it was back to the shop to do that and then he would be back in a couple of hours. That is perfect for napping. So I went below and took a snooze. When I got up I worked on the blog. We are having hamburgers for dinner but no buns so Dave walked up to the little store by the harbor master office to see if they had any. He passed Ramon on the way and told him he had permission to go aboard the boat. When Dave got back he said they were sold out. That is o.k. I’ll just make the patties a little thinner to fit the regular sandwich bread. Dave joined Ramon on the bow and helped attach the spinnaker halyard to the top of the cover and then raised it up a little. Then they put the small bungie cords on each side and attached them to the top life line on the boat. I came out and took a look at it and it is nice. It should do the trick. Dave paid Ramon and thanked him. Ramon left and we worked with adjusting the cover to get the wrinkles out. The wind was blowing so it was a little difficult. We a few adjustments and then quit. I went below and started preparing dinner and Dave lit the BBQ. After dinner and cleanup we sat outside. We visited a little with our neighbors and then Dave went below and turned on the air conditioner. Every time I defrost the freezer it takes it a while for it to regulate its temperature. Dave was keeping an eye on it to see what difference the cover on the hull would make. He knew with the air conditioner putting cool air on the compressors it would help cool it off so by tomorrow we could find out how much the cover works. It’s an experiment.



I went up and took a shower and left Dave watching the thermostat. When I got back we went down below to enjoy the cool air. I answered email, and then played my game. Dave continued to watch the freezer temperature and wasn’t real happy with it. He ended up turning it down enough so it would click off and let it run after that for a while. It wouldn’t drop below 13.9 but wouldn’t shut off. He figured it will take a bit until the hull cooled down. So he did his thing on his computer while we listened to music. It was really nice. Then I fixed us a rum swizzle and went back to my game and Dave now was playing his sub game. When the CD finished playing, I took it out and it was really hot. So I decided it was time to let it cool down. I got bored with playing my game so shut down the computer and turned on the T.V. and flipped through the channels. Nothing was on. So I turned it off. It was cool enough now to go to bed so that is what I did and Dave wasn’t far behind me. He was still watching the freezer temperature but there wasn’t anything else he could do so he went to bed.

Tuesday, May 12.
Dave still isn’t happy with the way the freezer is acting. We don’t know if the manual thermometer we put in there is going bad or if something is wrong with the sensor. I sure hope it isn’t the latter. So he is just keeping an eye on it and we shall see what happens.

I can already tell a difference in the temperature down below with the cover over the bow. It is warm, but usually by 10:00am I am sweating just sitting at the computer. So I am really happy. It is now tolerable down below. Whoohoo!!!! Dave moved the panel that was hanging over the side to keep the sun off the port side of the hull. Then he watched the freezer temperature again. The fan was running but the compressor wasn’t. Then they would both work but the freezer wasn’t shutting off. He was getting concerned that if it kept running it would burn up the compressor. So he called Total Yacht Works to see if Rafeal was in and could come take a look at it. He is the one that worked on the heat exchanger. Unfortunately he was out of the office returning on Friday. There is another guy in town that George says is good, but we have seen Rafeal’s work and know he is good. So Dave is going to wait. He went back into the freezer and tightened a screw because the fan was making noise. And then he just let it run and kept an eye on it. Pretty soon it was working like it should. It would get down to around 7 or 6 degrees, shut off and then come back on when it got to about 15, 16 degrees. We don’t know what happened. If it was him tightening the screw or taking the cover off the side of the hull and moving it up on the lifeline to shade the deck, or both. I did have a piece of insulation in the freezer to help with keeping it cool and it was up under the unit and Dave thought it might have been blocking some of the air flow. So with all of that, the freezer is running well. We think we will have Rafeal come out and take a look at it anyway sometime before we leave to make sure everything is working alright. It will take a beating in the heat of the Sea. For now it is fine. Dave moved the insulation piece away from the unit so I think more air is circulating. We shall see.

I finished polishing the stainless steel on the starboard side of the boat in the cockpit. It looks better. That is about all the energy I have left.

Dave got a visit from another one of our neighbors, John off s/v Denali. He is flying home for a few days and his boat is in the yard being painted and he has his dinghy in the water in his slip. He asked Dave if he would move the dinghy out of the way when one of the guys from the yard brings Denali back to the slip and Dave said sure. John gave him the key to unlock and lock the dinghy up. Then he asked Dave if he would go with him to the airport and bring the car back here. Dave said sure. John said he would tell him the best way to get back from the airport. After all that, John left and Dave asked if I wanted to go to the airport with him. I said I really hadn’t planned on it but would if he wanted me to. Then we went over to John and Sandy’s boat to ask them the best way home from the airport. They were cleaning their boat and they would be leaving around 2 to go to the airport to pick up Angie and Dave. After they told Dave where to turn and all that, we said goodbye and started walking away when John called Dave back. I said I would see him back at the boat and left. When Dave came back to the boat he said that John and Sandy were going to give John a ride to the airport since he was leaving on the flight that Angie and Dave came in on and he had to be at the airport at 2:30. So it worked out great. Dave doesn’t know if John has insurance for another driver and so he was a little nervous about driving someone else’s car in Mexico. They drive crazy down here. John said we could drive it any time, but we won’t do that. John and Sandy are so excited to have their daughter and son-in-law visiting.
There is a movie showing tonight, but I don’t think we are going to watch it. It is titled Blood Diamonds and from people who have seen it says it is bloody and violent. I really don’t want to watch that kind of movie.

It was so warm I needed to go to the pool to cool off. Dave stayed behind to figure out how to run the wire for the solar panels and that kind of stuff. I couldn’t really help him so I just went to the pool and relaxed. When I returned from the pool I changed clothes and didn’t do much for the rest of the evening.

There is a couple on the boat next to us named Andrew and Becky. He is in his early 40’s and she is probably in her mid thirties. He is from England and she is from San Diego but they both live in Los Angeles. They are a handsome couple and very nice. He flew down last Monday or Tuesday and flew home on Saturday for a meeting then brought Becky, his girlfriend of 5 years, back with him on Sunday. She is to fly home on Thursday and he will fly home on Sunday. I don’t know what they do for a living, but she has 5 personal trainers that work on her body. She told me she wasn’t born with that body. When she comes out from below on her boat, and starts to work on the boat in her bikini, all the guys stop what they are doing and stare. It is really funny to watch these grown men drool. I kid you not. She stops everyone from what they are doing when she walks by. I was thinking that maybe she is a model or something like that because why else would you need 5 trainers? She has no tan lines and let’s just say she doesn’t need a bra to keep those puppies up if you know what I mean. She looks like she just stepped out of a Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition. I have to say I was a little jealous. I never looked that good at her age or ever for that fact. She did say that she works hard for that body and she is going to do what she can to keep it that way until she can’t any more. I asked if she saw the reaction of the Mexican guys on the boat next to them when she and Andrew came back from the pool, and she said yes, and that is when she told me about her trainers. You meet the most interesting people. I told her that when a woman reaches my age, the guys don’t look any more. She is definitely going to enjoy it while it lasts, and why not!!!.

Not much going on around here. It looks like there are a few more vacationers coming in, but not many. It is getting to be dinner time so on with dinner. After dinner Dave went outside to enjoy the night air. He calls through the window and said – “Hey-a glass of wine would be really nice.” “Would you open a bottle of wine?” So I did and ended up joining him outside to watch the electrical storm that was to the east of us toward the mountains. We thought it was going to come our way, but didn’t. It wouldn’t have been bad to have some rain to wash everything down. Not time yet.

Wednesday, May 13.
Starting out as another hot day today. Dave and I need to go to Sam’s Club to get provisions. So after breakfast we took the bus and got a few things then caught a red truck back to the marina. The truck has two long benches on each side of the truck. The groceries went in against the cabin and then we sat across from each other on the benches. We hadn’t ridden in one of those before. It was fun. We got all the groceries to the boat and then I put them away and vacuum packed the things that needed it. When I was done doing that, we had lunch. In the process of putting things away in our stateroom, a couple of the 3M hooks attached to the wall to hang hammocks came down. So I decided it was time to use heavy duty Velcro. So I put the two hooks up and you have to let them set for 24 hours before any weight is put on them so hopefully they will stay up this time. I am running out of Velcro. You can’t find that much around here. Then it was pool time. Dave wanted to figure out how to do the wiring for the solar panels and I asked if he needed help and he said no. So off I went. I saw Sandy, John, Angie, and Dave having lunch at the pool so I talked to them a little and then I got in the water to cool down. Eventually we met up again in the pool and visited. After I had my little swim and a soak in the hot tub and back in the pool again, I dried off and went back to the boat. Dave wanted to run the wire from the speaker system in the cockpit to down in the starboard cabin below between the hull and the wall of the stateroom. He had been struggling with the wire and not having much luck getting it to go down to where he could grab it and pull it down. So when I got on board he said my timing was good. He wanted me to help him get the wire so he could get a hold of it. The wire eventually has to go forward to the nav station. It was a real bugger to get that wire down where we could get a hold of it. I tried with a screw driver and needle nose pliers to no avail. I thought I had it and then I didn’t. So Dave and I changed places and worked it until Dave finally was able to get a hold of the wire and pull in down. By the time we were done we needed showers badly. We picked up the tools and put everything back the way it was. Tomorrow we have to do the rest of the job. Dave went up and took a shower. I went to my computer and answered emails and played a game. When Dave came back I fixed us both a French bread sandwich. It tasted really good. After dinner I went up and took a shower. We felt much better now. It was a quiet night. We turned on the air conditioner to cool down below for sleeping. It is a lot cooler than it used to be and when we run the air conditioner before going to bed it cools it down and keeps it that way all night. We like it. When I came back from my shower, we were invited to go to a power boat that had just come in this afternoon and was leaving early in the morning. I had talked to the owner at the pool. Nice lady. Their captain was cooking dinner and they did invite us to partake with them, but we had already eaten. So we went over and had a glass of wine and met the crew. It was a nice visit. We ran the air conditioner for a while and then went to bed.

Thursday, May 14.
Dave needs to run the wire he started in the cockpit down to the starboard stateroom and now toward the nav station panel. He called Mr. Rosette to see when he would be out and he wasn’t in the office until the afternoon. So Dave said he would call back. We went ahead and ran the wire from the aft stateroom between the hull and inner wall of the boat where it ended up by the water heater and then to the panel that is just below the chart table. He put a switch in and the controller that controls the charge of the solar panels to the batteries. When Rosette comes out and brings the brackets to install the panels on, and drills a hole for the wires to go through the stainless steel then he will connect the wires and hope everything works. Dave never did call Rosette back as he was so busy putting the switch and all in. He’ll do that tomorrow.

When Dave didn’t need any assistance with the wire, I cleaned the bathrooms, washed the dishes, and defrosted the freezer. I blogged for a little bit, played a game or two, and then around 3:00pm I decided to go to the pool because Andrew from next door said the iguanas were starting to come out by the pool. He had heard they like tomatoes so he cut some up and he and Becky went over to the pool to feed them. I grabbed my camera and went with them. It was a perfect photo opportunity. It was amazing to see all different sizes and colors of these iguanas. The younger ones were grass green and the older ones were brown and turned color to match their surroundings. There is a man that feeds them bread everyday around 3:00pm so they know when it is feeding time. They all come out of hiding and go to pool. I got some great pictures. The iguanas are so use to him they let him pet them. That was pretty awesome. I went back to the boat to get into my suit and take the camera back, grab my towel and book and back to the pool, this time to enjoy. Dave was still working on getting the switch and the control box in and he didn’t need my help. So off I went. Once at the pool I put my stuff down and went right into the water. I swam to the cave in the big pool. It was cool. I wanted to do that and it was perfect because there were no kids yelling and screaming in there. The water is shallow inside the man made cave and you can walk to the other side and come out facing the channel that comes into El Cid. Once I finished exploring I swam back from where I started. I got out and went and sat in the sun and read my book, cooling off. A little later I went into the hot tub. It was pretty hot, but once you got in and got use to it, it was alright. I wanted to soak my back a little. Then I slid down the short slide from the hot tub into the cool water of the shallow pool. I got out and went back to the lounge chair and relaxed and read. Once I was almost dry I went back into the pool again for the last time and then got out, rinsed off with fresh water and went back to the lounge chair to read until I was pretty much dried off. Then I went down to the boat and changed.

It was time for a cocktail so I fixed Dave and me a rum and coke. Dave had finished his project and it looked good. After he cooled off with a drink, he went and took a shower. When he returned to the boat we sat outside for a while enjoying the breeze. Then it was time to BBQ steaks. I fixed a salad and heated up some refried beans and put cheese on top. We sat in the cockpit and had dinner. It was nice. After dishes were done, I poured Dave and me a glass of wine and we went on the deck to watch the sunset and visited with our neighbors. The sunset was gorgeous. When it got dark we went below. I got on the computer and played some games and Dave read news and played solitaire. After a while I turned on the T.V. to see if anything was on. I watched a program and then I turned it off. Dave turned on the air conditioner to cool down the boat and we stayed up until they shut off. Then we went to bed.

Friday, May 15.
It’s going to be another warm one today. I was going to ride the bus into down town to go to the fabric store to get yarn, but decided I would wait until tomorrow. Dave called Rosette and he will be out tomorrow so I will go then. I decided to put things back on the shelf in the aft stateroom where Dave had to take everything off to get to the access panel. Once I did that, I washed dishes and cleaned up the galley. Then I went outside and started working on some more of the stainless steel. I did the back part of the boat where the seats are. Then I called it quits. It was getting too warm.

Dave treated me to lunch by the pool. We had hamburgers and beer. It tasted good. We get a 20% discount when we show them the card they give you when you check in.

While Dave was visiting with Andrew he shared what he does for a living. Both he and Becky are still working. He owns a company that designs and makes concept cars. Even though Andrew is a third generation owner, he likes to do some design work as well. Becky manages the business and keeps everything in running order. So there you go. They are very nice people. If you don’t know what a concept car is, it is a car that is designed especially for the customer. It is a one of a kind car. That is really awesome. So you see you do meet all kinds of people cruising. They have plans to take the boat to Puerto Vallarta in June and leave it there for the summer and then come back in the fall and take the boat through the Panama Canal into the Caribbean.

Well Dave went off to the store to find some wiring he needs. I think I am going to go out in the cockpit where there is a breeze and start reading another Dirk Pit/Clive Cussler book. It is titled Vixon 03.

This morning I mentioned to Dave about the possibility of going out for dinner. As it was getting later in the afternoon and it was still warm, I figured we probably wouldn’t be hungry until it got later and cooler. Plus we aren’t eating a lot. Dave had joined me in the cockpit and I asked him if he wanted to go to dinner and he said not really. I chuckled because I told him I was thinking the same thing. So we had sandwiches a little later for dinner. After dinner I went and took a shower. It had cooled off enough to where I wouldn’t be sweating up a storm again.

The cover for the bow is working well. It is at least 10 degrees cooler since we put it up. The freezer is working well. Go figure. We really don’t know what happened but at least it is working.

I am toying with the idea of sending some of our heavy weight clothes home so we have more room to store things. I will have to walk to the UPS store not far from here to see how much it would cost for them to package and send it. No sense having all that stuff on board when we aren’t going to wear it. We will keep a couple of things just in case, but don’t need the rest. That way when we come home for a visit we will have clothes there. Neat idea eh?!

I am seeing more people arriving with suitcases. Business is picking up. That is a good thing. Last couple of weeks it has been pretty dead.

We had another beautiful sunset. It was too warm to be below so I sat in the cockpit enjoying the breeze and cool air. Dave was down checking out what was on T.V. He likes to watch women’s softball. I finally went below and it had cooled off enough for it to be comfortable. He flipped through channels to see if there was anything worth watching and we ended up watching the show Numbers. After that Dave got on his computer and was checking out weather maps. He is always checking the weather just to see what is going on. Things are starting to stir up south of us and next month starts the hurricane season. We will leave here at the end of the month. I ended up turning the T.V. off and playing my Mahjong Tile game. Dave and I had a glass of wine and then I went to bed and left Dave playing his submarine game. We lead such an exciting life don’t we????? Hey—it sure beats the 9 to 5 life!!! Well that is o.k. because when we get to the Sea, life may get a little more adventurous. Maybe!!

Saturday, May 16.
Another beautiful day in paradise. The guys from Rosette are here to do the drilling and soldering of the stainless steel. They brought the brackets but the rubber wasn’t on them so we will have to go to Home Depot to get some rubber and glue it onto the brackets. Dave mentioned it to one of the workers and he suggested Dave call Rosette. So he did and he will be out this afternoon with rubber and then Dave will pay him. The guys did a beautiful job on the soldering. You can’t tell it is an addition.

Andrew had to go to Home Depot so he offered Dave a ride. Dave needed to get some glue and a couple of other items. So they left and I cleaned up the cockpit and cleaned the stainless steel where the speaker box had been hanging. They had to take that down in order to access the wires to line up the stainless steel rod. Then I cleaned the speaker box. Now all Dave has to do is put it back up where it was.

I just finished cleaning the speaker box when Dave and Andrew returned. Perfect timing. Dave invited Andrew over for a beer and I got ready to go downtown. Once the guys finished the beers, Andrew went back to his boat and Dave went to work getting things put back together.

I left and caught the bus into town to the Mercado, got off and walked to the fabric shop, looking for yarn. I went to 4 stores and none had the colors I wanted and surprisingly they didn’t have a large quanity. Not like at home where they designate an area just for yarn. The last store I went to they had more than the other ones, but no green or variegated white. So I ended up getting 5 variegated yellow and 5 off white. I’m going to make a baby afghan for Michael and Dani’s little one. After I left the store I thought I would walk to the Malécon and then catch the Sablo Centro bus back to the marina. I thought I was going in the correct direction, but I was going through a part of town I hadn’t been before. My walk took me through parts of the city that had it been at night probably would not have been safe. Well I ended up at the Naval Station, which told me I was way off the beat and path for the Malécon. I walked a little further ending up in the industrial and fishing area. I think I was in the old part of Mazatlan. I decided I had gone far enough and headed back from where I came. Long story short, I ended up at the Mercado and found a little market and bought some water. Then I walked to the street where the bus stop was and caught the Sablo Centro back to the marina. I was so tired. Well you can’t say I didn’t get my exercise today. While on the bus, I looked at the yarn and found out the off white yarn was only 50 grams. The yellow variegated was 100 grams which is what I needed. So that was a bummer. I need to go back and get 5 more off white skeins. Oh well.

Back at the boat I shared with Dave my adventure, if you want to call it that. He was cutting rubber patterns to fit the stainless steel brackets. When Rosette came this afternoon, he brought a roll of 1/8 inch thick rubber. I went below and got some water and then just sat in the cockpit listening to Dave explain what he needed to do. I had no energy to help him cut out patterns so I told him I could do that tomorrow. I was so hot from my ‘walk’; I went to the pool to cool off. Sandy and Angie were in the pool so I joined them and we visited for a while. I talked to them about maybe going to dinner tomorrow night so we could treat Angie and Dave to a really good margarita. They said they would talk to the guys and let me know tomorrow. Then we moved to the hot tub. I didn’t want to be sore tomorrow. After that Angie and Sandy went back to the pool and I rinsed off and went back to the boat.

Dinner was simple. We BBQ’d brauts and put them in toasted bollo bread. Those are little French bread rolls. After dinner, I didn’t do anything. Not even the dishes. Andrew came over to see Dave and we invited him to our mess. I figured the dishes would still be there in the morning and I would wash them at that time. I sat at my computer playing my mahjong tile game. It’s relaxing to me as the submarine game is to Dave. Not much else got accomplished. I checked my pattern book to see what size hook I needed, and found out I needed a size P. I looked through all my hooks and found out the largest hook I have is a K. Bummer. Now I need to look for a P hook when I go back to get 5 more of the off white yarn.

Sunday, May 17.
Dave started to cut out the patterns for the brackets. He was having a tough time with just scissors and said out loud if he only had a straight edge razor. Whallah!!!! I just happen to have a box cutter and an exacto knife. So I took those up along with a cutting board and helped him cut the rubber. That worked pretty well. Once that was done, he had to glue them onto the brackets. He tried the cement he bought for rubber but that wasn’t working well. We happened to have two parts epoxy that would probably do a better job so we used it. The only thing is we had to work fast as that stuff hardens quickly. Once the rubber was glued and secured with clothes pins to help it stay in place, we set them aside and let the glue harden.

Dave asked Jackie if there was a place around here that sells butcher paper or some kind of stiff paper we could make a pattern on, or where to get a large piece of cardboard. She suggested going to the back gate that we always use when we leave to go anywhere, and see if they have some cardboard boxes. So he did that and came back with a big box. It didn’t look like it was big enough, but when Dave opened it up it was. So he was going to put that on top of the panels with the feet on it and mark where the holes are. Then he would transfer that onto the dodger. Well we did that but when he put it on the dodger, the cardboard had sagged and the holes were off a bit. That was very frustrating. So now what? We put the panel up with the brackets on and positioned it where we wanted it. As it turned out, we couldn’t have the brackets facing in under the panel because we wouldn’t be able to put the bolts in. So Dave turned the brackets facing out and took a look at it. Some of the brackets were not flush to the dodger. Some ended up having to be bent so they would lay flat. This went on for a day and Dave was very frustrated it was taking all day just to get one panel on. Matter of fact that panel would not go on today. We needed to meet with John and Sandy about dinner so I had to talk Dave into taking a break to just go and see what was going on. So we walked to the pool where Sandy and family were and they said they couldn’t do dinner. So we decided on having a drink tomorrow or something. We sat and talked a little bit and Dave shared with John his solar panel wows’ and then we said goodbye. Dave measured and was trying to figure out how he was going to mount the panels. Dave ran wire down below to hook up to the unit when we are ready. Then that was all he could do for now until the glue set between the rubber and the brackets.

The laundry lady isn’t there on Sundays, and I had already bought my tokens to do it myself. I took my book and sat in one of the rocking chairs outside the laundry room and read for awhile and then watched as a charter fishing boat came in and off loaded their catch. They brought up 3 large Dorado’s and 4 smaller ones. They hung the large ones up so pictures could be taken of the fish and the guys who caught them. Then I watched the Mexican guys clean and fillet the fish and give the meat to the guy who bought and paid to catch them. He didn’t take home all the meat which surprised me. Dorado is a hard fish to clean. You have to skin them, and then after watching them cut the fish open, it looked like it was tough to do. It was interesting to watch.

Once the laundry was dry and folded I took it back to the boat. Dave was still working on solving the panel dilemma, trying to figure out how to mark the position of the brackets on top of the dodger. I went to the pool to cool off. After the pool I went back to the boat and did the normal stuff of getting ready for dinner. All afternoon the clouds started to build and we wondered if we would get some rain. Well the question was answered at 1:00am. I was in bed and Dave was still up watching T.V. when I sat up in bed and told Dave it was raining. At first I thought it was just the fish making more noise than usual. But after listening for a few minutes, it was rain. So I got out of bed and Dave went outside and started closing hatches except the ones in our stateroom as the cover was over them. There was thunder and lightning and it rained a little and then it poured. Dave suggested we go up by the pool under the covered area to watch it. So we got our umbrellas and did just that. You couldn’t see much but we did manage to see a couple of bolts of lightning. After it poured for a while, it slowed down enough for us to walk back to the boat. We noticed the cover over our hatches was full of water so we drained it and then went back down inside. By this time the storm had moved away and so I went back to bed. Dave came a few minutes later. That was my first tropical rain storm. It was neat. There wasn’t any danger of getting hit by lightning as the resort has lightning rods on the buildings. So it will strike there before it hits the boats. That was one way to welcome Monday morning!

Monday, May 18.
It is a serious solar panel working day today. Dave got the brackets on one of the solar panels and then put the cardboard on top and poked holes thru the cardboard to mark where the holes were in the brackets. He thought that would be the easiest thing to do to make for the holes. Well it was a great idea, the only problems was the box had to be opened and it had floppy sides that when put on top of the brackets sagged a little so when we put the cardboard in place on top of the dodger, the holes didn’t match where we marked before with the solar panel on the dodger. There were a few words spoken I can’t repeat. Dave was getting so frustrated because things just weren’t going the way he had planned and it was taking a long time. So now it was back to the drawing board. Well he finally figured that we only needed to have 4 brackets instead of 6 on each panel. He turned the brackets to face outward which don’t look pretty, but at this point it doesn’t matter. We are just looking to have the panel’s in place and working. So it took some adjusting of the brackets and a little more pounding on a couple of them so they lay flat. Then it was time to make the holes. So that is what Dave did and then we temporarily bolted a couple of the ends down so we could see to line up the other holes and drill them. So when we got finished drilling the holes we bolted it down just enough so it wouldn’t move. Tomorrow we’ll install the other panel. I told Dave he needed to take a break and go to the pool to see Angie and Dave and buy them a drink. Reluctantly he went. When we got to the pool it was just John and Sandy as Dave was in the room and Angie just left to join him. So there goes the idea of buying them a drink. Sandy invited us down to have a drink and some snacks later and said Angie and Dave were joining them on the boat too. So we figured 6:30pm. That will work. So we went back to the boat and cleaned up the shavings from the drilling and put the tools away. Then we relaxed for a bit. I cut up some jicama and put lime juice on it and some seasoning and at 6:30pm brought that and ice to John and Sandy’s boat. Sandy went to the store earlier to get ice and it was closed and since they know we have an ice maker they asked if we would bring some. We got there and Angie and Dave weren’t there yet. Sandy had called them a couple of times but no answer. They were probably sleeping. And then as the sun was setting we figured they were enjoying their last sunset in their room. So we visited with John and Sandy and a little later Angie and Dave joined us. We had some smoked tuna and other goodies. It was getting late so Angie and Dave said goodnight and we also said goodnight and goodbye to them. It was a fun time. We came back to the boat and relaxed before going to bed.

Tuesday, May 19.
This is a brand new day. Another day to excel putting up the last solar panel. I think it will be a lot easier to install as all the problems were dealt with on the first panel. Dave put the brackets on and we put the solar panel on top of the dodger to line it up next to the other one. Dave had to adjust a couple of the brackets so they would lie flat, and then when all looked good, the holes were drilled. Then we secured both panels with bolts and now they are in. Dave then hooked up the wiring on the panels and also down below and tested it to see if they worked. Yep they did!!! Now Dave will watch and see how they do. At least that headache is over. Thank goodness. The panels don’t look bad either.

There is a pot luck surprise birthday party for Bob who owns and runs Total Yacht Works tonight. His secretary put everything together. John and Sandy stopped by the boat after they got back from taking Angie and Dave to the airport and asked if we wanted to ride with them to the party. We all were going to take our dinghies up to Cingular Marina, but there was a chance it would rain and we didn’t want to get soaked. So we accepted the offer and we are to meet them at 6:00pm. So now I have to figure out what I am going to bring. I know. I have to use up some of the salad items so I’ll make a green salad. I had just enough time after all the clean up to make the salad and take a shower. Then we met John and Sandy and off we went. It was a great party. Just before we got ready to leave, I walked outside and found it was sprinkling. The humidity had gone up too. When John and Sandy were ready to leave we packed up our stuff and said goodbye to Bob and came back home. We said goodnight to John and Sandy and thanked them for the ride.

We just relaxed until it was time to go to bed. The rain had stopped but it was muggy. We ran the air conditioner for a while to cool it down and dry the air.

Wednesday, May 20.
Neither Dave nor I could get on the internet this morning. Then it hit me. Today was when we told Gladis we were leaving. The access to the internet is put into the computer and automatically closes your wifi access on the day you specified you were going to leave. So Dave went up to see Gladis and ask that she hook us up again. While Dave did that I updated the blog and defrosted the freezer.

When Dave got back we could access the internet again and all was well.

Sandy has an appointment in town and when I talked to her about having to go back to the Mercado to get more yarn and a crochet hook, she asked if I wanted to go with her. I said sure. Her appointment was at 1:00pm, so I did some things on the boat, blogged a bit, when Dave came from outside saying Sandy was ready to go. It was getting close to noon. So I was all ready and walked up and met her. Off we went to the Mercado. First stop was to get Boric Acid for cockroaches. Sandy has been battling with them and the acid works well. You don’t have to use very much and once it gets on them they die shortly thereafter. I bought some too because at the marinas is where you pick them up so I want to be ready if we every (God forbid) get them in the boat. After we did that it was off to get my yarn. The first fabric store didn’t have the color I needed and I forgot to ask about a hook. So we went to another fabric store and I got the yarn and asked about a hook and they had none. So then we went back to the fabric store we were first in to see if they had hooks and they did, however, they don’t sell the large hooks. They are all hooks for making doilies and small stuff like that. So we walked over to another fabric store and they also had hooks but no big ones. So now I will have to use my K hook. So I will have to make my stitches really big to compensate using a smaller hook. Oh well. No worries. After all that it was time to go to Sandy’s appointment. We arrived at the La Gran Plaza mall. While she was at her appointment, I walked the mall. It was a pretty good size but all I did was window shop. I wasn’t interested in buying anything. After I finished my snooping I went to the office where Sandy was and waited for her. About 10 minutes later she was done and off we went. Sandy needed to stop at Mega so we went there and we both got some food items. Then we went to a couple of fruit stands as Mega didn’t have any mushrooms and she needed them for a dish she was making. The first stand didn’t have any so we went across the street and they had a few so Sandy bought some. Then we left and came back to the marina. It was about 4:00pm now. Dave had been watching the solar panel output. Since I had defrosted the freezer, it was acting up and not shutting off. I looked at the refrigerator side and it looked like it needed defrosting so I figured if I defrost it that might help the freezer too. So that is what I did. It wasn’t as bad as it usually is so it didn’t take too long to defrost. After that we turned on the air conditioner and open the lid to where the compressors are to let air circulate. That helped cool the compressor down. The solar panel output still wasn’t making sense to Dave so he called the help line and asked some questions. After that he covered up the panels. I can’t explain this electrical stuff. All I know is he had to cover them so the freezer could regulate.

Well things look good with the freezer, but Dave put a call into Total Yacht Works to see if Rafeal could come out and take a look at both refrigerator and freezer. Now is a good time to do that. So he will be out Saturday morning.

Dave and I had a cocktail and relaxed a little and then we cooked dinner. We had BBQ pork chops. After dinner I cleaned up and put things away. I was answering email when Dave made a comment about getting into my closet to see if he could do something about the lack of air flow to our stateroom. We have vents above our bed, but very little air comes out of them. So I emptied the closet and he took the access panel off and low and behold the hose had been cut in half. No wonder we weren’t getting any air circulating in our room. One of the guys that did work on our boat after we took possession of it did things that didn’t make sense and really messed us up. This was one of those jobs. Dave duck taped the hose back together and wow!!! What a difference that made. We had air flow!! It is going to help cool and circulate the air all over the boat. After that Dave turned on the air conditioner to see what it would be like in our room. Nice!!! After the air conditioner had been running for a bit, Dave went in our stateroom and said it was really warm and muggy. So he suggested we close the hatches above our bed and see if that makes a difference. It did. Much better!

It was still warm down below so I got some wine and went outside in the cockpit to see what was going on and spy on the party that was on the lawn not too far from our boat. It looked like it was a casual affair as the guys were in shorts and the ladies were not dressed up. Usually when there is a party you can expect loud music, but this was very quiet. Since there wasn’t anything going on, I went down below and played my tile game. I walked up to use the facilities and the party was over and pretty much everything had been cleaned up and put away. When I got back to the boat I went to bed. Dave stayed up until the air condition shut off and then he turned the fans on. It was comfortable in our stateroom. I think it will be much better now for sleeping.

Thursday, May 21.
Well so much for sleeping last night. Dave slept well but for some reason I tossed and turned. Maybe it was all that noise above my head called air that did it. Whatever the reason, it happens once in a while.

We discovered that it is better to leave the hatches above our bed closed because then the air flow is much better. Of course he told me this after I had opened them. That meant I had to crawl back under the deck cover again to close them. My body just doesn’t like the crouching positions any more. HA!! It does make a difference below though.

Dave is still watching the output of the panels. We lost some amperage last night of course because of no light, and it is taking a while for the amps to build again. Dave figured between 10:00am and 3:00pm the amps will be much better as the sun will be higher in the sky. So I think Dave is happy so far with what is going on. The batteries are getting charged. We don’t have the battery charger on because Dave is experimenting and he wants to know what the panels will do.

He did have a couple of questions so he called the help desk again and got a couple things straightened out. So now we just test it. The real test will be when I defrost the freezer and get it running again.

I went to the pool to cool off and soak a little in the hot tub. I met a couple of gal cruisers and they invited me to the water aerobics. They said it was fun. I told them I wasn’t going to promise anything but maybe I might try it. It is at noon and sometimes I am already into a project and don’t want to stop. So I told them I would see.

As I was relaxing and drying in the sun I watched a large iguana come over to the pool area and to people who were eating a snack. He tried to get up in the lounge chair but one of the ladies shooshed him away. He wasn’t discouraged and still tryed to figure out how he could get the food. The life guard at the pool finally came over and chased him away. Then shortly after that he came back but went to the hot tub to get a drink. He leaned over a little too far and almost fell in. He scrambled back up on the ledge and just sat there as if to say --- I didn’t do anything!! Nobody saw that!!! He sat there like he was pretending it never happened. It was funny. And of course the two ladies I talking too, their husbands were narrating this whole thing!! The iguana finally left and then a smaller green iguana came over to the hot tub to get a drink. He couldn’t quite make it over the side without falling in so he left. Then another large iguana came to the hot tub for a drink and did a much better job getting a drink and then leaving. It is really a kick to watch these creatures. They finally went away and it was time for me to head back to the boat. So I said goodbye and rinsed off and walked to the boat.

There is a movie tonight titled The Last Samuri. Dave and I aren’t interested in seeing it so we aren’t attending. Not much going on. It is a beautiful night and I walked the dock a little with a glass of wine in hand. Then it was back to the boat to do whatever.

Friday, May 22.
We needed to check the water level in the house batteries which meant I would have to empty out the seat at the settee. So after I finished my coffee, I emptied the seat and then moved it off the floor board that needs to be taken up. Dave took the screws out of the floor board and set the floor board aside. Then he checked the water and we had to add some. So once that was done, we put the floor back on and started to screw it in place. One of the screws broke leaving the screw body in the floor. Dave had to wiggle the board so it would come up exposing the rest of the screw. He tried to unscrew it but it wouldn’t budge. So he had to get a set of vise grips and finally that loosened it enough to where he could use the pliers to unscrew it. Luckily we had another screw. So we finished putting the floor back in and moved the seat back and I packed all the food back into the seat. After that it was time to go to the pool to do the water aerobics. I thought I would try it. It’s an hour.

It was a good workout. I’m sure I will feel it in certain areas tomorrow. I think I will go everyday as it is a full body workout. Can’t beat exercising in the water!! The only two people were Sandy and I. Another guest of the hotel joined us, but the other two cruiser gals didn’t come. I thought that was strange as they were so trying to get me to go. Oh well. I’m committed to going now. It can only help me. Since it is too hot to take long walks at the pace I like, this is a substitute. I rinsed off after class and went back to the boat. I got dressed and left for Sorianas. I wanted to see if they had any good snack foods to take to the Sea with us. I’m looking for beef jerky, pepperoni sticks, nuts, things like that. Dave had some things he wanted to do on the boat so it worked out good. I took a bus to Sorianas and looked down every isle. I was looking to see if they had any battery operated fans. We thought it would be a good thing to have a fan in our room and one in the main salon to help with air flow. But I didn’t find any. As I went down each isle I thought of things I needed to get and when I saw them, picked them up. I needed to keep the quantity down since I was taking the bus back to the marina. After I went down every aisle and figured I did enough damage to the pocket book, I checked out. I was able to get most of the stuff in my backpack and had a bag to carry. I got back to the marina and back to the boat and put things away. I still wanted to go to WalMart to check out what they have so that is tomorrow.

Sunday is our anniversary and Dave asked if I wanted to do something. I told him it would be nice to go back to the Italian restaurant we liked. Then he asked if I wanted to dine just the two of us or invite John and Sandy. I told him I didn’t need to eye him across the table after 18 years of marriage so I said lets invite them. We walked over to the pool and found them in the water. We visited with them. Dave and I didn’t come dressed for swimming so we sat at the side of the pool. Then Sandy got out of the pool and went to the hot tub and I followed her and sat on the edge with my feet in the water. John stayed in the pool and talked with Dave. After a little while John came to the hot tub. We asked them if they wanted to go to dinner with us on Sunday and told them we were going to the Italian Restaurant. They jumped at the chance to go back there. That is their favorite place to eat. So it was a date!! Sandy asked if we had plans for dinner tonight and we said no. Sandy said she was making shishkabobs and a salad and wanted to invite us to dinner, however, their boat was a mess due to John tearing out all the refrigeration. He is working on their unit. So she said she would bring all the stuff if they could eat on our boat. We said sure. Sandy also said she would bring their movie list and maybe we could watch a movie. It was a plan and we liked it. So we left the pool/hot tub area and went to our boats. I cleaned up and moved a few things and put down some towel down below so nobody would stick to the leather. At about 6:30pm, John and Sandy showed up and I fixed drinks for everyone and we sat and visited with them for a while. Then Dave fired up the BBQ and put the shishkabobs on to cook. When they were done we ate. They were really good. Everything was good. We looked through the list of movies and decided on watching the De Vinci Code. So Sandy left our boat and walked to hers and got the movie and brought it back. In the meantime I gathered the dishes and put things away. Then I washed the dishes and it was perfect timing as Sandy was just getting back. Just before Sandy showed up, Dave went below and turned on the air conditioner. When Sandy got back we all went below and opened another bottle of wine and sat and watched the movie. Well part way through the movie, John made a comment about popcorn and then Dave agreed. So that meant I needed to go make it. I told Dave he owed me more wine. I didn’t miss much of the movie and we had our popcorn. Everyone was happy!!! After the movie was over, John and Sandy gathered up their stuff, said goodnight, and went back to their boat. We went to bed a little after that.

Saturday, May 23.
Rafeal from Total Yacht Works showed up this morning to take a look at our refrigeration and freezer to check the Freon level. We needed to know if we needed some or what because the freezer was acting up. Rafeal said it looked good. That is amazing for 7 years of never having it looked at. We did have the refrigeration looked at when we had the air conditioning units put in and things were fine then too. So Dave talked to Rafeal about the problems we were having with the freezer and he suggested putting new sealant on the inside lid. We are getting a lot of moisture on the lid and that isn’t good. Dave also asked Rafeal about the cycling of the refrigerator. It isn’t doing what it is suppose to. Rafeal said it is probably the thermostat. Luckily we have an extra one of those. So Dave will change that out at a later date. After Rafeal left I went to my water aerobics class. I try to go everyday if I can. I changed clothes and off I went to Sorianas to see what they had in the way of snack items. When I got back Dave had taken all sealant that we had added to see if it would help our moisture problem, off. Then he took the latch off and took a look at it. It was all corroded so he took it apart and soaked the pieces in vinegar. When he took it apart he found a broken spring. That isn’t good. What he discovered was the latch he was working on had been jury-rigged at the factory, so it would look like the lid locked into place. We always got moisture on the lid, but since we have been here in Mexico in hot humid weather, the situation has worsened. So what Dave did was close the lid to the freezer just to see if it was flush with the counter and sure enough it was. It has never been flush before. So after defrosting the freezer and putting everything back in and bringing the temperature down, we kept an eye on it. I put a folded windshield car cover on top of the lid to help insulate better. Low and behold the freezer lid wasn’t collecting as much moisture any more. Dave is planning on putting the latch back on but with some adjustments. What was happening was when you closed the lid there is a latch that has a male part on it on the lid. When the lid is closed, that part is suppose to go into the female latch, the one Dave took out, to lock the door down to seal the freezer. This wasn’t happening and never has happened since we have owned the boat. We can’t get the parts here in Mexico so Dave will have to contact the Signature Yacht office and see if they can send us a spare latch. We won’t get it until we get back to Mazatlan for the winter, but at least we will be able to order it. So I think we are figuring out our problems.

We have been using the solar panels during the day and at night we turn on the battery charger. This seems to be working well. Electricity is expensive here so it will definitely save on our bill. We will be glad to be away from marinas and the cost. We weren’t going to stay so much in marinas, but with trying to figure things out and having to have things made and all that kind of stuff, it has been hard not to be at a marina. Now I think we can spend more time at anchor. We will find out this summer in the Sea. Time is getting short for us here in Mazatlan. Our plan is to leave on the 31st of May to head for La Paz. That isn’t written in stone, but we want to get on our way as soon as we can. So far things are working well. The real test will be in the Sea.

We asked Sandy and John if they would take our heavy winter clothes back home and give them to Ron and Noreen to put in our storage unit. They said they would. I had asked Sandy what was the best way to send them back home and she said knowing someone that was going to the states. Since they are going home in June they said they would take them for us. They are leaving the boat here and will be going home so Sandy can have cataract surgery. When that is done they will come back and take the boat to the Sea. So I spent an hour or so finding all the clothes Dave and I wanted to send home. I filled two of those large black garbage bags. It freed up some space on the boat for more food. Wooowhoo!!!!! The problem is that Sandy and John can’t take them yet because their daughter Mindy and family are coming for a visit and there is no room on the boat or in their van for the bags until the family leaves. That isn’t happening until June 2nd and we want to leave May 31st. So we will have to figure something out.

It was a pretty warm day today so later in the afternoon I went up to the pool to cool off. I jumped in and swam for a bit and then got out and sat by the pool. No iguanas today. It is too late in the afternoon. They are all back in their hiding places. I was drying off so it was time to take another dip in the pool. Then I rinsed off and went back to the boat. There was a wedding reception across the channel but it started earlier in the afternoon, so it shouldn’t be too bad tonight. The band finally quit playing around 10:00pm. That was nice this way we will be able to sleep. We stayed up watching a movie and then we went to bed.

Sunday, May 24.
Happy Anniversary to us. This makes 18 years. We have no big plans but we are going to dinner at the Italian restaurant tonight and John and Sandy are joining us to celebrate. I’m looking forward to that.

I went to the exercise class and had a good workout. I think it is helping me with energy and best of all flexibility. It’s all good. I will miss the exercise, but Dave and I will be snorkeling and swimming and hiking this summer, so I will get plenty of exercise.

When I got back to the boat I changed clothes and took off for WalMart. Again I wanted to find some snack items and I had to get some more propane bottles. It took a while to get a bus that was going to WalMart. It was 1:30pm and close to the time when everyone stops for lunch and a break. Finally I got a bus that was going there and off I went. I went down all the aisles so as not to miss anything and maybe jog my memory of something I needed. I got quite a few things to where I couldn’t take the bus back to the marina. I got a pulmania to take me back. They are fun to ride in as they are open to the air except the roof. When I got back to the marina I walked down to the boat and put the groceries away. I shared with Dave what I had bought. I showed him the bathing suit I bought. In the salt water and the pools, swimsuits don’t last a long time so it is good to have a few. I now have three. Then I went to the pool. When I returned to the boat I went up and took a shower and got ready to go to dinner. John called on the VHF radio and wanted to know what time we were going to dinner. I told him 6:30pm. It was about 6:00pm and they were on their way to the front desk of the hotel to check on reservations for their daughter and family. We said we would meet them up there. When we got to the lobby we didn’t see them and so we walked to the bar and sure enough they were in there waiting for us. So we sat and had a drink. It was happy hour so we got 2 for 1 drink. Can’t beat that. After we finished our drinks we went out to the front of the hotel and got a shuttle to take us to the restaurant. We had a lovely dinner and Dave and I got free dessert since Sandy told them we were celebrating our anniversary. That was nice. I got a tap on my left shoulder and I looked around behind me but didn’t see anyone. So I turned around to face everyone at the table and I got another tap. This time I looked behind the chair and here was this boy of about 12 years old hiding. He stood up and gave me a kiss on the cheek and he was holding roses in his hand. He asked Dave if he would buy one, and Dave isn’t one to buy flowers, but he surprised me. After asking him how much, the boy had to think about it and disappeared for a moment then came back and told Dave. I honestly don’t remember how much he said. Dave asked how much for the bunch he had and he said 180 pesos. That was way too much. So Dave settled for 2. He gave one to me and one to Sandy. That was special. We had some coffee and then we left and got the shuttle back to the hotel/marina. It was a very nice time. We said goodnight to John and Sandy and thanked them for coming with us. When we got back to the boat we had a shot of scotch to celebrate. We watched a little T.V. then went to bed.

Monday, May 25.
Dave was walking to the office to see if we could change slips so we could have access to the port side of the bow to wash it. Where we are now, we are next to a large trimaran and there is no room to get a dinghy between their boat and ours. So since the laundry lady is right next door to the office, I asked him to see if the laundry lady was there. I kept an eye out for him so I could catch him and get my answer before he walked all the way back to the boat. He was half way back when I hollered at him about whether the laundry lady was there or not. He forgot so he walked back there to check. He came out and said she was there till noon. So I had already gotten the dirty clothes together in the basket and was going to catch the water taxi as it came by, but I was too late. He had already passed our dock. So I carried the clothes up. No worries. It wasn’t heavy. I got there and told her she could get them back to me tomorrow. I thanked her and left. When I returned to the boat Dave said we could move to the other slip so that is what we did. After we got tied up and attached to electricity and water, I got dressed in my swimsuit and got ready to attend exercise class. I got to the pool and Sandy was there and Denise came a few minutes later. There were just the 3 of us and the instructor. Basically that is all the people we have. It’s still fun. After the workout I came back to the boat and Dave said he paid the laundry lady. Sure enough there was the clean laundry. That was fast. Dave asked if I wanted to walk down to the ATM machine to get money and then stop at Henderson Meats on the way back. I said sure since our freezer was getting empty. So we put our walking shoes on and off we went. We stopped in at the little pharmacy on the corner before you get to the meat market and bought some ibuprofen. Then we were going to stop at the dentist office where we had our teeth cleaned in December, but the receptionist wasn’t at the desk and Patty, the dentist was busy with a customer. So we went ahead to the meat market which is across from the dentist. We bought quite a bit of meat. We got some hamburger, steaks, pork chops, chicken breasts and lunch meat. We came back to the boat and I vacuum packed the chicken breasts and some of the lunch meat. While Dave waited for the lady to add up the bill, I noticed the receptionist was back so I went over to make appointments for Dave and my teeth cleaning. It is tomorrow; mine at 11 and Dave at 12. Unfortunately they have raised their rates. Last time it was 350 pesos. Now it is 550 pesos. We weren’t expecting that, but we need to have our teeth cleaned and checked so what are you going to do. She is really good. So we will pay the price. I met Dave outside the dentist office and we walked back to the boat. I fixed Dave and I a sandwich for lunch. I want to read for a while since I am trying to finish Two For The Dough by Janet Evanovich so I can give it to Sandy before I leave. Before I went outside to sit in the shade in the cockpit, I saw that Dave had the women’s softball game on but his head was down so I asked him if he was sleeping. He said no, he had a cramp in his leg. There was nothing I could do, so I let him deal with it and I went to the cockpit. Not long I heard him snoring. Well after reading for a while I was getting sleepy so I laid down in the cockpit to rest. Dave called up to me asking what I was doing and I told him I was resting. Shortly after that I fell asleep. Some Mexican Navy planes flew overhead which woke me up. They were loud but it was neat to watch them. I went below and Dave was on the computer checking some emails and then he was reading a Clive Cussler book. I decided we would have hamburgers tonight for dinner since I had leftover buns. Their meat is so unlike ours in the state. It doesn’t have a lot of fat. I have to add egg to the hamburger to help keep it from falling apart on the grill. So I added two eggs to the meat and mixed it up and put it in the refrigerator. I put a clean sheet on the travasak and then pulled the mattress out so I could access the windless anchor battery to check the water level. I had to add a little water but other than that it was good. I put everything back and finished making the bed. Then I did some blogging and answering of emails and sending cards to the grandkids. We finally ate dinner around 7:30pm. It has been too hot to eat earlier. I grilled the burgers and we even had cheddar cheese on top. After dinner it was really muggy so I finished washing the dishes and went outside to read. There was a cool breeze blowing and it felt good. Dave was keeping an eye on the freezer so he sat at the chart table reading his book. The freezer doesn’t like change. It had to readjust itself to accommodate all that food. Dave wanted to make sure it was dropping in temperature and only running for a little bit. It took it a while to get to what we considered normal range, but Dave had to help it along by opening the cover above the compressors to let air flow and turned on the air conditioners to get cool air circulating. That helped. It lowered the temperature quite nicely. Later I came below to take advantage of the air conditioned air so I sat and read. We went to bed around midnight.

Tuesday, May 26.
Tonight is movie night. We didn’t get a paper so we don’t know what is playing. I’ll have to find out later.

Dave got in the dinghy and started to wash the port side of the boat with algrip soap. It is a three part process. You wash then rinse, wipe with a shammy then dry to keep it from spotting. Dave noticed we still had salt spots so he asked me to get him the spot remover stuff we bought in Puerto Vallarta. It didn’t really take all the spots off. He did say that the port side looked better than the starboard so he didn’t need to wash it. But he said he would wash the starboard side again. So he parked the dinghy and locked it up. Oh yeah, speaking of locking up I guess we will have to start putting our scrub brushes away. The one we used to wash the boat disappeared. Someone stole it. To replace it is expensive so we will wait until we get to La Paz. We couldn’t believe that. In our other slip we always had it out by the dock box and it stayed there. We move further down the dock and we are there one day and the brush is gone. Just didn’t make sense. We have neighbors around us too. Well I hope they enjoy it. We decided it didn’t fall in just because it would have been impossible. I helped Dave dry the starboard side after he washed it. He did the bow yesterday while I was in class I guess. It looks better. We put all the stuff away and I had to get ready to go to the dentist. I put my suit on under my clothes because I won’t have time to go back to the boat to change when I return. It is a good thing I did that because I arrived just minutes before the class started. There were the 3 of us again. After class I came back to the boat and started setting up the printer so I could print out my journal. Then I will tape it in the book I have. It is easier to type it, and print it than to write it by hand. While I was doing that Dave fixed himself a hamburger left over from last night. Then it was my turn when I put the printer away. After lunch Dave went to the cockpit to feel the breeze while I am typing this for the blog. I thought Dave was napping but when I went out to the cockpit he was just sitting enjoying the breeze and relaxing. I walked up to use the facilities and when I came back to the boat I decided I was going to the pool. I changed and gathered my towel and book and off I went. Dave stayed on the boat. I cooled off in the pool for a few minutes and then came out and sat and read my book. Before I got all the way dry I rinsed off and then sat and read until I was pretty much dried off. Then I gathered my stuff and went back to the boat. When I changed I started to fix a salad and prepared the chicken breasts for the BBQ. So we had chicken salad. It sure tasted good. Then I did dishes and went outside to get some air. It was really muggy and warm down below. The movie was playing. We found out it was the new James Bond movie which we saw about 3 weeks ago. Dave and I really didn’t want to watch it again. There are only certain movies we like to see a second or third time and that wasn’t one of them. Dave turned the air conditioner on so I went below. We watch some T.V. and then it was bed time. The last couple of nights it has been cooling off outside with a little breeze. That makes it nice for sleeping. We needed a little help from the air conditioner though to get it cooler before going to bed.

Wednesday, May 27.
Dave put the latch back on in the freezer, but in the process we noticed the lid doesn’t close flush with the counter. The freezer box is crooked. Not much we can do about that. So Dave is going to leave the latch in and see how the freezer does. If it starts getting too much moisture on the lid again, we will take the latch out so the lid will be flush with the counter. After he got done with that I started defrosting the freezer. Dave would have to finish the job since I will be going to my exercise class soon.

We had 3 people in the water aerobics class today. That was good. Sandy won’t be there tomorrow since her daughter and family are coming in at 1:00pm. But we had a new lady and she said she was coming back so we will be back to 3 again unless someone else joins us. Today we worked on the abs and we were wondering where the water part came in. The last part of the class he had us sit on the side of the pool and do leg lifts and scissors and that sort of stuff. We weren’t real thrilled with that routine. We made it through and got back into the water again. After class I rinsed off and went down to the boat. I got changed, had a bite to eat and then went and caught the bus to Mega. I wanted to get some groceries since we were almost out of salad fixings and the like. It didn’t take long to get a bus and I got what I needed at Mega and then some and took a taxi back to the marina. Once back on the boat I put the groceries away and then started typing for the blog.

The freezer was giving us fits again. It seems the compressor is overheating. So we took the cushion off the center of the settee and lifted the access door that is just above the refrigerator and freezer compressors. We have no manuals on either unit which is very frustrating. We never had them. We can’t find our unit on the internet either. So we are just grasping at straws. A red light blinks on the back of the freezer compressor and it usually happens when it is getting overheated. So by letting more air flow through and by the compressor, the light stops flashing and the temperature in the freezer starts to lower. We turned the freezer off for a short time so Dave could take the cover off the unit and vacuum the fan and the unit itself. A lot of dust gets caught in the plate which reduces air flow too. So when that was cleaned out, Dave put the cover back on the compressor and I turned the freezer back on. The temperature in the freezer started to lower. We are keeping a watchful eye on it. It just goes flaky sometimes and we think it is because of the heat on the hull. We did have the cover that was made to hang over the port side to shade the refrigerator and freezer, but we moved it toward the bow a little so it would be shading more of the settee area where the compressors are. We won’t know if that will make a difference until tomorrow. It was too late in the afternoon when it was moved to know if it will help. So we are experimenting and trying to figure this situation out. I think we are narrowing in on the problem. The sump pump that gets the flow from the back shower and when the refrigerator and freezer are defrosted, wasn’t working like it should. I cleaned it yesterday, but it isn’t level so that is causing it not to empty like it should and sometimes it spills over and goes to the bilge. So we will have to take the pump off and clean it. It probably is gunked up. Then he notice the strainer for the water maker was clogged so he looked at that and noticed the strainer inside has been eaten away. Come to find out that unit was designed for fresh water not salt. So Dave called Ron and asked him to pick one up at West Marine for us. He gave him the number of the part. So things are being noticed and slowly taken care of. We are trying to avoid any major problems. It is frustrating though.

We had chicken salad again tonight for dinner. After I washed the dishes, I went up and took a shower. When I came back Dave was watching T.V. So we watched T.V. until about 10:30pm and then Dave read and I played a couple of my tile games and then started continuing on with the blog writing. Now it is time for bed.

Thursday, May 28.
The freezer was acting up again. What is happening is the fan in the freezer and the one attached to the compressor is running but the compressor isn’t shutting off. It continues to run causing the compressor to overheat. We are very concerned about this because it will burn up the compressor if it continues. So Dave made a call to Rafeal at Total Yacht Works to talk to him about it. Rafeal can’t come out to look at it until Tuesday. Bummer. We told him o.k. Then Dave called Cliff at Cliff Valentine in Seattle. He put our air conditioner in and he also does refrigeration. Cliff told Dave the compressor was getting overheated and we need to get some air flow to it. So basically Cliff said the same things as Dave was saying. After he got off the phone, we opened the lid under the settee to let air flow to the compressor. We need to find a fan we can put in there to help cool things down. I have been looking everywhere I go for a battery operated fan and cannot find them. Dave called Total Yacht Works back to ask them if they know a place to get battery operated or muffin fans and they said Radio Shack or a place downtown. Dave also told them we would keep them posted as to whether or not we needed Rafael to come out on Tuesday. It seems as though if we leave the lid up for air flow it does a lot better and doesn’t overheat so I think we will be alright. We also lift the side curtain on the hull up at night so it doesn’t trap any hot air on the hull and then put it back down in the morning before the sun shines on that side. We will see how that goes. After I go to my exercise class, I will go to Gran Plaza Mall to check out Radio Shack.

There were just 2 of us with the instructor for the class. Denise said she probably wouldn’t be at class tomorrow as she was going shopping and Sandy is busy with her grandkids. So we shall see if they will have a class with just me.

After getting back from exercise class, I changed and then had a bite to eat and off to Radio Shack. I took our handheld radio so hopefully I would be able to talk to Dave while on my search.

There were a couple of things I learned today. One, the Cerritos/Juarez bus doesn’t stop at the bus stop where I normally get a bus to town. I had to walk a couple blocks before they would stop. I didn’t have to wait too long before one came by. I wasn’t sure where exactly Gran Plaza was but I figured it was close to Mega and Sams Club. I was looking on the right side of the bus because I thought it was on the right side of the road and I never saw it. So I thought I just got my directions mixed up and the mall was further down the road. Lesson number two – know where you are going. I had been there once with Sandy when she drove her car, to an appointment there and thought I would be able to recognize it. Pretty soon I started to get a little nervous as I wasn’t seeing any signs of familiarity. I finally asked the lady sitting next to me where Gran Plaza was and she pointed behind me. Oooooh!!! Now what? Well there were a couple of gals behind me that understood what I was asking and one of them said I had to get off the bus and she pointed across the street. I wasn’t sure if she was telling me the plaza was across the street somewhere or what but I knew I had to get off the bus. Otherwise I would be riding the whole bus route which I didn’t want to do. The bus stopped to let some people on and the gal hollered at the driver to wait. I thanked the ladies and got off the bus. When I got off the bus I walked a little ways and was looking to see if I saw anything that resembled a mall. I didn’t so I turned around and stopped and asked a lady that was standing in front of a rod iron gate where the mall was. She didn’t speak English, but she understood what I said in Spanish and turned and spoke to someone on the other side of the gate. A young man told me I had to catch the Cerritos/Juarez bus on the other side of the street and it would go by the mall. So I thanked them, crossed the street and a few minutes later I was on the Cerritos/Juarez bus. I still wasn’t sure where the mall was or if I would recognize it so I asked the lady sitting behind me in Spanish where it was and she said she would let me know when we got there. So I relaxed a little. I kept looking out the windows on both sides of the bus to get my bearings. I just caught a glimpse that said Gran Plaza and that was when the lady behind me tapped me on the shoulder and motioned we were there. I thanked her and got off the bus and proceeded to the mall. After all that Radio Shack didn’t have any fans whatsoever. O.K.! I looked around the mall thinking I might get lucky and find a store with the fans I was looking for. I went to a department store that was like our JC Penney’s store back home, but they didn’t have anything. I stopped in at an electronic store but nothing there. I stopped in another department store and asked if they had battery fans but nothing. So I walked out to the bus stop and after being there for a few minutes thought I should catch the bus on the other side of the street. So I crossed the street and went to the bus stop there. As I was standing there I was looking up and down and street trying to get my bearings. I finally noticed that if I got on a bus there it would go all the way into downtown and that wasn’t what I wanted. So I crossed back over to the other side of the street and stood there. I looked down the street and noticed the Mega store sign and knew I would be going in the right direction. I bet the people that were watching me thought I had a screw loose. Well I do, but I figured out where I was and where I wanted to go. After waiting a while for the bus I needed and it didn’t come, I decided I could walk and be at Mega before the bus came. So that is what I did. I hailed Dave and told him I was walking toward Mega and on my way to Home Depot, Office Depot, and finally Sorianas. As I was walking I came up to Sams club and went inside looking for a fan. All they had were big electrical ones. I left there and walked to Home Depot which was a few blocks away. Looked there and had no luck. Then I crossed the street and went to Office Depot. They had a small electrical fan and not what I was looking for. Finally I went next door to Sorianas and found a car fan that runs off the cigarette lighter. It was their last one so I bought it. I was tired by now and was looking forward to riding the bus. I caught the bus in front of Sorianas and went back to the marina. When I got on the boat I handed the fan to Dave and he said it wouldn’t work for where we need it because the air flow wasn’t enough to reach across the boat. So now Dave has a fan for the chart table. At least we can use it. I don’t think we are going to find anything in Mazatlan, and will have to wait until we get to the Baja side to find American products. In the meantime we will just lift the lid in the morning and let it air all day and then put the lid back down at night.

I was pretty tired when I got back so I just relaxed. Dave and I had a cocktail and then a little bit later BBQ’d steak. Tonight they are showing the movie, I Robot with Will Smith. I don’t remember ever seeing it but Dave said he has seen it. Well I don’t know if he is going but I am.

After dinner and dishes, I went up and got a couple of chairs for Dave and I to watch the movie. He had called Ron and Noreen, but they were eating dinner so Dave said he would call back. So while he waited to do that I staked out our spot. The movie had started and had been running for a few minutes when Dave joined me. It was a good movie. Afterwards we went back to the boat and relaxed and went to bed.

Friday, May 29.
Dave looked at the weather report this morning for leaving on Sunday and he said it was better to leave early Tuesday morning. The winds will be behind us and then switch to NW which hopefully we will be able to do some sailing. So that is when we will leave. Dave went up and told Gladis our plan. I’m looking forward to getting out of the marina.

I went to the exercise class today and I was the only one. The gal didn’t show and the other one that was there hadn’t brought her suit. She said something about not having enough people so they chose not to have a class. She said there would be one tomorrow. So I figured since I had my suit on and I was there I would get in the water and do some stretching and bouncing. So that is what I did. About 10 minutes worth then I got out, rinsed off and went back to the boat. Dave was surprised to see me. He asked what my plans were for the day and I said hardly anything because I just wasn’t energetic. I helped him where needed in changing and cleaning the water maker filter and the strainers. He took care of insurance stuff so we would have all that taken care of while we still had internet service.

We have had the lid up over the compressors all day and the freezer has been working like clockwork. It is even cooler outside due to a nice breeze blowing. It will all die tonight however.

There is going to be a party across the channel tonight. We watched coverings go up and now they are testing the music. It will be a late one tonight.

Dave and I were thinking of going out to dinner tonight. Maybe have some ribs. There are always all you can eat ribs on Fridays.

Just as I was asking Dave where we were going to go, there was a knock at the boat. Dave went out and one of the Mexican neighbors from m/v Hooked Up offered us some dorado fillets. They had caught 25 so they had some to spare. It was really nice of them to think of us. Chewey, who waxed our boat, and helps to take care of Hooked Up, was part of fishing crew. Chewey told Dave it was nice to have nice neighbors. We took 4 Pacifico beers down to the guys to thank them for the fish. These aren’t small fillets either. Guess what we are having for dinner tonight? It really beats going out to eat. So dinner is solved. We will be catching our own dorado in the Sea.

Dave made a sauce to put on the fish to give it some flavor and let the fish set a little bit before BBQing it. I made a green salad and cooked some noodles. While I did that Dave put the fish on the Barbie. It turned out wonderful. We only cooked one fillet and I will freeze the other one to have later. We haven’t have fish for a long time and it tasted really good. Nothing like fresh seafood!! After dinner the same routine of doing the dishes and then we went outside for a little stroll listening to the music and watching the people at the wedding reception across the channel. At one point I got my binoculars out so I could get a better look. Hey!!!! It’s not like I’m a peeping tom!!! I am just a curious sort of person. I can tell you these people were much more subdued than the other wedding reception I spied on, where they tossed the groom in the air. This group seemed a little older. With nothing going on at the party Dave and I came back to the boat and watched some T.V. The music started out as dinner music as everyone was eating, then the music level went up and we knew the party had begun. Sometimes it was really loud.
They shot off fireworks around 10:30pm or so and then the music continued. I went to bed around 11:30pm and the band was still playing. I think around midnight the music stopped and the party was over. That didn’t last as long as I thought it would. All in all it was a good night and there was a little breeze to help cool the night.

Saturday, May 30.
Dave woke up really early this morning and lay with his head at the foot of the bed to get more air flow from the fans. Then he was up at 6:30am. Not me man!!!! I wasn’t ready to get up yet so I stayed in bed and got a few more winks. Dave remembered that today was propane day and he forgot to take the bottle to the office yesterday. He was afraid he had missed his chance to get it filled before we leave. I told him the cruisers book mentioned to take the propane bottles to the office on Saturday morning at 9:00am and the bottles would be filled and returned in the afternoon sometime. So Dave disconnected the bottle and took it to the office. The office wasn’t open yet but the laundry lady, Norma, was next door and said she would let the office know it was ours when they opened. He came back to the boat and waited for a few minutes before 9:00am and walked back to the office to make sure the propane bottle was going to be picked up. Everything is good. He came back to the boat smiling. He sat at the chart table and started looking up stuff and whatever else. While he was messing around he stumbled over a database with all kinds of different areas for log keeping of maintenance, fuel, mileage & more. It is cool. Once he figured out how to create one for us, he started to input information from the notes he has kept. Just another tool for keeping records. He took a break from that and needed to start getting things done. He called Marina Palmira in La Paz to see what their rates are. Actually they end up being cheaper than here. Here we pay electricity, moorage and tax on top of that. There moorage rate includes electricity, water with no tax. So we are pretty happy about that. We have made the decision to leave at 6:00am Tuesday morning for La Paz. We made reservations for either June 3 or 4. It all depends on whether we stop at Muertos and anchor and then go on from there, or if we continue to travel to La Paz without stopping getting there early in the morning on the 4th. We won’t know until we actually get on the ocean and see how it goes and how we feel. We will spend 5 days there and then start our anchoring adventure. I can hardly wait. Both Dave and I are looking forward to being away from marinas and enjoying the quiet and sea life. After he finished that we went out into the cockpit and took the engine for the dinghy off the back of the boat and put it on the dinghy. Dave wanted to run the engine to see if it still worked. It was getting close to my exercise class time so I didn’t go with him. He tootled around for a little bit and came back. I put my suit on and walk to the pool for my class. I sure hope they will have it today even if I am the only one that shows up. Well I was the only one to show up and I got private lessons. Wooowhoo!!!! After class I came back to the boat and changed then fixed lunch for Dave and I.

After lunch I decided to work on the baby afghan. I did that for a little bit. I had a hard time getting the chain to be 36 inches long. Because I couldn’t find the P size hook I am working with a K size hook. So I have to compensate for the different hook. Well I finally got it as close to 36 inches as it is going to be and went on from there. After I had worked on that long enough I went out into the cockpit and started reading Vixon 03.

A little later I asked Dave if he wanted to go for a dinghy ride. He said sure and off we went. We drove up the estuary and visited a small marina. It was really cute and quiet. The only problem is they will only accept a year moorage at a time. Since they are brand new they may change that later. It has a restaurant and condos right there, the harbor master office and a deli. It is close to the highway so transportation wouldn’t be a problem. We are just checking out other possible places to stay in Mazatlan. Doesn’t hurt to look. We came back to the dock and tied and locked the dinghy up. That was fun.

For about 4 or 5 days the Navy Helicopters and planes fly over the marina in formation. We understand the President is going to be here on Monday so the Navy has been practicing. The helicopters flew low enough we could read Marines on the bottom of the plane. It was neat to watch. There is going to be a lot of noise and hulabaloo here on Monday.

We emptied the two full jerry cans of diesel into the fuel tank so we could fill them with fresh diesel before leaving. Then tomorrow we will go to the fuel dock and fill the rest of the tank as the jerry cans only put us to about ½ full. After that we had dinner and then watch some T.V. before going to bed. No party across the canal so it will be quiet tonight.

Sunday, May 31.
Today is going to be a busy day as we are preparing the boat so we can leave for La Paz on Tuesday. Finally we will be on the move.

We need to get some more water maker filters but Dave can’t remember where he saw them. So we are going on a search this morning to find them. He thought Home Depot might have some so that is where we are going to start.

I washed the sheets and some clothes and towels and hung them out to dry. Then Dave and I walked to where the buses gather and caught a bus to Home Depot. They had similar filters but they were too short. So now we will walk to Sam’s Club and finally to La Gran Plaza. As we were walking to Sam’s Club we passed a filter shop but they were closed. We were sure they would have what we needed but we will have to come back. So we went ahead and looked in Sam’s Club and found nothing so we walked to the Plaza. There is a filter shop I had noticed when I was there the other day. We went in there and noticed they had two types of filters. Dave wasn’t sure which one was the right one, so we bought both and the gal said we could return them if they were wrong. So we caught the bus back to the marina and Dave compared the filters with what we have and one of the new ones was one we could use and the other was too short. So tomorrow we will return the one we can’t use and buy about twenty of the other kind. We only have 3 filters on the boat right now and we are going to need a lot more so we figured twenty should do us good.

After lunch I cleaned the bathrooms, defrosted the refrigerator, washed out some more items and hung them to dry. Plugged the ice maker in and started making ice and boiled some eggs. Dave asked if I was done and I asked him why and he said he wanted to go for a dinghy ride. So once the eggs were cooked, we took off.

We drove all around the estuary and looked at the houses being built and we went and rode around Marina Mazatlan to see if we knew any of the boats. It was a relaxing fun ride. Then we came back to the dock and pulled the motor off the dinghy and pulled the dinghy out of the water and turned it over and scrubbed the bottom. Tomorrow we will deflate it and roll it up.

We ate dinner and then relaxed for the night. Tomorrow is going to be a very busy day. We are out of here early Tuesday morning.

Just to let you know, there will be an interruption in the blog for the summer. When we have internet service I will update the blog, but don’t know when that will be. Have no fear though, it will be continued and I’m sure I will have lots of neat stuff to share. Take care everyone and until the next time – be safe and healthy.