At sea again at last!

Trying to catch the green spark

We left Mazatlan early in the day to hit the high tide and to beat a storm front coming into the area. As we navigated the narrow channel down to the fuel dock, the winds began to pick up, but we couldn't avoid getting fuel. 

We pulled in without incident, letting the wind push us to the dock and we fueled up, eyeing the breakwater area, wondering how much more wind would pick up before we could depart. Once fueled, we headed out, struggling a bit against a much stronger headwind that was coming in at about 14 knots and we headed out the breakwater. 

It was a beautiful morning, the clouds from the coast extended out just enough to provide us with nice shade cover for the first part of the morning. We got about 2 miles off coast before setting sails, hoping to take advantage of the headwind and set a port tack to take us northwest along the coastline. We were headed to the east coast of the Baja, where exactly, would be determined by the wind direction since we wanted to motor as little as possible. 

The first day saw great sailing at a calm speed of 5 knots with out needing to tack as we kept our heading throughout the day. The sun rose and the clouds broke and we were getting baked by mid-day. I kept eyeing the water beyond the sugar scoop and wondering if we could stop long enough to jump in. We were in 2500 feet of water at that point and I have to admit, that I still get a bit squeamish about swimming in water that deep. But, we kept going and tried to stay in as much shade on deck as we could...which, without a bimini, was not much. 

About this time, Mike had to take on the task of de-pickling (is that a word?) the water maker and getting some water made. After 3 hours of flushing and checking filters and taking a boost pump apart, we still could not get the water maker to come up to pressure and start making water for us. It had an incredible amount of air in the system, but there was something else wrong. I quickly did a calculation of how much bottled water, juice and boxed milk we had on board to figure what our options were as far as continuing or heading back to Mazatlan. We put Reid at the helm and Mike and I went through the entire system together and were able to finally get her going. Thank goodness! When it is 100 degrees out and you are baking, you really appreciate the importance of having a water maker at sea. 

The stress of that behind us, we got temperature relief in the evening and preceded on our way. Unfortunately, we had no wind at that point and had to motor sail along at 3.5 knots while we made water. 

When the sun came up in the morning, I was on duty at the helm and found that the Booby that had perched on our bow the night before was still there hanging out with us. 

A little friend riding along on the very calm seas

My view to port in the early morning hour with the moon getting ready to set

My view to starboard at the same moment as we continued northwest skirting the mainland about 12 miles off coast

Day two was much better with no water maker issues. Unfortunately, we also had no wind. We tried light sailing off and on. Mangas does very well in light wind. We can generally get 3 to 4 knots off of a 6 knot wind. But on this day, it seemed that every time we saw the wind meter kick up above 5, it would drop just a soon as we pulled out the jib sail. 

Later in the afternoon, after the brutal sun finally crossed and we got some relief, we had a really magical time at sea. We had no view of any land either to the east or the Baja to the west. It was calm as we motor sailed and we set the autopilot and got everyone on deck towards the bow to watch the sunset that was dead ahead. With the speakers out playing Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers, we listened to "Buffalo" and searched for the elusive green spark of the setting sun over water. 

The best seat in the house

We had a great dinner of beef shish kabobs on the grill and turned the Sirius to 70's on 7 for a very mellow, very special evening. We have seen no other boats since leaving Mazatlan and it feels like we have the world's oceans just to ourselves.

On night three, we did finally catch that green spark. It was the first one any of us had been able to see. The following morning we saw land as we were coming in just north of La Paz. Still no real winds and yet we had very choppy waves all the way in. I was on duty with everyone else sleeping below when I saw our first boat as a La Paz ferry came barreling down on our position. I really do not think he saw us, and at 2 knots of speed, which is all we could muster in the extreme chop, I had no way to out maneuver him. The only thing I could do was turn a beam to him and show him our broadside. 

Another stowaway

The turn seemed to work and he moved his course, only slightly. He passed us .3 nm to starboard according to the radar. The closest we have ever passed another vessel at sea. 

The wind then caught up with the chop and we set sails for a good 1 hour run towards Isla San Jose, before it died on us. But, the wind direction had finally changed to allow us a downwind course, the first since we left Mazatlan. We decided this was the best time as any to finally break out the gennaker sail. A big parachute sail, the gennaker balloons out from the bow and can really shine in light down winds. After double checking that all the lines were set correctly, we hoisted the sail sock and let her fly. She is truly a thing of beauty and, even better, she provided great shade!

Hard to get a good shot of the gennaker while on the boat - but she is big!

Keira doing school work in the nice shade

Finally, back to our beloved Baja. We anchored in San Evaristo and enjoyed a restful night sleep after 3 nights and 4 days of travel and over 250 nm from La Paz.

Spanish School in Tepoztlan (Finale)

Kids with their Spanish teacher, Vicki at the Borda Gardens in Cuernavaca

OK, so we traveled from Mazatlan to Guadalajara and then on to Cuernavaca in the state of Morelos. We arrived a little bus terminal 45 minutes earlier than expected because our driver drove like a bat out of hell and I was just thankful that I couldn't see through the windshield to the road ahead from our vantage point. 

The last leg of the bus ride skirted the Southwest corner of Mexico city and, I have to say, it was stunning. Very modern architecture and cool building facades. Mike and I were both very impressed to see LED billboards that were on the street level and had not been vandalized in any way. They would not have stood a chance in downtown Phoenix. 

Since we arrived so early, we had to wait for our contact from the school to arrive. We must have looked like gypsies. There were no seats left open, so we collapsed on the floor of the terminal with our duffel bags, long hair and wrinkled clothes and just stretched out. After the pickup time came and went, Mike asked how we would get in touch with them? No idea. No wi-fi, no phones, no choice but to just wait. 

Not long after, one of our teachers, Vicki arrived, introduced herself and shuffled us out to a taxi. One or two taxi's she asked in Spanish? We said two, to which she shook her head and said, no, one will work. So three adults (including the taxi driver) and three kids squished our way into a 4 seater taxi and started off on the 45 minute drive to Tepoztlan. 

When we left Mazatlan, it was 95 degrees with 90% humidity. Yuck. In Tepozatlan, it was mid-60's and we were literally freezing.

School grounds at Experencia in Tepoztlan

The kitchen shack

I had found the school through online searches. We needed a school that could provide structure for the kids as well as us and where we could all be housed. Most of the schools have home stays available, but it is difficult to accommodate a family of 5. Experencia was able to provide us with two rooms on the property and separate classes for the kids and me and Mike. 

The property was beautiful but very "rustic", as Mike would say. The kids room had a bathroom, but the shower didn't work. "It will be fixed mañana..." It never got fixed during our 3-week stay. Mike and I were in a room without a bathroom. There were bathrooms down a small hill, but it usually meant a trip in the rain to get to them at night. 

The kids met local kids and starting playing every afternoon with them after classes.

We were at the school during the World Cup and it was really fun to watch the games and cheer on Mexico and the US. We would frequently make trips to the Mercado in Tepoztlan to find some satellite tv, beer, appetizers and a crowd to enjoy the game with.

Unfortunately, all of us had contracted whooping cough from a family in Barre de Navidad that had just come down from the states. Luckily, we had the right antibiotics to fight any secondary infection, but we all sounded horrible for about 8 weeks. That coupled with the dampness and constant rain and mud, made for a challenging 3 weeks. Mike also had a horrible allergic reaction to the insides of the rooms. As a result, we had to get a cot moved outside to a space that had a ceiling but not much else. Meanwhile, the kids room sprung a few leaks in the ceiling after all of the rain, so I moved them into our room. Cozy! None of that was terrible, but the small black scorpions that we kept killing in the bedroom was a bit much. Scorpion fatalities in Western Mexico is a real thing and the state of Morelos reports 13,000 stings on average each year. Nice. 

But, that is always how it goes, isn't it? Beautiful surroundings, but there are always challenges. The kids fared very well through it all, no complaints and we were really proud of them. They are up for anything and very adaptable, which I am thankful for. 

The town of Tepoztlan itself is supposed to be one of the places of magical vortex, like Sedona, if you are familiar with that sort of thing. There are quite a few older American expat hippies or hipiteca's (as the local's call them) that have retired here to enjoy the easy going nature of the town, the beauty of the surrounding hillsides and the magical vibe. (OK, I could easily be a hipiteca in my old age :) ) 

We learned a lot of Spanish, of course, but in addition to that, we saw some great sites and adopted some new favorite things. 

Our first new favorite thing is Jamica agua fresca. Hibiscus flowers are soaked overnight in water and then the resulting juice concentrate is added to sugar water for a refreshing drink. We now make our own on the boat.

Dried flowers that you can buy in bulk here, or in packages from your local Mexican food store in the US

Soaking in water overnight (don't boil like it recommends) to make the concentrate

Our other favorite thing is banana leaf wrapped tamales, for which we got great instruction and learned a lot of good techniques to make perfect masa for the tamale.

Cutting the banana leafs to the right size for the tamales

Heating the leafs on the stove to make them pliable for wrapping

Mike mixing the masa with the pork fat for the tamale lining

Making little masa balls that will be used for each tamale

Assembly is masa, covered with the boiled chicken and red sauce then wrapped and steamed. Yum!

Nopales or prickly pear pads are also a new add to our normal grocery shop. We loved them diced up with eggs, or on cheese quesadillas. 

Nopal field in Tepoztlan

Finally, we found a panque de elite (little cornbread muffin loaves) in town that was made from organic corn, flour-less and just the most divine little morsels of sweet goodness you could imagine. I have yet to find a recipe that is an equivalent, but I am working on it!

We also took many side trips to Cuernavaca and to the Palace of Cortez, the Cathedral and other colonial era sites. 

Whenever we took the bus to Cuernavaca, there was always a musician or two who would come on board to play for tips. Which was a nice distraction, given the ride took an hour. The musicians were all quite good as well!

View from the Palace of Cortez to the fortress Cathedral, built in the 16th century

The manmade water feature at the the Borda Gardens, the summer residence of the Emperor Maximilian

Back in Tepoztlan, no visit to the area would be complete without a hike up to the Tepozteco, an Aztec pyramid constructed around the 14th century. It is small in comparison to other temples with only 3 tiers and being about 24 feet high or so. But the hike and view are quite spectacular.  

How many stairs did you say there were?

View from the top - very green and very blue sky. The girls are enjoying the view and that's our own pirate there on the left side of the photo. 

Breaking into our room after forgetting our keys - good thing Pinky is still so tiny

Finally, on our last day, we were treated to a local musician who came in to sing with us and teach us the lyrics of famous Mexican songs. I will have to add pics later that are on Mike's phone, but we had a great time. Who knew that La Cucaracha was the name of Pancho Villa's car?

Well, that about wraps up the highlights of our Spanish school adventure. We did learn a lot of Spanish and it has come in very handy since we left. We are trying hard to keep it up and to keep learning.  I know that the kids will keep great memories of the friends they made and hopefully, the Spanish will stay with them too.

Spanish School in Tepoztlan (Part 2)

At 1.5 million people, the city of Guadalajara is the same size as Phoenix, Arizona by comparison. The surrounding suburb cities, bring the metro area to a population of 5 million. Even though quite large, the city itself feels like it is made up of numerous smaller unique neighborhoods and towns and traversing through it was painless. We went to a very popular area downtown to explore the Cathedral and Hospicio Cabañas and  although it was a Sunday, with many families out and about, it did not feel at all crowded.

Walking towards the Hospicio Cabañas, which previously served many purposes over the centuries, but is now a museum

The Hospicio Cabañas started its life in 1760 when the Catholic Church commissioned its construction and use as a hospital and home for the needy. It is a huge complex comprising of a main building with a large park area in the center and numerous 

courtyards with main wings to the sides.

Right now it has an exhibit by Eduardo Sarabia. His works at this particular exhibit focus on the drug subculture of Mexico. He uses multiple mediums and some are quite elaborate (such as his videos and costume work), while others have a folk art feel with primitive drawings and themes.  I think that coming from the US, the sensibility is that we are all against the drug trade given its violence and corruption. But, it was interesting to see Sarabia's work where he mixes facts regarding that violence and corruption with the mythos that a younger Mexican society has attributed to the drug cartels and their leaders who are as flamboyant as they are cruel. Sarabia does not appear to condemn this culture, but he does shine a light on the hypocrisy of the system, such as the collusion that is present between the cartels and the Mexican drug enforcement agency. 

So can I admit that a part of me would love to have this in the foyer, just to see if anyone actually looked at the design?

Distribution chain...
 

That is an OXXO cooler at the bottom. OXXO is like 7-Eleven here in Mexico. At first, we thought that OXXO was somehow involved in the corruption and thought we might have to boycott OXXO's while we are here. But, then we learned that the significance of the OXXO coolers in Sarabia's works is a reference to a particular bloody drug war find of human heads in an OXXO cooler in the desert.

The pillars of the drug trade, including government officials.

"I live off three animals whom I love as my life;

They earn me money and I don’t even buy them food.

They are very fine animals: my parakeet, my rooster, and my nanny goat." 

Lyrics from a popular song from a few years ago. The stations playing the song did not realize what it referred to, but it became a pop hit. The parakeet represents marijuana, the rooster is cocaine and the nanny goat is an AK-47. 

The eerie finale to Sarabia's exhibit. Translated: Love is the answer.

I think that what we came away with from the exhibit was a better appreciation for how much the drug culture has permeated all of Mexican society, whether welcomed or not. I couldn't help but draw a comparison to the bootlegging activities of the 1920's and the larger than life personas that emerged from that era. When you look back at smugglers like Capone, Baby-Faced Nelson and non-smuggling criminals like Bonnie and Clyde, we can't understand today how they could have been folk heroes for their time. Yet, that phenomenon repeats itself now in Mexico. Couple that comparison with the corruption of law enforcement and political appointees, and I can only hope that Mexico's own version of "The Untouchables" will soon emerge. 

To wrap up the Guadalajara blog on a more positive note, we do want to stress that Mike and I have never felt uneasy in Mexico in regards to our safety. I have felt uneasy that I am being given Gringo costs on some items...but that's another story...

The US Department of State has travel warnings listed for 19 of Mexico states. We have traveled through 10 of these to date, without incident. We have walked back country roads, driven, gone by bus and taxi and never felt threatened. Of course, just as there are areas of Phoenix, New York, Detroit and other US cities that I would not want to walking in at 1 AM, the same is true here. But I am so thankful that we have had the opportunity to visit some beautiful places, meet really fun and warm people and take in the tastes, sights and sounds of this country - and there is still more to come!

Spanish School in Tepoztlan (Part 1)

It has been quite a long time since our last post and we have about 6 posts staged and ready to go out. We just got internet coverage again after a very long dry spell, so hopefully you will see many posts hit today and tomorrow. We are back at sea- Yea! And enjoying great sailing and reef diving. But, more on that later...let's catch up on what we have been doing for the past 30 days...

Last month, we put Mangas in a marina in Mazatlan and headed inland for Spanish Language School. We found an outfit in Tepoztlan, in the Mexican state of Morelos just south of Mexico City. The school is in the mountains outside of the state capital of Cuernavaca and the area is regarded as "Eternal Spring" for their year round Spring-like temperatures. It was quite a shock to the system after the hot humid days in Mazatlan. But, more on that later. 

First, we had to get there. That meant an 8 hour bus ride to the city of Guadalajara where we could spend the weekend visiting an old family friend, and then a second 8 hour bus ride from there to Cuernavaca.

The bus lines in Mexico are very nice with some offering "Executive" or "Premier" class seating with tv screens on every chair, meal provided, etc. The ride from Mazatlan left at 11:30 at night and the ride was very uneventful. There are usually one or two stops at different terminals where you can stretch your legs, buy a refreshment or a coffee and use the bathroom (though there are men's and women's toilets on the bus). The terminals are very clean and bright and safe and we found that the class of passengers ranged from working class to executive businessmen and everything in between. On every ride we have taken, I have found several fellow passengers who are very concerned that we understand what the driver is saying, how to navigate the terminal stops, what to do at any military checkpoints we might encounter, etc. Between their broken English and our broken Spanish, we have never had a problem understanding each other. The kids are, of course a big icebreaker and quite a spectacle as the three little toe-heads scamper onto the buses. We have not seen any other gringos on these buses yet, so they absolutely get noticed.

Our destination was Zapopan, a suburb of the greater Guadalajara. Our friend Karla once cared for Reid, just after he was born, when Mike and I were both working. She was in her early twenties at the time and has since finished college and now teaches English to elementary students in Zapopan. 

Karla and kids in a square in Telaquepaque

Our first excursion was to Telaquepaque. A beautiful old town within a city, this area has many famed galleries and shops that feature everything from old world craftsmanship of iron and wood to modern art creations of glass and steel. Our favorite art gallery was Bustamante's where his whimsical pieces come in all sizes and different mediums. I am a real fan of his work and really fell in love with his sculptures when we came across one of his most famous works on the Malecon in Puerto Vallarta. His gallery in Telaquepaque extends to an outdoor garden space with a tranquil waterfall feature and lots of bamboo making for a very peaceful atmosphere. 

Bustamante art gallery in Telaquepaque

We had great day strolling through all of the shops, finding a lot of inspiration for our future adobe home build in Yarnell. We also encountered fun street scenes along the way. Traditional caballero dancers and fortune telling parakeets were mixed in among the street vendors selling fresca drinks of jamaica and rice drinks and others selling fried snack treats of small donuts and pastries. 

Caballero Dancers

Need to know your fortune? For 50 cents, the little bird in this cage will pick out your fortune card.

Families enjoying the weekend park scene. 

Karla found a street vendor that had pop rocks (the exploding kind, not the candy) and matches that popped when struck. The kids had a great time snapping the pop rocks to the ground and striking their matches....much to the chagrin of their dad. But, the folks in the park never batted an eye. 

Our next field trip with Karla would be to downtown Guadalajara...