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!!

Travel daze

On May 14th, a pre-arranged taxi picked us up at the dock at 08:30 to take us to the Nuku Hiva airport on the far side of the Marquesan island to start us on our trip home to Canada. The road to the airport is approximately 18 km in a straight line, but this road is so curvy and winding that the ride took about 1.5 hours.

Our lovely taxi driver stopped at a few prime locations along the way to allow us to take a few quick photos and view the panorama. If you ever anchor at Nuku Hiva with your sailboat, we highly recommend renting a car and checking out this road with its amazing top-of-the-world sights.

Looking back to where SV Tango is still anchored

Unbelievably curving, snaking, twisting road to Nuku Hiva airport

Looks like we are about to drive off the end of the earth

Upon arrival at the airport, we were surprised to see several horses kept so nearby. They were friendly and didn't seem to mind being there. We flew from Nuku Hiva to Hiva Oa for a brief stop and then on to Pape'ete Tahiti where we had to wait several hours for our next red-eye flight to Honolulu. During our wait, a friendly couple gave us a free bottle of delicious champagne! After this late-night flight of almost 6 hours, we then had a shorter wait until our last flight to Los Angeles USA.

So after going through a few time zone changes, about 16 hours of travelling, 13 hours of waiting, and 2 bad movies, we were very tired upon arrival in LA - it had been a long 2 days of travelling from 08:30 May 14th until 16:45 May 15th.

From LA, we went to Palm Springs where we relaxed, visited with special friends, and rode on the Aerial Tramway. This tram has a rotating floor so you can see all around you, making the experience more enriching (and at the top of the tramway are great areas to hike and camp).

Aerial Tramway heading back down to the station

Next, we picked up our old KLR motorcycle at Yuma, where temperatures were reaching 38°C (100°F), and brought it to Palm Springs for storage. On our way back to Victoria BC Canada, we stopped in Old Town Sacramento where the 18th annual Pacific Rim Street Festival was on-going with many people in attendance.

The Hornblower going under the raised bridge

We will now be in Victoria until mid-September. Our current plans are to then drive to Palm Springs and go down to Copper Canyon in Mexico on the motorcycle before returning to Sea Turtle in San Carlos (not far from Copper Canyon).

We are both missing being on the boat very much and look forward to continuing our adventures aboard!

Survivor!

After Jordan and I visited Rose Corser's museum/boutique and the nearby Hotel Keikahanui of the Marquesas, we took Holly and Denis back to see these sites the next day. This museum has many one-of-a-kind items that have been donated by locals and the hotel is very beautiful. Don't forget to check out the Photo Gallery for Crewing to Marquesas pictures, including a couple of the museum and hotel.

Then Holly, Jordan, and I went for a longer hike to find the location where the Tribal Council of the 1990s Marquesan Survivor TV show was filmed (we saw the canoe that was used on the show at the museum). We came upon this gentleman of the Tribal Council:

Actually, the picture was taken of a picture inside the hotel! So we hiked up a mountain and back down over the ridge looking for the location of the Survivor Tribal Council; we don't think we followed the directions given to us correctly. The beach we found was a bit rocky and not very deserted. But we saw this old outrigger...

and this hanging skull...

Who knows...maybe we did find it. But, a little disappointed, we trekked back up and over the ridge and back to Tango where we were greeted with glasses of Sherry to enjoy on deck. Another great day after all!

Snorkelling and sightseeing

On Monday, checking Tango into the Marquesas with the Gendarmerie (French Police), who only spoke a bit of English, was not too difficult as Denis is fairly fluent in French.

A tip for sailors - we discovered that you need to have your MMSI* number with you when you check in so when Jordan and I sail here in a couple of years on our own we will remember to bring ours with us to the Gendarmerie's office.

Internet is VERY slow here so trying to book our flight home was extremely frustrating, but we managed to book a flight from Pape'ete Tahiti to Honolulu and then from Honolulu to Los Angeles USA yesterday. Could not get an "E" ticket from Nuku Hiva to Pape'ete so we went to the local Air Tahiti and booked a ticket today. The agent also reserved a taxi for us for the trip to the airport which is supposed to be a visually spectacular ride.

Jordan inquired about scuba diving but the diving boat was on the hard so Holly, Jordan, and I decided to go snorkelling. We took the dinghy out to the point and saw parrot fish, schools of teeny bright blue fish, small orange and/or yellow fish...and...a big manta ray and a long brown shark swimming right beneath us! How exciting! Later, Jordan and I went for a walk and a beer ashore for a nice break.

A common sight

Back on Tango, we discovered that a pastry man comes to your boat each weekday morning, delivering goods that you have ordered the previous morning. What a delicious treat.

Another great day in paradise!

* MMSI - Maritime Mobile Service Identity (a number assigned to maritime radios in order to make calls)

Exploring Nuku Hiva artifacts

French Polynesia is made up of many island and chains of islands. The most easterly chain is called the Marquesas. A few facts I read about the Marquesas and Nuku Hiva Island where we are anchored:

• The town that we are near has a population of around 3,000 and lies in an open volcanic crater.
• This town, called Taiohae, is the largest town of the Marquesan Islands.
• We noticed that tattoos are very popular amongst the local men and women.
• Nuku Hiva is 339 sq. km.
• The largest island in all of French Polynesia is Tahiti (Nuku Hiva being the 2nd largest, depending on your source of info).
• Famous writer Robert Louis Stevenson spent time on northern Nuku Hiva.
• Painter Paul Gauguin spent his last years in French Polynesia.
• And Moby Dick author, Herman Melville, jumped a whaling ship in 1842 at age 23 to land at the Marquesas.

After Holly and Jordan cleaned Tango's bottom of parasites, the 3 of us hiked up the side of a mountain to discover the artifacts that we had been told about. We hiked about 1.5 km along a roadway and then at least another 1.5 km up and through bush, etc. along a semi-trail.

We took a break as Jordan tried to crack open and peel off the husk of a coconut that we found. Success! The juice managed to escape but the fleshy coconut fruit was delicious. We soon ran into a local, very muscular, older man with a large knife that helped to remove more of the shell, making it easier for us to consume.

This is how you do it

As we hiked, we noticed all the pigs with piglets, roosters and chickens with chicks, horses with young colts, goats, and all the differing plant life along the way. We finally reached the site which was well worth the lengthy hike. Here, Jordan retrieved several fresh, juicy, mangoes using a long stick found propped against a tree. They were delicious and we all thoroughly enjoyed the treat as the juice ran down our chins!

Nuku Hiva site

We then took in the all the different tikis, huts, vegetation, and rocks around this magnificent sacred site. Tikis are stone and/or wooden figures in a human form. The earliest did not have eyes carved.

Jordan beside a stone tiki, and...

...a wooden tiki (photo courtesy of SV Tango)

When the sun was starting to go down, we discovered an easier route to return and started on our way back. Growing in trees along the roadside, we found several star fruit which we tasted. They were sooo delicious - tasted just like orange pop.

Then near the bottom of our trail, a local woman pleaded with us to take several of her pamplemousse (very thick skinned grapefruit). So by the time we returned to Tango, we had fresh hand-picked mangoes, starfruit, and pamplemousse for a delicious breakfast the next morning. Store-bought produce has never tasted this good. What a great day!