Woke at 0730 after distintly less good sleep than the previous night. Still feeling ok though and as is now traditional Dewey was making coffee. Reinvigorated by said coffee, I wrote up the last bit of yesterday’s blog sitting in the sun - which rapidly changed to dense fog as the moist sea air was blown onto land. This should burn off in an hour or two if the prevoius days are any guide.
After a quick(ish) clean of the boat, during which I polished some of the stainless (cleaning the stainless is so rewarding, I really should do it more often,) only managing a half of the bow pulpit, a cleat and most of the anchor roller before being called in for a debrief. We did a quick, emotional, round of high, low, buffalo - buffalo is the thing that suprised you. Everyone genuinely had a hard time finding a low. Elpie’s was missing the kids, mine the rolly first anchorage on Isabel. My level 2 power boat qualification was once again impugned good naturedly, but we all reflected on how much we’d enjoyed each others company.
Then it was time to leave Lintika for the last time (at least this trip). I got a couple of cold beers for the trip. The first lasted the ride in Tika to the dock, the second the taxi to the square where our hotel is. We said a sad (and premature) goodbye to Dewey and Jim, and then to Brady who was off to find tacos and provisions before John, the replaceent captain arrives.
Elpie and I checked into the rather lovely Hotel Raices de Mar and then went for lunch. While looking at Google Maps for a good place to eat, a coupole from Oregon stopped us and asked if we were lost. We explained no, we were just looking for somewhere to eat. They come dowwn here for the winter every year. I can’t blame them. In any event the best rated restaurant was the bar where we’d watched the top lead guitar the previous evening, so we wemt there.
The food was good and we had a couple of margharitas before we spotted Dewey and Jim wandering along. They came over and we had a few more drinks at the table. We had a very cheeky dove that landed on our table and I tried to play the part of the dog whisperer, the stray licking the ice cube I offered but didn’t stay as I lacked tasty treats.
Aside: Money seems weird to me here. A few hundred pesos feels like a lot, and then we get a bill for the 7 nights in the hotel and $8000 is only ~£300.
Elpie and I wandered through the pleasant streets until we got to the basillica where Dewey and Jim had found a bank. We tried a couple but I failed, only late realising I needed to enable the magnetic stripe support, and even then being declined. EVentually we found the Santander bank and everything worked out.
Then it was time to sit in the sun and read with a few more drinks. We head to our hotel as there’s a tble in the sun. A Modelo Especial and a triple taster of double Mezcáls and I’m very happy. Good job there’s not far to walk to our room. The first of the three is just perfect, the second doesn’t quite hit the spot, but the third is good, not as rich as the first but with more citrus and vegetable flavours. What the hell do I know! Only what I like. I do need nachos to sober up though - our room requires traversing a curly metal staircase.
Nachos achieved! They’re fantastic.
A quick nap turned into a long sleep, and with that we end a fantastic week on the water with Crusiers Academy, we can’t recommend them (and sailing in Mexico) highly enough. Please go and support their new non-profit Ebb and Flow which provides free summer sailing programs for underserved youth, local women sailors, cancer survivors and others.