Taking the seanic route
Up at 6 am, just can’t sleep.
Breakfast, then I pulled out the sheets that I had thrown in the laundry (they had gotten wet, while still folded up). I realized that when I take them to the laundry, the bill will be based on weight. I hung them up inside the boat to dry out.
I got the battery maintainer hooked up to the generator start battery, and updated the blog. San Carlos marina and storage had an issue with the trailer for getting the boats out and back in.
Up at about 6 am, breakfast and then run the watermaker. Well that was the plan… the water quality meter batteries are dead. So, first step is to replace those batteries. Later I will put the covers on the the windows.
I checked on the VHF net this morning, someone had them, so I started filling the water tank by 8:35! I did verify they carried them at Walmart, not very expensive (25 pesos for two), but it is a long walk. The guy I got them from had bought them in the US in a 6 pack, for which he had needed 2. They last a long time (ours were new in 2019). The only thing he uses them for is the same as me, the water meter. Probably they won’t be any good by the time he needs them anyway.
Next up is to put the covers back on the windows. I am writing this on my iPad. My laptop is seeing the end of life stuff. I bought it in 2018, so about 8 years old. It is a MacBook Pro, the battery is not lasting very long (an hour or less). I am using an aftermarket long power cable that is saying I need to be replaced. I am nearing the end of updates to the operating system etc.
Today the water maker got flushed, I filled the water tank and then pickled the water maker again. 132 gallons of water (the tank holds 260 gallons). I ran the dock water through the water maker and the output was at 1 ppm. Way better than bottled drinking water.
Beto and his helper are here taking the stainless steel rub rails off the toe rails so that they can refinish the wood.
No pictures today.
Up at about 7 am, breakfast and listening to the Net (I could not find it this morning). We have arranged my flight back to Tennessee. It will be Thursday 2/5/26. So, now I have to get all the stuff done that needs to be done, and coordinate my meals etc. after breakfast this morning, I have 2 hard boiled eggs, and 2 pieces of bread, a couple of tortillas and 6 tamales. Today (or tomorrow), I will make a grocery run. I have an appointment with Hector the boat watching guy, Beto the painter, and maybe Rafi the refrigeration guy to sign paperwork so they can work on my boat. The holding tank will get pumped out and I plan to fill the water tank.
To fill the water tank, first I will flush the water maker (I pickled it in May when we left the boat) After flushed I will continue to run the dock water through the water maker and then fill the tank, at the end of the run, I will pickle the watermaker again. Picking is “good” for up to a year, but really 6-9 months. Basically, what it is doing is filling the watermaker with a disinfectant to kill the little bugs.
In Tennessee, things are trending towards recovery. Nate has power and internet, his plumbing works (no frozen lines). The branch across the power line is down. The cable line just got hooked up, internet is restored. I can tell, because the house monitoring stuff is coming back on line.
No pictures today.
Up early, Joe got organized and headed out to the bus. The original plan was to fly back to San Carlos by way of Tijuana. Problems with this was $200 for the flight, $20 for the seat and $30 for the carry on bag, 13 hours of travel to get to Hermosilla (about an hour away from San Carlos). The bus on the other hand was $100, and it is a 12 hour trip to Guaymas (about a 1/2 hour drive from the marina). I took some laundry in and coordinated with a guy to watch the boat, a refrigeration tech and a guy to do some varnish work.
I checked in with the broker as well, no surprises yet. I had lunch and the went and got the laundry. Afterwards I went to the mall to find the “Mac Store” to look at replacement Air Pods. It was a little difficult to find, from the direction I was walking when I went inside the mall, one of the first stores I passed was a “MAC” store they sold cosmetics. Goggle maps was not helping, but was also looking for an ATM, still not much from Google Maps inside the mall. As I wondered around, I found the “Mac Store” (note the difference in name). I found the Air Pods Pro 3rd generation (what I was looking for). On line they are $249 US, in the store, they were about 5775 pesos ($337 US), that is an extra $88. I did not buy them. I continued looking for an ATM, finally giving up and leaving the mall. Across the street I had seen a couple of banks.
I usually go the BBVA bank (which had 6 ATM’s and a line) and get 9000 pesos about $525. The ATM would not give me any money at 9000, so I tried again and 8000, then 7000 then went in to the bank and asked a teller what I was doing wrong. I was able to figure out the limit was 4000 pesos. I tried again, still no joy. I went to the Santander bank next door, only 1 ATM, no line, I did my business and it gave me an option to take 10,000 pesos. I took it, and was out the door in about 30 seconds.
I found an OXXO (like a Seven Eleven) and bought a six pack for the boat. Then checked a couple of pharmacies for something Reneé asked me to bring back. The last one sent me to a store about a mile further away. I took a Didi (like Lyft or Uber) advantages faster and much less money. The big difference is that with Lyft or Uber you pay the company, they pay the driver, with Didi, you pay the driver and they pay the company. I got what I came for and got a Didi ride back to the boat.]
No pictures today.
We arrived at Mazatlan and tied up by 4 pm. We discovered that the cruisers on the dock have a “safety meeting” at 4:30 everyday. This is an opportunity to sit around and drink docktails and chat. I ran up to the office and checked in and Joe went to the safety meeting. I joined when I came back. Afterwards, we got shore power on and got showers then went out for dinner.
