Log 11 Hawaii & Mexico Season 7--'05-'06

Log of Albion (and other travels)

These are e-mails and letters or summaries sent back to family and friends from our travels on a Hawaii Vacation and seventh season in Mexico, 2005 -2006


2005 Summer Summary

It's starting to get a little wet in Oregon, so it's time to start heading South again. Therefore, it's also time to write a little about what we did this summer. Well, not much! The fuel prices were so high this summer that we decided to stick pretty close to home. We only made one simi-long trip with the RV up to Dosewallips State Park on the Hood Canal up in Washington. We traveled up there to visit our friends from Tucson, Nada and Dorsey, who were volunteer hosts for the month of August. While there, some other friends from Whidbey Island, came down for a lunch visit. The weather was just wonderful. Our big trip for the summer was a two week trip to the island of Hawaii. Molly had enough air miles to get both of us a free flight and we found a nice Bed & Breakfast right on the water. We spend several months searching the internet for points of interest and activities for the Big Island. We arranged several tours; snorkelling in Kealakekua Bay next to Capt. Cook's Monument, a birding and 4x4 trip to the top of Mauna Kea at 13,800 feet, and a wagontrain trip down into Waipi'o Valley on the Hamakua Coast. Only the wagontrain trip was cancelled because of rain and fog. We did a lot of traveling around the island and probably drove every road. The first three days were tough because of heavy rain. Flood warnings were up on the Hilo side and several roads were closed. Overall, the trip was great. We saw many new birds for our life list, toured many musceums, rain forests, botanical gardens, and beaches. The only mistake we made was staying on the Hilo side (we called it the "dark side") for the full two weeks. It rained at least once every day, and there were several hurricanes in the Eastern Pacific that were influencing the weather and surf. When ever we traveled over to the Kona side, it was sunny and warm. The B&B, however, was nice eventhough it didn't have TV...hurrican Katrina cleanup was on-going at the time and it would have been nice to keep up on the progress....or lack of!Another short trip we made this summer was to Seattle to visit Grand-daughter Brianna. She graduated from high school in Thousand Oaks California and was accepted at the Pacific Northwest Ballet's training program on full scholorship and some living expenses. She played the principal role last year of Swanhilda in Coppelia. This Spring she performed as Giselle in Giselle and the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker last winter. Her prospects look good as a professional ballerina.On October 29, we headed south with an unscheduled stop in Reno for minor diesel engine repair (althought the price wasn't minor!). An aclimation stop for a week in Bullhead City was made in conjuction with our RV/ex-cruising buddies Tom & Sue (X-Ta-Sea) being there also. Then it was on to Tucson again for more aclimation, see friends, and Molly's "Hen Fest" with Cathy, Bea, and Joann. We stored the RV with Cathy's, as she head off to Panama, and we headed for San Carlos, Mexico in the car with boat stuff.

12/10/05 Subject: Hola from La Paz

Wanted to let you all know we have arrived in La Paz. We left San Carlos on Thursday (12/1), I took the car on the ferry and Brent made the passage across on Albion. I couldn't imagine why I had to be there 3 hours before sailing time, but then I remembered, it's Mexico! It took a while just to get checked in. I had made my reservations with an English-speaking man and was informed the price for the car included the driver, but when I checked in, the non-English speaking agent seemed to want me to buy a ticket for myself also. My Spanish is limited, but "no" is the same in both languages. We went back and for a while and at one time I think he was trying to sell me a discounted senior citizen fare, but I stood my ground and finally he accepted the price I had originally been quoted. Two other Americans behind me had the same problem, but since I had prevailed, they weren't about to pay the extra either! The ferry is not a very big one and as we all waited we wondered how they intended to get us all on there....there was a semi with a huge load of logs that looked as if it would fill the whole thing up by itself. Finally, they started loading; we all had to back on. I was first and was lucky to have a good spot for the car....I had met a retired cop from San Diego and he ended up right next to the load of logs...he had asked earlier about staying in his vehicle for the trip....was told it would be much too dangerous especially with that load of logs! He worried all night about it, but we all made it fine. They advertise the ferry as being as comfortable as an airplane....probably because they have airline seating! Apparently before they leave the dock, the lights in the restroom don't work. At least it was small like on a plane so was hard to miss and make a mistake! All in all the trip worked out well....Brent had left the marina shortly after I left for the ferry, but I had a long wait until the ferry left, so he had a good head start....we both arrived in Santa Rosalia shortly after dawn. We jumped in the car and drove to La Paz (six hour drive). Tom and Sue, we will be interested to hear what you think of the drive down the Baja....don't know about the northern part, but the southern part, after you leave the coast, is a whole lot of nothing! We got to La Paz in time to arrange with the marina for a parking spot for the car. We found the bus depot and learned there would be a bus heading back in the morning at 7 AM. We found an inexpensive hotel in the same block (except for the fact that the hot water was just not as cold as the cold water, it was okay), we had a quick dinner and went to bed. We had no alarm clock, but managed to wake up about 6:30 and got to the bus in time. We were back to the boat by 3 PM that afternoon. Heavy winds were predicted for several days so we sat it out in Santa Rosalia. I managed to come down with some sort of bug....by Wednesday, the weather had improved and I thought I was feeling better so we left. The winds were down but the seas were still rocky and so was I, so we didn't go as far as planned that day (30mi, to Punto Chivato). Had a nice quiet anchorage and got a good rest that night. The next day was still rougher than we liked so didn't go as far that day either (55mi, to San Juanico). Finally on Friday, it was flat calm and little wind so we planned to make it a long day....I was still not feeling well so spent the entire passage in bed. Brent is a real trooper and since the weather was good, went all night to get us here (160 mi) Saturday morning! Actually we got here so early (still dark) we anchored in a little cove nearby for a few hours rest before we headed into the marina. It is good to be at the dock again and we both slept real good last night (12 hrs) so maybe I am on the mend finally. The check-in/check-out procedures are definitely changed. It's gone from one extreme to the other. Checking out in San Carlos was just a matter of filling out a slip of paper with the boat information on it, crew list and destination and leaving it with the marina. In Santa Rosalia, Brent filled out a similar paper upon arrival and departure. Here in La Paz we just wrote the info in the marina's log book. What a change. Wonder how long it will last? We have WiFi here on the docks and are enjoying being able to connect whenever and best of all, we don't have to pack up the computer and go somewhere just to check e-mails. Brent's priority upon arrival was to get the satellite set up for the TV....and just in time for me to enjoy football today and the Survivor final tonight! We are looking forward to exploring La Paz and the surrounding areas. Hope you will all be enjoying a happy holiday season and staying warm wherever you are. So far, it's pretty comfortable here and not as cold as other cruisers have indicated it would be. Hope the weather holds! Take care.
Molly

12/22/05 Subject: Life in La Paz

I am still not up to par, so taking it pretty easy here in La Paz. There was a nice classical guitar concert last week just across the street from the marina and we also went to an "open mike" session at a local restaurant. A friend of ours was singing, so we went to listen to her. Other than that we have stayed pretty close to the boat and haven't ventured out to try any new restaurants. It is Christmas week and things get pretty crazy so it's best to just stay home. Maybe after Christmas, we may take a trip down to the Los Cabos airport to check it out so when Jeanette comes we don't get too confused. Bought a kilo of shrimp today....will probably be eating shrimp for the next three days! We had our satellite dish on the dock and were waiting for the marina to move us to a permanent slip to put it on a pile, but finally the marina decided we could stay where we were so we bought a mount and now we have it more stabilized on the pile....much better....don't lose the signal every time someone walks down the finger pier! But we were told Direct TV has changed their satellites and so we don't get all the channels we used to.....guess there is no reception change in the states, but here in Mexico (where we really aren't supposed to be getting reception anyway) we aren't getting the New York networks and a lot of the other stations....it's a bummer to have to stay up later to watch the LA networks (we're an hour later than their broadcast)....have started taping any late programs. We only get about a 70% signal strength, so some of channels we like to watch occasionally stop and studder, or are just on in the morning not in the evening.
Molly

1/2/06

I am finally beginning to feel like I may be getting better. We ventured out for dinner on New Years Eve. There's a very nice restaurant right around the corner from the marina. It is overlooking the bay and it was a very nice evening with no wind, so very enjoyable. We had a great dinner. We got back early and have to admit that we didn't stay up to ring in the new year....cruisers midnight seems to come around 9 pm! We drove to Cabo last week just to make sure we would know where the airport is when Jeanette comes. Cabo is bigger and more hectic than it was in 1999 when we came through on the boat! We had a difficult time finding Latitude 22 Road House restaurant for lunch since it burned down after we were here last. The drive along the coast was very pleasant. I did a small quilting project. Hated all the measuring and cutting, but was fun once I got to the sewing part. Think I have a lot to learn about it.
Molly

1/11/06

We started our Spanish class this week and at times it was a little overwhelming. It does feel a bit like having a job, as we have to be up early every day. Class starts at 8:30 and goes til 12:30. It is easier for me since I have had some Spanish classes in the past, but Brent is doing well and studying a lot more than me so it probably won't be long before he passes me up. We will meet Tom and Sue on Monday to get our mail. They will be on their way to Cabo and not stopping in LaPaz with their RV Caravan. We will drive to Todos Santos where they will be staying that night. They wanted us to spend the night with them, but we would hate to miss our class the next morning, so will have to pass on that. We will see more of them when they come back this way later. I am going to a ladies luncheon tomorrow after class. Apparently it used to be just a marina ladies thing, but many of them have sold their boats and now have homes here so it's a mixture of marina and town folks. I had heard of it on the net last month but didn't feel up to going and also didn't want to go alone. One of the ladies in the Spanish class told me about it so will go with her tomorrow. Guess this month it's at Applebee's...can you believe that....come to Mexico and eat at Applebee's!
Molly

2/8/06

We like LaPaz a lot....the weather is just about perfect...not too hot, a little cool at night, but the days are usually sunny and warm. We did have one day of rain a couple of weeks ago. We are planning a ferry trip to Mazatlan where we have more friends and it will be nice to see all of them again. We've had lots of boat projects lately. First the water heater started leaking again...explored getting it replaced. It's $875 not including freight from the east coast and who knows how long it might be in customs here. Carlos, from the shop here at the marina, took it and had a new heat exchanger portal made and rewelded; then after Brent got it back in, the gasket for the heat exchanger insert was leaking, but he was able to replace it without taking the whole thing out again. Of course just getting it out in the first place meant taking the stove out....and when the repair was finally complete, we had a leak in a propane line in the stove! Once again it was Carlos to the rescue. Brent took the copper tube to him and he was back that afternoon with a new one. In the meantime our four house batteries finally turned toes up and we had to replace them. We can't complain as the old ones were the ones we left Portland with in '99. Then we thought we had a leak in the drinking water pump but it seems to have healed itself, so we are just watching it for now. Today we are going to start cleaning and lubricating the winches....what fun! Other than all that, we finished the Spanish class....can't say we are anywhere near fluent for sure, but I think we learned more than we think we did. It was a good review for me, having had it in high school and a couple classes since then. Brent was frustrated most of time, but has worked very hard at it. He's much too studious and typed up his notes every night. Most of the rest of the class got to depending on him to pass those out the next day! We did go to dinner the other night and spoke Spanish through it all. Brent was even able to ask if it was alright that he had parked the car in front of the restaurant next door. She didn't speak English but understood exactly what he said because she went ouside and checked it out, came back and said it was ok where it was. And I learned that a glass of water is not the same as a glass of wine. A glass of water is "vaso" de agua and a glass of wine is "copa" de vino, or stemmed glass. After all that, we decided we needed some time off, so when another cruising couple needed a ride to the Cabo airport, we offered to give them a lift and took the opportunity to spend a few days with our friends Tom and Sue (ex-X-Ta-Sea) who are there in their RV. Had a good visit with them. They are making the most of their time here, spending over a month in the San Jose del Cabo area before heading north. They will be here sometime around the first of March. While we were there we checked out a few hotels so we could spend a day there with Jeanette before she flies back after her visit here in March. Cabo is about two and a half hours from here, so driving down the day of her flight would make a long day for her by the time she got back to Portland. And it will give her a chance to see the Cabo area. Yesterday we bought our tickets to go to Mazatlan next week. I am sure the night passage on the ferry will be better than any we have done on Albion. It's an eighteen hour trip, so we got a cabin for an extra $40....am sure it will be worth it! I'm looking forward to seeing everyone there. Art and Rose (Summer Rose) are there this month staying in the same condo as Will and Joann (ex-Tica). We have a reservation there also. Joann and Will have already reserved the place for five months next year and Art is saying maybe they will do two months next year. I think they are enjoying it very much. There is a restaurant at the condo, so Will doesn't ever have to worry about getting something to eat if Joann is off somewhere! Joann also made an appointment with our dentist so we can get our teeth cleaned by someone we know and trust. There is a monthly ladies luncheon here that originally was mostly cruisers but now a lot of them have moved ashore, so it's a mixture of cruisers and landlubbers now. I went last month with one of the ladies from the Spanish class and plan to go again this Thursday to Los Magueyes restaurant. It does give me a chance to find out about some of the local restaurants and make some new friends. This activity has been going on for over ten years I guess.
Molly

2/11/06

Met some nice people in our Spanish class. We visited one couple today, Phil and Yvonne, where they are building their new house. Later we took them for a cruise on Albion We had a really great time. Another lady from the class, Leah, also is building in the same neighborhood so got to see her house also. Then we went to an open house at a new business nearby and ended up going for fish tacos with a group from the neighborhood. It was fun. We really haven't done much socializing here so it was a welcomed change. We also visited another couple from class, Mike and Laurie, camping out at Playa Tecolote in their 5th wheel, nice beach-front property.
Molly

2/24/06

We just got back from a week in Mazatlan seeing friends and all the new building going on around the marina. We stayed in a condo on the beach, but with the average age of most of the folks there and having a restaurant right there, it felt a lot like assisted living! But all in all a good place to stay. We had enough Sauvie Island Yacht Club members there in their boats and just visiting, to hold a meeting. We had pot luck snacks in Art and Rose's room and then all posed for a Yacht Club photo. We took the ferry over and back. It was great, only 16 hours....and the night watches were a piece of cake! The ferry was pretty basic, without any frills, but comfortable. We had a small inside cabina on the way over, so reserved an outside cabina on the way back with a forward facing window....much better! The meals, provided, were also basic....rice, beans, and chicken or shredded beef. Breakfast was potatoes, beans, and eggs or shredded beef. Good enough so that we didn't starve! Met some nice people on the way over and back, a Mexican couple from Mexico City and a couple from Colorado who were renovating a house in Mazatlan. We later bought return ferry tickets and reserved our old cabina for them since they couldn't get them early and they were in Cabo for a wedding.
Brent

3/9/06

Jeanette, our daughter, came for a week long visit and just left. We were looking forward to it for months, and it seems a little depressing now that she's gone. We drove down to San Jose del Cabo to deliver the ferry tickets to Joe and Kerry Haska (the Colorado couple we met on the ferry). Even though we didn't get them our old cabin, we did throw a fit and got them a window cabin (they don't sell outside cabins on the way "to" Mazatlan, only "from" Mazatlan.....no reason....it's just Mexico!). Anyway, after we dropped the tickets off, we headed for the airport to get Jeanette. We got there a few minutes late and waited and waited and waited. I checked with the ticket counter and they said her flight had arrived and departed already. After about an hour, she finally walked through the turn-style. Apparently about 5 planes arrived at the same time and there was quite a line for the customs check-in. During her stay, we did a lot of exploring by driving out to Playa Tecolote, Playa Balandra, the mining town of San Juan de la Costa, snorkeling along a rock outcropping near there, and walking the beach of the Peninsula el Mogote (looking for Nuatilus shells). We also visited some of our friends in the area, went to a local youth musician concert at the Cio Molino restaurant across the street, shopped down town La Paz, toured the aquarium, toured the La Paz malecon monuments, and laid on the beach. Of course we had to take her to several of our favorite restaurants, so she probably ate more than normal. To work that off, she went jogging, walking, or did exercises every morning.We decided to take her to the airport a day early and spend the night in Cabo so it wouldn't be such a long day on her way home. San Jose del Cabo is 2.5 hours from La Paz. On the way, we stopped at the artist community of Totos Santos and browsed the shops. Then it was off to Cabo and fight the crowds from two cruise ships wondering around town. The place we stayed, Marbella Suites, was a very nice with a great view of Cabo's "land's end" and the anchored ships. Jeanette even got to lounge at the pool. The morning of her departure, we drove to San Jose and did some additional shopping along Blvd. Antonio Mijares. WE HAD A GREAT TIME!

Now it's time to get the boat ready for a fast trip back up the Baja and across the Sea to San Carlos for an April 12 scheduled haul-out.

Log 10: Mexico--Season 6--'04-'05

Log 10 of Albion (and other travels)

These are e-mails and letters sent back to family and friends from our travels to and in Mexico for the fifth cruising season and sixth season in Mexico, 2004 - 2005. This log starts out with a summary of the summer and includes some "other travels" within Mexico.

2004 Summer Summary

We are headed back to Mexico, so thought I would write a summer summary for this Log. As we closed Log 9 last year, we were putting Albion away for the hot summer in Mazatlan and going to leave her in-water for the first time since the summer of 2000. Another Portland Cruising friend (Tom of X-Ta-Sea) and I made a yacht delivery from Mazatlan to Ensenada, Mexico on a 58' power boat. Other that loosing the auto-pilot about three hours out and having to hand steer the entire 900 miles, and spending two days in Magdalena Bay for weather, the trip was fine. After flying to Tucson and picking Molly up, we drove the car back to Mazatlan and put the final touches to Albion. After getting the new RV out of storage at the Tucson Elks, we drove to Thousand Oaks for the purpose of watching our granddaughter's starring performance in the ballet "Coppelia". It was a wonderful performance and we were very impressed with the professionalism of our 16-year-old ballerina. We have showed the DVD to friends and family many times. This was all happening the same weekend our daughter was in the process of moving...a trying time for her.The only downside of the Thousand Oaks trip, was that I contracted "Valley Fever". I had never heard of it and it wasn't diagnosed for several months after we got back to Portland. But apparently it's fairly common in the Southwest states and a fungus in the soil causes it.Once back home, we checked in with family and friends, and was lucky enough to see my dad a couple more times before he died in early June at the age of nearly 93. We didn't do much RVing this summer due to the fuel prices. We made one week long trip to the coast to watch our friends Bud and Lisa fly their competition kites in Seaside, and we spent another week in Redmond at an FMCA RV rally. The RV rally was attended by several of our cruising/RV friends so we had a great time after the seminars and entertainment shows.In July, we teamed up again with Dan & Cathy (Perceptions) in Portland, just in time for Dan and I to make another yacht delivery of a 76' power boat from Ensenada, Mexico to Vancouver, B.C. (I used a photo of it on my Northwest Yacht Delivery introduction page). It was a great trip except for a blowing gale off Point Conception, CA, and a fuel spill in Newport, OR. What made the trip really great was the resident engineer/cook that came with the vessel. What a way to travel!In October, Molly flew to L.A. for a week to have a "hen party" (as Dan called it) with three other cruising women (Cathy-Perceptions, Joann-Tica, and Bea-Seadater). They had a great time shopping, reminiscing, playing cards, and ...oh yeah, shopping. This year, we stayed in the Northwest a little longer than normal to vote. What a frustrating, unbelievable, disappointment!!! We left the country shortly after the results.

11/12/04 Subject: Back in Mexico!

Just wanted to let you all know we are back in Mexico for the winter...had no problems with the trip down and found Albion in good shape....but very dirty with lots of summer Mazatlan dust and grime. Of course we both have our priorities....Molly first wants to know that the head (i.e. toilet for you landlubbers) is working, next she is concerned that the refrigeration will function properly and then she wants hot water.....Brent is more concerned with the engine and the rigging....happy to report we are both satisfied that everything seems to be working fine. It is hot and humid here....the first time we drove into town for dinner, we had to have the windshield wipers going because there was so much moisture in the air! We thought by now it would have cooled a bit down here, but guess we are still too early. As warm as it is, we are glad to be here rather than some of colder climates we encountered on the way down. The motor home decided to act up a bit and we spent three nights in Burely Idaho at 32 degrees....brrr!It is election time here in Mexico and what a difference from the states. Down here, you'd never know there was a opponent, distinguished, heinous or otherwise. The TV ads and campaign literature dwell mostly on how much the candidate loves his family, his home, his children, the land he humbly grew up in, his parents, his wife, her family, your family and everybody's family in general. Policies and plans are vague, but no matter who wins, family love will rule. Another interesting twist is no alcoholic beverages are available anywhere during the entire weekend of the election. Here in Mexico, they take their hard won democracy seriously! We brought our satellite receiver from the RV down this year and bought a larger dish required for viewing US stations in Mexico. So now we will be able to keep up on the news, football, and our favorite shows.We plan to be here in Mazatlan until at least late January with a trip back to Portland in early December for Molly's ex-director's retirement party. Perhaps we will stay here for Carnival which is in early February this year. Then we will head across the Sea to La Paz and spend some time there, before working our way up the Baja side of the Sea and cross back over to San Carlos where we will leave the boat sometime in April. We are planning to house sit (actually dog sit) for some friends in Tucson in early May, then we will be back to Oregon hopefully about the time it stops raining for the summer. All for now from here....hope all is well with each of you. We love to hear from you and get our e-mail on a regular basis, so please keep in touch.
Brent & Molly

11/25/04 Subject: Happy Thanksgiving

Hoping you are enjoying a great day with lots of good things to eat. We are having dinner at the RV park with Tom and Sue and Will and Joann and their daughter Kristen and her boyfriend. [photo of dinner] We opted out of the marina festivities this year. We decided we had done that for several years and they keep raising the price until it is out of sight, $27 US this year, and that's mostly because they insist on doing fireworks, having a big dance band and having a priest come to do mass in the AM. They bill it as a traditional American Thanksgiving celebration. We try to tell them we don't do fireworks, dance, and go to mass on Thanksgiving, but they don't listen...oh well. We will have a good dinner with friends and enjoy that.There are lots of Portland folks here in Marina Mazatlan; Will and Joann (Tica), Art and Rose (Summer Rose), and Tom and Cathy (Awanhee) are all on the same dock. Pat and Susan (Perpetua) are here but staying in their RV at the park until they get their tri-hull back in shape. Tom and Sue (X-Ta-Sea) sold their boat last year but are also here in their RV in the same park as Pat and Susan. They both have VHF radios so we can call each other and they can listen to the morning net. Several other Portland Tomahawk Bay/Sauvie Island Y.C. boaters have arrived (Dream Chaser, Anthea, and Transendence), but we don't know them as well. The marina put in a high speed Internet DSL line, so e-mail has been a lot easier this year. Although Brent still goes into town to the mall where free WIFI is available and he can surf to his hearts content.We have satellite TV on the boat this year. We brought our Direct TV receiver down and acquired a larger dish from a fellow boater (needed for receiving the US signal here). I am enjoying having football on the weekends and Brent is keeping up on the news, although not much of it is good.El Cid had their annual Christmas bazaar which Molly and other cruising ladies attended. It was earlier than usual this year but still had a full crowd. There was one empty seat at our table and that was dedicated to Cathy (Perceptions) who was sailing south to Costa Rica this year. We went out to dinner the other night at a sports bar and they had the OSU/UO game on. It was great! There was a UO guy at the bar and he would yell whenever UO made a good play, and we would yell back whenever OSU made a good play. Eventually he came over and we exchanged pleasantries. We left before the game was over, but when we were well ahead. When we got to the boat, we looked up the channel it was on (FoxNW), and to our surprise, we got the signal and was able to watch the rest of the game here at the boat. We had a hell of storm shortly after we arrived in Mazatlan. We woke up in the middle of night to thunder and lightning very close! Everyone was up getting their electronics unplugged, then the wind blew and it rained really hard. It's like being back home on a stormy night, except we are still in shorts at 80 degrees. The rain lasted a couple of days and made everything very muddy. Things are back to normal now, but the bugs are still bad. I have almost gone through a half a tube of itch cream already and my legs look like a pincushion. The No-See-Ums and mosquitoes don't seem to go after Molly as much. The marina has put in new "security" locks on the gates. They are like hotel room cards, but the locks on our gate only worked for a couple of days. Now it's unlocked all the time. That's okay by us as the cards were a real pain, but we still have to have them in case we want to go to another dock. One weekend the local boy/girl scout troops had a camp out here at the marina. They had a raft construction contest for both small toy-like size and bigger ones that they actually raced. They had some of the marina folk judge them and I was one of the judges. Then the boys and girls raced them across the marina. They had a great time and it was good entertainment for us. We went to the Angela Peralta Theater the other night to hear the Sinoloa Symphony perform. It was a very enjoyable night. We had dinner at a little "hole in the wall" restaurant that Will and Joann knew of where the shrimp were great for only about $9 a dinner. So long for now. Happy Thanksgiving!
Molly

12/17/04 Subject: Back in Mexico, again!

Hi guys! Hope you are all enjoying the holiday season. I thought I would try to keep in touch and let you know of our latest travels. We joined Tom and Sue Stose (and their dog, Arvey) for an inland trip to Durango in the state of Durango. Durango is about 200 miles inland, high in the Sierra Madre Mountains. The drive was a real e-ticket trip. It took us seven hours with many photo stops for the spectacular scenery! It is a very narrow, curvy, winding mountain road, called the "Devil's Backbone", and there are lots of trucks going both ways. It is not uncommon to come around a bend and find one heading right for you in your lane! Durango is a town probably about the size of Salem and certainly not a tourist destination. We spend four nights there and never once saw another gringo-looking person the entire time, and met very few that speak English. We found a nice hotel right in the center of town across the street from the main cathedral and town plaza. The location of our hotel made it very convenient to spend time just walking around town, seeing the sights. At one time, Durango was the filming location of many movies, over 200 were filmed there, mostly westerns, and most of those were John Wayne's. If he wasn't shooting a picture in Monument Valley, Utah, he was shooting one here. There are remnants of some of the sets and we visited three of them. One (the set of Fat Man and Little Boy) was almost completely destroyed, but the other two were western town sets that were in a little better shape. It was a great trip!We were back to the boat one day before our scheduled trip back to Portland for an early Christmas with our family and bid my former boss, Robin, a happy retirement. The association put on a gala celebration for her and I really enjoyed seeing a lot of folks I worked with for many years. It was pretty rewarding when they would ask, "Weren't you planning to go off sailing after retirement?" And Molly could answer "Yes, we ARE sailing, and we just flew back from our boat in Mazatlan for this event!" She was also recognized from the podium as one of the distinguished guests here tonight and asked to stand for applause. It was wet and rainy in Portland and makes us appreciate the warmer (albeit humid) weather we have here. The day we returned to Mazatlan, the marina had arranged a traditional Mexican Christmas celebration here. First, one of the local schools presented a play based on the Christmas story. They were terrific. Then we all took part in the Posada, depicting Mary and Joseph's trials trying to find room at the inn. Then it was time for piñatas, one for the children and one for the adults. After all that, we had a meal of tamales, beans, and a Christmas punch, traditionally served in Mexican households for Christmas. Last night we went to the Peralta Theater again, this time for the ballet Nutcracker. We were very impressed by the local performers. We first saw them five years ago and they have come a long way in that time. Last night's performance was truly spectacular. I paid close attention as our granddaughter, Brianna, had danced the Sugarplum Fairy role in her company's production in Thousand Oaks. I will look forward to getting the DVD of that performance. We found a great new restaurant, run by a Canadian woman named Heather, with great home-cooking style meals. We ate there last night. The specials were chicken potpie or pot roast, and they were both great and the lemon meringue pie is to die for. It made us forget we were in Mexico. Each night they have different specials and Brent is ready to go back on Wednesday for the meat loaf!The movies are half price on Wednesday and Sundays. The cost is less than $2 those days and the movies are first run in English with Spanish subtitles. On Wednesdays the cruisers are usually the only ones there and often only two or three of us in the whole theater. And the theater is a brand new multi-plex, as nice as any in the states.We are taking our time doing little jobs on the boat here and there. We have plenty of time before we plan to move on across the Sea to La Paz sometime in February. We are having new canvas done for the dodger and bimini. We brought all the materials down from the states and having the work done here. However, several of the zippers I brought were 4 inches too short. To buy them here would cost about $30 each! Ouch! But Pedro, the upholstery man, is going to the states in January and will get the ones he needs for a lot less. Guess that about brings you up to date on our activities. We hope you are all having a great time and will be with family or friends for the holidays. Enjoy.
Molly

1/1/05 Subject: Happy New Year 2005

OK, I will admit that I'm moving a little slow today. Last night was our New Years Eve party at Chili's Pepper. The food was good and the bar was "open". After dinner, dancing, and the fireworks, we headed back to the boat.On Christmas eve day, I climbed the highest operating lighthouse in the world, 515 ft., at the entrance to the main Mazatlan harbor (the only lighthouse that's higher is Gibraltar, but it is abandoned). It takes about a half-hour to hike to the top and the view is breathtaking. From the top you have a great view of Old Mazatlan, the entire harbor, Stone Island, northward along the peninsula, and, of course, the beautiful Pacific Ocean. Our last trip of the year was December 30 to Teacapan. Ten of us took three cars on the 90-mile drive down the coast to a small pueblo located on a large estuary. It is noted for it's birding and the tour books said that they are considering making the area into a bird sanctuary. We made a brief stop at another small town, Rosario, to view their old church and watch as a double funeral was in progress. At Teacapan, Wil (Tica) contacted the Port Captain to see if we could take a panga ride into the estuary and made arrangements with a local guide. But first, we had lunch in a very modest restaurant. They had great chocolate marble cake, however, that we all had to try. We were made aware of the restaurant and their cakes from a friendly Canadian on the beach while Wil was trying to make tour arrangements.The panga tour was great. We all climbed into the boat and headed up the estuary. The guide didn't speak any English or point out any birds, so I had to tell everybody what we were seeing and why it was the bird we were seeing and not another one. They seemed to enjoy the bird identification instructions. The trip lasted about two hours, and then we all headed back to Mazatlan on our own schedule. Wil and Joann and us stopped at Heather's Restaurant again and had dinner to top off a perfect day.That's it for 2004. We'll be updating later when we decide to leave Mazatlan.
Brent

April 1, 2005 Subject: Mazatlan to San Carlos Summaries

3/5 (Saturday): Mazatlan - Bahia de los Muertos (220 miles)

Finally, we left Mazatlan after four months tied to a dock and enjoying the trips and entertainment Mazatlan has to offer. It was difficult saying "so long" to close friends that we may or may not see again, but we wanted to get Albion north to San Carlos and dry storage for the hot Mexican summer. The passage for the most part was very nice. The stars during the dark of the moon night passage were glorious. You could recognize the constellations very easily by looking in the water. By mid-afternoon on the second day, we realized the computer clock was incorrect and we would not be getting into the La Paz area until well after dark. We therefore, decided to head for Bahia de los Muertos and anchor there by late afternoon and go on into La Paz the next day. The anchorage was rolly and during the night, a strong wind switched 180 degrees putting a dangerous rocky-lee shore behind us. Brent was not happy with the anchor set that we had made and decided to sleep in the cockpit to keep an eye on things. We never moved!

3/7 (Monday): B. Muertos - La Paz (43 mi)

We weighed anchor at 0630, first light, and headed North up San Lorenzo channel. It has a bad reputation for strong winds from the North, so we wanted to hit it early. The channel and the rest of the trip into La Paz was a beautiful, calm, sunny motor-sail. We got into Marina de La Paz at 3:15 pm and checked in. The next week was spent exploring La Paz. We had never stopped there before except to refuel, so it was exciting to see a new port. One day we rented a car just to drive around the city and get a feel where things were. The marina is very new, since it was destroyed during Hurricane Marty two years ago. There is a restaurant at the dock, marine stores very close, and free WIFI on the dock….email from you boat!!! We took some good friends that we hadn't seen in several years, and live on their boat there, to dinner one night to a restaurant a taxi friend of their's suggested. It was off the beaten path, a real find. It was difficult to leave such a fine marina and city, but a possible plan is to make this our home for the majority of next winter's cruising season.

3/14 (Monday): La Paz - El Cardoncita, Isla Partida (24 mi)

After breakfast and refueling, we checked out of La Paz and headed north. Although we did sail for about 2 hours, it was basically a motor-sail day and we anchored for the night in El Cardoncita on Isla Partida. Brent jumped in the water to clean the bottom and check the anchor. In the late afternoon a group of kayakers camped on the beach. This is a beautiful little anchorage with good protection from the north, south, and east, open only to the west. Of course shortly after sunset, a howling westerly blew up and made for a miserable night and with less than 10 feet of water under us.

3/15 (Tuesday): Isla Partida - Isla San Francisco (19 mi)

In the morning the wind had died some, but was still blowing from the west. Once out of the anchorage we headed for the anchorage at San Everesto. Finally the wind died to nothing and we motored along for a while until it switched around from the north. We decided to put up the sails and head instead to Isla San Francisco. It was a beat to weather the last few miles but once inside the anchorage it was calm and protected. We were only the second boat in the anchorage and managed to secure a safe spot in the protected northern area. We were entertained the rest of the afternoon with some interesting anchoring drills. By evening there were ten boats in the anchorage. It was a very comfortable night in flat calm water.

3/16 (Wednesday): Is. San Francisco - Puerto Gato (34 mi)

We rose early and were underway shortly after dawn. The winds had died during the night, but left a heavy sea swell. It wasn't too uncomfortable so we headed for Puerto Gato. About an hour from our anchorage there, the wind filled in from the north again, so the last few miles were again a beat to weather, but not nearly as strong as the previous day. Steve on Seascape, a cruiser Brent had talked with in Isla San Franciso, had left much earlier than us and was already anchored there along with another sailboat. There was a group camped onshore that appeared to be perhaps one of the Eco-Tours that are now so popular in the area. The sea swell refracted a bit into the anchorage making it pretty rocky-and-rolly at times. In the afternoon, a cruise ship anchored nearby and put ashore a large group of kayakers. Brent discovered a leak in a fitting to the hot water heater so our afternoon was spent head-down-butt-up repairing that. Seems like they always put those things in a place that was ever intended to be worked on. Sometime after dark the cruise ship reloaded their passengers and departed.

3/17 (Thursday): Puerto Gato - Puerto Escondido (40 mi)

Again, by the time we were up at dawn, Steve was long gone. We were planning a short day to Agua Verde, but the weather was so good we decided to take advantage of the calm seas and put on some miles. We thought we would head for Honeymoon Cove on Isla Danzante. Steve was ahead of us and radioed that the depth did not look good there and he was continuing on to Puerto Ballandra on Carmen Island. Shortly, we heard other cruisers talking about a lot of bo-bos , or nay-nays, there (small flies that are a real nuisance). That was all it took for Brent to head anyplace else. After considering several options, we went into Puerto Escondido and anchored outside the inner harbor. It was flat calm providing a very peaceful good nights sleep.

3/18 (Friday): Puerto Escondido - Punta San Antonio (49 mi)

We were away again at dawn heading for San Juanico. The seas were flat and no wind, affording another day for putting on some miles. This is the first time we traveled up the shoreline along here, so we got a good look at Loreto. There was an Alaskan Airlines jet sitting on the runway of the airport. Steve reported that he was making good time and was going to go on to Punta Pulpito, a good anchorage for the northers. That sounded good to us as that would put us a few miles further ahead for tomorrow. At the same time, we were contacted by radio by Linda on Frankie L. They were in Marina Real in San Carlos on the other side of the Sea and were picking us up loud and clear that far away. Later in the day we also talked to Sue Stose in her RV in San Carlos. We were amazed to make such good contact over 100 miles across the Sea. The winds were starting to fill in from the south and Steve reported the anchorage at Pulpito was getting very uncomfortable and looking poor for the evening. We both decided to see if there might be better anchorage one mile north on the other side of the next point. We anchored at Punta San Antonio. Don on Summer Passage, the Amigo Net weatherman, reports that by Sunday we will be experiencing some "honkin' northers" so we are anxious to get into Bahia Concepcion and sit it out until we get a good weather window for crossing to San Carlos.

3/19 (Saturday): Punta San Antonio - Playa Santispac, Bahia Concepcion (45 mi)

The winds blew strong from the south most of the night, but the seas were fairly flat in the anchorage. About 2 am the winds stopped and we got a few hours sleep in a calm anchorage. We arose at 4 am to make an early passage, hoping to get into Bahia Concepcion before the afternoon winds kicked in. We had a very flat calm passage all the way and were rounding Punta Concepcion about 10 am. Brent had experienced some vertigo and dizzy spells when he got up from a nap, and was very happy to have Steve ahead of us to follow down the shoal bay and into Playa Santispac. There were lots of annoying bobo's when we arrived, but they seemed to go away after we were anchored. The wind blew out of the south most of the day and we considered moving to another anchorage. However, this one seemed best suited for the northern winds which were predicted to blow up the next few days.

3/20 (Sunday): Playa Santispac, Bahia Concepcion

We launched the dingy and went exploring around the bay. There are several anchorages to be tried in the future. We went ashore for lunch and met Pat and Susan, aboard Arrabella, and Steve at Anna's Restaurant. Had a great meal there. Learned that we will have to come back another time for coconut shrimp at Ray's, down the beach. He closes during the Semana Santos week. So next year maybe.

3/21 (Monday): Playa Santispac, Bahia Concepcion

The way into Mulege, about 15 miles north, is by hitching a ride with anyone going that way. We walked up to the road and waited while many cars came and went; most were headed south. One had room for only one rider so we told Steve to take it and we would meet him in town, hopefully! There was a group of college freshmen from Colorado who were also looking for a ride into town. They had come by bus and were hitchhiking their way along the Baja beaches. We finally got a ride into town but Steve was nowhere around when we arrived. We toured town a bit and found an internet café and there Steve found us. After we both completed our communications we saw a little more of town and asked a local taxi driver for a good place to eat. He directed us to a local restaurant where we enjoyed a great shrimp lunch. We hired a taxi for the trip back to Playa Santispac. The winds had filled in from the north, but we seemed safe and secure in the anchorage. We had heard many stories of anchors dragging here, but never had a problem while we were there.

3/22 (Tuesday): Playa Santispac, Bahia Concepcion

Don, on Summer Passage, was predicting a short weather window for Wednesday so we started making preparations to leave about mid-day tomorrow. We went ashore for Brent to hike up the road and take some pictures of the area and then met Steve once again at Anna's for lunch. Again, the shrimp dishes were wonderful!

3/23 (Wednesday): Playa Santispac - San Carlos (81 mi)

It was hard waiting until mid-day to leave. It was nice and calm and we wanted to take advantage of the friendly waters before the afternoon winds might kick in. By leaving mid-day, we would still be getting into San Carlos during the night, but the full moon should give sufficient light to get into the harbor anchorage alright. Near the mouth of the bay, the winds were fairly strong from the south, but eased as we got further from shore. We talked with Rick on Glaoch Ne Mara in Santa Rosilia. He was expecting Frankie L to be arriving sometime later that day from San Carlos (actually, they had headed out but turned back because of rough seas). We had fairly calm seas most of the day and were hoping that would last into the night. 'Twas not to be. The evening weather update on the Southbound Net sounded like we could expect some building winds on the mainland side. The winds did pick up from the north and a heavy swell on our beam made the last 25 miles or so, most uncomfortable. It was early morning when we arrived at San Carlos, but the moonlight was bright and we eased our way into the crowded anchorage to find an empty buoy and were safely tied up by 4 am.

3/24 (Thursday) San Carlos

About 7 am we turned loose of the buoy and made our way into the marina to find an available slip. We found one on B dock and attempted to check in with the marina office, but found they had closed for Semana Santos (Easter weekend) until Sunday. We check in on Sunday and were granted the slip until we hauled out to dry storage. Now started the work of cleaning, preparing, and storing everything we had been using for the last five months. Next we will be riding back down to Mazatlan with Horst & Bea, as they head down to check on Seadater, to get our car, drive it back to San Carlos, load it up with stuff to take back to the RV, cross the border, get the RV out of storage and move in. Sounds easy, huh? All this takes about two weeks! Then the other side of our adventures begin.

Log 9: Mexico--Season 5--'03-'04

Log 9 of Albion (and other travels)





These are e-mails and letters sent back to family and friends from our travels to and in Mexico for the fifth season, 2003-2004, after missing a season of cruising during our RV trip across the nation and only working on Albion in San Carlos.







Oct. 15, 2003 Subject: Tucson, AZ

We are about to cross the border this Friday (Oct 17). We stopped in Las Vegas for a week and saw a show and some movies and just got used to moving again. Then it was on to Tucson, have the RV serviced, and get some last minute supplies. This summer we went looking for new awnings and bought a new (to us) RV. It is a 1999 Tradewinds 37' diesel by National, with one slide out. It drives wonderful! We also had to get a new car, a 2001 Toyota Rav4, after an accident that "totaled" our old Mitsubishi. So we are now set for some long range summer road travel.Since we re-instated our Elks dues, we stayed at Elks lodges on the way down (Provo, UT and North Las Vegas) and here in Tucson at the Tucson Elks......about the cheapest place in Tucson! In fact, we plan to store the RV here for six months when we are in Mexico since they have plenty of room and there is a camp host right next to the storage area to keep an eye on it. It is only $30/month, and that is the same price we stored it last time, but 20 miles out of town. Some other friends from Portland are also here and going to store theirs too. So far our only hard schedule is: - Oct 17th: Leave this Friday for San Carlos and start getting the boat ready for sailing. We have an insurance-required survey scheduled Oct. 27th. - Nov. 20th: Reservations at Marina Mazatlan. The marina has a big American Thanksgiving Fiesta Dinner there for the cruisers. - Dec. 16th: Reservations at Paradise Village Marina & Resort, Nuevo Vallarta. We will be there for Christmas unless we find some reasonable airline tickets home for the holidays. - April 16th: Have to leave Mexico by this date because of our 6 month visa. We will probably be storeing our boat on the hard in San Carlos again because of the safety factor (although it didn't help this year!!!). - Therefore, we will probably aim at being back in Oregon near the first of June again......if the rain has eased up by then!! Will keep in touch!
Brent & Molly

11/10/03 Subject: San Carlos

We are still in San Carlos....many little things on the boat needing attention but we are hoping to sail on Thursday for Mazatlan.Weather has cooled a bit and it is comfortable during the day...much nicer for boat projects. Brent has been working hard....had several leaks in the sewer hose he installed last spring....funny you never know about those leaks in the yard! Water tanks have lots of gummy gunk that keeps fouling the filter....the battery charger went out....bought a used older one to replace until we can get the other one serviced....racor filter leaking...bought a new one here, but the fittings are different sizes.....if it's not one thing it's another....new (used) battery charger quit working, but found it was just the ground wire had come off.....that's the first thing that seemed simple! You know they say cruising is working on your boat in exotic places, except San Carlos has never seemed all that exotic to me!Looking forward to getting on our way again...the weather reports are good and we are planning to take about five days down the mainland side weather permitting and if the anchorage's look okay....in the past we have gone straight away in about three days. Would like to avoid the over-nighter if possible....in cruising there's the saying "It's not the destination, it's the journey." Well for me anyway.....it's the destination!Have weather reports now and then and it looks cold and wet most of the time in the northwest....it made it a bit easier to take the hot humid days we were having here, but like I said, it has cooled a bit now. The evenings are cool and we need a comforter at night where before we were sleeping naked on top of the sheets. Went to a beach party the other night and jeans and sweatshirts were in order. All for now from here....hope you are keeping warm and dry. Keep in touch.
Molly

11/21/03 Subject: In Mazatlan

11-18: Arrived in Mazatlan yesterday afternoon....left San Carlos on the 13th...the first half of the trip was rough and I was ready to give it up...had planned to stop at several possible anchorage's along the way, but the first was not a good anchorage, the next we would have arrived in the middle of the night and we don't go into unknown anchorage's after dark, so we just had to keep going....the seas were rough, but the boat did well...I didn't. Finally the next day about noon we reached our third possible anchorage and it was good...we were there along with about twenty shrimp boats....they only come in and anchor when it gets too rough so if it's too rough for them, it was surely too rough for us! It was fairly calm there and we had a chance to catch our breath and get some rest. Also had to work on the refrigeration pump as it had quit working. Got it going again and spent that night, the next day, and next night, there until the seas had calmed down.....then we continued on. The seas were flat and calm now and except for a lightening storm that night and a heat exchanger end plate coming apart, the rest of the trip was a piece of cake. We are here now along with several other Portland cruisers and it is like old home week. It is hot here, but I guess we will adjust. Will write more later, just wanted to let you know we arrived here okay. We can receive e-mail on our computer here at the marina, but have not been able to send from the computer here...have to go to internet cafe to do that.
Love Molly

11/26/03 Subject: Happy Thanksgiving!

We will have a not so traditional celebration here in Mazatlan. They will have a priest come to do mass in the morning then do a blessing of the fleet (we can use all the help we can get!). Then it is fun and games, dingy races, dominos and such, before dinner in the afternoon....they say we will have real turkey and even cranberry sauce instead of strawberry jam this year! The marina has arranged for an orchestra for entertainment after dinner...they say it is the most popular orchestra in all the state.. we'll see how the gringos like it. In the evening there will be fireworks....no matter what the holiday, Mexicans have to have fireworks! It's still very warm here, but becoming more tolerable. Brent is getting a lot of boat projects completed. We have been into town several times looking for boat parts and such. There are some new additions since we were here last, including a Walmart. Next week we have tickets to a concert at the theater in town....a very popular classical guitarist that we heard a couple years ago in Puerto Vallarta...we are looking forward to that. If all goes well we should be here a couple more weeks and then be heading to Puerto Vallarta for a while. Of course it is even warmer there, so I am in no hurry to head further south.
Brent and Molly

12/20/03 Subject: Paradise Village, Nuevo Vallarta

Ola again from Mexico and Feliz Navidad. This time from Puerto Vallarta. We arrived here on December 16th after a two day trip straight down the 200 miles from Mazatlan. We anchored at a neighboring bay the day we got here because it was a little too late to come into Paradise Village Marina. It is crowded here and we were put on the furthest slips up the estuary from the resort.......we always joke that we are in the next state and need a passport to get from here to the resort. It is about a 15 minute brisk walk down to the pool. We have put our name on the list to be moved down the bay, and were just notified to move from E-58 to E-40!!!!! Big deal! We moved, but are still going to try to get down to A, B, or C dock. Up here it is noisy (we were right under the main bridge into the resort) and there are more bugs up here. Oh well, I guess we are still in Paradise!! Albion must have enjoyed the attention in Mazatlan, because the trip to Puerto Vallarta was a breeze, everything worked fine. We are planning a laid back Christmas here with a few friends, and maybe a trip back home after the holidays if we can find a reasonable flight. Until then, it's a tropical Christmas season for us again, soaking up the sun by the pool, and testing the fine places to eat here. In March we plan to head north again to Mazatlan, get some dental work done, then over to the Baja, and eventually back to San Carlos where we start all over again. Merry Christmas to all, hope it is a wonderful time for everyone.
Brent

1/1/04 Subject: Christmas & New Years

We had a good Christmas and New Years. On Christmas Eve we had dinner on another boat with two other couples...we had a spiral cut ham with all the trimmings....it was a nice evening. The next day we went with the same friends to La Cruz, a small town north of here, to a popular cruiser gathering spot....the restaurant provided turkeys, dressing, and potatoes, and the rest was pot luck....there were about 120 fellow cruisers there. It was a great afternoon. Hardly seemed like it was Christmas, however, as it was warm and sunny all the time. We spent New Years with the same two couples and started with wine and snacks on one of the boats, then we went to dinner at a new restaurant that is near here....just a dinghy ride up the estuary....it was great...Molly & I split a dinner of lobster, shrimp & steak for $17....we returned to the other boat for dessert and after dinner drinks before walking out to the beach to watch the fireworks at midnight....it was warm and muggy even at midnight! Perhaps you will feel better about all that cold weather you had there in Oregon when you learn it's been raining here. We've had thunder and lightning and lots and lots of rain....I do feel sorry for the tourists who only have a week here....they will no doubt be heading home without tans! Haven't been doing much of anything....not even any pool time recently. Weather is supposed to clear up by the weekend. Finally we got a slip on D dock near the ramp and yacht club and a few days later Perceptions got a slip on C dock. The yacht club has good internet access....actually Brent just got a wireless card that he can use there.....we just hope it works as well when we are back in the states. The showers there are better than the ones at the end of E dock also. So we are happy here and don't plan to move any more even though Dick, the harbormaster, did say he had some openings on A dock. Lately we have been going out to eat quite a bit to celebrate birthdays with our good friends Dan & Cathy on Perceptions and Barb & Monte on Reprise. Cathy had a birthday 1/12 so she made reservations at a restaurant in old town Puerto Vallarta that she heard would fix Beef Wellington if asked. They did, it was great, and they treated us like royalty when we arrived, with the owner making sure everything was to order and that we were being taken care of. Then on 1/19 it was Dan's birthday, so we headed over to Bucerias, another nearby town, and had monster shrimp and after dinner dessert coffee's at another restaurant that we like. Then it was my turn on 1/30 to choose where we go!!! With Molly's suggestion we went to a German restaurant that has a special all you can eat and drink Baverian Buffet in old town. There were 11 of us for that dinner including Portland cruisers on X-Ta-Sea and Glaoch Ne Mara.....sure is nice that our friends on Reprise have their van down here to hold us all and drive us around. Molly made a trip back to L.A. for a few days in late January. During all the rain, Perceptions left a port open just above their computer and it got fried. Cathy tried to get one here, but it either had a Spanish keyboard, or an external battery (very unusual), or the cost was outrageously expensive. She said she could probably fly back to the US and still get one cheaper. Molly spoke right up and said she had a $50 companion fare and would be happy to go and keep her company if she wanted.......so off they went! She also carried a list from Dan and I for needed boat items, and also got to see Lynda and the grandkids while there which made it nice for her. So Dan & I batched it for a few days. When they returned, we had more boat projects as a result of the acquired parts.
Brent

3/17/04 Subject: Putting Albion away in Mazatlan

We spent two and a half months in Nuevo Vallarta at Paradise Village and for a change, didn't do anything on the boat. The days were spent playing cards, reading, and hanging out at the pool. Many times it was off to town for dinner with friends, and luckily we had some Portland friends, Monte & Barb on Reprise, that had a van. There were many dock parties and boat parties and meeting new friends that came and went. The hardest thing we did was watch very close friends Dan & Cathy (Perceptions) leave Paradise Village for points South on their way to Panama. We had a great Bon Voyage party to send them off, but it was difficult. We have been keeping in contact with them via SSB radio, but it's not the same as heading down to their boat for a game of cards or kicking back with a beer. We will miss them, but the planned reunion this summer back in the Northwest at the Cathlamet Mexican Cruiser's potluck, will be something to really look forward to. The 200 mile trip up to Mazatlan was done in one leg in 28.5 hours. That's almost a record. The sea was so flat that it almost looked oily. Sea Turtles were everywhere looking much like stones in the road.....in fact we hit one square on the bow. Whales too put on a show near Isla Isabela, and the schools of rays when nearing Mazatlan where very impressive jumping and finning the water. We made the trip with Tica (Will and Brian...from Exodus). Joann and Laury (their wives) made the trip up on the bus. Boy did they miss a fast, flat, trip. Tica had been having over-heating problems for some time, and finally got it fixed so he kept increasing the speed to see if it would heat up. Consequently to keep him on the radar screen, I had to speed up as well, faster than my normal cruising speed. We averaged 7.0 knots, where it would normally be about 6 to 6.5 knots. That may not seem a big difference, but to a motoring sailboater, that's a bunch (up to 5 hours)! Since we've been here in Mazatlan, we have been renewing old acquaintances, making decisions on what to do, and where to keep Albion for the summer and getting our dental work done. The original plan was to take her across the sea, up the inside of the Baja , and then cross again to San Carlos where we have dry-stored her the last several years. But because of a confirmed yacht delivery and a possible future delivery, we decided to make them first and keep the boat here in Mazatlan in-water, like the first year we were in Mexico. So I have been learning the 58' power boat that I will be delivering to Ensenada (900 miles) and starting on the list to put Albion away for the summer. I will be making the delivery during the last two weeks in March, then fly to Tucson where Molly will be waiting at friends Nada & Dorsey's house. Then we will drive our car back to Mazatlan and finalize the storage process and bring some boat stuff back to the states in the car. That is if the other sailboat delivery doesn't materialize from Puerto Vallarta to Ensenada. We then will get the RV out of storage in Tucson and head to Thousand Oaks, CA. in late May for granddaughter Brianna's ballet performance. So this season has not seen the traveling of past years. After the initial maintenance work on Albion during the first two months, we have been taking it pretty easy, just relaxing like retired couples are supposed to do!

Log 8: USA-RV/Copper Canyon--'02-'03

Log 8 of Albion (and other travels)

This season, 2002-2003, we decided to forgo cruising Mexico and take an extended trip in the RV across the USA. From Oregon we traveled to Maine, down to Florida, took a cruise of the Western Caribbean, then drove back across the southern states to Tucson. Then we decided to drive the RV down to the boat in San Carlos and do some needed maintenance. The following are the emails sent back to family and friends about our travels.

9/8/02: On the Road Again

We are "on the road again" in the RV heading across the USA. We left Portland on August 31. We had a very busy summer around the Northwest, but didn't get by to see everybody as planned and for that, we apologize. This year, rather than heading back to Albion in Mexico, we are going to "see the USA". Our current location is Winton, Minnesota (far Northeast corner) visiting fellow cruisers Will and Joann Gallant of Tica. We came across on the northern route from Hood River to Coeur d'Alene, ID (320 mile day), Bozeman, MT (381 mile day), Miles City, MT (295 mile day), Jamestown, ND (375 mile day), Garrison, MN (282 mile day) and then to Winton (200 miles). It was a relatively quick trip, but we did have time to stop and tour the Lewis and Clark Caverns near Butte and Pompey's Pillar N.M. near Billings. The rest of the trip will be across to New England and down the East Coast, seeing the regular tourist attractions and the Civil War Monuments, to Florida where we will be taking a cruise of the Western Caribbean on our 28th anniversary in November. Then our loose plans will take us back across the Southern States to Tucson and down to Albion in San Carlos by January or February. There we will work on the boat for about a month and spend some time in the Sea of Cortez before heading back to the Northwest in May or June. Just before leaving, we had to purchase a new phone. Technology is great, but as far as our uses are concerned, it just took a giant step backward until sometime in the near future. We used to connect our old cell phone to the computer to send and receive e-mail almost daily. Now we will be e-mail challenged until technology catches up. Therefore, we will be checking e-mail only in city libraries or in RV parks that have modem/phone hookups. So if we don't answer your e-mail right away, have patience, we will get to it on an irregular basis. And in some places, like Winton, we don't even get an AT&T signal, so we can't even make or receive calls......we need patience too!

12/14/02: New Orleans for the Holidays

The last time we let everybody know where we were, we were in Minnesota visiting cruising friends on our way across the country back in September. We are presently in New Orleans and looking forward to the holidays. I will try to make this update brief, but let you know what we've been up to. After visiting cruising friends Will and Joann in Minnesota we traveled on to Niagara Falls, but stopped to see the Shipwreck Museum and Soo Locks in Michigan. Also in Michigan, we got another new phone. The new one we got in Oregon just before leaving did not get a signal after we left. Molly's cheapo phone did, so we got another one just like her's with our old phone number. Isn't the latest technology great *&^%$. We moved on to the Boston area where we learned a lot about the American Revolution and it's characters by doing the Freedom Walk through town. We also saw the Cape Cod area and JFK's Museum in Hyannisport. Then went to a Seafood Festival at Gloucester where we had a clam appetizer and we both got horribly sick that night. Maine was beautiful, but we were just a little early for the fall colors. Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island, however, was breathtaking. We had Maine lobster in Bar Harbor and enjoyed a drive down the coast. Our next big stop was in New York. A word of caution here.....if you have an RV, DO NOT drive on a "Parkway". They have low clearance. When we saw the 8'7" sign at the side of an overpass, we took the highest part of the overpass arch and somehow made it (our height is 11'10"). We were then waved and honked off the parkway by passing motorists and were off into some neighborhood where we didn't know which way to go to get to Long Beach and our RV park. New York by train and tour bus, however, was just wonderful. We saw all the sights and loved it. We were then off to Philadelphia, and Gettysburg where we became more familiar with the Civil War and it's battles, including Antietam, Maryland, the bloodiest one day battle in the War. Fredericksburg Virginia was the next major stop. From there we did a lot of driving around the state seeing Montpelier (Madison's home), Monticello (Jefferson's home), Shenandoah N.P. in the Blue Ridge Mtns, Baltimore, Annapolis, and Washington DC. We were also in Fredericksbury when the DC snipers were active and VERY nearby. As soon as we got our mail from home, we headed south. We stopped at Kitty Hawk and the Wright brothers monument, drove down to Cape Hatteras, and did several Civil War and Revolutionary War forts on the way south to the Orlando Florida area. We also took a tour of St Augustine FL, the oldest town in America. In the Orlando area, we spent a day at Cypress Gardens and drove over to Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center. Then it was on to Miami to pack and get ready for our 28th anniversary cruise of the Western Caribbean (Grand Cayman Is., Roatan Is. Honduras, Belize City Belize, and Cozumel Mexico). It was a great cruise with plenty to keep us busy, but relaxing too. We were lucky enough to get back before all the virus' started infecting the cruise ships. After getting back, we headed down to Key West to visit some cruising friends from Portland, still living on their boat there. Key West was wonderful, wished we could have spent more time there, although we did have our "cheeseburger in paradise" at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville. Then it was on to the Everglades N.P. and Naples FL. Naples is a real nice area on the Florida's west coast. In the Tampa/St. Petersburg area, we visited some more recently retired friends from the Portland area that I used to coordinate with. It was good seeing old friends and have them show you around their area. In Pensacola, we visited the Naval Air Museum. Wow....it's a must if you are in the neighborhood. In Biloxi, we went to a "Christmas On Ice" show at one of the casinos. We were going to head to Memphis, TN and Branson, MO, but it was getting cold and it started snowing up there. So we decided to throw out the anchor in New Orleans for the month of December and enjoy the holidays here. We have a Christmas Eve paddlewheeler cruise planned up the Mississippi to watch the levee bonfires, a real tradition here. We also have a city and cemetery tour planned and just a lot of driving around to learn the area and see some of the southern plantation mansions. It is still cool here with bouts of wind and rain coming through from the Gulf (Last night tornado warnings were up near the delta and winds gusts were up to 64 mph on Lake Pontchartrain). From here, we want to visit some classmates in the Houston area, and then on to a Blue Grass Festival in Bythe CA on Jan. 16-18 with some friends from Tucson. After that, I guess we have to get down to Albion in San Carlos Mexico and start some maintenance work. I hope that brings you up to date on our travels. It has just been great traveling the east coast and seeing these things for the first time. Sorry if this was too long for you, but it was difficult glossing over so much.
Brent & Molly, On the Road in New Orleans

1/28/02: Greetings from Mexico

Molly and I are now back in Mexico at San Carlos. The boat over-wintered just fine and we now have it in the work area for about a month or two of work. We are staying in an RV park rather than the boat work area, as planned, because it's a lot less dusty, less noisy, and much more shadier......and it has cable TV, internet connection, and swimming pool! We believe we can still receive messages on the cell phone, then call the caller back the next day when we check for messages. Haven't tried it here yet, but a test seemed to work. Our stay here will be short this year. Nada & Dorsey, our friends in Tucson, have asked us to house-sit (actually dog-sit in their house) while they take a Panama Canal Cruise for two weeks in late April. Therefore, we will not be putting the boat in the water this year and be back in the states (Arizona) in mid April and leaving there sometime in May. We are also planning some recreational travels during our stay down here this year too. We want to do the train trip up the Copper Canyon (a must do that we haven't yet), take a trip to a small colonial village called Alamos, drive down to a coastal village we visited last year in the boat called Altata, and drive down to Mazatlan to visit our other cruising friends that arrived much earlier than we did, and sailed away to the southern, tropical, cruising grounds. So it won't be all work and no play!!! The weather here is in the upper 70's and low 80's right now, a warm spell. But later this season, it should be getting warmer. If it gets too warm, we will just bag it and do the rest when we come back in October or November. Our work plan is: -re-varnish the entire inside of the cabins-replace all the sewer hoses-put in all new hatch screens (in the cabin top hatches) -install new drinking water hoses-install a built-in hot/cold shower in the cockpit and, -sand the entire bottom, for painting when we get back this fall.....and I'm sure we will find other things that need fixing along the way too. Just thought I would give you a quick report on our where-abouts. We will probably be back in the Portland area about late May or early June like last year. See you then!

Brent

March 12 - 18, 2003: Copper Canyon

After having breakfast in San Carlos, we headed south to El Fuerte about 7:30 am. We would be meeting three other couples driving up from Marina Mazatlan, Cathy and Dan on Perceptions, Horst and Bea on Seadater and Will and Joann on Tica. Cathy had made hotel reservations for us and, with the assistance of Sylvia at Marina Mazatlan, had secured some great group rates for us. Cost of the tolls from San Carlos to Los Mochis, where we left the toll roads, was 209 pesos (about $19 US). From Los Mochis, it is about a one hour drive inland to El Fuerte. We arrived in El Fuerte about 12:30 and only had the name of the hotel where we would be staying, but no address or directions. Molly finally gave in and let Brent stop and ask directions and we were close, just a couple blocks away. We drove up a steep rocky street and saw a van with the hotel name on it so we got out and looked for it, but then saw another steep rocky road with a sign pointing up the hill to the hotel.....we wondered what kind of a place we would find, but our concerns were relieved once we stepped inside. It was a quaint little place with a lovely open courtyard overlooking the river (obviously, the hotel name was "Rio Vista"). We had our choice of any of the available rooms; all were clean and comfortable. Our cost here was 350 pesos ($32 US). We made a selection, got checked in and spent some time chatting with another couple who were on a tour staying there. The one negative thing about El Fuerte is the bugs (no see-'ums, but you can)! You want lots of bug spray and even that didn't seem to deter most of them! We decided to walk back down to the town square to meet our friends when they arrived in town. As we were walking to the square, we were stopped by a local man who asked Brent his name. Brent was sure he was going to try to sell him something, but replied that his name was Brent. The man asked "Brent Olaf?" How could he possibly know his middle name?! Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out our passports.....they had apparently fallen out of Molly's backpack when we got out of the car the first time we looked for the hotel! The man had recognized Brent from his passport photo. Can you imagine, our passports were returned before we even missed them. Brent was so happy he hugged the guy and gave him a nice reward! The rest of our group arrived shortly after 2 pm and after relaxing for a bit with some cold drinks we walked into town to explore a bit. The only thing we found of real interest was the ice cream shop! Back at the hotel we enjoyed a happy hour before having dinner in the hotel dining room. Dinner was a tasty local fish, but turned out to be more expensive than we had been told earlier. When they started serving it, the question we all had was "Have we ordered yet"? It was the only thing on the menu! We opted for just coffee and toast the next morning for breakfast. There are two trains daily up and down the canyon. The first is the primero or first class and about an hour later is the economy class at about half the cost of the first. We had planned to take the second as we had heard there was little difference and it was more local people and a lot more fun. The hotel provided transportation to the station and we were able to leave our cars parked near the hotel. When we arrived at the station, the first train was still there so we decided that the economy would be really late and opted to take the primero instead. Primero class one way ticket was 430 pesos (about $40 US) per person The train was very full with several tour groups on board, but we managed to get eight seats together. It's an all day trip up the canyon with the scenery changing many times from the hot dessert cactus country to the high mountainous/canyon terrain full of pine and fir trees. The rail line was begun in the late 19th century, finally finished in 1961 and privatized in 1998, with 39 bridges, 87 tunnels (one over a mile long), a 360 degree loop over itself, and a maximum altitude of 8,056 ft. The Copper Canyon area is apparently about four times larger than the Grand Canyon and about 1000 feet deeper. It is a series of about seven canyons (four of which are deeper than the Grand Canyon). The train travels up the El Fuerte and Unrique river canyons and along the rim of the main Copper Canyon. On the trip to the bottom, to Batopilas, we traveled through four other canyons. The train makes several short stops along the way to Creel, but only the stop at Divisadero allows a few minutes to disembark to get a good look over the canyon rim and grab a quick bite to eat from the local Mexican fast food venders. The chili relenos and tacos were wonderful! Then it was back on the train and on to Creel. At the station, we were pleased to find that a bus from the hotel was there to meet us. But imagine our surprise when after boarding and getting all our bags aboard, we drove out of the parking lot and nearly just across the street to unload at our hotel. Casa Margarita can best be described as a "work in progress." It is both a hostel and hotel, mostly under construction or remodel or demolishment or something. However, the rooms we reserved were clean and comfortable. Our cost here was 250 pesos (about $23 US) per room which included breakfast and dinner. Meals were served in a loud communal dining room, but were tasty and adequate. Although, if you like your meals served hot, it is best to get there early. Here we could make all the arrangements for local tours as well as one down to the bottom of the canyon at Batopilas. The hotel also had accommodations there. Cathy and Bea negotiated some good group rates for a tour the next day of the surrounding area and an overnight trip to Batopilas the following day. Our tour on Friday was a custom combination of three of their tours covering just about everything in the local area. We visited a local mission, a couple of occupied Indian cave dwellings, stopped by a lake, hiked to a waterfall, drove back to Divisadero allowing more time to enjoy the local cuisine and have a few more views of the canyon rim than were allowed with the short train stop there the day before. It was a long day and finally by late in the afternoon we told our driver and guide, "no mas, no mas." It was time to head back to the hotel and rest. Saturday was our day to go to the bottom of the canyon....this was the reason we had come! Our driver, Luis, spoke little or no English, but our guide, Juan, did. He had been working for Casa Margarita for many years and had been involved with building their new hotel at the canyon bottom, so had made many trips up and down and knew the area well. It is about 78 miles down to Batopilas with half of it on paved roads. But once you leave the pavement and start descending into the canyon, you are in for a real ride. In one section, we counted 20 switchbacks. The scenery is spectacular and ever changing as you descend from approximately 7000 feet elevation in Creel to about 500 feet to the canyon floor in Batopilas. It took us six hours, but we did make a few stops along the way. After the long hot dusty trip, we were pleasantly surprised by our accommodations in Batopilas. The hotel had been completed for only about 18 months and just got electricity a couple months ago. The rooms were large and most furnished with lots of antique furniture and brass beds and white eyelet linens. Beautiful Mexican tiles decorated the bathrooms. The cost here was 400 pesos (less than $40 US) per room which included dinner and breakfast. We took a few minutes to refresh ourselves then headed into town with the guide to see the sites. Batopilas is a unique community situated right along the river. The narrow streets were never intended for automobile traffic and certainly not the larger van we were traveling in, so often we had to stop and back up to let oncoming traffic pass. It was one of the cleanest towns we have seen in Mexico, perhaps due to the signs we saw noting fines for littering. Juan showed us around the town noting the first car ever to arrive there...brought down in parts and reassembled there (the road to Batopilas was only completed about 1979) . There is a gold mining operation along the river and several abandoned silver mining tunnels. Juan had just returned from another tour the day before ours and a man in the group had wandered off from the rest and entered an abandoned tunnel without a light. He almost fell into a deep shaft, ended up smashing his face badly and had to be airlifted out. No one in our group was that curious! The Hacienda San Miguel (the original silver foundry) lies in brick ruins across the river from town. Back at the hotel we relaxed with some snacks before dinner. The hotel it seemed was out of beer....bad news to Horst and Dan. Batopilas is supposedly a "dry" town with no liquor sales, but Juan said he knew where to go. He took them to a local senora's house who promptly produced a supply of ale. She is located right next to the police station, but they ignore her sales as she is also their cook and if she's arrested, the cooking may suffer! Only in Mexico! Dinner was truly a treat. The antique dinning table was covered with a hand crocheted and embroidered cloth and matching napkins. The dinnerware was china and then when the waiter offered wine, he poured it in crystal goblets....something we seldom see in Mexico and certainly did not expect here in Batopilas. The meal was delicious as was breakfast the next morning. The tour of Batopilas is not complete without hiring a local guide (Juan and Luis are not permitted to take tourists beyond the city) to see the "lost cathedral" along with some mines and Indian cave dwellings. The local guide was Arturo who provided transportation in the back of his pickup, complete with two auto bench seats. After we paid him for the tour he was able to purchase some fuel to make it.....he stopped at the local fuel depot and got five liters to siphon into his tank. The road was bumpy and dusty...a real adventure. We had visited some of the cave dwellings the day before and while it is interesting, we all felt a bit uncomfortable tramping right up to their homes to have a look see as to the way they live. Time was also a factor so we opted just to make the trip to the nearby community of Stavo to the "lost cathedral" ....which apparently was never "lost" as it is situated on a branch of the Camino Real, Mexico's most well known historical thoroughfare, nor was it ever a cathedral which requires the presence of an archbishop. Exactly when and by whom it was built remains a mystery. It was probably built as a Jesuit mission in the 17th century, but abandoned for whatever reason.....it has been rebuilt several times since being "discovered" and taken over by Franciscans in the 18th century. After exploring the building and surrounding area we piled back in the truck and headed back to town. Soon we were all wondering and beginning to worry about the truck....the sounds coming from below did not sound good....finally Arturo stopped managed to convey his concerns about making it up the next hill....we got out and walked while he and Will tried to diagnose the problem....most likely axles, or wheel bearings or tie rods or something....whatever, it was not good. After walking a while, Arturo finally came along and told us to get back in....we went a while and then we got out and walked some more when he started becoming worried about the steering.....as the road is right along the riverbank, we all felt safer walking! Back in town Arturo assured us that Juan would be there soon to pick us up, but we all felt certain that Juan was expecting us to be returned to the hotel instead of meeting us in town. Oh well, we decided to wait anyway....the only local bar was soon to open and we figured we would have a cold beer while we waited and waited and waited. Finally Brent decided to hoof it to the hotel, but along the way he did run into Juan who had finally gotten the message that we were stranded in town. Back at the hotel, we had only enough time to pack our bags and load into the van for our trip back up the canyon. This trip was shorter in duration as we did not make as many stops as on the way down. The weather had changed and it was quite windy in the canyon and downright cold by the time we reached the top. We were supposed to have had reservations at the other Margarita hotel in town, but found some problems (no reservations!) and ended up staying back at Casa Margarita instead. The train the next day would not leave until about noon so we had some time to spend in town, but the weather was cold and rainy (almost snow) so we stayed at the hotel until almost time to catch the train. Again due to the time, we opted for the primero train as the later economy would put us back into El Fuerte quite late. The trip down the canyon is relaxing and still beautiful, but canyon scenery is best viewed on the trip up the canyon. It was a long day and we were tired and hungry by the time we arrived back in El Fuerte about 7 pm. There was some confusion with the transportation there to meet us....the taxi driver had difficulty convincing us that he was from the hotel, there to meet us, and was not expecting us to pay. Finally back at the hotel, we got our rooms and then walked into town for dinner. We had a great dinner at another hotel near the town square. All that was left the next morning was to say our good-byes to our friends and make the long drive back to San Carlos and complete our work on the boat. It was a great trip....a "must do."