We sat around and chatted for a while, and then drove down to the lake and put the kayaks in the water. The kayaks are Greenland style sea kayaks, like the Eskimos used. The kayaks are Rafael's design and side business. They are fast and seaworthy, but not terribly stable, at least to somebody used to other kinds of boats.
We paddled along the beach and then continued to the closest island. The kayak felt pretty good paddling, but less stable when one stopped paddling. We discussed going on to the famous monkey island, but decided to turn around and go back. The kayak felt less stable with the waves coming off the rear quarter, as expected, but once we got around the point we got out of the waves. As we got close to where we put in, we stopped to look at the statue of the virgin on a post in the water. Richard relaxed a little too early, and suddenly he was in the water. Rafael was nearby, and has been practicing kayak rescue. They did a "T" rescue, in which Rafael flipped Richard's kayak over to drain the water out, and then pulled the two kayaks side by side. With Rafael's help, Richard was able to climb up onto the kayak and get back in.
They headed in, loaded the kayaks on the trailer, and then stopped for lunch at a waterfront restaurant. The conversation covered a wide range of topics, from the religion of the US founding fathers, to the Cristero Wars of Mexico, to boating. Richard invited Rafael to come to paddle in the USA, specifically on the Green River in Utah. A unique opportunity to paddle a sea kayak in the desert.
Marianne walked on the Malecon, the walkway by the lake, by herself, stopped to talk to Monique and Cliff, and then saw the fearless paddlers. Monique and Marianne continued wandering and shopping, and eating ice cream. They went to the church, where they saw people using a bouquet of flowers in front of the statue of the Virgin. They touched the flowers to the glass, did the sign of the cross, and then ran the flowers all over their body, in a kind of cleansing ritual that probably had more to do with popular belief than Christianity. Remember that Catemaco is famous for witchcraft. In the church, people spoke to them in Spanish, talking about crossing the border, and getting them religious candles. Marianne only understood part of what she was told. An older lady chatted with them and gave them a hug. The people were very nice.
Later, Marianne and Gaby worked on English and Spanish.
Richard went to the next village, Maxacapan, which was having a village fiesta. They were setting up for the bands, but not much else was going on, so Richard decided to head home. The night watchman is from that town, and took off work for the big fiesta.
A nice day. Que dia!
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