Susan, Sequoia, and Todd go sailing

“Train travel!” cried Todd. “It’s the way to go! Sit back, watch the scenery, and they bring you espresso!” I had to agree it was pretty relaxing, and I couldn’t say which was hotter: the coffee, or the guy who served it! Leave it to Italian men to make pushing a little silver cart look sexy.

Our train trip from Konstanz to Ferrara, Italy took us through Switzerland; and since I’m speaking of contradictions, I couldn’t help but notice one about the Swiss. Known (well, at least in Germany!) for their conservatism and distrust of outsiders, the Swiss have declined to join the European Union. And yet, Switzerland has four national languages (German, Italian, French and Romansh) in what you would guess would be the most diverse country of Europe. What’s up with that?

Anyway, we were thrilled to be headed to Frank and Arianna’s wedding in Arianna’s hometown of Ferrara. “I can’t wait to drive one of those cars! Vrraaa-eee, vrraaa-ahhh!” squealed Todd, mimicking the movements of a race car driver shifting gears. “It’s Ferrara, not Ferrari!” I corrected him. At first he was pretty disappointed, but once he learned that we’d be in a region famous for pork products, fine cheeses, and rich foods, he was psyched up to start eating! Read the rest of this entry »

If the speed of car travel left his (large) head spinning, you can imagine how befuddled Todd was by the concept of plane travel. “Let me get this straight,” he mused. “We can leave one day, and be in Europe the next day?” I assured him it was so. “No canals?” he asked, still suspicious.

“It’s easy,” I reassured him. “We just show up with our stuff, and they give us a blanket and a pillow, and free drinks. Sometimes they’ll even give us food. And we just watch a movie and then we’re there!”

“You had me at ‘free drinks’!” cried Toro enthusiastically. We were all set for a three week trip to Europe: a week visiting our friends Frank and Arianna in Vienna, followed by a week with the Schumanns in Germany, and wrapping up with Frank and Ari’s wedding in her hometown of Ferrara, Italy. Read the rest of this entry »

After visiting the Grand Canyon, we drove to Zion National Park, where Todd’s Uncle Jim Chris lives and works. Unfortunately, Jim Chris was out of town, but his girlfriend Susan arranged for us to stay in a suite at the hotel where she works. We felt like royalty! And it was great to meet Susan.

On our first full day, we did the short Weeping Rocks hike and the Emerald Pools hike. Koiya did a great job hiking, despite the heat. She enjoyed all the squirrels, lizards, tadpoles, and flowers along the trail. And when she got overheated, we poured some of the icy cold stream water over her. Read the rest of this entry »

We were sad to leave the boat, but we focused on the excitement of our road trip, and the anticipation of seeing friends and family back home. With a big push, we were ready to go on Memorial Day! We set our sights on Tucson and were off.

Mistake Number 1: We didn’t take into account that half of Arizona was in Mexico for the weekend, and all those people were also crossing back into the US that day. We had a lot of time to figure this out, waiting over 2 hours in line at the border.

Mistake Number 2: We didn´t fill the tank, jerry cans, our water bottles, or a kiddy pool strapped to the roof with $2.50/gallon gasoline. When Capn Bright Idea wondered aloud if we should get gas before crossing the border, First Mate Clueless dismissed the notion. “Gas can’t be that expensive in the US,” I said self-assuredly. “I mean, what did we invade Iraq for?” “I thought we were spreading democracy,” chimed Koiya from the back seat. Todd and I had a good laugh over that! Kids say the darndest things! Read the rest of this entry »

After a couple of days at anchor in San Carlos, our boat was hauled out on May 22. It was exciting to be doing something so different; it was a bit nerve-wracking to see our boat bouncing along a Mexican roadway; and it was sad to think of leaving her!

There was a lot of work to do to get the boat ready to survive the sun, heat and rain of summer. We had to take all of the sails and lines off, as well as the solar panels; change the engine oil and filters; flush everything we could with fresh water; put aluminum foil over every port and hatch (sun protection) and plug all through-hulls (bug protection); pack up our clothes and everything heat-sensitive to take home; clean out the fridge and all the food stores; and more!

We had planned to work first thing in the morning and later in the evening, to avoid the hottest part of the day. Lucky for us, San Carlos was having unseasonably cool weather, so we could work all day if we wanted to. We still took off most afternoons to go to the beach with the crew of Theophilus, who were hauled out about 15 miles away in Guaymas. Read the rest of this entry »

For anyone gearing up for a cruise to Mexico, I’ve put together a list of things to cram onto your boat.

Special thanks to Milt and Eva on S/V Bellavia for giving us their list of must-have items. It was extremely helpful to us, and is the basis of the list I’ve posted here.

Despite posting one of our slowest moving averages yet (only 2.9 kts!), we sailed most of the way to lovely San Juanico. The bay is mostly unpopulated, except for a few luxury homes. San Juanico is a favorite among cruisers, and even has a “Cruiser’s Shrine”, which is a fancy name for a tree that you can hang things on/leave things under. Sequoia decorated a shell for us.

Another attraction on shore are cliffs featuring quartz crystals and fossilized shells.

Of course. the highlight for us was getting to spend more time with the crew of Theophilus. Captain Ron set up a swing on board for the kids, which kept them happy for hours. Plus, he brought along his Hawaiian sling on our daily snorkeling excursions, supplying us with some yummy meals! Read the rest of this entry »

It was hard leaving Sassona and Agua Verde, but we were running out of food. More importantly, we were also dangerously low on beer. Not one to shy away from tough problems, Capn Cerveza instituted strict rationing. He sat the crew down and declared, “I’m only going to drink two beers a day. Given that we have 6 beers, we can last 3 days.”

Well, I wondered why I didn’t fit into the equation, so I asked him about his reasoning- did he have a ration rationale? “It’s simple,” he said. “Every day, each crew member gets two beers for every Y chromosome he or she has.” I pointed out that women don’t have Y chromosomes, but apparently he had already considered that. “That will make the math easy for you,” he explained. Read the rest of this entry »

When we think back on our first season in Mexico, Bahia Agua Verde stands out as one of our favorite places. Peaceful anchorages, clear water, good snorkeling… and time with our friends on Sassona and Theophilus!

We were lucky to get great south winds for the sail up. Always concerned with protection, Toro wanted to drop the hook in the more sheltered north anchorage. Unfortunately, it was a bit crowded there, so we motored around awhile before we gave up and went to the south anchorage. Theophilus arrived shortly thereafter and joined us there.

The next morning, a number of boats left the north anchorage, so we radioed Theophilus and told them we were planning on moving there. They agreed that, given the forecasted north winds, it would be wise to move. No sooner had we got off the radio, than we heard the unmistakable clanking of an anchor chain. There was Captain Ron on his foredeck, cranking in his anchor. “Oh no you didn’t!” yelled Toro, flying forward and yanking up our own anchor. I’ve never seen him move so fast! In less than a minute he yelled “Anchor’s up!”
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The islands on the outside of the Bay of La Paz are, in a word, stunning. The volcanic rocks display subtle pinks, rich reds, and deep browns; throughout the day, the play of sunlight and shadow over the hillsides dramatizes the desert landscape. Add to that the emerald green waters of the sandy bays, and the result is a haunting, magical beauty.

Of course, as I always tell Todd, beauty like this comes at a price. At Isla Partida, the cost is freak, unpredictable winds that tend to blow just when you’re ready to go to bed. Windy nights are the bane of Capn Insomnia, who frets about our anchor holding and our proximity to other boats. (The fact that he got to monitor our GPS position from the comfort of our berth, because of new hardware he picked up in La Paz, was little consolation.)

So, while Koiya enjoyed playing with Josh from Theophilus, and I had fun snorkeling in the clear waters, the under-slept Toro spent our first day at the islands alternately moping and napping. Read the rest of this entry »