Take to the sea

The (mis)adventures of two dreamers that do

Bird kingdom

On our second day at Isla Isabel we overheard (read: eavesdropped on) two boats talking about what they had discovered onshore. “It’s a small, smelly island with lots of birds…and bird poop. Lots of bird poop.” Not exactly a glowing recommendation. Jeff and I just stared at each other, completely bewildered. Did this guy explore the same island that we did? We were absolutely enchanted by Isla Isabel – so much so that we decided to stay far longer than expected. Just goes to show that everyone is looking for something a little different out here. As a result, take all recommendations from fellow cruisers with a grain of salt.

I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves…

That time we argued with a Mexican cop

I have come to conclude that in
Mexico the window to a man’s heart, his past and his future, may be
read in the qualities of his moustache. Such markers can be useful
signposts to the wayfaring traveler, particularly when one finds
himself in an argument with an armed police officer on the wrong side
of the law.

Chepe – Copper Canyon train adventure

ChePe is the nickname for the train that runs from Los Mochis by the sea, through the Copper Canyon (Barrancas del Cobre) to the desert town of Chihuahua. Jeff and I were both as excited about the train ride as we were about visiting the canyon, which is apparently the deepest in North America. It’s one of the primary reasons we decided to visit Topolobampo in the first place. The train ride did not disappoint. The scenery was ever changing and we were both glad to experience Mexico via a different, quicker, mode of travel.

May 2013: cruising budget

I’m gonna be johnny on the spot with our budget this month because I’m pretty excited that we came in under a thousand dollars! I credit this primarily to the fact that we spent the majority of the month out at sea (at some point I’ll calculate the number of days). And wouldn’t you believe it, there’s no place to spend your money out at sea. A brilliant money saving strategy. Look at all that green! Gosh, that feels good.

180 degrees in 365 days

Life is different now. Our world has changed significantly and we never could have really anticipated that it would look like this, but I’m glad it does. It’s strange to recall what we were doing a year ago. How chaotic life seemed as we were preparing for this trip. So many moving parts. So many balls in the air. Beholden to so many causes.

One year ago I was sprinting towards the finish of my graduate program, finalizing my thesis and preparing for its defense. Pretty much every hour of every day was spoken for, perhaps with the exception of Friday night and Saturday.

Take it all off

We have finally reached unmitigated warmth. I know this because we removed the bulky comforter from our bed and stowed it in a heinously inaccessible cubby on the boat. It’s a real pain in the neck to get out again, so we’re pretty certain we won’t be needing it for awhile. This has happened once before…

You can’t do that on Isla Isabel!

Hey Carlos? Yeah Pablo. What are the fish biting on today? Bait mostly. But what are you catching your bait with? Hooks, what else? Hey Manuel? Yes Carlos. I keep […]

Passage notes: Acapulco to Bahias de Huatulco

Another pleasant passage. Nothing major happened, which was (and usually is) welcome. We read, we fished, we slept, we played games, we cooked, we spent a lot of time complaining about how hot it was, we bathed, we even got bored on a couple of occasions. We lived, like normal people, with the only major exception being that our home was in transit and her wings needed some careful attention every now and again to ensure that she continued to fly forward.  

Passage notes: Manzanillo to Acapulco (via Maruata)

This was our longest passage to date, both in terms of miles and in terms of days spent at sea. Our average speed was low, but we sailed most of the way and really enjoyed the easygoing pace. A lot can happen in seven days…I’ll do my best to summarize.

We were originally shooting for Zihuatanejo (188 miles from Manzanillo) because that’s where Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman meet up after doing time in Shawshank Redemption (best movie ever!) But we came across a handy book on weather in Mexico (thanks Megan and Prescott!) and it set a fire under our asses to get past the Gulf of Tehuantepec before the end of May. Tropical depressions (which evolve into tropical storms, which evolve into hurricanes) begin forming as early as the last week of May in the Gulf. Turns out this book has been aboard this whole time, but we just now (re)discovered it. It’s a gem.

Perspective

In a previous post I mentioned the novelty of missing Jeff while he was visiting the States. How, after several months of intense together time, it’s nice to be filled with anticipation for his return. During his trip I had a lot of time to get to know people in Topolobampo and some of their life circumstances gave me different perspective on what it means to miss someone. 

About half of the people I’ve met here work part-time in the United States, mostly in Louisiana in the shrimping industry or in construction. Some of them are gone from their families for up to seven months at a time, oftentimes without the money or time (or flexibility re: visas) to come home for a visit.