We absolutely love Melaque. We’ve been here about 5 days now, and it’s been wonderful… especially since we’ve been reunited with our friends! The marina at Barra de Navidad is beautiful, and just so happens to be connected to a gorgeous resort… not that we’re in the marina, but the rest of the gang is so we’ve been visiting frequently (The pool days and playing on the slides has been a nice change). We’ve all been shopping and swimming, walking through the towns and drinking pina coladas (yes, even pops). There is a fantastic run from Melaque to Barra, a french baker who makes baguettes and croissants, and really really good fruit.
We even had a visitor! Remember Brett, the harbor patrol from Catalina? Well, he was headed from Zihuat to PV and stopped in for a couple days to hang out. It was a lot of fun to have another kid around, and we had a birthday to celebrate. Suebee put together an AMAZING potluck, and there was lots of tequila involved. We snorkeled and kayaked and ran a ton, even if it to get croissants at the bakery…
He hopped on a bus this morning and we’re headed south for a few days before we get up to Tenacatita.
Quick note on Las Hadas because I was slow to post! It was a pretty nice anchorage in Manzanillo Bay, right off of a few huge resorts. We had a lovely Valentines Day celebration with Eager Dreamer, Suebee, and Andanzas… and a less than lovely day in Manzanillo itself (the city is pretty loud and intense!). We head north tomorrow!
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Sunday, February 8, 2009
The Cruising Grounds
We headed out of La Cruz Tuesday morning for Yelapa, our last stop in Banderas Bay. It was an awesome sail, and Yelapa is another gorgeous, tropical anchorage in Mexico. Kat and Jay headed into the small beach town and ran into some interesting characters: one gray haired man with dreadlocks who passed out under the table and a band that makes most garage bands look like The Rolling Stones. Unfortunately, it rolled all night and NONE of us slept much. We ended up heading out earlier than we needed, but we were ready to hit the road.
Wednesday was spent heading around the point to Ipala, where we arrived early afternoon. We swam in, grabbed a drink, and really enjoyed the tiny little town. We tried to cook up the 30 pound fish we caught during our sail. We had spend so much time and energy racing around the boat and reeling this thing up that we figured it had to be good… it wasn’t. Note to reader: don’t ever eat a jack crevelle.
We left at the crack of dawn Thursday morning for our longest sail this leg, to Chamela. This is, according to my father, the beginning of the cruising grounds (Ok, seriously? What have we been doing all this time then?) Chamela was pretty cool though, a good bay, no rolling, and an awesome running beach. I even made some friends from Norway. We went into the town for dinner, where a woman cooked for us in her tiny little restaurant/house. It was easily the most authentic meal we’ve had, and delicious. We got to have a later start this morning, so Kat and Jay headed to town and I went for another run.
We’ve just arrived in Barra Navidad, opting to skip Tenacatita for now and meet up with SueBee and Eager Dreamer. After a bit of trouble with the stern anchor we’ve cooked up some dinner and are ready to chow down!
Ok, skip forward two days! We met up with SueBee, Eager Dreamer, and Andanzas... it is so good to see everyone! We love Melaque, i'll write more soon!
By the way, Cam I missed your birthday on the fourth, so Happy Belated! Hope it was a good one!
Wednesday was spent heading around the point to Ipala, where we arrived early afternoon. We swam in, grabbed a drink, and really enjoyed the tiny little town. We tried to cook up the 30 pound fish we caught during our sail. We had spend so much time and energy racing around the boat and reeling this thing up that we figured it had to be good… it wasn’t. Note to reader: don’t ever eat a jack crevelle.
We left at the crack of dawn Thursday morning for our longest sail this leg, to Chamela. This is, according to my father, the beginning of the cruising grounds (Ok, seriously? What have we been doing all this time then?) Chamela was pretty cool though, a good bay, no rolling, and an awesome running beach. I even made some friends from Norway. We went into the town for dinner, where a woman cooked for us in her tiny little restaurant/house. It was easily the most authentic meal we’ve had, and delicious. We got to have a later start this morning, so Kat and Jay headed to town and I went for another run.
We’ve just arrived in Barra Navidad, opting to skip Tenacatita for now and meet up with SueBee and Eager Dreamer. After a bit of trouble with the stern anchor we’ve cooked up some dinner and are ready to chow down!
Ok, skip forward two days! We met up with SueBee, Eager Dreamer, and Andanzas... it is so good to see everyone! We love Melaque, i'll write more soon!
By the way, Cam I missed your birthday on the fourth, so Happy Belated! Hope it was a good one!
Sunday, February 1, 2009
the Triumphant return...
Leaving home was awful. It was just as hard as the first time we said goodbye as we flew south for the next four months. Mike Justice (shout out!) gave us a ride to the airport in the early morning. None of us seemed all that excited, but as soon as we got back to the boat we were feeling a lot better. We met up with Triumph and Whisper for street tacos, and they were easily the BEST tacos I have ever had in my life. A family at the edge of town opens their house up for three nights a week, and people spill out into the sidewalk and the streets just to get their hands on the famous dinner. It was so good to catch up with the Triumph crew, I missed them! The first full day in Mexico was spend grocery shopping; Jamie, Kat and I headed on the bus for the Mega while Jay fixed the watermaker. Triumph had us over for dinner (Emmett- awesome job on the fish!) and E and I kicked butt in a game of “Nouns”.
The next day we headed out to Punta Mita. Of course, I abandoned ship and hopped on Triumph for the day sail, leaving Kat Den Rie for her first sail in 6 weeks! We had an awesome day. A whale, deciding to put on a show, breached about 30 times and then waved his tail and flippers at us. Apparently that is how they get off the barnacles! Who knew? It was really amazing to watch… even an hour and a half later when he was still going at it! We pulled into Punta Mita, grabbed the surf boards, and paddled in to catch some waves. It was my first time surfing in awhile, but Jamie, E, and I all caught some waves and were exhausted as we paddled/swam back to the boats. The next day the kids headed around the point to “the cove”, where we spend half the day surfing again. I even tried short boarding and got up! We came in for lunch, a nap, then headed out again to “la launcha” to an evening session. Kat and Jay headed to town and attempted boogie boarding. Surfing during sunset was so incredible I can’t describe it. Incredible. (In case you guys haven’t gotten the picture, I am officially obsessed with surfing) We had dinner on the Kat Den Rie and, exhausted, went to bed early. The next day held more surfing and a trip to town, where Jay quizzed the local fisherman about what lures to use for Dorado.
We all headed back to La Cruz for propane, laundry, and Superbowl, stopping first at Tres Marriettas for snorkeling. Kat’s underwater camera is totally awesome… too bad the damn fish are so fast. I’ll work on it. The first night back we ran into Double Play and their grandson Kyle, 11. The last couple days we’ve spent running, swimming (the kid is active, and I’m his playmate…), listening to live music, and reuniting with friends. We spend one day in PV which was quite an adventure. It was a pretty cool town, and definitely a good change of pace. Plus we took our lives in our hands while riding the bus in Mexico, so that always gets the blood pumping…
Triumph headed out today, so I won’t see them for a few weeks. Di’s Dream came in to watch superbowl with us this morning. We head south tomorrow… I’ll keep it updated!
HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY CEEJ! WE MISS YOU LIKE CRAZY! LOVE YOU!
The next day we headed out to Punta Mita. Of course, I abandoned ship and hopped on Triumph for the day sail, leaving Kat Den Rie for her first sail in 6 weeks! We had an awesome day. A whale, deciding to put on a show, breached about 30 times and then waved his tail and flippers at us. Apparently that is how they get off the barnacles! Who knew? It was really amazing to watch… even an hour and a half later when he was still going at it! We pulled into Punta Mita, grabbed the surf boards, and paddled in to catch some waves. It was my first time surfing in awhile, but Jamie, E, and I all caught some waves and were exhausted as we paddled/swam back to the boats. The next day the kids headed around the point to “the cove”, where we spend half the day surfing again. I even tried short boarding and got up! We came in for lunch, a nap, then headed out again to “la launcha” to an evening session. Kat and Jay headed to town and attempted boogie boarding. Surfing during sunset was so incredible I can’t describe it. Incredible. (In case you guys haven’t gotten the picture, I am officially obsessed with surfing) We had dinner on the Kat Den Rie and, exhausted, went to bed early. The next day held more surfing and a trip to town, where Jay quizzed the local fisherman about what lures to use for Dorado.
We all headed back to La Cruz for propane, laundry, and Superbowl, stopping first at Tres Marriettas for snorkeling. Kat’s underwater camera is totally awesome… too bad the damn fish are so fast. I’ll work on it. The first night back we ran into Double Play and their grandson Kyle, 11. The last couple days we’ve spent running, swimming (the kid is active, and I’m his playmate…), listening to live music, and reuniting with friends. We spend one day in PV which was quite an adventure. It was a pretty cool town, and definitely a good change of pace. Plus we took our lives in our hands while riding the bus in Mexico, so that always gets the blood pumping…
Triumph headed out today, so I won’t see them for a few weeks. Di’s Dream came in to watch superbowl with us this morning. We head south tomorrow… I’ll keep it updated!
HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY CEEJ! WE MISS YOU LIKE CRAZY! LOVE YOU!
Friday, December 12, 2008
A three hour tour...
OK, so things have been slow. REEEEEAAAAALLLLY slow. But I'll start from the beginning...
Starting from San Blas: Remeber how I said we met the local character? Well, he was certainly a character. San Blas itself was a little, well, dead. The bay was green and unswimmable, the town was past its peak, and the "noseeums" (biting bugs) are infamous. We're going to look at the positives though... We had a blast with our friends on Double Play regardless of the limitations. We started with the famous jungle tour up the river (on a panga), and saw some awesome birds (including storks and eagles), turtles, and tons of alligators (or crocadiles... I don't know the difference). The tour included a trip to the alligator farm and immediately after a trip to the swimming hole. They had a tiny cyclone fence erected on the water line to block off the spring from the beasts. Needless to say, none of us swam. As we watched a 16 foot alligator swim just outside the shitty fence we decided we valued our lives. After the tour we headed to the "must see" coffee town of Jalcocotan, a $50 cab ride with the 5 of us crammed in a mexican cab. When we finally got there, the cab driver must have thought we were nuts. There was NOTHING there, just a place to buy coffee. As Jay said, "anyone who had two tortillas and half a chicken left over from the night before became the best restaurant in town." We spend the 10 minutes it took to walk down the main street in town, then headed back to SB. As for the rest of our time in San Blas, we did meet some cool new friends, the sweetest old man named Johnny who watched our dinghy, watched the first precession of Guadalupe from a balcony bar, and had the BEST baked muffins/bread from a roadside stand.
We headed from there to Chicala, and as soon as we arrived we wondered why the hell we had spent 2 days in San Blas. Chicala was beautiful, much like Cane Garden Bay with it's palapa restaurants, colorful houses, and perfect beach. Jay and Kat spent a day in town (a non depressing town) and we had lots of beach time, swimming, and drinking. Unfortunately, we were a little stir crazy and the tiny cove didn't allow for long runs, and the snorkeling wasn't great. We spent a couple of days there and headed to Jaltemba.
We should have skipped Jaltemba. The first night we anchored off Isla Coral, which was beautiful if nothing else, but there was NOTHING to do. And here we were, stuck on a 42 foot boat with one another. All of us were bored out of our minds (complaints of the spoiled right? I know, I know) There is only so much you can read, and only so many movies you can watch per day. We were all wondering what we were thinking to have gone on this trip, and longing for company (DP had left), activity, and to get off the stupid boat (as we considered it at that point).
We finally arrived in La Cruz, thank god. Our first night was spent in the rolly anchorage, which didn't do much for our spirits. But the next day we headed down to meet up with our long lost friends SueBee and Eager Dreamer (we missed them terribly), and also got to reunite with Di's Dream. It was so good to see everyone! And we are off the boat, have things to do, and enough room to go for a run... thing are looking up!
So that's just what we are going to do... we can't wait to get back to California for a few weeks at Christmas! Miss you all!
Starting from San Blas: Remeber how I said we met the local character? Well, he was certainly a character. San Blas itself was a little, well, dead. The bay was green and unswimmable, the town was past its peak, and the "noseeums" (biting bugs) are infamous. We're going to look at the positives though... We had a blast with our friends on Double Play regardless of the limitations. We started with the famous jungle tour up the river (on a panga), and saw some awesome birds (including storks and eagles), turtles, and tons of alligators (or crocadiles... I don't know the difference). The tour included a trip to the alligator farm and immediately after a trip to the swimming hole. They had a tiny cyclone fence erected on the water line to block off the spring from the beasts. Needless to say, none of us swam. As we watched a 16 foot alligator swim just outside the shitty fence we decided we valued our lives. After the tour we headed to the "must see" coffee town of Jalcocotan, a $50 cab ride with the 5 of us crammed in a mexican cab. When we finally got there, the cab driver must have thought we were nuts. There was NOTHING there, just a place to buy coffee. As Jay said, "anyone who had two tortillas and half a chicken left over from the night before became the best restaurant in town." We spend the 10 minutes it took to walk down the main street in town, then headed back to SB. As for the rest of our time in San Blas, we did meet some cool new friends, the sweetest old man named Johnny who watched our dinghy, watched the first precession of Guadalupe from a balcony bar, and had the BEST baked muffins/bread from a roadside stand.
We headed from there to Chicala, and as soon as we arrived we wondered why the hell we had spent 2 days in San Blas. Chicala was beautiful, much like Cane Garden Bay with it's palapa restaurants, colorful houses, and perfect beach. Jay and Kat spent a day in town (a non depressing town) and we had lots of beach time, swimming, and drinking. Unfortunately, we were a little stir crazy and the tiny cove didn't allow for long runs, and the snorkeling wasn't great. We spent a couple of days there and headed to Jaltemba.
We should have skipped Jaltemba. The first night we anchored off Isla Coral, which was beautiful if nothing else, but there was NOTHING to do. And here we were, stuck on a 42 foot boat with one another. All of us were bored out of our minds (complaints of the spoiled right? I know, I know) There is only so much you can read, and only so many movies you can watch per day. We were all wondering what we were thinking to have gone on this trip, and longing for company (DP had left), activity, and to get off the stupid boat (as we considered it at that point).
We finally arrived in La Cruz, thank god. Our first night was spent in the rolly anchorage, which didn't do much for our spirits. But the next day we headed down to meet up with our long lost friends SueBee and Eager Dreamer (we missed them terribly), and also got to reunite with Di's Dream. It was so good to see everyone! And we are off the boat, have things to do, and enough room to go for a run... thing are looking up!
So that's just what we are going to do... we can't wait to get back to California for a few weeks at Christmas! Miss you all!
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
BOOBIES!
We headed out of Mazatlan to Isla Isabella at about 6pm, deciding to try a new method of sailing through the night first (as oppose to after a full day of sailing). It worked out relatively well, we dropped anchor at around 9am the next morning and had the day to explore the island. Kat and Jay kayaked into shore to explore and take naps. I napped, snorkeled, explored shore and snorkeled some more (all by myself by the way, I even dove the anchor… I’m getting to be incredibly brave).
Isla Isabella is a tiny little tropical island that is home to a small, seasonal fishing village and more birds than you can imagine. In fact, you know you are getting close to the island when you can see the birds circling from miles out. The most exciting, of course, are the blue and yellow footed boobies (the bird kind of boobies). We arrived at the perfect time, the babies are hatched and these guys were actually entertaining to watch.
We had a pretty rolly anchorage, but the next day Kat went for a hike with double play. She came back with her bird saving story… apparently she rescued a frigate who got stuck in the underbrush. I woke up and went snorkeling to wake up. Just off our boat I saw a gigantic spotted eagle ray, about 5 feet in diameter, swimming about 6 feet below me. I swam with him for a while, it was incredible.
We decided to head out later that day in order to get a flat anchorage, so we pulled into San Blas just before sundown. So far so good… we met the local character Captain Norm, who told us the ins and outs of town. We had coffee and pastries at his home this morning, pretty interesting.
I’ll post more soon!
Mazatlan
Here are some more pics of our sea lion adventure…
We arrived in Mazatlan on Wednesday after a beautiful overnight sail. The winds held and the seas were relatively mellow, so we made excellent time. I decided to give the folks a break, so while they had a pool/nap day (they had graciously let me sleep in during the crossing) I took care of the laundry and grocery shopping. I LOVE the fact that they do your laundry for you here, we’re getting pretty spoiled with that. We were all ready for an early night to catch up on some sleep in the quiet and peaceful marina El Cid. Right as we crawled into bed the live band started less than 100 yds away… so much for peaceful. I swear the band knew one song, and they played it over and over and over again for the next 3 hours. Kat had the right idea, she popped a Benadryl and passed out, but even she couldn’t sleep once the fireworks started. Yes, there were also fireworks, and they were going off almost directly over our boat (fire hazard anyone?). Quite the welcome wagon.
We spend Thanksgiving day exploring and missing family. Our golf cart taxi driver was awesome, and drove us all over town to give us the tour. Old town Mazatlan is darling, we all fell in love with its narrow streets and European feel. This is where we decided to have our Thanksgiving feast: burritos and ceviche. The rest of the day was spent walking around the cathedral and open air markets, and calling the family. It was so nice to get a chance to talk to everyone (especially CAM), but it definitely made me a little homesick.
The next night Kat and Jay teamed up with Double Play and Calou for a night out on the town… from what I hear (and witnessed when they got home), they had a wonderful time. Apparently Kat performed onstage with the band and Jay had a dance off with some local kids while in the back of a pickup truck taxi.
More soon. We miss everyone lots! Can’t wait to see you all at Christmas!
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
La Paz, Islas Espiritu, and the Crossing
I must admit I have no idea where I left off last time, so I’m starting blindly (no internet, but if I don’t write now I’ll forget everything!)…
Our cruise from Ballandra to La Paz was short and sweet. We had one run in with some shallow water due to our inability to stay between the green and red, but corrected before anything to eventful happened. Pulling into Marina Palmira, we were greeted by our friends on Di’s Dream, as well as some other familiar Haha faces. La Paz is a gorgeous little city. The malecon (promenade) runs the length of the bay, and the sculptures that decorate it are absolutely beautiful. When I hunt down the pics I’ll post some, but again, you’ll have to forgive my forgetfulness when it comes to bringing my camera with me anywhere. We had a lovely dinner with Roger and Di the first night, where we were all serenaded by the local talent. Kat cried… of course. I think the guy was shocked that he could be so moving. The next morning I ran down the malecon to Marina de La Paz, where we went to breakfast and met up with the other cruisers. While Kat and Jay went to the hospital to x-ray Kat’s hand, I sat under a Palapa and welcomed Triumph in. Jamie, Gary and I went inland a bit to grocery shop and explore La Paz. When I finally got back to the Kat Den Rie, I was pleasantly surprised with the news that Kats hand is fine (they had a wonderful hospital experience), and that our friends on Beyond had come into Palmira. We met up with Triumph, Beyond, and Cameron from MorningCalm for dinner, all venturing inland for some authentic Mexican food. Gary and I had another run in with birds… I caught one with my bare hands (Toby was more worried about me getting some weird Mexican bird disease than impressed with my skills). After dinner we all walked down to see the rest of the sculptures and get some Fuentes for Jamie and me (its ice cream).
I jumped ship the next day, Conner and I both hopped on Triumph for our sail to Isla Espiritu, an island off of La Paz. It was really fun, we even had a little dip in the middle of the ocean on the way. Our first stop was Caleta Partida, where at low tide you can walk between the two islands, and can kayak between them at high tide, which is exactly what we did. Us kids had our kayaking adventure, then Gary and I hiked up to caves while Kat, Jay, Di, and Roger befriended the local fisherman. They traded a hat, two cokes, and a beer for about 5 pounds of fresh calamari, and with another similar trade gained a huge quantity of Dorado. They also discovered a great snorkel/fishing spot a couple coves up that they decided to share with us kids the next day. We had a fantastic hike up an old ravine and did some free diving, again, pics to come (my marine biologist is also the photographer so we’ll have to wait to get them from him in cali). We moved up the island that afternoon to Ensenada Grande, another perfect anchorage. Triumph had us all for dinner and Kat and Conner “jammed” on their guitars for entertainment. From Grande we took all took Triumph up to Los Islotes for the day to snorkel with the sea lions. I’m not going to lie, I was terrified, and even though no one else admits it but Jamie, I think everyone was a little scared. But they sea lions turned out to be pretty mellow, and spent the day playing around us and putting on a show. One little guy entertained us by playing around with a feather, and included Gary in his game. Jamie and I each had a scary moment, but Jay takes the cake. We heard him scream like a little girl and look around to see if we had heard him. When he realized we were all staring at him, he claimed that a little sea lion had bit him on the butt… I’m not convinced, there were no marks. In his defense, Kat did have to convince him to stay in the water, so maybe there is some truth in his tale. Di had a little bit of an incident, not sea lion related, getting back onto Triumph. All of a sudden, the dinghy wasn’t under her, wet hands were slippery, and long story short, she has quite the shiner. But being the good sport she is, she laughed it off. When we got back to the boats, the kids came over for some ceviche and beer, then we headed for Di’s Dream for rum cake and, of course, rum. The original plan was to exchange pictures on our last night together, but Jamie had us with her night dive suggestion. Hey, we had just overcome snorkeling with sea lions, why not jump in the ocean in the dark? (I had preciously claimed you couldn’t pay me to do that, I guess I was wrong). So Toby, Jamie, Conner, Gary, and I got all fitted up in wetsuits, and took the plunge. It was the most amazing thing. I cannot do the bioluminescence (spelling?) justice with any description, but it felt like we were swimming through stars that light up at the slightest movement. We all happily played around in them, then headed to the caves to check out the night crawlers. It wasn’t at all scary, it was just breathtakingly beautiful. A perfect way to spend the last night with Triumph. I hated to say goodbye, especially to my marine biologist Gary and Conner who are both headed home. But luckily I’ll see Toby and Jamie on the mainland in a couple weeks.
The next morning Kat Den Rie headed back to Los Meurtos with Di’s Dream. We had a lovely dinner at the restaurant and started our crossing of the Sea of Cortez this morning at 5 am. This is, hopefully, our last overnight for a long long time…
More when we get to Mazatlan!
Our cruise from Ballandra to La Paz was short and sweet. We had one run in with some shallow water due to our inability to stay between the green and red, but corrected before anything to eventful happened. Pulling into Marina Palmira, we were greeted by our friends on Di’s Dream, as well as some other familiar Haha faces. La Paz is a gorgeous little city. The malecon (promenade) runs the length of the bay, and the sculptures that decorate it are absolutely beautiful. When I hunt down the pics I’ll post some, but again, you’ll have to forgive my forgetfulness when it comes to bringing my camera with me anywhere. We had a lovely dinner with Roger and Di the first night, where we were all serenaded by the local talent. Kat cried… of course. I think the guy was shocked that he could be so moving. The next morning I ran down the malecon to Marina de La Paz, where we went to breakfast and met up with the other cruisers. While Kat and Jay went to the hospital to x-ray Kat’s hand, I sat under a Palapa and welcomed Triumph in. Jamie, Gary and I went inland a bit to grocery shop and explore La Paz. When I finally got back to the Kat Den Rie, I was pleasantly surprised with the news that Kats hand is fine (they had a wonderful hospital experience), and that our friends on Beyond had come into Palmira. We met up with Triumph, Beyond, and Cameron from MorningCalm for dinner, all venturing inland for some authentic Mexican food. Gary and I had another run in with birds… I caught one with my bare hands (Toby was more worried about me getting some weird Mexican bird disease than impressed with my skills). After dinner we all walked down to see the rest of the sculptures and get some Fuentes for Jamie and me (its ice cream).
I jumped ship the next day, Conner and I both hopped on Triumph for our sail to Isla Espiritu, an island off of La Paz. It was really fun, we even had a little dip in the middle of the ocean on the way. Our first stop was Caleta Partida, where at low tide you can walk between the two islands, and can kayak between them at high tide, which is exactly what we did. Us kids had our kayaking adventure, then Gary and I hiked up to caves while Kat, Jay, Di, and Roger befriended the local fisherman. They traded a hat, two cokes, and a beer for about 5 pounds of fresh calamari, and with another similar trade gained a huge quantity of Dorado. They also discovered a great snorkel/fishing spot a couple coves up that they decided to share with us kids the next day. We had a fantastic hike up an old ravine and did some free diving, again, pics to come (my marine biologist is also the photographer so we’ll have to wait to get them from him in cali). We moved up the island that afternoon to Ensenada Grande, another perfect anchorage. Triumph had us all for dinner and Kat and Conner “jammed” on their guitars for entertainment. From Grande we took all took Triumph up to Los Islotes for the day to snorkel with the sea lions. I’m not going to lie, I was terrified, and even though no one else admits it but Jamie, I think everyone was a little scared. But they sea lions turned out to be pretty mellow, and spent the day playing around us and putting on a show. One little guy entertained us by playing around with a feather, and included Gary in his game. Jamie and I each had a scary moment, but Jay takes the cake. We heard him scream like a little girl and look around to see if we had heard him. When he realized we were all staring at him, he claimed that a little sea lion had bit him on the butt… I’m not convinced, there were no marks. In his defense, Kat did have to convince him to stay in the water, so maybe there is some truth in his tale. Di had a little bit of an incident, not sea lion related, getting back onto Triumph. All of a sudden, the dinghy wasn’t under her, wet hands were slippery, and long story short, she has quite the shiner. But being the good sport she is, she laughed it off. When we got back to the boats, the kids came over for some ceviche and beer, then we headed for Di’s Dream for rum cake and, of course, rum. The original plan was to exchange pictures on our last night together, but Jamie had us with her night dive suggestion. Hey, we had just overcome snorkeling with sea lions, why not jump in the ocean in the dark? (I had preciously claimed you couldn’t pay me to do that, I guess I was wrong). So Toby, Jamie, Conner, Gary, and I got all fitted up in wetsuits, and took the plunge. It was the most amazing thing. I cannot do the bioluminescence (spelling?) justice with any description, but it felt like we were swimming through stars that light up at the slightest movement. We all happily played around in them, then headed to the caves to check out the night crawlers. It wasn’t at all scary, it was just breathtakingly beautiful. A perfect way to spend the last night with Triumph. I hated to say goodbye, especially to my marine biologist Gary and Conner who are both headed home. But luckily I’ll see Toby and Jamie on the mainland in a couple weeks.
The next morning Kat Den Rie headed back to Los Meurtos with Di’s Dream. We had a lovely dinner at the restaurant and started our crossing of the Sea of Cortez this morning at 5 am. This is, hopefully, our last overnight for a long long time…
More when we get to Mazatlan!
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