Grateful to be safe in Ensenada.

Tropical storms and hurricanes have slammed the Mexican “Riviera del Pacífico” quite badly recently. First La Paz was hit, and next hurricane Otis appeared out of nowhere to trash Acapulco with category 5 force. The different weather systems hadn’t seen this one coming, which added to the devastation. Acapulco lies in ruins and the local Tijuana newspaper is not too impressed with the support coming from the government. The hurricane season officially ends on November 30^th.

We on the other hand, had an uneventful crossing of the nautical US-Mexican border and we were looking forward to winding down for the season in Marina Coral, Ensenada. Mexican bureaucracy however, had other plans in store for us.

As a result, we found ourselves pretty wound up again for the first couple of days. We prefer not to dwell too much on the problem -potential fines! confiscation! hell & damnation!- as it is too silly to put into words. It all came down to the dinghy not being mentioned on the original TIP (Temporary Boat Importation ) we had received from the authorities in Chiapas almost 3 years ago. The solution to this problem required me to get on a bus for a two-hour ride from Ensenada to Tijuana, to a place called “La Línea” still on the Mexican side of the border.

At “La Linea”, you get off the bus to wait in a two-hour queue to reach the US immigration officers on foot. It felt somewhat like waiting in line to enter a famous music festival, with people on all sides striking up conversations and making jokes about the situation. Along the queue, small food stalls sold tacos, churros, bottles of water and candy. A young guy playing his guitar while crooning Mexican love songs managed to collect quite a generous amount of money from the friendly and appreciative crowd. Beggars, many of them disabled or blind, moved through the crowd offering chiclets in exchange for some pesos or US quarters. Most people dropped coins in the beggars’ buckets without taking the chiclets. Once I got through to the other side, it was just a ten-minute walk to an office where US professionals have made it their business to help sort things out for a reasonable price. For some reason, they also needed my fingerprints. All in all, it was quite the experience. Unfortunately, this was only the first phase of the dizzying bureaucratic merry-go-round that My Captain had to endure once I got back in Ensenada. I did accompany him for moral support. 

In between paperwork hassles, we continue to groom the horse. This time I cleaned out all the closets, and My Captain busied himself with the caulking. It was a hell of a job, once again proving that the devil is in the details. Together, we are now polishing the stainless steel railings, cleats, and supports. Our fellow boaters are offering us cleaning jobs on their vessels as well. But we kindly decline. We don’t want to compete with the locals.

Also, now that we are no longer tangled up in red tape and with O2 getting more and more in shipshape condition, we rather enjoy all that the fancy Marina Coral has to offer. And that’s quite a bit. At times, one might forget to be on Mexican soil altogether, what with all the English being spoken and the aroma of papas fritas wafting out over the water.

As it happened, NORRA (the North- American National Off Road Racing Association which organizes Baja rallies) had also just completed its four-day rally from Ensenada to San Felipe and back. The award ceremony took place in the “Cervecería” next door to our marina. The place was filled with boisterous Americans hugging each other in between fork loads of hamburgers, tacos and fries. It was quite the vibe. But all it took to set us straight was a leisurely stroll along the Malecón. 

We enjoyed the fish market , aka Mercado Negro, but we found big parts of downtown Ensenada to be a bit of a tourist trap with shop holders inviting you in to sniff the leather and admire the uninspiring trinkets and restaurants that shove menus in your face. But a simple “gracias” allows you to carry on in peace and the “aguachile verde con camarones” was to die for.

Next week, the festivities for Día de Muertos will take place. It is Mexico’s exuberant annual Feast for the Departed which has been added to UNESCO’s list of the “Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity”. The first time we experienced it firsthand was in Bandeiras Bay, La Cruz.

After all, “death is just a symptom that there was life”, to quote a popular South-American writer. And you can leave it to Mexico to turn a commemoration of beloved dead people into a celebration of life. We are looking forward to joining the crowd.