May 19 - 26, 2008

Rancho La Venta, Visit with Kate & Lee & my first Scorpion Sting

The Homestead…

The gate to the ranch and the incredible pool area that they are building.

Our wonderful host, Liz picked us up in La Paz and we headed into the mountains for about an hour to arrive at the Rancho La Venta homestead. This approximately 350 acre ranch is a piece of paradise, with 10 horses, 4 dogs, 4 cats, the main house, a casita for guests and an amazing pool built on the side of the mountain.

Our honeymoon castia - outside and inside

Relaxing and Happy Hour on our private patio

Our cozy honeymoon casita featured a private patio and an outdoor washroom/shower close to the horses and the garden area. We spent the first night with Bob and Liz who took us to a local truck stop restaurant, which was an authentic Mexican experience (only $35.00 for full meals and beer!). They originally hailed from Alaska where Liz had a restaurant (needless to say the meals she prepared were amazing) and Bob was a commercial fisherman. Prior to that he spent many years sailing the oceans, so he and Peter had quite a bit in common. Liz is also an artist, singer and passionate horse-lover and dog rescuer. We became fast friends.

The Campsite….

Our rustic casita - thatched roof and dirt floors - totally comfy

The next morning, after coffee and cinnamon buns on our patio, we saddled up the horses and headed cross country for about 6 hours to the wilderness camp, which was much more “deluxe” than we had expected. It had 3 individual casitas, an outdoor shower and an outhouse with a view. We set up camp under a large tree where meals were prepared over the open fire, Liz’s special margaritas were dished up and tall tales were shared around the campsite, while the horses wandered throughout the camp.

Goats wandering through camp

The adventure continued just before dinner when our horses all spooked and my horse ran right through the page wire fence letting all the horses out. In their flight they scared either a cougar or coyote away who had just moments before killed a baby goat. My horse Cuba sustained cuts to his chest, but no serious damage and the horses were easily rounded up. Bob trucked the dead goat to its owner, who was able to salvage the meat.

For the next two days we set out from this base camp and rode though a variety of terrain, including mountain trails cut out by the cows and deers, palm trees, cactus and we cantered through the dry river beds, locally known as arroyos. The riding was fantastic! We also visited Scott and Kathleen, friends of Bob and Liz who have a minimalist homestead run on solar energy, requiring a 3-mile walk in and out. We hit it off instantly with them as well. Very special people.

Full moon rising over the campfire

Outhouse with a view - shower in the great outdoors

On the last day at camp after going for a ride, we trailored the horses back to Ranch La Venta and spent the evening at Liz and Bob’s house for dinner and another night at the honeymoon casita. The next day, after our final ride around the ranch, they drove us to visit with our old Abbotsford friends Kate and Lee Fenner who live 7 months of the year at their beautiful home in Los Brailes.

Visit with Kate & Lee….

We arrived at Happy Hour and spent a few hours catching up before their friends joined us for a lively dinner on the deck overlooking the ocean. Just before dinner, I went in to our bedroom to finish making up the bed, when I got a big surprise. I got stung by a Scorpion!!! It was very ironic that we were so careful while out in the bush, but I got zapped while in the house. (Poor Kate was horrified). Liz had a very large and scary centipede in her wilderness casita, which she fried in the fire, but that was the closest we came to being bitten out in the camp. The scorpion sting was quite painful and throughout the evening the fire continued up my arm.

We managed to polish off a few bottles of wine and that seemed to help!! Now a couple of days later, the pain is almost all gone – but the good thing about it (just for you Krys) is I now have another great story to add to my memory treasure chest! We spent all of Sunday with Kate and Lee showing us their wonderful town and then we caught a bus back to La Paz where we plan on spending the next few weeks while Peter gets the alternator fixed, other boat projects completed and we take daily immersion Spanish lessons.
Until next time…….do something crazy.

May 10 - 19, 2008

Shelby & Doug’s visit, Sailing to the National Marine Parks & Swimming with Sea Lions.

Itinerary: La Paz, Puerto Balandra, Ensenada Grande, Los Islotes, Isla San Francisco, Isla Coyote, San Evaristo, Caleta Partida, La Paz.

Our first night together - Doug, Shelby, Di and Peter at sunset in La Paz.

Doug, a friend from Silver Star and his 10-year old daughter Shelby joined a 9-day trip from La Paz to some of the islands of the National Marine Parks and then back again to La Paz. We left on Mother’s Day (it was so great to get emails from all of the kids) and headed to our first anchorage of Puerto Balandra. This was Shelby’s first experience in salt water and snorkelling.

Our favourite anchorage in Isla San Francisco .....taken at sunset at the top of the ridge

We had fabulous weather for the entire trip (including a few nights with strong Coromuel winds to keep things exciting), days of sailing (although not as much wind as we would have hoped), daily sightings of schools of dolphins & pelicans, lots of snorkelling, fantastic hiking including ridge hikes and boulder climbing through the cactus, and other shore excursions to sea caves and fishing villages. The undisputed highlight of the trip was snorkelling and swimming with wild sea lions and their pups at Los Islotes, a sea lion rookery. Doug, our official photographer will be sending the video when he gets home.

Doug and Shelby were the perfect guests (and awesome pancake makers) and we enjoyed their visit immensely! Shelby was a keener about everything and she quickly learned all the nautical terms and took her responsibilities onboard very seriously and was a big help! I really enjoyed her company, her enthusiasm and playing tons of games with her including Othello, Scrabble and Double Solitaire. She even charmed Peter so much he let her turn the station from Outlaw country to the Disney channel featuring “Milo Cyrus” as he always teased her that she was called. Shelby reminded me so much of Kylie at that age!

We were sad to see them go…and we hope that Shelby’s bee sting in her toe gets better. Thanks to both of you for a memorable experience!!!

Peter & I are heading off today for a a 4-night horse back packing trip up in the mountains, topping it off with a “sleepover” at our friends in Los Brailles.

Until the next time……hug someone special today.

Week Ending May 9, 2008

Week Ending May 9, 2008

Running out of Fuel, Root Canal and La Paz

As per our last update, we had planned to meander up the coast stopping at remote anchorages until La Paz. As with all sailing trips the plan, was simply a guideline and it got changed.

We left bright and early from the Bay of Dreams motoring, as there was no wind once again. In addition to running the engine, we were also running the generator (to charge the batteries) since we were still having alternator issues. The Hobbs meter (which reads the fuel gauge) was not working either. After approximately 4 hours of motor sailing, all of a sudden both the generator and the engine stopped. We had run out of fuel! Turns out we had used much more fuel than anticipated on the crossing of the Sea where we had to motor the entire time.

I was a little freaked at this situation, especially in light winds, however Peter seemed to be in his glory. “This is the way they used to sail in the old days” he said with a huge smile on his face. We were able to sail pretty close to an anchorage a few hours later, however, the wind died completely and we were very close to shore as we were almost at the entrance to the anchorage. Peter then jury-rigged the fuel so that we had enough to start up the engine and make it in to the Balandra Cove anchorage to anchor for the evening.

That night we had our first taste of what is known as “Coromuel” winds which happen almost nightly in this area. After sundown the wind whipped up to about 25 knots and howled all night. We were securely anchored (with Peter checking about 3 times during the night). The wind was great for keeping the cabin cool and comfortable. In the morning, we sailed off the anchor with a steady breeze and sailed out of the anchorage. Once out in the sea, the wind was directly on our nose, so we tacked back and forth for over 6 hours covering a measly 6 miles. We finally made it to the entrance of the 5-mile La Paz channel and called in to arrange for fuel at the marina. Funnily, enough they advised that they were out of diesel!

Now I was starting to get nervous, but Peter still had the smile on his face. Luckily the wind was in our favour, so we were able to sail the long, narrow channel all the way up until we reached the anchorage. Once securely anchored, Peter headed off in the dinghy to another marina and filled up two 20-litre tanks. The anchorage here is in an ideal location within walking distance to town. The anchorage is famous for what is known as the La Paz waltz, which is the dance that anchored boats do when the 3-knot tidal current flows in and out, while the wind blows in the opposite direction. Although very common here, it is still odd to see boats with their anchor lines coming straight back along the bow of the boat rather than taut straight out.

Just when we were thrilled that we made it safe and sound, Peter developed a severe pain in his face. By Saturday morning, he was in agony so I DRAGGED him to a dentist. Being a Saturday of their long weekend, we were at a bit of a disadvantage, but after getting some fellow cruiser referrals, we located an English-speaking Dentist who saw Peter immediately and determined he was, indeed in need of a root canal. The Dentist drilled open the tooth and relieved the pain immediately, then Peter took antibiotics to get rid of the infection and went back for a couple more appointments to complete the root canal and get the crown. Peter says the experience was much easier than he thought, it was 1/3 of the price of having the work done in Canada, and it was highly modern. It’s no wonder many Canadians actually choose to come to Mexico to have complicated dental work done and enjoy a holiday at the same time, all for less than doing it in Canada. During this week, I also went to an acupuncturist every day as I’m getting impatient for my knee to heal completely (which it pretty well has). Swimming and going to Yoga every morning at the marina has also helped!

In between Dentists/acupuncturists, we found lots of time to explore La Paz, which is so far our favourite city in Mexico. It is a colonial and authentic Mexican city of about 200,000 people. There are very few tourists and it is an oddity to see another American or Canadian in the town. We love the people here, the food, the scenery and the laid-back atmosphere. We are slowly learning more Spanish and enjoy conversing with the locals – with lots of laughs and hand signals along the way.

While we were in La Paz, Kylie turned 20 in Australia. We celebrated onboard for her with balloons and piñatas, and we will celebrate in person when she comes out for a long visit in August with us. We miss her so much and just don’t know where she gets the “wanderlust” from!

Happy Mother’s Day to all the special Mom’s out there…especially Peter’s Mom, who has been a terrific Mom, and an extra-ordinary Grandmother and to Liz, who is anything but a wicked step-mother and who has become a special friend over the years to Peter and I and the kids. We are so lucky to have both of you in our lives. To my Mom, and mentor, who is no longer with us, but who lives on in spirit and in my heart. Thanks Mom for always encouraging the seemingly impossible…. you’d get a kick out of our ocean hippie life right now!

Until next week….. be grateful everyday

April 24 - April 30, 2008

The amazing sunsets at The Bay of Dreams

Crossing & Celebration

Departed on April 24 from Mazatlan crossing the Sea of Cortez to the first landfall at Los Muertos on the Baja Peninsula.

Total mileage: 196 nautical miles

Current Location at Los Muertos:
23 degrees 59 minutes .474 north
109 degrees 49 minutes. 708 west

This map shows the route that we have taken so far. We left San Diego and raced to Cabo San Lucas at the bottom of the Baha. That's when our crew left and Peter and I carried on up to La Paz stopping at anchorages enroute. In late November we crossed from Muertos over to Mazatlan on the mainland (you can just see the capital M on the bottom right hand side). This blog covers our crossing back from Mazatlan over to Los Muertos.

The crossing.....

We departed from Mazatlan at 0900 in very benign conditions. No surge and no wind. I was happy about this being our first leg of the trip, however, the Captain was grumbling and hoping to sail at least part of the way. We enjoyed a very pleasant day in clear conditions…escorted out of the harbour by pelicans. Less than a half an hour out, we were greeted by hundreds of dolphins that entertained us by playing in our bow wake.

After watching the sunset together, I went below as Peter took his first three-hour watch.
Since we were still motoring, it was pretty easy and I took over again at 2300. I kept an eye on the radar and the AIS (automatic identification system – which is our computer that shows us any commercial vessel within range– except for the many Mexican fishing boats who don’t have one onboard, just to keep us on our toes). After the first 15 minutes, I fell into the routine of scanning the horizon, the radar and the AIS. It was very peaceful until, without any warning there was a HUGE cruise ship that just appeared off the stern quarter. I frantically went below to check the AIS to see what bearing it was on and how I could’ve missed it. Still nothing showed up and when I quickly went up above I realized that it was actually the moon setting! It was a gigantic orange ball and was too incredible for words. I had never seen anything like it. (Peter got a laugh out of my story) when I woke him for his 0200 watch.

Needless to say Peter had to put out the sails on his watch, although we were still motor sailing. My 0500 watch brought an incredible sunrise and I discovered why night crossings are so coveted. After daybreak, the wind came up and we were able to have a great 3-hour sail before having to motor again.



Our home anchorage in Los Muertos


Our original land-fall was Los Brailles where we were going to meet with our old friends Lee and Kate (who used to work at the office with us). They now have a home here where they live 6 months of the year. Unfortunately when we arrived at 1400 (29 hours after departure the day before) the wind had picked up significantly and the bay was too deep and choppy for anchoring. We headed out again and continued to Los Muertos arriving at 1830 that evening.





We had been here before last Fall and just love this anchorage, with a well-protected bay, an endless beach and a great restaurant. We decided to stay here until April 30th so that we could celebrate our 30th anniversary here on April 29th. Our extended stay allowed Peter (aka Tim the Toolman) to work out various kinks. Our water maker broke (salt water contamination in the pump) and our new alternator was acting up. These and other boat projects took up most of the day for Peter – unlike what the Bacardi ads would have you believe the cruising life is all about! We did have lots of time for swimming, walking along the beach and just enjoying this beautiful spot. My knee is almost fully recovered and I think the swimming has been great therapy. A great bonus was having Kate, Lee and their daughter Jorga come to visit us for lunch and the afternoon. It was fun catching up and we’ve made plans to rent a car and visit their home once we get to La Paz and we will take them out for a day of sailing as well.



View of QuickStar from our hike to the point



Our 30th anniversary.....

It couldn’t have been a better place to celebrate our anniversary. Surprised and quite pleased that Peter remembered. We don’t do “gifts” – goes against my minimalist soul – but we did give each other “old” anniversary cards that we had exchanged in 1981, 82, 85 and 86. Corny – but that’s us! We took the dinghy ashore, went for a long walk along the beach, then to the restaurant to watch the sunset and have dinner. Back to the boat for some dancing in the galley – nothing quite like sunset and Sinatra to reflect back on the last 30 years. It’s been a wild ride – our kids and grandson our greatest gift – and we look forward to many more shared dreams.

Our anniversary celebration

(yes Kylie, I still have that 20 year old dress!!!!!)

We will up anchor at the crack of dawn tomorrow (no Martha, not like the crack of Don you wake up to every day, ha, ha). and sail where the wind takes us. We will meander up the coast stopping at small, remote anchorages with our next major stop being La Paz.
Until then…..remember to find the joy in every day.