The simultaneous sunrise and moonset on Saturday December 10, 2022
Since we didn’t have to make water this morning, Eric only ran the generator for an hour and a half to charge the batteries and make enough hot water for showers and dishes. Eric did some chores: changed generator oil and filter, changed water maker filter, and took the oil to the recycling area.
We also defrosted the freezer/refrigerator combo unit in the companionway (hall). All three of our Vitrifigo units tend to ice up quickly and need to be defrosted every two or three months. It is probably worth noting that we have the freezer unit in the salon (living room) turned off since we are low on frozen food and the refrigerator in the galley (kitchen) is still broken.
Yesterday, we’d been pleasantly surprised to find out that the boat tied up in front of us was a family with a child onboard about Keith’s age. In the afternoon, we went to the resort’s beach with them.
Ferry heading into the terminal at sunrise on Monday, November 28
This morning, we got Kosmos ready for sea and lifted anchor at 1000. It was a two hour ride to Playa La Bonanza, located on the east side of Isla Espiritu Santo.
The anchorage was a stunning perfect crescent with sparkling white sand against a backdrop of hills. Looking towards the north end of the anchorage.
On Friday, November 18, the crescent moon was still shining brightly even as the day dawned.
Oceananigans in the glow of sunrise
Eric was eager to refill the tanks and dive again, so he spent some time in the early morning working on the dive compressor. He took apart the part he believed to be broken to the best of his ability to see if it could be easily fixed, lubricated it and put it back together. Still not working. He gave it Mike on Oceananigans, who also took it apart to look at it. It sounds like Mike didn’t do anything much different than Eric did, but after he returned the part, the compressor was kind of working. However, there seems to be an issue with another part.
The wind died in the morning, and the tiny flies came out to the boat. The tiny flies didn’t bite, but they were super annoying as they tended to gravitate towards the eyes, ears and nose. We got Kosmos ready to go to sea and pulled up anchor at 10:45.
Our plan was to do our chores, go snorkeling, and then go to shore for dinner. Somehow, the day disappeared. By the time we were ready to go snorkeling, it was so late in the day that it was already time to go to shore! The wind was still strong, and it It was chilly enough that we needed long pants and long sleeves for warmth (as opposed to bug protection, which is why we’d sometimes worn long sleeve or pants on warm/hot days). Here was the sunset, taken from the beach in front of the restaurant.
Sunrise on Friday, October 28, looking at the channel from the edge of the docks
On Friday morning, Eric flushed the grey water tank. Then he filled up the tank and added Seazyme, an enzyme that dissolves some of the bio-solids that tend to build up in tanks. He turned off the pump for a day so Seazyme had time to do its thing before being pumped out.
It has taken us a while to figure out how to keep the smell from our grey-water tank under control. While the things that go into grey-water tanks aren’t as inherently gross and smelly as what goes into blackwater tanks, things such as hair and toothpaste tend to get stuck in the tanks, build up and smell bad. It actually creates a grey sludge. In the past, we’ve mentioned a few things that help, such as doing laundry at sea and turning off the pump so that warm, soapy water sloshes around and helps clear out some of the icky stuff that builds up in the bottom of the tank. Seazyme is another trick that we’ve learned. (Side note: in 2021, we did a major overhaul of both the blackwater and grey-water tanks, which has also helped with the smell.)
Earlier in the week, we’d told Claire and Phil that we were planning to go to two Dia de Los Muertos parties in Loreto on Friday. We’d mentioned that we were going to rent a car to get to Loreto. Claire and Phil told us that that they wanted to go to the parties, and they had a vehicle and could drive us. How perfect! Claire also offered to take Christi grocery shopping in Loreto on Friday before the parties.
Grocery shopping was uneventful. We’re now pretty well stocked up for a while. Keith and Eric did chores. We’re not sure if we’ve ever mentioned this before, but the drive between Puerto Escondido and Loreto is stunning. The road is hilly and offers spectacular views. This is the ex-pat community just south of Loreto
There wasn’t much time between returning from the stores in Loreto before heading back to Loreto for the parties. Our first stop was Dan, Liz and Drake’s house, where Liz did face painting on all the willing participants.
Initially, Keith was going to wear this as his costume:
