Sleeping with the fishes

AB's observations:
We met Mao at his house/the beach sometime after 10p. He rode up on his bicycle. He invited us into his house while he prepared for the trip.

We climbed onto the boat from the beach and went out to sea. I learned many things last night, like how hard it is not to pee all night when all you hear is water thwapping the boat. And how lucky you are if your husband holds your shirt so you don't fall overboard when you can't hold it any longer. "Will you keep me from falling in?" "I'll keep you from floating away." And how the water can seem 10x warmer than the air in the middle of the night on the ocean. And how uncomfortable sleeping on the bow of a panga is...even with blankets. And how having two batteries in the bottom of the boat, surrounded by water, must not be that dangerous after all! And how a sunrise at sea beats about any sunrise around, especially pelicanos swooping in and out of view. And I saw phosphorescent fish! That was pretty cool. (Of course, I didn't bring my camera. Duh.)

Keith and Mao fished a little (by hand) at first. Mao has a fish finder. There were beeps all over the place, but not the right kind of fish for the bait they had. Caught a few little guys. Then rolled it in for some sleep. More like rest. Keith and I shared the bow; Mao fit perfectly across the back bench.

Sometime before sunrise, Keith and I were already awake. The moon was only a sliver full, but you could see the rest of it in shadow. The stars (estrellas) were fading. Mao woke up and downed a can of Modelo. He and Keith pulled net (and pulled and pulled and pulled) and brought in just under 12 kilos of varying species of fish. It looked like a lot of work for very little reward. So I watched the sunrise with the sound of strangling fish in the background, which was a little disconcerting, but the experience as a whole was something that will never be duplicated. We've been very lucky to have these experiences.

This is Keith while we were waiting (for eternity) for breakfast.

KB's observation:

Don't commit to fishing all night when you see your ponga captain on the plaza on Friday night and you're both drunk.

If there is any chance that you might get the opportunity to fish all night don't drink beer all day.

Make sure you eat before you start your all night fishing adventure.

Make sure you have the equipment to be comfortable on an all night fishing trip on a 21' fiberglass ponga while in the open sea.

Make sure you look at the wake of the ponga while you are heading out. Odds are the wake will be glowing.

Learn how to pull chinchero before you get out to sea.

Make sure you have the proper equipment for pulling chinchero so you don't ruin your ropa.

Learn that the chinchero goes out much faster than it comes in.

Congrejos must be dealt with accordingly.

Mind the pica of the jellyfish. The pieces in the net will sting you too.

Remember that the fish are doomed and treat them accordingly.

Always have ballenas on hand for your ponga captain. They will be parched when they awake.

And the most important lesson of all:

IF YOU GET THE CHANCE TO GO FISHING ALL NIGHT, WHETHER YOU ARE DRUNK OR HUNGRY OR WHATEVER....GO...FOR GOD'S SAKE GO...

I will never look at sport fishing the same.

ps.....take some naproxin to Mexico when you plan on fishing.