Beautiful Sunset over Cabo

I believe this sunset deserves a very large spot on our blog.  It is the last one I am going to see from our boat here in Mexico before I depart on a big bird for points north.  Rog will be bringing Di's Dream home to her new slip in Long Beach along with three close friends.  The departure is planned for the early evening of May 20 if the weather agrees.  I will have landed in Los Angeles before the guys even leave the slip!

I took my last dip in 76 degree water here in Cabo!  I do enjoy the warmer water so who knows, maybe I will get rog to bring me back down on Di's Dream in the future.  For now we are heading north.

Fun in Loreto

We recently anchored for one week off of Loreto while our good friends and close neighbors Larry and  Penny came to Mexico to see what this cruising was all about.  They have been watching our home for the last three years while we have been sailing blissfully along not worrying about sprinklers that didn't work or ant invasions.  They had been picking up our mail on a regular basis and after being home for just one week this spring I was amazed to see everything that accumulated in mailbox.

We take all the precautions necessary when traveling back and forth to the boat.  Computers in dry bags fitting tightly around our shoulders, provisions in special bags and most importantly holding on to the dingy with two hands.   Well, when we get out of the launch area we will be holding on with two hands hopefully

The Produce at the Sunday market was great!  I had been to the local grocery store  the day before and could not buy anything as it looks to be very old but this was wonderful.  So for less than $10 I got my lettuce, asparagus, lots of peppers and even a handful to tomatoes.  I am still enjoying my purchases from that trip 

The last day of their visit we hired a wonderful cab driver who took us to all the local hot spots.
We did a drive up the coast a bit to look at the fronts on the beautiful homes we had only seen from the shore.  No excursions would be complete without stop stopping at Puerto Escondido which they had heard so much about. We also went down to Candeleros for a quick tour around the property before stopping for lunch at Vista Del Mar

Penny finally got close enough to the water!  She just loves hunting for creatures along shore just to see what she can find.  This day we came up with chocolate clams!  We didn't take any back to the restaurant for cooking but they were certainly abundant enough at that location.

We were told that this was the oldest cactus in the Loreto area, reportedly over 300 years old.  I am not sure how it survived all the hurricanes and drought years but it is looking very healthy

We are not sure how old this tree is but it has passed the test of time too!!!  It's roots grow right out of the rocks and back in trying to find water.  It is right above a river bed so water is present parts of the year but certainly not all the time.

The highlight of their trip was the tour we took of the San Javier Mission located in the hills above Loreto.  It was originally founded by the Jesuit missionary Francisco Maria Piccolo in 1699.  It was to become the first mission on the Baja Peninsula that later included all the missions up into California.  San Javier was located near a water source that allowed them to build dams and aquaducts while all the stone work was brought up into the mountains from the Pacific side of Baja

Shopping in Mexico

I have done posting about the Sunday Market but it deserves another look.  After some arm twisting and the promise of a great breakfast we talked our Amigo Dennis Young on the sailing boat Mind Magic to get his car out of the garage and join us for one more shopping trip to La Cruz.  Our first stop was to purchase some peppered Monterrey jack cheese.  I wouldn't be needing it for a couple of weeks but I had to have some

The bougainvillea  is so beautiful here in Mexico and it thrives with constant neglect.  Everyone tells me that it will not bloom if you water it too much and these bushes are proof.  It has not rained here in PV since we returned in early January and there is no obvious source of water for these bushes!  I am bound and determined to have bougainvillea thrive in Bakersfield.

I always love the fishing fleet in La Cruz.  They bring in a fresh catch everyday for the local fish market where I have bought the freshest fish that I have not caught myself.  You will notice that the fishing fleet is not in the same marina area as the mega yachts, go figure.  It could be because of too many sea gulls.

In theory all items sold at the La Cruz Market are suppose to be made by the sellers.  I seriously doubt that these young men made these pastries but I am sure someone in there family did.  We have been know to sample the sweets and these are wonderful

 I don't care if you are at a craft show in the US or here in Mexico you are sure to find some blown glass.  Always fun to look at but I never know how I would actually use it

I have enough Mexican bowls to last me a lifetime but I always stop and look at each display.  Maybe, just maybe there will be a pattern I just have to have .  The boat is already full of salad bowls,  so I need to find something else to convince Rog that one more piece has to be carted home.

This gal always has the very best deserts!  I speak from lots of experience.

 I still cant pronounce the name of this store but I sure know what it sells, everything a man could want in the way of hardware.  Rog needed mineral spirits for cleaning the winches on the boat so the shop keeper got a small milk bottle, emptied it and poured in what we needed.  They are so resourceful here.

This is not your Carter's store but the little ones in Mexico are dressed to the tee!  Always clean and staying close to mom.

There is just as much fascination with shoes in Mexico as there is anywhere.  Don't ask for another size, what you see is what you get.  I am not sure where these shoes originated from but the boxes were all written in English.

You can even find name brands, our son works for Volcom, at the local farmer's markets.  I don't think I ever saw this shirt when I was at the Volcom company store but I might have just over looked it.

As we get ready to head up to the Sea of Cortez we know the shopping trips will be far and few between.  Once we get to Loreto we may have an opportunity to get groceries but there is nothing like what we experience on the mainland.

Tenacatita Fun

We have been spending way too much time in Tenacatita this year.  As you can tell from the picture it has turned into a very friendly group that enjoys the palapa as much as the beach.  Other than Katie from Avalon and Roger all of the group this day was from the 2011 Ha Ha.  Made us feel like real old timers.

Usually bocee ball is the game of the afternoon however there were just too many people on the beach.  The overflow migrated over to the volley ball court that had been brought to shore by Phil.   I don't know of many sailboats, especially ones built over 35 years ago, that have storage for a volley ball set 

While we were busy playing volleyball the locals were hard at work brining a panga through the surf.  The tide was in but the surf had been up for several days causing a bit of concern when coming to the beach.  Roger and I lucked out due to his amazing surfing skills and history of watching his son Joe choose the right wave at Malibu.  Never knew it would come in so handy.

We didn't spend all our time on the beach although my dermatologist might disagree with that statement.  We decided that the games were getting too many boaters so we retired to Di's Dream to play a bit of Wee golf!  It was lots of fun for everyone but Katie who had to play right handed in spite of being left handed.  We just could never get the game programed just right.

No stay at Tenacatita is complete without the Friday night raft up.  This picture was taken before everyone arrived and there is no way to get all the boats included but we had 22 tenders rafted together.  As we introduced ourselves we were asked to relate our boat to a TV show and Rog named ours Tim the Tool Man.  Hopefully the rest of the season will find his tool bag on the shelf neatly put away.

More Grand Bay Hotel

I have posted many pictures of the Grand Bay Hotel from the outside or from the marina but I thought I should post a few pictures of this beautiful hotel from the inside.

Over Valentine the marina dropped its rate to 50 cents a foot so quite a few cruisers took advantage of the special pricing.  Unfortunately, once the rate went up most of the cruisers pulled out which did give us more lounges to choose from at the pool.  

When Roger was up in the states I had a bit of free time on my hands so decided to go explore the small building that you see just as you enter the Bay.  I was totally blown away by the beautiful architecture and interior decorating.  The chandelier in the main entrance was breathtaking.

I am sure no one ever sits in this room but I do love the decode.  I tried the chairs and they were comfortable if I had been a bit taller but then most people are taller than I am.

Same room, just a bit different angle.  I was interested to see the horse sculpture centered right in front of the picture.  I like the look, I probably would have put it off to one side with the candles next to each other.  I have as spot to try this at home.

I see that they have the same problem with light cords that I do.  When you have tile floors there is no way to hide the cords.  I thought ducks were out of date as far as decorating goes, guess I was wrong.

I loved this trunk and know where it would pe perfect in our new home, just don't think the hotel would give it up and I know rog wouldn't let me bring it home on the boat.  Also, how do they keep all those plants looking so good.

Nicki on Seychelles joined me on this walk to the entrance point on the harbor.  We spotted this lovely little beach and had to do some serious shell hunting.  She hunted and I watched, lots of fun.

If only I had a staircase at home, I love the way the asparagus ferns lead you up to the front door.  Again, I am not sure how they get watered, it hasn't rained down here since we arrived Feb 4, but someone must water by hand.

New Best Friend

While we had guests on board last week we discovered we had major problems with the water maker, it just would not fill the tanks!  With four people on Di's Dream we quickly ran out of water and had to head to the docks at The Grand Bay Hotel where we were very surprised to learn that Chris on the sailing boat Legacy was a Spectra Water Maker certified repair cruiser.  This was music to our ears!  So we quickly kicked Carmen an Ron out of their berth and let Chris get to work.  It turns out he is a magician.

Our water maker was making fresh water, but just not diverting it to the tanks.  He went through several steps before he decided we needed a new circuit board which we could have sent down to Rob's house asap.  Rog was going back to the states for his father's memorial service so he could pick it up and we would be able to pull away from the docks once again .

Chris returned to the marina today to give us a hand installing the new board and has us up and running!  So excited, we can finish our season with water to shower and drink.  This is a very good thing.

A Visit With Friends

Our longtime friends Ron and Carmen Konkle refused to listen to all the negative press about Mexico and decided to check out this wonderful spot for themselves.  Contrary to the gossip mill,  Bo Derek was not in residence at Las Hadas this particular weekend.

 I am not sure if Carmen was taking a run on the beach or Rog was dreaming again but this picture appeared on his camera??????  Maybe a ghost from summers past.

The mornings are always beautiful when you are on the water and we got up just in time to see the start of another gorgeous day.  It had been a very noisy night at anchor in Las Hadas so we decided to take the boat over to Santiago Bay for a bit on beach time.  After traveling and late night disco music the quiet was wonderful.

The beach vendors were strolling all day trying to sell to both locals and visitor.  Santiago has quite a large influx of senior Canadians so I don't think this vendor was marketing to them, but I could be wrong.  I certainly don't know how he can see his way up and down the beach but I have never seen an inner tube run over a bathing beauty.












After two days in Tenacatita where we managed to use up all our water we had to make a change of plans.  Darn, we need water and the only place to get it is the Grand Bay Hotel!  It didn't take long to figure out our problem when you find that the Spectra Rep is two slips away.  Unfortunately it was not an easy fix, parts have to come from California, so I am tied up to the dock for the better part of a week.  I will suffer through.

I knew Carmen would enjoy a trip into Bara for a bit of shopping,  so we headed out to the Farmer's Market on Thursday while the boys took it easy on the boat.  It was Valentines Day so we didn't think we could get into too much trouble.  We shopped for a bit before heading back to the Hotel by ponga because we had made reservations for a wonderful dinner at the Hotel and we wanted plenty of time to get ready.  More about dinner in another blog.

Out and About

Roger has always loved his hammocks ever since our first trip into Bara de Navidad so many years ago.  We had our good friends Orlando and his wife Linda on board for a trip from Puerto Vallarta to Z-town.  Orlando got off the boat in Bara but his Spanish made this first trip so much easier.  Linda stayed with us to Z-town and got to laugh at all our futile attempts to talk to Mexican officials.  We needed Orlando more than ever  It is so much easier checking in and out now.

 It was very overcast today when we left Tenacatita but the sunscreen went on anyway because in Mexico the sunshine is usually here by noon.  Unfortunately it did not bring the air temperature down very far, it was still in the low 80s as we pulled into Bara lagoon

A water truck had pulled up to the fuel docks so Rog decided to get water on board the old fashioned way, 5 gallons at a time.  Thirty minuets later he wasn't so sure that humping all those containers were worth it.  I am sure our guests Ron and Carmen Konkle will appreciate knowing we have very clean drinking water on board!  I will be much more thrifty when doing the dishes knowing that Rog had put all his sweat and labor into the tanks.  By the way, the water maker is working just fine but the water only cost 16 pesos per 5 gals.  you do the mach, pretty
cheap.


We are off to Las Hadas to meet Ron and Carmen.  They fly in on Saturday and with the $200 peso per day landing fee at the hotel I think we will pull up anchor that evening and head over to Santiago.  I will report if we can get ashore at the hotel without paying but I understand there is a guard now at the dingy docks!  No fun

RELAXING IN PARADISE

Wednesday we awoke to a beautiful sunrise.  Sun stays hidden until after seven and I have an eight am Zumba class that requires 3,000 steps up the beach so it is an early departure.

 I certainly can't start the day without my cup of coffee.  I am lucky that the yacht club has decided to cash in on all the tourist leaving on excursion boats early in the morning and is selling all sorts of high calorie, high caffeine products.  The days are starting off very cool, low 70s so jackets are necessary early on.

Zumba is being led by my longtime friend Sylvia Fox who is staying in PV for 5 months this year.  She is doing a great job of getting us all in shape and raising money for the local turtle population.  I only made two weeks of classes but am determined to continue when I return home.  Great fun







We even got the guys to walk up the beach with us, well a little slower and slightly behind us.  Their reward was a fantastic breakfast on the beach watching lots of beautiful women shimmy and shake to the music.  Use your imagination.  Over coffee we decided it was a good day for taking Di's Dream out for a shake down cruise.

We had tied our boat to our neighbors during hurricane season so it was going to take some time and engineering to get us ready to cast off.  Lines were very stiff and difficult to untie, next year were won't wait this long to take the boat out again

I am not sure what Ken was doing on his computer because I assure you that there is no internet out on the bay but he is hard at work.  Pamela, Judy and Dennis were definitely in a relaxed mode, Rog as always was checking out his sails.  It was a beautiful day and it was decided  that Di's Dream was ready to go.