Oct 15,2007, Coming Back to Equinox

 First let me say that leaving the boat for two months in hurricane season is no easy task.   While we were at anchor in the harbor of San Carlos, we did most of the preparation there.  That preparation included taking down the sails, removing canvas from the deck and generally stowing away anything that could be folded up and still have room to motor the boat over to the haul out dock.  This situation was not the best for there was no way to wash the sails or the lines. When the boat came out of the water it was put into the work area of Marina Seca.  I must say that they did a terrific job of getting the boat out of the water and the machinery that they used was amazing to watch. When the boat was securely sitting on jack stands,   we came aboard for three hot days and completed the hurricane preparation. 

 On Thursday, August 19^th we boarded a plane in Guaymus for the states.  In Phoenix, Hank took a connection to Seattle to stay with our daughter and Betsy went to Las Vegas to visit her mother and older sister.  After spending a 10 days with my mom, I flew to Seattle and preceded to help Jennifer with house projects, Hank did tiling while Jen and I painted and redecorated the guest bedroom.  We had a great time and enjoyed several dinners with her friends.  We even took the time to purchase another car that we could drive around the states and take back with us to Mexico.  Our first real road trip with the car was driving to Montana to visit friends, Gary and Liz, who had moved to Montana from our home town.  We spent three nights at their beautiful place on the top of a mountain looking at awesome country below.  We went Sharp Tail hunting, toured hay art, and enjoyed some quality visiting time.  Betsy even got to do a little riding on one of their horses. 

 Leaving Montana, we checked out Idaho for a day and then returned to Seattle.  After packing up all the stuff that we had purchased to take back to the boat, we sadly said good bye and headed south.  Our next stop was to be in Auburn so that Hank could give a Rotary talk on our travels to his old club.  We arrived on Betsy’s birthday so we were able to have a nice dinner at a restaurant before heading to a house that was loaned to us for the week.  In Auburn we tried to see as many people as possible, but it was very difficult to see everyone.  One thing for sure we didn’t want to go by our old house and see if any changes had been made!  So after many nights out, we again said good bye to our home town, and took off for Napa to visit a family that we had met on the Ha-Ha almost a year ago.  We were happy to find that they had made the bash back up the coast of Baja and California easily and that their boat was in a work area as Kevin made some desired changes.  We had a wonderful dinner and then decided to extend our stay so that we could go do some wine tasting with them.

 Traveling on down the state of California we arrived in the Los Angeles basin just about rush hour time.  Unknown to me, a toll road had been added, so with the use of this road we were able to skirt a lot of the crowd and arrived in Mission Viejo about 4:30 pm.  Mission Viejo was the site of our second home, and dear friends that used to live right next to us still are in the area.  They had moved to the lake when we were still in our old house, so we knew right where to go.  The exciting part was that Mimi had invited her oldest son and their family to come to dinner so we were able to spend the whole evening reminiscing. 

 Our last stop in California was to Capistrano and seeing the family that we had met on the sailboat La Solana.  This family had taken a year off to sail in the sea and now they were back to their home.  We had not seen them since March and we were interested to see how the last part of their trip had been.  The boys were back in school and Mom and Dad were getting back to the working world.  We had a great lunch out and even better dinner in, but too soon it was time for bed.   The next morning we were on our way to Phoenix and to Tucson.  There we visited my college roommate and stayed with her for three days exploring the housing market and catching up on what was happening with both of our lives.

  Finally we loaded up the car and headed down to Nogales to cross the boarder into Mexico.  We had instructions as to what to expect but you are always warned to pray for green when you push the stop light button.  Well there is no button to push but there is an automatic stoplight.  Unfortunately this light turned red when we got to it, and we were flagged over to be inspected.  We raised the back window, the guard looked in at our suitcases and then he flagged us to continue on our way.  As we arrived at Marina Seca where the boat was waiting for us, we were told that we had only 15 minutes to unload the car since all cars must be out of the yard by 5.  So, we quickly took everything out of the car that was to go on the boat and piled it on the ground next to the boat.  Moved the car, got a ladder, and then we proceeded to unlock the boat and inspect her.  We were pleased to see that she didn’t appear neglected for our two month absence and we commenced to haul equipment up the ladder so we could stow it away for the night.  Now getting things up an eight foot was not the easiest, but with the help of the boat hook and our new fishing gaff we were able to load everything into the boat. 

 We headed back to the marina hotel for a good dinner and night’s rest knowing that tomorrow would be a busy day of putting the boat back together.  The view from the hotel looked out at the marina with the local landmark of Tetas de Cabra in the background.  Looking inland, we could see the masts of all the boats in the storage yard of Marina Seca.   We worked for two days staying at the hotel at night, and then decided to move aboard while we were still in the work yard. That was the first good night’s rest we had had in a long time, for it is always comforting to come home to your own bed and this was no exception.  Finally by the first of the week the bottom had been painted, sides had been waxed and we were ready to go back into the water.  We made arrangements to store our car, had a last night out to dinner and got up the next morning knowing that we would soon be in the water again.  

 I rode in the cockpit of the boat to the marina for the reentry into the water.  It was quite a sight to see the cars behind us and the tractor driver too.  Most of the drivers are used to seeing boats traveling along this stretch of highway so they don’t pay much attention.  It is only the tourists who are not used to it and want to slow down so that they can take pictures. 

 We moved along very easily until we came to a lamp post that was going to snag our side shrouds, so the driver backed us up and proceeded to give the lamp post a wider birth.  As soon as we were in the water, we checked the engine, and then proceeded to head out the marina to the next marina to the north.  We knew that the wind was to pick up in the afternoon and we wanted to be tucked away before it blew too strongly.  Marina Real is a beautiful spot and we were able to find dock space for only two nights. 

 On Wednesday, the 17^th of October we got up at 4 in the morning and in 40 minutes we were heading out of the marina.  It is about a 12 hour trip across to Santa Rosalia and we wanted to get to this marina before dark.  We were not sure what the panga fishing situation was going to be, but we remembered that when we left in August, the pangas were out fishing in the early evening right at the mouth of the harbor.  Since these pangas were fishing for squid, they had a small light on the back of the boat, making the shore line appear so much closer that it truly was.  There is also a time change so we would be losing an hour upon our arrival.  Most of the staff leaves at 5 so again we wanted to sail as quickly as possible. We had a great crossing and even managed to have two Dorado hook up, releasing one and keeping the other.  In the middle of the sea we came across a long line, which is a fisherman who has strung out a long rope with floats and hooks attached.  These long lines can really do a job on a prop if you are not paying attention, so luckily we spotted it and were able to cross it with out a problem.   Arriving in the Singlar marina of Santa Rosalia we were directed to a slip and in no time we were tied up to the dock.  We were tired, it had been over two months since we had done any sailing and a 12 hour passage was long for our first time back on the water.  Our slip was the first one from the shore and later we would find out what a perfect slip it really was.  For now we rested and then checked in on the following day; that is when we learned that this was the week end for the celebration of the founding of the town.  122 years ago, this town was founded and the people would be celebrating from Friday through Sunday. 

 Our celebration started by going to town with another cruising couple, checking out the plaza set up, and decided to have dinner in one of the little stands before the rest of the crowd got hungry.   We chose a booth that was run by a family and we were thrilled to see the young children pitch in and help their mom and dad.  They cleaned tables, took drink orders and carried the paper plates of food, one by one, to the tables.   After the gals had two tacos and the guys had three, we decided to walk around and then find a place to see the stage show that was already in progress.  Now each time we have seen a show like this in a Mexican town we have been impressed with the talent and beauty of the people.  This did not disappoint us, for it started with the introduction of the queen and her court and followed with dancers and singers performing. 

 After watching for several hours we decided to go by the information booths, see how the games of chance booths compared to those in the states, and then to check out the Rotary booth.  It turned out to be a beer booth which reminded us of all the times that Hank had worked that same type of booth back at Auburn Rotary functions.  It is amazing how things are the same all over the world, and when you find something that is successful in one area, you pass it on to another club in another city.    

The rest of the week end was filled with chores for the boat, and we decided that we would head to town early Sunday morning for breakfast.  We were hoping to have it at the Hotel Frances, but alas the hotel does not sell breakfast on Sunday so we headed back into town to see if our favorite fish taco place was open.  It was and we had a very typical Mexican breakfast of shrimp tacos and horchata.  Hank and I were stuffed for about $5. You can’t do that in many places in the US!  We visited a few stores and then a sudden gust of wind hit us and we knew that the weather predication of strong winds from the North was correct.  We hurried back to the boat and reinforced all the lines with chaffing gear and doubled up on the dock lines.  The wind blew for three days, making white caps in the marina and foam shooting up the sea wall.  Sleeping the first night was almost impossible due to the squeaking of the dock lines and the rolling of the boat.  Our most appreciated asset was that we were the farthest away from the breaking marina waves and so we probably had the smoothest ride.  I tried to get a picture of the wind gauge as we were seeing gusts over 40 knots but unfortunately I was only able to get a picture of 38K   

At last it was Wednesday and the wind had died and it was now time to clean all the dirt off the boat.  Hank mentioned several times that we could grow tomatoes with the accumulated dirt but it was not until we started to clean that I really saw what he was talking about.  I went up the mast and pulled the hose with me, not an easy task for the hose was heavy and the wind had picked up to a mere 15k. As I held the hose on the shrouds, dark chocolate water flowed on the deck below.  I cleaned what I could but decided it would be much more comfortable to go back up with a bucket of soapy water, a rag, and no wind.  That time came a day later when I took up and lighter hose and went to the top to clean as they say, top to bottom!  It seemed like we spent days cleaning for when we finished outside we had the inside to do.  Dirt had filtered into everything so the boat got a really good cleaning.  We got the dinghy ready to go again, changed all the water in our tanks, and knew that we would soon be leaving for the south since the first of November was quickly approaching.  We again have loved this town, felt at home in the town and marina, and made some good friends with locals and cruisers alike.  We will be sad to head out but it is time to explore some of those great anchorages that we had to pass up as we headed north at the first of the season. 

So we headed out of Santa Rosalia and went to San Marcos Island for a night at anchor in Sweet Pea Cove.  When you are in a harbor, secure at a dock, you forget how nice it is at anchor.  We had a very peaceful night, gently rocking in about 20 feet of clear water.  The next morning we woke early and sailed down to Bahia Concepcion to visit the folks in El Burro Cove.  This was about eight hours of sailing/motoring with our arrival time in the early afternoon.  After putting the anchor down, we immediately went ashore to say hello to friends we had met this past May.  Edie invited me to come with her the following morning to paint with her Paintin’ Pussys.  This painting class was going to be at Anna’s Restaurant.  I was excited to come ashore that next morning and head out with the girls to have breakfast and try another painting technique.  What a wonderful time I had!  I was convinced that I should come with the girls the next day to help celebrate the scholarship fund that was set up 20 years ago.  The Paintin’ Pussys holds an art show every January to support this scholarship program.  Last year they raised $3000 for the fund, not bad when it costs $250 for a student’s schooling for a year.   

Saturday afternoon at 5 we met in Muleje to start the parade.  We were amazed when we found that the painting group would be walking right behind the main dignitaries.  After walking through town and around the plaza we ended up in the outdoor arena. There were many speakers, music, and student dancing.  The evening was to end with a huge pot luck dinner.

 Again we headed out early in the morning to travel for about 7 or 8 hours sailing toward the next anchorage of San Juanico.  This is a beautiful wide anchorage where you can hike to the crest of the ridge to find crystals and go along the shore to see the cruisers monument.  This is really a bush that people had left mementos that represent their boat.  Our next stopping spot was back to El Gato where Manual will come out to your boat and take requests on fish or shellfish.  We got two lobsters and several scallops from him later in the afternoon.  This is a great example of an independent businessman for he contacts almost every boat and does quite a good business. 

 San Francisco Island has a very unique anchorage called “The Hook.”  We pulled up as most boats had left so we had a pick of the anchorage.  The next morning after a great night’s sleep, we went ashore to hike to the crest of the island.  This is an awesome easy hike with great views of the anchorage and the eastern part of the island.  We saw cactus plants that had flowered and produced beautiful red fruit that the birds were enjoying.

 Finally our last anchorage before pulling in La Paz was Ensenada Grande on Isla Espiritu.  This anchorage has three bights and we chose the southern one, right below the cross on the hill.  The wind blew in the afternoon but calmed down in the early evening.  The water was so aqua blue and you could see right down to your anchor.  What was even better was that the temperature was 80 degrees and felt so good after a sail in the warm sun.  We wanted to go snorkeling in the early morning but decided to pass it up since we were covered by No See-um bites from our last anchorage.  

We will be in La Paz till the first week in December talking some in depth Spanish classes and enjoying Thanksgiving here in weather of high 80s and low 90s.  What a life!