November 15th - Surf fishing, steps, and Dorado at last (but not us)

Nancy was up early this morning, to catch dawn and high tide, and to try out her new surf fishing setup.  Unfortunately, there was a learning curve, in that casting techniques are somewhat different (bird-nest line in the reel), and that you should wear your shoes at all times (stepped on a thorn).  You know Nancy; she spent 10 minutes fixing her line, had a quick casting technique consult with our helpful and experienced neighbour Jack, and back down to the surf she went.  She spent about an hour casting, no fish, but the surf rod technique conquered.

I knew our retractable door steps had had a previous issue as there was rust on the metal side straps where they had been flexed significantly enough to shed the paint.  Everything had been straightened and it worked fine, however after a month of continuous use, the strength wasn't there, and things distorted enough that the steps needed an assist in order to retract fully.  We retracted them, shut them off (Thanks, Teri), and temporarily put our light plastic steps in place.  I measured things up, drew a plan for a simple wooden step replacement, then talked with El Jefe, Antonio, about getting a carpintero to build us a set.  (Cudo's to patient Antonio as he suffered through my attempt to request this en español)  He said he would call him and have him drop by.  I also had a talk with our friend Dave, who had a more complicated saga than you'd think, having a set of stairs built last year, in an attempt to circumvent same.

The carpinteria is just north of the Rincon Pemex on the east side of the highway, behind La Cabanita Cocina Economica.  (If you look closely, you can see some of his wood supply to the left).  Plywood is uncommon, and even dimensional lumber is rare.  The required sizes are cut out of larger rough stock as required.  We await the visit of the carpintero, and cost/delivery time negotiations.

Dorado

There has been a real scarcity of fish in these parts, even for the commercial fishermen.  We were just saying today that the experienced fishermen in the park were predicting that the cool water of the approaching La Niña would soon improve things.  Nancy heard that there had been a success today, and ran over to take a few shots.

You can tell we're finally coming up to speed here, I started to get restless and want to do some exploring.  I was checking out Google Earth today; time to check out the back roads between here and Chacala...