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| A moment of bliss on the sea |
Posting this photo in my swimsuit at the bow of Pura Vida is a small reminder of what it's like to be warm, as I sit here in rainy and chilly Portland.
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| River boat moving logs in front of our home |
In fact, this river boat just floated past our front yard, moving logs on the rather high, fast moving Columbia River.
Just imagine the many differences between the Sea of Cortez and the mighty Columbia River during March.
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| Great kayaking in Bahia Algodones |
Happy to be in the northwest, we are, having just arrived after a fast yet enjoyable drive north from Guaymas, Sonora - and especially because we had our very own home waiting for our arrival. It means so much to us to get settled in with our own things. Thanks to our friends and neighbors who watched over our place during the cold and snowy winter; all was fine.
Mike's already taught a sailing class since we arrived in Portland and has his plans underway for the summer while I am pursuing marketing work and finally going to get my Ham Radio license. :-)
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| Great vistas and cirrus clouds along our way |
The first of March signaled our haul out and the end of our sweet month of being afloat, hanging around the Sea of Cortez. During our time on the water, we explored new areas, kayaked, hiked, relaxed and actually had time to read some books. The highlight was the self imposed "work stoppage" where no additional boat-love projects were undertaken, discussed or worried about. They, too, shall wait for another time.
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Amazing rock formations and colors.
And a seemingly designated bird poop rock. |
After haul out, we hustled over the next few days to get our boat ready for another hot summer. We are quite meticulous in our boat prep so she endures the heat, sun and rain. This time we hope for no storms with the strength of Hurricane Newton who wreaked havoc on a lot of boats in the Guaymas/San Carlos areas.
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| Fishing vessel heading to home |
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| Installing LEDs in my closet! |
The repair projects Mike completed and those we worked on together in our many weeks in the boat yard all worked very well, so we were thankful to experience 'all systems go'.
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| Extricating himself from closet |
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| Nice! Well lit closet. |
The two nights before we hauled out, we docked at the Fonatur Marina in Guaymas to take down and wash sails, wash the boat, do laundry - all the fun stuff. We didn't connect the neurons that we were there at the end of their Carnaval 2017 (Mardi Gras).
We docked directly across from the malecon (boardwalk) where Carnaval was underway before Ash Wednesday and Lent quieted things down. So, we experienced close and up front the competing loud music from various stages, flashing lights, parade sights and sounds.
We decided to be part of the action, taking it all in after a long day of work prepping the boat. Fun was had by all. Even as we shook our heads at the questionable ride structures and old systems in use at the Carnaval, we trusted Attraciones Tijuana and did the Wild Mouse Ride. Great fun, with lots of screaming from yours truly and the 2 girls who shared our car on the ride. Mike's long legs barely fit but we were safely locked in place.
Check out the mobile cart with a small fire the guy stoked and added wood to before he did his lap through the crowd selling roasted calabaza (squash), platanos (plantains) and some other vegetable we didn't recognize. Of course, we had to try it - delicious, served with hot sauce and cream topping. Who knew it would be so tasty.
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Citrus from our friends' home in Oroville, CA.
I will be making my first batch of limoncello. |
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| Beautiful stone & ironwork |
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Wine tasting on our way N, Mike showing off
his shirt from the dry storage yard |
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| Great sign at the winery |
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| A resident egret at the Fonatur dock |
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| Why we love being on the water, Bahia San Pedro |
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| Sunset at Bahia San Carlos |
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| Travel lift to the dry yard |
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| Sunset at Guaymas Harbor during Carnaval |
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Closeup of the fisherman statue and stage set up
for the super loud Banda music during Carnaval |
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Quite the Carnaval festivities. Yep, we went on the
Wild Mouse ride even after seeing the antiquated equipment. |
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| Cheetos tree at the Ley Market |
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| If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Enjoying a night out at Carnaval with some crazy tequila drink and my newly won Pokemon light, earned at the carnival games. |
