Happy New Year or as we say down here: İ Feliz Año Nuevo! I planned to send out a holiday e-card or yearly letter, but time got away from us. I realized there have been five major reasons that my writing has been delayed, both in getting an annual letter out, but also posting on the blog. Those reasons are as follows: traveling, having visitors, buying a car, and dealing with mechanical and medical problems - not necessarily in that order of timing or priorities…

1. Traveling in and around the Sea of Cortez, down to Banderas Bay. This took a total of 8 days with 2 days recovery time on the end of two cruises due to lack of sleep on the overnights. We made it across to Mazatlán at the end of November/beginning of December and on down to La Cruz and Banderas Bay by Christmas, which is where we are now. La Cruz is about 30 minutes out of Puerto Vallarta, toward Sayulita, for those of you who know this area. We left La Paz, on the Baja peninsula on November 31st and made our way to a large bay where we anchored for the night, and to try to get our sea legs back after 6+ months in a marina. The bay was on Isla Espiritu Santo in the Sea of Cortez, and is called Bahia (Bay) Bonanza. This is a beautiful, LONG white sandy beach bay, with turquoise water, and only a few boats anchored nearby. It was only a 3-hour trip to the island, but a good way to “shake things up,” and to see how the boat performed. The cats were fine on the sail, with no throwing up(!). We were pleasantly surprised and feeling like maybe they are used to this boating life after all. Well, not so. Not for any of us. The next morning (Dec 1) when we motored out of the bay, we put the mainsail up immediately as we could see wind on the water up ahead. As soon as we hit that area, we were glad that we had put a reef in the main, as the wind was consistently 15-20 knots, with stronger gusts with seas of 4-5 ft. and very sloppy/choppy. We all got nauseous but luckily the cats were the only ones to throw up and have diarrhea. But Ron and I were pretty green and not able to eat much of anything the first 24 hours at sea. We forced down a half peanut butter sandwich for dinner just to have something in our stomachs. We rounded Cerralvo Island by mid-afternoon on that first day and headed southeast to Mazatlán. Soon after we rounded the point, a huge wave came over the whole bow, breaking the strap on one of our kayaks! We nearly lost the kayak, but Ron was a brave soul and he strapped himself on to the jack lines (cables that run from bow to stern that you can attach a harness to so you don’t go overboard if a wave comes over the whole boat, or we get knocked down). He managed to rig it with a new line and many magical sailor knots. Then the wind died after about 24 hours, leaving us with big choppy seas for the next 12 or so hours. At 7:00 am on Dec 2, our engine started slowing down due to a clogged fuel filter (Mechanical!) so Ron had to go down below to a VERY hot engine room, to change filters. By then the seas remained large, but with longer periods between the swells. Light winds, but not enough to sail. We were getting worried that we were going to have to be towed into Mazatlán, at many thousands of pesos, if we couldn’t keep the fuel lines from clogging, however, we made it to El Cid marina in Mazatlán by 9:00 am. Whew! The whole trip took us a total of 46 hours, with only 4-5 hours sleep between the two of us for the entire journey. I can tell I no longer tolerate all-nighters like I used to! We were both worn out by the time we arrived.

Our priority in Mazatlan became getting the fuel lines replaced, as they were 35 years old, and since we had repaired everything else in the fuel system (had the fuel tanks cleaned, fuel cleaned and “polished” twice), the fuel hoses had to be the problem, which turned out to be correct. They were corroding and breaking apart inside. We also had to stick around for the installation of a new battery monitor, which still isn’t working correctly, but we have been told by Rick the mechanic that he will fix it for no charge the next time we go back there. Meanwhile we enjoyed Mazatlan, as we always do, trying out some new restaurants with cruising friends, going on the Friday night Art Walk through the old colonial part of the city amid the Christmas decorations and lights, decorating our own boat, and re-provisioning for the next journey down to La Cruz. We found that some of the cruisers that make El Cid Marina and Resort their home base remembered us from last year and invited us to their annual Christmas party, as well as just catching up with news around the docks. We have also realized that there really is a community of ex-pats, or part-time pats (?) that we can look to for advice, or sailing stories or just comradery. It doesn’t make us feel like we are so much on our own, or so lonely for back home.

We left El Cid marina on December 22nd at 9:45am, heading south to Banderas Bay. We had to adjust our course around Stone Island to allow for a ferry to go by. We noticed it coming up our starboard quarter, but on a collision course, so we decided to get out of their way! We sighted 8 whales within the first 2-3 hours out, but nothing after that. One was breaching, and I turned around when I heard the loud splash, but missed most of it. We motored all day – without ANY problems, with the diesel acting like a diesel should, running and running and running. Not enough wind to sail by; notice any pattern here!?! It was a fairly calm day and night, and we arrived in Chacala Bay at 10:30 am the next day. We had never anchored here, but had been told that it was a beautiful little white-sand beach bay with palm trees and tiny palapa restaurants lining the shore. Turns out there are also some mega mansions on the hillsides, making it a little like Sausalito Mexican-style, or a small village in Greece along the Mediterranean. We spent one night there, and just stayed onboard, rather than venture onshore. The beach was rather crowded as the Christmas week celebration was underway, and many Mexican families head to the beaches for the holidays. Therefore, there were lots of bonfires, with an onshore wind, making us eat their smoke. Ron coughed all night long in his sleep, and it turns out that this cough lasted much longer than we thought at that time. But it was very pretty, and we were ready for a good sleep. We got up early the next morning, Christmas Eve, and headed out at daybreak, thus arriving at the marina in La Cruz by 2:30pm, right before the office closed for the holiday. Christmas Day we went in to town for a special Christmas dinner at Philo’s Restaurant and Bar. They hold an annual dinner, charging cruisers 50 pesos each (about $3.50 U.S.), and we all bring potluck dishes to share. They had turkey and the trimmings, and of course, there were tons of other dishes, as well as live music, including a dog standing in the doorway, howling away on some of the tunes. One of our young female friends got up at the end of the band playing and sang “Oh Holy Night,” a Capella. It was beautiful and captivating, and you could hear a pin drop, which is saying a lot with that crowd. She trained professionally before going cruising with her husband, and looked so sweet, being as she was 8 ½ months pregnant and has a voice like an angel. To me it was a highlight of the evening. All of the cruisers also contribute money for gifts for the kids in town, who come through with their parents for a couple of hours, meeting Santa Claus (Mexican of course), and getting a bag full of gifts. Lots of grinning kids, and smiling parents, the other highlight of that day.

2. Visitors – Family and Friends
My sister Linda and her husband Steve visited for a few days after Christmas. We went into old town Puerto Vallarta and anchored for a night at Punta de Mita. On the way there we saw the best display of whales that we have ever seen. Two or three of them breached a few hundred feet off our port side, 3-4 times total. We all ended up with our mouths open in awe, screaming and laughing came later. Amazing. Of course, no one had time to grab a camera, so you will just have to imagine it. More screaming came a few days later as Linda, Steve, and I took a bus back from our visit to Puerto Vallarta. The bus ride is about 30-40 minutes, and we had heard they can be bus rides from hell. Well, it’s all true. Our bus driver got a little pissed off at the driver of another bus and they started racing each other down the streets. We are talking cobblestone streets with cars parked every which way, and touristas and locals stepping out from the sidewalks or standing a little too close to the curb. I swear we clipped a guy’s elbow, but for sure, I know that we hit the other bus a couple of times, knocking into their rear view mirror. One of the things we had heard about the buses is that you will find your bus paint rubbed off on to the bus next to you! You certainly don’t want to stick your arm or elbow out. There were a couple of people who changed seats to avoid that side of the bus and who “crossed” themselves after a couple of the close calls.
A couple of weeks after Linda and Steve left, a couple of San Francisco friends, Laurie and Doris, came for several days. I met them in Sayulita, a town on the Pacific coast and only about 20 minutes from La Cruz by car. It is quite the surfer town, and a little more of a frenetic life style than I am used to. Lots of young ex-pats working enough to surf on their time off, selling whatever they can on the streets, or working in the restaurants and shops. But it is very cute with lots of little shops, farmacias, tiendas, pubs and restaurants. It definitely reminds me of a town on a European coast, with bungalows, larger houses/villas, and small resorts climbing the hillsides. Walking is the way to get around town, but you have to watch for the little electric golf carts with white-haired retirees or whole young families driving willy-nilly down the streets, or for the campesinos on their horses, trotting through town. I am enclosing some photos that Doris took, as she is quite a good photographer, and really captured the feel of the town. The resort we stayed in is a series of small condo casitas stretching up the mountainside, with pools at different levels. I think their condo was up about 5 or 6 staircases, which became a challenge for me with my knee. But what a view when you finally reach the top. The only problem we experienced was sleeping under palapa roofs. Palapas are the thatched roofs, typically made of palm fronds woven tightly together to keep out the weather; however they suck at keeping out noise, and here in Mexico, you get late night music a lot, and barking dogs and roosters in the early morning hours. So even if the music is a few blocks away, it sounds like the band is on your roof. These roofs somehow amplify the sounds in a way that we had never imagined. So sleeping became an issue, even for Laurie, who wore herself down a bit surfing that afternoon, in some pretty good size waves/

3. Buying a car
One big task we completed between visitors was buying a car! We haven’t owned a car or even driven in almost two years. We both sold our vehicles in June or July of 2013, right before we moved out of Jack London Square marina in Oakland. We had mixed feelings about buying another vehicle, as we have actually enjoyed taking public transportation, taxis, and pulmonias as a way to get to know more locals and to be able to practice our Spanish. Forced language lessons! On the down side, it takes us a long time to get anywhere, depending on the number of stops, and it is hard to lug groceries around on a bus, so we always have to take a taxi on the return trip, which adds money to the cost of a grocery run, even when you split it with another couple. We also end up walking a lot, because the buses don’t get you directly where you want to go, which is a plus and a minus. It would be a plus if I wasn’t having continual problems with one of my knees, because we have always enjoyed walking, but right now my knee is extremely painful (which is the MEDICAL issue below). So anyway, we found a used car on Craig’s list in PV, being sold by a Canadian real estate agent. We were originally looking at car dealers, but they only sell fairly new used cars (“semi-nuevos”) and cost more than what we wanted to spend. We just want a used registered Mexican car – due to the import taxes of approximately 30% to bring a new or used car in from the US, and we didn’t want something really nice, as it will get beat up on the roads down here, and damaged by the sun fairly quickly. Ron had been watching a 2003 Nissan Pathfinder on Craig’s list, so we called the guy in PV, rode the bus up to look at it, and made an offer. It is their luxury model, so was in pretty good shape with brand new tires. The realtor and his wife have two other cars and rarely drove this car. The guy said why don’t we just take care of this tomorrow morning, so we wired him the money, met him at 9:00am, and he drove us to the equivalent of the DMV office, spoke Spanish to the people at the window, guided us through the whole process, and $200 US dollars and 2 hours later we walked out with our new title, new 2015 registration, and no need for new license plates. The insurance also goes with the car and has been paid for the next couple of months, so we didn’t have to worry about that immediately. Then the guy drives us down to Bucerias, a town between La Cruz (where our boat is), and Puerto Vallarta, to meet his mechanic. He had the mechanic fix the back window as it was not locking completely tight, then paid for that repair, handed us the keys and off we went! Oh yeah, by the way, the people at the Mexican DMV weren’t going to let us buy the car because we don’t have a Mexican bank account, but the guy said, “you can’t let them even though I can vouch for them because I rent one of my condos to these guys?” That changed their mind and they now had a legal address for us, and allowed the sale to go through! We felt very lucky that we bought the car from him, and that we liked the man as well. He has invited us to get together sometime. I tell ya, good experiences continue to occur down here, balancing out the less positive.

4. Medical
Okay, the whole medical issue, again! I swear, I continue to see myself rapidly moving into that age range where one of the biggest topics is your latest aches and pains, and who is the best doctor for those ailments. It freaks me out, but also makes me determined to keep active and not let myself get overwhelmed and depressed by it all. At least most of the time.  Anyway, as I have reported before, I had an operation last summer to remove 3 Baker’s cysts from behind my left knee. Apparently those were caused by a torn meniscus, so the surgery was performed by the surgeon I met when I went to the emergency room at a private hospital in La Paz. Well, I have been healing from that surgery since July, with continued pain when I walk, and numbness along the outside of my left calf and foot. When we arrived here in La Cruz, we went in to see a doctor in Puerto Vallarta who had been recommended to me last year when we were here. He had done x-rays and given me a cortisone shot for my bursitis/osteoarthritis in that knee (left). He was very good and the shot was painless. Last year the x-rays showed very little space between my bones at the knee, indicating a lack of cartilage, and this year the x-ray essentially showed that it is now bone-on-bone. The doctor here was not happy about the surgery I had in La Paz, stating that cutting the back of my knee open was an outdated procedure, and that some of the nerve damage is not likely to heal. Additionally, he recommended that I go ahead and have the total knee replacement. So I have been to the cardiologist to have an EKG and other medical history gathered, and then to the lab to have blood and urine screenings, as well as to the dentist to make sure I have NO infections or bacteria anywhere that could negatively affect, or interfere with the prosthesis. I am glad he has been so thorough - it certainly doesn’t feel like any “third-world” practice. Oh, wait, I guess the one interesting tidbit is that even though the hospital is very modern and nice, when you exit the gravel parking lot in the back, you drive onto a dirt road with a hospital sign that says “Beware of the Cocodrilos” (crocodiles)! Mexico, ya gotta love it! The surgery is scheduled for tomorrow, Friday, January 23rd, and I plan to recuperate in a little casita off the beach nearby. It is a “Garden Suite,” at a place called Simply Baku and the innkeeper is giving me a good deal as long as I pay in cash. It is very beautiful, with bright Mexican colors, nice linens – important for recuperating (!). I am including a couple of photos since our friends Laurie and Doris stayed there on their visit. The casitas have free wifi, a CD lending and book library, guacamole and chips and cold cervezas on arrival (Ron will have to enjoy the cervezas!) and fresh fish ceviche daily if you want to order it, or have the housekeeper come in and make a Mexican meal during our stay. Fresh flowers in your casita, and two swimming pools on the property, again, Ron will get to partake of the pools, as I will have an open wound I assume. A really funny thing about this inn is that there is no sign indicating the property. Instead, you drive down this very bumpy dirt and cobblestone road lined with a bougainvillea hedge with occasional wooden doors set into the hedge. You stop your car, get out and holler “Marianne!” She yells back to you and then comes on out, leading you back into these beautiful gardens. So sweet and peaceful, and yes, only in Mexico! So anyway, keep me in your thoughts por favor. Gracias and take care of yourselves!