Change of Plans

If you have been wondering why we have not written in a bit, it is because we have had to make a major change in our cruising plans.

In the early hours of April 28th Rich awoke with chest discomfort and cold sweats. After an uncomfortable night we decided to take a taxi to the local tourist hospital, where he was diagnosed with an ongoing MI. The EKG's were normal (for him) and matched the most recent graphs we had in our records from May 2011, but the blood test indicated unusually high enzyme readings. After an angiogram and four days in the ICU the diagnosis was angina brought on by low blood pressure and low heart rate. This is new for Rich. The local cardiologist recommended a two wire pacemaker and took him off the high blood pressure medicine which Rich had been taking for 18 years. We have opted to return to Seattle and visit his doctors in the Swedish system for a full workup to get a handle on this new development. We are renting the guest cottage in the house next to Doug and Nancy and plan to be in the Seattle area through the summer returning to Windarra in the October time frame.

The engine installation is complete and we are happy with the results. We have prepped Windarra for the hurricane season and moored the boat at Paradise Village Marina.

We flew to Portland on Wednesday, 5/16. After a weekend with the kids, we took Amtrak to Seattle this morning, Monday, 521, and Rich has his first doctor’s appointment on Tuesday.

Rich is feeling fine and up to speed. This incident was more serious than the "blip" he experienced last year in Portland and deserves a more serious evaluation.

Our cruising plans are on hold right now as we work through Rich’s health concerns. We hope to visit friends and family and do some land travelling in the mean time.

Windarra has left La Cruz

Windarra finally escaped from La Cruz and we are now at Paradise Village Marina in Nuevo Vallarta. We are enjoying a busy social life getting together with our friends Reg and Phoebe of SV Three Sheets and Bob and Sherry of SV Nirvana. Last night we all enjoyed dinner at Three Sheets and we probably kept the south end of the marina awake with our talking and laughing until almost midnight.

Don't get us wrong, we enjoyed the town of La Cruz. But the 110 days from when the old engine quit to when we had a new engine running was a long time.

Hooray, the new engine starts!

Today, May 7, 2012 at 3:15pm the new Yanmar 4JH4-TE mounted in Windarra started for the first time. It has been 110 days since our old engine quit.

This morning Fernando arrived and completed the installation. Friday he had put in the transmission fluid and engine oil and did some of the connections. Today he connected the engine to our heat exchanger associated with the hot water which required a special fitting, connected the power cables to the starter and put in fresh water and antifreeze. There was a little hiccup in the power from the engine control breaker to the fuel lift pump due to a relic of the old engine control system, so Rich ran a new wire from the breaker to the terminal strip for the fuel lift pump. When we ran the lift pump to bleed the fuel lines, Fernando realized that the plug for the new Racor fuel / water separator was missing, so we paused for a bit so he could get a plug. When he returned and bled the fuel lines, Rich went into the cockpit and turned the engine on.

It was a delightful sound.

We still have some more checkout to do which we plan to do on Tuesday and a sea trial early Wednesday morning.

We are so excited. Woohoo !!!!

La Cruz - sleeply little Mexican town ?

I am not sure why the moniker, "sleeply little Mexican town" was given to many places in Mexico, La Cruz de Huanacaxtle included. At times walking through the town especially during the day, it seems appropriate when it is hot and the inhabitants are taking a siesta or sitting in chairs on their front stoops in the shade.

Since we have been at La Cruz, the town has hosted the Copa Mexico races, MEXORC races, El Presidente, Coctel Tianguis Turistico 2012, Easter celebration as well as a 9-day celebration for the founding of the local church. The last event just ended at 5 am on Friday morning. Of course all of the above activities went on while they were repaving the roads, putting in new plumbing, and new sidewalks in town.

For the founding celebration there was a carnival of rides including a merry-go-round, bumper cars, twisting, turning, spinning rides for kids that set up in the vacant lot between the marina and the church. In the main town plaza were more rides for small children as well as a mechanical bull. Some townsfolks as well as others set up gaming as well as food booths. They would set off fireworks and it seemed to us at random times day and night. Blanca, who runs the marina office, explained that they set off the fireworks in the morning and evening to remind everyone to go to church. I am not sure what service was being held at 2:00 am but there were fireworks and the rides were going and you could hear music playing.

Booths along the main plaza

Main plaza

On Thursday they had a parade of the charros or horsemen. I was walking up to town to buy some vegetables and was able to take a few pictures of the parade. I am not sure where all of the charros came from but they filled the whole length of the main street and down the hill to the plaza. No parade is complete without a brass band and in this case a horse princess, selected from the fair maids of La Cruz.

The cross of La Cruz

The parade coming down Avenue de la Langosta (Avenue of Locusts)

The brass band in the parade and they played all night long

The horse princess in her tiara

This horse would paw the ground on one side and then the other on command

Charros come in all ages. This young fellow was the pride of his family

Today is Cinco de Mayo and we thought it was yet another holiday celebrated by the town but alas, this is more of an American holiday. To quote an article by Michael Martinez, CNN:

"Cinco de Mayo does indeed mark a Mexican military victory over the invading French army on May 5, 1862, but it's celebrated more in the United States because in 1862, U.S. Latinos of Mexican heritage parlayed the victory as a rallying cry that the Union could also win the Civil War."

Over time Cinco de Mayo became an unofficial American holiday similar to St. Patrick's Day fueled by salsa, guacamole, tacos, Corona and Dos Equis. It is not something special here in Mexico except for places encouraging business with tourists.

I think we will enjoy a little peace and quiet.