My watch said 0430. A pair of roosters were doing their morning wake up call, which probably explains why I’m aware of the time. In my mind, the last two weeks are a blur, but I know that this day before Christmas is going to be a great one. I laid back down, secure in knowing that we were tied to a dock – the first one since Ensenada, what, two weeks ago? This Marina, Puerto San Jose, about 20 miles from Cabo San Lucas is grossly overpriced, but the shower last night – also the first since Ensenada – was almost worth it.
The first order of business today is to get online, Skype (phone) our daughters and write something interesting for this blog and check the weather. Then, we’ll take a taxi to town for groceries and find a nice place for dinner – I promised.
At 0900 I’ve been trying to get online for three hours, but nothing I do is working. (we found out later that we had been given a wrong password) Now I pack the laptop up to the Marina office, about a 15 minute fast walk, to see if they can help . They let me plug in to their modem, and joy to the world, the thing is working! I called the girls and left messages on both their phones, wrote a quick update to the blog so you folks wouldn’t worry, and handled our e-mail. On to the weather site. Uh Oh. “Honey, look at this. Unless we want to stay here for three or four more days, we’ll have to sail for La Paz tonight or early tomorrow in order to avoid a storm on Saturday.”
It’s now 1630 Christmas day, about 80 degrees, the sea is pretty calm, we’re motorsailing at about 5 knots with about 85 miles left to go. We sailed out of the marina at 0500 this AM and will reach La Paz sometime tomorrow, God willing. I ended up grilling hamburgers last night and Claudia is now making us some fine spaghetti with the extra ground beef. And so it goes. It just doesn’t get any better than this.
In the middle of dinner, the radar decides to stop working. Not good, as on this moonless night we will be threading our way between rugged coastline and volcanic islands with far reaching and shallow reefs. Oh Boy! As the charts, and therefore the GPS maps, date back to the 1800’s, this is a bit scary. Well, it was a night to forget. And so we will.
It is now late afternoon Friday the 26th. We’re tied up at Marina Palmira in La Paz with internet on board. Woo Hoo. Time to relax and get some rhythm back to our lives.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Sojourner tastes the Sea of Cortez
We made it to Cabo San Lucas. Some adventure, but no problem. Trouble with computer and Internet connection as usual. Plan to get to La Paz next week and will update then.
Feliz Navidad
Feliz Navidad
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
December 16, underway
Wow, a lot has happened since we last were able to post. First of all, we are doing great. After making it to Bahia Tortuga for last weekend and spending two nice days there, we are now in Bahia Asuncion, about 50 miles further south.
Turtle Bay was totally different than Ensenada. C took some pics to give you an idea, but here we walked dirt streets. And the Mexicans were all driving around in cars and trucks. In fact, we commented with friends from other boats there, that we were the only ones walking around. Everything was very dusty but the people mostly wore smiles and we felt welcome. Most prices were dirt cheap. Example, A water taxi from our boat to shore cost $1 per person each way, as compared to $4.75 in Avalon. A bottle of Corona is 150 pesos, about $1.25. And what is becoming a lunchtime favorite, fish tacos, are about 80 pesos. These are small, soft tacos with deep fried pieces of battered fish onto which you put your own trimmings like salsa, salad, beans, rice, you get the picture.
At the recommendation of an experienced sailor friend, Terry Cory, we sought out, found, and bought a super WiFi antenna to help us get hooked up on board, without having to go to town. Here, as in Turtle Bay, we’re anchored at least ¼ mile from shore, and with this antenna, we pick up several signals strong enough to hook up to. The only problem is, they are all secure and require passwords which of course we don’t have.
We’re sailing in company with one Gary, a solo sailor aboard Dash. Since Gary has an inflatable with a motor, we agreed to wait until this morning when he will blow it up and take us all into town. There, we will find an internet café – I use the term loosely as the last one was in a furniture and novelty store – where we can hopefully post this. I must admit, we were on the internet in such a place in Turtle Bay, but because we were required to use their computer and I was focused on getting weather info, it never occurred to me that we could have posted something on the site for you. A senior moment which I will try not to repeat.
The sailing has been pretty good. Mostly using the motor too because of light winds, but no nasty seas or bitter cold anymore. Also, we routinely see porpoises now. They are remarkable to watch. We don’t know what attracts them, but they will swim with us sometimes only very briefly, and other times for a few minutes before wandering off. And sometimes there are only a couple of them, and other times there will be a dozen or more. These fish occasionally leap into the air with a hang time of more than a second. They can make your day.
Our plan now is to continue south with Dash, probably taking another week or so to reach Cabo San Lucas, still 350 miles away, maybe by Christmas. This will probably be our last opportunity to post anything until then, as we will be anchoring off very small villages. So Greetings and Best Wishes to all of you. E
Turtle Bay was totally different than Ensenada. C took some pics to give you an idea, but here we walked dirt streets. And the Mexicans were all driving around in cars and trucks. In fact, we commented with friends from other boats there, that we were the only ones walking around. Everything was very dusty but the people mostly wore smiles and we felt welcome. Most prices were dirt cheap. Example, A water taxi from our boat to shore cost $1 per person each way, as compared to $4.75 in Avalon. A bottle of Corona is 150 pesos, about $1.25. And what is becoming a lunchtime favorite, fish tacos, are about 80 pesos. These are small, soft tacos with deep fried pieces of battered fish onto which you put your own trimmings like salsa, salad, beans, rice, you get the picture.
At the recommendation of an experienced sailor friend, Terry Cory, we sought out, found, and bought a super WiFi antenna to help us get hooked up on board, without having to go to town. Here, as in Turtle Bay, we’re anchored at least ¼ mile from shore, and with this antenna, we pick up several signals strong enough to hook up to. The only problem is, they are all secure and require passwords which of course we don’t have.
We’re sailing in company with one Gary, a solo sailor aboard Dash. Since Gary has an inflatable with a motor, we agreed to wait until this morning when he will blow it up and take us all into town. There, we will find an internet café – I use the term loosely as the last one was in a furniture and novelty store – where we can hopefully post this. I must admit, we were on the internet in such a place in Turtle Bay, but because we were required to use their computer and I was focused on getting weather info, it never occurred to me that we could have posted something on the site for you. A senior moment which I will try not to repeat.
The sailing has been pretty good. Mostly using the motor too because of light winds, but no nasty seas or bitter cold anymore. Also, we routinely see porpoises now. They are remarkable to watch. We don’t know what attracts them, but they will swim with us sometimes only very briefly, and other times for a few minutes before wandering off. And sometimes there are only a couple of them, and other times there will be a dozen or more. These fish occasionally leap into the air with a hang time of more than a second. They can make your day.
Our plan now is to continue south with Dash, probably taking another week or so to reach Cabo San Lucas, still 350 miles away, maybe by Christmas. This will probably be our last opportunity to post anything until then, as we will be anchoring off very small villages. So Greetings and Best Wishes to all of you. E
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
On our way
It's Emrick's birthday today! We will be on our way this morning to points south skipping from bay to bay as daylight allows so you will not hear from us until we reach a place with internet again. That may be Turtle Bay which is 300 miles from here. The first pic to the left is the Mexican flag (a huge one) just near the marina we are staying in. 
This is a street scene in Ensenada.
This is where we ate our first fish taco (yummy).
Ever wonder where the "Black Pearl" ended up? It is right here in Ensenada. I was sooooo excited to see it. They wouldn't let us into the yard to get close so this pic is taken from outside a cement barrier through a small gap in a fence. This pic does not do the ship justice because you can't see all the magnificent carving on the bow or aft.
Time to head out into the blue yonder. C
Sunday, December 7, 2008
One tequila, two tequila, three tequila . . . . .
I thought I should give you a little run down on our first day & evening in Mexico. Emrick seems to have skipped right by our "checking into the country process" & our first night here. What a riot. We decided to complete our checking-in process by ourselves (after we found out the cost for assistance had gone from $50.00 to $85.00). We were given directions & started out to the CIS building where all the paperwork is completed. Mind you, E & I had been sailing all night so our minds were not as quick as we would have liked them to be. The directions did not turn out to be that accurate but we found the building & began the process. There were four windowed sections that housed immigration, the port captain, customs & visa office. We proceeded to bounce from one side of the room to the other, handing the people behind the glass our pile of papers & watch as they pulled out what they needed from our pile, created new forms, had us complete new forms, pay them money for the transaction & then point us across the room to go see someone else. It was pretty comical because you use sign language & try very hard to understand what they wanted from you. During this two hour process we met Dean & Gary from the s/v Unda who were there to check-in as well. We had originally met them in Santa Barbara & it was nice to be able to talk with someone who spoke English & was in the same boat we were, so to speak. Needless to say when all was said & done we were exhausted but set a date to meet up with Dean & Gary later to go out for dinner. By the time we got back to the boat we had managed to walk around the town of Ensenada a little, get our bearings & check out some of the shops & restaurants. When we headed out for dinner that night E & I had no idea of what to expect but Dean & Gary had been to Mexico before so they were able to tell us what we could & should not eat, etc. So we ended up in an open air cafe where the people were very happy to have customers. We ordered fajitas. The food was good but different. Portions are smaller, the rice is white, the beans are a very dark brown, the tortillas are smaller but freshly made & the meat is not cooked with peppers, just onions. The waiter was very attentive & the minute the food plates were removed the tequila started. We did not order it, the waiter just set down little (1/2 shot) glasses & poured us each a full glass, gave us salt & limes & we drank the shot (the waiter had a shot with us). After a few minutes the waiter reappeared & again set down the little glasses, pouring us all another shot. By the 3rd round we decided we better get out of there while we could still walk. What a great evening. I LOVE this place!
San Diego Pics
This is just a little ol' ship that was across from us in San Diego. It had to be over 100 feet long. I wondered how they got the thing into the slip . . . .
This is the cruise ship that was behind us coming out of the harbor.
Greetings from MEXICO!!!!
Having spent the last month or so in California, I have to say my first impression is that the people look pretty much the same here, and they sound pretty much the same too. I still don’t understand Spanish.
We’re in Ensenada Mexico, just 65 miles south of San Diego, having left S D in kind of a hurry; we had planned to stay there a few days to rest up, relax, and recreate, but our marina had their showers under reconstruction. Well, anyone who knows Claudia knows that I had to do something. Every other marina I called wanted $2.00 per foot per night- $64 for Sojourner. Well, I choked and did the only thing I could. Leave. We’ll post pics of our departure, but you know how hard it is to get the really great stuff into a camera, so I’ll try and tell you about it while catching some rays, Bud in hand, and Spanish music in the background.
San Diego harbor is kind of busy. It is home to the U S Navy, commercial docks aplenty, and some 9,000 pleasure boats. It was about 4:00 PM when we left the dock with just over an hour of daylight left. About halfway out the 3 or 4 mile long entrance channel, I looked back and saw this monster white cruise ship steaming toward us. Tried to reach him on the radio, but no response. So, we took a hard left and got out of the way. The sunset was brilliant as the big ship passed by. Then, back into the channel, and we hear these two warships talking to each other on the radio about how they’re going to avoid running into each other. So, I look behind again, and this time, I swear, it’s an aircraft carrier climbing up our butt. Well, we know the drill. Hard to port! What a sight!
Then, back into the channel again and we see this other warship bearing down on us from dead ahead about 3 – 4 miles out. But we now know that he must be warship 88 from the earlier radio conversation and we’re able to radio him by name, so we arranged to avoid each other, and off we went. The rest of the night was a piece of cake, though the breeze was on our nose so we motored the whole night, arriving Ensenada about 10:00AM
As I write this, it’s Saturday, and the moon is now rising and looks to be about ¼ full, so, if we leave here on our 300 mile journey to Turtle Bay – the next fuel and services – by Monday or Tuesday, we should have good light at night. We all presently live 14 hours in darkness to get 10 hours of daylight, and while the days here in the upper 60’s are surely warmer than where most of you are, the nights, especially at sea, are still quite cold. Claudia is disappointed to find that she still needs her Carhart insulated pants and her Russian looking furry cap with the earflaps. I really should take a picture, but since she does the pic posting, you’d never see it.
Maxine is in the cockpit with me, and she’s giving me this look. You know the one. “You’ve been ignoring me. People want to know about me too.” Well, the fact is, she has been a good crew. She mostly stays where we put her and she doesn’t eat much, so I promise to include her more in the future. In the meantime, I’m working on my manyana (tomorrow is soon enough) and Margarita attitude. E
We’re in Ensenada Mexico, just 65 miles south of San Diego, having left S D in kind of a hurry; we had planned to stay there a few days to rest up, relax, and recreate, but our marina had their showers under reconstruction. Well, anyone who knows Claudia knows that I had to do something. Every other marina I called wanted $2.00 per foot per night- $64 for Sojourner. Well, I choked and did the only thing I could. Leave. We’ll post pics of our departure, but you know how hard it is to get the really great stuff into a camera, so I’ll try and tell you about it while catching some rays, Bud in hand, and Spanish music in the background.
San Diego harbor is kind of busy. It is home to the U S Navy, commercial docks aplenty, and some 9,000 pleasure boats. It was about 4:00 PM when we left the dock with just over an hour of daylight left. About halfway out the 3 or 4 mile long entrance channel, I looked back and saw this monster white cruise ship steaming toward us. Tried to reach him on the radio, but no response. So, we took a hard left and got out of the way. The sunset was brilliant as the big ship passed by. Then, back into the channel, and we hear these two warships talking to each other on the radio about how they’re going to avoid running into each other. So, I look behind again, and this time, I swear, it’s an aircraft carrier climbing up our butt. Well, we know the drill. Hard to port! What a sight!
Then, back into the channel again and we see this other warship bearing down on us from dead ahead about 3 – 4 miles out. But we now know that he must be warship 88 from the earlier radio conversation and we’re able to radio him by name, so we arranged to avoid each other, and off we went. The rest of the night was a piece of cake, though the breeze was on our nose so we motored the whole night, arriving Ensenada about 10:00AM
As I write this, it’s Saturday, and the moon is now rising and looks to be about ¼ full, so, if we leave here on our 300 mile journey to Turtle Bay – the next fuel and services – by Monday or Tuesday, we should have good light at night. We all presently live 14 hours in darkness to get 10 hours of daylight, and while the days here in the upper 60’s are surely warmer than where most of you are, the nights, especially at sea, are still quite cold. Claudia is disappointed to find that she still needs her Carhart insulated pants and her Russian looking furry cap with the earflaps. I really should take a picture, but since she does the pic posting, you’d never see it.
Maxine is in the cockpit with me, and she’s giving me this look. You know the one. “You’ve been ignoring me. People want to know about me too.” Well, the fact is, she has been a good crew. She mostly stays where we put her and she doesn’t eat much, so I promise to include her more in the future. In the meantime, I’m working on my manyana (tomorrow is soon enough) and Margarita attitude. E
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Pics from our sail to Catalina & Avalon Harbor
Couple pics of the storm that was causing the water spouts & lightening as we sailed to Catelina. We were getting weather warnings over the radio as we were sailing.
Above are pics from Avalon Harbor.
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