Our
experiences today sort of typify life in Mehico...it gives a whole new meaning
to "kick-back" attitude...
Prior
to the start of the Ha Ha, Latitude published a blurb stating that early
check-in would be possible (for the first time ever) in Bahia Santa
Maria...(normally all boats check-in in Cabo).
In order to avail oneself of this early check-in the agent required that
passport photos, boat documents and a crew list be emailed to his office in
Bahia Magdalena...The port captain from San Carlos (Mag Bay) and an immigration
official would the drive over to BSM for the check-in.
Of
course, only about 20 of the 140+ boats followed any of these
instructions...and the Mexican officials showed up with only enough paperwork
to cover about 30 boats...and were immediately overwhelmed by a crush of boats
crews trying to check-in (without following any of the directions)...so...we'll
be checking-in in Cabo after all!
The
other clue we were in Mehico was the beach party...This is a huge fundraiser
for this little fish camp. If you
consider there are normally only a couple of boats in the bay at a time (it's a
roadstead rest-hole for the Baja Bash up the coast to SD). When the Ha Ha comes to town, we're talking
about between 150 and 200 boats with an average crew of 4-5 show up. The entire fish camp mobilizes to provide a
beach party (band, $3 cervesas, $15 food of shrimp, fish etc)...Now consider
how the food is served...one line about 1/2 mile long with one server...about a
1.5 hour wait for food (and hope there was some there when you show up at the
serving station)...The good news is that there were many beer lines and after a
while I think the people at the end of the line might have forgotten what they
were in line for!
Mexico
is not a place for people in a hurry...we laugh about the manana mentality, but
it's a way of life here...life is definitely at different pace!
Mr.
Patience ended up coming back to WWV after a couple of brewskis and eating on
the boat!...I'm still not with the Mehican program...
...we're
out of here at dawn tomorrow...wind report still looks limp but we're planning
to sail even if we have to go offshore again...
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