Mazatlan - November 27, 2009

We enjoyed our second Thanksgiving in Mazatlan with 120 other cruisers. It was a catered event, so none of the usual cooking in the kitchen all day for the holiday. However, I did make a Pumpkin Pie, for us to enjoy. We had music, dancing, good food, and good company.

I had the opportunity to watch the celebration of Mexican Revolution Day (November 20). It is the celebration of the war between the haves and the have not between 1910-1920. The hero of this was Pancho Villa, who was a have not. It is a big holiday celebrated with a parade with all the schools in Mazatlan participating. The parade lasted over 21/2 hours with marching bands, gymnastics, soccer teams, floats, horses, cheer leading groups, fire departments and the Navy. It was so enjoyable to see all of the different schools. I think Doug and Marcy(Charm) and I were the only gringos in attendance. The crowd was so kind to us pointing for us to look at different things.












We toured the local Pacifico Brewery with a group of cruisers. This brewery is the oldest in Mexico. The interesting thing is the alcohol content of Mexico Pacifico beer is 4.5% while in the US alcohol has to be 3.2%. If Pacifico ships to the states the alcohol content must be adjusted. We were able to observe the cooking of the cereal, the fermentation, the bottling, and then the tasting room. The best thing of the tasting room were the incredible 360 degree views of Mazatlan.





We also have weekly dinghy raft ups in the marina. We all decide where we are going and then hook all of our dinghys together while we float around and share appetizers and good conversations.



We visited Stone Island today, which is actually a peninsula. While just a short distance from Mazatlan you felt miles away. The beaches were very long and flat with palapa restaurants along the beach. Very relaxing.
Our home.

Mazatlan - November 19, 2009

We crossed the Sea of Cortez with flat seas. We made it to Mazatlan in 26 hours. Coming back into the harbor felt like we had come home. We unloaded all of our supplies from John and Rosie's boat, Serena Ray, and began the job of putting our boat, Andanzas, back together for another cruising season. Andanzas survived the summer months with no problems. It was hot hard work putting canvas back up, putting the sails back on, cleaning the boat, etc., etc.

Mazatlan is a unique cruising community. Many of the cruisers here consider this their home port and have been here for many seasons. There are so many social activities one can participate in. We have been here for 10 days and I think tonight was the first time I cooked dinner at home. It is great to see all of our friends.


We have had fun touring John and Rosie over "Old Town Mazatlan". Sadly John and Rosie have headed south, although we plan to catch up with them later. We attended the local baseball team, Venados, game.




In addition to all of our social activities I have been enjoying water activities with my friends. I kayak most mornings, ride our new bikes in the evening, have learned to paddle board and have gone boogie boarding for the first time. Wally participates as my lifeguard.

Cabo San Lucas - November 6, 2009

We have arrived in Cabo. We have traveled approximately 750 miles by sea from San Diego. We began with weather at 48 degrees in the morning to currently low 70's, with daytime temperature in the 70's to currently in the 80-90's, to water temperature of 63 degrees to currently 82 degrees.

Friday, October 30 we left Ensenada with a beautiful sunrise. The seas were 3-4 feet with wind about 10 knots. We arrived at our anchorage, Cabo Colonet, 65 miles SE of Ensenada at 3:30 p.m. The anchorage is noted by its sheer cliffs(300-400 feet) and flat plateaus. We enjoyed the evening by sitting on the deck, gourmet bar-b-q, and an evening of Mexican Train.

Saturday, October 31, we left Cabo Colonet at 5:15 a.m., heading towards Punta Baja. In the afternnoon it was decided that the anchorage was going to be to rolly and we needed to head to Turtle Bay. This made our first overnight. It is so much easier doing an overnight with 4 people to share watch as opposed to 2 people. Seas were 2-3 feet and winds 5-9 knots. The seas have become progressively calmer and the weather warmer.


We arrived at Turtle Bay on Sunday at 3:30 p.m., 225 miles south of Colonet. Turtle Bay is half way along the Baja Peninsula. It is the best all weather bay between Ensenada and Magdalena Bay. The village has less that 1000 people. They are primarily fishermen.

The coastline has been very desolate, desert like, with colors of different browns set against the blue ocean. While we did come down the coast last year on our own boat we were further off shore and did not see much of the coastline.

We left Turtle Bay Monday for Bahia Asuncion, 50 miles SE of Turtle Bay, another small village. It was a very calm anchorage. On Tuesday we left Asuncion at sunrise heading to Magdalena Bay, 204 miles south. The seas were 1-2 feet and 7-8 knots of wind. We anchored at Belcher's Point inside Mag Bay. The anchorage had strong currents. We noticed many old buildings along Belcher's Point, an old phosphorus plant, and an old whaling station. The coastline has been greener due to the recent Hurricane Rick.



We have fished along the way catching Yellow Fin Tuna and Dorado. I have learned that it is more humane to use vodka killing fish as opposed to using a bat.

We left Belcher's Point on Thursday morning heading to Cabo San Lucas, 160 miles, arriving Friday morning. Cabo is a prime tourist attraction. We went ashore for the first time in a week having lunch ashore. We will leave for Mazatlan in the morning and arrive sometime Sunday afternoon.


We have had beautiful full moon rises, sun rises, and sunsets. We have had great weather. We have had a wonderful time sharing this experience with John and Rosie. We have enjoyed great food, good fun with games, and lots of laughter. We have enjoyed the peace that the sea and the sun provides. We value the freedom of being on our own schedules.

I believe I am a convert to the "Dark Side", Wally is still pending........

Ensenada, Baja California

Stuck in Ensenada. The Port Captain has closed the harbor due to high winds(45 knots) and high seas(17-19 feet). We arrived in Ensenada Sunday night and have been waiting to leave since Tuesday. We are glad we are not out at sea. We will likely leave on Friday morning.

Ensenada (actual name Ensenada De Todos Santos) is the third largest city in the Mexico State of Baja California. Ensenada has a population of 460,075. Ensenada is locally referred as La Bella Cenicenta del Pacific (the Cinderella of the Pacific).


We are currently at the Hotel Coral Marina. We have access to all the amenities of the hotel which includes the pool, hot tub, gym and restaurant. We have been using all the services (FYI-the men are avoiding the gym).

We had a beautiful ride from San Diego to Ensenada which is about 60 miles. We left in fog which cleared out to a beautiful sunny day. We saw our first sea life, dolphins, which swam with us.


SerenaRay, John and Rosie's 47' Nordhavn, is a beautiful boat. We are enjoying all the luxuries and comforts of their new home. We have had great meals due to John's culinary skills. We have been reading, keeping up with our friends adventures on the Baja HaHa, playing games and taking naps.



Yesterday we took a ride to see "La Bufadora", the second largest of the major marine geysers in the world. (We are wondering what is #1?) We were surprised to see the agriculture in the outlaying areas of Ensenada.

We have 900 miles by water to go to Mazatlan. Our next stop, weather permitting, Cabo Colonet, San Quintin, and then Turtle Bay. Rosie and I are trying to avoid an overnight as long as possible.

San Diego - October 23, 2009

We are off for Cruising Season 2! We are excited to be returning to our cruising lifestyle.

There are so many things we are looking forward to:
1)Seeing old friends and meeting new friends.
2)Exploring new places.
3)Eating at some of our favorite places: Fat Fish, Tacos in the Street, Filos.
4)Listening to local music as well as cruisers music jams.
5)Riding our new "cruising" bikes.
6)Swimming, snorkeling, kayaking.
7)Noodle parties.
8)Playing Mexican Train.
9)Warm weather, especially warm evenings.

We are joining our friends, John and Rosie, on their boat, Serena Ray, pictured above. We are departing from San Diego to Ensenada where we will obtain our visas and check into the country of Mexico. From there we will explore the Baja coast cruising towards Mazatlan where our boat, Andanzas, has been for the summer.

We leave you with this thought as you follow our adventure. "If you never did, you should. These things are fun, and fun is good." Dr. Seuss

Ventura, CA - September 28, 2009

We have continued to enjoy our time at home visiting and playing with family and friends. I have managed to work in between my play time and Wally has done some boat deliveries and boating lessons.

Wally, and Ed from Windsong, took a road trip to Mazatlan to deliver our new dingy and other items both boats felt necessary for our next cruising season. They drove down the Baja side and took the ferry from LaPaz to Mazatlan. Their return trip they drove up the Mexico mainland. They enjoyed seeing some of the anchorages and bays in the Sea of Cortez. We look forward to exploring the Sea of Cortez on Andanzas.

We have vacationed with my family at Balboa Island and enjoyed a week at the beach. I have spent time at Nacimento Lake with my brothers, sister and parents doing one of our favorite water sport, wave running. My latest trip was to New York to visit Niagra Falls with my family.

We are excited about finishing our summer and heading back to Mazatlan to pick up our boat. Our tentative departure is around October 18. We have the opportunity to join our friends, John and Rosie, on their boat Serena Ray, in San Diego and go by sea back to Mazatlan.

Ventura, California - June 16, 2009

Home....We find that our hearts are here at home with family and friends, but our adventurous spirit remains with Andanzas in Mazatlan. We had a cultural adjustment returning to the States. We returned to English as opposed to Spanglish, dollars as opposed to pesos, casual lifestyle to a fast pace lifestyle, inexpensive living to expensive living.

We returned to Ventura with our first purpose was to set up our other home on DreamCatcher. DreamCatcher did not sell while we were gone, however, it has given us a place to live during these summer months. Unfortunately, we had emptied and sold everything on the boat before we left for Mexico so we have been busy resupplying DreamCatcher.

We have been visiting family in Paso Robles, San Francisco and Orange County. It has been great to see all of our family. In addition we have seen our cruising friends Scott and Linda from Samantha. They are currently in Marina Del Rey heading north to San Francisco soon. We had Scott and Sue from Suebee with their boat in Channel Islands for a week. Wally went with them from Channel Islands to San Francisco. They have completed their cruising adventure. We have visited with Ed and Annette from Windsong and Frank and Stephanie from Endless Summer who are also home for the summer months.

I have returned to work for the summer. Work seems to interfere with our playing time, however, we are making the best of it. We spent the past week-end in Mammouth Lakes area. The mountain tops were covered with snow. The pine trees smelled so good. We had rain showers, cold and hot weather. We spent the days hiking. The good news is this is the first time in 2 years that Wally has been able to hike. The surgery he had in Mexico continues to be a success.









We have many activities planned for the summer. We will spend next week with my family at Balboa Island. I will be seeing my newest grandchild for the first time. Wally will be taking a trip in July to Mazatlan to supply Andanzas for next cruising season. In addition we will
continue to visit family and friends.