Unloading Pachuca

I started off the day with an overdue haircut.  I asked for the works: hair, sideburns, eyebrows, mustache, and ears.  The barber did a great job. I then stepped into the Bravo market for the first time in months, it seemed, and purchased fresh fish, some vegetables, and two nice looking mangos that tasted as good as they looked.

I was going to spend the afternoon changing the Volvo engine oil and filter for the first time, but the manual specified the first oil change at 200 engine hours (or 1 year), and the engine has only 62 hours of running.  I discussed it with Mark in Port Townsend and decided to wait until just before we sail out of La Paz in early November.  That left the rest of the afternoon free so I went across the street to Seamar and rented a storage locker (called a "bodega").  I was first shown a small one which was inadequate, given the amount of gear I want to remove from the boat.  Fortunately he had two free large ones, nos 15 and 19.  I chose 15 because it gets more light when the door is open.  Unfortunately both of them were on the second floor.  The bodega measures 8' x 6' with a 9' ceiling.

Even though it was pretty hot - about 95F - I decided to get started on the project by removing all of the sails from the lockers in the V berth area.  On my second trip I found two men unloading a lot of gear from a truck and putting it into locker 19.  I asked him if he was clearing out his boat but no, he was splitting up with his partner and was clearing out of the house.  Asi es la vida he told me. Yea, shit happens was my reply. He was on the top floor packing the material and a strong young Spanish guy was humping the material up the stairs.

He'd had trouble speaking to me in English even though I knew that he was an American.  He said that he's been coming the La Paz for the last 13 years and for the last 3.5 years was married to a local lady.  He said that he dreams in Spanish now and has difficulty flipping over into English.  Then he mentioned that he'd had a heart attack 6 months ago.  He looked distressed and I asked him if he was in pain.  Yes, he was getting a bit of pain in his chest which raised a big red flag in my head.  I quickly finished my load then pitched in with his load, trying to keep him as quiet as possible.

He told me that the entire bill for his treatment was 80,000 pesos, or about $7,000 USD.  In California it would have cost him $200,000.  He confirmed what I have been hearing about the new hospital in La Paz: unltra modern, state of the art, world class.   He said it tops the UCLA Medical Center.  I must take time to visit this hospital (strictly as a tourist!) before I leave La Paz.  

After this hot work I decided to cool off by giving the boat a good wash down.  While doing this I got a visit from a man in a row boat.  It turned out to be David Naughton from Port Townsend.  Simeon Baldwin had told me in early February that David and Sarah Rudolf were headed this way in a Contessa 26.  They've been in the area for a while but between our visits to the islands and our 5 week tour of the mainland finding us at home was difficult.  Fortunately David saw me today, one day after Brenda left and one day before he and Sarah depart for Hawaii.  I'm grateful for even that brief meeting, but I so wish that we could have been here when they arrived so that we could help them get orientated and get to know them

David's boat has no engine - not even an outboard.  I told him that I admired him greatly for sailing without mechanical power.  He has no HF radio - just a handheld VHF.  He has two sextants and fortunately someone got him to accept a GPS which he is finding useful.

I passed on a few of my experiences at Ala Wai Boat Harbor in Honolulu and of course highly recommended it.  David seemed more interested  in anchoring so I suggested Keehi Lagoon not far from Ala Wai.  He had heard of it and I confirmed that it is a good anchorage but that while I was there it was considered to be an aquatic slum and I was advised to not go out at night if I had to move my boat there. 

Tomorrow I'll continue transferring gear from Pachuca to the bodega, and perhaps the following day I'll visit Teresa about renting an apartment.