Long Overdue Update

I have received a flurry of emails from friends and readers that have wondered what the heck happened to us...
Did we quit cruising?
Are we okay?
Did we sell the boat or move back to the US?
Are Jim and I still married?
Did the kids finally kill each other because of living in such a small space?

Well, yes and no.

We did lose someone...
but not to death or divorce.

December 2008: Tim holding his 45 lb. Yellow Fin tuna

We are living in La Paz, Mexico aboard Hotspur. We're not exactly "cruising" anymore - once you decide to stay put for a spell - longer than a year - it is hard to call it cruising.
But when you're a full-time cruiser there are times you make the choice to put on the brakes and stop for a while (meaning whether or not you're moving around, your boat is your home and you will eventually pick up the anchor and go some place else).
Maybe you stop because you love a place so much that you want to enjoy it a little while longer.
Maybe you need to feed the cruising kitty and you found some work opportunities.
Or maybe your boat kid(s) need something different.

Boat chores: covering the mainsail

Moreover, our "cruising-pause" was decided so that our 17 year old teenager could figure out what options he had for the future. And moving around seemed to disrupt that. And so,
LA PAZ... or "The Peace"... what a perfect place for us to stop and reflect -  and look forward to - and discuss - and take a break from the gypsy sea life so that we could help our son make some decisions.

And so...what do you want to do when you grow up?

Who really knows what they want to do when they grow up?
All we can do is give our children the tools to forge their way and hope we have taught them how to think, how to survive and how to be happy. So, we arrived in La Paz and tossed our 12 year old (now 13) into an all Spanish speaking school. Sink or swim philosophy.

Summer 2009: Tim's catch of the day in the Sea of Cortez

Unfortunately, we could not get Tim into public school here and I tried and tried (lots and lots of bureaucratic red, white and green tape) - so we oozed our son back into some kind of 'normal' - a community format that allowed him lots of free time away from his family and off the boat. And, he got himself some experience working with other people. And he met lots of young adults. And he studied his Spanish. And he agreed to study for and take the GED -
which he passed just this past February and scored in the top 1%!
And yes, we had to fly him to the US to register for the exam and take it. No online options for the GED.

Friends at The Shack - La Paz, MX

Our son has officially graduated from high school!! Yay Tim!!

And while I was in the midst of planning his graduation party, the little turkey made a grown-up decision...
almost 3 weeks ago, Tim moved back to the USA to go to college.

It had to happen some time and we were expecting some thing somewhere along the way-
but it has been a surprisingly sad loss to have our son go so far away. And yet a very exciting adventure of a different sort for him.

April 2013: Tim - college bound!

Tim saying good-bye to his sister

So the Hotspur crew is down to 3 crew members. And we are planning to go somewhere between December 2013 - March 2014. We have discussed the South Pacific. We have pondered Panama. Jim mentioned the Caribbean just this evening. Heck, I don't know where we'll go, but we're going! And Jim keeps asking me, "So... what do you want to do when you grow up?"

And next week I'll share some tidbits about what Carolyne has been doing.

Shake Rattle And Roll

Still no camera for pics...
one of these days I'm going to solve that dilemma.

So...
we've been livin' it up in the cheapest marina in La Paz, Marina Don Jose.
$400 a month, all inclusive.
No.
That does not mean the jacuzzi and swimming pool are included because there isn't any jacuzzi or swimming pool. It just means we don't have to pay extra for water or trash or electricity. And that is a super-duper deal considering we are running the A/C!

Would we recommend staying here during a hurricane?
NO!
In fact, should a hurricane rear its ugly cyclops this direction, we plan to hightail it to Marina Costa Baja or to Singlar. If Marina Palmira has space that will also be a consideration. As for Hurricane Miriam, she is slow moving and doesn't show any indication she will hit La Paz. And as of 5 hours ago it is reported that she is weakening from a speed of 105 to 80.

But if a hurricane threat isn't bad enough, how about an earthquake??

Yes, La Paz experienced an earthquake - the latest report being 6.2 in magnitude. Schools have canceled classes so that the Civil Protection Service can check the structural integrity of the buildings.

Is this the Faulkner Family's first earthquake?
No.
We apparently experienced one once in 2009 while underway to some little island in the Sea of Cortez.
Didn't feel a thing.
Then once while visiting California we found out that we had experienced "tremors".
Didn't notice.

This earthquake, however, we felt on the boat right in the water.  The entire hull shimmied and shook like something had a hold of it. I honestly - honestly - thought we had a very large mammal scratching its back on our boat bottom.

No damage reported. Very exciting time. Of course the VHF radio went crazy - everyone reporting and contradicting and questioning. Nothing like being sandwiched between two natural (potential) disasters and the cacophony of excited cruisers jamming frequencies as they talk over each other on the radio.

No tidal waves. No tsunamis. No... wait...
Tsunami was last year.

We are keeping our fingers crossed that this is as bad as it gets.

Living By Land Rules - on a Boat

Suddenly we have schedules to adhere to...
Appointments to keep...
Without meaning to exactly we've sprung from having leisurely, wake-up-when-your-body-tells-you TO...
Alarm clocks, appropriate dress and rushing about.
We live aboard Hotspur, but we live like land lubbers.

To top it off, now language REALLY is an issue!
I've said it before and I'll say it again:
Living in a Spanish speaking country and speaking Gringo Spanish is very helpful.
Finding items at the grocery store, for example, is so much easier if you speak some Spanish.
Try miming out 'carrot', or hand signals for 'milk'... or can you imagine, God forbid, 'toilet paper'?

Asking directions for locations around town is another biggie - and mainly because street signs in Mexico are a non-custom. Luckily, hand signs and miming really do work well when you are trying to understand where to go. But knowing the difference between
RIGHT (a la derecha)
TURN RIGHT (doble a la derecha) and
STRAIGHT AHEAD (derecho)
can mean the difference of finding your destination - or not.

And ordering food in a restaurant and knowing the difference between Bistek Hidalgo and Bistec Higado is the difference between having a nice meal and - well, not...just ask Jim.

I didn't say speaking Spanish would be easy. But once you've got Gringo Spanish 101 under your belt I think you'll find that life living in a Spanish speaking country is a little easier... except in situations where you have to speak Beareaucratic Spanish. That is the worst. And no amount of Spanish but FLUENT Spanish will help you maintain your sanity... and even then...

We arrived in La Paz with the goal of enrolling the kids in school-
that, my friends, requires more than just speaking Gringo Spanish.
It requires the finesse of pleasantries mixed with a large pail of BS and just the right sprinkling of firmness. It is a cultural language Salsa:
A side step here
and a swish of the hips there
and a coy smile,
batting of lashes,
and oozy sweetness mixed with name dropping,
papers peppered with large stamps and important signatures,
and in my case -
resorting to calling a local friend for help in exchange for buying her very expensive school uniforms v.s. going to Walmart for a fraction of the cost.
It's all about helping out, right?

As of Monday, Carolyne is thankfully in school and I am officially exhausted.
She attends a sweet little public school right around the corner - easy walking distance and very popular. So far, the cost has been her uniform - which with 3 blouses, 2 jumpers, 5 pairs of knee socks, 1 PE skort, 1 PE T-shirt and 1 pair of shoes has cost roughly $100US. And if we're lucky, the school will provide us with a voucher worth about $45US.

Carolyne is in a classroom with 32 other students. Her teacher speaks little English. We have arranged for Carolyne and Tim to have Spanish lessons at 50 pesos an hour each Tuesday and Thursday.

Carolyne, who told me, "Just so you know, Mom, I hate you for making me go to Mexican school", is loving her new school, teacher and classmates. By day 2, she corrected my Spanish - and was right! I am thrilled! Our daughter will be speaking fluent Spanish by the end of the school year! And her diagnostic test that she took placed her high in Math, Science, Social Studies and Mexican History... how she pulled off the Mexican History I will never know. But one thing is for sure - we've not done a shabby job with her homeschooling. (Yet I found a typo in this post but now I can't locate it - who cares... please deal.) We told her, "Whatever they ask you on your test about Mexican History the answer is BENITO JUAREZ."

As for our son, it has been much harder because he is much older and not fluent in Spanish. We need something close to a miracle to get him into school. After weeks of persistence, we finally have the Mexican Department of Education's approval for Tim to attend. Now, we just have to find a school to accept him. We've been turned down by three public schools so far.
On the flip-side, Tim has a job working at a restaurant this fall...IF we can get our Immigration status resolved. Dealing with Immigration is a whole different type of bureaucratic nightmare. And that, my friends, is another type of dance- one I haven't figured out yet.

SPANISH PHRASE FOR THE DAY:
(accent on the first syllable unless otherwise indicated)

Me puede dar... (may pway-day dar...)
Can you give me...

Use this phrase any time you want someone to give you something or pass something to you. We use it in the restaurants when ordering or at stores when there is an item behind the counter that we can't reach. We use it when we are asking for information or requesting anything from another person. It is a super useful phrase to learn!

The Last 15 Days

It’s hard to sum up the fast paced life we’ve lived the last 15 days, but here it goes…

We leave La Cruz-

only to turn around again.

Must fix exhaust and sea water leaking in bilge-

It’s a boat.

Find other serious problems-

We ignore them because they won’t kill us just yet-

It’s a boat.

Leave La Cruz once more-

Motor (no wind) to Los Muertos-

Almost catch something BIG and fast on the line (tuna?)-

Lose it.

It’s called fishing.

Something is wrong with our fuel consumption-

It’s a boat.

Play with our friends on Third Day one last time in Mexico-

So good to see these people!

We hug.

Wave goodbye and try not to cry as they head north to California-

Very sad.

Very sad indeed.

Anchor in La Paz-

Enjoy cool breezes on warm afternoons.

Celebrate Just A Minute selling fast!

And play with our JAM friends-

So good to see these people!

Until it time for them to leave for Washington-

We hug.

Very sad indeed again.

Pull into cheap marina to finish boat repairs.

So hot in marina; so very hot-

We buy air conditioner.

Cooking is a joy again.

Baking cherry pie!

Fly Aero Calafia to Guaymas solo to retrieve our car –

Airplane is 10 passenger-

$150US one-way.

Old woman next to me clutches her red rosary white knuckled and never smiles.

White girls traveling alone in Mexico?

Not scary at all.

Except when man with sour beer breath and teeth like silver dimes stuck loosely in his uppers won’t leave me alone on bus ride.

But I’ve watched local people handle these circumstances and so I handle it the same.

Pretend he is invisible.

Shortly, he quits talking to me-

He backs away-

Disappears like a vapor.

My fake cell phone conversation with fake boyfriend, Blaine, might have helped.

Marina Seca Guaymas boat yard is where car has been stored.

Car has dead battery when I arrive.

Felipe, boat yard worker guy and my hero, charges battery for 15 minutes but no life left.

Buy new battery and drive to Baja Ferry-

Expensive!

$300US to ferry from Guaymas to Santa Rosalia with vehicle-

Maybe I got screwed?

Ferry man will accept cash only.

I have no choice.

Pay the ferry man what he wants.

Reminds me a little of Charon and the River Styx.

Make it safely across - must have paid enough.

Visit friends in Santa Rosalia-

We hug and play Scrabble.

So good to see these people!

David David treats me to breakfast.

Guillermo invites me to lunch.

Buy 2 new rear tires there.

Car is costing a lot.

Drive to beautiful Burro Cove and wave at anchored friends off beach.

Friends dinghy over.

We hug.

So good to see these people!

Spend night on Topaz with Dodie and Brian.

Visit Geary – Sonrisa Net guru.

Geary plays Amazing Grace on the bagpipes in the morning-

A beautiful and moving wake up call.

Dodie makes a queen-sized breakfast.

Stop in Loreto because windshield is getting too dusty to see out of.

A man brings a bucket with water and fills my empty windshield wiper tank.

People are nice.

A 4 hour drive and I’m back in La Paz with my family.

We hug – and kiss.

So good to see these people!

Pimping Stainless & Insurance

Since I have bad-mouthed some nitwits here in La Cruz I feel the least I can do is mention some really great professionals that we have had the sincere pleasure of working with.

Pedro (Peter) Vargas in La Cruz for stainless work. Awesome! Ask for him at Marina La Cruz. His workshop is within walking distance. Can't say enough good things about him!! His product was very good and service on a timely basis.

Falvey Insurance:
Bob Falvey was really wonderful to work with. Great communication and overall super underwriter. I believe they used Mariners Insurance for our claim. Give Bob Falvey a call for a quote. Excellent service!
http://www.falveyyachts.com/

The Art of Dealing with People Effectively

I was taught that if you don't have anything nice to say then don't say anything at all.
HA!

We hired two guys here in La Cruz - gringos. They were supposed to do our boat repairs. They were paid installments to do the repairs. You pay installments and not the whole kit and kaboodle so they don't run off without doing the work, right?
HA!

Nitwit #1 attempted to do the work and showed up every day - good communication. Problem - he is desperate for money and taking on work he doesn't know how to do. And because his debts are chasing him he asked for 100% payment up front. Not being totally trusting, we gave him a percentage... which we will never see again. He was fired and we took our repairs to a local Mexican man, Pedro, who did excellent work. Nitwit #1 told us that the reason his quality of work was so hideous was that he hadn't been paid 100% up front.
HA!

Nitwit #2 is capable. He has experience and needs the work. He began repairs on Hotspur and it looked promising. But,after paying him an installment he ran up to the bar and disappeared... for days. And, a portion of his work began to fail. Nitwit #2 left word with a friend of his yesterday that he is sick. (Who wouldn't be sick if you begin drinking at 8:30 in the morning and don't stop for a few days?) Day 4 and Nitwit #2 showed up after 1pm - looking for his tools which he left aboard. I kept my mouth shut - a difficult job... I even considered putting duct tape over my mouth to insure that demons didn't fly out when I opened it. But that wasn't necessary. Jim got half our money back (because that's all that was left) and Nitwit #2 had his tools returned to him... after he repaired what was failing.
HA!

My camera is broken or I would post photos of these two Dingdongs. Jim won't let me use his camera for a number of reasons - one has something to do with diplomacy. The other has something to do with me having butter fingers and dropping things.

So, if you think this post is in bad taste, you should compare it to the bad taste I have in my mouth. And Nitwits who might be reading this? You won't see one penny in the future - not one red cent - until the work is completed. Done. And to my personal satisfaction. The type of satisfaction that I clap my hands together delightedly... and possible jump up and down a bit. And you need money for parts or materials? Okay - make me a list... a complete list... and I'll go buy the parts and materials.

And maybe I'll compile a list and post it online of all the jippers, rip-offs and cons out there.
I'll call it JIP... Jerks, Imbeciles and Pirates.
Or I could call it RIP... Rascals Inadequately Performing
Or I could call it just plain CONS... Cut Off Non-performing Scumbags

Well, I feel a bit better!
So, I will sign off now.
Time to provision, wait out Hurricane Fabio and head to La Paz.
JIPS, RIPS & CONS - Beware!! Blonde Enraged Woman Avoiding Rascally vErmin

Short Video of Sea Turtle Caught in Trash

We caught some brief video footage of the sea turtle we rescued a few posts ago. If you missed it you can read about it here. So anyone who wishes to second guess my animal identification skills (Jesse!), you tell me.