BAJA



TAKING FLIGHT
OUR BUDDY BOAT
LEAVING TURTLE BAY



MEXICAN NAVY
NEAR ENSENDADA


 

NORTH OF TURTLE BAY



BEHIA SANTA MARIA





PANGA DRIVERS, THEY PROBABLY
KNOW YOU'RE THERE




FISH CAMP
BEHIA SANTA MARIA

 



CABO SAN LUCAS

We're here, tied up snug as a bug in the world's most expensive marina.  But it's worth it for a day or two.

Had an interesting trip down the outside of Baja.  I'm still trying to figure out what I'm going to think of it.  Off to bed.

WINE COUNTRY

This afternoon we took a run up to the high valleys east of Ensenada to wine country.  It remined me a lot of eastern Washington with it's high sere hills and fertile valley bottoms.  They grow a lot of grapes here and make some good wine.  They also make a lot of wine that struggles to be ordinary.  The wine from the L. A. Cetto winery was good, and very affordable. 

CETTO FIELDS AND WINERY



The last couple days have been spent with Angelica, her husband Alfonso and Caroline their daughter.  They are friends of friends of friends, and we were lucky to have had Angelica's help getting through the Mexico check in process.  She would be happy to assist other cruisers with this, and is a good guide to the Ensenada area.  Her email is: peraltaangelicalina at yahoo.com and phone is 001 619 838 3568.  We paid her gas plus $35 for the day.

ANGELICA

Now, off to bed, then Turtle Bay.

ENSENADA

We're currently clinging precariously to the dock at Baja Naval Marina.  The surge here is the worst we have seen so far.  The boat is being flung this way and that, only stopping when the dock lines are stretched out straight and vibrating from the strain.  The funny thing is the water looks calm.  No waves, wakes, or other discernable disturbances, but the boat is dancing in tune with something.  Must be eddies caused by the breakwaters.

Ever wonder where old Washington ferries end up after the state is done with them?  I never have, but if you have, then here's your answer:  Ensenada.




THE NISQUALLY


 We're off for the Ensenada wine country this morning, then will top off the fuel and water this afternoon and depart for Turtle Bay in the morning.  Turtle Bay, or more correctly, Bahia San Bartolome is about 275 miles from here.  The weather looks very settled for the next few days, with light and variable winds, so we may end up motoring a bunch.  Again.

OFF WE GO

Today's the day!  Mexico here we come. 

I am experiencing a bit of ambivalence about it. San Diego is such a nice place.  It has the weather, scenery, ocean, shopping, boat parts, Internet.  Everything a person could want.  Except perhaps adventure.  Living here is predictable, safe, secure and familiar.

Who needs that?

At my age it's good to get the crap scared out of me on occasion.  But the wall of worry I erect for myself is probably the second component of my ambivalence.  We will be leaving the Coast Guard, NOAA weather, clean fuel and heading off into some fairly remote areas.  I worry about how systems like our water maker, SSB radio, our Volvo engine and all will work.  We will be away from instant help and close parts and supplies.  Oh well, been though this before and am getting used to it.

One thing we don't really worry about is getting involved in the violence that plagues Mexico right now.  We're just ma and pa cruisers and it has not impacted Gringo boaters much, if at all.  We'll just mind our own business, and try to stay out of the cross fire.

The stop in San Diego has been the least productive yet.  We didn't seem to get much done on the boat, and didn't do the tourist thing either.  We finally got to Balboa Part yesterday and the day before.  It's fantastic, except for the Japanese Garden.  I was severely disappointed, hoping to find another masterpiece like the San Francisco garden, but it just did not measure up.  Mostly because it is still so new.  Most of the plantings were barely beyond the seedling stage.  Probably will be nice in 30 or 40 years.

CONSERVATORY FLOWERS








YOUNG IRISH DANCERS
IN THE PARK FOR PICTURES

PREPPING FOR PHOTO

WORKING WOMAN

Our first stop is going to be Coronado Island, about 15 miles south of San Diego, then next will be Ensenada to check in, and then on down to Cabo and points south.  Cabo is about 750 miles from here, and we expect the trip will take, with rest stops, about 12 days. 

Don't know when we will have Internet, so long for now.





MAKING PROGRESS

Got our dinghy wheels installed.  What should have only taken a morning turned into a two day job.  A lot of that time was spent riding a bus to the marine store to get needed supplies, and back.  The bus service here is pretty good, but we had to walk about a mile on each end.  The  issue that made the installation a pain was a void in the transom.  The manufacturer should have laid it up solid to better carry the loads imposed by the outboard motor.  A solid transom would also allow me the tighten the bolts holding the wheels on without worrying about squeezing and cracking the fiberglass.  My solution was to drill a bunch of holes and inject epoxy into the void, creating a hard spot for the bolt. 

It's kind of odd seeing a big ol' set of wheels hanging on the dinghy.  They do swing up when we are out on the water trying to get somewhere, and then swing down when coming ashore.  The idea is to run in on the back of a wave until the wheels hit the shore, then Judy jumps off at the bow and pulls us up out of the break.  Theoretically.  I have seen a dinghy launched about five feet into the air, spilling people, fuel tanks, beer and cameras.  And that was only about a two foot break.  Gonna be high anxiety the first few times.

Injecting the epoxy was a gooey job.  There should be a law against me doing gooey jobs.  If there is the smallest possibility of making a mess, I create a catastrophe.  The epoxy job was a disaster.  I spread the goo everywhere possible.  But, being an old fart, I am learning to outfox the goo.  I wear gloves, and change them minute to minute, I spread tarps, I apply reams of tape, I have Judy stand by with rags and advice, and I have gallons of acetone at hand for mop up.  And I need it all.  But at the end of the day everything kind of looks OK.

Today I went around and spread a special black caulk into and around some of the deck seams that were starting to fail.  Same drill, gloves, tape, tarps, Judy and acetone.  Got it done and it's looking good.

Tomorrow I will start to learn how to run our short wave radio.  We need it to get weather.  No internet to get the NOAA weather reports, we have to download them through our radio.  This is kind of like being back in college.  Back then I never cracked a book until the last week of the semester.  My education, what there was of it, occurred on those NoDoz overnighters just before finals.  I remember whining to my friend, Gale, that I was gonna grow up soon and not have to do this anymore.  Well, forty years later, I've got two or three days to learn the process, starting with: "Which dial turns this thing on?"  Oh well, I'm to old to grow up, so I guess I'll just have to deal with it.

One other thing, we're still in San Diego.  It's warm, shorts and tee shirt weather.  

IT'S RAINING..

SAN DIEGO'S POINT LOMA
LIGHTHOUSE

....even here in San Diego.  It should pass through this morning, with the sun returning this afternoon.

We took a drive through downtown yesterday on our way home from Costco.  All those high rise buildings that I thought were the business core of San Diego turned out to be condos.  I didn't see a single office building.  Got me to wondering what San Diego does to earn a living.  Apart from the very large Naval presence and a booming airport (literally) there doesn't seem to be much, other than tourism.  I googled a bit this morning, and about the only recognizable businesses based here are Qualcomm and Jack In the Box.

Maybe being warm and pretty is enough.