December 7, 2008
Ensenada, Baja California , Mexico

Hola Amigos y Amigas,

October 2: Santa Rosalia, California Baja Sur, Mexico 27 20.25N, 112 15.77 W. The calendar may say it’s autumn, but Santa Rosalia’s weather hasn’t gotten the message yet.  It’s 95 degrees F under a brilliant blue sky with no breeze as I sit in the pilothouse working on this log.  Luckily we have fans and our boat is cooler than many (except those folks running air conditioners!)  We survived the summer down here and it lived up to all the stories of heat that we’d heard.  In actuality, it’s been pleasant enough, especially when we’re anchored and can cool down by just jumping into the water. 

We arrived in here for the first time on August 12 and have enjoyed two trips out to Isla San Marcos since then.  Santa Rosalia is very different from most Mexican towns we’ve visited on the Baja or the mainland as it was a French-run mining town with much French influence.  This is especially true of the houses and buildings, which are built of wood (from the Pacific Northwest) instead of the more common concrete or block construction.  Most are brightly painted and some have picket fence enclosed porches.  It is also much cleaner than other towns as one sees folks sweeping the streets and sidewalks along with many containers for basura (trash) collection. 

There is a “French” bakery that makes good birotes as well as wonderful pan dulce (sweet pastries).  Rosalie, a woman who works there, has taught me the Spanish names for the things I usually buy and I get tutored whenever she’s there.  At the Fruteria where I buy fresh fruits & vegetables on Friday mornings (delivery day), Nena, the owner, quizzes my friend Jean & me on the names of our produce as we place it on the scale and then we use Spanish to calculate our bill and what our change will be.  It’s fun and one way that I’m feeling more comfortable with my language learning.  We have spent almost six weeks here and are feeling “at home”, as we know where to find the best hot dogs, ice cream, pizza, and paletas (frozen fruit juice on a stick.) 

The hot dogs are know as “exquisitos” for a good reason….they are SOOOO good; not necessarily good for you, but so delicious.  They’re wrapped in bacon, grilled and come with everything on them…salsa, onions, catsup, peppers, mayonnaise, cheese whiz, mustard, and tomatoes.  I don’t even want to know what the cholesterol content is!  The Chuyita family runs a hotdog cart by the church designed by Eiffel (of the Tower), which was manufactured in panels in France and transported here -  quite unusual.  Dad and the boys cook and Mom collects the money.  They have a few plastic tables & chairs set on the sidewalk and a cooler for sodas…very typical of Mexican restaurants.

El Muelle is an air-conditioned sit-down restaurant that makes the best pizza we’ve had since arriving in Mexico.  Gary said it doesn’t rank among the greats in the States, but he never says no if El Muelle is suggested for dinner and we enjoy having the leftovers the next day.

That’s a quick overview of town so what else have we done beside eat?

One reason we stopped here was so we could take Murray to the vet.  After registering in the Marina Office, we asked Carlos, the manager, if he could recommend a vet and he did.  Not only did he recommend one, but also drove us to the vet, translated for us and brought us back to the marina.  He did this not just once, but twice!  The staff here at Singlar is exceptionally helpful and very willing to assist with requests.  They’re one of the reasons it’s easy to spend weeks here along with the walk-ability of the town only a block away.

However, too much time at the dock makes Gary an unhappy camper and Isla San Marcos was calling to us; it's only 2 hours away, but a world apart.  The island is composed of gypsum, which is mined and exported; however the northeastern section is uninhabited, has a several good anchorages, and great snorkeling!  On our first visit (August 19), we anchored at Sweet Pea Cove (must have been named by a gringo!) and ended up sitting out the remains of Tropical Storm Julio. Prior to the rough weather from Julio, we explored the northern end by dinghy and went snorkeling.  I’d never been in such a great spot with my mask & fins (Gary had, but then he’s been diving & snorkeling for almost forty years! What am I doing with an older man???) We saw a Moray eel, brilliantly colored fish of all sizes and great rock formations. It amazed me that we got chilled while snorkeling as the water was 86 degrees, but when we were not moving very much our bodies started to get “cold.”  After two hours we headed back to the boat for a cup of hot tea.

We’ve spent much time reading, what a treat to have very little to do and to have the luxury of reading for several hours at a stretch.  It’s also enjoyable swimming in the bioluminescent water just before bed.  Gary’s comment:  “I feel like I’m floating weightless in space with millions of stars above and around me!”  I liked climbing out of the water with “glitter” clinging to my skin!  Another one of the joys of living this life!



Nov. 3: Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico 31 51.32 N, 116 37.32 W. Where, oh where does the time go?????

A month ago I was sitting in Santa Rosalia trying to catch up with our life and here I am in Ensenada – 1197 nm miles and thirty days later still doing the same thing!



Nov. 12: I didn’t get too far last time, so here goes again! Back to our time on Isla San Marcos & Tropical Storm Julio….on August 24 Don’s weather report said that Julio was coming our way, but should weaken and only have 30 kt winds with rain.  We discussed our options and decided to stay at Sweet Pea Cove.  This decision was based on our feelings that we’d rather be at anchor alone than in a more crowded one with the possibility of boats dragging or in a marina also with the possibility of damage from other boats or docks breaking loose.  By staying at Sweet Pea, we definitely had more control over our surroundings.

Late afternoon the skies turned lead gray to the west with brilliant sunlight on the island making for quite a dramatic effect; a double rainbow was our reward for staying at anchor.  Eventually we saw 40 kt winds and buckets of rain - more rain than we’ve had since leaving the Pacific Northwest!  Our anchor did drag due to the winds clocking, so we decided to hoist it and re-anchor when it didn’t reset itself.  We were surprised that it just didn’t dig in again, but for some unknown reason we kept dragging.  As soon as Gary lifted the anchor (in rainy, windy conditions) we discovered the reason.  A coil of ½” steel cable, 3 ½ ‘ in diameter was clinging to the anchor making it impossible for it to dig in. Now the problem was “how do we get this coil off the anchor???”  Gary remembered that we had the mooring hardware on a line that we could attach to the coil, drop the anchor, and hopefully the pressure from the line made fast to a cleat, would cause the cable to fall off.  Just as the preparations were completed and as he was getting ready to attach the mooring hook to the cable, the movement of the boat in the rough seas jarred the cable loose and it fell back into the water….now it’s waiting for another anchor to devour!

After moving around the point, we anchored in Jacaranda Cove – so named because the folks on SV Jacaranda told us about it, as it’s not in the cruising guides. We rode out the aftermath of Julio here before heading back to Santa Rosalia on August 27 for new provisions and an Internet connection.  Singlar assigned us the same slip we’d had before and we renewed contact with previous acquaintances and met new folks too!

It was good to see Bill & Jean on SV Talaria (we had met them in BLA earlier this summer) and Barrie & Sandra on SV Passat II.  We also met the delightful 4 Pack folks – Patrick, Andreas, Casey, and Karl and the folks on SV Sail Soon.  These folks along with Randy & Gina of SV Ballena helped celebrate my birthday when I baked a cake and took it to the Cruisers’ Lounge for all to share.  I was treated to a rousing rendition of “Happy Birthday” and wonderful cards and gifts, along with the enjoyment of sharing a special day with interesting folks!

Unfortunately, the day was not all brightness and light as Gary’s computer hard drive crashed and darkness fell over Wand’rin Star.  It remained stormy for several days until he was able to assess the situation.  Luck was with him as Jean from SV Talaria was returning to San Francisco for several days and would be able to take his hard drive there to possibly have the data recovered and buy him two additional hard drives.  Unfortunately, the cost to recover the data was TOOO great and he decided to wait; the new drives were eventually installed and life continued under brighter skies.

Jean had arranged a trip to the cemetery on the hill and seven of us piled into the back of a pickup truck for the 15-minute ride.  The cemetery is high above the city and was very different from those in the states as there were many little casas (houses) at the gravesites.  It was interesting to walk through seeing the variety and ages of the monuments.

Soon, however, the weather gods intervened and skies darkened with the advent of Tropical Storm Lowell on Sept 10.  We prepared by removing as much as possible from the deck and doubling up on dock lines.  Santa Rosalia only saw 25 kt winds and very little rain, luckily not much to write home about.

All arrangements were finalized (as much as that word means anything to a cruiser) for our trip to Florida and North Carolina in November.  We had originally hoped to be in San Diego so we’d scheduled our flight from there.  Now it looked like we’d be leaving the boat in La Paz, as we didn’t want to chance going around the tip of the Baja during hurricane season; therefore I had to get us from La Paz to San Diego.  Airfare was booked and we just needed to be in La Paz by Nov. 16. 

September 16 is Mexican Independence Day and we went to the Plaza on the evening of the 15th to watch the festivities for the “Grito de Independencia de Mexico”  (the shout of independence for Mexico) There was a re-enactment of a speech by Father Hildago along with dancing and singing.  It was great fun watching all the young children dressed in the national colors of white, red, and green while we enjoyed delicious tamales & postres (cake).  We missed the parade the next morning, as it was earlier than we thought.
 
If you have the opportunity to read “Listening is an Act of Love” please do so, it’s a great book by the National Story Corps, very inspiring!  I also discovered a new author while in Santa Rosalia compliments of Randy & Gina.  If you like cruising related reading, check out Jinx Schwartz and her Hette Coffey series, you will definitely laugh out loud!  She also wrote a book under her “real name” of Elizabeth Schwartz about growing up in Haiti. 

The next several days were spent at the dock relaxing and discussing the future of our lives on SV Wand’rin Star.  After much soul-searching, we’ve decided to sell this lovely boat and begin a new 5-year plan on land.  She will go on the market in January when we arrive in San Diego -  watch the website for more details. 

Dock lines were again uncleated on September 19 as we headed back to Isla San Marcos for our second visit; this time anchoring at Los Arcos at the northern end of the island, closer to the sea caves.  It was great to be back on the hook and our leisurely life continued with snorkeling, swimming, reading, dreaming, and just savoring life, all the while contemplating our major life change to living on land. 

The decision to move back on land was not made lightly or quickly.  Each of us has been feeling unsettled and not our usual selves for several months; after much discussion and list making, we came to the conclusion that we were no longer enjoying cruising as much as previously.  Some reasons were the same for both of us, yet we each had our own personal reasons for arriving at this conclusion.  We’d both want to stay put and settle down somewhere for a while…to be someplace where people know your name and one can feel part of a more permanent community.  That is not meant to imply that cruisers don’t have a community; there’s DEFINITELY a community out here on the sea and a wonderful one too!  But that doesn’t mean that it’s a forever thing.  Our boat is a lovely home with more storage and amenities than many others, but she’s still a BOAT and it’s difficult to establish a workspace that doesn’t need to disappear at mealtime.  The constant need to maintain and repair is also associated with living aboard and Gary has reached the point where it has ceased to be “fun”.  He’d like to be able set up his computer and really work on his photography and I’d like to be in a small home where I can get my fingernails dirty with potting soil instead of engine oil, take a yoga class, work part-time, and join a book discussion group.  I’ve also felt more isolated from family and friends due to the lack of consistent telephone connections during our time in Mexico.  As my parents age, I want to be closer to them and more easily able to assist when needed.  Gary has missed the cleanliness and orderliness of the United States.

Neither of us has any regret that we took the giant step to buy Wand’rin Star, sell our home in Michigan, and travel across the country to begin our new adventure afloat.  When we moved aboard in August 2003 we made a commitment with each other to live aboard for three years and when August 2006 rolled around, we resoundingly said MORE, MORE!  Now another two plus years has passed and we’re just looking at life differently.  That said, we’re still involved in the cruising community here and have made more new friends in Ensenada.

So what are we doing in Ensenada when I made reservations to fly from La Paz to San Diego for our trip east? 

After a few days on the hook with some great snorkeling and photo opportunities, we headed back into Santa Rosalia for a few more days.  Again, our newly made decision to sell the boat was a topic of conversation and I suggested that we just head down to La Paz with the intent of continuing up the western side of the Baja to Ensenada- hurricane season or not.  That would put us closer to San Diego and we’d have an opportunity to at least visit the States, as it’s only 1 ½ hour bus ride & a walk across the border to the San Diego Trolley.  That suggestion immediately brightened the atmosphere on Wand’rin Star, as Gary was not looking forward to being in Mexico a minute longer than necessary.  We also needed to have bottom work done and this could be accomplished in Ensenada as well as La Paz.  So much for the air reservations from La Paz (luckily, I could cancel them & get a full refund!)

It was still hurricane season and our boat insurance covered storm damages only if we were north of 27 degrees….La Paz & Cabo are definitely south of that…but we decided to closely watch the weather and go for it.  On October 4 we said good by to our friends at the dock in Santa Rosalia and headed directly to La Paz.  My journal entry for Oct 6th reads, “sitting in 86 degree weather in the cockpit in my sarong with a cup of tea, knitting, listening to Siriusly Sinatra, and staring at the Milky Way, while eating a Milky Way candy bar.  What’s not to like?”

After a good run of 47 hours and 230 nm later, we tied up at Marina de La Paz.  It felt good to be in a town we knew our way around and also to see some friends we’d made during our stay last December.  Plans were to stay here for a few days waiting for a weather window to make the run to Turtle Bay on the west coast of the Baja.  But we were going to have the opportunity to experience yet another hurricane before that would happen!  Hurricane Norbert currently heading west was expected to turn northeast, cross the Baja and then head to La Paz.  Needless to say, we were a little uncomfortable as we were now SOUTH of 27 degrees and therefore didn’t have storm insurance! 

Club Cruceros is THE cruisers’ meeting place in La Paz and we reunited with Susan & Dennis from SV Two Can Play at the morning coffee the day after we arrived.  It was great to catch up with them and hear about Dennis’s new job as a licensed boat surveyor.  The docks at Marina de La Paz are quite exposed and we were concerned about their stability if Norbert did hit La Paz; after some discussion we decided to move the boat to Marina Palmira and ended up in a slip right next to Two Can Play!  Everyone watched the approaching hurricane with great concern and prepared boats for the worst.  We opted not to remove our sails, but did tightly wrap line around them; everything else was removed from the deck (AGAIN!)  Hurricane Norbert passed over the Baja 50 miles north of La Paz on September 10 with max wind being 47.6 nm/hour and sustained winds in the mid 30’s.  Luckily we again made it unscathed through our 3rd tropical storm/hurricane!  Now we just needed to provision and start the engine to begin our trek south and then northward.  Dennis graciously took me shopping so I could provision with the aid of a car…always a treat!  Just another great example of what good folks one meets while cruising.

The weather forecast on Buoyweather and from Don sounded good and we headed out of La Paz on Oct 14, bound for Cabo San Lucas and then around the Cape.  After an overnight run, we stopped at the “under construction” marina at San Jose del Cabo to get fuel.  Unfortunately, their fuel nozzle didn’t fit in our deck fitting and they didn’t have an adapter.  We tried a makeshift funnel, but after 20 minutes and only 10 gallons of fuel, it was decided to halt the operation and stop in Cabo San Lucas (one of Gary’s LEAST favorite Mexican ports) to fill the tanks in a timelier manner.  A few hours later with 258 gallons of diesel on board ($2.50/gal) we dropped anchor in the harbor.  It was a far cry from what it looked like last November when the Ha-Ha arrived here in the midst of a movie being made!  We almost had the anchorage to ourselves as Gary changed an oil filter, cleaned the raw water intake and jumped in the water to clean the speed transducer.  At 1745 we hoisted the anchor with our next intended stop of Turtle Bay four days away.  The weather was predicted to be in our favor with calm seas and a light southerly breeze…almost perfect for the Bash UP the coast.  Unfortunately, the forecast wasn’t quite accurate, at least not where we were, as we had 6’-7’ seas on the bow and 18 knot winds from the NW for much of the trip.  Turtle Bay was a welcomed refuge when we dropped anchor 93 hours later after a trip of 411 nm. It was pleasant spending two days resting and relaxing before our final leg to Ensenada; a panga came out to see if we needed fuel, water, etc. and took our trash ashore.  I kept hoping one of the fishing pangas would stop and offered to sell me fresh fish, but no such luck! 

As nice as it was to be anchored after our bashing, we were anxious to get further north and left Turtle Bay on October 21.  It soon became apparent that we were definitely heading NORTH as the water temperature dropped from 86 degrees in Santa Rosalia to 61 degrees!  I even had to find my slippers and a sweater…brrrrr!  Many floats in the water also challenged us; we didn’t know what type of traps they were marking, but there were sure lots of them and they were definitely a pain.  It was fortunate that we traveled this area in daylight as it would have been impossible to see the floats in the dark and the lines would have probably ended up around the prop.

Fog became another issue and one we hadn’t encountered for quite a while; the radar was working and we turned on the foghorn until it cleared.  SV Two Can Play had friends on the SV Effie still in Ensenada and passed their info on to us so we contacted them via the SSB mail regarding marinas & slips.  Mac and Alan responded quickly with good info and we got a berth at Cruiseport Marina near downtown Ensenada.  We were sure glad to hail them on the VHF as we approached the marina in the dark and arranged for them to be on the dock for our landing.  It was great to see Mac waving her flashlight to mark where we were to go and to have so many willing hands to take dock lines after our 60 hours at sea (308 nm).  One big surprise was that 4 of the hands belonged to Tom & Gail aboard MV Wanderer.  They’d been our neighbors in 2005 at Emery Cove Marina and are on their way south for the first time.  The cruising community sure is an amazing collection of folks and you never know when or where you meet someone again!

Whew!  I’m almost caught up to the present.  We’ve been in Ensenada since October 23 and the boat will stay here until after the first of the year.  Current plans are to have the bottom painted, move her north to California Yacht Marina in Chula Vista, finish getting her ready to pass on to another loving owner, put up the FOR SALE sign, and begin thinking about what we’ll do next!  In the meantime, we’ll head to Long Boat Key, FL for a wedding, over to Palm Beach Gardens to visit Uncle Larry, and then fly to Durham, NC to celebrate Thanksgiving with my folks, Diane & Den & Todd & Sandra.

Ensenada has a very active cruising community (they monitor channel 21) and we’ve met some great folks.  We’re enjoying a Friday morning get-together called “The Dabblers” which meets from 9-1 at the Art Center for a morning of crafts, painting, coffee & conversation.  Folks are painting, drawing, beading, knitting, and cross-stitching amid the joyful sounds of mostly women’s voices.  It’s a wonderful opportunity for just being with some great folks, both cruisers and non-cruisers in a very lovely setting.  People with cars here are very generous helping out those who need to get water, propane or provisions at the big box stores and providing other types of boaters’ assistance.

If I hurry and get this to Gary, it will make it to the web in a day or two and I can enjoy my trip east without thinking that I should be working on the Log. 

In closing I’d like to reiterate that even though we’re selling the boat, I would strongly encourage all who think they might like this life style to try it, it has much to offer in the way of exploration…both introspectively and of the world.  Nike got it right….JUST GO FOR IT!


December 7, 2008
This log didn't get posted before we headed east, so I'm going to tag a little bit more to it. Our trip to Florida and North Carolina were wonderful. Amy's wedding was lovely and was good being with most of our family for Thanksgiving. We even surprised my parents with a visit from Annie & Leen of the Netherlands. Annie lived with my family in 1967-68 as an exchange student through Youth for Understanding and is still a part of our family today!

Gary and I also enjoyed a short shopping trip in San Diego before driving back to Ensenada. There was a dark side to our vacation as we learned that Murray the Cat is experiencing kidney failure for which there is no cure. The vet was very compassionate and is helping us make Murray as comfortable as possible.

May the coming month be one of joy and love as you prepare for the winter holidays!

Fondly
Dorothy, Gary & Murray the Boat Cat

Thought for the Day

Both of these are from “Listening is an Act of Love”

”The essence of America lies not in the headlined heroes…but in the everyday folks who live, and die unknown, yet leave their dreams as legacies.”
Alan Lomax 1940

”I am still determined to be cheerful and happy in whatever situation I may be, for I have learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions and not our circumstances.”
Martha Washington

© Copyright 2008
Last updated on January 8, 2009