May 1, 2019
May first was the day we had planned to leave La Paz, but
the wind was blowing over twenty knots on the nose going around Cabo Falso and
not showing any sign of abating. After
much deliberation, we decided to postpone our departure until Sunday, the fifth. Not wanting to hang around La Paz, Bob went
back to Minneapolis. He would join us in
San Jose del Cabo on the seventh to begin the bash section of the journey.
Bob was leaving, so I skipped exercising to spend the
morning with him until he left to catch the 9:00 bus to the Cabo airport. I worked on my blog and Greg started cleaning
out the bosun’s locker, a storage area in the bow of the boat where spare parts
and junk tended to accumulate.
Eventually, it grew too hot for Greg to continue working up there and he
came inside to nap while I practiced the guitar and worked on my blog. I needed to put together a set for the open
mic at La Morante later that evening.
I had been pre-cooking some meals for our upcoming trip but
had a package of chicken that wasn’t enough to feed three. I made chicken in green mole over rice for
dinner and then Greg and I caught an Uber to La Morante where we had reserved a
table for 19:00. La Morante was a small
venue and tended to fill up quickly. Our
driver had to circumvent the Malecon because it was blocked off due to the
finish of the fourth leg of the Mexican 1000 Rally which had been set up there.
I was the fifth act on the line-up, so we had a beer and
listened to the other performers. The
organizer, Russ Ham, started off the evening, followed by a Norwegian accordion
player whose wife sang a funny song about a lumberjack. Lynne, the woman who played bass for me at
Bob Marlin’s the previous week performed a set and then a fellow named Dave
Higgs and several other musicians played some great blues. Dave had a great voice and clearly knew the
material well.
On Stage with Lynn & Dave at La Morante |
We stayed for another hour after my set to listen to
Alberto, who had a fantastic tenor voice, and a few variations of the blues
band who played Creedence Clearwater Revival songs, the seemingly standard fare
for gringo bands in Mexico. The Mexican
lead guitarist was quite good and not a bad singer, either. Another fellow played dobro, which was
interesting to watch. I had heard a dobro
referred to as a, “weird, slide, dobro guitar,” and that about described it.
It was 22:15 by the time we left and Uber was so busy that
they charged us a 40% premium to get home.
Still, the ride cost us under sixty pesos. We had arrived for a mere thirty-eight
pesos. The car was so small that my
guitar had to ride In the front seat, but the driver was a very polite young
man and took care to see that it was handled with caution.
May 2, 2019
Rally Participants |
Mexican 1000 Starting Line |
Gina's Burritos |
Greg and I went back to the boat and stayed up late watching
the last couple of episodes of Narcos:
Mexico. I looked forward to the next
season where we would learn how the original single cartel evolved into the nightmare
of warring organizations causing the violence of today.
May 3, 2019
I was hungry from my morning walk on Friday. We grabbed our neighbor, Bill, and headed up
to Olimpia for breakfast. I finally
succumbed to temptation and ordered the hot cakes. I received three large ones. Despite coming with nothing but juice and
coffee (which I had to skip), it was all I could do to eat them. I managed somehow. Bill was impressed.
After breakfast, we wandered a couple of blocks further to
check out Gaby’s, a used clothing store that had quite a large selection. I bought a long sleeved shirt for the bash
and Greg and Bill both bought shorts.
Each piece cost us 72 pesos or about four dollars.
Greg finally finished cleaning out the bosun’s locker and I
hung around, working on my blog and helping here and there. The load of rejects didn’t even make it to
the trash can before the locals fell on them.
It was good to know that nothing went to waste.
We checked the weather and it looked like we would be
remaining in La Paz for at least one additional day. I spent the afternoon practicing the guitar
and cooking chile verde to freeze for consumption during our eventual voyage.
Brad, Bill & Steve on Scout |
The Mezquite Grill |
Bill, Brad, Paul, Carol, and Greg at La Fuente |
Fireworks on the Malecon |
One by one, our friends peeled off to return to their respective marinas. It was sad to say goodbye, not knowing if we would see them again before at least the next season. Cruising is all about the people one meets but the downside is the frequent goodbyes.
It was 22:00 by the time we returned to the boat, so we only
had time for one episode of Grand Tour before calling it a night.
May 4, 2019
Trying to pack in as much exercise as I could before we
left, I got up to walk on Saturday morning.
As I paced along the Malecon, I discovered a full-scale festival set up
just past where we had turned around the night before. There were vendors stretching for blocks and
a huge stage with fancy lighting and three jumbotrons set up on the street.
Marina Palmira |
I continued along the Malecon to Marina Palmira and then
walked back through the marina just to see what was going on there. There was a nice sidewalk restaurant set up
that I didn’t recall from before. The
fuel dock was closed for renovation, leaving only Costa Baja available to
refuel boats. Many people were filling
jerry cans at the Pemex station.
Greg and I went back to Olimpia for breakfast. I ordered sincronizadas which were made with
crummy luncheon meat ham and disgusting processed cheese. I was not impressed. They were the only bad meal I had ever
received at Olimpia. I should have known
better.
It was 11:00 by the time we returned and was gearing up to
be a scorcher. We did a couple of small
boat chores and then settled in to hide in the air conditioning all day. I spent most of the day reading and doing a
little writing.
We took our drinks over to Ansedonia for happy hour when we could sit indoors in Bill’s air
conditioning. Steve and Chris from Wind Rose joined us. We sat and discussed our respective bash
plans and conspired to meet up at Catalina in September. It was nearly 20:00 by the time the party
broke up and a cool wind had blown up. I
needed to put on more clothes before we went out to find dinner.
Dos Mares 500 Contestant |
Founder's Day Festivities |
Bill ate a couple of tamales but I was holding out for the kebab cart I had seen that morning. We found it eventually. All the Mexicans eating there assured us that the food was good and we were not disappointed. We all had doner kebabs. They were served with a wonderful garlicky tsatsiki. It was satisfying to eat something different for a change. We topped off our dinner by sharing on order of churros on the walk back to the marina.
Kebab Cart in La Paz |
May 5, 2019
Sunrise on the Beach in La Paz |
Start of the Medio Maraton Costero |
Latte at Marina Cortez |
I was tired of the same old breakfast places and talked Greg into going to the sidewalk café adjacent to Marina Cortez. I had a beautiful latte and a lovely breakfast. We enjoyed the view and watched a black crowned night heron fishing in broad daylight.
Black Crowned Night Heron |
Sunset from Ansedonia's Foredeck |
Greg and Bill at the Palapa Restaurant by Marina de La Paz |
We left La Paz as soon as the net was over and Greg had
checked out of the marina. Bill had helped
us cast off our lines and we were out of the marina by 9:00. We motored down the channel, past the
municipal pier and the queen’s wharf, built in 1958 for Queen Victoria’s visit
in the royal yacht, Brittania. The central pearl in the British crown came
from La Paz and the queen wanted to visit the place that had yielded such a
spectacular specimen.
Shortly after we exited the channel, we encountered Dragon’s Toy and exchanged goodbyes and well
wishes for our respective voyages. They
were heading back to La Paz to leave Dragon’s
Toy in the Fonatur Marina. We
motored along the coast, past the nearby anchorages, and entered the Ceralvo
Channel. We rolled out the main to speed
our passage as we entered the channel.
Leaving La Paz |
At the lower end of the channel, we rounded Punta Gorda and
entered the anchorage at Muertos. We had
hoped to anchor there for the night but feared that the southerly wind would
make the anchorage untenable. We talked
to Brad on White Wind who had left
ahead of us and he assured us it was okay in there. However, when we pulled alongside his boat
about 18:00, we decided it would be too rough to sleep comfortably and elected
to continue overnight. By 20:00, Brad
and Bill pulled up their anchor and followed us.
White Wind at Muertos |
Greg made us tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches for
dinner and then went below for a nap. I
took the watch from 20:00 to midnight.
It was chilly and damp, but otherwise a gorgeous night with just a
sliver of a moon that set early, leaving a clear and starry sky.
The wind continued to blow from the south, turning what we
expected to be a benign interlude before our trip north into a rehearsal for
the bash to come. It was too rough (and
stuffy) for me to sleep in the forward cabin, so I crashed on the bench in the
main salon to sleep until 3:45.
May 7, 2019
I came back on watch at 4:00. It was slightly less windy and warmer and
dryer than before. I headed for Puerto
Los Cabos and let Greg sleep until about three miles before the entrance. I kept slowing the engine, trying not to
arrive before daybreak, but the current continued to push us along at over six
knots. Once Greg got up, we motored in
circles outside the harbor, attaching fenders and dock lines and waiting for light
to see the harbor entrance and the opening of the fuel dock.
Sunrise at San Jose del Cabo |
Entering Puerto Los Cabos Marina |
Scout at the Fuel Dock |
New Gate Enclosure |
Cafe El Puerto |
George's at La Marina Inn |
We walked across the peninsula to George’s, a courtyard
restaurant at La Marina Inn. I had some
very interesting chile rellenos that were not battered but served with a bean-based
sauce and mango salsa. I was
disappointed when I first saw them, but they turned out to be tasty. Greg had enchiladas with mole and Bob ordered
fish tacos. The food was good and not
too pricey, but the drinks cost nearly (and in Bob’s case, more) than our
entrees. Cabo pricing had spread to San
Jose del Cabo. We ate a leisurely meal
and stopped at the Oxxo for ice cream bars on the way back. Between sailing all night and Bob’s early
flight departure, we were all ready to call it an early night.