After spending all of Tuesday trapped on the boat with no means of getting to shore, the beach party on Wednesday was a most welcome festivity. We enjoyed beer, a Mexican fresh fish dinner and live music. All this takes place in the middle of nowhere, the small fishing village preparing for days for this annual party and the band traveling for 12 hours over dirt road and two inland water crossings to get there.
I made friends with the woman tending the Margarita bar and she loaned me a nice shot glass from which I could sip tequila and appear urbane and sophisticated amongst the mostly motley Ha-Ha crew.
The power of karma made itself evident towards the end the party. Beers were sold two for $5, so I bought a couple and went walking around looking for Eric to hand the second one. I couldn't find him, but spotted a guy with a full plate of food and no beer with which to wash it down. I handed him my spare beer, telling him "Enjoy!" for which I was rewarded with a big grin and a look like a gift had dropped down upon him from heaven. Meanwhile, Eric had run out of money and was still thirsty so he walked up to the head of the beer line and asked a guy if he could spot him a beer, which garnered him a cold one, handed over with an enthusiastic smile. Karma!
We departed Bahia Santa Maria yesterday at 6 a.m. in very light winds. The wind model said we would have 10 knots at 2 p.m. and it was right for a change. Gary hopped up on the foredeck and after a minor hoisting snafu, we had the big red symmetric kite up and pulling us along at a steady 6-7 knots. I got the trim dialed in just right which let the autopilot steer the boat until we doused at last light of the day.
The wind dropped at night so we were back to motoring. It was a beautiful night with a half moon and endless stars. There must have been a meteor shower, as we saw shooting stars frequently through the whole night. I looked at our wake and thought to myself that the little sparkles of bioluminescence briefly triggered by our passage through the water were like shooting stars in the water. It was quite beautiful and peaceful, despite the steady throb of our diesel engine.
It's been great being at sea again. I do a lot of thinking, meditating (not thinking) and, though oxymoronic, life on the water makes me feel grounded in the present and reality.
We're approaching Cabo San Lucas and will arrive at the marina around noon, marking the end of Leg 3 and the Baja Ha-Ha. I'll cap off the trip with a concluding post and then start reporting on my land journey back to Intermezzo in Loreto and getting the boat back into the water to sail again...with an espresso machine.
