Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore–
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over–
like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

It’s over for me.

I realized this as I was answering questions on a computerized personality test at the temp agency yesterday.

Have you ever hugged a co-worker?

Do you understand why people go on shooting sprees?

Have you ever told a “white lie”?

Have you ever had a drink while on the clock?

If I were to tell the truth, I would have answered Yes to all of these questions and then would not have been eligible to go back to the temp agency today to take more tests that I was bound to fail. I would like to see my answers for the grammar, spelling, punctuation test that I only got a 74% on. During the interview I promised the nice girl that I would not hug a co-worker and then tried to explain that I had been typing on a tiny Mexican computer for the past 5 months so could I possibly have a do over on the timed typing test?

WTF.

The good news is that I’m not sweating the job thing. (I probably should be as Oblivion needs some upgrades)  I went down to The Great Outdoor Store and DeAnn was awesome enough to put me on the schedule for a few shifts. I worked at GOS for about 5 years. Not only was it the best job I have ever had, I also worked with people who I would consider some of my best friends.  DeAnn also knows that I hug co-workers–and sometimes customers.

I know that at some point I will have to go back to working a full time job in which I’m the one administering the bull shit quizzes or rather having someone else administer the quizzes.  But I’m going to put that off as long as possible.  I’ve seen the other side.  I’ve tasted the fruit.  And it’s delicious.

There was only one occasion where Jeff and I cracked a beer before noon (or at least the clock said it was 11am).  This happened last week and we had been trying to clean out our food and beverage supply.  We were working on the boat, it was hotter than crap and the only cold beverage left was beer.  It was a Mexican beer, so it was mostly water and probably doesn’t even count.

Time has been elusive.  It seems to fly by and it feels like it has been years since we have left.  When we get back to the Midwest I expect dramatic changes in all of you–I mean really, we’ve been gone for almost 7 months.  Do you know what you can do in 7 months!?!

Not as much as one would like (but this doesn’t mean I’m letting you off the hook–BIG changes people–that is what I’m expecting).  I, on the other hand have not accomplished as much as I would have like to have.  I’m still not proficient in Spanish, I can only tie 3 knots, and I still don’t know what I want to do when I grow up.  The latter is even more confused than ever.  But I’ve got plenty of time to figure that out, right?

Looking back, the fish tacos in Ensanada, the first time I saw a ray jump out of the water, the Chepe train to Creel–they happened forever ago.  I know that I’ve been living the charmed life  of a Jack Johnson song (other than the throwing up and living in a space the size of a dorm room)-I’m not living by the clock and wishing my hours away until the weekend. I eat when I’m hungry and sleep when I’m tired.  I don’t eat 3 meals a day at 7:00, 12:00 and 6:00 and I don’t get a continuous 8 hours of sleep during the hours of 10:00pm and 6:00 am, I don’t listen to talk radio, I don’t watch 24 hour new networks, I don’t know what celebrity is in sex rehab.  I don’t even know what time it is right now.  I also know that this is not the American way. For the next few months I will go back to wearing a watch, answering to a job (if I can find one), and being expected to eat cereal for breakfast.

I will do this so that in the fall I can slip back to my Oblivion.

Anyway, back to the Baja. After leaving La Paz, we anchored at 11 different places and met as many or more interesting people. There are the people that live in the Baja and then there are the people on sailboats. The first group looks like this:

And the second group looks like this:

However, if the  beautiful Quincey family on s/v Orca keep at this sailing thing for 30 more years, they will turn into the Toby, Toby and Toby.  That is the risk you run with this lifestyle.  Jeff dreams of becoming “The Dude”; I would prefer he buys a guitar and dreams of becoming the next Jack Johnson.

Highlights from the Baja in chronological order:

San Evaristo: Meeting Cathy and Grant Cooper and giving the kids that live in this fishing village a bunch of crayons and a soccer ball.  It was like Christmas morning!

Agua Verde:  This is where the rumor of the Whale Sharks began.  I don’t know how many times we heard–”He will come right up to your dinghy!” “You could almost ride him!”  We never saw him.

Puerto Escondido:  Caught up to the boys on Gato Go and met the crews on Orca, Black Dragon and once again heard about a whale shark that “Was just seen yesterday splashing around the anchorage!”  We were there for three days and never saw it.  However, when we were leaving the anchorage, someone called over the VHF to say that he was spotted right where we had been anchored.

Puerto Ballandra: Not much here–not even the rumor of a whale shark.

Caleta De San Juanico: Killer bees. Which make for a disturbing alarm clock.

Bahia Coyote: We rolled in here, did a drive through the popular anchorage at Coyote, thought there were too many boats and went over to Playa Burro.  As we were traveling the one mile between these anchorages someone calls us on the VHF:
“Hello sailing vessel Oblivion! We were just watching the whale shark in the anchorage and my granddaughter saw the Santa Clause on your bow. She was wondering if it was Christmas.”

Me: “You saw a whale shark?”

Them: “Yes, it was right in front of your boat.”

Me: “Sorry little girl, there is no Santa Clause.”

In Burro/Coyote we met Sapphire, Fjordmos, Patrick and Geary.  We hung out here for a few days with all of the fantastic people that we had just met.  We spent out 6th wedding anniversary aboard Gato Go eating banana cream pie and listening to Alex play the guitar. The next morning we set off for Santa Rosalia.

The history of Santa Rosalia is pretty amazing.  It was a hub of copper mining in the late 1800’s.  A. G. Effiel designed a church that was built in France and then shipped in parts over to this tiny little town in 1898. The town looks like something out of an old western. The copper ran out a long time ago, but most of the structures are still there.  We were there on a Sunday while there was mass going on at the church.  I would have gone Aunt Rose, but it was standing room only.

The next evening we left for San Carlos and ended up in Guaymas.  It is a little stinky here as a result of the shrimping, but it is better than being in San Carlos–a place once described to us as “soul sucking”.  We went there yesterday and if the Baja is the place time forgot, San Carlos is a place that you want to forget.

Nancy

May 24

Before trying heroic surgery such as an amputation or even a lesser emergency, when there is time to communicate, please do so.  A little advice might be lifesaving. –John M Levinson, MD

This passage comes from the book Advanced First Aid Afloat.  Jeff and Tim purchased the book shortly before we left San Diego.  The book was first published in 1972; it has been updated 3 times, but the cover artwork looks fantastically original.  The chapters have titles such as,

Compound Fractures, Wounds, and Amputations

Burns, Administration of All Injectable Fluids

Spontaneous Pneumothorax

And my favorite: Inhaled Meat

I had forgotten about this little gem of a book until a few days ago when I was trying to diagnose my broken toe.  It is not a good story; I slipped on the last step of the companionway and stopped my fall with the fourth toe on my left foot.  I was barefoot because, as you recall, I lost my left shoe few weeks ago. This book is amazing!

Each section starts out with a story or situation in which the injury might occur:

You are not likely to be unlucky enough in your cruising to encounter a white whale that mangles the leg of your crew. But it is possible you may have to amputate an arm or leg.

Really?  I’ve been eyeing Jeff’s right leg– it looks a little lame.  Maybe I just need to amputate it. The book tells me I just need to have courage.  Thanks Beth for that leatherman, it will come in really handy during surgery.

Another fantastic chapter is title Miscarriage at Sea.  This chapter is written in ship’s log style and ends with the entry:

1 August, 0800: After examination, Susie is pronounced in the best of health.  Later, over a beer, Susie and Mike make a solemn resolve.  Birth control pills hold a higher priority in their traveling economy than beer or, perhaps, food.

Good plan Mike and Susie.  I have another book for you called Why Didn’t I Think of That, which has helpful tips for people who don’t like to think, such as: To save space in your galley, buy the little bottled spices, not the big ones.

There is also a section on preparing for cruising in Advanced First Aid Afloat.  It discusses being in good health, not using drugs  or deep fat fryers  while underway and practicing good hygiene because People get smelly if unwashed and more importantly, often suffer painful boils and other skin infections. I know people can get smelly, but I thought it was just too many refried beans.  There is also a passage and graphic diagram about treating pinworms in children-but I don’t want to get into that.

The story on delirium could have been any number of days on Oblivion:

On November 6, 1968, Diastole, a 36-ft cutter, headed south out of LA. ..suddenly there was a wild burst of screaming and singing audible even above the whistle of the wind.  Dr. Stritch turned a flashlight aft. Balanced on one foot, holding to the backstay with one hand and gyrating back and forth, stark-naked and yelling at the top of his lungs, was the youngest member. With no hope of reasoning with him, Dr. Art jumped up  and grabbed the lad as he went wheeling off to port with the ship’s roll.  After a struggle. He was safe in the cockpit.  Or was he?  He kept jumping up, eyes rolling wildly.  He was in his own private shrieking world. The others awakened, They wrestled him below, wiped him dry and wrapped him in a blanket.  They managed to take a rectal temperature.  It was 107.  He had the flu.

The Advanced First Aid Afloat had a tiny little passage on broken toes—tape it to the one next to it.  That’s it! No dramatic story. I don’t get to inject any fluids or take Demerol.  I only get the Demerol if I amputate my toe. It hurts, but I don’t think it is gangrenous—yet.  Plus we don’t have any Demerol.  The Doctor in the states only gave us Hydrocodon but we are saving that for recreational use.

We have been in La Paz for seven days.  We said good-bye to Bryan after eating the most amazing Chinese food in the world.  We said hello and good-bye to our great friends on Tenacious Grace–Brad, Lisa, and their two children.

On a side note, Brad and Lisa are from Alberta, Canada.  They live closer to the North Pole than the equator.  When we asked them about buying suntan lotion in Mexico (because it is about $15 a bottle) they looked at us like we were crazy.

Lisa: You guys wear suntan lotion?

Me: Yes. All the time.  You guys don’t?

Lisa: No.  We never do.

Nancy:  You have been sailing for a year and you don’t use sunscreen?

Lisa: Oh–I do put it on my nose.

Those Canadian’s and their government provided health care!  I applaud you Bran and Lisa.

During this time I have also been able to finally get comfortable on Oblivion.  There are 68 storage areas on board and I dug through all of them when I was looking for my backpack (which I did find Jenny).  It was easy because they are empty for the most part. I know we have a lot of extra space to put stuff–but in terms of  “stuff” there isn’t really anything that we need.  Food, clothes, books and computers–that’s about it.  There are items that I will need to replace or re-stock up on before coming back this fall (lost another pair of sunglasses on this last passage)–but nothing major.

The past 7 days also allowed me time to run on the malecon, see a movie, do some yoga, read, and catch-up with people.  The time allowed me time to get comfortable with life on the boat and life away from home.  Don’t get me wrong, I still miss friends, family and Conrad–but not to the point of my heart hurting.

I guess that is why this place is called The Peace.

I’ve digressed. Me, the non-picky eater has had a little trouble with food since setting sail.  The first 10 days–way back in December were brutal.  I ate saltines for Christmas dinner even though Brandi had made a yummy smelling dish.  By the time we reached Cabo, my stomach had shrunk to the size of walnut.  Lots of little meals were in order.  Fortunately, I discovered these little bags of different seeds and nuts.  Pumpkin seed, little green seeds, fresh roasted peanuts and they seemed to be everywhere on the Baja.  I was saved! Jeff told me I could not live on seeds and nuts alone, but it worked for a while. Thank you Mexico for the nuts.

I eventually got back to eating the local cuisine, which consisted mostly of sea food. Makes sense, we are on the ocean.  Things seemed to be going along just fine.  The seafood was fresh and cheap and delicious–who doesn’t love garlic shrimp? ME.  I seem to have developed some sort of allergy to it. I remember the last meal so very well.  We were in Guadalajara with Sam and Laura at that fancy restaurant Cocina 88–I had a Thai Shrimp and it was great until about 2am when I wanted to die.   So, one more food to the ban list.  My body has a rule–if I throw something up more than once, I can never eat or drink it again.  The ban list has grown quite long during this trip and I choose the food that I’m going to eat while we are underway carefully because of it.

Items that are on the ban list:

Animals–land and sea

Eggs

anything with a “smokey” flavor

Diet Coke

Macaroni salad–or any mayonnaise base “salad”

Tequila

Red Wine–this is an on again, off again relationship

Cubanas–the Mexican version of a mid-west red beer

Any form of Whiskey

Anything that smells like seaweed

Soy Chorizo

Soy Taverns

I think that is it.  Pringles almost went on the list during this last passage, but I have recovered from that one.  I’ve stocked up on popcorn, mac and cheese, and heart of palm. This will get me through the next month.  That is really all I need to live–Oh, and the nuts.  I love the Mexican nuts.

Nancy

Gilead, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, The Good Earth, Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven, and Everything is Illuminated—what do the books have in common other than the fact that I have read them since finishing Infinite Jest?

Nothing.

OK–that is not entirely true.  I would say a similar theme throughout is living the best life you can while you are on this planet.  It is fairly easy, be nice to people, the planet and animals.  Those last two weren’t really talked about in the books, but I think it is way up there on the happiness factor. Have you seen the really sad pictures of the turtles being washed ashore in the Gulf?  Horrible. That can’t make anyone happy. Especially the turtles.

Actually, now that I think about it, there was a theme in several of the books about taking care of the land so it takes care of you. The land and home become your identity:  who you are is where you are from.  If I think of this in the context of my life, I lived the first part of my life on a farm.  As a result of this experience, I will not eat animals (especially cows named Bill), I will not walk over grates for fear of falling through them and breaking my arm and I love the smell of fresh cut alfalfa. Now I live on the Ocean.  It does not really take care of me. It couldn’t care less about me. Maybe that is why no one owns an ocean.

There was also an overwhelming theme spanning many religions which tackled the question “What does God or the gods or Jesus want me to do?” Answer: The Golden Rule.  Be nice to people.  Treat them with respect no matter who they are. Put your ego away–no one cares how big it is.

Anyway, back to the books.  I liked all of them for different reasons.

Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven because it reminded me of my mom and made me laugh out loud.

The Good Earth because it was well written and is filled with life lessons.  Thank you Tom Parker for giving me that one.

Gilead–I like this one because it took place in Iowa and referenced several times how progressive Iowa is on important issues.  Like who can marry whom.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn–another fantastic book that was funny, sad and true.  Thank you Kris from sailing vessel  Estrella for that one.

Everything is Illuminated–Funny, horrific, confusing.  I need to  brush up on my knowledge of the Jewish faith.  Thanks Tim for leaving that one on Oblivion for me-you are a premium person.

Oh, I just remembered that I read something else.  A book by Stuart Woods called Dirty Work or Dirty Job or Blow Job or something of the like. The author is very popular with the cruisers (most of whom are men in their 50’s or 60’s) and now I understand why.  I think Woods is the franchise for Harlequin romances for men.  The female main character–a MI6 (think 007)–spent most of her time naked and in bed and needing to be saved by the main male character who is a lawyer.  You can bet the case they were working on was dirty.  Quite possibly the work book I have ever skimmed.

The End

As you can see, my left hipthong, my very favorite shoe in the world is gone.  It got washed off the boat on our sail from Chamela to La Cruz.  I shouldn’t have left my shoes in the rail-it was careless; but I believed Passage Weather when they call for winds of 10-15 knots with small seas. What they really should have called for was winds of 20-25 knots with 10 ft seas coming at our nose.  It was a puker.  I may have also thrown-up because I unknowingly took 3 times the dosage of Stugeron–a seasickness medication when taken in small doses–a Parkinson’s medication when taken at the dose I was ingesting. (Thanks Adam for the heads up!)

Anyway, back to the shoe.  The seas were confused and we (my husband Jeff and I) were getting doused by waves that seemed to come out of nowhere and everywhere.  The rails and Oblivion (38ft Hans Christian) were soaked.  We had gotten a little lax in our making the boat shipshape and didn’t close the port holes before our little aloe plant tipped over down below getting dirt everywhere which then got soaked with salt water. It was shortly after as I was hanging over the rail releasing my lunch into the ocean when I saw my beloved shoes floating in the water that was gushing through the side port hole. I managed to grab the one, which brings me to my first question:

Can I get the webbing repaired on this one?  I’ve worn it so much that the webbing is wearing thin.

As for the missing shoe, which is probably laying on a beach somewhere in Central America and which I thought long and hard about going after while it was floating in peril, just out of reach in the rail and of which is the bigger question of the two…I do have to say there was a brief moment when I thought I was going to be able to grab it.  The seas had calmed a bit, the wind had dropped to about 17 knots and out of nowhere, WHAMMO! This wave came splashing over the side taking my left shoe with it.  I was so sad I cried.  Of course, one of the side effects of taking too much Stugeron is depression, so that may have had something to do with the crying—but still, I love(d) these shoes.  They have been the perfect shoe for kickin’ around Mexico and the boat.

So, question #2: do you have an extra left hipthong size 7 sitting around somewhere?  If I could get the same webbing that would be fantastic, because these colors go with everything I wear.  That is why they are the perfect shoe. I only get to have a few shoes on the boat because of space. Plus, I love my feet too much to wear anything else. I’ve walked hundreds of miles in these guys and there is hardly any wear on the tread.  Amazing!  I know that you all do repairs and this may be stretching the envelope a little bit, but I have to ask because I can’t replace them in Mexico.  Have you ever tried to get anything in Mexico?  It is impossible.

I can send the remaining shoe back with a friend who is coming to visit in a few days. I will be back to the States for a visit this summer when I can retrieve the shoes (I hope–I’m counting on you guys here!).  Until then, I will just go shoeless.

Sincerely,

Nancy

Loyal Chaco wearer

PS: If there is anything you guys need from Mexico, let me know! There is an abundance of vanilla and tequila here—sorry, the Mexican’s are not known for their chocolate.