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Wednesday January 20, 2010

More work to ready Bella Donna for the passage. The dingy is cleaned and looks re-markedly good after 6 years and all its been through. The divers come to replace the zincs, lead that protects the aluminum hull by becoming a sacrifice when a voltage leak causes metallic electrolysis. Over time the zincs are eaten away and need to be replaced. Divers also clean all the sea growth including barnacles from below the water line on the hulls. Bella Donna goes faster with less effort when she is clean. These diver dudes are very brave as the water is murky, you can't see more than a few feet. This would not be too bad but there is an occasional alligator in the water.

After lunch a rented car transports the crew to WalMart which is just across from the main port in downtown Puerto Vallarta. Two huge cruise ships are docked just steps from the shopping center. The shopping centers are very nice and modern. The super WalMart is the largest one that I have ever seen. We only buy food that does not need refrigeration because we are going to drive south down the coast to explore. Before we take off we visit Starbucks for a caffeine fix.

On the drive south we pass through old town with its cobble streets. One section just on the strand, closest to the Pacific Ocean, is called the Malecon. It very much reminds us of the Malecon in La Pas with its many statues of dolphins, sting rays and religious figures. One map we encountered shows the exact position of each statue relative to streets and businesses, this makes a walking tour easy by identifying where you are at all times relative to which statue you are near. This is a good thing because street signs are not always on the corners in Mexico.

Once out of town the road climbs to a cliff overlooking the bay offering a panoramic view of Puerto Vallarta and Nuevo Vallarta, where Bella Donna is docked. There are many villas and small resorts where ever there is the occasional beach cradled below the cliff.

We turn around leaving a more extensive exploration for another day. We plan to go to the "Texas" BarBQ at the Paradise Village Resort pool tonight. We quickly unload groceries at the nearest gate to Bella Donna which is right in front of the Jungle Night Club where the sign says "Bikini Contest Tonight". Just our luck there is no dock cart in sight to cart our groceries to Bella Donna; we have to hand cary the hundreds of pounds down the dock. Oh well, didn't go to the gym today.

Minutes later we take off to insure we get the best food at the 6:30 to 10PM buffet. It isn't exactly a Texas BarBQ, but the ribs, tacos, shredded pork, quesadias, prime rib beef and salads make for a good meal. The mexican potato salad is great; it had a lot of vegetables including peppers in a light tangy mayonnaise sauce. Oh did I leave out it is all you can eat and free drinks, not bad eh. The multinational staff treats us to Texas country dancing, line dancing instruction and mechanical bull rides among other things. Don is the only one eager in our party to line up for a ride. Thank God the man at the controls takes it relatively easy on the senior member of our crew,

God Bless Bella Donna

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Tuesday January 19, 2010

The best time of the day is the morning; the temperature is in high sixties, the sun is shining brightly and there is a gentle cool breeze. The marina is so well protected that Bella Donna sits very still on the dead calm surface. It reminds me of Atlantus Resort in the Bahamas, Birds are performing their morning songs although it sounds tropical, nothing like the birds in the Sierra; that is if you could hear the birds in the morning in the middle of winter.

About 10 AM the day opens up and breezes are much warmer. The thermal winds are building; the high temperature of the day reaches into the mid or high 70's. We have have a few jobs to complete before Bella Donna can depart to Costa Rica. Juan is polishing the stainless steel, John and Deborah are repairing one of our 2 satellite antennas; I brought new stepper motors and belts with me. We need 2 so that if one fails at sea we have a backup. In fact that is one of the many reasons people are more and more preferring catamarans to mono hulls; there is 2 of most critical things – engines, generators, fuel tanks, water systems with desalination capability,GPS, radios, hulls, etc. Of course, you really notice how much better a catamaran is when at anchor the swell and the wind are 90 degrees different; the catamaran does not roll as much. This means you do not have to secure all movable objects and hold on as you sit or move about the vessel.

We tuned in our VHF to the local net where all the American cruisers exchange information. They cover new arrivals and planned departures as well as local retail specials including night clubs, restaurants, marine shops and more. They organize a group of cruisers that want to depart for a South Pacific passage or the big puddle jump as it is called. The thing we are interested most in hearing about is the weather and sea condition forecast-ed for our departure. The storms hitting the west coast of the US will change the weather radically down here by the weekend. The winds are to build to 30 knots and the sea swell to 12 feet. Being sailors that much prefer better conditions we will wait until the disturbed weather passes. Once the bad weather enters the mid west the lows will draw a tropical flow, warmer and more humid.

We went to the gym and then to one of the many pools to have sun-downers in the hot tub and watch a picture perfect sunset over the Pacific.

God Bless Bella Donna

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Monday January 18, 20010

Well off to meet Bella Donna in Puerto Vallarta. As usual I awake five minutes before my iphone alarm is set to go off at 3:30 AM, a habit I learned at the university in response to my traditional alarm clock with the two bells on top with the clanger in between. The human mind can do anything when pain is inflicted on a daily basis.

Days of packing for a 2 to 3 month sailing trip rapidly ends when the lid closes on the last bag. Things will be left behind that are needed, but isn't this always the case. You would think 3:30 AM leaves plenty of time to make a 6:10 AM but event roll downhill rather fast and suddenly you are folded into a seat in the back of a full airplane headed to Phoenix. Phoenix airport is packed. I guess all the snow birds are flocking to warmer climbs. Arriving at the end of one airport concourse and out departure is at the end of another concourse with barely enough time to make it. We walk straight on to the plane.

Puerto Vallarta is not far. Exiting the plane it is suddenly apparent you are over dressed. The weather is very close to Hawaii. Immigration and customs goes fast except when I press the entry button and get a red, not green, light. The agent questions about the large amount of drugs in my baggage. I have to admit all the prescriptions and vitamins do make an impressive pile; the agent goes over each package and make comments about how this can't be for one person. I think they wanted to charge for importing drugs, but finally they give the green light.

The trip from the airport to the Paradise Resort could have taken place in a city in the USA except for the names on the places passed. Many of the names were the same as those seen in La Pas or Cabo. Once in Paradise Resort where Bella Donna is docked the world is like a nice resort in the USA. In fact the many pools and restaurants look similar to the Waikaloa Resort on the Kona coast in Hawaii.

The air conditioning on Bella Donna is turned off and a lovely dinner in the cockpit is enjoyed by all with discussions of the voyage to come. We are going to make decisions tomorrow given the huge winter storm coming into the west coast of the US. This storm will only mean more wind and much larger swell for us.

God Bless Bella Donna

--
Tom Johnson
5925 Lake Geneva Court
Reno, Nevada 89511
775-772-7006

www.google.com/profiles/popietom

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Wednesday March 18 -> Friday March 20, 2009

The sun is barely up on Wednesday and we decide to leave for Cabo Saint Lucas. We say our goodbye to La Paz; however, the marina office tells us we just might as well keep the internet modem and keys as our dock will be waiting for us on March 28 when Bella Donna returns to La Paz.

It is a brilliant day, as John would say; however, there is not enough wind to sail so we motor. It is too bad too because the sea is very flat almost glassy which allows Bella Donna to accelerate efficiently. We start the day with a following current and end up achieving well over 8 knots. We make good time till we reach the cut just before our destination for the first day, Bahia De Los Muertos or Ensenada De Los Muertos, Bay of the Dead or Cove of the Dead. In the cut the current turns against us and it is strong. So it takes us a little longer, but we don't care the day is beautifully warm and we are fishing. It is sad when we arrive well before sunset because we still have not scored fish. Maybe our lures do not know enough Mexican Spanish; our efforts are lost in translation.

Muertos is a lot more than I thought it would be. The anchorage has about half a dozen boats, other cruisers, anchored in it, but there is plenty of room for us. In the northwest corner there is a beach with about 20 pangas, small fishing boats, beached out of reach of the tide. Next to the pangas to the north is a sports bar and restaurant that used to be the Giggling Marlin, named after a famous place in Cabo. It is now called the El Caron. To the south of the pangas is a long streatch of beautiful white sandy beach. It is clear that some major construction is occurring beyond the beach. Night falls and we retire early looking forward to going ashore and exploring the next day.

The next morning coffee conversation is interrupted by the sound of a church bell chiming the hour, nine o'clock. The church is a small white building, with a big white cross on it, on top of a hill near the south end of the bay or ensenada. We go ashore around noon and decide to have lunch at El Caron which turns out to be fantastic. It is thatch roofed and completely open on two sides. Large flat screen TVs are replaying an American NFL football game. The staff speak adequate English but knowing some Mexican Spanish is helpful and warmly accepted. We ask about the development to the south and are told it is Bahia De Suertos, Bay of Dreams, a new housing development with a golf course.

By the time we are finished our lunch with margaritas and beer we decide to explore. In the dinghy we work our way south down the beautiful white sandy beach as John takes depth soundings, planing for the next visit, to anchor closer to the beach so we can swim easily from Bella Donna to shore. We navigate through a rocky shallow area where the deepest parts are just a few feet deep until we reach deep sandy bottom again at the south end. The gorgeous structures above the large white sand beach here looks at first like a hotel, but as we get closer it may just be a cluster of beautiful homes. We beach the dinghy with Deborah holding us in the small surf and while John goes ashore to take a look. When John returns he says the structures are all part of a once private estate. There are about half a dozen separate but loosely connected houses each with their own pool, pool bar and hot tub. The manager of the resort restaurant offers to give us a tour of the resort.

The main house, GranSueno, consists of two structures with a huge thatched roofed patio, pool, swim up pool bar and hot tub. One of the structures is a huge media room actually a small theater with plush seating guaranteeing sleep before the movie ends as well as a well equipped basement gym with one end open to the sky over another artsy waterfall. The thatched roofed space leading to the other structure has a 4 foot diameter granite ball with drinking fountain like column of water rising from the top washing down the ball to a small encircling pond with a narrow stream running towards the ocean side to the endless pool area. The space is filled with indoor furniture, couches and chairs, arranged into conversation areas. At the opposite end from the pool is a large circular artful waterfall with paved walkways around it leading to the the little church on the hill with the bell tower and the restaurant. The connected structure contains the main living area of the 2 bedroom, 2.5 bath main house, GranSueno.

We follow the walkway up a hill through some trees to the restaurant. The restaurant is actually a model train museum, Centro de Trenes. At one end is a large rich wood trimmed bar the rest of the huge 3 story high structure is filled with tables; at the other end there is a rich rustic polished wooden dance floor. The second floor is limited to a 360 degree balcony looking down upon the tables. The entire second floor balcony is filled with an overwhelmingly impressive model train sets, model towns, bridges, figures of people and landscape. The 3rd floor is actually a huge arching dome shaped ceiling constructed from brick. Thus you eat at your table under a three story cathedral ceiling of brick and a modeled circular country connected by railroads. This unique structure was once the hobby play/party house for the owner of the resort who used to call this home. The resort is located on Bahia de los Suenos, Bay of the Dreams, and know as The Villas of Casa de los Suenos, www.LaCasasDeLosSuenos.com and www.GranSueno.com. This entire resort is a great destination for wedding party and guests. The new homes being built are surrounding a new 18 hole golf course under construction as well.

Friday we head south; our destination is Bahia Los Frailes about 45 miles away. I sharpen all my fish hooks and deploy 3 lines behind Bella Donna immediately after departing Bahia de los Muertos. I then took a seat in the fly bridge where I could watch the lines and work on this blog. The day is very warm as I have to fight off sleep while working and glancing up occasionally to see empty fishing lines. We are 30 minutes from Los Frailes and still no fish. How am I going to tell all my Baja fishing friends we scored zero. A few minutes later I look off the port side of Bella Donna and see a single fish jump out of the water. As I comment about it someone yells "you caught a fish". During the nest hour and a half we catch 6 or 7 tuna; I just lose count. John notices a school of tuna making the sea water boil. Bella Donna circles in and out of the school and we quickly pull each tuna on deck and throw the line back in. At one time we were pulling two in at the same time. Trying to be compassionate we treat each tuna to alcohol to "put it to sleep". First it is vodka, then we try gin, in the end we try Captain Morgan Rum, do not tell Billy, which works best. We have found Mexican fish do not sleep but party on Tequila. At last we try to leave the school and pull the lines in. Before we can get the lines in we catch one more tuna. The long process of cleaning and filleting each tuna begins. Impatient sea gulls are following us so close it seems you could hand feed them fish scraps.

The grilled Ahi is delicious.

God Bless Bella Donna

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Sunday March 15 -> Tuesday March 17, 2009
These days are spent enjoying the CostaBaja Resort and the toys on board Bella Donna. It's either the pool, the gym or sailing HOBO in the Sea of Cortes. The weather is sunnier and warmer each day. I am constantly amazed at how pleasant the weather is in Baja; I expected it to be much hotter and humid like Texas or Florida. After sunset if the wind is blowing, which it has been doing to some degree daily; it is too cold for tee shirt and swim trunks, but in the middle of the day in the sun it is plenty warm. We enjoyed the pool at the hotel one day and payed to use the condo pool and gym near the bar restaurant another day. The water in both pools is only slightly warmer than the Sea of Cortes. Each day has been warmer and the cool wind has blown less. The forcast is for light winds and warmer temperatures for the next two weeks, wonderful. Each night we spend more time in the fly bridge in just shorts and a tee shirt.

Sunday morning we spent time on the fabulous internet connection offered on the dock. I was shocked when a SKYPE pop up came up on my screen; it was a call from Colin back in Montreux. The call has video as well as voice and it is clear as a bell. It was good to chat to Colin, Taylor and Kari while seeing them on almost real-time motion video. It was the first sunny day in Reno following days of significant snow. It was hard to imagine winter conditions while surrounded by swim suit weather.

One afternoon I launched my Adventure Island Hobie trimaran, HOBO, and headed out of the marina into the Sea of Cortes. Suddenly I realized my main sheet line was jammed under load and needed to be rigged. At about the same time I discovered I had forgotten my life vest. I have a inflatable vest that has an air cartridge with a cord to inflate it. It is so nice to wear while sailing because it is flat against the body and does not get in your way. Back to Bella Donna and out once more into the sea. I turn left and sail in a moderate wind blowing on HOBO's port aft quarter with the sea swelling behind me HOBO moves swiftly and accelerates as she surfs down the swells. As I approach the city of La Paz the wind starts to die so I turn about and start the up wind tack back. The nice swell that carried me down wind now crashes on HOBO's bow as cold sea water sprays over me. Going upwind and into the swell always feels like you are going faster than you really are. The wind holds as I approach the marina entrance. The sun is setting. It's good to be back home.

God Bless Bella Donna

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Thursday March 12 -> Saturday March 14, 2009

Today we head back to La Paz. Don, Nancy, Ed and Jan are flying home on Saturday; they need to catch a shuttle bus from La Paz to the Los Cabos International Airport. It is only a short distance to our dock at CostaBaja Marina. We want to explore the beaches where the 200,000 or so La Paz residents frequent; they are less than 6 miles from the city on the coast that turns south and heads for Cabo. The area is called Punta Diablo and the beach strip is Tecolote. There is about a half mile of beach bars, volleyball courts, jet ski rentals, excursion boats, fishing boats and souvenir salesmen; in other words the normal Cabo beach scene but less than Cabo.

We approach close to the busiest beach and turn into the wind and drop the anchor. This is a lee shore meaning Bella Donna is blown towards the beach and therefore is against the usual general good anchoring rule. However, we are just going to be here a little while, the anchor & chain on Bella Donna is very dependable, someone will be left on board at all time and besides the stern cockpit has a 180 degree view of the beach.

We take a long walk on the beach past the last bar and into an RV park. We immediately meet RVers and strike up a conversation. We learn about RV caravans that cross from the US border and spend 30 to 60 days traveling as a group and alone from time to time. The advantage of the caravan is clearing in and out across the border easily given all the paperwork and customized fees. Also one can learn the "how to" from people who "know how" to RV in Mexico.

Back to the busy beach area where bus loads of people from a cruise ship that is docked in town are finishing lunch with a few beers or margaritas on the beach. We decide to take our chances on Montezuma's Revenge and find a vacant thatch covered table on the beach. The cerveza is cold and the Mexican food is very tasty.

We have not caught a fish in days so we take a few big circles on our way home. Finally we have to pull in the lines in defeat. I remember the fish tackle man telling me I would have a hard time keeping his lures in the water; I don't think so.

Friday we hit downtown La Paz again. The usual street vendors that we walked away from with a "no gracias" days earlier find us eager; the women buy bracelets for themselves and grandchildren. As the shopping continues the men are wearing down. Soon after the men split and search for the English bookstore. We walked there last Sunday but it was closed. My theory is that such a store would have good English-Spanish dictionaries and Spanish language tools for us gringos. Sure enough we found the bookstore and it has good language books. We get a bonus as there are English news articles available for free that describe what has, is and going to happen in La Paz that may be of interest to gringos. Add to this a blog written for gringos concerning events in La Paz. I also found a great guide for spots along the Mexican coast to kayak for John.

The last night on Bella Donna was festive for those leaving. There was the usual Tequila shot challenge conducted to good music. The weather was a little cool but I don't think our group noticed.

The next morning was bright sun shinny and warm. After the departure of half of us Donna and I just spent most of the day relaxing. We went up to the hotel pool after lunch and relaxed in the warm sun. The hotel has been almost empty during most of our stay. We were a little surprised to hear someone say they were full starting today because of spring break. The lobby was full of arriving suitcases. Nancy called to say they made it to the airport and that it was very crowded with arriving tourists. So much for the recession and Bill O'Reilly's ranting about college kids should not go to Mexico.

God Bless Bella Donna

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Monday March 9 -> Wednesday March 11, 2009

Our goal is to leave tomorrow to hang out in anchorages around Isla La Ispiritu Santo and Isla La Partida, two islands north of La Paz. Both have been declared wildlife parks with no fishing allowed within a mile of the shoreline. Deborah leads an all women team shopping at Sam's Club to provision for the island hopping. We guys stay busy with technical issues on Bella Donna. We plan a lunch in town but when we miss the 12 noon and then the 2 PM shuttle the girls arrive and we all eat at one of the CostaBaja pool bar.

At about 4 PM John and I make a mad dash to town to get just a "few" things we need. From shuttle to cab to marine shop where we get coolant fluid and directions to the next stop, the fishing shop. It is ridiculous; we have not caught a fish on this trip and it will be hard to tell friends we caught nothing. Everyone is supposed to catch fish when they come to Baja. I tell the shop owner I want Tuna and Dorado (Mahi Mahi). He assures me that if I buy lures from him it will be hard to keep them in the water as the Tuna and Dorado will be fighting to hookup. At half the price of US lures, I buy a supply for our trip.

Back into the cab we decide to skip the bookshop; it can wait till we get back to La Paz. We head off to CCC, SehSehSeh, a grocery store for a "few" things the girls could not get at Sam's Club. This store specializes in merchandise desired by gringos. While the cab waits, we race around the store until the cart is full. We will not starve during our cruise to the islands.

The next morning while we prepare to depart the problems keep coming over the internet and telephone. John gets a tax bill for Bella Donna from the State of California. Since Bella Donna was in the Ventura Marina on January 1st it was sent a tax bill even though the tax is not justified by the rules. I spent the morning trying to help Kevin's Club in Houston renew its liquor license.

Problems addressed we get underway midday. With barely enough wind to justify sailing we make a starboard tack into Bahia de La Paz. Our light wind is from the north, the same direction we want to go. Over time the wind increases and shifts to the east allowing us to sail more directly where we want to go, a lift in sailing terms, and sail faster. We do 6 knots on an apparent wind of 10 knots which is right where we should be, going 60 percent of the wind speed. Before sunset we drop anchor in the bay formed between Isla Del Espiritu Santo and Isla La Partida, one of the top anchorages in the area according to the guide books. It did turn out to be flat and calm allowing a great night's sleep, but the views were not spectacular. We conducted a spring break like party anyway.

The next morning the weather is very cool and the top priority is to find a warm water place to swim. We raise the anchor and head south stopping at each bay on Isla Del Espiritu Santo. John is doing the charter captain thing trying to find some warm water to swim in. We stop at Bahia San Gabriel, the most southern on the island. It turns out to be perfect. The dinghy and Hobo, the Hobie trimaran, are launched. Some dinghy to near the white sandy beach to swim. John, Deborah and Luci swim from Bella Donna to the beach. I jump into Hobo and explore the bay. Later all back on Bella Donna we enjoy a colorful sunset. At dinner later at the cockpit table a huge full moon rises over the volcanic island. I rate it as one of the best moon rises I have seen in my life. Life is good.

God Bless Bella Donna

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Wednesday March 4 -> Sunday March 8, 2009

The whales are still here. They will be leaving soon for the Gulf of Alaska. We hung around Cabo longer than we intended, we left Friday, as Donna recovered from eating a Mexican bug, probably at Mi Casa. The Mexican doctor who treated her said "Mi Casa provides me with plenty of customers, even friends fall victim; do not eat out; eat at home. The food tastes good but it may make you sick." We think his advice is a little excessive. The food tastes too good and so many people are eating it; your chances of getting sick are small. It took Donna until yesterday, Sunday, to feel like eating out again. We had lunch and dinner out yesterday.

Friday Donna felt good enough and the weather was perfect for a passage to La Paz. We left about 10:30 AM in the morning and stopped mid afternoon after just 20 miles in a new marina under construction in San Jose. This is just minutes from the airport. We stopped and circled many times along the way along with other commercial tourist boats to watch whales surfacing as they "shopped", searched for food, in the navy blue waters. Whales like to rise up and thrash the surface to stir potential food from hiding. es like to rise up and thrash the surface to stir potential food from hiding.

We docked in the breakwater but short of the actual marina docks at what is to be the fuel dock when the marina is finished. On shore just above the fuel dock is a fishing village that has clearly been there for many years. The homes and buildings of the village are old, weathered and show evidence, patching, of extensive repairs over many years. There are a couple of interesting cerveza, beer, tavernas in the village. At one end of the village is an extremely modern facility with several thatch roofed buildings and a children's playground. At closer look you see special fish cleaning areas with special designed concrete structures, running water, lights and sewage disposal. What I think has happened here is the community developers in order to get acceptance has developed the facility for its new neighbor. In my mind's eye I envision a fish market in the future on the resort condo side of the village.

We take a taxi to town which is a few miles away. The dirt roads of the fishing village quickly turn to landscaped paved and curbed roads through the future resort condo, home, hotel and golf course area. Again the paved road turns to dirt as we traverse a dry river bed where a bridge has not been completed, a bridge to nowhere. Eventually the dirt road connects to the older paved road of the town. We stop at the main tourist/shopping area. The most interesting experience here are the elderly Mexican people who are making a living by selling to tourists on the streets. A German tourist with a camera tells me there is a 90 year old woman near the old Catholic church who sells candy that he has been trying to photograph; I got her picture. She was beautiful, no teeth, deeply wrinkled face, her hair in a bun and wearing what looked like a Hawaiian moo moo. She did not miss a beat as she focused and fussed over her large tray of candy she was selling from.

As always the other high moment in a tourist area is a coffee shop. However, the best is a few blocks off the tourist area toward the business district. As always in Mexico the pastries and cafe are fabulous.

Saturday we sail north. The forecast is for light, less than 10 knot, winds from the south and southwest. However, the winds we are experiencing are much stronger, gusting over 20 knots, from the southwest. The seas are flat so sailing conditions are perfect to make La Paz. We planned to stop in Bahia De Frailes but anchoring to a lee shore is no good. We did sail into and out of the bay where some say the Dorado fish are so numerous at times you could get out of your boat and walk on them. Today the only thing we see are sting rays flying out of the water and performing back flips before splahing upon reentry. We sail on overnight to La Paz, but we have to slow down; we never arrive at night.

Sunday in La Paz is all about church, family and outdoor fun; most of the places to shop are closed.

God Bless Bella Donna

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Sunday March 1 -> Tuesday March 3, 2009

We arrive in Los Cabo International Airport, a short about 3 hour flight from Sacramento. We have arranged for transportation to the Cabo Marina with a highly recommended driver named Arturo. Customs and Immigration is quick and quiet. Soon we are dumped out into a sea of taxi drivers slash condo timeshare salesmen. Arturo has instructed us to turn right but where do we turn right? It is very unclear. The hungry crowd of salesmen are now in our face. I search the crowd for anyone looking like Arturo's picture he emailed us. There he is, I think, just as our eyes meet he positions his face just inches from mine. I reflexively say "Are you Arturo?" He says in perfect English, "Yes I am Arturo." Just as he is about to show me the way to his taxi I spot the familiar face of a tall man in the crowd, Captain John. He is standing in the crowd outside a door to the right. My instincts tell me I had been had; this man's name is probably not Arturo; he was about to put a condo timeshare deal on me that I could not refuse. I graciously thank the would be Arturo and indicate I see my ride. Moments later the real Arturo appears behind John looking like the imposter's brother.

I highly recommend Arturo; his large late model white air conditioned van had enough space for 7 of us and our luggage. He served us cold cervesa, Corona and had a large screen laptop positioned to entertain us with gorgeous pictures of sites in the area where he could drive us. There were beautiful waterfalls in the mountains and the best beaches, playas. As we quickly entered Cabo on the expressway we crossed a bridge and Arturo said, "look down, this is where the Baha 500 car race ends."

Sitting in the fly bridge of Bella Donna in Cabo Marina, it is quite warmer, more like summer, that 18 days ago when last here. There are the pleasant smells of the port, puerto. It is a mixture of sea, Mexican food, tequila among other things. The activity of the city is settling into an expected mellow Sunday afternoon pattern. In the tropics the sunset is very quickly followed by darkness; the twilight period of the sunset at a higher latitude is much longer.

Monday morning starts slowly as we are now in Mountain Time relative to the US. The morning starts much like those I remember on Hermosa Beach when I lived in Southern California. Both are essentially deserts on the ocean. The morning is spent making a provisioning trip to Costco. It is fun to see how progressive Mexico really is; you hear so much about how poor people are here and you get here to find how really well the people live. One thing is how easy medications are to buy; there are very few prescriptions. Even though no one in Costco's pharmacy speaks English I was able to communicate well enough to get the "prescription" medicine I left on my bedside table at home.

Provisions put away we are off to lunch at a great courtyard restaurant several blocks from the marina called, Mi Casa. It is great primarily because of the margaritas, very large, grande. Lunch leads to shots and the afternoon suddenly turns into a typical Cabo first day experience. Some of us, Nancy in particular, do not remember everything.

After the "quick" lunch we walk back to enjoy the marina just in time to enjoy the sunset in Bella Donna's fly bridge. Bed comes early.

Tuesday is better than Monday. The sky is crystal clear, not a cloud in sight. After a relaxed breakfast in the cockpit we leave to anchor and swim off the beaches next to the harbor where the hotels are. Before anchoring we decide to join the whale watching chase tourist boats following a mother and its baby. For about an hour we chase and take pictures. About half a dozen times the whales come high out of the water and sometimes close enough to clearly see their eyes and glistening tail fins.

We try anchoring in front of the hotels but the spring break crowd has begun. There are so many small boats and jet skis buzzing around Bella Donna we think swimming may be hazardous. We have a nice lunch watching all the scene.

After lunch we move down to a beach with a huge hotel that looks like it is owned by a Saudi Arabian oil sheik. There are many horseback riders on the beach, but no spring break people. The swimming is fabulous.

Just before sunset we sail to Land's End, the Cabo where Cave Rock, Lover's Beach and Divorce Beach. Then back to Cabo Marina and Bella Donna's fly bridge to have an after sundowner and watch the tourist booze cruises come in.

God Bless Bella Donna

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Saturday February 7 -> Tuesday February 10, 2009

We "rise up" to a chilly morning; I slept with the hatches open and it was good sleeping under the almost duck feather fuzz filled bed covering. The morning is rigorously scheduled to search and discover what there is in La Paz; what do people do hear? We start with coffee and the cruiser's net. Any area where there are cruising boats from all corners of the world they get together on the VHF radio to have a formatted community discussion, The Cruiser's Net. The structured discussion starts at 8 AM; the 7:30, channel 21, discussion is moderated around one topic and this morning it is global warming. It is clear that cruisers either sitting at anchor or in a marina do their research; they do more than sleep and drink sundowners. Near the end of the discussion it is unclear if there is or is not warming; the topic is redefined to climate change so that everything bad that happens can be blamed on it. It is sort of like everything bad the last 8 years is Bush's fault.

Switching to VHF channel 22, we get The Cruiser's Net. "Does anyone have an emergency"? After a long pause, no response, the moderator moves on. "Any new arrivals"? "Bella Donna", "Go ahead Bella Donna" and John provides Bella Donna details, a brief history of where we come from and how long we are in the area for. The moderator gets on with who is going and coming that could take some mail; mail does not get where its going if mailed in Mexico. Next the announcements of generally what is happening in the area, anyone needing assistance with anything and finally things people want to "get rid of" or "want"; selling and buying on the air is not allowed evidently in Mexico. Things are offered, just come and get it, or offered "for very few coconuts" or "willing to by for a few coconuts"; its a coconut economy.

One of the announcements was a coffee at the Club Cruceros, a little building on the water near the La Palma Marina dock housing a library, bulletin board, counter for coffee and VHF radio. There are a few tables and chairs outside under a tree. Also there is a small playground for cruisers with small children. We drop in for a while to meet the other cruisers and get information about what La Paz has to offer. Someone has brought a German Chocolate Cake left over from a party the night before. Most cruisers are retired and live a large part of the year aboard their boat. Most have not traveled far yet but have ventured down from California. They dream of going father but most will just return to California. A few want to take of for Marquesas and Tahiti later this year.

Afterwards we cross the street to a beer tavern with an outdoor beer garden that offers free WIFI as long as you buy something worth $3 or more, notice they take US Dollars in La Paz. Then we take our first walk through town. We make it just past the bus station near the center of town and returned to the marina area, a distance of 3 miles. We find expensive shops, art galleries, Burger King, quaint coffee shops, a bookstore, mall and grocery stores. Lunch is at a little place up from the marina recommended by a cruising couple that said, "The other cruisers say its good, but we have never eaten there because we are vegetarians and all the dishes involve meat". They server freshly baked tortilla chips with a center tray of fresh chopped vegetables - onions, peppers, cucumbers, radishes and salsa. My pollo ptarmigan was great topped off with a couple of Modelo beers.

We decide to lower our dinghy off the back and explore the other marinas that may offer more bang for the buck or peso, whatever. Our good old reliable 90 horse dinghy whisks us 4 mile down the coast very quickly. We stop at Costabaha Marina which is home to the Moorings Charter fleet based here in La Paz. Moorings is who we used to charter with in the Caribbean and is where we met John and Deborah when we chartered their boat, Big Dog. Costabaha is a very new large resort with 2 marinas, a four star hotel, private condos, big white sandy beaches, tennis courts, gym, multiple swimming pools, shops, bars and restaurants. Gary Player is opening an 18 hole championship golf course in 2010. The only drawback is it is not walking distance to town; however, there is a shuttle several times a day to and from the bus terminal in the center of town. John asks us all to guess the price to dock Bella Donna there for a month. We all guessed too high. At the end of the day it is a no brainer; this place offers more bang for the buck for us and it would be a great location to vacation with the Bella Donna. Before sundown we are tied into Bella Donna's new Mexican home.

Sunday we spend all day in town exploring the malls and stores. We learn to catch the right bus to the mall one way is 8 Pesos, about 57 cents. Just like Ensenada the local Mexican people are out shopping in large numbers. I could not see a thing anything different from a mall in the United States except I prefer the Mexican breads and pastries to those in the US. The prices are about the same as in the US except they are marked in Pesos which at the 14 to 1 exchange rate looks high. For example, a laptop computer for over 7,000 Pesos.

Later Sunday evening we eat at KIWI's a restaurant on the beach. First we sit on the beach patio, there is no wind, it is warm and the sun is about to set. The local children are riding their bikes on the sea wall and playing volleyball on the beach. As soon as the sun sets and before dinner arrives the wind comes up and it gets too cold to sit outside. No problem, we move inside where it is warm. A old man with tan deeply wrinkled face full of character comes over and plays a classical Mexican ballad for a few Pesos.

Monday we return to town again on the hotel shuttle. On the highway we notice military in camouflage with automated rifles pointed to each side of the road from the back of trucks they are standing and riding in. Our minds flash back to the coast guard radio operator who said to us "Be careful out there". From the bus station where the hotel shuttle lets us off we split; John goes to pay our bill at the first marina we stayed in. I take a one hour walk down the sea wall to snap a picture of the dolphin statue for the grandkids as well as pictures of Monday life in La Paz. We meet back at Burger King.

In town we hit the coffee shop for a large coffee, John gets a cheesecake and I have what else, the usual, an oatmeal cookie. Leaving on a caffeine sugar high we power walk through the town; up and down the hills we hit an open Telcel to get John a local SIM card for local calls. We try to finish our errands in time to catch the 4:30 shuttle back to the marina.

Deborah needs lettuce for a salad. We ask locals who speak little English; they try to be helpful but we all resort to hand gestures and butchered language. Each time we find the suggested store it does have food, but no vegetables. As we crisscrossed La Paz it becomes clear we will miss the 4:30. At one point we realize the sketchy instructions are leading us to a store we have already seen. We finally find an almost English speaking local who can draw us a map. It is pretty far off but our spirits and our hopes are high. We score iceberg lettuce but we wanted romaine. So while we are at it we through in some shallot onions, don't ask me why; it just seemed all that work should yield more.

We are on time for the 5:30 shuttle but it is not going straight back to the marina; it is going on a one hour trip to another market, the one that we went to yesterday; the one that has romaine lettuce. We ride just to sightsee. We see more camouflaged military standing with pointed automatic rifles on the back of moving trucks. We decide this must be a common everyday thing as no one seems interested and everything seems healthy and normal. No we resisted the temptation to buy more lettuce. We make it back to Bella Donna around 7 PM; the salad was delicious. The 4 to 5 mile stroll in town means sleep will come easily and early tonight.

Today, Tuesday, we go home. It was probably 6 degrees in Reno this morning; it is going to be hard to go back to winter. We fly out of Los Cabos International Airport which is about 100 miles on Mexican Highway 1. We are renting a car; we want to check out the San Jose Marina as a place to visit with Bella Donna.

John has asked some of the cruisers about how to drive in Mexico; they say just watch what the locals do and do the same thing. No one stops at the ALTO sign; they just slow down. No one wears seat belts. We only drive a few miles when a La Plaz policia stops us for "running" an ALTO sign. Truth is we came to such a slow rolling stop that we were almost rear ended by a surprised local behind us. The locals on either side barely slowed as they negotiated crossing the intersection. After asking for John's driver's license he, in very broken English, informs us he is going to fine us for 2 violations - running an ALTO and not wearing seat belts. He says the fine is $100 Dollars and we must pay him right now. Sometimes the locals say Dollars when they mean Pesos; we have a plane to catch 100 miles away so we offer 100 Pesos. The officer obviously frustrated takes a pencil and paper and writes $1000, 500 for ALTO, he points to sign, and 500 for seatbelt, he points again. That makes about $75 Dollars in fines. We have trouble finding the 1000 Pesos. As soon as his hands close around the Pesos he is gone. We have just paid an undocumented blatant bribe. We feel like a rape victim as we buckle our seat belts and run the risk of being rear ended at ALTO signs as we hurry out of town. A look at the Lonely Planet Mexico Guide Book verifies it was a bribe. One should always insist on paying the fine at an official building and always get a proper receipt, but we have a plane to catch.

John as usual planned more than enough time to drive to San Jose Marina and then the Los Cabos International Airport. It takes us over 3 hours to drive 80 miles directly to the airport. We say goodbye to Mexico. All and all it was a positive experience if tarnished by corrupt police.

God Bless Bella Donna

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Thursday February 5 -> Friday February 6, 2009
"On the Road Again", Willie Nelson is turned on loud on all speakers. The tourist boats always announce their coming and going so it is our turn. We play the same song over and over again as we make our way out of the harbor and past the tourist/hotel beach. We get lots of stares from all the tourists and sun bathers on the beach. Soon, 3 "On the Road Again"s later, we break away from the coast and head for San Jose. Almost immediately we encounter many of the tourist whale watching boats that left before us from the harbor. As Willie Nelson sang "Wind Beneath My Wings" we stopped as all the boats including Bella Donna are surrounded by whales surfacing, jumping and slapping their tails on the calm sea. Tourists were getting their monies worth and we were seeing it for free, what a deal.

We are amazed by the number of large very plush, 5 star, hotels with golf courses along the Cabo to San Jose coast. In San Jose a new large marina has just been completed. Past San Jose the hotels and highway end leading to miles and miles of deserted beautiful beaches. We have come about 30 miles and have 120 miles to go. The sea is flat and there is not enough wind to sail. Eventually we slow to 6 knots and power off the port engine as we want to enter the narrow straits before La Paz just as the sun rises tomorrow morning. The night watch is much cooler than the day; I ware sweat pants and a short sleeved t-shirt; I took my long sleeved sweat shirt to the fly, but I never needed to put it on.

At first light in the morning we are trying to figure out how to navigate through the narrow straits. A cruise ship passed us earlier and made it just fine so the width of the channel must be adequate. We suspect the electronic chart that shows us our position on a map is not correct and it could be very dangerous to use it alone to position the Bella Donna through the narrow straits. John elects to use our paper charts, radar and coastal position and navigation techniques with some common sense based on experience to get us through; you see why this should not be done during the night. One more thing complicates the task; there is a swift current and strong winds constantly altering the course of Bella Donna to one wrong side or the other of the best path through the narrow straits.

Entering the straits we find 2 reference points that are both on the electronic chart and providing a radar echo. John places both the chart and radar on one screen image overlaying each other. Wow the GPS chart positioning is 1/2 mile off. John activates an option on the electronic chart setup menu to move the reference point images over each other in the proper position, radar and chart the same. Now the electronic chart should show the correct position of Bella Donna and that is a good thing; navigation is easy again. Now our only problem is the current is confusing our autopilot so John has to hand steer through the straits.

We have no reservations so we cruise from one end of La Paz to the other pausing occasionally at each marina to look at and evaluate the facilities. Reaching the far end of town we decide to stop at the cheapest, $10 per day, marina to see if they have space for Bella Donna. They don't but they move a boat to make room for us on the travel lift dock. The price is $50 per day, still a good price. They have no internet or toilet paper or towels in their bathroom, but there is a shower. We are close to town and a vibrant cruiser community.

We take a very long walk through town avoiding anything that looks like for tourists with tourist prices. We use the internet briefly at a bar that gives you a WIFI key free if you buy a beer, cervesa. We have a super Mexican lunch t a restaurant for a good low price; it was a place pointed to by other cruisers.

La Paz is a very clean town and although it has night clubs it is clearly not the party until you drop town that Cabo is. The Catholic religion is strong here; the police arrest you for drunkenness or even having a open drink in your hand on the streets.

God Bless Bella Donna

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Tuesday February 3 -> Wednesday February 4, 2009
Kevin's party team did not get out to go clubbing until almost 11:30 PM last night, so the last of them Kevin and DJ Real, Allen, did not make it in till after 5 AM this morning, about the time I got up to get my first cup of coffee. Kevin just occupied my bed while it was still warm.

The plan is to take Bella Donna out and as close to the beach as possible to recreate a Caribbean swim and play off the back. It looks like that is not likely until after lunch and that is fine; there will be plenty of time.

Early morning on the fly bridge with your cup of coffee watching the marina come to life is amazing. We remark how the operations are performed like clockwork. The fishing boats line up at the fuel dock. Water taxis ferry people in glass bottomed boats, pangas, to ready fishing boats. Cruise ship tenders bring in the eager tourists. Large catamarans known as day cats as they pack 30 to more than 50 people on deck to go out and whale watch and/or skin dive with the seals and dolphins. Separate scuba barges are piled high with filled tanks and equipment for those wishing to do scuba diving. This harbor is just one big money machine. This harbor must be crazy in the peak fishing season, October through December. Many of the fishing boats are just docked.

I told Deborah early this morning that she could serve breakfast to Kevin and friends around noon and this is just what happened. We had croissants some stuffed with goat cheese and salmon; others with jack and ham.

After breakfast/lunch we leave the dock and anchor just off the beaches east of Cabo in front of the hotels. No sooner than the anchor had settled the birthday boys were doing cannon balls off the side and swimming aggressively in the cool water. The day turned hot and the cool sea feels good; any thought of a hangover is gone.

John lowers the dinghy and the whole party group head for the crowed beach bars where an MC is organizing crazy contests that involve shots or chugging followed by physical feats. Everywhere you go in Cabo vendors are trying to separate you from your money. On the beach uniformed vendors almost outnumber the tourists on the beach. It can be annoying; however, just a quick "no gracias" and they quit the sales pitch. The other night a cute little 4 year old girl with a pitiful little look on her face approached me asking a dollar for one of her candies. She was dressed in a beautiful frilly colorful dress with her hair done up in a neat ponytail. She could not even be 3 feet tall but carried her little body in a mature way confident in handling a conversation with a strange man on a dark almost deserted quay. It was 8:30 PM, when is her bed time? I open my mouth to utter my pat answer and "no gracius" undecidedly comes out with great difficulty. Out of the corner of my eye I spot the mother making change for a customer a short distance away.

The wind is blowing the same as yesterday. We get John's kayak ski and my Hobie trimaran, Hobo, in the water. Soon we are streaking towards Land's End. John has mastered the paddling stroke and he has no problem keeping up with Hobo as I just sit and milk the sails for all the speed I can get. In just minutes that flew by so fast the time seemed like seconds we are near lover's beach and the cape, cabo, Land's End. As the arch reveals the Pacific on the other side, I prepare to tack and fall off on a reach to head back over the harbor entrance channel to the beginning of the beach. Once close enough to the swimming areas I trim for a run down the beach yielding plenty of time to search the crowd for the birthday party. No luck, they have been absorbed into the festive crowd. Four laps to Land's End does it for me. It takes a couple of passes at the stern of Bella Donna to sail Hobo to the swim platform. Hot from sailing in the hot sun I just turn and drop into the refreshing sea water.

Just before sunset Rea flags us from the surf; the others are on their way to the pickup point. Sundowners for everyone, the party continues. Dinner in the cockpit the clubbing folks get away about 11:30 again; the rest of us stay up past 1 AM closer to 2 AM.

Wednesday mourning is a repeat of Tuesday mourning except the birthday is over everyone flies out today. The boys at noon and Rea at 5 PM.

Later in the evening we found a little grill on a quiet street and enjoyed camarone y pescado ceviche, cheriso y queso nachos, mexican frito queso y camarones and two rounds of drinks for less than $50; this is pretty good as they take US dollars here instead of pesos and most prices are comparable to the US. Afterwards we look for coffee and pastries. It was a good night out.

God Bless Bella Donna

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Sunday February 1 -> Monday February 2, 2009

We arrive in Cabo, 22 52.83N 109 54.589W, on a beautiful Sunday morning. It is Super Bowl Sunday and Kevin's birthday. His celebration party is due to land about 1 PM. Cabo seems deserted, but it is Sunday morning; I assume the place was really rocking last night. We hover among the docks trying to contact the marina radio to help us find our assigned dock. As we affix the last line and deploy the boarding ladder I notice Hooter's is on the quay nearest Bella Donna. The first order of business is to get reservations for the game somewhere. Second we need booze and snacks for the Bella Donna; we are running low which must be rectified. We stop at Hooter's and reserve for 10 at 2:30; the game starts at 4 PM. The market is about 1/4 mile away one block past the end of the marina. We manage to fill our 3 large COSTCO bags with enough stuff to require a cab. Deborah shows up to get a few items and we all struggle to give the non English speaking cab driver directions to get us as close to Bella Donna on dock N as possible. With all the street construction and the fact we walked on the quay and not the streets it takes several attempts to be successful.

About 2 PM we call Kevin and some of his party have landed but they are still waiting on another plane. John, Deborah and Terry are still cleaning Bella Donna after the 4 day passage. Don and I look pretty conspicuous at a Hooter's table for 10. The place is virtually empty except for another USA group running a pot based on the quarterly score. The first Tecate tastes good with a late lunch of quesadia. Just before game time the birthday boy arrives with his five friends. Towers of beer follow throughout the game. Our Hooter's hostesses are very professional and end up scoring a big tip after posing with us for a picture. The game ranks up there with the very best ever seen.

The Bella Donna regulars return to Bella Donna following the game. The out of town birthday party hits the Cabo night life circuit which is extensive.

The next morning, Monday, starts early, 6 AM, with Kevin slipping into bed with me saying the fly got too cold for him; a strong cold early morning wind has risen. Later the regulars share coffee in the fly as early morning birthday celebrators are sleeping throughout the cockpit, salon and main bedroom cabin areas. They were in relatively early, reasonable hour, this morning as the party started before 4 PM for Super Bowl. It is very warm in the cockpit as copious bacon, eggs, coffee and toast are served. The weather is very warm with a cool breeze and vast amounts of sun and blue sky, perfect beach weather.

OK we take off to do some sailing about about 11 AM. We sail just off the beaches before heading out into the flat blue mix that is where the Sea of Cortes and the Pacific meet. Unlike the beaches we passed on the way here these are packed with hotel guests and cruise ship people. The beach bars are calling but we are focused on sailing under these great conditions. As we raise the sails and head on a starboard tack into the wind the apparent wind is 16 knots, nice. Immediately after heading off shore 3 or four whales put on a big show for us. They are jumping out of the water creating big splashes with their bodies and tails. Tourists pay big money for a whale watching expedition like this. The sailing is great as Bella Donna makes 8 or 9 knots with the engines throttled back to useless. As the sun gets low in the sky we switch to the iron, actually aluminum Genoas or as more commonly called diesel power.

We venture past Lover's Beach, the arch and finally Land's End to the Pacific side and Divorce Beach. On father there are more beautiful beaches and hotels. The wind has died but we sit on the bottom step with our feet in the deep blue Pacific and watch a magnificent, green flashless, sunset. At dusk we head back to our dock tie.

God Bless Bella Donna

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The seas are flat, nothing but blue sky, no clouds and the temperatures are t-shirt, jams and bare feet; its paradise.

We visited a fishing shop in San Diego before we left and in addition to fishing licenses we bought new lures, 3 for tuna and only one for wahu. I got 2 new hand lines that were easier to deploy than the 300 foot line recommended to us by a little Asian woman in Kona. I deployed the first line but the lure stayed near the surface. On the second line I attached a paddle we bought on Saint Thomas in the American virgin islands that was recommended by Gale's husband Eric. It is supposed to sink the lure like a down rigger would. However, the short length of the hand line caused the paddle to skip on top of the water so I attached a 10 foot leader to give the line more length; now the paddle digs in and sinks the lure. From the fly bridge I think the lures are too close to our props to attract fish. I have to put a paddle on the first line anyway so I rig up a longer line and deploy again. After a couple of hours of sun bathing and watching the lines I quit just hopping to hear any fish hitting one of our lures. Hours latter John mentions that "I guess we will not be having sushi tonight". Soon after Terry cries from the fly bridge "FISH". It is a 15 pound Mahi that put up a desperate fight. John tries to compassionately kill with copious slugs of Tequila to the gills, now down the throat. It is not working; the Mahi fights an intoxicated battle. At one point the Mahi almost gets away from us and flips itself back into the cold Pacific; it has long since managed to rid itself of the barbed hook that snagged him. John is able to grasp its tail one step, one flip, from freedom. Since 15 pounds of fish will not fill the freezer, John returns the successful lure to the sea saying "There we still have no sushi". We presented Deborah with a tray of fresh filleted Mahi. Just as I finished washing down the deck another cry "FISH". Oh no, it is time to repeat the process. This time it is a yellow fin tuna, Ahi, or as John says "there is our sushi. Although it takes copious amounts of Tequila, I think we started with an almost full bottle, the Ahi finally falls limp in a drunken slumber. The Ahi weighs 12 pounds, enough for sushi and dinner on a salad.

It is Saturday morning and we are 180 miles from Cabo Saint Lucas. We should arrive there about 8 or 9 AM tomorrow morning if all goes well and all is very well as I compose this blog in swim trunks on the fly bridge. The seas are so flat they are glassy, a deep navy blue. We are about 30 miles off shore; you can see tops of mountains even though the shore and bottom of the mountains are not visible due to the curvature of the earth. One could imagine a huge edge of a waterfall dropping off to the mountain tops. There is a light blue cloudless sky; a light cool breeze is tickling my neck. Occasionally we pass black slick looking things floating in the water; at a distance looking maybe like garbage bags floating in the water. On closer inspection it is actually one or more sea lions floating on their backs with their whiskered noses and flippers pointed skyward in the navy blue water. When there are 2 or more they form a configuration like sky divers except face up instead of face down. On closer inspection, the seals appear to be sleeping.

One can never predict how a day on the ocean will turn out. Every day is different and the variations are infinite. I hope Donna and I can share a day like today with my kids and grandkids.

I was about to send my blog post and I decided to put out my fishing lines and grab some rays in the sun. I will post results later. Thinking of the kids again there are hundreds of dolphins playing around Bella Donna. One just jumped 10 or 15 feet in the air behind us. They are magnificently beautiful.

Tomorrow is Cabo, Super Bowl and most importantly Kevin's birthday; I can't wait to see him.

God Bless Bella Donna

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Wednesday January 28 -> Thursday January 29, 2009
It is Wednesday morning and it is cold. It is time to leave. We looked at average temperatures for Ensenada and found it is cooler here. Even in the heat of summer the temperatures are in the 70s. We hear that it is going to be 80 in Cabo today so it is time to move on. The morning is spent topping off our fuel tanks, doing some wash and sending the Tuesday blog update.

We get underway around 2 PM giving us daylight for a while which will become important later. Just like San Diego there is a peninsula pointing out into the Pacific south that we must sail around. Just like San Diego the sea is bumpy and confused; the wind is right on our nose. However, as we round the point and head south the sea calms and the wind dies; we will motor about a mile off shore. It is warm in the sun but still cold in the shade. As sunset approaches the temperature drops to just above bone chilling. About an hour before sunset we spot what at first looks like a boat towing a barge dead ahead of us about 8 miles out. After a while it is noted that the towing boat has not moved meaning we are on a collision course. Is there a possibility it could be land? We ask the chart plotter to give us all detail of the area we are looking. It is just water hundreds of feet deep, no land. As we get even closer it sure looks like land. We refer to our paper charts that we carry to resolve navigational issues; they show no land there, just deep water. We try to make land look like some strange boat until the bow wave turns out to be sea swells breaking on rocky land. As the sun sets we turn out to sea; we will sail further out, 30 miles, in the dark. Had it been dark the last hour we would may have collided with the unmarked land unless we were looking closely at radar for the faint echo. Thus it being a good reason we left at 2 PM from Ensenada.

My iPhone alarm goes off at 5:15 AM, my next watch starts at 6 AM. Lots of warm clothing on, I reach the fly bridge as first light precedes the sunrise that occurred a little after 6:30. The days are getting longer as we make our way south. The radar is our now new best friend; we refer to it often. Just before sunrise we notice a long echo that looks like a large ship on a course parallel to ours 8 miles on our starboard beam. Headed south the echo turns and heads north. Next it does something that look threatening to us; it turns and heads on an intercept course to Bella Donna. We wake up John. Soon the white ship closes to less than a mile; still no VHF radio contact on channel 16. We can't make out its markings, is it US Coast Guard, Mexican Coast Guard or something else? It is a relief when the radio cracks to life and the unknown ship announces it is the US Coast Guard and wants to talk to Bella Donna's captain. John has to answer questions concerning our ID, people on board, registry and previous and future land falls. Seaming satisfied the Guard says "Be careful out there" and terminates the conversation. Is there some situation we should worry about? We hail the Guard and pose the question. "No situation exists, have a good day".

Slowly but surely it is getting warmer. There is not one cloud in the sky. I am down to t-shirt and almost shorts. We plan to be in Cabo for Kevin's birthday as well as being Super Bowl Sunday. We were going to stop for a day or so but the idea of being in Cabo for Super Bowl sounds good. Kevin I am sure you have plans, but if you want to come to Cabo it is on me. I have no way to send you a text message. I have shown "No Carrier" for a good while now. We have a reservation on the dock but it costs $400 per night so we will not hang long. We will probably go to La Paz on the 2nd or 3rd.

God Bless Bella Donna

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Tuesday January 27, 2009

The order of business this morning is to check in with customs and integration. Since we came into Mexico aboard Bella Donna and not on a commercial carrier, the process is complicated and long; it will take all morning and cost some money. To make it a little easier on us we get a local agent. He drives all of us to a downtown official building in his large van. We pass the port where The Black Perl, Jack Sprat's pirate ship, from The Pirates of the Caribbean movie is on the hard. The studio found shooting the second movie easier and cheaper in Mexico rather in the Caribbean.

We are lead to chairs in the center of a central open area of the official Immigration Building which is surrounded by small offices of all the government parts you have to interact with. Oh, there is also a bank so you can easily get any cash required to enter the country; they are trying to make it easy. We sit while the agent walks our papers around having us fill out forms and sign. At the end of the process the agent tells John to walk up and press a button predominately displayed. The button activates a traffic light looking thing. A green light and you are allowed into Mexico; red, you are refused. We get the green light. It is nearly noon and we still have to return to the Marina and go through customs. While the rest of us return for lunch poor John has to complete the process.

We are ready to venture out and do some shopping. Already I can tell Ensenada has grown from the one main dusty street I remember when I was here Labor Day 1969. The population here is 500,000, the size of Reno. Cabo Saint Lucas is 60,000, La Paz is 200,000 and Tijuana is 3,000,000. Ensenada is a quiet family oriented town. We take a taxi ride with Carlos to Costco. However, just a couple of blocks short of Costco there is a super WalMart, Home Depo and McDonalds. Stop the taxi.

The largest WalMart I have ever seen is very crowded with locals. The prices are all in Pesos and after the Dollar conversion the prices are just slightly lower than in the US. I really think anything you can buy in the US WalMart you can buy here. The exceptions are things obtained locally like produce and bakery items. These items are much less. We browse the large bakery where items like donuts, scones and muffins are 10 for 14 Pesos, 1 US Dollar. We bought 3 of the more premium to have with our McDonalds coffee. With shopping bags in hand, we are on to Costco for a few items. The Costco looks exactly like in the US; they are all the same aren't they. Nothing is missing; it has everything at the same price as in the US just marked in Pesos. There are fewer locals shopping here. There are fewer local items on the shelf. The red wines are more likely they come from South America than US and Australia. We buy a couple of bottles for $6 to try.

We call Carlos and return to Bella Donna. The day is done and it is cold. We hear it is 80 degrees in Cabo; lets go.

God Bless Bella Donna.

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Saturday January 24, 2009 -> Monday January 26, 2009

 

We are docked in San Diego at a new marina, The Wharf. It is in an area used by the America's Cup race when it was last held here. Even though they are 90% full the facilities are still under construction. We get an end tie as usual right next to The Munay, a smaller catamaran that John and Deborah knew well when it was chartered in the Caribbean. It is now owned by a young couple that wish to cruise, but are still working in a high tech computer job; sounds familiar. The name Munay is a Peruvian tribal word meaning unconditional love. After coming to tour Bella Donna they leave a numbered bottle of the wife's favorite California Russian River Pinot Noir. The other yachts around us are mostly all large power yachts, stink pots as we say; they refer to us as a rag picker. These large boats have rotating wires with little red flags on their ends to discourage birds from sitting on and pooping on their decks. A testament to just how smart these birds are, one very large lethargic sea gull stands just outside the revolving red flags and drops his deposit on the cabin.

 

San Diego is our last stop before sailing into Mexico. We stop and by our fishing licenses and I update our gear. I buy two new hand lines, 3 tuna lures and, a little to Deborah's objection, a new wahoo lure. We caught 100s of pounds of whahoo in the South Pacific last year; we just got a little tired of a good thing, a freezer full of fresh fish.

 

Sunday morning we have our breakfast out at Denny's. In the afternoon all 5 of us split up and headed in different directions. Terry leaves to visit Mission Beach, a place in her past. Don leaves to explore the city via mass transit. I need to find a Radio Shack. I find one 2.2 miles away so I decide to walk as I am not sure how easy it will be to bike there. John and Deborah have various errands to run. There is no rental car this time. We can use the exercise before we leave tomorrow.

 

On the way back from Radio Shack I see two familiar people waving a 100 yards ahead; it is John and Deborah. We celebrate with some ice cream. John continues on his way to The Sports Chalet to buy a scuba diving hood; the winter Pacific waters are cold enough to give headaches after even a brief  exposure. John has a wet suit but he needs a hood.  Deborah and I drop by Von's to pick up just a few things. We remember so many thing we need and discover too good to not take deals we end up with several shopping bags, but we are almost 2 miles from Bella Donna. Lets go to Starbucks and think about this. Deborah and I looked real good walking through the door with our full Von's chopping cart. While having our coffee we get a call from John, The Sports Chalet is a lot further than he was told; he was told 2 miles and it is more like 3.5. The short of it is the 2 of us should take the groceries back to Bella Donna. Can we do it; you bet! One more mile and  we will get a cab. We barely make it. Hallelujah.

 

Today, Monday, we rise up early. We let go the dock lines at exactly 7:30 AM. The wind is blowing 20 knots out of the west, a very cold wind. The sweat suit just does not do the trick; you could seriously freeze to death. More layers are required. The sea is seriously bouncy, so much so that a trip across the deck guarantees at least one tangle footed stumble. Sea sickness is looking in the wings. The sea calms some as we progress and about 3 PM we arrive in Ensenada Mexico. It is still very cold.

 

God Bless Bella Donna