Debra and Andy
05/18/2012, Somewhere Over Utah

Here we are sailing along at about 600 knots at 30,000 feet as we head back to Colorado. Since leaving Coronados, most of our focus has been on our preparations to return to Colorado for 12 days. We left Coronados early Thursday morning to get back to Puerto Escondito where Murar's Dream is now happily moored awaiting our return on the 29th. Before mooring the boat, however, it was a trip to the fuel dock for re-fueling and a long-needed, soap and fresh water bath for the outside of the boat since it had not had this type of bath since we left Mazatlan-This was the first place that could provide the fresh water necessary to accomplish this task. We arranged for someone to take care of her in our absence since the batteries will need to be charged every few days to keep the refrigeration working so that our perishable provisions stay frozen and/or refrigerated for our return to cruising the Sea of Cortez. Once safely moored, the first order of business was laundry so that we would have clean sheets and clothes upon our return, a task which Debra handles extremely well. After laundry was completed, the three of us went to the marina restaurant for a nice lunch while overlooking the lagoon from our second floor location. After returning to Murar's Dream, it was time to tackle the latest problem-The rivets attaching our radome to the mast had given way. This meant that Andy had the task of riding the boatsun's chair up the mast to make a temporary fix by securing the radome to the mast using ropes until rivets are obtained and re-inserted. Andy and Rick visited with the local boat repair facility and arranged for the re-riveting to take place upon our return to Puerto Excondito since new rivets needed to be obtained in order to make the repair. We all returned to the boat where Debra and Andy continued the preparations to depart on Friday to the U.S. while Rick took the dinghy ashore to visit with friends from Marina del Rey who were also moored at the lagoon. When he returned, we all decided to walk the mile to the hotel/RV park where there was a restaurant. After a fairly mediocre dinner, we walked back to the marina along the road in pitch black conditions which proved somewhat eerie.

Friday morning meant another trip up the mast to make final adjustments to the temporary fix for the radome while Debra continued final preparations for closing down Murar's Dream. We then made our final lunch aboard the boat before performing a final cleanup and returning to shore to be driven to the airport in Loreto. Unfortunately, the plane ended up being almost 2 hours late, so we did not arrive in LA until 5PM and did not clear immigration and customs until 6PM. Fortunately, we connected with Trent who offered to come to the airport and join us for dinner, so he picked us up in our Audi which has been quietly awaiting our return while in the underground garage at Esprit Marina. Due to limited time (our flight to Denver was leaving at 8:15PM), we went to a nearby Persian restaurant which Andy had discovered on one of his earlier visits to LA before finding and purchasing Murar's Dream. Trent then dropped us off back at the airport and returned the Audi to its home at Esprit Marina until we return to LA sometime in early July. We will arrive in Denver near midnight, so it will be a taxi ride to our townhouse in Louisville before we can bring a conclusion to this very busy day.

Sea of Cortez

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Debra and Andy
05/16/2012, Isla Coronados

Our next, planned destination was a return to Isla Coronados, about 30 miles south of Punta Pulpito. The winds were forecast to come out of the southeast, which gave us some encouragement that this might just be an all sailing day. After leaving the anchorage at about 10AM, the winds began to build, first at about 7 knots and then increasing in the 8-9 knot range, making it suitable for sailing. Although we could not head directly for our destination, we were able to tack back and forth, making slow progress for our next anchorage. The winds continued to build throughout the afternoon, which is common as the land heats up creating an onshore breeze. By 1PM, we were sailing in 10+ knot winds for the remainder of the trip until just before reaching our destination. This was, by far, one of the better days of sailing that we have experienced in the Sea. Upon reaching the cove, we set anchor amongst the 10 other boats already here, and Rick and Debra once again took advantage of the cool waters by taking short swims. Debra took the opportunity to swim over to Di's Dream for a brief visit, since we had anchored about 200 feet to their port. Andy took advantage of once again having some internet access by catching up on his hotmail and taking care of some legal business in preparation for our return to Colorado next Friday. Andy prepared a tasty dinner of sweet and sour, but this time it was seafood based. Andy fileted the small fish that they had caught at Punta Pulpito, which we confirmed was not poisonous but only via taste testing, everyone having awoken the next morning without any bad symptoms. Since it was not enough protein for three, Andy had combined it with scallops to be used as the base for the dish. After dinner, Rick decided that he wanted to again try his luck at Mexican Train, so we played a three person version using all nines dominoes rather than the all twelves used for a larger number of players. Debra's luck continued as she easily won, and Rick managed to improve his play so that Andy proved to be the ultimate loser this evening.

Before leaving for our next destination, Candeleros, Andy and Rick launched the kayak for a trip to the "spit" (a thin strip of low lying land projecting off of an island) where there was a large bird rookery. The sea gulls were not happy with our presence, and two of them swooped down on Andy to warn him not to get too close.

Sea of Cortez

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Debra and Andy
05/16/2012, Punta Pulpito

The trip to Punta Pulpito was only a short 8 miles, so it was just a matter of motoring as the winds again were not cooperating for a nice day of sailing. Upon arrival, we were pleased to see that we were the only boat in the anchorage. After setting anchor on a sandy bottom in about 20 feet of water, we once again took advantage of the cool water by donning swimming suits to relieve us from the oppressive heat. This was, by far, one of the clearest waters of any of our anchorages so far since returning to the Sea. Everyone has been complaining about how the "water is turning green" at most of the anchorages and adversely affecting the visibility. We could clearly see the bottom here without much effort. We also launched the dinghy and took a trip around the outside of the point where we saw several sea caves, one being an archway with both an entrance and exit, but we decided not to press our luck trying to pass through. As the sun began to grow lower in the sky, Andy and Rick set out to return to the outside to try their luck at bottom fishing. This time, they had a little better luck than the prior day's effort. Andy was first to catch a fish, but it was not one for human consumption, and the whole purpose was to catch dinner. Rick then took over, first hooking what was probably a Bobo, but it managed to spit out the hook just as it drew close to the dinghy. His second effort proved more successful, as he caught a small, snapper-like fish which would be good eating but not big enough for a meal for three. Rick continued to have strikes but without luck in landing any. Several were more of these Bobos which would continually spit out the hook as they would jump free of the water, and, at one point, he hooked something large enough to bend the hook, but he never got it close enough to the dinghy to see it. After about an hour of trying, they finally gave up and returned to Murar's Dream where some arrachera beef had been defrosted in the likelihood that fishing would not produce dinner. Andy did clean, gut and scale the one fish that they caught, and it was refrigerated in anticipation of being used as a part of a later dinner. After a late dinner at sunset, we all sat in the cockpit, listening to some of the music which Rick had downloaded onto a new hard drive (Cat Stevens and Barbara Streisand) while enjoying an amazing display of stars which one can see without the ambient light of any towns in the area before calling it an evening.

Sea of Cortez

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Debra and Andy
05/16/2012, San Juanico

The heat has really started to build in the Sea. Afternoon temperatures are generally in the 90s, and it is the breeze in the anchorages, along with our sunscreening and Bimini which save us from the oppressive heat. It also helps that the nights are still on the cool side, generally in the 70s, but this, too, will change as the water temperatures which are currently in the 70s also begin to climb. Today, there was a weather report of the first tropical depression well south of Manzanillo, two days before the official opening of hurricane season. After awaking to another day of clear skies and light winds, it was time to set out early for our return visit to San Juanico so that Rick could experience this beautiful anchorage. The wind never did come up sufficiently for sailing, so it was a day of motoring. Upon arriving at the anchorage, we were quick to don our swimming suits and take a dip in the cool water to stave off some of the afternoon heat with little wind in the anchorage to cool us down. It was then time for Rick to take his turn at paddleboarding and did quite well for a first timer. We also took the dinghy to the southern point of the bay for a snorkeling adventure together with August Moon, and later Debra tried her luck at some bottom fishing off the dinghy without success. Dinner was the aboard August Moon where Doreen prepared a delicious Beef Bourguignon.

The next morning, we took the dinghy ashore to visit the Cruiser's Shrine, a tree along the beach where cruisers would leave mementos of various kinds, everything from flip flops with the name of the boat written on the sole hanging from the tree branches to rocks where the information was chiseled in and hand-painted, wooden signs. We then took a short hike to an overlook of the entire bay before lifting anchor and heading further north to our next anchorage, Punta Pulpito.

Sea of Cortez

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Debra and Andy
05/16/2012, Puerto Ballandra

On Saturday morning, we took the dinghy ashore to the Loreto Marina and set out for provisioning. Andy went to the fish tackle store to get lures and hooks to set up our newest rod and reel which Andy had purchased at the swap meet which was part of the Loretofest. We decided that it was time to try some bottom fishing since our trolling was not producing much other than more of the Skipjacks which are not particularly good eating. Debra headed for the supermarket for food supplies. Andy discovered several tortillerias and bought some fresh tortillas, both harina (wheat flour) and maiz (corn flour), still warm from the oven. After returning to the boat, we made final preparations for Rick's arrival that afternoon. Andy took the dinghy to the marina at 3:30 since Rick's plane was scheduled to arrive at the Loreto Airport, about 3 miles away, at 3:15, but he was pleasantly surprised to find Rick walking out the dock, having just arrived by taxi. They quickly boarded the dinghy and returned to Murar's Dream. As soon as Rick was settled in, we quickly set sail across the channel to Bahia Ballandra on Isla Carmen. After setting anchor, it was time to get together with August Moon, and they joined us aboard Murar's Dream for some of Andy's Thai curry. After dinner, we taught Rick how to play Mexican Train and had a delightful evening with a five person game of all twelves. Debra came out the winner, and Rick experienced the pleasure of coming in last at his first try at this most challenging game.

Sea of Cortez

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Debra and Andy
05/12/2012, Loreto

Rick arrives tomorrow afternoon, so we decided to make our way to Loreto and anchor outside the marina today to be ready for his arrival. First, however, we took the dinghy for a tour of San Juanico bay, paralleling the shore and looking down through the crystal clear waters at the coral reefs and sandy bottoms which outline the bay. The large number of rays were a special feature along the sandy bottoms as they would dart along as we approached them in less than 10 feet of water, a few of them being quite large (more than 2 foot wing spans). We then left San Juanico at about 10AM, and the winds dictated a total trip by motor sailing. Either the wind was too much on our nose, or there just was not enough wind to sail. This is the first time we have had to motor for an entire trip in a very long time. However, it did mean that we were not heeling, so Debra took advantage by cleaning the interior of the boat during the journey. Upon arriving outside the marina in Loreto, we set anchor, and it was time for Andy to do his part by cleaning the outside of the boat. So as not to use up valuable fresh water, this meant washing the boat using boat soap and salt water which worked surprisingly well. We really won't be able to do a proper, fresh water wash until we make our way to the marina at Costa Baja, just north of La Paz, later in June. After finishing all our chores, we launched the dinghy and went ashore to do a little shopping and have dinner. Our first stop was the government subsidized market which has limited items but at really great prices. We then stopped for margaritas at the hotel bar which we had visited on our prior, day trip to Loreto. Andy hit another supermarket to pick up some additional items before we decided to try La Palapa, a restaurant recommended both by fellow cruisers and our tour book that we have faithfully used for both navigation and recommendations. It was a delightful setting underneath a large, open air thatched roof restaurant where we enjoyed whole red snapper and some more of those local delicacies-chocolate clams. It was then back to the boat before dark where we wound down for the day. Tomorrow, we will stock up on some fresh verduras (vegetables) and fruitas before meeting up with Rick at the marina dock. We then plan to go, hopefully under sail, to one of the adjacent islands for the evening before returning to San Juanico to further explore that great location.

Sea of Cortez

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