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| Cozy Adobe Home - San Blas |
Yes, we are definitely glad that we made the trip to Mexico and so much
enjoyed the country's people and culture.
We
gained valuable insights and experience while cruising the waters of Mexico which
no doubt will prove helpful for future excursions.
Equipment
& Services: We found
cell phone coverage in Mexico to be surprisingly good and received signal
within 12 miles of the coastline most of the time.
When not near a town or village, we lost coverage
but usually for only 2-3 hours at a time.
To help eliminate some of the down time, we purchased a “cell phone
range extender” and discovered that it works very well, picking up signals that
we would not have had otherwise.
Because
this electronic device doesn’t seem to work in large cities where there’s
interference, some people are under the impression that it doesn’t work at
all.
However, in remote areas where you
need it the most, the “cell phone range extender” works marvelously.
Guidebooks recommend a Single Side-Band Radio
(SSB) for obtaining weather and voice/email communication.
We found it’s not necessary for coastal
cruising; however if you’re planning to go off-shore (crossing oceans), then a
SSB becomes important.
Guidebooks also
recommend a Satellite phone for both coastal cruising and off-shore cruising, but we
did’nt find it to be necessary.
Having a Satellite
phone does provide a sense of security in the form of backup
communication.
Water is like gold in
Mexico, a precious commodity that is not always available, even at some
marinas.
Most marinas have water but
it’s advertised as not potable.
It’s
important for boaters to have a “water-maker” and a sophisticated filtering
system for dock water.
Some marinas get
their water from the city, some have water trucked in, and others make
their own with commercial water makers.
It’s almost impossible to determine the quality of water at the dock so
boaters need to purify the water before filling their tanks.
It was our practice to use a “three-stage
water filter” while filling our water tank and we never had any adverse affects from using water at the marinas.
Moorage:
Most moorage
prices at marinas are comparable to those in the States and include showers,
laundry services, and electrical hookups.
We discovered that boat traffic during the 2012-2013 boating season was
lighter than in previous years.
As a
result, we found cheaper prices for moorage and plenty of vacant boat
slips.
While we did phone ahead for
space, we never had any problem finding available moorage.
Weather: We used several sources for weather
information, all of which are available over the internet:
www.saildocs.com;
www.sailflow.com;
www.buoyweather.com; and
www.sonrisanet.org.
Thankfully, we managed the hot climate
without air-conditioning and never really felt uncomfortable except at Manzanillo, our furthest point south.
We usually had a nice breeze flowing through the open windows which kept
things comfortable.
For points further
south however, and especially during the summer months, air-conditioning would
definitely be important.
Fuel: We are happy to report that we never had a
problem with fuel; and although we have a “Baja fuel filter,” we never used
it.
We always purchased fuel from
reputable places of business and never received any fuel with contaminates
or water.
The price of diesel fuel was very
consistent at $3.50 to $4.00 per gallon including taxes.
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| Lovely Home at La Cruz near Puerto Vallarta |
Anchoring
and Going a Shore:
We became very practiced at anchoring, a
necessary skill for the Pacific Baja coast, Sea of Cortez, and also useful for
mainland Mexico.
To go ashore, a good
dinghy is indispensable along with some know how regarding the
surf.
Dinghy wheels are necessary to get
into shore when there’s extreme surf, which is often the case along the coast.
Timing is the key; you want to ride the back
side of a wave as it takes you into shore and have the wheels down to protect
the motor as you hit the shallow beach.
Then it’s a matter of pulling the dinghy up on shore with the assistance
of the wheels, easily done on hard-packed sand; not so easy with a 450 pound
dinghy on soft sand!
When leaving, we
found it works best to go out backwards - lower the motor just enough to start the
engine and motor backwards until you’re in deeper water, then spin around and
head out.
No matter what, you are going
to get wet walking through the water at start and finish so shorts and
swimsuits are the uniform of the day.
When
there’s little to no surf, we use the bungee-cord method.
We motor close to shore, throw out an anchor that’s
attached to a bungee-cord and then motor the rest of the way into shore, step
off and tie the bow line to a rock or tree leaving plenty of slack.
Then we release the dinghy and the bungee-cord
takes the dinghy out to sea held in place by the anchor.
When departing, we simply retrieve the dinghy
by pulling in on the bow line.
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| Home Sweet Home - La Paz |
Language:
Although it’s helpful to know some basic
Spanish, it’s not usually needed since most Mexicans speak fluent English.
Locals do appreciate the effort however, and it
demonstrates a show of respect.
Tour
operators, major hotels, most businesses, and marinas all have personnel who
speak English.
We did find some
Government run marinas, however, where only Spanish was spoken.
My basic Spanish skills got us through the
process of reserving and paying for space.
Spanish is really quite easy to learn and lots of fun; the language
demonstrates consistent rules with very few exceptions.
I used several learning tools including
“Madrigal’s Magic Key to Spanish, a Creative and Proven Approach” by Margarita
Madrigal; “See it & Say it in Spanish” by Margarita Madrigal; “Easy Spanish
Phrase Book” by Dover Publications; and “Spanish in 10 minutes a day,” a
workbook and CD by Bilingual Books, Inc.
I created some note cards and also made use of a good Spanish/English
Dictionary.
Not having taken a foreign
language before, it was really rewarding when I could say something in Spanish
and actually be understood.
Yes, it’s
more difficult to learn a different language in your 60’s but you can still learn
enough to get by.
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| Grocery Tienda - Turtle Bay Village |
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| Grilling Fish, Lobster, Chicken, and Plantains - San Blas |
Food: Even in
the smallest villages you can find basic groceries and in larger towns find well
stocked grocery stores, but you won’t find a huge variety from which to choose like
in the States.
We did discover several
Costco stores where boaters can stock up on supplies, namely at Ensenada, Cabo
San Lucas, and Puerto Vallarta.
We also
found Sam’s Club stores in the major cities and towns of Mexico.
Eating out is inexpensive and it’s a
great way to get to know a town and its people.
The best restaurants are usually those frequented by locals and often located
off the beaten path.
Beach-side palapas
are fun too, serving fresh smoked, grilled fish for a casual afternoon meal.
Due to the hot climate, we noticed that our
refrigerator was working harder to keep things cool, so providing good
ventilation for the unit is important.
We
soon learned to purchase the ultra-pasteurized milk, sold in cartons off the
grocery store shelves; it keeps much longer and tastes pretty much the
same as that in the States.
Safety:
We never felt
unsafe, day or night, in the coastal towns of Mexico.
Random violence and domestic violence is
extremely rare.
Quite frankly, we feel
more uncomfortable and wary of our surroundings in U.S. cities.
Violence that does take place in Mexico is
primarily due to conflicts between the drug cartels, which thankfully we never
saw.
U.S. citizens traveling outside the
United States can go online and sign up for the State Department Travel Adviser
services to receive notices of recent adverse activities and unsafe areas for
the country in which they are traveling.
We received one such notice for the vicinity around Acapulco.
Most people in Mexico are honest, hard
working, very courteous and friendly, and want to be helpful.
Like any country, however, there are a few bad apples that spoil the
barrel.
Dinghy and motor thefts do take
place from time to time and boaters are advised to hoist up their dinghy and
secure it each night when anchored in remote areas.
It’s surprising how many little villages are
tucked in the valleys and hillsides of what appears to be a barren landscape.
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| Refurbished Home - Santa Rosalia |
Living
in Mexico:
Many expatriates from
Canada and the U.S. have made Mexico their home.
The pleasant weather, low cost of living, and
the genuinely warm-hearted people have attracted young entrepreneurs as well as
retirees to many towns in Mexico.
Our
favorite towns to call home include La Paz, Loreto, and Mazatlan.
There is much to see and do in this country
of vast distances, grand mountains, dry arid landscapes, and tropical forests not to mention its history and culture.
We
already miss the friendly people of Mexico and our new found friends we’ve left
behind; no doubt Mexico will call to us again and we will return to continue
our adventure.
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| Home Overlooking the Lagoon at Barra de Navidad |
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| A Cute Hideaway in Loreto |
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