Looking for baby whales in Mag Bay

Espiritu all alone in gigantic, calm Magdalena Bay

After a wonderful Christmas in little Turtle Bay, it was time to say goodbye to our new friends and head south to our next destination: Magdalena Bay.

This map shows the 800-something mile voyage down the rugged Baja coast

Me in the most elegant -- and only -- beach palapa in Turtle Bay

Our last sunrise in Turtle Bay, painted across the sky

Crystal clear water just offshore from Maria's Restaurant

I had a tear in my eye saying goodbye to the Castro family. 6 daughters and 5 sons, they rule the roost in Turtle Bay. It was such a pleasure swimming in their warmth and welcoming spirit. 

Quiz: Which one is the hapless gringo? 

The Castro women -- on day one -- greeted me with a big hug and kiss and brought me lovingly into their daily chat sessions. They usually spoke too quickly for me to know exactly what was going on, but boy, did I feel welcome. And loved. They will forever be an example for me of the gracious, warm woman I aim to be.

On our last morning, a northbound sailboat arrived in Turtle Bay. They had come from Magdalena Bay in the south (our next destination) and told great stories of baby and mama whales leaping out of Magdalena Bay -- dozens of them, in fact! 

I have heard stories of the gray whale nurseries of Baja, where pregnant greys come south during winter, give birth to their babies in these calm, warm waters and stay for weeks while the babies suckle and grow. People who have visited them describe their experiences petting and rubbing the whales in their natural habitat as life changing and spiritual.

Since the northbound boat told great stories of so many whales and babies, we wanted to hightail it on down there. They even said a whale smashed against their boat and damaged their rudder while they were there. 

Our two night passage to Mag Bay went relatively well, although the GPS/chart plotter went on the fritz again. We pulled out the hand-held (again!) which did it's job. Still, it was stressful.

We passed a couple of dozen breaching and diving whales during our passage. 

A grey whale blew a big bubble and dove under the boat. If you look at the water surface in this photo you can see the bubble -- the giant flat spot -- only 10 feet from Espiritu. 

Master and Commander keeping watch. Note that we are STILL wearing long underwear during the nighttime passages. Where, oh where, are the tropics? We know they're down here somewhere...

We passed a humorous duo of dolphins who jumped, swam and played in exact tandem. They were either escapees from Sea World, or in love...or maybe both.   :-) 

Finally we entered Mag Bay and motored the 5 miles to the tiny village (way tinier than Turtle Bay) of Bahia Magdalena -- looking for the breaching mamma and baby whales. None seen. 

Our first glimpse of the village of Bahia Magdalena

It was December 31st. New Years Eve. The Port Captain Gregorio invited us ashore to the "big" village New Years Eve party they would have, right on the beach. Although we were exhausted from dealing with the electrical malfunctions on the passage, how could we resist such an invitation?

There was a band, and everyone in town was there -- men, women, and dozens of children running and playing everywhere. We danced under the stars, hardly believe we were really there. 

Before heading back to Espiritu, we popped into the tiny church on the beach.

The altar at the church, still lovingly decorated for Christmas

It's so weird to even say the words "2016." It sounds so strange -- so futuristic, doesn't it?

I remember having the exact same conversation back in the day with my teacher Mr. Stekol at Tewinkle Jr. High -- in 1974. We thought "1974" sounded so strange, weird and futuristic (gentle smile). 

The next morning we woke up to a cloudy, sleepy New Years Day. We played a monster "Rose Bowl" version of Mexican Train Dominoes (the skipper won -- so what else is new).

On January 2nd we headed out to find the baby greys the northbound sailboat had told us so much about. 

A giant pile of gray whale bones sit in town. The live ones can't be too far away...

Look! A "Magdalena Bay Whales" tour boat. 

Where are the baby whales? None seen...

We climbed the hill over town to get a wide view of the bay to find the baby whales.

Looking down on the village and the bay. Espiritu rests to the right, 

and Bahia Santa Maria is in the far left.  No whales.

It was clear that there was not a single whale, baby or otherwise in the bay. What was up with those northbound cruisers, who told such stories? Where they drunk? Looks like we're a bit early. The locals confirmed most of the mama whales come to give birth in late January. Ah, well...

Since there were no baby whales to be found, we decided to explore the village.

We tripped upon these dazzingly blooming cacti coming down the hill 

into the village. As the sun shone directly upon them, they seemed to be lit from within.

Typical Mag Bay home with the roof tethered to the ground with ropes, as a few hurricanes have skirted this village in recent years. Note the roaming dog coming over to greet us...

As it was still the New Years holiday, some villagers took the kids out for a wakeboard tow. I love how there's a dozen family members on the boat looking back...cute. :-) 

QUIZ: Why do you find overturned junk cars all over Mexico?

Chris examines overturned junk car on beach

ANSWER: (from Captain Chris, who figured it out) Because it's easier

 to pick out all of the spare parts that way. 

Welcome to Mexico! 

Chris peruses the whole produce section in the only tienda in town

We were lucky to find that a giant haul of fresh lobster and shrimp had just been brought in by the local fisherman, and the town was having a big lobster feast -- and we were invited!

Our host Chino and Chris enjoying the lobster bounty

3 bucks US each for a giant plate of fresh lobster and shrimp. How lucky were we?

Espiritu from Mag Bay palapa

As always, the Mexican people have been incredibly generous and welcoming to us all along Baja. We were talking about this recently with a gringo friend who has traveled alot to third world countries.

"Oh, yes," she agreed with a nod of her head. "They think we're royalty."

Whelp.

What?

That's not true, is it? They don't think of us gringos as royalty! They're just nice people!

When we were in Ensenada I bought some coloring books, sticker books and crayons to wrap and give to the children of Turtle Bay at Christmas.

I literally had to go to SEVERAL STORES to find Children's books that didn't feature white skinned princesses with blonde hair.

Adorable Mag Bay girl with her "Frozen" t-shirt, complete with 

blonde princess emblazoned with rhinestones 

Why would I want to give impoverished Mexican children gifts which feature gringo royalty?

Finally, in the last store I found books to give the kids about regular stuff -- animals, kids, airplanes, the ocean, bicycles...the usual things. 

So, why would anybody want to be royalty anyway?

Apparently many in western society aspire to it. Check out this ad I recently saw in a magazine:

Marie Antoinette in the Air France First Class Section sez to the

 people in coach: "Let them eat pretzels...a tiny, tiny bag."

I would never want to be royalty. I mean, they're mostly a bunch of inbred hemophiliacs, aren't they?

Want proof? Take a look at the faces of the kings and queens in a Bicycle deck:

What grim expressions. Note the bags under the eyes, 

and the King's pudgy little hand

"To be without some of the things you want is an 

indispensable part of happiness."-- Bertrand Russell

Some people hate that quote. They want to believe that once they win the lottery all of their problems will instantly disappear and they'll become deliriously happy forever!

Well, some of your problems might disappear if you win the lottery, but a whole slew of new ones will take their place.

Having to do without many of modern life's comforts is one of the things I love about cruising. I love the challenge and simplicity of choosing to live with less.

While I'm enchanted by the beautiful spirit of the Mexican people, I'm also not a fool. I realize that in these small towns, a gringo arrival can mean a flush of cash into the town. 

We're not millionaires. But I guess we ARE thousandaires. 

So they're not stupid. If they're smart they wash us in hospitality, just as anyone in the tourism trade would anywhere in the world. 

So there's that.

But I hope and pray it's not true that they "think we're royalty." (grimace)

I just want to be a human being, meeting other human beings.

And Prince William, if you read this, I didn't mean YOU. 

Christmas in a Mexican Village

A magical Christmas Eve -- complete with full moon -- in Turtle Bay, Mexico

We were so fortunate to spend Christmas here in Turtle Bay with several other southbound cruising boats. Maria, Jesus and the entire Castro family literally opened their arms and welcomed us as family.

Cute, simple Christmas display in Turtle Bay

Maria made us a delicious gringo-style Christmas turkey dinner with all the fixins.

Three Wise Men and an Angel at our Christmas dinner at Maria's restaurant (left to right: Mark of Hop Toad, Nico of Yellow Feather and Mark and Eden of Halcyon I)

After dinner we had a big white elephant Christmas gift exchange -- each person wraps something used and hopefully funny and/or usable from one's boat, and we exchange the gifts. It's always alot of fun.

Sharon of Sea Horse smiles gamely with her gift -- a used circuit panel. 

Just what every girl dreams of for Christmas! 

Interestingly, my husband Chris received seasons 1-4 of the 90's terrorism gunfest TV show "24."

The reason it's interesting is this:

Sailors/cruisers do own and watch DVDs, although these days most of our entertainment is digital. But the few DVDs we do carry we never give away. We might loan them to a friend, but if we like them, we would never part with them.

Four years ago when we first cruised Baja, our friends aboard Eagle gave us a kind gift of seasons 1-4 of "24." We had never seen the show, so we watched a few episodes and decided by episode 10 that it wasn't really our thing.

A couple of weeks later we bequeathed the DVDs to our new friends on Interabang! 

And now -- four years later -- we receive -- AGAIN! -- seasons 1-4 of "24" -- in the same place -- Baja! 

My theory is the show "24" is the most regifted item in all of Baja. Everyone watches 10 episodes, throws up their hands, quits, and hands them off to someone else.

In short, I believe the DVDs we just received are the same ones we regifted 4 years ago, and they've been hopping from boat to boat, looking for a home.

Jack Bauer: Why doesn't anyone want to keep our "24" DVDs? 

Why? It's so humiliating! Why do we keep getting regifted?!?!?!?!?!? 

Well, we're continuing the regifting tradition. I've given them to Maria's son Hector. Comeon, boys...someone give poor Jack Bauer a home. 

Anyway, after the gift exchange we all sang carols and then went to the Christmas Eve service in the Catholic church. It was as lovely, simple and moving as we hoped. :-) 

Other Turtle Bay images --

Hanging muddy bear and shoe

We were thrilled to find a beautifully groomed baseball diamond in town. And what luck -- a game was about to start in one hour! 

Chris was so excited -- baseball!

Chris to the players: "OK, guys -- we'll be back in an hour for the game!"

Unfortunately, they had to cancel the game -- not enough players. Chris was crushed.

Another pretty day in the anchorage

We found these interesting rocks on an isolated beach. Hmmmmm. Odd...

Maybe we should call Ancient Aliens? 

Catherine bicycled here from Quebec with her boyfriend. She adopted this adorable stray here in Turtle Bay, and has named him Falco. No word yet on how they plan on transporting Falco all the way to South America...

Chris hoisted/cranked Rico up the mast of his sailboat Sea Horse

Fixer upper for sale at a rock-bottom price. Chris considers the possibilities...

Dinosaur-sized hip bone rests at the butcher shop in town

The Turtle Bay Pier. I know what you're thinking -- that there are many, many seagulls in town. And of course, you're right. But there's more to the story. The town got a little help from Jackson Pollack during his little known "Turtle Bay Period" in the early 60's.

 I'm kidding...or AM I? 

Gorgeous beach just on the edge of town

There are no laundramats in Turtle Bay, but Maria's sister Yolanda will wash your clothes for you in her washing machine which sits outside in the yard. 

Chris picks up our laundry from Yolanda. Note the REI 

wool sock still hanging on the line behind Chris' head -- 

that was ours, and we 

retrieved it before heading back to Espiritu. 

Maria's Restaurant right on the beach is the hangout for cruisers. She's got good food, fast WiFi, a cool drink and tons of good natured hospitality.

People are happy and welcoming in Turtle Bay, despite meager incomes. But there are signs everywhere here that when living in near-poverty, one is always right on the edge.

This is the wall in Maria's bathroom. She assures me that they "hardly ever" 

have earthquakes here, and they're "always little." Let us hope...

The ocean has been warm enough during this visit to swim and bathe in the ocean. But the last time we were here four years ago, the ocean was freezing. My only option was a "maybe hot" shower provided by Maria's restaurant for 10 pesos.

The gringo shower at Maria's restaurant -- yep, that's a pipe sticking out of the wall and a big window  looking out onto a loading dock. It wasn't the best shower I've ever had by a longshot, but I was mighty grateful to get it.

Pelicans: "Hey, fisherman...where ARE you? We're ready and waiting to go fishing!"

Pink house and fishing nets

On the main drag of Turtle Bay...life goes on

We've loved Turtle Bay. She exceeded our expectations. But it's time to head south. The plan is sail to either Mag Bay or Cabo San Lucas in the next couple of days. Right now 30 knot winds are blowing, so we're staying put in this happy little village.

Hasta La Vista!   

Lost at Sea off Baja...

Espiritu and sailing fleet rests in Turtle Bay 

Yes, we were lost at sea off Baja. Well, not completely lost. We knew where we were...sort of.

We knew we were somewhere off Baja. We just didn't know exactly where we were, what direction we were going, or how fast.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

First, flashback to Ensenada.

Last day at Ensenada -- masts and hills at Cruiseport

Our plan was to head south the next morning for the 2 night passage to 

Turtle Bay with a group of buddy boats including

 Jason and Nicole of Stay Gold, pictured above. 

Let me tell you about these two cray kids: the've only recently returned from a round-trip sail to Hawaii which featured zigging and zagging between not one, not two, but THREE hurricanes. Trying to get to San Francisco they faced 60 foot waves, lost all of their sails, solar panels and all electrical power. Fortunately they had a back-up hand held GPS (All of you cruisers have one aboard, right? More on that later...) and tons of batteries, enabling them to limp into San Francisco victorious and alive. 

They plan on heading directly to the Marquesas, 3,000 miles across the Pacific.

Ah, youth. We're pulling for you two, you crazy kids!

We had a farewell dinner our last night in town with our new Ensenada BFFs.

The Three Musketeers: Richard of Golden Skye, 

Marty of Desiderata and Chris

I was mortified to see this face pop up on the local Mexican news 

broadcasting on all 3 TVs in the restaurant crowded with locals:

Oh noes.    :-/

The Mexican news was showing presidential candidate Donald Trumps' latest anti-Mexican immigrant speech LIVE on TV, complete with Spanish translation!

Several of the restaurant employees went over, crowded around the TV to watch the speech.

I was afraid this would happen.

Mexican restaurant worker watching Donald Trump live on TV

When Donald Trump famously said that essentially all illegal Mexican immigrants into the U.S. were criminals, drug dealers or rapists (and refused to dial it back, instead doubling down on his statement), naturally I was horrified. I had hoped Mexican citizens south of the border would be shielded from such hateful rhetoric. No such luck.

As best I could in my basic Spanish, I explained to the group of employees watching the speech that the great majority of American citizens are deeply offended by Trump 's anti-Mexican statements and  know that these words are, plan and simple, untrue. 

In short, I did what to some is the most unpatriotic act an American can do:

 I humbly apologized for my country.

They seemed touched and gratified by my awkward attempt at diplomacy. 

The next morning we set sail for Turtle Bay. 

This is typically a cold, blustery passage that is often complicated with big swells from winter storms in the north and cold winds. It's a passage every cruiser is happy to have behind him in his quest ever south to the tropics. 

Our first 24 hours were bumpy, lumpy and uneventful. 

Baby squids inexplicably kept jumping up onto the deck. What kind of hell was 

going on under the waves to make them do such a thing? 

 As the sun was about to set for the second night of the passage, our chart plotter began malfunctioning. First, it stopped displaying our course (the direction we were sailing). Next to fail was the boat speed, followed by a loud alarm from both the chart plotter and the auto pilot screaming:

"BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! The auto pilot is not functioning! We are unable to find your position! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!"

Well, alrighty then.

At the time of the electrical failure we were about 2/3 of the way between Ensenada and Turtle Bay. If you look at the map above, we were just heading away from shore to round "the hook." 

Unfortunately we had lost site of/contact with all of our 4 buddy boats. This is normal and expected, as we were all going different speeds and one had stopped off at a tiny port south of Ensenada.

But the truth was, we were alone.

Fortunately, even though the auto pilot was screaming that it was not functioning, it was apparently confused. It WAS still working, and it stayed on course during the entire passage, fortunately.

But our chart plotter and GPS had failed. 

Chris dove into our ditch bag and grabbed one of our two back-up hand held GPS monitors. He installed fresh batteries and after a couple of minutes had us up and running via the 15 year old  portable model. 

We decided that overnight we would chart our coordinates and course every 20-30 minutes until we arrived in Turtle Bay. It was a stressful night, but we were never in danger. Along with dealing with our electrical malfunction we also had multiple sail changes, plus I had to cook dinner! We took one hour watches overnight, resting in the cockpit when we were off watch so we were readily available for any issues that would arise.

Also, the hand held GPS kept dying and needing new batteries like every 60 minutes. Fortunately we bought the economy pack of 36 double A's. 

Adding to the stress of my midnight watch was the damn alarms kept going off literally every 30 seconds all night long and needed to be reset each time. 

"BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! The auto-pilot is not functioning! We are unable to find your position! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!"

Every. Thirty. Seconds.  (sigh)

It reminded me of those scenes in those airplane disaster movies where the cockpit alarms keep going off every two seconds ("STALL! STALL! PULL UP! PULL UP!") like Denzel Washington faced in the movie Flight. 

Of course, the great advantage of sailing over aviation is if the plane faces catastrophic electrical failure, the worse case scenario is smashing into the ground in a million fiery pieces.

The worst case scenario for us? We're left floating there, bobbing, dead in the water. 

We're never buying a plane.

Anyway, I digress.

The sun finally popped over the horizon to our relief. I jumped up in response to a mind-numbing leg cramp and came very close to fainting. I was exhausted. 

Passing Isla Cedros 

Approaching the entrance to Turtle Bay -- finally!  

We dropped the hook and slept for 15 hours.

The next morning we awoke refreshed and relieved. Chris got right to work and found the wire that needed to be repaired in the chart plotter. (My hero!)   :-)

I found this giant bruise on my arm while bathing the first morning. I have no idea when

 this happened, which tells you something about the passage. 

We were happy to see our friends Mark and Eden of Halcyon I had also arrived. 

Mark was a lieutenant commander on a submarine in the Canadian Navy. He told us when new sailors got freaked out with claustrophobia, they would put him in a quiet little room and give him a "hospitality lolipop." We used to use those at Children's Hospital -- they are literally lolipops made out of Valium. 

I could have used a "hospitality lolipop" during our last passage! 

Giving the freaked out soldiers a Valium lolipop is so Canadian. Somehow I doubt the American navy is that gentle with freaked out submarine recruits. 

Anyway, we headed ashore to climb one of the peaks surrounding the village.

View from the top, looking over the other side deep into Baja

Coming down was kinda scary.

I want my hospitality lolipop! 

We then set out to explore the little village.

We found the two pine trees in Turtle Bay

Abandoned baby doll in the street

I thought this was smart -- each side of the concrete yard had this 

combo basketball/soccer gizmo. What a great idea! 

I loved this hand painted stop sign

Oh, no. Another child's toy strewn into the street. As I began to fall into despair, my husband suggested that these were dog chew toys and not children's cherished toys cast aside.

I choose to believe the latter.

So, we're here in Turtle Bay through Christmas. It's a calm, comfortable anchorage, and we're here with several other boats heading south. 

All is well. What's new with YOU? Family and friends, please let me know. I live for your e-mails.

Feliz Navidad!