So far as i can tell...

Unlike the U.S., in Mexico (or at least in La Paz), when you hear sirens…it’s not an emergency. It means there is a cop car, or several, at the head of a parade. And there are many occasions for parades. I wonder/hope if there are few crimes. So the police get bored and ask for excuses to use their sirens. It seems to me that a significant number of male Mexicans are employed as policemen and soldiers. They’re all over the place. A presence. I imagine that it may not pay much, but it’s pretty secure, has benefits, elevates social status, and feeds the human desire to feel important. After all, it’s macho, you wear a uniform and you get to carry a gun.

Stop signs don’t mean stop. They mean slow down and miss each other. I have yet to see anyone actually try to stop. Take your foot off the accelerator, maybe touch the brake lightly to make sure it still works, but keep the flow going. If you stop at each sign, the traffic behind you will go into fits.

I didn’t realize that Mexicans had adopted polka as their own. Makes me wish i still played the accordion. Did the Germans have some influence here? And when it comes to mariachi…i wonder what the musical notation for “wild cackling laughter” is. On a musical score, there among the notes, is there a smiley face? What?! Then there is flamenco. Almost makes you faint with seriousness. And tango – swoon, not faint. What fun.

But, talk about taste. The cell towers here are cleverly disguised as palm trees. Really. Palm fronds, pole painted…never mind that they are four times taller than the actual coconut palms and the city surrounding them. I really like the effort.

Maybe you can tell i’ve spent the last few days NOT sailing. Took a bus over to the pacific side of baja to a little town named Todos Santos. Very artsy place, and has a good surfing beach. Really liked it. Inns and restaurants. I could spend more time there. I walked a long way but the beach was further. There was a house where i turned around, and in its driveway were cars with Washington plates. “Small world.” That was the first day i’ve left Akimbo to herself at anchor and beyond my view. She did fine, was still here when i got back.

The next two days i ran errands and did chores. Most of the chores are about minimizing the effects of salt and sunshine. I wonder if i’ll run out of energy for them someday. But so far Akimbo is looking good. I’m quite pleased with the kayak cover i fashioned out of the old mainsail cover, even tho the hand stitching is primitive. That took a whole day, during which i listened to Spanish lessons on the stereo. The next day i washed the salt out of the main and genoa sheets, washed the salt off the hull and started waxing the topsides. This day i listened to a lecture by poet David Whyte. Significantly inspiring, i want to send you all a copy.

One chore was getting my sailmail working via ssb radio. Ta-da! I am glad to feel i CAN be reached anywhere. I plan to check it once a day. It’s not regular internet access, i can’t post to the blog, google anything, etc… So i’ll go ashore this morning to post this…come back and stow the dinghy and outboard…and then set sail for my first week single handing here. I’ll post here and let you know how it went when i get back.

Amor y esperanza,

jon