Close contact with the Gigantic kind

WARNING! If you are easily offended with profanities be forewarned that I am a bad, bad person for saying and writing such words. Do not attempt this at home, we are trained professionals. Read at your own risk!

Sailing along with the wind at our backs, David and I were discussing the population of whales now compared to a hundred years ago or pre-whaling days. I was bummed that we hadn't seen any whales during our crossing so far. Just as we finished that conversation we spotted a few humpbacks fifty yards off our starboard bow. I like it when that kind of stuff happens.
The following day we were nearing Isla Isabela and saw a pod of 12-16 Humpbacks, presumably the same pod that we had seen our last time we visited Isabela. The whales were traveling fast perhaps on a mission for food, but this particular pod usually seems to be in a hurry. Maybe too much coffee. David suggested we dropped the jib so we could maneuver easier if we neared the whales. We dropped the jib and began to gather it onto the foredeck when the whales were right beside us. I am not exagerating when I say RIGHT BESIDE US. In fact they were so beside us that one had to go under us to avoid collision. My legs turned to rubber and my fingers clumsily fumbled with the sail tie as I blurted out, "Jesus-fucking-christ! Babe turn the boat!" I looked down into the water and saw a flipper and made out every single knob on the whales flipper as it proceeded to swim ahead of us. There were at least six gigantic humpbacks that were within spitting distance...and I can't spit far, though I wouldn't want to spit on them anyhow. Whatever. I can't begin to explain the horror and euphoria of having those huge beasts in such a close proximity. David kept his cool and I almost peed my pants. I was sure that we were going to be hit by a careless fluke or bulky body that didn't see us until it was too late, we held on tight. The whales promptly made their way away as quickly as they showed up. The upside of sailing silently and not motoring is that the whales dont seem to mind the closeness. The downside of sailing silently along is that if the whales aren't paying attention (its not like they have many enemies from above or need to look before they surface) a little bump on the rudder or keel or anywhere else on the boat can mean real trouble for us on the fragile boat.

The outside temperature is 84 as is inside the boat. The water is now 76. We look at all the birds flying around, the fish in the water and the humpbacks that are on patrol. The pod of whales returned within our sights and keep rounding the island. The fish must be plentiful to support so many birds and whales. The island is not as green as it was a month ago, but I take that to be a good sign that it has been hot around these parts. David is attempting to work with the auto pilot(s). Of the two auto pilots we have neither wants to steer the damn boat on the correct course. The tropic birds are out chattering, it must be 3:30 in the afternoon. We could set the time by those dependable feathered friends. The chef is going to make a pizza for tonights dining experience. Mmm...pizza.

Leaving La Paz for warmer climates

We want to leave La Paz before this black hole sucks us in for good. We have many friends here and have found many good places to eat. The bird life is amazing. We are sad to depart from here as we are very comfortable here. So we are going to uptie ourselves from the dock before we become permanent residents...we have decided to leave La Paz today. We have no functioning motor, but no worries. We are a sailboat, so we will sail. We may stop off at Isla Isabela before Chacala. From there we will probably go to Banderas Bay to do the real engine maintenance. Hopefully it will be a nice journey with lots of sunshine. We are stocked with books, movies, beer, food and plenty of love so we are ready. Next time we blog we hope to be a few shades darker and in a warmer climate.

Engine troubles in La Paz Pt. 2

Yesterday David managed to get the engine unbolted and ready for lift off. We rigged the preventer on the boom and lifted the motor out into the cockpit for an easier place for disassembly. My sweet David has been working, hunched over the engine for days only to realize he lacks certain tools. So today it was an interesting day trying to find all the parts we (David) need to toy with the engine. We went to about five or six auto stores finding a little of what we need in each store. It is not so easy trying to convey what we need in our broken spanish to their broken english. Thankfully we only have a few more things to get...until David finds more. The problem looks like more than just one thing though.

As bad as having a pooped engine is we are still making the best of the situation. We are not necessarily the marina type of people, but it does have its perks. We sure dont miss the cold and bumpy dinghy rides back to the boat at night. We have found some new restaurants and friends to enjoy them with. Showers in the morning with warm water! While David tends to the motor, now in the cockpit, I make cookies or walk the docks in search of my feathered friends. If I the birds aren't around I can usually chat with the neighbors. We stay busy.

Engine troubles in La Paz Pt. 1

We had to say goodbye to Chloe as she flew off from Cabo. Two three hour bus rides later that day we were back in our little boat and it was all business. Engine troubles. David is the master of all trades, but without the proper tools he is just sad. After a whole day of pulling apart then reassembling the engine the prognosis was a rod bearing problem. First he thought (and hoped) it just to be a stuck valve, but that hope was dashed quickly when he found other symptoms.

Lacking a metric socket set we set off the following day for Walmart. Yes there are many other places we could have gone, but I was in need of some DVDs. We got all the things we needed for the moment and went back to the boat. Another day of fiddling leads to the realization that the hub of the prop shaft wont budge therefore nothin' doin' until that gets removed. Eventually we got to a marina, Don Jose, and went in search of more tools. We found one at an Auto Zone today and so far so good. As I was sipping tequila and chatting with our dockmates, David popped the hub off. Hours later David is hunched over the small engine disassembling hoses and other various parts of so we can take it out and flip it over. Sound like a lot of work? It is. I am tired just writing about it. I should probably stop writing and start helping...well, it seems I can't help much so I guess I will just get him some engine disassembling fluid (beer).

Celebrating New Years Island Style

Bahia San Gabriel was our last adventure while Chloe visited us. We dropped the hook and enjoyed the gorgeous blue waters. We decided to go snorkeling knowing that San Gabriel has a lot of coral to check out. As soon as we anchored the dinghy and took to the water we swam into a school of 20 or more king angel fish. It was as beautiful as ever even though the aguamalas (small jellyfish) tagged each of us. Chloe and David took the kayaks out and explored for a while and then I did the same when one freed up. There was plenty of life to satisfy my standards. There were fish that would dart around the kayaks. Manta rays glided through the water effortlessly while the sting rays were nestled or resting on top of the sand. Egrets danced in the shallows grabbing fish that venture too close to danger. An osprey caught a fish and sat on a cactus calling to another osprey.These all all things that I love to see. All this nature keeps me happy.

The following day I looked in our cruising guide and saw there was a trail to the other side of the island. It was said the trail was only .25 of a mile. Heck we were all up for a trek like that. Okay...that was a misprint in the book. The "trail" was actually 2.5 miles to the next beach. We turned back at about 1.5 miles dreaming about cold water, ice and cerveza. Along the hike we did see some jack rabbits, goats, little birds and plenty of insects. As we neared the dinghy we found out the tide had ebbed...a lot. That left our dinghy high and dry about 100 yards from the water. The three of us must have looked pathetic trying to move the dink because a kayak outfit, that just arrived, sent two big and strong dudes to lend a hand.

Chloe and David took the dink out for driving lessons later on. Chloe enjoyed it until some dolphins came around the dink and played making her worry that she would chop them up. David took the helm and all mammals survived unscathed.

The holiday whale and the raft-up

We left Partida in the morning and tootled along. We were happily surprised with David's sighting of a whale. Chloe and I clambered to the bow and watched as a fin whale swam along less than fifty yards from the boat. I think the spotting of amazing wildlife is becoming a new holiday tradition. Last year we saw Hubert the huge manta ray on x-mas and this year it was the fin whale. I like this lifestyle.

We pulled into the Magote by 2pm and got ourselves presentable before heading over to the raft-up. It was the same three boats as Turkey day, but there were more people this time. I counted 24 people, 3 ferrets and 2 dogs. We mingled, saw some friends from the Ha-Ha, Chloe and I played with the ferrets, we drank and we ate the delicious feast laid out before us. Turkey never tasted so good! With dinner in our bellies we left for a good nights sleep.

We did some provisioning the following day which worked out great since today the wind is blowing a steady 20 knots. The idea of being ashore sounds great, but none of us want to brave the "cold", bumpy and wet ride into the marina. So we are pretending it is a rainy day and taking the day off. With sloppy joes to look forward to for dinner it is still a great day in my book.

How I got out-smarted by Sea Turtles or Welcome to the Island Life

Here in Mexico all is good as usual. We have the daughter for a while which is great. We booked it from La Paz to the islands six hours away. We are currently at the island of Partida. Yesterday we stayed at Ensenada Grande. We love that place and it is usually a great place, but the wind kicked up last night and the waves got going. It wasn't so bad until the wind died and we turned sideways to the waves making for a restless nights sleep at best. The morning sun got us to get up and set a stern anchor to stop the rocking for a few solid hours of sleep.

As the day began to unfold we experienced the only reason I don't like Ensenada Grande...BEES! We had at least 50 bees visit us in an hour or so. Even the cat gave up trying to eat and kill the bees. That got us to lift anchor and head to Caleta Partida. It is tied with Ensenada Grande as to our favorite place for different reasons. The bird life is amazing at Partida, but the hiking isn't as easy or fun to me as it is in Ensenada Grande. We love them both anyhow.

Chloe and I kayaked around and saw manta rays, fish, terns, gulls, pelicans, ospreys and turtles! I got outsmarted by turtles...a sad realization. I was paddling around trying to get pictures of the turtle, but damn it was fast. It turned out to be two turtles and I bounced back and forth between them like the ball in Pong. Though at the time I was thinking more like "Whack-a-mole" 'cause every time I would go after one the other one would surface ten yards away. I would refocus, but it would dive away while the other surfaced and so on until I gave up. Jerks! Word must have traveled that we hit a turtle last year. Those turtle networks move fast you know.

For x-mas we are going to a boat raft-up potluck. It will be with our same turkey day friends maybe more. So 16 people, two dogs and three ferrets...not bad for diversity. I love the little weasels! We will leave x-mas day for the raft up 5 hours away. It will be a great time among the cruiser family.

The following morning started out sunny and warm. David suggested we go snorkeling. After checking the water temperature and seeing *gasp* 72 degree water. I grabbed my new suit and put on the long-legged farmer John suit. I decided to skip the top not wanting to over heat so I put on my rash guard top as a type of cover from the aguamalas. Chloe tried (unsuccessfully) to slip into my midgity summer suit, but surprise, it was too short. David decided to brave the cold and go just in his board shorts. We went to the North West side of Partida and got snorkeling. We saw tons of little bait fish that surrounded us wherever we swam. There were yellow-tailed surgeon fish, yellowtail, jack crevalles, king angelfish and many other tropical fish. While David and Chloe froze, I happily floated along in my warm suit. Thank you Janice.

The rest of the day was a lazy pace...we are on island time. I took a kayak to the Espiritu Santo side of Caleta Partida while Chloe vegged out on Anthony Bourdain and David cleaned the stainless. Of all the time we have anchored there and even gone ashore we have never gone ashore on that particular strip of land. Partly since it isn't as inviting as a white sand beach. It is all rocky shore and upon landing I saw way too many sea cockroaches for my comfort. Once back in the thick of things it was a very cool place to explore. I was greeted with the chirps and sightings of small birds fluttering around. There were lagoon like ponds that were muddy like, but even at high tide the water can't reach those spots. We guessed some springs must be back there. The muddy beds had tons of fiddler crabs inhabiting them so I would guess that they somehow get saltwater. A mystery for the time for my little brain. I saw the same little paw prints that we saw at Ensenada Grande too....hmmm.

Once back from my excursion, David got to making the bread dough for tomorrow's potluck. Once he was done I started to make the cookies. David and Chloe decided to go to the beach for some father-daughter time while I worked. Fun fun fun!