"Carnaval" time

Our friend Terry flew home yesterday. We hope he enjoyed his stay...playing pool, sailboat racing, teaching Jordan backgammon strategies, attending Carnaval.

Carnaval runs from February 11th to 16th in La Paz. It sets up all along the Malecon (the strolling walkway along the waterfront) with an explosion of colours, crowds of people, booming noise from music bands, and rides that are exciting and probably dangerous. They display signs stating Atento Aviso, meaning Observe Warnings!

We were tempted into trying out one ride called Turbo Force, a 40+ metre high ride that spins fast with 2 riders in a seat at the top and 2 riders in a seat at the bottom of the frame, round and round, frontwards and backwards, till your heart is pounding in your head. Very nerve wracking!

You sit in this spinning seat pictured at the top here...and the long arm rotates the seat from the top to the bottom...around and around, faster and faster.

Turbo Force

There was also a mini ferris wheel and a mini bucking bronco for children that were fun to watch. Today, the last day of Carnaval, we watched the parade atop a concrete pillar where we had a great view.

Masked man

Check out our Photo Gallery under Baja Mexico for more photos and all the colours.

Race days

On Saturday the 13th, Jordan and I, with our visiting friend Terry, participated in our first ever fun-not-too-serious sailboat race, the 1st Annual Carnaval Perico Marinero Regatta. We figured when we entered the race that we didn't have much chance of winning and just signed up with the other 14 sailboats for the fun and social aspects of the race. We also thought it would be a good opportunity to finally try out our drifter/spinnaker (a light-weight sail used in light winds) that we had never flown before.

Originally, the plan was to race from La Paz to Calita Partida, and then race back to La Paz the next day. But the winds were so slack that all but 2 boats had to finally turn on their motors to arrive at Calita Partida before dark.

But the next-day return race to La Paz was much more exciting. Everyone lined up at 10:00 and started the race, except for us. Jordan was still attaching ropes to our beautiful drifter/spinnaker and Terry was diving down to try and remove tangled fishing line from around our prop shaft. So we did not start the race until 10:30, a half hour later than everyone else.

Right off the start line, our new big colourful, billowy spinnaker filled from the wind behind and gradually we realized we were starting to catch up to everyone and the race was on for us!

Sea Turtle flying her spinnaker (courtesy of SV Yellow Star)

We went from sailing at 7+ knots to almost standing still, depending on where and how the wind was blowing on our chosen path of direction. Then the last quarter of the race, once again, the wind really piped up. We passed several boats, and as we rounded the buoys entering the harbour, it was a neck-to-neck race with 2 other sailboats. But in the last half mile, we nosed past them to the finish line!

Approaching the finish line (courtesy of BajaInsider)

In the Spinnaker Class, our time was 6 hours 20 minutes, and Keetya's was 6 hours 23 minutes. But due to handicaps, we came in 2nd, officially 1 minute behind Keetya, the winning boat. Too bad we hadn't started on time! Congratulations to Keetya! It was a very exciting finish where I was able to be at the helm as 1st Mate, Jordan was a super Captain with his instructions, and Terry was a great crew member. Terry, new to sailing and used to fast cars and motorcycles, stated:

I never knew that racing at such slow speeds could be so much fun!

Company from Victoria

Terry, Jordan, and Judy at dock of La Paz Marina

We had company arrive on Tuesday the 9th - our good friend Terry from Victoria - so on Wednesday we took him sailing out to Ballendra (off the coast of the Baja where Jordan and I went previously on January 27th).

The next day we moved anchorage to a nearby bay and went ashore with the large camera. We hiked up to the top of a steep hill, around 200 m, and Jordan decided to take advantage of a great photo opportunity looking down. Oops! I had removed the camera card so I could download the previous photos and forgot to replace the card *#/>*!$<*!

So we then hiked down the other side and continued along a road till we got to a restaurant that Jordan had previously spotted in a dinghy ride along the coast. After lunch, we hiked back up and back down and returned to Sea Turtle, without pictures.

Unfortunately, the winds were blowing uncomfortably and Terry was feeling a bit nauseous so we all decided to head back to La Paz where we wouldn't bounce so much. Time to get Jordan's homemade "flopper stoppers" ready to attach as these have a good behavioural reputation to reduce rolling!

Musical pool

After a great week in the islands, we sailed back to La Paz on Wednesday, February 3rd. The following Saturday, we went to Tequilas with SV Moonraker so Jordan and Jack could shoot some pool on their one pool table. Very cool little bar with the best pizza that we have ever had - anywhere!

During some challenging games against some of the local Mexicans, in comes the Mariachi Band, dressed in white shirts, colourful red scarf ties, and dark black bolero jackets and pants decorated with lots of shiny silver buckles and fasteners. Very hot! They would play their music all around the pool table so the pool players would have to jostle for position, with Jordan having a horn blasted in his ear!

The band that played when the Mariachi group wasn't playing (2 guitar players/singers accompanying canned music - which doesn't sound like it would be very good) was quite exceptional. We plan on coming back another evening to hear them perform again, and yes, play more pool too.

Los Islotes seals

After a quiet evening at beautiful Ensenada Grande, we pulled anchor to swim with the seals at nearby Los Islotes which is about 800 m (0.5 mile) off the tip of Partida Island of Mexico.

Sunning seals

Jordan anchored to a mooring ball when we arrived at Los Islotes, and as the rain came down, we got in the water with the seals. They played tug-a-war with us with a dangling cord attached to our dinghy and also a cord attached to our inflatable ball. Such a thrilling experience it was to swim with these playful creatures and to snorkel and take in the hundreds of colourful fish below! We've never seen fish in such abundance during other snorkeling occasions, none of which the seals seemed interested in...

what fish?

It started to rain harder and the water was a bit chilly so we cut our adventure short. (We could only take photos of the seals with a towel protecting the camera from the rain so didn't get very good shots.)

We then anchored in a cove just below the white cross (N24°33.469' W110°23.834') which was beside our previous night's anchorage. The wind changed from north to a westerly that blew straight into the bay giving us a bouncy night.

Today from our boat we saw schools of fish too numerous to mention, a ray, a sea turtle, a dolphin, 2 different pods of whales - some breaching spectacularly, swam with seals nose-to-nose. And explored a blooming meadow with beautiful butterflies, ancient midden, and an old well in a gorge spotted with barrel cactus and many other desert flora.

Bright orange and yellow colours

Fish derby & Ensenada Grande

Yesterday at El Cardonel (Mexico), the fishing was great. Jordan caught a total of 5 Sierras and Jack of SV Moonraker caught 3. So Jordan decided to initiate a fishing tournament for today with an entry fee of 2 beers per person.

The day before when Jordan was having problems with his reel, Ian of SV Salish Sea gave Jordan an old weathered Peetz reel on the remnant stock of a broken fishing rod. Jordan was able to get his own reel working again so he embossed the old Peetz with 1st Prize Biggest Fish, El Cardonel, Feb 1st 2010, 1st Annual as the trophy for the event.

Cool prize

They all started from Sea Turtle at 09:30 as I sounded the horn and off went the gaggle of dinghies...

It turned out to be not the best day for fishing. Claes (SV White Shell II) got "Biggest Fish" with his Bonito, Ian got "1st Fish Caught", and Aquaman (James of SV Pyxis) got "Most Fish" (he was diving and spear fishing and caught 2 groupers.

Everyone returned back to our boat for awards and refreshments 2 hours later. Most of the winning beer was drank before the guys and gals returned to their boats. Lots of fun by all.

Boats that participated: China Girl, Dark Star, Endurance, Keetya, Moonraker, Nautilus, Pyxis, Salish Sea, White Shell, and Sea Turtle.

Jordan and I pulled anchor at 16:00 to head north to a rocky cove which was only 25 minutes away (N24°33.814' W110°24.192') where we met up with Moonraker and Nautilus. We had a very easy dinghy landing on the deserted sandy beach, Ensenada Grande, voted the most beautiful beach in Mexico by The Travel Magazine.

Bay of Ensenada Grande

We later explored in our dinghy the many spectacular rock formations and towering cliffs punctuated with caverns, caves, and ledges...

Check out our Photo Gallery for more photos.

Ensenada El Cardonel

We left Puerto Ballendra at 13:00 for a 3.5 hour voyage to Ensenada El Cardonel (N24°32.907' W110°23.289') with Jordan trolling a line off the back of Sea Turtle. As SV Moonraker was kidding Jordan about not bothering to fish again (on the VHF radio), he landed a Sierra Mackerel as we were entering the bay!

Two other Canadian sailboats joined the group of us, 1 being Rob and Kim of SV Keetya from Victoria BC, and throughout the evening several other boats also appeared.

El Cardonel is a bay that cuts deep into the island of Partida. When we landed our dinghies "on the beach", we had to hand-pull them in a very long distance as the water was so very shallow. Then everyone walked across the island to view where it drops off to a steep rocky cliff.

Cliffs of El Cardonel

Later, we watched all the puffer fish swimming around our boat and all the rays jumping in the cove.

Puerto Ballendra

Yesterday after our cheaper-than-home dental appointments, we left busy La Paz and headed north up the beautiful Sea of Cortez so we could start seeing some of the many islands. But our first anchorage at 18:00 was still on the Baja California Peninsula at Puerto Ballendra (N24°19.064' W110°20.11') where we met up with friends on 3 other cruising sailboats.

Approaching Puerto Ballendra

Today Jordan jumped in the dinghy to try fishing (with no luck) but he had 3 whales come within 4.5 m (15 feet) of the dinghy once he turned off the outboard. He said that as awesome as it was, it was also a bit nerve-wracking due to their huge mass! Sounds pretty dangerous to me.

Next, we all moved our boats to another nearby bay (N24°19.619' W110°20.004') where we had a potluck dinner with a mesmerizing bonfire beneath an almost full moon.

Bonding

Today at Club Cruceros (La Paz Mexico) coffee-time, I met a woman who lived in my hometown of Drumheller Alberta, which was quite a surprise, not too many cruisers from Drumheller! Her husband worked at the Q-91 radio station of Drumheller for awhile.

Jordan joined the jam session players last Wednesday evening with his fiddle/violin - a first for him. We all think he did a great job, and when we're not off sailing the islands, he may play again on another Wednesday.

Jordan playing

One day, 6 women sailors got together for female bonding and went off to do some shopping and had a delicious chatty lunch at La Bohemme where everything on the menu was scrumptious. Meanwhile, the hubbies did some "weenie welding" (male bonding). That's a new term I've never heard of before now! I think boat work was accomplished but also a lot of beer drinking. All round, a great day for everyone.

Waltzes of different types

This morning we experienced the La Paz Waltz, a "boat dance" well known to sailors who anchor in the bay here. Sitting in our cockpit, we watched as the strong tide flow and heavy opposing winds moved the anchored boats in circles as they came close to one another, and then, if they were lucky (or anchored far enough apart) moved away, as they appeared to be "waltzing" to and fro.

At first, we seemed to be away from the tide flow so were not affected very much, but then it changed and caught us, dancing us too close to 2 other boats. Needless to say, we weighed anchor and moved to a safer spot. It's very difficult to judge where to anchor when there is a current with an opposing wind as each boat moves in every which way, and not all in the same direction as usual when anchoring in other bays.

Today we realized how lucky we are. I prepared a special dinner for us and then as the CD spun I Can't Stop Loving You Jordan played along on his violin for me. After our meal, this time we danced, treasuring each moment we have as we sipped our margaritas. Here's to you, Tony, my friend.

La Paz

We had a good overnight voyage up from Muertos without fighting too much headwind and made much better time than we were expecting, arriving in La Paz (N24°09.386' W110°19.597') around 08:30 on Monday the 11th. We checked into Marina de La Paz, a very nice place with showers, cafe, book exchange, DVD rental, recycling, and Club Cruceros where cruisers can meet each morning for free coffee and socializing. And Imelda shows up here each morning to sell her delicious homemade tamales and other Mexican treats of which we have partaken.

There are 3 main nets: VHF 16 for Marina de La Paz; VHF 21 for news; and VHF 22 for weather, swapping goods, introduction of new cruisers joining the net, etc. Most amenities such as marine stores, plumbing or electrical needs, canvas places, dental, major supermarket, etc. are within walking distance or a short cab ride away. And a couple of blocks away is the Malecon - a walkway along the waterfront where several sculptures are displayed. This photo was taken in the evening:

Sculpture of mermaid and dolphin along the Malecon

Across the street from Marina de La Paz is a small cafe/bar that has a 'jam' session that we attended with great talent that was a joy to listen to.

We have decided to stay in La Paz for at least a couple of weeks to get several things done that we had originally planned to go to Mazatlan to get done there. Here everything is available, and between chores, we can cruise around to visit nearby islands. So we will skip Mazatlan. We want to get some dinghy chaps made to protect our dinghy from the ravages of the hot sun so it will last longer, get some stainless steel work done, and lots of dental work, etc.

We will be leaving the dock tomorrow morning to anchor out, with talk of perhaps heading to an island on the weekend with 2 or 3 other cruising boats. There we will go fishing (so far we have been able to keep our fridge stocked) and join up for a social evening. Yeah, I know, cruising life is pretty tough...will keep you posted when able.

Life of leisure

It's been a great stay here in the well protected Cove of Muertos (Mexico). We met up with several boaters, most of whom were from Canada! And we finally got a chance to do a lot of updates to our blog with Internet access at the friendly restaurant. I have also been adding a couple of pictures that Carol & Kelly of SV Intrepid have shared with us since our camera went swimming, such as the following:

Colourful flowers at the restaurant on the beach

We have been testing out a lot of ceviche lately and really loving it. So simple...soak lightly cooked fish (or shrimp) in lime juice for a couple of hours (some people say that you don't need to cook the fish - just soak it in lime juice - but we feel more comfortable cooking it first), chop up and then add chopped tomatoes, white onion, red onion, cilantro, more lime juice if needed, and a bit of clamato juice and salt. Scoop up with tortilla chips or salted crackers - so delicious! 

We heard about a hotel down the beach so we decided to take a walk and check it out. Wow! Absolutely fabulous place that used to be a private home which is now used as a hotel. The owner still spends time there when he is not in San Diego. It has several majestically tiled infinity pools, 18-hole golf course, tennis court, spas, numerous water activities, white sand beaches, and it even has a desalination plant.

The restaurant has an antique model train set-up that spans the entire upper area. Unfortunately, the train operator was away so we were not able to witness it in operation but we did go upstairs to check it all out. Great place to spend some holiday time if you want to get away from it all.

Check out their website at www.gransueno.com to see this luxurious place just down the road from where we have Sea Turtle anchored. Maybe you'll feel the need to visit here (Gran Sueno means Big Dream).

Time to move on...pulled anchor at 20:30 to head for La Paz. There hasn't been many places with grocery stores since San Diego so we definitely need to reprovision, plus do laundry and wash all the salt off Sea Turtle once again.

Muertos Cove

We haven't been doing too much at Los Frailes (Mexico) in the last couple of days but I did manage to finish sewing the new compass cover. And yesterday while Jordan was trolling in the bay, he saw 2 whales passing with 1 repeatedly breaching and flapping its large fin on the water. He called me on the VHF so I too was able to see them.

We walked a long distance to grab a bite to eat and enjoy a cold beer, but when we arrived, the restaurant/bar was cerrado (closed). We later found out that Dave of SV Mista Breeze did the same thing!

Winds finally calmed down and predictions sounded good so at 00:15 we pulled anchor. Seas were a bit choppy but much better than the first time we tried to leave here. We had wind on the nose for a bit, but again, not as strong as the first time we left Frailes to head north up the Sea of Cortez.

After motor-sailing all evening and morning, we pulled into Ensenada de los Muertos (N23°59.366' W109°49.693') at 13:00 and found a beautiful open-air restaurant/bar (meaning no doors or windows but covered by a thatched roof) right on the beach with friendly English-speaking staff.

Beach restaurant (once again, courtesy of SV Intrepid)

Too bad it's so difficult to reach the shore from a dinghy. There are 2 sets of extremely haphazard stone steps to shore that are tied by rope to the floating minimalistic dinghy wharf. One set of steps is missing most of the sharp jutting stones and the other set is built for giants! The entire area has no lights so you must be sure to bring a flashlight at night.

So windy

We've been spending a lot of time with some fellow cruisers, SV Adios, who have shared a lot of boating tips and great recipes. They also informed us that occasionally at 09:00 a truck shows up with fresh produce to sell, which we all took advantage of.

Cool clouds of Los Frailes (courtesy of SV Intrepid)

The guys have been snorkelling (still too cold for me) and fishing and Jordan lucked out with first a small Sierra Mackerel and then another huge one that Adios cooked up for everyone to feast on on New Year's Eve. This is a very delicious tasting fish.

We decided to hand over our Little Pea Green Book. We chose the close-knit family on Adios as hosts to continue this Great Big Adventure. What is the Pea Green Book? To discover the adventures of Pea Green, see below:

Click here www.peagreenbook.blogspot.com or the blog link on the right side of this page entitled "the Little Pea Green Book". (Note that the link on right will also display snippets of new entries so you will know when that blog has been updated without having to open it to see if there is anything new.)

It has been very windy everyday here, making for wet dinghy rides and feeling boat bound, but it finally eased up today. So we decided to pull anchor from Los Frailes (Mexico) at 23:10, but after a couple of hours, heavy headwinds and seas turned us back as we were only making a couple of knots per hour.

Los Frailes

06:00 - After a rough voyage from Cabo San Lucas, we pulled into Bahia Frailes (pronounced FRY layz) (N23°22.781' W109°25.395') as we watched a multitude of bat rays somersaulting out of the water for several minutes. The Mexican bay was full of them! We later went ashore and Jordan snorkelled as I basked in the sun rays. There is not much here. A few fishing huts along the beach but they appeared to be deserted, a few RVers, and a couple of hotels further down the road.

A few days later, fishermen appeared on the scene and moved back into their huts. Some even had their made-up beds outside where they would sleep under the stars each night. Kind of romantic!

Moon over Sea Turtle in Los Frailes

(The latest photos on our little camera are gone as the camera was dropped in the water. Oops - no photos for awhile unless we pack the larger, heavier, and more expensive camera around with us. New purchase added to the list!)

Satiated and submerged

Cabo San Lucas of Mexico is a very busy place and has been a very rolly anchorage for us. The bay is full of sight-seeing boats, cruise ships, water taxis, and the never-ending jet skis. The shore is lined with hotels as far as you can see.

Very busy bay

We decided to treat ourselves to a glorious dinner called Surf 'n Turf at La Galeria. This treat consisted of plátanos (cooked banana) with almonds, crispy veggies, blackened Mahi Mahi, large coconut shrimp, large mango shrimp (substituted to replace steak), lobster tail, and salad, with 2 free margaritas. All devoured outside along the water's edge where we enjoyed 'people watching'.

Heading back to Sea Turtle in our dinghy, a young on-shore fisherman's line got tangled up in our outboard motor, but after Jordan dismantled part of the prop, he was able to remove what seemed like miles of line. Unfortunately, he dropped a ring of keys that included a padlock key still inserted in the padlock into about 6 metres of water. And of course they all sank because of the weight of the padlock even though they were attached to a floating key ring. Good thing we have spares on board!

All in all, a fabulous day!

It rained all day on Monday which was welcomed as it washed all the salt off the boat. So Jordan rewired the wind generator (no, not the windvane) directly to the batteries. Hopefully, the generator will spin more efficiently and produce more energy.

Topped up the diesel tanks today and decided to check out with the Puerto Capitan as the anchorage is so very rolly and uncomfortable here. It cost the exorbitant amount of $5 for 2 days of anchorage. LOL. Pretty good for such a touristy town.

We left at 17:00 and pounded into the wind for the first time ever (motored directly against the wind). Felt like riding a bucking bronco! Eased up a bit around 20:30.

Cabo San Lucas

Have you ever wondered what it's like to look around and see no land? And how that would feel? It's quite an eerie feeling but I find it also exhilarating! Especially the sound, or should I say the lack of sound - no traffic, no sirens, no voices - just the gentle sound of ocean waves lapping against the boat. It's so peaceful and so beautiful.

Once again, we saw dolphins, spinner dolphins, we think. Something we never get tired of seeing.

We've been trying out some delicious Mexican products from the market - not sure if Chayote is a fruit or veggie - but it is sure good raw. Peeled then sliced very thin and dribbled with freshly squeezed lime juice is our favourite.

We arrived at Cabo San Lucas (N22°53.356' W109°53.919') at 11:30 after sailing past the famous arch. The arch is being touched up with cement as it's starting to deteriorate...

Relaxing day with friends

We went for a relaxing stroll on the beach of Bahia Santa Maria (Mexico) with no one in sight and walked to the sand dunes. And those footprints in the photo all belong to us!

Judy atop sand dune looking out towards Sea Turtle

Another sailboat, SV Adios, pulled into the bay - a family we had met in San Diego. We invited them and their 2 young teenagers to join us for a BBQ fish dinner, and after an enjoyable meal and visit, we pulled anchor at 22:00 to head for Cabo San Lucas which is at the bottom of the Baja Peninsula (about 1,160 km SE of San Diego).

We began by motoring so we could turn on the watermaker as our water tanks were getting a little low.

Bahia Santa Maria

Winds picked up pretty good yesterday on our voyage from Turtle Bay (Mexico) so we sailed. Jordan threw out a line and caught a beautiful Dorado (Mahi Mahi) fish. He's doing pretty good at supplying delicious food for our dinners!

Good for several meals

Shortly afterwards at 11:00, we pulled into Bahia Santa Maria (N24°46.855' W112°15.175') and set anchor. We had the bay all to ourselves. There are only a couple of fishing huts at this tiny village. Later in the day, we explored the long sandy beach which is known as Sand Dollar Beach - there were large sand dollars scattered everywhere! We of course collected a few.

Sand Dollar Beach

Total calm

We left Turtle Bay (Mexico) at 11:00 with very little wind - with sails up, we could only reach a speed of 3 knots. We call it snail sailing! Once again, we had the sailor´s delight of a visit by a school of dolphins playing in our bow. Soon afterwards, we decided to motor-sail.

By evening, the seas were unusually glassy calm. No swells, no waves. Are we lost? Are we motoring on a lake? I never imagined an ocean could be this calm.

Barely a ripple...

Warmest evening ever - first time that I did not need a jacket during my night watch. When doing a check during my watch, I saw that the boat waves were producing a phosphorescent effect and shooting drops of water out that, when landing, looked like stars in the water, or a mini fireworks effect, as all the droplets landed. And the phosphorescence from the churning prop of the boat was trailing about 12 metres. I had to wake up Jordan so he could share these amazing sights with me.