Dave/finally several days of warm weather
01/01/2012, San Blas

Well we have now made it to San Blas Mexico. Yesterday we were able to get our boat out of the water so we can do repairs. Were able to find a nice little bungolo with a kitchenette, TV, and HOT water (a premium). The last few days have been very nice and warm. We will fill you in on San Blas in the next Blog (San Blas was founded in the 1500's). So since our last blog entry we enjoyed a few more days in Mazatlan which continued to be rather cool. The last day we hired a "Pnuemonia"(open air taxi). The driver was a very nice fellow named Jorge (Hor Ha). We asked him take on a tour of the real Mexico so he drove us to his home and introduced us to his family which was very nice addition to our vist. He gave us a tour of Mazatlan (not the tourist area but the peoples Mazatlan) all for about $20.00 for 2 hours. A nice last day in Mazatlan. All in all we enjoyed Mazatlan which was less touristy than Cabo but very large. Also the town sufferd from the loss of cruise ships because of media reports of violence. We did not see any of this, it looks like the government has put their foot down with a large milatary presence. Also many of the large disco clubs are now closed as apparently the clubs were a sorce of the drug/gang violance.

Comments [0]

light overcast/high seventies today
12/22/2011, Stone Island Anchorage

Well we found our way to the old Club Nautico anchorage and went in to pay and take showers. We had read and heard that there was a waste treatment plant next to the old club so most yachties went to the modern marina's north of town. At $4 a night it fit our budget and we found that they had made improvements to the waste treatment plant and it was not too offensive and we spent little time at the actual club heading into town most days and coming back at night. Albiet the showers were quite rustic we appreciated them no less. Looking around it it's easy to see that the Old Club Nautico must have been a grand time for many early cruisers. The club dates back the 40's. We found the local buses ran right near and are a deal at 6 pesos (50cents). We could go any place we wanted and as far as we wanted for the same price. The first day on shore we walked around and found the old town square and market. Also the old Catholic church and the Historic areas of the city. Mazatlan gets it name from "Land of the Deer". We were told that the expensive homes built in "Historic District" were remnents of wealthy germans who exploited the gold and silver minning at the turn of the century. This area is charming to walk through with it's narrow streets and interesting architecture. We took several pictures of the dichotomy that you often see in Mexico. One property falling down with 60 year old trees growing up through the old struture and next door a newly renovated home that would run a couple hundred thousand to purchase. We viewed one such home. It looked very modest outside yet inside was a 4,000 sq ft home with water fountains, marble columns, hand laid tile floors with the original hundred year old oak doors. As usual we have had a great time trying to use our limited Spanish and it seems just as much fun for the locals to try their English. So far we have not spent much time on the beach. However yesterday we moved from the old club Nautico in the main harbor and anchored in Stone Harbor just a stones throw south. We walked the beach some and took some staged pictures of us drinking coconuts and laying in the hammocks. Although the hammocks and coconuts are real. We found the famed coconut milk not to our fancy, not horrible just not the sweet coconut flavor we expected. It was very overcast yesterday and a bit chilly so we have been bringing a sweater or equivalent to shore these days. We learned that this beach was some of the original old beach area that was Old Mazatlan. Some of the "Palapas" you see in our pictures date back to the late thirties. Today the sun is back out with only partial overcast so we are off the boat headed for famous "Benji's Pizza" on the beach. It's hard to remember that it's in the dead of winter and almost Chrisrtmas. We plan to stay until Jan 1, and then head south again to Isla Isabella where they have blue footed boobies, that's a bird and the only other place on the planet that they are found is on the Galapogos. There are also iguanas found on Isla Isabella. We plan to only stay there a day or two and then off to a small town on the coast. We should be in Puerto Vallarta by Jan 15 or so. More on Mazitlan later, check out the new pic's. Our e-mail address is cdavidscee@msn.com if you want to drop us a note. Bye for now Dave and Leiann S/V Chrysalis II

Comments [1]

Dave/Sunny On and Off
12/18/2011, Still Mazatlan

I wrote some more on the last blog in case anyone is interested....still trying to figure this blogging stuff out. Look for 12/16/2011 and read from there and then look again in a couple days for more updates. I am so busy exploring ports and meeting people and just having fun I can't catch up but I will!!

OK Dave here will try to bring you up to speed. Cabo was a very busy and expensive place, but not all bad. After a week of "hey buddy have I got deal for you" it was time to move on. We had visted many historic and interesting places, rented a car so we were able to get out of touristville and check out nearby San Jose del Cabo (twenty miles to the east). We stoped in del Cabo and walked around the old town areas. That's our M.O., we're not so interested in the new condo's, McDonalds and Walmart. We ate in a little place and I had Mexican chicken soup and Leiann had Mexican pancakes (same as American). We always try to interreact with the locals, say Hola to the children who smile and laugh, vist the market, the old churches, grave yards (These are interesting as they have little houses were the family can come and have a vist with their deceased family member) (AKA Day of the Dead). Well we finally did leave Cabo after being there a week. We were the last of our group (of sailboats traveling together)to leave. Some had gone to Peurto Vallarta some to Mazatlan some to La Paz. We had a good weather window for the crossing yet when we got twenty miles out we hit rough seas and wind right out of the East (the direction we were trying to go). Leiann was down below bracing herself in so that she would not get thrown from one side of the boat to the other. Considering the fact the Leiann had been dealing with sea sickness the whole way and the fact that I wanted her to want to contine to want to cruise, I decided to head back into San Jose del Cabo. So we ended up traveling thirty miles to go twenty over to del Cabo. We came into del Cabo in the dark (it seems we just can't stand to come in the daylight when you can see where you're going). But our GPS Plotter works very well and shows us most of what we need to know coming into a strange port. At del Cabo it is so new that the entire marina does not show up on the GPS. So we just poke along real slow in the dark looking for the Red and Green lights to giuide us in. This can still be spooky because your betting they put lights in the right place and that they are still working. Leiann has to guide us in as I am color blind. I asked her what do you see, she says ROCKS, Ahhhh, what the heck. The opening to the marina was a little off to the west from where they decided to put the lighthouse (go figure Mexacan logic). We stayed at del Cabo a couple of days. Ran into our old friends off "Cricket" and made some new ones. We ate at a little place that predated the marina called Ali's International Place. Ali must be in his 70's and is from a mix of African/Middle east and European decent. He speaks six languages and says no religion or politics in the resturant please. Very interesting fellow who was a chef by trade all his life and has cooked in places all over the world. We had dinner the first night and came back and he made Crepe's for us for breakfast. We walked alot as usual when we go to shore. They had a swim with dolphins training going on so we watch the trainers working for an hour.We headed out accross the Sea of Courtez the next day. The first day we had probably the best sailing we have ever had. Wind pushing us along at 6-7 knots, for you landlubbers thats 8-9 miles an hour. Considering our boats hull speed is 5.25 knots this is unbelievebly fast. The next day we motored all day and got into Mazitlan at 1100 that night, go figure. We were able to find the anchorage without difficullty and throw out the hook and went to bed. The next day we stuck our heads out of the hatch to see where we were (it's always something to wake up in a strange land and not know where the heck your are). Mazatlan harbor is dramatic as rock islands and points tower above the water. We put the dinghy in the water and headed out to explore a new land. Stay tuned more on old Mazatlan later.

Comments [1]

Leiann/Nothing but Sun
12/14/2011, Mazatlan

Well here we are finally trying to catch up since the last entry. If I repeat anything please forgive me, we have already done and seen so much it's hard to keep track much less write it all down. Meaning that we are having the time of our lives!! We left San Carlos for Cabo San Lucas on a Thursday, date unknown cuz we really don't keep track of what day it is. We arrived in Cabo on a Saturday and we were pleasantly surprised to find that some of our cruising pals were there. Greg and Calel from Foreign Affair however were getting ready to go further south as they had been in Cabo long enough. SeaMoore, Liahona and KIST were going to stay a few more days so we began to make plans for our regular pot luck get togethers. Oh I forgot to mention that on this trip down I did not get sick for over 48 hrs. I did manage to do so just hours away from our destination. That might not sound good to some of you but for me it meant that perhaps I was on the road to getting my sea legs! I'm sure that by now you all have figured out that Dave and I like to visit outside of the tourist areas so off we went to explore the older part of Cabo. We took our new old friends Bonnie and Kevin with us one day and went to the museum only to find out it was closed that day. So we visited a restaurant, no we didn't eat, called Mi Casa. This restaurant was HUGE. I am not kidding when I tell you that over 1000 people could eat there, ok maybe embellishing a little, and that you could buy souveniers galore! I am going to write more later as my computer keeps dumping what I write for some reason. Check out photo gallery for new pics though! 12/16/2011 Ok so this is what happens when hubby gets on the site, he puts a pic up that looks like I'm drunk! I'm not and that isn't even a real drink. That was taken at Squid Roe in Cabo, a very crazy and wild place and Dave had been there and wanted me to see it!! We also went to Cabo Wabo, that is the place Sammy Hagar opened up in the 90's and it's still going strong despite the fact that he sold it. It was here that something came over me and I decided I wanted a tattoo. Yes me who always said nope not me.......so I got a butterfly with our boat name underneath it. It hurt but I managed to tough it out and yes it will be my only one. We spent almost a week in Cabo just hanging with our cruiser friends and even going to a movie one night, in English of course. Then we did what we weren't going to do.....went to a timeshare presentation. It wasn't that bad, the place we saw was fabulous and we got a buffet breakfast, $100, a rental car for 24 hrs and $50 gift certificate for dinner. Not bad for 75 minutes of our time and no pressure from the sales person either. Ok so you are kind of up to date and I will write more later but now it's time to go shower and go to The Salvation Army Kid's Christmas Program at Marina Mazatlan. So I will be coming back in a few days to catch you up. Adios for now and Roy a panga is a dinghy, sort of.

Comments [2]

Leiann
12/09/2011, San Carlos

Dave and I got to San Carlos in the afternoon about 2ish. We anchored the boat not far from the commercial pier after realizing that the info about a boat lift in San Carlos was incorrect. Dave always has other options if the 1st don't workas the picture will show you. So we took the dinghy to shore to a restaurant on the beach where the waiter came to greet us. Lucky for us he spoke English. He told us to leave our stuff and come into the restaurant and the owner would be coming in to assist us with the needed items for our repair. Once there the Chef wanted to make dinner for us. We decided what the hey and took him up on his offer. While he was making dinner the owner Fito came and talked with us about his rooms for rent and going to Constitucion to get parts we needed. We decided we would take him up on his room which was more like a motel with air conditioning, hot water and even somone to do our laundry. Chef Bernardo aka Bernie made us an incredible meal. It was lobster, prawns and scallops in a lobster sauce with mashed potatoes and asparagus. The cost: $27. Seriously! Then Fito took us to our room and we showered (finally) and decided to cominad around the town. That's walk for you gringos. Yes we are learning Spanish....but slowly. San Carlos had dirt streets and it is our kind of place, away from touristas and all the tourist traps. We went to the town square and watched the nino's (boys) play soccer. One little guys was barefoot on the concrete and about 3 ft tall and he will be the next soccer star given what he could do with his feet. A site to see for sure! The next day it was a trip to town for items to fix the boat. This turned out to be an all day affair but not before our own private chef made us desyunas, breakfast for the non Spanish speaking! Once in Constitucion we found out that the alternator wasn't toast but did work just not when it's on the boat. Later Dave figured out the problem and got it running again. We had to order the epoxy for the strut from La Paz which would come on the bus the next day and wouldn't be the right stuff. never fear my hubby has a million tricks up his sleeve and can make do with what he has. We stayed another night in the room and got up the next day to go to the boat which had been brought in close to shore to careen over in the sand so Dave could work on it. After he got the work done we had dinner at a "real Mexican taco" stand! That's what they told us. Then we had ice cream at what would become our regular place while in San Carlos. Dave would ask for extra spoons and give the kids a bite of his. We were waiting for the tide to come in so we could go back to the boat so we decided to go see the hypnotist that was in town. He had great big blue carnival tents and the whole town appeared to be there even though it was only one of the ten nights he was there. Dave and I understood none of it but we could laugh with the best of them when the three guys did what he told them to. We went back to the boat only to discover it was still on it's side. No big we would go out and wait for the tide to come in. Only it didn't come in as high as it was when we put the boat on it's side so we slept sideways on it......not condusive to a good night sleep for sure! The next day Dave tried his hardest to right the boat bu there was no budging it. Lucky for us a panga came by and we got righted and we were able to sail away to our next stop Cabo. We really enjoyed our visit in San Carlos and the people we met while there. Fito, the owner of the restaurant, Raul the waiter also his brother-in-law, Bernie our chef, and of course Raul's espousa Aurelia. Aurelia did our laundry and she even ironed it all, includingthe underwear, yes she did! Bernie outdid himself everytime he cooked for us which was often in the short time we were there. Fito is also the Director of Tourism and he made Dave his representative to sell San Carlos to others.

Comments [2]

Leiann/ Very Very Sunny
11/29/2011, San Carlos

Hola Family and Friends! Finally we get to update the blog. Of course I already have a book and a half to report but I will just touch on some the highlights of what we have been doing. We left Totugas or Turtle Bay and headed south to Bahia Santa Maria. Of course I kept up on being sick the whole way, who said this was fun? Of course once we got into the bay life got much easier or I should say my tummy stopped the topsy turveys. We stayed there a couple days and one of them we went for a walk to the fishing camps.
We had our new friend Calel with us. Calel wanted to leave Turtle Bay and go home to Cabo San Lucas so he hitched a ride with Greg, S/V Foreign Affair, and all of us cruisers have been thankful for him in one way or another. He is bilingual and that in itself is priceless. I cannot explain the fishing camps but suffice it to say that the fisherman work hard and leave their families during the week to live in little shanties on the water. We stopped at the Tienda (convenience store) and bought something to drink and munch on while Calel talked to the fisherman and translated for us. We had about 4 guys there at the beginning and by the time we left we had up to 20. Mind you this is out in the boonies. We asked if they would take us through the mangroves on their pangas (boat) and they agreed. But before we left they gave us 6 lobster tails for a couple double A batteries. Greg, Calel, Dave, Deena and Rick (couple that came into the bay that day on S/V Talaria) had a feast that night! Deena brought a salad and I was in heaven as salad isn't a norm anymore.
So we decided to leave the next day and Dave took Calel and I over to the sandy beach on the other side of the bay so we could walk to the next bay, Magdelena. He didn't want me to get sick so I walked. Ed and Teri from S/V SeaMoore met us on our way and they wanted to return to the sandy beach. Good thing too. Dave had gone back to the boat and took the outboard off the dinghy when the Chrysalis began dragging anchor. Whoops there went the outboard into the sea! No biggee.....Calel dove down and brought it up. I told you he was important to us. So the good news is the motor runs even better after this little dip and Dave taking it apart and cleaning it up!
Dave and Greg sailed to Mag Bay and we walked.....of course it only took us 45 minutes and them 5 hrs or so. There were cruisers already there and some came in the next day. This was on Sunday and some of them were talking about leaving to head south but we had to stay longer as the boat needed some repair work done so I talked them into staying for Thanksgiving. Yes we had the traditional American dinner except it was on the beach! 5 of us went to the town of Constitucion via panga to get the turkey(only place that had them) and other items needed for our feast. I cannot even begin to tell you how that journey was. We started out in a panga and then when we got to the beach they backed a truck and trailer up, put the panga on the trailer and we stayed in the panga and drove down the road. Then they dropped off the panga and trailer and we rode in the back of the truck to town, about 35 minutes. We laughed so hard thinking about at home how this was a big no no but in Mexico it's pretty normal. Oh and they don't stop at stop signs either. We didn't get back until after 8pm and the panga has no running lights so we were in the dark the whole way back to Mag Bay. Incredible! I will finish this story later as I have to go to town now with Aurelia, one of our new amigas!
The rest of the story......We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with all the traditional trimmings, except cranberry sauce. The best part of this life is that there a number of people in the same boat. I know cheesy. On the 20th of November it's Flag Day here and the local people including children put on a parade and the children were dressed like old time Mexican people during the revolution. The boys even had beards and the boys and girls took turns demonstrating the history of the revolution by shooting each other. I have to say the beautiful little girls did a much better job ofdying than the boys! I know it's kind of creepy but it is an important time for them and their culture. After the demonstration we all went to eat. The population of Magdelena Bay is 110 adults and 30 children! We hung out at Jose's Palapa the whole time we were there, he had food and beverages and Jose told us his casa was our casa. And that is how it has been anywhere we go.
Sunday the 27th we headed out to San Carlos so we could fix the boat. That is where the latitude and longitude in the title is. So another day we will update you on San Carlos and the fun we have been having here and how once again we are immersed with the locals. Love to all of you and I know it's mean to say wish you were here!!

Comments [1]