Adios Red Boat......Hola (Bigger) Yellow Boat

In view of some of the challenges that we have had being able to use the boat in the right weather conditions, Malcolm finally made the decision that it was too small and that we needed something bigger (?!).  We towed it into Cancun and it sold within two days; Cancun is actually the perfect place for it as there is a large lagoon adjacent to the hotel zone which is very calm.  While in the process of doing this he came across a 25ft fishing/day boat that was being sold by someone here in PA.  The owner has a 65' catamaran business (Catamaya   http://www.catamaya.com.mx/mainmenu.html  ) and as he attends this business daily, he does not have much time to use the fishing boat and we therefore struck a deal.  Unfortunately the paperwork side of buying a used boat is horrendous here in Mexico and we are still in the process of finalizing these pieces - Malcolm and the existing owner have to go into Playa tomorrow to a lawyer's office and then on to the Port Captain's office.  We did take it out for a short time today along the coast; the ride is very much different than the Bayliner with the extra length helping to make it a much smoother experience.  The new boat is a Grady White 249 Fisherman and while significantly older than the Bayliner, it has been completely overhauled in the last two years.  I am not sure that we will have time to use it much between now and when we leave next week as we are also having some work done at the condo (hurricane shutters) but at least it will be waiting for us when we return later this year.  Next on the agenda is finding dry storage for nine months...

This picture was taken just over a week ago when we went out for a 'test drive'

Safely moored just along from our condo after our short trip out today.

Grounded

Today the marina was essentially closed due to weather patterns.  The wind started to pick up yesterday evening and was gusting overnight but the key as we found out this morning was the wind direction.  Apparently, if the wind comes from the west or north/northwest i.e. over land, the water is very calm albeit that the wind brings mosquitoes and insects with it from the jungle.  If the wind comes from the northeast the area is protected by Cozumel, an island directly offshore from PA.  Problems arise if the wind comes out of the southeast or south (which is basically the path that most hurricanes take) because there is no protection and combined with the angle of the marina entrance, it causes large swells that together with the offshore reef make navigation almost impossible.  This was exactly what happened overnight with winds coming from the southeast.  There is a flag warning system at the marina entrance and today it indicated that  no vessels less than 12 metres were allowed out although larger boats also stayed in today.  Needless to say it was not a good day for the fishing crew and boat captains as their livelihood depends on the tourist traffic but, of course, safety comes first.

These guys park directly outside our condo and usually head out to Playacar hotel zone by 7am each day

Big or small, everyone is grounded.

We estimated 5ft swells.

We walked out to the marina entrance to take the above photos and when we got back the army was taking one of its boats out of the water (there is an army base in PA).  In the back of their truck was this handsome dog; we are not sure if it was purely a mascot or if it was a working animal but he certainly behaved himself as the soldiers got to work hauling the boat up the ramp.



Xpu-Ha on a Sunday

We had a light rain shower this morning and then it turned out to be a glorious sunny day so we decided to make it a beach day and headed back to Xpu-Ha.  Two things struck us as being different on this visit: the first was that it was much busier as it was the weekend with lots of locals taking in the nice weather and secondly, that the waves were much more lively whereas this area is usually very calm.

Larger waves but a gorgeous day

We walked along the beach when we first arrived and came across two different church congregations where the minister was up to his waist (fully clothed) in the ocean and was carrying out baptisms by dunking people in the water!  The rest of the congregation were on the sand, some with guitars and the rest singing and clapping.  It was quite a sight as there were tourists looking on and also local children playing in the water all at the same time, although the locals seemed to take it all in their stride and enjoyed their ceremony.

The congregation

We had lunch at the beach club and later in the afternoon a Latino-style band played nearby to where we were sitting.  They played very well and we sat and enjoyed the music for quite some time before we headed home.

  



Shark!

It wasn't exactly a scene from Jaws but I thought I would post some pictures of a Lemon Shark that was caught by the fishermen directly across from our condo yesterday.  Asked what he would do with it, the captain replied that it would feed his family for a while!  I felt its skin out of curiosity; it was quite smooth from going from head to tail but much rougher in reverse, rather like a coarse suede.

As it was cheap Wednesday we hit the movies again last night.  We ate out for dinner and took in the movie for a grand total of 166 pesos (~$13.25).



Roger & Bubba's Auto Repair Shop

We wanted to get the oil changed in the Durango before we leave at the end of the month.  Our friend Bob had bumped into Bubba at an auto parts store and took down their phone number.  Needless to say with names like Roger & Bubba they are not locals!  They are a father and son duo from Texas who have been running their auto repair shop on a full time basis for the last 5 years in Playa.  Although very basic (concrete shell would adequately describe it), the shop was clean and both seemed very knowledgeable.  While we were waiting a lady who originated from Kelowna came in and we chatted with her for a while.  They moved lock, stock and barrel to Playa 3 years ago and she explained that Roger & Bubba's was the only auto shop she would ever take her vehicle to in Playa and how great they were.  Not a bad endorsement when your vehicle is already on the ramps with its oil drained out.

Malcolm talking with Bubba

The neighbourhood wasn't exactly upmarket...

King-Sized Delivery Services..... by Casa Meade

Some of this week's efforts have been directed at purchasing a new bed.  Should be pretty easy (one would think) however we disobeyed the "buy it when you see it"  rule for shopping in Mexico.  We wanted to put a king-size bed in the main bedroom, which we have not been using up until now.  We had shopped around for prices but were not able to make a purchase until we had selected a headboard as we needed to know whether or not we required the box springs as well as a mattress or just a mattress.  Once the headboard was purchased, we headed off to Sam's Club and even got as far as the checkout when we were advised that the box springs that were included in the price were nowhere to be found in the store.  The next alternative was Costco, which meant a trip into Cancun.  Their prices were actually better and they had lots in stock but they wanted 1,600 pesos for delivery, which then made the purchase more expensive.  We were going to bring the items home from Sam's ourselves because it is not too far away so I managed to talk Malcolm into loading the box springs inside the Durango and the mattress on top of the roof rack and driving all the way back from Cancun as part of Plan B.  As you can see from the pictures, we did make it back safely, however I was a little concerned with some rather large rain clouds that were chasing us down the highway and which appeared to be going a little bit faster than our 70-80km/h although they did not catch up with us.  Carmelino was on his way out of PA when he saw us drive in and he kindly turned around and came back to help get everything up to our condo.  Another stressful day in semi-retirement!...

I know it's not exactly classy but..... it beats 1,600 MXN delivery charge!



Power Outage

We were chatting with David & Milka on Skype around 5.30pm last night when our internet connection was lost due to a power outage.  This was our third power outage on this visit; apparently power cuts were very common in the area 4 or 5 years ago and have steadily improved since then.  Our biggest concern during these periods is keeping the fridge as cool as possible because of the insulin for Pebbles.  Daylight was just disappearing so out came the candles and flashlights and we settled into the balcony with beer and rum for the evening.  Shortly after going to bed the power was restored!

Stormy Weather Subsides

With the stormy weather still persistent, we dropped Dad at the airport on Thursday and headed into Cancun for some items that we needed to buy in Costco and Home Depot.  We had a couple of huge thunderstorms come through the area on Friday afternoon and evening.  This was the first time that we had experienced thunder, lightning and heavy rain all at once here; usually it either rains or we see lightning in the distance but this was truly overhead.  Malcolm was on another arm of the marina and was absolutely drenched by the time he cycled home.

Today the weather took a change for the better; it was cooler (20C at 5 a.m. as opposed to 25C) and the humidity levels had dropped considerably.  The ocean was very calm so we decided to take advantage of the conditions and head out in the boat for the morning.  We headed further north along the coast than we had done previously ending in Playacar, the hotel zone at the south end of Playa del Carmen.  We recognized some of the hotels that we had stayed in in the past and it was clear from the number of wave runners and parasailing boats out in the water that the calmer weather was a welcome relief to lots of holiday makers.  We called into Inah for a swim before heading home. 

Xcaret

Malcolm's new best friend??