Fishing world: Born in the USA

Monday, November 19, 2012

Born in the USA

East Cape sea temps remain above 80 degrees which is much warmer than normal for late November. I am a bit surprised by this especially since north winds showed up early. Normally when the north wind shows the water temperature plummets. With the waters in the Sea of Cortez staying warm so has the air. It has been down right balmy.

It is also a bit unusual that sailfish and blue marlin are still on the menu for those braving the weather off shore. Years ago I did release a blue marlin on December 12th but it certainly is not the norm. Striped marlin take residency year round but the blues and sails will migrate on to warmer waters when it cools here. Near shore on calm days tin boaters are catching sierra mackerel and Mexican lookdown fish are keeping beach fisherman busy.

The last fishing day of 2012 for the Jen Wren boats was Wednesday. Catching was good but sea conditions were rough. It is the time for kite boarders and wind surfers. Now both boats are in dry dock for the long and tedious job of winter maintenance. I will touch more on this at another time.

With Thanksgiving upon us I am reminded "you can take the man out of the country but you can't take the country out of the man". This is a US holiday as is the 4th of July, Memorial Day, President's Day and Columbus Day. These holidays are not celebrated in Mexico. After 21 years of living abroad I still have to remind myself when around my Mexican friends and employees that these are gringo holidays. To complicate the matter I have become a Mexican citizen and celebrate the Mexican holidays as well.

As ironic as it is on July 4th, 2005 my wife Jennifer and I were sworn in as Mexican citizens. Many ask if we had to give up our US citizenship. The answer is no. We now hold dual citizenship and carry 2 passports. Giving up US Citizenship is something we would never do and I did a great deal of investigation before applying. People at the American consulate assured me it was not that easy to renounce US citizenship. A person can give up their US passport and present documentation but it will not be recognized by the US without a personal appearance in front of authorities.

I think that most folks visiting Baja see Mexico as the wild frontier. Many have no idea how much governmental structure Mexico actually has. The country has 31 states and a Federal district. The whole set up is very similar to the US with a congress and senate. There is Federal, state and municipal governing same as the US. Hacienda is the equivalent of the IRS. IMSS is the equivalent of social security but with more of a medical plan similar to what Obama wants to implement.

Our property taxes and water bill is collected by the municipality while Hacienda and IMSS are federal. Our electricity is supplied by a federal commission and phone service is private. All the coastline and oil and mineral rights belongs to the feds.

It is fascinating to me how the perception of the Mexican government is so different than the US and how similar it truly is.

Recently the feds decided most of their holidays would be observed on Monday. The local labor force is really happy with that one as now they take the day of the holiday and Monday as well. I don't believe that was the intent of the government? Labor laws state an employee is entitled to triple time for working holidays.

I'm not sure how I got off on this topic but will close by saying my favorite Mexican holiday is Saint Lunas. It falls on every Monday. Good Mexicans get drunk on the weekend after payday and are so hung over they can't make it to work on Monday. Hence, Saint Lunas. I do my best to be a good Mexican and observe the holiday.

Photos from our last trip of 2012