Something Fishy

The day after Valentine's day our next guests arrived. Ryan, Holly, Zane, and Anika Edwards were dropped off by taxi from the airport at about 4:30 pm. They are staying for about a week and we have prepared the bedroom and confirmed a cot and blow-up bed that the kids will use up in the palapa. We have been lucky and bugs have not been an issue, so the two teenagers will have a space of their own. 

We basically played each day by ear while they were here. Only one day was scheduled and that was the day of fishing. Each morning we got up and then gathered to formulate the day's activities. Breakfasts were at home, or the group would walk down to one of the little restaurants a few blocks away. Meals cost about two-thirds less down here so the whole family could eat for about $20 a meal. Zane tended to push that cost up a bit. I have never seen anyone be able to eat so much in one sitting. Of course, we are not around a growing teenage boy regularly. It was fun seeing him eat everything in sight!

We usually did some time on the beach and followed that up with afternoon activities around the casa. The swimming pool was the center of the action, but we also played ping pong and cards when not splashing and heaving balls at each other.

Each evening we walked into the town square and chose a place to have dinner. We ate at home twice, but mostly we enjoyed street tacos. Zane could put away a ton of them.

The day we went fishing, we left the casa at 6:30 am and were on the water by 7:15 am. Gerry Kosonoy, our fishing guide, picked us up at the house and drove us to his boat located in Barra. On the water, we watched the sunrise as we drug the lures out past the shipwreck and out onto the ocean south of Melaque Bahia. 

At about 9:00 am, one of the reels started spinning and we had something on. I was in the chair closest and grabbed the rod.  The hook set and I brought in a nice-sized dorado. We would not be skunked. Everyone was excited.  

We pulled the lures for another hour. The next person in the fighting chair was Ani. Suddenly another reel started singing. Gerry grabbed the rod, but nothing was there. A second rod sounded. Gerry took the rod and gave it a considerable pull.  He handed it to Zane and said, "I think we have a big one there."  Zane offered the rod to Ani, but from the strength of the fish pulling the line out, we knew Ani was not strong enough for the fight. Seconds later there was a huge splash and we got our first look at the fish. A blue marlin! The fight was on and Zane was in charge. Gerry talked him through the entire encounter giving Zane encouragement and tips on how to work the fish. He let Zane know that this could be a long battle and that he should take his time, keep the line tight, and settle in for a fun afternoon.

Zane did all the work in landing the fish. Gerry only took the rod for a couple of moments when the fish ran under the boat and jumped on the opposite side. He kept the rod tight and worked the line under the boat engine, and once the line was clear he handed it back to Zane. 

The entire fight from start to finish took just over an hour.  The blue marlin weighed a bit over 200 lbs and was about 6 ft. 6 inches long. It was bigger around than Zane and about a foot taller.

Once the marlin was landed Gerry turned back to Barra. We pulled bait back, but nothing hit. I think everyone was happy with our catch. Back at the dock, Gerry and Zane cleaned the fish. Ryan, Annie, and I sat at a restaurant in the shade and drank water.

Back at home, we told and re-told the story of the big fish.  We kept enough fish for a meal and Ryan made arrangements with Tito's Restaurant on the beach to prepare our next supper. The next night we had a wonderful meal of fish, rice, and salad.  Once again the story was told and Zane ate another amazing amount of food.

On Monday, Ryan had to fly to Texas for work. His taxi was on time and his flights back to the states went smoothly. The rest of us (Beth was working) headed into Barra for a shopping-for-souvenirs trip. We wandered down the streets, poking around in different shops looking for just the right moments. Souvenirs were purchased. We had a delicious lunch at Ramon's and then headed back to Melaque. Back at the Casa, we spent the day cleaning as our guests packed. There were more ping-pong matches and goofing around, but the three travelers were ready to go.

At 7 am the next morning we said our goodbyes and loaded Holly, Ani, and Zane into the taxi. We were sad to see them go.

As a post-script note, their return trip home did not go as well as Ryan's.  They were delayed in Mexico City and missed their flight from LA to Spokane. Delta, their carrier, did nothing to help them so they had to book flights on Alaska which came through with three seats. That was a downer, but they made it home safely and that is really all that matters.

Photos From The Edward's Visit:

Photos From The Fishing Trip:

Riding the Big Cat

We have settled into a little Mexico rhythm since our guests departed.  Though we are trying to "live" in Melaque, we find it a little tricky because we keep running into past friends we haven't seen since our last visit three years ago.  These meetings usually involve scheduling a dinner together in a restaurant which is always fun. It does, however, get a little more expensive to entertain out than do our daily "live" in Mexico thing.

Assistant Manager, Renaldo's Rugs.

Every day we try to get some exercise away from our casa. Linda signed up for a workout club costing $15 per month. She does her weights every other day and still runs three days a week. On the other days, she walks 4 miles and enjoys the mornings. I sleep in and start my days with coffee and some reading. Later on, I try to do a long walk and finish with a swim in the pool.

Pizza and karaoke across from the rug shop.

While out walking, I stop by and visit various friends. We have been spending time working on puzzles, so I have been put in charge of borrowing and returning them as I walk about.  Recently, I stopped by Reynaldo's Rugs to visit with our friend Reynaldo. I stepped in the door of the rug shop and he immediately smiled and said, " Good, you can watch the shop while I go get some paper. It will only take a few minutes." and off he went. I stood there looking about. What if someone came in? No prices were marked on anything. I don't speak Spanish. How will I take care of things? 

I took a selfie and decided that I was the rug shop manager, so I sat and waited. Reynaldo was gone for about 15 minutes, and during that time no one entered the shop. I did, however, give Linda a call and told her all about my new job and how I had moved up to manager in a short time at the store.

Once Reynaldo returned, a few people showed up to look at his goods.  A cute young French Canadian woman came in looking for a medium-sized rug. Reynaldo showed her his collection. She had a specific idea about colors to match the area in her home. Reynaldo was busy pulling out rugs and showing what he had. The young woman looked at me and said, "Could you ask him if he has some earth tones he might show me?" I smiled and turned to Reynaldo and said, "Renaldo, do you have any earth-toned rugs you could show this young lady?" Reynaldo said, "Yes, right over here." In perfect English.  She blushed and laughed. I turned to her, winked, and said, "Renaldo speaks better English than me." We all laughed. Reynaldo has a wonderful sense of humor and I always laugh when we are together.

My latest big adventure was a catamaran ride out on the Bahia de Melaque.  Linda and I had purchased tickets for the sailboat ride earlier on in the week. The tickets support the effort to provide funding for the schools of Barra and Melaque.  This is a large fundraiser called Cruise-in Week and annually provides funding that is needed for the schools to operate. Mexican government only provides the facilities and pays the teachers, so all other operational expenses are on the shoulders of the parents. This makes it hard for young children of poor families to attend any educational facility.  The money collected is well managed and only goes to items needed to run the schools on a daily basis.

Waiting for our water taxi.

On the evening before the sailboat event, Linda started feeling bad and when morning arrived, she could not attend the trip. We both were crushed. I love to do these little adventures with Linda and this was an opportunity for her to sail on a catamaran on the Bahia de Melaque. I was on my own, a scary thought.

It was early in the morning when Linda had to make the decision not to go. I then started preparing for the day. We put together bus money, the boat ride tickets, my bag of necessities, my sailing wardrobe (my everyday clothes), and my camera.

Heading out in the taxi for our adventure.

I caught the bus to Barra within two minutes of getting to the bus stop. In Barra, I stepped off and made my way to the restaurant El Manglito, where I was to catch a water taxi to the catamaran Baja Fog.  Everything went well, a little disorganized, but smoothly in a Mexican sort of way. 

I introduced myself to a couple folks from Manitoba, Canada who would be on the catamaran with me, and we waited for our water taxi.

Sailboat names were called and people loaded onto each taxi and then disappeared.  Baja Fog was the last to load. It took quite a while, but we were off to our vessel.

SnowBored, formerly owned by Bodi Miller.

Our taxi made its way to the G Dock where Baja Fog was moored. As we entered the Grand Bay Marina, we passed a very familiar luxury yacht, SnowBored, out of Park City, Utah. Our first meeting with this vessel took place when we were sailing with the Edwards family in the San Juan Islands. We docked our boat Trivoli at Roche Harbor and moored there was SnowBored, Olympic skier, Bodie Miller's Yacht. Miller is now in the process of selling this yacht for around $3.5 million. You can check it out here if you are interested in buying it. Let us know and we will come to visit you on it.

I boarded the Baja Fog and the captain immediately set off out of the moorage. Everyone sort of wandered as we motored out to the Bahia. The captain was the owner, I think, and it appeared that his crew was his partner, Monique. We were not given any instructions; just hang on and enjoy.

Our Captain.

We spent the next three hours sailing out in and outside of the bay. I heard the captain say that this was the best sailing they have ever had during this event and that we were able to sail about 90% of the time.

I chatted with several of the guests and watched the sky-blue water for fish splashes or whale spouts.  As we returned to the bay, we heard over the radio that other boats were spotting whales, so we kept our eyes peeled. Sure enough, we spotted three pods of whales moving about the bay. They would breach and show their tails once every so often. It was a great surprise and an end to our day on the water.

We returned to the Grand Bay and the captain did a great job of docking.  Once things were secured, I found our captain and thanked him for the sail. He seemed very nice, but our visit was very brief.

The sailboats parading out of  Laguna de Navidad. 

Our taxi picked us up and delivered us back to Barra. I walked directly to the bus stop, hopped aboard the next bus, and returned to the west end of Melaque.  I was hot and tired when I walked through the gate of our casa and immediately jumped into the pool. It was a nice adventure, but I sure missed my partner, Linda.

Guests taking in the views.

The shipwrecked oil transport.

Whales in the bay.

Laguna del Tule

The Barra shore.