Trick got her new radar and solar panel installed after our trip to the US. We also had to replace the hatch over the engine as it had started to delaminate, possibly because of a leaky recessed handle allowing water to seep into the plywood. We've now thoroughly sealed all of our hatch handles. It was then time to head South again, this time for Mazatlan, a little closer than Puerto Vallarta. A part of our preparation for any trip is to plan the waypoints that we may need and plug them into our GPS. One of the issues that had faced us during our travels was the occasional errors in positions because only now are the century-old charts being updated using modern surveying techniques. This had meant that errors in some charted locations amounted to as much as 3 miles. Not too bad if you are aware of the problem but nevertheless worrisome whenever we were under way. One handy resource we now use regularly is Google Earth which is a resource of global satellite pictures with overlaid maps, including GPS positions, which allow us to identify places and accurately read their coordinates.
It was a good thing we did this for the entrance to Marina Mazatlan. We would otherwise never have identified the narrow entrance from the sea. As it was we paused for a while to be absolutely sure that this was a narrow channel we wanted to take Trick into.
Once inside the narrow channel, we recognized Marina El Cid and proceeded into the spacious lagoon which accommodates Marina Mazatlan and a couple of other marinas. Barely had we entered the lagoon when we were hailed on the radio by the friendly Marina Mazatlan staff. They directed us to a slip and had their security staff on the dock to identify our slip. The marina is quite new, well patrolled by security staff and has a restaurant and store where most essentials can be purchased. There is also a very welcome cruisers' lounge, complete with computer terminals for internet use. Most importantly it is air conditioned - an essential in the heat and humidity of Mazatlan in the Summer. Temperatures seem to hover in the 90s with humidity in the 90s too, so it is a very sweaty place to be without air conditioning. The photograph on the right is a view from the balcony of the cruisers' lounge. The high rise apartments surrounding the marina are new apartments which are springing up as they are all over Mexico. We know several cruisers who have bought condominiums in the white building on the right of the first picture. One part of the building recently had a fire in the roof after some repair work had been done. Fortunately, there was little damage, but it highlighted the fact that there were no fire escapes in the building. The second photograph is a view from Trick's cockpit as she sits in her slip. It shows the new Singlar marina, part of the Escalera Nautica undertaken to encourage and accommodate cruisers from the US.
This is one new apartment building going up in the marina. It is being constructed of reinforced concrete and will eventually become 20 luxury condominiums with a communal swimming pool and more stores. Prices are rumored to be around $500,000 US. We were particularly intrigued by the innovative scaffolding used to hold up the forms for the concrete work. Inevitably, construction brings its messes and the middle picture is of the marina parking lot. The puddles are due to Summer rain which occurs on many days and nights, especially in August and September. You can also see the clouds in the photographs of the marina, above. There has been lots of wildlife around the marina, especially iguanas and these very friendly birds which found a shady perch under our solar panels.
The Summer storms in Mazatlan can be quite spectacular. These shots were from a video I shot, trying to show the almost continuous lightning discharges which occur in some storms. This wasn't the storm to show that, but we experienced one storm where some cruisers claim to have read books by the light created by lightning in a storm which lasted for a couple of hours. These storms also helped us test Trick for leaks and track down any leaks which became apparent. We now have a very watertight boat! The downside to all of that is that, although the storms bring a little welcome cool, it is really not sufficient to overcome the stifling heat of being sealed up inside a boat with all the windows and doors closed to keep out the rain.
The two pictures on the left could be of Mazatlan. It is so lush and green there, but these pictures are from a trip we took back to England to get away from the heat of Mazatlan and visit family. This used to be home to John and he still misses it. The trip wasn't all pleasure. For one thing, it was the wettest English Summer on record - EVER! There were a few clear days and John used them to repair some leaks the ancient stone slated roof on his parent's house. Some of those slates are an inch thick an 2 feet square! No wonder you can see the sag of the roof between the chimney and the end of the house.
This must have been August because mum and dad took us up to the Lake District for a few days to celebrate our wedding anniversary. The weather was kind to us and the rain stayed away for the whole of our trip. The leftmost picture is a view of Derwentwater from our hotel room in Keswick. The remaining pictures are from our wanderings along the countryside backroads. John was particularly pleased to be in the much cooler climate. This was a special treat because mum went to college in Keswick and was a wonderful guide around this beautiful area that she knows so well.
Maybe cruisers just can't stay away from water for too long, because here we are in a rowing boat on Derwentwater. The local boats weren't as big as we have become used to, but there wasn't the threat of local chubascos to spoil the day and mum and dad really seemed to enjoy being rowed around a lake they had so often rowed around together in the past. Another spectacular waterfall just a brief hike away from civilization and a final picture of mum and dad resting as we expored further.
What a weird picture to include, but this is a part of what kept John away from cruising this year. It is a foot wiggler for someone who doesn't want to wiggle their own foot. There is a video to prove it really wiggles. In reality it is a device to precisely move a person's foot as they undergo an MRI scan. The challenge was to make it compatible with the MRI scanner which must have nothing magnetic in the same room. It is being used in medical research to investigate the intricate details of how muscles contact when a person moves their foot.