Jakes Birthday

Cinco De Mayo was Jake’s birthday and when Judy was doing our laundry Cindy stopped by to invite us over for cake. After finishing the laundry and returning it to the boat we went over to their boat in the yard and joined them. Jake was installing a new set of wheels on his inflatable, so I gave him a hand and even though I steadfastly refused to get near that damned 5200, I still ended up with some on my hands. I hate that crap, but it is a necessary evil at times. I use Butyl tape in its stead whenever possible. It is much more user friendly.


After putting away the tools used for the mounting of his new wheels we retired to their cockpit for refreshments. When were about to start walking to the Tripui Hotel and Restaurant about a half mile away, friends began to arrive to wish Jake a happy birthday. We met some new people and thoroughly enjoyed their company. Around seven the company left and the four of us headed for our favorite restaurant up the road. Judy and I had told Cindy how good the Mexican combo was, so she ordered it along with me. Jake ordered a steak and Judy a chicken fajita plate. When they brought our meals I dove into the enchilada. To my surprise I discovered that the cap on the salt shaker had obviously exited the bottle when the Chef had seasoned the enchiladas. I asked Cindy if her enchilada was salty and she confirmed my suspicion. It seems to never fail that when one brags on someone else’s quality, it ceases to exist. Jake had spoken to some friends at another table who had brought their days catch in to be prepared and later Cindy procured a couple of plates of their filets. One plate of the filets were garlic and the other was breaded natural. They were both excellent and more than made up for the salty enchiladas.

After dinner it was dark as we started walking back down the road to the marina. The first eighth of a mile or so of this paved road is very narrow and drops off over two feet straight down at its edge. As we began to navigate this stretch a car with bright lights on approached from marina thoroughly destroying our night vision. Judy and I were walking behind Jake and Cindy who we could barely make out in the darkness. We heard a car approaching from the rear and Judy tried to move out of the way by moving to her right. I remembered the drop off and said to stop just as she stepped out into space. Luckily we were holding hands. Though I could not hold all of her weight in my outstretched arm, I did soften her fall before she pulled me over the edge. I was still holding her in a semi-upright position when I hit bottom. I could barely make her out in the dark and asked if she was okay. She said she was, but when I helped her up she couldn’t put any weight on her left foot. Believe me, I know from experience that luck does not start after a fall, but still….. Luckily the car stopped and gave us a ride back. Jake helped me support Judy as we walked her back to the dinghy and we motored back to the boat.

Upon our arrival I helped her clean the road rash of dirt, something else I am very familiar with. She thought her foot might be broken, but after palpating it I did not concur. I tried to get her to take an anti-inflammatory and let me wrap it in an Ace bandage, but she refused. At three am: she was experiencing some excessive pain and decided to take the anti-inflammatory and allowed me to wrap her foot. Within a few minutes the pain began to subside, which she tried to attribute to the medication. I explained that the medication would not take effect for at least twenty minutes and the relief she was experiencing was from the restriction of the wrap. She is now amazed at how much a wrap will help the pain. I was going to take her to the emergency this morning, but she said it is much better and thinks it is a sprain also. We will see how she does today and if there is any sign of complications or increasing pain, I will insist on her going to emergency.