SPECTACULAR PHOTOS TO SHARE

The Isla San Jose salt mine turned out to be very photogenic.  Though referred to as a mine, there’s nothing underground about it.  It’s more salt flats, with hundreds of settling ponds dug in grid patterns across the middle of the island.  Crumbling concreto buildings, an old truck and crumbling tractor are all that remains of the long since abandoned settlement and salt flats.  We spent a few hours hiking over, around and through the salt flats with our friends Scott and Tanya from Kialoa and Bill from Graybeard.

Spring is in the air.  Flowers are blooming where they can.

Tanya, Scott, Jim, Tricia and Bill with Falcon VII and Kialoa behind

The remains of housing from decades in the past.

This may look like ice but it's all salt, slowly eroding away.

Jim hiked up the hill to take this amazing photo of the salt flats to
to give a bit better view of the overall configuration of the ponds

When we returned to the beach a pod of dolphins were racing around the beach.

Los Gatos was another wonderful place to photograph.

Enjoy the eye candy.

Jim and Tricia Bowen
S/V Falcon VII

TROPICAL SHORES FOR MILES AND MILES

Jim and I continued to cruised north, visiting Isla San Fransisco where we rock hounded for rough agates and had some success.  It’s addictive, once you know what to look for.  We really enjoyed our hours of looking intensely at the layers of rocks rolling underfoot.  We were seeking out the gems, and loving the afternoon shade from a high cliff beside the beach.  We’re already planning on returning next winter because it is such a beautiful and protected anchorage.

We cruised to a small fishing village built on a narrow gravel beach tucked in below Punta Nopolo. We enjoyed the quiet of the anchorage under cloudy skies and mild temperatures.  Their concrete block houses were built in a crescent, following the contours of their  cove.

Isla San Jose early morning

Flat calm weather is good for fishing though

About 10 houses are clustered in this tiny place

Though we could see a path leading up the hill behind the village we didn’t want to intrude on their space so we stayed on board.  Since they had no fresh water, we watched as villagers gathered their water containers and loaded them into a panga and taken to a close by river for re-filling.   Imagine, this would be repeated every few days, year round.  We know that Rotary International are working at fixing that and we hope Nopolo’s fishing village is on their list.

Every few days they have to take all the water jugs to be filled from a
community that has fresh water

Their only accessible is by boat, which means all provisions, fuel, household goods, etc. are also brought in by panga.  Likewise, any fish caught are kept on ice, taken by panga nine miles south to San Evaristo then driven to La Paz.

Late afternoon one of the fishermen stopped by to say hello with his young daughter in tow.  She was tiny and shy but her eyes lit up when I got out a bottle of bubbles for her.  They left, waving the bubbles as they headed for shore.  The next morning another fisherman, Alfredo, stopped by in his fishing panga to ask for Jim’s help in understanding his Garmin GPS, used for navigation.  Unfortunately the instructions were in Spanish but Jim was able to extrapolate and explained how the basics for how it worked, since we have a similar one.

Alfredo was in his late 20’s with a wife and two young children.  We learned that there were seven children in the village so we gathered most of our school supplies and asked Alfredo to deliver them for us.  It was clear that he was in no hurry to leave so we got out pictures of Alaskan mountains and glaciers along with our English/Spanish dictionary and muddled through the visit for another hour. By then a slight northerly breeze was blowing so we said goodbye, pulled up anchor and had a downwind sail to San Evaristo where we met up with Scott and Tanya from Kialoa and their friend Bill from Graybeard.  Since we hadn’t seen them for a couple of weeks we had a potluck dinner on board Falcon to catch up and discuss options for the next day.  The five of us decided to motor across to the abandoned salt flats at the bottom end of Isla San Jose, only four miles away.

Such a beautiful location for this remote community

Moon in the morning

The following morning was spectacular with blue skies, turquoise flat seas and a radiant morning sun so we motored 30 miles north to Los Gatos, which had 10 yellow nylon tents lined up along the beach, along with mess tent, kayaks and paddle boards.  There appeared to be 20 people, including at least two families amongst them.  They were a happy, harmonious and energetic bunch, rotating between paddling, swimming, snorkeling, kayaking, spear fishing and beachcombing.  In the morning they all collapsed their tents, packed up camp and headed out in three pangas.  Now that looked like a fun vacation!  The pangas transported everything from one tropical beach to another where the sports toys were once again lined up in the sand, ready for play.

Typical geography along the Baja

The earth's crust makes amazing natural art

Jim and I took the dinghy to shore to explore the rock formations close up.  The cliff were copper coloured, glowing in the morning sun and elongated shadows.  It had more moon-like wind swept rounded mounds crushed against other formations clearly showing the earth’s crushing forces.

Just after anchoring we were approached by local fishermen who wanted to know if we would like to buy some lobster.  We readily agreed and they promptly sped off in their panga…to catch two fresh lobsters, which they brought back within half an hour.

Fresh dinner!

We cooked them in garlic and olive oil, served with baby potatoes, zucchini fajita.  Needless to say, they were delicious but too rich to finish so we had the rest in a pear salad the next day.  Doesn’t get much fresher than that!

Fresh lobster dinner!  Yum!!!

The days are getting ever so slowly longer but by 7:00 the sun is setting and the first stars appear.  I love being away from civilization so I can see the celestial sky, hoping to catch a falling star or see a satellite cross overhead. I know some of the constellations and plan on studying a bit more.  No picture could show you the beauty of the uninterrupted night sky in Mexico.  It has to be experienced.
Since the photos of both the salt flats and terrain of Los Gatos were so plentiful we’ve posted more eye candy under a separate blog entry. Enjoy!

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

AWAY WE GO AGAIN!

I just had the most peaceful morning at anchor, hanging out on Falcon all by myself.  Quite rare really.  More on that in a moment, though.

My view...

On Sunday, March 1, we finally left Marina La Paz after our extended stay.  Being at a marina has its benefits, especially for provisioning, having internet, power and water, visiting the chandleries, getting the laundry done, meeting up with friends, etc. but being away from a marina has far more benefits mentally for us.

The last few days in La Paz, since returning from Canada, were hectic.  We had to install our new traveller system for the mainsail, re-bed the aft hatch, rewire two lights in the aft head and then put the headliner back up. We also had to provision since we’ll be away from civilization for a few weeks. We worked 10 hours a day for four days, collapsing near 7:00 p.m. and on Sunday afternoon we left and promptly anchored only 10 minutes away, off of El Mogote, but it felt like we were 100 miles away. Untying the lines is so incredibly freeing!

Here we are  in La Paz at the bridge where we put our love padlock

At anchor off of El Megote in La Paz

The porpoises swimming at the anchorage off of La Paz

We spent the rest of the day relaxing and watching dozens of porpoises swimming around our boats while the odd sea ray lept out of the water.  On Monday morning we motored north to Playa Bonanza on the east side of Isla Esperitu Santo, only three hours away.  Our good friends, Doug and Martha Towle, on Thea, left La Paz at the same time.  We’ll be buddy boating for a few days before they return to La Paz then on to Ontario as Martha’s mom is in failing health.  As we travel we’ll also meet up with other north-bound cruising friends heading towards Santa Rosalia and Guaymas on the mainland.

As soon as we were both anchored off of the white sandy beach we headed to shore for a long beach walk.  We noticed one lone tree that warranted a picture, since it is so rare.

The view of our newly painted outboard and Bahia Bonanza

The lone tree on the beach

Our steps sunk into the mixture of seashells and sand, giving our feet and legs a good work out.  We paddled in the crystal clear but cool water looking for rays and dolphins off the beach.  The four of us gathered after dinner for “Wizard”, a card game that Doug and Martha generously gave us for our games library.

Both couples agreed to meet in the morning for a 3 hour hike across the island to Bahia San Gabriel but since my back was acting up I decided to stay on Falcon with an ice pack. It was odd watching Jim, Doug and Martha heading to shore without me. The weather was warm but overcast with little wind so I perched quietly on the side deck and reflected on my surroundings.  The fickle sun peeked through the clouds from time to time, illuminating the hills and cacti above the beach.   Kayakers always enjoy the sheltered bays of Esperitu Santos and a cluster of white tents stood above the water’s edge awaiting their return from a paddle. The skies opened up for a while and our decks were washed clean by a light rain. I read, prepped lunch and contemplated making appies and dinner for the hikers.  I really enjoyed my quiet time but enough was enough!

Tents used by kayakers at Bahia Bonanza.
By the next morning they were all gone!

My view from Bahia Bonanza during my day of relaxing

Clouds and sun chasing each other across the anchorage

That small dip to the left is the trail between Bahia Bonanza and
San Gabriel on the other side of Esperitu Santos

We had a great meal together, followed by a game of Hearts before bed.  The next day we motored around to Bahia San Gabriel on the southwest end of Esperitu Santos for another couple of days, enjoying both the beach and the hiking.  The trail across the island was the flattest yet but hot with the mid-day sun forcing us back to our boats for lunch and rest in the shade.

After six wonderful days cruising with Doug and Martha, we faced their departure with sadness. We‘re sad that Martha’s Mom is not doing so well.  We’re sad that they are returning to Canada earlier than anticipated and we’re sad because we’re going to miss them but we know there will be plenty of opportunities for us to get together in the coming months and years.  Given the circumstances, we would have done exactly the same thing.

So we're cruising again and happy to be doing it.  More to come!

Tricia and Jim Bowen
S/V Falcon VII

MAKING A SMALL DIFFERENCE

A giver and a grateful receiver 

January the 6th is a special day in Mexico.  Known as "El Dia de Reyes" or Three Kings Day, this holiday represents the height of the Christmas season. The date marks the culmination of the twelve days of Christmas and commemorates the three wise men who traveled from afar, bearing gifts for the infant baby Jesus. The children of Mexico in particular look forward to this holiday as traditionally, gifts are exchanged on this date, not on Christmas day.

January 6 was also a special day for us because we received gifts of friendship and a sense of community here in La Paz.  It was our time to give back to those less fortunate.  

A little background....While cruising in Mexico Jim and I want to give back to kids and we heard about a fundraising effort over the holidays to help out nearly 30 kids who lived in a shelter.  Usually extended Mexican families take their kin in when necessary and provide them with love, food and shelter.  This shelter, on the outskirts of La Paz, is full of children that have no extended family and, consequently, have nowhere else to go when their parents are arrested and taken away to jail.  Some of the kids have been there for years, cared for by a hard working group of caregivers, teachers and volunteers who do their best to make the shelter 'home'.  They ranged from 3 years to 18 years.  

We connected with cruisers/Rotarians Bob and Charles and asked how we could get involved and if we could tag along with local Rotary International volunteers when they visited the shelter on Kings Day.  For years we had been involved in Christmas parties for under-privileged kids in Victoria and wanted to help the La Paz Rotarians do the same thing  - to make it a bit of a special day for the kids.  

Volunteers from the Quilters Club sewed the majority of the gift bags
but we were able to help them with the last few before stuffing began.

Rotary International is a worldwide organization where neighbours, community leaders and global citizens unite for the common good. They focus in six areas:  promoting peace, preventing disease, providiing access to clean drinking water and sanitation, enhancing maternal and child health, improving basic education and literacy and helping communities develop.  Check out their website:   Rotary International

In La Paz there are five chapters of Rotary that meet regularly.  We connected with a chapter that took on the challenge of fundraising and helping others very seriously. Our donation of school supplies and toiletries were happily accept for the cause and added to the growing stash they had collected.  I volunteered to help sew tote bags for each kid and Jim had a fun time filling the new bags with those much needed school supplies, toiletries and a special gift for each child.  

This little cutie would not let Jim put her down until...

Around 4:00 on January 6 a caravan of volunteers with gift bags, hot pizza and litres of juice headed out of town and into the dusty, rural foothills to the south.  Clouds of dust erupted when we arrived and parked the cars outside the shelter. Some kids were reserved; some were clapping, jumping up and down and running for us at top speed. We were surrounded by smiling faces looking up at us, some desperately wanting to be held.  I may have temporarily lost Jim's heart that day!  

I think the pictures will say it all from here...

another man picked her up.  She loved the bubbles!
We are very impressed with Bahia De La Paz Rotary Club.

Juice, pizza, Kings Day cakes....ready, set, go!

The pizzas, etc. were gone in minutes.  The kids loved it!

Everyone gathered before gifts were given out.
The younger ones could barely contain themselves. 

I wandered away from the chaos for a few minutes.
This blue building is home to all the kids in the shelter.  No grass in La Paz.

Every day must be laundry day.

Not much in the way of playground equipment but there was a swing as well.

Warmhearted Blanca Rafael showing the kids her Ipad.
She is the incoming president of this rotary chapter and
clearly puts her all into everything she does..  

Jim with Juan Rafael.  Juan and Blanca Rafael are amazing ambassadors for the
 La Paz Rotary and for the grass roots help Rotary International is known for.

A bunch of volunteers stepped outside for a break from mayhem

Blanca and volunteer Carol from the Quilters Club surprised this young
mom with a quilt for her tiny son.  She also received a bag of diapers
and other desperately needed baby products

This little guy was so thrilled to have something of his own.  He had already
taken everything out then put it back in but he had to look at his gifts again,
privately, or as private as it gets with 30 'brothers' and 'sisters'..

This young man sought out Blanca to thank her and shake her hand (top of page)
because he was given a new pair of runners and they fit.  He was so grateful.
This boy was not the only one who looked for Blanca to thank her.  

Now that's a very happy young man, wouldn't you say!

The young teens were very reserved and shy, sitting away from the little kids.
A volunteer gave special glitter pens to each of them,and
they very carefully took the precious pens, thanked her and shook her hand.

As we cleaned up and departed the kids were just getting
ready to party....tea party that is.

This was a wonderful event for both of us and one that well remember for a long time.

We are heading back to Canada mid February so we'll take a break from the blog then start up again once we begin our northern travels.  Bye for now....

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