at long last La Paz

San Jose del Cabo, the town square ready for xmas

We had a lovely Christmas Eve dinner with the crews of Adagio and Namaste in Puertos Los Cabos,  a traditional meal of Pizza and barbequed Marlin.  That was my first time eating Marlin and it was fantastic!   It was a wonderful time with good people.  Christmas day we said see ya later to Josh over a few margaritas at “the container” and after he left to get his flight the rest of us headed to the beach to continue to celebrate the holiday.  Life is pretty good.

Saying good bye to Josh, I think the big grins are from the
margaritas.......

Christmas on the beach with Namaste and Adagio

Puertos los Cabos is just around the corner from the Sea of Cortez  which has a weather phenomenon known as “northers” at this time of year.  When the northers are blowing it is wise to just stay where you are as progress is slow and uncomfortable or not possible at all.  So we waited in Puertos los Cabos for our window.  It came on Dec 30 and we departed early in the morning, had a brief stop in Los Frailes to say hello to our friends on Sea Rover II, and also test our watermaker, it has an issue and we could not run it in the marina.  It still has an issue……People keep saying that cruising is just working on your boat in exotic  places and so far there has been some truth in that.  However it is much nicer working on your boat in Mexico than it is when your hands are freezing cold and you can barely hang on to the tools, a reasonable trade off in my opinion.

One advantage of a smaller boat is that the ospreys
much prefer to sit on the delicate wind instruments
of the taller masts!

Yup we got wet. Photo courtesy of Namaste.

Anyway we arrived in La Paz on the morning of Dec 31^st after motoring through the night.  When we turned the corner to head south into La Paz harbour the wind picked up and we got thoroughly saltwater splattered.  In fact we have never been so wet on Kialoa before.  It was just something about the shape of the waves because they were not even very big.  However once again it is much nicer getting salt spray when the water is 70 degrees!  We managed to tough it out!

New Years Eve, just goes to show you are never too old to
party in a parking lot!

There is a cruisers club at Marina de La Paz that sponsored a New Years Eve party.  They were celebrating on UTC time (aka Greenwich mean time) so midnight was at 5 pm local, perfect for us as we were tired from the trip up here and were sound asleep before 8pm.

shopping for fresh fruits and veg in La Paz

and the butchers

Scotts back/shoulder is still hurting him so we have been trying to get some help for that as well as slowly checking out the city of La Paz.  So far so good, it feels clean and safe and the people are nice.  We are booked into Marina de La Paz for the month of January and we are looking forward to visits from friends and family while we are here.

A fish story

We arrived in Cabo San Lucas on Dec 21^st, the first day of winter, and went snorkeling the same day, no wet suit necessary!  I realized at that moment that this was what I had spent all those long cold winter nights dreaming of,  I am so incredibly grateful to be where I am living this life that I have dreamed of.

This one was very tasty!

Coming down the Baja coast from Bahia de Tortugas it was 100 miles to Abreojos.  Josh caught two fish during this leg, a tuna and a something else.  Luckily we had friends in Abreojos with refrigeration…We were hoping to see some whales as it is near a large lagoon that is a breeding and birthing area for Grey Whales.  Sadly we did not see any whales  and getting to shore here was not so easy due to the breaking waves on the beach so we pulled anchor at 3:30 am and made the next jump as far as Magdalena Bay.  As we were approaching Mag bay, Josh got a bite on his line, he caught a glimpse of it just before it broke the 100lb test and sadly that is all he caught.  It was probably way too big to get in the boat anyway……

Luckily no damage was done by this hitchhiker.....it was on
top of the windex at one point... 

Another tasty one!

Magdalena bay is so huge that you cannot see the shore on the far side.  There is a town in there somewhere but we did not see it and spent an uncomfortable night at anchor in bouncy waves and fairly high winds.  Another place we did not choose to linger and with a favorable weather forecast we left in the afternoon for the 166 mile run to Cabo San Lucas.  We had such favorable wind and made such good time that we were doing our best to slow the boat down so that we would arrive in daylight.  In the process we discovered that Kialoa can make 5 knots speed over ground with a push from the current and 22 knots of wind under bare poles.  That was not slow enough, however as we approached the harbour we lost all wind and then drifted around for a while till there was enough light to see as we entered.

After the quiet, undeveloped wilderness we experienced down most of this coast pulling into Cabo San Lucas was a bit like arriving in Las Vegas after camping in the desert for two weeks.  The hot shower felt totally fantastic but the hustle, bustle, noise and so many people was a bit overwhelming.  We have moved over to San Jose del Cabo and are enjoying a quiet Christmas here.

 Josh is leaving to fly home today so we will be missing him…..

A quiet moment on the way to Cabo San Lucas

This one was too small.

The arch at Cabo....I think everyone has a photo of this!

repairing hurricane damage

A fun night out with our new friends

                                                                                                                  

its been a great trip so far!

Ensenada to Turtle Bay

Josh with his first fish caught, Isla San Martin is just visible in the
background

The Baja Peninsula west coast is a very wild, beautiful and desolate area.  Our first stop on leaving Ensenada was Isla San Martin, a small volcanic island just off the coast.  There is a small area to anchor in the lee of the Island and we followed our friends on Sea Rover II into this little haven.  After 24 hours at sea it was a delightful stop but not a place to linger for too long.  Josh caught a fish just before we arrived so during our short 3 hour stopover we had a chance to clean and cook some wonderful fresh fish.   We also had some local fishermen come by looking to trade some crayfish.   We did not have any beer or cookies which is what they wanted but they seemed to be happy with the apple ciders and rice krispie treats, we were certainly happy with the crayfish! 

These guys were a yummy treat

Down wind sailing on a beautiful day, been dreaming of these moments

We left Ensenad on Dec 7th and arrived in Bahia Tortugas on Dec 10th after 72 hours at sea minus our stop at Isla San Martin.  It is a wonderful large protected bay with a fairly big town and a fascinating look at the Mexico that is not on the tourist map.  We spent 5 days there enjoying the town and recovering from the 300 mile jump from Ensenada.  That was the longest leg for us on the trip down the Baja and Josh was a huge help to us as Scott hurt his back in Ensenada and was not able to stand watches.  Luckily Josh is a quick learner and he was soon able to run the boat on his own.

I am not quite sure what this procession was for, there was
a celebration of some sort happening on the weekend.

Some of the boats anchored out.

I thought this was a funny little townsite outside of town, but it
is the cemetery.  The buildings here are in much better condition
than most of the homes in town.

A closer look at someones final resting spot

The waterfront

The Mexican Navy Base in Bahia Tortugas

We left San Diego with a loosly organized group of boats.
These are the crews from left to right of Adagio, Astraea, Kialoa,
Tappan Zee, Namaste, Searover II and The Red Thread. 

As we were all hailing from the Pacific Northwest we called
our sun seeking group the "Umbrella Dumpers"
It has been alot of fun and the cameraderie and support
has been totally fantastic.

Apparently pvc pipe elbows are only available in 90s in Turtle Bay

Entering Mexico

Scott with Fred and Roberta Wise, it was so nice to see them!

Hola

We have made our first Port in Mexico!  Our last few days in San Diego were spent doing last minute shopping,  getting Josh settled into life on board and Scott had a visit with some special friends from his youth.  It was a little hectic but we left feeling well prepared and ready for Mexico.  We departed San Diego on Thursday afternoon for the 70nm run to Ensenada.  We were in company with four other sailboats all with the same goal.  We did manage to sail for the first 20 miles and then it was back to the usual motoring.  The five boats stayed in contact through the night and come early morning we were all on the approach to Ensenda.  The first and only one to get seasick on our boat was Josh, (Scott was fine for this leg!) but he recovered after a long nap and took the watch in the wee hours allowing Scott and I to get some rest.  We are both still having a hard time getting sleep when we are underway but it is getting better.

The crew on Kialoa leaving San Diego

We arrived at the Marina in Ensenada at 8am and the first order of business was to get checked into Mexico.  This is done very conveniently in one centralized building a short walk from the harbour.  We had to visit four different kiosks within the building, some of them more than once, but we were done in about 1 ½ hours and are now legally visiting Mexico.  Kialoa has a Temporary Importation Permit and can stay for 10 years however we can only stay for 180 days without leaving the country to renew our visitor visas…

Ensenada has lovely parts

and not so lovely parts

We spent the rest of that day relaxing and everyone had an early night.  Today we did a little shopping and exploring in the city of Ensenada.

 There is a lot of pressure to buy things, so many useless trinkets are available at 50% off…..Ensenada has a cruise ship terminal also and that brings a lot of tourists to the town.  One arrived just after us spent the day and left that night and another came in today.

just some of the wares available

Still hanging in there!

We are now preparing for the rest of the Baja Peninsula and working on our Spanish.  Blogger is now coming to me in Spanish so I am learning some new words as I make this post, including phrases like "Ocurrio un error" and "reportar un problema".  The wifi is rather intermittant here......

Its warm and sunny and we love it!

Kialoa heading to Avalon along the coast of Catalina Island Photo courtesy of Kanilela

Some Catalina barb wire art

 We ended up spending 10 days on Catalina Island.  Enjoying being still and not moving for a while.  It is a lovely peaceful place in November.  I get the feeling it is overrun in the summer. The number of mooring bouys in each harbour is a dead giveaway.  Southern California boaters do not have many places close enough to go to for a weekend cruise.  Catalina is one of very few.   We are truly spoiled in the southern Gulf Islands where we have so many choices for a weekend away.
While it is lovely on Catalina there is not alot to except to go hiking or biking or boating.  There are places to go snorkeling but although it is warm it was not quite warm enough to get me in the water.

Scott came with me on this hike, turns out it was the steepest one!
Sorry honey.

This little rock has one patch of vegetation
on the right,  the black patch on the left is
birds!  I love the pattern they made.

I love the ingenuity that keeps this dinghy afloat!

Gord, Mags, Scott and I on the dock in Avalon

We spent a couple of days in Avalon which is the centre of civilization on Catalina Island.  It is entirely geared towards tourists, there does not seem to be any other economy on Catalina.  We did have fun there though and won a dollar from Gord and Mags playing mini golf.  I don't think we will take up the pro circuit just yet though.

Avalon harbour with the theatre in the background.  Note all
the mooring bouys!

 A statue of Richard Henry Dana, he wrote a book called
two years beforethe mast.  He was a sailor on a ship that traded
 for cow hides in the early days of California.  Its a fun read as we
 have been pulling into the harbours that he describes.  Dana point
is one of the places he made famous.  

 We reluctantly left Catalina and returned to the bustle of the mainland.  First stop was Dana point, see photo description, where we went for dinner with one of Scotts long time friends. It was great to see you Ronny and Amy!  Scott also went off and had a disc golf day with his old buddies on the course he played when he lived here.
A couple of stops later we are in San Diego, hopping off point for Mexico!
We have crossed almost everything off of our list including having the HF radio working and the email system set up.  We can now send and receive emails from anywhere as well as get weather information.
Josh has decided to join us for the trip down the Baja peninsula, so we are looking forward to his arrival.

San Diego skyline

Here and there but generally south....

Well we are back to the Island lifestyle……Southern California style.

We left Morro Bay after a fun visit with Bob, Pat and their daughter Lisa, after choosing a good weather window to pass around Cape Conception.  It is known as the Cape Horn of North America……I think that might be a little overblown myself.  For one thing it does not take very long to get around and the temperatures are never below freezing here…..it is after all, southern California.  But never the less we were careful to choose a good weather window and passed around the Cape at midnight, in calm seas and in company with Solestra, a fellow Bluewater Cruising Association boat that we last saw in Neah Bay, WA.

Bill taking Bob, Pat and Lisa for a cruise.

Bob, Bill and Scott all used to work together.

A hitchhiker

 As we approached the Cape the offshore oil rigs started to make their presence known.  At night these big islands of light invariably seemed to be exactly on the course we wished to take to Santa Barbara!  They were a bit intimidating at first but since they are immobile all we really had to do was steer clear. Phew!

Less intimidating in daylight

Santa Barbara is a lovely city with tree lined streets, nice old buildings and a beautiful waterfront that we spent four days enjoying with the crews of Solastra and Searover II, another Bluewater boat on the way to Mexico.  The next stop was Oxnard where we caught up with Kanilela, another Bluewater boat that we had first met in Morro Bay. 

 

Day of the dead decorations

Just some of the boats in Oxnard

Oxnard has a huge section of manmade canals and it sure was fun going shopping by Dinghy.  However the marina fee was high so we did not stay long.  We are now enjoying what Catalina Island has to offer in company with Kanilela and Searover II, Solastra has elected to keep working their way to San Diego along the mainland coast.

 

Neil Youngs boat was also in Oxnard, proudly flying the Canadian flag

  Catalina Island is experiencing a severe drought so things are pretty brown, but the weather is pleasant and the harbour is lovely.  There is also lots of good hiking, just beware the rattlesnakes and the buffalo…….I have not yet seen either though.  While here we have also finally finished our watermaker installation and it has been successfully tested!  Yay!  The signs about the drought everywhere were a good incentive on that one!

Kialoa is in the middle of the group

Made it to the top!