Today we went into town with our friends, Sam and David, to do some very important work for the police dept. of the town. Yesterday, we learned from our new friend Isabel, who lives here in Turtle Bay, with her husband Russell, and their beautiful baby girl, Faith, that the local police dept. doesn’t have even basic first aid knowledge. We were shocked to hear this! They don’t even have a working ambulance, or appropriate medical supplies. They have one health clinic in town, (very small, and very basic) that provides service only to those with their membership, which is $300 per month, or more for the average Mexican family. Most families don’t have this insurance, as they can’t afford it. This facility absolutely WILL NOT see you, if you don’t have their insurance. It doesn’t matter if there was a major car accident, or heart attack, stroke….you WILL NOT be seen if you don’t belong to their group. So, the average family, just does what everybody else does, they pray nothing serious will happen to them, and when and if it does, they travel to the nearest hospital, which is 4 hours away. The townspeople (Isabel, and her friends) have started a co-op, in which a group of people get together, and try to solve problems according to the needs of the people. When our friends, Sam and David heard about this, Sam immediately volunteered to teach a basic first aid class, to the school, and also to the police dept. We volunteered to help as well. First, Sam and I headed into town with Isabel, to purchase some fabric, to make cravats with. (these are for making a sling, tourniquet, or for tying a splint) They only have one fabric store in town, with a very nice lady who runs it, out of her home. She was kind enough to give a “discount” since it was for charity.
After purchasing the fabric, we went to Isabel’s mother’s home (Maria) and cut them out and stitched them. Maria was so wonderful to allow us to use her home, not only for the sewing, but also for the class, which was to follow.
Then we started the class, at 4 pm, ALL of the police officers for the town, were present. We had a total of 8 in the class. Sam, instructed them in basic information; choking, bleeding, shock, broken bones, how to use the cravats, and things you can use, that may be around, if you don’t have the proper supplies, such as sticks for splints, etc.
They were all soaking it up, like a sponge! It was great! They were so appreciative to us, for taking our time to teach them, just the simplest of things. David and Sam, even left one of their battery operated blood pressure machines with them. It was a wonderful way to spend a day!
Friday Nov. 4, 2011
I went fishing today!! Last night, after we were learned how to fillet a yellowtail, Russ told us that Isabel’s uncle, was looking for someone to take fishing with him. So, Neil and David told Sam and I that we could go. Hector picked us up around 7 am, in his panga, and off we went. It was a pretty overcast morning, so he told us the fishing wasn’t going to be as good. We totally didn’t care, we were just excited for yet another fun experience! It sure didn’t take long though, I swear, not 5 minutes after he had our poles rigged, I got a bite. Man! It was a fighter too! That fish took me over 10 minutes to reel in. He was mui fuerte!!! (very strong) I landed him though…thanks to good ‘ol Hector…lol. Hector said the fish was probably around 9 kilos, which is around 25 lbs or so!!??!! Wow!! I was super stoked!
Not long after I reeled my fish in, Sam got a hit. She didn’t have as much line out, (or her fish just wasn’t as strong as mine…tee hee) because it didn’t take as long for her to get him in. Her fish was about the same size as mine, actually. We called them the “twins” Hector was right though, not very good fishing that day, as those were the only two bites we got. So, we headed back to the boats. Sam and I thanked Hector, and offered him some pesos for taking us out there, and teaching us the ropes. We also gave him one of the fish, because there was no way for either of us, to be able to keep that much meat on board. Russ and Isabel, were kind enough to allow Neil and I to keep our half of the fish in their freezer on shore, as Sam and David, do have a little freezer on their boat. Later that evening, Neil and I grilled a couple of fish steaks on the bbq. I used achiote paste, and orange juice to marinate them in, with just a touch of garlic, they were delicious! Yep….it was another great day in Turtle Bay!!
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| Uncle Hector |
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| I'm telling ya...he was a real fighter!! |
Saturday, Nov. 5, 2011
We keep thinking that there is no way, that the new day could top the previous one, but…
We were wrong again!
Today we went with Isabel’s sister Shina (Shee-nah) to their fish camp “campito”. She had invited us last night, as a thank you for teaching them the first aid stuff. Russell and Isabel had already left for the camp, and were there already, but had said for the four of us, to use their other car, to follow Shina out there. Can you believe it?? These people trusted us (strangers, essentially) with their car?? We were shocked and amazed! This would NEVER happen in the states!? We were so excited to head out though, and we did, around 10:30 am, we followed Shina out to the camp. Shina’s husband, Umberto works there as a lobster fisherman. It’s a very small camp on the point of a small peninsula, not more than 30 minutes from Turtle Bay. There are about 10-11 very small, very rustic homes on the camp. Shina and her husband had a very nice, “camp home” they had built there.
We looked over the scenery, just trying to take it all in. It was so beautiful! We also watched the local fishermen do their thing, they’re such hard workers!
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| Lobster Traps |
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| Hard working Fisherman |
When we got back to Shina’s house, we offered to help her in the kitchen, and she of course said, it wasn’t necessary, but we insisted. Saying that we wanted to learn how the locals prepared their food, etc. She laughed and said, that was okay then. J
It was so fun cooking with them in their kitchen! We learned some very yummy things. First, we learned to fry lobster. This is something Neil and I had never heard of doing. It was so cool how she did it though, just a little Mexican oregano, salt and pepper on the tail she had cut in half, then turned them into the frying pan with some vegetable oil, for about 5 minutes, until they started to get a nice golden brown, then she turned them over (shell side down) and let them finish cooking for about another 10 minutes or so. She said, this way, they don’t lose their natural juices. We also got to help her make the “caldo de rez” (beef soup) which was unbelievably tasty, yet was so darn simple! (Recipe will follow)
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| lobster tails, cut in half |
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| frying, flesh side down |
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| (from left to right) Shina, Isabel, Neil |
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| frying shell side down |
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| caldo de rez |
Caldo de Rez
1 lb. of carne (flat meat, beef) cooked thru, then cut into pieces
1 chayote (potato like, squash) diced
2 C. baby carrots
2 potatoes, diced
1 corn on the cob, cut into 4 pieces
1 lg. onion, diced
2 tomatoes, diced
1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped
1 C. rice (un-cooked)
2 tsp. vegetable oil
5 cloves of garlic, minced
2 qts. water
2 T. chicken boullion powder
salt & pepper to taste
Place the water in a large stock pot, then add the minced garlic, and a little salt. Set on high heat to boil. Add the potatoes, and chiote, first, and cook for 5 minutes. Now add the carrots, and the corn on the cob. In a seperate bowl, place the diced onions, tomatoes, and cilantro. In a small skillet, with the vegetable oil, saute the onions/tomatoes mixture, along with the un cooked rice. Stir continuosly until the rice is slightly brown, then add to the soup. Then add the chicken boullion, and salt and pepper to taste, and let the soup simmer on low for about 20-25 minutes, or until the rice is tender.
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I had made a devil’s food chocolate cake, the night before, that we brought with us, to share. So after the lobsters were done, and the fresh guacamole, etc. we set to eating our lobster tacos. They were DELICIOUS!!!! I can’t even describe how fresh, and wonderful they were….I don’t even care for lobster that much, usually, and I totally LOVED it! They took the lobster meat out of the shell, placed it into a nice freshly grilled tortilla, then spread mayonnaise on it, then finished it off with some fresh chile. That was it, nothing to it! Yet soooo wonderful! Thankfully they loved the cake too, though it hardly compared to the tacos by a long shot! Neil and David also had the opportunity to help Russell put up a lattice fence around Shina's porch. They did a really good job too. The children were so fun to spend time with, as well, especially since we’re missing ours, and our grandchildren. Shina’s oldest daughter Kitsia (Kit-see-ya) has downs syndrome, and she was being Sam’s (the “gringa’s) “professor de Espanol” that day. She would read in her book, and tell Sam to say it back to her, and if she didn’t get the pronunciation perfect, she would say “no, do it again!” LOL, it was so cute!
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| (from left to right) Faith, Kitsia, Kristi |
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| Beautiful Kitsia! |
Once again, we had a day to top the rest! It was so fun, just seeing how happy, and content these wonderful people are! We are enjoying their hospitality, and their example of what it really means to behave like a Christian. We were accepted into their family, with open arms and smiling faces!
Thanks to our Father in Heaven for blessing us with this great experience!!
Sunday Nov. 6, 2011
Today we just slept in, and lounged around the boat. It was great! We were hoping to go to the local LDS branch, but found out it isn’t so “local” (about 114 miles away) so we decided to just have church onboard….lol. It was nice, Neil read a talk from conference, and we even sang a song. Other than that, we just had a lazy day. I made crab and corn chowder for dinner, and it was super yummy, if I do say so! (Recipe to follow)
We’re planning to refill water tanks tomorrow, and because we’re still having a fuel filter problem, they are bringing the water to us. Hopefully the new fuel filters will be here in few days. That’s pretty much it for today.
Corn & Crab Chowder
1 can crab meat
1 can corn
2 cooked potatoes, peeled & diced
1 med. onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
16. oz. of heavy cream
16 oz. chicken stock
1/4 C. butter or margarine
2 T. flour
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
salt & pepper, to taste
Make a roux, by placing the butter in the bottom of a heavy pot, until completely melted, and just starting to bubble, now add the flour, and whisk in until completely smooth. Continue whisking until the roux becomes very lightly brown, in color. Now add the stock and the cream and stir well. Once you've combined the roux with the liquids, you can now add the crab, corn, potatoes, and spices. In a small skillet, saute the onions and garlic, in just a little oil, then add to the soup. Let simmer on low, stirring occasionally for about 10-15 minutes. Enjoy!
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