Mar 13, 2015
Another ordinary day in paradise
We have several varieties of orioles that feed off oranges that we put out for them.
Love our hummingbirds.
Seeing as we are leaving in a few weeks I have decided to stop feeding all the birds. They will need to find food on their own soon.
The snowbirds are heading north bit by bit. This RV has come to stay for several months. By the end of April they will be one of two RV’s left till June.
We went into town last Tuesday and spied this Holland American ship in port. It was the Veendam which we had cruised on years ago in the days before we started to RV.
For the first time ever the panga stopped halfway between the Isla and Mazatlan. No one panicked or even turned to the back of the boat to see what was happening. Colin asked if we had run out of fuel. We had not but there was air in the line. The operator said it was just a small emergency. All of this in Spanish of course. We all laughed and were soon underway.
As we were headed to the Golden Zone we were fortunate to get a pulmonia with a nice large window so we could see were we headed without having to bend our heads.
Colin has decided to ship his guitar to a luthier in Paracho for some repairs. This is his priceless Kohno guitar that he has had since 1972. It is deemed priceless because of the sound. For years now whenever an international guitarist plays Colin’s guitar they want to buy it. The guitar needs to be completely refinished on the outside including new frets and a new finger board mostly due to being played it so much. The back needs to be removed and repaired due to cracks. These came about when we moved from the humid climate of Vancouver to the drier climate of Kelowna.
Paracho is well known throughout both Mexico and elsewhere in the world as hub of lutherie. This is because they are reputed to make the best sounding guitars and vihuelas in all of Mexico. The town is full of music shops that sell handmade stringed instruments. Some instruments that can be found in Paracho are: 10-string mandolins, armadillo-backed guitars (concheros) and mandolins, and acoustic bass guitars, as well as regular classical guitars and mandolins, bajo sextos, vihuelas guitarrons and many others. Many of the stores and workshops allow visitors to watch the guitar-making process directly. This paragraph comes from Wikipedia.
We travelled to Paracho in our RV about 8 years ago and Colin walked the streets looking for a new guitar but none had a sound as rich as his Kohno. While in Culiacan Colin had hoped to meet Abel a luthier he trusts but he did not attend the festival this year. What to do? Should we drive there, should Colin take the bus to deliver the guitar? Finally after much research a solution was found. Eric our RV repair fellow built a box for the guitar.
The guitar was put into the guitar case which was repeatedly wrapped in bubble wrap and then put into the box. Colin then screwed the lid closed. After much debate we shipped it via Estafeta and via air. It was flown to Uruapan, Michoacan and then driven about 16 miles to Paracho.
Does Colin look a tad concerned? The lady at the desk actually called the luthier in Paracho twice to be sure of her facts re his address, etc. She was as worried as we were.
Apparently Abel receives guitars from all over the world to repair and has had three arrive broken due to shipping. He did receive the Kohno within 24 hours and the box appears to be intact. He has not yet opened the box and promises to email us when he does. There is no rush as Colin won’t get his guitar back until next November when we return to Mexico. Likely he will take the bus to pick it up in person so he can review all the repairs in person before he pays for it. The cost will in be around $2000.00USD as far as we know. Of course that can change. Meanwhile Colin does have another guitar to play until he is reunited with his Kohno.
From there we walked over to Panchos for a late breakfast. I liked the sign.
After the food we walked through some of the shops but couldn’t find anything of interest to purchase. We finally walked over to Mega, a large grocery store for the first time this year. I enjoyed the walk and revelled in that I could do it. So nice to be mobile again. Generally we are happy to shop here on the Isla and at the Mercardo in Centro for food. I do bring food stuffs with us but we did not use much of them this season. It was warm all winter and we ate lighter this year. The one thing I wanted at Mega was a package of very very thin wheat bread ( often referred to as Thins ) which I have seen other years, but they did not have it.
It was good to get back to the Isla.
Yet another wonderful end to the day.
Thanks for dropping by.
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My heart was in my throat reading about the guitar’s adventure. I hope it is okay!!!
Question: what do you order for breakfast? I ask because I don’t eat eggs or pancakes, so going out for breakfast isn’t appealing to me unless we go somewhere that serves savoury food like enchiladas first thing in the morning. I’m wondering if there’s an option I’ve overlooked.
Well Rae, if Colin is not worried then all is well. I think the fact that the box was not dented and in one piece helped calm any anxiety. However I still want to have the inside checked sooner than later. As to breakfast, we are egg people and usually have a cheese and veggie omelette when we go out.
I know stuff is just stuff, but I think Colin is handling this better than I would. 🙂
I didn’t realise that you eat eggs! I wish I could eat them (and liked the taste) as the omelette breakkies here look amazing.
It must be hurting Colin to be without his instrument for 2/3 of a year. I guess this will ensure you returning to Mexico earlier next year.
You are correct Rod, we will be returning for certain in November. I do wonder how much Colin is going to miss his special guitar. When he plays the same piece on each of the guitars the sounds are different. No doubt there will come a time when he really will miss it.
I am sure all will be fine with the refurbishing of Colin’s Kohno.
We can only hope George. It will be a long 8 month wait to find out.