ESCAPE FROM COVID CALIFORNIA

After having spent a hectic summer replacing the landscaping in my front yard and building a patio at Matt's house, I quietly left California to return to Mexico on November 17, 2020, just as covid-19 cases began to surge. The number of cases in California and Mexico had been running neck and neck, but California began to pull ahead as the weather cooled and people remained indoors.

Matt's Sauna

My entire reason for returning home, in the first place, had been

The Offending Tree

to replace the fence between my house and my neighbor's. We both had many projects to complete before we could begin the fence. I got started, right away. My first task was to remove a tree planted too close to the property line. The roots of this tree had raised the otherwise intact walkway nearly a foot, making it impossible to close the gate. There were also five tree stumps remaining from trees that I had removed five years earlier. I contracted someone to remove the tree and stumps. They removed the tree but their stump grinder was out of order. There was a two week delay while it was repaired. Then there was another two-week delay when they realized they would need a ramp to get the grinder up the front stairs (even through I had asked them repeatedly if this would be a problem.)

Meanwhile, we took truckloads of junk from both our yards to the dump and built a patio and sauna at Matt's house. We also began the arduous process of removing my front lawn. The giant ash tree in my front yard had surface roots that had grown so large that it was impossible to mow over them. The city was constantly nagging me about my water usage, anyway, so it was time for the lawn to go. We dug two truckloads of dirt and sod out of my front yard.

Front Yard with Lawn Removed

Matt's New Patio

Chipping Out the Concrete

The other large project facing me was to remove and replace the damaged walkways. Originally, there was an aggregate concrete walkway in the front and patio in the rear that were joined by a flagstone walkway down the side of the house. The front walkway had been partially raised by the tree roots and the roots of the five trees I had removed in 2015 had made a mess of the flagstone walkway. I decided to extend the replacement concrete walkway all the way down the side of the house to meet up with the rear slab. This required removing the flagstones. The quote for the walkway was much greater than expected, so I needed to tackle the removal myself.

The first two thirds of the walkway was easy to remove. There was only a thin layer of concrete under the flagstones and it was already broken into manageable pieces. However, as I approached the rear, the concrete got thicker and thicker. It was a good six inches thick at the back. Matt was helping me but we needed to rent a jackhammer to break up the concrete. The flagstones were salvaged for later use at Matt's house, but we ended up hauling two tons of concrete to the dump.

The Giant Root

The concrete contractor didn't want to have to schedule two days for my job, so we had agreed that he would remove the large root under the walkway after cutting out the raised concrete. This root was much larger that expected, being nearly the same diameter as the tree trunk. It took three chainsaws before they were finally able to sever the root. A photograph of the root was blacked out on Facebook for being a disturbing image. It had certainly disturbed the concrete guys. In the end, they did a lovely job of matching the existing concrete and I was finally able to walk from the front of the house to the rear without risking a broken ankle.

Once the new concrete was in, it was time to finish the front yard landscaping.  We hauled six yards of pea gravel up the front steps from the street in buckets and wheelbarrows.  We put in two sets of posts to hang hammocks, planted herbs and grasses along the walkway, and cleaned and mulched all the flower beds with red rubber mulch.

Matt Shoveling Pea Gravel

The Finished Project

Even with all my delays, I was done with my projects by the end of September when we had originally planned to begin fence construction. My neighbor, however, still had not begun his projects. Covid-19 had delayed his contractor. He finally did begin but, when November rolled around and he still had not begun the paint job that would take several weeks, I finally told him that I wasn't going to wait any longer. He admitted that he wasn't going to get to the painting until the end of January, so we agreed that he would have to handle the fence project alone. I finally booked a flight to Mexico.

While I normally avoided flying Southwest, I had heard that they were not filling middle seats, so I elected to fly with them from Oakland to Phoenix and then on to Puerto Vallarta. I packed my mask, face shield, hand sanitizer, and disinfecting wipes. I wiped down everything before I touched it in the airport and planes. There was no one in the middle seat on the flight to Phoenix and I had an entire row to myself on the flight to Puerto Vallarta. With all my precautions, I felt relatively safe. My housemate picked me up at the airport in Puerto Vallarta. It was good to be home.

Sunset at Destiladeras

BAJA BASH 2020, A PERSONAL RECORD

June 22, 2020

In 2019, it had taken Scout twenty-one days to complete the bash. Our departure from La Paz had been delayed five days by weather but, even counting those days, my record for slow bashes only amounted to twenty-six days, twelve of which we had spent trapped in Turtle Bay. This year, we were at thirty-five days before we even left Cabo San Lucas for the second time. My friend, Blair, chided me about going for the big personal record.

We pulled up the anchor just after 8:00 and motored into the fuel dock in Cabo. We took on 750 liters of fuel and, with the collusion of the security guard, managed to pick up Carlos and Ruby. According to a marina tenant, only marina tenants were allowed to take on crew there. I think he was annoyed with us. Having given the fuel dock a large chunk of change, we felt justified in using their facility, but tried to be discreet.

Heading Out of Cabo San Lucas

With the whole crew aboard and enough fuel in the tanks to make it to Ensenada, we departed at 9:30. Our rounding of Cabo Falso was uneventful. I barely noticed we had passed it. Seas were very moderate and winds light. Ruby was a little sick. It was her first time on a sailboat. Marina wasn't pleased about the resumption of our voyage and spent most of the day glaring at us when she wasn't asleep.

Cabo Falso

Marina Relaxing

Carlos and Ruby

I spent a large part of the afternoon below, writing. About 14:30, I noticed that everyone on deck was asleep so I went up to keep watch. It was 19:00 before anyone stirred. Leslie was awake, below, and busy making pizza with her sourdough starter. I went below when Jack came on deck at 19:00. About 20:00, I ate a couple slices of the first pizza and went to bed, knowing that I would have to get up for my 3:00 watch.

It was rough and noisy and I lay in my bunk, not sleeping a wink, but knowing I would be uncomfortable if I moved out into the salon to sleep on the settee.

June 23, 2020

I got up at 2:40, not having slept at all. I dressed, grabbed a 7 oz can of Diet Coke, and reported for my watch. All was quiet. The seas had abated to some degree as the wind dropped during the night. It wasn't terribly cold, but grew progressively wetter as dawn approached. By 6:00, it was too foggy to see. We were well inshore and all the traffic was passing outside of us. There was a constant parade of commercial shipping out in the shipping lanes, but we saw no one.

I made cocoa after Jack relieved me and shared a cup with him before retiring. The fog obscured the dawn, so I went below after finishing my mug of cocoa. I slept on the settee for nearly four hours and felt much better for it.

Everyone on deck was asleep when I got up at 10:00. Leslie went up to keep watch and I made one-eyed Jacks for breakfast. Then I opened up my computer to write for a bit. We were passing Bahia Santa Maria when I went back on deck in the afternoon but were too far offshore to see more than hazy shapes. The sun had burned off the fog and the afternoon was pleasant enough. We were making nearly six knots.

Bahia Santa Maria in the Mist

Ruby wasn't feeling well and slept most of the day. I chatted with Carlos for an hour or so and then he, also, took a snooze. I sat up in the cockpit until dinnertime while everyone else slept or entertained themselves below. Leslie came up about six to watch out while I made arrachera tacos for dinner. Poor Ruby was hungry but not sure of her stomach. She took her dinner out to the lifelines, just in case. Even Marina was a little sick. She had, however, killed the escaped roach and had proudly displayed the carcass on Carlos and Ruby's bunk.

I retired to my cabin after dinner, watched an episode of Netflix, and went to sleep. Remarkably, it was calm enough that I was able to sleep comfortably in my cabin.

June 24, 2020

I got up again for my 3:00 watch. The hatch in my cabin had leaked and dripped onto the clothes I had set out to wear. I had to dig out dry clothes. Ruby was curled on the settee below and Carlos sacked out in the cockpit after I relieved him. Marina slept on top of Carlos until Jack got up to relieve me.

Carlos Sleeping in the Cockpit

My watch was uneventful. The seas got a bit rougher but we were able to hold our course. One radar target remained five miles off our starboard side all night. We passed another vessel that did not appear on either radar or AIS.

The night was much dryer than the night before. When the dawn came, it was not obscured by fog. I made cocoa once Jack came on deck and sat up to drink it until the sun cleared the horizon. Then I returned to my cabin for a nap.

The Sun Clearing the Horizon

I slept until 9:00 and then lay in my bunk for another hour until it warmed up a bit. The sky was overcast and the seas, while not flat, had calmed enough that we were not hurled into the air. I got up just in time to watch everyone else forming a bucket brigade to remove water from the aft bilge. The bilge pump was not working, which we knew, and Jack had been checking the bilge periodically. Suddenly, he found it awash. At first, he thought the stuffing box was dripping, but it turned out that the engine intake hose had split. Enough water was getting to the engine to cool it, but the leak had filled the bilge.

Bucket Brigade

Once Jack located the source of the water, he and Carlos repaired the hose. Leslie and I made Cream of Wheat for breakfast. I toasted a piece of the “sourdough” bread we had bought in San Jose del Cabo. It didn't taste like sourdough at all, but made decent white bread. Once the hose was repaired and we were back underway, I went below to relax and write.

Once again, I spent the afternoon in the cockpit while everyone else napped. It got rough just before dinner. Poor Leslie had a devil of a time cooking and she and Jack were the only ones who felt like eating. Waves were breaking over the boat and we were only making about three knots. The hatch in my cabin leaked and so did the mast boot. The floor was wet and everything felt damp. The head was wet, also.

I tried to sleep in my cabin after dinner, but we were slamming badly and I kept getting airborne. I lay there, getting dripped on, and tried to stay warm and rest.

June 25, 2020

I woke up about 1:30 when the wind shifted and we tacked. We had fallen off and were approaching the shore far to the east of where we were aiming, so we needed to sail west along the coast. The CO2 alarm in Leslie's cabin got damp after we tacked and the leak in the mast boot started to run in her direction. It began shrieking and I jumped out of bed to see what was happening. The five-gallon jugs of water had slid across the cabin and were wandering loose. I got up and stowed them under the dining table. Then I crawled back into my bunk to stay warm until 2:40 when I got up. Gradually, the seas abated. It wasn't bad at all by the time I came on deck at 3:00.

The morning was cool. Carlos and Ruby were sleeping below, so Marina was determined to sit in my lap. I got up every 15 minutes to have a look around and check the gauges. I disturbed her every time, but she kept coming back. She was warm and good company.

Soon after I took the watch, I started to see lights on shore. By 5:00, an offshore breeze kicked in and we had to tack again. Magic Carpet had no traveler, so the position of the boom was adjusted with the preventer. When we tacked, the preventer needed to be freed from a snatch block and hurled over the bimini between the mizzen and the main sheet where a second person would pull it through and attach it to the snatch block on the other side. I was attempting this process, solo, when Jack came up to assist me.

Jack and Marina on Early Morning Watch

Jack was a little late reporting for his watch, but it didn't matter since I stayed up to watch the dawn, anyway. I was starving after having skipped dinner. I made Cream of Wheat and a cup of cocoa and then retreated to my cabin to nap.

Kelp Bed Outside Turtle Bay

The Entrance to Turtle Bay

When I woke up around ten, we were close to shore. We skirted along the coast, past kelp beds, until we finally reached the entrance to Turtle Bay. We dropped the hook just off the end of the pier, where the cell signal was strongest.

Enrique's brother, Ernesto, showed up, immediately, to offer to sell us fuel. We declined, but told him we would like a ride to town later. He informed us that only one of us would be allowed to go to shore.

Carlos figured that, being Mexican, he and Ruby could get away with going ashore. They took the dinghy and went to explore and buy motor oil. Someone (probably Ernesto) called the police who met them at the entrance to town. Carlos, who ran a trucking company and traveled all over Baja, showed them a copy of the decree from the governor opening all businesses at 30% capacity. He convinced the police to let them come ashore.

At Anchor Just Off the Pier in Turtle Bay

I spent the afternoon practicing the guitar and drying out my cabin. Carlos and Ruby went back to shore to spend the night in a motel. I made pasta sauce and we had pasta for dinner and watched a movie. It was nice to be on a relatively stationary boat. The anchorage was so calm it felt like we were at the dock.

June 26, 2020

We had very little on the schedule for Friday so we slept late. I made banana pancakes for breakfast and Jack cooked a package of bacon. We lounged around the cabin until the early afternoon when Carlos and Ruby returned.

Jack and Carlos set about changing the oil. The oil had not been changed since Jack left San Diego in February and he had been to Zihuatanejo and back. We filled every available plastic bottle with filthy, black oil. Ruby assisted. There wasn't room for more people in the engine room, so Leslie and I were left to our own devices other than mopping up spilled oil now and then. Once the oil was taken care of, they tackled bailing the water out of the aft bilge. The leaky generator and engine hoses had filled a large compartment with seawater. The bilge was deep enough that Carlos could stand up in it. Once again, they formed a bucket brigade and passed the buckets of water up the aft companionway and over the lifelines. The water seemed endless. After dozens of buckets of water had been poured over the side, Carlos was finally able to see the broken bilge pump. Unfortunately, we did not have the proper spare. Replacing the pump would have to wait until Jack could locate a replacement in San Diego.

Carlos in the Bilge

Carlos and Ruby had ordered some vegetable soup from Alicia at Tortugas Restaurant, so they took the dinghy back to shore, promising to return with the soup for dinner by 19:15. Annie Gardener, a Facebook friend of Jack's, pulled into the anchorage on the catamaran El Gato. Jack hailed them on the radio and, after they got the hook down and bought some fuel from Ernesto, she and her husband, Eric, came over for a visit. We chatted with them for a couple of hours and hardly noticed that Carlos and Ruby were late.

Once the whole crew was aboard, our guests departed and we began preparing dinner. Leslie had already made a salad. I fried up some plantains and Jack barbecued ribeyes. Carlos and Ruby contributed the soup. We all sat down to a lovely dinner around the salon table for the first time since they had joined us. It was tough to serve a family dinner underway since someone had to drive and, many times, no one felt like eating.

After dinner, we watched the movie, Closer, a movie that left us all feeling depressed about relationships. It was after 23:00 by the time the movie was over and we intended to rise at 6:00 the next morning. We all hurried to our bunks.

June 27, 2020

I got up at 6:00 as we had planned. No one else was stirring. I thought that making coffee might help, so I rattled around the galley, preparing coffee until Jack got up. We began preparing the boat to sail. There wasn't much to do. Leslie got up and squeegeed the windows in the dodger. I freed the main halyard. Leslie hauled up enough chain to release the snubber.

Dawn in Turtle Bay

Once we had roused Carlos and Ruby, Carlos and Jack secured the dinghy. We raised the main and then attempted to weigh anchor. It was windy enough that the sail made it difficult to keep the boat square to the chain. I was relaying commands between the bow and the helm and Jack and Leslie squabbled about how to raise the chain. Finally, they managed to get the hook off the bottom and we got underway at 7:25. We motored out of the bay and headed towards Isla Natividad. The sun shone through the low overcast somewhere off in the distance.

The Sun Breaking Through the Clouds

We motored all day. There was a fair amount of motion, but not a lot of wind. Magic Carpet did not have a traveler,so it was difficult to keep the boom centered. We rigged twin preventers and used those to center the boom as we motored straight into the wind. We passed a couple fishing pangas returning to Turtle Bay in the morning. It was chilly and overcast until about 15:00 and I mostly stayed below. When the sun came out, I went up into the cockpit and watched while everyone else napped.

The Improvised Traveler

El Gato stayed just behind us all day. The clouds returned as evening fell. I stayed on deck until everyone had eaten leftover pasta for dinner and then went below for my share. After dinner, I watched a little Netflix and then tried to sleep. It wasn't rough, but there was enough motion to make the cables inside the mast clang incessantly. It was difficult to sleep.

Passing Isla Cedros

June 28, 2020

I awoke about 1:15 and couldn't get back to sleep. It had finally sunk in that I was actually going home. I started thinking of all the things that I needed to do and my mind raced. I lay there, designing my front yard landscaping, until it was time to get up at 2:40.

I had on all my warmest clothes, so I was comfortable enough during my watch. It was dead calm and the seas were glassy. Marina was feeling very chipper and dashed around the boat, hopping out of the cockpit and even standing up to rest her paws on the rail. After retrieving her from the deck a few times, I put on her harness and tether. That way, I could keep her in the cockpit. Eventually, she got disgusted, climbed on top of Carlos, and went to sleep.

Our 3:00 AM Positiion

About 3:30, I saw a light. At first, I thought it was a panga or a fish pen. I knew there was a light on Isla San Jeronimo, but thought it was too far away to see. After tracking the light for an hour and not observing it get any closer, I decided it was, indeed, the San Jeronimo light. Eventually, the island appeared on my radarscreen.

Having crossed into the Pacific time zone, it got light much earlier. I started to see a hint of dawn at 4:30. It was fully light by the time Jack came on deck at 6:00. I made us hot cereal and stayed up to eat it. Then I went below to catch up on the sleep I had missed the night before.

Grey Dawn at 5:24

I got up again at 10:00 when the pitch of the engine noise changed. We had slowed down in order to take pictures of El Gato who, in turn, took pictures of us. We continued at a slightly slower pace so as not to arrive in Ensenada before daylight. It was overcast but warm. We hung out in the cockpit most of the day. Jack had eaten all of Carlos' Tootsie Rolls, so Carlos broke into the box of liquor filled chocolates from the bottom of the snack cupboard. Jack didn't drink and Leslie and I had left them alone. Once opened, however, we were happy to dig in.

Leslie with the Chocolates

As the afternoon progressed, I found myself keeping watch while the others napped. This seemed to be our pattern. By 4:30, Jack got up and I went below to write before it was time to make dinner. I planned to make chicken and vegetable stew over rice for dinner and had an hour to kill before it was time to begin cooking.

I started cooking at 5:30. I made chicken and veggies in a tomatillo sauce and served it over rice steamed with peas and carrots. I sat in the cockpit and watched while the others ate. I'm not sure what Jack and Leslie thought, but Carlos and Ruby were very happy with the Mexican comfort food. I ate after the others and then went to bed.

The seas were so calm that I slept like a baby. I didn't wake until my alarm went off at 2:45 AM.

Marina Lounging in Her Harness

Sunset South of Ensenada

June 29, 2020

I came back on deck at 3:00. We were close to land and threading our way between fishing boats. We had about ten miles to go before we made a right turn into Todos Santos Bay between the point and the Todos Santos Islands.

The Lights of Ensenada

Jack was getting nervous and joined me on deck about 4:00. We watched the lights of Ensenada grow larger. We turned into the bay about 5:30, just as it began to grow light. Two large freighters were anchored in the bay. We passed those and headed into Marina Coral, arriving by 7:00.

Carlos Approaching Marina Coral

There were boat chores to do and we all worked stowing lines and removing hardware for a couple of hours before Ruby made hash browns and I cooked bacon and eggs. We all sat down for a nice breakfast.

The rest of the day was mostly spent lounging and making travel plans. I bought a ticket to fly directly from San Diego to San Francisco. Buying a plane ticket was interesting. A last minute flight was $128 plus $30 each for my two bags. For an additional $30, I was able to upgrade to first class and got two free bags. It was cheaper to fly first class and I got a seat on the one seat side of the aisle where I would have no neighbor. I could never have gotten a first class ticket for $158 before the coronavirus.

My housemate didn't want to be in a car with me, masked or not, so I arranged for Matt to pick me up at the airport.

We left Carlos and Ruby alone in the boat and went to dinner at the hotel restaurant with Eric and Annie from El Gato. There were only three tables occupied. The menus were xeroxed and disposed of after use. The waiter wore a face shield and the food came under covers. Our meals were excellent. I splurged and drank two margaritas, one of which was tamarind and rimmed with Tajin. We had a delightful time but had to break up the party early because the restaurant closed at 20:00.

We returned to the boat to find Carlos and Ruby listening to country music in English. I found this humorous, since I generally listen to nothing but music in Spanish. We then got into a discussion about musical tastes and spent the rest of the night playing bachata songs that we all liked and singing along. It was a fun evening. We were glad to have the voyage behind us and looked upon our coming journeys with trepidation.

June 30, 2020

We had concocted a convoluted plan to get all of us and our belongings delivered to our respective homes.  Carlos and Ruby would take the bus to Tijuana where Ruby would catch a flight to Mexico City to see her family.  Carlos would pick up a truck that he had left in Tijuana and return the following morning to collect the rest of us.  We would drive his truck to San Diego, where Jack was supposed to collect a second truck, leaving Carlos in Tijuana.  I would be left at the San Diego airport to fly back to San Francisco.  Jack and Leslie would then drive both trucks back into Mexico and return Carlos' truck to Tijuana.  The second truck would be used to transport all their luggage to San Diego where a friend would collect Leslie to take her back to Marina del Rey.  Very confusing.

Marina in Her Carrier

Everything went smoothly, at first.  Carlos and Ruby departed and Jack, Leslie, and I spent the day packing, cleaning up the boat, and relaxing.  Marina checked out her new, space-age carrier backpack.

Leslie and Annie went to the fish market and I stayed behind to write.  They Leslie, Annie, Eric and I had another dinner at the hotel restaurant, including more tamarind margaritas.  It was a relaxing day.

July 1, 2020

Carlos arrived, as scheduled, at 7:00 AM.  We all piled in the truck and headed for the fish market where Carlos wanted to buy shrimp.  It took awhile to get everyone clear of the fish taco stands, but then we were on our way.  Our first stop was Carlos' family home in Tijuana where we would leave him since he did not have a visa to enter the United States. 

Steep, Narrow Street in Tijuana

Carlos lived at the top of a very steep hill.  All of the homes on the block were owned by relatives, which was a good thing because everyone had to move his or her cars before the person parked at the back could move.  Jack, Leslie, and I remained in the truck while Carlos talked to his family and then Carlos backed us down the hill and drove us to a grocery store where we could use the restrooms.  We parted at the grocery store.  Carlos headed home and the rest of us departed for San Diego.

U.S. Border Traffic

Crossing the border was easy.  We had to wait in traffic for an hour, but the only things we had to produce at the border were our passports.  No one asked us any health questions or took our temperatures.  We drove from the border to the airport where I got out.  Leslie and Jack would require more days and changes of plans before they got their belongings to their ultimate destinations but I had only to check my bags at the curb and walk through the empty airport to my gate.  

San Diego Airport Security

The airport was nearly deserted and only the news stand was open.  I had to do without lunch because none of the restaurants were operating.  My flight left at 3:00 and by 5:00 Matt was picking me up in San Francisco where the airport was also thinly populated.  The flight had been reasonably full, but I had a first class seat on the single seat side of the aisle and no one on the aisle seat opposite.  Everyone on the plane was masked and there was no drink service other than bottled water.  It felt safe enough.  I was glad to be done with traveling and ready to insulate myself in my new environment.

TAKING IT ONE DAY AT A TIME

June 15, 2020

We were entering our third week in San Jose del Cabo. It was dull, but safe enough. One day ran into the next. I got up to run on Monday morning. I was always looking for new routes to take. I ran past the dolphins, along the beach, and up the levee to the main road. Then I crossed over and dropped into the arroyo. I followed a road that paralleled the kilometer long bridge. Parts of it were so deep in sand that I had to slow to a walk. Eventually, I reached the creek and crossed on the trunk of a dead palm tree. There was evidence that some homeless people were living under the bridge by the creek, but I only saw one man and he paid me no mind. After crossing the creek, I had to scale a concrete wall to get back to the level of the road. It was a bit sandy, but I managed to scramble up it and only left a few skin cells behind from my knee. Once on the road, I ran back across the bridge and through the marina where I was chased by a pack of dogs. Between my yelling, “No!” at them and a couple of locals swearing at them in Spanish, they eventually turned tail and left me alone.

Stream Crossing

Climb out of the Arroyo

Pack of Dogs at the Marina

Dogs at the Shipyard Office

Our big outing for the day was to go to the shipyard office to use the internet. When we arrived, we found the sofa occupied by a large, napping dog. Leslie and I downloaded Netflix shows to keep us amused and I completed a blog post.

Leslie made a loaf of whole wheat sourdough bread and we had that with chili for dinner.

June 16 -17, 2020

The Beach Was Narrow at First

The beaches were finally open, so I took the opportunity to walk on the beach east of the marina on Tuesday morning. The tide was just past high and I barely had room to pass between the booming surf and the cliffs for the first stretch. There were a handful of locals fishing in the surf, but I only encountered four other people in four miles of walking.

Strange Patterns of Erosion

Undermined Home

It was a beautiful walk. Some of the cliffs were eroded in fascinating ways. One of the lovely homes along the beach had been constructed too close to the edge and was in danger of collapsing. Further down the beach, I passed condos and hotels. The color of the sand ranged from white through red to black. Crabs scuttled down the beach to the water. The waves were impressive and very loud. I climbed the cliffs at a different place than I had descended and ended up on a private road where one of the gringo residents rather rudely directed me back to the main road when I admitted I was lost.

The Waves Crashed

Varied Sand Colors

The transmission and new battery switches arrived on Tuesday afternoon, but it was too late to do anything with them. We arranged for the mechanics to come the next morning and the electrician in the afternoon. Then we spent another afternoon hanging around the boat.

I spent a good hour trying to transform bottled spaghetti sauce into something vaguely Italian using only what spices were present on the boat. Eventually, between some Italian sausage and enough cayenne, oregano, Italian seasoning, garlic, onions, and veggies, I managed to mask the sweet taste of the bottled sauce and produce a pretty decent dinner. Leslie had baked another couple of loaves of sourdough and we had salad to top it all off. I was so full I could barely stay awake long enough to watch Once Upon a Time in the West, a 1969 western with Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson, and Jason Robards. It was a good one with lots of plot twists.

Marina was busy hunting roaches and brought us three big ones over the course of the evening. While it was my job to kill flies and Leslie's job to eradicate common roaches, it was Jack's job to kill the giant bugs his cat dragged in. He got two of them, but one escaped into the boat, a somewhat disturbing event.

Sunrise at the Cross

Fishing at Dawn

Wednesday, I ran around the hill, up to the cross, and back along the usual levee, beach, marina route. I wanted to get in a little uphill running. I waited a few minutes at the top until the sun rose.

The mechanics came in the morning, but quickly determined that they needed an installation tool. Jack had offered to purchase said tool with the transmission, but had been told that they had one. Now, it was nowhere to be found. It would take another day to locate one. The electrician got stuck on another job and couldn't come, either. We spent another day waiting.

Sunset Over the Marina

I did some laundry. Leslie and I practiced our respective instruments. Jack worried about the boat. We ate leftover pasta and salad for dinner and started watching the documentary about Jeffrey Epstein,

June 18, 2020

Marina Helping the Electrician

We had arranged for the electrician to come at 7:00, figuring that the mechanics would be late. Of course, the mechanics arrived early, also. Fortunately, Russell the electrician was able to assemble most of the jumper cables and such that he needed to install the battery switch out in the cockpit. Marina plopped herself in the middle of the project. He thought she was trying to help until we informed him of her propensity to chew on anything that looked like wire. I feared for his multimeter leads.

The New Transmission

Leslie and I set off to walk to Walmart about 9:00. It was a hot walk uphill. Nothing seemed to have changed since our last visit. No tourists were in evidence. We stocked up on provisions for what we hoped was the last time. I finally found a whisk broom and dustpan in the dollar store section of the Walmart. I also bought a pair of slippers to wear on watch. My running shoes were too bulky and didn't slip on and off easily. The only other shoes I had were flip flops which didn't work well with socks. I had been keeping watch in stocking feet. While there were all kinds of cute women's slip on shoes that I would have liked to buy, none of them came in my size. I had to settle for a cheap pair of men's slippers.

We called our favorite Uber driver, Gabriel, to ferry us back to the boat. The electrician had just finished when we returned. The mechanics had somehow managed to get the installation tool stuck on the shaft and were unable to remove it. No amount of hammering on it had any effect. They decided to try freezing it, but broke for lunch, first.

We scrounged some lunch and then retreated to our respective corners to nap, read, or write.

Nothing would budge the installation tool, so they eventually had to cut it out. By the time that was done, it was late in the day and they resolved to try again the following morning. We started getting antsy. We didn't want to be stuck over another weekend.

Sexy Power Boat

Being tied up to the Marine Group's dock, we got to see all the dry stored boats being put in the water and taken back out. Some of them were larger than you would expect. One very sexy power boat was tied up next to us for a few days. It wasn't a fishing boat and it didn't have much living space. It just looked fast. We decided the only good use for such a boat was running drugs unless you were using it as a tender to a mega-yacht.

We finished watching the documentary about Jeffrey Epstein, after dinner, and went to bed early .

June 19, 2020

Reinforced Thumbnail

It was Friday of the third week we had spent in San Jose del Cabo and the transmission still wasn't in. I was up early, drinking tea in the cockpit, when the first mechanic arrived at 7:30. I couldn't wake Jack, so asked him to return at 8:00. Jack was up by the time he came back.

I just couldn't make myself run that morning. I had run out of interesting places to explore and was ready to be gone.

The mechanics worked on installing the transmission all day. Leslie and I spent a good chunk of the afternoon in the office, downloading Netflix, and using the internet. I rushed out another blog post. When we returned to the boat, transmission was in but we were still short a hydraulic hose. The mechanics swore they would get it made overnight and be back by 9:00 the next morning.

As a guitar player, breaking my right thumbnail is a nightmare. Usually, I keep the nails on my right hand coated with acrylic to avoid the problem. Since the coronavirus hit, I had not been able to get my nails done and I had finally torn my thumbnail right at the quick where it would take months to grow back if I allowed it to tear off. I laminated a piece of Post-It Note to my nail with Superglue and then painted it with clear nail polish. It kept the nail intact but made me look like I had painted my thumbnail neon green. It was a toss-up as to whether I would get my hair cut or my nails done, first, when I got home. Both were driving me mad.

We were still a little concerned that we might be delayed over the weekend, but still decided to go out for dinner. We were craving pizza, but there was no pizza restaurant in La Playita and no one wanted to deliver to us. Leslie and I took an exploratory walk and discovered that the Marinero Borracho was open for dine-in service. It was empty when we scoped it out at 17:30, but much busier when we returned with Jack at 20:00.

Jack and Leslie at Marinero Borracho

It wasn't jam packed, but every gringo in the marina seemed to be in the restaurant. They had set up table outside along the street and inside downstairs, so we weren't cheek by jowl. The servers wore masks and face shield and we had to walk through disinfectant to get it. They were not allowed to have physical menus. I had to download a QR code reader so that we could view the menu. Leslie and I had tacos chinos with fish or shrimp, cabbage, pineapple, mint, and cucumber. Jack had soup and shrimp enchiladas. Everything was delicious. Perhaps the best part was being able to order margaritas. It was a good celebration.

June 20-21, 2020

Hoping that Saturday would truly be my last run in the San Jose del Cabo area, I decided to take a short run out to the hotel zone to see if anything had opened. Saturday morning traffic was heavier than usual and a couple of cattle were sharing the road.

Sunrise Over the Arroyo

Empty Hotel

Cows in Morning Traffic

It was further to the hotels than I remembered. Vidanta was still barricaded, but the other hotels had removed their walls. Still, they looked deserted and I saw no one but gardeners and security. I was curious and kept running down the strand. Eventually, I decided to run over the hill past La Comer, Chedraui, Soriana and Walmart. By the time I returned to the boat, I had run over 10k. So much for a short run.

The mechanics didn't show up by 9:00, but they did arrive with the hose by 10:30. By early afternoon, the transmission was working. We went back and forth at the dock and ripped one of the undersized cleats out of the dock in the process.

My friend, Carlos, and his girlfriend, Ruby, came to meet Jack and see the boat in the afternoon. We had invited them to come with us to Ensenada as crew. They spent most of the afternoon with us and decided to come along.

Carlos

Leslie and I made ready to leave and filled the water tanks. The valves had not been properly set and we accidentally filled the drinking water tank with non-potable water. We then had to empty it back out and refill the tank with bottled water. Carlos helped Jack shuttle bottles of water to and from the Oxxo with his car. Late in the afternoon, we took a short harbor cruise to test the transmission. It worked fine.

I made pork chops, zucchini, and risotto for dinner and we watched The Kingdom. We planned to leave the dock in the morning.

Motoring Out of San Jose del Cabo

Locals Enjoying the Beach in San Jose del Cabo

We spent a leisurely Sunday morning, doing last loads of laundry and taking showers. Then I topped up the water tanks and we cast off about noon. The wind was blowing us off the dock and Leslie, who had been untying the lines, was unable to get aboard. We tried, futilely, to approach close enough to the boat parked behind us for her to jump aboard, but ended up having to switch to the opposite side of the dock where the wind worked in our favor. Magic Carpet has a high freeboard and it wasn't a pretty entrance, but we got Leslie aboard safely and motored out of the marina.

The weather was perfect and we had a nice ride along the coast to Cabo San Lucas where we anchored in the same spot we had occupied three weeks before. It was Father's Day and the beaches were crowded, although the hotels were mostly empty and the crowd seemed to be local.

The Arch with Sand

Cabo's iconic arch is usually clean of sand but once or twice per decade the sand builds up the arch. This was one of those times. Leslie, Jack, and I piled in the dinghy and zoomed out to see the arch. The surf was big and it could not have been more beautiful or impressive. Rays were leaping out of the water all around us. A few tour boats were out but we mostly had the area to ourselves. It seemed like a good omen for our journey.

Waves on the Outside of the Arch

Cruise Ship Anchored in Cabo

Carlos was due to meet us at 6:00 for a last-minute grocery run. Leslie and I took the dinghy in and parked it at the dinghy dock near the launch ramp where the security guard would watch it for 60 pesos. We failed to meet up with Carlos and grew impatient. After half an hour of miscommunications, Leslie and I took an Uber to the Soriana to do our shopping. Carlos met us there and brought us back to the boat.

Magic Carpet in Cabo

It was so late by the time we got back that we each just scrounged something for dinner. I had a can of tuna and some rice cakes with cream cheese. Soon it was time to hit the hay. We were due to meet Carlos and Ruby at the fuel dock the following morning at 8:00.

Cabo by Night