Fruit

What is that?

It’s Pretty

It’s called a pitahaya three cactus fruit

inside

 

It taste Good

 

 

 

Heading South

Headed on South
When we stared to bring our little schooner Pamela Ann to Mexico we talked to any one that had been to Mexico asking “What it was like? We heard a lot of bad stories. Here is what we found. It cost 220 US dollars for everything to clear in. We used an agent imported the boat, ourselves and 200 pesos that was for Rusty our cat no were on the papers we carried from the vet in the states did it say he was healthy. Mexican vet came never seen Rusty signed his papers every thing done. This gave us a six mouth stay in Mexico. It was easy. We heard bad stories about the police here” not true “. The police here want you to be safe and have a good time but they don’t care if there a empty beer can in the back of your golf cart. We don’t drink but a empty beers can is still and open container in most places in the states. They don’t care if you are ridding your motor bike around the island barefooted. If you and your friends are standing on the street laughing and talking you don’t have to worry about the police stopping with a dog checking you out. They won’t come up to you and ask for proof you have enough money for a room for the night. All that has happen to me in the states. Haven’t seen any thing like that happen here. Been here almost six mouths now. A lot of people said they were afraid of being robbed. Not seen any one that’s been robbed that seen the robber. Some tools got gone left on a job. Haven’t heard of any one being robbed on the street here. When we first came we could not count money so we hoped we wouldn’t be cheated. We keep our receipts back on the boat we would try to check so far we haven’t lost a peso, that we know of.. This is a different culture here to understand what I mean it’s like saying it’s hot. In most deserts you don’t understand what it’s like unless you have been there. Its very different here than the states for one thing you can not qualify here as poor or old. In the states if you are having trouble keeping up with your neighbors and you don’t want to work any harder, you may go some where to see some one in the government to see if you can qualify as poor they will tell you how poor you are and what you qualify for and how much the government will give you. Don’t happen here. How does that change things? For one thing there are no poor neighbor hoods here. People living on the same street one may have money the other may be living in a one room house. The person living in the one room house doesn’t feel like he is poor just not as well off as his neighbor . Neighbor doesn’t see the man in the one room as poor just that he doesn’t have as much as he does. We don’t see them as poor any more. They both feel like they have a lot in common they will both be very clean the poor here are not called the un- washed like the politicians like to say back home. Poor doesn’t have anything to do with being clean here. They know they must take ca re of themselves and their families to be respected. Respect is very important to most people here. If you are coming here try to be respectable. It will pay off in the long run. Ware clothes to the store not your Speedos.
Remember we have been living mid- island with the Mexicans not in the high rent district to the north of the island. My Spanish is bad but every day I ask people what is this or that. They will almost always stop and try to show me how to eat it or what to do with it. This may not have worked out as well as I planned. Pam and I wanted to go to the art show my stomach was hurting, went any way. I wanted to see if I could sell some of my art. Had a plan, find the bath rooms first. I was talking to a boater had to set down. I felt bad. Set down and passed out , cold. When I came to people were touching me I don’t like to be touched. “ I was sick” a man was saying my lips were blue that I was cold and had no pulse, now people were touching me again. Pam said” Do you want a doctor? I said “Yes I am sick.” Ambulance ride to the hospital. There, a woman doctor said “How much cerveza today? How much this morning?” I told her “I don’t drink.” This went on for a few minutes. I said “There’s no reason to doctor me for being drunk that’s not what wrong with me.” Inside the hospital and in bed they stared a drip for dehydration. I told her not dehydrated, not drunk stomach hurts in Spanish and English. She came over to my bed took my hand and held it then said “Senor jew let me doctor jew.” Pam said “Behave and do what she wants.” She came back over examined my stomach said “I give jew something for pain.” When they put it in the IV my mouth went dry. I told Pam I need something to drink the doctor said Pam could go over next door out of the hospital to a store and buy some bottled water it would do me good. I told Pam they are still on that drunk thing when Pam came back and after me drinking a hole bottle of water I did fill better the doctor came back and said “What have you been eating?” Pam said “Anything he sees.” she said “Ceviche?” Pam said “Yes “She said “Barracuda?” I said “Yes.” She said “No Senor No, No – No. jew No Mexican No barracuda, only small ceviche, No barracuda Never.” After 4 hours she finely said I could go back to our boat. She said give jew medicine, 9 days jew hurt jew see me here. Pam said” I think she said come back in 9 days if you still hurting.” I said “Works for me.” Now to pay the bill. We have a credit card, we had a few dollars and a few pesos. Up front the man said “ 330 pesos.” I said to Pam “Do we have 330 dollars? That’s really not that bad. Pam said “Say that again. How much?” The man said “330 pesos no dollars pesos.” That about 30 bucks US. I said “Total?” “See Senor total.” To top every thing else off she was a good looking doctor.
We heard that you could walk in off the street and buy hard drugs at the pharmacy here ” no you can’t” but what you can buy is a lot It’s like if it’s medicine you don’t need a prescription . Maybe if it’s a drug. you will. Think of it like this. What is the most famous medicine on the market any where in the world today.” I believe its Viagra, and its very pricey in the states. Here you can walk in buy all you want in generic form in half doses if you want with out a prescription at about 1 dollar a pill. Like I have been saying this is a fun place.
Maybe the last few thing I can think of to help any one coming this way is if you are bringing your boat down here anchoring here is hard. The bottom is soft clay over coral covered with grass. If she pulls it will foul your anchor and it won’t reset. You will drag to you get on the reef or out to sea. Docks are high here about 12 to 15 dollars a foot a month but ever thing else is cheap. You have to respect dogs here, their yard dogs. Go in some ones yard, dog will bite you and the police will side with the dog. If there is any thing we don’t like here it’s maybe the food. Its just so different. Remember we live with the Mexicans not the tourist. All there food has spices we don’t recognize. I bought some peanuts, parched in a bag was covered with lime juice. Peanuts and lime just don’t go together. You can not buy mayonnaise here with out lime juice in it . We have tried lots here but the best food here is still on the schooner Pamela Ann
We are leaving here this week it always sad. We could stay here forever but we want to see Belize then on to Guatemala. Leaving is always on the weather. We may have to stay a little longer but that will be OK. We will try to post a blog next week or as soon as we can find a internet , to let ever one know where we are and we hope this trip is a short and boring but you know our track record . It will probity be wild, crazy. and maybe scary
“ I hate scary. “ We will let you know.

 

one large house 3 one room houses

 

Log House

Pamela Ann anchored in the lagoon Isla Mujeres Mexico

 

 

Mixed Pics

Dumpling

When Pam and I married I didn’t know what the rat race was but I was to find out soon. Not only was I expected to take care of myself but now I was expected to take care of Pam too. A little over a year later we had a baby boy, the rat race was on. I was seventeen Pam fifteen when we married. We went to work like we were told and tried to win the race. By the time we were in our twenties we new we didn’t want any part of the rat race but how do you get out.
I wanted to go to Alaska build a little homestead. There is a shortage of women in Alaska. I don’t know why. We could live out away from town carry our water back to our homestead in water cans use a wind generator for power cook with gas carrying our gas bottles back and forth take a shower under a H20bag, live the good life. Pam said “All that’s to hard I would rather live on a boat.” So we started to dream about sailing around the world, never even seen a real sail boat. Every one said “Go for it or shut up. You have never been on the ocean at least go deep sea fishing.” By the time our son was grown and leaving home and on his on. I had learned a few things dreaming is easer than doing what you read in magazines never tells you how people get the money to do what ever they do that it is very hard to leave the rat race and I am not any good at the rat race “at all.”

 

Stating to build the Pamela Ann

Finally we made the plunge went to the bank sold our little log cabin Pam and I built “ourselves “for us to live in and raise our son. Now I was learning something else owning a boat won’t get you out of the rat race. You just change were you live. If you owe money on the boat and don’t have money you can’t go anywhere. So we decided to sell the boat we had and build a boat of our dreams. Pay for it as we went this was a great plan only thing holding us back “we didn’t have any money“. We built her in Southport NC. Another ten years went buy while we built our little schooner people now said “You will never finish her and why build some old schooner any way.” When we left on our first trip she was paid for and that about all she had going for her. We built her not to get us out of the rat race there’s no way out but to get us as far away from it as possible to “make life simple.” All of her equipment was and is now not the latest and the greatest just what we could find. The best example is Dumpling our dink she was going in the trash. A 1973 nine foot Dyer Dhow, abandoned at a marina in Bath NC. All her wood rotted away and tore almost half into. It had not been titled so Pam got it titled. I went to work made a bump rail out of red oak, all I could find. Seats out of western cedar, glassed her back up and we had a fiberglass dink. Gave our little wooden dink to a friend with kids then we went on cruising. Over the years we have been fixing her up as we go a new white oak bump rail in Alabama new teak seats in New Orleans, new paint ever few years where ever we are. We replaced all the wood in the back of her in Mississippi, just the way it was when she was new. Found the back to low in ruff water so in Key West FL we raised the back like the old dories were years ago. Cut a notch for the motor this way you don’t have to line up the motor just set them down. We carry two motors so there are two notches. This has worked well no more water over the stern.
I think naming something means you like it better than other things. Pam not only named Dumpling she will sometimes talk to Dumpling. We were caught in a front that came in to Key West, we were ashore in the K W Bight Marina. The Pamela Ann was out on a mooring off Fleming Key at the very end. We set out to go home in big seas, rain, wind blowing maybe 30mph, it was dark, had our little 2HP Honda outboard on, way under powered. We had named parts of the water on the ride back. It’s well over a mile. We call the cut through Fleming Key the Gulf Stream lots of currant “made that.” Could not see, stayed close to the Key there is a Turning Basin the navy uses, you are not allowed in there. The wind can blow through there no protection from the Key so we called that the Windward Passage “made that” now to find the Pamela Ann. We leave the anchor light on when we go ashore so we were looking for that in the dark raining hard, having to bail out water. Found “Reef Chief” a fine old schooner on her mooring next to us there are more schooner there than any place we have been. Worked our way on north and there was the Pamela Ann her light was on just hard to see. Now how do we get aboard? I told Pam “When you go don’t stop, you in the water is not good. Pam padded her seat and said “Good job little Dumpling as I brought her a long side. “She Made It!” Now my turn no one to drive the boat for me, gave Pam the line, grabbed the rigging and Made It On Board. Pam said “Let’s bring her on board.“ I said “You are kidding. How do we get the motor off? Let her back she will ride alright.” But she did make me run a second line through the towing u-bolt. She was double tided and riding behind the Pamela Ann that was all I could do. Just too ruff to bring her on board. I said “Did I here you talking to Dumpling?” She said “Yes, I wanted her to know she is a good little dink.” There have been a lot of times that having a dink that always ready has turned out good.
We left Tarpon Springs Fl going to Apalachicola crossing in the winter This can be tricky, cold fronts keep coming through. Took advice from a fisherman, left got in a north blow “terrible trip.” Not his fault I took the Pamela Ann out not him. Taking bad advice don’t make you a bad captain but it don’t change things you are still responsible and the captain. Forty hours later made the Land Cut went in the Gulf Coast Water Way. Went just past the turning buoy but on across the GCWW and out of the GCWW dropped the hook. Pam made breakfast for all and we all got some rest. Up the next morning motored through Apalachicola made it to the long ditch that cuts though there, very little development. Pam saw a holly tree on the bank covered with red berries said “Go back and cut me a limb.” Our son was with us said “Turn around and go back. I will take Dumpling over and do it. I don’t think anyone will care. So we did. Back down on the boat Pam saw a cedar tree said “Go back get me some cedar and there a little tree that fell in the water get that too. I want to build a fire.” It Was Cold. We had a good friend with us my old buddy, Gean he said he would go help. Now we were slowly motoring west on the GCWW with stuff for Pam to decorate with. It was Christmas with a fire in our little pot belly stove. Pam was cooking her cooking is all ways “old south” the boat was decorated even Dumpling had a little reef on her bow. This is the things good memories are made of and Dumpling was a part of it.

Here in Mexico we are still making memories. Still have just enough money to just get by on. Will never have the money to buy fancy boat stuff but maybe it’s like my Granddaddy always said “A rich man cannot have enough money but a lot of the time a poor man doesn’t know just how well off he is. I am glad we are here. Glad we found Dumpling and all the stuff we use that people have thrown away. In a few weeks we will take all the things we have found, fixed or have been given to make up the sailing vessel Pamela Ann on south. Sailing around the world is just a term most people use. Circle navigators is used for people going around the world. I still like “just sailing south” and maybe on a round the world.

More Real Time

 

 

Real Time

When Pam and I have been writing about things we have been doing it may have been things that happen weeks ago. This is what happened this week here on the island of Isla Mujeres, Mexico. First there is an election going on. There is a school band near by, ever afternoon they practice and they are awful. The other day I was working on the boat heard a band up on the street, told Pam to come out the band getting better or there’s something happing up on the road. So we went up sat in chares out on the road and watched. They were good it was young people supporting a women for mayor. I don’t know if you can buy votes here but if you can I know what it cost, a tee shirt. A blue tee shirts. There signs have the woman’s picture on them. We have seen the woman. On the sign she is forty pounds lighter and twenty years younger. I guess politician are the same all over. I wonder sometimes if they think you can play music loud enough to win votes. They ride around on golf carts and play loud music singing in Spanish all day ever day supporting this woman. I can’t speak Spanish but I can sing you that song. It’s nice to watch people that have a good routine do something. Its fun to watch people with out one. This was a Chinese fire drill. Great fun the drums were great too and it was a great afternoon of free entertainment. Now it’s been raining here for days the golf carts still going but they have the speakers covered with plastic bags and it don’t sound the same.
There is a low pressure system out in the Gulf slowly moving north. This has the island flooded. In all the low places, that means theirs a lot of people out of work. None of the fishermen can go out. Most of the businesses in Centro were flooded, water in all the stores. This is bad for the economy and I am sorry for the people out of work but its been great for us. It’s been cool, it rained so much every thing looks cleaner. We finely took Dumpling out of the water. We had to bail her three to four times a day. Got up three days ago Dumpling was so full, had to take a bucket and line to her first couldn’t get in her to bail her out. Pam said she really hated to pour that much rain water over but our tanks were full of water from the docks.
There is always some businesses that make money in hard times. My Granddaddy said the Great Depression was the best years of his life. My Grandmother was young and pretty, he had good mules, his farm was paid for and he had a trade that was in high demand. He was a steam engine mechanic. People always want to go back with technology instead of ahead in bad times. He said he could leave my Grandmother with the farm, go up in the mountains for a week make enough money to last three months.
This week its laundries that’s in demand down here and they are doing great. There’s no coin laundry- mats here on the island. You take you laundry to a “lavenderia” or wash them in a bucket. We have found its best to let them do it for you they will wash and fold all your cloths cheaper than you can do it your self back in the states. It may be hard on the grown ups here this week but the kids are having a ball. Ever where you look they are playing in the water.
The early morning rush hour, “not happing” the old man selling coconuts with the tops cut off with a straw in it is” not there“. The blistered tourist riding around the island on golf carts just a few raped up in rain coats looking “not happy.” We understand their pain what do you do on a small island when it rain so hard you can’t see. Well we get up in the morning and look for more leaks. We listen to the cruisers-net at eight thirty on the VHF radio. They mostly talk about the rain. No one is leaving to go down island till there’s a weather window. No one is interested in “treasures of the bilge” buy, sell or trade. We eat, that’s what I need more of. If we turn off all the electronics, computers, battery chargers, LED lights everything, we can get Fort Myers, Fl on our AM radio, mostly politics but we can find out what happing in Hollywood. When the rain lets up Pam and I go sometimes up on the road and walk. If you take the time to look down at the banks in the mangroves there on the banks are these huge blue crabs. They are land crabs one pincher bright robin egg blue most of the day they stay hidden. I had seen these large holes I thought they were holes made by maybe iguanas but with the rain they come out all day. There’s a lot of wild life here “beside the tourist.” There are frigate birds here with wing spans up to seven feet and some have set on our wind-tex on the top of our mast and broke it off. I am not fixing it until we go somewhere else. Most of the dogs here look terrible so do the chickens. Dogs and chicken stay out side in the rain. “No iguanas“, have not seen a one this week until today, rain stop for a little while. There’s a lot I could fix on the boat if I would but somehow I just don’t want to when its raining. The boat is all most ready. We are buying groceries for the trip south but its different here they don’t sell cream corn here in cans, no English peas, no lima beans canned or dry just black beans. No corn meal no grits, “imagine that“, you can buy good flour here for bread, but you can buy bread here so cheap no one bakes. You can buy corn here in a box like boxed milk needs no refrigeration until you open it and it good. Our biggest problem is Spanish we try we know words we can get along we can read words like with salt or without but not enough to shop well. Pam found a tight packed bag of what she though was dehydrated syrup, never seen any. It looked like you could add something maybe water and have syrup it was beside the pan cake mix. Finally I saw down on the bag a little label in maybe ten languages, there in English it said “Concentrated yeast” you add water and put it in pancake mix. I don’t think there is a dehydrated syrup mix but if there are you might see it down here. If you have heard or read the toilet paper is bad down here. It’s John Wayne paper won’t take anything off anybody and will stop up your pipes so they don’t put any paper in toilets down here. They put it in the trash can. One bit of advice carry a little paper with you a lot of “ banos” bath rooms down here don’t have any but they all way have a trash can. Now we are faced with what to take. Everyone has said you can get good food down island “that’s any where south” but you will pay more than double what you would pay in the states or here. Double for fuel. We don’t want to load up then sail down and still have a lot of fuel getting old.
Our dock rent is paid up for another week, after that we are headed south on a good weather window before we get caught in a hurricane here. Hurricanes are just low pressure systems anyway and they are staring. We are always worried about the challenges of the sea. On the island we are faced with challenges ever day but here it has been fun. Waking up every mourning to chickens crowing, big iguanas at the dock the sounds of the island. Ever one that’s sell something here makes a noise if you listen you can run up on the street and buy what you want If you want to see Pam scurry up the dock let her here the homemade coconut ice cream man going by. All this has been great but if you are going to be a cruiser you have to go somewhere, sometime and we are going soon “maybe.” I wonder if there is a dehydrated pancake syrups some where in the world? Look at this picture, other than a few apples is there anything you have see or eaten in this picture?

 

More Carnilal

More dancers

and More dancers

 

we look more Mexican everyday

Dock owner and his wife and us.

 

 

Carnival

In the beginning when Pam and I decided we were going sailing we both knew we didn’t want to change the world we just wanted to see the world.
Down here people live a great deal different than in the US and maybe the people that are changing is us. Here there are people if you compare them to the way people live in the US that would be considered poor. We see them less poor every day. For one thing their very resourceful very little is thrown away and they are creative. The island of Isla Mujeres, Mexico is small just four miles long but there are sixteen thousand people living here. There are thing that go on here that would make some people flip out like women running there wash water off the top of there houses. Their houses are mostly flat on top and they do there laundry up there. It’s just soapy water running down the streets. Here they maybe some paper or bottles in the streets a little junk here or there but for the most part the people here are very clean, take very good care of there children not so good care of their dogs. Most dogs look like they could use a few more soup bones. They are very family oriented and all have been very patient with us we don’t speak Spanish Sometimes it takes a little more time for us to get what we need. And by the way we are not like most of the people from the states down here. We are trying to learn Spanish but it’s hard. Mostly we are getting a long with just a few words. Remember that when you see and old Mexican in the states that’s having trouble learning English it’s harder for older people to learn a new languages. The money here is on the north end of the island that’s where the big hotels are the best beach the restaurants, gifts, car rentals tourist stuff. The south end there are things to do but most of the Mexicans live in the center of the island the main road goes around the out side of the island so most people don’t see where the Mexican live. We live near the middle so we live with the Mexicans on a Mexican fishing dock and it been a great experience. The owner of the docks, wife does not speak any English but she came to me and said the best I could understand she needed the place I was working at for Carnival. That’s Mardi Gras back home. I know Mardi Gras is old news but maybe it will explain how resourceful and creative people are down here.
At first women showed up with pen and paper they drew up stuff but mostly they just made a lot of racket laughing and cutting up. On the third day they ask me to cut up some wood to make a fire so I stared cut up some mangrove trees with a skill-saw that were left after some fishermen clean up a lot next door. I cut up a lot for a fire. They said “Mas por favor.” Or more please so I kept cutting, now I was making a lot of wood I stared to wonder if they just wanted me to clean all that wood up for them but finally, they said “Gracias.“ or Thank You. More women came this time they brought a very large pot maybe world war two surplus off a ship they brought ice chest full of big turkey legs. One leg is enough for Pam and I to make a meal and we often do. They brought vegetables made something like a stew they keep adding stuff till it turned black didn’t look good at all. They put this in large cups more woman showed up taking this away until it was all gone. I ask what was going on they said “Carnival dinero“. They were raising money for Carnival cooking over a open fire. Next they showed up with boxes of stuff like feathers. Now that’s what I wanted to see women in feathers. Later a old truck showed up with a load of what I thought was trash mostly pasteboard some small strips of wood and a lot of newspapers. More women showed up this time with pool toys, cheap blow up pool rings and things. Pam and I were headed to the market, one of the women ask me if I could cut off a pool duck’s heads and not let the air out. Later when we came back they had taped his head down. Now they were covering this rings with newspaper I wanted to ask them why but couldn’t think of how. They were making their own glue out of flour and water to make a paste. The next day the pool rings had legs and were crabs. The paste board was being cut by hand into lobsters and sea shells the next day the women were attacking all this with spray paint and glitter. The next day the owner said we needed to be up on the streets by four to see the women’s dances. I had seen boxes of feathers and stuff maybe the women had maid costumes for young women to ware at night. There are a lot of beautiful young women here. The next day by three thirty there was a lot going on up on the street so we went up. In Mexico things are not always on time. Sometimes when you get there it may have already happen or sometimes still going to happen, maybe if enough people showed. They were two pickup trucks with large speakers in the back and they were women there not young women they were the same women that were cooking and making Carnival stuff. All dressed up in feathers about twenty of them from eighteen to some where past fifty. They were showing a lot of leg some cleavage but a little on the consecutive side for Carnival. When all the women were ready the trucks block the street the dance stared no one looked at a watch. The street is actually the road that goes around the island there were no police. No one blew there horn the traffic just went around the block. The dancers were all in step well choreographed and good. They had been practicing somewhere but this dances went on for about twenty minutes, a long time for hi stepping hi kicking and a few of these women were caring a few extra pounds. Then about ten boys did a dance a long dance the women came back a long dance this time the sweat was rolling its hot here all the time especially in the afternoon. A young couple did a short dance with the boy lifting the girl up on his shoulder . Then it was over I mean ever body just left trucks and all. 

 

The owner said the next dance would be in the street buy the air strip, four the next day. We went there at four it was almost all over. They were groups of women dancers there the same age as our group. I believe all the costumes maybe, were one pieces bathing suits to start with but now they were covered with all kinds of stuff. I am sure their props were all homemade too but they were very good. One group had wings really nice wings. The next dance was to be at central square the next day need to be there by eight pm. We were. This time we went with our new friends that have done every thing been every where. They said “There is not a speaker big enough for the people in Central America. They were right the speakers were set up they were big they were loud but they were still setting up chairs, a bad sign. “It will be a while.” our friends said They were right. Nine thirty no sign of dancers almost ten , two Cokes in glass bottles, a couples of tacos, no dancers. I was ready to go back to the boat, then they cranked up the music from really loud to full body vibration and on came the dancers our group with a totally new dance this time they were way past good they were “excelente“. All the groups were good but this time the dances had a theme. I recognized the story of one group. Their was a old pirate that came here to marry a beautiful Mexican girl. She turned him down he burned his ship here, built her a fine home, built himself a tomb here. They say he is not in it. Never got the girl. Our group had a burro in it, don’t know what it was about but it was good and they won. All this came from hard work with little money. No police no inspectors no red tape I never saw a permit. I do wish who ever is in charge would buy a watch but who really cares everything here will just run on island anyway. We are leaving soon “Maybe“. When we came here we were warned not to drank the water, not to eat barracuda. No one warned us just how easy it is to get caught up in “Island Time.”