Domingo Point

We haven't turned on the watermaker since pickling it when we left to crew to the South Pacific last April. So this morning Jordan turned it on only to discover several leaking hoses and clamp fittings after sitting unused in the heat for so long. He remedied the problem and we're back to making our own water now.

He then dove to scrape barnacles off the prop and grounding plate so we would have a little more speed moving through the water, and then at 13:30, we motored from Caleta Santispac (Mexico) for 2 hours in light NW winds to Domingo Point (N26°52.069' W111°50.807') to stage a departure for an all-day trip tomorrow to San Juanico. (Domingo Point is at the tip of the beautiful Bahia Concepción where we did not have enough time to explore more of the many bays.)

We got skunked trying to fish for dinner so we resorted to asking some fishermen in their beach shacks for some pescados (fish). But the only thing they had were some dogtype of pescado - not the best tasting - so we declined.

Fishermen's beach shacks

A first for me

Today we did something that I have never done before in my life. We hitchhiked! Apparently this is something that most of the sailors here do to get to the nearby town of Mulegé. We only had to wait a few minutes when we were picked up by gringo Doug who drove us past his own destination so he could show us the Misión de Santa Rosalia de Mulegé that was completed way back in 1766 and is located by an oasis of beautiful palm trees.

Front view of the Mission of Santa Rosalia de Mulegé

After viewing the Mission, he dropped us off at the entrance to Mulegé and off we went to explore. We heard about a prison here that operated on an honour system (the prison is now a museum). The prisoners were let out during the day to work or spend time with their families but were expected to return back to the prison to spend the night, which they always did - no one ever took off. Amazing.

Former "honour" system prison at top of the hill

When it was time to return back to the boat, rather than pay the high taxi fare, we decided to once again hitchhike. The first mile was in the back of a pickup and the rest of the trip was with a Mexican businessman who gave us a ride all the way back to Santispac.

It was a very different day today and the night was exceptionally dark, no moon was visible. The stars were brilliant, like sparkling diamonds.

Bahia Concepción

Our next destination was Bahia Concepción, the largest sheltered bay (35 km) on the east coast of Baja California. With the wind at our back, this voyage brought to mind a passage I had just read from a book called "A Life on the Edge - Memoirs of Everest and Beyond" by Jim Whittaker which was given to us to read by our friend Stan of SV Impossible:

"...the sails up to harness every bit of energy the wind offers, you ghost along, surrounded by quiet, the ocean whispering along the waterline. In such conditions, you imagine yourself a great white bird and the sea a great blue sky."

I am sure many of you are familiar with Jim Whittaker as a mountain climber and the 1st American to climb Mount Everest, but did you also know Jim was a sailor? And that his sailboat Impossible now belongs to Stan in Victoria BC, a member of Bluewater Cruising Association.

After 4 hours, we set anchor at Caleta Santispac in Bahia Coyote (N26°45.817' W111°53.128'), a very pleasant sail that we will remember for a long time...

Punta Chivato

We pulled anchor from Santa Rosalia at 10:00 - southward bound to nearby Punto Chivato which is about 23 nautical miles away. We were running with a moderate wind for 2 to 3 hours which turned into a very brisk wind with seas on the port rear quarter. While paralleling a reef approximately 25 m away, Jordan saw a large shark cruising the edge of the reef. He estimated the length from dorsal fin to tail to be about 3 m.

We rounded Punto Chivato (N27°03.928' W111°57.760') and anchored. However, the land is low lying so it didn't provide much dampening of the NW wind but at least there wasn't much room for the seas to build.

Early the next morning, we took the dinghy ashore to scout out all the shells as here is said to be an extraordinary shelling beach. And so it is! Shells cover the beach, layers upon layers of them - was quite a sight to see!

Millions of shells along beach

There was this adorable Border Collie dog that just wanted to play. I am sure he was impatiently saying:

"Come on man, get up, throw the stick again, come on, let's go..."

(if you look closely, the stick is laying beside Jordan and every now and again, the dog would get up and move it a little closer). And yes, Jordan did continue throwing the stick until it was time for us to leave...

Ah, what a beautiful day.

Santa Rosalia

On Friday, we wanted to leave the Guaymas wharf, calibrate the auto pilot, and anchor in front of the wharf for the night before sailing to Santa Rosalia on the Baja side of the Sea of Cortez. But as we headed out to anchor, the tide was unusually low and when we cut our lines loose from the dock, Sea Turtle didn't budge. The boat probably said:

"No, you shouldn't be leaving on a Friday."

(FYI: Superstitions consider it bad luck for sailors to leave the dock on a Friday for a long voyage or a deep sea excursion.)

Then we coaxed her out when the tide gave us a few inches but she wasn't done being stubborn - 90 m off the wharf she sat on a mudbar. Again, we waited for the tide and when we drifted off, we found some depth and anchored for the night.

We used the next day for sea trials to set up and get familiar with the new auto pilot. But it wasn't going well all day (bleeding the hydraulic lines at sea, adjusting the instruments, etc.) and by mid afternoon without having sufficient progress on dialling it in, we decided to head back to Guaymas harbour before dark. However on the way in, tinkering with the auto pilot controls, Jordan seemed to get it working. So we turned around and headed out to sea around 17:30 for an 85 nautical mile overnight crossing.

The wind was just off our nose and after motoring a short time in light winds, Jordan decided to put the mainsail up to help. At that point, the wind was starting to get a little brisk so he put a double reef in the main which turned out to be a good move as the winds got pretty strong throughout the night. As we pulled into Santa Rosalia harbour at 09:00, the sea winds were neutralized by the usual morning offshore flow.

Santa Rosalia (N27°20.401' W112°15.925') is yet another cute little town. We stayed Sunday night, the first of two nights, at the Marina Santa Rosalia so the salt could be hosed off the boat decks and sails. This marina is located in a historic wooden building which sells beer and pop from its fridge on the "honour system". If you want one, you take one, and write your name down on the paper. When you check out, you settle up. The staff is very easy-going, friendly, and not worried about the usual rules.

Jordan behind "bars" of Marina Santa Rosalia

During our stay, we wandered the town and went to see what is known as "Eiffel's Church" as it was designed by the same man as the Eiffel Tower in Paris. This church was built of pre-fabricated metal for the 1889 Paris Exposition, complete with stained glass windows too! After being moved to Brussels, it was once again dismantled and then re-assembled in Santa Rosalia in 1895 by its new French owners.

Iglesia Santa Barbara (Eiffel Church)

All major jobs done

We've been busy with a lot of boat jobs. I have the brightwork completed now and it should be good for a few more years again. I know that a lot of people just let the wood fade and go natural grey but we still prefer the honey gold finished appearance of freshly applied Cetol. A bit of work every few years is worth it for us...I think, so far anyways. Jordan finished it off by sikoflexing the brightwork and windows to make them waterproof once again.

Just like new

Jordan has installed and wired up the various components of our new W-H (Wil Hamm) Auto Pilot. This would have been a much easier job if it could have been done when Jordan totally re-wired the entire boat in 2009 as everything would have been accessible.

Contents had to be removed from several galley cupboards, from beneath the stateroom bed, and from beneath and behind the salon settee. And unfortunately panels had to be removed from the salon ceiling as that is where a lot of the wiring is hidden. Tools were spread all over everywhere!

All this so that wires could be run from the salon to the stateroom, galley, engine compartment, and up the binnacle in the cockpit, without being visible. Then of course everything had to be put back in place. With all that now done, Jordan just needs to calibrate the auto pilot.

While the ceiling panels were down, Jordan also bolted the granny bars to the deck. They had previously been only screwed down and were threatening to become loose. Nice, tight, and secure now. He also added a wooden bar to them to hang lines and such from which will be very handy.

Gale force winds have been blowing in the Sea of Cortez so we are waiting for a weather window before heading over to Santa Rosalia on the Baja side. Predictions are looking good for Thursday the 2nd of December, so hopefully we can get away from the docks by then! We've been here almost 2 months now - time sure flies by fast.

Guaymas Singlar Marina

Local area attractions

We visited the Guaymas Pearl Farm (Perlas del Mar de Cortez) which included a fascinating lecture and tour of the farm. Their pearls are NOT processed by bleaching, burning, polishing, or lacquering as is the custom with most cultured pearls. These oysters produce a pearl which is not available anywhere else in the world that glows "red" (light pink to blood red) under a black light, making this a unique feature with this indigenous pearl oyster. www.perlas.com.mx

Different sizes of nets that oysters are placed in during their 4-year growth

On Thursday, I listened to a biologist talking about the diversity of flora, fauna, fish, and sea turtles of Mexican waters in the Sea of Cortez, where even sperm whales have been spotted and photographed. Mexico has 5 of the 7 species of sea turtles. It was quite an absorbing subject. Upwelling (the raising of benthic nutrients to the surface waters) occurs in Mexico where the flow of water brings currents of differing temperatures together, and increases the productivity of the ecosystem. Mexico is very concerned about preserving this productivity. We are looking forward to receiving a link that the biologist will be emailing to us showing their tracking of tagged sea turtles.

Every Wednesday and Sunday there are flea markets held. The Wednesday market is located near downtown Guaymas. On Sunday, it is located in Empalme, a small town about a 20-minute bus ride away. This market is a lot larger than the one held on Wednesdays.

Both markets have everything that you could possibly think of, including produce and meats, and many items are very reasonably priced. A bowling ball was even spotted! We bought several items of clothing, including a new expensive shirt for only 35 pesos. I lucked out finally finding a skirt that I had been looking for, along with 2 pairs of capris and a pair of shorts for 10 pesos each (about $1.00 ea). Ahoy, bargains galore.

Finished Grizzly

Sea Turtle is all painted at last! We put the Grizzly Grip anti-skid on yesterday with their special texturized rollers and a must-have metal paint tray (the paint "accelerator" will melt right through plastic). Can't buy metal trays in Mexico so we just used a metal cake pan! We chose the Almond colour which is an "aliphatic" paint and has a UV protection built right into it. Some of the other colours are "aromatic" and need to have the UV protection added. The aliphatics are made for outdoor use and should not fade or yellow as the aromatics do. (www.grizzlygrip.com)

We couldn't start until 3:00 as you cannot apply in direct sunlight. The 1st coat took 75 minutes and was dry to the touch by 5:00. So then we started the 2nd coat which has to be applied within 1 to 3 hours. This was a little difficult as you cannot walk on the 1st coat, which covers most of the boat deck. This meant standing on the toe rail (yikes!) or stepping over from 1 point to another that was not actual "boat deck" (ie. hatches, etc.)

And to make it more difficult, the blue tape needed to start being removed after about 15 minutes of starting to paint the 2nd coat. So as Jordan was painting, I was gingerly removing the tape without wrecking the paint job or getting paint from the tape onto other areas of the boat, but of course getting lots of paint on my fingers - which does not come off completely. Jordan removed the tape from the stern as that took a lot of athletic monkeying around! We did not finish until 21:00 - good thing we have bright deck lights! We applied the paint fairly quickly but removing the tape was a much slower procedure.

Foredeck with anti-slip Grizzly Grip applied

Close-up of rubberized texture (won't hurt your feet when you walk on it)

During application of the Grizzly Grip, Jordan accidentally stepped onto the wet paint a few times and I stepped into the wet cockpit once. And now that it is all applied, we cannot walk on it for 72 hours until it is fully cured. But at least if we accidentally step onto it, the paint won't be wet and we can just quickly step off it before doing any damage.

Was it worth 3 weeks of prep and athletic paint application? You bet! We think it improves Sea Turtle's appearance 100% and, as yet to be proven by us, it should last for many, many years.

And the paint goes on

We walk to town a lot and have noticed something different in Guaymas (Mexico). At some street corners, the lights for ALL vehicles will turn red while at the same time, the lights for ALL pedestrians will turn to the "walk" signal. This means that pedestrians can walk straight across the street, as normal, or they can walk diagonally from 1 corner to the opposite, as no vehicles are allowed to move! This is pretty cool - I think Victoria BC should give this a try!

We have been going to the marina swimming pool to cool down after working in the hot sun. It probably looks like Jordan is floating on top of water, but he is actually sitting in a couple of inches of water on a "shelf" area right next to the dropoff. So very refreshing, even if the pool is only 3 feet deep!

Jordan sitting next to pool dropoff

Our friends, SV Salish Sea, arrived on October 29th with our 4 new batteries! Jordan spent the day removing the old batteries, installing the new ones, and making new hold-downs for them as they are a different size than the old ones. These are 200+ amp hour 6V golf cart batteries rather than 12V. A much better storage of power.

We organized a potluck and had a great turnout with 35 people. We met 3 different couples who are serious circumnavigators. The Marina is starting to get a lot busier as more and more boaters are arriving to get their boats back into the water. We were almost the only ones around back at the beginning of October when it was excessively hot and humid!

After all the prepping, the 1st coat of Interlux Hatteras Off-White polyurethane paint finally went on the aft deck November 2nd. Followed by painting the 1st coat of the fore deck, sanding of 1st coat on fore and aft decks, and then applying all of the 2nd coat. Here is the finished product before applying special paint to the anti-skid areas.

So shiny!

Before applying the anti-skid, the decks had to be masked off with tape - check out those perfectly rounded corners!

Perfectly rounded corners and circles taped off, ready for anti-skid paint

Tomorrow will be the application of the anti-skid paint which is a marine "truck bed-liner" paint called Grizzly Grip.

The temperature has definitely cooled down here lately. Instead of in the 30's, it's now in the 20's and cool in the evenings. I think it's time to head south where it's warmer...

Update

On October 13th, Sea Turtle was finally put back into the water where she belongs, and of course, water came into the bilge (maybe we should have waited until the 14th!) But this is normal after being on the hard for so long, just had to wait a few days till the stuffing box expanded so water wouldn't leak in. Got everything put away and at last she is now back to normal.

When we first got back to Sea Turtle when she was on the hard, Jordan noticed a black widow spider, with a full egg sack, crawling across the hull. He very quickly got rid of it, but I won't say how! Then as we were working on the boat and it was still so very hot out, we left the windows open at night so the boat would cool off a bit as we went back to the motel. But one morning, we discovered a mass of bees that had decided to make the inside of Sea Turtle their new home. Jordan was able to scare them all off, but after that, all windows were closed at night until we moved aboard!

As there was little wind, we motored to Guaymas Singlar Marina from San Carlos on October 17th, a short 3 to 4 hour trip. We were expecting a smooth ride so I did not take any Stugeron to prevent seasickness. So of course, we found ourselves riding large waves, and as I had not been on a boat for several months, I started to feel nauseous. Wouldn't you know it - after sailing all the way from Victoria to San Carlos over the last year and never actually being sick - NOW it happens! Guess I'd better take my Stugeron from now on till I'm used to being on the water again.

Jordan has been working his butt off getting the decks all ready to paint. He wants no help (including mine!) even though it's a much bigger job than expected, but he wants to make sure it's done right so it lasts for years to come.

The job consists of scraping off all the non-skid, sanding and grinding, filling all the cracks with epoxy or putty, sanding again, applying primer, sanding again, and then finally painting. Expect to be ready to start painting in about 10 days, which I can help with. In the meantime, I've been sanding and prepping all the "brightwork" - getting the teak ready for a few coats of Cetol.

Areas filled with putty and then sanded

Areas painted with gray coloured primer

We had some company from Canada, our buds Bruce and Jeannie and their daughter Natalie. They are in San Carlos for about 3 weeks as their boat, SV Jabula, is on the hard there. Went for a delicious bite and ice cold drink at Pancho Villas, within walking distance of Guaymas Singlar Marina. Very popular place for gringos.

We've used all of the stored water in our tanks and can't make any till we head out to sea again. The marina sent down the guys that sell the 5-gallon jugs so we decided to fill up as it was so cheap - 11 pesos for each 5-gallon jug which is about $1.00 Canadian each! We'll just use the purchased water for drinking and cooking and the local hose water for cleaning, dishes, etc.

While filling, we discovered that Sea Turtle has a larger water capacity than we thought. We were under the impression that she holds 100 gallons but we ended up purchasing a total of 29 jugs = 145 gallons! We have enough water now until we head out to sea where we can start making our own with our watermaker.

Bad news, and good

Our motorcycle trip to visit Copper Canyon was over and we arrived at San Carlos and Sea Turtle on Sunday, October 3rd - feeling so good to be "home" once again. Aaron and Dee left Monday to go back to work - I know, someone has to do it! It's very very hot and very very humid here. Now we know why Mexicans take a siesta. After about a week, the heat and humidity lifted making it much more bearable.

We finally got the opportunity to do an inside thorough check on Sea Turtle. Bad news. And good news. When we climbed up the ladder, we noticed that the door hatch was open about 4 inches. How could that be?? We would have never left her open! But when we entered, everything seemed okay. Nothing was missing (security is super at Marina Seca San Carlos) and nothing was damaged or wet, etc. from weather. After a few hours of work, Jordan decided to check out the bilge and discovered a few inches of water. But from where? And why don't we have any battery power and the solar boost is not working?

After much contemplation and checking out everything, we decided that somehow the latch must not have caught on the hatch door when we left Sea Turtle in such a hurry several months ago. Over time, the tarp wore through and rain must have leaked into the bilge (fortunately, no water damage was done to any surface areas). As the bilge was filling with rainwater, the bilge pump came on (the thru hull for such was shut) and ran continuously, draining the batteries. Once the drained batteries were re-charged, the solar boost came on. Yeah! Jordan has ordered new batteries as the old batteries cannot hold a charge anymore.

As Jordan was pumping out the bilge, he discovered that the water was soapy. Now what? Apparently, the excessive summer heat had caused a liquid Tide container to burst a hole and drain into the bilge along with the rainwater.

Bilge with soapy rainwater

So - no bugs, no cockroaches, no rats, no mice, no hurricanes, no major problems. All in all, Sea Turtle fared pretty well during the sweltering summer.

I think Sea Turtle needs a facelift!

Quick summary of some of the jobs completed so far:  soapy water pumped out of the bilge, batteries recharged, diesel leak fixed, stuck fishing line removed from prop shaft, dodger re-attached, things put back into their respective places, grocery inventory completed for re-provisioning, lower hull scraped and sanded, upper hull polished, toe rail scraped - getting ready for Cetol (a type of "varnish")...

We ordered our usual burgundy red bottom paint. When Jordan went to pick it up, he was told that our colour was not available and black paint would be in the next day. When Jordan went to pick it up, the burgundy red had arrived instead!! So today, we applied 2 coats of bottom paint and tomorrow morning at 09:00, Sea Turtle returns to the water!

Looking much better!

Basaseachi

It was time to head back up the Copper Canyon towards Creel once again, where we had read about Cascada Cusarare - a waterfall that we wanted to see. The trip heading up from Batopilas seemed easier than heading down to the town. The 30 m waterfall (N27°37.18' W107°34.26') was very close to Creel and was quite spectacular after a short hike in. It seemed to have an always-present rainbow in front of it...

30 m Cascada Cusarare

Next, onto Basaseachi Chihuahua (N27°01.329' W107°44.230') where the highest full-time waterfall in Mexico is located. The locals describe Basaseachi as a "work town". In our opinion, this town is definitely not a tourist destination and you don't want to stay overnight here as the hotels leave a lot to be desire. But the next morning, we checked out our reason for coming here - the extraordinary waterfall which seemed to make it all worthwhile...

246 m Cascada de Basaseachi

As we left the high plateaus, we had a fun, winding, descending paved road pretty much all the way back to Obregón where a nice hotel and refreshing swimming pool was awaiting us once again to briefly escape from the sweltering heat and humidity.

We experienced extreme differences in altitudes on this trip with Creel at 2,338 m and Batopilas at only 495 m, and where temperatures would range from over 35°C to a mild 15°C. And as mentioned previously, extreme differences in road surfaces were travelled ranging from dreadfully poor to excellent. Definitely 1 of our top 10 trips!

To the bottom of Copper Canyon

Jordan and I and his son Aaron and gal Dee left Creel on a paved road, which unfortunately soon ended, heading for Batopilas (140 km south of Creel) at the bottom of the immense Copper Canyon (Mexico). This historic hidden town was once the site of the world's richest silver mine.

Just outside of Creel on our motorcycles, we went looking for caves that we had been told about. When we arrived in the area, the locals pointed so we headed in that direction. We were on terrible, very narrow roads and at one point had to ride down the middle of a river as the path/road was too narrow to ride on. Aaron and Dee eventually crossed over the river but couldn't make it up the other side and ended up wet and muddy! At this point, we gave up looking for the caves and continued on to Batopilas.

The route was rugged with switchback roads through a maze of pine-clad mountains. We experienced a wide variety of road types and passed the occasional construction crew with 12-year old boys working! Heading downhill made it difficult to control steering on such poor roads, much of the time travelling along sheer cliffs.

Switchback road to Batopilas

Check out on Google Earth the most severe switchback road that we ever travelled on at N27°07.507' W107°34.064'!

We dumped our motorcycle in the ditch and then the bike fell over again with the handlebars pointing down into the ditch. Real hard to get back up by ourselves as Aaron and Dee were riding a bit ahead of us, but I am sure my huge muscles must have been a big help to Jordan!

After a 4-hour trip, we finally arrived at Batopilas (N27°01.329' W107°44.230') and talked to another motorcyclist - the first we had seen on our trip! He was from Ireland and on a 17-month journey travelling all of North and South America. He said that when it comes to "gnarly" roads, he's been on many, even the Road of Death in Bolivia, but none of them compared to this last stretch.

We stayed 2 nights at Juanita's Hotel for an extra day of rest from riding. The heat during the day was unbearable and almost all shops were closed till around 17:00. A small breeze started to blow then, making it a bit more comfortable.

Batopilas, the town that time forgot, was connected to the rest of the world by road only 10 years ago. Prior to this, the town and mine was accessed and supplied on the backs of donkeys and mules. We really enjoyed the locals here and this unusual town. Add it to your list of places to see...if you dare!

Colourful buildings in town square

More photos of Batopilas in Photo Gallery (click on Copper Canyon Trip in the Photo Gallery).

Train to Creel?

Getting closer to our destination of Copper Canyon Mexico...we made small repairs to the bikes in the morning and left Chinipas around 10:30 to head for Temoris (N27°16.284' W108°16.329'). When we arrived, we watched the on-going rodeo as we ate lunch. We had been told that we could catch the train to Creel from here; we were all feeling the need for a break.

But of course upon arriving in Temoris, we were then told that we could travel as passengers on one train but the motorcycles would have to travel as freight on another train. As we were not willing to send the bikes without supervision, apprehensively we decided to continue by bike to Creel. Well the roads started to improve and part way there, we finally came upon a PAVED road!!! Who would have ever thought that we would be this happy to finally see a paved road...

A big kiss for smooth pavement!

Soon we came to Divisadero in Chihuahua (N27°32.042' W107°49.223'), a train stop on the rim of Copper Canyon and a short distance from Creel. Here, the indigenous Raramuri dress in brightly coloured apparel selling their exquisite hand-woven baskets set up around the area. Divisadero has one of the best panoramic views of the Canyon at an elevation of 2,230 m above sea level with a view of over 100 miles.

Copper Canyon is composed of 20 canyons that in total are 4 times larger than the Grand Canyon, and in some areas, deeper. We found out later that within a week a new tram is to open that takes visitors to the bottom of Copper Canyon.

We continued on to Creel (N27°45.037' W107°38.034') where we were encouraged by different hotel owners to stay at each of their hotels - the town seemed to be presently hurting for business. There was an English speaking tour guide in town who provided us with a lot of info. After good food and a restful sleep, we left with clean laundry and smiling faces.

Indigenous Raramuri in Creel

Where is Chinipas?

I digress. When planning the Copper Canyon motorcycle trip, Jordan would go on Google Earth and get excited about the serpentine roads he saw indicating adventurous mountainous travel - be careful what you wish for!

From Álamos, we headed back to Los Tanques where we were instructed to go to Milpillas and then to Chinipas. Upon arriving at Milpillas (N27°12.500' W108°36.030'), we were then instructed that we had to return to Los Tanques and go a different direction to Chinicas (not Milpillas) and then to Chinipas.

We came upon a donkey on the side of the road where we had stopped for a brief rest. He seemed to be a bit friendly, not like on our previous motorcycle trip where you could not get close to the donkeys. So being Jordan, he decided to see if he could sit on him, and...

...success, the donkey did not seem to mind at all!

On the way, it started to rain which of course made the roads slippery. We came to another water crossing and had to swerve to avoid a large deep pothole. The bike slipped once again and Jordan's foot went into deep water, soaking it completely.

Jordan wringing out his slopping wet sock

We followed a truck part way but needed a break for snacks as we had not eaten since early morning (carry snacks - restaurants are in short supply!) We seemed to be doing okay but couldn't find Chinipas. We decided to turn around and then found the "sign" - Chinipas was carved into a rock on the side of the road! "Road" is an overstatement. These roads were narrow, axle busting, extremely steep at times, and switchbacked with sheer drop-offs. Hey, but the scenery was starting to get spectacular.

Through the heavy rain and clouds, we spotted Chinipas (N27°23.313' W108°31.599') in the valley far below - but first we had to cross a deep fast-moving river. Where was the bridge? Two young lads were playing in the river and pointed that a bridge was "up and around, just follow the road". Oh no! Each slick muddy road (Aaron and Dee dumped a couple of times!) had numerous turn-offs. After several attempts, Jordan finally found the bridge.

Several boys on a quad led us to a motel just at dusk. We were beat and slopping wet and the bikes caked in mud. After cleaning up and drying off, we hit the restaurant where we were finally able to have a meal instead of just snacks. There had been no restaurants between Álamos and Chinipas along the route that we took.

So far, 5 motorcycle spills for us, 4 for Aaron and Dee - these mountain roads are a real mishmash of surface types.

Adventurous day

Today was a very adventurous day as Jordan and I and his son Aaron and gal Dee continued towards the Copper Canyon in Mexico. We left the bustling metropolis of Obregón Mexico heading inland on a somewhat direct but less travelled route to the Copper Canyon (rural would be an understatement).

That day we hit roads that were hard-packed dirt, sandy, loose gravel, muddy, white-knuckle, and even a section of hand-laid cobblestones which was very beautiful but hard to control motorcycles on. I experienced my first ever spill. We came upon a concrete river crossing (one of many that we would cross) that was overflowing with a few inches of fast-moving river water. As we proceeded across, the slick algae surface caused the bike tires to slip out from under it. Before we knew it, we were sliding through the water.

Getting up after slipping - all wet - but saved the camera!

Very minor spill but we were both wet and Jordan pulled a muscle. A few hours later, Aaron and Dee slipped on a duplicate crossing and were then wet too!

The map indicated we were heading towards Quiriego and San Bernardo, also in Sonora. Needless to say, there was a great shortage of signs and the road was several hours longer than indicated. We appeared to be lost but the guys always figured it out with somewhat different directions from different locals in small villages. When we finally found San Bernardo (N27°24.078' W108°50.441'), we purchased some snacks as we had not come across any restaurants.

Buying gasoline was always difficult to find - once we were simply instructed to go to Rafael's house (no signs of course) where the motorcycles were filled from small plastic jugs along with great conversation. The next time, the gas pump was hidden inside a small white building!

Buying gas at Rafael's house

Throughout the day, we travelled through exceptionally lush green valleys where butterflies were everywhere and several mountain areas were covered with golden flowers.

The heat was stifling so we stopped for a breather in the shade at Tanques La Higuera (Los Tanques) (N27°12.409' W108°53.370') where Aaron discovered that his pelican bag rack (luggage rack) was falling off from all the shaking on rough roads and needed to be re-welded. The shop was closed and we had to roust the owner from his Sunday dinner to get the job done. While the guys were getting the welding done, Dee and I were entertained by the jovial locals who were enjoying a beer where we sat outside by a store.

Kindly man welding Aaron's motorcycle rack at Los Tanques

As it was getting close to sundown, it was suggested that we backtrack 26 km to Alamos (N27°01.397' W108°56.229'), where hotels were available. We didn't cover much distance but we ended up in this town that was not on our route but was a real joy to find. A very quaint, old colonial-type of town with fabulous architecture and a busy town square.

Alamos - a great find

Grand Canyon USA

Continuing our road trip from Victoria BC back to Sea Turtle in Mexico, our next stop was a day at the Grand Canyon (N36°06.523' W113°14.239') in Arizona, a first for me and Dee. We had originally wanted to walk out on the glass floor where you can look down into the Canyon for a great view, but we discovered that the glass floor was at the west end but the south rim has preferred views. Got several great shots and stayed until the sun set. Many more in the Photo Gallery (click on Copper Canyon Trip once in the Gallery). Made it to Prescott Arizona that night.

Jordan and Judy above the Grand Canyon

The multi-layers of the amazing Grand Canyon

Visited with our good friends near Palm Springs California (N33°53.122' W116°55.350') who had been storing our motorcycle for us. After some quick services, we would ride the bike to Sea Turtle with Aaron and Dee following in Aaron's truck. On the way, we drove through some sweltering temperatures. Heat rose to 42°C (108°F). Before crossing into Mexico, we stayed the night at Jordan's sister's vacation cottage in Yuma Arizona (N32°40.088' W114°36.118').

The border crossing was quick where we got a 180-day Visa. No questions asked about supplies, and we were on our way. After about 4 hours of riding, I felt like I had heatstroke or was badly dehydrated; we got a revival break in an air-conditioned restaurant with a meal and refreshing drinks.

After a one-night stay at Santa Ana (N28°23.099' W109°08.543'), we finally made it into Marina Seca at San Carlos (N27°57.230' W111°03.060') for a quick check on our boat where all appeared well. At the boat, we wasted no time. Aaron unloaded his motorcycle, left his truck at the Marina with Sea Turtle, and we continued out on both motorcycles heading for the Barranca del Cobre (Copper Canyon) in Chihuahua. We stayed at Obregón (N27°29.122' W109°56.370') about 125 km SE of San Carlos  where we thoroughly enjoyed the motel swimming pool to escape the heat and where it POURED rain unbelievably during the night, but the next morning, it was back to sizzling heat.

Heading south

We left rainy Victoria and did a lot a steady driving with Jordan's son Aaron and gal Dee in Aaron's truck to head back to San Carlos (in Sonora Mexico) to take our new purchases and supplies to Sea Turtle and then do some exploring.

On the way down, we stopped at Reno Nevada (N39°39.385' W119°53.125') to watch the annual air races on Sunday. A lot of beautiful planes, first-rate races, and some great air displays too.

A "Rare Bear" plane

The Canadian Snowbirds put on an outstanding performance to the delight of the audience...

Unfortunately, there were 2 incidents: a plane crashed during the second last race where the pilot walked away with cuts and bruises but destroyed his plane, and the much awaited final race did not come to fruition as officials deemed that the wind was too strong to have a safe race. The guys were real disappointed, but safety first.

That night we stayed at a small town called Tonopah (N38°04.175' W117°14.019') about 3 hours before Las Vegas in the Clown Motel. Very weird - there were literally clowns everywhere - on each motel door, pictures in the rooms, a lobby totally filled with clowns - but the parking lot was highly lit so we felt Aaron's motorcycle in the back of the truck would be secure (ours is in Palm Springs Arizona). Tonopah has an interesting, very old, entirely wooden cemetery:

1901 - 1911

Just before Vegas, we made a small detour up to the state park on Mt. Charleston (N36°15.271' W115°38.450') where surprisingly there is a pine forest, vacation homes, and even a ski hill. After a quick drive down the Strip (Dee's first time), we headed east over Hoover Dam (N36°00.490' W114°44.350') where we saw the spectacular new arching bypass bridge that spans over the Dam and the Colorado River. Check out the amazing construction details on Google.

New bridge over the old

From there, we made it to Williams Arizona (N35°15.090' W112°11.030') on the historic Route 66, a cute little town with a western mining theme neighbourhood, the Wild West Junction, as this gentleman indicates...

Busy summer back home

It's been a long time since an update; we have been kept busy during our stay back in Victoria BC Canada...

One evening, we were lucky enough to receive free tickets to attend a concert held by ZZ Top, a great rock/bluesy band, and yes they are still sporting their long beards.

Mount Washington on Vancouver Island opened up one of their ski runs on Father's Day so Jordan, his son Aaron and gal Dee, and I drove up for the day. The 3 of them enjoyed the novelty of skiing in such warm weather with Aaron and Jordan wearing shorts and T-shirts! Me - not a skier.

Summer skiing

Nothing like a picnic by the ocean to escape from the heat (29°C/84°F!) So one day, Jordan and I packed up a lunch with champagne and headed out for a relaxing day watching the boats go by...and wishing we were on one of them!

Jordan has somehow been able to find a bit of time to get back into painting, which I personally think he is great at. His usual medium is watercolours, but his 1st attempt with acrylics for a wedding present made him want to try another, both of which turned out fab. I had copies of his paintings made into notebook covers with lined paper by www.MySkoobi.com. Cool!

A friend wanted to trade vehicles as he needed a truck for the weekend - so we got his powerful little red Mercedes Benz in exchange...a good trade I think! Speaking of cars, we went to see Tennessee William's play called A Streetcar Named Desire where the acting was superb.

We hiked at Englishman's River while staying with our friends at their cabin - what a great place to get away from it all!

Down by the river

Attended Taste: Victoria's Festival of Food & Wine, an evening of sampling scrumptious wines and tasty eats. Our favourites:

• an oven-fresh delectable quiche made by Antichi Sapori Italian Food Company of Victoria BC (www.antichisapori.ca)
• an aromatic red wine called 207 Freud's Ego with chocolate fragrance and oak taste brewed by Therapy Vineyards of Naramata BC (www.therapyvineyards.com)
• a scrumptious, velvety cheese called Romelia by Salt Spring Island Cheese Company which was heated before spreading on a cracker to melt in your mouth (www.saltspringcheese.com)

One weekend, we hopped on the motorcycle and headed to China Creek Campsite at Port Alberni for a weekend of camping in a tent. Sleeping in a tent is something that neither of us has done in years. With temperatures around 25°C (77°F), it was a great riding and camping experience. We ended it by taking a scenic zig zaggy ride up and down Mount Arrowsmith on the way back to Victoria.

High altitude Mount Arrowsmith lake

And on the way back, we stopped at Parksville to take in the amazing annual sand sculpture contest.

A detailed sand castle about 2.5 m (8 feet) tall

And of course, went to the annual Symphony Splash where we were fortunate enough to watch from the best location, up close in a boat. (The Symphony Splash is where the Victoria Symphony performs on a barge located in the Inner Harbour to a crowd of thousands.)

We also enjoyed getting together with many of our friends and relatives. I headed off to several areas of the Prairies to visit my family (and celebrated my Dad's 80th Birthday!) and to see my very beautiful great granddaughter for the very first time...very sad to leave. While I was away, Jordan spent time in the Penticton area for a family reunion and his parents' 65th Anniversary!

After a productive stay at home, we are driving tomorrow to head south once again with a few detours along the way. After hooking up our new toy, The Wirie, on Sea Turtle, we should have great internet service access from our boat to hopefully post our adventures more frequently than in the past.

New addition to our family

Exciting news...our great granddaughter Chiara Dawn arrived early this morning, 19" long and weighing 6 lb. 14 oz. Yes, she is great, but in this instance "great" refers to being my grandson's daughter.

Hellooo World!

And as I am sure you agree, she is a cutie...

She is only 3 days old above, looking very bright-eyed. We will definitely be stopping in for cuddles when we travel to Alberta soon. Congratulations to the proud parents as we send you our love!!