Nov. 22-28, 2012 Immigration
This is a compilation of several emails from Alan in Mexico.
Today I went to Pichilingue and got the TIP - Temporary import permit. No hassles at all. Passport, w/ Visa, Documentation and Engine Serial number plus $50 USD.
Rhapsody is now legally in Mexico. Interestingly I could not find the engine serial number anywhere visible on the engine. Probably buried somewhere behind some pump or something. Anyway I found the number or at least a number in amongst the papers, so all is good.
Went to a meeting today with the US Consul General for Baja North & South.
An interesting man. He's been in the State Dept for 30 years and just got back from Afghanistan.
He is now based in Tijuana, so went from one crazy place to another. One thing he said was that we should register with the State Dept. First, then we get emails with their alerts and reports on the status of different areas. He thinks they are really good, because they put a lot of thought into them and are very conservative about what they say, so they really mean it when that say something like don't go there. For instance, Baja Sur is one of the safest places there is, but Juarez is one of the nastiest places. The other thing is we give them our contact info so they can contact Chris & Audrey in case of an emergency or disaster.
An interesting point he said was that the US is finally, for the first time ever, realizing that Mexico is actually important to us. Much more than any other country, including Europe and the Middle East. This started with Bus Senior, but it is a long slow process.. He threw out some numbers re: the amount of money flowing across the border. It was staggering , way more than any other country. Something like $9 Billion every day.....
Most of the people in the meeting were ex-Pats that have been her for 10+ yrs. So I stood up to put in a plug for the sailors and short term visitors. I said we were going to be in Mexico for about a year. His response to me was to be always aware or your surroundings and realize that it will not always be as nice as it is in La Paz. Admittedly this is all State Dept Company Line, but he seemed pretty straight forward. At one point he said he was not legally allowed to say anything negative about any other part of the US Govt....but he doesn't think much about the customs and border people. He has nothing to do with immigration, so could not comment on the Visa situation.
Overall he seemed like a good man.
The deal is they changed all the rules and forms (again) and no one is sure exactly what they are yet.
We currently have Tourist Visas, which are only good for 6 months.
the
question is how do we renew them for another 6 months plus the 3-4
months until March 2014. Do we have to leave Mexico, go to a Consulate
and re-apply? Can we do it in one day, or do you need an appointment
that could take up to 12 days? Or can we just leave for a day and
re-enter the next day? ie: fly to Tijuana, spend the night in San Diego
and fly back the next day.
Apparently there is an alternate way to
get a Visa, (Called 'Regularizing') but it involves getting a hearing
with no guarantee you will actually get it .
Update from Laura
I went to the Mexican Consulate in Los Angeles and was told that as long as we leave Mexico every 6 months we are OK. Apparently we just have to cross some border, anywhere, and have our passport stamped. Then we are free to come back for another 6 months. We'll see how that actually works. Kaiser wants me to come back in 4-5 months for an follow up MRI so that will work out perfect for me. Lan will have to leave by May 8 to be legal.
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Nov 22-Dec 25, 2012 La Paz water maker and other stuff from Alan
The Thanksgiving dinner atthe yacht club here was pretty much what you might think. A bunch of Gringos eating way too much. . It was fun and everyone had a good time. The gravy and dressing were not good, but the turkey was good. Said good-bye to some more boats. I am sure we will run into them again.
Dec 1-22, 2012
Last night we did the "La Paz Waltz" at anchor and came close to the boat next to us. I shortened the anchor chain about 25' which got us further away. I think it was the wind blowing against the Tide which makes the boats go screwy at anchor. Moving into the marina Wednesday, so I will have to stop waltzing....
I am loving the fresh tortillas. getting away from bread. I found out that small Shrimp are a lot more work to eat than large shrimp. The green Peppers and Fruit , Papayas and Melons and Oranges are also great. Been shopping at the Mercado and Tortilleria. Have not even been to a supermarket.
I changed to the intermediate Spanish class, 3 days a week..
I re-rigged the dinghy, so we can tie a painter on. I also set it up to be hoisted. And now it is hoisted up with the whisker pole, to keep it out of the water.
Wired up the last two solar panels and put them on the Mizzen Boom.
The Mizzen Trisail should have arrived on the front porch today. (It arrived and I will carry it back as extra luggage.)
The Water Generator is being shipped to San Diego (again) and will then be escorted across the boarder and sent down here. (This is a device which is towed behind the boat to generate POWER, as opposed to a device which generates water)
I have most of the pieces of the water maker installed. Next is to plumb it ...hook up all the tubing and water lines. Then I have to install the wiring and electric. Found out I bought the wrong kind of Inverter, which means I may have to get another one or go back to getting a portable generator.....I am meeting the water maker guy tomorrow to find out the best approach.
Working on finding a mechanic to look at the engine.
On Dec 22, 2012,
The water maker is working ......at last..I filled up the forward tank in 1/2 an hour....... Yea!,,,!
It tastes great... It makes 40 gal per hour and the heavy metal meter says it is 190ppm, 500ppm is the max safe limit and 300ppm is considered good. Not sure what to do with all this water.., Maybe start taking showers again. The trick is you need to use it or at least flush it every 3 - 5 days. The warmer it is the more you have to use it. Otherwise cool little micro ocean organisms grow in the system. If it smells like rotten eggs, you didn't flush it out enough. Almost enjoyed washing the dishes last night....almost
An observation:
The conversations here with boaters are different. At home cruising was a future thing, a dream, someday or when I get everything ready, or for some something they did in the past. The non-sailors who are afraid to go to Catalina because it's too deep, and can't even imagine what we are doing. Here, obviously, everyone has at least gotten this far and survived, so we are all over the hump and know we can do it.
It's a shift from "Oh My God...!!!" to "So, where you off to next?"
.
Nov 21, 2012 La Paz to Los Angeles
Last morning. I fly home to Los Angeles today for 28 days of radiation treatment to stop the growth of the glomus jugularus (enlarged blood vessel by my right ear). I spend an hour or so packing and repacking the stuff that we have decided that we don’t want on the boat, along with 2 bottles of tequila that Chris requested. Finally everything was ready and we set off in the dingy for the marina office to catch a taxi to the airport. Several other cruisers were also heading for the airport so we had agreed to share a taxi. At the last minute, we decided that there was no reason for Alan to waste our precious pesos going to the airport with me, so after a tearful farewell, I was off on my own.
Alaska is one of the few, if not the only, airline with direct flights from LA to La Paz. Oddly enough, this flight on the day before Thanksgiving was cheaper than any other flight by almost $200. The airport was, as you can imagine, tiny, especially by LA standards. We few from the taxi were almost the only ones checking in. I checked my bag and headed over to the security screening where they opened my bag and informed me that I could not take 2 bottles of tequila as carry on. I have no idea what I was thinking. There I stood, not quite sure what to do but not willing to abandon 2 new bottles of tequila. However, the security screeners asked if I had checked any bags and when I said that I had they handed me the bottles and told me to go back to the baggage check. Highly dubious, I headed back and there was my bag, lying where I had left it with the baggage checkers hanging out chatting. So the bag was opened and the 2 bottles stuffed inside and I headed back to security. This time I was waved right through. And yes, my checked bag with it’s 2 bottles made it to LA just fine.
It was an interesting perspective to fly over the Sea of Cortez and up the Baja peninsula after having sailed down. This part of the sea is dotted with dozens of small deserted islands that look like they would be wonderful dive spots and perfect places to anchor for several days. The land itself is dry and empty, no towns, no highways, nothing green at all until we crossed the US border. They always say that you cannot really see national boundaries on the ground, that they are just lines on a map but in this case, it was a sudden and dramatic change, from dry barrenness to green irrigated fields.
And so I arrived back in LA. After a long wait at the world’s most inefficient customs/border inspection I was finally through. I caught a shuttle bus to Lot C, found my car and headed home to a dark cold house.
Thus endeth phase one of the Voyages of the Rhapsody. Per our stated policy, my adventures in LA will be posted on Facebook and the blog postings with resume when I am back on the boat again in Jan.
Last morning. I fly home to Los Angeles today for 28 days of radiation treatment to stop the growth of the glomus jugularus (enlarged blood vessel by my right ear). I spend an hour or so packing and repacking the stuff that we have decided that we don’t want on the boat, along with 2 bottles of tequila that Chris requested. Finally everything was ready and we set off in the dingy for the marina office to catch a taxi to the airport. Several other cruisers were also heading for the airport so we had agreed to share a taxi. At the last minute, we decided that there was no reason for Alan to waste our precious pesos going to the airport with me, so after a tearful farewell, I was off on my own.
Alaska is one of the few, if not the only, airline with direct flights from LA to La Paz. Oddly enough, this flight on the day before Thanksgiving was cheaper than any other flight by almost $200. The airport was, as you can imagine, tiny, especially by LA standards. We few from the taxi were almost the only ones checking in. I checked my bag and headed over to the security screening where they opened my bag and informed me that I could not take 2 bottles of tequila as carry on. I have no idea what I was thinking. There I stood, not quite sure what to do but not willing to abandon 2 new bottles of tequila. However, the security screeners asked if I had checked any bags and when I said that I had they handed me the bottles and told me to go back to the baggage check. Highly dubious, I headed back and there was my bag, lying where I had left it with the baggage checkers hanging out chatting. So the bag was opened and the 2 bottles stuffed inside and I headed back to security. This time I was waved right through. And yes, my checked bag with it’s 2 bottles made it to LA just fine.
It was an interesting perspective to fly over the Sea of Cortez and up the Baja peninsula after having sailed down. This part of the sea is dotted with dozens of small deserted islands that look like they would be wonderful dive spots and perfect places to anchor for several days. The land itself is dry and empty, no towns, no highways, nothing green at all until we crossed the US border. They always say that you cannot really see national boundaries on the ground, that they are just lines on a map but in this case, it was a sudden and dramatic change, from dry barrenness to green irrigated fields.
And so I arrived back in LA. After a long wait at the world’s most inefficient customs/border inspection I was finally through. I caught a shuttle bus to Lot C, found my car and headed home to a dark cold house.
Thus endeth phase one of the Voyages of the Rhapsody. Per our stated policy, my adventures in LA will be posted on Facebook and the blog postings with resume when I am back on the boat again in Jan.
Nov. 20, 2012, Tuesday, at anchor, Bahia de La Paz
The day starts bright and early, about 7:30, with the sound of mariachi music from shore. Looking across the water, we can see people gathering all along the Malecon. Yesterday was a holiday but today is the parade. It is interesting that when we get on the radio net at 8am, no one knows much about the parade, or seems to care. The announcements shape our day. There is a coffee hour at 9:30 at the Club Cruceros club house at La Paz Marina. We can meet people and find out about getting a slip and a ride to the airport. The at 4:00 there is a welcome party for all of the HaHa boats. Tomorrow is a Thanksgiving dinner at one of the other marinas. I will be on the airplane but Alan is going. He is assigned to bring salad so we need to find a grocery store today and buy lettuce and tomatoes. If we get a chance, I would like to see the parade. Alan does not care about it but I am a sucker for marching bands and horses.
We head off across the bay with our bag of trash from the last week. All of that un-packaging that I did in San Diego has paid off. We had one bag of trash in Cabo and now one bag of trash here. The compostible stuff we shredded and dumped at sea when we were well off shore. After a fair amount of hunting we find the club and tie up the dingy and spend an hour exchanging stories and finding out about the city. It seems like a really nice place. Unfortunately the marina is full and since it is the high season, expects to remain full through March. Alan is sure that he can get all of his projects done at anchor and does not really need a slip. I suspect that he will want shore power at some point to use large power tools. Oh well, I guess he will have to sort that out himself.
It’s funny how much I want to be sure everything is OK before I leave. We have not been apart for this long since he got out of the army. It is going to be an interesting experience for both of us. All of those business trips he took, he never had to think about things like where to stay and what to eat, groceries and cooking. Everything was all taken care of and all of his expenses were paid back.
The main grocery store is 9-10 blocks away from town. As we set out to walk, we run into the staging area of the parade. Remember, the bands started playing at 7:30 this morning. It is now 11:00 and the end of it has not even started moving. I can’t resist, so we abandon the idea of groceries and follow the parade instead.
It looks like the whole town is in the parade. There are dozens of military units, horses, dancing groups in costume. There is an announcer towards the middle of town. My spanish is not that good but she seems to be extolling the military might of the groups and “la gloria del paiz”. The reviewing stand is packed with generals and each group stops to perform which explains why the whole thing takes so long but no one seems to be in a hurry. Bands not only play but stand on each other’s shoulders to create pyramids One group has a climbing wall on a truck and solders climb up one side and repel down the other. The rescue group has one of their group strapped into a parachute and, whenever they get space, they run down the street trying to inflate the chutes and lift the person up. There is never quite enough wind or quite enough room and she only gets pulled up to her toes, not airborne, but they keep trying to loud cheers from the spectators. By the time the parade ends, we have walked all the way to the other end of town.
The parade route is lined with pushcart vendors selling all kinds of interesting looking food. First we get an order of churros. We skip the ice cream and shave ice carts and candy but there is one that I am very curious about. Something is put into a cup and loaded with toppings. I can’t quite tell what it is but it is very popular. Time to give it a try. Turns out to be a concoction called “tosti-elote”. First a snack sized bag of tostitos is cut open lengthwise. Then fresh warm corn kernels are pilled on top of the chips. Then come the toppings; mayonnaise, onions, hot sauce, cheese and lime. With a highly dubious look at each other, Alan and I dig in as the vendor and his buddies look on. It turns out to be quite good, and extremely filling. And so we stroll back along the boardwalk to the club where we can sit and relax and wait until it is time for the party.
This was the official “Welcome Baja Haha Cruisers to La Paz” Party. It was really fun. It was held at a restaurant right on the beach so we just rode the dingy up onto the sand and stepped out to the party. Lots of food, lots of drinks, lots of speaches by all the local dignitaries, mariachi singers, folklorico dancers and finally dancing to a really good band.
Sometime late at night we stepped back into the dingy and headed on back to Rhapsody for my last night
The day starts bright and early, about 7:30, with the sound of mariachi music from shore. Looking across the water, we can see people gathering all along the Malecon. Yesterday was a holiday but today is the parade. It is interesting that when we get on the radio net at 8am, no one knows much about the parade, or seems to care. The announcements shape our day. There is a coffee hour at 9:30 at the Club Cruceros club house at La Paz Marina. We can meet people and find out about getting a slip and a ride to the airport. The at 4:00 there is a welcome party for all of the HaHa boats. Tomorrow is a Thanksgiving dinner at one of the other marinas. I will be on the airplane but Alan is going. He is assigned to bring salad so we need to find a grocery store today and buy lettuce and tomatoes. If we get a chance, I would like to see the parade. Alan does not care about it but I am a sucker for marching bands and horses.
We head off across the bay with our bag of trash from the last week. All of that un-packaging that I did in San Diego has paid off. We had one bag of trash in Cabo and now one bag of trash here. The compostible stuff we shredded and dumped at sea when we were well off shore. After a fair amount of hunting we find the club and tie up the dingy and spend an hour exchanging stories and finding out about the city. It seems like a really nice place. Unfortunately the marina is full and since it is the high season, expects to remain full through March. Alan is sure that he can get all of his projects done at anchor and does not really need a slip. I suspect that he will want shore power at some point to use large power tools. Oh well, I guess he will have to sort that out himself.
It’s funny how much I want to be sure everything is OK before I leave. We have not been apart for this long since he got out of the army. It is going to be an interesting experience for both of us. All of those business trips he took, he never had to think about things like where to stay and what to eat, groceries and cooking. Everything was all taken care of and all of his expenses were paid back.
The main grocery store is 9-10 blocks away from town. As we set out to walk, we run into the staging area of the parade. Remember, the bands started playing at 7:30 this morning. It is now 11:00 and the end of it has not even started moving. I can’t resist, so we abandon the idea of groceries and follow the parade instead.
It looks like the whole town is in the parade. There are dozens of military units, horses, dancing groups in costume. There is an announcer towards the middle of town. My spanish is not that good but she seems to be extolling the military might of the groups and “la gloria del paiz”. The reviewing stand is packed with generals and each group stops to perform which explains why the whole thing takes so long but no one seems to be in a hurry. Bands not only play but stand on each other’s shoulders to create pyramids One group has a climbing wall on a truck and solders climb up one side and repel down the other. The rescue group has one of their group strapped into a parachute and, whenever they get space, they run down the street trying to inflate the chutes and lift the person up. There is never quite enough wind or quite enough room and she only gets pulled up to her toes, not airborne, but they keep trying to loud cheers from the spectators. By the time the parade ends, we have walked all the way to the other end of town.
The parade route is lined with pushcart vendors selling all kinds of interesting looking food. First we get an order of churros. We skip the ice cream and shave ice carts and candy but there is one that I am very curious about. Something is put into a cup and loaded with toppings. I can’t quite tell what it is but it is very popular. Time to give it a try. Turns out to be a concoction called “tosti-elote”. First a snack sized bag of tostitos is cut open lengthwise. Then fresh warm corn kernels are pilled on top of the chips. Then come the toppings; mayonnaise, onions, hot sauce, cheese and lime. With a highly dubious look at each other, Alan and I dig in as the vendor and his buddies look on. It turns out to be quite good, and extremely filling. And so we stroll back along the boardwalk to the club where we can sit and relax and wait until it is time for the party.
This was the official “Welcome Baja Haha Cruisers to La Paz” Party. It was really fun. It was held at a restaurant right on the beach so we just rode the dingy up onto the sand and stepped out to the party. Lots of food, lots of drinks, lots of speaches by all the local dignitaries, mariachi singers, folklorico dancers and finally dancing to a really good band.
Sometime late at night we stepped back into the dingy and headed on back to Rhapsody for my last night
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