Worth More than Money in the Bank

Well, we´ve landed in a quaint little spot on the Salvadorean coast by the name of El Tunco. After months on the water we´ve managed to quickly lay some roots on a piece of shoreline chocked full of good waves, with the majority of those waves being right points there arent many complaints from these two regular foots!

On boarding the bus from Tapachula, Mexico to San Salvador, El Salvador we began chatting with a friendly Salvadoreano by the name of Nelson Mojica. Between our aspiring spanish and his blooming english we exchanged info on our families and lives. Early on in conversation we had yet another reminder of how small the world is when he told us how he lived in Aliso Viejo which is a mere 20 minutes from Dana Point, our home port!

By the third day in El Salvador, Nelson had treated us to our first pupusas (their national food), drove us to the coast, and helped us find a room with a view that suited us perfectly. The wealth of local information (especially in the area of local eateries!) and friendship he has shown us is priceless. Along the way these "angels" have popped up unexpectedly and helped with only our friendship as paymant in return. Our hope is that the universe is confirming to us the old adage "what you give is what you get" and that we will continue to get and be aware of oppurtunities to make some deposits in the universal bank.

Mexico by boat, Central America by bus

We finished preparing little Mer-Sea for the Hurricane season. She is all ready for her stay at Marina Chiapas. Though not many boats for her to play with, we think she´ll be fine under the care of the Marina Chiapas staff.

Now we are off for the next leg of our journey... Central America, by bus. With our board bag stuffed full of 4 surfboards plus the necessary surf gear, a tent, warm weather sleeping bag, two mosquito nets, a machete, first-aid kit, and some sunscreen, we´re ready to experience the lively rain forests, hopefully friendly locals, and all excellent summer surf Central America has to offer!

Pura Vida!

“Thank You for Your Sacrifice.”

 This is our standard expression of gratitude when executing a fish we have caught. Due to waters that seemed a bit overfished, this phrase had not been uttered in some time. But with our new crew on board (Shaun Roberts, a childhood friend of Marc’s) and an enthusiasm for angling and 170 miles of water to cover between Acapulco and Puerto Escondido we felt things might be turning around.

We decided to try some different tackle and opted for a blue feather lure with an inside out cacahuates bag tied to the line above the leader. (Cacahuates are peanuts.) We have heard rumors that the metallic insides of chip or snack bags works well to attract fish. Which it did!

Our first catch was a small bonito, which are in the tuna family. We had one before and had cooked it up, but Shaun informed us they were quite delicious eaten raw. A bowl of soy sauce and wasabi was quickly mixed up and our first batch of sashimi went down the hatch.

The second day out we hooked up something a little bigger. Once the line took up buzzing, Marc secured the pole and started increasing the drag, then handed it off to Shaun so he could turn the boat and run down the fish that was running hard! As we closed in, and got a peek of color, we all lit up with excitement. A nice Dorado! She was hooked at the tail, which took a team effort aboard the s/v Mer-Sea to carefully gaff and bring her aboard. An enthusiastic “Thanks!“ was exclaimed and before she was done being cleaned we had full bellies of the freshest sashimi ever! Later filets were grilled on the bbq and the following day we gorged ourselves on coconut milk ceviche that Marc marinated over night.

 

It is truly a beautiful thing to live simply and self sufficiently. Not that we are completely unplugged (as is demonstrated by this very blog post), but through many experiences we engage in by living out here, the more we appreciate all that we have.

               
       
                          Eat sushi… More. Often.

SURPRISE!! (Puerto Escondido: lat. 15 51.498 N; long. 97 03.757W)

Paddling back to the boat after a surf and seeing an unknown person moving around in the cockpit = bad.

Getting close and realizing it’s a surprise visit from Marc’s dad with parts to fix the dinghy engine = good!

The engine was up and running by the next morning and we enjoyed the life of luxury for the past week. This is due to the fact that Samy is posted up in a sweet hotel, which allowed us daily showers, air conditioning, and unlimited amounts of ICE!!

The week was spent surrounded by blaring music and Mexican Tourists having their last hoorah of the Santa Semana holiday. With Samy and Shaun visiting we wasted no time getting on board with the festivities. The first night Samy arrived, Shaun had managed to get himself a DJ gig at a local beachside bar called, Uh La-La. Shaun assumed he would be late so we made plans to meet him in the morning. His late night turned out to be a long one and ran into the next afternoon. While enjoying a late lunch, Samy spotted him getting a ride on a panga back to the boat. He spent the next 24 hours recouping and figuring out how to get to Mexico City by the weekend, as he was invited to play at a big event, setup by some of his nuevo amigos.

 

Throughout the week, Samy was making friends all over town. From playing drums with some streetside gypsies, to jamming on the Bass in a jewelry store with the owner, to strumming our newly strung acoustic guitar poolside, we would definitely say that he had a lot of fun this trip! Samy certainly has an ear for music which pairs nicely with his love for life!

Samy also treated us to a bebidas shopping spree at “Super Che” which found our basket filled with cocktail ingredients and junk food to support us for the week. We were also treated to many delicious meals, from pastor tacos and beers, to much needed breakfasts. The most memorable being giant platters of fresh seafood! Full spreads of caracol, pulpo, camarones, y filete de pescado.

Seeing Samy off to the airport and getting Shaun on the bus was bittersweet. As it was good times to have loved ones from home out to visit and share in our adventure, we are now ready to get back out on the water and continue our chosen direction of travel, South. Vamos a Bahias de Huatulco!!

From the Galley… Jar Garden

Of the many gracious gifts bestowed upon us before our departure, one is truly earning its keep. This gift would be in the form of two mason jars with squares of window screen cut to fit the openings and directions to sprouting a variety of beans!

The only legumes available here in Mexico that work with this method (that we have found) are garbanzo (otherwise known as chick peas) or lentils.  Lentils are our favorite as they come out crisp and refreshing, making a great addition to salads.

 

The process for procuring these sprouts is as follows:

·      Place dry beans in jar and soak for 24 hours. Cover with at least twice as much water and remember not to put too many as they will expand.

·      Once soaked, drain and rinse. Then set at a 45 degree angle in a shaded area with the screen secured on in place of the metal, allowing them to breath.

·      Rinse and drain 3 times a day, always leaving at a 45 degree angle.

Within two days the lentils will be ready to eat and within 3 days the garbanzos should be ready to enjoy!

Gracias Gary and Kim!!!

How to Build an Ecosystem or Why Cleaning Your Bottom Monthly is Recommended

I have always loved Oceanography. Cousteau was a hero in my youth. We have found we could site this as an excuse for why we haven’t cleaned the bottom of the boat in some time.

At every anchorage we quickly acquired a school of resident fish. We knew we had something more than a “little growth” when one of those schools of fish left Santiago Bay and swam with us the 44 hours to Maruata. We had become their main food source. The next indicator was waking up one morning in Zihuatenejo Bay to bubbles being released on our hull. Coming on deck revealed a dolphin fishing under us. We had begun to attract predators higher on the food chain.

So out came the goggles, fins, scraper, and brillo. Marc had his work cut out for him needless to say and I just followed with a scrub. In the end hard work paid off and we have gained about 2 knots!! (knots being how our speed is measured)

Amigos y Olas Zihuatanejo lat. 17 38.168N long. 101 33.322W

You are safe to assume that if we do not update the blog and the SPOT is not tracking we are having a good time. Zihuatanejo was a great town and treated us well. We quickly met some local surfers who were willing to give us rides to surf, which ended up being pretty good due to some south swell that showed up.  We got on a strict regiment of waking up before dawn to get our gear together and go meet our ride every morning.

The bulk of our surfing was done at a beach called Playa Linda. It predominantly breaks left over cobblestones. This set-up is thanks to a river that lets out at the end of the beach. Also thanks to this river and it’s marshy surroundings are warnings of crocodiles! (side note: this spot was the first place I ever surfed outside of the U.S. , thanks to my mom taking me here when I was 16!)

Another beach we were able to catch a couple at was "The Ranch". For those that surf, I am sure you have surfed a “Ranch” somewhere. It seems to be a quite popular name. Now this was a proper left hand point-break. There is potential all around this area for more waves as well. Next time we plan to bring a tent and a few days worth of rations, and do a bit of camping around the uncharted breaks.

Thanks to Daniel and “Johnny Be Good” for helping us get wet!