Boat document, this should include the hull id number
Passport of owner (copy of picture page)
Tourist visa of owner (copy of both sides)
You also need the following data:
Diesel engine make and serial number
Outboard motor make and serial number
Dingy serial number
The cost is $50 USD, payable in cash (dollars or pesos) or credit card.
The woman at the counter spoke English which was a big help. With the above information we also had to fill out a list of the equipment on the boat. This list is in Spanish. A copy similar to what we filled out is available in the appendix of Charlie’s Charts for Mexico book. If someone is interested I can scan ours and post it on the blog. There is a place on the form to add items. I added watermaker, wind generator and solar panels in Spanish as well. There is no downside that we can see for indicating you have everything on the list even if you don’t at this time. You may decide to add it later. So now we have our TIP certificate. If we wish to have parts send in from the States, we will need to bring a list to a Banjercito of the parts to have the TIP updated and we will show this to customs when the parts arrive, such as at the UPS office.
Reg tried to get his TIP as well. Unfortunately the Canadian boat document does not include hull number so without this information he was unable to get the TIP.
After our taxi ride back Rich and I walked to check out the local marine stores. Boy, do we miss marine stores in Seattle, but there are a few stores and some of the clerks speak a little English. We bought some hose for our water pressure issue. We took a long walk to the CCC – a large store similar to WalMart that includes a grocery section. It was a good chance to stock up on some fresh veggies and fruits. I bought 2 chocolate croissants or should I say that is what they were called at the bakery section. This morning we had them for breakfast and they were more like hot dog buns with some chocolate chips in them. They definitely were a disappointment! We called a taxi to haul us and our purchase back to the boat.
Rich tried running some new hose to see if that would fix the water pressure pump not holding pressure but no joy.
In the late afternoon we joined the Baja Ha-Ha party at Stella’s and we sat with Phoebe and Reg. With our entry we got two free drinks plus a meal and two raffle tickets. The entertainment included a mariachi band, another band with an accordion that played polkas later that evening and a Mexican Folkloric dance group. In between food and entertainment they would call out ticket numbers for the 60+ prizes. We anxiously listened, hoping our numbers would be called for the bottles of Tequila or gift certificates at the Dock Side Restaurant or the Lopez Marine store. No joy, our numbers were not called so we had more margaritas or beers instead. Throwing caution and rhythm out the window, us aging baby boomers dancied to the music of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. It was a site!
This morning, Friday, we were not moving so very fast (I wonder why). We took at taxi to the Telcel center to get 3G internet for the Ipad2. I thought I had everything but unfortunately I forgot my passport so we walked back to the marina with a few stops at marine stores looking for more hose, including fuel hose for the engine. No joy. Rich decided to stay on the boat and work the water pressure issue. I grabbed my passport and the Ipad and headed back to Telcel.
I arrived at 11:15 am. After waiting in line, I was able to work with Rene, who had a fairly good command of English (much better than I had of Spanish). With Telcel, I may get either a mini-SIM that will handle 3G internet or cellular phone service but not both it seems to my understanding. To get cellular phone service you need proof of a local address (like a bill from the marina). The phone number is local to that city. Calling to or from anywhere else in Mexico is considered long distance. If I were to buy a cell number here in La Paz, I could call up to 25 different cell numbers in the US for $5 pesos for 15 minutes, but only if I were calling from La Paz, not from Mazatlan with the same number. Another catch is you may add time online, only if you have a Mexican credit card, otherwise you need to go to any outlet that sells Telcel, of which there are many, to buy more time. So I opted to get 3G internet instead. Much to my surprise, there is a promotion of one month’s free internet (max of 3 gigabytes of data), including the mini Sim card that goes in the Ipad2. Such a deal! After they had a copy of my passport, they got a mini Sim card and we started the process of registering the Sim, getting a number, and connecting with the Ipad. During the registering process, the password I entered was changed by ‘tbd process’, so I could not login. After a trip to the supervisor, we determined that changed password and were able to correct it. The Ipad was registered but it would not let me connect to the internet. Rene started making phone calls to Mexico City. I sat down for a bit while he was making his call. I met an American from Colorado who was trying to sign up for broadband access, and he was not able to connected with internet either. By 2:15 pm, I was still at Telcel and still unable to connect to the internet. Since Rene did not know how long this would take, I decided to go back to the boat. I asked Rene to call me when I was working again. Rene said he could not call my US cell phone number. Send me a text message then? Nope. An email? No again. I finally gave him the phone number of the marina and asked him to leave a message. Telcel seems like AT&T before the break up. Having only one telephone/cell/internet company is not a good thing. Competition forces more quality.
Meanwhile back at Windarra, Rich moved the water pressure pump from above the water heater next to the accumulator in the aft head, to under the floor boards next to the shower sump pump. Running the blue tubing back to the accumulator pump was a challenge due to space limitation (it’s a boat) and not enough connectors (it’s Mexico) so he was able to make do with the tubing and plastic hose. Tomorrow we will run new electrical wires for the new placement. It just never ends.
So it has been a long day. Time to post this, and then watch a movie.
Adios.
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