Baja racing

Oh, here's one last shot from Carnival with friends Don and Susie from mv Neshama.





Our marina is owned and operated by the Abaroa family, as is the marina next to us. This family is involved in other activities in addition to their marinas and boatyards. Some, are only rumors, while others, like the racing, are totally for real.



The man in this photo with his son is Louis, the manager of our marina, and winning driver of the number 21 car. At least twice a week, they bring this car out of the garage (in the marina next to us) and run the engine. All I can say is wow! this is the real deal. I've always loved the sound of big horsepower revving, and we get to hear it on a regular basis. Scott, I'll try to get a photo of this rig with the body panels off - at an estimated 400K, it is impressive.




I just assumed that these cars (there are two brothers, two cars) ran in races like the Baja 1000 and that there was nothing to go and watch. But one day, I asked Louis about that and he lit up and told me about a race that was being run just outside of La Paz on the coming Sunday.

(Check out Claudia's hair)

So, we loaded the van with folks and beer and were off to the races. We drove just a couple miles out of the City and then about three more miles into the desert on sand through a ranch to the staging area you see in the photos.


Once again, the camera can only do so much, but the sight was really impressive. Thousands of people had gathered in the dusty sand. If you can imagine a bowl, maybe 3/4 of a mile across, with tents, trailers, and motorhomes lining about 1/2 of the perimeter two tiers high, I think it would be close. The cars run in the bowl on a track sort of like a motocross, then they run out into the desert for six or eight miles before returning to the bowl. That makes one lap of a five lap race. We could only see the dust once they were outside the bowl, but it was still pretty exciting.

A good time was had by all!

And Now For Your Viewing Pleasure . . Dolphin Stampede

CARNIVAL 2010

Claudia and I have always enjoyed fairs. From the Minnesota State fair to all the little County fairs we've lived near, you could count on us to be there. For me, the attraction was almost certainly the rides. And lucky for me, when C began losing interest in carnival rides, our daughter Kristen was happy to take over her place. She even got me on the roller coaster at New York, New York in Las Vegas a few years ago. Whew! That one might be my last. But I was wishing she were here in La Paz last week during Carnival.











The big attraction ride was the one in this photo. Since I couldn't get the whole thing into a decent picture, you'll just have to imagine.......... a very sturdy base (yellow) probably fifty feet tall, supporting the center of a ninety foot long boom, which had a "car" at each end with seats for four suck, uh, people. It didn't have to spin around many times to give folks quite a ride!


And just to show that the Mexicans do have a sense of humor, check out the life sized statue . I'd have gone on this with Kristen anyway.



I've been trying to come up with a one word description of Carnival, but it's not easily done. First of all, it runs for the six days before Ash Wednesday, which I believe begins the 40 days of lent. So it comes from religion, but it certainly doesn't seem religious.



It's also BIG. They close down about a mile and a half of the main drag through La Paz, which runs along the Malecon. Remember, the Malecon is the wide ornate ceramic and concrete sidewalk
that borders the water in a coastal Mexican city.
In La Paz, it's about 6 or 7 miles long, with palm trees and benches and sculptures, a wonderful place where families and young people hang out. Anyway, then they fill all this space with booths and rolling carts and walking vendors and sound stages. Hats, shoes, food of every variety, beer, blankets, Mickey Mouse ears, masks, jewelry, and the usual carnival junk and games of chance, and music.







Then there are the parades. Actually, one parade, done three times. The first day it runs from South to North. They leave the floats and stuff somewhere, and then the next evening the parade comes back South. And the next evening the whole thing moves back North. And each parade attracts a huge crowd to watch and cheer.








The mood is electric. Everyone is partying as though it's their last chance - actually, for many, it is, for forty days at least.




As the night moves along, the crowds keep growing. For us, about 10:30 is pretty late, and we still have a 20 minute walk back to the boat. It actually gets so crowded that in many places you can only move with the crowd. Too close for sure. And the headline music hasn't even begun yet!!





Which brings us to my final thought on the one word description. Try to imagine walking through this. On your right, a booth is selling pirated CD's and playing them through a sound system that would support a local band. LOUD. And it sounds pretty good - good old American rock and roll. Then, as you move along, you begin to hear the Mariachi band playing to your left on a sound stage and Peruvian pipes being broadcast from the next booth on your right. You just keep moving through this sea of sound for as long as you're there.

When one sound is dominant, it sounds pretty good. Otherwise, the word that comes to mind is cacophony. Pretty much just good old noise.

And even when we're back on Sojourner it isn't over because the main stage lights up with the headline group at 11:00. We are quite a distance away, but sound travels well over water - some sounds at least. We can here clearly the bass, boom boom boom. And if we wake up before 3:00 AM we can still hear it.

Then there are the girls of Carnival..........

Todos Santos

About midway between La Paz & Cabo San Lucas is a small town called Todos Santos. In its heyday it was the most fertile area of Baja California (southern part of the Baja) because of its abundant water supply from the Lajuna Mountains. It was home to eight sugar refineries & was covered with green palm trees and fruit trees. During the town's 100 year bonanza beautiful homes & buildings were built including an outdoor theater. However, a sudden loss of water from the mountains & a drop in sugar prices led to a collapse in the town's econony, & in 1950 it became a ghost town. The town slept for the next 30 years & the few remaining inhabitants devoted themselves to fishsing & agriculture to survive. Mysteriously, in 1981, the water returned & the land became fertile again. A two-lane highway was completed in 1984 & now the town was only an hour journey from Cabo or La Paz. In 1986 an internationally renown painter & sculptor settled in the town & started to promote the area as an artists colony. Sound interesting?? We thought so. So on my birthday we all packed into 2 cars & took off to check it out.

This pic is of the home that was originally the town's outdoor theater. The owners opened their home to us & gave us a tour explaining what was original & how they had changed the layout. Wow, it was magnificant. The pic directly above shows the area in purple that was the "screen" where they would shine the movie picture. Of course there were no plants or additional structures at that time. The pic above & to the left is part of their kitchen.

Part of the fascination of this town is the many old buildings, especially the doors, that have survived for so many years.

Here we have to goof around & just enjoy all the trouble we can get into as adults.

Lots of "galerias" from glass to copper to weaving to woodworking to jewelry to all the stuff inbetween.

The final bit of fun was traveling back home, finding a palapa along the road side where we could sit down to relax & have a cold one. We even got to see a show, Mexican style. These guys were transporting their donkey home when they had a flat tire.
Not a bad birthday. c

Holiday Sails

It was one of those days that one can only dream about; the kind that no amount of planning can produce. We, that would be Claudia and I, and Mitch and Laura from sv Hanali, have been going absolutely stir crazy from being tied to the dock. Even Maxine had been making noises. Sooooo



The day dawned a chilly 52 degrees - an all too common theme lately - but the sky was clear. And the forecast was for sunny, calm winds and seas with the high to be around 75. I feel an idea coming together....... By 10:00, the lines were cut and we were underway.





The sea was like glass as we motored out of the harbor to the channel that would take us to deep water. About an hour after leaving the dock, we shut down the engine to simply enjoy floating three or four miles ftom land. It was one of those rare experiences with a sea like glass for as far as we could see. The girls were creating wonderful smells in the galley, and Mitch and I were just enjoying the whole scene when I thought I felt a puff of air. By the time we had finished a fine lunch, there was an actual breeze, so we did the only thing we could - get the sails up!! Soon we had a consistent 10 - 12 knots of breeze and we were flying along about 6 knots (about the speed of an easy jog, but just about max speed for our hull). Woo Hoo!! It was a pretty super four hours of fun.

12/31 Tonight being New Years Eve, we have reservations at the "Roadhouse" for dinner and live music. Unlike the U S with all the big parties, this night is primarily a family night here in Mexico. I remember being almost dumbfounded last year finding most places closed and nothing to do, so this year should be fun. We're looking forward to Blues by a group from Las Vegas and good old Rock and Roll later on. Wonder how long Claudia and I can stay awake?

Here's wishing you all an exciting 2010 !! E

Merry Christmas to ALL !!

It's been really hard to feel like it's Christmas this year. It's just sooo different here. Then, this morning we got an e-mail from our daughter Jenifer with this attached. Check it out.

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/mlwj1dV8mNx5L5RNBg2g

There are some decorations here in Baja, but they're mostly small and simple, not the Las Vegas gaudy type stuff that we're used to at home, yet still very enjoyable. And, many of the stores have special toy sections and Christmas candies and stuff. We even said hello to Santa Claus at the supermercado the other day - that was kind of a treat. Yesterday, we were invited to have free coffee and pastries at a local restaraunt. Their way of saying thank you to customers. So the Christmas spirit is alive and well. It's just different. I think it's the lack of television - the constant barrage of commercials urging people to spend more and more - that makes it feel so different. There's no pressure, and it's a joy.

Well, here's wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas.

WHAAAAT"S UP???

Well, we are. In this photo from friends on s/v Red Pepper, we're about 10 or 12 feet above the concrete with Sojourner cradled in the slings of what is called a Travellift. This device - a likely candidate for a transformers movie - is what picks boats out of the water and puts them back in. I will say that it's a rather strange feeling, sailing in mid air as it were, moments before splashdown.

That was about three weeks ago. Since then, we've been getting used to our new digs, making new friends and enjoying some old ones.



Here's a shot of our Thanksgiving dinner celebration.

A local cruisers club, clubcruceros.org put on the feast with help from about 100 or so pot luck dishes. I'm told that 250 folks signed up to attend. I couldn't prove it, but it certainly was busy as this photo shows only about half. And there was a LOT of really good food too. Out of this crowd, we knew about a dozen and had a fine time with them.









Sadly, the boat sales business is not taking very much of our time, or producing any results as yet. So, we continue to upgrade our little home and we do a lot of walking. Here are a couple of street scenes we thought you might enjoy. This Cathedral is near our marina and is still under construction. I hope you get a feeling for just how large this building is. There's a lot of concrete in this job!! and I believe the dome is clad in copper sheet. Quite impressive. We walked to it this morning to get this shot and see a bit of the inside. The inside is a huge open chapel but very plain - maybe it's waiting for the outside to get finished before getting dressed up. Because of the
people inside, it didn't seem right to try for a pic.





Here's a shot of a nearby neighborhood that shows just how colorful things can be here. You have to admit, it actually looks pretty good?!?!

Now, it's time for a siesta. Then, this evening we plan to have dinner with friends at a place called Banditos. An outdoor restaraunt amid palms and with candles for most of the lighting. Plastic tables and chairs, but very inviting with great food prepared on a grill set under the hood of an actual '57 Chevy. I think JD would really like this place. Afterwards, we'll be looking for a place to watch Monday Night Football. Until next time........E