Road Trip

We’re back in the NW and trying to get used to the c-o-l-d again! It averages around the mid-70’s during the day but when the sun goes down so does the temperature and Chris & I have a blanket feud much of the night. My parents are letting us stay in their 29’ RV while we are in town and that has made life much easier in all sorts of ways. We are currently parked at the Jantzen Beach RV Park (right in the PDX flight path so it’s just like when I lived on the boat). This is a nice park with the River on one side, the shopping mall on the other and just a short walk to the marinas on the other end of the Island.

The trip home from Mexico was very nice though a bit rushed and it wasn’t without it’s share of “excitement”. First we had a blow-out in the middle of the Mexican desert but Chris, being the he-man that he is, had the spare on in no time and we were back on the road. Crossing the border involved an inspection of the truck contents but the Homeland Security people made it a pleasant enough experience and didn’t find any contraband. We had a nice visit with Chris’ mother, brother, sister-in-law, niece and cousin in Tucson but were only able to stay 2 days because Friday morning while brushing my teeth, one of my brand new crowns popped right off . This necessitated a trip BACK to the dentist in San Carlos in hopes of seeing him that day. As it turned out, we cooled our heels at the Adelaide apts for the weekend and it was Monday before I got the crown re-installed. Tuesday morning it fell off again when I was brushing! My dentist back here has kindly re-cemented it but it is apparently too big and may end up being replaced. Sigh…

From Tucson we drove to Las Vegas to see Chris’ son, Sterling, & his family. We crossed the Hoover Dam on the way (after successfully passing through two security checks). We didn’t have any drugs, guns or bombs and only 4 cans of Pacifico but we did have to explain what the mainsail was! The dam is an awesome accomplishment and the new suspension bridge they are building there is especially amazing.

We had a great dinner and nice visit with Sterling, Julie & Vivian and will be seeing them again when the family congregates in Florence (OR) over the 4^th. Next morning we left for Sutherlin (OR) where my daughter, Amanda, is. This is a two day drive so we decided to take the state highways instead of the interstate in order to see some new scenery.

The Nevada landscape was pretty much desert but many of the cacti were blooming so it was pretty cool. We spent the night in a lovely room at the Nugget that had a view of the RR tracks and a metal scrapyard. Chris doesn’t gamble but I managed to throw a half dozen quarters into slot machines as we walked by. No luck. No surprise.

Northern California, between Reno & Mt. Shasta, began as desert but before long we were ascending into the mountains of Lassen National Park. This is a beautiful area which is reminiscent of eastern Oregon. We passed a large military area around Susanville and saw a number of munitions bunkers (at least that’s what they appeared to be) that were camouflaged so they couldn’t be seen from the air. I was fascinated and tempted to snap a few pics but after thinking about it decided not to chance having MY picture taken by a surveillance camera. We passed beautiful Honey Lake and were intrigued by its gorgeous sky blue color. Over the past year we have become very attuned to the different colors of water which are influenced by such things as the depth, what the bottom consists of and the current sky conditions. This lake is surrounded by what looks like limestone so we thought that might be what the makeup is of the bottom and thus the reason for the color. Apparently it has a very high concentration of mineral salts and in the summer becomes an alkali flat.

Shortly after we’d stopped in Tonopah for lunch we passed the Desert Lobster Café and were disappointed that we were no longer hungry. This is a very large powerboat that sits in the middle of nowhere and has been converted into a diner. We definitely intend to stop here next time!

After a nice visit with Amanda’s family (where I got to meet my brand new great-grandson) we made the short trip to Portland, spent a night with Keely & Josh (Chris’ daughter) and then picked up my folks’ RV. We are quite happy to have the use of their “dirt yacht” while we are here. Now we are using our remaining time to visit friends & family, take care of business, reorganize our stored belongings, start collecting the things we need for next year’s cruising and do a little sight seeing. Stay tuned…the adventure continues!

Season End

I am sitting in our air conditioned room writing this and waiting for Chris to return from working on the boat again. We both went over and did some work this morning but then I spent 2 hours in the dentist's chair again and he thought I should just relax for a bit. We have been working, working, working for the past several days trying to get as much accomplished at the slip as possible. We are so grateful to Chris' friend, Wally, who allowed us to use his slip while he was gone as it made it so much easier to get the boat ready for dry storage. Top photos show Chris washing lines and yours truly going through all the stores to decide what to leave, what to give away, what to toss, etc. Only two of the myriad things that needed doing.

"Faith" was hauled out yesterday and it was a pretty amazing production. We had an appointment for a 2pm haul out so we spent all morning working and hauling things off the boat & to our little motel room. At noon we left the slip to go pump out the holding tanks one last time and arrived at the boat ramp right on time only to find that a gigantic power boat was in our spot! There is no room to turn around so we tied up to the dock on the other side temporarily but it was a little tricky as the wind and current was pushing us toward a row of powerboats docked there. Once the powerboat was out, the line handlers took over and pulled "Faith" to the correct side of the dock where we waited for the tractor and trailer to arrive. They pulled her onto a very large trailer that has 6 or 8 pads on hydraulic arms so they can be positioned for about every kind of keel. Then, out of the water she came, slick as could be, just like your average skiboat behind a pickup. Next she was off to the work yard where they would pressure wash the bottom and Chris & I will do some last minute chores to get her buttoned up for the summer.

Tomorrow at 11 am they will move "Faith" to the dry storage yard where she will wait patiently for us to return in November so we can all resume our travels. In the meantime, Chris & I will stay here for one more day to re-organize all the "stuff" that is going home with us and then will be off to visit family and friends before our big adventure in French Polynesia aboard "Carinthia". All I can say at this point is "What a ride this is!"

Mexican Dental Care

This is going to be a multi-blog weekend. I can see it coming. We have so much going on in the next few days and it is always fun to share the good, the bad & the interesting with all our friends.
Today's topic is Mexican dental care. I broke a crown several months ago in Tenacatita (honest, Mom, I was only eating Cheetos...the puffy kind!) so I needed to get that replaced. In addition, I have two teeth that have begun to let me know they are there. In La Paz I went to a dentist but we weren't going to be there long enough to get any work done beyond cleaning so I still needed to get this taken care of before we leave Mexico. After all, who can afford dental in the States?? Even with insurance it is phenomenally expensive. Last Friday evening we were hanging out with Chris' friends from Tucson Sailing Club and Stu mentioned that he'd just had 3 root canals done that day by a great dentist in San Carlos. He was in the chair for 3 hours and that evening was feeling great...an endorsement I could appreciate. So, Monday morning, on our way to Guaymas we stopped to see if I could get an appt and was told to be back that afternoon. Whoa! Well, OK. I was prepared for the old x-ray/evaluation deal with another appointment so imagine my shock when Dr. Martinez did the exam, said I needed 2 root canals (jeez I hate getting old) and did the first one right then! He gave me a prescription for antibiotics as I had a slight infection beginning and some pain pills and told me to return on Thursday. Yesterday he did the 2nd root canal, did some more prep on the 1st one, removed the broken crown, did impressions, and told me he is there 24 hrs a day so if I have ANY problems to come back any time. Oh...and did I mention that he is drop dead gorgeous???? Can you say Fabio look alike?? Another nice touch is that he stops working frequently so you can relax your jaw while he massages it. Yesterday he worked on me for 2-1/2 hours and in the middle he took a break and had a masseuse come in to apply hot & cold packs and massage my face & jaw. Wonderful! I have had zero pain or problems but today Chris & I were hard at work on the boat when who should come walking down the dock to check on me but Dr. Martinez! OK...I ask you...when was the last time your American dentist made a house call to check on how you are doing?? I suspect your answer will be the same as mine - NEVER! I'm betting your next question is "How much is this all costing?". Well, it is $1600 U.S. Considerably less than two root canals and 3 crowns would cost in the States. Oh...and did I mention that he is lovely to look at????

Summer Break

I can hardly believe how fast this past 9 months has flown by! What an incredible experience it has been to actually be "living the dream" I have had for so many years. We have seen places as diverse as busy, "Americanized" Mazatlan to the pristine uninhabited island anchorage of Cardenal on Isla Partida where we were the only boat there. We have snorkeled and swum in crystal clear emerald green water where you can see bottom at 30', searched for shells on white sand beaches, had lunch under thatched roof palapas with our feet in the sand, climbed a mountain to see the "view from the top", sailed in cobalt seas with whales and rays playing around us and had too many wonderful experiences to name. And the best part has been the wonderful people we have met along the way. Cruisers are an amazing tight-knit community of people from all walks of life who share the trials, tribulations and magic of a lifestyle others only dream of. A large number of the cruisers in Mexico are from the Pacific NW and Canada but we've also met some from Australia, New Zealand, South America and lots of other places. Now we are in San Carlos and preparing to put "Faith" to bed for the summer and saying good bye to some of our new friends. It feels rather like the end of the school year. Some we will see next year and some won't be back. Some have already gone on to new destinations and others will be making longer journeys next season. We are looking forward to seeing friends & family at home and then heading off to cruise the South Pacific for 3 months. And we'll be back next fall for another great season of exploring Mexico, renewing friendships and meeting new people.

Birthday Surprises

Wow! What a birthday! Last year I saw the big 6-0 pass by and my friends and relatives celebrated by throwing a big party for me. This year was a different celebration entirely. It was a bit surreal to be birthday-ing in Mexico but I managed to get used to the idea. Patty got a room in a hotel for a couple nights to give Chris & I some time alone as well as springing for me to get a manicure and pedicure (a luxury I have not had since San Francisco). Chris had been telling me for days that he wanted to go “shopping” for my birthday but was mumm about what he wanted to purchase. I rarely shop anymore as living on a boat means there is not much room to put “things” and clothing is limited to swimsuits, shorts and the occasional sundress. Finally, over lunch at Rancho Viejo (which has world class Arrachara beef tacos) he spilled the beans and said he’d been planning to buy me some jewelry…however…he was re-thinking that and wanted to know my feeling about the options. Our friends, Dietmar & Suzanne, sailed their 44’ catamaran to the Marquesas this year and had just emailed to invite us to join them in Tahiti for 3 months of sailing the South Pacific islands with them. How would I feel about him paying for my airfare for that trip instead of buying something sparkly? I couldn’t say yes fast enough! So…July 21^st we fly to Papeete for the next great adventure. We are very excited. I have always wanted to sail in the South Pacific so this opportunity is like a dream come true. And when we come back…we have another season of cruising Mexico to look forward to. Life is very good these days!

Haul out in La Paz

One of the projects we had to get accomplished while in La Paz was getting the boat hauled out and a survey completed for the insurance. They are such picky devils, you know! Our surveyor, Cecil, was recommended by a cruiser we met in Los Muertos who lives here year round. His recommendation was "he has forgotten more about boats than most people will ever know". Sold! He was right. As it turns out, Cecil built boats for many years in Port Townsend and when he stopped doing that he started cruising. He spent 30 years in the Sea of Cortez before he finally sold his boat and moved to La Paz permanently with his current wife, Carmen. He is a great guy with many fascinating tales to tell and it takes no more than a sit down at his table at The Dock restaurant to set the stories in motion. We arranged for the haul out before we took Hank to the Islands for a week and the big day was yesterday. I awoke at 4:30 am to the sound of howling wind and my stress level pegged just knowing the very restricted maneuvering area I'd be negotiating at 9:00. Besides the wind, there are very strong, bizarre currents here so it is a double whammy. As it turned, out the line handlers at the boatyard are beyond compare and the crew on "Faith" were perfect so I got her into the tiny (my view) space between the lift and the catamaran tied up on the dock like I was using a shoehorn and looking like a pro to boot! As an added bonus, the line handlers turned her around so that when she went back into the water I could just drive straight out and not have to try to back up and turn around. Wonderful!
As she was lifted out of the water we got our first look at the junk growing on the bottom and it was certainly impressive. Since we have the bottom cleaned about every 2 months (divers are very reasonable here) it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been, but still it was quite apparent that we were supporting an entire ecosystem!
While the young man at the boatyard fired up the pressure washer to begin the job of cleaning the bottom, Cecil, Kevin (his apprentice) and I climbed the ladder to the cockpit to start tearing the inside apart and going through everything. And I mean everything! It was reminiscent of Alison's 9-hour survey before I purchased "Faith". Yikes! I was pretty nervous to begin with but I kept hearing "excellent, excellent, beautiful..." and answered a million questions and was finally able to relax. Then, when Kevin was inspecting every screw and cotter pin in the steering system there came a "Cecil, can you come and take a look at this?". Uh-oh! I began to sweat and thought, "Now what? Is it something awful? Are we going to have to leave her on the hard? Oh no. Oh no. The world is coming to an end." Well...maybe that is a bit more melodramatic that it was but still there was an element in that as I asked Kevin what he was seeing. It seems there is a pin that goes through a shiv on each side of the steering quadrant and the cable that turns the boat goes through those. Both pins had lost the their cotter pins and were in the process of falling out! Needless to say, this would NOT have been fun to discover in big seas! That was the only issue that was found and Chris already has it fixed and it is better than new. As an added bonus, the steering feels much better now - not nearly as "loose".
While the three of us were inside the boat, the guy from the boatyard was busy pressure washing and scraping barnacles and gungy stuff off the bottom. Chris was checking the prop, shaft, stern tube and all that stuff as well as putting new zincs on. This environment eats zincs like crazy and for the 2nd time the collar zinc on the prop shaft was totally gone (we replaced it in December). We anchor out much of the time and when in marinas throw a sacrificial zinc over the side but still the high salinity and warm water really makes critters and plants grow on the bottom and zincs shrink.
Finally, after 2-1/2 hours, the survey was completed, the bottom was cleaned and it was time to dunk "Faith" and "Elvis" back into the water. From the boatyard we made the short trip to our waiting slip at Marina de La Paz and, after a picture perfect landing, we WALKED up to The Dock for lunch and some cold Pacifico before Hank had to leave for the airport. A successful day with a perfect ending.
Next stop...the Sea of Cortez!!

La Paz (24˚ 09.65' N, 110˚ 19.33' W)

La Paz. I hear tell that Cruisers get here and don't leave again but we are just picking up guests and provisions so we can start cruising the islands. We are in the "virtual" marina, which is actually nothing more than a large anchorage where for $6/day (US) you can use the dinghy dock and showers. It is windy and rolly and there are very large currents that flow in different directions so you must allow extra "swing" room and the boats in the anchorage are said to do the "La Paz Waltz" as they move around on their anchors.
Chris and I made the crossing from Mazatlan without Patty and, other than longer than usual watches, it wasn't bad at all. It took 2 days to cover the (approx) 200 miles and just as we were getting close to Ceralvo Island the engine started acting weird. It was slowing down, down, down. Since we were going to have to negotiate a reef to the north of the island as well as the San Lorenzo channel and very long, narrow entrance channel into La Paz, we decided to divert south to Bahia de Los Muertos (Bay of the Dead). I was very glad we did. Muertos is a beautiful bay and we ended up staying for 2 days. The beautiful turquoise water is so clear we could see the white, white sand beneath us. On the south end of the beach are about a half dozen large, fancy homes and the north end has one restaurant (the Giggling Marlin). With only 4 or 5 other boats in the anchorage and none of the loud music and night life so many places have it truly was Paradise! The engine problem was an easy fix. Turned out both fuel filters needed changing and once Chris did that the engine was back to its purring self and we were on our way to La Paz again. In the meantime, Chris & I got to spend some quality time alone together in a beautiful place.