January 1, 2005
Zihuatanejo, Guerrero Coast, Mexico (17o 38' N 101o 33' W)
For xmas day we went to the movies ("Ocean's 12" with Spanish subtitles for all the lines we couldn't understand in English) and out for a tamale dinner with another couple (squash blossom with cheese was Linda's favorite). But that was the extent of our xmas celebration since our best gift is just being here in the first place.
John worked very hard to repair the gash in the dinghy again. The 5200 patch he did in Puerto Vallarta failed a few days ago so now he's back to trying contact cement. It's Mexican contact cement so he's hoping it will have some nasty environmentally unfriendly chemicals that will be more effective than the U.S. kind. We finally broke out the inflatable kayak to use while this stuff cures but I can't really see us hauling laundry and groceries in it. It's very stable but it's wet! (Update, the patch seems to be holding for now, though we have yet to fully inflate the dinghy, we're keeping the pressure low for awhile.)
We've been trying to arrange to purchase a small generator, a 1000 watt Honda. But we seem to have run out of luck there. We were working with a local hardware store (ferreteria) to see if they could order one in. It seems now that it's not possible to have this unit delivered into Zihua. We're going to try a few other places just for the fun of it, since it would sure be nice not to have to run the main engine just to charge batteries.
We've had a small theft: the fuel hose from the gas tank to the outboard motor was stolen from our dinghy as it sat on the beach day before yesterday. It's pretty strange because there were several other items in the dinghy that any self respecting thief would have stolen, so we're pretty sure it was taken by someone who really needed it rather than someone who was just stealing stuff. I was able to buy a new one at a local marine store for US$35, only US$10 more than West Marine.
We spent New Year's Eve at a friend's boat: Megabyte, a Maxum 4600. There were about 18 people onboard for the festivities (don't power boats make the best party platforms!). The fireworks show wasn't quite what we were hoping for but it was still great to be with a bunch of new friends to toast in the New Year. We departed around 0130 for NAKIA and in spite of all the guns being shot off on shore we seemed to have avoided any damage from stray bullets.
The weather continues to be very warm, 85-90 degrees during the day and 70-75 at night. The humidity is also very high,so we spend much of our time wishing we could take a shower. We hold off on this luxury until just before bedtime so we can at least sleep in comfort.
That's about all for now, except to say keep an eye out on http://www.latitude38.com. It has been rumored to us that Linda is on the cover of the January issue. (I keep humming "on the cover of the Rolling Stone..." in my head.)
John and Linda
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