Claudio and his Catch!

Claudio was fishing in San Francisquito with a speargun when he caught this beauty! Approximately 80 pounds of grouper!! Congratulations Claudio!!

San Bartolo Bovine

Thursday Ron and I headed to San Bartolo with George and Anne to see a special local attraction. In this dry barren desert a natural aquifer drains clear, pure water through the walls of a nearby cave. A small beginner creek, from the same source, also flows from this cave. A natural phenomenon from ages past. Water, cascading from the walls, pools together with the water from the small creek and flows downstream maybe 100 feet to a concrete swimming 'pool'. A kid's delight! The creek keeps the 'pool' filled and then spills over the far side and tumbles gently down a short hillside where it is soon around a corner and out of sight.
This attraction is located just on the other side of an arroyo from the small dusty town of San Bartolo. Upon arriving at the local hangout to visit the cave and hopefully enjoy a dip in the 'pool' we were confronted by another group on its way to this water. Uncorralled cows. The usual kind of cow in Mexico. They were heading for the lower portion of the creek, though, not the 'pool', which was quite occupied by another set of local residents. Kids. Noisy happy kids.
The cows were headed down the arroyo probably as they did every day of their lives.

Here she is - - the undisputed leader of this gang of rib-revealing local cows heading for a refreshing libation at the nearby aquifer generated cooling creek. Just one obstacle at this point. A gringa who does not realize she is in the DIRECT path leading to said libation. Believe me, this gringa, (me) did not hesitate to give up the territory this cow was unhesitatingly going to traverse.

These young heifers kept their distance even after seeing the success the boss cow had in making me back out of her way on her trek to the welcoming creek.

Decisions, Decisions!

Decisions, Decisions! Can I fit through or do I need to stomp around these parked vehicles? This cow is obviously nutritionally challenged but far better than lots of cows in Mexico.

Guess it pays to be an emaciated desicated desert bovine who is fearless where barbed wire is concerned. This was undoubtedly the shortest route between where she was and where she was used to going. Not withstanding George's vehicle parked not a foot from the fence.

And GOAL . . . wet and cool and just what this bovine had set her mind to find.

Water in the Desert

San Bartole is a small town on Mexico's Highway 1. What is special to San Bartole is the presence of an aquifer just outside of town. The equisitely cool, refreshing water drains from a small cave above this concrete 'pool' area, creating the perfect respite from the 100 plus degree temperatures of this area.

Here George is examining the sheets of clean, clear, pure water that is flowing down the sides and along the bottom of the cave.

Annie is sitting in the cave whose walls are draped with the steady flow of water draining down its sides and out to the swim area, and on to the creek.

Young Machos and Juan, with the Pretty Eyes

These young mancho men were plotting and executing their performances for the maximum effect of show.

This is Juan, with the Pretty Eyes, as Anne and I referred to him. He is undoubtedly the one responsible for the cannonball/tsunami that caught me unaware and drenched the back of me just as I turned away from the pool. Talking with Juan later, he seemed like an intelligent good kid.

San Bartole Aquifer

Ron and George enjoying the shade and cool of the surroundings.

The local kids enjoying the water. The more macho divers lined up on the far bank to get the lay of the land --- or water.

Pretty Poison

This is the infamous 'malo' plant. We found this on a sandy hillside among the cactus and other desert flora. George says that brushing up against one of these stinging nettles is incredibly painful and we kept our distance from the many plants we observed.

This plant I observed upon leaving the swimming/aquafer site at San Bartole. This is the castor plant,with its accompanying seeds. It grows 6-15 feet tall. This speciman was a good 10-12 feet tall. The seeds or beans are used in quite a number of everyday items, but it is also quite poisonous. It is the source of the deadly ricin poison. Gram for gram it is 6000 times as poisonour as cyanide and 12,ooo times as poisonous as rattlesnake venom. The 'beans' though not true beans, look much like pinto beans, or at one stage, look remarkable like ticks engorged on blood. The plants like sandy, well drained, but moist soil such as is near the aquifer. Children beware.

Signs to Heed

Seen on the road to San Bartole

Pay special attention. Mexican cattle, cows, horses, goats, whatever, don't seem to know to watch out for vehicles on the road. I blame it on poor nutrition. Honestly.

Falling rocks is a real hazard in this country. Beware.

Tope!! Meaning a roadwidth bump a foot wide and maybe 6 inches tall. Can send one into orbit, or cause bottoming out, if not heeded.

No passing zone. Seems to be for the gringos. Mexican drivers don't pay it a lot of attention. Maybe that's why there is an inordinate amount of roadside shrines to commemorate traffic accidents here.

Parrot on a Post Perch

One day last week this handsome parrot was seen clinging securely to the post outside the office at Marina de La Paz. Maybe he is the new parking lot monitor--one is surely needed. He is good natured, quiet, and so far does not seem to eat much. There are benches nearby for those wishing to chat or commiserate between journeying here and there. Not a fly on the wall, but the parrot on the post perch, WATCH WHAT YOU SAY!

Mullets and More

We watch at dusk for low clouds on the horizon. The makings for some great sunsets, some of which get radioed to the fleet as 'Sunset alert's. They can be quite spectacular but difficult to capture.

These little fellers are known as 'mullets'. We see them by the dozens here in the Bay. They are usually up to 2 feet long, or the ones I have seen are that size. They feed on the algae attached to the sides of the docks and the hulls of the boats. Apparently they have crow-bar shaped teeth and I am frequently awakened when one of these suckers seems to hit the v-berth hull like a charging mountain goat! BAM! BAM! As we have a Mexican marina policy that does not rely on holding tanks for waste water, and toilets are emptied directly where these guys live, I wouldn't touch one with a ten foot pole.

The Blessing

Another new experience here in Mexico. A 'blessing'. Manuel and Lupita have run a language school here in La Paz for several years. Ron and numerous other cruisers have taken Spanish lessons at their school as have many others. The school has been recently moved to a site about a block from where it has operated in the past. In moving the size of the school has doubled.

Before opening the new site a priest/minister was brought in and a 'blessing' of the new site was performed. The officiant used baby yellow roses, dipped in the holy water, to sprinkle around the school.

Manuel, who is originally from Nigeria, and his wife, Lupita, originally from Mexico City, hosted refreshments after the short but significant ceremony.

Sunset Alert

Another beautiful sunset here in La Paz tonight. Too bad it's not from Santa Rosalia or Puerto Escondido or other parts in the Sea of Cortez north of La Paz. Maybe later this summer we will be taking a few short hops to the islands near La Paz. There is still a lot of work to do to get the engine, transmission, etc. in shape to go out again. Spraying salt water can take a nasty toll on mechanical systems. But nothing that can't be fixed. With time. And in Mexico that time may take a little longer. "Manana doesn't mean 'tomorrow' here in Mexico. It just means 'not today'!" as the saying goes.

Slowly but surely things are coming together. We have now entered the hottest two months of the La Paz calendar--July and August. June is hot, but July and August are hotter, and humid on top of that. Thank goodness for the AC in our saloon hatch!!

It rarely rains in La Paz but we were awakened about 12:30 AM with a rain shower!! Ron was up closing his hatch and the back door and I raced to get the hatch in the forward stateroom closed as well as the two main doors in the saloon. We keep all of them open all night in warm weather. We can still turn the AC off at night and leave everything else open and be comfortable. That won't last much longer and we will have the AC on 24 hours a day. Thankfully La Paz does not have the flies, mosquitoes, no-see-ums and other flying creatures that can make after hours difficult as in a lot of places. But then we are in the desert here, even if we are on the Sea. Figure that out!

Oh, and the rain early this AM---3 millimeters, or approximately 1/10th of an inch!! ??Whoopee!! Even a little lightning to go along with it!

By the time it was yoga time, 8:30 AM it was getting hot and humid. But we don't move too fast; it is yoga after all! A shower afterward rejuvenated me until I could make it down the dock to Argo and the AC!

The photo is off the stern about an hour ago.