Dropped Dad Off...

Today started off pretty sad for me because I had to take my Dad back to the airport so he could fly back home. Back into the grind, back to work and back to reality. We spent an awesome week together surfing, exploring and just hanging out. I got to show him a very cool and beautiful place in Mexico and I got to show him a little of the life that I love so much down here and I hope that maybe now he understands me a little more.


Dropping him off this morning I was filled with sadness and yet there was a twinge of excitement to be back on my own once again. Truthfully I will only be “on my own” for 24 hours as a good friend of mine who lives here in Punta de Mita will be arriving tomorrow and my buddy Joe will be here in 5 more days. Still, my father will be missed and Im happy he was able to come and share this with me.

Driving back to Punta de Mita from Vallarta I stopped at Walmart to try and get some wheel locks for my rims. These are something I should have purchased awhile back but totally forgot and now Im scrambling to get my wheels secured. I bought a set and tried them on the car in the parking lot only to find they were too small. I returned them and searched the others for the right size using one of my lug nuts as a guide but I wasn’t able to find anything. I will check some rim and tire shops tomorrow as today is Sunday and everything is closed.

I stopped by a restaurant where some friends work and talked with them for a bit. One of the guys working there, Alvaro is from Argentina and we got on the topic of spear fishing with snorkel gear. He told me how the other morning he snagged a 4lb fish off the reef out front with his Hawaiian sling. I got inspired and quickly grabbed my gear and ran to the beach. He gave me an overview of the reef under water and what route is usually the best to swim back and forth and a few special features to check like under water crags and overhangs. I donned my gear and waded out into the surf and started methodically checking the rocks next to the jetty. I saw a huge array of reef fish but nothing I thought was worth shooting especially for food. I checked all over the place but I just couldnt find anything worth taking its life for food. I saw all kinds of reef fish though, eels, ribbon fish, puffer fish and a huge array of the colorful little guys you see in aquariums.

I finally got into a school of fish I thought were worth shooting at and I believed to be edible. I fired a few times with the new technique Alvaro showed me and I was missing badly. I finally saw a good looking fish, sighted in and BOOM, I had him! I pinned him to the sea floor as my sling does not have barbs and often a fish can fight there way off of the spear tip. I felt the fish fighting to free himself and the spear jerked in my hands. I could feel every movement me made as he desperately tried to save himself but I held fast and kept him pinned to the floor. Alvaro dives with a knife to finish the fish off that he catches so I was unsure what to do at this point so I tried to surface with him and he got off! He was swimming very crooked and I shot again and nailed him, this time dealing the card of death to him. I felt amazed at my feat and yet saddened when I surfaced with him to learn my first lesson of spear fishing. My mask had increased his size in the water by easily 40%, so my fish was a baby of about 6 to 7 inches… not even a pound I bet. I killed this poor fish for nothing but it was a vital lesson of this new form of fishing.

I kept hunting for another but I found only one and I made sure he was of accurate size. I found this guy swimming along lazily and he was about 3 or 4 times the size of the last fish I had shot! I dove under and pulled my sling tight in my hand, rubber band stretched to the max. I held it out in front of me like a rifle and I slowly eased towards him. For the first time I could I feel the rush of the kill taking over me. I could feel my heart beating rapidly and I noticed my senses all numbing down to what was essential for that moment. I was a hunter and this was my prey. I eased in for the shot and he turned and swam and I gave pursuit but my lungs were beginning to burn and my body cried for oxygen so I resurfaced for a breath, dove hard and never found him again.

I just woke from a great nap and now I must go hunt for a cheap dinner as I cannot afford to spend too much money and in Mita that’s very easy to do. The average plate here in this town at a restaurant will set you back at least $14usd and I cannot justify that. Im waiting for a few taco stands to open or I will goto plan B and just eat some fruit tonight until I can get to a store and pick up a few items to live on. Im reworking the van at the moment and Im getting some ideas for better storage by moving the water tanks under the van and secured to the frame. Ill have to have some mounts built but it shouldn’t be too bad. The van is just to cluttered for me right now and I hate the way it is. Its very difficult to move around and stay organized and clean at the same time. On another note, when I picked up my dad my passenger side window got stuck all the way down and the motor refused to operate anymore. I quickly disassembled the door and tested the electrical connections to the motor and it showed I had a solid 12volts all the way to the motor. The next morning I went to a window and windshield shop and a kid of about 17 years old worked fast to repair my window. The motor was fine but the window was jammed, hence why the motor refused to do anything. He realigned the window and reassembled the internal raising mechanism for a total cost of $13usd. They quoted me $75usd to have both doors converted back to manual if I get tired of the electrical crap. I love Mexico!