The Use of a Car
We brought Faith to La
Paz to repair the alternator and accomplished that
quickly but there was something else we could check on while we were here. For a long time I have wanted to add some
solar panels and a wind generator to the boat and thought we could get an
estimate from Sergio, possibly the best stainless steel welder in Mexico. When we got hold of him it turned out not
only could we get the estimate but he had time to build the arch. We expected the estimate but had figured that
scheduling would be a problem.
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| The Cabin on the California Star |
This delays our departure from La Paz but that is just a part of
cruising. It presents us with some
issues that we had to think about how to cure.
A big one was that we left the panels and the generator in the RV in San Carlos on the other side of the Sea of Cortez. Fortunately there is an easy fix. There is a ferry from La Paz to Topolobampo (say that a few times
fast). It leaves the dock, more or less,
at 11:00 p.m. and arrives at about 08:00 the next morning.
I took the marina shuttle to near the bank and gathered a
few Pesos. Then I found a taxi that
dropped me off at the ferry offices where I bought a ticket for myself and a
cabin to make the ride more comfortable.
I rode the ferry a few years ago without the comfort of a cabin and it
was a bit draining. I was younger at the
time but I decided then that if I were use the ferry in the future I would try
the cabin approach.
At about 08:30 p.m. Sandy
and Abby walked with me up to where I could catch a taxi and the guard at the
gate called and had me on my way within about ten minutes. When I got to the terminal a line was forming
to board so I added myself and within 20 or 30 minutes was climbing the steps
to the interior of the ship. Finding the
reception area was fairly straightforward and figuring out the system to get
the cabin key was easily done. The way
it works is to present a form of picture identification that the reception will
hold until the key is returned. Simple.
Situated and ready for the trip I took to walking the boat
to see where everything was. Before we
got under way the cafeteria closed for business. Interesting.
The loading of trucks, cargo trailers and other vehicles took longer
than our stated leave time so we were there until the lot was loaded. Not a problem, I was comfortably reading in
my own cabin and before I was tired enough to slip into sleep I felt the
motors power up to leave.
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| Almost back to La Paz |
The crossing itself was excellent. When I got up in the morning the snack bar
was open for coffee and pan. Good
enough. We docked at about eight and I
was off the boat after standing in line waiting with everyone ready to
debark. Next time I will know not to
rush into line but, rather, hang out wait for the crush to be over. Once the line started moving out the place
was emptied quickly. No real benefit to
waiting in the line.
Outside the terminal there were a line of taxis. When asked they all said $300 pesos for a
ride to the bus station… "but it is a looong way to town," they all said. For thirty pesos there was a bus that goes
directly to the bus station. Yes, it IS
a long way but the local bus was perfectly fine for the fifteen or twenty
minute ride.
Once in the Los
Mochis bus terminal I booked a seat to Guaymas for
about $20U.S. ($245 pesos) and had to wait about 2 hours for lift off. It was a short wait, really, as I read a book
and watched the families waiting too.
The bus was about a half hour late but that was not a problem… where
else was I going to go?
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| Despite the calm sea there were people with motion sickness on board. |
Mexican buses are wonderful transportation for the most
part. The seats are comfortable. There is overhead storage for your
backpack. There is usually a movie
playing, often in English with subtitles.
Usually the person sitting next to you is friendly and strikes up a
conversation for awhile. There are a
number of stops, sometimes for extended periods, where you can find a meal or a
snack. Occasionally, the driver allows a
vender to ride for a short way while selling all manner of foods. At the end of a day of travel I am still
stiff but that is me getting older rather than the bus getting
uncomfortable. We left the terminal at a
little before 11:00 a.m. and we arrived in Guaymas at about 04:00 p.m.
From that terminal I walked about six blocks to the local
stop for the San Carlos
bus. I could probably have just crossed
the street in front of the bus terminal to catch the local but by then I needed
to stretch and walk anyway.
So, that was the trip to the RV park in San Carlos.
I uncovered the car and loaded it with the solar panels, wind generator
and miscellaneous stuff to take back to LA
Paz the next day.
It allowed me to go to dinner at JJ’s and I slept well that night in
RV!
The next morning it was time to reverse the process with the
car. Loading the final stuff into the car I was on my way quickly. I arrived in Topolobampo at about
04:00 p.m. There I ran the car over the
scale and paid the $150 pesos requested.
In the terminal I bought the ticket for the car, a cabin and myself ($1106,
$786 and $897 pesos respectively). Since
I had a long time to wait for our supposed 11:59 p.m. departure I found a taxi
to look for dinner. On returning I still
had several hours to go so just sat reading while the terminal filled up with
the entertainment of others going on the ferry.
Long wait made short, I got to board with the car near the head of the
line. My mistake. They put me on the top deck of the vehicle
loading area and I realized immediately I would be a long time getting off the
ferry. I was asleep long before the boat
actually left the dock at around 03:00 a.m. My inside cabin had no view but who
cares about a view while you sleep??
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| Our shadow on the shallower San Lorenzo Channel |
Once we got to La
Paz and I waited until most of the boat had been
unloaded it took quite awhile to get out of the terminal district. First there was a port fee of $152 pesos to
leave. Then there was a military
inspection that took a bit of luck to find then about 15 minutes to pass
through. Then there was a fumigation for
insects that cost $30 pesos. And,
finally, there was a Federal Police stop asking where I came from.
All-in-all it was a long 3 days but now we have the “stuff”
here in La Paz along with the car. It
should make the coming month easier and then, ahhh, I get to take the car back
to San Carlos.
