Author: Scott and Pam
Hello from Bahia de los Muertos 23°59’.2N 109°49’.5W! We arrived yesterday as the sun was setting and had an easy anchoring in 20’ of pristine aquamarine water with a white sand beach off our port beam. Our trip from Los Frailes was a hard beat into the wind. The trip took eighteen hours to make only 48 nm. From the time we left our anchorage until we dropped the hook in Los Muertos the seas were sloppy and confused making for a turbulent long ride for us. One thing that stands out during the journey is our too close for comfort visit from a large ship. This wasn’t due to a careless lack of attention on our part. The ship closed in on us in the middle of the night. We took the appropriate actions to increase the distance between our vessels, however they seemed to just continue to bare down on us. When the ship came within a mile of our position Scott haled them on VHF and asked “Vessel on our starboard aft quarter do you see us on radar?” They came back with an immediate and clear “Yes we see you and we will continue to hold our course.” Although this was never a dangerous situation, it made us feel very vulnerable and gave us the feeling the ship was just trying to rattle our cage, and it worked. Another observation we have to share is just how bright a cruise ship is at night! You can see a cruise ship from over ten miles away and we are visually impaired. There sure are a lot of cruise ships in Mexican waters making nighttime passages. It makes you think a little about midnight buffets and champagne. Well, we had our gummy sharks to eat on watch.
Today we woke up slowly, completed boat chores and made plans to go to the local market with Amy and Abe from Eleytheria, John from Amazing Grace, and Andy from Soy Libre. Scott swam ashore and met the group as they dinghied to shore. We set out along a long desert road in search of fresh vegetables and maybe something to cook on the barbecue. It turns out our original understanding that the market was about three miles away was just a little off the mark. The market was actually eleven kilometers or about seven miles from the anchorage. Like troopers we trudged in the heat without complaining. We passed some cows walking down the road and passed the time wondering who had put tires on the upper branches of giant cacti. As we entered the small group of buildings that was not large enough to call a village, the first thing we came upon was a sign advertising the Cock Fights on Sunday nights. We also noticed the many roosters we could hear all around us. We were sure in an interesting place, cock fights and tires on cacti, what next?
We found the “Super Mini Market”, and it wasn’t quite what we had in mind. There was a woman sitting on a bucket in the middle of the store watching a television and she never looked away or acknowledged us. The shelves were almost bare and our visions of fresh meat and vegetables were dashed. By now we were parched and they did have cold sodas and beer. We all found a few items and headed outside to consider our options for the return seven mile journey. As we were sitting on the stoop a white pickup drove by and Amy thought the occupants gave us a big stare. The truck made a u-turn and after Amy waved them down, they pulled up in front of the store. Abe negotiated a ride for us in Spanish and the six of us piled into the back of the truck with the cart and groceries. The trip back went much quicker, but the truck stopped at the end of the paved road and we figured we had reached the end of the line and we would have to walk the remaining distance along the dirt road. As we were preparing to climb out of the truck the four occupants told us not to worry, they would take us all the way back to the beach. We figured maybe they needed to use the bushes or something, but they turned up the truck’s stereo and started breakdancing in the road. Apparently they wanted us to see their dancing ability. They were doing handstands, spinning on their backs and knees, and putting on quite a performance. One guy was just standing off to the side and Amy asked why he was not dancing. He told Amy to join in, and before we knew it, she was out of the truck doing cartwheels (we got a great picture, see the scrapbook). Once we got over the shock, we all had a laugh at just how weird and perfect the whole situation was.
Once back at the beach we decided to eat at The Giggling Marlin the only restaurant around. Our group of cruisers grew to nine, including Drew who is four and the first “boat kid” we have met. What an incredible experience life must be for Drew who has never lived on land.
During dinner the subject of cockroaches on boats came up. Now you have to understand that Scott hates bugs. Well, apparently there are three kinds of boats; boats that have bugs, boats that say they don’t but really do, and boats that are trying to get rid of bugs. We have come to learn that bugs, roaches, and lice are endemic among many cultures and these pests usually find their way aboard visiting yachts. They and their eggs usually hitchhike with cardboard and packaging
Once back at the boat, Pam decided to treat herself to a “fancy foot bath”. Scott went along and we both now have peppermint feet. We are both realizing how special the little things in life can be and we are certain this is only the beginning.
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