Trying To Chill In The Summertime Sea

5/11/12 – 5/23/12 Puerto Escondido to Bahia Concepcion: After leaving Escondido on 5/11/12, we’ve been moving slowly north, stopping at Isla Carmen, Puerto Ballandra and Caleta San Juanico before moving into Bahia Concepcion where we visited Playa Santispac, until the aggressive (man eating??!!) saltwater catfish drove us out. We are presently anchored in a little cove called Playa Coyote. Our days have settled into an easy routine of early morning boat moves (if we move at all), anchor,  a few chores, swim and explore in the afternoon, then back down below to read and siesta until it’s time to think about dinner.

There has been no internet or even Mexican cell service in these parts, so our only contact with anyone else has been on the morning Sunrisa Net, a ham radio net, where we can get the latest weather and other information from cruisers. Apparently the world is spinning quite nicely without us! The weather has been heating up markedly. We hit 100 degrees yesterday (not the first time), and the water temp has been in the mid 80’s.

Speaking of the Sunrisa Net, yesterday (5/22) was Terry’s first time serving as net controller. Yes, he was the Jefe Grande, and in spite of a little nervousness, he did a fine job. He had to open the net, ask for priority or emergency traffic, take check-ins from other cruisers, break for the daily weather report from Geary next door to us in Playa Burro, and basically keep track of all the transmissions and direct the flow. He’ll be doing it every Tuesday morning for the rest of the summer.  It’s hard to express how important these cruisers nets are. They are run by volunteers, mostly cruisers, and are often the only way to communicate with the outside world and get essential weather information, which is especially important now that we are in hurricane season. By Terry doing his part weekly, we feel like we are contributing in our small way to this effort.

Oh, and in other news – we have an air conditioner!!!! I remember the sage words of advice we were given when we were just starting out, in Ilwaco, WA waiting to meet up with Endeavor clear back last August. A cruiser returning from Mexico to the Pacific NW, told us to BE SURE and get an air conditioner if we planned to spend the summer in the Sea. So we bought a small window unit when we were in Puerto Vallarta, and Terry figured out a way to install it so it blows down into our salon from an overhead hatch. We’re still experimenting for the best schedule to run it on, but in this heat, it has made a big difference. We have to be conservative in using it because of the power it draws, but if it helps us sleep better during these hot nights, it will be well worth it. Sleep-deprived crew are not pleasant company!

Well, we want to dinghy into the little restaurant here with wifi that opens at 3 pm where I can post this blog. I guess I’ll have to wait to tell you about hitchhiking to Mulege, the funeral I found myself inadvertently attending, and the puppet show we’ll be seeing on Friday.

By the way, you can reach us by email at KE7FZH@winlink.org. When we have no internet, this is our only way to get email. It comes to us over our SSB radio, and we can respond as well. Don’t send pics or any other graphics, text only. We love hearing from you!