YACHT STOLEN KISS

Almost There! El Salvador to Costa Rica.

2012-01-22T08:17:00.000-08:00

The concern of getting out over THE bar at Bahia del Sol was unnecessary as it was a doddle, being flat with light winds. (We departed Jan 8th) Rohillio escorted us out very carefully as the bar had recently moved. Just before HW we had no less than 2.2 m under us, with a total of 3.4m of water.

We were anxious to get going before the papagyo winds started to blow. We had the first of the season in Bahia del Sol with a honking NE wind! January and February they are at their peak. Getting across the Gulf of Foneseca was our first hurdle, with the southern end of Nicaragua/northern Costa Rica the second, some 230 nm away. All advice says to stick to the coast for flat water, which sounded good to us!

All was going well. We had a little wind and actually managed to sail for a while. Engine fault numero 1 was getting worse after the first night at sea. A fuel issue began to plague us. Just south of Corrinto, Nicaragua, a significant port in Nicaragua (that the CIA once covered with landmines!), a local SW wind suddenly blew up, creating horrid seas. We turned tail and ran back into the calm waters of Corrinto to review our situation. Anchoring at the said spot inside the estuary with some fishing boats, we had a good sleep, sorted the problem and found a solution. Peter nailed it down to the manual fuel pump, perhaps being gummed up whilst sitting for so long or at worst broken. If we kept the electric fuel pump running, it would be sufficient to run the engine below 2000 rpm. Our weather window was open for another 24 hours, so we set forth like thieves in the early morning, with a much more favourable wind and sea state!

For anyone else heading south, we would recommend Corrinto as an option to Marina Puesta del Sol, 14 miles away. We tried calling the Port Captain in Corrinto, but there was no interest in us. We did meet a strange fellow down the track, who took 48 days to sail there from La Paz (due to no wind), stayed 6 months in Corrinto and the only way they could get rid of him was for the Navy to board him and fire a shot into his cabin, but not at him! Scaring the westerners does it! He had obviously overstayed his welcome!

Our first anchorage in Costa Rica was the sensational Bahia Santa Elena. A very protected anchorage with no settlement; a national park full of wild life (jaguars if you can find them!) with howler monkeys making a racket and many birds happily chirping away.

With a papagyo forecast for the next day, we wanted to get around the Cabo Santa Elena and into the more protected waters around Playa de Coco, a major tourist haunt. It is amazing how this headland divides the weather. Leaving early morning, we had a sensational sail with 25 knots behind us until around Cabo Santa Elena, we entered a world of flat water, dolphins, fish leaping around with gay abandon and serenity! A magic sail…..this is what it’s all about!

After an easy peasy..... clearing into Playa de Coco (except the port captain did not like me being the owner and Peter the master with Peter doing the paper work! Some nice Spanish men, on holiday kindly wrote out the necessary paragraph in Spanish for us.) ........without any charges- although they were clearly posted in the Port Captain’s office, it was off for some R&R at a wonderful restaurant with wifi. We were told our dinghy was ok on the beach during the day, but after dark the outboard would be gone. There was a fleeting moment when that sounded like a good idea!!!!!!! Our dinghy looks so poorly, no-one would want that for sure! We had no safety issues in Costa Rica and felt that the theft risk was minimal.

Re-fueling at Marina Papagyo and a wiz around the bays, two nights there was enough. Another papagyo was starting to blow, and it would continue for over a week. We were outa there. These gap winds blow offshore from systems in the Gulf of Mexico. By all accounts, the wind speed can be more than double the forecast. We can now verify that this is correct! A forecast of 15 knots sounded good as we could sail! As we rounded Punta Gorda in light breeze (early morning), the wind started to pick up, from the stern quarter. Just when you think it was safe……………..

Enjoying watching the Wind Star (which we kept seeing as we moved south) who was anchored with the locals......

and the activity around Potrero, sailing forth around the next point and whammo……..we had sustained winds on the beam over 30 knots for two hours, with some heavy gusts up to 42 knots! We had continually reefed down until the leech chord had knotted itself and luckily we had dropped the main before the wind really hit! At least it was flat water! Of course we hooked a large fish at this stage but could do nothing about it as we had sailing issues at the time! The fish got to live another day! The literature says that the papagyos stop after Cabo Velas, however we were past this point with the worst wind! Having a look at the paper chart, we were in actual fact sailing past a gap in the mountains. Another 15 miles or so the mountains start again. In typical papagyo fashion, we later sailed out of 30 knots and into a nice 10 knot SE’ly! Looking behind we could see no white caps or evidence of wind!

An enjoyable overnight sail (I use this term loosely!) enabled us to reach Bahia Ballena, which was a calm sheltered anchorage in Gulfo de Nicoya. A place worthy of further exploration with a long, flat beach, nearby town and islands further north. However, we need to be in Panama by early February.

Across the other side of the gulf is Quepos, with another expensive marina, empty of course! The marinas in Costa Rica all charge around $2.25 to $2.50 per foot per day plus tax. That amounts to around $135/night for us. Similar to Caribbean prices without the amenities. We can’t get our head around the pricing as they are all empty. The marina in Quepos (Costa Rica) wanted to charge us $50/day for dinghy landing. Even the locals think the marina management are loco! Like Mexico, the prices rise as the customers fall!!!!!!!

There is a lovely young chap, Jorge, who provides a water taxi service to the local jetty for around $1.00/trip. This funky little town is now popular with cruise ships as the nearby Emanuel Antonio National Park has been ranked 11th best in the world. It certainly was worth the local bus ride out there and the tour guide. The first white sandy beaches we have seen since leaving the Baja!

Our first 3 toed sloth...buing slothful of course! Lots of wildlife that you could hear but not see unless you had a telescope! (Which our guide did!)

As we anchored in Quepos, I noticed a different engine noise as we backed down on the anchor. I relayed this to the master (on the bow) who responded with a grump! What would I know??? The master had a little surprise when he went to check the oil in the evening, as the prop shaft had fallen off the coupling!!!!!!!!!!! A few hours later, the engine was even better aligned (an existing problem since our purchase) and Peter mumbling that it could have been his fault when he installed the flexible coupling in Bahia del Sol! The engine is now the best it’s been and no longer has an annoying rattling sound coming from under the floor in the aft cabin!

On visiting the office at the pier in Quepos, we got on the wrong side of the officials as they wanted to see our papers and we did not want to go back out to the boat to get them, which of course we did! Not being interested in our passports to see if we were legal, the only document they wanted to inspect was our ships papers! The official took offence to our Small Ships Registration (British) document and would only let us stay a day! Mind you, we were surprised when we first saw our registration paper; A5 with no official stamp or proof of ownership! Nothing like the Australian Registration or USA documentation - you get what you pay for! Jorge, our water taxi thought that this guy was loco as well!

Between the marina and this official, it is sad that they turn yachts away as we are providing income for the local people. Quepos was certainly worth a visit and it had an amazing supermarket opposite the bus station! We collect all sorts of goodies when we can! The bays between Quepos and Bahia Drake are certainly worth checking out and it appears to be the best for snorkeling, diving and wildlife in surrounding national parks. Bahia Drake, our next anchorage looked like a wonderful place to explore, but for us an anchorage for a few hours before setting forth to Golfito to get the flood tide.

On our way to Bahia Drake we had a little visit. A precarious perch that it was, our friend stayed a few hours preening himself and didn't even mind when Peter went up on the foredeck to get the staysail out of the bag. As we passed a fishing boat he saw some better friends and flew off!

Our best catch so far..a Sierra. The freezer is now full and we will save some for Ann and Terry. (You will have to excuse the deck frock!!) Note our tacky dinghy!!

We had some more excitement coming into Bahia Drake as a burning smell (like burning wire!) was coming from the engine. The engine switch had turned itself off. Some hot wires to deal with! Peter replaced one wire which we hoped would be sufficient to get us to Golfito. Another 65 miles to go! Coincidently ( I don’t believe in coincidences!) the HF was lacking power (blew a fuse) so we could not send emails or get weather info. This sent the laptop into a frenzy as the HF is connected for sailmail. Oh no!!!!! Strange. A little chat with the device manager had the laptop up and running with the charts. So lazy now on using paper charts! However, they are both always on the chart table! Would we get to Golfito???????????

Golfito was our final Costa Rican port to clear out of; a funky little town clinging to the water’s edge at the base of a very luxurious rainforest. Some areas around here get 220 inches of rain/year! Dockwise load yachts here, so I best get Peter moving! This is a very popular yachtie hang out, and we can see why. Tim and Katie of Land and Sea are well known as they provide amazing amenities for yachties moving through. A welcoming place when you have boat issues to sort out. There is only one yacht heading north and another “Flame” type yacht anchored nearby. It certainly has that Bakewell – White look about it! A shared taxi in and out of town is just over $1.

Peter has terminals to clean, wires to replace and a new starter motor to put on (he thought there might be a short somewhere in the current one, but it urned out ot be in the alternator we had serviced in San Carlos!) We are going to do the bottom here (with crocodiles, but smaller than Australia!) and then all should be ok if we do it again before leaving Panama. Due to the cost, we are not going to haul out in Panama, but maybe wait until the Tuamotos; sounds luxurious…similar to the Maldives. 11 months of maintenance to do in 3 weeks!

Meanwhile we have a lot of paperwork and hoops to jump through to clear into French Polynesia (Marquesas to Tahiti), which is what you get when you have over 100 yachts each year on their way through the Pacific and some yachts creating problems for the rest. We would not have this problem if I was allowed a British passport…which we assumed I would get married to a British subject! Not so!!!! It’s so much easier for Peter travelling on his British Passport. We have to have health insurance which is something we have never had!!

Panama is just around the corner, with one more gap wind to deal with. There is a great window at the moment, which we hope holds, or at least comes back. We also hope our HF continues to work so we can get weather info!! There are many islands in West Panama that we will explore on our way through, albeit it quickly. I was chatting to an amazing little girl yesterday who was born in Texas, spends her time living between Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. She assures me Panama is a wonderful place and sadly, we only get a short time there. However, the ITCZ is almost at its southern-most point, below Panama, and I am sure this world changes when the wet season returns! Our Panama list of jobs grows by the day. We have a long way to go to New Zealand!

Once Around the Block. Finally we return to Stolen Kiss after 8 months!

2012-01-05T08:00:00.000-08:00

After sad farewells to family and friends and 2 ½ days of travelling we made it back to a lonely Stolen Kiss. It was so good to see her sitting peacefully on a mooring just as we had left her!

An extended layover of 18 hours in LA was good to catch up on some sleep and spend lunch time down at a Manhattan Beach café. We have continually found strangers in the street in the States so friendly and offer a service second to none. So different to Australia!!!!!!!!! We had a bit of a win as there was no excess baggage to be paid on our 7 pieces of luggage! Although we were ok with Qantas, Taca Airlines was our concern. Mum’s xmas cake made it in one piece which is a good thing as we needed something to eat on board. It’s the furthest one of her cakes has traveled.

Although this year it appears that December would have been a better month to head south, we plan to leave by the 8^th January. We are now in strong papagyo weather (strong gap winds of up to 40 knots at times). Our first anchorage will be a 230 mile or so leap to Bay Santa Elena in Costa Rica. (Weather window is looking good at the moment!) Clear water to boot, so we can swim off the boat once again. We so are looking forward to this! All we have to do is get over the bar! A different type of bar to contend with these days!!

Choice is an interesting concept. Heading south in chunder and frightening, squalls or clear skies and papagyos????????? I think we prefer the latter!!!!!!!!! However, having experienced the first papagyo whilst sitting here in the Bahia, this statement might need more consideration! We will have to cross the ITCZ at some stage. No doubt this will be on passage between Panama and Galapagos, and we have Ann and Terry to share this with!!! However once through, we have the SE winds for the rest of the journey. This will be a first for us (having A&T on passage and sailing through the ITCZ!) as in the Indian Ocean we followed it south, anchored in Chagos whilst it headed north over us, then managed to get north before it moved south!!!

Sadly, our time in Panama will be very short, which by all accounts, is an excellent place to cruise. However, the old adage of you can’t enjoy everyone’s paradise….you just have to find your own. We do have the whole Pacific to cover this year. Panama for us will be a busy preparation time for our crossing. We have a mainsail and dinghy to pick up. Bottom to anti foul, provisioning and a little fun to be had! We have a haul out date for Feb 7, so we need to get out skates on!

All is well on Stolen Kiss. Santos and his team had looked after the boat exceptionally well. There was a scratch along the water line from a log that had gone past, which, given the rainfall and amount of debris that had come through the estuary, was of no surprise. The guys had spent considerable time and effort protecting the boats. Out table had been varnished and now looked a little more presentable. I was quite surprised to see that the aluminium foil was still attached to the hand rails, blocks and lights on deck. Our effort of cleaning and wiping the insides before we departed 8 months previously had paid off as there was no mould or musty smell on board! Good old vinegar and Lysol!! Santos had also done some cleaning on board the morning of our arrival. The reliability and honesty of the guys gave us some degree of comfort in leaving the boat for so long. He is puttting together a website for those cruisers interested.
www. santosmarinaelsalvador.com So all in all, we would highly recommend leaving the boat in EL Salvador, in Santos' care during the hurricane season.

As we re-initialized the systems, we held our breath as we tried each one! Of course as the master had installed all the electronics, each one worked perfectly. To hear the engine turn over and purr quietly was a relief. It even sounds better from having a rest!! Laptops continue to become a challenge. Peter has just seen one advertised with no moving parts! I guess leaving them on board in the heat for 8 months is a little too much to expect. I am hoping our nav laptop will at least make it through the Pacific to New Zealand.

We had pulled all the halyards to the top bar one, and had them coiled at the bottom of the mast, with sunbrella wrapped and tied around them and the winches. The rain had washed all the salt out and they were nice and soft! Having the winches well-greased and covered has kept them in good shape. No doubt we will have plenty of time on passage to do some of these jobs! On looking at the flight path of our A380 as we flew back, we wondered what we were ever thinking now we have to sail back!!

Every orifice around the boat had been plugged with rags or fly wire to keep bugs out. Good that we remembered to get the rag out of the exhaust before we tried to start the engine!!! Not sure who got the biggest surprise when we untied the sunbrella wrapped around the mast winches and halyards as a family of bats had set up home!! They sure do poo a lot!!!!!!!!!!!! As they flew around looking for a new home, we were diving to close the hatches!! Sam (who works for Santos) was helping at the time so between 3 of us, we managed to beat the bats to the hatches! Sam also helped Peter pump up the dinghy (which now looks even worse with more of the grey paint having flaked off to the pattern of the deck!!) and took it away to collect our outboard for us. Too easy! Santini, Santos’ father is a great outboard mechanic and has had it during our absence for maintenance and repairs.

Peter installed the new boat jewellery……..much easier to haul up the outboard now.

Moonshine and La Paloma arrived back on the same day as us. We are shared a van to go shopping and a small tour up to the volcanoes. Shopping in San Salvador on the last day of the year was perhaps not the best day to go, but we all managed the crowds and our driver took us to THE favoured papusa restaurant for lunch. The grand cost of $8 for 6 people for food and drinks!! We had left quite a few stores on board which were all in good shape. No crawlies!!

By the time we all got back and loaded the boats, New Year ’s Eve was spent on board, surrounded by noisy music and what sounded like a war zone for 8 hours with fireworks exploding all around us. The ½ hour before midnight on deck was beautiful watching the finale of all the fireworks! To our relief the locals were all partied out by 0030 hours and all was quiet for a sleep! Latinos are the party animals!

We had one day off to visit a volcano and surrounds. Unbeknown to most of us, except Ari, the beautiful mountain town of Alegria and the volcano were at opposite ends of EL Salvador, so essentially we had gone round a very big block in one day! A lot of travelling, but with views to die for!

The town square was heavily decorated for xmas.

Our restaurant that had a view to die for, overlooking the mountains in Honduras and down to Nicaragua, had their own personal guard. The government has employed the old guerilla's from the civil war. A good idea for these guys!

The gardens were very colourful and the orchids just divine!

Nearby Alegria, (as in any place in El Salvador) there is an old volcanic crater, that still has a strong sulphuric smell. A flat piece of land is good for soccer.

The aroma of the coffee beans had us wanting.........

Half hour out of San Salvador (the opposite end of Alegria) is another volcano that last errupted in 1917. There is a small crater now growing inside the old one. The local people farm small plots of land inside the crater.

The way down the volcano, provides a vista of the sprawling city of San Salvador. The population is no bigger than Perth!

During our absence we decided to pay some local chaps who work at the marina to polish the topsides and stainless. A fair price for them and for us, so we are all happy! Peter did feel a little uneasy about paying for something we could have done ourselves. The guys did a sensational job and the boat is sparkling in the moonlight!

One of our lifelines broke when Peter was leaning on it. Lucky for us it happened on the mooring and not at sea. Santos organised a beautiful stainless weld and Peter a rather impressive splice for the spectra rail until we get to Panama. At least there will be no confusion which is port!

The bar was flat yesterday so we are hoping for a similar situation when we depart in a few days. We will just suck it and see!

Busy Buzzing Bees

2011-10-02T00:32:00.000-07:00

Spring in Perth and the SW of WA is a wonderful time as all the wildflowers are out; but so are the pollens which are just the thing for bees, but no so for hayfever sufferers! With La Nina being prevalent this year, Australia has had good rainfall (some areas far too much!) so the desert has come alive!

Although we will not get to go north to see the wildflowers, on previous occasions up there we have seen everlastings as far as the horizon. (ridgy didge!!) Everlastings are like the ones below..

In the desert, mixed with the ocre colour of the sand..the colours look sensational. South of Perth, in wine country, its the green and gold that we can see. Wattles are sensational...

But still there is more!!!!!!!! Beautiful Geraldton Wax..........

Then of course are the Grevillias..........

The flowering gums are really sensational. These trees are part of the eucalyptus family and ususally grow up to 30 - 60 meters and higher! (for those of you think in feet..you can do the conversions!).

An absolute favourite is the WA state emblem....the green and red Kangaroo Paw.

Grass trees or Balga bushes were called Black Boys in the old days before we became politically correct. The 'black' part came from the blackened trunks as there needed fire (intense smoke) to re-generate and propagate in the wild. The 'boy' bit you can work out for yourself!!

You can't see the trunks here as these are relatively young. We did find some nice aged ones, however there were some very large Murray Grey bulls sharing their space, and with only a thin fence between them and us...........hmm. Peter thought that the fence would hold but as the bulls were getting quite upset at our presence, I did not want to push my luck with a better photo!

With the flowers, come the beautiful birds. There are many electric BlueWrens that are around at the moment. He was obviously giving us the bum's rush.............

Not long to go now to get back on the sea again!

A Blast from the Past

2011-07-24T05:06:00.000-07:00

Although we are in Perth for 7 months this time (the longest stint since we started cruising in 2003) our time at home is zipping along. It has been wonderful spending time with family and friends and with the inevitable gathering of fun tickets, we look forward to returning to El Salvador to see Stolen Kiss and prepare to head south and across the Pacific. Bolivar, our agent in Galapagos, has smoothed the way for us to visit there without the general cruiser hooha of what can/must happen before we get there/being there. We have opted for 46 day permit, which gives us maximum time if needed. Easy peasy…..

Soon after our arrival we enjoyed the beautiful wedding of Peter’s youngest son, Barnaby to Anita and had to find some glad rags. We scrub up well!!

Barns and Anita had visited us in La Paz for 3 weeks last year and we look forward to seeing them in Bora Bora next year on our way across the Pacific.

There were the Bently Cars that Peter used to look after...and of course the 3 little grandsons all enjoyed the day.

With 4 grandchildren and 6 big kids, there are lots of birthdays to celebrate! One of the grandchildren asked if grandpa and I ever had a birthday. As we are never in Australia for ours…..does this mean we have eternal youth????????????? That would be Aunty Anita and Grandpa surrounded by the kiddies.

Peter has been working down south in our magnificent wine region on his sister and brother-in-law’s property, putting the finishing touches to a new extension. Having 2 weeks holidays (one can never have enough!!) I joined him there before we both headed to a favourite town on the south coast – Albany.

Peter managed to do the tyling without getting housemaid's knees, which he did get fitting the new floor into the previous boat.

Peter had waited until I was down there before climbing rather precariously on the steep roof in order to oil the cedar cladding. Not sure why I was standing there in case he fell...to catch him or cushion his fall????

Not one to miss an opportunity to play with toys…there was lots of farm stuff to do! The grandchildren also came down for a visit, so much fun was to be had by all.

Albany was first known as Frederickstown in 1826 with the first settlement in WA and was to be our first capital except for its lack of fresh water. Hard to imagine as my memories of Albany from when I first started going there in the 1960’s was of a cold, rain sodden place.

The Dutch visited in 1627, French in1803 and finally the British in 1826, who sailed all the way there from Sydney to claim it as their own before others stepped in! Whalers and sealers who were working the southern ocean in the 1820’s started coming into King George sound and making it a permanent base. I remember as a child seeing the whales pulled up on the ramp and being disembodied. Thankfully the whaling ceased in 1978.

Albany was also a departure point for the Australian and New Zealand fleet taking our boys off to Egypt and Gallipoli to fight with the British in WW1 in 1914. In recognition of this important historic event, the small channel leading from King George Sound into Princess Royal Harbour was named Ataturk Channel. Mt Clarence, affording stunning views over Albany has a wonderful exhibit and monument in commemoration of WW1.

The recently established wind farm is a bit of a giveaway as to the sailing conditions along this coast! After all, it, along with Esperance to the east, is the border of the famous Southern Ocean, where I learnt to sail dinghies. It took a while to realize that the rest of the world does not sail in 30 knots of breeze. Fremantle, in similar conditions, is the 3rd windiest city in the world behind San Francisco and Wellington, NZ!! Why do we want to come back????????????

There was even a little message from Nelson Mandela...not sure why it was at the wind farm...

However, the southern coast of WA is awesome, albeit treacherous.

Stunning sandy beaches

..and many interesting buildings telling the tales of its history

For those of you who are not Australian, we found many kangaroos happy munching on the beautiful green grassy fields, close to housing estates. There were those who were lazing around and others who stopped for a scratch…..and some very big boys. These are the small variety, unlike their big red cousins in the north!!!

Apart from enjoying the beautiful drive through the forest of the SW of WA, the main reason was to visit an old school friend, David and meet his wife, Pieta. I have not seen David for 26 years. David taught me how to sail in the 70’s, crewing with him on a VJ. In retrospect, we had a dream time in our young days, spending our time sailing and riding motor bikes on the many tracks around Esperance or along the pristine beaches. His sister, Caroline and I shared a bike. We would load up lunch and the dog and off we would go for the day. We had 30km of beach to ride along and countless sand tracks to conquer (or not!!) If there was anyone on one beach, we would go to another. We had lots of spills, lots of laughs and a heap of fun!

David had recently said to his family that there was something wrong with the picture here as he had taught me to sail and I was the one off cruising!! Not one to sit around, he and Pieta have purchased the famous Sweet Caroline, a 1982 Dubois 44 IOR boat that they are re-modeling and re-fitting for cruising. The first thing they have organised is a new cabin top which will give them a semi pilot house. We hope to see them out sailing and cruising in the near future. Sailing in the Southern Ocean and off the West Coast of WA prepares you for sailing anywhere in THE world (or we hope so!!).

Here are some pics of Sweet Caroline. Note the 4 spreader rig.......I wonder who will have the pleasure of going to the top??????????

Mayan Mysteries

2011-04-05T10:44:00.000-07:00

Two Australians, two Brits (Henry and Janice from Cloudy Bay) and an Israeli/American (Ari from La Paloma) set forth on a little adventure with Jorge (Hor-hey) of Tour in El Salvador. It’s a treat when you spend a lot of time in a confined space (the van!!) with a wonderful group of people. Jorge was a great driver and did not really scare us, well, most of the time!!

The stories Jorge told us of the local area made a difference to what we were seeing along the way and we swear he talked the whole way!! For us, bouncing around in the back of the van (rough roads, poor shock absorbers) we were at times relieved that Ari got to sit in the front seat!! For Ari and Jorge, they were like the kids in the playground.

We were spoilt at border crossings as we got to relax as Jorge took our passports and jumped the queues. By land, you can travel on one visa for Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Costa Rica. No worries.

The first day we had a few stops in El Salvador (covered in an earlier blog) then off to Copan to see the ruins. These ruins are a little older than Tikal (Guatemala); Copan existed between the 5^th- 9^th century AD in a fertile valley bordering the Copan River. Its survival was very unique as it was on the border of the Mesoamerican cultural region and almost surrounded by non-Mayans. At the peak of their power, the population was estimated to be around 20,000. The Mayans had an extensive social, economic and political structure. Interestingly, although a much of the ruins have been excavated, no bodies have been found.

The town of Copan is surrounded by mountains in the NE of Honduras. Rural life for some continues to be the same as it has for centuries, with villages dotted all over the landscape and getting produce to market.

We arrived on a Sunday afternoon and were surprised to see many men slumped along the pavement sleeping off their alcoholic excesses. (They could have been in the Geraldton Race!!) Beautiful cobbled streets adorned with many tourist shops and restaurants with wonderful colonial hotels, redolent of the Spanish occupation. Henry, Peter and Ari (not quite the 3 wise men!) found time to relax outside our rooms.

Being a mountain location, we enjoyed the escape from the coastal humidity and heat.

Jorge had the best restaurants to take us to. Erica, spent much time practicing her talent, first with plastic glasses. A beautiful, enterprising young woman has found a way to make huge money via tips. Ari had designs on her (he is looking for a woman) but mentioned the threat from his daughter if he bought home a woman younger than her! (We will leave her threat to your imagination. Good for her, we say.) Ari (who hails from California now) is a good guy to have around as, apart from his sense of humour, he has been part time cruising in Mexico for the last 10 years and spoke good Spanish. We often gave him a hard time as he seldom wore a shirt and we were even more surprised on our tour that he did in fact have more than 1 with him!!

The Copan ruins are not dissimilar to Palenque in the jungle of southern Mexico as it is thought that a Copan Prince married a Palenque Queen and therefore followed a sharing of knowledge.

Our guide for the Copan Ruins was Saul Molina, a music professor who has developed a passion for archaeology after meeting and befriending many archaeologists who have come down to excavate the ruins over the last few decades. Saul’s stories, information and passion made a significant difference in our enjoyment and understanding of the Mayan culture. His ability to articulate these stories and the eloquence in which this was done left us with such admiration for this man.

The Mayans had an elaborate system of cisterns with aqueducts in order for there to be enough water during the dry season. The main pavilion was built so that the drains could be blocked and used as a reservoir. The pavilion was built so that the water could be gravity fed through the nearby houses of the wealthy people.

As there is an amazing likeness with many Chinese characters, archaeologists feel there must be somehow a link between these early civilizations. ( 1421 is a great book to read in the light of this).

Not much is known why the Mayans, after having such an elaborate societal structure, died out so quickly. One theory is that the red paint they used for decoration was made from Mercury, which via the rain, washed into their water catchment and slowly poisoned them. This of course, happed in other Mayan settlements as well. With the civilization expanding over so many centuries, each successive culture built on top of others that had been covered up. Archaelogists have constructed this piece as it would have looked like underneath the current structure found. Notice the red paint!

The new way of excavating ruins is to leave some of the original mounds so we get to see the comparison and how ruins can be buried for centuries.

Luckily I saw this colourful chappie before he saw me!! He was bigger than my big toe and I suspect could put out quite a bite.

Grand old trees, Ceiber trees, can still stand proud over the landscape. Seeing this tree, you can understand how the Mayans thought that they stood at the centre of the earth, joining the terrestial and spiritual world.

This interesting statue does not apparently fit in here, leaving archaeologists a little miffed as to how he got there. They are desperately trying to find his real home so he can be returned and be in peace. As he is a happy chappie, he is much liked!

The workers lived on the other side of the river, near the fields and were bought across on a daily basis to work for the wealthy and ruling class who lived around the main pavillion.

These small guinea pig like rodents are native to Honduras and very timid. They were enjoying the serenity around the ruins. Apparently he is called a Hutias and is native to the Caribbean.

Remember the Ceiber tree....we had seen many Ceiber trees since southern Mexico, the younger ones being covered in thorns to protect them. They were mainly used for canoes, some of which could seat 40 people. Today they are used for building.

From Copan we had too much of a short stay in Antigua, Guatemala. A week here would not be enough!

The Guatemalan people are 70% Mayan, still wear their traditional dress and are active in the social/economic and political sphere of the country. They were very successful in passively resisting the Spanish occupation as they would attend church but secretly bring in their own religious icons. The Pope, after his visit in 1996, gave them permission to follow their own beliefs in which the people found much mirth, as they had been doing this for centuries! They celebrate International Women’s Day and work hard to raise the standing of women in the community.

Beautiful Jacaranda trees in bloom were adorning the town square which was strategically designed so it lined up with the four points of the compass, with significant municipal building located on each side. Antigua is most famous for its language schools where you can come and learn Española immersion style.

The main statue in the square became such an amusement to Henry!!

Once again we walked around the narrow cobbled streets (how on earth do women wear stilettoes here??) and enjoyed fantastic restaurants and coffee.

We were so impressed at how our coffee was presented....not to mention how good it tasted…………..

that we put it on the floor to get a good photo, much to the amusement of the maker!!! They had very high tables!

Restaurants provided interesting music....

Such a beautiful town was completely surrounded by volcanoes (one of which constantly smokes). It was a little eerie thinking about Pompeii and I did spend a few hours at night planning a strategy of getting out in case there were any rumbles (as you do!!). Of course we would not have had a chance!!

Our guide in Antigua was not as interesting as Saul and a two of us got bored very quickly. Ashamedly, we, who have the concentration span of a gnat (sound familiar Didy????) was perhaps not the best. He arrived smelling of an over powering after shave, slicked back hair with very, very, tight jeans that somehow held a partially unbuttoned shirt that displayed his necklace amid a hairy chest. A man certainly full of self-importance which he was keen to share with us frequently. How on earth could we take him seriously?????? Janice and I stood there is disbelief and were having a chuckle. Our poor guide, wondered what we were scrutinising….and promptly asked us what it was about him we were looking at. Janice, quick not to miss a beat, said it was his watch!! He promptly took it off to pass around so we could admire it close up!!! Sadly the morning tour did not get any better as the more he plied us with extensive facts, the more some of us got bored.

He did, however, manage to get us into the very old church that was slowly being renovated. The history of the church was remarkable, however as neither Henry nor I could deal with confined spaces when he took us below ground, we went off to do a little dance outside a narrow window (air vent) that the others could see …. two pairs of feet doing a Mexican Shuffle!!

It’s the women that usually carry heavy jugs of water and produce on their heads, but Peter made a gallant effort of trying out women’s work! Of course the problem was that no one was tall enough to successfully assist in getting the (empty) jug up on his head!!

A traditional dress worn by women may take 6 months to weave, which then signifies not only the geographical location of the person but also her language group. Antigua was a wonderful place to peruse the national market and purchase stunning locally made cloth.

As in El Salvador, the Guatemalan people are very welcoming, even though they have a considerably more developed tourist industry. Corruption in Guatemala has yet to be dealt with by the governement, unlike El Salvador which has made huge in roads to be rid of corruption altogether. As the locals explain, the governement has cut the grass from the top!!

For those who are coming to El Salvador, we recommend running around with Jorge. Some of the cruisers have rented a car to drive around Guatemala and El Salvador and have not had any problems doing so.

This is our last post for a while....so you can all breath a sigh of relief!!!

Humidor Havana

2011-03-31T13:17:00.000-07:00

Havana (appropriately named) is actually the second capital of Cuba. Originally it was Santiago in the south east of the country.

Part of the fun getting to Cuba from El Salvador was the flight to Panama along the coast, with many volcanoes to look at

along with the islands and anchorages in the Golfo de Foneseca.

and Nicaragua...which is steaming!

Unfortunately the clouds obsucred Costa Rica and the Panama Canal...Bugger! Half way across to Cuba from Panama, we were now in the Caribbean with some beautiful atolls….why are there no yachts anchored here???

and the circle cultivation on the Cuban plains was facinating. This has been used to increase productivity after all State owned farms were privatised in 1993. Farming is now organic.

Old Havana is both stunningly beautiful and very sad. Architecturally, the buildings are awesome; with porticos and Doric columns.

Huge doors that we saw in Antigua, Guatemala for the days when people went about thier business on horseback.

However the buildings have been left to crumble; although the government is slowly getting money to renovate/restore some buildings; absolutely beyond comprehension how they will manage to do this.

Some of the restoration projects have been magnificent and these buildings sit proudly leaving it to the imagination of what Havana would have been like in her former glory.

Much of Old Havana has been closed off to cars allowing a timeless stroll through a maze of cobbled streets to discover restaurants, some commercial activity (a few clothing, book and shoe shops) small museums, art galleries and a large number of bars.

Of course the music is just sensational and every hotel/bar/corner has musicians hammering out great tunes, beckoning you to dance, regardless of your ability!!!! Latinos have the moves that westerners try hard to achieve!! Centro Historico has a lot of entertainment...we feel some of which is for the tourists.

The port entrance is very small and was once a good hideout for pirates and their booty.....

with the foreshore extending along the city for quite a distance.

Some of the local inhabitants roam freely around and can be found in many a hotel lobby.

We visited Hemmingway's favourite bars, which although are very crowded in the mornings; (everyone seems to start drinking very early here!!)

the afternoons are a great time to relax with the locals...and when in Rome..... (had to have at least one Mojito!!)

Hemmingway has left his legacy all over Havana; La Bodeguita Del Medio (above) being one such place where whoever comes to visit writes their name on its walls……

making his own statement, which we are sure has been followed by others.

A famous Mural depicts life in the street; the Cuban Arts scene as it was famous for pre revolution; literature and music. The government is currentlly restoring the buildings opposite the mural so a mirror image is unfolding.

Revolution Square is used for national gatherings and more recently, to the delight of the Cubans, live concerts. The National Museum is located here with past revolutionaries such as Fidel Castro and 'Che' Guevara presiding over the square. Apparently when Fidel Castro spoke to the people in the square, his comrades would offer encouraging comments which translates to 'good words Fidel' or somehting like you are doing a great job. This is the slogan with the portraits.

The absence of a westernization of a culture ….. the commercialism, mobile phones stuck to people’s ears, fast food…..all that is visual was one of the reasons why we wanted to visit Cuba; although of course, it is what the young people now want, after seeing what the tourists have. President Obama is talking about opening up Cuba to the Americans next year…..so change is on the cards. Hopefully all will change for the better for the people without conflict. Tips are the only way the people can get ahead at the moment and whilst some expect a tip if you take a photograph, others who provide a service may not and be over the moon when one is given.

The State provides free health, education, rent free accommodation and free make-up for women! There is some opportunity to move house, although the process is difficult. Individual home ownership is only for those whose families who owned homes before the revolution and can be passed down to younger family members. Because there is a shortage of housing, young married couples have to live with either parents; sometimes up to 10 couples can be sharing a small house, so marriages quickly end in divorce due to the lack of space and privacy and the pressure of families.

As fantastic as it is to experince Cuba, differences in wealth exist and we saw little of the hardship that many people faced in their struggle for survival.

After the Pope’s visit in the early 1990’s, Catholicism is now allowed. The main Cathedral has since been beautifully renovated

while the old Church has been abandoned.

We were surprised at the huge number of tourists, many of which are bundled from one location to another on tour busses.

We preferred to run around in style...

Arriving as an independent traveller, any tours you go on consist of a handful of likewise travellers, which adds to the interest of the tour. We were often with people from South American countries.

We did see one large fruit and vege market, (important to cruisers!!) but for most of the people, there are many small tiendas (shops) that sell a small amount of items and some supermarkets, sparsely stocked, that some people can afford. Not sure of how it works, but the people are only allowed one soap bar/month and other goods are rationed. Soaps, toothbrushes, washing powder, shampoo and pens are some good trade items!

There are not a lot of cars on the road, so apart from the expensive hire cars and tour busses; the roads are almost devoid of traffic outside of Havana. Although there are busses, generally people travel in the back of large trucks into the city or there are traffic police that stop yellow plated cars (private cars) to organise a ride for the people whom need to travel in and out of Havana.

Other rural transport is by bicycle (Cuba would be a great place for a cycle tour!) or horse/bullock and cart.

In Havana, a variety of local transport is available….

Havana is one of those places where time has stayed still; Peter is in awe of the people who can keep beautiful vintage cars still running without access to spare parts. It says a lot about the ingenuity of the people, borne out of necessity.

The Cuban people’s ethnicity varies from Spanish, Italian, French, African and a mix of all in between. The original Indian inhabitants are no longer present.

Tourists have a different currency to the locals. We can only use Cuban Convertibles (CUC) with an ER of 1USD=1 CUC. The USD is penalised 10%, so European currencies are better to exchange. The locals use Cuban Pesos, for reasons we could not ascertain. Some of the older Cuban’s we asked said the ‘why’ aspect of their life is too hard; it’s up to their children to ask why. The struggle for life continues to be difficult for many.

Some businesses are private, like the beautiful National Hotel (owned by a friend of Fidel!) which houses a theatre and a Hall of Fame which is well worth seeing. There are beautiful old photos of musicians and film stars who have visited Cuba in pre revolution years and during the Communist regime. It was a wonderful place to hang out on Peter’s birthday…of course with the recently acquired Panama hat and Cuban Cigar!

Incidentally, the cannons that were positioned between here and the fort, (during the 18th Century) could fire a cannon ball up to 9km.

In Pinar del Rio, a few hours to the west of Havana we visited a local Ron (Rum) factory that produce La Occidental Ron; they add little Guava berries to the alcohol to add flavour. The factory does not produce enough for export and 40% proof, it’s not a mixer. The Cuban’s certainly drink a lot more than the Aussies….and that is saying something. Good thing I did not grow up in Cuba!!! We were mojito’d out after the first day. (Had to have just a tipple!!!) We liked the lady who wore her hair in curlers to work!!!

In nearby Vinales, Thursday happened to be market day and we hope a special day as the beer truck was in huge demand!! The locals would fill their litre water bottles up with beer for $1. Street drinking is not an issue in Cuba.

We also visited a Cigar factory (in Pinar del Rio) where Churchill, Romeo and Juliette and Monte Christo Cigars among others were produced. Contrary to popular opinion, no virgin’s thighs were in evidence in the manufacturing process; however, it was very labour intensive. Strictly no photos were allowed, which, given the working conditions of the men and women, was not surprising.

Apparently we did not miss out on much not getting to visit the chololate factory and the only Cuban chocolate we found was at the airport…it was to die for...and yes we were little piggies.

The limestone hills in the area were once a part of the coast line, during the Jurassic period. In 1962, the locals painted this huge mural to acknowledge the ancient sea level (thick black line) and the local wildlife!!

Rivers have cut many caves through the hills…..

In order to have a taste of the Caribbean without the masses of tourists, we spent a day out at the local beach near Havana…Playa Del Este which was stunning…….

and YES….

at last beautiful gin clear water with the fabulous colours we saw in the Indian Ocean. Roll on the Pacific!!! We did not want to leave!!

Great palapa restaurants….there is just something about having a meal with your feet in the sand.

Of course no journey for us is complete without a visit to a marina..Hemmingway Marina was very busy with the exception of American yachts!!

We did not know what to expect with Cuba but what we saw was awesome!! We would love to spend more time here. A Canadian couple we met said that they had last been here 10 years ago and nothing had changed. Unlikely in the next 10 years……………….

Meanwhile back at the ranch (or Bahia) yachties are travelling here there and everywhere and it’s great to come back and hear tales of daring do!

Cuba Practicalities

2011-03-27T09:41:00.000-07:00

Cuba Practicalities March 2011

A visa is required before entering Cuba. Cost $20 USD but ours was included in our package. We flew Copa Air and visas could be obtained at their desk at the airport in El Salvador and in Tucumán Airport, Panama at the gate before we boarded the aircraft.

Trip Advisor information indicated that you cannot enter Cuba without personal insurance. Although ours was provided as part of our package, it was not asked for.

Our passports were not stamped; only our visas. Our immigration cards we were given on the airline prior to arrival were not required, neither was our customs declaration!

USD is penalised 10%. Many currencies accepted including Mexican Pesos! We used GBP. They even accepted old notes! Also changed some smaller USD with no problems.

We buy Cuban Convertible Pesos (CUC) as locals are paid by the government in another form of Cuban currency; Cuban Peso CUP. ( 1 CUC=24 CUP)

CUC was almost parity with USD. All prices marked in $, which refers to CUC.

There are ATM’s in Havana city center.

We used the money changer at the hotel; Trip Advisor suggests Cadecas (Money Changers) give a better rate, but hotel was easier and only minimal difference.

We had 240v in our hotel with American type sockets.

We found it was 50% cheaper to purchase our airfare/accommodation via Jimenez Travel, Zacatecoluca, El Salvador (near Don Juan Supermarket). It was a quick decision to go so we booked and paid for our travel 4 days before our departure. That may have had a bearing on the price of the on-line airfare. Copa Air have some fantastic deals.

Our deal was $760 USD/person for 5 days in Havana, including airfare, all transfers, city tour and accommodation with breakfast at Occidental Miramar Hotel, a $10 CUC ride in a taxi to Centro, but hotels have shuttle busses. Room was very basic but clean; TV, good bathroom; nice bath but no plug!! So if you want to enjoy a bath...BYO plug! Wi-Fi (expensive) and an amazing breakfast! Being out of the centre does have its advantages as you can walk around without being hassled by those wanting money.

We met others who had booked everything on line and also got good deals.

We did not have time to research hotels and areas properly before we arrived. In the central area, the place to be is near Plaza de Armas or Plaza de Cathedral in the Centro Historico District. Many hotels in the centre with varying prices. Some amazing hotels like Santiago, La Florida, and Palacio O’Farrill; the latter of which was once a palace which has been beautifully restored. An alternative area is near Havana Beaches; Playa Del Este has stunning beaches where the locals hang out and no tourists; only a handful of travellers. Not difficult to find a good palapa restaurant along the beach! Hotels there are only 3 star but apparently good.

Tourism is an important economic commodity, so we are well looked after with regards to security, given we did not stray into unsavoury neighbourhoods. Anyone with criminal intentions is quickly locked up. The upside the government regime here…..no gangs and no drug problems.

Old cars are wonderful and the young boys pose as Taxi cabs….they are careful drivers as they cannot afford a speeding ticket nor do they want to prang their cars. Not sure if they are official taxi cabs….but a lot of fun! You can bargain the price down to $12 to Playa Del Este from Centro.

Cabs that we caught did not expect a tip. Prices they charge, we assume has propina added!! We noticed that many Spanish speaking tourists from the Americas did not tip at all.

Some people spend a few days in Havana then fly to Santiago (old capital) at the other end of Cuba, not far from Guantanamo.

A good idea not to be in Havana on the 1st May…huge May Day celebrations.

Cayo de Coco seems the beach to be….but about 6 hours from Havana by road. Has an international airport. Hotels out at beaches are expensive. A very popular beach is Varadero…not far from Havana and has international airport. Apparently its where the Canadians hang out!

Officials at airport are a little surly, (it’s just a job for them and they have to be serious) but the Cuban people are wonderful, with a quirky sense of humour; amazing racial mix but no racial tension. Cuban’s rely on tips to improve their lifestyle, but not everyone expects a tip.

Soap is in very limited supply so can be used for trade on the street. We were also asked for pens and washing powder. We took a large supply of small soaps and shampoos we had on board and made little zip lock package bags to give to cleaners at hotel and some others which seemed to be appreciated. Someone even left a thank you note under the door of our hotel room!!

Music is everywhere and as you would expect-loud and fantastic.

We thought Cuba was much cleaner than Mexico with regards to rubbish and restaurants in general.

Need to purchase drinking water. Cheaper at supermarkets than hotels.

Ron (Rum)…...lots of it! Prices vary from a little over $3/ bottle to $8 and up for Havana Club which is exported. We went on a day tour to Vinales to the West of Havana and found excellent rum that only the locals drink for around $3/bottle. Prices for ron and cigars are pretty much the same wherever you go.

There is actually a wide variety of food available, variable prices. Cuban meal consists of meat (pork, chicken or fish) with rice, beans and vegetables/salad. It’s the most fresh food we have seen offered with meals south of USA. Food is a little bland though due to a lack of ingredients. Cuba is not the place to visit if you are after gourmet food! Around our hotels there were a few Italian cafes where we good get good coffee and a meal for under $7 for both of us.

We visited Hemmingway Marina. Many yachts and power boats there. A little ways out of town but hotel there has pool/restaurant and we believe a shuttle bus to town. It’s close to the airport. We did see a large fruit/vege market near town but cannot remember where!!

Be prepared for HEAPS of tourists…astounding number from all over the world. Many from South America, Europe, Asia, Russia and Canada. However, there are enough places to escape to and the majority of these tourists are in organised groups so they do not stay in one place for long. Many tour groups go to Centro Historico in the morning, so by lunch time/mid-afternoon it’s quiet.

Tours (City Tour, Vinales) were good as you get a local guide who can explain much more than what you can see. Our tour groups were small as we were the ones that were not part of an organised tour. Both of ours had excellent English. Cubatur was excellent.

Hire cars were $100/day with only 100km inculded in price. Any distance over that was expensive.
Cuban coffee…and chocolate………yum!!

You need $25 CUC/person airport tax.

Save some dollars (either CUC or USD) at the airport for the chocolatier inside the departure lounge!

Cuba is an awesome place to visit. Have no expectations and you won’t be disappointed!

El Salvador Snapshot

2011-03-20T10:23:00.000-07:00

Much of what we have heard about El Salvador in the past has been from the civil war….(apparently the American Government supporting the El Salvadorian Government and the CIA the rebels..go figure…) but that was 20 years ago and the people and the county have moved on. There is an old CIA out post in the Gulf of Foneseca, which is 50 miles or so south of here and where El Salvador borders Nicaragua and Honduras.

Given the situation in the Indian Ocean with growing attacks on yachts, Central America will fast become a more favourable cruising ground. With yachts like Sarana spending considerable time down here, there will be more cruising information, inevitably attracting more and more yachts as sadly, many prefer the safety in numbers philosophy. Eric and Sheryl on Sarana (www.sailsarana.com) have put together a comprehensive cruising guide available in digital format for a very small fee.

Unlike its neighbours, El Salvador currently has very little tourism. Their main source of tourism happens to be yachts; good for us as it means low costs and great deals…like leaving Stolen Kiss here, under guard, for $100/month. We are also charged us $1 a day to be in the country, which is fine considering that most nations in the Indian Ocean all charge $100/month. Another bonus is that there are no drug problems here and the government is keen to keep the cartels out. Fingers crossed!!!!!

Whilst San Salvador is much the same as any city in the world with it s large shopping malls, the rural areas are very poor and traditional life prevails.

Now the struggle for survival is easing, the government is slowly moving to educate the people about rubbish; much the same as Australia until the 1970’s with the ‘Keep Australia Beautiful’ campaign.

Although Bahia del Sol is a little isolated, the estuary provides an escape from the hustle and bustle of the country side. The waterways are extensive and worthy of exploration……..

With a beautiful, long, peaceful beach; great for walks (by all and sundry) and surfing!

Herradura, a town 4 miles up the estuary offers one choice of obtaining fresh produce….

Cashew nuts trees grow wild and local families process what we enjoy! Very labour intensive and just as expensive as anywhere.

Along with mangoes, papaya, bananas......and in the hills..cocoa beans

Which brings us to an amazing story that the Mayans who gave the Spaniards some hot chocolate to drink and were saying that it was hot, which sounded like "chocolate" hence now the name!!!!

Whilst the town of Zacatecaluca (another ‘Z’town for us!!) is 1.5 hours by chicken bus, it is surely an entertainment!!

One of the local men came past and playfully slapped Peter on his bare knees and laughed as its only children who dress like we do in shorts ad shirts!!

Everything is for sale on the bus..ear plugs would be an advantage.

Piñatas are far more creative than Mexico…..

A busy town with colourful wares……

A visit to the wonderful Nevaria Icecreamery is a must….for Peter, before and after shopping!!

A traditional dish in El Salvador is the Papusa; a rice tortilla stuffed with meat, beans/cheese or spinach and cheese and cooked on a hot plate. Yum!!!! They are sold on the streets, on busses and everywhere else.

Staples include bread and rice while other food includes burgers and meats with rice and vegetables/salad. Seafood a plenty around the estuary!!!

A large proportion of the Salvadorian GDP comes from its people working in the USA, sending money home. During the civil war, many Salvadorians fled north and were (and still are) given refugee status in the USA and are therefore not considered as illegal immigrants. The people are gentle, kind and gracious, forever coming out to assist us (speaking English) as we struggle with our limited Espanol.

Geographically, neighbouring Guatemala has the largest number of Volcanoes in any country in the world, (a total of 33) but El Salvador being smaller, has the largest number of volcanoes/sq km. Quite a few are active! There are many earthquakes, especially out to sea along the plate boundary. In the light of Japan’s recent tsunami, this leaves us a little nervous. Surely one tsunami in one’s life is enough!

The World Hetitage archeological sight of Joya de Ceren, accidently discovered by a farmer working with a backhoe in the 1970’s provides an insight into just how extensive the Mayan ruins are and what is yet to be found.

The different layers of soil that can be seen here are indicative of the volcanic eruptions that have occurred to bury the ruins.

Strangely, no human remains were found….so what happened to the people who lived there?????

There is more than enough to keep us occupied as getting fresh supplies takes up most of the day. There is the pool to escape to in the afternoon heat....

The usual wifi available at the hotel (what did cruisers for before interent??)....and the marina....we use the term loosely as its bound together with bits of logs floating on plastic drums. Some of it broke free last year...but now apparently its tied to the bottom, which makes us wonder what would happen in the event of a storm surge????

...... our jobs list which is now varnishing the bare spots inside the boat (with Peter's wonderful patience when I forget which bits he has done!!)
...... and for me, helping out with English classes at the local school on the adjacent island.

Now we have palm trees…all we have to find is our white sandy beach!!

In the meantime there is more land travel and exploring to be had!

Barreling Bar

2011-03-09T09:44:00.000-08:00

View Larger Map

We are now in Bahia del Sol, El Salvador after having successfully negotiating the bar crossing. The only thing we can say is have absolute faith in the pilot!

After spending a few hours hove to off the meeting way point listening to the surf on the bar, we figured that at HW slack (the only time the pilot will bring you in or out) the waves have to be better..and of course it always looks more scary when you view the bar from the back of the waves!! Barisa (Bakewell and White 52, who know Flame from FSC!) had arrived from the south and were coming in after us....

There was a little swell running (4-6 feet..ulp!) which we could not figure out where it had been generated as the Tehuantepec and Papagayo winds were not blowing. The only disconcerting thing for us to start with was the call to 'stop' when we were in between two sets of swells (over 1m high) in 1.2m of water, then asked to get out of there quickly..which we did! The time between full speed and stop for us is significantly large, as one would expect.

However...have faith in the pilot.....who is on a jet ski and we are told is a very experienced surfer....

Bill from Mitu Kuuluu was on the back of the jet ski, with the VHF, translating the pilot's instructions. The call of 'you are about to get a gentle push'(3 times!!) was exactly what we got...surfing in over the bar at 12.2 knots. Whey hey!!! Peter described the waves as perfect surfing waves!

So ... here we go... Peter keeping the boat nice and square to the wave..

Coming off one wave...

Building to 12.2 knots on another....

Just when we thought we were finished with surfing.....

Here comes another one....and yes, we were following the pilot carefully...still nice and square to the wave..

The welcoming committee...Cloudy Bay and Royal Albatross....

It took us 3 surfing waves to get over the bar, then finally we were in the estuary..to our relief!!

The marina in sight (I use that term loosly!!)

With stunning views....

......magnificent playground....

We have watched many boats coming in and going out.....so far we have 'won' the surfing stakes...and getting out seems to be a lot easier.

Thanks to Bill (Mitu Kuuluu); Janice and Henry (Cloudy Bay) for their photos!

Mexico in our Wake

2011-02-27T09:14:00.000-08:00

Our stay in Hautulco ended up being a little over a week as we waited for a window to cross the Tehuantepec. It did allow us a little time to explore the beautiful town of la Crucietta and nearby La Cruz, the latter of which is where the cruise ships dock and the pangas hang out.

Puerto Escondido a little way to the north is a famous surf beach; some yachts anchor here but far too rolly for us!

Puerto Angel is a lovely cove between Escondido and Hautulco, but once again, anchorage is only good in calm conditions.

Along the coast, there are several turtle sancturies with successful breeding programs. The amount of turtles off the coast is evidence of their success. Marine turtles are not the only turtles bred here...some strange behaviours, like hiding!!

That would be the top of Peter's boofy finger to show the size of the young ones!

A nearby area has in the mountains has been developed for a botanical garden where different fruit trees are propagated for the locals in order to establish alternative incomes.

This has been a very successful project to date with tropical fruits like rambutan and mangosteen.

A big day out walking through the gardens and enjoying local meals was had by all.........

..with a small water hole to cool off in..

Our return was blocked by a local demonstration. Our driver, not sure of how to get us back was sent via a dirt road, taking us through many local villages. We had no idea of life off the main road! Schools are a little different...

Our window for crossing the Tehuantepec was not the most reliable past 24 hours; out of the 3 models we used, two gave a prediction of 25 to 30 knots 24 hours after we departed, which incidentally appeared not to have eventuated until 48 hours. Out of the 9 boats that departed around the same time as us, most took the rhumb line route, or close to.

This large sand dune seemed so out of place along a rocky coast. After Salina Cruz, one long beach seemed to go on for 100 miles or so.

Are we so small..or is that dune so large???

We are far too cautious for that and were the only ones to stay close to the beach. We were happy with our decision as we not only got lifted along the beach, but 3 miles off gave us less current (mostly adverse once past Salina Cruz) with land and sea breezes to push us along. Other boats, even 8 miles out past us, had no breeze at all. Getting through ‘trawler city’ was not difficult as they are well lit, move at around 4 knots and parallel the coast; easy to negotiate and we did not have to deal with the smaller pangas and nets that other boats had to deal with 10 miles off the coast. With a full moon, it was a sensational crossing. Where else would you want to be on a full moon besides being at sea???

Apparently the trawlers come down here from Mazatlan during winter for the shrimps, which at present are fetching $12/kilo for the trawlers, so they are making a lot of money.

As most of us arrived at Chiapas at a similar time, we proved too much work for the Harbour Master and Navy; Harbour Master closed his door (it was Friday after all) and said come back on Monday. The Navy only checked one yacht thoroughly; all the rest of us just got paper work done in the cockpit. Far too hot for them down below! Have to be happy with that.

Local transport around Puerto Chiapas is easy and there are good restaurants on the beach; with the best stocked Walmart to boot. The nearby town of Tapachula is a very important gathering place for the local villages with the whole area being the closest to traditional Mexico as we have seen.

The zocalo, as usual, was full of entertainment....

the best flan (creme brulee)

with the yachties being the only westerners there!

We almost forgot which country we were in for a minute with Moorish architecture again….an unusual Church..The Light of the Sea….. Muslims might find it a little confusing??????

All went well with our clearance (especially since we had not technically cleared in with the boat as we purchased her in Mexico) with the only hiccup being organizing for the navy to come out and give our final clearance, which can only be done 1 hour before departure. This takes a little time and the Port Captain is the only one who can organise this; however we did find that letting the navy know of intended departure when they come to clear another boat is a good thing!

The Harbour Master must have felt sorry for us (we told him we wanted to leave during the night in preparation for the Navy to come clear us) and maybe he thought that as we were still waiting at 0800 the next morning (when we actually wanted to depart) as he gave us permission to leave; we were speechless as other boats in the past who have left without navy clearance had been turned back at the Guatemalan Border (14 miles down the coast). The Harbour Master did say to us that yachts did not need clearance as far as he was concerned and he was aware of the time it took other yachts to clear.

If Bahia Del Sol, El Salvador is your next port of call, departure from Chiapas is quite crucial if you want to make the right tide for crossing the bar into Bahia Del Sol. A pilot is required; he on a jet ski….

Now sitting in Bahia del Sol, we successfully crossed the bar, so far winning in the ‘best surf’ stakes. Great!!! Luckily for us we had absolute confidence in the pilot (he has a 99.9% success rate with yachts), otherwise we would had been somewhat worried. We had 3 ‘nice’ waves (nice for surfing as they were 4 to 6 feet) to give us a gentle push (which was the call) to surf in on, with Peter surfing the big blue surfboard with perfection as one would expect! 12.2 knots! Not a drop of water on the deck! We had friends out there taking a video and picks of us.....more to follow!

Penultimate Port

2011-02-06T14:09:00.000-08:00

Zihuatanejo to Hautulco

Remember the Dutch lady on So Long that we met in Isla Grande, Ixtapa who was cruising in company with her husband around the world….on his and her boats….here they are departing Zihuatanejo. His is the smaller of the two!

We were a little savvier on departing Ixtapa and checked the marina entrance so there were no surprises! We continue to be amazed at the dolphins we encounter; we had the escort of 5 very large, fat dolphins from the entrance to the marina out to the small nearby islands 1 mile away.

Zihuatanejo, a mere 5 miles around the corner from Ixtapa was a little disappointing; but perhaps that was because we expected great things from what we had heard. The water in the bay was dirty and it had the potential to be a very rolly anchorage. Money has been poured into the town’s infrastructure in order to cater for cruise ships and also the nearby town of Ixtapa to attract tourists, but such development has now outstripped their water quality monitoring. So much for the nice sandy beaches!!!!!

We have long wanted to visit a ‘’Z town’’, having missed Zanzibar (did not quite make the African Coast) and Zambawonga in Mindanao, Philippines (not so safe to go there!). We had explored Zihuatanejo from Ixtapa as it was very easy to get around by public bus and in hindsight we could have easily passed the anchorage…..which sounds even more interesting as now sitting in Haultulco, we hear of another yacht anchored there before us watching the crocodiles swim past! Hmmm….Peter dove on the boat there to clean the prop. The divers in Darwin Harbour did tell us that crocodiles don’t attack under boats as the hull provides a larger target for them. So far so good as Peter had to dive on the boat in Darwin Harbour as well to fix the centre board on the previous boat before we could get into the marina!

An overnight sail to Acapulco was done 2 days after a full moon (we have been out of sync with the full moon for most of the journey south)..calm seas, 3 miles off the coast, most of which was beach. A great night to have the iPod on, and dance in the cockpit as it makes for a fast watch! It is amazing how many others do this on their night watch as well!!!!

Acapulco was another place where cruisers last year had said not to go to….red rag to a bull for us. We were not put off by the news that a day before we arrived, 15 people had been beheaded...up in the ourskirts of the town. We have people in salubrious Perth suburbs that get chopped up and put into rubbish bins! Statistically, twice as many people are shot in the US per head of population than in Mexico and 10 times as many in the Caribbean. Sadly the drug violence appears to be escalating in Mexico, hurting the tourist industry, which is very unfortuantae for the majority of Mexican people who are polite, courteous and very friendly people.

I had always wanted to visit Acapulco from my younger days in the remote NW of West Australia watching Elvis in “Fun in Acapulco”. (Not a lot of entertainment in the bush!) There was one post on the internet I found from a cruiser who had stopped off at Acapulco early in 2010 and provided the low down of how it all works…..where to find moorings, where to anchor and where to get fuel.

Quirky Mexico jumps out at you in the least expected way...as we came into the bay, a casa grandes had this huge murial of a woman with other faces around her....

We wandered into town on Sunday, family day, where as always, the beach is to be enjoyed...and the local fixation of all things that one can inflate!!

We did think it a little strange that so many people were gathered around the town centre (our Spanish not good enough to interpret what the loud speakers were sharing with us).....and were a little slow to realise it was a political gathering. Not sure what these people represented! Makes our politics look very dreary!

Today we were all supporting Yellow Team for Governor! We did make a hasty exit as a common warning to tourists is not to get involved in political rallies.

Acapulco was an absolute blast. Reciprocal membership to Club de Yates allowed us somewhere to leave a dinghy, do laundry, laze by the pool and just kick back and enjoy!

As with all of Mexico, local bus travel is cheap and all places accessible. We found the local central market which was a little overwhelming but had everything there. Taxi cabs were all VW's that we remember from the 60's.

Supermarkets, Home Depot (aka small Bunnings), Cinema and the 5 star hotels, excellent anchorages with a clean harbour to boot!! What’s not to like? Strangely, on our approach, you do not see the loom of Acapulco, but from 37 miles out, you see the twinkling lights!

The Fort afforded some stunning vistas.............

whilst the courtyard might bring back some memories of those racing days to Rotto....

We chose to hook up to a mooring just off the yacht club at 300 pesos/night (around $25), which was a little up there in price. There were many strange boats around ......

and some that had been sunk during a hurricane in 2006. Looking at the current google image of the anchorage, you can see all the sunken boats from the hurricane. If Acapulco was a safe place to stay, we would have spent the summer there!

Australia Day had to be celebrated, so we dressed up the boat with bunting, gave her a new red ensign and wore our hats around town! All our fun stuff was bought out by Ann (Peter's sister) last year.

The main attraction in Acapulco is La Quebrada; cliff divers who need even bigger cojones!!! An extreme sport which is heart stopping as the divers dive off a 100m plus cliff into a very small ravine with pounding surf.

These lovely buffed boys start at the age of 10 and dive off a higher part of the cliff each year.

The dives are perfectly executed with some in tandem double summersault and then the grand finale of the most experienced diver doing a back summersault off the top of the cliff. They would all get a ‘10’ at the Olympics for their execution into the water! As if the dive is not enough, they have to launch themselves out from the cliff to clear the rocks.....and this is where they land!!!!!!!! The night dives were more impressive as the divers were floodlit.

Mexico is a little bit of an anathema with regards to checking in and out of every port. The latest information (from some officials and marinas) is that it is no longer necessary, however, it appears marinas are required to record yachts and pass on to the Harbour Master.

We found that Harbour Master’s were not interested in us at all, whether we were coming or going. Consequently, we have not checked in or out of any ports. Maybe an issue now we are in the south and things may be different. So, our plan was to clear in and out of Acapulco, giving us the necessary paper work for Hautulco and Chiapas. Acapulco seemed like a good place as the chances of an English speaking Harbour Master was better. All worked well to plan, (having recent invoice from Marina Ixtapa helped) even though the Harbour Master (Mistress) did not speak English!

Whilst in Acapulco, there was a regatta run over the weekend, which apparently happens once per month. Some interesting yachts which are just as colourful as the Mexican’s themselves………

Peter sat with the binoculars giving a running commentary on their sail trim. In the yacht club, Peter did offer some advice to one chap running the kite sheets inside the rail and back to front through the aft turning block……..response was this is how its done here and we will come first. (Which they were far from!)

Our last two nights in Acapulco were spent in the tranquil Bahia Marques; an outer bay. Clear water and goldern sandy beaches which typify Acapulco and waking up to the sounds of birds…almost back in Paradise!

Expecting a motor boat ride to Hautulco, we were happy to have sailed 50% of the way in flat water. This put our timing ahead so we did puddle along at 3.5 knots (yuk!) to slow down. We had our first two night passage on board which at times was busy with traffic but otherwise quiet. Dolphins again amazed us, staying with us for over 20 miles whilst rounding the cape at Puerto Angel at night. With the bioluminescence, they looked like lime green torpedoes racing from the stern wave to the bow wave (we had 15-18 knots behind us), twisting and turning away from and towards us!! During the day we had many humpback whales leaping about with gay abandon. We only had one close encounter and just happened to be inshore when they were offshore and reverse. Turtles lolled about in the swell providing a resting place for sea birds! We lost count at 50 turtles!!!

The coast around Haultulco is very rocky with pristine sandy coves, but not a lot of protection from the wind or surge. There is an anchorage by the cruise ship dock in the little town of Santa Cruz.

A beautiful nearby town, La Crucecita, is very clean and green, The state of Oaxaca (ah-haka) is largely undeveloped with regards to industry, so much of the traditional life prevails.

The marina in Haultulco (wah-tul-co) has the most interesting showers we have encountered…..very strange!

We are getting the weather sorted to cross the Tehuanatepec…..which has the potential to be very dangerous as gap winds frequent the area. This was the first choice for the Panama Canal as its only 125 miles across flat land to the Gulf of Mexico, however with the gap in the mountain range, the subsequent winds and seas, well..the rest is as they say, history.

View Larger Map

Our strategy will be to follow the advice of those who have done it frequently and go one foot on the beach, which translates to around 1 mile offshore from Hautulco to Salina Cruz, then puddle along in about 12m of water for most of the 190 miles down to Chiapas, where we will clear out of Mexico. Total miles is around 250 nm. We will depart from here around 1700 hours, as the night winds tend to be lighter and we will be motoring into any winds. By morning, we should have crossed Salina Cruz and be on our way south! In reality, if it is calm, we will stay 3 miles offshore after Salina Cruz to avoid the fishing boats. At least we will have the best part of a full moon, given we have a weather window at that time!! Our window needs to have calm conditions for the first 12 hours, then not more than 10 knots of wind for the rest. The sea state that develops in wind over 20 knots can be very dangerous.

3M

2011-01-26T07:25:00.000-08:00

Morelia, Monarch Butterflies, Mexico City

There are different degrees of bus travel in Mexico from the average local busses, long range ‘chicken busses’, Primera Plus (first class) and then there is Ejecutivo; the latter of which is only $10 more expensive than first class. Usually a direct, long distance service, the Ejecutivo has only 3 seats across the aisle that almost fully recline and a foot rest. It’s the closest we will ever get to business class in flight!! The Parhakhuni Line adds more of a touch with personal TV screens for on road entertainment (some movies even in English), power socket for laptops, internet, wireless service and the final touch was a hostess making us tea and coffee! 5.5 hours of travel for under $30 AUD!

The purpose of visiting Morelia was no more than a jumping off place to see the Monarch Butterflies; however the town in itself was a wonderful surprise in many ways; not being overly touristy was a bonus. The university has occupied many of the old buildings in Centro Historico providing a vibrant atmosphere, especially in the early mornings and evenings. Doric columns are prevalent in most of the buildings and the porticos around the centre (Zocalo) offer many places to hang out and watch the world go by!

Morelia is very much a Spanish town dating back to Nueva Espana in 1541, with a wonderful mix of colonial architecture with new buildings required to be built with the same soft pink stone of the older ones. This also means that there is no signage allowed for businesses which has removed the tacky street fronts of other towns. Of course it takes a little longer to find things!!

The cathedral took over a century to build and it is truly magnificent.

As in all town squares, people gather for various entertainment.

A very common feature of the many buildings throughout Mexico are the colourful murials inside or outside buildings depicting some aspect of life.

We hired a driver (we were the only tourists around!) to take us to the Monarch Butterflies, a 2 hour drive, feeling very at home in a Commodore and seeing many eucalypt trees along the way. How did they get there???? Some interesting towns to drive through and one in which a Mexican was driving his horse drawn buggy along the street with the cars; no-one paying him any special attention. Some of the fields were also being ploughed by horse; the agricultural areas seem a world apart from the city of course. A quirky find was the hillside that had large drainage pipes going in at angles, serving as a nice cool spot to house a car…… a different take on undercover parking.

The El Rosario Butterfly Sanctuary was very quiet and we had our very own (Spanish speaking!) guide. Climbing 2000 feet to get to the trees (total altitude now being around 11,000 feet) was an effort for me going up (anemia not helping) and Peter, with his knees coming down – walking down backwards is easier on his knees! So between us, at least one could get up the mountain and the other down.

The Monarch butterflies are of nature’s phenomenal events. They number in their hundreds of millions with estimations from year to year being 200 to 500 MILLION. Flying from the Great Lakes region in August, they arrive in Central Mexico around November and breed there in late March. After the males have had their fill, they die, leaving the pregnant females to then fly north to Texas and Florida, lay their eggs in milkweed bushes, then they too, die. Eggs hatch, caterpillars feed on milkweed, make cocoons, emerge late May, fly off to the Great Lakes and mate, so the whole cycle begins again. It takes 3 to 5 generations to make the round trip from Canada to Mexico. A lot of miles to flutter!!

You could not see the trees for butterflies. The Mexican Government has now stopped land clearing in the area to try and preserve the habitats for the butterflies.

Lunch, consisting on black corn tortillas cooked over a fire was actually very enjoyable!

Mexico City is one of those places you need to see for yourself. It is one of the most amazing cities we have seen, not at all polluted as some of the Asian cities and certainly not as crowded. The French built metro is phenomenal and combined with an efficient bus system, the 105 million masses are moved around very efficiently, at low cost. For 25 cents per person per entry, we could go anywhere in the metro.

As there is an escalating situation of drug violence in Mexico, the government has moved to increase security around tourist areas. As there were 4 armed police on every street corner in the central area, and throughout the underground and anywhere a tourist might wander, there were no issues with regards to our safety. Locals warned us in the outer areas of pickpockets, but we saw no one that looked even remotely shady. We have also heard from many locals in different areas that it is an unwritten rule with the drug lords not to bring the violence into tourist areas due to the economic importance of them. This increase in violence is very sad for the majority of Mexican people who are wonderful, kind and generous folk.

Cortez’s conquest of the Aztec Tenochtitlan City-State was interesting as the Aztecs built Tenochtitlan on an island surrounded by a great lake. Of course that city centre became the Centro Historico district of Mexico City, with the rest of the sprawling city built on a lake. Although well drained, there are many issues of sinking apparent. Makes you wonder how far under water we were zipping along in the underground. The Basilica of Guadalupe is sadly laying victim to Cotez’s poor choice of location!

Nearby Indian Chapel is suffering the same fate.

The Zacolo, central square, is the 3rd largest in the world behind Red Square and Tiananmen Square. The Cathedral in the Zacolo is the largest church in Latin America. A truly magnificent building with iconographic ceilings; it too is slowly sinking into the wet ground beneath.

The Aztecs built extensive canals (extending for over 180 km) where they grew their produce. Xochimilco, on the southern outskirts of Mexico City is one very small area that is left of this original canal development. Now very touristy, the Floating Gardens are a favourite place to take a family on Sundays; it provided some entertainment for us gliding along the canal listening to the Mariachi bands and watching the world go by.

Throughout Mexico, fresh cut flowers are widely available and purchased for very little cost.

To the north of the city lies Teotihuacan, whose civilization flourished in earlier BC. The sun and moon pyramids are not as grand as those in Egypt and were thankfully missed by Cortez as they look like hills from a distance. (Cortez had torn down other ancient stone edifices to build churches!).

The pyramids were originally painted yellow and red; the colours extracted from crushing a worm that grows on a cacti. Paint did not last for long and the mind boggles at how long the painting took!!

The sun pyramid has a remarkable alignment as on May 19 and July 25, the sun is directly over the pyramid at noon, and the main west façade faces the point at which the sun sets on these days.

At quite a steep climb at 2,200m absl, that would be Cheryl sitting having a rest!

Most of what stands today has been rebuilt and in 1971, a tunnel was found that leads to a cave under the centre of the pyramid, suggesting its former purpose. The understanding of astronomy, astrology and the big picture of the universe of earlier peoples just blows us away as it is indeed astronomical!!

Around Teotihuacan there are many places selling local obsidian and other quartz like mineral ‘artefacts’ . The vendors, anxious for a sale , were telling us they were almost free. The piece Peter liked, a jade funeral mask had a $3000 price tag!

An amazing artisan market (Centro de Artesanias La Cuididela) covering almost a whole block offered the best diversity of crafts from the Oaxaca region at the best prices we had seen.

Our favourite piece...

Sunday, being family day, the many parks are full of families and people selling their wares, and of course, where there are people, there is food. The Mexicans seem to eat throughout the day! Being attracted to a variety of music, we happened across a square full of people ballroom dancing! Sensational! With no boundaries of wealth or dress, people were out there purely to enjoy their dancing.

Across the street, in another park, there was salsa dancing, with lessons happening in the background. This young cool dude was wonderufl to watch.

Another building we stumbled upon held the display for Independencia y Revolucion, celebrating 200 years of their Independence from Spain, 1810-2010. The craftsmanship in displays was unique and amazing with a variety of media from clay, wax, straw, silks, embroidery and paintings. The expressions on the faces of the people and even the horses were fantastic.

The Anthropologica Museum, claiming to be the best in the world, would not be far from the truth, and anything less of a building would not do justice to the artifacts inside. Its successful capture of the complex history and diversity of Mexican Civilization is bought about through the regional organization of its displays. I finally got to see my Olmec Heads that were even more astounding than anticipated. That was my bit of excitement!!

An interesting feature of the Olmec Heads is their African facial features; in a time before known contact with African peoples. Perhaps there is much unknown about ancient civilizations!

Some of the archeological items displayed have only been discovered since 1940 and as late as 1975. The jade death mask of King Pakal from Palenque in the southern jungle near the Guatemalan border was just magnificent.

Outside the museum are the Voladores. Traditionally, a Totonac Rite in Veracruz (Mexican Gulf) and carried out once a year, 5 men in traditional dress rotate down a 30m high pole while one man at the top plays a Chirimia – small drum with flute attached. This ancient ceremony is thought to be a fertility rite; the men falling to the ground bringing sun and rain. Each man circles 13 times with a total of 52 revolutions, significantly tied to two pre Hispanic calendars. That in itself is amazing. Vertical Morris Dancing????? Peter was thinking about the Fair Maids of Perth doing this..which would defy description!!!

One of the Voladores said to Peter that you need ‘grande cojones’ to do this! He looks like he does!

The more we see of Mexico, we discover the more there is to see. We have one more land tour to do in the south from Chiapas, once we cross the hazardous big T (Gulfo de Tehuantepec) and our clearance port for Mexico.

Onward and Downward

2011-01-18T16:42:00.000-08:00

Didy has a fridge magnet that says “Do something that scares you every day”. I keep telling her that waking up scares me! Surfing through the narrow breakwater into Marina Ixtapa was one of those pucker factor moments. I was down below talking to the marina and heard the engine start to scream and looking out the companion way hatch was the concerned face of the ships master! A face seldom seen!! Of course the old surfie dude did a magnificent job and yes, Stolen Kiss surfs very well! Practice for the bar entrance in Bahia del Sol???? Whilst I do the driving in the marinas, there is never a question as to who takes the helm in potential tricky situations!!!

Peter looked for a flag at the entrance, but the pole was bare; we certainly saw it flying (yellow for caution) off the marina office on our arrival into our slip (as opposed to pen!). The marina entrance is only wide enough for one boat and predominately faces the swell direction, which was a mere 1m at best; a shallow spot inside the entrance kicks up a wave (this one not breaking). I guess we just picked the wrong moment as there was no surf on our approach. Sneaky little suckers….they do that!

The marina is a little pricey but we have batteries to sort out and land travel to do. With the added company of crocodiles, what a bargain! The crocodiles here are around 6 feet; small and somewhat perhaps more docile (they don’t seem to eat people here) than their Australian cousins.

Other marina companions make for interesting walks.

After much reading, internet research and emails to those who know about batteries, (http://www.batterystuff.com) Peter decided that they needed to be equalized (which we should be doing on a month to month basis) then desulphated. Apparently batteries that sit a while in a hot environment become sulphated. We have ordered a desulphator on line that we hope will arrive in Hautulco before we get there. Interesting thing is that Bill (our old cruising buddy for over 10,000 miles!) had this theory and he purchased a desulphator…..and we thought that there was not much to his theory!! Live and learn all the time.

Although we enjoyed anchored in the lagoon at Bahia de Navidad, our departure was somewhat timely as 25 knot winds whistled through the anchorage nearly every day, causing much dragging. Not fun!

Santiago Bay and Las Hadas in the Manzanillo district was a mere 25nm to the south east of Navidiad; an easy sail. Nordsail 1 had left a few days earlier and we caught up with John in Santiago Bay; long sandy beach and excellent protection! The great beaches were also the attraction of the Mexicans on holiday, whom have adopted the Latino approach to life…… inventing the concept of play and party! Although a somewhat noisy anchorage during the day, it was quiet at night.

The beach culture in Mexico is very much alive in many respects. Hole digging appears to be an extensive past time and many take serious shovels to the beach….the garden variety type! Imagine it would be a little dangerous jogging along the beach in the evening or early morning. Lucky we don’t jog!

Heavily armed navy men patrol the beach on foot, for what reason we did not ascertain.

One can also shop whilst having lunch, walking along the beach or sitting in a hole!

Just around the corner from Santiago Bay is Manzanillo

and the Las Hadas anchorage, which was a bit of a treat as although we were overshadowed by ‘’disneyesque” type developments, the walks around the hills on the cobbled streets provided good exercise and numerous opportunities to slip into resorts and have a discrete swim! On one of our walks we happened upon a Mexican gentleman of some 68 years old, not looking a day over 50. An Indian man whose tribe lived north in the desert, moved to Manzanillo when he was young, taught himself Spanish, then later English and does not want to move to any other country to learn another language! We all walked along chatting about life and the world that it is and agreed that Mexico indeed is a wonderful place, as are the people.

Las Hadas Marina (cheapest fuel on the Mexican coast with the worst fuel dock!) is very run down, with only Med moore type options in a small pond which has a good surge through it if there is any swell.

New Year was a quiet night on the beautiful Nordsail 1 (the first Nordsail motor yacht) with John and another single hander, Scott from At Last. We returned to Stolen Kiss before midnight to watch the amazing fireworks that surrounded us in the small anchorage and extended 4 miles across the bay to Manzanillo.

Sitting on deck in anticipation, we noticed a small harbour boat not far from us, naively thinking that it was there to make sure the local boats were out behaving themselves. Got a bit of a fright when we heard the first woosh, thump sound of a large fire work going off! We were lit up like a xmas tree!!!! Lucky the wind was blowing away from us! Peter was giving a running commentary of a torch light running to the back of the boat, then retreating forward very fast as the firework launched into oblivion. This was almost as entertaining as the fireworks themselves!! After half an hour we were cold and had sore necks!!

As the local bus stops right outside the Las Hadas Marina Resort, transport to the nearby towns, Walmart, Mega and other places that one might need to go, was so easy. Whilst we found very little attraction in Manzanillo, Santiago was a great little town to wander around.

On departing Las Hadas (should have stayed and helped John re-fuel) and expecting a nice following sea breeze, we ran into S/SE headwinds with the occasional swell that almost stopped the boat. There was a lot of tidal influence which further disturbed the sea, even though we were 10 miles off the coast. The winds were around 15-18 knots by late afternoon, but nothing like home. A big decision….do we keep bashing south or pull into a rolly anchorage??? Tacking around Punta Cazeba Negro (and two large whales) took us close to the anchorage, so on dusk we decided to pull in and see what happens. We managed a little rest, after stuffing the cupboards with anything to stop the rattling and Peter sitting under the table trying to work out how to stop it squeaking. In reality it was not that bad, but by midnight, when the wind swung to the NE, it was time to go.

On noises, the major one we have been trying to sort out is the octopus pump on the autopilot. Our final email from the manufacturers is that Peter’s installation is excellent (we are hoping his installation to be published soon in Cruising Helmsman) and most people are happy with the small amperage it draws!! Its location….aft cabin! Bugger! Can’t imagine the sound it will make with a big sea running behind us!

The whole world changes in 6 hours and like icebergs, whales disappear at night! We had the company of the Mexican Navy and ships out to sea from us, and the whales between us and the land. Easy peasy…

Lazaro Cardenas, a major port some 31 miles NW of Ixtapa offered a welcomed rest from the engine.

There is a small cove lined with mangroves just to starboard of the entrance. We found fairway buoy and the channel marks at night without too much bother (although our approach was not so savvy as we were too close in and found ourselves 3 miles out in 4m of water….sand bar extends a long way out!); we managed to time our entry and exit in between ships. Nice, flat calm, albeit a very dirty boat in the morning and none of the reported petrochemical smells. There are many pangas going in and out of the harbour, as it is a river mouth. We had one panga stop by just after we anchored wanting fuel and another, amazingly knocking on our hull at 0200 wanting the same. We would have given them some had we had any in our jerry jugs and found it more amusing than annoying that we would be woken at such a time. Reminded us of Indonesia…..

Another 200 miles further south at Ixtapa/Zihuatenjo, we have rounded yet another cape and are in the world of SW swells, gentle land and sea breezes and rolly anchorages. Of course less wind now equates to more motoring, which is what we mostly did sailing to Ixtapa.

Isle Grande, Ixtapa is another playground for the Mexican people. Jet skis and banana boats a plenty during the day with palapa lined beaches on the small island. However around 1700 hours, the punters all return to the mainland, leaving a quiet and peaceful anchorage until late morning the following day. We were there being entertained by the passing parade with two other yachts. A Dutch woman, older than us, rowed over on her way back from the beach. She is single handing around the world (3rd time) on her way back to the Netherlands. Her buddy boat…her husband who is doing the same on his boat!! She was waiting for him to arrive as his boat is smaller!!! She only turns the motor on when boat speed drops to 1.5 knots. They met some time ago single-handing, tried to sail together on the same boat……it worked better each having their own! We were gobsmacked!

Ixtapa is a welcomed break from all that is Mexican, with some great restaurants and a long sandy beach to play on; Peter can enjoy the surf every day.

We are still looking for Peter’s sandals but don’t feel so bad now as one of the cruiser’s we met told us of the $10,000 he hid in the engine compartment of a previous boat, only never to find it when he sold the boat! Some very lucky owner has this stash somewhere….if only he/she knows!!!!! Now that would be a find!!!!!!!!!

Land travel to Mexico City is on the agenda to look at some ancient pyramids and to visit Morelia to see the Monarch Butterflies. Bus travel in Mexico is fabulous and like no other!

In the meantime, I keep telling Peter he is dreaming!!

Southbound at last!

2010-12-27T04:50:00.000-08:00

The first week in November finally saw us depart Guaymas and start heading south, zig zag fashion between the Baja and the mainland, first to La Paz, then down the Mexican Pacific Coast.

With buffed topsides, we were finally good to go. Our splash down was not without incident as the lifter driver (who uses a remote control pad) was not quite on the ball, and neither were we! The lifter arrived early at the boat and neither of us was paying much attention. Bad move! Horacio tried to drive the lifter through our inner forestay!! He was underneath the stern of the boat operating the lifter!! Horacio's second mistake was getting the lifter out of horozontal balance when we were almost near splash down, causing us ot slip in the slings! Peter always ties the forward and aft slings together, then the forward sling back to the primary winch. A little nerve wracking! Thanks to Oscar (who had re-rigged for us last year), we had the repair done in a week and have a new inner forestay. The down side is we are still trying to get a cheque for the damage!!

As we still had some credit left from the hardstand, we were able to spend a few nights tied to the fuel dock. So our first night in the water, no wind, I awoke to the sound of the lines groaning under pressure. Waking Peter up and complaining that something is just not right, we both went for a look and could not believe our eyes….a rustly, old, very large trawler resting on us!!! Luckily for us it was against the dinghy (but not enough to damage it). We pulled ourselves forward then decided to go around into a slip. Peter walked the security guard around to the fuel dock and pointed out that ‘’el barco no capitano”. Trawler had made its way out into the bay with the ebb tide. Strange that it got away in the first place. Maybe someone had set it free?????

Our crossing to Bahia Concepcion (back to the Baja) was a non event in calm conditions, as was the rest of our sail to La Paz. We sat out two northerlies comfortably in Bahia Concepcion and behind Coronados, near Puerto Escondido. Being wiser this time around, we anchored in the Waiting Room in Escondido, rather than going inside to pay for the moorings. The usual cost for the Waiting Room anchorage (an old Caladera) is only a dollar or so a day, if you can find the small shed behind the anchorage open.

Our stop in La Paz was to pick up another solar panel (Kyocera 135) which we ordered on line from Kyocera in Mexicali who then delivered the panel for us to a company called Tecnosol. All worked well; we found their office, organised payment and the delivery to the marina for us. On our sail down to La Paz it became evident that both 8D batteries (AC Delco) we had purchased in Guaymas had failed! Luckily the warranty was with the manufacturers and not the retailer. So using our limited Spanish, we conveyed our problem to the supplier in La Paz, and within 2 hours they had tested the batteries, removed and replaced them making our 2 days in the marina worthwhile.

With another big norther approaching, we decided that the La Paz anchorage was not the place to be; Bahia de Muertos, (Bay of the Dead) some 45 miles south is a fantastic bay offering good protection from west through to NE winds. We smoked out of La Paz on a Coromuel, sailing peacefully through the notorious Lorenzo Channel and arriving at Muertos mid afternoon, motoring the last 10 miles.

Muertos is a wonderful anchorage in 30 knots of breeze, except for the sand blasting we got with it! Most of it was because of the building that is going on. Developers are trying to change its name to Bahia de los Sueno…Bay of Dreams. The previous name referred to the old mooring buoys left in the bay after the salt mine closed. They have since been removed. The bay has a beautiful sandy beach with a great restaurant in one corner and the most amazing boutique resort hotel (Gran Sueno) in the other, with an 18 hole golf course behind the sand dunes.

Being isolated, the resort is popular with celebrities. Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell were sitting in a golf cart about to depart when we walked by. Goldie’s voice in person is exactly how she sounds in her films! Later we had a few words with Kurt….remembering him from “Captain Ron”.

The owner of the resort is a very unassuming property developer from California, Steve, who must be ok as he welcomes ‘grotty yachties’ into the restaurant and allows us to wander around the resort. He has this fascinating train set, (an understatement) covering the whole upstairs floor of the restaurant. It is absolutely remarkable and worthy of a visit in itself.

We departed Muertos for Mazatlan on the mainland on the back of the norther, which although gave us a lumpy sea to start with, it enabled us to sail most of the 190 miles, covered in a little over 24 hours!! 15 to 20 knot NW winds saw us bounding along at 7 to 8 knots with the wind just abaft the beam! How could she not sail well being an Sparkman and Stephens?

An early morning approach to Mazatlan was well timed as we could see the fishing fleet out and easily avoided them. Mazatlan has a huge marina development in a western setting, but where is the fun in that? We anchored in the old harbour, along with a dozen or so other yachts. From here it is an easy bus ride into town. The major drawback is the smell from the sewage works if the wind is in the wrong direction (which it wasn’t). Some yachts avoid the port as they feel it is dirty, but compared to some of the Asian ports…no comparison. Mazatlan is an interesting town with the longest Malecon in Mexico adorned with yet more statues, interesting parks and many, many restaurants.

Strange skip in VHF was happening over the weeks we spent from our southern crossing to near Puerto Vallarta. We could hear and talk on VHF to other yachts in anchorages on the Baja, some 330 miles away! It was very confusing hearing all the VHF traffic on Ch 16 up and down the coast and even more amazing is how many yachties are awake at 0200 and calling other boats in marinas. We felt like telling them they should be in bed! We were allowed to be awake as we were on passage!!!

We had planned to stop at Isla Isabel to look at the birds, but having many yachts huddled in the rocky anchorage and only one spot left near the rocky shore, we opted to pass on by and sail the rest of the day to the beautiful Mantanchen Bay, near the old town of San Blas.

Although we did not hear the Bells of San Blas, we did see them. Henry Wordsworth Longfellow wrote a poem The Bells of San Blas.

Before the newer towns of Puerto Vallarta to the south and Mazatlan to the north, San Blas was THE town and gateway port up until the 1930’s, supporting over 30,000 people. From 1530, it became a Spanish occupation, with the occasional pirate ship seeking refuge in Mantanchen Bay. In 1768 New Spain developed San Blas as their Pacific Naval Port, with its estuary used for ship building and resupplying.

The Contaduria, built overlooking the ocean, served as both a fort and the accounting office for San Blas. Today, it’s a much smaller town with not a lot to show of its former glory.

How on earth did this Thai fishing boat make it all the way over to here??? We well remember these chaps!

Tourism is not a possibility here as there are many no seeums (Jejenes hay-hay-nas) that bite!! We took a panga up the Rio Tovara on a little jungle tour…….lots of baby crocodiles, iguanas that were well camouflaged, a small Boa Constrictor and turtles all sunning themselves.

Humpback whales are migrating south and congregate along the mainland bays. Every day we have seen these majestic animals breeching, fin slapping or just going quietly by. There have been a few that have been much larger than Stolen Kiss! Turtles surround us at sea and pods of dolphins come and play with us on the bow. Apparently dolphins guard the entrance to Banderas Bay as babies are born there all year round. Whales give birth in the bay as well. On our entrance and exit into the bay, we had some very large, ‘spotty’ dolphins check us out and escort us both in and out. In the stunning Tenacatita Bay further south near Bahia de Navidad, there are resident dolphins, one called Chippy (has a chip out of his fin) that likes to rub himself on your anchor chain. He greeted our arrival in this manner and gave Peter a bit of a fright as our chain started to rattle and shake as soon as our anchor hit the bottom!

Banderas Bay, with the towns of La Cruz and Puerto Vallarta is indeed a worthy stop and it was unfortunate we could not stop for a longer period. We opted to anchor off the older town of La Cruz, rather than go into the huge marina developments of Puerto Vallarta. In times of light northerlies, this worked for us. Apparently the anchorage can become very rolly!

La Cruz has a laid back ambience, with galleries focusing on the local Huichol Indian artifacts and some wonderful restaurants all along narrow cobbled streets that are so typical of the older Mexican towns. The Sunday Morning Market is a real must and the food is to die for! Generally food on the mainland, is cheaper and higher quality than the Baja. Busses run past La Cruz and the very helpful drivers drop you off at the appropriate stops to catch another bus to the required destination. A little surf town on the north side of the point, Sayulito is so worth a visit.

Sunday December 12 was a big day out for us (in company with the Buena Vistas) as we first went to the morning market in La Cruz then caught the bus into the very cosmopolitan Puerto Vallarta. It was the last day of celebration of the Virgin of Guadalupe. The great mass of humanity filled the streets celebrating and all had to pass through the Cathedral. One Mexican gentleman explained to us non Catholics that a church celebrates Christ and a Cathedral the Virgin Mary, which explains the difference between the two.

Nearly every second shop offered Tequila tasting – free of course, to sucker you into Time Share properties. One could do a lot of damage to oneself in a few hours, not only with the Time share but with the Tequila!!

We found a great restaurant in the old town for lunch and just moseyed on through the crowd enjoying the festivities. The malecon was, as usual, the most entertaining area with amazing sand sculptures with artistic flare representing yet another way to making a living.

Catching the bus into town of course is a lot easier than finding the right one out, but many locals were always around to point us in the right direction.

Arrival back in La Cruz ensured time to listen to a great rock band in Ana Banana’s and just watch some old timers really enjoy their passion.

Around La Cruz there are many large Huanacaxtle Trees which gives La Cruz Huanacaxtle its proper name.

As strange things happen at sea, a Compass 47 happened to come and anchor next to us. Peter recognised its name as it was on our short list when we were looking for boats. Not in the same league as a Hylas of course, but designed by Lavronos (who was designing boats in the early days with Sparkman and Stephens, she had good lines and is well built. She was purchased in Grenada and needs a lot more work than what we have done with our new Stolen Kiss. She was some what cheaper though, so you get what you pay for.

Peter had installed a Smart Regulator whilst we were moving about, which initially did not work. After much thought over 3 weeks and re-reading of the manual, he swapped a wire and hey presto, it works. Now our 90 amp alternator will charge the batteries at 80 amps and drop off accordingly as they charge. Magic!

We have managed to sail more than 60% of the distance, which is good, and the further south we have come, the more amazing the beautiful bays and interesting towns. After leaving Puerto Vallarta, we had a quiet sail around the infamous Cabo Corrientes, approaching and rounding the cape within a 2 mile radius (calm conditions, giving us a 1.5 knot positive current!) with so many large turtles floating in the current symmetrically around the cape, we first thought it was a net! Our planned morning departure was well planned as the NW sea breeze soon kicked in to 15 knots around noon, building south of the cape to 20 knots from the north, enabling a rolly but fast sail until around 2300 hours. As the Chemala anchorage is wide and free of obstructions, we entered there with radar and a setting moon at 0200 hours. Buena Vista was ahead of us and Nordsail 1, (Nordhaven 57 motorsailor) who chose to anchor in a marginal anchorage just south of the cape, came in later in the afternoon.

Tenacatita, a beautiful and protected Bay just south of Barra de Navidad was yet another wonderful bay to hang out in, with a long sandy beach, small tienda (however, western prices and menu) and a mangrove lined river which takes you to another beach back to the coast. This is currently closed as the owner has removed the long term squatters.

In order to get the right tide into the lagoon at Barra de Navidad, we three boats departed before O dark 30, relishing in the joys of cruising..the moon set and sun rise almost simultaneously!

Currently we are all in Bahia de Navidad, in a lagoon for xmas (how appropriate is that…navidad is Spanish for xmas!) with another 17 yachts at anchor and some in the marina. We found a small auto shop that fixed two of our 3 alternators and dropped off our mainsail for a small repair along the luff. One of the alternators we had ‘serviced’ in San Carlos, but never tried it! That is so San Carlos!! Peter went back to Puerto Vallarta for the day to pick up a sail batten that somehow popped out on our sail here. In all the cruising and racing miles we have done it has only happened once before..Hiker lost one, which is not surprising!

Barra de Navidad is another laid back town, with a large sandy beach stretching for 2 miles around the bay where another town, Melaque, lies at its northern end. There are many great restaurants and small shops servicing both Mexican and western tourists. The gringos here are apparently predominately snowbirds from Canada. At 80 cents for a beer, (Sol or Tecate) Peter is happy!! Every morning a French baker calls around the boats and offers all sorts of yummy delights. Warm, fresh baguettes, croissants, key lime pie, chocolate ginger pie, blueberry peach pie and quiches! Best not stay too long!!

From here we have an easy sail to Manzanillo, the major port and an interesting town, then a few overnighters down to Acapulco and on to Huatulco (wah-tul-co) where we will wait for a good weather window before crossing the Tehuantepec Gulf and down to El Salvador, only 998 miles further south!

It is most likely that we will leave Stolen Kiss there for the summer, up a river. El Salvador has really bounced into marinas and looking after yachties, chasing the big money from the Super Yachts. Good security is provided and we can leave sails, dinghy etc in a locked shed. Local currency is USD, which works for us! We will do a lot of land travel around Central America from there. On our return at the end of 2011, we will make our way down to Panama, perhaps Ecuador, then Galapagos and beyond!

Weather sites for Pacific Mexico and Baja

2010-12-21T13:37:00.000-08:00

Although in each major centre where yachties gather there is a local Net of VHF 22 that gives weather for the local region. Whilst this is good, the scary thing is that there are many yachts that rely totally on such forecasts. Sites below will assist with gleaning information for yourselves.

Here are some sites to start with:

Big picture stuff

http://www.tropicalstormrisk.com/
Our favourite for tropical information.

http://www.eebmike.com/
Wonderful sat picture and graphics for tropical information and sea
temperature.

http://www.opc.ncep.noaa.gov/
Synoptic situation for Pacific and location of ITCZ

http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/ensocycle/enso_cycle.shtml

For information regarding the current El Nino/La Nina state and ENSO situation, which then leads into an indication of the hurricane season in the Pacific and Caribbean and conditions in north and south Pacific if you are heading west.

Small picture weather

Grib files from sailmail (at sea) and http://www.grib.us/ (internet connection) are what we generally use, then match these with the synoptic situation.

http://www.sailflow.com/
Navigate to Sea of Cortez (Baja California) or wherever you are in the US. Sailflow was accurate in the north and south crossings in the Sea of Cortez. Excellent for swell predition.

http://www.buoyweather.com/
Excellent for 2 day forecast for wind and swell and can also sign up for weather for 7 day forecast and access via sailmail.

http://www.weatheronline.co.uk/
Another site for grib data information

http://www.wetsand.com/
Others use this and like it.

http://www.sonrisanet.org/
Geary does a great forecast for the inside and outside of the Baja and Mexican Pacific Coast. Weather is posted on this website and also given on Ham Net in the mornings. See below for Nets.

http://weather.msfc.nasa.gov/GOES/goeswestpacusir.html
This is a great real time site using GOES imagery giving water vapour. Great to zoom in on Mexcio mainland for chubascos in the summer!!

http://www.clubcruceros.org/
More weather information on this site which is the local site for La Paz.

This site also gives information on times and frequencies for HF nets in the region

Plans in the Sand

2010-11-03T06:38:00.000-07:00

We splashed down on Guaymas on October 20 and have been putting Stolen Kiss back together again. Adding to our bits and pieces, Peter has done a fabulous job installing our new wind instruments and autopilot. Now we have wind speed..do we want to know how big the gusts are???? Wind direction is a bonus as we can't see the windex unless we stick our headws outside the bimini! We are cruisers now, remember!!! Thanks to Peter, as you could imagine, we have the best trimmed cruising sails....many people comment on this!

We also have our new headsail and profurl to enjoy! Being actually able to furl the headsail in a growing breeze is a bonus! Our old headsail almost fell apart when we took it down in July. We were surprised that it did not blow itself out. The good bits are now our fore and aft deck covers.

On line, Peter found Stecktronics - a company that sells a LED anchor light and tri colour. Its pretty neat as it only uses two wires, (which meant we could use the existing anchor light wires) and depending on how many times you flick the switch, you get your tri colour, anchor light on/off as normal, or on/off with sunlight! It also does disco style flash and SOS.

We have finally purchased and picked up our liferaft, going for the Viking, canister, hydrostatic release option for under $3000. We also had to get a new inner forestay as the lifter driver tried to drive the lifter through it! Peter was just undoing the forestay...luckily. The marina is (hopefully) going to reimberse us. We breathed a sigh of relief when we had our last successful border crossing with our bits and pieces.

Our plan is to depart Guaymas by Nov 7 and head over to the Baja and down to La Paz; main purpose to pick up a second solar panel. Then its back to the Mexican mainland and jump south...all the way to Huatulco, (just south of Acapulco), mostly day sailing. Then its waiting for an important weather window to cross the Gulf of Tehuantepec, which is one of the roughest seas in the world when a gale blows. Mountains are great weather blockers, except for when there is a gap!! We have to watch for building high pressures in the Gulf of Mexico. The winds can reach up to 60 knots, but the largest threat to safety are the short period waves. The tactic is one foot on the beach..which is long, sandy and flat apart from two river mouths.

Heading further south there are the other gap winds called Papagayo winds, which can be a little breezy at 50 knots. With clear skies, there is often no notice of these winds, except perhaps the sand and white water heading towards you if you are near the beach..so there will be no lazy days of sailing around these areas.

So why do we want to do this passage?? Good question!! Heading back into the tropics, there are some nice sandy beaches and interesting places to check out. Theoretically we should have nice northerly winds to push us down and as the ITCZ is its furtherest south in February, it should sit just north of the equator so once through it, we should not have far to go to Ecuador in the 15-25 knot SE breezes behind the it. Easy peasy in theory!

We have a few choices of where to leave Stolen Kiss next year, including Nicaragua, Coast Rica, Panama and Ecuador. Some haul out options and some in the water options. Ecuador is the most favoured at present as it gives us access to travel in South America and although on the equator, the Andes act as a rain shadow here and there are no hurricanes. Although getting the paper work for the Galapagos is lengthy and convoluted, it can be done.

We will do our usual and suck it and see!

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Viva Las Vegas

2010-10-27T07:50:00.000-07:00

Las Vegas is the showcase of western excesses at its best! Its draw on power alone is incredulous and with all that is Vegas, it’s absolutely fabulous, if not OTT!

The primary aim here is to fleece as much money out of the visitor as possible; even down to the design, smells and other visual senses to lure one into the pleasure pits. The bottom line is that every employee inside the casino you exchange words with, you tip 10-20%, which we guess is ok if you are on a winning streak! Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville, (a must for any parrot head!) has the smell of coconut oil to lure the senses!

Las Vegas has adopted and very much incorporated the notion that sex sells. Sin City it is, and anything goes. Even though alcohol consumption is encouraged, which flows through to street drinking, we were surprised to see that sobriety ruled!

The few locals that we did meet to chat to did not like living there, but there were also those who were out to entertain in a different way to make some money. There were many Mexicans lining the footpath along the central strip giving out cards (the size of a credit card) for girls. We figured they must get paid for the cards they give out, drawing your attention by the clicking sound made with their fingers on the corner of the cards. Although we found that to be the major annoyance, they were out there trying to make a living.

Peter drooled over the Ferraris through the window of the shop floor; inside was by appointment only and was not staffed. Immediate (conspicuous!) consumption if you happen to be a big winner…..speaking of which, if you were, anything up to 40-50% tax has to be paid before you received any of your winnings! Early morning in the strip was a little busy with joggers (who were not up gambling all night!) that run in and out of any building orifice they can find.

Nothing was original and travel was made easy as you could see all the sights of Europe in one day! A little odd sing the Eiffel Tower viewable from a Venetian Gondola! The Peter marvelled at the marble look-a-like concrete, appreciating the skill involved in such creations. At least time had been taken to acquire a degree of authenticity!

We met some interesting celebrities and Peter was able to have a little putt, receiving advice from those who know how to do it!

Somehow, I don't think Jenna would have been too interested in where we were off to next!

We spent a day wandering in and out of hotel lobbies; good for people watching and astounding decorations. Being in a desert, flower scenes were supposed to soothe the senses and with The Bellagio having a more moveable feast with setting the spirit for fall as well as Halloween with their giant pumpkins.

Inside MGM another rainforest café (similar to the one in San Francisco) was a good place to hang out, with Peter being very brave! Even more unusual was the $9 million lion den that housed 6 lions. Mid-morning was obviously nap time!

If nothing else, the fountains outside the Bellagio were something to behold, coming on at sunset every 15 minutes in timing of wonderful classics like Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli’s ‘Time to Say Goodbye’! There was also some great cowboy music in there as well.

Water features were popular throughout the strip, to take one’s mind off being in a desert. Nice grassed areas, on closer inspection, were artificial; a sensible approach and something that Perth should adopt!

We found the M&M shop (Didy..where are you??) and had to try the peanut butter flavour that Barns had alerted us to. Lots of cheap snacks were available to keep sugar levels up and gambling in action. Downtown in Fremont Street, the original gambling centre of Vegas, Peter opted to give his cholesterol a bit of a bash with deep fried Oreos whilst I went for the sedate (if not phallic) chocolate flavoured bananas! The malls there are under cover with various artists in residence, each with their own unique style. Individuals were commissioning art they wanted.

The Stratosphere, doubling as a revolving restaurant and a sky jump platform sat above all the hotels at 1,100 feet. People would wiz past the window whilst you were enjoying a meal. Great view during the day and perhaps even more so at night! As with many other cities in the US, any construction work came to a grinding halt with the financial crisis and Vegas was no exception with ugly concrete hotels in all states of completion. The skyline has been forever changing to make bigger, grander casino hotels with an even better theme than the last.

Whilst we have been in the US, we have heard more news than we care to. There is a lot of focus on Mexico and the Travel Warnings that have been issued by the US Homeland Security. Even though Nogales is mentioned, we have never had any border issues and are removed from any of the violence that has been reported, as are most of the Mexican people.

Rocky Mountain High, Colorado

2010-10-21T14:42:00.000-07:00

We can understand the passion that John Denver had for the Rocky Mountains and Colorado. The mountains are more than awesome; beyond expectation. It was the change in terrain that was the most surprising; however, the people of Colorado are purported to be the fittest in the US, which is not surprising! There are 52 fourteeners (mountains over 14,000 feet) which some make it their mission in life to climb all 52. We made 2 – driving of course!

Who needs to fly to join the mile high club when you can just go to Denver!! You don’t actually realise the altitude of Denver until you start to walk up the hills; small as they are. Speaking of flying; we had a little adventure flying from Tucson en route to Denver. The starboard engine lost its oil pressure and had to be shut down, leaving us to return to Tucson, with one engine. Landing was a little delicate as was stopping the aircraft without reverse thrust, but we did have two fire engines pacing us down the runway!!! We were relieved that there were no thunderstorms around and figured that pilots would have had to have lots of practice for this in flight school, so all should be ok….and of course it was as we are still here!!

Although Denver is quite a sprawling city (airport is 30 miles from town!) it is well serviced by light rail, with reports of improvements. The 16^th Street mall stretches about 5 blocks and is the center of all that happens. The sign people were there again throwing, catching, twirling and jumping to advertise their wares.

Some odd real time art (we said we were actually taking a photo of the lady)

and entertainment...............

Denver is a wonderful example of yet another city that has transformed old warehouses into apartments and built new ones to keep the population in the city center. Around here in the 1850’s, gold was discovered, closely followed by silver in the 1870’s, which inevitably and sadly meant that the Utes, and other Indians lost their land and their wealth. Today Denver has captured some of its old buildings/churches and blended it with the new.

..of which some are bare and others not so!!

We took a quick trip down to explore Colorado Springs enjoying the early morning in God’s Garden

and out to Royal Gorge (another gorgeous gorge), this time carved by the Arkansas River, whose headwaters can be found on the way up to Independence Pass.

Crossing the Continental Divide twice; once in The Rocky Mountain National Park and the other, Independence Pass (3681m, which is the top of the Rockies!!) on the way into Aspen, put us above the tree line which cuts out at 11,500 feet. A tads cool at the top, as one would expect!

A smart old Elk was hanging outside Estes Park; very wise as it was hunting season! How anyone could hunt these beautiful animals for sport is beyond us. However, I guess others say that about Kangaroos.

Skip and Cathy (aka Traveler) were our wonderful hosts in Steamboat Springs, known as Ski Town USA and working towards Bike Town USA title as well. An amazing amount of retired cruisers live here! Maybe it’s the name, which was aquired from the sound of a geyser nearby.

It is a wonderful town with its main street being 4 lanes wide as it used to have stock running through it in earlier days during muster. Steamboat is located in a very long, wide sub alpine valley, with its resident, rather large, mountain lion living up on a mount overlooking the town. We could not find him….which was probably a good thing!

Although most of Colorado is consumed by skiers in winter, summer up here is to be enjoyed. Then there is fall; absolutely spectacular with the trembling Aspen showing us their golden colours! It is hard to imagine 40 feet of snow and 40 degrees below 0 (C). With such variance in temperature and the run off from the big melt, the erosional forces are busy returning the mountainous terrain to the coast!!

Vail is now THE Colorado ski town, being accessible to Denver by 3 lane highway. It stretches out along a valley with the motorway running through it! As it is a relatively new town, if it was not for the American flag, one could be mistaken as to which continent we are on! Aspen on the other hand is a stunningly beautiful town with many (surprise, surprise) Aspen trees lining the verges. One requires a considerable amount of coin to exist there; a bit of a giveaway are the numerous Lears and G2’s lining the runway, not to mention the shops that sell furs. In both towns, women have been sighted skiing in their ankle length fur coats! Taste and style are two things that just can’t be bought!!!

The sub alpine landscape is a mix of mining, reservoirs and beautiful glacial valleys; the grasses of the latter enjoyed by the cows and horses (Sherpas take the cows up the mountains during summer).

Being cowboy and cowgirl country, one must have the right apparel! Peter found a beaver cowboy hat for $700 and there were walls and walls of colourful footwear to boot!

Road signs reminding us of deer, replaced the usual sign of kangaroos that we are used to in Australia. Which reminded us of our deer joke….

What do you call a deer with no eyes…..
No idea

What do you call a deer with no eyes and no legs….
Still no idea
What do you call a deer with no eyes, no legs and no balls
Still no f***ing idea.

Moving swiftly on……………

One cannot ignore the awesome Colorado River and the landscape it has carved over some 5 million years, with its tributaries causing as much erosion as the Colorado River.

We checked out the headwaters; a beautiful mountain stream…

Having seen the beginning and the end, we had to see the middle....The Grand Canyon! As it was easier to get from Steamboat to Las Vegas by road, we decided to take the Greyhound bus.....an experience in itself and yes, all that is written and said about Greyhound America is true! We have never heard a good word said about them. Seems strange that Mexico, by comparison, has amazing bus travel.

We made it to Las Vegas (another story) then hired a car to drive the remaining distance back to Phoenix.

Photos (well, ours anyway) just do not capture the awesome nature of the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam and Lake Mead. The surrounds of the top of the canyon are so incredibly flat as far as the eye can see, and then some; one would want to have a good torch at night if there was hiking to be done!!!!

We did not realise that the Grand Canyon, stretched for some 227 miles; the canyon changing depth according to its gradient and of course colour with the sun.

Following excellent advice from Trip Advisor, we entered the Grand Canyon National Park from the South Entrance and out the East Entrance, the latter of which affords some of the best views. We took a short hike down the Yaki Trail with at least one of us wishing we could have walked to the bottom! Another time for sure!

A walk to Tonto’s Platform (the green mesa in the photo, part way down the canyon) still places you 1,300 feet from the river!

The last time Peter had to scrape ice off a windscreen, credit cards had not been invented!

The watchtower was built in 1932 to recognise some traditional Indian structures that had been found in the surrounding desert. Although a wonderful viewing platform today, its original function was to store food during winter.

The Colorado River was phenomenally wild before the Hoover Dam was completed in 1936. A major engineering feat itself, it employed 5000 men for 5 years in place called Black Canyon. The dam wall is 660 feet thick at its base, narrowing to 45 feet at the top. There was enough concrete used to pave a 16 foot wide, 8 inch thick road from New York to San Francisco!! In the age of terrorism, a new bridge has been built across the canyon so as to divert traffic away from the dam wall.

Backing up behind Hoover Dam is the stunning Lake Mead, of which we could only see a small part of. We certainly did not expect to find a sailboat and marinas in the middle of the desert! A great place to charter a yacht for a few weeks! As with the reservoirs up in the mountains, the water levels are reduced so that they can cope with winter run-off and the great melt!

South of Hoover Dam is another smaller dam, Davis Dam which controls the water flowing from Lake Mohave, a comparatively smaller lake. The Colorado River is nothing of its former glory, ending its journey on the fertile flood plain at the head of the Sea of Cortez! Although the dam has brought water to a very arid area, it has of course had a negative impact on the Sea of Cortez as there is now a much reduced water flow, that comes into the sea.

It must have been cold whilst we were in Las Vegas (en route to the Grand Canyon) as we could see snow on the peaks off to the east. As we left the canyon heading south to Flagstaff, we were amazed that the snow covered peaks we saw earlier were on nearby San Francisco Peaks which afford wonderful skiing at 12, 600 feet!

Continuing on our way to Phoenix via Oak Creek Canyon to Sedona was another unexpected awesome drive down a valley flanked by 300m high cliffs, along the customary mountain stream. At the end of the valley, the landscape opens out to red rock formations that litter the plains, surrounding Sedona; a centre for artists and tourists!

Arriving in Phoenix, we had not only dropped over 2000 m (6, 500 feet) in altitude, our temperature variation for the day was 30 degrees C.! Now back among the cacti, in the Great Sonoran Desert (which surrounds us in Guaymas!) we felt at home!!

Barns had sent us an email titled ‘Adventure before Dementia’. Every day is an adventure; some more than others!

Go West Young Man

2010-09-18T15:26:00.000-07:00

With Apologies to Horace Greely and of course The Village People….

In order to escape from the heat in Guaymas, we decided to explore the west coast of the US of A! Maybe we should have done more extensive research about the journey; however our ‘suck it and see’ approach worked for us!

Expect the unexpected!

Being jet lagged….0400 in LA…….. (Arriving back from a very short trip to Perth) TV just happened to have the history of the formation of Yosemite National Park glacial formations. You just have to love good timing!

One thing is for sure…. The west coast would be such an inhospitable coast to sail, which is no different to any west coast in the world! However, as far as driving goes…it does have a certain ‘wow’ factor. You can’t go past Australia for ideal beaches!

Oregon definitely had the best beaches north of LA; these were enjoyed out of the water; not only because it was cold but also because of the coastal kelp beds that ran nearly all the way up the coast.

We briefly experienced the infamous fog bank heading south from San Francisco to Monterey. As timing is everything, we had a perfect weather window whilst driving up the coast.

What did we see most of along the way????? …. trees of course!!!!!!!!!! The extensive logging industry in Oregon and Washington is made apparent along the coast and on every beach by the huge amounts of driftwood washed up! Sailors beware!

Departing LA, San Luis Obispo was a real find; a funky upbeat, trendy town in the centre of a wine growing region. We managed to score market night; music and entertainment. Local organic produce was to die for, with the only disappointment being that we did not have the boat to load! It makes Perth look even worse with lower quality produce for much higher prices.

The longest queue....

was for the meat....

and some of the entertainment ....well, what could we say????

A little further north, Pismo Beach and San Simeon would be worthy of a longer stay. Hearst Castle, an elaborate, outlandish, and lusciously lavish Italian Villa built in the 1920’s by WR Hearst unveiled some worthy stories. Hearst’s father made his money mining silver in the late 1800’s and wisely transferring his wealth into 300 sq miles of land along the coast. WR Hearst, inspired by his travels to Europe built his dream home villa, high on a hill overlooking the Pacific. Julia Morgan, a visionary architect, as well as a civil engineer, made his dream become a reality. Hearst filled the villa with original art pieces from Europe, ranging from 5000 Year old Egyptian Statues to 500 year old Spanish and Italian tapestries.

The outdoor pool had been re-built three times; to increase its size to this. Greek statues gracing the pool are original!

The manicured gardens are delightful..

Hearst was a colourful character who had a wife (in New York, 22 years his junior) and a girlfriend (actress, 36 years his junior) who lived in ‘the castle’. The girlfriend had lent him 2 million USD during the Great Depression when he lost his wealth. Although Hearst was quick to recover his lost wealth by the end of WWII, the debt was not repaid until his death in 1954 (same year as granddaughter Patty was born) when his will disclosed that he had left 51% of all his wealth to his mistress. She promptly sold it back to the family for 1 USD, dispelling long held views that she was a gold digger/silver miner.

Dining Hall..

The indoor pool just as amazing...the dive platform can be seen just to the right of the light..

During the lead up to WWII such people as Charlie Chaplin, Clark Gable, Cary Grant, and other who’s who of Hollywood were invited guests at ‘the castle’.

The Californian Government has a significant tax relief policy for landowners who do not develop their land beyond pastoral use or who do not clear virgin land. Makes for a lot of open space!

A quick run east (through the plains claiming to be the largest area given to produce growing in THE world) up to Yosemite National Park was well worth the awesome vista.

Apart from the gargantuan Sequoia Trees, (largest trees in the world by girth)

the main attraction is the massive gorge carved by an ancient glacier.

I was really hoping to see a bear or two...from a safe vantage point of course! I suggested putting out some honey and waiting….Peter thought I could smother myself in honey and run through the forest….. ho hum!!

The awesome Glacier Point Half Dome afforded an even more awesome view down to the Valley. It stretches the imagination thinking about the forces at work to carve out such a landscape. We found many flat bottomed valleys (indicative of glacial erosion) all along the coast up to the Washington State border.

Base jumping has been forbidden...

The valley floor has some awesome hikes and bicycle hire around the river..

Photos just don't quite capture the height and depth.....

Yosemite back to the coast took us through the hills north of San Francisco (there be gold in them hills!) and up to Pacific City, back on to Highway 1 and the 101. A rather challenging road at times with switchbacks and vertical cliffs either into the water or the forest! Simply stunning coastline; only inhospitable for those who sail it! At least heading north we had the other side of the road as a buffer between us and the vertical cliffs….next stop the ocean!!

The Redwood forest around Crescent City was yet another awesome experience with the trees which are 2000-3000 years old. Their bark, over a foot thick, protects them from extreme weather and fire. Apparently they are only killed by chainsaws! So being the tallest trees in the world, volumetrically, they are also the largest.

Whilst we are on the tree path, we enjoyed seeing (and smelling!!!) the extensive acreage of eucalypts around LA and San Francisco. We felt right at home!! During the LA fires last year, apparently the oil from the trees exacerbated the whole situation. The trees were brought to America during the gold rush days of the mid 1800’s. After seeing the excellent wood from the eucalypts in Australia, they were planted en masse throughout California. However, the trees being cut down in Australia were from old growth forests; when the eucalypts were cut down for wood in America, they were young trees which buckled when shaped. The eucalypt timber industry died almost as quickly as it began.

There were many rivers with bars opening to the north along with towns like Gualala, Eureka, Crescent City and many more that deserve further exploration.

Such rivers along the Oregon coast offer some anchorages and berthing for yachts, if one was brave enough to cross the bars! Since 9/11, all the he rivers are manned by the coastguard. The upside is that there is always someone there to give advice on crossing the bar. The extensive bars are evidence of the mountains moving back to the ocean!

Coos Bay has shipping coming in and out; not easy given the entrance! There are, of course fog horns all along the coast, which send an eerie, but welcome sound.

The bars must present some problems as in Florence as there is a fully built marina with water and electricity that looks like it was never used. Grass is now growing on the docks! What a waste.

A brief stop in Pacific City; in actual fact a hamlet on the coast, to catch up with Bill and Elena aka ex Time Out (we had cruised in company with Time Out, for over 10,000 miles). As Peter had recently visited the PIMA aircraft museum in Tucson and Bill, in a previous life was a pilot and an engineer with Boeing, they decided a visit to the McMinville Air Museum, home of the Spruce Goose; an enormous plane built by Howard Hughes. Also at the museum is a Blackbird SR2, the spy plane commissioned by the CIA. The 747 on the roof is about ot be turned into a waterslide. How cool is that!!!

It was then on to Anacortes, just north of Seattle to see the kiwis; Meridian Passage, Merve and Jeannie.

We last cruised with them in SE Asia from where they then went to parts cold and white…Alaska via Japan and the Aleutians. What an absolute treat it was to meet up with them, not to mention being reaquainted with that good kiwi humour! We have their boat secrets stowed away!!!!!! After spending a few nights out at the San Juan Islands, we then anchored out in Anacortes…. I had to help them out with the eating of some fresh red (sockeye?) salmon….the things you have to do!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Divine!

A little exploration of the San Juan Islands near Anacortes gave us a taste of cruising in this stunning area. Although there was a change in the weather when we got there, it was cool, with the wind dying out at night. Our kind of cruising! On anchoring back in Anacortes, it appeared we were near the start line of a yacht race. Nothing like a bit of entertainment whilst having a sundowner!

Mars was closest to earth on August 27 at 0030; giving the appearance that Earth has two moons. Some of us saw it more than others! Anacortes and the Juan de Fuca Straights is now on our bucket list….a crappy sail to get there!!! So many places, such little time!!!

On leaving Seattle, we had wind and current with us (???) allowing us to make great haste down the I-5, almost to San Francisco. This made for a short day the following day to get to Sausalito, just 4 miles short of THE Bridge. Although there were magic hotels in Sausalito with views out across the bay, the price tag was not for us. Peter’s observation was that he did not want to pay half the cost of a life raft for one night’s accommodation. Sounded good to me!!

A tourist destination it may be, but now a wonderful place to just hang out; Sausalito (established for shipbuilding during WWII) was well worth the time, and from there a short drive afforded an amazing vista of THE Bridge.

The public marina in Sausalito revealed some different house boats:

The Taj Mahal …built by a woman with more money than sense. She apparently uses it for (Tea??) parties 3 times a year.

Then there was San Francisco!

What did we like about San Francisco….its quirkiness! We passed one guy on the street; fag hanging out of his mouth and a chook (alive!) on his shoulder…a beautifully groomed hen at that! People seemed to live a very relaxed lifestyle; no rush, no hassles. A variety of places to hang out in…

As Mark Twian once said ….The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco….How observant of him!! We decided to jump on a harbour cruise and make the most of the sunshine. We had waited until late morning so the fog could burn off. However, just as we left the dock more fog rolled in; this was our view!

We circled the nearby Islands that had not so happy memories for those who were kept there albeit different reasons.

Alcatraz eerily emerged out of the fog. Its lighthouse was the first in the area. Spanish explorer, Juan Manuel de Ayala named The Rock for the pelicans nesting there. Since the closing of the prison (1964) and the Native American Protesters that have moved on (1971), pelicans are now returning.

Angel Island has a varied history; more recently as an immigration centre. Many Chinese during the gold rush in the 1800’s spent years waiting for entry into the US. During this time of anxiety and terrible conditions, many Chinese wrote their stories on the walls which held them captive. From 1910 to 1940, the immigration station processed over 1 million Asian immigrants entering the US.

For various reasons, we ended up crossing the bridge 6 times! It is painted International Orange, looking like gold (????????????) and can swing 27 feet (would rather not be there!) without causing damage to its structure and has only been closed 3 times in its history due to strong winds.

At Pier 39 we came across Rodney Lough’s Wilderness Photographic Gallery. Simply amazing photography and more enjoyable than most of the art in the galleries uptown (or does that show our lack of taste???).

Our fitness must have improved strolling up and down the hills. Walking up the very steep, most crooked street in the world, (?) Lombard St afforded yet another stunning view over another part of the Bay. To get there from our hotel, we had 3 blocks of steep gradient – the last being 33 degrees. (A kind chap sitting on his doorstep shared that with us!)

Driving up and down the hills was enough of a roller coaster ride for us. Then there was the cable cars…their drivers have a wonderful sense of humour and offered suggestions as how to keep you on the car when going downhill!

A visit to China Town took us back to what we loved about SE Asia…..

The old hippie area of Height Ashbury is now an up market place to live with some interesting stores!

We utilised FSC’s reciprocal rights with Saint Francis Yacht Club ( home to John Kostecki and Paul Cayard), enjoying the stunning view of the bridge and the bay, with many memories of The America’s Cup races and Volvo Ocean Race visits to Fremantle via their yacht models and photos. Unfortunately we will not be here during their Big Boat Series.

A drive around the infamous Pebble Beach (US Open and Concours D’Elegance)

and a catch up with others at Blue Banana’s YC in Monterey, where dinghies, mooring buoys and swim platforms are for seals….

was followed by our last big drive down to San Diego, somehow avoiding all the traffic in LA…..being the last long weekend before winter, half of LA was on the move!!!

Newport Beach, Laguna through to Dana Beach….a short jump on the I-405 which goes straight past LAX, if you ever have a spare few hours in LA, is well worth a weekday jaunt.

Near San Diego, Mission Bay was a wonderful place to hang out, especially along the peninsula with cutesy narrow streets and sandy beaches, complete with restaurants and coffee bars. A place full of young travellers and surfers, rather than tourists.

San Diego is an absolute delight and very much centered around boating. Gone are the fresh afternoon sea breezes we found further north. The city centre has many residents; a huge amount of restaurants and night entertainment, especially around the Gaslamp district and Little Italy. Most of the shoreline appears to have given over to marinas or moorings, the former of which are quite expensive. For all the yachts out sailing, there were a thousand times as many in slips everywhere!!

Point Loma is the home of the major marine chandleries and associated companies. For us, it was like children in a lolly shop! However, as we had to haul any purchases back to the boat, in addition to what we already had purchased in Australia, we showed great restraint.

As the zoo is well known for its highly successful breeding program, we decided a visit was in order. As we found all over the west coast, there were little or no queues as tourist season was almost over. At least I got to see a grizzly and our favourites…..Borneo Sun Bear, Hippopotami, Pink Flamingos and the Giant Pandas. The big cats were also up there.

In a little over two weeks, we drove 6,500 km. With such efficient road network, traffic was never an issue; something we found surprising. Using Hotwire and booking hotels just one day in advance saved us something between $10 and $50 per day.

From San Diego, we caught the Greyhound bus from downtown which took us across the border to the bus terminal in Tijuana. We were very relieved that the terminal was well covered with not only non-smoking signs for busses, but also no guns allowed! An immigration officer came to check our passports and was surprised when a 200 peso note fell out behind Peter’s Mexican Visa. He thought the obvious, with Peter having no idea how it got there!!

As we had purchased Yanmar engine paint and a good deal of resin, flying, was out of the question (despite the fact that we were so over laden with boat bits!). We passed the first customs check with a sigh of relief, not realising that we had a second one at midnight as we came to the Sonoran Border. I scored a red light and although Peter was asked to follow me, a quick suggestion to keep going saved us revealing our contraband!

The bus trip (Mexican busses are second to none in comfort) was a good 16 hours through amazing mountains and across the vast old floodplain of the Colorado River where it used to flow into the Sea Of Cortez. We did not expect the journey down the mountains; a little disconcerting when we counted over 20 cars that had gone over the cliffs. At least we did not see any busses that did not make it!! The vista from the bus window was awesome, if not a little scary as you could see 1km down the slope to the bottom; vertical cliffs complete with switchbacks and overturned trucks. There were two one way roads built which separated the traffic by about 1km, saving the possibility of head on collisions. The mountains were all rock – boulders of all sizes littering the landscape. Where was Gorbar when we needed a geological perspective? The vista, coupled with an in ‘drive’ documentary on the worst hurricanes and earthquakes was a little too much stimulation!

Our suck it and see approach came a little undone when we realised on our bus ride to Guaymas, that we had not seen the key to the boat since Peter arrived in Perth. (I had put it somewhere safe!) Our spare key was with Allan in San Carlos. So by the time we arrived at the marina at 0400 (an hour late after sitting outside the police station whilst our driver sorted out his speeding infringement!) we had a few hours sleeping in the cockpit before we could catch a local bus to San Carlos to retrieve our spare key! At least it was not cold or wet, albeit a little dusty.

By the first week in September, the word is that La Nina is now establishing herself and the monsoon conditions are gone. (??) The hills are green, beautiful breezes grace the shores on some days and the temperature varies between 35 and 41 C. Sounds like summer in Perth??? We have the pool at the hardstand to ourselves and manage to go to the beach on most days. Swimming is a delight as the waters are warm; reminds us of Langkawi!

Our current plan is to head south in Nov to Ecuador, some 2,500 miles south (across the ITCZ) and to leave the boat there while we return to Perth in 2011 for a while.

We want to go sailing RFN (NOW!)

A Hard Life

2010-07-18T22:48:00.000-07:00

We are currently hauled out in Guaymas; the large Mexican town 10 minutes from San Carlos. The hardstand area is amazingly clean and comes with lap pool, great restaurant, wifi and security, with a view to boot. However, at the end of the day it is the hardstand after all and we take our hat off to those of you who have spent months and months and months living on the hard!

The travel lift here is operated by remote control. Orasio did a perfect job in operating the lift from a small control box he had around his neck. A bit like playing a video game!! By the time the tide was right, it was a little too windy to reverse into the concrete lift bay amid the trawlers! Much easier to take the (new) furler off!! We enlisted the assistance of fellow cruisers, leaving nothing to chance! Marisa and Allan came along to oversee proceedings; Allan is our surveyor and kept an eye on the position of the straps under the keel and Marisa speaks fluent Spanish…a good safety net. Fellow Australians, Karen and Paul (from Darwin, who have just bought their dream boat – a 2005 Island Packet, located on our dock in Marina San Carlos...... they had read our blog and saw that we had done it…) offered their assistance, so all in all, a much appreciated effort.

Although our haul out time was at noon, the semi finals of the FIFA games were on (of course we should have checked the schedule first!) so at 1300, the end of the game (with the good outcome of Espana winning) it all happened very smoothly. (We watched them win the finals too. Great game!)

The pool was the place to cool off and wait for the the props to be placed around the boat. Maybe a little of an oversight as Stolen Kiss is a little bow down!

The new furler was installed by Oscar in San Carlos, with Peter standing by to assist. Peter was very happy to have Oscar doing this, not only because of his expertise, but especially considering Oscar went up the mast 3 times, the last of which was is in considerable 25 knot winds!! What happened to my man who used to free climb Hitchhiker's mast when I met him???? We are getting to the end of our list, not to mention the end of the bank balance!! All our purchases have been through Defender, who has given us such a terrific discount on all items purchased. They are a warehouse who does not charge sales tax! Some very kind friends who live in San Carlos let us use their mail address in Tucson, so getting bits and pieces here has not been difficult. We have had our autopilot on order for 3 months now, with it finally being shipped today. Peter has decided to go with the Octopus pump rather than the Raymarine one. Our instruments and pilot controls are on the way as well. We still have to figure on how to get the life raft through the border. As long as they don’t want it opened!!!!!!!!

The master has been busy organizing the replacement shaft seal and removing the cutlass bearing in order to find its replacement. He is becoming even more of an expert at this as he did the same with the previous boat. What do they say about practice???? There was a bit of vibration in the shaft, so a timely replacement. Of course the project list grows with the addition of all the smaller jobs. Our rudder looks like it has been used for target practice, which in a way I guess it did as Peter attacked it with his drill. It had a bit of water in it so now it can dry out. Not bad for 20 years though!

The Sierra Madre Mountains inland have a huge impact on the local conditions, bringing monsoonal type conditions in the afternoons in the form of Chubascos (squalls). We have not had one to date, however the humidity is growing. Its rather nice getting back in to the sub tropical life; at least we can justify our daily siesta.

The mountains also bring monsoon conditions to the south of Arizona (the great Senoran Deserts knows no borders!) which we were delighted to see during our visa run…a long time since we had seen virga rain.

Whilst we had to go to Tucson, we managed to extricate Didy and Gorbar from visiting family in Colorado..not that it took any convincing. Although we did not get out to all the nice anchorages (due to the remnants of Hurricane Alex throwing up a horrid sea), we did get to explore the surrounds…and there is nothing like taking a geologist out in an old volcanic landscape! Gorbar was a very happy chappy.

On our short sail (motor sail!) in a sloppy sea we did manage to land a dorado (the second in a month!) which was a sensational catch. Strange as it seems, it was easy to land and just curled up and died once it hit the bucket. Gorbar's idea was that it relaxed when it saw Peter as it thought it was safe! Gorbar and Didy did the filleting, with Gorbar volunteering to cook it. Did he not trust my cooking?

Didy and I were caught out in the galley…a rare occasion for both of us! (Singularly and plural!)

Di and I of course had to have our Pina Colada (much to the amusement of others who have only seen me drinking soda water!!)…..where ever we meet on our sailing adventures, Didy and I celebrate with a Pina Colada! This started in Queensland, around 20 years ago.

We will stay on the hard until the end of the hurricane season in November. It is a little more comforting being on a concrete pad than a dirt pad in times of excessive rain from tropical storms. It’s a similar price to what we paid in Asia, without the monkeys, rats and dirt! We no complain.

The two towns of San Carlos and Guaymas are very different. San Carlos, a predominately gringo town, officially became a 'commissariat' of Guaymas in 1963. Guaymas on the other hand has a long history of Spanish resistance and eventual occupancy.

The story goes along the lines that the Guaymas area was occupied by the fierce Guaymenas Indian tribe, which created enough resistance for the Spanish that they were not able to actually occupy the Guaymas area until the 18th century. The history of Guaymas, due to the early Indian inhabitants, dates back over 2,000 years. The Yaqui, Guaimas and Seri Indians lived in this natural habitat, sustained by the waters of the Sea of Cortez. The Yaqui Indians are still around and come to sell their very colourful wares in San Carlos.

It was not until 1769 that the mission was successful, and the new town of San Jose de Guaymas was named.

Its occupancy was somewhat complex and varied as desirable port city, Guaymas was occupied by foreign military forces and of course pirates had attempted the same. During the 1847-48 Mexican-American War, 2 US naval vessels, captured Guaymas areas taking control of the harbors & town until late 1848, and then very briefly in 1853 by the 'freebooter' William Walker, a French pirate 'Captain Rousset' operating in the Sea of Cortez in 1854 (who, after a 4 day battle was executed for his trouble), followed by the French under Emperor Maximilian in 1865.

At last, the first two decades of 1900 brought revolution again to Mexico, and the port/cove areas suddenly became supply points for General Francisco (Pancho) Villias 'Army of the North'. Not surprising that Francisco is a popular name around here!

Guaymas is today the 7th largest port in Mexico, which is surprising given its shallow depth of 11m at the entrance to the harbour. An amazing natural harbour though as it is, some of its beauty has been lost to the old fishing trawlers left to a rusty death in many areas of the harbour.

The locals are proud of the fact that Guaymas (in the State of Senora) had three Presidents that came from here during the 1920’s to 1930’s. Since then the state of Senora (sharing around 400km of its border with the USA) has its reputation steeped in drug and people trafficking. Although there have been a few incidents (a bit of violence between the drug gangs) we see nothing of it; the same as 99% of the population here.

Although its getting hot (40 C) the flowers are out, the bees still around (the honey is to die for!!) and the beaches welcoming. What's not to like??????????

Its the fishing season......

Life on the local busses is very entertaining..

We have decided to fly to Australia for a few weeks for Barnaby and Anita’s engagement, catch up with family, then some land travel in the USA.

Our current plan after splash down in November is to head south… not sure how far we will get……

La Pazz Continues

2010-06-04T13:51:00.000-07:00

Life continues in one place, although we have anchored in 5 different places in the El Magote anchorage, finally settling on the east side of the sand bar, closer to the dinghy dock and a little closer in for protection from the night land breezes. Moving is good as it stops the anchor chain from providing yet another home for all that grows in that nutrient rich water!

The dolphins are still hunting in the anchorage, their position given away by the flock of pelicans that follow closely by, getting their share of the feeding frenzy. It is fun to paddle out and sit in the fray. The wild life is just amazing and having a kayak - even better to get out there. Whilst sitting in the middle of Caleta Partida (out at the islands) up popped 3 very large turtles!

Peter says it is time to move when we start offering information to others!!

Another cruiser says the definition of cruising is ‘’boat maintenance in exotic locations”!

Our 'must fix/replace' list continues as our depth sounder tried to go out in sympathy with our wind instrument and decided not to work!! Bugger! However, the ships master investigated it and got it working again. Phew. We will, however, get new instruments – Ray Marine so they can all talk to the autopilot! What happened to the KISS principle?????

Occupying our time is not an issue as we have sailed out to the islands a few times, enjoyed finding new restaurants and catching up with visitors who keep popping in!

Trevor (brother) and his partner Emma had a flying visit, staying on the Magote. We shared some wonderful meals and it was great to finally meet Emma and catch up with Trevor whom we had not seen for many, many, many years.

Baja 1000 came and went with much fanfare. It is an off road race down the Baja which sorts the men out from the boys!!! Some cars rolled, others collided with the natural elements, but by the end of the celebration, a good time was had by all!

The water is warming slowly but we are assured by the end of May it will be around 28 C. We are at the end of May and it’s 26 C. Our island visits are a way to keep our prop clean and ensure the anchor does not weld itself to the bottom! Surprisingly, the antifouling is holding up well as it is over two years old. As the area is almost devoid of coral, the growth on the hull and prop is just hairy with lots of sea lice! Visiting the islands needs a little thought as the night time Coromuel winds can turn nasty, leaving you in very exposed anchorages.

We spent a week in Marina Palmira fixing the dinghy leak and although contemplated another week there, it turned out to be a good decision to go as a large launch behind us came in with only one engine and only just missed Traveler who was next to us. They would have taken out our dinghy and davits for sure. If you are ever considering painting your dinghy with dinghy paint..DON’T DO IT!! Our dinghy now looks more pathetic being grey with white patches where the paint has rubbed off and red patches where it leaked!

Skip and Cathy from Traveler, whom we had met in San Carlos, finally arrived and we certainly shared some wonderful moments with them. Cathy and I decided that we wanted to go for a walk up the ‘hill’ which boasts a cross on its peak. The gentlemen of course, not wanting to be outdone by the girls, decided to come as well. We were not sure of the track but had heard from others it was a steep, but easy climb. Peter led the way, having no idea of the track. Although we all decided it was not the correct way, we kept going, for reasons totally unknown. So we got to the top, feeling like rock climbers doing the real thing, clinging to the cliff face before finding a goat trail a meter from the top, and the cross. Nice view though..and the way down..easy, peasy!

Another expedition with Traveler was less tiresome, more interesting and very amusing! We hired a car to visit the southern portion of the Baja, including the not so infamous art centre of Todos Santos and the infamous Cabo San Lucas.

Todos Santos boasts THE Hotel California, but it was actually a gag to get the tourists there. Hotel California does not actually exist. We have this on good authority..the net!!

But it does have great food and an interesting courtyard to while away some time with the mariachi band!

The marina in Cabo San Lucas, being $250 USD per night for us, (a tads out of our league), was the deciding factor in not venturing any further south on the Baja than La Paz. Cabo was so over the top with two cruise ships in and a million people (a lot anyway!) on the beach, with jet skis and pangas being very busy. A few yachts were along the beach a little rolling a little at anchor, obviously enjoying the serenity!

A little further on up the coast is the beautiful San Jose del Cabo and the town of Los Barilles. Whilst the ills of Cabo, in the form of high rise development resorts and hotels are slowly creeping in to San Jose, the old part of town is just divine! The beaches of course are stunning but awash with sports fishing boats.

On our way to the airport to meet Barn and Anita, we stayed a night in San Jose del Cabo and enjoyed wandering around the small streets looking at the galleries and enjoying the ambience. We have to confess that we just do not ‘get’ modern impressionist art, especially with price tags in the thousands. We wondered how many people by this art simply to have an Árnold’ (or someone else of fame) on their wall???? It always looks something like the grandchildren could do!! Peter, being very artistic could take up modern impressionist art and make us a fortune!!

Beautiful courtyards are everywhere..very Mexican!

As for Barn and Anita, they can tell you their story, but here are some photos! We found all the wildlife - whales, turtles, seals and pods of dolphins. Barns even managed to catch his bigest fish!

Firstly, we did not want to get them confused as to which blue yacht they were on!!

Anita managed to helm..a little different from her dinghy.

Enjoyed some local food at interesting locations..

Explored the bays

Relaxed like the wildlife..

More exploring...

Lots of zzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

Fishing..

and even catching.....

A little too much enthusiasm of casting saw Barn fall off the boat and climb back on even faster!

Intensive land use...

thatched palapas that are common in Mexico..

more beautiful beaches

Barnaby and Anita have some very important news to share....

So now its off north for our haul out in 3 weeks time for the hurricane season and necessary bottom jobs! For the first time we are going to pay someone to sand the bottom!