Feliz Navidad

Santa brought us the parts from Sweden on Dec. 22 via UPS. They took only 8 days to arrive, so we hope to make the repair the day after Christmas. No.1 found an English-speaking doctor who prescribed antibiotics to send Montezuma packing. Also found a basset hound living two doors down from the marina, which is a real treat for me, although she's a real barker.

The weather has really felt cold lately. Last night was 52 degrees. When the wind blows across the water, it really is cold. After two weeks here, we're ready to move on to what should be warmer temperatures on the mainland.

We have met new friends and visited old ones and enjoyed La Paz. We'll be back in the spring.

The Peace

We arrived in La Paz on Sunday, Deciembre 10 and found a spot in our friend from last year, Marina de La Paz. We like this marina because of its friendly and knowledgeable owners, proximity to town, and good cafe. And since La Paz is the capitol of Baja California Sur, it has everything we could want, or at least a good way to get it. La Paz means "The Peace" in Spanish and the town was so named due to the peaceful harbor in the midst of what can be dangerous seas.

Upon inspection of a testy auto pilot the night we arrived, we found a leak in the rudder shaft that will necesitate a haul out to replace a ball bearing. Gotta order the part from Sweden and getting it through customs will be no easy fete. So, we'll be here a while.

At night, the beat from discos mixes with the church bells and the city lights shine along the waterfront. Christmas decorations are up all over, even on boats in the marina. I shopped the local up-scale department store and found coats and gloves. I have been asked by locals if I'm not cold wearing a T-shirt and shorts or pants. But it's in the 80s here, although it cools off to the high 50s at night, which feels chilly in the sea breeze.

Three marinas harbor a lot of U.S. boats here and there are many U.S. boaters here. There is also an alcoholics anonymous group. Hanging out in Mexico seems to have its pitfalls.

Spin Cycle 12/11/06

Puerto Escondido - The norther lasted from Wed. evening 11/29 through Friday afternoon 12/1. The sky clouded over, the wind howled, the whitecaps slapped the hull, and the boat rocked and pivoted around its anchor. It was like being inside a washing machine. But we knew it could be worse: we'd heard accounts from those who'd had to reset their anchor overnight in other anchorages. After two days, boredom was almost palpable. We left the safety of the boat and tried the one and only restaurant in Puerto Escondido. It was good and we met two gents: one Canadian, one British for some interesting and different dinner conversation.

Then, Saturday, the wind let up and we hiked the boulder-choked canyon immediately opposite the entrance to P. Escondido on Hwy. 1, in the Giganta range. Steinbeck has an account of hiking a similar canyon here in "The Log from the Sea of Cortez." We hiked about an hour up until we could go no further. It was mainly dry but had a few pools of rainwater.

Since we were back at Hwy. 1 by noon, we took the bus into town (Loreto) again, planning on returning by the 6:00 bus. At 5:30 we were told the 6:00 would not be running, so we took a cab back ($30). The wind had picked up again and we spent Sat. night and all day Sunday in the grip of the norther, round 2, although on Sunday we did venture ashore for Sunday brunch held by the local long-time Norte American "residents." It was good to talk to some others about their experiences. We'd had enough on Monday and left for Agua Verde, about 25 miles south. We sailed in 10-20 knot winds, but had to motor also since the sea was so sloppy and had pretty big swells that rolled el barco. Ah, yachting!

**It Happens
I picked up a Montezuma-type bug (again) in Loreto. We're wondering why it happened to me when Steve is the one with the sensitive stomach. We managed to slice the satellite radio cable, but we made it to Los Gatos bay on Tues. in 10-20 knot wind with 3-6 foot swells. Maybe someone will have an extra cable in La Paz. (Hey, I can hope.) A few other misadventures have happened that I'll just refer to as "the Sammy incident" and "the dinghy incident," but we and the boat are OK.

A group of sea kayakers is camped on the beach here in Los Gatos. We're hoping to make it to La Paz (The Peace) by Saturday, 12/10/06. The wind is supposed to die before then, but the swells will still be rolling, and that's the uncomfortable part.

Weather 12/11/06

Unlike in the U.S. or Canada, Mexico braodcasts no weather for the Sea of Cortez, and if they did, we wouldn't be able to understand it in Spanish anyway. There are no weather buoys or much industrial or commercial activity here to warrant such an investment, so the yachties from the U.S. predict our own weather. Every morning there is either a short wave or VHF radio broadcast (or both) that we can listen to and either Rick or Gary (don't know what their background is) will give weather forecasts for Baja west side, Sea of Cortez, and northern and southern crossings from Baja to the mainland.

Now, that is really no indication of what will actually occur. So we take what we get. Should we leave today because they say the wind will be 10-20 knots, but we know the swells will still be big and besides we haven't explored this area? or should we stay and let the swell lie down and explore? We decided to stay and found ourselves with fresh yellow-tail tuna and lobster that we bought from a local fisherman. Today they said the wind would be light and variable, but we went anyway, leaving in the afternoon to get the sea breeze, and had an ideal sail: 5-15 knots and minimal swells.

Northers are more predictable: they occur when high pressure sits over the 4-corners area of the U.S. Diurnal winds -- those land and sea breezes that occur daily -- are also somewhat predictable, but the islands along the coast can play havoc with predicting them. The breeze may come across the island from the east or up the channel from the south. Your guess. Gotta be ready for anything.

Puerto Escondido 11/27-12/1

N25 49.068; W111 18.816
We reached this large harbor after another day of no wind, but we've heard on the net that a norther (high wind from the north common in winter) is coming and Escondido affords good protection. This is a popular spot with access to a good size town: Loreto. Many snowbirds/expatriates hang out here. With a backdrop of desert mountains (the Giganta range) and pretty green water, why not? About 30 other boats are here now.

A marina is partially constructed here, at least there's a fuel dock and some offices, but construction was stopped some time ago and now it has an abandoned feel to it. It takes about seven Mexican's to run the office, although no business seems to be conducted there. Another couple of men are at the fuel dock.

Then, we met Elvin who has been here for 10 years, after life in the U.S. and growing up in Bolivia. He gave us a ride to the store/lavenderia about a mile away and waited to bring us back while we bought a few things and dropped off our laundry, explaining that the walk back is a two-beer walk.

We're in Loreto now at an Internet cafe. Another couple we met gave us a ride here (after we waited 2 hours on the bus). They are picking up their van here so they let us drive their car back for them. Everyone helps each other here. It's a good and simple way of life. Isn't that the way it should be?

Desert Islands & Deserted Beaches

11/19 - 29/06 - We have anchorerd near several desert islands in Bahia Concepcion and since leaving on Nov. 21 have these observations: they attract birds, which leave behind something that attracts bugs; they are usually surrounded by dangerous reefs; they can be great for snorkeling, clamming, and scallop hunting; and getting used to your dive gear again.

Anchor spots:

• San Sebastian - we reached this tight anchorage with reefs left and right, at the end of a long day of no wind on the lowest low tide of the month. Of course, the wind came up that night and along with the poudning surf close by and the vision of a beached catamaran sporting a hole in the side, made for an uneasy night. A few days later we learned the cat was recently damaged by the reefs we thankfully avoided.
• San Juanico - a little bit of paradise. We spent Thanksgiving here along with 4 other boats. Dawn and Terry aboard the trimaran "Manta" hosted a Thanksgiving potluck: turkey, dressing, gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, macaroni salad, asparagus, apricot cobbler and leftover cherry cheesecake. We didn't expect this and it was a real treat. Dawn and Terry are big divers and had some interesting stories, including a shark tale or two.
• Copper Bay (Isla Carmen) - A beautiful deserted beach with colorful pebbles on the beach and imbedded in the sandstone cliffs. That and the freshly caught tuna, and the classical Christmas music on XM radio made this a happy memory, although we spent a sleepless night due to a rolly sea.

Mulege 11/17

The days of the week and month come and go and we're not really sure what day it is. But today we explored the area a little in the dinghy, then hitched a ride to the nearest town: Mulege. 14 miles.

We had a taco lunch and explored the town's narrow streets and simple shops, stopping in a mercado for a few fresh veggies and bread. Mulege is an old town with narrow random streets and ancient one-story buildings. It is on the only (somewhat) navigable river in the Baja. Its exposed position permitted Hurricane John this year to wreak much damage. 27 inches of rain fell in a day. But the town is quickly recovering. Date palms profuse in the river bottom which is renowned for its voracious mosquitos. Steve always attracts the critters but had not a single bite while we were here. We sat in the town square and just enjoyed the simpleness of the town.

At the bus estacion we were told we'd have to ask the driver if he would let us off at Bahia Concepcion where the boat is. While we waited for the bus we had an ice cream and enjoyed the mosquito-less date palm forest. When the bus arrived the driver easily obliged our special stop. Steve preferred the bus to return instead of the US$20/person cab fare. The bus was air conditioned, driven by a professional, had lounge seats, and showed an American movie. For this we paid US2.50 each.

Back at the bay, we stopped in at Doug and Rita's for Rita to show us where to find clams. What do you know? The clams here just lay on the surface of the sand in waist-deep water. You can see them with goggles, just laying there. Cap'n is enjoying them now. He says the butter clams are tender but bland. The native Chocolates are tougher but more flavorful. He then mused about something to the effect of the similarity to white girls and others, but I didn't pay attention. He was on his third beer.

Crossing - November 15, 2006

We crossed from San Carlos to Baja on Tuesday, Noviembre 15 in light, variable winds. Departed San Carlos in the dark at 0400 (Note to self: it's a bad idea to leave in the dark on your first ocean voyage of the season), motored most of the way until cape affect winds nearing Baja gave us a brisk sail as we neared the entrace to Bahia Concepcion, then died out just as we turned to enter the channel. We started seeing the coast of Baja around 9:00 and around 1:00, the mainland coast was no longer visible.

Once in the mouth of Bahia Concepcion, we found our way through the channel and anchored at Santispac Bay at dusk - just in time. It is hard to navigate this new area with unmarked shoals and reefs. But the morning light showed it to be a beautiful place and the gringos seem to agree --they have lined the beach with campers (since Hwy. 1 is within sight) and other temporary housing. We are the only cruising boat here.

We moved to the next bay over in the morning and put up the awning (it's hot), finally went for a swim (Ah!), reassembled the dinghy, and went ashore where we met Doug and Rita. They split their time between Rita's teak farm in Thailand; Fort Collins, CO; and their house on the beach here. Tonite Rita is fixing us an authentic Thai meal.

I am trying to do some fishing but with no luck so far, although Steve says I should do well with bottom feeders since I managed to catch a lawyer. ;-) Steve is convinced that he is a jinx, fishing-wise, so the fishing thing is entirely my responsibility.

Amazing! - we can access Doug's wifi from about 100 yards out in the bay. We have had some blue-screen PC problems, but Doug has managed, so far, to isolate the problem if not yet solve it. According to Google, a lot of people are having the same problem. Oh yes, fixing computers in paradise -- can't escape completely.

Got my fingers crossed that after a system restore we'll have no more blue screens.

San Carlos Anchorage

SPLASH - Beltane was launched Nov. 15 at 8:30 a.m. We anchored just outside the marina to check out her systems in preparation for the season. Living on the boat close to town (and our truck) let us easily transition to boat life. That's more important to me (No.1) than to the seasoned captain. But I got used to finding things to occupy my mornings and afternoons instead of being productive by the hour like I was used to doing in my 9-5 job back in Denver. I spent my time watching other boats, watching pelicans, reading, getting into my new routine, and learning Spanish.

All systems were a go on the boat and Steve said "we need to start our blog. Make it so No. 1." so here we are. We were able to access the Internet and also to call home on Skype in the marina cantina. Steve liked to watch las guapas there.

Provisioning - the way to get propane in San Carlos is to flag down the propane truck. How do you find it? You look for it on the road or at a restaurant, etc. Or you go to the police station and ask if they know where it is. That's what Steve did and the police were very helpful: two got on the phone and one went down the street to ask someone. We had propane in about 20 minutes. Grocery shopping entailed two very large super Walmart type stores where we had to decypher Spanish labels and brands, but we got what we needed.

11/1-6/06 - Getting Ready

11/1-6/06 - YARDWORK - There are lots of Gringos en el barco yard (the boatyard) preparing their boats for departure. We are two of them. Early today, Steve went up the mast - removing bird nests from the radar and TV antennas on the way - and installed our new (we hope) bird-proof anemometer and a new windex with a bird spike. Last year a frigate bird perched on the anemometer and snapped off the wind vane. Can't use a shotgun because of all the sensitive equipment at the masthead, and you'd have to camp on the deck all day waiting for the !*#@!! to show up.

Washed all the lines (that's ropes to the unannointed) and loaded stuff on the boat (my 20 paperbacks), unloaded stuff we probably won't need (melted candles from last year), and washed the canvas cover that has shielded el barco from the hot sun in the yard all summer. We are not assured of a slip in the marina, so we are carrying stuff up and down the ladder to and from the boat in the yard. El barco (Steve's floating hardware store) is scheduled for launching Tuesday, Nov. 7. Then, Cap'n Steve hopes the engine will start. Until then, we are staying in a nice hotel room about a mile from marina seca (dry storage) and the boatyard and eating at local restaurants. San Carlos is known for the mountain shaped like goats tits -- Tetas de Cabra.

The Internet doesn't always work where we are told that it will -- so I'm in a bowling alley typing this entry. San Carlos is a nice town and the marina is very helpful with resources for boaters including a booklet called "Mexican bottom contours." You can let that mean what you want. :-) Lots of practice speaking Spanish at stores, restaurants, etc. Plenty of sun, but no sunburn yet.