Date: 6/28/2009

Location: Marina Real - San Carlos Sonora Mexico

Weather: Hot, 90+ ° and 70% humidity

We had all the varnish stripped off the boat this week. It was not a job I wanted to do in this heat. We hired a local worker that had approached us when we first arrived about doing work on the boat. I asked around the other boaters and he seemed to have a good reputation so I asked him to give me a quote on stripping the varnish. He told me a price but then came back after the first day with a higher price and said I must have misunderstood him the first time. I would have fired him on the spot but I had already given him half the price as an advance and didn't want to lose that so I gave in. Lesson learned, always get the price in writing so there can be no misunderstanding.

We're not going to varnish or otherwise finish the teak, just let it go natural and turn a nice gray. We've seen other boats and some Nordhavns with gray teak and think it looks nice and in this heat varnish is too difficult to keep up. The key to good looking teak, decks or cap rails, is to keep it clean by washing it with a gentle soap like Joy using a soft brush and then rinse with salt water.

We got our car from Tucson and had no trouble getting through the Mexican customs at the boarder despite the fact that we had the back of the Jeep stuffed with things. We showed them some receipts and asked how much we needed to pay but they just waved us through. The Sonora area down to Guaymas is a 'no hassle zone' for bringing a car in so we didn't need any import documents to drive down here, if we go further south then we'll need a temporary import permit for the car. We drove up to Hermosillo this week and went to Costco. It looks just like the stores in the states. Hermosillo in just over an hours drive from San Carlos and we wanted to buy some cheese and lunch meat so we bought a small cheap styrofoam chest and a bag of ice to carry the items back. Even with the A/C in the car it was a little too warm and too long of a trip to carry meat that long in the car. Hermosillo is a large town and has a Costco, WalMart, Home Depot, and lots of large Mexican stores so we'll be able to get everything we need, or want.

We're having fun here although it's getting hotter every day. Weather Underground said it was 106° yesterday although we only showed 91° at the boat. The humidity outside is above 70% but with the A/C on the boat we keep the inside temp below 80° and the humidity below 60% so it's comfortable. It's just when you have to go outside and when you first get into the car that's been parked in the sun that's a killer.

We have lots of projects to keep us busy for the summer. We should be going back to Tucson in a week to pick up some more boat stuff, this time new VHF and SSB antennas, so that will be fun.