Isla San Francisco

We had a rough 20 mile ride from El Mezteno to Isla San Francisco. A Norther came in earlier than expected and created chaos in the Sea. Also, our alternator picked a bad time to have a meltdown - good thing that Doug is an expert at changing the belts!

We made it safely to Isla San Francisco after ~6 hours. We did enjoy watching the whales and the Manta Rays playing as we bumped along. As you can see, it was worth the trip!

We actually stayed longer than expected. We were waiting for some boat buddies to join us, plus hiding out from a Norther. We were happy to see Glenn and Mal from Vindsang show up and had them over for dinner and 42 - way too much fun! We also spent a lot of time with the Dot and Brian from Rainshadow - check out the Superbowl post.

We loved exploring the rocks and beaches around the island - lots of beautiful shells and a heck of a view. Still no luck fishing, but had fun trying. Yup, that is Doug posing by a Cardon cactus - not a Saguaro.

Isla Espiritu - El Mezteno

Our favorite place so far! A beautiful cove just big enough for our boat, plus all of the birds and wildlife. It was like having our own swimming pool surrounded by big red cliffs - pretty amazing. We stayed for 2 nights just because we liked the place so much.

The beach was beautiful with all kinds of strange looking shells - with the good stuff inside. Wish we had a shovel - we could have dug up dinner. We decided we need to buy a book on shell fish (and other stuff) - we don't know as much as we thought we did.

We tried to explore the island trail, but couldn't find the start - some explorers we are. So, we explored by dinghy as we fished. No luck on the fishing, but enjoyed the ride.

Isla Espiritu - Ensenda de la Raza

Our first stop and it was very nice! We stayed a couple of days. The first day was so peaceful - had the place all to ourselves. The next day, the gang from Scheherazade joined us and we exchanged homemade sourdough bread for chocolate-peanut butter cookies - what a deal!

We did some exploring, some fishing, played lots of rummy, and worked on boat projects - what a life, huh?



Check out the red crab - how cool is that!

Really going to miss...

Steve and Ana from Casa Ana - they have made La Paz the perfect place to be! Besides introducing us to their friends and showing us a wonderful time, they have been our: tour guides, interpreter (Ana only), taxi service, party hosts, local experts on everything, and lots more.

Plus, even scheduled doctor appointments and lab visits! It is very entertaining to watch the discussions between Doug, Ana, and the medical staffs. Lots of laughing and pointing!

We are looking forward to being back here in March. More great times ahead.

Thanks for everything - we will miss our wonderful amigos!

Love Carla and Doug

If you want a good laugh...

Watch this video! I was telling Steve and Ana about the Vogons from the movie: Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I love that quirky movie and got a big kick out of the Vogons. This is my imitation. I swear they walk just like Steve!

Quien supo? (Who knew?)

Who knew that time could fly by so quickly. We have been in La Paz two months all ready! It was worth it though. Doug finished so many projects like installing... XM radio (very important), Single Side Band radio (long range communications - including email), inverter (converts AC to DC), electric windlass (relief for anchor boy), and lots more. Plus, we have had lots of fun and met some wonderful people!

Tomorrow we are sailing off to the islands of Espirutu Santo and Isla Partida. We will be traveling for about three weeks and hope to get as far as Isla San Jose. It is only about 30 miles, but we want to spend some time exploring the beautiful islands, do some snorkeling, fishing, and generally goofing off!
View Larger Map

As you can see we are provisioning! We don't think there will be any civilization on the islands, so we are stocking up on food, drinks, and anything else we can stuff into the cabin.

We are scheduled to be in Mazatlan by February 16 - just in time Carnival. It is supposed to be the 3rd largest carnival in the world - right behind Rio de Janeiro and New Orleans. Should be a hoot!

Next time you hear from us, we should be blogging from mainland Mexico!

UFO?

Well, it might look like it, but it is actually my first attempt at making sourdough bread. One of the boaters (Heather on Meerkat) gave me a batch of sourdough starter which is supposedly from the 1847 Oregon Trail Sourdough starter - how cool is that?

While it might look a bit bizarre, it tastes wonderful. Doug has all ready found a recipe for sourdough pancakes. Can't wait to try them out.

Stop by and give it a try!

Wedding Bells were ringing...

In New Hampshire!

Ken (youngest brother) and Lisa (lovely and funny Canadian lady) were married on January 3rd. We are sorry to miss the festivities, but know they were surrounded by lots of friends and family that love them and helped them celebrate the big event.

Congratulations... Wishing you a wonderful beginning and love to last a lifetime!

Love Carla and Doug

PS: That's Brittany (beautiful niece) in the middle.

Wild Things!

We have really enjoyed the wildlife here at the marina - there is always something splashing around. The pelícanos don't seem to be afraid of us and are great at supervising Doug - he needs it!

Our favorite thing is relaxing in the cockpit and watching the pelícanos dive for fish. They will dive right next to the boat and splash us - how cool is that. Check out the video - you can ignore my commentary!
Besides the pelícanos, there are magnificent frigates, puffers, night herons, seagulls and a lot of birds we don't recognize!

This is the most amazing bird so far, but we aren't sure what it is. It looks like a baby blue heron, but that is just a guess.

The amazing part is that it is the only potty-trained bird we have seen. It wades around the water hunting for fish. When it has to relieve itself, it walks up to the beach and squats. How funny is that? Of course, we are easily entertained. Lucky for you we didn't catch his act on video!

Asi Asi (so so)!

That's what Doug said to the gentleman that showed up at 9:30 this morning to work asking "Cómo está usted". Of course, that's what happens when you stay up till the wee hours of the morning (3:30) playing 42 with Glenn and Brian (Brian and Doug cheated)! I have this great picture in my head of Glenn and Brian disappearing down the fairway in Rainshadow's dingy - cute couple!

Supporting the local economy --- We have been very impressed with the workmanship of the locals. Prompt, efficient, excellent craftsmanship, trustworthy - all of those things and more!
Mercedes Casillas is a wonderful carpenter that built a mounting block for our windlass, fixed the trim around our new Corian counters, and repaired our nav table. It was interesting to see how Doug and Mercedes worked through their communication issues - no problemo. Mercedes also tried to improve my Spanish - not much luck there! If you need wood work, call Mercedes: 612 16 1 4814.

My job was to remove the old varnish on the teak, but I could never do it as quickly or as well as these guys did. I was grateful they came by looking for work. Apparently, the economy in the states is trickling down to Mexico. Work is slowing down. How sad for all.

We have also had our bottoms cleaned, hull washed, plus other fun stuff. Doug has been sure to spread his pesos around the chandleries too - all 5 of them. La Paz has been a great place to work on our boat projects!

Good times!

The gang hanging out at the Club Cruceros Christmas Eve potluck - not sure what we are poising for!



Ardy and Marv invited us all over to their beautiful boat, Odyssey, for wonderful sour milk pancakes, fresh fruit, and other goodies. We all ate way too much!



Here we are at the El Paraje Roadhouse, which is well known for the blues. Not tonight, though. We were trying to watch some college football, but no luck. Instead we played lots of pool - $10 pesos a game!

Road trip!

As part of our New Year's resolution, we let Steve and Ana talk us into a road trip down south on New Year's day. It didn't take much talking!

Steve drove us south to Bahia Balandra and Tecolote beach. Bahia Balandra is beautiful - as you can see. It is also very shallow and has a lovely white beach. All of the locals had the same idea we did and the beach was packed with frolicking families. Fun to watch. We hiked around, but didn't play in the water even though it was warm enough.

We then headed a little further south to Tecolote, which just seems to be three restaurants on the beach - just what we were looking for. We had a nice lunch and then did some four wheeling along the beach and checking out the new subdivision that is being built. Huge homes, but no services. Maybe too remote for us - hah!

Feliz Año Nuevo!

Well, our fireworks weren't quite like this, but we had a few that were pretty nice. We had lots of loud booms and cracks though - fireworks and guns!

We celebrated New Year's at Steve and Ana's with a wonderful mix of landlubbers and boat people. We had lots of good food, great company, plus played some games. We even organized a White Elephant Gift exchange, which was a hoot. For some folks, it was their first time - always fun to watch.

As you all know, we have had a wonderful and exciting 2008. We are still amazed that we really did finally get to start our new adventure - bet you are too!

Even though we are far away from our family and friends, we think of you often and remember all of the wonderful times we have shared and look forward to more. Special thoughts for the family and friends that we lost recently: Aunt Florence, Uncle Doug, Tim, and Dan. Our lives are not the same without them!

Our New Year's resolution (shared): Work on boat projects less, spend more time having fun. We don't want to miss out on any adventures!

2009 - our boat is open to all. Come and visit us. We promise to clean off your bunk!

Love Carla and Doug