Saturday, October 22, 2011 - in front of Loreto

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

On Monday we headed into a lovely anchorage on Isla Carmen across from Loreto. The water was clear and felt wonderful. Unfortunately we were quickly joined by a large number of honey bees. They were not aggressive. They were only interested in the freshwater on our back deck, but they were so numerous that we did not feel comfortable sharing space with them. So we headed south to Isla Danzante and lovely Honeymoon Cove.

There were a couple of other boats there but it was not crowded. We were on the south side of the anchorage and some distance from the others. Around sundown, a panga with three men on it came in and landed on the shore behind us. They poked around on the shore as if looking for something and then sat down on the beach in the dark. I have to admit that they spooked us a bit. We hauled up our dingy just in case they were planning on taking it. The next day we saw a big 80-90 foot blacked hull Mexican sport fishing yacht anchored in the bay below us. Earl thinks that perhaps the men in the panga were some type of security since it was probable that there was someone important on the boat. And of course, there are always drugs... Who knows.

The weather which has been incredibly humid seems suddenly to have changed for drier. While it is still hot, it is now quite pleasant. We are now enjoying sitting on the top in late afternoon.

Friday, October 21, 2011 Looking for fish around Isla Coronado

We are staying in the area of Loreto since our friends will be arriving there on the 25th. It is a nice cruising area, with Loreto somewhat protected by Isla Carmen and lovely anchorages from which to choose. An additional bonus is internet and telephone service is available over much of the area. I am stunned by the clarity of the water. We have seen the bottom as deep as forty feet below us.

Yesterday we cruised in the anchorage on the west side of Isla Coronado. After a wonderful swim, we took Daisy for a boat ride. She perches on the bow like a hood ornament and obviously loves it. There were a number of pelicans on the beach and as we approached she became increasingly excited. Finally when we were about 20 feet from shore in about 2 feet of water, she could stand it no longer and leaped off the boat. In the past she has only jumped off when she could hit the beach or very shallow water - about 6 feet. This time she had to swim for it. When she came up, she was off heading for shore, apparently untroubled, and intent on running off the pelicans. It was her first real swim. I hope we have not created a monster!

There were two sail boats anchored near us, the Juniata and the Windward Bound. We had met the Juniata up in Santa Rosalia and taken a great sunset photo of her. It is nice to meet old friends. Marsha and Dave from Juniata and their friends from the Windward Bound, Jim and Susan, came over for drinks. Both couples live aboard their boats and were on their way south after spending the summer in the Northern Sea. The Juniata will spend the winter in La Paz and then, after 4 years in the sea, will head back up the coast to the Northwest. They will miss the warm water but they are hungering for the shrimp and crab of the Northern Pacific. They are looking into marinas in Washington so we hope we will see them again up north.

Jim and Susan are also getting itchy feet. They have now spent four years here as well and Susan wants to explore further south. They will probably not go until next winter. It sounds as if there is a four year itch. It will probably hit us next winter.

We left Coronado around 10 am. We have circled the island and are headed down to the east side of Isla Carmen. Earl is putting his fishing gear to work, but so far we have had no luck since catching the two dorado a week ago.

Well, speak of the devil - I had no sooner written the above when Earl had a fish on. It was a good sized dorado. He fought like crazy and when Earl finally had him up to the boat, he slipped the hook. As they say, we had everything except the eating of him!

Saturday, October 22, 2011 - fishing off the east side of Carmen

By the time we anchored yesterday in front of Salinas, Earl had caught 3 dorado and was satisfied with his fishing. We anchored on the east side of Carmen in Bahia Salinas. Years past, there was a commercial salt operation there. The workers came over from Loreto and anchorage on the north side of the island at Bahia la Lancha. There are said to be giant salt crystals in the salt evaporation ponds and I was hoping to explore the ruins and see the salt crystals. As it happened, there was too much swell for us to take the dingy into the beach. I had a lovely swim and we had a pleasant evening on the deck listening to the radio and looking at stars. My exploration will have to wait for another visit.

Monday, October 17, 2011 near Loreto

Sunday, October 16, 2011 On the way to Candeleros Chico

Today is the end of our first week out, one we have spent remembering the old routines - like closing the port holes before getting underway- and sweating and swimming. It has been very warm and even a bit humid, although maybe the humidity is just what we are producing. During the day it gets into the 90’s outside and can hit 100 in the cabin. Earl and I don’t really agree on the use of air conditioning. I am of the less is more school. If it is in the 90’s outside, it seems that the mid 80’s inside is adequately cool. Earl thinks 72 is the right temperature inside, summer or winter although he can be talked into 76. I hate cold air blowing on me, he loves it. I have to admit that without it at night, at least to start, my pillow is wet as am I, so we have been leaving it on.

There are few people out. It is too bad for them, because the warm air brings warm water. It has been between 85 and 87 degrees and delicious. I think I could just live it it.

It has been a lazy week. The first day we went to our old standby anchorage Caleta Partita between Isla Espiritu Santo and Isla Partita. There was one boat when we arrived and later another came in. We were visited by a pangero looking for some D batteries which we were able to supply. He offered to bring us some fish the next morning in return but we told him we planned on leaving early. Then we had a wonderful dinner on the back deck - chicken breast sauted with mangos and salsa. That night we turned on the underwater lights which Earl had replaced. To Daisy’s delight, 6 pelicans appeared quickly, following by lots of tiny fish. Later the slightly larger fish came to feed and, a first, a small skate. It was what is called a mobula, about 1 foot in diameter. Its white belly was luminescent in the lights and we watched in wonder as it gracefully swept around behind us.

Pelicans on Parade

Tuesday we left Partita and headed for the lovely anchorage at Isla San Franscico called the Hook. We had it to ourselves until late afternoon which made bathing suits optional. It was so lovely, we decided to spend Wednesday there. I spent a good part of the day on the phone with Ocens, our satellite weather program people, trying to get the phone hooked up to our new computer. It took the better part of an hour, but with the help of Pedro in Seattle, we finally got there. (Now my next task will be to get the GPS and AIS hooked up. I think we need new ‘drivers’ and I will wait until tomorrow to call Maptech for help.)

On the way to the Hook

Early evening Wednesday after a lovely day, Earl decided to move to the other side of the island. He was concerned that the weather would give us a rocky night where we were but I think he just likes to move. Disaster! We started to roll around when we got into the new anchorage and I could not get all the stuff on the counter corralled at once. Just my luck, it was a full bottle of Yoy Soy, a sticky marinade with soy sauce, sesame seeds and sugar, that fell and spilled on the rug. What a mess to pick up! I was not pleased with Earl. This particularly piece of rug has been previously marinated by multiple glasses of red wine, and one entire bottle of sweet late harvest white wine. All things considered, it looks pretty good, but I wonder if in hard times it could be turned into s savory stew.

Thursday we headed north to Agua Verde, another favorite anchorage. Earl had the fishing gear out. Daisy had not forgotten how to fish. As always she heard the line running out of the reel before we did. We caught two dorado, one of which we released. They are really a lovely fish to see.

We had Agua Verde to ourselves and stayed two nights, spending our time sweating and swimming. Friday night Earl woke me to see a small bunch of mobula dancing in our lights. He is very frustrated that he has not really been able to photograph them adequately, but he did make a movie. I’ll see if I can post it. (Posting of the movie failed. I'll try again another time)

Saturday we left Agua Verde and headed east out into the sea around Isla Catalina looking for big fish. Nothing showed up. Finally at 3 we headed to Yellowstone Beach on the north side of Isla Monserrate and found paradise. We had been here before with Louise and Howard in the Spring. when we wandered around on the beach admiring the ochre colored rocks and the hundreds of shells shed by lobsters. This time as we anchored we saw thousands of colorful little sergeant majors swimming in the clear water. As Earl was dropping the anchor, I saw that we were drifting over a reef twenty feet below and told him to turn around and so as to drop the anchor over the sand. The anchored boat drifted over the reef and we found ourselves in an aquarium. We could see clearly to the reef 20 feet below us. Near the surface were hundreds of little yellow sergeant majors while large fish drifted below. In we went, like aged Adam and Eve in a marine garden of Eden. It was the best snorkeling that we have had in Mexico. It was a magical day!

Monday, October 17, 2011 - Heading north to the West side of Isla Carmen

We left Eden after marking it on our map so that we can return and headed for a little anchorage we had never visited before. Candeleros Chico is a tiny bay, big enough for one or two boats. Again the water was clear. At 30 feet we could see bottom. Sadly there was not the fish life we had seen at Monseratte. Nonetheless, it was a lovely spot and we actually had a delightful breeze in the evening which helped cool us off. For once, I was up before Earl this morning and enjoyed a beautiful sunrise through a break in the rock wall on our east. Now we are headed north where we will pick up the signal from Loreto and I will be able to post this. Then we will anchor and going swimming again.

Tuesday we left Partita and headed for the lovely anchorage at Isla San Franscico called the Hook. We had it to ourselves until late afternoon which made bathing suits optional. It was so lovely, we decided to spend Wednesday there. I spent a good part of the day on the phone with Ocens, our satellite weather program people, trying to get the phone hooked up to our new computer. It took the better part of an hour, but with the help of Pedro in Seattle, we finally got there. (Now my next task will be to get the GPS and AIS hooked up. I think we need new ‘drivers’ and I will wait until tomorrow to call Maptech for help.)

Early evening Wednesday after a lovely day, Earl decided to move to the other side of the island. He was concerned that the weather would give us a rocky night where we were but I think he just likes to move. Disaster! We started to roll around when we got into the new anchorage and I could not get all the stuff on the counter corralled at once. Just my luck, it was a full bottle of Yoy Soy, a sticky marinade with soy sauce, sesame seeds and sugar, that fell and spilled on the rug. What a mess to pick up! I was not pleased with Earl. This particularly piece of rug has been previously marinated by multiple glasses of red wine, and one entire bottle of sweet late harvest white wine. All things considered, it looks pretty good, but I wonder if in hard times it could be turned into s savory stew.

Thursday we headed north to Agua Verde, another favorite anchorage. Earl had the fishing gear out. Daisy had not forgotten how to fish. As always she heard the line running out of the reel before we did. We caught two dorado, one of which we released. They are really a lovely fish to see.

We had Agua Verde to ourselves and stayed two nights, spending our time sweating and swimming. Friday night Earl woke me to see a small bunch of mobula dancing in our lights. He is very frustrated that he has not really been able to photograph them adequately, but he did make a movie. I’ll see if I can post it.

Saturday we left Agua Verde and headed east out into the sea around Isla Catalina looking for big fish. Nothing showed up. Finally at 3 we headed to Yellowstone Beach on the north side of Isla Monserrate and found paradise. We had been here before with Louise and Howard in the Spring. when we wandered around on the beach admiring the ochre colored rocks and the hundreds of shells shed by lobsters. This time as we anchored we saw thousands of colorful little sergeant majors swimming in the clear water. As Earl was dropping the anchor, I saw that we were drifting over a reef twenty feet below and told him to turn around and so as to drop the anchor over the sand. The anchored boat drifted over the reef and we found ourselves in an aquarium. We could see clearly to the reef 20 feet below us. Near the surface were hundreds of little yellow sergeant majors while large fish drifted below. In we went, like aged Adam and Eve in a marine garden of Eden. It was the best snorkeling that we have had in Mexico. It was a magical day!

Monday, October 17, 2011 - Heading north to the West side of Isla Carmen

We left Eden after marking it on our map so that we can return and headed for a little anchorage we had never visited before. Candeleros Chico is a tiny bay, big enough for one or two boats. Again the water was clear. At 30 feet we could see bottom. Sadly there was not the fish life we had seen at Monseratte. Nonetheless, it was a lovely spot and we actually had a delightful breeze in the evening which helped cool us off. For once, I was up before Earl this morning and enjoyed a beautiful sunrise through a break in the rock wall on our east. Now we are headed north where we will pick up the signal from Loreto and I will be able to post this. Then we will anchor and going swimming again.

Monday, October 10, 2011 - leaving Costa Baja La Paz

We left beautiful La Paz at the beginning of June and headed off for what turned out to be a busy and wonderful summer. After a very brief stop in La Conner to rest the dog, and check on our house and some of ourfriends, we were off to Anchorage for a couple of months. We had a wonderful time with our three sons, two wonderful daughters in law and five grandchildren. The weather gods were with us. While it was rainy and cold in the Northwest, it was warm and sunny in Anchorage. Most nights found us eating on our back deck enjoying the long days and our flowers.

Of course the price of playing in Mexico for months was the pile of paper work waiting on our dining room table to welcome me home. You play, you pay! Eventually I got serious about tackling it and my study, but not until several weeks of guilt had past. Someday I will learn that it is better just to do something unpleasant and get it over with.

Meanwhile Earl kept himself busy upgrading our kitchen with a new stove etc. One thing lead to another, and we now have new fabric on the sofas in the adjoining room. It was a pretty expensive visit and Earl, who loves nothing better than spending money, was in heaven. The results are wonderful, but NO MAS!

Early August we took off for La Conner for a special family reunion. The cause was our grandson Justin’s wedding to a wonderful girl, Courtney Becker. We are all thrilled with this addition to our family and had a great time seeing so many of our children and grandchildren. The grandchildren, and even the greatgrand children, are all so grown up that it makes us realize time has been passing very quickly.

Then Earl and I were off to the East, stopping in Massachusetts to see family and catch up on the remodeling job from hell in Stockbridge, and then off to Finland to ‘visit the graves of the ancestors’. Earl’s grandfather Arvo Kari left Finland as a young man in 1905 - apparently after a fight with his father, He left behind eight younger brothers, and an older half brother and sister. (Then, as now, at least in our part of the family, the Karis had a hard time producing more than one girl per family. ) Earl had stayed somewhat in contact with a couple of the cousins who had visited the Northwest in the 1940’s and they met us at the airport. What a treat was in store for us! We found a large family of relatives who gave us an incredibly warm reception and took us under their wings. Armed with a family tree, I did my best to keep track of which cousins were descended from which brother. It was a novelty to see so many people that looked like Earl, many with same large ears, apparently a gift from his great grandmother Elizabeth. While everything was wonderful, especially meeting our cousins, perhaps one of the most memorable days was our trip to a beautiful cemetery in Hamina, near the Russian border, where Earl’s great grandmother and many of his great uncles are buried. We left our cousins with all the family addresses and invitations to all to come and visit. We hope that at least some of them will come.

We added a day trip to Estonia and a few days each in St. Petersburg, Stockholm, Copenhagen and New York before heading home to La Conner to recover. We love our house there and have many delightful companions to enjoy it with. But the Serenity was calling, so we are now in Mexico and off at last from the dock and into the Sea of Cortez We are planning on going north, hopefully as far as Bahia de los Angeles in the north. We will be lucky to have company much of the time, but today t is only the three of us heading for Espiritu Santo to anchor. It is hot and Daisy is collapsed on her rug. Earl is putting out the fishing lines.

Of course the price of playing in Mexico for months was the pile of paper work waiting on our dining room table to welcome me home. You play, you pay! Eventually I got serious about tackling it and my study, but not until several weeks of guilt had past. Someday I will learn that it is better just to do something unpleasant and get it over with.

Meanwhile Earl kept himself busy upgrading our kitchen with a new stove etc. One thing lead to another, and we now have new fabric on the sofas in the adjoining room. It was a pretty expensive visit and Earl, who loves nothing better than spending money, was in heaven. The results are wonderful, but NO MAS!

Early August we took off for La Conner for a special family reunion. The cause was our grandson Justin’s wedding to a wonderful girl, Courtney Becker. We are all thrilled with this addition to our family and had a great time seeing so many of our children and grandchildren. The grandchildren are all so grown up that it makes us realize time has been passing very quickly.

Then Earl and I were off to the East, stopping in Massachusetts to see family and catch up on the remodeling job from hell in Stockbridge, and then off to Finland to ‘visit the graves of the ancestors’. Earl’s grandfather Arvo Kari left Finland as a young man in 1905 - apparently after a fight with his father, He left behind eight younger brothers, and an older half brother and sister. (Then, as now, at least in our part of the family, the Karis had a hard time producing more than one girl per family. ) Earl had stayed somewhat in contact with a couple of the cousins who had visited the Northwest in the 1940’s and they met us at the airport. What a treat was in store for us! We found a large family of relatives who gave us an incredibly warm reception and took us under their wings. Armed with a family tree, I did my best to keep track of which cousins were descended from which brother. It was a novelty to see so many people that looked like Earl, many with same large ears, apparently a gift from his great grandmother Elizabeth. While everything was wonderful, especially meeting our cousins, perhaps one of the most memorable days was our trip to a beautiful cemetery in Hamina, near the Russian border, where Earl’s great grandmother and many of his great uncles are buried. We left our cousins with all the family addresses and invitations to all to come and visit. We hope that at least some of them will come.

We added a day trip to Estonia and a few days each in St. Petersburg, Stockholm, Copenhagen and New York before heading home to La Conner to recover. We love our house there and have many delightful companions to enjoy it with. But the Serenity was calling, so we are now in Mexico and off at last from the dock and into the Sea of Cortez We are planning on going north, hopefully as far as Bahia de los Angeles in the north. We will be lucky to have company much of the time, but today t is only the three of us heading for Espiritu Santo to anchor. It is hot and Daisy is collapsed on her rug. Earl is putting out the fishing lines.

The water is 86 degrees and it is gorgeous!