Loreto Fest in Puerto Escondido

From Aqua Verde, we cruised to Honeymoon Cove on Isla Danzante (Dancer Island). A beautiful anchorage that we had all to ourselves - yeah! One night of peace and quiet and then over to Puerto Escondido for 4 nights of Loreto Fest - good fun for all!

The Fest started with a Raft Up. Load up in the dinghy, bring a beverage and snack, and meet your fellow cruisers. It was a very good time and we met lots of new folks, plus old buddies.

There were lots of games, activities, and seminars to keep us busy. We signed up for the Bocci ball and Horseshoes, but didn't fare too well.

We hooked up with Marv, from Odyssey, to form a team for the "Over the Line" game (baseball sort of!). We went from underdogs to BIG WINNERS with prizes and everything - how cool is that!

We were very impressed with Loreto Fest and the Hidden Port Yacht Club - they did a wonderful job. If you are in the area next year - check it out.

Agua Verde - Baja Peninsula

This place is beautiful! Besides the amazing bay and the fish camps, they have a school, churches, a store, and even a cafe - civilization!

This is a very popular stop for cruisers and we met up with Odyssey, Meerkat, and other fellow travelers. Always nice to spend time with friends!

We spent two nights here exploring and visiting.

I even got up early to catch the sunrise and watch the goats (with their bells on) trekking along the mountain.



Be sure to check out the Pelican feeding video. It is pretty amazing!

Punta San Telmo - Baja Peninsula

After leaving Caleta Partida, we sailed / motored to Isla San Francisco - the North lobe. Check out who blew by us - the crew from Odyssey! We were cruising along - reading books, listening to the Cubs game, too lazy to put up all of our sails. Good job Odyssey!

At Isla San Francisco, we just happened to meet up with Laura, Patrick, Jack, and Rudy (the dog) on Just a Minute. A wonderful family we met in Mazatlan. Welcome to the Baja!

From there, we motored / sailed to Punta San Telmo where we spent two nights all by ourselves in the Northern anchorage. We fished, kayaked, and generally goofed off. Of course, the kayaking was quite the adventure. Did you know those tip over easily? Well they do - I spent more time in the water!

Manuel, a local lobster diver, stopped by with a fresh catch. They were excellent!

We kayaked over to the Southern anchorage and were excited to see Jim and Heather on Meerkat - what a small world!

Where is Moondance?

Since Doug has successfully passed the Ham License tests (yeah!), we can now use some of the cool technology to track our adventure - like ShipTrak. If you want to know where we are and where we have been, check out the "Where is Moondance?" link in the right column of the page. Believe it or not, we are actually cruising!

Caleta Partida

Yeah, we finally got out of La Paz (again) and headed to the islands! Our first stop was Caleta Partida. A large anchorage between Islas Espiritu Santo and Partida. The anchorage is beautiful with green water, white sand beaches, and a fish camp.

Along the way, we watched sea lions playing on top of the water, plus a dolphin circling the bay.

We had a wonderful surprise. Not long after we anchored, we were surrounded by our good friends from Gate 11 - Marv and Ardy on Odyssey. They joined us for an impromptu Happy Hour - how cool is that!

A Coromuel kicked up at in the evening and made for a sleepless night (except for Doug). Oh well, we can catch up on our sleep in route to Isla San Francisco!

Top 10 things to bring to Mexico - updated!

Well, at least it is our top 10 (okay, we can't count). If you are heading this way, you might think about adding them to your boat. They sure have helped us!

1. Sea of Cortez Cruising Guide - this book is amazing - all of the cruisers love it. The waypoints are dead on, plus they include hiking trails, recipes, and more. Also, Shawn and Heather's book on mainland Mexico will be available Fall 2010.
   
2. Keens or Tevas for trekking in the water and hiking on land.
3. AIS - the ability to hail a ship by name at 3 am - priceless. If you don't know the ship by name, they probably won't answer.
   
4. Dinghy wheels - a necessity.
5. 12 V adapters for computers, cameras, or whatever.
   
6. Portable invertor.
   
7. Rechargeable batteries.
8. Bruce style anchor - we had trouble setting our CQR.
   
9. XM/Sirius Radio - we love listening to the Cubs games.
   
10. Solar lights (bow and stern) - for nights you don't make it back to the boat in time to turn on the anchor light!
11. Wonder Wheeler - these are great for provisioning, laundry, hauling fuel, etc. especially if you don't have a bike!
12. External Wifi antenna (uni-directional and waterproof) - you will be amazed at how many places you will get free wifi - even in the bays.
13. Pool Noodles and Chairs - these are wonderful water toys!
    

Hope this helps you. We are looking forward to seeing more of you cruising along with us!

Vuelva a Las Islas!

Yup, it is time to return to the islands - yeah! We have really enjoyed our time here in La Paz (again), but it is time to start heading north.

We have spent the last 3 days provisioning, stocking, cleaning, and all kinds of fun things. Doug actually made a BIG SCORE - Sierra Pale Ale! Doug hasn't had a microbrew since we left California. Life is good!

While we were in La Paz, we got to spend time with friends, enjoyed lots of good eats, danced, hula hooped (not) plus got lots of work done like...

• Anchor windlass finished and added 300 feet of chain - anchor boy is happy!
• Rebuilt the holding tank
• Remodeled the water system and added a new water filter
• Remodeled the aft head and mounted the generator - yeah - no more moving that heavy sucker!
• Rebuilt the exhaust system
• Lots of work on the alternator - hopefully it will quit eating belts
• Got rid of some junk at the Junk Sale

Whew - we need a vacation!

We won't have internet access until May 1, when we arrive in Loreto. Loreto is north approximately 120 nautical miles. We hope to explore lots of islands along the way, plus catch some fish. The Yellow Tail are running, Grouper, Snappers and other good eats. The water should be nice and warm for swimming and snorkeling - yeah!

Good timing on our part - we are actually going to be in town for the Loreto Fest -another cruisers party!