La Paz
June 1st, 2010
24 11.2N:110 18.2W
It is the 22nd of August (my birthday) and we are back in the states working. It’s hard to believe that we spent 6 months cruising Mexico on Barramundi. The time went so fast and only whetted our apatite for the cruising life. We had so much fun that we decided to leave the boat in La Paz which would allow us to fly down several times this winter and explore more of the Sea of Cortez. Our plan is to work in the business and help navigate through these challenging economic times and visit the boat as much as time will allow, with the goal of repeating our extended adventure within a few years. Until then we are missing Barramundi and have learned to love her even more as she was able to take us to far off places and live a lifelong dream. We will continue to make updates to the blog as we continue the adventure.
To all of our new friends, thank you for all the help and friendship during our cruise, we miss all of you and will be looking forward to many sundowners spent in remote anchorages swapping stories and telling lies.

Steve and Pam

Puerto Escondido
April 28, 2011
25 49.57N:111 18.65W

The trip to Puerto Escondido was mostly a motor as the winds were no existent which made for flat seas and beautiful skies. The fishing has become not only non-productive but also a real pain as there is a lot of seaweed that continually gets fouled on the lures and you have to reel them in and clear them off…so tuna out of a can again! We stopped in Agua Verde for a few days and this finally looks like the brochure. Beautiful aqua blue water, clean white sand bays and beaches and dramatic mountains. The water is warm and relaxing. There is a small fishing village here with about 150 people. They not only fish but they have free range cattle and goats. They make some pretty incredible goat cheese here and we couldn’t resist. This is real rustic living and the power is all solar and the fresh water comes from the village windmill. Everyone is friendly and they are all smiling (I think they have it figured out!). We made the 25 mile run up to Puerto Escondido, no fish, no wind, no worries. We arrive on Thursday and have reserved a mooring in the bay which proves to be both a blessing and a curse!

La Paz
April 23, 2011
24 11.2N:110 18.2W

The trip from Mazatlan to La Paz via Muertos was uneventful with calm seas and clear beautiful skies. In La Paz we checked out Costa Baja Marina as a location to Summer the boat during hurricane season and think it is the best option for us. We also caught up with some friends and went out to dinner where we swapped stories and talked about plans. It seems that most of us all have very loose plans that are subject to change on a daily basis. Our next destination is Puerto Escondido for Loreto Fest and we are feeling pressure to meet a date as this is a scheduled event. Hope it is worth the rush. We have found that no schedule is the best schedule!

Mazatlan
April 9, 2011
23 16.1N:106 27.9W

Well, It has been a few weeks since my last confession, I mean my last update (sometimes my Catholic upbringing pops up!). We have moved the boat up to El Cid marina in Mazatlan in preparation of making the crossing to La Paz. We had a lot of fun while we were in La Cruz for the few days after we returned from the states. We met up with several of our boat friends that we have met on this adventure and we spent some time with Ed and Connie off the famous Sirena. In La Cruz Ed and Connie treated Pam and I to dinner at the Black Forest, a very nice German restaurant that has a couple that plays Flamingo music, and the night we were there they were joined by two other musicians, one who played the violin. Hearing Flamingo on a violin was an amazing treat and we thoroughly enjoyed the evening. When we left La Cruz, we sailed about 30 miles north to Chacala, We only spent one night there and we didn’t even go ashore as we had stopped there on the way down. Up the next morning and another 25 miles to Mantachen Bay in San Blass. Once again only one night here but we did go ashore and have lunch at one of the beach palapas. The next morning we headed out for the 125 mile overnight run up to Mazatlan. The 26 hour run was uneventful but as with all overnight runs that we make, we were both very tired the next day. After we rested up, we went with Ed and Connie to Old Town Mazatlan and had drinks atop the Freeman hotel and watched the sunset and then we went to Topolo’s in the Plaza Mercado. Topolo is one of our favorite restaurants in Mazatlan and is always a treat.
I needed to fly home again for a week to take care of some things for work and Pam decided to stay and “guard” the boat. I guess she was a little concerned about boat safety even though, the El Cid marina has locked gates on the docks and resides inside a resort! I think she was actually guarding our extensive vine cellar and wanted to spend some time with Ed and Connie. I hope to complete my business quickly and return so we can get the boat over to La Paz and then head up to Loreto Fest by the 29th of April. The adventure continues…

Newport Beach
March 15, 2011


Pam and I decided to make a quick trip home to Newport Beach to take care of a few things. We had to complete out taxes (yuck!) and we also need to renew our Tourist Visas that were set to expire. This gave us the opportunity to visit with friends and family and to catch up on some things at my work. While we were in town we attended a dinner for our yacht club, South Shore Yacht Club, and saw all of our “boat” friends. We also were able to go to our grandson Jackson’s 7th birthday party at an ice-skating rink. For someone just in from warm Mexico, that was a freezing experience! We also had the chance to visit some of the restaurants that we used to frequent before we went to Mexico, enjoyed the food and the familiarity of the places, but after spending $10-15 for a night out for the two of us, it’s hard to pay the price for dining in southern California. Can’t wait to get back for some “Tacos on the Street”.
Pam has so enjoyed our time cruising that while we are here in town, she went by work and turned in her resignation. She may decide to go back to work on a per-diem basis, but that assumes that I will be able to get her to come back to the States! My work is getting real busy so it looks like I will be flying back and forth over the next few months while we move the boat north into the Sea of Cortez. Pam has volunteered to stay and “guard” the boat, she is so responsible! Well, I think that’s the latest, we will be heading back down on the 23rd and will be looking for a weather window to move the boat up to Mazatlan.

Barra de Navidad
March 2, 2011
19 11.312’N:104 40.353’W

After Jeff and family left we planned on heading north but decided to wait a few days as our friends Ed and Connie Quesada from our yacht club were going the be arriving in Barra. Ed and Connie left Newport in early January and are on an open ended cruise and we didn’t want to miss them. When they arrived, Barra was in the middle of their Mardi Gras celebration (a week early). We watched a street parade with floats and wandering dance troupes. They had several activities in the town square including the grand finally which was a transvestite show with very elaborate costumes and great lip-singing. When we got back to the boat I had to suppress and urge to try on some of Pam’s shoes…where was I??? Oh, the visit with Ed and Connie was great, we caught up on our travels and talked about places we still plan on seeing. We will be heading north now and talked about meeting up in the Sea of Cortez in the late spring.