12/25/12 We had a nice, although very
different Christmas this year. The Sunday before Christmas we
located an English speaking church, very nice people, but we arrived
late and if they sang Christmas carols we missed them. The people
were nice .
The living standards are very different
from the US, the houses are older and the outsides look pretty rough.
But this is Mexico, America many years ago did not have the uniform
disinfected look it has today. So I struggle with whether this is
poverty, or just different standards. We choose to live here, as do
many others because it is so inexpensive to live here. But are we
exploiting poor people?
When I go out, I see gringos
frequenting the little tiendas around here, spending money, I see
shops and stores earning money that support their families. That is
much better than charity in my book. Philo's is a gringo
establishment catering to boaters and expats and has local staff,
many whom are putting themselves through college. The marina is
beautiful and there is a lot of money here. It may look like excess
in an area of poverty, but look closer and you will see employment
opportunities: dock workers, waitstaff, janitors, landscapers,
cleaning staff, etc. There are also a number of small businesses;
tiendas, tortilliarillas, lavandarias (laundries), ice cream stores,
canvas shops, beauty salons, boat repair, boat cleaning, restaurants,
recyclers etc. I cannot know for certain, but it seems logical that
the inflow of money improves the lives of the people here.
Some people seem to view the Christmas
party that included handing out donated gifts to the local children
as gringo paternalism or superiority. I didn't see it that way, it
was a fun to see the children excited about seeing Santa, and I'm
sure more than one person was missing family back home and this was
their way to reach out to kids and share the Christmas spirit.
12/25/12
Long trip across the pacific from Cabo
San Lucas to the mainland. Dropped the anchor at La Cruz around 5am.
It was warm and nice to be in a place we knew we would not be leaving
anytime soon. We had “arrived”, 2 days before Christmas.
This trip we have not made any “buddy
boats”, boats that are going the same direction you are around the
same time. Usually buddy boats become friends and on long passages
loosely travel together. I guess because we made the trip so quickly
we didn't have the opportunity. Now we are in a large group of
cruisers and snowbirds that we hope to establish some relationships.
The anchorage here is nice, however,
we decided to take a slip for Christmas so we could easily Skype
family and friends. I am frustrated by the challenges I am having
connecting to the internet, not sure if it is the computer or the
hotspots, but it is incredibly frustrating. If I don't have internet
access, that is one thing, but if I am supposed to have it I try and
try; restart, unplug, check connections, check with the source etc.
The main point of pulling into a marina is to have good, easy Wi-fi
connections.
We spent Christmas Eve walking around
La Cruz, doors to homes were open as well as gates so we were able to
see how this Mexican village celebrates Christmas. There were
Christmas decorations as well as trees and lights. That is not to
say they looked anything like the grand displays found in the US.
The homes here are basic, with cement floors and would probably be
considered the poorest of the poor in the US. They are clean and the
people here seem happy, when we attempt conversation in Spanish, they
respond with smiles and are happy to wish us a buen dia, or Felice
Navidad.
We are living a dream it is true, but
like any dream, there is a cost. I miss my family and wish I could
be there with them to enjoy Christmas, but at lease we have Skype to
be able to see and talk to everyone.
Today we will go to Philo's for a
cruisers Christmas dinner, I believe around 200 people will be there
and they have collected over 700 gifts for Santa to give to the local
children.
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