S/V Dolphin Tales

Dolphin Tales Update

2012-01-30T19:34:00.001-08:00

Update: Dolphin Tales as left the dock. We headed out to Stone Island for one night to make sure all is well on board. Then an overnight ride to Isla Isabela a visit ashore then on to Matanchen Bay. Here we did the tourist stuff, jungle trip, visit to San Blas Fort. And then on to Chacala were we are now Jan 30 2012. We have two boats travelling with us Kewao and Tary a Bit.

Fuller brush man Friends of Mexico.

2011-12-29T13:37:00.000-08:00

Every Year the Salvation Army Orphanage brings kids into town so they can dance and sing this helps raise money for the kids over the year. This year on December 27th late in the evening, they were robbed of a good portion of the donations that they had raised. We guess even the bad guys do not think that children should have food and clothing for the year. How very sad.

We were off to Office Depot and Home Depot and here was the fuller brush man selling his wares on the street (no Swiffers here).

Dolphin Tales leave the Dock and Christmas

2011-12-29T13:35:00.000-08:00

This is slip B20 and Dolphin Tales has left the dock.

The Nutcracker

December 12th the Feast of Guadeloupe

Poncho Villa

Marathon and Villa Union

2011-12-29T13:30:00.000-08:00

According to the locals, this restaurant in Villa Union is the place to go to eat fish.

Dave did not leave much on his plate.

The Mazatlan Marathon.

more boat projects

2011-12-29T13:27:00.000-08:00

Installing our new port covers.

Getting new hatch screens made.

Late Nov to the aquarium, visitors

2011-12-29T13:24:00.000-08:00

A night at the Aquarium. Swimming with the sharks and newly hatched turtles.

A visit with the local polica. They were very interested in how we felt about the safety of Mazatlan.

The green visitor to our dingy.

Nov boat bottom fishing derby

2011-12-29T13:19:00.000-08:00

Dolphin Tales gets a new bottom job. We started having issues with the paint coming off, so had all the paint stripped off and an new epoxy barrier coat applied. It seems like the when the boat was commissioned they may have not put the first coat of paint on it time as it was not stuck to the epoxy.

The El Cid had a one day dorado shot out with the first prize a brand new Ford Ranger truck. And if you can believe it a fish weighing just 26 lbs was the catch of the day.

The sword fish was not part of the derby.

Getting The Boat Back Together

2011-10-30T16:09:00.001-07:00

We are getting stuff done, but takes a little longer when you only work 8 am to Noon. Don't you like those hours but is too hot and humid to do

much in the afternoon. So far all seems to be in good shape, engine started first turn after sitting for 6 months. We now have most of the stuff out of the cabin, just the dingy to move from under the table. On the fun side we went to one baseball game , Mazatlan lost but beer is still cheap.

Attended a third birthday party for the 3 year grandson of some Mexican friends. Had to be 70 or more kids at this party.

It was held at a play area that is set up for kids events, very little parent supervision and we never heard a single kid cry for the 2 hours we

were there.

And Beer and Beans has started again.

Back On The Boat

2011-10-24T10:22:00.001-07:00

Arrived back in Mazatlan Saturday PM . First order of business 12 Pacifico, and a glass of water. Still hot and humid but good to be back.

All seems ok so far with Dolphin Tales. Nice and clean topsides, stainless was all polished and the bottom cleaned, so we are now

working on the inside. Sun shades are back up, and the pool is great. Gotta run it's happy hour.......

WHAT DID YOU DO FOR YOUR SUMMER VACATION?

2011-09-15T11:47:00.000-07:00

If you can believe it Debbie volunteered us to help friends get their boat to San Francisco. She must have a short memory, as she seems to have forgotten her first trip down the coast when she told Lynn, what he could do with the S/V Dolphin Tales when they arrived in Newport Oregon. Well on August 29 we left Vancouver on the SV Navigo a Beneteau 42 center cockpit with Bob and Camelia for San Francisco via the offshore route.

After clearing customs in Port Angeles a final check of the weather shows 15-20 knots of wind, with the wind and seas building later on in the week to 30 knots off Northern California we headed out the strait and made the turn at Neah Bay. A couple of hours motoring and we are soon under sail.

Once under sail, one soon finds all the noises generated by dishes, pots, etc. as you try to sleep. Padding and stuffing dish towels in cupboards becomes a hobby, with each trip down below.

Similar to Dolphin Tales the best place to sleep was the sea berth in the salon just aft of the mast, and sometimes it can even hold two people when the forward and aft cabins become unliveable.

As the trip progresses we did find the forecast winds of 30 knots building to 40 knots and seas building to 15 ft plus or so, but it is hard to gage sea height. We are running down wind with a very small foresail out at about 6 knots and higher as you surf some waves. We did have waves breaking on the aft deck of the boat and only the enclosure and Lynn’s back prevented more water coming into the cockpit when one broke on his watch. This was after his getting wet earlier when one very large one came in the starboard side enclosure opening. The Gale might have blown hard for 48 hours but for some on board it felt like it was 5 days in a washing machine with no springs on a 7 day cycle.

During the gale the US Coast Guard rescued two people and a dog off a 50 ft boat that was taking on water and sank. Another vessel was then turned out to sea, when three people where taken off that vessel. We had heard that all where dehydrated and could not control the boat. We also heard the Coast Guard talking to another boat that had someone on board with broken ribs and they were trying to get to Coos Bay. We learned after from another sailboat that they were advised by the Coast Guard that the wave height would be increased and become dangerous by a large tropical storm some place in the South Pacific.

Once the winds started to drop, the seas very quickly flattened out and the last day and a half turned into a motor boat ride to San Francisco and the Sausalito Yacht Club.

Navigo has an AIS transponder on board with a display a little larger than an IPOD Touch. Well imagine trying to move cross hairs over a target that is moving all over the screen, as the screen itself is moving around with the movement of the boat. Once you get the cross hairs on the target click a button and very small print gives you information on the target. To get more information or remove the target, center the target with the cross hairs and click a button. Are you sea sick yet? Off the coast of Oregon, Debbie and Camelia had a target approaching from seaward, after identifying the target Debbie hailed the ship and had them adjust coarse to pass astern of us. Must have been the woman’s touch, as there was no issue in having them adjust course. Technology can make ship contact less stressful but remember pleasure craft carry a different class transponder and not all commercial vessels may to be monitoring this class.

Debbie did discover that sea sickness does not go away after a few days but she did stand her watches and kept her bucket close by. Lynn suffered for a half a day or so. Camelia used the closest bucket. Bob was close to needing a bucket when he was below for a while at the navigation station or trying to match the cross hairs on the AIS to a target. Needless to say not a lot food was consumed on the passage. Our position was logged every 3 hours and the plan was to place these on a chart. Upon arrival in San Francisco the chart was as clean as when it was purchased.

By the way, Debbie says she will not volunteer to make this trip again and the next time she sees this part of the coast will be on a vessel no smaller than a cruise ship.

2011-09-04T20:38:00.001-07:00

Debbie and Lynn have made it to San Fransisco after weathering a storm that pushed them there faster than they had anticipated. Now its time for the vacation to start up!

Lynn and Debbie on way to San Francisco

2011-08-26T17:31:00.001-07:00

Dolphin Tales is still in Mexico, but Lynn and Debbie are on their way to San Francisco if you can believe it. Never thought Debbie would volunteer to do the trip again after she told me what to do with the boat when we did the trip the last time.

We are crewing on the SV Navigo a Beneteau 42 with our friends Bob and Camellia. Leaving Vancouver Sunday Aug 28^th or so and heading to Port Angeles and then out the strait. The plans are to do a no stop voyage but cruising is always subject to change.

The vessel is probably one of the best equipped Beneteau 42 you will find. Not much equipment available that is not installed on the boat.

Will post again once we get to San Francisco and have Internet access.

Blue Water Rendezvous

2011-05-25T20:29:00.001-07:00

ATTENDING THE BLUE WATER RENDEVOUS AT BEDWELL HARBOUR MADE POSSIBLE BY SOME VERY NICE FOLKS

Even with Dolphin Tales tucked away for the summer we managed to attend the get together at Bedwell Harbour. It only took one ship and two sailboats to make the round trip from Victoria. BC Ferry to Vancouver were we joined Bob and Camelia on the SV Navigo for a very enjoyable trip from Shelter Island Marina to Bedwell.

The rendevous was a great success and provided an opportunity to meet old friends and make some new ones. Was also nice to meet some of the crews leaving this fall for warmer Southern waters. Maybe we will meet again in Mexico.

The return transportation was provided by the nice crew of SV Freja, Barb and Bjarne. In spite of light airs we did manage to sail most of the trip back and got in before dark.

Thanks to all who made it a great weekend.

Back In Victoria

2011-04-19T15:52:00.001-07:00

Arrived back in Victoria and immediately fired up the wood stove. We complained about it being cool/ cold in Mexico this winter but it beats being home from the sounds of it and seeing the amount of moss on stuff.

Well summer is on the way and have already cut the lawn and making a list of house and yard chores to be done.

New Posts That You Will FInd If You Click Older Posts

2011-04-03T19:46:00.001-07:00

We just posted more posts about Mexico City. To see these you will need to click older posts.

2011-03-28T14:36:00.000-07:00

We belong to a group called Friends of Mexico the supply school supplies to numerous schools through out Mazatlan and Mexico. For $250.00 Canadian you can suppy a scholarship for a student who is heading into grades 7 and up. The group meets once a month and has speakers or groups come in and give us information about Mexico. The last meeting we had a group of Fire Dancers appear, they were promoting their Town of El Quelite

Carnaval Extras

2011-03-28T13:17:00.000-07:00

I was invited to the crowning of the Flower Queen by friends off of the SV Taya. Here we enjoyed songs from the Beatles played by the Sinalo Symphony Orchestra.

I was surprised to see the same statues in the parade as we saw in the show.

Paulette Myself and Rosie went to watch the children's costume Ball. It was to start at 10:00am but things did not get rolling till a little after 11:00. We figured there had to be over 200 kids at the function and seating was hard to come by.This little lady threw out candy, she was the winner in her age group. It was really more of showing off your dancing skills then a costume ball

Carnaval

2011-03-28T13:08:00.000-07:00

Carnaval in Mazatlan has been an annual party for about 200 years, It's loud, bright, colourful and sometimes a little gaudy. But most of all everyone you talk to has fun. We saw numerous people dressed up on the street for Carnaval some in full costumes with faces covered others with just a face mask People waiting for the parade to start

A group of us purchased tickets for lunch and grandstand seating. Just in front of our seats was an area that some of the higher officials would be so we were well protected as the police stood right in front and below where we were going to be sitting.

The theme this year was the return of Greek mythology

Most floats were followed by groups of dancers

After having seen the parade from the street and now up high Lynn and I both think being down on the street was better.

The parade started at 6:30 and ended around 10:30 the whole parade had past by us by 8:30.

The street below looked very similar to the street on Sat. when we went and watched the fire-works. We did not get home from fireworks till close to 1:30 am.

Once agian we had a great time at Carnaval

Basillica Guadalupe

2011-03-27T12:31:00.000-07:00

They say the virgin of Guadalupe is the christianized version of the Aztec goddess Tonantzin and that the basilica is built over a pyramid dedicated to her. Another church area up on the hillside This is where the Vision of Guadalupe was first seen by Juan Diego. We did not have time to walk up and see it. This church is used for baptisms and 1st communions In 2002 Pope John Paul II visited the area.

The inside of the new church

The new church we have been told that it contains BC Timber

Old and new side by side

Someone who made the last of the journey on his knees

The orginal church has moved about 6ft it has a nice tilt on it.

Thousands of pilgrims daily parade up to the church. Some travel the last meters to the shrine on their knees.

The drive to the church was marked with numerous floats, and people making their way to the church.

We were told that it is a constant parade of people and floats down this road daily and that people put their lives on hold while they make the pilgrimage.

Taxco

2011-03-23T16:55:00.000-07:00

The town of Taxco is know through out Mexico for its pervious silver mines. This church was built in 5 years with the money coming from a rich mine owner. The town is built into the hillside with numerous one way streets. We only had a few hours to explore.It is very pretty and spread out.Would be a good place to spend a few days.

Lots of shops selling silver jewelry, dishes but this one specialized in larger items and stautes of animals

The price of beer dictated were we had lunch. Most places wanted 2.00 we found this place for 1.50 plus it had a nice veiw and Lynn was able to buy himself a ring.

The church door no money is being spent on it

Heading back down to catch the bus back to Mexcio city, the cobblestone road is only wide enough for one car and not alot of foot traffic

Every plaza we have been in has been selling these bright pull toys, I've been tempted to purchase some but can't figure out how I would get them home and if they would be safe for the little ones.

the caves

2011-03-23T16:36:00.000-07:00

Up and on the bus by 7:00am we were on another road trip, we were surprised to see nets covering the hill side to stop the sluffing same as we do at home. 30 kms NE of Taxco we took a side trip to the Cacahuamilpa Caves

It's a short walk up and down the valley before reaching the entrance to the caves

Hmm that looks pretty deep

As we desend lights come on along the path making the people below look like ants

The stalacitites, stalagmites are something to see

To realize the depths they have placed colourd lights behind some of them.

Many of the rock formations have been named for the resemblance that they form.

There were also numerous holes were the light shone through to show a shadow of something or someone. This one is named after the Christ Child.

Museum of anthropology

2011-03-23T16:30:00.000-07:00

This Museum is so large that the three hours we were given to explore it were just not enough. Lynn and I purchased the talking video to walk around with . We maybe saw 6 of the 20 rooms. Here is the Aztec Calender.

A duplication of one of the grave sites

This temple is found farther south

Looks like heads from Easter Island

Indiana Jones here we come

Xochimilco canal ride

2011-03-23T16:29:00.000-07:00

Xochimilco = Nahuatl for place where flowers grow.

At one time Mexico City was a network of Canals with floating gardens called CHINAMPAS. About 20km from downtown there is an area that has been saved with about 180kms of canals . On the weekends this is a favorite area to visit. The waterways become jammed with flat bottom boats (trajineras)that are poled down the canalsNot only do you get a boat ride but numerous vendors also pole up and down the canels with their wares. If they don't sell it you do not need it. Flowers, hot and cold food, toyes, clothing, hats, blankets There are also boats being poles with bands that will play music for you for a fee.

They use the canals just like a highway to move wood for fires goods for sale , we even saw a garbage boat.

people on the street

2011-03-23T16:24:00.000-07:00

Mexico city buildings

2011-03-23T16:17:00.000-07:00

This is the tallest building in Mexico city, it's 47 floors you take two elevators to the top for a grand view of the city.

Not sure what we expected for buildings in Mexico City, but we were impressed with how modern day buildings have been intergraded into the neigbourhoods with the old big stone buildings. Look way up

Now that is one very large beer. Numerous buildings are covered with advertisements

This building is owned by the richest man in the world, Carlos Slim Helu he owns Tel-mex. It will hold his extensive personal art collection.

Palace Mayor this is where the government sits

Someone felt that building this in the shape of a pyarmid would bring them good luck

Just like in Canada and the States almost every big city has a building that shapes around the corner.

Now who says the mexicians can not build with style.

Apartment buildings that look warm and welcoming

Mexico city churchs

2011-03-23T16:09:00.001-07:00

Churches churches and more churches. As they slowly sink down in the old lake bed it appears that they just keep building more. The city is filled with church steeples. The Cathedral Metropolitana below took over 300 years to complete.

The pictures never seem to capture the richness of the gold and silver leaf paint that was used in most of the churches. Not only at the alter but also on a lot of the walls.

Every church has alcoves. Some have lots some have one or two, but ever church has at least one statue of a Saint or two. This one had numerous alcoves and close to ever saint they could think of that you might want to pray to.

This was the saint to keep someones mouth closed depending on what they were saying and how bad you wanted to keep their mouths closed, depended on the size of the lock.

Here they were cleaning and retouching the statues and paintings.This is a year round job.

One of the churches we stopped in had a band playing classical music from the university the acoustical sound was breathtaking. Everyone of our 40 people on the tour commented on how moved they were by the music.

Organ pipes that take up good sections of the walls

Church steeples on churches that are still in use but mother nature is starting to take hold.

Mex city statues

2011-03-23T10:34:00.001-07:00

Every town in Mexico has statues, here in Mexico city almost every 6th block had a statue of someone or something they ranged from very modern to mexican baroque and medieval styles.

mexico city

2011-03-23T10:30:00.000-07:00

What can we say about Mexico City, well it is either the third or fourth largest City in the world. There are many means of transportation, bus, bikes, cars, regular taxis, Volkswagon Beetles missing front seats are also used as Taxis Three wheel bikes for clean air Taxies. Areas where you rent a bike and drop it off in another area.

Subways that run above, below and on the ground.

Pyramids

2011-03-23T10:25:00.000-07:00

We joined a bus tour to Mexico City after a 12 hour over night bus ride a few bathroom breaks and a stop for breakfast, we arrived at the Teotihuacan Pyramids that are about 2 hours outside of Mexico City. This is the temple of the Sun, Lynn and our friend Steve climbed to the top. Lynn was very pleased with himself as there were younger people then him that he passed on his way up . Like any other place there were numerous items you could purchase, only these items were unique to to the pyramids. We saw a few items we thought we would purchase at a later time in Mexico City. Oh well we really did not need them

Looking into the compound as we drove around to find a place to park the bus the whole area covers about 20kms they have only unearthed about 3 kms so far.

I climbed up to the top of the moon temple and took a picture of the site, at the far end is a ball playing field. Seemed to us that you did not want to be the winning team as who ever won was sacrificed to the gods

Teacapan

2011-03-23T10:13:00.000-07:00

View from hotel room

Lets take a jungle ride throught the estuary.Our young guide had no English, but was very helpful in poinitng out the views. And between all of us we did manage to communicate.

after a 2 hour ride we made for a special lunch spot

Hmm Fried fish not alot of meat left on it

Campground cabins

Wild life eating on the beach, these fellows were getting their fill of stingrays

Opps guess we got a little close

Dolphins swimming in the bay

Birds birds and more birds my friend Bonnie would have loved it here

Pink Spoon Billed bird our guide was very excited to point this guy out to us

Wed afternoon Trip to Rosario and Teacapan

2011-03-23T10:08:00.000-07:00

This is the hotel that Fran, Ron and ourselves stayed in when we travelled to Teacapan Rosario church, we went there three times and doors were locked. The inside alter is all done in gold.

What to do on a Wed pretend you are a tourist

Stocking the trucks

2011-01-13T14:23:00.000-08:00

We spent the night at Ken and Paulette's on the 23rd so we could be up at and out of the house at 6:30 to go and pick-up Ed and Linda's SUV. Little did we know that there was just room for one in the back and two in the front. There were so many toyes in the SUV we could not even see out the back or side windows.

We arrived at 7:00pm they had all ready loaded one truck and were starting on the next one

Here we are in the passing line we think they should have moved the truck closer but, then what would have all of us done that early in the morning

Our Friend Gwen is busy counting in English while the lady across is counting out loud in Spanish.

Next the fresh chickens are hauled out to the trucks

Even the protection service trucks join in and help to deliver

We are assigned to the 3rd group form the bottom. We have 200 chickens and 100 food bags to hand out

It's 7:15 and they are about half way done with passing out the food bags

Just about to the end and Gwen is still smiling

At 7:30 we have stocked all the trucks and now it is time gathere around in a big circle

We have been informed that there 2000 dinners to deliver, which is 628 more then last year. They are so thankful for all the help and ask us all to join hands and say the Lords Prayer. Then it was time to drive to the areas.

This group could have used one more truck or a larger one

One of our trucks chose to follow the big truck in hopes of being on TV later that day. Needless to say when we arrived to our area they were a little late. In fact we stayed out side the area for about 30 minutes waiting for them

we arrived at Shanty Town

2011-01-13T13:58:00.001-08:00

We left old town with 4 trucks and arrived with three, so we waited outside this area before heading to the magic Tree We thought maybe this was where we were headed, but we were wrong this area is still to affluent

It would appear that the water truck made a stop here today

The above house is now closer to the area that we are to deliver the food to

The house below was in our area, it was made out of pallets that they had sanded right down, we are not sure if they got a chicken or not.

This house would be considered not well off.
When are Friend Gwen got involved with the Chicken dinner program. There instructions where to only give chickens and beans to house that looked like they neede it. Like she said she felt they all needed help. They now have a social worker that lives in each area and helps decide who need the help more then the other. It is still all very sad

They now go out and give them tickets for the food, with out a ticket they can not recieve a chicken or bag which holds bean, rice, crackers, can of corn and cookies.

They had al been told to wait by the big tree in the area that we would arrive at 10:00am. This being Mexico we were on time but most others were not.

But that was ok . Once they got thier food they were just so pleased and grateful

We do not know what happened to this man but, his wife and chilren were very happy with the gifts

Other Friends of ours had purchased toys that needed to be handed out we tryed to play a a game with the children before hand but they were just to excited to focus

To try and keep track of who had recieved a toy we decided to mark the childrens hands with a marker

The children tryed to line up but it was really hard on the younger ones, the older ones waited till the end before they came up which was nice.

Some of the boys discovered that if the scrubbed really hard the marker would come off and they could get in line agian . Which would have been fine except we were a little short on Boy toys

But no matter what the smile on their faces was worth the early morning. They all like to have thier pictures taken and to show off thier new toys`

Mom and son heading back home

This gentleman showed up with all three kids on the bike and his ticket for his chicken dinner rolled up in a old magazine so he would not loose it.

We are getting gto the end of the toyes and it looks like we have a few more boys to find toyes for

Grampa has is hands full with the grandson and Mr Felton (the Politician) is telling him that things will get better this coming year.

People are waving good bye and thanking us over and over for the good deed. Do we have the warm fuzzy feeling going on Yes

This one was through the car window the girls were showing us their new dolls and their Moms were waving and blowing kisses

But most of all the smiles like this were all worth it

Happy New year, peace on earth and goodwill to all

2011-01-13T13:54:00.000-08:00

December saw us busy with Old and new friends arriving at the Marina, trips down tot he old town to see what was going on. Listening to a beatles concert in one of the squares and numerous dinners out. We watched the Salvation Army Kids dance and sing over the month. The first performance they were a little rough, but by the last one at Mar Rosa the Trailer park they were looking a little smoother. To insure we were in the xmas spirit Paulette had offered our services for Dec 24 at 6:00am

Mid nov 2010

2011-01-13T13:50:00.000-08:00

Once we were back from the Cooper Canyon we got right into the swing of Baseball, we seemed to be a the Venados Baseball field 3 times a week if not more. This year the people in the stands were more entertaining then the team. We had many games where the score was very low as the Venados kept hitting fly balls instead of keeping them low which would have helped them get on base. In the end they made it to the seim finals only to loose out in the 1st four games.

2011-01-08T20:01:00.000-08:00

The town of Creel is very colorful and most curbs are very high which leads us to think they get a lot of rain here. New Church

These two churchs were on the same block this looked like the old church

Lynn thought he and Ken (his brother) should look into opening a restaurant like this

This train station had a little more inforamtion out then the one in El Fuerte

We would think that at one time you purchased your tickets here rather then on the train

How much was the train one way

last leg before the hotel in Creel

2011-01-08T19:53:00.000-08:00

Well we made it back to Creel we told Noel that we wanted a nice hotel not like what we had the first time here.
The outside does not look like much

But wait till you see the inside

We went through a ton of wood and the 2 bedrooms had propane heaters in each.

Pots, pans, dishes soap, everything you could need except a sharp knife, we borrowed one from the next unit.

We all felt that we were in a Swizz Chalet , what a treat after the drive back up here

We are getting closer to Creel the raod is now paved

We found this lady on the side of the road and we still had some material to get rid of plus the school supplies that Noel was going to drop off for us

They do not believe in leaving the logs to long, at first we thought this was only once in a while,but no this is how they log them

Well we are on pavement but the road is still full of lots of curves and tight turns

Pavement to waterfall

2011-01-08T19:43:00.000-08:00

Well we are just about to the top and will be starting to head down to Creel These ladies and girls were waiting in the shadows at that waterfall for tourists to come and buy there wares

We were all impressed with the water fall

When Noel told us to walk across the dry river bed we all thought the waterfall would not be much

To get to the waterfall we had to drive on a very bumpy road and through one very large puddle

Log house just like we used to have

To the water fall park

The road is smooth

This is one of the richest Tarahumara bands they have all the old paintings from all the old mission on their land.The day we arrived they were washing blankets and hanging them out to dry

This is the church and museum with all the paintigs no pictures were allowed, but some of the painting were very old

The road into the mission

dirt road to pavement

2011-01-08T19:08:00.000-08:00

It's 9:00am we have picked up 3 more people they were to catch a bus out this am but it never showed. We are hoping the ride up will be better then the ride down, its still a long way upWell we have seen people walking and goats on the road

shear rock walls that are pink in color, in some places we are so close to the rock its amazing that we have not scraped the SUV

there seems to be a vehicle in front of that has left a group of children on the hillside in a cloud of dust. We are all hoping they are going the same direction.

Noel thought this might be a good place to stop as Debbie and one of our hitchhikers are getting a little sick.Finally it looks like we are getting close to the paved roadWhen they say steep they mean steep

See even the line painter was overwhelmed by the drive up the canyon

Batopilas to La Bufa

2011-01-08T10:58:00.000-08:00

We stopped in the town of La Bufa which is about one and half hours from Batopilas, Bonnie had some material for dresses that we left here and I gave the kids some whistles, crayons and some other material. Their parents were out working in the field. La Bufa has a very large mine tailing area, that they refuse to sell or let anyone work. Noel say if they would sell they could make a lot of money

This young fellow was walking towards town to sell a bag of apples

We stopped and asked these ladies if they needed a ride but they refused

This gentleman was not impressed that I took his picture. as we mentioned earlier the Tarahumara natives do not like to have their picture taken as they still feel it capatures their souls

It looks like it is going to be a nice day

The sun shines on the soil which just glows cooper it is very stunning

Before we left Noel thought he should wash the car and fill up the rad. before we head up

The Mining company

2011-01-08T10:36:00.000-08:00

The Town of Batopilas was supported for many years by the Mining Family of Alex Shepard. In its day the mine across the river was massive. They had their own money and owned most of the stores and brought in teachers and doctors

From across the river you can see numerous building that are slowly crumplying down.

To reach this side of the river you can either drive or use the short cut bridge.

Once over there you are to ring the bell, which we had to have Noel put the wires together so it would ring. A Family has moved into the ruins and charges you to walk around they have some high hopes for improvements

As you can see a hotel is in the works

The buildings are slowly letting nature take her toll, but you can tell that in their hay day they were very grand.Notice the wood sticking out from one of the floors above

Imagine having to make, dig, haul and stack all the bricks and rocks that were used in these buildings

who uses the roads

2011-01-08T10:28:00.000-08:00

As we mentioned earlier the area was really made for horses and burros. Only we do not think the burros like to leave town once they are here. We assumed he came to town to purchase or sell the wood. The burro is giving us the look as if to say get off my road.

This gives a good view of how wide the road is

Checking to see if its ok to pass the SUV

This cowboy was glad he got by and is rushing his 2 burros out of town.

Back in Batopilas for 2nd day

2011-01-08T10:20:00.000-08:00

After leaving the lost mission we headed back to Batopilas to have lunch do a little sight seeing till about 2:00pm when Noel would take us across the rivier.
Cows not only use the river for water they have assigned parking spots

The Church in Batopilas had numerous stained glass windows throught out it.

Not only was the drive down to this town on a narrow road, there streets are also narrow there are only 3 roads in town. None are marked as one way either

This bridge is used to get to school and also for access to the few homes we saw on the other side it is just wide enough for two small people to pass on it.

We are not sure if they onlygive out traffic tickets or if they are a full police office, we did notice a military yard about 1hour out of town close to La Bufa

We thought this was the way to build a ladder so the workers could get to the second floor

2011-01-07T15:57:00.000-08:00

We planned on going to see the lost Mission, Noel thought we should walk he would give us a head start and come along later and see if we wanted a lift it is only about 1 to 2 hour walk. Just before we left town we noticed this water pipe with the unquie clamps on it. Noel insured us it was a very flat road. Jim took off for a fast walk, well Lynn, Bonnie and myself enjoyed the views and took numerous pictures and video as we strolled along

Noel passed us and its getting a little steep.

The river here is used for washing clothes, cars, watering cattle, horses, and goats and of course some people drink it.

This little one is watching over the wash while farther down another is hanging it out to dry

This truck stopped and asked Lynn and I if we wanted a ride. We should have taken it as some other folks took up the same kind of offer and were treated to a party .

This young fellow is net fishing, while Mom was doing the wash not to far away

It took us awhile to figure out that they were spear fishing across the river.

We noticed numerous house on the other side with no way to get to them except by swimming across. We did notice that they had rigged small cable cars to pull goods and maybe even small people across.

Well there is the lost church, its hard to imagine a Jesuit priest coming ways out here in the middle of nowhere to start a church.

In the last 5 years they have redone the church giving it a more modern look the locals say they thought it looked better the other way.

We made it to the bottom

2011-01-06T19:16:00.000-08:00

After a nail biting drive all 5 of us were ready for a nice quiet meal and something to drink, this is a semi dry town. No hard liquor is sold down here, just beer.

Five people and three differnet hotels this is one of the areas of the court yard where we stayed

Our room was clean, bright, had heat, lamps to read by at night and lovely plush towels and fresh water every day all for $45.00 Cdn

The name of the hotel

Long way down to Batopilas

2011-01-06T19:11:00.000-08:00

65km and 6 hours later maybe more we made it to the bottom to Batopilas the old mining town. The bridge was made for donkeys and horses, to drive on it with a car its only one at a time

We chuckled when we saw this man made bridge crossing the river . Later we would experince it

We were about 40minutes away from anywhere and here was this Tarahumara man walking down the road. They are very private people and do not really like to have their pictures taken.

Our Guide said he was likey coming or going to town to sell his goods or purchase something.

The call the above picture the 7 layer cake. This is about half way down the switchbacks

We came across numerous burro on the road, I think they had the right ideal as the road was very nerve racking in the car. Each sharp switchback you wondered if the car would make the turn or were we going over the side.

This does not even start to show how steep and tight the road was. We were fortunate not to have met any other traffic on the trip down as there are areas where you have to back up a long ways before two vehicles can pass one another.

The different switchs on the picture above were taken just before the 28 km sign looking down at the next picture we can not even imagine making it to the bottom as the first 37kms were pretty bad.

The views were fantastic. We also decided that they could never pave this road unless they enlarged enough for two vehicles to pass. As it is now they just watch for the dust rising to tell if they have to wait at certain areas for a car to pass, or which way it is heading.

Short cut

2011-01-06T19:06:00.000-08:00

Noel are guide told us that now we would start on the rest of our long drive for the day but 1st he would take us on a short cut. This short cut was very rough litlle did we know the rest of the day would be very similar.

The short cut ended at this lake where he suggested we get out and follow the lake edge around to the other side where he would met us. Talk about trust worthy folks we all got out and walked. It was a beautiful lake it almost looked like we were back in BC, there were about 100 campsites here.

After meeting Noel on the other side we drove on good pavement for about 30 minutres, before we ran into road consturction as you can see the road is very tight for two vehicles
Once the truck got closer Noel noticed a slight problem before we could pass one another

He made the driver push the rock back before we would proceed. Around Lunch time we pulled over to the side of the road and made Tuna Tacos and enjoyed the view. We were just barley through the first set of valleys
We had just started to drive on the dirt road to Batopilas when we noticed this new Mom and her Kids, Jim and Bonnie said the one kid was not more then 15 min. old. Noel decided this would be another good place for all of us to get out and walk a little.

tarahumara cave, home, and hoodos

2011-01-06T18:59:00.000-08:00

We Left town heading what we all thought was south and headed to a Tarahumara homestead. They original lived in caves but have now moved into small houses The inside is covered in soot and they have it set up like a store inside. I do not think they live in it anymore

They number the boards on the house so that it makes it easy to take it down and move it to a new area

From their we drove over to a couple of differnet areas where they have what we call Hoodos at home, the wind and rain has eroded the sand stone I guess the Tarahumara natives feel that these areas with the rock formations are scared.
As we were driving to the next place, the farmers were trying to get the bull to come with them and go for a truck ride. The bull had other plans and just layed down. We could not figure out why they would not just bring the truck to the bull instead of the other way around

We all though this on did look like a frog. It was hard to get a picture with out someone showing their goods for sale in the pictures

Imagine just hanging around waiting for people to come out and look at the sandstone and hoping someone will purchase what every you are selling

This is one of settlements that one family group will occupy not much around its just like the old days when pioneers came and settled the prairies. Lots of fine dust

This is called the Mushroom rock we just did not see it.

Creel

2011-01-06T18:56:00.000-08:00

We arrived in Creel around 4:0pm, Jim decided that we would go and find the tour quide three amigos and set up are tours before finding a room or two. We also decided that we wold explore the town on the trip back through

As we were walking towards Three Amigos a man in his late 20s approched Jim and said he would take us to where we needed to go and that he had rooms to rent. Once we got to Three amigos the only english speaking person was the gentleman that had led us there. So feeling like we owed him a favor we agreed to stay at his place.

I'm sure you all noticed the name of the place, well we paid about $14.00 canadian for the room, they gave us access to their kitchen and the inetenet signal worked if you stood outside the owners front room window.
No problem with the painting being stolen they just paint right on the wall

The outside looked ok, the room had two beds no lamps and the bathroom was a little moldy, but at least it was bright the other room was dark. We did not realize that we had no propane so we had all the blankets off the extra bed on us to stay warm and this was in mid Nov.

We were up and ready to go by 9:00am we had rented a driver and a SUV for 3 days and two nights

Divisadero goods

2011-01-05T17:37:00.000-08:00

The train stopped here for 15 minutes , a few people purchased food, blankets, and masks one lady purchased numerous baskets for her shop in New Orleans

Always in the background someone was weaving basket or bead work.

We are halfway there we hope to arrive in Creel by 4:00pm and speak with a tourist guide and find a hotel

Divisadero

2011-01-05T17:34:00.000-08:00

The buliding on the hillside is a hotel we have been told that the views of the canyon from here are fantastic.

We thought the sights we saw when we stopped at Divisadero where pretty good also

basket sellers

2011-01-05T17:19:00.001-08:00

After pulling into the last station, we looked out to see numerous people. The military was heading into the hills to check for drugsThe ladies and children were just happy that a train had come in with people on that might buys somthing from them

Please please buy a basket from us

Lots of salespeople but not lots of buyers some where selling bags of fruit and bread

The train is starting to really work hard as we head up to the dividing point between east and west.

To the half way point

2011-01-05T15:56:00.001-08:00

As the plains turned into rolling hills and lakes we could start to see the mountian area that the train would be traveling to This is one of the towns that you can stay at to go and explore the Enrique Canyon area

Tunnels and bridges

2011-01-05T15:25:00.000-08:00

While riding the train before we got to the valleys and hills we would slow down every so often and find that railmen were working on the tracks. Lynn and I hope they replaced every one of these spikes when they took from the rails and tracks There are numerous tunnels, bridges and switchbacks on the route. At times the space between the tunnel, brick wall or embankment was very slim.

I wonder how long it took us to get up to that tressle

do not look over the edge when you go over the brigde, they do not leave room for any one to walk over it at the same time as a train

Looking a little close good thing trains have not gotten wider like boats

Getting on the Train

2011-01-05T15:18:00.001-08:00

We took a cab from the hotel to the train station where we hung around for about a hour before the Train arrived. We chose the 1st class train it was not full so you could wander between cars and take pictures between the cars without having to shoot through windows.

Looking forward
Looking backwards

The Dinning Car it has the best views and cleanest windows and does not seem to sway as much

When we got on they ask where you are going and then suggest that you sit in certian spots, they do not make you stay in them. Now when we came back on the 2nd class train you had to stay in the seat they assigned and that train was very busy

We were really impressed with the uniforms that all the staff wore on the train, from the conductor to the chef in the dinning car they are all in uniforms

This poster shows the elevations we will be going up and down

We thought we heard the Train coming so we started looking down the tracks

This is the station where do you buy the tickets, oh you purchase them right on the train.

El Fuerte

2011-01-05T15:11:00.000-08:00

Arriving at EL Fuerte the four of us Jim, Bonnie, Lynn and myself went and found a hotel and then a place for supper. As luck would have it Zorro joined us for Happy hour.
This is part of Zorros sitting room. We were told that Zorro was born here and really did rob from the rich and give to the poor

The River Fuerte runs through the town and down from the hills. The view from the Fort and our hotel was great

There must be very shallow areas as we watched boaters poling themselves down the river. We could have went on a boat trip for 4 hours where you are rowed around. Must not have much of a current.

This is what the front of the hotel looked like

2011-01-05T14:50:00.000-08:00

Well the long awaited pictures are coming. In Nov. we took a 12 hour bus ride from Mazatlan to the San Carlos area to hop on the Murray Grey. As you can see Lynn made himself at home behind the wheel of thier Beneteau.

The landscape and the fishing boats looked very similar to our own back yard up in B.C.

We did a overnighter with the agreement that both couples would do 4 hours on only problem being that Jim and myself were sick so Lynn and Bonnie did the overnighter. Arriving into Topolobampo. Once again we were shown a new way the Mexicians fish

We left Topolobampo early in the am to head into Los Mochis

Where we headed to one of the three Bus stations to travel up to El Fuerte where we would catch the Train to the Copper Canyon

Yes Lynn is the 1st one on the Bus with his Lonely Planet book in hand. We were the only ones on the bus for about 30 minutes. We picked up numerous people and some got off in the middle of nowhere the ride to El Fuerte was about 6 hours

Christmas in Victoria

2010-12-24T23:43:00.000-08:00

The house might not be as decorated as it has been in years past but i think the tree looks right at home! And you can not forget one of Bandit just cause i know you guys miss how cute she is!

2010-11-28T18:33:00.000-08:00

Day of the dead part of a display at EL CID

Houses decorated for Halloween

To Hot to cook inside plus the corn did not taste like Taber Corn

El Cid Lobby and Marina Staff ball Game. Our Friend Poncho pitching he is pretty good

What Have We Been Up To

2010-11-20T17:46:00.001-08:00

Since arriving back in Mazatlan we have been to a few Venados Baseball games, also a ball game with the El Cid employees from the Marina (they play in a commercial league). We took about 70 picture and had them printed for them. It made us a big hit with the players.

At the end of October we took part in the Day of the Dead activities which included following 3 beer carts ( were they were giving out free draft beer)pulled by donkeys around the old town. Included in the parade were fire works and lots of people in costumes.

Two weeks ago we took the overnight bus (12 hours) to Guaymas and met up with our friends on a boat called the Murray Gray and sailed 200 miles down the coast to Topolobambo, got on a bus and then a train and toured the Copper Canyon for a week. The trip also included a 60 km (one way)ride on a very rough 4 wheel drive road that was made from a donkey trail. Big drop off the edge and saw a few vehicles that had gone over and were still there. We then returned to Topolobambo and sailed another 200 miles to Mazatlan.

Today was a large Parade celebrating the 200 Anniversary of the Mexican Revolution. Lots of school bands and loud music.

More info to come as soon as Debbie has some computer time, but from what you can see we may need to go back to Victoria for a rest.

Back In Mazatlan

2010-10-21T14:51:00.001-07:00

Arrived back here on Tuesday afternoon. The Westjet flight only had two empty seats so it would seem that the snowbirds are starting to migrate.

The boat seems to be fine, no issues with any systems yet and it was very clean (they washed it the morning we were coming back). We are not in a big hurry to put the cockpit enclosure or sails on yet as it was a year ago today that we sat thru the tail end of Hurricane Rick. Even though it has been a quiet hurricane season for the Eastern Pacific there is still time to get kicked with a storm. The temp is hanging around 30 degrees but the humidity has not been to bad. We are also back playing our favourite game.Try and find the stuff you but away 6 months ago and cannot remember were you put it. Kinda like Christmas when you find it.

It feels like one is coming home when we get back here.The staff are all glad to see you, and there are a few cruiser friends hanging around. And one can afford to go out for drinks and dinner.

Home in Victoria

2010-04-21T11:47:00.001-07:00

We are now home in Victoria after spending a few days visiting family in Vancouver and are trying to adjust to 5 to 10 degree(C) temperatures. Wood stove is on and blankets are in use. We are catching up on yard work , house work , mail and friends in Victoria.

Dolphin Tales has been left in Mazatlan at the El Cid Marina again for the summer. We spent a fair amount of time getting the boat ready to leave and cleaned, checked or repaired anything that needed attention . Debbie also got a chance to use her sewing skills to repair the leach on the genoa. It had started to come undone and then the stitching let go for about 6ft.after it caught the spreader tip when cleaning the sail.

Back In Mazatlan

2010-03-14T09:12:00.001-07:00

We are now back in Mazatlan, same slip we had before which is nice, and the same neighbours. We made a rather quick trip from La Cruz due to the rather unsettled weather. We did get picked on by one squall just off Chacala. We were about a mile or so out of the anchorage and got hit with 35-40 knots in 80 ft of water on a lee shore. We did manage to make some progress off the shore and ride it out for a couple of hours until we got into the anchorage and set a stern anchor (but that is a whole other story). Our next stop was in San Blas at the marina downtown, new marina and we paid about $15 a night. Then a 25 hour motor sail / motorboat ride to Mazatlan with winds and waves on the nose.

And yes Debbie is working on pictures.

UPDATE TO FEB 11 2010

2010-02-11T07:32:00.001-08:00

UPDATE TO FEB 11 2010

We have been a little slow with the blog lately, but we are all fine and in the La Cruz Marina (Puerto Vallarta) waiting out another tropical trough after beating our way back from Manzanillo. The trip was mostly uneventful with the exception of a surface trough that smacked us in the Bahia de Navidad lagoon with winds of 60 knots and heavy rain. At one point the dingy was half full of rain water with the night's rain. We were ok on our anchor but a few boats dragged however nobody got hit by dragging boats. However a boat in Tenacatia and another in Chamela did get hit by lightning. The lighting storm was spectacular and went on for 3 or 4 hours before the wind and rain hit.

After leaving Bahia de Navidad we did one night stops at Tenacatia, Chamela and Punta Ipala before getting to the La Cruz marina to wait out the second of those tropical troughs that are very unusual at this time of the year.

Debbie will post more about our land trip etc,

LAS HADAS AND MANZANILLO

2010-01-14T15:36:00.005-08:00

LAS HADAS AND MANZANILLO

Amber the cat has been a very good guest. But we feel we should get her to owners.
We pulled up anchor from Carrizal around 8:30 it looked a little gray but nothing to concern us. Even listening to the weather there was nothing out there. Wrong !!!!!!

We have now experienced our first Mexican squall. I always thought a squall was over in 10 minutes we had about 1 ½ hours of dark skies, building seas and winds. In fact we even took a greene right through the cockpit with Lynn taking a great amount of it all over him at the wheel. Winds of 32 knots and at on point we thought the dingy was going to be airborne.

We managed to get in to Las Hadas right behind the breakwater and very close to the swimming floats meaning we are protected from the swells no matter which way the wind blows. All around the bay are hotels, condos and timeshares, but no hawkers. Most of the Hotels will let you use their pools and internet (if it is working) as long as you are purchasing food or alcohol. It's like staying at a full service hotel with out the cost of the room.

We attended a circus in Manzanillo with Bill and Janet from Optical Illusion This circus was more of a Las Vegas dinner show, lots of show girls, sexual dances and men in loin clothes. We saw more male butt then we needed to and some of the ladies must have been thinking this is the worst wedgies I have had in a long time. We both agreed that the circus in Mazatlan was aimed more at families this one just kept us laughing.

We also attended a Botanas Bar. This is a bar that is only opened from 3:00pm to 8:00pm you purchase your drinks and they supply you with all the appies you can eat. Soup, tacos, tostadas, totopos, and fresh veggies, way to much food. , There was an 11 piece band plus 2 singers and was very loud , but this is Mexico. To pay the band they sold numbers for $1.00 with the prize being $100 (Mexican money), to pick a winner they throw a dart at moving wheel with 20 numbers on it. Janet from Optical Illusion won three in a row and donated the winnings to an animal spay clinic

TO PUNTA CARRIZO

2010-01-14T15:36:00.003-08:00

TO PUNTA CARRIZO

We headed over to Melaque by bus for all of 50 cents to catch a taxi ($5.00) to the secret beach, just outside of Melaque here we spent the day with Annie and Glen. The secret beach and anchorage is really Playa Custecomate it is just about enclosed by the craggy mountains and rock formations at the entrance. There were 8 boats tucked in there and all said the snorkelling was wonderful and the bay was not to rolly but you have to be very careful coming in as there is a big reef that you skirt coming in. We think we may try this place on our way back north.

When we left to go back to Barra Annie's friend offered us a ride. Little did we know we would be traveling Mexican style, yes, we had 4 people in the box of the truck and 6 in the cab. Good thing there were no police, cause we are sure that being white we might have got a ticket.

Murray Grey decided that they wanted to leave a day before us so they pulled out only to have engine trouble before they even reach the mouth of the lagoon. It was a Chinese fire drill as only 2 or 3 boats had there dinghy's and motors in the water. In all 7 dinghies brought the Murray Grey back in to anchor. See what happens when they try to leave with out that 36ft Dolphin Tales trailing behind them.

We just about had the anchor up when we got a call from another boat asking us to make a deliver to Optical Illusion. It seems they were in Manzanillo and would like their Kitten Amber back. We went in circles till they packed her up and we loaded her on board.

Well time to get the boat ready to leave and to head for our last southern stop before we head back north to Mazatlan. We had a nice sail from Bara all the way down to Punta Carrizo where we stern anchored for the night. Bonnie on Murray Grey had been fishing all day I think it was 4 caught and only one saved. So we had our first meal of Dorado, it was very good.

TO JAN 1 2010

2010-01-14T15:36:00.001-08:00

Well Christmas day has come and gone. We awoke to find Santa had left both of us necklaces, and some bakery goods. We went over to a motor boat called Sirens Call from Alaska with Gail and John on it. John is the king of latté coffees while Gail had baked up a numerous bakery items. We then all headed to the beach for Shrimp and Blacken fish with each boat bringing in a potluck item. We had so much food that we really had no room to go back to Sirens Call for smoked turkey and all the fixings but we managed.

We headed back to Barra De Navidad to see if we could find some land based friends that were here for a few days. Now the Lagoon at Barra is very large but has numerous shallows and mud flats so if you want to go to town at night you must hire a panaga, for 2.50 (pasos) round trip. Boy do they travel. We finally made a connection with Anne and Glen on Dec 31st; we made plans to meet up again in 2 days.

New Years Eve was spent at two different locations: the first was supper over at the Grand Bay Golf course with 12 other couples; we were the token Canadians for the evening. One of the other boats brought hats and noise makers so at the Cruisers Midnight 9:00pm some of us put on hats and blew the noise makers. Then it was back to the boats where some went straight to bed others to other boats to party. We went to town and enjoyed the people festivities and the fireworks. The fireworks were about 15 minutes long and were great.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-24T11:38:00.000-08:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR

Hope you are all fine and ready for the Christmas season. We have put up our small tree and numerous Christmas lights. There are 4 other boats with lights but, I think we have the most. The area we our in is about 40 miles north of Manzanillo. We had headed into Barra De Navidad on Dec 17th only to find that the lagoon area was filled with no see-um-mums and mosquitoes once the sun went down. Plus there were no other boats there and nothing was going on for Christmas at this time. So instead of staying there till after Christmas we headed back to Tenacatita on the 20th after doing laundry and re-stocking. If we want to see Barra at night we will need to make arrangements to have a water taxi take us in as the lagoon is very hard to navigate in the dark as there are numerous shallows.

We are now sitting at Tenacatita Bay where the water temp is about 85 and the sun seems to shine every day. We have been swimming, had 2 humpback whales put on a wonderful show in the bay and watched numerous fish jumping out of the water along with stingrays. We have also seen two turtles in the bay. So life has been good.

We will be thinking of each and everyone of you on Christmas Day especial at supper time, as we will not be having Turkey this Christmas. We could not find any turkey or even whole chickens. We are having B.B.Q. chicken breasts, dressing, cranberry jelly, mash potatoes and of course cream corn. Lynn is a little sad as we also could not find any turnips. We are sharing this big meal on Dec 24 with friends from the Murrey Grey and Optical Illusion.Then one of the boats is heading back to Barra De Navidad where they can get internet and phone service. We will likely head back there on 26th of Dec and stay till after the New Year. Then we will head a little farther south before starting to head back to Mazatland.

There are about 20 boats in the Bay and we are all going to get together on the Beach on Christmas Day in the afternoon and have a pot luck. Depending on the surf. We are really good surf-landers so far. But, leaving is another matter, so far the most water we have taken in the dingy was about 6 to 8 inches . Only once have we left the beach and only took one wave over us. Rule always wear clothing that is ok to get wet on the trip back from the beach.

Merry Christmas everyone and have a Happy New Year.

Nov 24 to Dec 7th 2009

2009-12-09T10:15:00.000-08:00

Nov 24
We left the picturesque, rolly, anchorage of Chacala Bay, with our buddy boat Murray Gray who recommended that we spend the night at Punta Mita which is at the north end of Bandreas Bay. It was an another rolly night. Pulled anchor first thing in the morning and sailed over to the La Cruz de Huanacaxtle and anchored twice before we were happy. Upon listening to the net we found out that we could attend a BBQ that evening for only $65.00 peso = about $5.75 Canadian. This included a main course, salad veggies and 1 beverage. We were there. Plus we needed this break after hauling our laundry about 1 mile from the anchorage only to find out there was a one only about 3 blocks away. We also did American Thanksgiving at a gringo run shop called Filo's here we were entertained by all the expats that did not make it professionally up north but were pretty darn good down here.

Nov 28

We headed over to Puerto Vallarta and tied up in the Marina. Here we have restocked the boat, gave it a good wash and went and looked at the Crocodiles in the harbour. All the locals along the harbour kept telling us no the croc does not come out of the water. Well they were wrong out one popped right where we would have been walking. It caused quite a stir with the locals and all of us waiting out the rain storm. Of course none of us had a camera with us that night.

Dec 1

Up anchor at 6:00am and off to round Cabo Corrientes, the plan is to round it before mid day as the chop and wind can get a little rough. The highest winds we saw were about 20 knots and seas were around 4 to 6 feet nothing like what we did up north. We pulled into
Punta Ipala, around 2:00 pm. Note where the chart plotter says we anchored, good think we have radar and 2 sets of eyes to confirm our travels.

It appears to be a village of about 20 homes. The next morning we took the dinghies to shore and visited the school. We did not realize they had two schools for such a small area. We dropped off some crayons, chalk and a few hats to use as prizes. There had to have been 15 children in the older school and about 12 in the younger one.

Dec 3

This last leg was a 10hour run of motor sailing just enough wind to keep the sails full but not enough to turn off the motor. We arrived at Bahia Chamela around 4:00. In the entrance we were met by spotted dolphins and a whale's tale. Once inside and the anchor was set, we jumped into the water, well Lynn hung off the ladder and I swam close by the boat. To our pleasure we had dolphins swim close by also.

Unfortunately we never got to shore as strong South Westerly swells and winds were blowing into the bay. After three nights of no sleep even with a stern anchor out we headed south once again.

Dec 7
We are now about 2 weeks early heading down the coast then we planned. We are hopping that the next anchorage will be calm with very little swell. Even Lynn is complaining about the lack of sleep from the rocking, rolling and slamming of the boat.
Yes our prays have been answered. The anchorage at Bahia Tenacatita is almost calm. Both crew on Dolphin Tales have had a nice peaceful sleep for the 1st time in awhile.

Made a surf landing on the beach and managed to keep the dingy upright, however we need to make sure we have a bailer or pump next time to bail the dingy. We will be here for a few days and tour around.

We have been having some computer issues with our winlink so if you do not here from us do not panic. However we did manage to hear and get a message to John and Pam on the SV Passages in Equador this am on the SSB so the radio is working great

Once we have internet again we will fill in with some pictures.

2009-12-01T10:49:00.000-08:00

In the town and area of Chacala life is still very simple with farmers plowing cane fields the old fashion way.

Old houses on the beach are allowed to have trees hug them for comfort.

The beach area is lovely no time share guys no one asking you to buy anything life just goes by very slowly and relaxing and before you know it it is sunset.

The only problem here was even though we had a stern anchor out to keep us in the swells it was still pretty rocky at times during the nights.

2009-12-01T10:32:00.000-08:00

We took a jungle river cruise there were a few birds and lots of foliage to look at. But most of all we are now in an area where you must look out for!!!!! scroll down to see.

This area with the fence is a swimming area at the top of the jungle ride and no it is not just to keep the trutles out.

This croc was just out side the swimming area and the small guy was about where the fresh and sea water met. I'm not going in this water.

Not only do we have to worry about crocs we have to be on the look out fro termites this was a small nest compared to some we saw.

We brought are dingy in and a had a couple of glasses of lemondae with our friends Jim and Bonnie on Murray Grey, we left MAzatland with them.

Tropical storm Rick and the surge of the waves knocked down this bathroom and shower area on the beach.

This is where is palapa was before the storm he moved it up to where we are now. Can you see our boats way way out there?

Machenten Bay recommended that you anchor out at least one and half miles. Which we did to avoid the no seeums. Only problem was they found Debbie and she had 84 bites on her legs below the knees. Talk about itchy.

2009-12-01T10:24:00.000-08:00

The bells of San Blais Old church new church

Parrot having a corn lunch in a veggie store

The Crafts our very colourful and the museum was a little on the small size.

2009-12-01T10:08:00.000-08:00

The fishing village at Isla Isabella. We have been told that the fishermen stay out for about a month

Jumping crabs they jumped about 2feet across rocks

Blue footed bobbies

The anchorage on the east side of the island

No matter where we went on the island there were tons of birds. With this many birds I think the old saying of having a bird lay some dropping on you is incorrect. We think not being hit by any droppings was very lucky.

San Blas

2009-11-16T15:28:00.001-08:00

Arrived here in Manatchen Bay after leaving Mazatlan on Sat Nov 14. Stopped to visit Isla Isabela along the way. We are travelling with another boat called Murrey Grey. They have been here before so we came in the dark. Will here a few days and then move on. Most of the trips from here on will be short day hops.

2009-11-06T09:52:00.000-08:00

We went to Ken and Paulette's for Halloween they had about 150 kids and some adults show up at the door looking for treats. We are not sure but we think going door to door for treats is a new thing here in Mexico. This is the time of the year that they honor their dear and departed by going to the cemetaries and leaving items that they feel thier loved ones would like to have in the here after. Some just leave flowers, others leave clothes, foot wear,musical items, foodand tools. We have heard that some people really believe that thier loved ones recieved the items as they do disappear. We do not know if workers at the cemetaries pick the stuff up or if the really poor just go in and take it. But everything that could br used is gone in a few days. Here are some photos of the kids and adults that came by for candy.

2009-11-03T08:43:00.000-08:00

Now for the long awaited pictures: The day before the storm the staff at El Cid was out in full force preparing for the storm. Looking at the pictures below you would think they where taken the day after the storm pasted over us. No, this was all done in preparation of the storm.

Off and on all day before Tropical Rick arrived the skys kept opening and drowning us in water, so staff was always sweeping water away.

The following pictures are after the storm with a few before to show the difference in the water and wind. We are very thankful that the El Cid bldings are so tall as they protected us from the brunt of the wind and swells.

as you can see not much stuff on the ground

Only damage around pool area because of the great clean up before

Looking across the channel the day before the storm hit it was pretty calm

This is at 8:00am the day of the storm just as the eye is getting ready to pass over us. The waves and swells have increased and the amount of salt water mist in the air is increasing. In fact the waves were entering the Condo bldings on the other side of the break water. We heard from other people that the bldings seem to be alive with movement from the wind..

Because of the storm hitting at close to high water time there were quite a few buildings on the beach that had water running through their main floors. The Condo's you are seeing lost some windows, trees and had some water damage, but not much. Most of the damamge seemed to be on the south side of Mazatlan in an area called Stone Island which is south of the old harbour. Here they lost quite a few family businessand homes. All over the city trees came down as the do not have a very deep root system and schools had been closed for the day of the storm with a few having to remain closed because of damage for the rest of the week.

This tree and quite a few others which are at the back of El Cid between another hotel that has been closed came down in the storm. El Cid lost about 4 windows while the hotel behind us and the bowling alley across the street lost numerous windows. But all in all it was all very minor here in Mazatlan proper. If you were one of the locals the lived in the southern eastern outlaying areas they got hit harder. With roofs coming off and water being contaminated and the power being off for a week.

We have decide if it was a full blown hurricane numbered at 2 or above we would not stay on the boat. We both agree that we have been bounced around on docks a lot more at home then we were here durining Tropical Rick.

Tropical Storm Rick Has Left Mazatlan

2009-10-21T12:16:00.001-07:00

Rick blew in here early this morning with gusts of 70 knots and sustained winds of 60 knots. The barometer went from 988 at 7:30 this am to 993 at 8:15 as the center passed over us. No problem with the boat or crew, but a lot of damage in the area. Trees down, flooding , windows blown out of a few buildings at the marina and adjacent properties, Debbie will post some pictures in a few days. We are alive and well.

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Hurricane Rick now Tropical Storm Rick Tuesday Oct 20th

2009-10-20T07:54:00.001-07:00

Tropical Storm Rick is now scheduled to pass North of Mazatlan by 60 miles with winds of about 60 miles per hour around mid day Wednesday providing nothing changes over the next 24 hours. We have everything off the decks and stored below and will take the last shade tarp down tonight and wait and see what happens. We may get some surge from the swells generated and have checked all the lines a chafe protection.

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Sweating it out in Mazatlan

2009-10-18T10:34:00.001-07:00

Sweating it out in Mazatlan.

It is still very hot and humid but should start to settle down in a few more weeks. But when it is 33 degrees in the boat it is hard to say we are suffering when we are sitting at the pool and having happy hour. We have 4 fairly large fans running 24 - 7 so it sounds like one is living inside a jet engine getting ready to taxi and take off. The fans give us a temperature of around 29 degrees we think that's almost as workable temp. It is taking a long time to get the boat back together as we are only working on boat jobs in the early morning or in the evening. Even then we are sweating like roasted pigs.

Debbie says we have finally become true Mexicans. We needed some pieces of wood to make some shelves and they would not fit in the borrowed car we have, so, it is down the road with the wood resting on the outside mirror and Debbie hanging onto it. At least she was not running along side holding on. Trying to explain in Spanish that we wanted some 1 x 2 lumber was a trick, when the homes here are brick and cement.

We have had a few thunderstorms with lots of wind and rain, but they do not last long so you just need to time your travels to stay dry. The lightning is a bit of a novelty for us folks from Victoria. Right now we are keeping an eye on Hurricane Rick that is offshore and heading towards Cabo and possibly back towards the mainland North of Mazatlan. It is forecast to be about 370km on its closest approach to Mazatlan with winds of 90 kms. Sometimes these hurricanes decide to take a left turn before they make it farther north so we are praying to the wind stays on track.

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Back In Mazatlan

2009-10-12T20:59:00.001-07:00

Back In Maz.. Hot hot hot and humid.. (not that we are complaining) All is well on board so far, the boat survived the summer with no issues showing up yet. We will be here until mid November or so and then move on further south. Right now we are getting some heavy rain showers off a tropical depression heading for Cabo.

The flight here was very smooth, and in no time at all we were hustled thru customs in a cab and back at the marina, and believe it or not all our luggage arrived when we did...another miracle.

Summer Update

2009-08-24T19:12:00.001-07:00

July and August Update:

We attended the Beneteau Rendezvous with our friends Bob and Camelia on Navigo and had a great time visiting with friends. Lynn won the toilet seat toss and picked up a new winch handle for Dolphin Tales.

Made a road trip to Alberta and Saskatchewan visiting family and friends (racked up 5000km in 4 weeks). Victoria – Vancouver- Vernon- Cherryville- Naskusp - Revelstoke – Golden – Calgary – Lethbridge – Taber – Burstall - Edmonton- Valemount - Salmon Arm - Victoria. On this trip we tented a few nights and all was good since it did not rain. However we both think that we are a little old to be sleeping on the ground and are thinking about some kind of RV for future trips. Also used this trip as a chance to stop and visit places we normally drive on by since we are going from A to B and never have time to stop. It is amazing what great attractions we miss because we do not have the time to stop and smell the roses.

We had a nice couple of evenings with Blue Water Cruisers John and Rosy from Mopion in Calgary and Steve and Sandy from Mungo in Edmonton. Also discovered how good those car GPS units are when you get mixed up in your directions and the navigator (Debbie) cannot read the printing on the street map claiming the print was too small but was probably due to the amount of wine she drank at dinner.

Finished a few more house chores and are starting to get stuff together for our return to Mexico in early October.

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Update

2009-06-19T21:28:00.001-07:00

Well since arriving home we have been busy catching up on house and yard chores. Painting bathrooms and installing new flooring in the kitchen and dining room as well. Have been spending a few days grandparenting here and in Vancouver. Much easier living on the boat. It did take a while to get used to the temp here once we got back (dam it was cold). hard to get used to 15 c after 28 c very day. Nice to see our family and friends. We also attended the Blue Water Cruising get together in May with Jordy and Judy on Sea Turtle.

Well thats all for now.

2009-04-17T13:04:00.000-07:00

Well after 8(eight) months we are finally moving to windward. Nothing beats a 737 when going to windward. We fly out on Sat. April 18 in to Vancouver, we will spend the night with Christa, Scott and the boys and then ferry over to Victoria on Sunday. One last bus ride, and a taxi and home is where we will be.

At least our flight is only 5hours, the Butteryflys we saw in the sanctuary fly from farther south all the way back up to Texas and into Canada and it takes them a lot longer

We are looking forward to going home and seeing all our family and friends . After wearing nothing but shorts, muscle shirts and sandels, we are not sure how our bodies will handle the cooler weather. Not to mention having to be clothed in more items then we have in the last 5 months.

So ,I don't think we will be doing any more posts untill we come back in the fall and head farther down the Mexican coast. Plans are to be back in Mazatlan no later then OCt 15 and heading south by Nov 1,2009.

Thanks to everyone that followed are blog

2009-04-09T16:40:00.001-07:00

San Iganico is about 2hours north east of Mazatlan. Myself and Bill and Janet off Optical Illusion rented a car and travelled out there. Lynn was home sick that day. Our Demtrio lives out there and wanted to shjow us his town. It was very neat and tidy. Just outside of town they have some hot springs that they are trying to get going as a tourist spot. It was a great day.

2009-03-18T10:22:00.000-07:00

Carnival
10 Days of music, coranations for Kings, Queens, Princes and Princess, fireworks almost every night, food vendors all over the place, dancing and partying on the streets. If you fainted at some of these events you would not hit the ground. We heard there were 300,00 people watching the parade. We felt there were that many in the Parade with all the floats, bands and people in the 4 hour parade. So many happy people and no fights

Thank goodness that we had Mexican friends that arranged seating for us they staked out these seat at 6:00am the parade did not start till 5:00pm

Looking North

Us in the Middle

Looking South the people just don't quit.

Not only were there Pacfico Girls but now they have Pacfico Boys only he is promoting Pacfico Light????? Hmm ????

Floats with people floats with statues, so many floats

Music from young adults and kids to full fledged bands. So much music it was hard to tell where one bands loud music ended and the next started.

This float has to be folded down once they reach the corner and need to go under the power lines. There were numerous floats that were set up to have the tops lowered down.

The small kids in the crowd became very excited when this float went by

While the young boys were trying to reach out and touch this one

Telling jokes and doing ticks while walking down the street

Sorry guys guess I forgot to take pictures of the girls I only got the guys off of this float must say the dancing was something else

who would have thought that the Irish would have a float here

Coranation of the Queen was held at the baseball field, the stage had a large screen behind showing women running through the forest.

The next shot was of a ragged women and then the new queen came out on the stage

Both events where ended with fireworks

They even light up the streets for Carnavale

We attended a concert in a empty lot that was about 4 blocks in size. The music was good they had 3 very large screens set up so no matter where you stood you could see the bands, and because all mexican music is loud hearing it was no problem.

2009-03-18T09:51:00.000-07:00

TRIP TO MORELIA

We left Mazatlan at 7 am on February 23 on a tour bus with 36 other people to visit the historic city of Morelia and take in some of the many other attractions in the State of Michoacán. Lots of stops along the way for the many toll booths and a few bathroom breaks with snacks to be had.

We had one unscheduled stop to fix a flat tire on the bus. Lots of entertainment on board with videos, bingo, bar, and great scenery. We arrived at our hotel in Morelia at 8 PM that night.

There are many farms in this state and they look to have a lot of rocky soil, since most of the fences are made up of rocks stacked together with no mortar. It would seem that the rocky soil may have something to do with the number of volcanoes in the area. Some of the crops are sugar cane, grain crops, produce, fruit, corn, and blue agave which is used in the production of tequila.

It is also a state of contrasts were you can see a farmer working the land with a ox or horse right beside a gravel operation that is using huge new bulldozers and loaders out of the window on the bus as we travelled down a four lane toll highway .

Our Hotel:

The Hotel Cathedral is an old colonial style building across the street from the main city plaza called Plaza de Armas and just down the street from the main cathedral which was built from 1640-1744. Our room was on the second floor with a large patio looking out on the plaza and downtown of the city. Our room was great except for the church bells ringing at all hours of the day and night. We think it must have been something to do with Lent.

Morelia:
Is located in the State of Michoacán and was founded in 1541 and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1991. Originally called Nueva Espana it was renamed to honour local hero Jose Maria Morelos Y Pavon who was one of the leaders in the fight to gain Mexico independence from Spain. The current population of the city is about 1.3 million and is located 6399 ft above sea level.

Forty nine buildings have been designated as heritage buildings designed in the baroque stlye. they are all very ornate with arches, status and muriels along with neoclassic mixed in.

Most were within walking distance of our hotel and as many as 12 universities make their homes in Morelia. Parts of the aqua duct build in 1789 to supply water to the city still remain in place; however they are no longer used.

The narrow streets in the City required all the skills our bus drivers had.

On the day we were leaving the teachers were holding a protest, and had 5 or 6 streets blocked off and since there was also an event planned for the street in front of our hotel it was closed to bus traffic. The closest the bus could get was two blocks so we all preceded to hull our luggage down the street.

Tzintzuntzan:

We arrived in this small town just to catch a parade celebrating Flag Day. Mexicans have many holidays and celebrations.

Right along side the highway as you enter the down there is a very nice cemetery with many impressive monuments.

There are some ruined pyramids here that were constructed by the Tarascan natives. These pyramids are round instead of square as the others in Mexico.

A lot of the materials from these sites were removed in the 16th century to build some the churches and walls surrounding the churches for the Franciscan Monks.

The church court yard also contains some very large old olive trees.

Patzcuaro:

This colonial city of about 50,000 people was once the capital of the Tarasco people, in the years around 1300. The city features many buildings from the 17th century. The production of handicrafts is also an important source of income for the residents, many who are Tarasco Indians.

The Catholic Church is a big part of most cities in this state. A large church built in the 16th century is located near the city center. The Casa De Los Once Patios (House of the 11 Courtyards) is a rambling building that was built as a convent in the 1740s. It is now used to house various merchants selling handicrafts.

Lago de Patzcuaro:

This fairly large shallow lake features an island called Isla Janitzio is a popular tourist area. To reach the island one takes a ferry that can carry about 40 or 50 passengers. Do not expect any safety announcements about life jackets etc, but be prepared to be entertained by the Mexican two man band. The boat we were on was powered by a Chevy gas engine, 3 speed manual transmission, clutch and gas pedal.

Isla Janitzio.

Is completely covered by homes and shops. We are not sure what the residents do to make a living but a lot of them sell handicrafts to the many tourists who come to visit the 40 meter high statue to Mexican revolution hero Jose MariaMoelos y Pavon.

Getting to the statue requires a very steep climb up thru the market area. Aprox 300 steps

Once you reach the top of the island you can then go inside the statue that has a circular stairway to the top of the statue. At the top there is just enough room to get you head and shoulders out to take a look at the great view of the surrounding county. Unfortunately no pictures are allowed inside the statue of the many murals that cover the inside wall, but Debbie did manage to sneak a couple.

Santa Clara del Cobre:

Is a small town famous for it copper works. We were treated to a display of how copper is turned into merchandise.

What Have We Been Up TO?

2009-03-15T14:25:00.001-07:00

Well in the last few weeks we have been to Carnival in Mazatlan , a week long celebration. We have had visitors from Victoria Lynn's Nephew Jerry and friend Evelyn. Been on a bus trip to Morelia. A trip to Copael and Conordia. And a car ride to a small Mexico village called San Ignacio with Bill and Janet from Optical Illusion. As well as doing the regular boat maintenance projects. Climbed the mast to wash down the rigging since we have not had any rain since California, and guess what? It rained two days latter.

Working on details and pictures for the blog of the trips, but we find it hard to make time to do it, what with volleyball in the pool, bingo, happy hour and visiting boating friends that are passing thru on their way to the Sea of Cortez.

We are also starting to work on the to do list when we leave the boat in Mazatlan when we return to Victoria mid April.

We also went to a baseball game the other day. Mexican League summer ball which is a step down from winter ball. Admission for three adults was 45 pesos about $4.50 Canadian . Beer was 17 pesos about $1.70.

And writing about beer, we also toured the Pacifico brewery were all the bottled Pacifico is made. Three shifts a day. So much beer and so little time. Debbie says Lynn needs to go home to dry out.

And last but not least we went to the Juarez market held each Sunday. It is a 12 block fruit , vegetable and flee market. Buyer beware. If you need a face plate for your car stereo you can find it here, but not the stereo that goes with it. If they don't have what you need then you probably do not need it.

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2009-02-20T19:17:00.001-08:00

Copala & Concordia

Lynn’s much younger nephew Gerry(only 2 or 3 years younger) has come down to check out Trailer parks, with a Friend. After spending a few days in Mazatlan they were ready do to some touring. So we decided to head to the towns of Copala and Concordia. To reach there we had to head towards the Sierra Madre Mountains. The trip was advertized as $55.00US per person we bargained it down to $55.00 Canadian. We stopped at 3 additional stops. First one was a handmade brick factory. Here they had clay, dirt, cow dung and water mix it all up real well and then place it in the frames where they let them set up for 7 days then they pile them all up, leaving a space in the middle and then light a fire in the space .This process is very labour intense. There are only 11 of these factories left in the area; most bricks are now made in factories.

Then it was off to the small town of Malpica where the homes are all brightly painted they use the paint color as house numbers. Here there are a couple of handmade tile makers.

In Mazatlan there are numerous shops that sell woven blankets, clothing, pottery, colonial wood furniture and red stained carving; most of these are manufactured in the outlying areas from Mazatlan. These skills keep the people in the region employed.

From there we stopped in the industrial area where they build red-stained furniture, carvings, sewing, paintings and clay pottery items. This area is a good 40 miles outside of Mazatlan there are numerous work buildings along the road. It is amazing that the finish on the items they build do not have any dust on them.

We have now made it to the town of Concordia where they have a Petroglyph in the municipal hall court yard.

The Church there is the oldest in the area. The building was started in the early 1500’s.

The tour group also arranged for us to visit a local bakery in town. Here we were treated to ½ of a sweet bread freshly made and still warm. The bakery is run out of a small home with a wood burning oven to cook the pastries. It was just the thing to hold us over till we reached Copala

Copala is a town with very narrow cobble stone roads and numerous old silver mines.

The mines are all now closed so the town relays on us the tourist for it's income. The tour included a Mexican lunch and 2 free beer for each of us plus water or pop. We all had a great day.

2009-02-18T13:24:00.000-08:00

THE CIRCUS

We brought out the little kids in us and attended the Circus. First problem was buying tickets there were 3 levels of seats we wanted the middle range but ended up with 4 tickets for two in the cheap seats. Good news we did get the correct change back, go figure. Then the usher tried to tell us were to go, out of a 40 word commentary we got right, front and up we think. Oh well we were not in the center but off to the side, just meant we did not get a lot of frontal views of the show. Now this was just a one ring circus so you could see most of the show from any angle.

We were entertained by 20 tigers, the metal netting that was used to contain them was held up in the center just like the big tent. Some of the Tigers appeared to be in a bad mood and were growling and swiping with their paws at each other and the ring master.

Debbie had turned off her flash while the Tiger show was on only to find a Mexican usher in front of the camera saying No! No! (we were not sure if that meant no pictures or no flash).

We had horses, giraffes, 1 and 2 hump camels and even a buffalo. The buffalo was the only animal that ended up with a rider on it, and it was not a good looking lady.

The clown skits were entertaining and not to hard to follow even though everything was in Spanish. There were two showing of acrobats; the first lady was in the lights so much you could only make out her shadow.

The second group was two men and two ladies. The older man stayed on one side and did all the catching of the other 3. We were quite impressed at how close the younger mans’ head came to the lighting fixtures when he pumped back and forth before tumbling over to be caught. It looked like he had inches to spare with out hitting his head.

Did we enjoy the Circus YES, would recommend other to attend YES!

2009-02-14T14:16:00.001-08:00

Happy Valentine's to all our Family and Friends hope all your sweet hearts rmemebered you. Please all have some chocolate for us, and if any of you got flowers please send us a picture.

2009-02-14T14:03:00.000-08:00

Well January was not as busy as December; we were still busy with ballgames as previous mentioned. This is Shaperio our beer vendor. Each Vendor has their own section so you have the same vendor each game.

We also had company Christa, Scott and the Boys came for a week. It was great to see family and get a grandkid fix, but then it made us miss the rest of the family just a little bit more. Oh well, we will get to see them all in April when we get back.

First thing the boys wanted to so was to go swimming in the pool here at El Cid Marina and order a drink. Devon who never drinks juice had a virgin pina colata

Now down here we have Four modes of Transportation; Bus, Regular Taxi, Pulmonia (small

open air cart similar to a golf cart)

or if there are more than 5 people you take a small open ended Truck with benches.

We never thought we see the day that Christa would place her Children in some of these questionable vehicles. Let’s just say that the boys had a blast. They were singing away to the loud music which was being played in the truck. . The ride in the Pulmonia was not quite exciting, but they both enjoyed the wind blowing through there hair.

We took the boys to the Aquarium here which is very small and not updated as the one in Vancouver which Devon and Zachary are both familiar with. But they did enjoy the Sea Lion show and the Bird show.

Christa and Scott took the day off from parenthood and went Zip Lining across the Mexican outback. We took the boat out for the 1st time since arriving in Mazatlan over to Venados Island better know as Deer Island to us English speaking people. Here Christa and the family swam, snorkelled, found sea shells and went for a walk part way up to the top of the island. There we all had lunch and enjoyed the peacefulness’ of the island as there were not many visitors that day. We also attended a Mexican Fiesta where we had a Mexican buffet and lots of entertainment. Even the boys got to go up and be on stage.

Visited the main Church, here in down town Mazatlan which is full of figurines

and parts of the market. We kept them so busy that they all had to head back home for a holiday.

2009-02-14T13:13:00.000-08:00

Just a little out of place but worth putting in.

Christmas in Mexico Posadas

The Mexicans’ have lots of celebrations at Christmas. One of the many celebrations is the nine Posadas which represent the Pilgrimage of Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem during the 9 months that Mary was pregnant. The 1st is held on the 16th of Dec and continue until the 25th of Dec.

Most neighbourhoods get together and decide which homes will not let Mary and Joseph stay and which one will be the final resting place for baby Jesus to be born. This home is now the party home. The pilgrims start the Posada celebration with Joseph and Mary with their burrow leading the way.

If no one has costumes they will be carrying a nativity scene. All the neighbours join the procession as it makes it way to the chosen home. Here the children/adults in the procession break open a Piñata, share drinks and food and good company is enjoyed. Some parties are fancier and some are plain. But they all celebrate the welcoming of Christ.

We were fortunate to have attended one where homemade donuts were served along with

Hot chocolate and lots of children. The party home had about 15 people inside, while the outside group was about 70.The outside group are singing a song requesting to come in. The small group inside is replying back with who and why should we let you stay.The noise level inside was louder then the group outside.

Watching the Piñata being pulled up and down and the children trying to break it open was Hilarous plus the fact that from up above we were throwing down the occasional handful of candy. So the children thought they had started to break the Pinata

Just down from the home was a pool hall that looked like it was out of a wild, wild, west movie. It did not look out of place as the roads in the neighbourhood were dirt and there are very few street lights.

2009-01-28T11:26:00.000-08:00

After placing our order for a new dingy cover and other canvas works it is all done.

We our really impressed with the leather around all the openings.

Ball Games

2009-01-28T10:42:00.000-08:00

Previous game shots.

Well the Mazatlan ball Team the Venados won the series and are now off to the Caribbean series the stadium holds about 13,000 and they let in about 16,000 plus. people are everywhere.

This is Venny the Mascot, pronounced Benny. The Kids love him, most women want to kiss him, and the guys wonder why he does not get slapped. He really put on an entertaining show during the game

The half time shows are also something to see.

Lynn and his brother Ken really want a Pacifico girl; mind you so does every other male in the ball park.

Each section has a beer vendor, whom tries very hard to keep everyone from going dry. Beer is only 170pesos= 1.70 Canadian. How much can one drink at a ballgame Lots!!

Snow in the Drive way

2009-01-08T15:30:00.000-08:00

I thought you guys would like to see how much snow was in the drive way when bandit and i got home

Feliz Ano Nuevo

2009-01-03T20:46:00.001-08:00

FELIZ ANO NUEVO (Happy New Year)

We spent New Years Eve on the dock dancing drinking after having dinner in the bar at the marina. Music was from three differnt areas so it made dancing interesting. Fireworks at midnight and then again a 3 am (what a wake up) when they seem to be just above the boat. The party just across the harbour had the same bass beat that vibrated through the marina until about 7 or 8 in the morning. O well just New Years in Mexico.

We are still going to the baseball games (playoffs now) and the noise and crowds gets a little more each day. The home town team is two up in the best of seven series.

A local is making us dingy chaps, winch covers, motor cover, wheel and pedestal cover, lees cloths and sun shades for the dodger for about half the cost to get it done at home.

Feliz Navidad

2008-12-25T12:36:00.001-08:00

Feliz Navidad everyone. We are finding it very different having Christmas in 30 degree weather rather then rain,snow etc. You notice we said different nor difficult. We went carolling around the docks

and into the lobby of the hotel last night,

Then off to the hot tub and enjoyed an adult beverage. There is a boat here with 3 small kids on it and Lynn took them to see the lights around the El Cid housing complex. They were very excited and it made their Christmas Eve. Helped to put Grumpy in the spirit.

Who says you can't get good chocolate down here.

Lynn needed his Christmas Eve shopping fix because it would just not be Christmas without doing his shopping on the last day before Christmas so it was on the bus walk 3 or 4 blocks between stores and take a taxi home because the wine was to heavy to carry on the bus.

We will be joining friends for Christmas dinner tonight at a house in El Cid and will get to sleep in tomorrow (no Boxing Day sales to get up early for). Such is life in the Mexico fast lane.

Well need to run now, it is time for bingo at the pool.

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Mazatlan Dec 19 2008

2008-12-19T15:36:00.000-08:00

Well we have been in Mazatlan for 10 days and this is the first time we have stayed on the boat all day long. We are at the El Cid Marina Resort . Very good wireless internet, and cable tv to the boat (even have some English speaking channels). What a tough life.

Since leaving Cabo we stopped in Los Frailes where most boaters stop to snorkel or scuba diving. We tried to snorkel but the waves were to rough.

The area up behind the sand dunes looks just like southern Alberta or Sask.

We headed up to Los Muertos which means Bay of the Dead. There has been a restaurant there for ever. It is in the middle of nowhere.

There is now a new resort going in with a new golf course so the restaurant will not look so out of place, and the developers have renamed the area the Bay of Dreams. Guess they figured sales would be better with a new name.
While here a second northerly blew in, with another one forecasted for a few days later.

We decided to forgo La Paz and headed down to Mazatlan. Lynn wanted to sail so we headed out before the northerly was over. Needless to say, I`m glad that I was already on my seasickness meds. As the Captain was not prepared for the confused seas and felt a little under the weather for most of the first day.

On day two we saw 5 turtles the first couple had birds standing on them which confused us has we did not think of turtles at first. It's to bad that you can't see how big this turtle really is

Since arriving here our family here h as kept us very busy. We have been to 4 ballgames. Down town to the old part of Mazatlan a few times on a light tour and a couple of xmas parties.
Santa Claus is only 50 years old here.

But they celebrate almost ever Saint you can think of between Dec 6th to 20th. We attended a Salvation Army event for the orphanage down here. The get no government support so the shows are a major fundraiser for them.
The young teens have really learned how to dance and the school from the village sends the kids in to sing. It was really entertaining.

We try to work on boat chores in the A.M. when it is not so hot then its off to the pool or to tourist items. This is really the life.

The boat has been decorated for christmas

We are going to go out to a restaurant on Christmas day. I must say that having xmas down here with just the two of us means no pressure for the perfect gift, meal. But then that means no gifts for us either. (Lynn the Grinch)

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Mazatlan

2008-12-10T16:28:00.001-08:00

Well we arrived in Mazatlan and after spending one night at anchor (since we got here at midnight) we are at the El Cid Marina and will be here probably until the end of January doing some much needed relaxing. The trip just go better as we went, except Lynn was a little seasick on the first part if the trip across the Sea of Cortez. Anyway Debbie will be adding more to the blog in the next day or so if her busy schedule permits.

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Mag Bay to Cabo San Lucas

2008-11-30T19:17:00.001-08:00

Entering Magdalena Bay was like manoeuvring through a mine field. There were small lobster traps though-out the channel. At one point we could have picked one up with our hands it was so close. But once again we were able to avoid picking one up in the prop.

We decided it was time to get the dingy in the water. We turned on the inverter plugged in our electric air pump to help inflate the dingy, and BANG in blew up. Out came the manual pump and 45 minutes later we were on the beach and in the ocean for our 1st swim in Mexico the water temp was 29 degrees C. We found a couple of large and colourful shells. Lynn was astonished at how well he could float in the salt water.

We have now covered over 2000 nautical miles and rounded four capes, and have arrived in Cabo San Lucus. On this last overnighter we had a small bird ride with us during supper and then on Debbie's watch around 5:00am she was joined by a 10" flying fish that slapped her on the side of the leg and then flopped around on the deck till she threw it back in the ocean. Let's say there was a slight squeal and then laughter when she figured out what it was. Just after sunrise Lynn had his own dolphin show with them jumping straight out of the water into the air in front of the boat.

On the last part of the trip into Cabo we had the winds build up to 28 or 30 knots which gave us a good sleigh ride with the boat surfing some waves and boat speeds in excess of 7 knots.

What a change an overnight sail can make, we went from being anchored where the fishermen live in tents and ruined building on the beach to all the affluence of Cabo.

Being anchored in Cabo in front of the white sandy beaches and seeing the fancy hotels and condos on the beaches makes us feel like we are living in the travel magazine advertisements it is just beautiful here. We took a trip in to town to report into the Port Captain only to be told it is Saturday and he will not be back till Monday, guess we really are in cruiser mode now.

We have successfully landed the dingy on the beach through some very small surf, Yeah no one got wet. Now leaving the beach was another story. Pull the dingy back down to the water. Get it deep enough to start the motor. Oops turn it bow out, pull the motor to start, now we are out to far. Debbie is ¾ wet Lynn can't get the motor started. Thanks to a panaga operator he came and buffed the waves while we rolled into the dingy like beached whales and got it going. Hmm we will have to figure out how to get in the dingy and get it off the beach with out getting soaked. I guess that's why they invented dry bags.

We will be leaving here to start making our way around to La Paz in a day or so.

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