12/31/2008, Off Isla San Jose, Sea of Cortes
We were chugging along comfortably when all of a sudden there was a vibration that we hadn't heard before. Being an optimist John first assumed that we had caught a very big fish but, unfortunately that was not the case.
We were not able to see anything on the prop by leaning over the side so John took everything out of the lazarette (no small task) to make sure the transmission and drive shaft was OK.
With a little experimenting we found that the vibration went away a lower rpm so we limped into the San Evaristo anchorage for New Year's Eve.
The following morning Shawn volunteered to brave the 64 degree water and swim down and have a look at the problem (Happy New Year). When he came up for his first breath he said that there was no difficulty diagnosing the problem. The picture above this blog entry shows the junk he pulled off the prop and drive shaft.
For the next 30 minutes he used a steak knife to carve several feet of polypro line and a plastic gunny sack off the shaft and prop. We have added some pictures of the debris to an album in the gallery section of the blog.
Some of the polypro rope had melted and was very difficult to get free. Shawn got enough of it off that vibration problem went away and we made it into La Paz without any more problem.
A diver is scheduled to come finish the job later in the week. The bottom needs cleaning anyway.
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12/22/2008, Baja California
Today we took a bus trip from Santa Rosalia to Mulege (about 40 miles south on highway 1).
The photo with this post shows the view from an observation post behind the mission church on a hill outside of town. You can just make out the tower of the famous Mulege prison sticking up above the town in the distance.
It was hard to decide what to use for a photo for this post but the lush valley is really the thing that sets Mulege apart for the rest of the Mexican towns we have visited so it seemed like this was a good choice to show was most struck us about this place.
We bought our bus tickets yesterday and were on deck and ready to leave well before the 9:50 scheduled departure.
The bus was an hour late arriving in Santa Rosalia and the driver spent about 20 minutes screwing around with luggage and freight before we finally got underway toward Mulege.
In about 1/4 mile the bus pulled over to the side of the road and the driver announced a 20 minute dinner break (for him). So most everyone piled off the bus and stood around the highway for the 20 Mexican minutes that the driver took for his lunch. That works out to something slightly longer than 30 of the type of minutes John's watch measures.
We were standing there within sight of the bus station we had left from. Why he did not just wait to put people on the bus until he had finished his lunch is something we are still trying to figure out.
We finally got to Mulege a couple of hours later than we had planned but still had plenty to time to wander around and see the highlights.
Mulege is on the Santa Rosalia river which is one of the few fresh water rivers in this part of the world. As a result the river bank is lush with vegetation (mostly date palms) and is a very striking sight in the baja desert. Its very strange to see large stands of Saguaro cactus right up to the forest of date palms.
The mission church building is beautifully preserved and still in use. The tower and parts of the main building date to the early part of the 18th century.
While we were wandering around looking for the mission we ran across a young guy who was walking up the road carrying a bucket. Eager to test the Spanish we had been practicing on our DVD we asked for directions to the mission and got an appropriate response (always a bit of a surprise at this point in our studies). This young guy was walking our way so he escorted us all the way to the mission (using a short cut to get us up the hill behind the mission.
He told us that he worked with drug addicted kids, some as young as 10 years old.
In addition to its mission church mulege is known for its old prison building which is on a hill over the town. When it was in operation the prisoners were allowed out during the day to work and spend time with their families. They were summoned back at night.
Apparently the rare escapee was usually hunted down and brought back by the other prisoners who had a vested interest in seeing the honor system remain intact.
One of the other things we noticed about Mulege is that it is really loaded with gringos. We saw California, Nevada, Colorado and British Columbia license plates on cars and RVs loaded with surfboards and fishing gear.
The trip back was a real E ticket ride (in the old Disneyland parlance). Our driver had a heavy foot and went barreling along inches away from small herds of cattle along the side of the highway. We should have been suspicious that we were dealing with an aggressive driver when the bus arrived and left on time.
We were both struck by the incredible beauty of this place. Once you get even a few hundred yards from the relatively dirty towns you find yourself in virtually untouched stands of cactus and stunning views of the rugged mountain ranges that make up this part of Mexico.
We took a bunch of pictures and will upload them into a gallery album. The pictures we have taken of the countryside just dont do it justice so we are leaving those out until we figure out how to get photos that do a better job of showing the beauty of this part of the world. There is something about the scale of the cactus stands that does not come through in our photos.
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12/19/2008, Santa Rosalia
We left Bahia Concepcion early this morning (first light) and made it the 50 nautical miles to Santa Rosalia in just about 8 hours. It was a bumpy ride with 20-30 kts on the nose the whole way. Some of the time we were exposed to the full swell that had built up in the sea (4-6 feet and steep) but much of the trip we were in the lee of either Punta Chivato or Isla San Marcos.
Because the C Map charts we are using on the nav computer are so bad we have to cut wide of all potential hazards which adds some miles to every costal passage.
We arrived at the Singlar marina just inside the breakwater around 4:30 and were helped into the dock by a team of very helpful security men. Within half an hour we were all registered with the marina and more than ready for our first shoreside shower since we left La Paz After a few minutes of anxious waiting the water finally got hot.
Its a short walk from the marina into the main part of the town but it was dark by the time we got there so we did not see a lot that evening but had a very nice dinner in a little restaurant on Aveneda Alvaro Obregon (see gallery).
The next morning we walked through the town and found it to be charming and the residents friendly.
We had a great lunch at street side taco place (see gallery) with incredible carne asado tacos and a very friendly staff. Most of the time the younger waitstaff asks us if we want arena or maiz tortillas (flour or corn) but the older, and more experienced folks know that the gringos will go for the flour 99% of the time and don't even ask.
We got to visit the prefab steel church that is attributed to Gustav Eiffel and got some good pics (see gallery).
In the afternoon we walked around the ruins of the copper smelting plant that was started by the French in the latter quarter of the 19th century and walked up the hill to look over the Hotel Frances and the main office building for the Boleo copper company that is now a museum.
We also stumbled on a local gin mill called "Taverna de Moe's" with a larger than life painting of Homer Simpson on the door. (see gallery)
Sunday was a work day with John changing the engine oil, replacing a burned out running light bulb and repairing a spot light we have under the radar arch to help us see the combination lock for the cabin when we return in the dark.
About 50% of the work on these projects involved digging through the lockers to find all the stuff that was needed for the job and then putting it all away.
Shawn did the laundry, cheered the Chargers on to victory via the internet (someone streamed the game to the net) and then he cheered the Buffalo Bills on to the defeat of Denver which was critical to the Charger's chance to make the playoff.
Monday morning we are taking the bus to Mulege for the day. The 40 mile trip with reserved seats on the bus was about $6 each. We have paid more than that to for the privilege of standing on BART back in the bay area.
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