New photo round-up

On this relaxed day after Christmas, I thought I would post some photos from our trip so far that hadn't made the cut until now. Enjoy!

                               My sisters JoAnna and Kirsten sent us off from San Pedro on
                                                  11/2/11, with my Mom on the right

                  Chris doing a big safety no-no by wielding a knife and whiddling down the flagpole
                                            while underway. But he's cute so all is forgiven. :-)

                          Captain Chris smiles bravely in cold, rough conditions between
                                         Ensenada and Turtle Bay coming down Baja...

                                                             First mate Liz...not so much...  :-/

                                             Chris relaxes at Turtle Bay after a rough passage

                                      With a giant turtle shell on Santa Maria beach at Mag Bay

                                              Beautiful Santa Maria beach in southern Baja

                              Tiny fish carcasses dance amongst tire tracks in dusty, wild Baja.
                                             Believe it or not, we did not set up this photo --
                                                  we found the scene exactly as it appears.

                   We were so happy to motor by the famous Cabo San Lucas arch at daybreak
                                 after a very rough night at sea. We made it to the tip of Baja! :-)

                                             The crystal blue waters of Cabo are so inviting!

                Overlooking the peaceful and warm Las Frailes anchorage in the Sea of Cortez

                                      Whenever there is a mountain around, if we can, we'll climb it!
                             Captain Chris atop Las Frailes Rock with the tiny boats in the distance...

One more of the lovely Las Frailes, one of our favorite anchorages so far

The meat market in Mazatlan, complete with flies buzzing around having a little taste

A Mazatlan boy let me gently hold his baby chihuahua, who was shaking like a leaf the whole time

Charming, bustling Mazatlan

Chris in the very European Mazatlan town square

On the thousand steps to the top of the Mazatlan lighthouse

Coming down the other side

Espiritu all alone at muggy, tropical Mantanchen Bay

                                            Espiritu all alone at muggy, tropical Mantanchen Bay

Hiking past an expensive estate at Chacala

With Rick and Deena of Talaria at the Mantanchen Jungle Cruise swimming hole 

We passed this tree hiking in Chacala. Well...that clears up the confusion (NOT!)

Looking down at Chacala from the top of the dormant volcano we climbed

Captain Chris at Chacala on the edge of the volcano

I dunno, call me crazy, but IMHO if you put this sign on your property you will draw
MORE human fertilizer to your yard, not less (on a Chacala estate)

Busiamos, south of La Cruz

Busiamos children

The kids graciously tolerated me for a photo

That's it for now. Hope you had a wonderful Christmas!

Punta de Mita

                                                      

We pulled anchor from Chacala and headed south towards our next destination, Punta de Mita, about 35 miles away. 

We passed several pods of humpback whales during our passage.  We saw several of these lumbering animals slapping their fins on the surface of the water. Biologists theorize that this may be a way of signaling other whales. 

"Hey guys, over here...I spy some hot babes..."

We saw one breaching as well -- always a thrill!                                       

 There are a few submerged rocks coming around the point, so we motored very slowly and carefully, watching our waypoints, with the first mate (me!) up at the bow looking for growlers just under the surface. It is best to keep a mile or two off the coast as one comes around into Banderas Bay, just to be on the safe side.

We dropped anchor in 16 feet of water at lovely Punta de Mita.

Espiritu enjoys some blessed solitude at Punta de Mita

This tiny resort town is apparently a surf mecca. The water was warm, and the waves were oh-so-tiny! 

I'll admit I was tempted to rent a board and paddle on out and give it my best shot. Fortunately for all concerned, the impulse quickly passed.  :-) 

We wanted to stretch our legs, though, so we donned our backpacks and headed inland about 2 miles across the isthmus to a wild stretch of deserted beach with large crashing waves. We crossed a highway and came upon this disturbing yet mesmerizing sight at the side of the road:

Flattened-like-a-pancake dog on the Mexican highway

Well, he certainly felt no pain. Kind of a good way to go, if you think about it. Quick and painless.

After our long hike under the hot sun we were eager to return to Espiritu. 

Chris looking out at Espiritu in lovely Punta de Mita

Chris and I had the beach nearly to ourselves!

On another topic, in the name of frugality we've been pretty good about keeping with our plan of preparing and eating most of our meals onboard and staying out of restaurants.

In deciding what meals to prepare, it's all about what fresh foods I have on board.  Fresh papaya, avocado, mango, lime, local cheeses and fresh tortillas are a part of every meal aboard Espiritu. 

Chris caught a tasty Sierra mackeral in Chacala which went down real easy. :-) 

The telltale yellow spots of the Sierra mackarel

Interestingly, the average tienda does not carry chicken. And I've yet to find it in the can, either. Yet eggs are everywhere for purchase, and one of the charms of Mexico are the countless chickens and roosters which roam and play in open, ungated front yards, meandering into the streets and cock-a-doodle-doing all over the place.

A rooster struts up and says "Hola!"

Surprisingly, neither dogs nor cats attack or eat these animals. They can clearly defend themselves and seem to have the run of the place. Most families do not kill the chickens for their meat -- instead they cherish them as family members and actual pets who provide an endless supply of daily nutrition: eggs.

The bottom line is this: Mexicans love their chickens and roosters, and do not appear to relish eating them except for very special occasions.

Well, last night was the winter solstice. We have officially entered our third time zone. This new life we have been living for the past 7 weeks truly feels like a dream. And when I say a dream, I mean like an alternative reality. 

One interesting phenomena in SCUBA diving is this: when you have left the surface (the "real world") and after you have spent 40 or 50 minutes literally submerged in a completely different underwater world, there is a sense that you are literally in a different reality, and when your face pops up to the surface, and you see land, and people, and "real life," and begin breathing regular air again rather than breathing underwater -- it feels like a re-entry. Like awakening from a dream -- leaving one life you were  living only a moment ago, and entering another, completely different life.

Two different realities -- underwater and "real life."

Anyway, it feels like we've left our other life for awhile and are literally living in a completely different reality. It's not better or worse than our lives in the states -- it's just completely different.

 Like a dream.

Chacala Bay

Chacala Bay consists of a lovely beach with small restaurants and hotels, and a tiny town which backs up to the rain forest.

Chacala from the anchored Espiritu

It is necessary to double anchor here, as the northerly swells clock around the point. But it is a secure and comfortable anchorage once the hard work is done.

Chris and Ian from Kasasa on Chacala Beach

We pooled our resources with Kasasa and Talaria, hired a taxi and ventured inland a bit. This is verdant and lush farmland. We passed miles of mango trees, which unfortunately will not yield their succulent fruit until May.

Ya gotta love a man who gets so excited about fresh fruit!

We went on a hike up into the surrounding hills. We were told by the locals to follow a certain trail into the rainforest where we would be greeted by the sight of a dormant volcano.

Dormant volcano caldera now replaced by a gentle meadow

The trail through the rainforest was spectacular

               

We were fortunate to trip upon a flock of several black throated magpie jays, a tropical bird with the cartoonish characteristics of a blue jay with a foot long tail and a quail-like head plume:

Blue-throated magpie jay

                             

                                           We also passed countless varieties of butterflies:

Crimson-patched longwing

Zebra longwing

                               
I tried to get one of these dainty creatures to land on my hand. Several flew close, circling me curiously several times, but never made physical contact. I will continue to try as I venture deeper into the tropics.

In other news, our families Scandinavian/German blood is famously irresistable to biting insects of all kinds, and this trip has shown that alas,  my blood has not lost it's sweetness.

"Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned.

It has been 2 hours since I my last orgy of scratching my countless dozens of bug bites covering my arms and legs.

My name is Liz, and I'm a scratch-a-holic."

And meanwhile, my husband sits comfortably at my side, skin pristine and free of trauma of any kind. Sigh.

On another topic, being away from the internet and TV, I've read and read and read and read over the last weeks.

                                                      "Schultz and Peanuts: a biography"


Like many of my generation, I've been entranced, inspired and encouraged by the Peanuts gang since early childhood. The life of Charles Schulz interests me as he was a very private person. He told interviewers he was a simple man and that his comic strip said everything that needed to be said about him.

I was born in Minnesota, as was "Sparky" (as Schulz was called).

                     My maiden name is Schroeder, I play the piano, and yes, I love Beethoven.



Anyway, the book was a fascinating read, but so far I can't find any other sailors who want the book in trade. It seems most sailors we meet merely have an inexhaustable appetite for more and ever more Grisham and Clancy.

 But I won't dump this treasure in a free book exchange YET. I know if I have the patience of Linus waiting for the Great Pumpkin, I will eventually find my kindred spirit -- the Peanuts fan who is also sailing the seas of Mexico!

 Speaking of Charlie Brown, Christmas approaches. We plan on being anchored in La Cruz (a few miles south) for Christmas, hopefully surrounded by new friends, which should ease the sting of being away from home. We'll see!

We plan on pulling up anchor tomorrow and heading south to Punta de Mita, 35 miles away.

San Blas and Matanchen Bay

We arrived at Matanchen Bay on 12/10 after a one night trip south from Mazatlan.

We had a beautiful night passage. Gentle, warm southerly winds propelled us deeper into the tropics under a glorious full moon (the small flashlight, in all her glory).

We rolled so gently in the swells that I was actually able to see the rings of Saturn when I lifted my binoculars to one of the tiny flashlights twinkling down from the east.

In a tank top and shorts, I laid on the deck at midnight listening to Mozart, Brahm's German Requiem and the B-52's "Love Shack" -- all with a big silly Cheshire-cat grin on my face and a tear streaming down my face.

The moon was so bright that the frigate birds silently circling the boat could probably see my teeth glowing in the sparkling darkness.

The next morning, I saw what looked like a brownish blob floating at the surface of the ocean. As we approached it, the "blob" lifted his head and took a deep breath of air.

Sea turtle preparing for a long dive

I was so surprised to finally see my first sea turtle of our trip on this spot, because we were still several miles out to sea! These little guys are hardy souls, and can swim for miles and miles.

Matanchen Bay is famous as it was the place from which Father Junipero Serra sailed north to convert America to Christianity. Little did he know how successful he would be.

Me exploring beautiful Matanchen Bay

The bay is about 3 miles across, and no more than 20 feet at it's deepest. It is very protected and we slept like a baby 3 nights in a row. There was only one other sailboat in the harbor when we arrived.

We had been warned that Matanchen Bay is awash in jejenes (AKA "no see-ums"), tiny little biting bugs. We deployed our bug screens on all of our hatches and went ashore.

Chris in Matanchen Bay Village

As you can see from the photo, we are now in palm tree country. The town had several tiny family owned store-fronts that sold coconut milk, banana bread, cornbread and coconut sweets. All around families burned coconut husks as an insect deterrent.

In fact, my only complaint about gorgeous, friendly Matanchen Bay is the rain-forest covered hills were obscured by a Beijing-like veil of smoke at all times due to the constant coconut husk fires. Ah, well...no place is COMPLETE paradise, right?

The next day we took the bus north into San Blas, only a few miles away.

San Blas has a harbor that is famously challenging to enter due to shoals, and it has tiny but new and well-kept marina.

Charming tin-roofed house in San Blas

                                                 

More typical Mexican homes here in San Blas

San Blas also has a great history. Before Mexican independence, this town and harbor were the major hub of the Spanish Navy for the entire Pacific coast.

Remnants of old church where Father Serra prayed for our future California souls

                                            

This is a good time to point out the obvious: if you are planning an extended trip to Mexico, the more proficient you are in Spanish, the easier, happier and more relaxed your stay will be.

While the Mexican people (as in all of Latin America) are famously friendly and easy-going, the fact that I speak Spanish is making everything go more smoothly. You can see their shoulders relax and their faces lighten when they realize I am able to show them the small yet meaningful respect of communicating in their native language.

Plus, I can make them laugh. Which is always a plus!

When we returned to Matanchen Bay, we were thrilled to see that our friends Rick and Dena aboard "Talaria" had arrived from Mazatlan and dropped anchor.

The next day the four of us took the Jungle Tour. This is kind of like the Disneyland Jungle Cruise except, well, it's REAL.

Disneyland Jungle Cruise

The real thing in Matanchen!

And at 10 bucks a head, I can tell you that our Matanchen jungle cruise was not only much more dramatic than the one at Disneyland, it was incredibly economical.  Unfortunately, our guide Augusto, while very knowledgeable, did not tell jokes in English OR Spanish as they do on the Disneyland version.

Weaving deep into the rainforest on our jungle cruise

                                           

A crocodile! And YES, this is OUR photo!

Deep in the rainforest, we passed some jungle huts which had been built a few years ago for a Spanish language movie. Look who moved in!

A squattor iguana enjoys rent-free real estate with a view                                     

At the end of the river, we came up to a spring which emptied into the river. The locals gated it off rendering it safe for swimming. Welcome to paradise:

We swung and dove into the crystal pool

                                             
Wow. We could not believe the beauty. While the entrance to the river was gated off to protect us from crocodiles, we wondered what kept crocs from simply crawling into the pool from the other three sides.

Rick thought maybe they posted signs around in the jungle (in crocodile language, naturally) which say:

"Humans only. No crocs allowed."    LOL...

Happy after our amazing swim in the crystal pool

After 3 days in San Blas and Matanchen Bay, it was finally time to pull up anchor and again head south. It was a day sail (20 miles) to the next anchorage:

Chacala Beach