Still in Old Harbor

Beautiful Day in Mazatlan

We were supposed to leave on Sunday around midnight to head north and to make our way to La Paz but the weather started to look poor for that three day journey. So, we have postponed our trip to a better weather window, which is this Friday.

 

Cyndi posing like the mural behind her.

Marcus and Cyndi

Cydi and me

Since my last post we have done a few things outside of the boat but a lot of things on the boat. One afternoon we took the bus to the other side of town to visit our friends Cyndi and Marcus at their Marina and went for a swim in the pool. We also used the marina showers, which were spotless and had excellent water pressure. This was the first shower we had had in almost a week. Such a treat! After getting cleaned up we all took another bus even further out and had dinner at a place that came highly recommended. The setting was gorgeous…an outdoor restaurant overlooking the beach, but the food was a total let down! Rick’s dinner had disgusting tasting meat in it that was supposed to be chicken. And he found a toothpick tucked inside his food and almost choked on it. I ordered a fish taco that tasted horrible. The fish was chopped up in little pieces and was sort of an orange color. It definitely looked like it came out of a can; a can that had been opened and left out for weeks. We alerted the waiters of our dislike but they just made jokes about it and never apologized or took the meals off of our bill. Cyndi and Marcus had perfectly good meals.

Rick and I made the long journey back by bus to our anchorage at Old Harbor. As soon as we got back onto the boat we scavenged the boat for food!

I forgot to mention that prior to us going out to visit our friends a Catamaran had come into the anchorage and practically anchored on top of us. Rick was livid. As you can see in the pictures he’s ridiculously close.  Rick almost did not want to leave because he was nervous of what might happen when we were not there. Would his anchor drag and drift right into ours?

Too close for comfort!

So all-night Rick was awake watching to see if our boats would collide.  As soon as the sun came up, Rick got into the dinghy and talked to the owner of the Cat to ask him to move. He seemed putout by Rick’s request but said that he would later.  Well, he did move his boat but ended up even closer than he was the first time. Rick again asked him to move (this time he only needed to talk since they were in talking distance).  The man scoffed and said that he had 200’ of chain out so not to worry. That makes it even worse! Anyway the man left his boat in the dinghy and Rick was left to worry while trying to get work done on the boat. I was at the market during all of this. But as soon as I got back from the market, Rick and I decided to pick up our anchor and move further away from the catamaran.

We’ve met all of the other boaters around the anchorage all of which are very nice. And, I think all of us are headed north as well. All of us waiting for that weather window. We plan to leave Friday and they plan to leave Thursday evening. The only reason they are not leaving when we do is because there is some superstition about sailing on a Friday. Apparently it is widely believed throughout the world that to sail on a Friday is to invite disaster. This old rule may have originated with the crucifixion of Christ, which occurred on a Friday, but the belief is common among other sailors of other religions as well. 

On Sunday, Cyndi and Marcus were going to the Juarez Market and invited us to go along. Rick really wasn’t excited about going because he had a list of things he wanted to get done on the boat. So, I went alone. I had to take two different buses to there and not really know where I was going. I arrived in a part of town that I had never been. It was very rough and very poor.  I stood on a corner right in the middle of the market, which was two blocks long by two blocks wide swarming with people and tents with food cooking, used shoes and clothing, pots and pans, etc. There was an indoor area with butchers chopping meat and throwing fish on ice. Flies were buzzing around all of it. I could hardly stomach when I walked by a display of whole pig heads and pig feet, cow liver, tongue etc… It seems like the people of Mexico use (for example with the cow, they use the hide for all types of leather goods) and eat every part there is of an animal and leave nothing to waste. 

 

This one is already cooked. :(

Notice the protective gloves while meat handling??? Not!

Cyndi overwhelmed by all the stuff at the Juarez Market

Cyndi, Marcus and I walked through every nook and cranny of this Market and finally had enough of walking through crowds of people. Either we needed to take a break and get a bite to eat or leave. I opted to grab a bite to eat and then leave.  So we ate right there in the midst of the Market. Cyndi and Marcus had shrimp tacos and I had a Chile Relleno. All was delicious. We left shortly after, each going our separate ways.

The next day Rick and I did not do much until the afternoon. I got on another bus and went to search for a Mega (Supermercado) and Rick stayed aboard to Cetol the wood on the boat. This was about a four-hour journey for me. I actually got a little lost while riding on the bus, so I got off at another store that was similar and that I knew would have some of the things I was looking for. After shopping I jammed all of the food in my dry bag and threw it over my back. It about knocked me down it was so heavy! Then I had to walk to the bus stop. My knees were buckling at times beneath me.  I ended up back at the dinghy dock where Rick & Harley picked me up.

This morning, Rick and I thought we’d walk Harley up the hill to El Faro again, but I thought going back to the Plazeola Merchado would be more fun. It’s still a good walk and it’s such a cool part of town. We had a nice time walking around walking in and out of some really cool shops and art studios. While walking down the street admiring the buildings, a woman, in her early 70’s, wearing a little housecoat, came out from her doorway and motioned us to come inside. She said she would show us the way most homes in Mexico are designed. She said there is a courtyard in the center of most every home and the bedrooms, kitchen, living room etc are all built around the courtyard. Her home was LOVELY! It had a gorgeous kitchen…very authentic Mexican style with pottery sitting on the cupboard shelves, tile floors and high ceilings with large ceiling fans. She had a beautiful crystal chandelier in the living room with comfy oversized sofa’s, very stout hand crafted wooden furniture and colorful artwork on all of the walls. She had turned her home into two homes. She said that she was born and raised in this house and was getting too old to take care of it all so she turned it into two homes. She rents out the other part of the house. She was very sweet; I was so moved by her kindness to bring us into her home.

The doorway to the house of the woman who let us into her home

A little restaurant where we had lunch

Set of tools seen on a gallery wall

Streets of Mazatlan

Inside of a little gallery

Nice little courtyard

Plaza Machado area

After walking around some more and having a bite to eat in the Machado Plaza we walked back to the boat by way of the Malecon. We stopped on the way and sat on a cement wall overlooking the water. We even let Harley off her leash to have a swim. As soon as we took her collar off she leaped off of the wall, which was about 7’ high with a bark of excitement, and ran right into the surf.  This was the first time we have let her in the ocean since Puerto Vallarta. It was fun to watch her having so much fun.

Now we are back to the boat on our computers.