Eye Candy - Baja Style

 

I thought it might be nice to select a number of what I'll call 'eye candy' photos of our experiences rather than "boring" you with stories of our adventures. Also, since we are heading north shortly, time is of the essence for getting all of the many tasks completed on board before hauling out on 5/20 - in a different yard this year. 

Since arriving in Mexico in early February, we've had our ups and downs as life presented itself, but truly and thankfully, mostly ups! We are so thankful for every day we have on board living this lifestyle.

Work awaits us in Portland starting in June. We hope it's a good experience this year in that sadly changed city. We are ready to fill the coffers that enable us to have more sailing time, aiming for autumn of this quickly progressing year of so much transition all around us.

Here's this year's route we were fortunate enough to explore. We covered some magical miles, with both day and night passages. Each year, we think we'll go further south at the onset when we launch. And each year, considerations of health, work opportunities and other factors change our 'plans' and that's okay for us. Our goals haven't changed, they are delayed until the time is right. 

Sunset at Santa Rosalia - we left at 6:20pm to cross
to Guaymas. Motor sailed 17.5 hours; we had
such a starry night and the waters so calm!

 I started the night shift so got the sunset and back on
shift for the sunrise as we head east toward Guaymas
after our night passage; pretty cool!

Sunrise at San Carlos, the Tetakawi landmark

Church built by Eiffel, shipped from Brussels, Belgium
to Santa Rosalia by the French mining company manager

Some of the detailed stained glass

The view toward La Ramada, walking to the ranch
for fresh veggies at Jose's farm

Desert trekking

The welcoming entry to the Guaymas harbor

Full moon at anchor, San Juanico

View from the cemetery at Santa Rosalia

I know, more dolphin pics -
they are so amazing and playful!

Splashes and shows were non-stop some days

Spring in Santa Rosalia

 

The autoparts store, I'm buying yet another alternator

The mining town at Santa Rosalia

Back in Guaymas, lots of law 

enforcement on the mainland

Walking through the barrios uphill
to the cemetery

The salsa selections always overwhelm!

Cheers to our many friends from Doney's 

original restaurant in Mulege!

Rammed by a panga!

 

Wow, there’s always a lot of stories when you’re a boat owner. This is one you hope you don’t have to experience or write about. We often wonder if this might happen, and I can assure you, there’s a big honking noise when it does.

Pura Vida anchored at the red dot

Here we were, bright sunny midday, in the absolute middle of a huge anchorage at Bahia Candeleros, south of Puerto Escondido. We anchored smack dab in the middle of this mile wide anchorage, ¼ mile from shore (we purchased a range finder to gauge distances – who knew?). On shore, a large resort with not many guests, is served by local pangas and larger lanchas, for touring, fishing, creature watching. During our couple of days there, we saw a few pangas a day, so not much traffic.

Flavio's bow pulpit is sorely worse from the crash;
you can see how clear the day is and how far from the resort on shore

A very loud crunching, scary noise startled the four of us (our Portland guests shared the experience) and we all bolted to the bow to see what the heck happened! There was a poor local, Flavio, in his white and orange panga, his stanchions broken away from the bow and a pretty shocked look on his face. He seemed okay and I asked “¿que pasó?”. While not sure exactly what he said, it was pretty much texting while driving. He hadn’t achieved enough speed as he departed from shore to be planing, but going fast enough to have the bow pointing skyward and cause some damage, mostly to his boat. 

Thankfully (she says with quotes), he hit absolutely the middle of our bow. The winds were blowing about 15 so our anchor chain was taut. That, and our bobstay was hit secondarily, so these steel beasts absorbed the brunt of the impact. We also have a pretty stout bow - one that now sports a gouge in our recently painted fiberglass. But we are safe and alive and so is Flavio. 

Flavio provided his contact information and Mike dropped the dinghy to inspect the situation. After full assessment and a lot of consternation, Mike determined our damage was minor, all things considered! A hit alongside the hull would have led to a very different story.

A reminder for us that every day is a blessing and provides us with life lessons and experiences.

Anchored quietly at Punta Colorada, Isla Carmen

The Winter of Two Toilets

Installation of the newly received toilet seat components completed, checked off the list. Thankful to be among those who can sit happy.

We have two heads which is a pretty sweet deal on a boat, we know. So, once fixed, it was time the other head decided to act up. Problem identified by our brilliant captain and the part identified from the exploded view of our Raritan toilet manual. Zeroed in on a very small but important seal. 

Our West Marine friend who ordered the replacement seal for us suggested I name this blog post: The Winter of Two Toilets. And so I oblige and acknowledge that you never know what will or won't work on a boat... 

We are glad our friends brought down the tiny seal which solved the leak issue and provided yet another happy moment on board. Part of the joy of our lives on Pura Vida is celebrating victories, large and small.

We didn't venture into the Sex Shop

After our departure from Guaymas in March, we sailed on a beeline south to La Paz in an attempt to sell our old life raft. That's another story, best told over a beer so we'll skip ahead. 

We spent a busy week in La Paz, walking, eating, exercising and people watching to name a few of our many activities. What a difference from last March/April Covid onset time to this, a year later. And yet, it was the same. Maybe others can relate to this awkward feeling. Masking, safety protocols and plenty of temperature taking moments.

As our action-packed days passed (of course, there’s a ton more to do when ‘in town’), we tossed around a couple of options - it was time for an excursion.

* rent a bicycle built for two for a ride along the fabulous beachfront malecon and side streets of La Paz

* swim with the whale sharks in the bay

We eyed up the hot pink double seater bike at the rental shack, and although sturdy in its structure, the seat could not be raised nearly enough for our long legs. The staff sure tried! We were all sad and shaking our heads; it just wasn’t going to work. So, on to finding out more about the whale shark excursion. We had done this cool outing with friends 10 years prior, upon our arrival in La Paz from the great northwest.

Ready to slide into the water
alongside the whale shark

Staying clear and trying to keep up 

The other 2 couples were from
Mexico City and Queterero

Unfortunately, the visibility was lousy so
it's hard to envision the grand nature of this fish
- but you can see the spots 

Two nearby places offered the experience and we chose the fun, local staff who described a fine outing. We were able to sign up with a private group of four on Monday morning. Good thing they said ‘no go’ on the weekend as the winds were high and as it was, the visibility was still lousy. 

We took turns and all had a great time trying to keep up with this giant ‘fish’. It’s not a whale nor a shark but the biggest known fish, we learned from Damion our guide. Along with Geronimo, the captain, they provided a wonderful excursion on that cloudy morning, complete with cookies and Fresca. The two staff encountered our whale shark after an hour of scouting slowing in the bay. It was about 30 feet in length; they can achieve lengths of over 40 feet. Since our last swim, the Mexican government has made big strides in protecting this species and their habitat. Highly monitored and controlled, which was excellent news.

Dolphin pod jets alongside to check us out

After one more margarita and live music at the local restaurant, we headed out the next day from La Paz for destinations north. A dolphin pod wished us a safe journey as we sailed out of the bay and orca whales blessed as we headed north. What a treat! It’s so hard to capture the experience on camera, but we do our best.

Humpback whales playing on our port side

Before the big splash, momma and baby 
and others following

We’ve been traveling around the Loreto / Isla Carmen / Danzante Bay area for the last two weeks, enjoying the visit of our friends. It is truly a treat to share the experiences: the sights, the sounds and the many flavors of our boating life.

As our friends depart today, we will continue our exploration northward. The sea and its adventures await!

Always amazing, colorful flowers and plants

Great architecture & metal work everywhere

Electrical safety! Another use
for a plant hanger?

Exploring along the river in Mulege

Walkabout in Mulege, finding the museum/prison

The oasis in Mulege

Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mulege

2 hands hanging on -
entering the cockpit

Our heavy grocery bag straps broke
so we paid a diver to salvage our stuff
at the dinghy dock in Puerto Escondido

In Guaymas, Salvador installing our wind generator
which has added to our available power
along with 4 additional batteries

Vista al Mar seafood restaurant outside Loreto

Find the hummingbird feeding!

The fabulous oasis that is Mulege

Foggy day in Punta Colorada on the Baja

Exploring Mulege from the hillside