Life looks a bit different these days, as we have been living on land for the past few weeks, while Karuna is getting some routine maintenance completed.
We hauled out in mid May at Marina Chiapas and we are fortunate that this specific boatyard allows us to do our own work on our boat, however we are not allowed to stay on the boat while we are out of the water.
Our friends Scott and Tami, on SV Animal Cracker, also hauled out so it made sense for us to get a place together. After checking out a few neighborhoods and using Scott's impeccable negotiation skills, we found ourselves in a 2 bedroom-ish/2 bathroom house, with a pool. The house is about a 15 minute drive from the marina, which means we have become very familiar with the local transportation, as we go back and forth to the boatyard daily.
Our three main modes of transportation are:
Taxi
Rental Car
Combi
The first two options are a bit expensive to use daily, so we find ourselves on combis more often than not. Not only do we have to wait upwards to 45 minutes some days for the right combi to fly by, but the drivers really like to pack us in tight, so it's always an adventure. You never know who or what you'll sit next to. We only wish we could have captured these memorable examples:
A spare tire rolling around
A VERY pregnant woman heading to the hospital
A newborn baby straight out of the hospital
25 pounds of onions
A puppy in a bucket
Random tools and coolers
Raw fish...and recently
Two drunk men, on a VERY full combi in the middle of the day
Here are a few moments we captured when we could actually reach a camera.
Every once in a while, it feels like we won the lottery and we get a new combi with AC, leather seats, and the headliner still intact. Those commutes are amazing and we feel spoiled.
When we feel less adventurous, have laundry, or get tired of waiting for a combi, we take a taxi. Just like the combis, the taxis range from new to very old. Sometimes the doors don't work, or you can see the ground through the floorboards, or there was the time the driver graciously handed back the one window handle for the car, so we could take turns rolling down our windows.
Hands down if you ask, Doug, Scott, Tami, and I about our most memorable transportation experience, it is when a very old and small taxi stopped and told the four of us to get in. It was great timing, however he already had an elder customer in the front seat and the four of us had no intention of squeezing into the backseat, so we thanked him and continued walking. The taxi proceeded past us, but shortly after, turned around. He circled back to us and stopped. I kid you not, the elder gentleman in the front seat got out, the taxi driver popped the trunk and explained to us that the old guy would ride in the trunk and he wanted us to get in the car. It took a split second to process what he was saying which we all simultaneously responded with " ohhh no no no no, that is not necessary!!!". The elder passenger and driver insisted, but the four of us could not go along with their plan. With one foot in the trunk, we convinced the older gentleman we were not having him ride back there. Thank goodness a combi pulled up at the exact moment and the taxi driver paid the combi fare for the older gentleman, so he could take us. We have had lot of crazy commuting adventures, but we have had to draw the line somewhere, and for us, it was putting an old guy in the trunk.
When we rent the occasional car, it feels like Christmas and recently our friends on Azure lent us their moped for a few days while they were out of town, which was absolutely amazing! If we could figure out how to sail around with a moped, we would seriously consider buying one.
Living on land has been a bit of a cultural shock for us all and having such a long daily commute has been quite the ordeal some days, but it's definitely added to the experience. Everyday when we leave the house, we wonder what we will get. If we didn't have such a long commute, we would take on of these three wheeled motorcycle carts, but we save those for our shorter commutes.
Next up, we continue working on our boats and take an awesome rum tour!
*Photo Credits to Scott and Tami, who also helped name the blog*
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