SAILING CAMELOT

Thursday December 30^th

We better get moving if we want to get to La Cruz in time for the New Years’ Eve festivities. We easily pull up our anchor and leave this magical place by 7:45 in the morning. It’s going to be a short and easy trip; we motor close enough to the coast to enjoy some really good views. I’m less nervous about potential whale encounters. We know they’re out there and are getting used to “the signs”: tall spouts of vaporizing water as they breathe close to the surface, the tip of a huge fin barely visible. Clusters of birds usually like to fly close to them, so wherever I see birds I look closely on the water for spouts. And I do see a few, and a few long fins breaking out of the water, and a lot of huge tails splashing out and back in the water. Thankfully, they’re far enough from us to feel safe, but close enough to see with binoculars.

Whale Tail!!!

We round Punta Mita, a pretty, well developed but still enchanting touristic spot, and decide to stop in the small, protected bay for the rest of the day and spend the night here.

Rounding Punta Mita

 In front of the bay we can see the Tres Marietas, small islands teeming with wildlife. It’s a popular snorkeling spot and there are numerous boats taking tourists up and down. Despite the shallow depths of the Bay, whales like to swim close to it. We are treated to more views of these wonderful , powerful animals.

Our View from Camelot

After over three weeks, we are reunited with two other cruising boats we spent a lot of time with, Red Sky and Perfect Wave. Our friends see us arriving and anchoring from the beach and within minutes they arrive hooting and hollering, spinning doughnuts around us with their dinghies, almost colliding against each other in their noisy and joyful welcome.

It is good to see them again. We spend the rest of the day catching up with each other.

Once again we leave a beautiful place, with no regrets as we thoroughly explored it to our satisfaction. Besides, we might  just come back to Mazatlan in the early Spring. 

Leaving Marina Mazatlan

Goodbye, Mazatlan!

Now on to other new,  exciting destinations. Today we sail to Chacala, a small bay and fishing village. The plan is to stop here to interrupt the long leg taking us eventually to la Cruz de Huanacaxtle, Banderas Bay, where we’ll reunite with friends to celebrate the New Year. The 167 miles trip requires an “overnighter”. We’re giddy with anticipation, the seas are very calm and sparkling, there’s precious little wind. We’ll be at sea for more or less 23 hours. We quickly set into our familiar routines and it’s a pleasant, uneventful trip. We even get to sail for over 50 miles when the wind gently rises for a few hours.  As usual, moments of worry and concern interrupt the peace. The route we’re following is notoriously frequented by whales and there’s the added preoccupation of the ever-present, pesky fishing nets invisible to the naked eye even in daylight.  

We don’t see another boat during the whole trip, excluding two Mexican Navy vessels far in the distance as we’re passing the Islas Tres Marias. They’re guarding the perimeter of Maria Madre, the largest of the three islands. It’s a prison colony and there’s a strictly enforced exclusion zone. I dubbed it the local Alcatraz…

At first daylight the world starts stirring, barely visible Pangas (small fishing boats) appear everywhere and we start worrying about the much-feared fishing nets and long lines. Of course our main fear is to wrap one of those lines around our propeller, which would cause untold amounts of grief and potentially serious damages. But, seeing how hard these people work for their livelihood, we also would be really sorry to wreck their precious working tools. So I squint my eyes hard, straining them to the limit –I can almost feel new lines and wrinkles creeping up on my face!-.

After a couple of close calls we start to relax, the fishing boats are fading away. Coffee in hand and grins on our faces, we peacefully take in the beauty surrounding us. All around the boat small manta rays are jumping a couple of feet out of the water, noisily landing on their white bellies. Ouch, that most hurt… I see a large black fin at water level not more than 40 feet from our side and point it out to Tom. “Jees, honey, that’s the biggest dolphin I’ve ever seen!”. Of course Tom immediately realizes that it’s not a dolphin we’re looking at, but a baby Humpback whale… And the frantic outlook begins, as I keep mumbling “where’s your Mama? WHERE IS YOUR MAMA???”. We reduce speed, just in case. Within a 200 feet radius we start seeing Mama Whales with their babies on their side, swimming slowly in front of us, behind us, to our sides… I count 5 sets of them. We’re surrounded! Tom gets all excited and runs to the bow, camera in hand, hoping to get a few good pictures of this incredible sight. I am more thinking of how I might need a diaper as I nervously grip the wheel… In any case, with some care we manage to proceed safely, escorted by whales.

I thought it was a giant dolphin...

As it turns out, this particular stretch of the coast is a renowned birthing place for whales. The Mamas come here to give birth and raise their babies. Basically, we’re sailing smack in the middle of the Whales’ Maternity Ward. All the anxiety is in the end rewarded by the most incredible sight: a baby Humpback whale is breeching right in front of us, at a safe distance but close enough for me to see its new, shiny slick black skin and gleaming white belly. It looks like a giant stuffed toy and it seems to be having a whale of a time!

Needless to say, none of the pictures we took came out, all you would see is a vast expanse of blue with small black blurs… So you’ll have to take our word for it! It was truly a memorable experience.

We finally pull into Chacala Bay, very picturesque village with an awesome, long, palm-fringed beach but a little crowded and noisy. After all it’s the Christmas vacation period and this is one of the touristic spots favored by the locals. I can certainly see why…

Our view entering Chacala Bay

Beach Houses

While we are setting the anchor I notice a very long, tangled and frayed yellow line hanging off the side of our boat. There’s a piece of plastic attached to it, looks like the top of a 2 liter Coca Cola bottle, neatly chopped in the typical shape a thorough “chewed-up-by-the-prop” experience would give it… I manage to grab one end of it and try to pull it out of the water but this thing is not budging, it’s firmly tied up to something underneath the boat. This needs investigating. But we’re both tired and decide to deal with it later, after a much needed nap.

The Fabulous Chacala Beach

Despite the noise we manage to sleep for a few hours and we spend the rest of the day just resting and being lazy. The exploration of this beautiful place will have to wait until tomorrow, as well as the yellow mess under the boat…

Camelot at rest, Chacala Beach in the background

Tuesday December 28^th

Bright-eyed and bushy tailed, we start this day determined to free Camelot from whatever is tied up under her.  I am full of energy, eager and ready to jump in the water to go take a good look. That is, until I dip my toe in the water… Hell, NO WAY I’m jumping in there without a wetsuit (which I don’t own –yet-)!  It’s 68 degrees!!! So as it often happens, Tom takes charge of the situation. He DOES have a nice, thick wetsuit. Within minutes he’s in the water, assessing the problem. Yes, we have a mess down there, but with some effort and a few choice words (I can read his air-bubbles coming to the surface), he emerges victoriously holding a good hundred feet of really thick nylon fishing line and the remains of the floater attached to it (the Coke bottle top). Apparently during our passage we ran over one of the feared long lines, it wedged itself just where our sonar attaches to the hull. In fact, Tom had to cut the line and there’s still a good 8” piece firmly embedded that will remain there until the next haul-out…  We know we were very lucky, it could have been so much worse.  As Tom dissects and examines the evidence, I offer a quick Thank-You prayer to the powers that be… With a lot of gratitude!

Camelot recovering from the tangled fishing line ordeal

Problem solved, Tom hops in the dinghy to go visit and introduce himself to the neighboring boats. There are 8 boats in this anchorage, only two of them are known to us. Of course my friendly husband needs to fix that! Upon his return I hear about our dinner plans: we’ll all converge to one of the restaurants on the beach for cocktails and food, to enjoy the spectacular sunset and celebrate new friendships.

Tom visiting our neighbors

This is a really small village. A steep dirt road peppered with rocks takes us to the main street. It’s quite a challenge to look where you put your feet while admiring the new village houses.

Chacala Homes

More Chacala Homes

There are quite a few souvenir tents, tourists lingering, children, dogs, cats roaming around. An overall joyful atmosphere permeates this place.

Main Street in Downtown Chacala

Souvenirs and Tourist "stores" on the main drag

We make our way to the crowded beach and take a long walk from one end to the other, all the way down to a simple but beautiful hotel with gorgeous gardens. The beach is surrounded by lush hills; there are quite a few mango groves on the hills, fighting for space with palm trees. The shades of brilliant green are incredible.

Just another Sunset in Paradise

After enjoying the sunset and a simple and tasty dinner in the company of our fellow cruisers we retire to our comfortable boat and enjoy the view of the bay at night. There are bonfires burning on the beach. Coconut husks are burned as protection from the mosquitoes. It’s a pungent smell, but not unpleasant. I love this place! We go to bed with a serene, peaceful heart.

The next day we venture out on our dinghy to explore another small bay North of us. What an incredible, spectacular site. Caves, rocks, small sandy beach.

The Neighborhood

Another Hidden Jewel

After our little tour we go out into the open sea to watch the whales. Soon enough we are treated to a couple of Mom & Baby shows, also some dancing dolphins cross our path a few times. Sadly, a couple other tourist boats were harassing the whales, getting way too close. Shameful really, it’s distressing to the animals and against the law. Not that anyone cares, here…

You'll never see us THAT close to a Whale!

Huge jellyfish are visible in the clear water.  I refuse to try to take pictures. I just want to enjoy what I see. Excuse me for being selfish.

We had a great time in Mazatlan and will return next spring.

Elvira in the office at Marina Mazatlan was very helpful and a great contact for local knowledge. Elvira even helped us with our UPS package in Mexican Customs. Mexican Customs seems to be a big black hole where your packages disappear into the empty abyss. Everything down here is on Mexican time and the favorite phrase is “Manana”, which translates to tomorrow, but really means someday soon. Hopefully, we will see our generator parts in a couple of weeks.

Marina Mazatlan in the background. Note the wind in Tom's hair. No haircut since July!!!

The boat rudder bearing issue has been resolved and they will hold up for the season. Everything has been tightened and cleaned. The people from Total Yacht Works  are very professional and know their stuff. We would highly recommend them!

Yesterday, we attended the Mazatlan Marina Cruiser’s Christmas Potluck and White Elephant Gift Exchange. The food was terrific and we met some wonderful people.

We are planning on leaving today, about noon, and sail directly to Chacala, which is described by the Cruiser’s Guide as a beautiful anchorage with crystal clear water. Chacala is about 150 NM south of here and it should take about 22 hours. Unfortunately, the weather report is calling for winds less than 8 knots, which may not be enough to sail downwind.

We will be in Chacala till Dec. 30th, when we will move to La Cruz in the north end of Banderas Bay (Puerto Vallarta). We plan on being there for about two weeks before sailing south along the Mexican Riviera. Hopefully we will get as far as Xtapa before heading back north into the Sea of Cortez for hurricane season.

We arrived at our dock in Marina Mazatlan last Thursday, December 16^th. Since then we have been really lazy, getting to know our new neighbors and reconnecting with old friends, scoping out the many facilities around, and generally just savoring life at the slowest pace I ever experienced.

Marina Mazatlan - Gate 6

The first impressive sight here, at about 5 in the afternoon, was the herd of cats popping out of nowhere by the dozens. Every day at that time the cats are fed by volunteers –other Gringo cruiser-residents-, and they know the sound of the food jar! Every cat is spayed/neutered, and to prove it they sport a pointless left ear –the sign of a “fixed” cat. Of course the volunteers are always trying to find good homes for the felines, and we had a hard time resisting the temptation to adopt one… We were introduced to many kittens, but we were cautioned about an adult female cat living on our dock. Her name is Slacker, black as a true witch’s cat and with a reputation for being extremely aggressive and able to put the fear of God into even the biggest dog.  

We eventually met Slacker, as her feeding station is right at our slip. I’ve never been a cat person – having had dogs for the past 22 year -, and don’t know how to relate to them. So I stayed clear of Slacker, giving her a wide berth. Pointless exercise, as she followed me closely rubbing against my legs. This cuddly thing is the Tiger-Cat??? She seems to have adopted us. I’m sure the milk we offer abundantly has nothing to do with her feline devotion…  Anyway, she shows up every morning at 7, jumps on the boat and patiently waits in the cockpit for her breakfast, scaring the bejeesas out of Tom –who’s the first to get out only to find a coal-faced cat intensely staring at him in the face. She already converted me and stole my heart. It’ll be hard to part with her.  

Slacker having breakfast aboard

Sunday 19^th was spent at the Whale’s Song Palapa Restaurant located on Isla Mazatlan, a short walk from the docks.

Whale's Song Restaurant and Bocce Field

This is a well known hangout for cruisers, expats, Gringos-turned-residents. They have a bocce ball sandy field, there’s a swimming pool, chairs and tables by the water, and the restaurant serves simple and tasty fare at very reasonable prices. 

Bocce Ball Field

The Sparkling Pool

Jose the Friendly Waiter explaining the Menu

By the way, the boat parts we were waiting for arrived last Friday in the late afternoon. The bad news: the boatyard holding them for us was broken into and burglarized on Friday night and our parts were stolen along with most everything in the yard… What can you do, right? I really feel for the owners –exceedingly nice people- but can’t help thinking… Good thing we hadn’t paid for the parts yet! In any case, today we’ll have a diver go underwater to check our rudder for unusual movement, while a mechanic will check the bearings from the top. As the ominous steering noises mysteriously disappeared after tinkering with the steering cables, we’re hoping that whatever the problem was it’s not so serious as to require parts replacement… I really wouldn’t like to have to wait for more parts to be shipped from the States. Much as I love this place, I already feel the call of the wild! We have decided, however, to spend Christmas here.

Unless, of course, we change our plans one more time!

Mazatlan is such a big, spread-out city, they had to divide it in sections. Old Mazatlan is the original downtown section, centered around the commercial port harbor.

Old Mazatlan is absolutely fascinating, colorful and full of character, I consider it the Beating Heart of the City. We visited the Mercado Municipal, overflowing with sights, smells and sounds, not to be missed if you ever happen to visit. The Conception Cathedral is another imposing landmark, full of history and well-frequented any day of the week. My favorite place in this part of town is Plazuela Machado, a small square with a cluster of the best restaurants in town. 

Plazuela Machado

Here, specifically at the restaurant La Tramoya (The Backstage) we had possibly the best meal in years. This is one classy, friendly, cozy place.

View from La Tramoya Restaurant

We also sampled the fish tacos from another small restaurant in the Plazuela, which curiously pairs-up with a jewelry store. Of course, while waiting for our meal to be served, me and Annie from Serendipity went to admire and drool over these incredibly beautiful pieces of art. We were also treated to a lesson in semi-precious local stones by the store owner, including a demonstration on how the stones are affected by exposure to light. I saw Tourmaline of an intense green turn into the most amazing shades of deep blue, topaz transforming from dark yellow to fiery orange. Red Mexican Fire Opals ranging from vermillion to fire-engine and blood reds. Those colors to me were more precious than any diamond… 

Jewels to the left and Food to the right

We walked for miles, noses up in the air, marveling at the colorful town houses, the numerous art galleries filled with vivid paintings, the many shops selling artifacts from local artisans. It’s a good thing we don’t have a house, I would have filled it with all sorts of goods from this incredible place. As it is, I have just to be satisfied with filling my eyes and my heart with what I see.

Old Mazatlan Building

Traditional Colors

Homes of Old Mazatlan

 Strolling leisurely down the streets we discovered a public library, filled with a good selection of English books as well, with a well developed lend-borrow-exchange system. Tom had to forcibly remove me from this place…

After our first night at the beautiful Isla de La Piedra anchorage we discovered that it can get pretty rolling. Nothing too uncomfortable, but since there’s a more protected anchorage just 5 minutes north of here we decided to move. So we’ve taken temporary residence at the Club Nautico anchorage. Much less scenic and a little more crowded, but hey, there’s convenient and fast Internet access!

Camelot anchored off Club Nautico

Here’s what we discovered so far: there’s a sewer treatment plant upwind, and every day between 12 and 1 pm they release the gases.

The Source of Daily Stench

Yep, you guessed right… It’s like a giant, silent but deadly FART that lasts an hour! Small price to pay, really, for the convenience to shore. We learned fast to leave the boat when the noxious, invisible cloud is released…

Strangely enough we also get a dense, San Francisco style FOG here in the morning! Thick, pea soup fog. And it cools off the temperature considerably… We sure didn’t miss that! Luckily, it burns off around noon.

Isla de Los Chivos, inhabited by goats

Today we met with Doug and Carla from the sailboat Moondance, former neighbors of ours back in Alameda. They’ve been gone two years, so they know the lay of the land and all the tricks here! After providing us with a very helpful guide and map, and a very tasty lunch, they took us for a stroll in the Old Downtown Mazatlan. The sights and colors were almost overwhelming! We need to take it in a little at a time… We took a “cab” to return to the anchorage. It was actually a golf cart, very popular and economic mean of transportation here. And a lot of fun! The drivers here are fearless… We’re not…

We’ll be exploring leisurely in the days to come. I’m sure I’ll give my little camera a thorough workout! Stay tuned…

Ok, no more excuses. It’s time to get to the other side of Mexico and there’s a Sea to cross, 192 nautical miles to cover, destination Mazatlan. We’re ready to go at 6 am, there’s not even light yet but up comes the anchor and we’re on our way again. It’s much windier than we’d like and the sea is choppy, but heck, we’re sailing fast. We’re not totally alone during this crossing, a couple of boats left in the middle of the night and are a few hours ahead of us and two more boats are about an hour behind us. Every now and then we get in touch via radio to check on each other, to compare notes and weather. The wind gets stronger, the sea gets angrier, the waves taller. It’s a bumpy, rolly and a little uncomfortable ride, the guys ahead of us report the same conditions. We shrug and keep going, it can’t always be perfect. It goes on like that for a good 8 hours (and there’s about 22 more to go), not too much fun but Tom is really happy to see his boat reach high speeds. I’m just waiting for the day to end, as usually the wind abates at night and the sea should calm down too. Merlin The Autopilot (God bless it, I don’t know what we’d do without it) is doing a splendid job steering in these rough seas, but we start noticing a creaking, grinding noise every time the rudder has to steer hard in these big waves. Tom investigates as best he can and diagnoses damaged rudder bearings. We just don’t know how bad in a shape they are… They sure need attention, though, and soon.

 So now we have the added worry of the damn rudder (I spare you the worst-case scenarios that ran thru my head), and it’s getting dark. Tom is calm and doesn’t look concerned, but he’s quiet and I know him too well. I’m sure his mind is in overdrive and he’s already coming up with a plan B and C and D just in case of the worst happening. We’re not talking about the autopilot quitting, Merlin is going strong. We may end up losing the capability of steering the boat. I don’t even want to think about that.

Around 7 o’clock Tom goes down in the cabin to try and sleep a little, I take on the first watch. The seas have calmed down a little, the waves are finally smaller and the wind is blowing at a more acceptable level. We’re still sailing! The rudder, not having to fight as hard, is making less ominous noises. But I still throw a prayer out, just in case… I’m munching on trailmix, nuts, chocholate and dried fruit, and I’ll even admit to chain-smoking. At about 10, Tom comes back up after a decent nap, ready to give me relief. I really don’t feel like sleeping, but my body gives up as soon as my head hits the pillow. Just an hour, I say to myself… At 1 in the morning Tom is shaking me awake, I was in a deep coma-like sleep. “I need a break” he says, and he does look tired. Man, I didn’t even hear him turn on the engine! The wind died, so we motor-sail after 121 uninterrupted miles of sailing. Once on deck, eyes adjusted to the total darkness, I resume my watch. Nothing is going on, I see the lights of a boat a few miles ahead of us, I play with our electronics, checking out traffic around us –almost non-existent-. My mind wanders, I look at the fabulous display of stars above me, listen to the waves rushing past the boat. I get entertained by little groups of flying fish. I noticed them when it was still light earlier in the day, they look almost like a bunch of small birds, flying a few inches above the water and disappearing into the waves after a 40, 50 feet of flight. They’re as small as my fist, with a wingspan (finspan?) of maybe 8 inches, silvery blue in color. They fly just like birds, turning all together, following their leader. In the dark they appear a fluorescent greenish, and they really like to fly around our navigation lights on the bow. I wonder if I’ll get hit by one of them… At about 3 in the morning I exchange information on our position with another sailboat, share some jokes, then back to staring at the blackness. I’m keeping an eye on my radar, everything is quiet. There’s a cruise ship about 40 miles ahead of us called Amsterdam and a cargo ship about 25 miles behind us, the San Guillermo. We’re all traveling in the same direction and I’m keeping an eye more on the cargo ship which will catch up with us in less than two hours, I’m thinking of giving its Captain a call in about an hour to make sure he knows we’re here. Somehow time flies, I should be waking Tom up at 4 am but I’m not tired and decide to let him sleep a little longer. I quite like night watches! When I go down to get some water I hear him snoring softly. Wow, he must really trust me if he’s able to fall asleep so deeply!

But his shaggy head pops up just a little before 6 am, complaining that I shouldn’t have let him sleep that long. After exchanging information on our surroundings it’s my turn to go down below for some rest. She who wasn’t tired falls asleep in maybe 45 seconds, dead to the world for about an hour and a half, until the Captain comes down to play on his High Frequency radio. It’s daylight, another beautiful, warm and sunny day and we’re getting close to Mazatlan. I make coffee and assume command of the vessel while Tom yaks on the radio. After a few minutes he comes up with great information from some of his radio buddies (bless ‘em all!) about which boatyard to call in Mazatlan and who to ask for specifically in order to organize repairs. By 8:30 am phone calls have been made, connections established, parts ordered and we both feel so very relieved and optimistic! Besides, we’re maybe a couple of hours from the chosen anchorage of Isla de la Piedra (Stone Island for us Gringos), in the southernmost part of Mazatlan. We did it! We crossed The Sea! I’m exhilarated and all smiles. And right there and then Tom all of a sudden roars “shit, shit, SHIIIIT!” , jumps behind the wheel, turns off the autopilot and puts the engine in reverse at full blast while I’m looking at him yelling “what, what, WHAT?”. Then he turns sharply, a 90 degree angle to the left, I look ahead and see an empty, floating milk jug. Then another one, maybe 60 feet after that. And another one, until I see a small black flag on a floating stick, barely visible in the distance. Shit, indeed. It’s a big fishing net, we could have gone right thru it and wrapped it around the propeller with serious complications. Thanks to Tom’s prompt reaction, we missed it by maybe 5 feet. We finally figure out where is safe to go and slowly proceed, passing the small fishing boat with three fisherman aboard, owners of the net we were just about to destroy. Tom yells an apology (I think it was in Spanglish), they wave in return and all is fine. But I have a few new grey hair on my scalp, thank you very much… We keep a low speed now, and it’s a good idea because there’s another net barely visible. Some more maneuvering around it, then we get closer to the coast where there’s only a few big fishing boats operating. Man, it was like a videogame. Dodge The Fishing Boats Of Mazatlan.

Mazatlan Coast

We won, at least this time.  As we approach our anchorage, we hear our boat name hailed on the radio in good English with a strong Mexican accent. Tom responds, a little puzzled. It’s the local Port Captain, saw us coming on his electronics (yes, we’re very visible and it’s on purpose!). But even without modern technology, of course he sees us, he’s sitting in his lighthouse on the top of the hill, the second tallest one in the world at 159 meters…

Mazatlan Lighthouse

He greets us, welcomes us and asks us our plans. After receiving information on our destination and provenience, he thanks us and wishes us a pleasant stay and a great day. It was so cool! Touching, almost.

Isla De La Piedra Anchorage

We finally tuck in safely at La Piedra, a very cute and small anchorage, there’s only another boat beside us. Mission accomplished, one more time. Now we can give Camelot her well deserved shower and relax!

Current view from the "back porch" of Camelot

We need to make our way to the mainland, so our little group decides to leave this Paradise in the early morning of Sunday 5^th and head down to Ensenada de Los Muertos to spend a night or two before crossing The Sea. We had to motor-sail for quite a while, but once out of the Cerralvo Channel –the body of water between Baja California and Cerralvo Island- we had enough wind to run Camelot the way she’s supposed to.

We were having such fun, Tom tweaking the sails just so, getting the best speed possible for an overloaded boat, even overtaking Red Sky (a bigger and faster boat, not to mention gorgeous). Tom’s competitive streak showed up, his faraway days of racing coming back as he let out a joyous whoop, long sun-streaked hair flying in his eyes, a mad grin splitting his tan face. What was I doing in the meantime? Hanging on for dear life, of course…

Anyway, the perfect moment lasted for maybe 8 minutes. While I was –as usual- scanning the horizon, I heard Tom’s surprised voice: “Shit, we lost the main sail!”. I looked up to see our big, precious sail still attached to the mast but totally detached from the boom, flapping in the wind like a proud flag. Before my brain could even register what was happening, Tom was barking precise orders. I turned the engine on and pointed Camelot directly in the wind to depower the boat while Tom lowered the sail at best he could, wrestling the monster and securing it on deck. While we worked I saw a few worried stares from the other boats traveling close to us, it was nice to know that people were around and ready to help just in case. Luckily we were soon safe and well underway again, even if our perfect sailing day was over. The whole ordeal lasted maybe 5 minutes, we were a very efficient team, thanks to Tom’s cool head and my superior driving skills (right!). Luckily, we were close to our destination and within an hour we were anchoring in Ensenada de Los Muertos, a little stirred but not shaken.

Tired, but with just enough strength to pull down the behemoth and lay it in the cabin, away from the wind. It wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t easy, but we did it ourselves. And I’m proud of that.

Later that night all the cruisers gathered at the local, excellent restaurant on the beach. Over a delicious dinner plans were laid for the next few days, weather forecasts compared and analyzed. For us, it involved an extra day or two of forced rest to repair the sail. Our friends were all wonderfully supportive, offering help and equipment to solve our problem. Luckily, we had all we needed aboard to repair the sail –thankfully not too seriously injured-. But it’s always so heart-warming to see all this goodwill.

In any case, early the next morning I pulled out my trusted Sailrite machine and with quite some trepidation executed the repair.

Administering First Aid to the sail

Maybe half an hour of work, all in all. The worst part was folding it so that we could move around the boat! By the time the sail was ready to be repositioned, the wind had picked up speed and it wasn’t possible to install it. So I took advantage of having the sewing machine out to sew together a harness for the dinghy, which will be used to easily pull it up and out of the water at night to prevent theft. Something I wanted to do for a long time. Special thanks to Eric of Perfect Wave -who needed one- for taking all the necessary measurement and passing them on to me. I sewed his harness too, since we have the same dinghy. All in all, a pretty satisfying morning.

Dammit, we had to stay here an extra day...

At first light the next day we put the sail back in place before the wind would start blowing. We had to stay an extra day, as the weather wasn’t optimal for our passage. Oh, bummer.

There are 5 pools here!

We spent it at the pool of this beautiful resort, me swimming and reading to my heart’s content, Tom enjoying good company and conversation with other cruisers.

Pool with bar!

Our two buddy boats decided to continue on for a short trip down the coast to do some surfing and cross the Sea at a later time. We’ll miss them after two months of company, but we’ll catch them later.

She loves her binoculars!

Isla Espiritu Santo and Isla Partida are two islands separated just by a narrow channel, they are a Natural Marine Park protected and preserved by the Mexican government. This region serves as a breeding ground for sea lions and marine turtles. It is also a migratory corridor for 210 bird species and there are about 500 fish species in this area. The Sea Of Cortez is home to 31 species of dolphins and whales – one third of the world’s total! I really want to take my time visiting this incredible place.

Arriving in Caleta Partida

The arrival at our destination was nothing less than spectacular. Caleta Partida is the crater of a large, extinct volcano. The colors of the water looked just like a picture out of a travel brochure.

Our view from the back

No picture can do this place proper justice, though God knows I tried hard! I must have taken a hundred photos…

Our neighbors Red Sky and Perfect Wave

We got there mid-morning, the water was smooth as a mirror, we had plenty of time to run around in the dinghy and explore the nearby sea caves.

One of the many caves

 There were about 12 boats anchored in the little cove with us and we knew most of them, so about an hour before sunset we all raced to the small beach to have our customary Sundowners Time and watch the sunset.

Sunset in Paradise

I cannot even attempt to describe the colors and the contrasts of the spectacular scenery. But I can tell you that I saw a Jack Rabbit as big as a mid-size dog running around, and boy was he fast!

I say we blend in perfectly!

The next morning, along with 15 other friends we piled up aboard Perfect Wave, the most spacious and most luxurious boat in our group, to go for an excursion about half a mile north to Los Islotes, two rocky islets famous for their sea-lion rookery.

Los Islotes

As we got closer to our anchoring spot the barking became almost deafening, they sure are vocal! .

The Sea Lions!

We were all eager to go swimming with these friendly, huge mammals and in just a few minutes off we dived, armed with fins and snorkels, with our hands carefully tucked under our armpits.

We're in the water!

We were warned that it’s not wise to wave your hands around, as they may be mistaken for tasty treats… These animals are certainly not shy,  they like to swim very close to visitors and are very entertaining with their playful antics. Some younger ones playfully nipped at our fins, it seems to be a common fun game for them. They are curious and smart, I was especially enthralled with a young female that came to rest against the anchor chain. After tentatively nipping the chain, she positioned herself comfortably with the chain under her right fin (like under her armpit) and proceeded to watch us with extreme interest. I’m not sure who was watching who… After the swim, while waiting for everyone to come back aboard, I was further entertained by this persistent pelican trying to get a fish too big for him. The fish looked like a Trumpet fish, narrow but about two feet long. After a couple of near-misses and a drop or two, the pelican won. It was hilarious to see the big bird fly away with the fish stuck sideways in its gullet!

Lori is obsessed with pelicans

Not even in my wildest dreams would I have imagined to be able to see all of this. There’s plenty more to experience, but even here the waters are getting a little colder –it is December after all!-,  it’s time to move a little farther South to find warmer waters.

We'll never get used to this...

 I’m happy to keep moving, as I know we’ll be back here next Spring to leisurely visit again.

We ended up staying in La Paz for 10 days. It’s such an interesting place with lots to see and lots to do. There were planned activities every day. A group of cruisers who made La Paz their home founded Club Cruceros, and we joined in support –and got a very cool little flag with a pelican on it! They have a small but well organized shack full of books and DVDs that can be borrowed -pretty much like a library-, free coffee is offered every day but Sunday, people meet there and exchange information, spare parts, advice, and whatnot. A very supportive community! There’s also a multi-purpose room, where yoga classes were held in the morning three days a week –free of charge!-. The teachers are usually other cruisers that happen to be there, passing by just like us. Our teacher, Anna from the boat Feliz, was truly awesome, her classes were always full. I credit my good friend Leann for gently nudging me to go, and Anna for introducing me to yoga with such gentleness and grace that I can’t wait to do it again. OK, I only took three classes, but she got me hooked for good!

I can see how cruisers get sucked up there and never want to leave! It almost happened to us… We were actually forced out of the anchorage by the weather forecasts warning us of a four-day windstorm coming our way. So we took cover not too far away, just about 5 miles out of downtown La Paz, at a luxury resort/marina called Costa Baja. We’re glad we did, those winds were fierce!

Costa Baja Marina

The resort is absolutely gorgeous, with many different restaurants, pools, palapa bars, and even a small grocery store.

Can you imagine yourself here?

Sadly, we also had a few boat maintenance projects that we kept postponing, and now was the time to do it. Tom got busy taking the big winches apart and lubricating them, while I was down below trying to re-make a cushion cover for the dinghy seat. We were stuck working in a vacation place! No poolside lounging for us…

One of the many restaurants

But we’re still happy to have visited the place, and we’re definitely going back next time we’re in the neighborhood.

Costa Baja Beach Club

We finally pried ourselves out of Costa Baja on December 1^st, the idea was to go up to Isla Partida with our friends from Red Sky and Perfect Wave, two boats we’ve been traveling with for about a month. BUT… Tom needed to order spare parts for our generator and have the necessary customs’ paperwork prepared, so we were delayed long enough to miss departure time with the group. It was too late to make it all the way up to the island when we were finally cleared to leave, so we took a little hop of about an hour to another favorite anchoring spot, Puerto Ballandra. We spent quite a rocky night at anchor there, and I almost got seasick while watching a movie that night. Me, the one that never got seasick, not even on the roughest passages! How embarrassing… Oh, well. I survived.