May 11, 2012

I have been in Mazatlan, working as a broker at Mazatlan Yachts. It has been really, really slow. So after talking it over with the owner of the company, I have decided to do a delivery or two. If the stars all align properly, the next week I'll deliver an Irwin 38 across the Sea to La Paz. Then I'll join a couple of guys on an Allberg 37 and leave La Paz bound for San Francisco. The infamous Baja Bash. I suspect that it will take at least 3 weeks, and maybe 4! After that, there are 2 additional northward deliveries in the cards, but they're too far out to be very sure of - kind of like a long term weather forecast. I have enjoyed living here in Maz for the past couple of months, and I love the Centro Historico area. But the sailing here is not so good, and the harbormaster couldn't manage a lemonade stand, so the marina is not too full. Bottom line: with the economy as poor as it is, and the lack of great boating facilities, and the negative press that Mazatlan and Sinaloa have gotten, it's time to pursue other opportunities!

So my current plan is to move to La Paz, and do deliveries and explore job opportunities there. The deliveries will allow me to get even more experience on the water, and hopefully see some parts of Mexico that I haven't seen yet. If the situation here at Mazatlan Yachts changes and becomes lucrative, I may return. If I win the lottery, I may return and buy the home across from the Angela Peralta Theatre at Plazuela Machado. In the meanwhile, I want to spend more time on the water.

Mazatlan

2 blocks from my house

SUNDAY, MARCH 25

I haven't written anything for the blog in several months, so an update is certainly in order. Back in December when we arrived in La Paz, I met a broker at La Paz Yachts named Mike. I told him that I was a broker from Portland, and that I wanted to stay in Mexico, and that I was interested in doing deliveries. He asked me if I would consider selling boats, and I said yes.

So after a trip to Mazatlan on the ferry and several interviews, I was offered a position selling boats in Mazatlan. I packed my belongings into plastic garbage bags. Some friends were intending to sail for Mazatlan about a week in the future, and they agreed to deliver my stuff.

I flew to Mazatlan from La Paz on a commuter airline called Aereo Calafia. The airplane was a Cessna 208 Caravan, and I was in the seat behind the co-pilot. The pilot flew the airplane on this leg, and I was unimpressed. But the sky was clear, and we got to Mazatlan in about an hour and 20 minutes, and Ray was waiting to pick me up.

I started working that day, and for several days after work I would ride home with Julie and look at apartments. I found a cute little house with great cross ventilation; it would available on March 1st. I spent the interim, about 15 days, at Ray's house. While living with the boss is not usually a good idea, in this case it was splendid because we got to know each other better than we would have in a year otherwise. 

Geographically, Mazatlan is long and narrow. It stretches along the beach for miles; I think it's about 7 miles from my house to the marina. And my house is only a couple of blocks from the beach. Julie lives nearby and has a truck, so I ride to work with her rather than take the bus. The street is along the beach and the scenery is fantastic! There is a very wide sidewalk, called the malecon, for several miles. A cruiser gave me his bicycle when he was leaving for points south, and last Sunday I rode the full length of the malecon. Today I am going riding with Julie's sister, Susie. 

It has not rained since I have been here. The offshore islands that we pass on the way to work are getting obviously drier. The rainy season is in the summer, and Julie claims that the first rain will be on July 24. We'll see! I'm told that it gets really hot and humid for about 6 weeks in the summer, with spectacular lightning every night. So far, it just gets in the upper 70's in the daytime and down to 60 or so at night.

Olas Altus area near my house

My house is on a corner. Downstairs, I have a living room, dining room, kitchen, half bath, and a little alcove with a washing machine. The kitchen sink has both hot and cold water plumbed to it. Most homes in Mexico do not have hot water in the kitchen. There is a patio off the dining room, and it is enclosed with high walls - again, very typical here. I am currently sitting at a table on the patio with my morning coffee. There is a large rectangular ceramic sink out here, I use it for the mop and messy cleaning jobs that I would rather not do at the kitchen sink. A fountain with several plants in pots graces the patio, but it was never completed and does not work. There is a big black plastic water tank in the corner, called a tinaca. The city water flows very slowly with almost no pressure, and it flows into this tinaca. There is a float valve to turn the flow on and off automatically. I have a little pump with pressure tank to push the water into the house. In most Mexican homes the tinaca is on the roof and water is gravity fed into the house. Julie tells me that during the summer the water in the tinaca gets so hot that it's nearly too hot to take a shower. One more water point: Mexicans do not drink the water. It's used for bathing and cleaning, but drinking water (agua purificada) comes in big jugs called garafons. Okay, back to the tour! Upstairs I have a good sized bedroom and a bathroom. The house is furnished, but not extravagantly. I will stay here for a year, but after that I might move into a little nicer place. Maybe. This place has all the signs of a rental and just needs a few upgrades to be done to it, and if I decide to stay in it for a long time I will get them done. My rent is 4000 pesos per month, and with an exchange rate of about 12.5 that equates to 350 USD.

Plaza Machado

La Paz

2 enero 2012

Well, I have been remiss in updating this blog, so let's see what I have to write about. From Cabo San Lucas, we went to Bahia de Los Frailles. It is a good anchorage with a sandy bottom and protection from northerly winds. I was amazed by the rays there. I think they are Mobley Rays, but I don't know for sure. They jump out of the water about 5 feet and then belly flop on the way back down! They were between 1 and 2 feet in diameter, so they were heavy enough to make quite a splash! The snorkeling there was very good too, but not as good as Cabo San Lucas. We spent 3 nights there, which was about one too many. 

Leaving there, the next stop was about fifty miles north, so we left early in the morning and arrived at Bahia de Los Muertos in the afternoon. Another anchorage with good protection from north winds, but not as picturesque as Los Frailles. A California real estate developer has built a resort there, and has tried to change the name of the bay to Bahia de Los Suenos. Bay of Dreams rather than Bay of the Dead. Imagine that! The resort is first class, with rooms ranging from USD 300 to 800 per night. We spent a few hours at the restaurant/bar, and that part was pretty reasonable. Overall, the place was beautiful and I enjoyed walking around the grounds.

From Muertos is was about 50 miles to La Paz, and we motored most of the way due to lack of wind. The entrance to the channel is a couple of miles north of town, and is well marked with buoys. La Paz is not in a particularly picturesque location, and for the first couple of weeks I didn't take any pictures. But there are lots of cool sights and places there, and I enjoy it very much. I could see myself living there. I have found several awesome places to get good food, and it's not too expensive. The weather in December has been sunny, with highs in the 70's and lows in the 50's. We have had a norther, which was a little cooler and lumpy at anchor, especially trying to get to shore with the dinghy. There are many gringo's living there, and several have established businesses that cater to us. One of them is a restaurant called "The Shack" which has excellent burgers and pizzas at very reasonable prices. Another is Allende Books, which is an English book store. Most of the time though, I prefer Mexican food.

One day we went to Cabo San Lucas and back in a rental car. It was about 150 miles, and the scenery in the mountains was stunning.

Now that we have arrived in La Paz, it seems that my friends at home are sailing more than I am! We have been spending A LOT of time in port. Sometimes I wonder how this is different from being at a slip in Portland, other than the weather. I guess that I love boating, and don't consider boating to be hanging out in port all the time. We finally got out of town on New Years Eve and went up to Caleta Lobos. It's only a few miles, but on the way we spent several hours finding whale sharks. Whale sharks are bis fish that filter water to get their food. The ones that we saw were about 15 feet long. They are really slow swimmers and don't seem to be very smart, so I had to drive out of their way so they wouldn't run into the boat. Saw some dolphins and rays, too.

a whale shark

a pair of dolphins

Stayed there at Caleta Lobos 2 nights and then went north to Isla Espiritu Santo. 

Balandra

Isla Espiritu Santo and Isla la Partida are national parks. They are long and narrow. The west sides have many good anchorages, and we visited several of them on this trip. Lots of good snorkeling and kayaking! I took a ton of pictures, and I think this post is long enough, so the islands will be in the next post. Thanks for reading!