Feliz Navidad!

Going out to the Arch…to find Nemo

Christmas has come and gone and so have our kids and grandkids. We all had a wonderful time, especially the little ones!  Had lots of beach time, pool time, a trip to the Arch on a glass bottom Panga looking for Nemo, a walk around the Marina, breakfast one morning on the beach at the Office and a festive dinner at Mi Casa! 

The kids all stayed at our family timeshare at Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach. They shared a presidential suite so there was plenty of room for the six of them. There was even room for us but we needed to stay on the boat. You never know when the anchor could drag and we also couldn’t leave poor Harley alone overnight. We did take advantage of using their showers a couple of times, which was a real treat! Before the kids arrived, Rick and I realized it had been a couple weeks since we had a real shower.

Tyler and Kim arrived first (coming all the way from Kansas).
 Ty had fun on the golf cart ride from the Lobby to the room.

Each day Rick and I took the dinghy to shore and pulled it up the steep bank onto the beach as far as we could. Then we would walk down to the sister resort, Pueblo Bonito Rose and meet the kids there, where they arrived by shuttle. We’d spent long days together at the beach and pool, then the kids would shuttle back to PB Sunset Beach in the evening. It was all of the grandkids first experience swimming in the Ocean and they LOVED it!

 

Tyler and Kim

Rosie, Justin and Eve

Tyler on the Panga ride

Justin and Rick 

Rosie having her hair braided

Eve and Rosie

Lauren

Tyler checking out the Iguana

Mom showing Tyler the Iguana or "lizard"

Dinner at Mi Casa

Danielle

Rick and Gary (Danielle's friends Dad)

Kim and Tyler..at the Office

Lauren and Eve

Rosie

The last day before the kids left, Christmas Eve, we were spending a warm day on the beach on the lounge chairs in front of the resort, watching the people on the beach, in the water and all of the activities going on. Suddenly Rick sat up and looked down the beach to see if our dinghy was still where we left it. On this particular day, Rick anchored the dinghy a little ways off the beach because the surf was so big. Anyway, he did not see the dinghy anywhere! He ran along the beach and glanced out into the bay and saw that a Panga was towing it around to all of the other anchored sailboats to see whom it might belong to.  We could not get his attention from where we were, so we asked some of the guys in charge of the Panga’s to get a hold of him on the VHF. They told us that they could not because they were on a private radio. This was way beyond frustrating! So we ended up asking a man who was handling water sports on the beach to please hop on a jet ski and direct the Panga with our dinghy in tow, back to the beach.  He did just that and got our dinghy back. We gave the man $20.00 for his help, which he said he would share with the Panga driver.  Such a relief! No harm done!

That was our only mishap during our stay in Cabo, which was quickly resolved…. EXCEPT for a few days prior to the kids flying into Cabo.  On this day, Rick, Harley and I walked down to the end of the beach where it was a little more relaxing and less congested to go swimming. After a nice swim we got out of the water and headed back towards our dinghy. As we were walking we noticed a black stray Pit-Bull mix trotting along in front of us, which soon, turned around, faced us, crouched way down in the sand and stared intensely at Harley. I was a little worried and told Rick it looks like the dog wants to attack! Rick said he just wants to play. Well…unfortunately I was right and as soon as we got up to the dog, it pounced on Harley, took one big chomp at her neck and shook and growled while Harley was making loud, sharp squealing noises. I was so scared for Harley! Rick ran at the dogs yelling and swatting at the stray dog with the back of Harley’s leash. Finally the dog released it’s grip and ran off.  Harley whined loudly for a while after the attack even while I was petting her trying to console her. I didn’t see any wounds initially because her hair is so thick and curly, but as soon as Harley walked up ahead of us sort of staggering I ran over to take another look. There was blood running down from three different spots on the back of her neck. I gasped in horror! I didn’t know what to do. I definitely wanted to get her some help! Rick was more calm than I was and seemed to think we could just pour some Hydrogen Peroxide on the bite, but to me it looked a little more serious and might need stitching up. As we got closer to where people were and close to the activity coordinator guys near some tents, one of them noticed Harley and walked over to us asking us what had happened. We filled him in on the details and he told us he knew of the dog and that she has actually attacked a few other dogs recently. He said the dog is a friendly stray that roams the beach, but just does not like other dogs. (I don’t care how friendly the dog is…he hurt my dog)! But anyway, he doused some iodine looking liquid on the wounds and told us it looked like Harley needed stitches. He directed us to the nearest Veterinarian on foot. Luckily it was only a few blocks away. We made it to the Animal Clinic and got right into to see the Vet. She first shaved Harley’s fur around the wounds, gave her a pain shot and then scrubbed out the wounds vigorously with an antiseptic wash. I couldn’t watch.  I had Rick hold Harley during that part. I figured next was going to be the stitching up but the Vet said that she did not want to give her stitches because that would trap in any bacteria that came from the other dog’s teeth. So she preferred to leave the wounds open and gaping. I understood the importance of this, but it was hard to look at her wounds! We were given antibiotics, pain pills, anti-inflammatory pills and some antiseptic wash to take with us, which we were to use 3 times a day.  We were also instructed to keep Harley off of the beach, out of in the Ocean and to keep calm for 7-10 days. All 3 of these are tall orders!

 

Rick holding Harley while the Veterinarian is shaving her

Ouch! Two of Harley's bite wounds.

The next day we started Harley’s new regime. First we washed her wounds then put all the pills into bits of hot dogs for her to eat. The wound washing went fine, but the pills were found later along with remnants of hotdogs on the decks. Poor Harley was sick from all the meds. We tried again the next day after she ate some of her dog food, but she was still throwing up everything. It was not fun for us to clean off of the decks. Not only was she sick but she was also sequestered to the boat. So each time Rick and I got in the dinghy to go ashore, she would get excited and wait near the gate to get into the dinghy with us. But we had to tell her to stay and that we’d be back. She looked so sad as we motored away. We both felt so badly for her. Her whole life revolves around the beach and swimming! Poor girl.

Over the last week, her wounds have slowly been healing. Two of them are pretty much healed through but one of the bigger ones is still a gaping wound and seems to keep reopening by the end of the day. She likes to rub her back along the safety netting on the boat to relieve her itching. As long as this one wound is still exposed, she is stuck on the boat.  We try to explain it to her, but she’s not understanding.

On Christmas Eve, I stayed the night at the resort with everyone because I wanted to say goodbye to Lauren, Justin and the girls the next morning at 6am and to ride along in the airport shuttle with Kim and Tyler to see them off.

Tyler wildly rocking in the chairs outside in front of the Lobby! :)

Saying goodbye on Christmas Day to Tyler and Kim

Tyler resting up on the shuttle ride to the airport for the long plane ride home.

So Christmas Day after saying goodbye to everyone and dropping Kim and Ty off at the airport, I got a taxi and had the driver stop off at a Wal-Mart while I got some groceries. Then the taxi driver took me to the Marina where Rick whisked me off and nearly 50lbs of groceries in the dinghy back to the boat.  Just as we were approaching the boat, two people zipped up to us on a jet ski. It was Danielle and her mom! They had been in Cabo that morning with their friends and were enjoying some time on the water. So we hopped back into the dinghy after dropping off the groceries and met them back on the beach. Danielle, her mom, Rick and I walked over to the Marina while Danielle’s friends left for their hotel in San Jose Del Cabo. The four of us had a nice afternoon together.

Rick and I made it before dark back to the boat and just had a quiet evening on the boat. We thought about going out for a special Christmas Dinner, but I think we were both tired from the long week.  Rick was especially tired due to the fact that Harley was running around the decks and whining with excitement from 9-1am chasing a seal that was playing in the water near the boat.

 

Quiet morning on the boat

We were originally supposed to leave Cabo today to make our crossing but we’re waiting on a better weather window. It’s pretty lumpy out there with big seas and high winds that are going in the opposite direction than the waves. So it would make for a very uncomfortable sail, and we’d like to have 3 days in a row of good sailing weather since that’s how long it will take us!

 You'll be hearing from us in the New Year!

La Paz to Cabo San Lucas

Nighttime anchored at Los Muertos

On December 11, we left our slip at Marina La Paz, stopped at the fuel dock then headed towards Puerto Ballandra where we planned to stay for one night. Once we arrived in the beautiful Bay of Ballandra, there were no good spots left for anchoring so we decided to keep moving and to head to Playa La Bonanza since it was only a few miles away. Ballandra was quite beautiful and looked like a protected anchorage. Maybe next season we can spend some time there.

Puerto Ballandra

We got to Bonanza and were one out of two other boats in the bay.  As soon as we anchored, we put on our fins and snorkels and took Harley to shore. We swam all the way in which was a longer swim than we thought. We spent a little time on the beach looking for shells again. Harley even helped except she would pick up the shells and burry them.

As soon as the wind picked up we thought we better make our way back to the boat. That swim was a little tougher since we were fighting the wind, waves and current. But we made it! Good work out! Harley slept like a baby the rest of the night.

We had a sound sleep and woke early the next morning at 5:30a.m to prepare for an all day sail to Ensenada de los Muertos. We pulled up the anchor while the moon was still out and sailed out of the Bay and through the Cerralvo Channel to Los Muertos. The winds were so calm and behind us that we motor sailed most of the way. It was a beautiful sunny sparkly day on the Sea.

The Captain is happy!

We got into Los Muertos around 2:30 p.m.  

Los Muertos

Another beautiful bay with a few other boats anchored out. On this particular day we did not take Harley to shore or go for a swim. We were a little tired. Poor Harley. She had to use her imitation park on the deck. She was not happy about it and so much so that she refused to use her makeshift park whatsoever and held her bladder through the night, the morning and up until we arrived at our next anchorage at 3 in the afternoon the next day, December 13th.

Harley thinking, I'll show you!

On our sail to Bahia Los Frailes, we had the perfect winds for putting up our Asymmetrical Sail. The winds were light and behind us. It’s quite a production getting that sail up but once it is up and it’s filled with air, it’s a beautiful thing! The motor is off, and all you hear is the boat being pulled through the water by the sail. Occasionally you hear a flap in the sail due to the swells sort of rearranging the boat. But once we are back on track it’s a nice way to sail.  After a few hours, the swells grew a lot bigger and on our quarter so it wasn’t as comfy of a ride as it had been.

As we got closer to our destination, the winds piped up to 24knots and it was a little too much for our Asymmetrical. So in sloppy seas and big winds, we decided to take the sail down.  It was a juggling match while trying to keep your balance and getting the sail down as the boat rocked from side to side almost dipping the rails into the water at times.

I was anxious at this point to get into the bay where the winds and swells would be a bit calmer.

Well, as we got into the bay, the swells calmed down, but the winds were still a little high at 18knots. We anchored as close to the beach that we could without being too close.  It’s not so fun anchoring in those kinds of winds when other boats are around. We anchored safely between two Catamarans. It looked as if one of the Catamaran owner’s was not happy with where we anchored initially because she came up on deck watching us with her hand on her hip.

After we anchored, we immediately got ready for a swim to the beach so poor Harley could relieve herself. We wore fins and snorkels again. During our swim, we saw schools of Baja Angelfish  (not sure if that is the correct name), swimming below us and beside us.  So colorful and delicate.

Once on the beach we took a little walk along the shore passing by all of the fishermen lined up along the beach in their Panga’s preparing for a day of fishing.

The following morning, December 14^th, we left the anchorage at 6:50a.m. You could see the moon about to set behind the mountains as the sun was rising in front of us heading out to sea. Beautiful morning! 

Moon going down

Sun coming up as we were leaving the anchorage

The swells were big not too long after we left and coming from all different directions.  The winds were in the 10’s and behind us of course, so we thought we would try the Asymmetrical again. Well, it went up with a lot of hassle and only stayed up a short time. The winds got higher and the water was just too squirrely.  But maybe an hour later, Rick wanted to give it another try which we did, but again, it just wasn’t working smoothly so down it came for good for the day! In the process of getting it down I had a slight mishap at the winch where the Assymetrical sheet got loose and spun out of my hands at a fast rate, taking some skin from my finger along with it while hurling me up against the combing of the cockpit, knocking the wind out of me. There is a lot of force in that sail! After a good blood curdling scream and a tear or two, I was feeling a little dumb for getting myself in that predicament.  I don’t know what I was thinking. Apparently I wasn’t. Oh well…live and learn. Sometimes I just learn the hard way.  Now I yell, “OWE” when I sneeze (ribs are sore) and have a Band-Aid on my finger. 

After putting the sail down, we motored the rest of the day.

We planned to enter the Marina at San Jose del Cabo and called the Marina an hour out, but they did not have a slip available with water or electricity. And we thought why bother staying there at a dock, paying a slip fee without the benefits? So, we pushed on to Cabo…, which would be getting us there a few days earlier that we wanted to.  On our way, we kept our eyes open for any small coves to anchor for the night, but had no luck.

Doing our daily work out with "Rubber Bands" on deck

One very cool thing that happened on our 17-mile trip from San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas was that we spotted some whales!! The first sighting, I was not able to get my camera out in time. But motoring further and closer to Cabo, we saw more! I had my camera ready at that point and captured some decent pictures of whale tails.  I would have liked to have seen more of the whales other than the tails, but at least I got something. It was so exciting with or without a picture! But it’s nice to have the proof.

Whale sightings near Punta Cabeza de Ballena

The Sea was pretty choppy and messy the rest of the way to Cabo. Not sure if it was from all of the other boats or what. Getting into the bay at Cabo is a little chaotic! There are Jet skiers and Panga’s dashing around in a hurry, Party boats and Pirate ships beginning their sunset booze cruises causing big wakes. We could barely see in front of us from all of the traffic in the bay.  We ended up anchoring amongst a group of other sailboats and a couple of large power boats right in front of the Pueblo Bonito Rose resort, about 200 yards off the beach.  The boat was rocking and rolling violently at times from all of the commotion. But at least the anchor was set and we could go down inside the boat and relax…sort of. 

Anchored in front of Pueblo Bonito Rose

It was another long day and again we were too tired to go to shore for Harley. We probably would have gotten run over if we had swum to shore anyway. But Harley made me feel better by using her little “park” on the boat and going potty.  I reassured her that we would be taking her to the beach in the morning.

That night was a lively one. All of the restaurants on the beach turned into nightclubs. You could hear the thumping of loud music, DJ’s shouting over their mic’s and people whooping it up. Fortunately this only lasted until 1 in the morning.  Our experience so far has been that the nightlife lasts until 4am the next day. So I was pleased that things died down when they did.

Princess Cruise-lines creeping into the Bay at Cabo

December 15^th, we woke up just after the sun came up and a cruise ship silently pulled in. The morning was quiet and peaceful. There was no one on the beach or in the water and the ocean was smooth and untouched. 

I made a phone call to my daughter and a text to my daughter-in-law to sort out the last minute details of their arrival to Cabo on the 18th.  We are so looking forward to seeing everyone!

Soon after the call to Lauren, we put the dinghy in the water and motored to shore. We pulled the dinghy up onto the dry sand (thank God for dinghy wheels), let Harley do her business and took a little walk. We planted ourselves down in the sand past all of the restaurants and resorts and played fetch with Harley for a while.  After she drank half of the ocean and rolled in the sand, we brushed off the sand from our shorts and walked over to the Office for a Limonada.

It feels good to be here in Cabo despite all of the activity.  The weather is perfect. It’s in the low 80’s during the day and in the low 60’s at night. And the water is 81 degrees. We are alive and well and are having some great adventures each day. Nothing to complain about! Always feeling blessed and grateful.

Late afternoon in Cabo

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and the Happiest of New Years!

A sparkly night anchored in Cabo

La Paz

We are enjoying La Paz. We now have a strong Internet connection so I can get caught up on the blog. There are great showers here…nice pressure and hot water! There is a swimming pool, which we will probably never get a chance to use, a Laundromat, convenience store and a Marine Chandlery.

On the Malecon

Along the Malecon facing the water

Love the Grafitti in Mexico!

A handicap ramp that shoots straight down into the telephone pole! Yikes!

A very unique and eclectic Hotel we took a little  tour of
while walking the streets of Downtown La Paz

Notice the Monkey inside 

Upstairs

December 8^th, Rick, Harley and I took a one-way free van ride into downtown La Paz and walked around. We walked all the way to Marina La Paz, ate a late lunch nearby, then walked all the way back to our marina. It was a really nice day. Fun to see La Paz since we have heard so much about it and how great it is. Rick had not been to La Paz by water since the 80’s. So it’s changed quite a bit! I like it here and wish we had more time to spend but we are in a hurry to get to Cabo by the 18^th of December where we will be meeting up with our kids (all but Tanner) and grandkids for a week. We will be anchored out and the kids will be staying at Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach. Danielle, Rick’s daughter will be in the San Jose del Cabo area with her mom and some friends during the same time. So at some point we all plan to have dinner together. We are so looking forward to seeing everyone! We will make a few more stops to get to Cabo San Lucas. From here we plan to go to Ballandra, Los Muertos, Frailes, San Jose del Cabo and finally CABO! Cabo is not our favorite anchorage since we will be surrounded by Cruise ships, jet skis and Panga’s zipping by making waves. And there’s the noise from the resorts and restaurants in the evenings that keeps us awake most nights. But it’s all worth it since we can see the kids. It will be a very Merry Christmas!

Marina Palmira