Sunday, May 25, 2014

Return to Valhalla


Jim Wight, my father in law and Valhalla Sets Sail Editor





  Again we returned to La Paz after 3 weeks back at home in Grass Valley.   My father-in-law, Jim Wight had taken a turn for the worse in his health at the age of 94.   Through his entire life, this kind gentle man maintained his dignity, sweet nature and never complained.   We are sad that he has left us here, but are relieved he has made ​​it to Valhalla. We will miss him dearly.

                   James Edwin Wight
         March 21, 1920 - May 7, 2014

             













   We still had about 2 weeks before our friends, Jeff and Nelia from Reflections would make  it to La Paz. Last year we had made our tentative plan to "buddy bash" our boats back to California together.



Dress Me Up and Let's GET GOING!
     Valhalla was pulling at her dock lines, looking as pretty as a shinny penny. Some friends from Grass Valley were enjoying their timeshare in Cabo and took us up on an invitation to come to La Paz to sail and see the Islands in the Sea of ​​Cortez.

    We moved the boat from Fonatur and made our way up the shallow channel towards town. Previously I had called Marina Cortez for a reservation and arranged for a slip for Valhalla. When we arrived, we where looking for F Dock; we soon discovered there was no F Dock and we had no reservation! Sure that THEY were wrong, I dialed the number and spoke to a woman who spoke very good English. After warm salutations, I asked their location. I was amused by her answer of San Diego! I told here that we would not be able to make it because I thought I had called Marina Cortez in Baja California Sur, Mexico. We lucked out and got a spot at the popular Marina de La Paz where we spent a couple of nights waiting for our friends, Colin and Lynn Cahill. After provisioning, we where excited to get back out there and sail! It had been almost a year to the day since we put Valhalla on the hard.



A Low Key Yacht Club

     Listening to the VHF radio, we heard lots of familiar names from boats last year and the 2012 Baja Ha-ha. At 0730 on the Sunrisa Net on SSB radio, I exercised my radio voice and rights to speak using my new Ham License. "This is Kilo, Kilo, 6, Juliet Papa, Lima ... we are Katie and Don on s/v Valhalla." It's cool; we have made contact with people from Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Nebraska and New York.  We get Gary's weather which will be a God send for our bash home.


LOVE the MALECON
No Bad Days in La Paz!







  
   













   The next day after an evening out eating and walking the Malecon, with our friends on board we left for Ensenada Grande on Espiritu Santo. An afternoon wind came up and we got our first nice sail in.  It was smooth, warm and scenic; sailing with dolphins is truly medicine for the sole. After setting anchor we geared up to snorkel along the reefs. We swam in crystal clear turquoise water that was a cool refreshing temperature. We had anchored alongside of some friends we met this same time last year in the same anchorage. Skip and Pam invited us all over for BYOP sundowners on their beautiful cruiser troller. The evening was spent with super nice people enjoying good conversation at our gorgeously scenic anchorage.


Sailing with Dolphins .... Medicine for the Sole!

   Briefly we revisited Isle San Francisco. This perfect crescent moon bay is a popular spot and was crowded due to it being the weekend. Huge mega yachts with big dinghies were among-st several sailboats. I had never seen a dinghy to pull a tube or water skier before; They were, no doubt having fun! We dined on ceviche and had shrimp mango salsa (with chips) and drank fine rum cocktails. Life is good on Valhalla.

   On our way to Los Gatos the wind God Treated us kindly. We were able to pop out the spinnaker and catch a nice mellow 4 hour run to "The Cats." It was purrfect conditions for solar showers followed by an air bath to dry. After quesadillas and beers for lunch there was time to relax while we slowly sailed peacefully along. We fished along the way, but our only hope for fish for dinner was running into a fishing panga from the nearby town of Timbabiche. Shortly after the anchor was down our high hopes were answered. We where thrilled that we now had 4 lobster tails to go with Lynn's delicious mango salsa. We had a nice pasta salad prepared as our back up plan in case there was no fish or lobster for dinner. Another 1 st Class dinner  aboard Valhalla complete with fine rum and juice cocktails! 


Would You Just Look at That?


1st Class Dinner & Drinks Coming Up















No Words to Explain
    We love Agua Verde with it's a great anchorage so we stopped in there again and walked through "town."  We saw the billy goat ranch and bought some of their (cruiser) famous goat cheese. Though little to no English is spoken here, the people are very friendly and take a lot of pride maintaining their houses and properties. This is where we spent a very quiet Cinco de Mayo. Oddly, it seems, Americans celebrate it more than the Mexicans. While the men did boat duties,  Lynn and I paddled to shore, walked the beach and went shell hunting. Margarittas were the order of the day for us Americans to celebrate Cinco de Mayo since there was no party in town! LOL.


Is There a Trader Joe's Here?


They Call it Agua Verde!




A Bird's Eye View .... NICE!

Living the Dream with My Man!
Every Picture Tells a Story ... Do not It?

The View From Valhalla at Agua Verde!


   Just 15 nautical miles around the corner was a bay called Candeleros (meaning candlesticks).  There is a beautiful resort here where we were able to swim in their pool, use their wifi and catch up on family news. After alll was said and done, we headed to the beach and took the dinghy back to the boat. Tonight would prove to be a very exciting and sleepless night on Valhalla. After dark, the wind came up furiously on us and sent us spinning on the anchor and had  us healed over like we  were sailing hard! The westerly wind (unusual for this time of year) was on the Pacific Baja howling over 30 with 40 knot gusts and funneled over the thin spit of land onto Candeleros. The rigging was shaking and the wind was howling loud! We had 120 'of chain out in 12' of water with the anchor dug deep in the sand. We knew we would be okay riding out the (wind) storm. However, Colin and Lynn were not so sure. Lynn confessed the next day she thought she had prayed the entire rosary.  We had experienced some big "Coromuel" winds, but nothing like this "westerly" ... it's just another weird weather phenomenon  in Mexico.


Full Sails on Another Beautiful Day


















Sweet Warm Weather Sailing!


The View Flat on My Back












Always Smiles While Sailing



















  


  
   Exhausted as we where, we headed for Puerto Escondito.  After fueling up and laundry, we headed to Isle Danzante hoping for a spot in the small anchorage at Honeymoon Cove. This was Colin and Lynn's second honeymoon and it seemed to be the most appropriate spot.  With permission, we squeezed in next to Duct Tape and set both a stern and a bow anchor.  After much to do with anchoring, we went by dinghy to shore to hike the small island and take in the fantastic views.  Isle Danzante is another true gem in the Sea of Cortez.



Voted Prettiest Anchorage. Honey Moon Cover, Isle Danzante
The Captain and Me. Can not Believe WE ARE HERE!  
     It was another short hop back to Puerto Escondito where anchored in the Ellipse  and  left Valhalla for the night. We called a cab and the 4 of us  headed to Loreto for a night on the town. We found Loreto to be very nice and clean with a non-commercial scenic boardwalk.

   We enjoyed our short stay there away from Valhalla spending one night in a yurt at a small hotel called SuKasa. It was here we would leave our good friends (and great crew) the Cahills to finish their holiday in Mexico and fly home.  Another $ 500 peso cab ride and we were back to Valhalla who was anchored in the safety of the inner harbor of Puerto Esconditio called the Ellipse. 

Like a Brand New Rafiki after TLC in Mazatlan .... "REFLECTIONS"
   



At last! After six months of planning we had finally made contact with our friends, Jeff and Nelia on s / v Reflections. Our plan to rendezvous in Agua Verde would transpire and we would make our (always) tentative plan to "buddy bash" our boats back to So Cal.



Our New Buddy Bash Friends ... Jeff and Nelia




















   We left Agua Verde heading South again stopping at Los Gatos.  Reflections Had been made aware of our luck "fishing" there.  Almost as soon as our hooks were down in this painted desert anchorage, the panga came into the bay.  After the fisherman visited Reflections, they hailed us on the radio and said fish and lobster dinner would be on their boat and their treat. The only glitch was that our fisherman still needed to catch our dinner, but would return later that day. Hmmm?

Do not Worry .... We'll Be Back!


    We  put t/t Valhalla in the water and all went ashore for a walk among-st the giant red rock formations and along the sandy beach.  I will let my pictures be the description for these gorgeous rock formations. The name translates Los Gatos to "The Cats".  That reason being, Pumas live up in the hills in a fertile green arroyo behind the anchorage. Walking along the beach we found proof of the tale. There were large cat tracks complete with claw imprints laden in the sand! This was the first time we had ventured to shore at this super-scenic anchorage. It was an awesome day exploring but it was time to return to our vessels to figure out what was for dinner since there was no sign of our fisherman friends. I had almost given up on them when they were sighted entering the bay!




Littered with Bounties from the Sea


So Grand
Nice Little Tide Pool

The Painted Desert?
















   










  

















   We dinghied over to Jeff and NĂ©lias for dinner aboard.  Reflections is a beautiful 37 'Rafiki who got a lot of TLC during her stay in Mazatlan. This seaworthy boat with all new paint looks like new and is really nice!  Again no one went hungry in Los Gatos as we feasted like kings on lobster, scallops, sweet potatoes, Spanish rice and pico de gallo. The bounties of the sea are so appreciated by us, yet I wonder if the locals get tired of eating seafood.  


Now That's a Pretty Picture
I Love Valhalla!


   We headed toward beautiful Isle San Francisco. The northerly wind picked up and we had a bumpy ride most of the way.  As we rounded the corner hoping for coverage from the wind and the rolling waves, we saw only a couple mega yachts here today. The wind was streaming over and through the low lying land connecting Agate Beach and the anchorage. With no wind protection, we pulled in, turned around and hailed Reflections on the radio and said we were not staying and wanted to continue on another 27 nautical miles to Ensenada Grande. We were tired after a day in less than perfect conditions but knew if we stayed, it would be a sleepless night.  We had accomplished 50 nautical miles, twice as many as planned for that day. We anchored in 10 'of calm, crystal clear water at our last island anchorage. Reflections came over bringing a welcomed offering of fish and margarita makings.  We stayed up until 2200 hours conversing about our future plan and sipping on an evening night cap.  It had been a long day and Don taxied Jeff and Nelia back to their boat.  Under the dazzling light of a full moon, Don played his guitar and we reflected back on our memories of the time we spent in the Sea of ​​Cortez.  It was truly a romantic and magical night at our anchorage on Espirtu Santo island.

  We headed back to La Paz and got 2 slips side-by-side at Marina de La Paz with our buddy boat friends on Reflections. We stayed for a week doing our usual boat repairs, maintenance, cleaning and provisioning in preparation for our departure to Cabo San Lucas.

Valhalla & Reflections Side by Side at Marina de La Paz
  
Very Quiet

  Ahhh ... La Paz! Even though it was hot here, we loved it. There are so many good restaurants with casual Mexican flare and nice ambiance. It was, by far our most favorite city in Mexico. The boardwalk is so beautiful and picturesque walking along the waterfront. Everyday is an adventure walking or riding the bus all over town trying to find what you need or want. I really think we came a long way with our Spanish speaking skills too ... now that it is time to go.  Even grocery shopping is fun.  It takes a lot of time trying to find and figure out what and where things are on your list that you need. We learned a lot about conserving water, food storage and rotation. We met so many nice people here. The people of Mexico are such hard workers and seem so positive and happy.  We love life on a boat here and think it's a wonderful place to visit, but probably would not like to stay here forever like some people do.  Maybe, just maybe, we'll come back again someday on a little bigger boat and just keep on going and forget about bashing home. 


The Last Time I Saw the La Paz Malecon

    Moving Toward Cabo San Lucas,   we stopped in  the Los Muertos after our 55 nautical mile run. After a simple dinner of pre-prepared food, we planned to retire early for a good night of sleep. With no moon rise until early morning, the black sky was bright with a billion stars. I saw a shooting star streak across the sky and made ​​my wish for an uneventful bash home with fair winds and following seas for us. In the middle of the night some mild Coromuels came up which caused us to half an hour delay in our departure to Los Frailes. We pulled anchor and popped up a full main and sailed out of the bay at 5.5 knots. We got in an amazing morning of sailing in Bahia de Los Muertos with reflections until the wind died out.  Warm weather sailing just can not be beat!

   After another 50 nautical mile run at Los Frailes we anchored for the night. The next morning we made a shorter run of 45 nautical miles to Cabo motoring all the way these last two legs. An announcement came over the VHF radio of Hurricane Amanda brewing 150 miles south of Cabo San Lucas. It sounds like bad news, but It could be just the weather we need to push us north on our bash. Maybe my wish "Fair winds and Following Seas" will be granted. We will stay in Cabo for two nights and then be on our way.  

   Okay ... wish us luck on our bash! Thanks for all our interest, thoughts and prayers for us and Valhalla!  California, USA .... here we come.




More Scenes from Return to Valhalla



















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