We posted a similar picture when we were here last year.  This area is called the "windows" in the Puerto Escondido anchorage. Roger manages to get up early enough every morning to check for the picture perfect sunrise and to put the coffee on.  I get up in time to check into the Sonrisa Ham Net at 7:30 unless we have no plans to raise the anchor and turn on the engine for a few days.  Tomorrow I will be getting up!

      "CONSERVE WATER DRINK TEQUILA"

The logo on Andy and Jenny's restaurant hat at the Agave Grill in the Cayman Islands is just as appropriate in Mexico as it is down there.  For the Loreto Fest it fit my mood and set a tone for the entire three days of fun.  A margarita was only one ticket so why choose anything else!  Rog had a black hat being the bad dude that he is and I had the white one.

Linda and I were able to hang out in the shade whenever we weren't off checking for emails.  The Internet  was a bit suspect with over 100 boats trying to log on at any given time but I figured out that with some planning I could get my blog done

 Orlando managed to keep us entertained with hilarious stories and fabulous wine.  He volunteered at both the food court and bar before going out to referee the over the line games.  A man of many talents.

Our new friends on Seychelles, John and Nicki, were deep in discussion as to when they should head back to La Paz for a quick trip home to Boston.  In fact, the general discussion during the Loreto Fest was about when the boats were either  heading over to Guaymas or back to La Paz.  There at least three other boats going clear back to Puerto Vallarta so we may get company on our passage back home.


Shade was provide everywhere as the daytime temperature was in the high 80s.  Not quite hot enough to fry an egg but warm never the less.  All the boaters were anxious to get out of the lagoon so the could get back in the water to cool off.

Roger could be found at the food court when not busy with the bocce ball tournament.  There was a daily sandwich special that just begged to be tried or better yet something cool to drink.

                                                           
                                                                Rog even got us water!

Rog had played a bit of bocce ball this spring on the beach at Tenacatita this spring so he signed us up for the tournament.

Beauty in the Desert

Last year we enjoyed the islands around Puerto Ensenada so much that we make quick work getting back to this area.  After a stop for fuel and fresh veggies we headed over to Honeymoon cove where we able to drop anchor in a small single cove that Rog had lusted after all year since our last visit.  Wasn't quite as fun as we expected as we were always adjusting our tension on the anchors when the tides changed.  Rog thought raising and lowering the level of "tension" on the boat great sport.  I was all for lowering the tension so by day two we had moved!  But I am glad to have been in this beautiful spot, the snorkeling and kayaking were the best so far this season.  

Our next stop was Ensenada de Candaleros where there is a very friendly Hotel/time share that opened just last year.  They welcome the cruisers ashore to use the Internet, enjoy a meal but best of all swim in the many pools.  The hot tub was limited to 44 people so their was always room for us after a dip in the cool pool.  The views of the very dry mountains behind the lush desert landscaping was breathtaking.

There was a total of six pools!  The upper pool is for the tots whose nice parents bring them to Mexico, not a lot of kids here though.  In fact we didn't see more than a dozen guests at the hotel!  Still too new for a full house.  The gardens around the grounds were planted with native grass and agave which created a contrast in color that was very pleasant on the eyes.


Although Di's Dream looks like she is way offshore she is still anchored in just 12 feet of water!  There was room for a dozen boats to swing with no chance of bumping which proved to be good the first night we were here.  We had gusts up to 28 knots that kept us up until 4am.  Actually, Rog slept through the blow and I stayed to to make sure we stayed put.  When the wind finally calmed and I went to bed the anchor alarm got me right back up.  The boat had sprung back forward on our anchor and had not drug  thank goodness.  The next night we were prepared for another blow but it layer down beautifully.  Rog was awake that night and I slept!

Engine is on

Rog is ready to cast off the lines after just two days in La Paz so the engine is already on!  Not sure of our destination but believe we will go to Partida today and then head up to Isla San Francisco tomorrow.  No internet for a couple of weeks while we slowly make our way up to Puerto Escondido where we will get more fuel and provisions.  Our goal is to get to Honeymoon Cove and just cool our heals for a bit

More on our journey when I find a connection but for not we are out to Sea.

The Passage of Friday the 13th

Sailing lore has always said to never leave port with bananas on board or on a Friday.  Leaving on a Friday the 13th is a double whammy of bad Ju Ju so what did we do last week?  Right we left on Friday the 13th along with our good friends Eric and Marilyn on Full Shell.  We escaped unscathed unlike our buddies on Full Shell who developed engine problems after just eight hours of sailing.  They headed back to Mazatlan under full sail knowing that is would be slow going.  What had taken eight hours under engine power ended up taking 23 hours to drift slowly back to port.

 Once Friday slipped into Saturday and the seas calmed I awoke to find Rog with his fishing poles in the water.  His watch had been from 4am to 7am and I was a little slow getting going with the morning coffee and light breakfast.  By 8:30 he was VERY ready to head down for a morning nap when we heard that unmistakable sound of FISH ON!  We always look around to see if we can see the fish as it begins his fight and this one was up and out of the water immediately so we knew we had something large on the line.  Luckily the wind was light so when we turned on the engine we could control the speed and direction in order to keep the fish directly behind us.  After an hour for fight we finally got him close enough to see what we had caught.

 Roger's goal was to lift him high enough to take pictures for our family Rob Roy Perfect Fishing Tournament in honor of my Father who passed away this passed Christmas.  This guy was too heavy for a straight lift so he decided to lay him across the swim step ladder instead.  

The swim ladder is 30 inches wide so you are looking at a wahoo that is at least 60 inches long and as time to release was of the essence to get him back in the water we will never know his exact measurement.  There is a tape measure in the fishing bag now.

 I was forced into service when two of our three lines started singing at the exact same moment, two fish on!  I was very surprised to find out how hard it was to reel in my fish when we were still underway at 5 knots.  I now understand why Rog is always asking for the boat to be slowed down, that and to try and not lose the fish because of a broken line.  I pulled in the first yellow fin tuna of this season, bigger than our one from last season.  Again it was a quick release so he could swim off.

I tried to take the hook out of his mouth but wisely decided to leave that job to Rog.  In calm seas the swim step has been a great spot for landing our fish.

Roger landed his yellow fin without much trouble.  The fish was worn out after being drug behind the boat while I took took the better part of 30 minutes to land mine.  He was quickly returned to the water.

This is the one that got away!  Our last catch of the day was a dorado that put up the biggest fight of the day.  He jumped and danced on the water when first caught and then dove to try and escape.  Close to an hour later we finally saw him again along with another fish that followed close behind.  Rog got him right to the stern of the boat and was about to use the gaff when the line broke.   With that our fantastic fishing day came to an end.  We were too tired to go for sail fish which was all we were missing from perfect day of fishing.

Our day came to an end with a beautiful  sunset that we thought would bring down the sea state.  We were wrong, the wind and seas picked back up to give us winds over 18 knots on the nose and seas around 4 to 6 feet.  By morning it was finally better and we had a delightful motor into La Paz

By Sunday 9am our trip that began on Friday the 13th had been completed with no major catastrophe.  We were very fortunate and will try not to temp fate anytime in the near future 

Easter Week in Mazatlan

When we left PV on last Thursday we knew that we would be arriving on the morning of Good Friday which is the beginning of a long holiday weekend in Mexico.  Our plans were to meet up with Orland and Linda on Cuba Libre.  We had heard about the Sunday brunch at El Cid and knew we had to give it a try.  We met on the terrace overlooking the water for our first mimosa at 9am and had our last one at 3pm.  What a way to spend a beautiful day

 The pool is the main attraction at El Cid and there were so many people in it you couldn't possibly swim.  The tots pool was a favorite for parents with small children

   
 There was music poolside for the entire weekend which we were also able to enjoy down on the boat

Roger found a poolside lounge and was determined not to give it up for the entire weekend.  Well, maybe on Easter just in order to have a mimosa, but the rest of the time he was right here.

I went for a beach walk with Linda and found it to be crowded with locals and vendors. At high tide we found it a bit difficult to navigate the beach but it was fun.

I loved the way the Mexicans bring everything to the beach.  Even a wading pool to keep the smallest kids safe from the big bad sea.

     



  Everyone finds a way to enjoy the water down here and I am sure a ride on this Hobie is a lot more fun in the warm waters found here that back up in the San Francisco Bay.

Friday the weather appears to right for our next crossing which will be from Mazatlan to La Cruz.  We will be traveling with Eric and Marilyn on Full Shell before we head up the Sea.

Passage to Mazatlan

I can write all about the beautiful passage we had between PV and Mazatlan but I think these pictures do more than words.  The seas were very flat, they have been forecast to be 4 to 6 feet, winds on our nose, that was as predicted but best of all was the sunset.  The island in the distance is Isla Isabella which is about the halfway point on the passage.  Someday we will drop anchor and go ashore there but so far it hasn't happened.
 

It had been slightly overcast most of the day which provided us with this fabulous sunset.  I was at the helm, Roger was down below taking a much needed nap before his night shift.  I was hoping for a green flash but it did not happen on this night.  We didn't see much in the way of sea life until late at night when Rog observed the water just teaming with bait fish.  The full moon brought them to the surface.  Two whales did make an appearance but the camera did not come out fast enough.

                                        Does this picture explain why we make passages?

Pictures of the moon never show what we really see but I will put up a couple of pictures anyway.  After all, in a 24 hour passage about half of that is done in darkness.  We only saw two fishing boats on this entire passage and they were during my watch.  Neither caused me to change course and both passed no closer than two miles so no need to get Roger up.

    For passages we run our standard knot, depth and windpoint windspeed as well as the radar.  At night we also turn on our cockpit Monitor that works as a repeater for our plotter and radar.  This keeps us protected under the hard dodger regardless off weather conditions.   You might wonder about the depth reading of 24  feet, it generally means something large is swimming along with us.  Be still my heart.

Watching the Basketball Game

It is Monday night and we have found a spot to watch the basketball game here at Paradise Village.  The lobby bar sports two big TVs and one is tuned in English to the KU/Kentucky game while the other is rocking in Spanish to a soccer game.  Needless to say, you can't hear a thing from either TV but the atmosphere is fun.  Right now KU is not doing so well, if fact it is not working out well at all but there is always hope.

What are our plans?  Not sure, not sure at all.  The weather is not saying go but it isn't so terrible that is says stay.  On top of that the port captain closes for Easter weekend Thursday so if we want to go anytime before Monday we have to go ahead and check out.  What to do, I guess we will get ourselves all ready to go and decide on Wednesday.  We do want to get up to the Sea at some point this season.

Along that line I did go to Costco today to pick up necessary supplies.  I am now well stocked on cheese, deli meat, stewed tomatoes and canned tuna.  It is hard to figure out exactly what we will eat over the next two months and not have any leftovers when it is time to leave the boat.  I try to leave the cabinets bare when we return home for the summer.  Fresh produce was also picked up but we will have that consumed before we leave Mazatlan.

The basketball game is going from bad to worse and the bar is running out of beer so I think it might be time for us to call it a night and head back to the boat.  My KU team still deserves my support but I may have to read about this in the morning