Bautizo

Paco was sleeping during the car repair.  (see previous post) He works from 6pm until 6am as a security guard, and Saturday is his day off.  This Saturday he was up early because he is Padrino to a little girl who is to be baptized (bautizo, or bautizmo).

I cleaned the grease off and we went to the church.

Paco, the padrino (godfather) in the black shirt, madrino in the red dress and padres de la niña on the outside.

La niña 

Followed by the fiesta, which lasted until midnight.

Paco, younger brother Julio, and Paco Senior

y yo.  I'm not standing in a hole, just seated in a chair. 

Next Saturday the fiesta will be Paco Senior's birthday party.  I expect it will be FIESTISIMO!

Soy mecanico

The starter on Paco's VW needed a new solenoid.  Saturday morning I brought a few wrenches from the boat and replaced it with the help of my "Chalanes".  That's a new palabra not found in my Spanish dictionary - it means ayudantes or helpers.   

That's Armando, Paco's older brother on my right, and neighbor Gilberto in the undershirt.

Mexican sunrise

Here's a photo taken from my anchorage in Mazatlan's harbor January 22, 2009.   That's Isla Chivos to the right of the sun.

Mexican wrestling

Manuel is Paco's neighbor and lifelong friend, which by association makes him my friend.  It was his birthday last week.  As a surprise we took him to the "Luche Libre", Mexican professional wrestling.  

Professional wrestling is just as stupid in Mexico as it is in the states, with the addition of goofy looking masks.  I was surprised to find it entertaining, and the crowd really got into it, which made it even more fun for me.

How happy did it make Manuel - who has watched it on television for years but never attended a live performance - (and performance is definitely the right word)?  He said, "Como un babi," as happy as a baby. 

Boater's BBQ

We had a little cookout last night.  Since it was my idea I bought the meat, buns, ketchup and mustard for the burgers.  Club Nautico has a nice patio with the charcoal grill (center arch in the photo), which is a sort of concrete shelf to hold the "carbon" (charcoal) with a steel grate supported on either side by concrete ledges.  

There are six boats anchored with a total of 8 persons aboard.  Bill is the one playing the guitar.  He and I have found a lot of parallels in our lives including the fact that we were both screwed up early in life by being raised in the Nazarene church.  Even our last names begin with the same four letters.  I'm better looking, but can't play the guitar.

Cap'n Mike

I don't have many photos of myself.  This one was taken during the trip from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas.

Mazatlan Harbor

For the time being this is home for Liberty.  I've been anchored here since December 19th.  The cost is minimal - 900 pesos per month - but so are the services, which include a safe place to tie the dinghy and a shower (cold water), which I forego in preference to a warm bucket bath in the cockpit.

There are currently six other boats anchored here with me.  Four of them are solo bachelors like myself, three young guys and another "viejo".  The other two boats are couples, and like most of the boats that drop the hook here this time of year they plan to stay for a few days or weeks and then move further south.

I've initiated a weekly Wednesday night potluck and singalong for residents of the harbor.  Since I've been here there has been one impromptu but tomorrow will be the first "regularly scheduled".    

New Years I counted 18 sailboats and it was beginning to feel a little crowded.  Most of them weren't here long enough to get acquainted.  The cruising population changes from week to week but there will be overlapping stays and perhaps the weekly get together will stick and become my legacy.

There is one kid (28 years old is a kid to me) I've been hanging out with - Tom.  He's on a classic wooden gaff rigged cutter, an Atkins design (which puts us in common as Liberty is an adaptation of a William Atkins design as well) that he inherited when a friend passed away.  He doesn't claim ownership and in talking to him about his plans I get the feeling the boat is on its way around the world and Tom can come along if he likes.

Hippy would be the number one choice if we were playing Family Feud and the question was "What word did people use to describe Tom?"  His face is unshaven and his hair is long and will become dreads if a comb doesn't pass through soon... and it won't because, like his boat, Tom is content to let his hair live autonomously.  

My Mexican friends adopted Tom as they would anyone I call my friend.  So far as I can tell "Any friend of yours is a friend of mine." is not just an empty sentiment here in Mazatlan.  

Freedom in Mexico

Almost every morning I walk from the marina to Molto Amore, a nice coffee shop with wifi where I order a coke, chat with my friends who work there and then check my email and read a bit of the news. The distance is about a mile, and I could catch a bus for five pesos (about 40 cents) but I enjoy the walk and invariably see something of interest.

Two days ago on my return walk to the boat I passed an old man sitting on the sidewalk sawing pieces of bamboo into short lengths. I walked past him before it occurred to me what he was doing. I had noticed some small baskets at his feet. I turned back and asked him "Que esta haciendo?" He pointed to the baskets and although I didn't understand his mumbled reply I knew he had told me he was making baskets. I bought one for 50 pesos and asked if I could take his photo. As you can see he posed proudly holding one of his baskets.

This morning I passed a man I've been watching as he works alone on one of several houses in a small development that seems to have come to a veritable halt. (The Mexican economy is suffering some of the same setbacks as it's large neighbor to the north). This day he was standing on a plank plastering the brick on the second story facade.  

We all see things differently. Images are filtered through lenses constructed of the past events in each of our lives. That's probably why I saw freedom in both these scenes. Both men were productively employed, making something more out of something less. And neither one was burdened by the extra expense of a parasitic non-productive regulator.

No one told the one man he couldn't ply his trade on an unused piece of public sidewalk. No one told the other that he couldn't risk his own neck, using his own sense of self preservation to determine whether the plank he was standing on would bear his weight and the weight of the bucket of mortar (which he lifted and carried on his shoulder). Both of them were enjoying freedom.

Why did I see the freedom of these men and someone else might only have seen their poverty? Perhaps because I've dealt with authorities and their regulatory dictates most of my life. Anyone who lives in the U.S. has, but more so when that one owns a business.

As a handbag manufacturer it was an OSHA inspector insisting I install another toilet in my women's bathroom to meet their required minimum. At my first home show in Fort Collins the city mandated that I have two firemen a supervisor and a fire truck on site, at my considerable expense. At the "Mayport Bikefest" in Florida it was a Lieutenant with the Sheriff's Office telling me I couldn't park motorcycles in what was any other day of the week a parking lot because I hadn't specified it as such in my plan.

Yes, Mexico is a poor country, and that may be the reason for it's relative freedom from regulators. Their economy can not afford unproductive parasites. Regulators are a luxury. With luck it will be a luxury America will one day no longer be able to afford.

From Mazatlan,
Mike