A WEEK IN GHOSTLY SAN JOSE DEL CABO

June 2–3, 2020

San Jose del Cabo wasn't the same. The little restaurants across the street where we usually ate were closed. No sport fishing boats buzzed in and out of the marina. It was dead quiet.  

Cafe El Puerto Was Open for Takeout Only

The mechanics came in the morning to give Jack an estimate on fixing the transmission. That took up most of the morning. Jack and I spent the afternoon trying to determine why the big Kohler generator kept shutting off. It seemed to be overheating. We knew that there was a leak in the cooling water hose. We removed all the side panels and replaced several loose and broken hose clamps. We eventually managed to stop all the leaks, but the generator continued to run hot, although it took a little longer to overheat. We decided to leave opening up the water pump to check the impeller for another day.

The Big Kohler Generator

Jack wasn't happy with the time estimate to remove and replace the transmission. No work could proceed until a contract was signed. They eventually decided on a time and materials arrangement.

This prompted Jack to set about cleaning the bilge himself. We vacuumed about seven gallons of oil and water out of the bilge and then mopped up the remainder with oil absorbing pads to prep the area for the mechanics to work there the following morning. That, alone, saved $450.

Leslie made blackened mahi mahi for dinner and then we all watched a couple of more episodes of the terror.

The mechanics came early on Wednesday. Having had the transmission out once before, Jack knew exaxctly how to remove it. They started by looking at the damper plate, which had been the point of failure in Zihuatanejo. The damper plate was still intact. The next item to be investigated was the pump. The mechanics removed that and took it to the shop for testing. Unfortunately, there was nothing wrong with the the pump.

Leslie and I walked into San Jose del Cabo in the late morning. It was a couple of miles' walk and it was already hot out. Leslie needed to visit a pharmacy and we needed to buy more special cat food for Marina who was still suffering from constipation. We had hoped to find a Scotiabank and a grocery store, but both were located outside of town and too far away for walking. I also hoped I could get my hair cut, but the salon I had visited the previous year was closed.

Art District Deserted

Pet Supply Emporium

San Jose del Cabo was mostly closed. The pharmacies and convenience stores were open, but only a few of the restaurants were open for takeout. The art district was deserted. We walked through much of the town on the way to the veterinarian/feed store where we purchased Marina's food. Chiapa del Sur was a large operation selling every kind of pet supply. We asked them where to find the nearest grocery store, but they all agreed that we would need to go out to the Walmart. There had been a grocery store in town two years before.

We couldn't find the taqueria that Sean and Samantha had recommended, but we did manage to sneak into the ice cream store and procure a couple of popsicles. They weren't really open, but the door was ajar and they were happy to take our money. We stopped at the Oxxo to get a cold drink and some Diet Coke for Jack and then trudged back to the boat. It was very hot by then and it took the rest of the afternoon to rehydrate.

After lunch, the mechanics came back and removed the entire transmission. Jack followed it up to the shop to see that it was properly packed to be shipped to San Diego for rebuild.

We were at the boatyard's dock, so did not have access to the restrooms/showers or internet provided by the marina. I spent most of the afternoon trying to work on my blog, to no avail. Jack's hot spot was just too slow to upload photographs.

Magic Carpet in SJDC

Sean and Samantha had hired an Uber to take them to some swimming hole inland, so I waited for their return before making dinner. When they came back, we barbecued a huge, Costco-sized arrachera and I fried up peppers and onions for fajitas. We all enjoyed the arrachera. We couldn't stream any video, so watched a movie from Jack's hard drive instead of continuing to watch The Terror. It was warm enough that I had trouble sleeping and had to turn on the fan in my cabin. Leslie had left the door from her cabin to the head open to get air from the portholes forward.

June 4-6, 2020

As soon as Sean and Samantha got up, I ventured out to the Oxxo to buy mineral water and refried beans. For some reason, Jack and Leslie didn't stock beans and I was craving them in the worst way.

Ladder to Nowhere

An electrician came to diagnose our generator and charging problems. He was very helpful in identifying which of the myriad wires went where. Magic Carpet had several banks of batteries, two generators, and various windlasses, winches, bow thrusters, etc., making it much more complex than the average boat. He spent the entire day going through the boat and determined that the starting battery bank was bad and much of the wiring would be better off if configured differently. Jack ordered parts to be shipped back to us when the transmission was returned.

It was a lazy day for me. I vacuumed the cockpit and did a little writing, but mostly just eavesdropped on the electrician and tried to stay out of the way. It was over 90 degrees and I could hardly drink enough liquid. The six liters of mineral water I had bought would not last long.

Sean and Samantha left us in the afternoon. They were headed to Mexico City, which seemed like a horrible idea to everyone but them. The corona virus ran rampant there, but they were young and felt immortal. They would probably be okay, even if they got sick. Samantha had family there. So did I, but I didn't feel this was a good time to visit.

We grilled the remainder of the arrachera and made burritos (with beans) for dinner and then watched a movie from Jack's hard drive collection. We didn't have good enough internet to stream anything.

Friday morning, I got up at 6:00 to go for a run. I set off on my usual route around the marina, along the beach and back up the wash to the road. In the past, I had never encountered locked gates but, this time, I had to climb through barbed wire a couple of times, The sunrise was gorgeous and the air cool. It was good to be back to my normal routine.

Sunrise at the Beach

It was another scorcher outside. I hadn't slept much and got up early, so I napped most of the afternoon. After I rose, I helped Jack work on the big Kohler generator. He removed the inspection plate from the water pump and we were relieved to see that the impeller had lost five of its six blades. That explained the overheating. Removing the rear plate of the heat exchanger revealed the rubber bits from the impeller. It was good to know where they had gone and remove them. I had once experienced a heat exchanger completely plugged by impeller debris. This one was sensibly designed with straight tubes that effectively prevented that from happening.

The Problem with the Generator

Leslie fried up two varieties of mahi mahi for dinner and we watched another movie.

Saturday morning, I got up to walk. I had risen about twenty minutes later and it was overcast, so the sunrise wasn't particularly spectacular. Still, it was nice to walk in the cool, morning air and felt good to return to prowling around in search of photographic material. First, I walked over the hill to see what was going on in the vicinity of the hotel where I usually ate dinner when in port. Everything was closed, including the beach. Next, I took a right at the traffic circle by the Oxxo and followed that road until it entered a gated community. There was nothing interesting out there.

Marina Landscaping

Dredge

I did discover a second break in the cyclone fence surrounding the marina that gave us quick access to the Oxxo from our slip on the service dock. I cut through the marina to the main road (cutting a few kilometers of looping road off my path) and then climbed up the hill to where the giant cross loomed over the marina. By then, it was nearly 8:00 and starting to get warm. I returned to the boat for breakfast.

Jack had a Zoom call with his family, so Leslie and I hung out in the cockpit to give him privacy. She practiced the ukulele on and off and I eventually retreated back into the boat to read and write. It was frustrating not having enough internet to upload pictures for a blog post.

In the late afternoon, I took my guitar out into the cockpit to practice. The marina was eerily quiet, even though it was the weekend when people might have wanted to use their boats.

Sunset Over the Marina

Leslie made Teriyaki chicken, wild rice, and salad for dinner. I tried to get everyone to go for a walk after dinner, but only Marina joined me. She followed me out to the furthest corner of the service docks, hunting for roaches and inspecting the other boats tied there. Together, we watched the sun set behind the cross on the hill.

June 7, 2020

Sunday being my rest day, I tried to sleep in. I still got up long before anyone else and sat in the cockpit, drinking tea. Marina joined me. I tried to take out the trash but discovered that we were locked into the service dock and didn't know the code to get out. Leslie got up first and we refilled the water tank. It was costing us $120 per day to dock there but we had unlimited use of water and electricity. We were making the most of it by running the air conditioning.

Marina in the Morning

When everyone else was up and around, we ran the chain out onto the dock and repainted the depth markings. The old ones were so faded that we couldn't tell how much chain we were letting out when we anchored.

Marking the Chain

We couldn't leave the dock, so there wasn't much to do. Not that there was anywhere to go if we had left. We lounged about the boat all afternoon. I was in the cockpit practicing the guitar when I heard voices. Some people had come to another boat. I scampered over there and obtained the code for the gate. Jack used it to walk to the Oxxo for Diet Coke. None of us were particularly hungry, so we each scrounged our own dinner. I had a hot dog and some pineapple. Then we watched American Gangster, which was surprisingly good. It had been a very quiet day.