11/19/2008, La Paz
After a 7 hour motorsail in flat seas and negligible winds, we arrived in La Paz, currently in a slip at Marina De La Paz while we provision tomorrow for the next couple of weeks of island hopping.
La Paz has a reputation as ground zero for cruisers because of the benign sailing conditions, great island anchorages and great weather in fall and spring. A large contingent of cruisers lives here year round and there is a clear community here, with daily cruisers nets on the SSB and VHF 22 where you can find any service, swap or sell parts and interact with your fellow sailors. Marina De La Paz is sort of the central location for this scene, with a restaurant catering to the live aboards, a chandlery and every shape and size sailboat you could every want to see. Of course it's also crowded and after the last weeks hanging out in uncrowded anchorages, were not sure how much of this we will put up with.
Current plan is to spend a couple of days and then make our way up into anchorages on Isla Partida and Isla Espiritu Santu where the turquoise waters are perfect for snorkeling.
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11/17/2008, Los Muertos
Rina and I have been passing time catching up on 20 years of BOOK reading.... Careers and kids will do that to you.... We both wanted to find time to really go deep. We went through our book collections at home and brought 40 books aboard and then did some serious Barnes and Noble shopping, and then added to that by trading with other cruisers. Included for me was stuff I was forced to read in college but really didn't appreciate at the time.... classics like Plutarch, Tocqueville, and a recently developed passion for World and American history. Also along for the ride is classic science fiction and for Rina, contemporary fiction.
I went for the feel good best sellers of the year:
What Went Wrong - written before 9/11, a scholarly look at the history of Islam and it's relationship with the West and how beginning in the 14th century, Islam moved from being a (relatively) progressive society into one that shunned all progress, especially if it came from Europe, which was just emerging from the middle ages. The result speaks volumes about the relationship between Islam and the West today. A dense read, but the insights enlightening.
Plagues and Peoples - Another cheery non-fiction, charting the course of human history from prehistoric times, through emerging societies BC and AD, all through the lens of disease and the role it had in shaping and destroying societies. The big aha in this read was the VERY recent role of modern medicine over the last 120 years and how while we may think we have conquered many of the diseases that shaped societies through millenia, disease always finds a way....
Currently reading "Collapse - How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed" gee, might be timely reading giving the BS our economy is going through right now.
Rina is reading slightly more uplifting fare...
Nights of Rodanthe, recently made a movie...., then Eat, Pray, Love...
As you might have figured out, we have different book tastes... I guess it's a Mars/Venus thing ;-)
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11/17/2008, Los Muertos
Los Muertos is about an hour from La Paz by road and 2 days by boat. It is a cove with a sandy beach that stretches for about a mile. On one end is a panga encampment, where the fishermen go out every morning at sunrise, come back by 2pm and sell their fish on the beach, to the two restaurants here or back to La Paz. The restaurant in this picture is formerly the Giggling Marlin, related to the club of the same name in Cabo, but now under new management as El Cardon, serving wonderful local mexican dishes and hosting a great tequila bar. On the other end of the beach is a 5 star B&B called Casa De Los Suenos. Formerly the private residence(s) of a San Diego real estate developer, now an exclusive resort with 5 individual houses, each with a private pool. The common buildings are magnificent, with a combination of enclosed dining and open air rooms. Walking through them feels like you are in somebodies personal residence.
There are about 7 boats in the anchorage and the resort does not open for guests until next week, but the staff needed some training. We were invited up to eat at the restaurant and swim in their pools, hosted by the manager. The margs were two for one, but he didnt really keep track... The restaurant was a converted great room, with the second floor holding a 3 level antique train set that filled the perimeter of the building, at least 50 x 100 feet. Downstairs held several tables, casual seating areas, big screen tv's etc and a 30 foot bar. The patio overlooked the endless pool, 2 stories, with a water slide connecting them.
This place normally goes for $6-900/night during the season and is booked solid. Next week we would not be able to even get our dinghys on their private beach. Check out the picture gallery for a couple of pictures of the property.
Yea, we can hang here for a couple more days, especially since we get to hang out on their free internet connection as well, which works great from the boat out in the anchorage.
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11/16/2008, Los Muertos
While visiting my auntie Pep in Newport Beach in October, she gave Rina a lesson in cutting my hair. As you can clearly see, she is a fast learner, doing a great job with this really picky client.
We also got a chance to try out our fledgling spanish today as a couple of fishermen were heading out and their engine died right in front of us and they started drifting down on Follow You. We tied them off on our port side and helped troubleshoot their engine problem. We have this great little book of "cruiser spanish" including names for all typical engine and sailboat parts... we fumbled through and found that the electrical connection to their fuel pump had come loose. Same thing happened on my SeaRay skiboat 15 years ago. Arsenio would be proud of our fumbling around in spanish trying to help these guys.
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11/15/2008, Los Frailes
We woke early to sail to Los Muertos with Carinthia, our friends on a Lagoon 440 Catamaran. We see the sun rise at 7am and are underway by 7:15. It is 45 miles to Los Muertos and the winds are at 10, increasing to 14. After 30 minutes Deitmar calls us on VHF 22 and declares a race on. I opine that the winner will be determined by who can point higher to the wind. Winds are from the North so it's a beat all the way there. Fortunately, if there is one type of boat that Follow You can point higher than, it's a catamaran. Sure enough, we are doing 6 knots, 40 degrees off the wind in 12 knots of wind, and Carinthia is doing 7 knots, 50-55 degrees off the wind. We head east for several hours and Carinthia is 3-4 miles ahead of us but their bearing continues to go down, indicating that we are sailing ahead of them. They finally tack back and their closest approach is .5 miles BEHIND us, when we started 1 mile behind them. We tack back after 30 minutes and never give up our lead. We both turn on the iron jenny around 1pm to make the anchorage by sunset, which was even nicer than last night. We may have the satisfaction of going to windward better than Carinthia, but downwind she will clean our clock.
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11/14/2008, Los Frailes
Rina caught my first dive into the warm waters of the Sea of Cortez. 80 degrees and clear as a bell. I spent the next 30 minutes inspecting the hull of Follow You... the marine growth was minimal and zinc anodes are in pretty good shape. Couple of divots on the bow where the preventer rubs back and forth but otherwise ok. I'll be a swimmin' fool as long as the water stays warm. 2 laps around today, 3 tomorrow, etc, replacing the jogging I used to do.
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11/14/2008, Los Frailes
Los Frailes is a small dent in the shore that provides a respite from the north winds and waves coming South. There is a rocky point about 500 feet tall and a sweep of beach, with pebbles turning to sand as it heads south.
Rina and I watched the sun set and the moon rise over the point and just marveled. We pulled out the camera and snapped the above shot, but it just does not do this moment justice. The water is 80 degrees, the wind almost as warm, the fish are jumping around the boat, and then out of nowhere a swarm of small jellyfish wash past our boat, each emitting a sharp black light, first concentrated in a single point, then dissipating into a blur outlining their pulsating bodies. The current swept the light show past our boat in about 10 minutes... if you were not paying attention, it was gone. We looked at each other and smiled.
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Love, Kathleen
11/13/2008, San Jose Del Cabo
So here is the difference in wave height forecast between SF and La Paz... I don't think we have every dealt with wave heights this small... what to do!
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11/13/2008, San Jose Del Cabo
After a wonderful couple of days kicking around San Jose Del Cabo, Rina and I are headed out this morning to Los Frailes, a small anchorage up the east coast of Baja. The next week we will gunkhole up the coast until we arrive in La Paz for Thanksgiving, where we have been invited aboard Carinthia, friends Dietmar and Suzanne's Lagoon 440 to celebrate.
Over the last couple of days we have had a little bit of everything. Boat talk with the many sailboats coming in and out at our dock, impromptu parties, stunning sunsets, played tourist in old town San Jose Del Cabo, a high end dinner at www.donemiliano.com.mex where the executive chef is now cooking aboard Maltese Falcon in the Sea of Cortez. We also got our laundry done, the boat re-organized post Haha, hit the local "mega" superstore for groceries, took long naps, read and got oxidation off half of our boot stripe on the hull. All told a nice combination of nothing and "stuff"
Rina and I had one moment yesterday, as we were motoring out in deep water making water (the water is too silty in the marina for watermakers) and we both realized that for the first time in a LONG time, we did not have to be ANYWHERE or do ANYTHING. For perspective, we've been planning this journey for 2 years, with a series of self imposed deadlines, moved aboard in August, moved briskly down the coast of California, coordinating schedules with family to enjoy time together, did the Baja Haha rally, with it's tight schedule, dealt with the hustle and bustle of Cabo San Lucas, got our friends and family off on their flights, and then... ... ... staring at the wide open mountains of Baja, out in the middle of warm seas and warmer breezes, we realize we don't have an obligation for weeks. For this reforming "A" type, it bent the mind a little, but in a good way. Sweet.
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Corey.
11/12/2008, San Jose Del Cabo
When in Cabo, try not to get taken!!! This picture cost me a bundle of pesos!! Having a great time, now we are in San Jose Del Cabo, leaving for Los Frailles tomorrow morning. Hoping for a great anchorage and some swimming and snorkeling. More boats keep showing up here in Puerto Los Cabos Marina.....it's really busy with Ha Ha people. Many taxi rides to town, shopping, food and laundry (of course!)....Miss my crew already! Big hugs to everyone at home, miss you all the most!
love
rina
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