Log 6: Mexico--Season 2--'00-'01

Log 6 of Albion (and other travels)

By our second season cruising Mexico, 2000-2001 , we thought we knew our way around and decided to expand our journeys a little. The primary goal, however, was still to meet old friends and make new ones and have fun. The following is a collection of emails sent back to family and friends to let them know about our travels.

10/22/00 Subject: Back in Oregon

Had thought by now we would be sending news from Mexico, but not so. Made a fast trip down I-5 and met some of the other cruisers in Chula Vista. Had a problem with the jacks on the RV and waited five days there for the "overnight" parts delivery from Portland...then they sent the wrong part! Decided to bag the repair for now and headed for Tucson. Got there on Wednesday and got news from Portland that Brent's mother had failed rapidly after we left and later the same day got word she had indeed passed on. Although we had long ago made all the arrangements for everything, we decided that since we were still in the states it would be easier to get a flight home. We put the RV in storage, spent the night with Nada and Dorsey and caught a plane on Friday. I think Brent's sister was happy to have him back if only for the company. There will be a small memorial service at Elderplace, where she lived, on Monday and we will return to Tucson on Tuesday. Will and Joann on Tica, Monte and Barb on Reprise and Horst and Bea on Seadater were in Tucson with us and headed into Mexico on Friday. We are waiting to hear from them on their border crossing. We don't anticipate a problem, but we are not taking nearly the amount of stuff that they were. They are driving their RV's down to their boats then returning to store them in Tucson and then bus back. Sounds like an ordeal to me. Weather here is feeling very much like fall with a touch of winter in the air. There was frost on the cars last night. Will be touch again once when we are back in Mexico. Keep in touch.
Molly

12/5/00 Subject: Paradise Village, Nuevo Vallarta

Yes, we are now in Paradise again enjoying the sun and tourist activities at the Paradise Village Resort. However, it was a long time getting here. Back in Mazatlan we worked on the boat most of the time or waited for work to be done. The new survey was finally done with the approval of the new insurance broker that an underwater survey was as acceptable as a haul-out inspection. That saved both time and money. The survey did not reveal any traumatic news or requirements. The most noteworthy was that two new motor mounts had to be installed and the engine then realigned. That resulted in more searching, waiting, and frustration with the installer (American not Mexican!). There were some good times too, however, at the Thanksgiving dinner with "real turkey", dancing, drinks, friends, and fun. The cruisers welcome party in November was also a good time with a local restaurant hosting the festivities with food and drink. We had a going-away party for the marina harbormaster, Mario, who has been there for a long time. It was difficult for us to let him go and for him to be leaving the people that he's helped and gotten to know very well over the years....his family! It was nice having a car in Mazatlan. When we needed to provision, it was much easier going to the market and hauling everything back in the car rather than on the bus. It was much more efficient looking for parts by making several stops with the car, rather that waiting for another bus and another 30 pesos for just another mile or two to the next part supply store. It was also much nicer going out to dinner and taking friends along rather than waiting for the dirty old bus. We left the car in Mazatlan, covered and wrapped like a Christmas present in their protected parking lot. It will be there for us when we return in March. Some of the work that we did on the boat included trying to take care of the engine over-heating problem. We had checked several aspects of the problem and finally thought that it must be a clogged heat exchanger. We had the exchanger, the oil cooler, and the exhaust mixing neck cleaned out. We were unable to test it until we put it back together and headed for Nuevo Vallarta. It was still running at about 200 degrees, when it is supposed to run at 180. So we idled or sailed all the way, 200 miles, at 2.2 knots with stops at Chacala and La Cruz. Our friends that left with us stopped at Isla Isabela, but by the time we got there it was after dark of the second night, so we decided to keep on going to Chacala. We therefore, got into Paradise Village a day ahead of the faster boats just by keeping going and they made several more stops. Upon arrival we decided that we, although planning to be here a month, weren't leaving until the over-heating problem was fixed....even if it took all winter! What a place to be marooned!! We are doing some more diagnosis and having a diesel mechanic come by to help. We think it is a barnacle encrusted raw water intake and will find out soon. Meanwhile, it's time to cool off every afternoon up by the pool and visit with old and new friends along the dock. There are several new shops and restaurants in the mall next to the resort. Molly & I just went up to watch Monday Night Football last night at the new Jungle restaurant. There are two internet cafes now, a Domino's Pizza, McDonald's, and much more....even some Mexican restaurants. The only reason we have to leave Paradise Village now is to get away from the American prices.....no real Mexican values here. This year we are at the far end of the marina complex up in the estuary. It's an isolated area without much wind to keep us cool and a long walk to the activities. But two of our Portland boat friends are on either side of us, so that makes it a little more tolerable. We asked to be moved up (or actually down) to the more active part of the marina, but so far other boats that arrive have gotten the closer slips. The other two boats with us now say they are liking it here because it IS quieter, so we may stay here too just for the camaraderie. Things could be worse! So far the weather has been in the high 80's or low 90's. You have to work on the boat early and relax in the afternoons by the pool or boogie boarding in the surf. I guess we will just have to suffer through this fuzzy lifestyle with our margarita friends! Livin' in Paradise;
Brent & Molly

1/2/01 Subject: Merry Christmas

It was cloudy and rainy for three days here. It was quite miserable. But I did manage to clean and grease 6 of my 8 winches, clean the cushions, have the deck and cockpit waxed and polished while Molly was in Portland. The trip back was my Christmas present to her so she could spend it with the kids and grandkids. Actually it was quite lonely here on Christmas day. All of the other Portland cruising friends had family or other activities that kept them busy. Bob Fadhl on Orca (a big power boat) did come over, however, just to chat. A group of us Portland cruisers and friends did have a great Christmas Eve potluck dinner at one of the Paradise palapa's.....minus Molly of course. We would like to get down to Z-town after we leave here (another 200 miles), but I don't think we will have time to make it all the way down there and back to Mazatlan by March. So we will probably just take it easy and stay for awhile in each anchorage on the way down to Manzanillo, stay there awhile, and then head back, stopping here at Paradise again before continuing to Mazatlan. Jeanette, Terry and Travis will join us there for Spring break. After the kids leave, we will probably spend April and May in the Sea and summer the boat in San Carlos. Molly is back now and I'm happy again!!!!!!! She brought back all kinds of goodies for us and neighboring boats....just like Christmas! And she brought back the good weather. We had New Years Eve dinner with a couple we met in Mazatlan (Dan & Cathy on Perceptions) from Long Beach, CA. and watched the fireworks with them out on the beach and around the bay. I'll close now and just say Happy New Year 2001. Stay in touch.
Brent on Albion in Paradise Village

3/19/01 Subject: Mazatlan

Sorry it's been awhile since I've been in contact. We've been on the move and getting things done to the boat....and just kicking back and doing nothing when we can!!! We are presently in Mazatlan again, where we left last November. Except this time we are at the El Cid Resort and Marina rather than Marina Mazatlan. It is much nicer with two pools, hot tub, restaurant, bar and cable TV at the dock. We are staying here because Jeanette, Terry and Travis are coming down this Sunday (3/25/01) for a week. They were going to stay on the boat, but like last year we wanted to get them off the boat for a few days to spread out a bit rather than being cramped up in the V-birth forward. We are used to small places, but thought it would be more like a vacation if they had a real bed to sleep in. Well, we didn't want to get them a room here at El Cid because of the expense ($225/night; we love them a lot but let's get real!). And next door at the Playa Real, they couldn't give us a couple of nights, but they could give us a week at a very special deal ($350 plus tax FOR THE WHOLE WEEK!!) and it's a real nice resort with a much better beach and ocean view than El Cid. They can walk over since it's only a couple hundred yards. And that way they can visit all day and still have their own privacy at night. Molly, of course, wants to use the bath tub in their room. She really misses just soaking. We arrived here in Mazatlan from Puerto Vallarta just before a big storm. We heard about it on the SSB radio nets and decided to hurry up the coast making it one day shorter. And the day after we got here it blew and rained for two days. Some boats behind us, that waited another day at Isabela Island anchorage (20 miles offshore and about 90 miles south of Mazatlan), got the hell beat out of them and lines tangled in their props and then had to beat into the big swell and wind for a day and a half to get to Mazatlan. We had gone south from Puerto Vallarta to Las Hadas (or Manzanillo, about 200 miles) and spent a week there (the resort that we anchored in front of, was a set for the movie "10"), then we sailed to Barra de Navidad. We spend a week there which is a real nice old style Mexican village and anchored in an inner lagoon (a set for the movie McHales Navy). Then we traveled north, anchoring for another week in Bahia Tenacatita, where a lot of our Portland friends were. There is nothing on the beach except a French restaurant that was another set for McHales Navy. Then on to Careyes for a night (big resorts on the beach like Club Med)..... on to Chamela for several days (another very small village on the beach)..... and then an overnight beat back up to Puerto Vallarta. Back in P.V. we FINALLY got our overheating problem solved!!!!!!! We stayed at Paradise Village again, our first dock in a month. That's when we headed north to Mazatlan taking about seven days with a three day stop at a favorite anchorage called Chacala. There we met some people that were on a boat from Corvallis and who were friends with my professor of Aquatic Plants at OSU. We had dinner at a local palapa (open beach restaurant) and talked about things we had in common. Actually that is our favorite thing to do down here, meeting people and sharing experiences. We all have "boat cards" that we exchange and we keep ours in a three ring binder so we can look back at all the people we have met along the way. Some have become very good friends, and it's hard to see them leave when they either head further south and through the canal, or off to the South Pacific islands. We may never see them again. Others hang around and we reacquaint with them at different locations and different times on our own schedules and talk over the latest travels. The paper work down here is mind boggling. Every time you stop, you have to check in and out of the port and pay fees. This year they instituted another fee that costs us $42 for us (based on tonnage) every time we check in to a port with a Port Captain. That's not outrageous, but you have to go to the Port Captain with your papers (crew list, boat documentation, boat insurance, passport, etc.), then go to the bank to pay your fees, then go back to the Port Captain to show you've paid so you can get your exit papers. Without exit papers, you can't enter another port. The "paper shuffle" as it's called, can be quite time consuming if the bank and Port Captain's office are across town from each other. Then if there is an Immigration office in the port, you have to check in there too, before you check back with the Port Captain.......I think? Then you repeat this "shuffle" and fees when you leave the port.This summer, Molly and I are planning to take a "bus-man's holiday", a week-long cruise to Alaska with our friends Bud and Lisa. We are boarding the Norwegian Cruise Line in Seattle and stopping at Juneau, Skagway, Sawyer Glacier, Ketchikan, and Victoria before arriving back in Seattle. It will be a nice change to go cruising and leave the driving to THEM! We don't plan any long range traveling in the RV this summer, but rather stick around the Pacific Northwest. Brianna (Lynda's daughter) will be studying with a ballet troop in Seattle this summer and we plan to go up and see their final performance. This is a real opportunity for her. Well, we will be in touch along the way. So long for now!
Brent & Molly

4/10/01 Subject: Leaving for San Diego!

A short update just to say I'm leaving for San Diego tomorrow Wednesday April 11. No, not Albion, Sashay a Catalina 42 that I'm delivering. My crew will be a friend's son, Patrick, from another Portland boat, Perpetua. We were going to take Albion to La Paz right after Jeanette left, but I decided to stay here, rest and get healthy again for the 1000 mile bash back up the Baja. I will be coming back to Mazatlan via bus or flying back. We will then take Albion across the Sea to La Paz for awhile, cruise up the Baja islands to Santa Rosalia, and then cross back over to San Carlos where we will put Albion away for the summer on the hard. We should be back on the road by the first of June. We have been here in Mazatlan now since March 1. While the kids were here, we went to the theater to see local folk dancing, toured the old town, played all day at a water park with monster slides, and ate out at the very finest Mazatlan had to offer. We celebrated Travis' birthday at Casa Country Restaurant where we all had a great time right up front next to the show. And we still had time to lay by the pool and do some boogie boarding. We were so busy and I worked so hard playing, that I came down with a cold. All for now, just wanted to touch base with everyone to let you know we are still here and having a great time in Mexico. Will try to keep in touch a little more often as we get nearer to our departure from Mexico back to the states for the summer.
Brent

5/16/01 Subject: San Carlos

Hello everybody, we've been away from cyber cafes for some time and haven't sent or received any e-mail. So this is for catch up. The last e-mail sent was about my pending 1000 mile delivery to San Diego. All went well, except I know now way they call it the "Baja Bash". We did have some good days, but were held up for three nights, two days at a little remote island waiting for favorable weather to cross a major depression in the Baja Peninsula. The favorable weather never came so we went anyway. The trip took thirteen days and a day to bus back to Mazatlan. After returning, the weather turned sour again for crossing back AGAIN to the Baja side and Molly then came down with a cold. So we waited several days and were finally getting tired of Mazatlan so we decided to go for it. Some friends, on another Portland boat Tica, were leaving to go back to Portland. They drove our car from Mazatlan to San Carlos so it would be here when we arrived, then they bused to Tucson to their motor home. The crossing was long, 45 hours. The diver never showed up to clean my bottom so I cleaned some of the parts I could reach and slowly took off. It was a fairly smooth crossing and we did a minor bit of sailing, but mostly motor-sailed. Our first stop was into La Paz to top off with fuel because we had used so much pushing that dirty bottom 220 miles. At the gas dock we saw Monte & Barb, Reprise, and renewed some acquaintances with some other friends. Then we went out to Isla Partida and anchored all by ourselves in a small isolated inlet. It was beautiful and quiet. I spent several hours cleaning the bottom. We joined Reprise at Ensenada Grande on Isla Partida the next day.Next day we motored to San Evaristo on the peninsula. We were the fourth boat in the small cove, but by night fall there were thirteen boats with us and the wind blew swinging us around during the night. We were off early the next morning to make a longer day and get up the Baja a little faster. We had a lot of places we wanted to stop, but the more we thought about it, the faster we wanted to get to San Carlos, put the boat to bed, and hit the road home. So we put in about 40 miles up to Bahia Agua Verde, another beautiful anchorage, and met up with another of our Portland boating friends on Seadater. They were on a slow track and we were on the fast track so next morning we went our separate ways. We went on to Puerto Escondido, a very large enclosed anchorage with lots of boats. There again we saw two more Portland boating friends that we had not seen for quite awhile (Jasmine Isle and La Zarder), so they came over to Albion and we talked until 11:00pm. Molly and I had gone into the settlement earlier in the day and picked up some minor provisions and had dinner at the trailer park. Our next stop was only a short 14 miles away so we sailed. The wind picked up to 20 - 25 knots so we reefed all sails and had a great sail. The anchorage was Puerto Ballandra on Isla Carmen a very protected "U" shaped cove. At just about each anchorage, I've been going ashore and climbing a nearby hill to take a picture. Molly and I went snorkeling here and saw lots of fish. From here we motored to San Juanico Cove and since we have been having southerly winds at night, we went around the corner to the southerly protected anchorage of La Ramada Cove with only one other boat in it. We had told a friend in San Carlos that we would probably be there in a week, but tonight we had informed him that we would be there day after tomorrow. That way they (Richard and Anita on Moonshadow) would still be there before putting their boat on the hard and taking off to Portland. The next day was another long one, bypassing several more wana-stops, and ending up at Los Pilares on Punta Concepcion. There we prepared the boat for the crossing to San Carlos by putting the dinghy away and topping off the fuel tank. We left at 8:00pm expecting to get to San Carlos by mid-next-day. But we caught good wind and a following current and were flying at over seven knots. We were going to be getting to San Carlos just past dawn.......except a boat radioed they had lost their engine and needed a tow into San Carlos. They were eight miles out, so it took us another three hours to tow them into the harbor and we didn't get in until 11:00am. We checked in, got a slip, and started working down our storage checklist. We should be ready for our haul-out by this Saturday (May 19) and probably on the road to Tucson by Sunday if everything goes according to plan. We will be heading to Las Vegas in the RV from there to renew vehicle stuff and then head for home in Portland (actually our home RV park in Salem!!!).
Brent & Molly