The Zewotinejoh Zone

 My tired family motored into the Zewotinejoh Zone and plumped down in to the Playa de Ropa at 7:30-8:00 at night. All I saw was hundreds of twinkling multi-colored lights that spread their colors onto the rippling waters. The atmosphere was quiet, sleepy, and humid. I liked my first impression of Zewot. 

In the morning, the dawn sun turned the water to gold on my first day at Zewot.

Despite all the beauty around us, we couldn't fully enjoy the afternoon because of one nagging little thought, the reason we were here. I've long since known my family wasn't rich and that money doesn't last forever. In three days time on January 13, my dad was going to leave us for work in Seattle, to plump the cruising kitty. He had made a contract with the owners of a medical clinic that every 3-4 months he'd come back to work for about 3 weeks. No-one liked the idea. 

After seeing the sunrise, we all went into town and explored. All dinghies apparently drive up on a beach and are watched over by a short mexican man named Nathaniel. The town is kinda scruffy and the shops kinda dirty. However, the major town had a certain appeal and bustle. Near the beaches where all the cruise ship's passengers go, the shops were charming. Around that area we found a pancake house. I ordered waffles. The pancake house was reasonably filled and the food delicious. Our serving lady was kind and the chairs comfy. I have a feeling we'll be going there again. After breakfast, we found the market which I will describe in a later blog.

Though I will have to live here a few more days before I decide, I think Zewot will be livable until daddy gets back.

Mera Conger

s/v Don Quixote

The Mangrove Stream

In Tenacatita Bay, there is a jungle, river, dinghy, ride. It winds through the island for 2 miles. On either side of the channel, mangrove trees grow thick and strong. My family went on this cruise in our dinghy. It was a short dinghy ride to the shore, where you had to drag/float your dinghy across a sand bar. The sand bar opened up to the beginning of the river. 

This "river" was almost dead calm. It had sulfur in it  and smelled awful. The water was muddy brown with skating flies and dead leaves. It wasn't too unpleasant. In the beginning the channel was wide. Amid the mangroves, a few white flowered dogwoods existed. The birds were mostly pelicans and herons. Huge, white, herons would take off in front of us and we saw many babies. Jaime once saw a lone vulture, nestled in the treetops. The channel began to narrow and the trees grew closer and thicker. 

Looking in the water again, you can see fish. Fat, lazy, big fish and small darting fish. Though we saw no alligators, we saw signs of some. No lizards, absolutely none. Thats funny because you'd think lizards and iguanas would be everywhere. We motored in to a tree made tunnel. The air grew heavier and less light shone through. The light that did get through was a weird greenish brown color. Small crabs could be seen just a few inches from the water, clutching the roots. The trees grew even closer and sometimes we brushed the roots. I kept a wary eye out for spiders. Dad did a superb job with the dinghy even though I sometimes tried to do back seat driving.

At the very end of the 2 mile trip, the "river" suddenly opens up into a large bay. The sunlight bounces of the water and nearly blinds you. Its quite like emerging from another world. Mom says WOW several times and Jaime whistles. Aeron sits and stares and Dad wore is poker face. I'm not quite sure what expression I wore. And to think that we get to do this all over again going back. 

Mera Conger

s/v Don Quixote

The Fish Adventure

      On January 3, 2009, my entire family (except my mom) boarded the dinghy, our destination a good hookah diving site. The site was near an island in Banderas Bay. The islands were called Las Tres Marietas. A hookah is motor that provides air for people under water. If you use a hookah, you can stay underwater longer.  Since the water was relatively warm, my family and I only wore our wet-suits as a precaution. The skies were clear and sunny, but the winds a little strong and the ocean choppy.

      When we arrived at our destination, we had trouble setting our dinghy anchor. After many tries, we managed to set it near a promising rock. Dad started the hookah and everyone jumped into the water. One person remained on board to alert us if the hookah shut off or if our anchor dragged.

      The first plunge into the water was a shock, but I quickly warmed up. I had trouble with my mask, so I switched to goggles. From my view, the rocks were dark, a little murky but not eerily so. Groups of green and brown striped fish as long as my thumb swayed with the tide, like clouds drifting around a mountain of rock. I spotted a beautiful dove gray and soft blue fish, 1 and a half feet long. Jaime showed me an electric blue fish, again as long as my thumb. We even saw a grumpy little octopus hiding in a hole in the rock. The rock itself was patches of muddy red, brown, and gray. There were very few green plants, but purple anemones waved their arms everywhere. Once I spotted a deep blue fish with a white stripe in the middle and yellow fins. A fish the color of the rocks flashed by me and startled me. A new flock of fish floated by, black with a stripe of peach in the middle.

     All at once I noticed the air from the hookah tasted funny and that my teeth and mouth ached from clenching the hookah mouth. Rising, I took a short break. It took many trips down to satisfy our curiosity. We motored home, wet, shivering, and eager to get out of our wet-suits. I hear that mom is making fish chowder for dinner!

Mera Conger

s/v Don Quixote

New Years Party

The New Years party this year was less than what I expected. For start, I had a split-head headache and a fever. Mom sent me to sleep when the kids arrived. I spent the duration of my nap listening to the sound of laughter and the splashing of water. I decided the heck with it and jumped in to the water. Effectively, my headache disappeared when I hit the water. I spent the next hour being knocked off our blow-up island and swimming with the other kids. The water was cold then moderately cool. 

We tried to knock each other off the island which resulted in lots of yelling. The island was so slippery. You could just slide off it at any time. It became a mighty feat to stay on for more than a minute. After swimming, the grown-ups shoved us in the salon with a movie and resumed talking. We watched Monsters Inc and Holes. Anyway, the younger kids went home after the movies. The party was supposed to go on to 12:00 o'clock, but I conked out at 10:00. No fireworks for me. The reason I conked out was because of my demon from hell of a headache which chose that moment to appear again.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mera Conger

s/v Don Quixote

The Rolling Waves

I went outside the boat with no other intention than to enjoy the scenery. We were sailing from Marina de La Paz to the islands for the weekend. The waves were deep blue and steeper than I expected. My sisters came out and then Jaime got a brilliant idea. At the bows of our boat, a metal bar about a foot and a half wide runs the length of the boat. There was another much thinner, rope-looking bar above it that slanted like an upside down V. We sat on the bar, jack-lined as we were to the boat. Holding on to the above bar, we tried to soak our feet in the water. As we went farther out, the waves got steeper. Sometimes, our entire legs up to the knees went under water. It got so we were counting the times our feet touched the water. "Ten! I got ten! No, wait, eeeleven!

What do you mean you got twelve? Hold a moment, thirrrrr....... teen!" We got bored when we hit a hundred so we switched to singing as many camp songs as we could remember. By this time, I was soaked up to my thighs. The waves were steep enough so Jaime hurt her bum bouncing up and down. She was the first to leave the water ride. Then Aeron, she was soaked everywhere, said she was freezing. I, me, the wuss in the family, prevailed. Naturally, I fell asleep afterwards. One day, I'm gonna do that again. 

Mera Conger

s/v Don Quixote

In La Paz

When I stepped on the dock to La Paz, my thoughts were all focused on what I'd do. Armed with my purse and laundry, I caught glimpses of restaurants, people, bathrooms, then the laundry.

The laundry required tokens which you can get at the  Dock restaurant. There are a lot of times I wish that I could speak Spanish. This is one of them.

The next week was a whirl of chores, parties, and people. The most memorable was the party at Victory Cat. Earlier, I volunteered to help Victory Cat. I did dishes, looked for ingredients, vacuumed the floor, brought up appetizers, set table, and helped to lift up her door. Ruth, first mate on Victory Cat and the only one on the boat till her husband got back, made a heavenly meat mixture.

Since the grownups talked about boring stuff. We watched the movies, Shrek 1 and Atlantis.

More updates on In La Paz coming soon.      

Mera Conger

s/v Don Quixote

The Crew, Clean, Chop Sickness

There is nothing worse than being on a catamaran in close-together chop. Every time you go on a wave, your boat and stomach pitch and roll. When you also have a cranky mother who is making noise about school work, it's nothing short of a nightmare. I'm sitting on a seat in front of our computer in said chop having second thoughts about my tuna sandwich. It's a sunny day with a beautiful, cooperative, breeze. And I want to barf. 

The only remedy to Chop Sickness is sleep. Instantly, the rolling, bucking, ship becomes the most vigorous cradle you've ever been in. Of course, if you are a light sleeper, you may need to employ the help of Melatonin to knock you out. Sadly, I can't go to sleep because I have to do............... School work. 

Being crew is a step up from swab, which is a step up from passenger. But, when you're crew, you have to do all these tiresome things called work. When I became Crew, I was doing watch with mom. The wind was good so we decided to put up the spinnaker. This would be the first time both of us would try to raise the spinnaker without Dad. Naturally, things didn't go as well as we hoped but it was alright. Mom proclaimed me crew as soon as it was up. I didn't feel like crew. My nose was running, and I was tired enough to consider sleeping on the trampoline. 

Unlike what some magazines might suggest, cruising isn't all fun and roses. I figured this out when I saw the pile of dishes I had to dry. Coming back to that general topic, having a clean boat is important. It's essential for my mother's happiness which is essential to our happiness. So remember kids, whenever you think the Goddess of the kitchen is being unfair, remember who keeps your belly round.

Mera Conger

s/v Don Quixote