COLD FEET!

I have cold feet!  For the first time in over seven months I have cold feet.  And it feels ok.   We just arrived back in La Paz on the Baja Peninsula where we are experiencing wonderful moderate temperatures again.  Daytime temperatures are high 70’s and lows are mid 50’s. Humidity is more like 30% instead of 75% and it feels great! I even dug my slippers out the other evening so the problem of cold feet is solved. I added a blanket to my side of the bed so I’m warm enough at night and I can always add a sweater if I’m cool in the evenings. It is such a relief to not be constantly thinking about the extreme heat.  We no longer have to plan when we head out for a walk or errand as the temperature and humidity are insignificant.  We are definitely not hot weather people!

We left Mazatlan 11 days ago along with our friends Rob and Debra on Avant.  After much discussion about the best weather window to make the crossing we decided to leave earlier than expected so we could sail a significant part of the trip.  That strategy paid off in spades but it wasn't the most comfortable passage we have made to date.  The winds were predicted to be in the mid teens but they were stronger, more in the mid twenties to high twenties.  Falcon VII once again proved her seaworthiness as she sliced through the waves and swell, deflecting major spray up and over the cabin top and canvas again and again and again.  We both found our three hour night watches particularly grueling because we had to constantly adjust our heading so that we could point towards Bahia Frailles at the southeastern tip of the Baja.  If we missed it we would have had a very uncomfortable and long trip back to it.  Seeing the first glimpses of dawn was very welcoming as we knew we only had another six or seven hours til we reached the anchorage.

We made it to the top!

Debra from Avant with both Falcon and Avant at anchor below

Same view as last year, looking north towards La Paz

Bahia Frailles is a beautiful location just below a cacti covered high hill.  After recovering from our night passage we enticed Debra to join us for a 2 hour hike to the top and back last Thursday morning.  Rob stayed on Avant as he had injured his knee and he wasn't up to walking far.  We did the same hike just over a year ago and found it easier this time but also realized that we've got to get in better shape before we tackle anything too arduous.

Balandra, taken in February 2009 when we first flew to Mexico to check it out

A dream come true - Falcon anchored at Balandra!

El Hongo or Mushroom Rock with Avant and Falcon at anchor beyond

Getting our exercise with an hour hike to lunch

View of the mangroves and lagoon at Balandra

From Frailles we made an easy day trip to Los Muertos then another day trip to Bahia Balandra just around the corner from La Paz.  It’s hard to believe that Jim and I were at Balandra almost 5 years ago when we flew south for a week to see what Mexico was like.  We rented a car that time and visited all the beaches on the cape near La Paz.  In fact we stood on the beach at Balandra gazing at a lone sailboat anchored out in deeper water and wondered what it would be like to anchor there on Falcon VII.  Well, we are pleased to say that we did anchor there and enjoyed it very much.

Hiking towards Bahia Tecolote for lunch

The outdoor restaurant with killer views of Esperitu Santos

Another cruising couple, Mark and Angelique joined us for lunch

We hiked over to Bahia Tecolote for some excellent prawns then snorkelled off of the  local reefs with Debra and Rob.  The weather was warm but not hot with a slight breeze that rocked us to sleep both nights.

We all snorkeled under these rocks.  Great tropical fish just below the surface.

We took the dinghy into the mangrove lagoon

By Sunday afternoon we had all had enough rock and roll so we headed to another anchorage closer to La Paz while Rob and Debra opted for going to straight to a marina. For the first time in a week we were not rocking and rolling and it was bliss watching the sun drop below the horizon as a sailboat gently moved towards La Paz.

A roadside memorial en route to lunch.  We see hundreds on the roads, paying
tribute to those who lost their lives in automobile accidents.

Up one side and down the other to reach the paved road.

Sand dunes with rabbit tracks

And a slithering snake, but we didn't see the snake.

On Tuesday afternoon we arrived at Marina Palmira in La Paz where we’ll stay for a week before heading to a different marina to rendezvous with Rob and Debra from Avant and Malcolm and Dina from Good as Gold. Once we checked in at the marina we had an hour’s walk into town for a great reunion, complete with champagne, on Good as Gold.  Both Debra and Rob and Dina and Malcolm are super friends and we hope to do a little cruising together in the Sea of Cortez after Christmas. In the meantime we’ll all enjoy the festive season around La Paz where the city have erected numerous light displays and a little elf village for families to visit.  The malecon is a great location to watch the twinkling lights and many families who love to wander along it after sunset.

Last year Jim and I really enjoyed the food at a postage stamp size Thai restaurant so we talked the group into going there for dinner, only to discover that the restaurant had closed down.  We regrouped and headed back to a popular outdoor restaurant near the marinas called Banditos.  Its claim to fame is the huge grill which is built into the old engine compartment of a souped up car.   Our group also included Dina and Malcolm’s daughter, Sophia.  She flew down from Ontario where she’s working on her Economics degree.  We were a motley crew wandering down the dark roads, especially because Malcolm needed a wheelchair for the excursion since he broke a bone in the bottom of his foot two weeks ago. What lousy timing for that!   No hiking, swimming, snorkeling, etc.  Another couple, Bruce and Lila from Gaya also joined us, having also just arrived in La Paz as well.  They cruised south from Victoria this fall and are grateful for any tips we can give them since we are all so ‘seasoned’ now.

Christmas should be a lot of fun with all the different couples.  We’ll be hosting dinner on Falcon for seven or nine people on Christmas evening and are looking forward to cooking turkey with all the trimmings.  Our gift to each other for Christmas was purchasing more school supplies which we will give out in the smaller communities that we visit in the new year.  We’ll be busy before that, though, as Jim would like to finish the salon table he built over three years ago. We have had it sandwiched between plywood and a silencing cloth with a vinyl cover on top to protect it.  We took the covers off it the other night for the first time since covering it up and were very pleased with how well it survived.  Jim created a one of a kind table with gorgeous tiger striping in the individual pieces of bookend matched wood. The varnishing process will take place over a number of days after Christmas and we can hardly wait to see the results.

I just finishing my forth load of laundry and am looking forward to smoked marlin on pasta for dinner tonight.  I purchased the marlin along with fresh veggies, bagels and a chocolate/pumpkin tart at the local market this morning held right here at the marina.

How cool is this!  See the sailboat just to the right of the setting sun,
enroute to La Paz for the night.

We didn’t have time to make a customized Christmas card this year but we hope you have a wonderful, safe and happy Christmas with your family and friends.  Next update will be early in the new year.  Merry Christmas!  Feliz Navidad!

Tricia and Jim Bowen
S/V Falcon VII
email: tandjbowen13gmail.com

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!

Jim’s just headed out with Rob Murray from Avant to help a sailboat that went aground in the channel leading to the Mazatlan Marina District so I thought I would get a quick blog update done.

We arrived at  Marina Mazatlan on Tuesday evening after two long days of motoring from La Cruz.  We left La Cruz before dawn on Monday morning and were quickly swept away by a feeling of exhilaration that we had actually left the docks at last – we were motoring but we were on the ‘road’ again!

Seven months in Banderas Bay.  Seven really great months all in all.  We loved our nine weeks back on Vancouver Island visiting friends and family but we also loved being in La Cruz for the rest of hurricane season.  The old houses and cobblestone streets were so wonderful and historic.  We will miss so many people that we met there.  Some were cruisers, others marina staff and lots of ex-pats who now call La Cruz home.  In particular we’ll miss seeing tiny Dona Mari with her little aluminum box trailer/wheelbarrow.  We always gave her a bit of cash when we saw her slowly trudging around the marina, bent over each garbage can looking for aluminum cans to cash in to live.  She always wore a modest dress with a full apron, old dusty flat sandals and a straw hat with a yellow flower.  Her bobbed hair still had a smattering of black but it was mostly gray.  Her eyes were runny like a bloodhounds but they were bright and alert.  She always looked us in the eye when she thanked us for our donations.  By the way, they think Dona Mari is pushing 100!

We’ll also miss saying ‘Buenos Dias’ to the many young Mexican captains who lovingly cleaned their owners’ boats six days a week so the boat was spotless if/when the owner made an appearance.  Their level of dedication and maintenance put us to shame!

So we left the marina as the pinkish sun was barely rising over the mountains behind Puerto Vallarta. We waved goodbye to La Cruz just as four humpback whales appeared off our starboard bow, tails gracefully lifting as they dove.  One farther away was spy hopping – that’s where they propel themselves right out of the water using the power of their trail before crashing down sideways sending up a huge explosion of white water.  What a great show, what a fabulous way to start the day!

We took this one in Alaska but it gives you an idea. 

Humpback tail as the whale dives deep.

After clearing Punta Mita we turned to starboard and headed straight for Isla Isabela, another 12 hours away.  We spent three days there in April during nesting season and enjoyed hiking the island and seeing the new chicks everywhere but this time it as just an overnight anchorage.  There wasn't much wind during the morning and what there was, was from the wrong direction so we kept on motoring. We enjoyed watching a myriad of seabirds including blue and brown footed boobies, gulls and dainty frigates diving for dinner.  A tiny butterball of a bird stopped by for a quick breather before continuing its journey.

We spotted a few fishing pangas, one which came speeding over to us.  The three fisherman began gesturing wildly for us to follow them around their nets, which were strung out about a kilometre between two barely visible short sticks with black triangles of cloth limply flapping in the light breeze.

We waved goodbye as we turned back on course, very aware that where there was one fishing panga there were usually one or two more.  Sure enough we started spotting more flags with small plastic pop bottles tied between them like a string of pearls.  In fact, we barely saw the thin light green line between two floats before we realized it had gone right under our boat.  Jim put us in neutral immediately before shutting off the engine.  And there we sat for a couple of minutes with the current and breeze holding in place, rocking Falcon sideways in the swells.  Not the most comfortable position so I used the boat hook to pull the line above the water and Jim could cut it, which immediately released it and we drifted free.  We were ok about cutting the line because the fisherman didn’t loose any floats or line, he just had to tie a new piece between those two particular floats.  Note to self:  Don’t do a night passage anywhere near San Blas or Isla Isabela.  Imagine running into those lines at night!

By mid afternoon we were really looking forward to anchoring for the evening.  Isla Isabela has some height to it so we watched it for hours as we got closer and closer.  Days are short now and we enjoyed a brilliant sunset at 7:00 just before we deployed our anchor and called it a night.

We were in bed early because we had another long day ahead of us.  Sunrise was spectacular as we started our morning.  Tuesday was pretty much a carbon copy of Monday but we only spotted one or two fishing pangas and a couple of trawlers heading south.  A highlight for me was spotting a big turtle just off our port quarter close enough for me to get a good look.  A little while later half a dozen porpoises came to visit, slicing through our bow wave.  One flipped about six feet out of the water right beside us.  Oh it was great to be out in nature again!

The sunset view from my galley port light window.

Just before we arrived at the channel entrance leading to the Mazatlan marinas Jim was able to contact Rob and Debra from Avant on the VHF radio.  Rob located a slip for us then gave exceptional instructions so we could find our way into the marina after dark.  We easily spotted Rob and Debra, flashlight in hand, signaling us in.  To our delight, Randall and Alison Stocker from Tregoning were also there and anxious to see us for a few hours.  We barely tied up before we were whisked away to a local seafood restaurant for margaritas and supper on the malecon.

Once again Falcon VII and Tregoning crossed paths, but barely. It was last March when we saw them but we kept in touch through email.  The conversation would have gone on for hours but they were leaving in the morning.  We hugged goodbye and waved while they left the docks on Tuesday morning as Randall and Alison headed south towards La Cruz and then eventually New Zealand.  Who knows when we’ll see each other again.  Part of the cruiser’s life is saying goodbye.

It feels good coming back to Mazatlan, having spent six weeks here last spring.  Rob, Debra, Jim and I bused to old town on Wednesday and visited the massive public market so Jim could have another feast of fried fish upstairs in the little corner restaurant with a narrow balcony overlooking the road. He loved it just as much as he did in March!  After lunch we wandered around the market and restored cathedral before enjoying a supersized glass of freshly chopped and blended pineapple juice while we watched the street vendors hawk loads of Christmas paraphernalia.   Of course, the big malls were all decked out, English speaking carols coming from speakers, echoing around the vaulted ceilings and open spaces.

We’ll be here for a few days while we watch the weather patterns in the Sea of Cortez.  We’ll need a couple of good days to cross the Sea of Cortez and head to La Paz in comfort.  More when we reach La Paz in a couple of weeks.

By the way, the sailboat that went aground just outside the channel eventually floated free, with Jim and Rob assisting them from a dinghy.  Such heroes!

Tricia and Jim Bowen
S/V Falcon VII
email: tandjbowen13@gmail.com