Back to the Islands

We spent a little over a week out at the national park islands of Espiritu Santo and Partida which was a wonderful escape from the hustle and bustle of city life. It also gave us a nice break from the habitual spending that usually accompanies day to day life near a large town. Somehow luxuries become necessities for us in the city. If it's available, it is our duty to make sure that shop owners unburden us from the weight of our wallets for all those must have like fruity popsicles, cans of marine varnish, grilled hamburgers, and bags and bags of ice.



Out at the islands we had an amazing time and fulfilled our need to detach and experience the simple and easy way of life out at anchor. We spent our days teasing fish with our lure, proving to ourselves how out of shape we are on a

couple of hikes, and trying our best to drink our store of beer before the ice melted. The days have been pleasantly warm, the wind and weather perfect and the swimming fantastic.

We even broke out our dusty set of bocce balls and had an off-road bocce tournament with the crew of the charter boat Ursa Major. While we tried to secure our seat as champions by spiking their coke with a little rum, we were thoroughly beat by the talented and amazing arm of Emily, who later divulged her history of playing softball in college. We shared a number of anchorages with Ursa Major and a few more sunset cocktail hours and evening meals with Josh and Emily, which was a great and entertaining time.

With a book signing to attend in La Paz for Allende Books and the anticipation of a real shower that does not include the use of a kettle warming on the stove and a solar bag dangling from the boom, we eventually headed for home. We are currently at anchor near the Mogote in La Paz where every 10-20 minutes we get the chance to wave to new groups of workmen and tourists who are being shuttled back and forth to the new resort development on the Mogote. Unfortunately for the captain of the shuttle, we, along with 20 other boats, seem to have anchored on his route. Luckily for all of us, he has not taken our rudeness personally and sticks to a very efficient path through the boats giving us all at least a foot of clearance, plus or minus an inch or so.

To the Islands and Back

After a two week stay in our favorite Mexican city, we left La Paz for the nearby national park islands of Isla Espiritu Santo and Isla Partida. Unfortunately, as we left the dock, the north wind began to fill in and made for a bouncy, rolly trip north so we headed in to an anchorage just a few miles outside of town. With no schedule to follow, we've found over the years that beating into weather is not a fun path to adventure and relaxation. Nor does it keep the ladies happy, which is helpful in keeping the peace between husband and wife on a 32 foot boat.

Soaking up the sun, we enjoyed a couple of days of non-stop swimming and snorkeling in the 85 degree water. Coming from the frigid water of Washington, it is an amazing luzury to jump off your boat wearing only a swimsuit in crystal blue water.


With settled weather, we headed north once again to Isla Espiritu Santo where we ran into friends. We had a very enjoyable evening together - socializing, cocktails and a beautiful salmon dinner (salmon from their summer in Alaska). Unfortunately, the following day we had to head back into La Paz to attend to outboard motor repairs and to escape southwesterly winds that had resulted in a fairly sleepless night.


On our way back into town, we came across 2 boats anchored outside the harbor, the 289-foot sailing yacht, Maltese Falcon, and the 295-foot motor yacht, Ice. Both boats are spectacular in size and we can only dream of the amenities on board. The Maltese Falcon, owned by Tom Perkins, is quite a sight with 3, nearly 200-foot tall, masts- each brilliantly lit at night. Quite a unique and wonderful sight to see in La Paz harbor.

Beating the Heat

95 degree heat makes us softies from the Pacific Northwest quite sluggish and at times, even grouchy. When the only thing you can do effectively in the intense heat is to sweat profusely from every pore in your body, you tend to question your motive for voluntarily vacationing in an oven. When we sit down for any length of time and feel the sweat trickle down our backs and pooling in our shorts, there's always a moment of panic that others might bring to question our problem with perspiration or possibly incontinence.

To beat the heat we have been in full practice of the afternoon siestas and long rides in the dinghy at high speeds to create our own wind. One morning we ventured out to check a new development that is underway on a peninsula of land here in La Paz called the Mogote. Tremendous amounts of money are being thrown at this resort project which will include a hotel, condos, houses, a golf course and a marina. Due to the state of the world economy and judging by the skeleton crew working on the buildings, I believe they will be a touch behind schedule. We were amazed to find that they had already put in an amazingly green golf course which we can only imagine must demand a large chunk of resources just in its upkeep of watering and fertilizing in a desert environment.


We have also been receiving daily visits from the Marina Palmira resident goose named Lucy. Lucy became a permanent fixture around the marina following Hurricane Marty in 2003 after realizing her opportunistic luck with the bread and veggie rich cruising boat owners. She makes her rounds multiple times daily through the marina fairways, and has learned that loud and persistent honking outside of boats results in food. Lucy parks herself underneath boats and honks at the top of her lungs until food appears, and once she eats her snack, she quietly paddles off. Shawn unfortunately got caught by a "Lucy episode" while on Skype ordering boat parts. She's a hard one to talk over and an even harder one to explain.

Anniversaries and The Dead

Shawn and I celebrated our first anniversary on November the 1st and coincidently also celebrated the Mexican holiday of Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. We were pondering whether this was a good or bad omen initially, but noticed a number of wedding ceremonies occurring around town so we'll take it as good. The day is festive, honoring, celebrating and remembering those who have passed away by means of an alter adorned with photos, flowers, bread, candles and many times a shot of tequila. We were invited to a Dia de los Muertos party celebrating the late John Steinbeck who was author to many classic stories including "Log from the Sea of Cortez" and "The Pearl," which he is most noted for here on the Baja. Allende Books, which is a beautiful bookstore in La Paz (they also carry our book), hosted the party and it was a great time with music, food, drinks and good friends. Allende Books also supplied my first anniversary gift from Shawn - what better a location to find a gift for the paper anniversary than a bookstore. I'm looking forward to reading my new book titled "Almost an Island, Travels in Baja California," written by Bruce Berger. Seems to be quite a fitting title to this very unique and remote peninsula of land.