Chemela

We are currently in Chemela, having arrived Saturday afternoon. Our rounding of Cabo Corientes was uneventful: winds climbed gradually to 20 kts, but being cautious we reefed the main at 15 kts. Eventually the wind shifted to be entirely aft of us so we dropped the main altogether and with jib alone kept going at 6-7 kts until early morning, when, typically, the wind died, and we resorted to using the motors. The wind did pick up again around 11 a.m. and we were able to sail the rest of the way into Chemela.

The old saying that "you can't go home again" rings true with our return to Mexico. One thing that is very different is the number of new arrivals that are passing through or returning home. So many that we've met are heading down to Panama, Ecuador or across the Pacific before spending a full season here in Mexico. Weather has been colder than before: I remember spending January in Tenacatita, playing dominoes in bathing suits! We're currently 40 miles north of there -- we're using two blankets at night, I'm wearing long sleeves, long pants, the door to the cabin is closed and it's 9:05 in the morning!

Yesterday we had freaky weather: wind and swell from the south. All 8 boats in the anchorage were rocking back and forth all day. We spent the day doing some housekeeping chores and have a few more to do today.

~~~ Marlene and Roy ~~_/) ~~

Adios La Cruz

After spending over four weeks in La Cruz, enjoying all the town offers, live music at several venues almost every night of the week, social life with other cruisers and the convenience of being base a full-service marina, we are once again completely on our own -- at anchor just outside the La Cruz marina. Our last few errands before leaving the dock yesterday were to stop at the fish market to purchase enough fresh fish for at least five meals; also a quick stop at the carniceria organica to buy a whole chicken and some beef for the freezer. As has been our habit, when we left the dock we went out into the bay and sailed for a few hours, getting used to sailing again, enjoying the wind and sense of freedom. We returned to the anchorage to spend the night, catch up on our sleep, and plan our journey south. One of our bargains at the fish market was a whole huachinango (red snapper). Fifteen minutes on the BBQ and we feasted last night with steamed veggies plus our usual salad, and today we had huachinango sandwiches (of course with our homemade "Artisan" bread). One last trip to shore this morning: we dropped off our old dock lines at the fish market, expecting that some of the pescaderos (fishermen) will be able to put them to use (Roy finally finished putting esplices in the new line that we bought before leaving California) and we then walked up the the OXXO (local 7-11 type chain store) to purchase additional time for our modem's data card. We are aiming to arrive in Chemela (96 miles from here) by tomorrow evening, Sunday at the latest. A weather system is brewing that promises some turbulence that we'd prefer to avoid.

~~~ Marlene and Roy ~~_/) ~~

January 2012

O.K., we'll try to keep up the blog with more frequent entries, but we'll have to spend a few minutes bringing this blog up to date, starting with our arrival in La Cruz on December 30.  Our goal was to spend New Year's Eve at Philo's, and did we ever!  We buddied with Linda and Kim from Endeavour and Linda's Mom, Moira.  Dinner first at a fish restaurant followed by several hours of music and dancing at Philo's.  His band has always been wonderful; it seemed to us that it was even better than last time we were here in 2007.  We were surprised to learn that the music scene in La Cruz has expanded to include fine dining with spectacular music.  Masala restaurant features fixed price Mediterranean dinners on Wednesday evenings with the Banderas Bay Jazz All Stars:  thebanderasbayjazzallstars.com performing two sets.  They are habit-forming!   We've attended three times so far and will be there again tomorrow night.  We've spent two Friday evenings at the Black Forest Restaurant dining on delicious German dinners with Flamenco music provided by guitars, castanets, and violin -- Latcho, Andrea and Geo -- most unusual and spectacular.  Luckily they've produced some CDs so we can listen to their fine music all season long!  Here are their websites: www.latchoandrea.com and www.geomusicasite.com.  New on the music scene is Duvalin, a band started by our friend Dave (Mai and Dave on Dolce Vita).  They currently play at Cafe Britannia and  have a few gigs lined up for other venues as well.  They have a great Mexican singer, Freddie.  Wow -- he does rock and roll in English, love songs in Spanish, all with a huge tonal range.  You can hear some of their songs at: http://youtu.be/2MJALYhxvow

Another change in Mexico: we now have a modem for our computer that enables us to send email from the boat rather than take it into internet cafes on land -- technology moves on!

Also new to us: a new Mega supermarket is down the road, a short bus ride from La Cruz.  Whatever we can't get locally or at Mega -- we really don't need!  What a treat to not have to ride all the way down to Puerto Vallarta for major provisioning.  Speaking of locally, the produce we get here in La Cruz every Tuesday and Friday at 5 pm (when the truck arrives, seemingly from the farms) is fresher and tastier than any we get when we're at home -- with a few exceptions, of course, at farmers markets.  And the fish -- can't move on without mentioning the fish at the fish market in the marina -- a fantastic variety that is always fresh, delicious, and so reasonably priced.

For the past two Saturdays we participated in the Vallarta Cup Regattas.  We had never before sailed a course, making sure to not cross the start line before the official start, rounding buoys, and finally getting to the finish line.  The first time we had two friends, Dan and Will, from the boat, Sophie, who are avid racers and they taught us a great deal on how to manage sails while racing.  Linda and Kim and their friend Rick also joined us -- a great time had by all. On the second time around, we had a friend, Pam, from the boat TugTub join us, but with only three of us we decided to sail with main and jib alone.  Both times we came in third in the multihull class.  I hasten to add that there were only three boats in the class, ours being the smallest and, of course, the "greenest."

Last Sunday, we, along with 90 other people, had a spectacular bus ride up to San Sebastian, about two hours away from La Cruz.  The road takes you through lush valleys, a few towns, and then winds its way up a mountain, near of the top of which is the charming village of San Sebastian.  Philo organized the trip and he takes his whole band, instruments and all, along with a few guest musicians, to play music all evening long on Sunday.  During dinner they played as usual, all set up in a corner of an outdoor square where dinner was served.  After dinner, a bonfire was built, musicians and all the rest of us gathered around the fire for music until very late.  We stayed until 11 pm and music was still in the air.  The package included a hotel room, dinner and a continental breakfast on Monday morning.  On the way up the bus stopped at a Tequila factory, a small family owned operation where we all had a tour, learned how 100% Tequila is made and even had a chance to taste some of their products.

 

Our extended time in the La Cruz marina has allowed time for workers to thoroughly clean and wax Damiana's exterior and bottom.  Her hull and decks have never looked so nice.  We had some plumbing work done inside as well.  Staying in a marina offers all sorts of opportunities: night life and boat maintenance.

~~~ Marlene and Roy ~~_/) ~~

currently in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle

Cartagena

We've been in Cartagena for almost two months and have explored much of the old city, seen the old forts, the convent on the highest mountain, have had many happy hours and other social events with cruisers, made new friends, seen a few movies, and have done lots of boat projects!  Typically we walk at least a few miles every day, either into the old city or over to the big mall where a few important stores are located: home center and carrefour, a supermarket with housewares -- sort of like a Walmart.  Traffic is horrendous here; there must be thousands of taxis running around town.  Luckily most of them are powered with natural gas because without that, the city would be smothered in smog.  On the other hand, we also see men and children driving wooden carts powered by donkeys.

Private autos, vans, bicycles and motorcycles round out the street vehicles.  However, when walking on the malecon (path along the waterfront), we see people riding on segways plus lots of children driving battery-driven vehicles, 5 and 6 year olds learning the techniques of driving!

The old city is a shopper's delight, everything from food, furniture, flowers, etc. to designer clothing.  Now, I'm not talking about designs by famous designers from Paris.  Cartagena has an ample supply of wonderful designers.  Everywhere we go we see boutiques filled with unique designs, blouses, dresses, men's shirts, children's clothing -- everything you could imagine -- and all at very reasonable prices.  We had a dressmaker make a dress for Marlene and a matching shirt for Roy.  The results were so well appreciated that we commissioned her to make one more dress and two more shirts.

Eating in or out, we have lots of choices of high quality foods.  We buy cheese from an Italian cheese maker who moved to Cartagena and makes wonderful Gorgonzola, Parmesan, Semicotto, and others.  We visit his shop every two weeks or so -- yum.  Salads are a big part of our diet here, a change from other locales we've visited.  Lettuce is plentiful and very delicious, lots of cucumbers and tomatoes.  We also have good access to olive oil, balsamic vinegar and, of course, garlic.  We're learning how to purchase meats that are not tough, and there's lots of chicken everywhere we go, either to the market or to a restaurant.

We have lots of cruising buddies right here in Cartagena and many more who have already taken off for the San Blas Islands, where we'll catch up with them when we leave here in a week to ten days.  A few more projects to complete before leaving, plus one more trip to Fort Lauderdale for Marlene to have her eye treatment.

Progress!

We woke up this morning to see that our frig and freezer temperatures were "normal." They've held all day, so we're hopeful that we can put that one behind us. Roy installed the new batteries today -- that job was huge. As an encore, he installed the new helm seat. After baking a loaf of oatmeal bread and putting more and more stuff away, I made a hotel reservation in Panama City for when I go there in January for my eye appointment. Scoped out provisioning options and learned that we have no good options other than the local tiendas. Tammy, Roy and I ate dinner at the Cantina here at the Bocas Marina, lasagna and salad, came back "home," talked with Rob and Linda on Skype, did a little knot tying. Tomorrow we'll install the new running rigging and jib, hopefully in the morning. There's much provisioning to be done before takeoff.

Return to Damiana in Panama

We left California on December 10, flew to Panama City, enjoyed one day shopping and sight seeing, and flew to Bocas del Toro on Saturday, December 12.  Damiana was spotless and mildew-free.  So far so good.  We started putting away the many things we had shipped, and before heading out to town to buy some groceries, we turned on the refrigerator/freezer.  Several minutes later, there was no change on the thermostat,  We waited even longer -- still no change.  A friend loaned us a connector hose/cable so we could inject some R134 but so far that hasn't helped much.  We're continuing to work with it though, and if luck is with us, we'll have it running before the refrigeration specialist, currently out of town, returns!  Nonetheless, we still plan to sail to Cartagena toward the end of this week.

We still have a few more important tasks to finish before leaving here:  install our new batteries, install our new rigging lines, install at minimum our new jib, and if time permits, install our new mainsail.  Our good friend, Tammy, who is with us for the first few weeks of our cruising season, whipped the ends of our lines today.   All of us have been busy bees and are excited about being back on the water and aiming for Christmas in Cartagena.

Summer 2009 update from Santa Maria

 We are hopelessly behind in keeping our Blog up to date. Needless to say, much has transpired since the last posting! We did return to French Harbor in Honduras to pick up parts, install them and finally resume our journey east toward the Vivorillos.

We met several new cruisers along the way as well as met up with Chris and Heather (sv Legacy) who we had last seen while cruising the Pacific side of Mexico. From the Vivorillos and Hobbies we sailed southeast to Providencia, a pleasant island, politically part of Colombia, but way offshore from Nicaragua. Sue and Mark from Seattle had flown in to meet up with us, but our arrival was several days later than theirs, due to boat issues and heavy weather delays. Nonetheless we did enjoy several days on board Damiana with them. Unfortunately, foul weather dictated that we stay put rather than have them sail with us to Panama, which had been the original plan. That's why cruisers plans are made in the sand, I guess. We eventually sailed to Bocas del Toro, explored the area for a few  days, and then were joined by Bob and Cathy. Luckily, we were able to sail to islands for snorkeling, overnights, and just plain fun.  However, time was running short so we retreated to the marina and Bob  and Cathy helped us get Damiana ready for her 6-month siesta at the  marina while we returned home to California, where we are now.

Roy is working in Santa Maria and hopes to return here again and again for 6 months every year. We purchased a condo, pulled our furniture  and belongings out of storage, and are adjusting to the idea of being half-timers both at sea and on land.

When we return to Damiana we'll have a set of new sails to hoist, new batteries to install, and hopefully within a few days will be able to sail off to Cartagena to join our cruising friends for the holiday season.