Our Time in La Paz and the Sea of Cortez

Brett on the Malecon in La Paz

We arrived in La Paz in November, just prior to Thanksgiving.  The weather at that time was in the mid-80s and the winds were very light.  Because of various visitors, we knew we would be in the area until late January – which is a long time for us to stay in one place, but we really looked forward to getting to know the area and the people there. 

Beautiful and Interesting Hotel Yeneka

La Paz is an amazing town – there are so many great restaurants to eat in, you hardly know where to start.  During our time there, we probably ate at over 25 restaurants – varying from a small hole in the wall with 2-3 tables, to one of the most expensive steak houses in town (Estancia Uruguaya - where we had one of the best steaks I’ve ever eaten).  Out of all of those restaurants, I can’t think of one that we had a bad meal at and we never got sick or had any issues of the classic “Mexican” variety.  And yes, we ate a LOT of salads!  In fact, the food in La Paz is some of the best I’ve ever eaten – a wonderful mix of flavors and spices that we will greatly miss once we leave. 

Scuptures on the Malecon

The people we met in La Paz are also incredibly friendly and helpful – especially if you try to speak the language.  I only know the basics – but any effort is greatly appreciated and they are very patient and love to help you learn the language.  While there are many people that can speak English (especially the younger people), I think it’s always best to try – even if you are bumbling along.  Plus, if you don’t practice, how will you ever learn?  But so many people speak English it’s easy to forget to practice!

Getting around La Paz is also very easy.  First off, there is an amazing “Malecon” that runs along the water for miles through the city – great for walking with wonderful sculptures about every block.  There are taxis everywhere, plus an excellent system of buses that you can take for just 8 pesos per person around town.  With a little searching you can find pretty much any item you need in La Paz.  We put in countless miles walking around town getting supplies and finding new places to eat or interesting little stores.  By simply wondering around on foot, we found many special places that we would have definitely missed in a car.  That said, if you are not into walking there are several car rental agencies and most of them will even bring the car to you!

If you are a boater, there is a wonderful group of cruisers that live in La Paz over the entire winter (many stay year-round) and they are an invaluable resource if you need help finding a specific item or service.  There is a cruiser’s “Net” that runs on VHF channel 22, Monday thru Saturday, with a different Net host each day (my personal favorite was Gunther on Friday’s).  The net includes announcements for arrivals and departures, for local weather, the local tides, a section for local assistance (where you can ask about anything you need), and a swaps and trades section if you are looking to get rid of something out of your bilge.  Remember that as a non-resident you are not able to sell in Mexico – only to trade “for coconuts”!  There is also a yacht club – Club Cruceros – which hosts a morning coffee hour every day except Sunday.  They also host special events over the course of the year and help raise money for several local worthy causes.  They have a huge DVD lending library that members have access to and it’s only about $10 US to join.

Another Great Hike!

About 2 hours north of La Paz (assuming travel at an average of 6 knots) there are two large islands – Espíritu Santo and Caleta Partida.  There are many wonderful anchorages on these two islands, all of which are well protected from the north – but almost all of them are exposed to south winds.  There are wind events here called “Coromuels” where strong winds will blow from the south from late afternoon to early the next morning.  These happen more often in the summer, but can still happen in the winter too.  We know, because we’ve been through several and they are not fun! 

So now to the bad part of being in La Paz during the winter – the part that nobody seems to mention in any of the cruising guides and the reason we never got very far north into the Sea, even though we were there for almost THREE MONTHS!  December and January are fairly chilly and we had almost constant “wind events” (i.e. sustained winds over 20 knots).  We had multiple cases where we were stuck at anchor for 3 days in sustained winds from 20-30 knots.  When I say sustained, I mean sustained in the high 20’s to low 30’s for 72 hours with gusts up to 40 knots in our “protected anchorage”.  It was not fun and it was cold!  We also had some terrible experiences out at the islands – one night of 35+ knots all night with 3-4 foot waves causing us to hobby horse all night, another where we spent 3 days/nights in 30+ knots and watched multiple boats dragging – all inside the most protected anchorage. 

Ensenada Grande on a Calm day

I can honestly say that my top 4 worst nights at anchor now all took place in La Paz and the surrounding area – and we’ve been anchoring out all over the Northwest for over 10 years!  While La Paz is a great area, I just wish someone had warned us that December and January were not good months to be there.  That said – when it wasn’t blowing 30 knots the anchorages were absolutely beautiful, with excellent snorkeling, kayaking, paddle boarding, swimming, incredible white sandy beaches and fantastic hikes.  The wildlife is stunning and the fish are abundant.  So my basic advice would be to come – just don’t come for the months of December or January.  Enough said!

Addy & Cyntia - Marina de La Paz

If you plan to bring your boat to La Paz and you don’t have a big budget, there is a huge anchorage area with room for 100’s of boats and the cruisers really look out for each other.  If you want to stay at a dock, there are about 5 different options and prices vary depending on how many days you stay.  Our personal favorite is Marina de La Paz.  The girls (Addy & Cyntia) are incredibly friendly and helpful – even when you are not staying at their marina.  You will find the daily rate at all of the marinas is very expensive – over $100 for a 46’ boat.  However the weekly rate at most of them will drop substantially and the monthly rate is even better.  Over the winter many of the marinas are full, so it is wise to make arrangements prior to the fall if you want a long term slip. 

Charts!  If you are going to cruise this area, you absolutely MUST have the book by Shawn Breeding and Heather Bansmer called the Sea of Cortez, A Cruiser’s Guidebook.  This book has excellent coverage of the Sea with great illustrations of all of the anchorages.  Most important – the illustrations show the depths of the anchorages, which you WILL NOT get from any of the paper charts OR electronic charts.  Let me repeat – none of the electronic charts (at least from Navionics) show anchorage depths.  They only show depths outside of the anchorages – so this book is absolutely necessary for entering anchorages safely. 

View from the top at Ensenada Grande

So!  Knowing what we know now, would we still come to this area?  Without hesitation – we loved La Paz!  What would we do differently?  We would not go during December or January when the weather is too unsettled to be comfortable at anchor.  I have high hopes however that someday we will be able to return to the area during the “true” cruising season (October, November, March or April).  From what we hear, it gets very hot after April and you are at some risk of hurricane season, so plan accordingly! 

We look forward to seeing the friendly, wonderful people of La Paz again someday and thank them all for making our stay there the best that it could be!

Heating Up and Cooling Off - Relationships on Board

It's 3am in the morning and I've just woke up. We're about 36 hours into a two day passage and it's my turn to take watch. But before Brett goes to bed, we need to jibe the boat. We're in light winds (6-9 knots) and we don't have a lot of speed, so we'll need to do it right the first time. Have I mentioned that it's 3am, I've just woken up and it's pitch black out?

We prep for the jibe, get everything in place and are ready to make the switch. I'm at the helm and Brett will crank in the headsail. We go for it and I completely overshoot the turn. Since it's dark and we don't have the chart plotter on (conserving power of course!), I become disorientated and we quickly lose power and thus we lose our steerage. No power (forward motion) equals no ability to steer in the correct direction. I've got the wheel hard over to port, but the boat now has a mind of its own and is turning up into the wind (the opposite of where we want to go). I say to Brett (who is trying to manage flapping sails, the boom and preventer lines) "I've got no steerage and we need to start the engine". He says "Just turn the boat into the right direction" (or a similarly annoying statement). I quickly ascribe to the "he must not of heard me so I'll say it louder" theory of communication and SHOUT that WE HAVE NO STEERING!

Suffice it to say that it was a bit of a fiasco, but in about 10 minutes we got everything safely sorted out. But what remains for me is that when I tried to communicate my situation (no steerage and disorientation with no chartplotter), he came off frustrated and annoyed instead of helpful and confirming - which was what I needed at that scary moment. What he needed was for me to steer the damn boat in the right direction!

So what comes next? For us, it's the post-fiasco play by play review to see how the situation could have been managed better. Sometimes this covers old ground and serves as a communication reminder on certain topics, sometimes it just helps us develop a better process (like deciding to always have the chart plotter on prior to jibbing at night). The past 5 months have brought up MANY of these discussions and reviews as we learn how to communicate within our new cruising lifestyle.

Let's step back in time a little. Back in 2008, when we were getting serious about this trip, we decided (based on all of our research and the cruisers we had talked to) that it would be really important to live on the boat for at least a year prior to departure. It made perfect sense to accustom ourselves to living together in a very tight space (just 245 square feet - yikes!!!) BEFORE the stress of our first long passage. With the economic downturn, we ended up living on the boat for three years before departing and I can honestly say that it was one of the best things we could have done. Not only did we learn every inch of our boat, but we also learned every inch of each other's "hot spots" and "buttons" and how to be honest with each other when something was bugging us instead of just letting it stew. Now that we've been out for 5 months - together 24/7 - day after day after day, that ability to communicate has become VERY important.

Thankfully I am married to one of the sweetest men that has ever lived. He is warm, caring, supportive and has been well schooled in the "if mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy" line of thought. I couldn't have asked for a better partner to take this journey with. But that doesn't mean I don't want to occasionally hit him over the head with my cast iron skillet. And while I am, of course, perfect in every way (HAHAAHAH), I'm sure there are times when he would love to absolutely throw me overboard…

So how do you deal with the rough spots and make sure you're not harboring some long-term grudge based on accumulated frustrations? The key is to always take some time off and cool down before an argument gets too heated. Since we've left, this means being 100% honest with each other when we are upset and communicating how the other person is making us feel. This means a lot of sensitive sentences that go something like this….

"When you say (insert anything annoying) to me, it makes me feel (insert any negative emotion here)."

This is followed by a recap of what happened, the emotions (reasonable or not) that each person felt and then a discussion on how it might be avoided in the future. While it all seems very cliché, I can't tell you how important it is to get it all out - because if you don't, and your mate doesn't know how you feel, then the same thing keeps happening and suddenly we're back to the cast iron skillet again!

But even great communication can't always overcome every problem and sometimes you need to just "suck it up". One of those for me is that when things go haywire during a "boat emergency", Brett goes into total focus-mode on how to fix the problem. Perfect, right? We need to fix the problem after all. But the issue for me is I often don't know what the problem is and he's so focused that he can't even give me a one sentence answer about what is going on - so I'm often left to sit and stew. It makes me crazy to not know what is happening and that he can't even take 10 seconds to tell me - because I might just be able to help him figure out a fix. But over the years and after more "post-emergency discussions" than I care to count, it has become clear to me that this is one thing he is unable to change. This is just how Brett works in an emergency - complete and utter focus to the extent that he barely even knows I'm there - unless it's to bark an order at me. It still makes me absolutely crazy, but I've (grudgingly) come to accept that it's not going to change and that I'm just going to have to accept it. Sometimes that's the way it goes.

So in my opinion, cruising is all about compromise and being completely honest with your mate about what you are thinking and feeling. If you can't share your happiness, your fears, and the things that upset you with the person you've picked to take this journey with, than you are in big trouble! While it's not easy to do (sooooooooo much easier to not rock the boat!), life is infinitely better when the cast iron skillet is only brought out for cooking.


Here's a link to the new Raft-Up website where past articles are organized and there are bios on all of the bloggers - check it out!

www.raft-up.net

Long-term Visitors

After the holidays, the majority of the family left – but my Mom and step-dad Lloyd stayed – keeping the large power-catamaran they had chartered while everyone was here.  The plan was to spend the next 3 weeks heading north, exploring the Sea of Cortez and hopefully making it up to the Loreto area. Unfortunately the weather decided not to cooperate, so we never made it farther north than Isla San Francisco.  

Nachos during the game...

Immediately after the family left the winds picked up into the 15-20 knot range for the next 7 days.  Since 20 knot winds can create some pretty big waves in this area, we decided it might be better to wait for better conditions before leaving La Paz.   After a couple of days at the marina we all decided to move out to the anchorage in downtown La Paz to have easier access to the city.  While there, we explored the town together, eating many a great meal and we even got to see the Seahawks in their playoff game while eating one of the biggest (and tastiest) plates of nachos I’ve ever seen.

New Years Eve

Good Luck Achieved by Lloyd!

While waiting for better weather we also rang in the New Year with a great dinner at one of the restaurants in the Costa Baha marina.  There was a great band, a great 5 course dinner and some nice wine too!  After dinner we joined some friends we had met (Glenda and Laird on Winterlude) and celebrated like the world was going to end!  We even participated in the local custom of seeing how many grapes you can stuff into your mouth.  Tradition says that if you can fit 12, you will have great luck the coming year.  Sadly, I couldn’t fit more than 5 grapes and Mom could only manage 7.  Lloyd, however, won the day when he fully accomplished all 12 grapes!  Impressive!  Did I mention how HUGE they were????  J

Finally the wind decided to cooperate, so off we went to Caleta Partida.  Actually – we were supposed to go up to Ensenada Grande, but by 4pm the wind has picked up and the swells were coming into the anchorage, so we met up with Costa Baha I (aka Good Fortune – who had arrived much earlier as they travel much faster!) and moved back down to Caleta Partida which is much more protected.  Boy are we glad we did as the only other boat left in Ensenada Grande showed up at about 9:30pm – which meant they were willing to pull anchor, sail 45 minutes south in huge waves and re-anchor in the dark – instead of sticking it out at Ensenada Grande.  Yikes!

At Anchor in Caleta Partida

We had two mildly uncomfortable nights at Caleta Partida before the weather settled enough to return to Ensenada Grande.  During that time I had a great time playing with my new inflatable paddle board (thanks to a Christmas miracle – also known as the Wiebe’s!).  I had tried the one they had rented over Christmas and loved it.  This one was a little harder to balance on, but with a little practice I got the hang of it and really enjoyed the workout and the view as I paddled my way around the anchorage.

The Sea Lions at Los Islotes

After moving we a nice night in Ensenada Grande, but while the winds were low we decided to depart early and make our way up to Los Islotes to try to swim with the sea lions.  Along with the sea lions, the snorkeling there is absolutely amazing.  There are huge schools of fish along with cormorants and pelican’s that will dive into the water right next to where you are snorkeling – so you actually get to watch them chasing after the fish underwater – pretty neat!  After taking turns snorkeling there, we got back on board and headed up to Isla San Francisco – about 2-3 hours north (traveling at 6 knots).  The photos of the area looked amazing – but unfortunately the reality was not nearly as interesting compared to some of the other beautiful anchorages we have been in this area.  

Bacon Wrapped Shrimp!

Too bad since it was so far to get there – especially since we had to return the next day as the weather was predicted to get bad a few days out and we didn’t want to get stuck there.  But we did enjoy a quiet night at anchor, along with a great meal – trying to recreate cheesy bacon wrapped shrimp on the BBQ along with stuffed peppers.  Imagine lots of gooey cheese melting all over the BBQ (and a few overboard to boot) and you’ll get the idea.  Even though it was a bit of a fiasco, we still managed to get some that were perfectly cooked and delicious!  Great job on the BBQ Lloyd – that was quite a challenge! 

After one night at Isla San Francisco it was back to Ensenada Grande where we had a nice couple of days – including doing a great hike over to the east side of the island where there were some incredible views!  The weather was nice, but a little on the cool side – and unfortunately too cold for snorkeling or swimming, so we read a lot and played some great games of dominoes and cards to pass the time.

An Impromptu Gathering

At this point the weather was predicted to get VERY bad, so both boats went back down to Caleta Partida as it is by far the most protected anchorage at the islands.  Some other boats had obviously heard the same weather report, so there ended up being about 5-6 boats at anchor when the winds began to hit.  Prior to that we had invited all the boats over to Good Fortune for happy hour, so it was nice to get to know some of the other people that would be enduring the wind storm with us.  We especially liked Dan & Kimberly on Dazzler and Alex and Naomi on LunaSea (who also have a cat Luke on board). 

Shortly after our happy hour the already lively winds picked up even more and overnight were in the 20 knot range.  Early the next morning, one of the other boats in the anchorage (which bizarrely happened to be the other boat our family had chartered, but with a new group on board) started to drag.  Thankfully Dan (from Dazzler) jumped in his boat and went to wake them up before they hit the rocks.  We had tried hailing them and sounded horns – all to no avail.  Later they ended up leaving as they needed to return the boat the next morning.  No way I would have left as it was blowing close to 30 knots by then in the anchorage and the waves outside looked huge.  Totally nuts if you ask me!

The Calm Before the Storm

Over the next 24 hours the wind continued unabated with gusts up to 40 knots and sustained winds in the mid-30’s.  After two more boats dragged anchor – we decided Bella Vita would run an all-night anchor watch – with one of us checking outside every 20 minutes or so.  One of the boats that dragged was a new sail-cat that had come in and anchored around 6pm.  They were obviously fast asleep when it happened as they also didn’t respond to horns and bright lights shone at them.  As they neared the rocks it was once again Dan to the rescue as he had the only dinghy already in the water.  Thanks to Dan, they also didn’t hit the rocks – but it was pretty close.  They soon anchored right in front of Good Fortune and unfortunately ended up dragging AGAIN around 1am in the morning and hitting Good Fortune – but thankfully lightly and no damage was done.  For some bizarre reason, they then took off and left the anchorage – only to return about 3 hours later to anchor again.  It was a very eventful night!  But thankfully everyone else held for the rest of the storm and after three days the winds finally blew itself out.  That is definitely not what I was hoping for during my parent’s time here – I wouldn’t wish that for anybody!

Finally the winds calmed down enough for us to return to La Paz.  The power cat was due back on Saturday morning and so we thought we’d make the crossing while the crossing was good, not knowing if it would get too windy again.  While Mom and Lloyd are seasoned boaters, I think there were just done with the Sea of Cortez and ready to go home!

So back to La Paz to the Costa Baha Marina, which is where the Moorings charter company is based and we had the treat of having three whole nights at a dock!  Since they had rented a car we decided we MUST go back to a wonderful steak house called Estancia Uruguaya and some of the best steak I’ve ever eaten!  We also returned to one of our personal favorites – a place where the locals eat that have an incredible shrimp dish.  

While the weather was not what we would have hoped for, I can’t tell you how much we enjoyed having three full weeks of time together with these two wonderful people.  When you are far away from home, it’s delightful (no matter what the weather) to have a little piece of home come to you.  Since these are two of my top 10 favorite people in the world, it was great to be able to spend so much time together – especially since I’m not quite sure when we will be able to see them again.  Once again – goodbyes were very hard to say – which is why we just have to say, until we meet again.  But know we miss you already.

We'll miss you guys!!!

Family for Christmas!

The Entire Clan!

About a year ago, a little after we announced that we would be wintering over in the Sea of Cortez, my folks announced a big surprise for the Seattle family members.  They had decided to charter a couple boats and would bring the entire family (9 adults and 9 kids!) down to spend the week of Christmas cruising with us out of La Paz!  There would be a big power catamaran (which would sleep 12), one other rented sailboat and Bella Vita.  Between the 3 boats, we would be able to fit the whole family for a week of fun together over the holidays.

The Charter Boats

One of the best things about this plan was that I didn’t have to say a long-term goodbye to my Seattle family, knowing I would see them just a few months after our departure.  The group included; my Mom (Judy) and step-dad Lloyd; my brother Greg, his wife Suzanne and their 3 kids (Gabrielle, Delaney and Gwyn); my step-brother Dan, his wife Robyn and their 5 kids (Isaak, Austin, Kyndal, Andrew and Lexi); my step-sister Alisa, her husband Scott and their son Lucas; and last but not least, my sudo-sister Cheryl.  

The Captains at the Moorings Briefing

The first to arrive were my folks, just a couple of days ahead so that they could do the final provisioning prior to the arrival of everyone else.  With my Mom’s list in hand, I had checked out the area markets to make sure we’d be able to source all of the food that she had in mind to feed everyone over the week they would spend here.  I’m not sure it anyone can really understand the HUGE amount of ingenuity it takes to plan meals for an entire week for 20 people – but if anyone can do it, it’s my Mom.  She is amazing when it comes to this sort of thing. 

The Hoardes on the Move

After their arrival (in a car loaded to the roof after a Costco run in Cabo), we sourced the rest of the food and beverages and got most of it sorted out just before the rest of the crew arrived, 24 hours later.  The bus arrived with the remaining 16 at about 7:30pm – eager to get off the bus and head out on our boats!  We had a nice dinner at a local restaurant, and then it was off to each boat to get things sorted out so we could leave as soon after the morning briefing from the Moorings charter company.

Mid-day on the 23^rd, all 20 of us headed out to spend the night in a nearby anchorage called Puerto Ballandra.  If you’ve been reading our blog, you’ll know we spent two wonderful nights there before reaching La Paz.  The sun was out and the winds were fairly light, so after getting all three boats safely anchored a large contingent departed for the beach while others took out the kayaks and paddle boards my folks had smartly brought along.   

To The Beach!!!

Unfortunately, even though the winds were light that night there was a southwest swell that had all of our boats, but especially the sailboats, acting like bobbing corks in a bathtub.  It was NOT a good night and I felt terrible that this would be everyone’s experience on our first evening out.  A couple of the kids, and several adults ended up jumping ship to sleep on the power cat as it was much calmer. 

Thankfully, dawn finally came and we were able to depart for smoother waters in the more protected bays on Isla Espíritu Santo.  We happily stopped for lunch in Bahia San Gabriel – a huge bay with a gorgeous white sandy beach.  Everyone quickly forgot the terrible night as they swam and snorkeled and played in the water.  What a relief!  Since we were not sure how protected this spot would be, we left around 2pm and traveled up to Caleta Partida – a nice protected anchorage where we would spend the next two days.  On Christmas Eve the kids did some Christmas caroling in the dinghy and we had a great meal of shrimp tacos – perfect for a Mexican Christmas!

 

Christmas Eve Dinner

Wanting a better beach with a lower population of Boxfish (not a good fish to step on!), we moved on to Ensenada Grande on Isla Partida.  This is the wonderful spot near Los Islotes, where you can swim with the sea lions – a must do when you are cruising in this area.  We anchored all three boats in the center finger of Ensenada Grande – which has a pristine white beach that is perfect for the entire family to enjoy.  We ended up staying at this anchorage for the remainder of the trip as it was an excellent spot for kayaking, paddle-boarding, swimming, snorkeling and beach lounging.   

The Kids - Movie Night!

I’m sad to report that we completely missed out on the sea lions as every time we tried to go, the waves were too big and the snorkeling would have been tough.  On one attempt the power cat rounded the point and was immediately bashing into very short 6 foot seas.  We quickly turned back before all of the kayaks and paddle boards when sailing overboard in the wind.  Yikes!  What a shame as Brett and I had gone there just a few weeks prior and had a GREAT experience that we had really hoped the rest of the family could enjoy.  But as we’ve learned over our time in this area – the weather rarely cooperates with what you want to do!

Three Generations of Wiebes - Lloyd, Dan & Kyndal

The amount of “Northers” blowing through was surprising and seemed to never end, but thankfully we were very protected in our anchorage.  The only issue was one night when a “Coromuel” came out of nowhere (which is what they do).  These are basically a strong south wind that comes up in the evening and blows throughout the night.  They are not fun as all of the local anchorages are completely exposed to wind from the south – so basically you just have to hope your anchor is set very well and ride it out as there is nowhere else to go.  Thankfully they only last for about 12 to 18 hours and this one was mild.  Soon the sun was back out and everyone was playing again.

"Children of Dan" Snorkeling Expedition

While it was slightly overwhelming at times to be with so many people after spending so much time alone the past few months, I wouldn’t have given up even a minute of the time spent with these people I love so dearly.  Some of my favorite moments included paddle boarding with each of my nieces, making dinner with my sister-in-law Robyn on Fajita night, drinks in the cockpit with various visitors, multiple games of “will the wind take it”, watching my brother-in-law Scott try to paddle board (even after falling in more times than I can count – you are a trooper Scott!), watching the sun come up with my niece Gwyn after our first rough night at anchor, watersports with my niece Kyndal (who loves to get you to fall in the water!), trying to kayak with FOUR people in one kayak (didn’t get very far but had some fun trying!), watching beautiful sunsets with my family and drinking some of the best fresh margaritas I’ve ever had – made by my sister-in-law Suzanne – you are an artist girl!  We also loved having Cheryl, Gwyn (at least for a while) and Kyndal (a natural born sailor!) on board – go team Bella Vita!!!

Suzanne - the Master Margarita Maker

Our family is incredibly blessed to have such a wide variety of people with different beliefs, but who are still able to come together in a very small space and not only get along – but really have FUN together.  We work well together, make each other laugh and can even talk about real stuff that matters – without getting upset or creating the bad feelings and fights that seem to plague many of the blended families I know.  I love the fact that even though we may have completely different beliefs, they are willing to listen and debate in an open matter and not judge me for my own views when they are different from theirs.

I remember years ago when I was a teenager a friend asked me if I wished that my parents had stayed together.  Even then I knew how special the people my parents had married were – and how lucky I was to have them, along with the extra family they brought into my life.  Brothers, sisters and in-laws I never would have met otherwise – who have all become cherished friends that I already deeply miss.  But that is a part of this new cruising life and so we move onward, enjoying the time that we CAN spend together and cherishing the fact that we are so lucky to have such great people in our lives.  You guys are THE BEST and I’m so glad we got to spend this time together! 

Saying Goodbye is Tough - We'll Miss You!

Pink Jobs or Blue Jobs?

The call rings out over the engine noise from below…..”give her more RPM’s!!!”.   I ramp up the engine to 2000 RPMs and stand by.  After a few moments the next shout comes…”shift her back to into neutral!!!”    While waiting for the next directive I check the charts to make sure we’ve still got plenty of depth below us and no obstructions around us while Brett tries to identify the mystery of the incredibly loud squealing noise coming from then engine room.  He continues to shout instructions over the noise while I make sure we keep the boat in safe waters until the problem is solved.   When you are taking a “trip of a lifetime” like the one we are on, we both have to put on a lot of different hats depending on what needs to be done at any given moment.  Those “hats” are this month’s Raft Up topic – as in what exactly are the “blue” and “pink” jobs on our boat? 

In general, the way things are split up on Bella Vita depends on the category – be it a domestic chore, running the boat, regular maintenance or a specific project that we’ve decided needs to be done.  Both of us definitely have our strengths and weaknesses, so instead of defining tasks as male or female, we try to base the jobs on what we are interested in or where our skills lie.  That said I will have to admit that the majority of my jobs land on the “pink” side (cooking, provisioning and communication), while much of what Brett takes care of is clearly on the “blue” side (regular maintenance and general care of the boat).  From what I’ve heard, this seems to be pretty typical with most cruising couples, though many feel weird admitting it.

What I particularly like about our arrangement is that it makes the most of our strengths.  While some women might find it embarrassing that they take the majority of the “pink” jobs – as if that is an insult to all the women before us that fought for equal rights – I say, why ignore what you are interested in?  It just so happens that I LOVE to cook.  And part of what excites me about taking a trip like this is that I will be forced outside of my cooking “comfort zone” as the ingredients I’m used to using become impossible to find.  While it can definitely be a little intimidating at first, exploring the many grocery stores and markets for items that might be fun to try is a big part of why I like to travel.  As we eat at restaurants, it gives me new ideas to try on the boat.  Figuring out new combinations and sourcing the flavors pushes my cooking knowledge to new limits – which is exciting and makes me feel good – plus we get to eat good food!

Brett, on the other hand, is always considering what needs to be added to the seemingly endless list of repairs or improvements for the boat.  Does he enjoy every minute of those repairs?  Based on the quality or quantity of swearing that goes on during some of them, I can definitively say, absolutely not!  But when the leaky valve is fixed, or a great boat mystery resolved – he will sometimes beam from ear to ear.  Each project successfully completed is a testament to his ability to think through a problem and affect the repair – which makes HIM feel great.

When it comes to the BIG projects, we definitely both take part – with whoever has the most knowledge taking the lead.  For most boat projects, 9 times out of 10 that’s going to be Brett – but I am usually there helping him along the way and learning more about our boat every day.  Can I fix all the things that Brett can?  Nope.  But do we often noodle through mystery issues together?  You bet!  Two brains are always better than one – and the more we BOTH know about our boat, the better chance we’ll have at fixing something when it breaks FAR away from anyone that we could hire at home.

So do we divvy up the “pink” and “blue” jobs in an old fashioned way?  For the most part we absolutely do – but I’m okay with that because I know that if I WANTED to learn how to change the oil on the engine and take it on from that point forward, Brett would be extremely happy to teach me and give that job up.  But to be honest, I don’t WANT to know how to change the oil!  I’m perfectly comfortable with doing my “pink” jobs.  And when it comes down to it, why make ourselves miserable by trying to force an interest in things that doesn’t exist?  Isn’t this boat small enough already?  ;)

Maybe it’s because we both have absolute respect for the knowledge that our partner has – and their ability to do their jobs successfully is what keeps us moving forward.  Being comfortable in our pink and blue roles is what makes us a good team and it’s also the glue that holds us together when we experience the bad days that sometimes crop up.

There's Just Never Enough Space!

This month’s Raft-Up topic is about what you wish you had on board or had left behind, and what is your biggest space splurge.

Unfortunately, since we’ve only been out for a short time it’s hard to know yet what I wish we had or hadn’t brought.  So instead I’m going to modify the topic slightly and talk about why we actually brought so much damn stuff with us.  Hopefully this will help non-cruising family and friends understand our thinking a little better, especially since I know some of them wonder if we’ve completely lost our minds!

While I definitely went overboard with provisioning (which I’ve discussed in a previous post) there is no doubt that the largest amount of space on our boat is devoted to boat parts.  Before our departure our friends will testify to the fact that we spent endless hours trying to get the boat “ready to go” in as many ways as we could think of.  That list was seemingly endless – always growing and hardly ever shrinking. 

As we got closer to our departure and time was running out, we focused instead on critical systems on the boat (water maker, engine, generator, water system, toilets, etc.) that might break and the parts we would need to fix them.  When you are hoping to be gone for 5-7 years you have to assume that almost everything will break at some point – no matter how much you take care of your boat.  The days before our departure were a mad chase for parts we had forgotten while we still had direct contact with Fisheries Supply and a car.

After making our way down the coast we were very happy to have some of those parts as we already had need for them!  The biggest surprise was having to replace our alternator – a major part of our charging system – which unfortunately also meant sourcing another backup (also in a prior post!). 

So with a little more actual experience under our belts and a clearer picture of what might break or items we hadn’t thought about, the race was on again to source those items before leaving for Mexico.  We had heard plenty of nightmare stories about getting parts shipped to Mexico and about how expensive parts were to BUY in Mexico – so we really wanted to get everything we could NOW think of prior to departing the US.

Flash forward 3 ½ months of using the boat fairly hard 24/7 – not tied up at a dock with a constant source of power and water, but rather at anchor – running every system daily.  Using the boat like this brings a whole new set of issues – some of which you can’t possibly anticipate having never done it before.  What items you may ask?  Well, our recent order (which we’re hoping a family member will be willing to bring down at Christmas!) included the following: 

• A fuel pump for the generator (already lost one in just 3 months – a seriously critical system!);
• A dual-swivel for our main halyard (recommended during our rig survey to prolong the life of our halyard – which is high tech line and VERY expensive to replace);
• Some water filter cartridges (for taking on water in Mexico);
• A 2-prong electrical connector (these corrode incredibly fast in salt and sun since they’re not stainless);
• A BUNCH more tubes of adhesive sealant (it’s incredible how fast the sun breaks down sealant - we’ve sprung two major leaks since we’ve left!);
• Rolls of blue tape (needed for masking when resealing),
• A low-draw DC fan (you can NEVER have too many fans – especially low draw fans so that they can run all night);
• 20 feet of tubular webbing (to protect lines in high-friction areas);
• A shorter flag staff (our current one is too tall and interferes with the dingy when it’s on the davits)
• And last but not least – a collapsible salad spinner (I can’t believe I didn’t think about the fact that pre-washed lettuce would be a thing of the past once I left the states – duh!)

Just this morning we blew a fuse on our generator (we’ll be adding that to our order!) and we found out that possibly the only way to fix our on-going issue with our engine-driven refrigeration system is to somehow find and install a belt tensioner that will work with our system.  Try doing that in Spanish – not to mention having to walk to the distant places that MIGHT have the parts! 

Suffice it to say that there is a never ending stream of items that break down on a boat that is being used every day.  Add to that the difficulty and expense of securing parts outside of the US and I’m guessing our readers can understand why we would want to take advantage of visits from home to help get additional parts here.  Am I right?

Soooooooo…….do we have a ridiculous array of parts to fix the boat?  Yes!  Will we need every one of them?  I sure as hell hope not!  Have we thought of everything?  Definitely NOT! 

However, I’m hopeful that we’ll be able to fix many of the systems that are certain to break over the next few years – systems that have become pretty important to our survival and comfort when we are VERY far from any parts store and no longer have loved ones coming to visit.  And perhaps what I have failed to convey until now is that having those parts on board make ME feel significantly more comfortable when I am living a life that is basically 100% outside of my “normal” comfort zone.  

Our First Official Guests!

Susan & Larry - our first official guests!

So we’ve officially had our first visitors come and go and I couldn’t have asked for better people to test drive our guest quarters!  Since we’ve only had guests a couple of times before leaving, it’s always interesting to see how it turns out – what works and what doesn’t. 

Our good friend Susan and her boyfriend Larry came to visit us for a week, arriving on Thanksgiving Day.  Susan we know VERY well, but Larry is kind of “new” to us and he hadn’t been on a boat before, so we thought it might prove “interesting”!  I’m thankful to report that he did VERY well and was a kind, helpful and eager to please guest.  Both he and Susan were a joy to have on board and it was wonderful to spend some time with my much missed friend (have I mentioned how much I miss Susan and our daily walks???).

Between the two islands

After their arrival on Thursday we spent Friday provisioning for their stay and then wondering La Paz.  We had been invited onto our friends Mac & Catherine’s boat for dinner and a very nice time aboard Indigo was had.  On Saturday it was off to Caleta Partida – our first venture out to the island of Espiritu Santo, where our friends would also be.  Caleta Partida is actually located in between the island of Espiritu Santo and Isla Partida with a winding and shallow channel between them.  You can anchor on either side, but the Caleta side is a huge bay capable of holding MANY boats, so it’s a popular spot to join friends.   From La Paz it is about 4 hours of direct motoring, or about 6 hours of tacking up wind, assuming the wind is cooperating!   Unfortunately the wind was not cooperating, so we did have to motor.

Brett under one of the many rock formations on our hike

Wow!  What a beautiful anchorage!  We found our friends, set the hook nearby and then invited them over for a pasta dinner.  The six of us watched a great sunset and had a nice time.  The weather was perfect – just a light breeze, very few bugs and probably too much wine (I know, us?  What a shocker!  I’m going to blame the guests!).

The next day we decided we should go snorkeling.  I have to say that Larry earned my full respect here as he is clearly NOT comfortable in the water, but it never slowed him down a bit.  I really respect a big guy that is comfortable enough to ask for a life jacket and who is not be afraid to push outside of his comfort zone – I know it’s not easy, so bravo Larry. 

Beautiful cactus flower!

While snorkeling we saw some “puffer” fish (not sure I have the right name, but the ones that puff up when you scare them) and lots of colorful fish – but the best was when we got to follow some turtles!  What a difference it is to see them under the water – so much more graceful and free looking than when they are plodding along on land.

The next day we were all feeling like we needed some exercise so we decided to tackle the big hike up to the top of the mountain that looks down on the anchorage.  Brett and I were hopeful that we’d be able to get a cool photo of our boat in the beautiful blue water and we knew there would be a lot of great flora and fauna to see along the way.  It’s far greener than normal right now as the Baja received a lot more rain this year than normal – so there are tons of flowers and plants that are not usually in view during the dry season.  A perfect time to hike! 

So off we went to the white sandy beach at the bottom of the climb.  Thankfully the tide was in and so we didn’t have to drag the dinghy forever (not true later!).  After donning our hiking shoes and bug spray/sun screen, we made our way past thousands of tiny crabs to the base of the “wash” which is the easiest way to hike since there are no ”man-made” hiking trails.  I LOVE to boulder and this was a truly amazing hike – big boulders, small ones, plants, flowers and even a famed stick bug!  There were stunning views all of the way up!  We finally reached the top (or as close as we dared as the top looked a little dicey) and what a fabulous view – well worth the trip up. 

Thousands of tiny crabs!

While admiring the view we downed a much earned beer, took some of the great photos you see here and rested a bit before starting back the way we’d come.   After the long trip down, we found the tide had gone out (as expected) and so we carried our dinghy about 200 yards out to the water, trying not to step on the 1000’s of crabs on the beach – ick!  The funny part is that once we got to the water the dinghy would float, but it was too shallow for the motor to work!  So we poled, walked and paddled the dink the long way back until we were finally deep enough to motor the last couple 100 yards.  Guess we needed an arm workout after working our legs so hard!

Hikers (still pretty fresh looking!)

Time to go swimming!!!  How good did the water feel after we stripped down back at the boat?  You have no idea.  Hiking in 80 degrees for 4 hours makes for some very hot people and I was thrilled to jump in upon our return.  The crisp, cool water felt wonderful and quickly helped us cool back down to the normal 98.6 degrees we are supposed to be at. 

Sadly, our trip to the islands and our fun time with Susan and Larry had to come to an end.  Once back in La Paz we got a local recommendation for the best “authentic” Mexican food within walking distance.  Upon our arrival we all looked at each other questioningly as it looked exactly like a Las Margaritas at home – not exactly what we had in mind.  Plus we were the ONLY people there – yikes!  Now I really should mention that most people here make the afternoon meal their main meal – so not many folks go out to dinner unless they are tourists or other travelers. 

So we sat, perused the menu and then something dreadful happened…….

We ordered margaritas (which took up an entire page of their menu, so they were obviously a popular item) and were told there were none!  GASP!  What????  No margaritas?????  How can it be???  Well apparently they were out of a “crucial” ingredient and would rather not make a sub-par margarita – which I can totally respect!  It’s just so different because this would never happen at home – heads would fly if a restaurant was out of a mainstay cocktail!  But in Mexico it is simply no big deal to run out of something that is integral to your establishment – people will just order something else.  No big deal.  And you know what?  I have to say they are right, it isn’t a big deal!  Life goes on without margaritas and we still had an absolutely FANTASTIC dinner – with beer!  

Larry close to the top!

Sadly, we had to say goodbye to Susan and Larry the next morning.  I would like to thank them both for being wonderful, sensitive and respectful guests.  For not using too much water, for contributing to our food and beverages (as we have a limited budget) and most of all for understanding the concept that this is our home (it’s all we’ve got!) and that there is a reason we have some seemingly weird “rules”.  We couldn’t have asked for better guests and we miss them already.   

Caleta Partida anchorage from the top!

Next guests – the entire family of 11 adults and 9 kids (!!!) for Christmas!  They’ll be chartering two other boats for a week and we’ll have our two nieces (Gwyn and Kyndal) plus my sudo-sister Cheryl on board.  It’s going to be a crazy group – hopefully crazy FUN!