Welcome to the Trump Apology Tour of Mexico!

A crowd in Mexico burned a Trump effigy back in January. 

It wouldn't be the last.

Chris and I remain in La Cruz, Mexico preparing to sail north for summer in the Sea of Cortez. I'll talk about the "Trump Apology Tour of Mexico!" in a minute. But first:

Images from around Banderas Bay:

Evening in La Cruz 

This is a first class golf course in Puerto Vallarta. One little problem, though. 

Notice the sign. It says:

"Careful. Crocodile Habitat."

Um. Okee dokee.  Not sure how playing golf on a crocodile-filled golf course works.

 It probably adds to the inherent drama, though! 

It's Easter week here in Mexico, which is a huge deal.

Altar for virgin Mary in San Pancho

After countless hours of frustrating work and problem solving by Captain Chris, 

our used watermaker is FINALLY up and running. 

Chris studying the watermaker components aboard Espiritu

While Chris worked hard on the watermaker, I put in a couple of more shifts at the orphanage in Bucerias with my friend Marne of s/v LeaHona. 

Little Charlene had a high fever. 

We took her to the doctor for medical attention. 

While the big kids are still at school, a little one eats lunch alone in the 

dining hall as the cook Anna Maria checks facebook

Little Priscilla says her prayers at the orphanage

Bucerias boy shows off his new Captain America action figure. 

Why don't they make Captain Mexico action figures? 

Lovely scene in Punta de Mita

Clowning around with my buddy, La Cruz local Ernesto

These wild bananas are growing next to the La Cruz marina. Does that mean 

they're free?  Unsure, we left them for the locals.

Laser sailboat race in the bay

La Cruz is the meeting place for sailing friends old and new:

James and his every growing family, crew of s/v Jean Marie

Reunion of sailors we met in El Salvador in 2012: crews of 

s/v Sundancer, s/v Dawn Trader, s/v Espiritu and s/v ChanteyV

Reunion with besties Howard and Lynn of s/v Swift Current. These two kept us 

sane during our months in Costa Rica and Panama back in 2012. 

Chris and Nico of s/v Yellow Feather. He's a single hander who left the insanity of Silicon Valley, jumped on a little yellow sailboat alone, and will be leaving for the South Pacific in 2 days.

 By himself.

 Fair winds, my friend.

Meet new friends Jon and Shannon of s/v Prism.  We were thrilled to find out they're musicians as well! We broke out the instruments one rainy afternoon and had an impromptu jam aboard Espiritu.

Chris on the fiddle, Shannon on the mandolin

Adding Jon on mando and me on guitar made for an amazing rainy afternoon.  A few days later, our new friends shoved off for Central America. They're actually famous online, with many thousands of followers of their blog and YouTube videos. Fair winds, kids! 

This cucaracha climbed up through the manhole, looked around, and returned to the depths

And speaking of cockroaches...

Saturday night we were in the La Cruz town square enjoying a lovely Easter festival with music, dancing, rides for the kids, etc. I was chatting with my friend Marguerite and her family, all lifetime La Cruz locals. 

Suddenly one of them looked at me and said in an agitated voice:

"Trump. Trump. Que paso?"

The happy conversation stopped suddenly -- all of the Mexicans in the group stopped talking. Then, eyes wide, the whole group of them turned and looked directly at me for my response.

I can't be sure, but I think the carousel stopped turning, the children stopped playing, and the entire TOWN went suddenly stone silent, turned, and looked to me for my response.

 They looked frightened and concerned. Scared.

You see, nearly every family in Mexico has a young son, niece or nephew living and working in the United States. So, they have skin in the game. They're worried.

Remember, Donald Trump said that Mexican immigrants are rapists and drug dealers.

He did NOT say that SOME of them are rapists and drug dealers.

When pressed by journalists to clarify, he did not clarify -- instead he doubled down on his statement.

He looked right into the camera and calmy, impatiently even, repeated it as a fact (as if it's so obviously true that it should be clear to everyone): Mexican immigrants are rapists and drug dealers. 

Period.

Sigh.

When we first crossed the border into Ensenada back in December, I told the locals not to worry, that it was only a small number of people who followed Trump, and that he would never be elected.

Fast forward to today, and he's about to be nominated for President by the Republican Party. He could very well win the election.

And in case you're wondering, Trump coverage is 24/7 down here in Mexico. The populace here is fully aware of his every move.

I have no idea what to say to my Mexican friends anymore.

 I'm out of excuses for the American people.

From here on out, when a Mexican fearfully asks me about Trump, I'll simply shrug, wave my hand, say "No se," (I don't know) "La gente son loco," (the people are crazy) do a Sign of the Cross, and say: "Dios, ayudamos." (God help us all).

Today they burned another big effigy of Trump in Mexico City, to the joy of cheering crowds.

I really don't know what to do. All I know for sure is, tonight our American flag is coming down off of Espiritu's stern.

Not because I'm ashamed. But because I'm kind of afraid.

Well done, America. 

La Cruz, Bucerias and Punta de Mita

Chris at nearby Punta de Mita. Who needs the South Pacific? 

Well, we've been here at the La Cruz anchorage for 2 weeks now, 

and yes, it's starting to feel like home.

Our first few days in the anchorage were pretty rolly and maybe even scary, 

as waves and swells that had come thousands of miles from Cyclone 

Victor in the South Pacific made landfall beneath our keel.

Rolly anchorage

Breaking waves on the beach next to the anchorage

Fortunately the cyclone peetered out and we are now back to normal here.

We headed to nearby Bucerias to watch the famous "Blessing of the Fleet," where the fishing boats from La Cruz beach themselves at Bucerias where the priests bless them for the fishing season.

Beautiful, calm Bucerias 

Bucerias palapas 

Suddenly, perfect pipeline waves came out of nowhere. How could 

the fishing boats safely beach themselves under such conditions? 

The fleet arrived from La Cruz to near perfect pipeline waves (yikes)

Unfortunately the date for the event is chosen way ahead of time. Usually Bucerias beach is flat and calm. Cyclone Victor had other ideas, providing big, scary waves.

The La Cruz fishing fleet toys with the idea of "going for it" and 

risking capsize by surfing one of these growlers in

In the end, most of them made the smart decision, 

bagged it, and headed back to La Cruz. Ah, well. Better luck next year, boys!

In other news, here in Mexico you take the bus everywhere.

Random guys selling vitamins, candy, gum, whatever, might be strolling the aisle trying to sell their wares. Or other times, musicians will climb aboard and play for a few blocks, hoping for tips.

Local musicians play on the bus

I surprised them by grabbing the guitar (well, I was polite -- 

I asked if I could grab it!) and joining them in a rousing version of 

Cielito Lindo. The accordion players' giant toothless smile made my day. 

Our friends Richard and Lisa of Golden Skye invited us to sail over to 

nearby Punta de Mita for the day.  Lucky us! 

We anchored next to the Punta de Mita Four Seasons. Sweet! 

We love Richard's "Captain Awesome" t-shirt

Lisa was a socialite back in the OC, so it's no problem sailing 

AND catching up on the latest gossip at the same time

They let me drive their 62 foot ketch Golden Skye. What a thrill! 

That's all for now. 

Hasta luego!

XO Liz (and Chris) 

Punta de Mita

                                                      

We pulled anchor from Chacala and headed south towards our next destination, Punta de Mita, about 35 miles away. 

We passed several pods of humpback whales during our passage.  We saw several of these lumbering animals slapping their fins on the surface of the water. Biologists theorize that this may be a way of signaling other whales. 

"Hey guys, over here...I spy some hot babes..."

We saw one breaching as well -- always a thrill!                                       

 There are a few submerged rocks coming around the point, so we motored very slowly and carefully, watching our waypoints, with the first mate (me!) up at the bow looking for growlers just under the surface. It is best to keep a mile or two off the coast as one comes around into Banderas Bay, just to be on the safe side.

We dropped anchor in 16 feet of water at lovely Punta de Mita.

Espiritu enjoys some blessed solitude at Punta de Mita

This tiny resort town is apparently a surf mecca. The water was warm, and the waves were oh-so-tiny! 

I'll admit I was tempted to rent a board and paddle on out and give it my best shot. Fortunately for all concerned, the impulse quickly passed.  :-) 

We wanted to stretch our legs, though, so we donned our backpacks and headed inland about 2 miles across the isthmus to a wild stretch of deserted beach with large crashing waves. We crossed a highway and came upon this disturbing yet mesmerizing sight at the side of the road:

Flattened-like-a-pancake dog on the Mexican highway

Well, he certainly felt no pain. Kind of a good way to go, if you think about it. Quick and painless.

After our long hike under the hot sun we were eager to return to Espiritu. 

Chris looking out at Espiritu in lovely Punta de Mita

Chris and I had the beach nearly to ourselves!

On another topic, in the name of frugality we've been pretty good about keeping with our plan of preparing and eating most of our meals onboard and staying out of restaurants.

In deciding what meals to prepare, it's all about what fresh foods I have on board.  Fresh papaya, avocado, mango, lime, local cheeses and fresh tortillas are a part of every meal aboard Espiritu. 

Chris caught a tasty Sierra mackeral in Chacala which went down real easy. :-) 

The telltale yellow spots of the Sierra mackarel

Interestingly, the average tienda does not carry chicken. And I've yet to find it in the can, either. Yet eggs are everywhere for purchase, and one of the charms of Mexico are the countless chickens and roosters which roam and play in open, ungated front yards, meandering into the streets and cock-a-doodle-doing all over the place.

A rooster struts up and says "Hola!"

Surprisingly, neither dogs nor cats attack or eat these animals. They can clearly defend themselves and seem to have the run of the place. Most families do not kill the chickens for their meat -- instead they cherish them as family members and actual pets who provide an endless supply of daily nutrition: eggs.

The bottom line is this: Mexicans love their chickens and roosters, and do not appear to relish eating them except for very special occasions.

Well, last night was the winter solstice. We have officially entered our third time zone. This new life we have been living for the past 7 weeks truly feels like a dream. And when I say a dream, I mean like an alternative reality. 

One interesting phenomena in SCUBA diving is this: when you have left the surface (the "real world") and after you have spent 40 or 50 minutes literally submerged in a completely different underwater world, there is a sense that you are literally in a different reality, and when your face pops up to the surface, and you see land, and people, and "real life," and begin breathing regular air again rather than breathing underwater -- it feels like a re-entry. Like awakening from a dream -- leaving one life you were  living only a moment ago, and entering another, completely different life.

Two different realities -- underwater and "real life."

Anyway, it feels like we've left our other life for awhile and are literally living in a completely different reality. It's not better or worse than our lives in the states -- it's just completely different.

 Like a dream.

Playa Bruja and flamingos...

Well, it's our last day in Mazatlan.

We thought we had seen most of Mazatlan in our week staying here, but we were wrong. Last night we went to dinner with a group of sailors at a tiny spot called Playa Bruja.

A surfer enjoying the beautiful Playa Bruja

                                         

Playa Bruja looking towards downtown Mazatlan

"Playa Bruja" means "Beach of the Witch" in Spanish. I looked around to try to find the witch, but it wasn't immediately evident who she was, or if she was even there.

In poker games, they say to look around the table, and if you can't tell who the sucker is, then you're the sucker.

I hope that same story doesn't hold true for ME and finding the witch amongst the ladies at Playa Bruja! I've been trying to be very sweet to Chris, and I think by all accounts I am not, nor ever have I been, a witch.

Which means she was hiding in plain site. Yikes.   :-(

The open air restaurant right on the beach at Playa Bruja

Anyway, witch or no witch, this beach was so beautiful -- the sun was just setting, a gentle breeze wafted through the restaurant as surfers enjoyed the breaks off in the distance.

And my tortilla soup only costed 3 American dollars!

On another topic, Chris and I do not have health insurance. Turns out many of our fellow sailors here in Mexico don't have it either. And after much discussion, I think it is a decent risk to take. Here's why:

I chatted with a Mexican cab driver in Cabo who's wife is pregnant with his third child. He does not have health insurance. For each child's hospital delivery, he must pay in cash.

Price for one normal vaginal delivery with over night stay in a Mexican hospital: 600 American dollars.

I also read of a young couple who ran into trouble when the husband developed a bowel obstruction and needed major abdominal surgery. He was in the hospital for several days.

Cost of major abdominal surgery and several days in a Mexican hospital: 3,500 American dollars.

I think we can all agree that the same care in an American hospital would cost you probably ten times as much.

Some might argue that care in Mexico will obviously be sub-par when compared to in the U.S. I might remind you that we read every week of American surgeons in prestigious American hospitals accidently amputating the wrong leg, or some other mishap.

The Americans I've spoken with who have rendered medical care down here rave about it. So -- you be the judge. Anyway, I seem to have thrown my right shoulder out (doing Lord knows what?!?!?!?) -- I'm resting it and stretching it and taking Advil. I trust it will be fine. But it's reassuring to know that should I need surgery down the line, the cost would not mean the end of our travels.

On another subject, it's been unseasonably cold here in Mazatlan (according to the locals) so we're heading south yet again tomorrow in search of the tropics. We know they're here somewhere!

We've noticed Mazatlan seems to be the dividing line between the desert southwest and the tropics. When climbing the mountain to the lighthouse, we noticed a cactus wrapped in a tropical climbing vine:

Cactus and climbing vine intertwined...

So this place is the end of the desert, and the beginning of the jungle. We placed our bug screens on our boat here in Mazatlan so we'll be ready for 'em at our next stop, about 130 miles south.

I heard on the cruisers net this morning that flamingos have been spotted on Mazatlan beach. Wow! Wild flamingos!

So needless to say, for the coming hours and days I will have all eyes peeled for this amazing sight!


As always, we won't be at a major port again for 1-2 weeks (Banderas Bay, home of Puerta Vallarta) so this will be the last entry for awhile.  We are hoping to anchor in at San Blas, Chacala and Punta de Mita on our way south.

Punta de Mita, Mexico