14. Crocs in the Marina

Slowly recovering from our bouts of Norovirus, we (and by we, I mean Eitan) decided the boat work must go on! We needed to modify the existing binnacle, where the wheel attaches to the helm, to accommodate the future hydraulic steering system. Since La Cruz is on the outskirts of the Puerto Vallarta area, the fabricators asked if it was possible to move to Marina Vallarta which is a little more central to the city and closer for them to access the boat. Eitan was able to secure a slip at Marina Vallarta, so we motored the few hours it took to get there and later began dismantling the steering system.

We spent the week working on more boat projects and enjoyed the central location of the new marina, which was within walking distance of Walmart, the mall, and several different restaurants. The marina itself was not as nice as the one in La Cruz and only had one restroom and shower location which was a 15-minute walk from our boat. Seeing signs for “Peligro Cocodrilos, Brohibido Nadar”, Abbey and I thought this was a joke to prevent people from trying to swim in the marina. We soon found out that the marina did, in fact, have a couple of resident crocodiles! We named the biggest, and most frequently seen, croc Herbert and visited him daily.

Towards the end of the week, Eitan surprised us with some big news and a change of plans. With the COVID outbreak escalating in Southern California, he was offered a contract to help relieve the overworked medical staff and work as a nurse in a COVID unit for 20 days. In doing so, he would make three times his normal pay as a paramedic. He took the position and would have been crazy not to. With an unexpected three weeks of downtime, Connor, Abbey, and I discussed plans for the time off. Connor and Abbey decided to travel across Mexico, in hopes of making it to the Yucatan Peninsula and the Caribbean Sea. I decided that this was probably the best opportunity for me to fly home for a couple of weeks, especially since we were walking distance from the airport and the US announced a new requirement for COVID testing for all international flights starting by the end of the month. I booked a relatively inexpensive flight and began my self-isolation period on the boat before departing for home.

My two weeks at home went by quickly and were primarily spent catching up with family and friends. I also spent time collecting enough stuff to fill two suitcases with things I have come to realize that I need on the boat, like sweatpants, blender, foam roller, etc., etc. I also asked the crew if there was anything they needed to order on Amazon, that they could send it to me and I would bring it back to the boat. A couple of days before I returned, Connor and Abbey informed us that the backpacking lifestyle suited them and they would not be coming back to the boat, only returning to collect their things. After months of seasickness, traveling on land was a better fit for them anyway. Eitan and I began coordinating advertising efforts for the replacement crew positions in an effort to secure someone before the Pacific crossing in April.

I returned to Puerto Vallarta with two suitcases and a duffel bag full of a random assortment of goods. Naturally, I looked quite suspicious to the customs agents who quickly pulled me aside to search my luggage. In preparation for their backpacking adventures, Abbey had ordered pepper spray and a small taser for personal protection which I was delivering back to the boat for her. Apparently, these are illegal and considered weapons in Mexico and were the most exciting things to have arrived at customs that day, as I was surrounded by other curious customs agents. After a handful of questions, I readily agreed to surrender the illegal contraband and waited over an hour as they filled out the paperwork. I was finally able to leave the airport. It was good to be back onboard and back to work on the remaining boat projects. Now we’re searching for our new crew members!