This didn’t last long, because my brother and I soon realized that there were some Mexicans from a power boat catching fish from the dock. All they did was get a line and put a treble hook on it. They would then let it sink into the murky marina waters and then quickly pull the lines through the water. At first Liam and I were unaware of there doing and thought that they were crazy Mexicans, but to our surprise, they would pull up fish that had normally been hooked in the belly! They would then place the flopping fish into a bucket filled with other ones, and barely any water. Liam and I thought that this would be a fun and an easy way to catch fish, but to our disappointment, we did not have any of the right hooks aboard. I gave up pretty quickly, but my brother tried tying two normal hooks to each other. It seemed like a fine idea until he caught himself instead of the fish. (Right in the finger) Liam did not keep fishing after that.
After sitting around the boat, my dad kicked us of and told us to do something. We took a few pesos, (Mexican money) and went to the top of the marina. Liam and I each got a Pepsi and bag of chips and sat at a table, the whole time having a dog at our feet gazing longingly at our food. My dad headed into town at one point with a young man who helped run the marina. He needed some diesel for the boat, but apparently, they weren’t allowed to give service to anyone before one o’clock. This got the man who accompanied my dad especially mad, which led him to exclaiming; “Stupid Mexicans” even though he was Mexican. My dad soon returned but later had to go out yet again to purchase diesel. The rest of the day was slow and mostly relaxing, just until the fisherman catching the marina fish came by and offered to give us a whole bag full of about a dozen fish. We quickly agreed and took the bag. When we returned to the boat, we weren’t really sure what we were going to do with so many fish. Before we did anything, we emptied the bag into a bucket of seawater. I offered to clean them, and it was surprisingly easy, considering I hadn’t cleaned a fish in over a year. In the end I cleaned eight fish. Seven for eating, and one for bait while fishing. My dad cooked them up over the stove and we ate them like fish tacos. My dad took a ferocious bite, and realized that there were numerous amounts of bones in it. I was sure it was just a bad piece, but mine was the same. Liam didn’t even bother trying it. We sadly threw them out, and my dad quickly made us a delicious sandwich each. MMMMmmmmm!!!!!
That night we watched an interesting movie about sailors in the 1800’s called: Master and Commander. It was pretty good even though there were lots of boats been blown to bits, we still enjoyed it.
The next day was a work day. We ate breakfast and then left the boat for groceries and maybe something to eat, which means no school! (Yay! J) We went to the local groceries, which was very small, but thankfully met all of our needs. Liam and I both bought a bag of chips and my dad got some Pringles. These were all for the upcoming passage. We hauled our bags around the quite neighbourhood, and surprisingly found a taco stand on the curb. We sat at a little table, and I ordered three taco’s each. They were decent, although my third one pretty much fell apart.
Once we were done with our meals, we trudged along the lonely streets with our grocery bags. One of the first things we had noticed about Topolobampo, was the large amount of garbage throughout the city. My dad had mentioned that it could be built into a great place if the locals really wanted to see some change. Sadly that had not happened. Our walk back was quite interesting to see so many roosters roaming the trash filled fields. It really is a wonder of how so many came to be. Once back on our boat, we quickly put the newly purchased groceries in their spots. We then began to clean. Liam and I took turns hosing and scrubbing the boat while somebody would tidy up below deck. The job was soon done and we bid our farewells to Topolobampo, (Not that we really liked it) and then pulled out of the dock. We had to get out of the harbour first, so my dad gave me the wheel while he prepared the lines. Just as I began to start turning, and unpleasant BUMP was heard from the hull of our boat. It only took us a second to realize that we had run aground, and right away my brother began to say; “Kai!” I couldn’t help but agree that it was my fault. It turns out I was a bit of course. After sitting around, some local fishermen came by with their pangas and tried to help us. They took our line and began to pull us sideways. It took about ten minutes, but eventually we were out of the mud. The only thing is, when they were moving us, there was a lowed bang. We weren’t sure what it was, but it freaked us out. Just before one of the pangas left, one of the men asked to borrow some gasoline. After helping us like that, my dad gladly gave them the container to fill up. Also, one of the boats offered to sell us a kilo of fresh caught shrimp for seven bucks. We accepted. Just before we continued on our way, we noticed that the other panga was gone. And with them our gasoline jug! There was really nothing that could be done, so we went on with our trip. After a little longer, my dad was very curious as to what that bang was. We stopped the boat and put the anchor down. My dad put on his wetsuit and dove under the boat to take a look at our prop. Nothing wrong, so we continued on our passage.
Night fell quickly and the waves grew. We began to have second thoughts about going south and wondered if we should just go across the sea to La Paz. Eventually we decided that we would do two nights, and then stop at Mazatlan, and then keep going. My brother and I then went to sleep.
***
I awoke the next morning at seven o’clock to find my dad trying to get me out of bed so he could sleep. He had just been out for twelve hours and he was exhausted. Liam and I had our breakfast and then went on watch for most of the day while my dad slept. One of the only times he did get up, was when we surprisingly got engulfed with fog, which at that point we were relying on our radar. The fog stayed for at least forty minutes before we escaped back to the sun. Later that night I cooked the shrimp that we had bought. They were delicious, but a real pain to get all the shells off. My brother was only able to eat four, because apparently, the intestines and guts were going to make him sick. That night my brother and I stayed out till 9:40 listening to music through the speakers. It became dark very fast, but it was fun to find constellations’ and shooting stars in the night sky. When it was time, my dad came back out for a long night, while I happily jumped into my pre-heated bed.***
I woke the same way the next morning and quickly ate breakfast and then headed for the cockpit. As the day got to about the afternoon, it began to get hotter than it had been before, so I removed my socks and jacket, and got into a t-shirt and shorts. At about three, Mazatlan was spotted. It was still another hour before we got to the anchorage, but the whole time we got a great view of the city and the rugged cliffs. Eventually we got to the anchorage where I took the wheel and my dad put down the anchor. We then sat in the cockpit where my dad drank a cold beer and Liam and I ate some chips. It was officially the longest passage we had ever done, and we were out of the Sea of Cortez.
Later on, after Liam and I did the dishes, and my dad made some tacos. I then began to do the blog which I am doing now, and I think I am done.
Kai
Kai
No comments:
Post a Comment