Oceanic Ventures, Inc.
The Strange Chronicles
January 2001
30 January 2001 We're back on the boat in Isla Mujeres, Mexico after a long visit to the states for the Christmas holidays. After several months in Belize and Guatemala we were running pretty low on such "luxury" items as pickles, olives, canned tomatoes, etc. So, this morning we went on the first of two or three shopping expeditions to restock the boat. Cancun offers a WalMart, Sam's Club, Ace Hardware and we go crazy buying things we just can't get on most islands.
We choose today because the wind is down from the last few days of 20+ knots and we wouldn't get wet on the dinghy ride to and from the boat. After lingering over a breakfast of left over apple cobbler, we all three piled in the dinghy along with a nice collection of canvas bags and backpacks. By 10:30 we had motored to the dinghy dock and walked the short distance to the water ferry. To our delight, one of the express ferries was just getting ready to leave. In thirty minutes or so we were standing on a street in Cancun wondering how long it would take to catch a number "R-13" bus to Wal-Mart. Again we got lucky and an almost empty bus pulled over where we were standing. It dropped us just across the street from Wal-Mart. Rebecca announced she was hungry so we sat down to a Mc Tajate Felize de Pollo (a McDonald's Happy Meal of Chicken McNuggets). Then we prowled the isles with a long shopping list marveling at all the things we were able to actually cross off and put in our basket. Of course there were many items we didn't find and whole sections of the food isles full of products we didn't recognize. We rolled our overflowing basket to the checkout, paid $1,603 pesos (around $165 US), repacked everything into our canvas bags and hailed a taxi for the ride to the ferry dock. The cruisers radio net is full of such useful information as the normal fare for a taxi ride from Wal-Mart to the ferry dock so we didn't have too much frustration with the driver. "Here's what we'll pay...si...okay let's go." We climbed aboard the water ferry and only had to wait 15 minutes for them to slip their dock lines and head across the bay to Isla Mujeres.
We strapped on our backpacks, hefted our bags and walked the couple of blocks to the dinghy pier. A short, dry ride later and we arrived at Enchante' a bit after 4PM. It took another hour to write the date and contents on all the cans (in case a label comes off from exposure to moisture), vacuum pack all the meats and get everything put away. Of course we had to run the refrigeration, start the engine to charge the batteries and, since the large alternator is putting out ample power, start the watermaker. Finally, by 5:30 we're having a cup of coffee, watching a Disney movie and reheating leftovers for dinner. You might describe this typical day to your friends the next time you explain to them we're cruising on our "yacht".