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Old 08-02-2012, 08:00 AM   #1
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I’m sort of new, but then again, sort of not. I was a frequent contributor several years ago. I lost my best mate, sold my boat and spent some time feeling sorry for myself. To remain a part of the CL community would have been a little fraudulent. I got stuck into work and, when I got tired of that and decided that there was still of laughing left for me to do (and catch up on) I sold my business, sold my motorbike, flew to South East Asia, bought a new motorbike and, since the end of July 2011, I have been touring far and wide in lands where no one understands what I’m saying.
It has been a lot of fun and totally cathartic. During my travels I read a book by Fatty Goodlander which stirred strong emotions. I realised how much I missed the sea, boat people and boats, and decided to commence the search for a new vessel. It also seemed to mark to start of a personal renaissance.
As my dream to sail across the Pacific has not yet been realised and as my base is in Oz, I started looking in the US. The searching process alone was a real experience which I may cover as time goes on. However, after some time I managed to buy a new craft. It had been made ready for a circumnavigation by its owner and had been sailed from San Diego to Mexico when the wheels flew off a personal relationship and, as so often happens, the boat was listed for sale. That’s where I came in.
I will soon sell my bike in Thailand, fly to the US and Mexico and relaunch the boat. It needs little. A new dinghy and motor, cutlery, crockery, linen, charts, pilots, perhaps some updated safety equipment; then I shall buy a brand new pair of shorts, undies and a shirt, reduce my shaving routine to just 4 times a week (I’m a rebel) and spend some time afloat and exploring the Sea of Cortez whilst I await the weather and then as they say in the classics.....VOOM!
I am currently in a little Thai town, near to the Thai Burma border. The mountains are beautiful, the motorcycling sensational, but now that I have made the decisions and committed the dollars, I can’t wait to begin the transmogrification from mountain dwelling bikie, to ocean dwelling gypsy once again.
It feels good!
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Old 08-02-2012, 11:31 AM   #2
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Awesome post, welcome back mate.

Working through life's issues can be pretty tedious, so glad you came through it with new focus and a plan of action. Hope to run into you one of these fine days.

Rob
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Old 08-03-2012, 04:40 AM   #3
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Hey Dave!

Like I said, make sure you spend time in Old Mazatlan and climb to El Faro evey morning for exercise. The food and beer are cheap, anchoring is free, bus transport is $1 to anywhere in town...laundry is $2/kg washed and folded!

We broke our tranny there and stayed 2 months...looking back it was one of the best times in our lives. Just be sure to be off your boat at 4pm everyday ;-)

Cheers,

Ken
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Old 08-03-2012, 05:04 AM   #4
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I'll do it! What's the significance of the 4pm checkout?
Cheese
Dave
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Old 08-03-2012, 05:13 AM   #5
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Well, the Mazatlan Old Harbor sits next to the sewage waste processing facility. At 4pm everyday, they flush waste out to sea. The only thing that happens in the harbor is smell. The waste is flushed on the seaward side of the breakwater. It takes about 2 hours for the smell to dissipate.

Also, our other favorite place in Mexico is Zihuatanejo. If you recall in the movie The Shawskank Redemption, Zihuatanejo was Andy's dream place to escape to...and rightly so. Be careful, you may never leave. It makes my mouth water just thinking about those margaritas and fresh chips and salsa!
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Old 08-03-2012, 05:29 AM   #6
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Ah, the old poo shooter. So, turn off the watermaker, head up the hill then nick off to the boozer. Sounds like a plan.
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Old 08-03-2012, 05:42 AM   #7
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What most people don't know, neither did we till we arrived, is that Mazatlan is one of the worlds largest producers of shrimp (prawns for Aussies). You can buy kilos for a couple dollars. By the time we departed Mazatlan we couldn't eat another shrimp. We would meet other cruisers everyday for lunch at the Shrimp Bucket in Old Town and eat shrimp platters till we couldn't see straight.

Man you're gonna love Mexico! If I were you, I wouldn't bother crossing the Pacific if you've already been here. Stay in Mexico! I can't wait to get back.
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Old 08-03-2012, 05:00 PM   #8
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The Sea of Cortez is a beautiful place and you will love it. It is cheap, the people are beautiful, the food is good, there are a million empty beaches you can enjoy, the fishing is good, dolphins are everywhere.

Good luck and have fun. If you stop by San Francisco, say hi.
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Old 08-03-2012, 08:37 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Trim50 View Post
Hey Dave!

Like I said, make sure you spend time in Old Mazatlan and climb to El Faro evey morning for exercise. The food and beer are cheap, anchoring is free, bus transport is $1 to anywhere in town...laundry is $2/kg washed and folded!

We broke our tranny there and stayed 2 months...looking back it was one of the best times in our lives. Just be sure to be off your boat at 4pm everyday ;-)

Cheers,

Ken
Sometimes the places we end up "stuck" end up being absolutely great for us to experience.

We've got a friend with a fishing boat that he used to tow with his truck down Baja to Loreto. One year, as the passed through a little village, something atop the boat snagged a power line. They took out the power to the village. For a week. Well, they immediately offered to pay for the damages and the local sheriff/police chief said they'd just have to stick around--in jail--until the damage was fixed.

They were really worried all that day as they sat around the little office of the police chief. Then, as he closed up shop, he said something along the lines of--oh, we have no real jail, you have to stay with my family while you're "in jail" with us. So, they stayed for a bit more than a week. They met everyone in the town. They were teased mercilessly about being the gringos who took out the power lines. They drank a lot, they had fun.

When it was all said and done, they paid for the repairs and left town driving back up Baja to the USA thinking they'd had the best vacation ever and had spent less money than any previous year for that matter! This all happened about 15 years ago--they still stop every year in the town, spend the night with the police chief, catch up on what's happened to everyone in a year, before they continue on to their fishing.

Mexico is an amazing place. We've done three one-month-long trips of back-road driving there and camping on beaches from just north of Guaymas up in the Sea all the way down to a coconut grove a couple miles outside of Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo

My favorite memories:

Finding the tortilla factory in each little town we camped near (usually on the afternoon drive through the town on the way to an empty beach nearby) and the next morning at the crack of dawn buying fresh tortillas there. The little children are sent to buy tortillas for the family so I'd be in line with the 5 year olds.

Lots of afternoons snorkeling from our canoe which we'd take out to the rocky islets and reefs for this purpose.

Camping by the beach in a grove of coconuts. The cost? An agreement to buy the coconuts we consume during our stay from the owner of this grove and not other growers.

The snorkeling is good, the diving is good, the food is good, the people are good, the cost is low, it's a beautiful place. Enjoy yourself.
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Old 08-04-2012, 03:03 AM   #10
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All these narratives are good for the soul. I can't wait to get there. I met an engineer and his wife who were travelling through Thailand and who are from San Francisco. I hope to get to say g'day to them. If I can make it there, I'll also call to say 'hi' to Coyote.
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Old 08-04-2012, 03:34 AM   #11
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Some of our favorite pictures from Mazatlan...
Attached Thumbnails
old_maz_anchorage_small[1].jpg   Mazatlan_OldTown.jpg   MazatlanOldTown5.jpg   MazatlanOldTown1.jpg   EspirituSanto4.jpg  

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Old 08-04-2012, 03:54 AM   #12
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Beautiful!
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