Preparing for company

Before our company  from Calgary arrive, there are a few minor details we would like to attend to.  After mopping up all the water in the bilge from the exhaust hose, we discovered the first time we turned on the washing maching that we had another leak. Sploosh !  Some of the “stainless steel” hose clamps leading to the washing machine gave way, so now we have more water in the bilge.  We used up our supply of hose clamps fixing that problem, so before attempting to fix the taps in the galley, we headed over to Home Depot to replenish our stock of hose clamps, and possibly even invest in a new tap.  No joy on new taps, nothing that would fit properly, so some new clamps and back to PSS to trouble shoot the problem with the taps…haven’t been getting enough water pressure to make the hot water tank engage.  Problem seemed to be with the spray nozzle, that I never use as it takes too much water, so Don disconnected it, and pressure returned.  Of course, now that we’ve got pressure, we’ve  also got some more hose clamps leaking, so have to replace them before they explode into the bilge as well.   And our last chore for a while is to find a water filter system for dock water.  To date, we have been borrowing BJ’s, so since we intend to be here in Mazatlan for most of the season, think it’s time we got our own.  A trip to the water store in Gran Plaza mall was successful, and the girl in the store even understood my Spanish.  She had the right filters, but no connections, so another trip to Home Depot.  It took some time, jumping the plumbing dept and the garden center, but we finally got the right fittings in the right sizes, and  we now have filtered dock water to use. 

Dawn & Frank, who have their boat at Thetis Island at the West Coast, arrived the first week of January for a little visit.  For many years now, we have been returning to Calgary with pictures and stories of our visits here in Mexico and told them that they should think about coming to visit us aboard Prairie SeaShell.  They only found out about their trip to Mazatlan on Christmas Day, a surprise Christmas gift from their kids who had been corresponding with us to organize times and dates etc. 

It was great to have company, now we can quit with the boat chores for a while and relax and do some touristy stuff !  They arrived on a Wednesday afternoon,  and after getting them settled aboard, Frank took us out for dinner at Gus Gus Restaurant, it’s right at the top of the dock, excellent Mexican cuisine, and live music…with no cover charge !

Our first outing was a trip into town to the Mercado, the Cathedral, (where the Christmas decorations were still set up) and a long walk along the malecon where we came across a fisherman trying to sell us a manta ray. 

Next day was a little more relaxing, after a breakfast of fruit waffles and media crema, we took a dingy tour up the canals where the igrets, herons, buzzards and iguanas were all out to greet us.  And after lunch, a long walk on the beach to end the day. 

Saturday, we headed up the dock for a swap meet.  These are like garage sales for boaters, minus the garage.  A great place to find something you just have to have, exchange books, and sell off stuff you haven’t used in years.  It’s also a great social event, and Frank bumped into Lyn & Debbie from s/v Dolphin Tails, another BCA member that he knew from one of the rendevous they had attended. 

After the swap meet, we gathered a few cruisers together and headed out to the beach at Stone Island.  It is possible to sail to Stone Island and anchor out there, but it’s much quicker to take the bus and the local panga across the channel, which is exactly what we did.

The next day, Dawn and I did a little provisioning while Don & Frank hanked on some sails and got the dingy on board.  We are heading for Isla Isabella tomorrow….weather permitting !