Spanish School – A Week on Land

My week-long solo adventure began with an easy, short bus ride to Melaque. When I finally found where to catch the next bus to La Manzanilla, I discovered I had just missed one and had to wait over an hour and a half for the next one. I wouldn’t have minded wandering around Melaque a bit if I didn’t have my heavy pack with me. Instead I went a few blocks to one of the best ice cream places in Mexico (that we’d visited a few days before). I had the opportunity to tell the girl it was the best ice cream I’ve had in Mexico and she “whoo hooo’d” and clapped, and as I was leaving she told her father what I’d said (well, she told him I said it was the best ice cream in “todo el mundo” – world…close enough). It was clearly a family operation and they were proud of their homemade ice cream – so I was glad I got to tell them how good it was (and grateful I could do so in Spanish!).

I met a Canadian woman while I was waiting for the bus and found out she and her ex-husband had boat and had wanted to cruise. They got invited to cruise for six weeks on a Swan 56 (huge, gorgeous boat) and she said that trip pretty much blew their plans for cruising. They discovered it was not all hammocks and cocktails…it was far more work than they had imagined and they nixed the idea altogether. The next short bus ride was a bit of an adventure. I’m not sure exactly what was wrong with the bus, but it seemed to be popping out of gear a lot and making a horrible grinding noise. I was in the front seat with a large space in front of me, where plastic jugs of fuel and a large metal tool box were sliding around on the floor. Around the sharp, steep corners, while bracing myself I also tried to hold the tool box and fuel jugs with my leg so they wouldn’t slide around and hurt someone. The man next to me had a little boy sleeping on his lap, and he and I exchanged a few laughing cringes and I wished I knew how to say “if you can’t find ‘em, grind ‘em” in Spanish. One of the American women sitting behind me started nervously yelling “I don’t like this! I think we should get off! I’m taking a taxi next time. Shouldn’t we get off???” I looked out the window at the woods and views from the mountain we were going over and thought, “get off and do what?!”. So in an effort to calm her down, and thinking of much scarier rides I’d had, I just said “Hey, at least we can’t see the road through the floor”. It didn’t seem to appease her.

I made it to La Manzanilla just fine and found the house I was staying at. The school had led me to believe I was staying with a family, as in being part of the family, in the family home – like an exchange student type situation—where I’m the only person staying with them and they are interested in having me. As it turned out, I was staying in a room, more similar to a hostel situation – where there are other renters with different agendas, and the family had a private residence next door that I never even got to see.

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The door on the left was my room.

When I paid my deposit online, I had also chosen the “no meals” plan, as it seemed ridiculously expensive and I was sure I could either work something out to share costs with the family or simply eat on my own. They wanted $40 for a week of breakfasts – and we spend less than $40 for 3 meals / day for 2 people all week. I just couldn’t do it. The only reason I was in school at all was that I had saved my parents’ gifts for the last two birthdays and Christmases – so this week was a generous gift from my parents and I certainly wasn’t going to let it be a rip-off! But the school was insisting that it was necessary for me to pay this for some reason I couldn’t understand. They said I could switch the breakfast to a dinner if that was better for me.

Room at Chayo's
A huge bed, all to myself and more floor space than I knew what to do with

At the “homestay”, I was shown my room, which was huge and had a double bed and a single bed, and my own toilet and shower and a very large fan. I certainly couldn’t complain about that!!Room chayos bano I briefly met Chayo and Andres and their daughter Jenny. Chayo spoke to me in rapid Spanish and seemed kind of annoyed with me (either because I wasn’t understanding everything or I’m just annoying in general, I’m not sure) and then they all disappeared. I met Jan, the wonderful Canadian woman in the room next to mine, and she showed me the ropes of the place – there was a refrigerator on the rooftop terrace I could put some food in, and during the week Chayo ran a taco stand from the front of the place and used the kitchen facilities (which consisted of a 2 burner cook top) for that. As it turned out, Jan was good friends with the mother of Peter – the guy we’d met on Fukngivr! Always a small world.

Chayo roof
My room was far too hot to be inside during the day, so I spent a lot of time on the breezy rooftop

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My accommodations were surrounded in beautiful tile work – tile work is Andres’ trade and he did the whole place himself.  I had fun noticing new designs everytime I looked around.

chayostile sunchayostileseahorse  Chayo barsink

There I was alone and it didn’t appear there was a dining area where I was going to be sharing meals with the whole family, and no one was around to offer me a meal. I figured I’d sort it all out on Monday morning when I could actually talk to the people at the school in person. Since I was starving, I wandered into the town square and had some delicious and cheap tacos and beans (if I had those every night for dinner it would cost me $12 for the week). I chatted with a lovely Canadian couple on vacation and then wandered over to the flan booth for a nice slice of choco-flan in the plaza. It was a lively night at the square, which was only a block from my place. I stopped at a tienda and purchased breakfast food- yogurt, honey, granola and juice to last me all week (for just over $6) and stuck it in the rooftop fridge. I unpacked and settled in a bit in the room, feeling a little unsure of the whole situation I found myself in. I had dreams of ending the week with a whole new family, surrounded with people who wanted nothing more than to patiently share themselves with me while I struggled to speak and understand.

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Taco cart in the evening

I was feeling a strange mix of excitement and nervousness for my classes, and mixed feelings about the housing situation. On the one hand, it was certainly my kind of place to stay as a budget traveler, on the other hand it was not at all what I was led to believe I was paying so much money for. I learned from Jan that I didn’t even want to know how much she was paying for an identical room – as it was so much less than what I was paying to the school for accommodations.

I found a bowl, spoon and cup for my breakfast in the morning, and rather than eat on the rooftop alone, I brought my food downstairs in hopes of someone being around. I did get to chat a bit with Chayo and tried to understand the whole meal and payment situation. We discovered that Chayo gets less than half of what I had paid to the school and almost nothing for meals if she needs to provide them. I told her I would rather give the money directly to her – buy tacos from her taco stand etc. She seemed to be fine with that and didn’t have a problem with me storing my breakfast food and using her bowls and utensils. I started to get the sense that this school might be a bit of a rip off.  This was later confirmed by a number of other people’s stories.

I went in a bit early to meet the office manager and figure out this whole $40 debacle (determined not to pay it!) and then have my first 3 hour class session. Miriam in the office was a very sweet woman who had been so helpful to me in all the emails leading up to my arrival, was extremely nice and seemed to understand my plight. She told me not to pay the rest of my fees until she talked to the bosses. I went up to my classroom on the third floor with breathtaking views of the town and La Manzanilla Bay dotted with picturesque sailboats. There I met Miguel, who, as it turns out was to be my private instructor for the week.

Miguel teacher
Miguel in the classroom

I guess there were no other intermediate students signed up for that week! Instead of 3 hours, we covered the same materials in 2 hours each day (as per the school’s policy). I was not surprised or upset by this – although I was a bit disappointed not to meet new classmates to study with, I was also quite happy to be getting 100% of the teacher’s attention. Again, another weird mix of feelings about the whole thing. I absolutely loved Miguel, though, no mixed feeling there! He was the perfect wise and patient teacher-figure, and never once laughed at me (inappropriately, anyway). He did once call me a liar, though. He would read articles to me in Spanish and I would have to tell him in my own words (again, in Spanish) what it was about. I only had the vaguest notion about this one article, so I was kind of making stuff up, using words I knew… he started laughing heartily and said “Mentirosa!” (liar!).

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The school

 

Classroom
View from the classroom

The class time was well structured with a great booklet of past, present and future tense conversations and articles, and every day I had to write a diary and answer true/false and essay questions about a long article. I was very happy with all of that and feel like I made some great progress. The thing I am the worst at is listening for comprehension. If I can read it, no problems at all, but I did struggle every time he said “Escucharme!” (listen to me). I realized I was nearly illiterate and I’d been speaking horribly wrong Spanish for so long, with no one correcting me, that some things had to be unlearned with much difficulty. I want to start wearing a sign around my neck that says “Por favor, corrija mi español” (Please correct my Spanish). Everyday Miguel would correct my diary and I had to re-write it all correctly for the next day. We also got into a number of off topic conversations, which were great, and I so appreciated him stopping to correct me as I rambled on and on. If you’ve been reading my blogs, you know how badly I ramble on and on in English, I’m sure you can imagine how patient Miguel must be to suffer through my stilted ramblings in Spanish!

As it turned out there were no extracurricular activities planned or available to me- as the school’s website had led me to believe. I was on my own to force my way into the family life and find other people in town to talk to. Not too hard for someone like me, right? Except for the fact that the town was crawling with white folk, mostly Canadian and many not speaking a lick of Spanish. Being as I am, I was a prime target for people to come up to me and start speaking English (I don’t know why, but I’m the person people always stop to ask for help and directions, etc). The locals were clearly kind of sick of tourists and all very busy working hard. I couldn’t seem to worm my way into any lazy chit-chat with townfolk. This was not going to be the “immersion” week I’d hoped for. Maybe if I’d had 3 or 4 weeks I could start penetrating some inner circles, but for now I was just another gringa.

I did manage to work out the $40 situation. The bosses (who, I discovered, were actually money-grubbing Americans) said that if I weren’t eating any food, they would generously knock the bill down to $20 for the use of Chayo’s plates. I simply refused and Miriam sighed heavily and amended my final invoice to be $40 less. I never got to meet these bosses who were trying to charge American prices for Mexican services (or in some cases, NO services), and I’m actually glad about that. My only regret was that I didn’t choose the ‘no lodging’ option and be able to pay Chayo what she deserved directly. It was a learning experience in more ways than language.

Chayo at Stand
Chayo works hard serving up the best tacos in town!
Charly&Roberto
Charley and Roberto socializing at Chayo’s taco tables

It was feeling strange to be on my own, as well as on land. So much space, and so many places and things and noises and no endless tasks or chores. It was all a bit overwhelming and I felt a little lost. I wasn’t there to site-see or shop and playing on the beach was not a big draw. So I spent most of my afternoons working on my homework, availing myself of the luxury of wifi and enjoying a daily shower. There were a number of people coming and going and for a couple days I wasn’t even sure how many people were living there. I finally sorted it all out – Bonnie and Charley were the awesome folks in the upstairs apartment and aside from Jan, all the other folks were just visiting friends. A lot of great people to meet and chat with and I was unable to resist speaking English. I generally don’t get enough socializing in any language, so I was eating it up!

I observed how different land-people are from boat-people. Everyone we meet on other boats are always instantly our new friends, we easily invite each other on board and chat for ages. Land people are much more reserved and it’s a lot harder to break in. I guess cruisers are all pretty much ‘in the same boat’ and on the same page with most things – where as there are so many different situations or possibilities for what’s going on with land based lives- that people are a little more wary others and protective of themselves. It was an interesting thing to note, and also made me feel a little lonely. I was so grateful to for the time I got to spend chatting and hanging out with my new friends!

One afternoon Jan had bought some shrimp and invited me to help her prepare a shrimp feast. We sautéed them with onions, garlic, ginger, and coconut and pineapple – absolutely delicious on-the-fly recipe that I can’t wait to try again. Jan made a big pot of rice and we had a (for me) second lunch. Chayo joined us and we got to practice a bit more Spanish.Shrimplunch

JenJanCleaners
Jan and I went on a cleaning binge after our lunch

Another day, as I passed by the building that housed the municipal jail, there was a gorgeous little German shepherd puppy tied up in the courtyard. He was still there on my way back and I couldn’t resist stopping in to say hi. Lost puppyAn older man came out and sat with me and patiently conversed. He was in no hurry and happy to chat – finally – someone else to practice my Spanish with! I learned the puppy had been found wandering alone and they were hoping to find his owners. I offered to take pictures to put up on the La Manzanilla webpage (that has a posting board where all the ex-pats gossip). My new conversation-friend Lorenzo asked me if I liked cerveza. Sure, I’ve got nothing against cerveza. Then he wanted to go get a cerveza with me. I figured he just wanted to knock back a beer with someone after work (he said he worked there at the jail building as the #2 guy in charge). We went to the nearby tienda and he motioned for me to pick out one of the giant beers from the cold case (he had a mangled arm, so it was hard for him to get it). I guess we were splitting it? He insisted on paying and we walked slowly to the park by the beach with our beer and plastic cup. As it turns out, Lorenzo doesn’t drink, and he wanted ME to drink that entire beer.

Suddenly, a light bulb went off in a dusty, unused corner of my brain…this seemingly sweet old guy with one gnarled, useless hand and a debilitating limp, was trying to get me drunk. I certainly hadn’t expected that. I sipped politely as Lorenzo tried to nail me down for a dinner date the next night. I had a very busy schedule with my new friends, so of course I couldn’t commit to anything… I felt bad, as Lorenzo was clearly just a lonely old man, but he was sort of an annoying, lonely old man. I tried to leave him with the nearly-full giant bottle of lousy beer, but he insisted I take it with me when I hurried off to my evening plans. I had to spend the next few days trying to avoid him every time I walked through town.Lorenzo and me

That evening, I actually DID have plans – I had a date with myself to attend the showing of an award-winning Mexican movie. I figured it would be good to watch a movie in Spanish as part of my learning. I didn’t even know what it was about or what the place that was showing it was all about. But it was just a block behind Chayo’s place. It turned out to be, well, actually I still don’t know what it was. It was just called Casa Luz. I thought it might be like a restaurant or at least a place that sold drinks. But it was at the top floor of a palapa type house and it was just an open space lined with plastic chairs and a pull down screen. As it turned out Miriam from the school office was sort of spearheading this event. She actually graduated from film school in Guadalajara and was in the midst of making her first film. It was nearly finished, but they badly needed funding – this evening’s film was a fundraiser for Miriam’s film. She showed a trailer and fund-asking clip. Hopefully the room full of wealthy-looking white folk was able to help her out (keep an eye out for her movie – Los Años Azules (The Blue Years)). The movie I ended up seeing was called “The Amazing Catfish”. Thankfully it had subtitles, but it was good for me to try to understand and hear words I knew. It was kind of depressing – about a lonely young woman who gets involved with a mother of four who is dying of AIDs. At the end, I ducked out right after the credits, before the lights came on and everyone saw me crying. I went home to write a summary of the film for my Spanish journal homework.

My final class came all too quickly. I wrote a card for Miguel (I’m sure he’s dying to correct it and return it to me, but I’m hoping it was all right!) and brought him a fresh cinnamon bun (I had no idea what else to do, but I wanted to bring him something to show my appreciation). I was really surprised that he also gave ME a gift when we were saying goodbye. I certainly hadn’t expected that – it was very sweet! It was a cute little purse that says “Morelia” on it, which is a town more inland. I was very touched that he did that.

I had a few good nights sitting out at the table on the street by Chayo’s taco stand. Listening to people’s conversations (even understanding some) and meeting a few people now and then. By Friday night, Jenny, Chayo’s 11 year old daughter, warmed up to me a bit when I brought out the Bucky Balls. They are a little cube of curiously strong magnetic balls that you can do all kinds of things with. We played with them for a couple hours – and it was great to see her doing something other than playing with her phone. I couldn’t resist giving them to her when we were finished. She was surprised and extremely excited –she said “gracias” many times. On Saturday – no school for any of us! I tried to do a little computer work and Jenny came in and hung out with me. We played with the Bucky Balls, listened to music and she drew me an adorable picture of us as mermaids under the sea. She helped correct me when I said things that clearly sounded stupid, but when she said things I didn’t understand it was sometimes frustrating for her.  I found that I had learned enough to realize how badly I had been speaking before. Because of that, I lost a little confidence and was getting far shyer in speaking to people. I used to just blunder along saying everything I could think if, often making up words, until I knew I was understood. As Miguel told me, I need to practice, practice, practice!

Jenny on bike
Jenny hates having her picture taken, but I snagged this one when she was zipping around town on Chayo’s scooter.

Bonnie and Charley kindly invited to take Jan and I out for the best pozole in Mexico on my last night. I could hardly believe it was already my last night. I was really just getting to know everyone and was wishing I had one more week. Prior to dinner, Jan and I went up to see their friends Beth and Murray, who were staying in a beautiful little place up on the hill. We saw a wedding going on as we passed by the church and hiked up the hill to the fancier part of town. We had a great visit, enjoying the sweeping views of the town and bay, along with snacks and margaritas, before heading down for our pozole-fest.

BethMurray View
View from Beth and Murray’s place

I’d not yet tried pozole, so I was excited for the excuse to do so. We waited for the pop up street restaurant to complete set up and eagerly anticipated our meals. It got crowded fast and we ended up sharing our table with three other folks as our food was coming out. It turned out to be the nice couple I had met on my first night in town and one of their friends! It was great seeing them (they met me when I was feeling unsure of everything and finally got the “how it all turned out” happy ending story) and everyone had a good time chatting with everyone. The square was lively that night, with a loud band and a few food carts around. Charley and Bonnie treated us to a huge piece of tres leches cake and flan. We went back to the homestead to share our treats and play a fun word game (Bananagrams). We really need more games on the boat! (or, rather, any games).

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Jan, Bonnie and Charly enjoying the best pozole around!

While I was looking forward to being back to the comforts of my own home and cooking, I really wished I had a more time with these wonderful folks. But the next morning I was packed up and waiting for the bus. Andres and his sister in law were heading to Melaque and Chayo got them to take me (and Jan – who wanted to come along for the ride) all the way to Barra de Navidad! Saving me 2 bus rides – it was a quick trip, and good to listen to more Spanish conversation along the way. Everyone came out to wave goodbye and I was happy to have met all these great folks and hoping we keep in touch and maybe even get to visit again. Jan and I took the water taxi out to the lagoon – she was thinking of stopping to see Peter, but I think she changed her mind.

I was glad to get back home and change into some comfier clothes – a week of wearing real-people clothes was a bit much! I filled Jonny in on all my adventures and heard about his quiet week. He proudly declared that he didn’t speak to anyone all week, except for while he was surfing. To each his own, I guess!! Going away is great, but I was so grateful for the cool breezes and peace and quiet as I fell into my cushy memory foam that night. How much longer will we stay in Barra? Good question and one that will be answered someday. At least by the next blog post, I imagine!

Day(s) in The Life

DISCLAIMER: I realized I could schedule blog posts to go live at some future date. So, you may be reading this new blog post, but it does not in fact mean that right now I am somewhere with Internet access posting it (just wanted to prevent possible disappointment for some…not mentioning any names, Mom).

Time for a “Special Topic” (AKA more words, less pictures) on what it’s like to live on our boat day to day (Thanks for the idea on this one, Anne). This is for everyone who is still wondering what the heck we are doing when not frolicking in paradisiacal locations. I struggled to sort this piece out, until I realized that our day to day boat life is wholly dependent on the state of the boat. For instance, life at anchor is completely different from life at a dock and both different from life underway. Therefore, “A Day in the Life” will need to be in three parts, cross pollinated and loosely organized as it may be.

Also, writing this piece made me think of this funny article that is also very similar to boat life. To quote Mrs Yardley : “I just love that I can be scrubbing the bathroom, look out the window, and see the tide coming in”. Yes we are in amazing places and seeing really cool stuff, but we still have our house and all the associated chores and maintenance (Jonny claims to have spent half of his day doing dishes yesterday and no, I’m not allowed to make eggs benedict again, although my hollandaise was divine).

Life at Anchor

Living “on the hook”, as we say, is much a more relaxed life and yet also requires much more diligence in many departments. Keeping a close eye on the anchor chain, wind and currents is extremely important. The number one goal for being at anchor is to STAY at anchor. As a rule, the nose of the boat should always be pointed into the wind – that’s her ‘natural’ state of being. If that is not happening, then something is going on – either a funky current down below is turning us around or the anchor maybe came dislodged and we’re heading off against our will (aka “dragging anchor”). Taking references points of things around us is a good idea and keeping an eye periodically is important. As the wind changes, the boat will swing around to remain pointed into it. This means that if we were to put out 150 feet of anchor chain, we could swing around in a circle with a 300 foot diameter. It’s very important to keep this in mind when choosing where we anchor. The depth of the water we are anchoring in will determine the scope (length of chain) we put out. Generally we try to do 7 to 1 – meaning if we are in 20 feet of water, we would put out 140 feet of chain. That is an extremely safe (and often overkill) ratio. We need to be aware of our surroundings – the depth, the obstacles, the other boats – in the entire area in which we could possibly swing. We have been extremely lucky never to have dragged anchor or swung around into another boat, etc. Once anchored, we put on snubbers – chains that reduce the wear and tear on the boat and act as a shock absorber when we bounce around. All of this needs to be checked regularly and more frequently if there is a lot of weather or current – to make sure it’s all still in place and we aren’t dragging anchor, chafing the boat, etc.

Water Consumption

It’s extremely important thing we pay attention to how much water we have while anchored (or underway). We have 100 gallons in our tanks and 10 gallons in jerry cans. We do not own a watermaker. We have a device called “The Water Fixer”, which is about 10x less expensive than a watermaker and filters our tank water with a charcoal filter and a UV light (it kills everything – we can safely drink Mexican hose water). We are extremely frugal in our usage at all times. We do not have a meter or gauge to see how much water we have, but we do have two tanks connected via a shut off valve and we can open portals in each and look in at each one. Both the galley and head sinks draw water from our lower water tank. So when that one is empty, we open a valve to fill it up from the upper tank. This gives us an idea when we’re halfway through our supplies. We often will make several trips ashore with our jerry cans to refill our upper tank (“We” usually means Jonny). We have just installed the salt water line so that our manual hand pump faucet on the sink will give us salt water. This will allow us to wash dishes in salt water, thereby making our freshwater reserves last a whole lot longer– and reduce the frequency of the often difficult task of finding and fetching water. We do give everything a freshwater rinse at the end.

Our toilet (called a ‘head’ on a boat – originating from old timey days when you would just literally go to the head of the boat and pee off the bow) sucks in salt water for flushing, so that does not waste our freshwater. It would be really sad if we had to limit how many times we could go in a day, especially after sketchy Mexican food… It either pumps overboard – under the boat, or it pumps into a holding tank (20 gallons) when we are in places that prohibit overboard pumping. Those places will then have pumpout stations to pump out the holding tank contents. What fun that is! All our toilet paper goes into a bin and has to be disposed of when we get access to onshore trash. Luckily we’ve always been able to empty it when full, and have not yet had to store tied up bags of used toilet paper. That’s disgusting.

Bathing

Bathing happens a little less frequently and with a little less attention to detail while at anchor. Soap and shampoo is stored in the cockpit cubby for easy access. It mostly goes like this: Undo swim ladder from stowed on rail position, and clip it into the brackets on the side of the boat. Make sure to have a towel or sarong handy. Jump overboard, play around in the water. Come out, maybe soap up or shampoo hair (maybe) and then jump back in the water. When you’re done, rinse off with the bug sprayer. We have one of those plastic pressurized tanks with a wand – you pump it up to make pressure and then nicely spray yourself off –only with fresh water, instead of pesticide. Dry off (or not) and hang towel or sarong out to dry (remove if it gets too windy). Our 2 gallons of fresh water can last through 3-4 showers for each of us (6-8 total) and we feel refreshed and ‘clean enough’. How’s that for water efficiency?!

Energy Usage

Another thing we need to monitor and be aware of at anchor is how much energy we consume. We have 3 large flooded deep cycle batteries (they look similar to car batteries but bigger and heavier) that provide the 12 volt power supply that runs everything electrical on the boat – lights, pumps, computers, radios, blender, etc. The batteries can be charged either from our two 140 watt solar panels, or by the alternator when we run our engine. We have an 800 watt power inverter – that takes the 12 volt power and converts it to DC power. This allows me to plug normal things in – such as my blender, mini food processor, my electric toothbrush charger, our dustbuster charger, etc. As long as it draws under 800 watts, we can plug it in and use it like normal (hairdryers are out- but who cares?). Using the inverter is great, but it is the least efficient way to use our energy – a lot of energy is lost in the conversion from 12 volt to DC.   Our batteries rely upon the solar panels for charging. Normally this is not a problem – we almost always make up energy in the day time and have plenty to run our lights and watch our movies at night. If it’s rainy or cloudy for a day or two, we might be in trouble. If it looks like we are running the batteries down, we may have to run the motor for an hour or two to fully charge our batteries.

Shade

It isn’t just nice to have, but as summer it becomes critically important. We have our cockpit shade structure – a plastic-y-canvas piece that drapes over our boom and secures around the mast and to the lifelines. We have phifertex (sort of a mesh/see through screen plastic-y-fabric) sides that can be put on or removed for each side of the boat. These block 75% of the sun, but not so much our views- making things MUCH cooler and more pleasant in the cockpit on hot, sunny days. Without these shades, our teal cockpit cushions become so hot we cannot walk barefoot on them. We now also have a rectangle canvas shade we can put over the boom forward of the cockpit shade and secure to lifelines with lines. We have a third shade which hangs over our whisker pole (which slides down from the mast and sticks out like a boom – it’s purpose is to pole out our jib in light wind, but these days it’s just a very expensive shade holder).  Shading the boat can make about a 10 degree temperature difference down below.  When it’s 104 out, this is quite nice.

Dinghy Safety and Security

Our dinghy (perhaps you know her as Peugeot) is our car, our only mode of transport from the boat to shore or any other places we’d like to visit without docks. It’s also handy for fishing trips. We are extremely cautious with Peugeot at all times. For example, where ever we are, we always pull the motor off and lock it to the back of the boat. Our motor is old and not very nice, but if someone were to steal it, it would be devastating for us financially and logistically. So we don’t take any chances, even if others in the anchorage leave their motors on overnight. There have been times we were tempted to leave it on (it’s late, we’re tired, everyone else is doing it…) but then we both have to think for just a second of how awful it would be to lose it, and we do the chore. The chore involves Jonny in the dinghy, loosening the clamps that hold it on, me on the boat undoing a clip and lowering the clip and line, which attaches to the motor, and is connected to lines and a pulley hoist system on our stainless solar arch. I then hoist the motor up to the boat and we clamp it onto the bracket on our stern rail – then lock it with a padlock.   A bit more involved than pulling your car into a garage for the night. Taking it out in the morning is the same thing in reverse. When that is done, we either leave the dinghy attached to the back of the boat, if we are someplace we feel very secure, or, we have to hoist the dinghy up onto the bow of the boat. Another involved process using lines and blocks and hoisting and sometimes toe stubbing, swearing or arguing.

Life Dockside

Being tied up to the docks at marinas often sounds like the easiest way to go. There’s a water spigot for unlimited water use (often free or extremely inexpensive metering), there’s shore power to plug into if we need to – which will then allow us to use all the AC outlets in the boat (there are 3 which we cannot use unless plugged in at the dock) which can be handy (it means I can run my blender in the galley instead of on top of the chart table, we can plug the dust buster into the bathroom and we can plug in computers in the main cabin (although our 12v plugs are numerous and very convenient as well).   You can also just step off the boat and walk someplace to get food or…away. There are usually real showers to use – unlimited fresh water pouring down on you whenever you want can be heavenly. And often there is access to wifi nearby or even on board. After a long stint at sea, being dockside can sound pretty enticing.

Then, usually after about 3 days, you are kind of over it and ready to get back out to the anchorages. It starts to feel oppressive and there are pressures to do things – like food shopping and taking a shower every day. getting absorbed into the internet. I find myself missing the joy of jumping overboard for swimming hassle free bathing and having a slower pace in general.

Bathing

Shampoo and soap are moved from cockpit cubby to a backpack, ready to transport to the shower facilities (don’t forget flip flops and towel). Walk to wherever the shower is and shower just like a normal person, Except wear flip flops and try not to get your stuff all wet or let your towel fall on the floor and hope there aren’t any giant dead cockroaches in the shower… Remember to take wet towel out of backpack and hang it up to dry when you get back to the boat. I know this sounds silly, but given the way my mind wanders, sometimes the walk from the shower back to the boat can make one forget such things.

Water Consumption

Use with wild abandon. This means we actually wash our hands till they are fully clean and use more than a trickle when doing dishes. Clothing can be washed. The hose comes out and Summer gets a nice bath. Or two. It’s always very exciting. Sometimes it’s even “free” (included in the price of the dock), sometimes there’s a meter, but it’s not usually that expensive.

Propane

Our galley stove runs on propane and we can only carry 2 tanks (about a month each). Getting a tank filled is not usually the easiest task because propane gas facilities are not usually located near to populated areas (probably due to the possibility of them blowing up). Some marinas offer services where someone will take your tank, have it filled and return it. Other times it’s an expensive cab ride to a facility, or a bus ride, lugging a tank (or once, a bike ride with a tank strapped on the back). Each time has been different so far. Who knows what will happen next time we run out?! (We try to fill one tank at a time so we don’t run out entirely). They often don’t get filled properly because for some reason no one ever knows they need to use a screwdriver in the bleeder valve to get it full up. It’s frustrating to pay for a full tank, send it off and only get ½ back. We’re thinking of writing instructions in Spanish and attaching them with a screwdriver to the tank.

Projects and Maintenance

When we are at a marina, we are paying to be there, so we try to make the most of that time by doing projects and maintenance that cannot be done or done easily while at anchor (or underway).   So, dockside life is rarely the most relaxing – it’s usually more of a GO GO GO sort of life. We make project lists and have specific things we want to accomplish each day. There’s always something to fix or improve on a boat (especially when that boat is your 24/7 home). On a side note – I have to say all the improvements we have made have a significant impact on our day to day lives. I don’t ever remember so much satisfaction from making changes to my homes in the past.

Life Underway

Sailing

I know, right?!?!? We live on a SAIL boat. Some of our time is actually spent sailing. Someone always needs to be in the cockpit, keeping watch, making sure we’re on course, adjusting the sail trim, avoiding collisions with other boats, etc. If it’s more than a 24 hour passage, we take shifts (3-4 hours each) so that we can sleep. Otherwise we just sort of do it naturally. Jonny loves to tweak on the sails, I prefer to be at the helm, or napping and reading. Of course I do attempt to improve my sailing skills from time to time as well.

Depending on the conditions, it can be fun and gorgeous, it can be excruciatingly slow, it can be wild and exciting. We watch the weather and hope to get somewhere between fun and gorgeous and wild and exciting. If there’s not enough wind, we will often have to use the motor. Then it’s loud and slurping diesel, but we don’t have any sails to mind (unless we’re motorsailing, then we leave the main up).

Bathing

Yeah. Not so much.

Cooking

When underway, cooking is often a much greater challenge. Pots need to be fitted with special tongs that them from sliding around, the stove needs to be unhooked to allow it to gimbal – and stay level while the boat moves around it (unfortunately our gimbal doesn’t work so well, but we do keep using it, hoping it will magically heal itself one day…). Things roll around the counter, stuff tips over, it’s hard to stand upright sometimes. Sometimes you just need to brace yourself and hold on to everything until a rough patch passes. All very exciting challenges that tend to make for much simpler meals. I usually like to prepare a lot of food and meals ahead of time to avoid having to do a lot of cooking while underway, but some is always inevitable.

One of the best parts of being underway or at anchor is tossing food waste overboard. It makes our tiny trash can last forever and it’s somehow a joyous feeling to toss an avocado pit or end of an onion out the companionway and over the side – it’s like “cooking with wild abandon” (while also clearing the small workspace).

Water

(see water consumption above – it’s the same except there’s no way to get more till we’re anchored or docked).

Energy Usage

Energy is usually not a problem when underway. If the solar panels aren’t able to do their job, we typically run the motor for at least some time (if / when the wind dies) during the trip. Our alternator will recharge the batteries in a very short amount of time. We also don’t use that much energy while underway since we’re mostly just sailing the boat or sleeping – not watching movies or making blender concoctions.

Sleeping

At dock or at anchor, we build our bed every night. Since we don’t have a normal V-berth, and we don’t like sleeping in separate bunks in the main cabin, we devised a new bed. When both bunks are pulled out (and are each twin sized) we put a board in between and cushion on top and then instead of sleeping front to back in the boat, we sleep crosswise on a gigantic (king sized-ish with some extra bits on the ends) bed. It’s a bit of a process to make every single night, but we have it down and can do it in just a few minutes. And of course we have to un-build it every morning so we can walk through the cabin. When we are underway, however, we just make up one of the twin sized settee bunks and take turns sleeping on that (since we can’t both go to sleep at the same time while sailing).

Conclusion

Each of these modes of living has advantages and disadvantages. The upside is that none of them last all that long before they turn into one of the others. But if we didn’t need to resupply with fuel and water, I think I’d love to be mostly at anchor or underway all the time. I would rank being at anchor as my favorite way to live. My ideal world would be anchoring somewhere that’s appealing enough to jump in for a swim every day, that’s safe enough to leave the dinghy in the water at night and a has a spot on shore to land our dinghy and leave it safely while we shop for food (and it’s easy to get someplace to shop for food). Oh and not too rolly. And so we go, from place to place in search of the perfect anchorage, or getting a marina when necessary, traveling with our home in between – adapting to each stage as we go.

As for a pattern of our ‘daily life’, I think the pattern can only be viewed from much higher up, as every day is so different and unpredictable in so many ways.

Perhaps I’ll just go with the Gatsby ending here: “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”

Or the Jean Baptiste Alphonse Karr ending: Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose [the more that things change, the more they stay the same]

Or the Rush ending “Constant change is here to stay”.

Choose your own adventure.