Down to Mexico - Fall, 1999
Saturday, October 23rd, 1999 - Setting Off South
We left a little late on Saturday, 11 am, but I don't think we forgot too much. The entire day was rainy, but we stopped off at the Carousel Mall in Syracuse, NY for a quick fix of US shopping. Carol hit the Banana Republic and I hit CompUSA. We continued on to reach Wilkes-Barre again, just like two years ago.
Sunday, October 24th, 1999 - Deeper into the South
Sunday morning, we did a little better and plowed through Pennsylvania, crossed the Mason-Dixon Line into Maryland, then West Virginia, Virginia and into North Carolina, stopping near Raleigh. The leaves through New York State and Pennsylvania were beautifully coloured, just like Ontario a few weeks earlier. When we crossed the Mason-Dixon Line, the colours were more subdued, but everywhere the leaves were dropping; they had had their first frost the night before, right down into the Carolinas!
Sunday produced no rain, but also very little sunshine. While we had 45F weather the first day, it went up to 55F the second. Hopefully we will get up to 65F when we get to Myrtle Beach tomorrow. The roads in Virginia were full of "First in Flight" plates heading home to NC after a fun weekend in a big city to the north (NYC or DC?). Lots of big white SUVs driving in the left hand lane regardless of whether they were passing or not.
Caught lots of NPR on the radio, since we are still in the East.
We talked to Don and Gill by cellphone and they were just arriving at their boat, to freshen it up and stock it before we get there tomorrow morning. I guess with this cool weather, the alligators will be too sluggish to cause any problems. Tropical storm "Jose" also, seems to be blowing out over the Atlantic, avoiding shore just for us.
Monday, October 25th, 1999 - Boarding the Boat
We left the Raleigh area at 10 am in beautiful sunshine and headed for Myrtle Beach. Actually we were heading for a marina on the Waccamaw River, just off the Intra-Coastal Waterway (the ICW) very near Myrtle Beach. We arrived a little late, at 1:30, after suffering some traffic stoppage on I-95, and found our hosts' Pilgim 40 trawler waiting for us. We did get to 65F as predicted, surprisingly, as the locals said it was the coldest fall they had had in a long time. It is an interesting boat, 40 feet long with a single Westerbeke 100 hp diesel, two separate heatpumps for airconditioning and heating, autopilot, radar, two GPS devices, two ship-to-shore radios, a freshwater maker, a separate small diesel for a 120 v. a.c. power generator, two TVs each with VCRs, two good stereo systems, etc., etc., very nice and comfortable!
After finding out we had not had lunch yet, our hosts made a nice omelet for four in the galley. Then we spent the afternoon moving into the boat, shopping at the local Sam's Club and Winn-Dixie and chatting about our various plans, all of us being retired now. Again our hosts prepared a delicious shrimp stir-fry on rice, again on board, accompanied with much fermented grape. By eleven our hosts retired to a beautiful owner's stateroom below, leaving us to the pullout couch in the living room, complete with cozy duvet.
Tuesday, October 26th, 1999 - Setting Out Along the ICW
We slept like logs until 8 am. The boat weighs 26,000 pounds, 13 tons, and the water in the marina was dead calm in spite of 2 to 3 foot tidal change. It never felt like we were on a boat, no rocking, no lap lap of little wavelets, nothing. Even walking around did nothing. Only someone stepping on or off the boat made any noticeable motion. The morning brought another perfect sunny day. After morning ablutions in the comfort of the marina, we set off down the ICW, south on the Waccamaw, some side trips down intersecting creeks looking at Cypress trees in swamps, abandonned rice fields now full of unknown wild tall grasses complete with grain tops, past abandonned plantations and newly constructed grand mansions on the water and finally anchored for the night on Jericho Creek, off the Great Pee Dee River, near the ICW by Georgetown S.C. While we had sandwiches on the go for lunch, for supper we had steaks and grouper with lots of veggies and more of that good Californian wine, Turning Leaf cabernet sauvignon.
Wednesday, October 27th, 1999 - The Return Adventure!
These creeks and rivers are all tidal, connected as they are to the sea, and while fresh water, these rivers reverse four times a day. We had anchored with only one anchor off the bow and during the night we had turned around the anchor twice, and were now pointed the same way as when we first stopped. One or two of us did not quite believe this statement, but as we were having our coffee and toast at 8 am, the boat swung around to face the new "upstream" as the water reversed again. That showed the skeptics. We now had to do our ablutions on the more restricted single small "head".
We set off for another tour of new rivers and then after anchoring for a light lunch of hot soup on the Black River, headed back to the marina. However this turned out to be at least a 4 hour drive up the ICW, now against the current, hence making only 4.5 knots as opposed to the 7.5 to 9.5 of the previous day. The boat cruises at about 7.5 and we had a current against us of about 3 to 3.5 knots. (We got our actual groundspeed from the GPS devices.) About halfway home, our skipper noticed that his engine was running a little hot, and slowed down and then shut off. We had to anchor quickly as the current in the ICW was quick, as mentioned.
After checking the oil and finding it OK, we waited for a while for the engine to cool before opening the intercooler cap. An intercooler, is a heat exchanger for cooling the fresh water which circulates through the engine, with salt water which is sucked in from the river and expelled back into the river. We checked the filters on the salt water flow and they were clean, and we determined that salt water could flow (ie no plastic bags gumming up the intakes). Then, we opened the radiator cap on the fresh water side. There was no fresh water in the intercooler!
So we filled it, slowly, so as not to crack the block, and when it was full, we restarted the engine. It quickly overheated again, and when we could take off the radiator cap again, there again was no fresh water. Back at anchor, we now called BoatUSA, the boat equivalent of AAA/CAA. They only had a 100 hp boat available and could only tow us downstream, while we wanted to go up, so they talked us into leaving the radiator cap off and constantly filling the intercooler while it was boiling over, hence keeping the engine at about 180F all the way home. This was done manually, for about two hours, using kitchen implements and about half of our fresh water supply. Unfortunately, the sea water hose fitting would not connect to the fresh water supply, hence the amusing although taxing technique.
Of course, it was now getting dark, and the final part of the trip was done in quite dark conditions. As the skipper was preparing the boat for docking, I drove it for quite a while on the ICW, using both the radar and the normal visual method, noting down our time and marker number for each marker we passed. Quite fascinating. The skipper took over for the turning into the marina and the docking. It was the first time he had done this in the dark, and I think the people in the marina will remember this docking for some time to come. Anyway, any docking for which you do not have to call your insurance agent is considered a success.
We celebrated out heroism and success with much more wine and thought about supper. Wanting to spare the skipper and his crew from preparing yet another dinner, we attempted to call for a pizza to be delivered to the boat. We called the pizzeria that had delivered pizza previously to a bikinied blonde on the next boat over the previous month, but for some reason they declined to do so this time, even asked if we spoke English. Perhaps it was the tomahtoes instead of tomaytoes, or perhaps it was the 613 cellphone number, but there was no budging them. By then, we had consumed too much wine to drive anywhere, so the skipper cooked a nice whole salmon. A little later we all dropped off for a third peacefull sleep on board.
Thursday, October 28th, 1999 - Going West
Thursday morning was again beautifully sunny, we did our ablutions in the marina, and had coffee and toast on board. Then, we packed, boarded our landcruiser and sailed off to Atlanta, feeling a little bit guilty about leaving them to deal with their engine problems without us.
We left South Carolina to reach Atlanta at 5 pm in 80 degree sunshine. We opted for an early supper at the Rio Bravo Grill on Peachtree Street, opposite the Peachtree Center (the original one ) downtown. There are now 4 or 5 Peachtree Centers in Atlanta and about 15 - 20 Peachtree streets, roads and boulevards, even two Peachtree Rivers - I am not sure how they keep track.
We had a sidewalk table somewhat below street level, but great for people watching. Tuesdays and Thursdays were Margarita Special days - $2.75 for a frozen beermug full of great frozen Margarita. So we started with some of those, and ordered the "Handpacked" Crabcakes for starter and Blackened Mahi-mahi for main course (served with garlic mashed potatoes and California grilled veggies) and finished off with Fried Ice Cream for dessert. Not exactly a light meal, but very satifying.
Friday, October 29th, 1999 - Further West
Friday morning after some window shopping in Atlanta, we headed off for Birmingham, Alabama, checking out their Galleria, then on to Meridian, Mississippi, all in 75 - 80 degree sunshine. In Meridian, we ate at a humble Holiday Inn, some Southern Fried Catfish with a good half liter of Ernest and Julio Gallo Merlot. The Gallo brothers seem to be doing better than when they were the makers of the cheapest California plonk. The waitress was simple, friendly and had a great unpretentious southern accent. She was from Hattiesburg, Mississippi, which together with nearby Laurel, Miss., features large in Faulkner's work, so attracted Carol's attention. Hattiesburg also, of course, was featured in the Civil War, of less interest to Canadians.
Saturday, October 30th, 1999 - Into Texas
Saturday, we set off in 70 degree slight cloud, wondering when we would run into the severe rain and thunderstorms we had been seeing for three days on TV, in Texas, heading east, as we were heading inexorably west. Well, at noon the first wave hit us just outside New Orleans. Very tropical. Temperatures headed quickly to 80 degrees, and then varied between 80 and 87 for the rest of the day. We got alternate tropical downpour and blazing sunshine all afternoon, ending with a passage under a very large, very black cloud, that turned daylight to night for about an hour. Fortunately, no tell-tale vertical stripes or actual tornadoes.
We stopped in Beaumont, Texas.
Sunday, October 31st, 1999 - Houston and Brownsville
Sunday was a beautiful sunny day all day, but a little cooler, 70-78 degrees. I guess all the rain was well east of us now and heading for North Carolina, while we head south now. We spent 3 hours at the Galleria in Houston, getting some of the last minute items before crossing the border.
Brownsville was a longer leg than expected, but we stayed in Fort Brown, which has a checkered history. It was built, on the annexation of Texas by the US in 1845, to protect the new border. However, that triggered the Mexican-American war which lasted for 2 years. The fort figured again during the Civil War, or I should say just after it. A Southern general captured and occupied Fort Brown after the South had already surrendered. Apparently, word of the surrender had not yet reached this far west, and when it did, the victor of the battle, gave up the fort to his prisonersand in turn became their prisoners.
How's that for checkered, just like the table cloths across the Rio Grande in Matamoros, Mexico.
While in Brownsville, we just popped across the border for supper at a hotel in Matamoros. As border towns, neither Matamoros nor Brownsville seemed to offer much in the way of interesting restaurants, so wanting to stay away from questionable places, we settled for this modern fancy hotel in Matamoros. The dining room was very pleasant and after three margaritas (total, not each), we settled into a nice Sea Bass for Carol and a Chicken Cordon Bleu for me. Very nicely done, but too much for our appetites, we both left stuff on our plates. The total came to $13 Canadian!
Then we zipped back to the US for a good night's rest.
Monday, November 1st - The Crossing
The next morning, we made our definitive crossing into Mexico. This border crossing was the nicest we have encountered in three years. The car "temporary importation" office was attached to the customs house, avoiding the one hour search for this unmarked place at other crossings (Laredo and McAllan). Also, the paperwork was partially computerized and went very fast. We were through in about 20 minutes with our holographic "permission" affixed to the windshield. This compares to two hours the last time. The search of the trunk was also perfunctory.
We decided to follow the CAA recommendations this time, instead of our preferred route of the previous 4 times. The road was two-lane with wide paved shoulders all the way to Ciudad Victoria (pronounced "See you Dad, Bic-toria" for those of you non-Spanish speakers) and we averaged 120 kph on that route. Mexican drivers work on a cooperative basis, and when they see you want to pass, they move all the way over onto the paved shoulder to let you pass, and so do the fellows coming the other way, so the driving is smooth and fast, no one being held up by slow moving trucks. Of course, this was helped by the route being pretty well flat along a coastal plain near sea level. The weather was 27 degrees in unrelieved sunshine. (We are back in metric territory again!)
Noticing on the map that Ciudad Victoria was at about the same latitude as Matehuala, our normal overnight stop, we called it a day at 2pm in Ciudad Victoria in a nice modern motel. We then set out to explore, both by car and on foot. After finding a so-so looking restaurant, we headed back to the motel for a rest and then returned to the restaurant at supper time. A fish from the sea called "Negrilla" for Carol, and a veal cutlet (Milanesa Ternera) for me. We started with a nice salty shrimp broth for a starter. I enjoyed it but Carol did not, perhaps more because of the ambiance than the food.
Tuesday, November 2nd, 1999 - Back in Paradise
The next day at 8:22 am, we set out south on highway 85 and soon crossed the Tropic of Cancer. Around the city of Ciudad Mante we started seeing orange trees as well as sugar cane plantations, together with the tall brick smokestack of a typical sugar cane refinery in the heart of the city. I was surprised to see oranges this far north, but of course, this is way more southerly than Florida, it's just that we normally get our oranges from Veracruz. Also, the sugar cane refinery was surprising because near Cuernavaca, there are about 15 or 20 old "haciendas" (sugar cane refineries/planatation headquarters), all no longer operational, having all been destroyed by Emiliano Zapata and his merry men in the 1910 revolution.
However as we headed south from Ciudad Mante, the highway became narrower, two lanes with no shoulders, very curvy with few straightaways for passing, as it entered the mountains. This is the eastern chain, the Sierra Madre Oriental, of the two ranges that run right through Mexico in a north-south direction. It took us until 6:30 pm to reach Mexico City via this route, averaging less than 50 km/h. We even spent a half hour in dense fog during the higher portions of this route, avoiding barely seen mountain goats and big-horned cattle wandering on the highway. The route was very interesting, going through very lush and prosperous country instead of the semidesert normally encountered, but for getting from A to B, this was not the route. I was envious of our regular route over 4 and 6 lane divided superhighway of highway 57D, where we normally travel at a good swift clip. Also, as the road was two lane and winding, Carol did not feel up to driving, and it was all me the whole way.
By 6:30 pm, I was a little frazzled, and 85 led to the main north-south boulevard in downtown Mexico City, Insurgentes, where I shared the road with the early evening revelers and commuters in this city of 26 million people. After getting 3/4 of the way through the city, we stopped at a Vips, to unwind and get some supper. Vips is a family style dining chain, perhaps about 1,000 in Mexico, with about 500 of them in Mexico City, perhaps something like Perkin's in the US. We tried to call Cuernavaca to let them know of our impending arrival, but couldn't get through, so we headed off at 8:30 pm and got home in Cuernavaca at 9:30pm. We just took everything out of the car and collapsed into bed for an 11 hour sleep until 9 am breakfast in our pjs on the terrace in 25 degree sunshine.
November, 1999
