Mellow in Melaque.

We sailed into Melaque yesterday.  Actually we motored into Melaque because there was absolutely no wind.  However, about 40 minutes after we arrived a nice 12-15 knot breeze came blowing in from the northwest.  We should have waited an hour or two before we left Tenacatita but it is what it is and here we are in this nice little town that sits between Barra de Navidad and Tenacatita.  The bay is protected by a beautiful rocky reef that extends out to the southwest from the long, coarse sandy beach that stretches all the way down to Barra.  The beaches are lined with palapa restaurants and small hotels. The beach as well as the quaint streets just off of the beach front are crowded with people, mostly wealthy Mexicans that have come here to celebrate the new year.

Today we went ashore with a bag full of laundry and and empty sack to be filled with a few groceries that we are low on.  As we landed the dinghy on the steep sandy beach carefully navigating between two larger swells a Mexican guy came down to the water's edge, rolled up the pant legs of his jeans and helped us drag the dinghy up the steep shore to dry sand above the high tide mark.  A typical showing of Latin generosity.  Most likely had we been doing the same thing somewhere in southern California we would have struggled to drag the dinghy up the beach, just me and Marne, while the vacationers sat on their towels and watched us labor to get the dinghy ashore.  One of the many reasons we love the Mexican people and their beautiful country.

After picking up the laundry we meandered back to the boat, splurged by having some ice in our water and played some rummy cube.  It is pretty warm here with the high today just reaching 100 degrees and the water a very comfortable 81 degrees. The humidity has hovered around 80 percent for the last few days so it feels hotter than it really is.

As I sat in the shaded comfort of the cockpit I looked toward the masses of people on the beach and watched as the pelicans, gulls and other birds were busy flying high above the water looking for fish then diving speedily down into the water to try to capture some food.  Even with the noise and crowded beach, it is peaceful, calm and beautiful.  We are indeed grateful for the experience and all that we are able to enjoy.  Until next time.

SV Liahona
Bret and Marne