At Last

Hi Everyone,

Sorry we have not been very diligent about updating our blog.
Quite a bit has happened since our last post. We have bought a larger boat, named Heeling Touch. It is  a 40 foot O'Day sailboat. We launched on December 3rd after a few days in the work yard to get her cleaned up and it took about 3 weeks to get most of the bugs out and get  things in order.
On Dec 26 we sailed to Santa Rosalia, about 75 nautical miles west,northwest of San Carlos. It is on the Baja Peninsula.
After spending a week there, we sailed south to Bahia Concepcion for 4 nights there. The bay is about 20 miles long by 5 miles wide with some nice beaches and many anchorages.
It took us 4 more  days to sail south to Puerto Escondido, about 12 miles south of Loreto. It is a well protected harbor from the south. Used as a hurricane hole in that season. Right now it is blowing from the north about 25 knots so we are getting pushed around pretty good. Hence the early morning post.
We plan to leave for La Paz in a few more days and hopefully spend a month down there.
Weather here is great, mid 20's most days. Much nicer than what we see on the weather page back home.

Caleta Venecia Pictures

Here are a few photos of Caleta Venecia. There are a few more to upload

Caleta Venecia

Another incredible day!  We motored up to Caleta Venecia (Venecia Cove) - about 22 miles north of San Carlos, on friday.  There was no wind to speak of so we spent the time fishing, snorkeling, and walking the shoreline.  I caught a couple of Panama Graysby (sea bass).  They fight at first, but then quit so you think you have lost the fish when reeling it in.  Very tasty!
The water temperature is down to about 68degrees F, so a little chilly for snorkeling in my bikini.  I guess the wet suit will have to come out. :-)  Speaking of chilly, I finally had to put shoes on to keep my feet warm friday night.  I know - boo hoo.  The Mexicans think we are loco when we go to the bathroom in the mornings in a t-shirt and shorts and they have long sleeves and pants on.  For those who know us, you know we are loco, but we are trying to keep it under wraps here for a bit anyway. :-)
Kerry and I have been asking each other how to describe this place.  The pictures only give a taste of the beauty and the ruggedness.  The color in the rocks.  The cactus that grow on islands.  The bushes that have 1 1/2 inch long spikes.  Oh yeah, and the cactus that acts like velcro if you touch it.  Kerry brushed up against it and a 'ball' attached itself to his leg.  It was intense pain so at the time, he never thought to take a picture of it attached to him.  That picture would have been listed under the "what not to do" column.
Mya is doing well and avoiding the cactus.  She loves to swim in the sea as long as there are no waves rushing up on the shore.  She is also learning to not drink the water as it tastes pretty yucky.
November 6 and 7 we were witness to a spectacular sunset.  Kerry took many pictures so will post them later.
We are learning to cope with the honey bees.  they swarm you looking for fresh water.  When I say swarm there are only 10 - 20 bees if you have a wet dish cloth or frops of water in the sink.  As long as you dry the sink and put the dish cloth and towels outside to dry out, the bees do tend to leave us alone.  Definitely something to get used to id you do not like bees buzzing around or landing on you.  For the most part, they do not sting - which is a good thing as I have stepped on a few.  Kerry did get stung though as he accidently squished one under his arm.  When we got back to the marina in San Carlos yesterday, one crawled up my shorts and stung my hip.  Silly bugger.
Anyway, this place is truly incredible and well worth the journey!
Thanks to all who have been able to comment.  I miss you all too and wish you well in the frozen north. :-)

Another week in paradise

Well, another week has passed and we are a little more tanned and getting used to the laid back lifestyle of the unemployed. Went up to Bahia San Pedro last weekend. Had to motor up but sailed back with some swell from behind us-about 4feet or so. Was interesting a few times.
Did some fishing on Thursday and today. We caught 2 the first time - a sierra(mackeral) and a sea bass. Today we caught 7. 3 leopard cabrilla, 2 finescale triggerfish and 2 sea bass.
Bought some honeydew melons from a roadside vendor for 20 pesos. Weighed one and it is 10 pounds 6 ounces! For a $1.75. Incredible. Bought a 14 ounce new york steak for 42 pesos, a dozen large eggs is 19 pesos. Bought a whole roasted chicken in the supermarket one day for 55 pesos. Gasoline is 8.6 pesos a liter.

Here are some photos of our first fish and one of the beaches near San Carlos that we go to. The RVérs just pull up to the edge of the sea and set up camp. Guess it is commonplace in this part of Mexico, as well as Baja side as well, will find out when we get there.

Life in general

Well we are starting to slow down a little.  Which is good, because the wind came up a few nights ago and the seas have been pretty big.  We tried to go out sailing on Tuesday and the swells were about 6 feet high.  Pretty rough and needless to say, we did not make it very far.  We went out again yesterday and got further up the coast, under power.  Still have not been able to sail as the wind and waves are pretty big.  Anyway, it is beautiful here - the weather has cooled off to the mid 80's, so very nice.  It seems cool this morning as it is 69 or 20ish.  Today, we are hoping to go up the coast to Bahia San Pedro to see it and to escape the partying at the marina.  We will see how far we make it. 

Tetas de Cabra

Here are some shots of a San Carlos landmark, Tetas de Cabra (Goat's teats)
One in the morning from the work yard, one from the marina and one from Bahia San Carlos out of our dinghy coming back from snorkeling in Martini Cove. Will post more photos. Wireless speed in the marina is brutal. About 15 minutes to upload these three.

Fun in the Sun

We have been able to take some time to snorkel, swim, and just kick back and relax. Do some sightseeing, both in the truck and in the dinghy. Hope to get out of the marina perhaps Sunday for a night or two of sailing and seeing the area. Went into Guaymas today. Only about 15 miles or so. Pretty busy place. Went to Wal Mart and found that the only thing that was cheaper there was the liquor!! It is cheaper to shop in the little town of San Carlos!