Malecon Guayaquil

Malecon Guayaquil

Waterfront Guayaquil

Downtown Guayaquil Ecuador

Puerto Lucia YC

Reiver at Puerto Lucia Ecuador

Anchorage at Isla Tortugas Costa Rica

Sunset Puntarenas

The fine old theatre San Jose

Cutting sugar cane in the far distance

Lake Arenal central Costa Rica

Central Costa Rica

White faced monkey at our cabin

Tree viper

Cloud forest

Quetzal in cloud forest through telescope

The rough road to Monteverde

Shopping El Coco Costa Rica

Bahia Santa Elena Costa Rica

Family outing

Street market Usulatan

Street vendors El Salvador

Local transport El Salvador

Street scene Usulatan El Salvador

Easter sand murals Usulatan

Early morning shrimp boat

The dancers Oaxaco

Inside the monastery Oaxaco

Oaxaco

Evening light in Oaxaco

At ease in the main square Oaxaco

Three generations of street traders Oaxaco

Street scene Oaxaco

The central valleys at Oaxaco

The ancient site of Monte Alban

The shoeshiner Oaxaco

The villages and roads along the ridge en-route to Oaxaco

The young entrepeneur Taxco

The roofs of Taxco

Street market Taxco

Street scene Taxco

Taxco

Street scene Taxco

Acapulco

Reiver moored med style Acapulco YC

The fisherman chips his ice for the day Zihuatanejo

Sunrise en-route to Chamila

Puerto Vallarta

The square of the heroes Guadalajara

Guadalajara main square in the evening

Guadalajara main square

Chacala

Young booby bird Isla Isabella

The nesting frigate birds Isla Isabella

The anchorage Isla Isabella

The birdlife of Isla Isabella

El Cid Marina Mazatlan

Sunset at Mazatlan

Three generations of leatherworkers Cosala

Mazatlan shop interior

Iguana at Mazatlan

Crew asleep on the rail

Ernesto delivers the gooseneck fitting

La Paz from El Mogote

Ballandra

Christmas in La Paz!

The_Malecon_La_Paz

Marina de La Paz

Hard on the wind

Cabo San Lucas

Meal under way

Cleveland Forest Park San Diego

HMS Surprise

Balboa Park San Diego

The path to San Diego YC

Santa Barbara

The candlemaker Solvang

Solvang

Santa Barbara to Solvang

Santa Barabara

Monterey

Golden Gate

San Francisco from Balclutha

Angel Island from Richmond

pacific corinthian yacht club

drogue finally finished

Golden Gate Bridge

at sea

pelican friend

Cape Flattery

Sunset prior to Newport, Oregon stop

Golden Gate Bridge in the fog

Tiburon - home of SFYC

Last night at home before leaving

Previous Reports

Exploring the peninsula by land

We were both curious to see more of the interior of the Baja Peninsula so we rented a vehicle and headed north up Hwy #1 out of La Paz. The desert was just starting to green as the spring time approached and the low oak bushes had tight green leaves forming. The ocotillos were in bloom and the bright red flowers could be seen everywhere across the landscape. The common cacti which is everywhere to be seen, is the tall cardon and because of the large number of them there was an impression of a cacti forest in places. In addition yuccas which looked like stunted palm trees appeared in some locations. When we stopped for a break at various locations we could smell the pungent aroma of the creosote bush. Caracaras which are desert hawks sat atop of the cardon and turkey vultures wheeled above the hot desert. We also saw mourning doves and road runners dashed across in front of the car on many occasions. We saw small gophers, mice and black tailed jack rabbits. Along the sandy shore line we regularly found tracks of coyote families but we never did see one. For seemingly empty desert there is really a lot of wild life. In the midst of this very dry desert area there are oases of lush green vegetation where water breaks out or is near the surface. San Javier is one such tiny village of about 50 people, an hour and a halves drive along a twisting steep gravel road into the Sierra De La Giganta. The views along the road looking back down onto the coastal plain were spectacular. At the end of this dusty road there was a small area of surface water with lush green vegetation around the small village of San Javier nestled in the bottom of the vertical sided arroyo. It was a spectacular site for the Jesuit mission founded in the late 1600’s and the building is still in good shape and is still used for worship. We talked to the police in this small village and they discouraged us from proceeding further across the mountains for we only had a two wheel drive vehicle with low clearance. We visited another oasis at San Ignacio where we stayed in a bed and breakfast site run by a Canadian couple. The breakfast was excellent, all home made and the accommodation was somewhat unique in that we slept in a yurt, a permanent tent structure on a concrete base. Our yurt was located in the date palms right beside the open water. We kayaked the mile or so to the head of the narrow natural spring fed lake and the combination of the lush green growth around the lake edge with all the water fowl made it difficult to accept that we were still in a desert region. We visited three other towns all on the east side of the peninsula and on the coast. Mulege and Loretto were typical small sleepy villages/ towns catering for the tourist and the gringos who are buying property in the area. Santa Rosalia however was different. It has a harbour and the 14,000 population at one time were employed in the large copper mine and smelting works set in the town. The mine and works in the town have been closed for a decade or so but the steel framed buildings are still in fair shape, but they occupy the prime waterfront location whilst the town is squeezed into the bottom of the arroyo immediately inland. When the smelter, crushers etc were working the town must have suffered badly from pollution. The development of the mine was carried out by a French company and their influence can still be seen in the town. Normally construction of one to two storey buildings in Mexico is carried out in concrete block and stucco. Here most of the buildings are wood frame construction with metal or timber siding and all with wide shady overhanging verandas. There is an interesting church erected by the mining company in the town and designed by Eiffel for the world fair in 1889. The whole structure is made from galvanized iron as a prefabrication design for churches in developing countries. We wandered around the busy town and then spent some time in the old mine headquarters. This is a two storey building of timber construction with high ceilings. The upper floor is still in use but the lower floor is a museum containing small items of leftover equipment, account books with beautiful copperplate writing and early typewriters set out on the old desks. The smell of polish on the shining floors together with the drab décor took you back to what it must have been like in the office in the late 1800’s. We did try to cross the peninsula on another dirt road but the lack of grading and the frequent rocks on the track made us abandon the attempt, another time when we are in a four wheel drive with better clearance. After returning we also took a short trip along a coastal trail on the east side of the Baja opposite La Paz. We traveled first thing in the morning and the sea was flat calm below us as we followed the road along the cliffs northwards. We only saw one other vehicle the whole time we were on this trail. The rugged striated mountains along the coast were dramatic in the early morning light and there seemed to be every pastel colour there was in the various layers. This would be a great place to camp and get away from it all and it is only a couple of hours out of La Paz. On our short trip we had both satisfied our interest and had opened up further ideas of exploring by land this most interesting and relatively unspoiled peninsula. Back in the marina we continued our preparations for shipping Reiver out of La Paz on the 21st to 24th of this month.

“A Sea to our selves”

Our plan was to go as far north in the sea as we could and the winter northers which blow would allow. As it happens we didn’t travel too far but we enjoyed ourselves. We had anchorages to our selves, some brisk winds, good sailing and some open rolling anchorages. We beach combed, swam, snorkeled and had long hikes up the arroyos and up onto the mountain ridges. The weather was clear with day temps in the high 70’s and cool evenings down to 60. Throughout our three weeks away we saw very few other cruising boats, the trend for other cruisers is to sit in the marinas or anchor in La Paz or to cross over to the mainland where it is slightly warmer. Throughout our time out we were entertained by the sight of the sea life. We saw whales and dolphin, one day literally hundreds of them in a single pod. The birds and in particular the pelican have entertained us in the anchorages. The pelican is so versatile. Other birds have developed special individual skills; the frigate bird with it’s ability to soar effortlessly for days, the booby bird to dive like an arrow into the sea from the height of up to 100ft to catch fish and the gulls to snatch fish from the water as they fly. The pelican does all of these in a very solid manner. It is a big bird, ungainly but very strong and heavy and to see it dive from 60-70 ft with those wings spread out to the last split second looks like a disaster about to happen, but it pops up facing the opposite way after having performed a somersault under water. Its head then slowly emerges from the sea as it drains that huge soft beak it has before gulping down the fish it has caught. Then with a couple of flaps of its powerful wings it is in the air for its next kama kazi performance. They are masters of flight and when in formation draft the birds ahead so they need to flap for less time. At other times they are within inches of the sea and their outer wings caress the top of the sea as they glide along. Next time you see them soaring high in the sky using the thermals and wind currents. The pelicans seldom utter any sound, are unafraid of humans and will paddle along side the boat much like your dog. They are definitely high on our list of favourite sea birds. Because of the absence of other boats we made more contact with the Mexican fishermen than we have previously. Sirroco came out with her husband in a panga and sold us some shell necklaces and we were able to give her boxes of crayons, paper, pencils and a note book for their little school. These fishermen and their families have a hard life. Sometimes the villages have no road access and other-times they are at the end of a 50-60 miles dirt track from the highway with the nearest medical facilities even further away. Generally they have no power and water quality and quantity is a problem. Standards are improving and all the small single room houses now boast a white plastic out house. In another anchorage Manuel came in his panga to talk to us in the late afternoon. He was in his 40 to 50’s and yet eager to talk. We felt that he was lonely. He had been out fishing all day and had five fish, large red snappers to take home to his family. It transpired that his wife had just gone into the hospital in Concepcion and he was concerned at how much his doctors fees would be. He was going to be visiting her in the next day or so. We were able to make up a care package with fruit and food for him to share with his wife and we gave him some money towards his costs. He was very grateful and thanked us profusely before he left for home. He returned some time later in the evening with a used lure as a gift. We’ll treasure that lure and hope it catches the big one! We were away from the city lights and each evening we would enjoy the night sky. We have a programme on the computer which will identify all the visible stars, galaxies and even satellites. We made a lot of use of this. Generally both sun rises and sunsets in the Sea of Cortez are spectacular and particularly when there is a little cloud about they are dramatic and full of colour. During the three weeks we were away we enjoyed these most evenings. From the onset we had problems with our refrigeration and for two days we worked through the system. This was the reason we did not get as far north as we had hoped we might. We topped the system up with refrigerant; we ran a pressure test on the system and also on the compressor. Finally we resorted to my mum’s old cure for all maladies, a rubber hot water bottle, this time set on the expansion valve. Gradually we were able to chase the water (for this is what we had finally concluded to be the problem) out of the system into the drier where it belonged. It was time well spent for now I am totally familiar with the system. Our original problem of too much vibration on the compressor and loose belt from the engine is now behind us also. It is amazing what you can achieve by applying basic principals to a problem and then working through the system. We have been back in the marina now for two days. We went out for a meal on our first evening with two couples from New Zealand and had a most entertaining evening. It was a sea food restaurant and the food was superb. This morning Sunday we were invited out to brunch by some of the regulars in the marina and again we enjoyed the company and the food, a long Mexican breakfast, 2.5 hrs! Whilst we were away yet another boat has been lost and sunk. The boat I bought the fire pump from tried to single hand it to Mazatlan and points south and was wrecked after only about 60 miles into the trip. It was a fine old boat, a Kettenberg 55 which needed lots of TLC before it should have made the trip. That is the sixth boat we have known that has been lost this year in the Sea. In all instances the crew was saved. When we returned there were several e-mails waiting, one of which gave us a closer date for Reiver to be loaded on “Dockwise “transport, 21 st to 24 th Mar. We will sit back and enjoy the town and the locals.

"Marina life" (access to new South American travel photos)

Marina life quickly settles into a routine of jobs carried out on the boat. Christine has sewn, making covers for the outboard and the barbeque which is now on the rail, marina style! I have taken the compressor off the engine and installed a new support bracket to eliminate the belt slippage.I have also worked on the rigging and installed new chain deck plates. Currently the brightwork is being taken down to bare wood. At five minutes to six each morning the fishermen start up their outboard engine about 20 ft from our berth, this is our early morning call. Their out-board looks about twenty years old and is noisy. The two fishermen return after two and a half hours with about a 100lbs off fish each morning. Housewifes and small restaurant owners await their return each day and select their fish, heading away each day with their plastic bags of fish. Each morning we listen to the "Amigo net" at seven am for the large scale weather picture and at eight the local VHF La Paz net comes on. This latter one keeps you in the picture with local events, items for trade and who is leaving or arriving in La Paz. CBC is next for the world news. At last I have a system for any one interested to access more photographs that I have posted. The problem with the web site was that it was filling up and was tedious and onerous to get these onto the web site. There are 11 albums that can be viewed, unfotunately they are not in order. The correct order is as follows

La Paz 2005-6

These albums can be acessed via the following link:

//photos.yahoo.com/terrychristinestamper

We hope you enjoy viewing them.

The Isla Espiritu Santo, Sea of Cortez, Mexico

Solitude and a memorable Christmas break

We left the marina at first light and were soon out sight of La Paz with only the nearest island, Isla Espiritu Santo ahead of us. This is the local island and we were pleasantly surprised to see only one or two boats anchored in the inlets/bays on the west side where the only good overnight anchorages are. After five hours of motoring in the calm conditions we anchored in one of the northern most bays off the same small sandy beach we had anchored off twelve years previously with Scott, Penny and Duncan on board. We were the only vessel until last light when a power boat joined us in the southern arm of this bay called Ensenada Grande. We were there for two and a half days in perfect conditions, clear blue skies and only the lightest of breezes, enough to keep the boat cool. We swam in the clear cool water and then sat in the cockpit and read our books. Early the next morning set off up the arroyo to climb up to the top of the nearest hill. This proved to be quite the scramble and we brought into play our old rock climbing skills. Even so we were short of the summit by only a few feet for the top proved to have too much loose volcanic rock. The view over the bay was dramatic with the red ochre coloured cliffs along the waters edge and the scree covered with cactii disappearing away from us to the cliff edge. Reiver was a minute isolated shape in the deeper blue water with the green shallow water against the shore. It was a good start to our Christmas day. Our evening meal was excellent and the stove performed flawlessly. Christine cut no corners and we had a full Christmas dinner with two types of stuffing, six different vegetables including two types and preparation for potatoes and instead of turkey we had a succulent chicken. This was truly a memorable Christmas meal. The next morning we motored south to the next bay El Cardonal. After anchoring we walked ashore along the white beach. On the way back to the boat we noted some new coral growth and we snorkeled for a while. In the late afternoon a power boat joined us in the bay. That evening the water was flat calm and the bright night time sky was clearly reflected in the water so that you felt as though the boat was suspended in the matrix of stars. We had a walk ashore the next day to the east side of the island. This side has dramatic cliffs and beaches composed of large cobbles. That evening was again clear and bright but alternated between no wind and strong williwaw gusts rolling down from the peaks that had us yawing to our anchor. Whilst we were only in 12-0ft of water we dragged for the first time ever and had to reset our anchor. After our planned two days we moved south to yet another of the many anchorages, Caleta Partida. This is the largest of the anchorages on the Island and has had up to 200 boats in at one time on a Regatta day. We remained at this anchorage for five nights. It was not crowded, the most boats anchored at any time was six including a single hander from our own Yacht Club. During our stay we read and relaxed in the cockpit and sun, cooling off in the clear water as the day progressed. In the bay we were surrounded by marine birdlife and watched the pelicans as they performed their clumsy dives in groups of up to a dozen for the small fish. Booby birds were also diving and their entry into the water was so streamlined in comparison to the pelican. Overhead the frigate birds soared in huge numbers watching for their opportunity to steal a meal. Ashore we followed an arroyo (dry valley) up the steep slopes of the bay. There was a great variety of cacti from the tall spiked single limbed ones to the prickly pear type with their strong green colour. Around us the red ochre coloured rocks baked in the heat whilst the bay below us was arrange of green as the depth varied. This bay is the remnant of a volcano crater and is surrounded by a scarp of vertical cliffs and scree slopes. New Year passed quietly and we sat in the cockpit and welcomed the New Year in, a really quiet Hogmanay! We joined Ian Dodge, our fellow club member at the renaming ceremony for his boat. Rocking in our dinghies at the transom of his Cascade 40 we intoned the words Ian had prepared, toasting at regular intervals with the dark rum and finishing off with a bottle of champagne. “Mystic Blue” is now ready for her long passage across the Pacific. After a delightful 10 days we headed back to La Paz and civilization. We have had a most memorable laid back Christmas and New Year

Another week has slipped by, mostly filled with preparations for Christmas, provisioning and the like. Christine has completed the upholstry and has baked up a storm. We plan to take off into the Islands on Sat 24th for a week for we are both getting "marina fever" and want to be out sailing and enjoying the solitude. The weather continues to be wonderfully warm/hot through the day and cool in the evening. We have walked around La Paz quite a lot this week and find every time we move around the town how much it has changed in the last 12 years . We spent about 4 months in 1993 and since then many of the streets have been paved and many new buildings erected. The town is much more afluent with the visible signs of increased traffic with many new cars/trucks everywhere. Eventually it will become more and more like N America, already there are the usual fast food outlets along the Malecon. Progress and improvement from the locals perspective but a shame to loose the character the town had. We managed to link up to the family last night via the computer tel link and enjoyed talking to them all. We only missed little Trev who is three and was much too busy to talk! Christine and I send Seasons Greetings to you for Christmas and the New Year.

"Catch up on news time!"

The days and indeed weeks have quickly rolled into each other and whilst little happens by the day, overall we have been busy and have new experiences to report on. From hereon I will give a weekly update of our activities. I did mention the heavy winds we had after we arrived. These resulted in two marine incidents. The first was the loss of a kayaker just north of La Paz in the islands. At one time three were in the water capsized but two were rescued. The second was the loss of a 30' Newport sailboat as it tried to enter La Paz at night in the strong winds. The skipper missed the narrow entrance and struck the bar in the heavy seas. This first bent his rudder so that he lost steerage and then he put himself further onto the bar and lost his keel. Eventually he was carried over the bar onto the beach in front of the north part of La Paz. Both crew were OK but the boat was a wreck. If the boat had been left for a night it would have been stripped by the locals. The cruisers were quickly organised and stripped the hull of any thing of value. In the process they cleaned and got motors etc back into working order. The hull was cut up and hauled through a culvert under the highway to the tip site.It was a remarkable effort for the whole process took only three days to the sale of all the items. The owner recovered monies to the value of the price he had paid for the boat but not what he had put into the boat. He carried no boat insurance. The following Saturday was the fund raising event organised by the cruisers. This consists of an auction of valuable items donated for sale and stalls with clothes books and bric a brac. There is food for sale and raffle tickets will which win items donated by the local merchants. Some $10,000 was raised this year, again for the regular childrens fund. This fund provides lunch for the poor children at school and also education scholarships. The cruisers are certainly an active group who are well thought of in La Paz. We have been busy with boat chores over this period and the use of John of "Java"'s bike has made collecting items from all over town that much easier. A list of works carried out goes as follows. Service engine renewing all filters . Overhaul of raw water pump, putting in new bearings and seal. Scrub staysail, other sails to follow. clean and polish stainless, deck and hull. Chase down and reseal deck leak that showed up in the head, remove the stove and overhaul the burners, jets etc.( Now we will be able to cook the Chrismas dinner for previously the temperaure in the oven only made it to 150F !!!), remove the winches, overhaul and replace on deck, check through standing and running rigging, remove monitor self steering gear, clean and put into John and Sandy's storage shed, adjust the stuffing box to reduce the leak to a minimum, and a host of other small jobs all necessary to keep the boat in good shape. In the mean time Christine has been busy with re-upholstering the main cabin. We found that there was a wonderful selection of fabrics in a store in La Paz and the seats and backs are almost completed to great effect. So we have not been idle! We took off one afternoon and had a wonderful walk on the Mogote, a wonderful flat estuary area opposite La Paz which contains mangrove swamp and a wonderful 12 mile sand beach.You need to cross to the area in a dinghy and then you find there is only you and the big sky and the long white sandy beach stretching before you into the distance.It is so refreshing to land on this area and walk for as far as you want. It was warm and we walked for a couple of hours enjoying the peace, the birds, the sounds of birds and the waves and the isolation. We sat for a little while and took the day in. One afternoon we accompanied John and Sandy and went to see a movie! We saw "Harry Potter and the burning Goblet" the fourth of the HP films. I'll bet we are ahead of the grandchildren in that respect! It's only the second of the series we have seen. One evening the Canadian contingent from the Marina de La Paz went out for a meal. There were 17 of us fromall over BC and Alberta and we made new friends and had an excellent meal. La Paz has a youth orchestra and we attended a concert one evening. The concert was held in the fine theatre building built some 10-15 years ago and we enjoyed our evening. The playing was of a high standard and the orchestra players were all dressed in their tuxedos. The music was varied and ambitious but the young players were up to the music and the seven international pieces of the programme was ended with an exciting piece by a Mexican composer, Moncayo which demanded all their skill. For a draw of area of some 200,000 people only, the youth orchestra was of a very high standard. Another evening we attended a guitar concert given by the local classical guitar teacher at the University of Baja California Sur. He was very accomplished and included/played three pieces of his own composition during the concert. As a teacher he explored classical guitar technique to the full; another enjoyable evening. La Paz has the feel of the towns and villages Christine and I knew when we were young. This 1950-1960 feel is even more apparant at Christmas time when the small town lights and activities make it homely and warm. This we felt when we walked along the Malecon the other evening when families and children were out walking and looking at the Christmas lights and listening to the street concert that was underway. The only non Christmas thing we did that evening was to buy an icecream from the excellent home made ice cream shop on the water front. The day temperatures still rise to the low 80's but evening temperatures are down to the high 50's ; a pleasant range. One by one cruisers we have go to know have left for the main land including our good friends John and Sandy. Like us they have been busy with work on their boats. Martin and Margaret in their fine steel boat from Nanaimo were preparing to set off and had a problem with their headsail hoist. At Martin's request John (another fellow Canadian ) and I hauled him to the top of his mast. Little seemed to be happening at the mast head so John and I set to from deck to resolve the problem which we did after about 20 minutes. Meanwhile Martin is still at he mast head where John and I think he must have found another problem for he is yet to contribute to the now resolved headsail problem. Eventually he asked to be lowered down to deck level where we find that he has spent all his time at the mast head taking photographs!! This gave us quite a chuckle! As you can see life is never dull here in La Paz and we are enjoying our third Christmas here in La Paz, 1993, 2004 and this one 2005. We are hoping Tim and Simon will find the time to join us in the new year for a week or so and we will do some more cruising in the islands of The Sea.

"A bouncy night"

The forecast was for strong northerly winds and sure enough they filled in in the evening blowing at a steady 30knts with gusts higher. We are snug in the marina but even so it was a little bouncy through the night and one boat out at anchor went ashore and lost its keel and rudder and may be a write off. The new regulations for clearing in and out of Mexican ports seems at last to be in place. Instead of the long walk from agency to agency and payments at the bank in each anchorage, a two or three minute presentation of papers with the Port Captain covers all. It has taken almost a year to reach the present stage and even so there still seems to be some confusion by the Port Captain on what he should give a departing boat. Another year should have the system running fine! We watched a movie, Mystic River" in the evening whilst the wind was howling round the boat and the boat snubbed hard at it's mooring lines.

"A night out"

I spent the day cleaning the boat and getting rid of all the rust stains on the stainless, slow tedious work but satisfying because of the end result. Christine was offered a lift to the supermarket and brought our provisions up again. In the evening we went out for a meal and enjoyed the different type of food offered.

"Settling in"

The marina is full and we realize we were lucky to get a berth. two boats along from us are a couple from Nanaimo BC and John insisted that I make use of his bike which he uses infrequently. I am now in my element for I love a bike and have always regretted not having the room on board for them this trip for we took two bikes on our last trip across the Pacific and enjoyed the additional mobility they gave you. I took off on the bike immediately and found our orange seller and brought back 20 kilos to make our morning juice. Christine did a major laundry run and in the evening we were invited out to supper with John and Sandy and again caught up on news.

"Old friends "

I was awake at 0400rs and awoke Christine to set off from th eanchorage at Los Muertos on our 50nm trip to La Paz. There was no hot cup of tea to start the trip this time however!. We motor sailed into the Cerralvo Channel, notorious for boistrous winds and tide but we had a pleasant ride. As the sun rose lighting up the cloud streaked sky astern with a spectacular sunrise we were able to sail for several hours before we motored into the channel leading to la Paz. We had booked into Marina de La Paz ahead of time and as we pulled into our berth at 14-00hrs there were John and Sandy our long time friends to greet us. Flowers, cold beer, bread and fresh fruit were presented to us. It was wonderful to see them, both looking so well and we sat and quickly brought them up to date on our travels before they headed off to the Thanksgiving Dinner. After supper we caught up on John 7 Sandy's news before having an early night and a sound sleep.

"Warm tea only!"

As we slipped out of Marina El Cid at 06 00hrs we put the kettle on for our early morning cup of tea, a ritual we have. The gas spluttered and died. We were out of gas! For the next three days there would be no hot food or drinks. Going back for propane even though it was only half a mile was not an option! I had expected to run out before now so it was not unexpected. Thoughts of cooking using the engine heat crossed our mind. Wrapping up the vegetables etc in several layers of foil and placing it on the engine for several hours would probably have worked fine but as it was warm we have not tried that system. We have done without warm food or drink, although we have made tea from the hot water tap which is heated from the engine and something potable and warm resembling tea has resulted. From Mazatlan to La Paz is over 200nm and the usual route is to head for Los Muertos an anchorage 40nm from La Paz and located on the opposite side of the peninsula. We motor sailed for 2/3 of the way and had a splendid sail over the last 60 miles hard on the 8-10knt wind with full sail including staysail up. Reiver felt as though she was on rails in the relatively flat seas and she rolled along at a steady 7.3knts for mile after mile. We sailed into the anchorage after putting up our new Canadian flag, for appearances purpose, the one that was up was faded and ragged. After a swim and a shower we had , yes a cold supper of a fine Chefs salad. We had taken 32hrs for the crossing and had a very easy time of it. Fine clear weather apart from one section where the fog rolled in and visibility was down to less than 200ft. It was then that we crossed a long line without any problems. Tomorrow we will finish the trip to La Paz and see if we can find a berth and if not we will anchor out.

"Old friends"

In the morning Sherrell and Eric called to see us. Eric had kindly helped me get our computer back up when we were last in Mazatlan. We chatted for a long while about their summer in the Sea and our trip. I think they will go down to Ecuador and do some of the same trips we have. Eric and all the net followers in the Sea knew all about hurricane Beta from the weather expert Don, how it crossed the isthmus and how it had been wrongly reported as a hurricane in the Pacific. I don't think I mentioned in my daily reports but at the height of our dilemma with Beta we did receive a note from the US weather informing us that the tropical depression had been given a name "Hurricane Kenneth" and it was this which sent us high tailing south. Only two days later did we find that the note had been sent out in error and was in fact a month out of date. It is interesting to note that a highly efficient body such as they make mistakes on occasions. This one certainly gave us grey hairs for the depression's centre(the mythical hurricane) was only 250 nm away from us and on a direct course to us, traveling at 15knts. Even as a tropical depression we were wise to avoid it however for it packed 30 plus knts. We went into the old town in the afternoon and visited the couple that own and run "Nid Art" They are a most gracious couple, warm and friendly and made us most welcome, opening the gallery for us to view their works to and make a purchase. In the evening we made ready for sea in the morning. It is some 200nm to La Paz and we felt we had a reasonable weather window for the crossing of the Sea

"Lazy days"

Not really lazy days for we both spent time cleaning the boat. The long period at sea had encrusted salt everywhere and the stainless steel (which is not stainless) was covered in rust sores. In the late afternoon we crossed the channel in the small shuttle boat and set off to walk along the beach to the north. I was low tide but even so we could not get far for the beach has changed significantly and the apartment blocks to the north of the marina are perched high above the beach level and huge quantities of rock have been tipped to protect their foundations. It appears to me that the problem could be due to the new groin that El Cid have built and which could be causing loss of beach material. In the evening we enjoyed meeting our neighbours, Kay and Bob from Alberta, fun homely people who made us feel very welcome and comfortable. They had another couple Pat and Gene, Gene had been on the polaris submarines and had crossed the N Atlantic in serious weather, he knew Holy Loch just north of Glasgow well. We enjoyed our evening, Bob makes a wicked marguaritta!

"A little R&R "

At first light we slipped out of the harbour before the Port Captain required us to check in, and we motored round to El Cid marina for a day or so. This is the high end marina we stayed at previously where we enjoyed the town, the pool and Penny's company. The staff are pleasant and helpful and soon Reiver was in a berth, all washed and hosed down and set up for our short stay with sun awning up and in non cruising mode. We went down town and bought fresh fruit, vegetables and other provisions. In the evening we sat in the cockpit and enjoyed the last of the evening light. The hotel facility is currently full and their is a lot of activity around the pools. This evening is cool and more the temperature we both enjoy. This evening we will be sleeping in our normal bunk in the fore peak, for the first time in almost a month for whilst we are on the move we sleep in the main cabin where movement is less and we are to hand when needed to assist each other.

Noon position N 22 36 .2 W 106 11 .7

Noon to noon 102 nm

"Getting onto home ground"

The breeze gradually filled in over the morning and soon we were, yes hard on the wind and almost laying Mazatlan. We had a wonderful sail and as darkness set in we could see the lights of Mazatlan on the horizon. Another tack was required out to sea before we could lay the harbour entrance. It's always interesting to enter a new harbour at night and to wake up next morning to see where you had negotiated. We dropped anchor at 22 30hrs and both had a good nights sleep.

Noon position N 21 01 .1 W 105 34 .9

Noon to noon 26nm (afternoon and over night anchorage)

"Surprised fishermen"

We pulled anchor at 09.00hrs and motored out through the reefs to sea. After an hour a good breeze came up and we beat steadily into the norther of 15 knts till dusk fell. As dusk fell we closed Roca Blanco planning to leave it to port with the low flat land some 4 nm to the starboard. Once committed to this course we found our selves in a fleet of fish boats in the dark. Some we could identify as shrimpers with their deck lights and others were the dreaded long liners with no lights sometimes and with their long lines up to a mile long strung here and there. Sometimes they have black flags on the ends ( no good at night ) and sometimes they have low output flashing lights at these flags. There were a mass of these flashing, all out to sea on our port side. As we tried to work our way through the shrimpers we were gradually forced closer to shore and finally were in only 31 ft of water with cryptic notes on the chart like "shoals reported" ahead of our course on the chart. A right angle turn out to sea was necessary and this involved threading our way through the long lines. The problem was which light was tied to which other light. We managed fine through most of these and were approaching the penultimate flashing light with the intent of leaving it to port when two frigate birds attempted to land on the mast. These are big birds and will do damage to the lightly built windex at the mast head. Standard practise is to shout and in Christine's case scream to frighten them away. This we were doing when we were within 50ft of the flashing light when lights appeared at the flasher. There was a panga tied to the end of the line with two very frightened fishermen in who had just been woken up by the unholy noise raised by us both. I asked them which side I should pass them on and arms were pointed in every direction, but mostly ahead of them, the side I had planned to pass. As we were about to cross ahead we saw that in fact they were tied to the end and I was about to cross the floating line which would tangle in the prop. A quick reverse and turn around allowed us to go astern of them and safely out to sea and to leave them safely to their slumbers.. The rest of the night was uneventful, clear with a "creamola moon".

Noon position N 20 34 .4 W105 36 .6

Noon to noon 94 nm

"A pleasant anchorage"

We slipped around Cabo Corrientes in the early afternoon in light seas and winds up to 15knts. Visibility was down to 3nm so we only just caught a glimpse of the Cape. Puerto Vallerto lies at the head of Bahia de Banderas, a deep 35nm indent in the coast line. We opted to anchor for the night in a small bay on the north side of the large indent close to the point, Punta Mita. This is a pleasant open bay giving some shelter from the northerly winds but still with some swell coming in. After a snooze , swim and shower we relaxed and read before having our supper sitting out in the cockpit. It was a wonderful evening, warm with only a slight breeze and as the sun set in the clear sky the moon rose on cue. Three young guys on one of the four boats anchored came over to say hello. They were gradually moving their boat south and each step was an adventure. They had a good sail from La Paz and enthused over their trip. They will leave their Cal 29 in PV and next year will have another two weeks off and go further south. They were getting lots of pleasure from their trip and already you could hear they had many memories. This anchorage in Banderas Bay was a pleasant break to our trip north.

Noon position N 19 12 0 W 109 44 .4

Noon to noon 69 nm

"A power boat with a sail"!

We both slept well and after an early morning swim we were on our way. When we are at sea I have a salt water shower each morning with a bucket on the foredeck or side deck when it is breezy, to wake me up. We motored across the bay and fueled up for the next stint of motoring. Apart from two attempts for an hour or two to get her moving under sail we have been powering all day today (Tues), we have become a motor boat that has sails. We are both well and are in good spirits. Finally my "rail bum" has healed. This a little like diaper rash and is caused by sitting around in salt water for extended periods. Such are the joys of sailing!

Noon position Mon N 18 37 .3 W 103 59 .6

Noon to noon Mon 136 nm.

"Shadowed by the Mexican Navy"!

Seas have been flat and windless and we have motored for all but a few hours. The long liners have been out in force and we had fun dodging them or passing over their lines. They seem to delight in setting them on the coastal route for shipping traffic and we saw at least two freighters go through the middle of their lines. We passed Manzanillo in the darkening and as there was some shipping about and some haze cutting visibility down to 4-5 nm i put the radar on. When we were about 12 nm north of Manzanillo I noticed a vessel slowly overtaking us and on a collision course. I thought about hailing him on Ch 16 and asking him what his intentions were, was he going to pas ahead or astern but I didn't for I knew the conversation in Spanish would be a problem. He got to within half a mile and then changed course and paralleled our course. Against a small cluster of lights on shore I saw his silouette and thought that he was a small naval vessel. He matched our speed and finally turned on his spot light on us. I in turn put our spot light on and lit our boat up. he finally came on the radio , in Spanish and I responded asking for someone to come back who spoke English. Finally an English speaking skipper came on and we talked. I told him where we were bound for what our speed and heading was and where Reiver was registered. We were doing 5.3 knts and he told me was doing 8.6 although he was matching me for speed. i suspect they were out on an exercise and had seen us as a "suspicious vessel" to practise on. Finally they increased speed to their 8.3 knts and crossed ahead of us. We felt our way into Bahia Navidad in the dark and anchored for the night , anchor down at 23 20hrs. We had no chart for the bay or the tucked away anchorage so it made it interesting.

Noon position N 17 42 .6 W 101 52.2

Noon to noon 123nm

"Taking the weather window whilst it's there!"

A frontal system north of us has robbed the area of the regular NW wind. This would be a headwind of 15knts or so. We have elected to press on with no overnight stops even though we are passing some good anchorages. There is a light thermal onshore wind during the day and we managed to sail for a few hours today, clear skies, warm and a smooth 6 knts for the duration of the wind. Little of note happened during the day, we saw our first sea snake whilst we are headed north, saw cruise ships which service the Mexican Riviera ports, but there has been a noticeable absence of fishing boats. Starting off on a leg at a weekend always has that benefit for the fishermen need their time off also! The full moon now runs through to the last watch and sets at 05 00hrs in the morning and is appreciated by us both. All is well on board and we are making good progress.

"Steaming along"

After checking out at the YC we said our fare-wells to David,"Incantation" who had his eye on the berth we were to vacate. It was a hazy day but with a sailing breeze which lasted a few hours before I had to turn the engine on. The Mexican Riviera is notorious for light winds and when it does blow it is from the NW so we turned on the engine and steamed north. It was a hazy night with some coastal shipping traffic including cruise ships. The seas are calm which allows the boat to hold 5.5-6knts. In a wave situation speed drops noticeably. We plan to make as much northing as we can whilst the seas are flat and may need some diesel on the way. It is slightly cooler, still T shirt and shorts weather, but still warm at night in the cabin for sleeping. All systems are working on the boat now. The freezer is back up and even the windex light is working! We are both well.

"Diesel and a night out"

When I was checking over the engine I noted a raw water leak on the transmission case cooling. I was able to find a new plug and make up a new zinc anode. This was a new anode location to me, not shown in any of my manuals! The club here is undergoing a major upgrade of their fuel dock but assured me that they would have fuel for me today. It was just not going to happen for all the club members appeared and took the fuel set aside for me. In the finish after three long hot hours I was able with the help of one of the local "boys" to borrow more cans and to cross the bay twice in a dinghy to the gas station on the highway. The pool felt good after that! In the evening we joined David and his crew Gerry from "Incantation" ( A Royal Vancouver YC boat , Santa Cruz 50) and we visited the fort and had a meal out downtown. Good cheerful company and more new friends. We are now ready to leave, the boat is in good shape , serviced and topped up and the weather has settled down with that darned tropical low beginning to dissipate. We are looking forward to our coastal leg but suspect that the light winds will require lots of motoring.

"A different perspective"

We both cleared in and out of Acapulco in the same visit to the Port Captain, all very friendly and helpful. This has been the same at the YC this time, they cannot do enough to help you. So early morning was spent obtaining the clearance papers and from there we went down town on the slowest Mexican bus we have ever traveled on, it seemed to take an age to reach the far end of the town. It is hot and we basked in the air conditioned comfort of the large super market before loading our provisions into a taxi and the club. The pool was most welcome and we had a siesta in the lounge chairs around the pool. Tomorrow we will diesel and water up, check all systems ready for an early Sat departure. I would like to get to the fort to see if there is any thing of interest for Acapulco was the gold port and one which Drake , Anson and many others successfully pillaged. We are`well rested and ready for the next leg.

"Arrival in Acapulco"

It is said that at night Acapulco looks like a bowl of diamonds. This was certainly the case as we approached the city at 02 00 hrs. Acapulco is set in a big wide indented bay with mountains rising to 3-4,000 ft behind very much like a bowl. The city lights twinkled with the distance and were of every imaginable colour so the likeness to a bowl of diamonds was perfect. Rather than wend our way through all the anchored vessels inshore we opted to go into Bahia De Purto Marques a quiet bay at the entrance where we found a good anchorage. Entering somewhere new in the absolute dark is always interesting and radar is invaluable. Even using the radar did not prevent us from almost running into a wooden sail boat apparently anchored in the centre of the bay in over 100 ft of water. Wooden vessels do not always show up on our radar. It later transpired that the sail boat was adrift and subsequently the next morning drifted around the bay and passed close to us in the daylight before it was rescued by two locals. In the morning the scents and sounds of land were with us again. Wood smoke and cocks crowing at first and then the sound of construction equipment for the bay is being developed and the jungle is being pushed back. We anchored at 03 40 hrs and slept well until 07 00 when we had a relaxed breakfast. The smell of the land had been too much for our guest , the fly catcher and he had departed leaving us with two thank you messages! The previous day he had been quite unafraid and he (I say he for he was attracted to Christine) would sit on her wrist walk up the front of her and sit on her shoulder. As darkness came he snuggled into a coil of rope under the shelter of our dodger and went to sleep quite unconcerned, very trusting. After breakfast we motored round into Acapulco and found a good berth in the YC. We quickly cleared customs and immigration for they just happened to come down for another boat and we latched onto the system. It was hot and I was almost incapacitated and just sat and sweated whilst Christine cleaned and aired the boat. A swim in the pool and a snooze by the edge soon put me right. Tomorrow we will provision see the Port Captain and perhaps do some sight seeing. We plan to leave on Sat but are still keeping our eye on our Tropical depression which is hanging about and could still develop further. Still using the food we had on board Christine conjured up a fine supper and we had an early night and slept through to 7 00am.

Noon position N 16 06 .7 W 99 16 .4

Noon to noon 96nm

"Slow progress"

Complete lack of wind has forced us to motor through the night. Again we had thunder and lightning, but no squalls or rain. Today the seas are lumpy with a 5knt head wind so we have continued to motor slowly into these seas. Both the sea and the air temperature is high and shade is necessary when on deck. We are 50 nm out of Acapulco and will arrive in the early hours of the morning. Having been into Acapulco harbour on the way south we will find our way to an anchorage in front of the YC and then check in in daylight. It certainly has been an interesting stretch of water we have passed through, for two tropical depressions have been spawned (we passed between them) as we travelled,( these are still slowly moving west and still have the potential to develop into hurricanes) two Tehuantepec's have blown ( we squeezed through in a window between these ) and there have been three tropical waves, the latter giving us all the thunder, lightning and squalls and which feed into the depressions. These tropical wave run at right angles to the wave formed in the ITCZ in a NS direction. The ones we have seen in this area are almost up to 1,000 nm long. At 17 35 Christine called "land ho" and there on our starboard was Mexico some 20 nm away. The first land we have seen for seventeen and a half days. Reiver looks like an aviary at times with swallows visiting and resting awhile and even flying round and round in the cabin! At the moment we have a little bird on board which we think is a yellow bellied fly catcher. Its resting on a coil of rope in the cockpit. We'll see if we can get some fresh water close to it. This is the first time we have ever used a significant % of our fuel and we will top up at the YC. All is well on board and we are looking forward to a little R&R in Acapulco.

Noon position N 14 46 .00 W 98 27.16

Noon to noon 132nm

"Has the Fat lady sung?"

We had hoped that we had left the ITCZ behind but it keeps reaching out to us! We motored all day yesterday through flat oily calm seas with no wind but clear skies in an effort to escape its clutches. As the evening fell it was still clear and we had the feeling that we were free of that troubled area. As I took over on watch at 01 00hrs the lightning was to the east of us and quickly closed in on us as we motored along. It was black dark by now with the moon having set a couple of hours earlier. It really was a spectacular show with almost continual sheet lightning and the fork lightning hissing as it struck the water. You could smell the electricity in the air. The sheet lightning varied from brilliant white, to orange and to red. We certainly felt very vulnerable with the mast some 55ft above the sea and attracting a strike. I decided not to wake Christine for she is no fan of lightning, but she appeared on watch in any case. A light wind filled at 05.00hrs still with thunder and lightning all around and we were able to set the headsail in addition to the full main. I stayed in the cockpit and tried to sleep. All of a sudden the wind went from 10-12knts to 40 with torrential rain and we had to throw a double reef in the main in jig time. I know where all the lines are by feel and that was how we worked for you could not keep your eyes open nor see anything in the horizontal driving maelstrom and absolute dark. By 07-00hrs the Tropical wave as part of the ITCZ system had passed and we were into 25 knts on the starboard beam, good sailing and making good time. I'll need to catch up on my sleep today. We are hoping that we are through the ITCZ at last and that the "The Fat lady" had indeed sung! In the afternoon the wind went light and the motor came on again. All being well we should be into Apulco tomorrow night. We are low on fresh foods and will have used about 2/3 's of our diesel. The light winds forecast will make sense for a coastal passage for the daily thermals will provide at least some wind to sail to. We are both in fine shape and all is well on board.

Noon positionN 12 54 .9 W 97 17.1

Noon to Noon 104nm

"It's not over till the fat lady sings"

We thought we were well clear of the influence of the ITCZ but through the night a tropical wave moving west along the ITCZ engulfed us. We knew it was there but thought that it's influence would not reach us, but it did. It was no problem but it took our wind totally and surrounded us in low fog like cloud with heavy condensation and lightening on occasions. Lack of wind has persisted through the morning and rather hang around for the next wave to come through we have been motoring. Until we had to turn back on account of "Beta" we had used the engine sparingly and including cold plate running had only used the engine for 20hrs. Our available running time is 120hrs and with the backtrack and effort to free ourselves of the ITCZ we have used 60 plus hours to this time. This factor, ie the possible need for fuel down the line and the fact that we see nothing but light and variable winds for the next several days has made us decide to close the coast and to work the morning and evening thermals to sail by. The course change is only 10 deg and this will bring us close to Acapulco, 300 nm away. Yesterday I took down the Ecuador flag and put up the Mexican flag. This was symbolic only for we are in International waters but it gave us a feeling of being nearer home, for Mexico now lies to the starboard side of our course. Turtles are now to be seen, usually with a booby bird sitting on their back. Weather seems a little better , we hope the lady is singing. All is well on board

Noon position N 11 54 .2 W 95 50 .1

Noon to noon 130nm

"A night with the stars"

Last night was truly a Hollywood night. As the sun set over the clear horizon the two day old new moon could be seen in the western sky as a fingernail form with the bulk of the unlit moon showing as a dark disc. The moon was with us only for two hours in the night sky before it too set. From now on it will grow to its full moon status and will be with us an hour longer each night. On the southern horizon towering cumulus clouds were silhouetted against the evening light and once darkness was complete and absolute they provided a continuous display of lightening strikes, very dramatic and we were pleased we were out of that tropic wave/ITCZ area some 50 nm behind us. Above us the stars`were at their most dramatic with the milky way and the magellen clouds showing black in the white band. Shooting stars were visible every few minutes , some with trails right across the sky and some with different coloured heads of green and red, all very dramatic and certainly a night with the stars. We have been hard on the wind for the last 24hrs now and although the wind dropped to 5knts for several hours through the night we are making good speed and course. This morning I saw two swallows , so we must be on a migratory route, we have still to work out if they are going north or south, probably north. Reading and resting are the usual occupation of the day. I always do a deck and rigging check each morning and before the darkening. In the morning I throw all the flying fish and squid into the water that have come aboard through the night. I am always on the look out for chafe and spotted some on the drum furling line at three locations, one is already sewn up and the other two are on today's "to do list". The source of the chafe was at a contact rubbing point on a stanchion. The blocks have been adjusted to overcome this problem in the future. We are both well and in good spirits.

Noon position N 10 25 .1 W 94 14 .7

noon to noon 117nm

"Sailing and leaving the ITCZ"

We have been close hauled for the last 24hrs, almost managing to hold our required course. We recrossed our position at which we dodged south almost 4days previously last night. Winds are currently in the 15knt range and we are going well. I spent a lot of yesterday catching up on sleep and enjoyed my night watches instead of fighting to stay awake as I had been previously. A Panama bound freighter passed close by through the night on Christine's watch. Our swallow friend has spent two nights with us but we have been unable to get food or water into him. He seems happy as he sits on the rail giving an occasional chirrup and preening himself. He departs each day before light and only rejoins us as night falls. I don't think we will see him again for we think and hope he would join the freighter headed to land, tough little birds. We are both well and as usual Christine has her nose well and truly into a novel.

Noon Position N 09 39 .02 W 92 26 .6

Noon to noon 88nm.

"Clear skies"

Whilst the daily run is low the sailing has improved. Christine stopped the engine on her night watch and soon had us moving along in great style. Since then the wind has remained with us and has been up and down from 5-10 knts all hard on the wind. Skys are clear and the day has been spent reading or in my case catching up on sleep. We are both in good shape and are pushing Reiver along northwards. It looks as though our backtracking will have added at least three days to the passage, safety dictated that move however.

Noon position N 08 54 .9 W 91 04 .4

Noon to Noon 77 nm

"Rolling along"

All through the night we rolled along at 2-3 knt dead downwind in 3-5 knts of wind, slow but with a comfortable roll, we both slept very well in our off watch. We had clear skies and one torrential heavy shower which Christine took advantage of and had a shower. We are in the ITCZ, this time for the third time on this trip, with little or no wind and this may be the case until we break through at 10-11 degrees, all a little frustrating , especially so as the first time we had a good run through the no wind, thunder and lightning area called the doldrums. The old sailing ships could be stuck for weeks in these latitudes. I am using the motor very sparingly for we still have a long way to go, another 1,400 nm. We had a swallow join us for a little while; he must be on some migration trip. A large container vessel "Jason" passed close by at noon at speed and I noted that he was on his great circle route to Japan. As was about to go over the horizon he made a turn to port of 15-20deg. These guys never change course or speed unless there is a good reason. What did he know that we did not, was that low pressure area , the remnant of "beta" ahead doing something odd such as developing? You get a little paranoid about things like this so I called him and he told me that "no the weather is perfect, one of the crew wanted to send a fax but could not get a good signal and by altering course by 20deg they were able to work the fax"! At the moment there is no wind at all so we are`motoring, charging batteries and making water. The freezer packed up today and I spent a couple of hours in the engine compartment, temperature in the high 30's adjusting and trying to get it working , no success, we'll just have to do without it and be prepared to throw what little food we have that is frozen. Christine has a plan to work round this with our large store of foods. We will have to delve into our stockpile of canned foods which were prepared before we left; always have a fall back position! We are both well and are currently reading the rules of "Cannasta", a game neither of us have played before. We'll see how it goes.

Noon Position N 08 09 W 91 57

Noon to noon124 nm ( in the wrong direction!)

"Weather controls"

We headed south all day and night at right angles to the track of the remnants of "Beta" for we had no idea what punch there remained with it. This was a 180 deg change in direction for us and we were covering our previous track. It proved that the hurricane remnant settled in as a low pressure area and at first light when we received a confirmatory weather fax we turned north again to recover the 124 nm! Weather rules! Our next item to deal with is the Gulf of Tehuantepec which we need to cross and where we now have a gale warning for the next few days. We will work our way north and may close the coast, all very frustrating, weather rules! It is humid and hot but we are in good spirits. As we headed south last night in the absolute dark we were hit with a heavy squall during Christine's watch. The rain was torrential and Chris called on me to help. Captain Underpants underpants were soaked! We'll keep plodding north keeping all options open.

Noon position N09 39 04 W 92 31 96

Noon to noon 117 nm

"Weather"

Whilst our weather has been good "beta" managed to cross the land mass and is now in the Pacific as a tropical depression. We have taken the prudent course and have been heading south since 07 00hrs this morning. We continue to get faxes in an are hoping it stays well to the north of us. At present it could have winds of 40knts. It is late for a hurricane but strange things do happen. It is a pity to give up that hard earned distance but safety is essential. We will keep you informed.

Noon position N 08 29 .86 W 9216 .27

Noon to noon run 105 miles

The light winds have continued but the sailing is pleasant. Currently we are headed by the wind and are 60 degrees off course and heading due north. Up to date we have been able to sail our planned course. It is very warm during the days and we have the awning out for shelter. Still no ships to be seen! Last night was a spectacular star lit one and long may they continue. We could actually see a horizon. The moon which is in its final wane does not rise until 05 00hrs our time so that we will not see it at night for the next week or so. All is well with us both.

Noon day position N 07 12 0 W 91 07 .7

Noon to noon 91 nm

"Admirable"

When asked by me today what the weather was like out on deck, Christine replied, "Admirable", and that does sum up our run from yesterday. Her turn of word no doubt is from the current novel she is reading, one by Patrick O'Brian covering the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries in England's Nelson day Navy with Captain Jack Aubrey as the main character, good reading if you haven't yet. Late afternoon brought very low visibility in heavy rain and with a major wind shift. It was not a local squall as we thought but lasted for several hours, certainly giving the decks and sails a good well needed wash for we were still carrying the dust on sails and rigging from Puerta Lucia. We boxed the compass trying to sail and eventually, quel horeure...started the engine for two hours, the first time we have needed to motor since leaving Ecuador. After the heavy rain ended we were into a perfect clear starlit night. Bright and clear above us was our northern hemisphere friend Orion; its been quite a while since we have seen him. During the night whilst on my watch I didn't want the three hours to end, so perfect was the sailing and the night. Christine made the same comment of her watch. One good night like that one out of seven very poor ones certainly makes up for all the discomfort to date. The weather has continued since then to be sparkling, with a light head wind of 5-8 knts but still able to hold our course, albeit at a sedate pace. On our review of this mornings weather fax it appears as though the rain storm we passed through could have been the ITCZ which had moved significantly south over night. Time will tell if that is the case. We need to press on north as fast as we can so that when it re-establishes itself in it's usual 8 deg N location it does not overtake us. The hurricane Betta in the Caribbean literally sucked the air from the Pacific side resulting in this movement of the ITCZ quickly south. That latest hurricane must mean that the record for number in one season in the Caribbean is well and truly broken. With the warm weather Christine has christened me with a new name, "Captain Underpants"! In the heavy rain that was all I wore under my waterproofs. Calmer weather has allowed us to eat from plates like civilised people and not from bowls as we have been reduced to previously on this leg. Still no signs of any other vessels as we cross the Panama shipping lanes. We actually were able to pick up Don on the Baja Net this morning. In another 5 or 6 days we will sign off on the Panama Pacific net and move onto the Baja net which comes up at the same time in the morning. These nets are a valuable link and source of information but degenerate into a chat channel at times. All is well on board.

Fri 28th Oct: At sea en route from Ecuador to La Paz, Mexico

Noon position N 06 10 .7 W90 06 .6

Noon to noon 111nm

"Good progress continues"

Noon position N 04 54.7 W 88 48 .5

Noon to noon 145 nm

"Much of the same"

The wind has headed us a little and is now forward of the beam; seas are up to 10 ft and very irregular at times making for a bumpy rolling ride. Our routine is well established, with our night watch system. breakfast and a run of the engine for 25mins at 07 00hrs. We get our weather fax at 08 00hrs and at 09 00 the Panama Pacific net comes up and we check in as a vessel underway. Apart from one other making a 100nm coastal passage we are the only ones on the move. We have seen a lot of sea bird life today. Wilsons Petrels flit around us. They are just a size up from martins and they seem so delicate and fragile as they are blown about in the gusty winds, yet you find these small birds out in the middle of the ocean in all weather. Boobys and shearwaters are ever present. at one time we had a land bird flying around us. We are currently about 350 miles from the mainland and 300 NNE of the Galapagos so this bird was a long way of course. We have just passed Coco Island some 70 miles to our east and he may be from there. Heavy squalls rattle through at intervals and I am for ever going up and down on the sail area. All is well on board and we never cease to be planning and discussing some future activities.

Noon day position N 03 14 .5 W 87 08 .3 noon to noon 147 nm

"Good progress"

We are rolling along and all is well. 5-8 ft seas on the quarter mean that the dodger is used to its full for shelter from the rattling spray and the big ones that come green over the boat. Winds are holding in the 15-20 knt range and we are making good progress. Too little sail power and we roll heavily, too much and we tend to round up or slew around with the occasional bigger waves. The water towed turbine is doing sterling work and keeping the batteries topped up. The batteries will need replacing when we get home , they do not hold charge too well; they will see this leg through OK. It is hot and humid in the cabin for we cannot open any hatches etc but by turning the dorades to the wind we get some air moving below. Not too easy to type with all the movement, however it is no problem for both of us got our sea legs quickly this leg.

Noon position N 01 32.26 W 85 26 .33 Noon to noon 130 miles

"An ocean of our own!"

Last evening started off clear and starlit, but the overcast filled in and it was absolute dark til the moon rose at 01.00hrs. We have had good sailing in varying seas with winds in the range of 10-20 knts,all on the beam. Apart from an occasional booby bird we have had the ocean to ourselves. Only when we get abeam of the Panama Canal do we expect to see much shipping and this will be concentrated in the shipping lanes. These are the great circle routes from and to the main ports and destinations. By sailing these great circle routes ships on a long ocean passage, say across the Pacific can reduce the trip by a few hundred miles compared to sailing the rumb line,or direct route. On the leg we are on it only made about 50 nm difference since it has a bigger directional element of N-S, but nevertheless the way points we are following are on the great circle route. We have put in eight way points each about 300nm apart,one down 7 to go! From mid morning to the middle of the afternoon it was sparkling weather, clear with deep blue seas and lots of white breaking waves, wonderful sailing. It was so warm that I had a cockpit bath in salt water, very refreshing. Christine continues to perform miracles in that bouncing heaving galley and we are feeding well. She is making good use of the galley restraint belt I put in before we set off. We are on port tack and the tendency in these lumpy seas is to fall across the boat away from the stove. With her belt on she is captive!

Noon Position N 00 02 .0 W 83 55.59 Noon to Noon 96 nm

"A slow night; a better days weather"

The talking books were an asset through the long dark night. The wind fell light and by 03.00 hrs we were down to 1-2 knts but still moving reasonably comfortably. usually at those slow speeds the rig and sails take a beating as you roll and fill the sails and empty them each roll. Gradually the wind picked up until by noon we were doing 5-6 knts. The sky brightened and we actually saw the sun for a good portion of the afternoon, prospects for a clearer night. We are having good sailing and making the sort of progress we are expecting. We have a good eye on the weather and have watched "Wilma" develop move across the Caribbean hit the Yucatan and bounce back to guess where, yup Florida. We are the end of the Caribbean hurricane season so I hope this is the last of them for this year for them , they have had a record number this year to date and we note that there are three or four tropical depressions still on their way into the Caribbean ! The hurricane season in the Pacific ends a month earlier but we are watching a couple of tropical depressions on the ITCZ. We will keep a close watch on them and if they develop into anything we will turn our back on them and retreat. We are well into our routine now, sleeping well and eating well. Reiver and crew are back in the northern hemisphere. We crossed the equator about 10.00hrs and toasted crew, Reiver and King Neptune! Previously we crossed the line in the dark. King Neptune did not come on board as he did when we sailed to NZ. He is a wild character when he gets going! To the grand children, no we did not see the equator ribbon on the water and we did look carefully! Looking forward to continued good sailing and good company.

"Grey and lumpy"

Christine had fun on her watch working her way through a small fishing fleet. The morning didn't dawn in the normal way with a glow from the east. All that happened was the grey got lighter. Apart from seeing a freighter north bound on parallel course to us the sea has been free of traffic. The towed generator was deployed and the water maker brought out of hibernation and started up, we are in offshore mode! The towed generator puts a consistent 5amps into the battery system and our only real draw is our lights at night so that we turn the spare power generated into water and music! Another grey day and night is starting to fall. Tonight we have our talking books set up to while away the watch hours.

"Back under way again"

Reiver cast her lines at 10.15hrs and we were under way again, this time headed north and home. We had some sunshine as we left but soon this turned overcast and La Libertad and Ecuador soon disappeared in the gloom. Winds were from 15 to 20knts and on the nose for The Galapagos so we freed sheets a minor amount and again changed our plan and will go for a one leg run north to Mexico.

We quickly settled back into shipboard routine as we bounced and bumped our way north. Two dolphin joined us for a while bur we were too slow and they were soon on their happy way again leaping and cavorting over the waves. The night was dark and bumpy, lots of phosphorescence and flying fish. It was cold and by the time each of our watches were over we were desperate for that warm bunk.

"Catch up time"

For the last week we have spent our time catching up on all the items needed for our departure north. Christine has washed all our travel clothes, the boat has been cleaned inside and out and her bottom has been scrubbed in the water. We are now totally provisioned and have officially cleared out of Ecuador. Tomorrow we will leave in the morning for the haul north to Mexico, some 2,400 nm. We have been both suffering from heavy colds but at last we seem to getting rid of the symptoms. As a result we have also had a reading frenzy and we have both read 5 or 6 books each over the last week. We are both looking forward to heading homeward and to seeing Mexico and the La Paz area again. A call in to the Galapagos is under consideration. It does not add much to the trip and it would be a shame to miss.

Buenos Aires, bus to Lima, Peru and on to Guayaquil and Reiver.

"Fare well to Argentina,and our travelling companions for the next 5days"

After checking out of our hotel we did some more walking in Buenos Aires before joining our travelling companions for the next 72 hrs on our way to Lima, Peru. We were the only gringos and there was a mixed bunch, mostly young and on their way back to home and family. I became known as "Senor Terri" very quickly. As we`waited for the bus to arrive in this huge bus station two little tear aways, brothers with crew cuts aged about 4 and 2 were immediately obvious in the crowded bus station. They were into every thing with their young plump mother getting more frantic by the minute. They quickly learned how to polish the bus station floor with one lying down and the other pulling him along the floor. Guess what? They were on our bus,and quess what they had the seat behind. In fact they were amazing; they were tough characters, never whined or complained and we heard very little of them on the whole trip even though Kevi managed to put his teeth through his lower lip! Kevi and Gino became our friends when we got off the bus for meal or break. Soon we were on our way across the flat plains of Argentina. These were not the open prairie I had expected to see but were fields, with crops or grazed by cattle. We sped through the night through this first class farming land and in the morning vines were to be seen as we approached the Andes. The climb up into the Andes was spectacular and we reached snow level and an altitude of almost 14,000ft where we passed through customs and immigration into Chile. We skirted to the north of Santiago and were soon rolling north through desert land. This desert lands stretch from Santiago almost to the Ecuador border. Once in the reach of the Pacific air we were soon in low cloud and poor visibility, although this would clear up on occasions as`we slipped inland to avoid coastal mountains. The trip was not boring however and we watched as the scenery rolled by, for ever in awe of the people who populate this seemingly barren area and make a happy living. The 72 hrs passed fairly quickly and a tired mother with two eager kids arrived in Lima. Kevi and Gino immediately leapt of the bus in Lima to see what havoc they could create. We were too late for our connection to Guayaquil so we over-nighted in Lima before proceeding on the next leg, 24hrs to Guayaquil to be followed by a further two hours to La Libertad. We arrived back in la Libertad at 7.00pm and made our way to the YC where Reiver made us welcome. We had a fascinating trip, full of interest and wonderful sights. We had made many new friends and had memories to last for many a year. South America is a wonderful place to visit. You need to see beyond the squalor and dirt at times certainly in Ecuador and Peru, but it is a great experience and we enjoyed the travels immensely. We both slept soundly in our bunk.

"A wonderful city, full of interest and friendly people"

Unfortunately we would only have three days in BA for we found that our twice weekly bus would leave on Saturday. We have had the most remarkable run of weather on our trip to date and during our stay and trip home in the bus the weather continued to be clear, bright and warm. We found BA to be welcoming and extremely friendly for a large city; people had a smile on their faces and would help if they could. Gone were the street people trying to sell you some item or other, this was a sophisticated affluent city in which the people lived, not commuted to. In the residential areas the tree lined streets were like villages with small stores, street cafes and a hum of activity. We saw no large department type stores, we were not looking for them! The city has an extensive clean, safe sub-way system and it was very easy to move about the town. Fine old buildings were everywhere to be seen and where new construction had proved necessary the facades of the old buildings were preserved. The street system was generally one way with two lanes only and with buses using these. The primary streets were wide, one " 9th July " was over 100m wide for it had at least 18 lanes including frontage roads and very wide central and side medians. Statues were every where to be seen, in bronze and stone. The gardens and parks were very well maintained and the streets were spotless, a proud city well organised and maintained. As usual we walked miles and saw many wonderful sights. We even finished up in the main city cemetery in the suburb of Recoleta. Here was a record of who was who in the city and countries history. The mausoleums built were so varied and densely packed it was like walking around a city in a city but complete with the musty smell! We joined a small group of people and stood in front of the Duarte family tomb where Eva Peron(formerly a Duarte)was buried. Her husband Juan Peron was the countries President in those turbulent 50's but on his death he did not warrant a berth in the cemetery! The railway station was a grand dressed stone building with an extensive facade, still much in use with trains leaving every few minutes and with all the bustle and activity of railway stations we both remembered from our youth when we used to use them regularly. Beside it the modern bus station had buses leaving every minute or so from its 200 stalls, again clean efficient and safe. In a square to the NE of the city there was a tall clock tower which had been donated by the British in 1910 and from the top there were extensive views around the harbour and over the River Plate area. I went up the tower on two occasions and on the Saturday the estuary was white with racing sail boats. In the late 1800's early 1900's an extensive system of docks had been built along the River Plate shoreline. Larger vessels and containers have superseded these type of narrow docks and the whole area has been one of redevelopment. Yacht clubs have been built in the basin and the 16 long(each about 200m)brick built wharf buildings have been tastefully renovated into offices, restaurants and apartments so that the old dock area is alive again. Integrated into this were new tall beautifully proportioned glass faced apartment buildings and extensive landscaped gardens. This was an area of openness compared with the city close by and was certainly a tribute to the planners, architects and engineers of the city. Christine loves to tango and one evening we were picked up at our hotel and taken to a tango/dinner show. The food was excellent with a wonderful Argentine steak as the main course. The dancing was remarkable with its live band. This is no longer the tango as we knew it. There was much more added to it both in dance and music, more flamboyant and extrovert and very skilled. We certainly will not try out those leg swinging moves both dancers carried out so well when we tango again. I will be speaking with a high pitched voice if we do! Again another late early morning evening, it takes two to tango!

"Ushuaia, our flight to Buenos Aires and our trip in retrospect."

We were both on deck at first light to see what Ushuaia looked like for we had docked during the dark. It was a crystal clear morning and from the top deck we had a wonderful panoramic view of the town. Below a backcloth of snow capped peaks the bright clean modern, mostly wooden, buildings of up to 3-4 stories lay before us. There was a distinct European look to the town and the buildings had a Bavarian influence in their design. This was quite a change from what we had been viewing for the past few weeks, we were certainly back in civilisation! We signed off from the ship and made our way past the huge ocean going fish boats which were all untying their moorage and departing for the southern ocean fishing grounds. These were boats of 12-15,000 tons with heavy gantries and lifting gear and a distinctly purposeful look about them. The town which has a population of 45,000 people gains its livelihood from fishing and tourism. There are many good hotels and at the height of the season we imagined the town to be at bursting point, for although out of season there was a lot of activity. It is surrounded by National Parks and there will be lots to see and do for the outdoor person. There is a sheltered basin in front of the town and some 15 cruising sail boats lay at anchor there; this is the place to stay when cruising in a small boat for any length of time for there are good food stores and equipment stores. It is difficult to appreciate that we were in Argentina. We had seen no customs, immigration personnel and had no line ups waiting to be processed! As we left the ship our passports were returned, entry into Argentina cleared, passport duly stamped and processed through the night! Ah what luxury compared to the process we cruisers have to go through normally, usually hours long! We caught a taxi to the airport and there in the very modern large wood frame building awaited our flight to Buenos Aires (BA). Our 6hr flight cost us $130 each; had we crossed into another country for the same duration flight it would have cost three times that amount. As we waited we talked about our trip and how much we had enjoyed it. We had missed out on our ambition to sail the Chilean canal waters and reach the Horn but we had seen it in all kinds of different weather conditions and had appreciated its scenery, grandeur and isolation. We would have handled the trip fine in Reiver, she was well equipped and whilst we were no longer youngsters we were still fit and able to handle the conditions. Our plans were always written in sand and were subject to change and we had elected to make a change in plan. This change also extended to our long term future plans. We had found that we were missing the family and our home. We still have much to do in Maple Bay, now christened "Stamper's Landing" by Beth and Dredge who are house sitting for us. Our six grandchildren are all at that interesting stage of growing up and we certainly did not want to grow apart from them. We could not stay sea gypsies on a permanent basis, we had decided we would head home after we got back to the boat in Ecuador! I had asked for seats on the LHS of the aircraft so that we could follow the coast line from the window seat. It was a clear day and following the coast line ,coastal indentations, river estuaries and lakes on our maps/charts was like a geography lesson. Inland the huge flat pampas plain stretched out of sight. These were the lands of the huge estancias with wonderful grazing for the beef cattle that I had learned about as a child. As we approached the airport the lands below became more clear and the verdant green of the grass and the trees was very noticeable. We had arrived in Buenos Aires and to their spring time! A long ride into town soon showed us a city that was clean, well laid out with beautiful parks and well tended boulevards and gardens. Once in the city itself we found a city that has a lived in feel about it with narrow streets in places, clean tall apartment buildings built in the early last century with street cafes and small stores and with trees lining the sidewalks and reaching over giving shade to the the road below. Buenos Aires is called the Paris of South America and our first impressions were of a distinctly European city. We were looking forward to exploring the sights of this city of 13 million people.

"Landed/pooped on Cape Horn"

Through the night Mare Australis slipped through the Beagle Channel and into the Murray Channel which headed her down towards The Horn. Only Cruceros Australis vessels are allowed to use Murray Channel. Commercial vessels have an additional 90nm to travel because of this. The Navy rules with a rod of iron! Christine and I were up on the outside deck at 5-30am as the sun rose behind the Wollaston Islands on a bright clear morning. Ahead of us lay Cape Horn with its unmistakeable shape. It was quite a sight with the very individual Albatros monument visible on crest. Through the binoculars I could see a heavy surf running and breaking on the beach where the landing on the island is made. We were soon in the zodiac with our waterproofs, boots and life-jackets on. Ours was the first boat to attempt the landing. In our little Booth dinghy landing would have been impossible for a regular 2m swell was breaking on the beach even in the sheltered cove area. We had two goes to land and on the first a large swell rolled in from astern just as Christine and I (we were at the front of the boat) were about to get off as soon as we hit the steep beach and pooped us filling the boat with water. The great danger was that we would finish up broadside to one of these waves and some one or all of us could finish up in the water. We backed off and had another go but conditions were worsening and the wind which had increased to 20-30 increased further. The Captain made the decision not to attempt any further landings. Given that few of the passengers were used to small boats and moving quickly in and out of them he made the right decision, although we were disappointed. We had however landed on Isla Hornos but had not walked on it!! Still sitting in the zodiac with water almost up to our knees we stooged around for a while before they took us about a hundred yards to the west along the coast and showed us a sea lion colony as an appeasement. Back on board the anchor was soon pulled and we left Cape Horn in a fresh gale. The Captain put the ships nose out to the south of the island momentarily so that we could glimpse the mythical cape before we turned and headed north in a dirty squally afternoon. We left the Wollaston Islands to port and headed through Goree and Picton Passes before once again reentering Beagle Channel, this time west bound. As we approached Puerto Williams whose claim to fame is that it is the most southerly township in the world, the frontal system passed through and a pleasant evening set in. The channels in this part of the world are rock strewn but are well lit by the navy with buoys and leading lights where possible. Outside of Puerto Williams an example of poor ships navigation was apparent where a rusting coaster lay hard aground on an isolated rock. Puerto Williams owes its continued existence to fishing but most to the presence of the Navy. It is a navy town of 2500 people and with no great attractions. We landed and posted some cards before walking to the yacht club. This is the Navy YC and as we had approached our berth in Mare Australis two identical 25foot sail boats flying their spinnakers sailed to the club. Tuesday racing perhaps? We found the club, an old freighter sitting on the bottom, to be deserted, no activity whatsoever. There were about six offshore type cruising boats kept there and we found that these were all in the charter business. After a two and a half hour stay Mare Australis left the pier for the short passage to Ushuaia on the north side of the Beagle Channel. After the fare well dinner during which the ships Jack which had flown from the stem head of the vessel during the trip was raffled and the chart used for the section to the Horn was auctioned. The $15 dollar chart sold for $300 and the proud new owner asked for the written set of instructions on how to read the chart!!! Ushuaia lies in Argentina and tomorrow morning we would leave Mare Australis. We had discussed long and hard how we would travel back up the long thin country of Chile and had finally resolved that we would fly from Ushuaia to Buenos Aires still in Argentina and then we would catch the "Ormeno" company (longest scheduled bus service in the world) bus across the Andes into Chile and on up to Lima, Peru a 72 hr bus trip. This way we took advantage of cheaper internal air flights in Argentina, would see some of Argentina and in particular the Capital City and would get a good look at the Andes crossing. We packed and slept well.

During the night the ship passed through Magdalena Channel, Cockburn Channel and into Ocasion Channel rounding Breeknock Peninsula. For a very short time we were in the open ocean and she rolled somewhat; a great topic of conversation at the breakfast table. At first light 5-30 am, and with the sun tinting the snow topped mountains we entered Canal Ballenero and then into the Beagle Channel, again a good clear day appeared to be on its way. The ship turned north from Beagle Channel into Pia Fiord. We slowly worked our way into the twisting fiord and finally anchored in the basin below the huge Pia Glacier. We were in a huge amphitheatre of mountains and glaciers. Three of these glaciers discharged into the bay. The main one Pia Glacier is still advancing. The scale of area with the mountains towering above was almost intimidating; to see the tops of these you had to lean backwards and look up. Two French sail boats came into the fiord but because there was so much free ice floating they left without landing. As` we left we saw one of them safely tucked in a sheltered inlet at anchor. Perhaps he was waiting to see the glacier when we were not about! Certainly he could not have anchored where we were did, amongst all the ice. The zodiacs soon ferried us ashore through the heavy floating ice blocks and We all sat for a long while listening to the groaning and cracking of the active glacier across its 1200 ft width. Regularly large blocks of ice would calf from the glacier front and would fall in slow motion into the water creating large wave which would rush up the beach towards us leaving large blocks of ice stranded on the beach. One in particular was large, about an apartment block size, most impressive. The ice was iridescent blue, particularly in the seracs or ice pressure ridges, which hung above the glacier and valley. We were able to climb a small hill which gave us a wonderful view over the basin, the glacier and the surrounding mountains. Mare Australis looked like a small toy down in the ice strewn bay. The day was perfect with no breeze and the reflections of the mountains and glaciers in the still water was as clear as the real image. In talking to some of the well traveled passengers they all agreed this was the most impressive glacier they had seen. More Whiskey and ice before we rejoined the ship! This type of cruising is hard to take! It was through the cruising boats that the Cruceros Australis Company (which own and operate the vessel) learned of this fiord and only after they had a hydrographic survey carried out and turned into a nautical chart by the Chilean Armada would the Chilean Navy allow them to enter the fiord. The Chilean Navy (Armada) control the waters rigidly allowing access to only certain areas and this was one item we would have had to contend with if we had continued south in Reiver. We would have been allowed only to navigate the main channels and would have been limited to basically following the route we had taken in the Navimag vessel and again in the Mare Austalis. I can understand their attitude for the waters are dangerous, isolated and costly to mount rescue operations. They have taken the attitude of responsibility for vessels in their waters. Lurking behind their attitude is their relations with Argentina which has resulted in armed action over land ownership in the recent past. Currently we are told relations are good! Back in Beagle Channel (named after Charles Darwins exploration vessel in 1830) our ship passed along a series of five glaciers which tumbled from the ice fields of the Darwin Cordillera high above. Each had the name of a European country and as we passed each we were served a drink and an hors d'oeuvre which represented that country. Needless to say it was a convivial group who sat down to dinner that night! The two activities after dinner that evening were a talk on "navigation" and "Karaoke night". We'll never live this down but we elected to go to the Karaoke event! The younger crowd from the passengers were there and we had a lot of fun singing songs in both English and Spanish. We crawled into bed at midnight. Its harder work cruising on this sort of boat than on Reiver!

"A walk on shore and glacier country"

We both slept well in our new quarters although Christine had the start of a heavy flu like cold. This is inevitable traveling as we have in close confines on the buses with others who have colds. I was up and about at 5-30am to see the new day in and see where we had sailed to through the night. There were some clouds about but the day looked promising and indeed the day turned out to be clear and bright. From the open top deck (5th)we watched the sun rise over the mountains of Tierra del Fuego. Through the night we had crossed the Straits of Magellan into Canal Whiteside and then into Admiralty Fiord, a huge fiord on the west of the island. We were now in glacier country and as we turned into Ainsworth Bay from Admiralty Fiord we could see Marinelli glacier ahead. Like the inletnd island names in BC all the Channels, fiords and islands are named after the early explorers in Chile. Ainsworth for instance was the Master of the ship "Adventure" which explored and charted this area under the British Admiralty. We anchored in Ainsworth Bay and were soon ashore for a walk which took us along the shore, round the bay and through the woods. Our guide Francesco of Croatian origin (A lot of Croatians settled in Punta Arenas in the early part of the last century) was particularly knowledgeable about the area, its plant, bird and animal life and he pointed out many items of interest. The setting was spectacular with the Marinelli Glacier entering the bay to the south and filling the bay with small lifeboat sized bergy bits. The sky was clear with an occasional white cloud and the air temperature was spring like. We both agreed that it was a most enjoyable walk. We came across an elephant seal on the beach and she eyed us nervously with her big brown eyes as we moved around her at a distance. They are big creatures! She was here to have her calf and soon there would be dozens of others joining her and the bay would be full of their noise. For now she slept with an occasional look in our direction. Just after seeing the tracks of an Andean fox we heard him barking in the near distance. The Canadian Beaver was introduced into Chile for its fur value but now has become a nuisance with its dams and ability to reduce a forest to stumps and logs whilst it uses only the branches for food and for its dam and home construction. The southern beach tree which is similar in appearance to a small fir tree takes hundreds of years to reach maturity and the sight of so many laid flat by the industrious beaver was upsetting. There was an abundance of small land birds feeding on the ground or in the trees and all of course of species new to us. Lichens, mosses and spagnum moss covered the rocks and ground and even though it was only some 15,000 years since the whole area was covered by an ice sheet, soils had developed and growth of shrubs and grasses of a hardy kind were taking over the lower area of the bay. Back at the landing point we were welcomed with either hot chocolate or whiskey with ice, thousands of years old ice from the glacier complete with bubbles of air entrained. We certainly were a bunch of molly-coddled people! Whilst we had lunch Mare Australis moved into the next inlet to the east; Brooks Bay. This again had a huge glacier at its head but it also had solid ice about a foot thick and we were not able to land on shore but rode the zodiacs partially up onto the ice. As we approached the ship had attempted to cut a swath through the ice to allow us to land but the ice closed up behind us immediately. Christine gave this trip a miss and spent the rest of the day in bed sleeping her flu like symptoms off. As were out in the zodiacs the wind in the fiord picked up and soon violent downdraft willawas were hitting the ship from all directions. Given the location surrounded by high mountains these were not unexpected. Back on the boat I slipped up onto the bridge as the anchor was pulled. It was interesting for even the 2500ton vessel was yawing on her anchor as badly as a sail boat would in these blustery conditions. At one stage she did a 360 deg turn closing a rock face closely with her stern. The maximum gust noted on the ships anemometer whilst we were at anchor was 69knts. I watched as the skipper conned the boat through the ice as we exited the bay. Apparently the first cruise of the season was one week earlier and there had been no ice at all in the bay, so they were able to land without problems. The closest we were able to get to shore in the zodiacs was half a mile. The bridge crew did tell me however, that the weather we were experiencing was exceptionally good; normally they had heavy overcast with low clouds and lots of rain. With the wind came some cloud but as we left the inlet the wind dropped away leaving us with a clear day and the huge glacier and peaks hanging high on the skyline. Throughout the days on board there were always good lectures to attend covering all aspects of Patagonia. This evening the on board sommelier gave some advice on the wines of southern South America and provided samples of these for tasting. After dinner I watched an excellent documentary. The filming was of the highest quality and I learned later that it had won all sorts of awards. I watched to the end and when I looked around I was the only person viewing; it was 11-15 pm. The three public indoor areas on board were the forward lounge on the 3rd floor, the bar at the aft end of the ship on the 4th floor and the dinning area on the first floor. Whilst we were under way these areas were rarely used and there was never more than half a dozen people in them at any time. The majority of passengers seemed to spend their time in their cabins! We could not do this and were up early and to bed late every day!

Luxurious cruising

After seeing more of the town in the morning we joined our pocket cruise ship Mare Australis. She was moored at the end of the dock and I walked down and had alook at her. She is 220 ft long and displaces about 2500 tons. Built in 2003 she looks much like a large private yacht. She carries a crew of about 40 and 128 passengers. This was her second cruise of the new season. As we sat in the assembly room we saw the other passengers, all much older than on the the previous boat trip. Once aboard we soon found our cabin, very comfortable and with a large picture window on the port side. Christine and I explored the boat whilst the other passengers unpacked their many cases and bags. We only have two back packs and find that it is not worth unpacking them. We were a little concerned that we would not meet the dress code for meal times and I had broken down and bought a shirt the day before. The weather continued to be fine crisp and clear and after looking at the weather fax on the bridge deck I noted that we had a high sitting over us but with a low to the west some 600 miles away and a super low over the Antartic. My hope was that the local high together with the regular south Pacific high would keep the low from reaching us too quickly. We had four days and nights on board. We watched a glorious sunset from the top deck above the bridge deck, again full width of the boat like the previous vessel, Magallanes. At 8-30 we were called down to supper where we met the Captain and crew, before meeting the three other couples we were to dine with on the 8 person table over the next four days. They were fun bunch, all from Germany but none of them had met each other before. There were 20 countries represented in the 128 passengers.Only two from the States and with Germany and Portugal well represented.Three sisters, mother and son in law (married to one of the sisters) were from China. Food and service were excellent throughout the trip. Wine flowed freely and there was always different good wines available with each course. We were on course to put weight on!

Punta Arenas, a delightful town.

Punta Arenas proved to be a clean prosperous little town of some 20,000 people. It is set on the Straits of Magellen and across the Straits we could see the low mountains of Tierra Del Fuego. Snow capped mountains of the same height, 1,500-2,000 ft surrounded Punta Arenas. The town had no natural shelter only a rugged concrete wharf. We imagined mutch shuffling of boats would be necessary when the wind changed direction and blew for fish boats and navy boats are all tied up to the pier on either side. We climbed up to a lookout point above the town and our impression of the clean well planned town was reinforced. We had not expected it to be so since we are along way south. There were some fine old houses left trom the turn of the century built by the wool barons fom Europe who had made their fortunes. One in particular on the east side of the square was beatifully proportioned in dressed stone and was designed by a famous French architect. Nearly all towns/cities in Central and South America have a town square as their focal point. This is the Spanish town planning influence.The square in Punto Arenas was the most attractive we had seen. Its very large trees were all in leaf and the conifers were all well tended. With the high winds they have in these latitudes trees are normally only small and grow horizontal to the east away from those mighty westerlies. In Punta Arenas the trees were treasured and the topiary of those in the cemetery was spectacular. Obviously a lot of effort goes into keeping them to a normal shape and healthy comdition. All the streets had side walks and generally all the roads were concrete because of the harsh freezing winter conditions.Whilst we were there we had cold evenings but the fine clear days were spring like and warm. Obviously winter had not been long gone for the sound of studded tires on the concrete roads was common. We visited two museums, the first covered the flora and fauna and the natural resources of the area. Oil is taken from Tierra Del Fuega area and Chile and in particular Punta Arenas has benefited, although it certainly was not a boom town but from what we saw was staid and steady. We sat in the Square for a time and watched the world go by. A very pleasant young student talked to us for an hour asking if he could practise his alredy very good English. In this way we learned much about the town and its economy. The second museum was a naval museum and had displays about about Shackleton , his expedition and how through his supereme efforts he was able to save all his crew when their ship the Endevour was crushed in the ice. We were staying at a snug hostel where we cooked an evening meal and slept well. Tomorrow we would catch our pocket cruise ship to sail across the Straits of Magellan and into some remote areas. The itinerary numerous land based trips, the Beagle Channel and down to the Horn itself..

¨The icing on the cake!!!!¨¨

We were both up and dressed by 6-00am and on deck. The sun had yet to rise and the day had great promise for there was not a cloud in the sky and the air was still. We were still passing through narrow channels with the jagged snow capped mountains close by. As the sun rose behind the mountains its light touched the tops of those mountains on the port side. It was a magical sight with the blushed red colour and the still water as Magallanes steamed along at 14.5 knts. The day before she had slowed down to 8-9 knts to arrive at the passes ahead in daylight. Seven of us had managed to get a look at the engine room the previous evening and they confirmed that they had shut down one engine. It was a different experience for when we arrived at the engine room control area , they gave us ear muffs and hard hat, opened the door of the engine room and left us to it!l Where else in todays world could you have free access to bridge deck and engine room as we had on this trip. I talked at length to the engineer after I had walked around the very tiny engine room. Propulsion units were twin.V 6 engines from Holland , small but adequate to drive her at 16knts. Outside the day brightened and the sun finally burst over the hills providing some warmth for it was cold, only a little above freezing. On either side the tall spires of the mountains were plastered, like iced cakes with new snow and ice, a wonderful sight and the bonus of travelling early in the season, for later in the season the snow disappears. We were still to go through the narrowest section of the whole trip and the gang were all gathered on the top front deck to watch and experience this. Still at 14.5 knts Magallanes headed for the seemingly impossible gap. We tore through the pass with 30 to 40 ft on either side with us all looking down at the rock walls on either side. This was not the end however for ahead appeared a series of islands. with even narrower gaps between them, this was Canal White and these gaps looked impossible to get the ship through them. In fact it was impossible on the gaps we were looking at. We could not see the gap she was eventually to go through for it was angled away from our direction. The ship still at 14.5 knts aimed towards a vertical face of one of the islands. All was quiet on the top deck. At the last moment the skipper turned hard to starboard through about 60 degrees missing the rock face by 20 ft. The deck tilted to 20 degrees or so from the horizontal as he made his destroyer like turn. He was now headed for yet another island only 100 ft ahead and he turned equally hard back to port. The port side of the stern then yawed to port missing the rock face on the aft port quarter by about 10 ft. It was an amazing experience for the boat never slowed down, there was at least 4knts of current running through the pass and Magallanes is 130m long! The old grizzly haired skipper knew his boat well! After the pass we moved throgh some islands still with narrow passes. these were low islands and Puerto Natales was only 2hrs ahead. We were surrounded by the most spectacular vista as we moved into the open water. We were no longer confined in a channel and all round us were row upon row of moutains. On the port side the dramatic granite spires of the mountains in Torres Del Paine lined the skyline. On the starboard side we could see peaks down towards the Horn. Ahead Puerto Natales appeared on low flat lands backed by plateau like mountains.The air was still clear and cold without a cloud in the sky What a way to finish our trip. As Christine said it was the icing on the cake!. W said our farewells to our new friends as we all went our seperate ways ,most of them to the National Park of Torres Del Paine. If we had had more time we certainly would have joined them. We were soon on a bus to Punta Arenas, crossing over the Patagonian steppes. This was flat open estancia/ranch country with herds of cattle , sheep and llamas to be seen. As usual we watched the unfolding countryside carefully and were rewarded to see condors flying close by, pink flamingos in a small tarn by the road, rheas, a brown coloured ostrich like bird about 4-5ft high and finally guanacos ( wild llamas). All of these were unexpected and a real bonus. We were soon in Punta Arenas where we spent the day exploring this clean and pleasant town which over looks the Straits of Magellen.

¨An isolated community and spectacular scenery¨

Magallanes stopped her rolling about 2-30 in the morning as we left the open sea. I was up showered and dressed as daylight broke. My first look out showed a morning with occasional low clouds covering the snow capped peaks on either side of the channel as the sun started to light up these peaks. We passed through Angostura Inglesa, English narrows where we had about 30m either side of the vessel. A series of low islands set in the channel and still with high peaks on either side came into view, one of which had some aerials on it´s low summit. We had arrived at Puerto Eden a very isolated settlement of about 170 people.This is the last village of the Kawesgar people who at one time were the only inhabitants of this area of Patagonia. The small brightly coloured houses were located on a sheltered side of one of these islands. The European explorers and Conquestadores brought illnesses which have reduced the population to this present day figure. Of these only about 20 or so are pure Kawesgar due to inter-marriage. They are fishermen and also harvest the shellfish from the area. A small hydro electic plant provides them power and they have satellite dishes which keep them in touch with the world. The village reminded me in every way of the small 1st nation villages in BC Canada. The Magallanes is their life support bringing in supplies and taking away their seafood products. As soon as we were anchored several small boats surrounded Magallanes once the large aft ramp was lowered to sea level. Those that wanted to go ashore could and we joined about half of the passengers in two small boats driven by outboards that ferried us ashore. Once on shore we walked alng the board walk that runs to every house and functions like the main street. It reminded me very much of Bamfield on the west coast of Vancouver Island with its boardwalk. The people are so similar in appearance to the native people from BC and indeed they have established that they too originated from those that came accross the Bering Strait ice bridge some 10,000 years ago. After the initial return from the Magallanes the village became quiet again with little activity apart from one or two of the men chopping wood and unloading timber from their boats. The only things missing from the scene that you would see in BC were the coniferous forests and the drone of a float plane following the channels at tree-top height. There appear to be no float planes in the area and this we suspect is due to the high winds, the isolation and willawas that would make flying fueling and mooring a float plane difficult. The winds we had experienced to date had conformed to our expectations strong at times and aligning themselves with the channels. In the side channels and anchorages the wind poured down off the peaks in different directions and would make anchoring a challenge. We had invested in over a thousand feet of floating line for Reiver and had made up tempered steel spikes to drive into the rocks to tie to where trees were unavailable for four point mooring. We will now never get to use them in Chile! By 11 00am we were on the move again down Paso del India. The combination of the weather with typical spring showers and sunshine and the ever changing views of inlets and snow capped jagged peaks with their icing finish were awe inspiring. At one stage we had totally black clouds down to the water level just ahead, with the sun breaking through on the west side of the channel both through the mountains and black clouds whilst astern the channel and the mountains all shone in bright clear sunshine and finally on the port side their was a magnificent double rainbow. We had passed on the west side of the channel leaving Isla Saumurez to the east. The main channel passed that island to the east and I can only think that the skipper stayed on the west to make for an interesting trip for again we passed through a series of narrows where you could have easily thrown a stone to the land on either side. This is truly a beautiful and isolated area. As we passed Seno Penguin the inlet was full of ice and small ice bergs that had calved from the glacier at its head. Some of the ice reached to our track but we avoided hitting any. I imagine in the winter the channel will be wall to ice. Sunset that evening was dramatic and again we spent the last of the daylight up on the highest deck taking in the scene. We were well wrapped up at all times and had our toques, sweaters and waterproofs on to keep out the cold. The continous supply of tea available was always welcome. After supper one of the crew sang to his own electronic keyboard accompaniment for us; he was very good. Believe it or not we joined in the four games of bingo before the disco started up. Unfortunately they allowed smoking in the lounge after 10-00pm and soon the air was thick, mostly created by two 50 year old men passengers who we always noted had cigarettes going as they hung around the door ways during the day. They had no intention of joining in the dancing but spoiled it for us as the smoke soon drove us and others to turn in for the night.

¨Fun aboard the Magallanes¨

I woke at the usual watch change we have when we are at sea, 01.00am and had a walk around the deck. It was black dark with complete overcast and we were running with the wind down the Golfo Corcovado, between the Isla Chiloe and the mainland. I reckoned the wind was blowing 20-30 knts and building. The motion was steady and as I walked around the deck I met one of the crew doing his rounds of checks. I was soon back in my warm bunk knowing we were in good hands. I was up showered and dressed by 06-00am and noted that the wind had increased a little and had brought with it heavy rain. This was really heavy rain as the decks were awash, inches deep. It was then that we realised that we have not had any serious rain since Newport Beach California, some 9 months previously. After breakfast with ¨the gang¨, the noisy fun gang, we watched the weather and then had a game of serious cards with Martin, Hannah and Neil. We introduced them to Whist for a Million, which as it turned out Neil from Aus knew under another name. Next was ¨¨Slip the Lady¨ which we played under international rules and under its Aus name of ¨Black Bitch¨! The international rules arose for we all, two from UK( Hannah and Neil), two from Canada (Chris and I) and one from Australia (Matin) all knew the game but each had different rules, so the international compromise was made. We should all be in politics! During each day there were talks and film shows about the terrain and wildlife we were passing through. These were well attended and Silda the ships social convenor usually presented them. After lunch the weather cleared as the front passed and we went onto the bridge. This was all very relaxed and you had access to the bridge at all times during daylight. We were doing 14.5knts by the ships instruments ( confirmed by my hand held GPS which I had packed us together with charts to enable us to check our progress and identify the channels, mountains etc). Winds were a steady 35plus knts by now with max gusts up to 50 knts. This was certainly easier and more comfortable than we would have been in Reiver! We are however very early in the season and we would not have been down here for another three months if we had been in Reiver. As it turned out I feel we had the bonus being so early for the scenery was made even more spectacular with the snow level much lower. On board Magallanes we had the advantage of there being less passengers. Very quickly all the faces on board became familiar and we made many friends. Other than Chris and I there were only two or three couple approaching our age and we never had any contact with them. Maybe its because we are young at heart! With the clearing weather the scenery bacame dramatic with black clouds and sunlight alternately shrouding and lighting up the mountains along the coast. There were some wonderful sights and the camera clicked away. We were now approaching the southern tip of Isla Chiloe and our next leg would take us west out into the Pacific free of the shelter of the islands. Silda warned and advised us al to take our anti sea sick pills now. The wind in these channels follows the direction of the channel and even though we turned through 80 degrees only we found as we turned to the west and the open ocean the following wind became a head wind. Magallanes drove through the waves in fine style and the fun gang spent hours on the bow above the bridge. Magallanes had her bridge well forward and the open viewing area was above the bridge stretching accross the full width of the boat.The view was immpressive with the 4-5m swell meeting the bow straight on sending up sheets of spray with a resounding boom which vibrated through the whole vessel. We headed on out o sea and once we had about 30 miles clearance on the shore line we turned SSW and the rolling began in earnest. In the lounge there were a lot of sleepy people caused by the pills but the gang were still in fine form dashing up to the bow when the motion and noise became a little more noticeable to watch for the big ones! We were one of the gang and made the trip up many times managing to keep dry. During all this time out from land we were surrounded by albatros which wheeled in their marvellous effortless way and then skimming low following the surface of the waves. A truly wonderful sight which leaves one humbled and in awe of these marvellous creatures which spend their first five years of life totally at sea before returningto their birth place . Here they select a life time mate. ( Just like Chris and I) Their life span is of the order of 50 years. Long line fishing has seriously affected their numbers and many are lost for they become hooked on the long line hooks as they attempt to catch the bait. A world wide awareness programme is under way to attempt to make the ocean fishermen change their equipment to overcome this problem. Coryn and Tony our good friends who have sailed these and many other out of the way waters have put a big effort into this awareness programme. We stood quietly and watched these wonderful birds until it was dark. At dinner that night it was noticeably empty in the dining room. The gang were well represented however. In our bunks we were snug and fell asleep to the comfortable rolling motion.

¨A wonderful start to our trip south¨

We were on the move soon after breakfast and onto a bus north for Ancud and then across the Channel to Puerto Montt. Low cloud obscurred the sky and as we travelled north on the Island of Chiloe we were often in thick fog as we crossed the higher ground. We crossed the Channel Chacao quickly and without any delay this time. The bus was the only vehicle on the small ferry. This time we were able to see more of Puerto Montt as we drove into town. Again it was a much bigger town than we had expected, but on seeing more of it did little to change our previous impression of the town. It is crowded and busy. Its strategic location at the south end of the busy populated central valley part of Chile and having the rest of Chile to the south that cannot be reasonably acessed by road give it its importance as the jumping off location for vessels serving the southern parts of Chile. There is a road which has been built in part down the Andes soth of Puerto Montt under Pinoche but it is still to be completed and is a tenuous drive. The road has a series of ferries and unpaved sections and as a result that traffic and those goods which can be moved by sea transport is moved that way, by sea and the regular scheduled service. This service is provide by a steamship company called Navimag who run a scheduled summer service with two vessels. The ferry also carries passenger traffic and we had booked on the first run of the season. The ship, the Magalenes can carry about 300 passengers and is of moderate size, 9, 000 tonnes displacement. Originally built in Japan for their inter island freight work it was bought and modified for this run in Chile.. As we arrived in Puerto Montt the clouds slowly cleared and the skys became cloudless and clear with visibility of 100 miles or so. We joined Magalenes at 14.00 hrs and walked onto the vessel via the stern loading ramp and up onto the upper levels where the passengers ate, slept and viewed the scenery from. First impressions were of an extreemly friendly efficient crew. We were shown to our quarters and found that we had been allocated a cabin to ourselves. Only 70 or so were booked on this first trip of the season and they had used all the cabins providing as much privacy as possible. This was typical of their thoughtfulness. Christine and I had an inside cabin, usually for four and with a private bathroom. Over the five days we found it to be very cosy, comfortable and very clean. We stood on the aft deck and watched the tractor load the road trailers onto the boat. The last trailer had a wooden boat lashed on it. Finally the last vehicle made its way onto the boat. It was a large tracked bright yellow new JCB backhoe, which trundled onto the vessel with the crew carefully placing rope under its tracks as it swivelled and turned and climbed onto the boat. The rope was placed to avoid damage to the ashphalt and the steel deck. The crew lashed all the vehicles down with chains and ¨come- alongs¨and finally the ramp at the stern was slowly lifted and made fast . We were ready for departure. Magalenes was moored at right angles in a very narrow channel and using her bow thruster and the shore lines on the windlesses she carefully was turned to face out to sea. As it was her first trip of the season many people were watching and whistles and horns were sounded from other vessels and the watchers waved from shore. We slowly moved out into the very large bay, Seno de Reloncavi where Puerto Montt is the located at the northern end. The sea was mirror calm and the volcanos Osorno and to its south volcano Puntiagudo stood out bright in the late afternoon light. We were a little late on our sheduled depatrure time and soon we were up to our cruising speed of 14.5 knts with both engines working as we cut our way across the bay leaving a long straight wake. Our fellow passengers were all young in their 20´s and 30´s and a group had already cracked a couple of bottles of wine on the after deck and invited Chris and I to join them where we had an impromptu party. They were a fun bunch and we were to become friends over the intervening days. As the sun set the snow capped tops of the volcanos were blushed red and night fell with us all enjoying the wonderful start to our trip south. We had supper which we enjoyed. Meals were cafeteria style. not high cuisine but good quality food, well cooked and presented and there was as much as you wanted to eat. Clouds started to roll in after darkness and we watched a movie that was presented called¨The Butterfly Effect¨which we enjoyed.

¨Another memorable day on Isla Chiloe"

The morning and early afternoon were picture perfect with white scattered clouds and blue skys. Dalcahue, 30 kms to the north has a Sunday market and we joined the locals on their crowded bus as they made their way to this water front market. Here we found fresh fruit and vegetables, fish, shellfish, handcrafted woollen goods and wooden carved items on sale. It was relaxing walking along the waterfront looking at the various items on sale. We were the only non locals in sight. The setting was really attractive with fishing boats drawn up or anchored in front of the town and with a backcloth of the green islands just across the narrow channel. We wandered away from the activity at the waterfront to look at the church, yet another wooden one where a service was under way. In the square in front of the church there were about 40 children playing singing and dancing games by themselves; no adults were organising them and they were having so much fun. In the background the unaccompanied singing could be heard from the church as the children danced to their own singing as we looked out over this very attractive little town. This was to be our last day on Chiloe for tomorrow we head off the Island to Puerto Montt to catch our ferry south to Patagonia. We were told we would enjoy Chiloe and we have in many ways . We have travelled it extensively in the few days we have been here and have found it enchanting, friendly, scenic and full of interest. We have found more population than we expected and with larger towns than we anticipated. It has a charm and character of its own and is quite unspoiled, perhaps in high season we might have an other opinion. In any case we take away the fondest memories and look forward to our next part of the trip. It will take us three/ four days to reach Puerto Natales and from there we will find a way, probably bus, to get to Punta Arenas. As a result we will be a way from an internet link for a few days

¨Surf and rainforest¨

The west coast of the Island is not unlike that of Vancouver Island, remote, wild and wet. Only one bus a day makes its way over to the west coast and to the Parque National Chiloe. The bus left at noon and returned at 4pm in the winter which left us only a little time in the park and on the coast but enough to get a feel of the area and its sights. Thirty six of the 58 kms were on poor gravel road and the trip took an hour and a half. At the park there was an information centre which described the coastal rain forest, the indigenous trees and the coastal sights. This centre did put me right on one item, that of the alerce tree which is indeed a coniferous tree and the Isla Chiloe is the southern limit of any coniferous. The red barked tree is not the alerce as I had thought but is a tepu, I was barking up the wrong tree! We walked for a while into the coastal rain forest of low dense trees all leaning to the east away from the prevailing wing and with a multitude of ground plants and vegetation new to us. The sand dunes stretched for miles to the north and south and the Pacific breakers rolled in. In many ways it was not unlike the west coast of Vancouver Island. The houses and small communities seemed more cut off however and they all looked as though they were only just making ends meet. The bus was truly a rural bus with the driver dropping of parcels and bags of items to isolated houses. One older man was waiting at a bus stop with several large bags of fertilizer which he and the driver loaded on and unloaded at various houses along the way. It was a pleasant trip and certainly gave us an insight into the way of life on this pleasant quiet island. Thera are many myths on the island and one is about El Trauco. He lives in the forest and the young girls are warned about him and going out at night. He hypnotises them and leads them into the forest and they leave pregnant. He has obviously been pretty active for we saw many very young mothers throughout the island! ( Emma this is only a tale and is not for real! ) Since we arrived the deciduous trees have greened and the main square in Castro is much less bare now. The bandurrias ( buff necked ibis/ snipes ) are noisily building their nests in the monkey puzzle trees in the square and town and it is they, with their noisy argumentative duck like call that wake us each morning at about 6am. These are colourful birds not unlike snipes on steroids, for they are huge. They do not look as though they should be in trees as they are so big and ungainly. They are the type of bird we would expect to see on marsh land.

¨Another bus ride.and and an active fishing town¨

Travel distances are short on the island but even so it took us two hours to travel to the south end of the island and the southern limit of the Pan American highway. The bus was crowded and there were as many standing as seated for the trip. The countryside gradually became poorer both in land and housing quality as we travelled south. There were many more trees and you could now see where the island got all its timber from. Small one or two men wood mills dotted the land. The excellent timber I have mentioned previously comes from a small tree, the alerce, not unlike the arbutus we have in Canada and it grows only an inch or so a year resulting in a dense grained durable wood. Quellon is primarily a fishing town and the fleet was in with many fishermen standing around with their gear. The fishing boats are as big as ocean fishing vessels but they avoid the the open Pacific. The smaller boats have compressor pumps and engines and they harvest the plentiful shellfish using divers. We saw mussels up to 6¨ long and edible barnicles up to 5¨. For lunch we found a cafe frequented by fishermen and others and had a most delicious meal of loco, (abalone). Here a naval engineer, who was in Quellon designing boats and who had too much to drink took a shine to Christine. This led to an entertaining apres lunch time. One of the things that he was facinated with was Christine´s hair. Chileans generally do not have grey hair as they age it seems to remain dark. Every where we travelled on the island small yards were building boats from barge landing craft in steel to large trawlers in wood. Judging by the amount of rust on some of these steel vessels under construction, they take a long time to build! Back in Castro we had ¨onces¨ ( afternoon tea) , before settling down in the evening to our books.

¨The country side of Chiloe¨

We left Chonchi before breakfast and headed back to Castro the capital of Chiloe. We soon found a warm and comfortable B&B and set off to look around the area. The large wooden church is like all others on Chiloe, creaking and in need of extensive maintenance, but from the outside and distance, graceful. The day was springlike with clouds and clear periods so on impulse we jumped onto a bus for one of the islands, the Isla Quinchao to the NE of Castro. The bus ride took us through typical Chiloean countryside, rolling green hills with small fields and sheep and cattle grazing. The fields roll down to the water edge giving the impression that the land form is due to drowned valleys. The result is that there are many inlets,waterways and numerous islands that exist off the east shore of the main island. Chiloe itself is relaxed and everthing moves at a slow pace and the islands appeared even more so. The ferry system works well and the landing barge type ferries shuttle back and forth across the channel with four or five vehicles on them.We crossed from Dalchahue to the island and we rattled along in the mini bus for Achao the islands main town. .Isla Quinchao seemed prosperous with well kept small holdings and farms. These are so numerous that at times it seems they are at 100m spacings. We wandered around Achao and saw the school children catching their small boats back to their islands after their school day and the fish market closing down. The general impression is that the locals do not extend themselves much and in talking to various people this is confirmed. When they want a new pair of jeans they work until they have the money and then sit back again. Heating of all houses is by wood and there is a plentiful source of this. The sight of men and women splitting logs in front of their houses and the sight of and constant smell of woodsmoke is what I will remember of Chiloe. It would certainly be a good place to cruise with many sheltered inlets and good scenery and a welcoming people. Tomorrow we plan to go to the south of the island and visit Quellon.

¨Not a good move¨

We had picked Chonci as a destination of choice on the island particularly as it had a good hostel according to the guides. An early bus had us to Castro, the Islands capital by noon where we caught another bus to Chonci. This is a small sleepy fishing town set on the east side of the main island opposite some of the outlying islands. Our hostel turned out to be a work in progress with much construction activity progressing albeit behind schedule. The owner, originally from the Maritimes in Canada allocated us a room in the annex which turned out to be very cold and damp, however the salmon supper he prepared for us made up for that somewhat. By supper time we had seen all there was to see around the sleepy village of Chonci and contrary to our original plans we made up our minds to move on in the morning. The Isla Chiloe is renown for its wooden churches which are now preserved under a UNESCO agreement. The church in Chonci was typical of those we had seen with single spire ( although the one in Castro has two spires) wooden clapboard or shingle exterior and interior totally of wood. The wood used is the indigenous wood which is very durable and which they mill into beams , planks and shingles. It has the look of pine but is even more durable and gives the inside of the churches a warm golden feel. To date we have not seen a one that is in good repair and walls and spans sag dangerously. All the houses throughout the island are made of wood, those in the north seem to have more metal siding than in the south where wood is in most abundance. We went to bed cold and it took us a while to get warm but we did sleep well.

¨A full day¨

The morning was bright and fair with a strong wind still blowing from the west giving bright periods and showers in the afternoon. We walked around the town and for the first time saw it busy with market and all shops open. Again like all the smaller towns there is that 50/ 60´s feel as all the stores are small and there are a lot of them. I down loaded two memory cards of photographs onto disc at the photoshop and when they asked if I wanted to have the card erased by them I said no even though they had shown me that they had copied all the photos. It was later back in the hostel that I checked the cd and found that they had missed 2/3 of one card. Good job I held back otherwise they would have been lost. We visited the local museum and found little of historic interest but we did find an artesan at work. He was a delightful character and we talked for a long while. His interest was in making models of ships which he had done all his life. His models of the local sailing vessels which carried cargo around the islands were excellent and at nominal cost but there was no way we could travel with one. He was 77 years old and bright with it; we had to buy something he made and finished up with a wood model of the typical housing on the Isla Chiloe. These were built by the fishermen on stilts over the water so that they could keep their boats underneath and not have far to travel to their work!. There still exists some of these houses but most were lost in the 1960´s tsunami that hit Chile. We found some in Castro, the islands capital. In the afternoon we were just about to set off for the north end of the island and the capes which over looked the Canal Chacao when Suzanne a German girl arrived at the hostel. She opted to come with us and we three took a taxi ride for four hours around the north end of the island on some of the worst roads we had been on for time. We visited the isolated villages of Quetamahue, Gaubun and El Banco before we reached Faro Corona the northern most point of the island. Here the lighthouse sits on top of an exposed cliff over looking the Canal Chacao. We were given free run of the station and climbed up to and into the light tower. The view was spectacular with driving horizontal rain and breaking waves showing through the Canal. Three Chilean frigates slipped past into the ocean in the rainstorms. Suzanne´s Spanish was good and we had a lively three way conversation with the taxi driver as we drove along. In this way we learned much about the island and things we saw. We always regret not being fluent in Spanish. He took us to Playo Bravo and the dunes of Gaubun where the beach was open to the full force of the storm and wave action. It was a humbling sight with the long rows of waves rolling in and breaking on the beach and crashing on the outcrops of rock at either end of the beach. We enjoyed Suzannes lively wit and sense of humour which she told us that she had learned from her English friends.

¨A long walk and the penguins¨

Monday is also a holiday , this time for the army and as result buses and transport was at a minimum. The day was clear and we set off to walk along the road to Quetelmahue. We walked part along the beach and mostly along the quiet country road. We noted numerous camping sites along the road and determined than in the summer time the area will be really busy. The road wound around small inlets with open fishing boats anchored or sitting on the shore. We stopped and sat on the beach for our lunch as the tide rose and finally chased us off the the beach. Tidal range is up to 25ft in this area and at low tide extensive tidal flats can be seen. The flats provide the shell fish that is abundance in the area. After we had walked 12 kms we decided to head back and we found a local man waiting for a collectivo (shared taxi ). We thought this was a good idea and joined him but before a taxi arrived a young couple in a four wheel drive pick up stopped and asked us if we wanted a lift. They were going in the opposite direction to the penquin colony and we were pleased to be able to travel with them for we had planned to go to the colony the next day. The road was rough and needed the four wheel drive in places along the 25kms ride but we eventually made it to the beach where the three islands and colony lay just offshore.There, there is a local society given to the protection of the islands and for 4,000 pesos ($8) they will take you out in a zodiac around the islandsto view the sea life and birds. Much to Nina and Pablo´s (our kind hosts) disappointment the seas were too rough to go out. We could however see the islands and the penquins and with the aid of telescope and binoculars were able to see a whole range of sea birds new to us including a large flightless duck (Quetru). The penquins did their thing and strutted proudly up the hill slope to their burrows. We enjoyed Nina and Pablo´s company, both were based in Santiago, Nina from Germany teaching German in a German school there whilst Pablo was at University studying law. As we returned along the road we looked out over the long beaches where the waves were breaking far out to sea and running up the white beach. A wild day indeed and one we were thankful we were on shore. A haze of spray could be seen along the beach and waters edge for miles. Nina and Pablo dropped us off at our hostel as they were going back to Santiago, with the promise that they wouk look us up when they made a trip to Canada. In the evening we talked with a couple who had just arrived at the hostel and on the island. They were from Scotland and in our view had a jaundiced view of their travels and experience. They complained at length about buses, accomodation, food and to our mind were not getting anything from their years trip.They had done no exploration of Ancud and area and were on the move the next day!

¨A wet and windy Indepencia day¨

It always rains on Indepencia day in Chile and sure enough it rained heavily all day. Whilst we were warm and cosy in our hostel we had not seen serious rain since ¨Newport Beach California, some time ago! We donned our waterproofs and set out around the town. It was deserted and the red white and blue flags and bunting crackled in the stiff NW wind as the waves broke along the waterfront. The rain was driven horizontally as the black clouds scudded from the ocean. We found the fort and walked for an hour or so before returning to the snug comfotrable hostel. Here we read our books and talked to Anna before Anna finally secumbed and put on a movie which we watched. It was called Ël Sënor de los Camillos¨ and we enjoyed seeing The Lord of the Rings part III again.

¨The start of the Chilean Canals and the island of Chiloe¨

It was a grey glowering overcast day when we left Puerto Varas, the weather had broken at last. This poor visibilty continued into late afternoon. Sunday is the Chilean holiday, Idepencia day and many Chileans were on the move or already had started their celebrations. In the hectic bus station at Puerto Montt men were already sitting at their tables drinking beer at 9, 30 in the morning! We waited half an hour for our bus and at one stage Christine climbed onto what we thought was our bus for Ancud but we found out in time and moved to the right one amongst all the toing and froing. We could not see much of Puerto Montt in the lifting fog but it seemed to be similar to Valparaiso with its corrugated tin sided houses set at all angles and levels. Once into the country the visibility improved sufficient to see that the land had changed to poorer land, only good for grazing and with large areas of gorse. The gorse was in in full flower and the contrast of its bright yellow with the grey day was dramatic. We arrived at Canal Chacao the narrow channel between the island of Chiloe and the mainland. The current through this channel runs up to 9 knts and entering in a small boat from the ocean requires good timing. Eight small ferries with drop down ramps were on continual service for this holiday weekend. We waited a moment or two and drove onto the first ferry in the bus. We have heard that in the summer time that crossing delays have been up to five days! Another good reason to travel off season as we were. Currently they are designing a bridge and it could be constructed by 2010 to celebrate the 200th year of independence. After a half hour of travel on the island we arrived at Ancud our destination. First impressions in the overcast day were of a green and lush land. Ancud is a fishing town/ market town of 20,000 people and had all the attributes of its purpose, market, jetty with boats, many shops and stores selling fishing and farming needs and clusters of houses along the shore. We found our hostel and immediately rated it the best we had stayed at. It is almost new and over looks the ocean, each bedroom having a view in that direction. Apart from Anna a German girl we were the only ones staying. We explored the town, bought some groceries and settled in our temporary home, talking to Martin the young owwner who is of Swiss origin. He had designed and built the house which is constructed 100% in a fine grained fir indigenous to the area.

¨A trip almost to the Argentine border.¨

At 9am we caught a bus in town and headed east along the south shore of Lago LLanquihue ( spelled wrongly previously) to Ensenada and on to Petrohue which is set on the eastern shore of another lake Lago Todos Los Santos. On the way we had a stop at the major rapids and waterfalls on the river which drains the area. These are the Salto del Petrohue and were very impressive for the rains of the previous weeks ( which we had missed ) had swelled the flow. The water was a bright green as it also included snow and ice melt waters. We were now surrounded by snow capped mountains reaching up from our level of 500-700 ft up to 9-10,000ft. Included in these was the totally symetrical Volcano Osorno. We caught a boat which made the trip to Puella 50 kms to the east and located right on the argentine Chile border. The trip was magical flat calm at times and running the boat said how lucky we were with the weather. A perfect day with small patches of woodsmoke hanging along the edge of the lake in places. Boat acess is the only means of servicing the small tyrolean type farms that occasinally could be seen in a meadow area on the steep wooded slopes. The boat stopped a couple of times and the wife of the farmer came out and picked up her son or relatives and rowed them ashore. We assumed they made cheese and took it to town as their livelehood. The scenery was spectacular and the mountains on the Argentine border in particular were dramatic with vertical ice faces looking like random icing on a cake.on the summits. There is only a hotel at Peulla and we strolled the short mile walk from the ferry to the hotel and stopped on the way and had our picnic lunch. The rest of the passengers carried on east wards to Bariloche in Argentina by bus and after having a meal at the hotel. This further trip involved another bus journey followed by yet another ferry ride. We were now well in the first National Park created in Chile, the parque Nacional Vicente Perez Rosales. The return trip was equally spectacular and we arrived back in the late evening at our hostel after being treated to the sight of the setting sun lighting the mountains. We said our fare wells to Caz and Lee and prepared for our bus ride to Puerto Montt and the Island of Chiloe.

¨A catch up day and a good hike.¨

The weather forecast had indicated that Fri would be the best day of the week and so we elected to spend the day in Puerto Varas. Early morning gave us a heavy overcast but by 10am the day was cloudless and warm. We took a lunch of fruit and chocolate with us and hiked along the west bank of the lake making our own route up as we went. We followed along the tops of the bluffs above the lake through meadow land bushes and walked for a few miles.The climb up to the top of the cliffs had been steep using tree roots and the rock to work our way up and there was no way I was going to get Christine to go back down that way. We were able to find a way back into town from the top of the hill where we had good views. On the top of the hill there was a huge steel cross which had electric bulbs around its perimeter. Such a structure is very common in Peru and Ecuador and a cross or a Saviour is always present on the hills over looking a town or city. We have seen less and less of these in Chile as the dominant religion of Catholicism is lessened. In the evening we sat and talked with Caz and Lee a young couple from UK who were just setting out on a years trip after throwing their jobs and selling their house in London. We told them that they would never regret their move. Already they were appreciating the important step they had made and were enjoying South America with the trip to take them to New Zealand and Australia eventually. The heat was now on in the hostel and it was cosy and warm in the evening.

´´Back to the Lake District area,and again a good Hostel´´

We carried our packs the short walk to the bus station and booked our bustrip to Puerto Varas. We had enjoyed Valvivia, the scenery and the history around and about the town. Each evening we had enjoyed our long walk along the river bank on the north side of town, the most attractive part of town. The river had some comercial activity with the boat yard opposite and rowers slid by in their sculls whilst the Valdivians, like us were out for a walk and enjoyed the evening night air. In amongst all this modern activity there was a ferry boat man who steadily rowed back and forth across the half mile wide river stemming the 3-4 knt current each way carrying one or two passengers each way. The five hour trip from Valdivia to Puerto Varas soon slipped by as we passed through the spring country side in the clear bright weather.We soon had glimpses of Lago Llanique as we passed Friutilla and Llanique. The countryside was similar to that which had been passing through down the Central Valley for some days, very rural and domesticated. In Puerto Varas we had a short walk to the hostel we had selected to stay at. It proved to be excellent, clean and friendlyand run by a young German and his Chilean wife. Their son Luca at 19 months was entertaining and active and I was able to teach him some English words. Down on the water front we sat for a couple of hours watching the activity of the town and the vista across the lake. A perfect cone volcano ( Volcano Osarno ) was situated at the eastern end of the lake and other snow capped mountains and volcanos were on the horizon at either side. Puerto Veras was again like all the tourist towns set in the Lake District, with some large tyrolean style hotels. Again like all the towns and indeed cities we had visited it had a 60´s feel. There were no large stores and small shops provided all the needs. We found as we stayed that no shops opened til 10 am including the cafes for breakfast! As with all these towns the streets, sidewalks and park areas were clean and free of litter and the boulevards were well cared for with mowed grass or plantings of shrubs and flowers, all very European. In the evening we cooked a meal and retired to bed early for it was cold and the heating had not been turned on

´´A most interesting day´´

We awoke to an early morning sea fret which quickly burned off as we bused along the estuary of the Rio Calle Calle to Niebla a small village on the sea coast.. Niebla and its counterpart Corral on the south side of the river estuary were forts built by the Spanish to defend the port and river serving Valdivia. These were the forts that Lord Cochrane serving on the Chilean navy in the 1820´¨s had captured from the Spanish. We had read the reports with interest whilst we were in Valparaiso and wanted to look at the site. It was a sparkling clear day with a light cool breeze. We found the fort at Niebla in perfect shape complete with all of the 40 pounder cannons, a small museum and extensive views from the walled fort of dressed stone. We wandered back along the beach and caught a small ferry that shuttled back and forth across the one mile wide estuary mouth to Corral. Again the fort was in perfect shape and the locations of both forts and angles the cannon were set clearly dominated the shipping trying to enter the estuary. The forts still had the ovens, used for heating the 40 lbs shot they fired at the enemy. These would have been wooden sailing vessels, frigates and the like and this red hot shot was a major fire hazard when they hit home. Both the forts were located on higher ground by the small villages and we walked on the Corral side stopping for a coffee at the only cafe which overlooked the small jetty where fishermaen were gathered talking and mending their nets. We crossed back to Niebla across the swift flowing estuary and caught a bus back to Valdivia. The day had been interesting and the scenery colourful and varied, a most enjoyable day. We sat in the square in Valdivia for a while where a hawk like bird approached and took bread and a piece of chicken from us. He is as common as the crow is in the Northern Hemisphere but is definitely of the hawk family. Coloured grey with dark highlights he is crow sized, walks rather than hops and holds his food with his claws whilst he eats. He is the only common bird of the many new varieties we have seen that we cannot give a name to. The birds are so different from Northern Hemisphere birds. One in particular that is also very common is called a buff necked snipe.It is larger than the snipe we know is very colourful, feeding in parks, in meadows and in marsh land. It frequents towns and in company with many others will ocupy trees where it calls raucously and noisily not unlike a duck. We occasionally see flocks of parrots but they are less frequent the further we travel south. Vultures are common, the black variety and humming birds flit about in treed areas. All in all a most interesting variety of bird life. Of wild life there is little and we have seen none, They have a puma, foxes and a small deer in the Andes but we were given to understand that they are not often seen. Tomorrow we planned to head south , again into the Lake District area, this time to Puerto Varas on the south side of Lago LLanquihue. Still zig zagging down this thin country.

A dark and gloomy hostel

The bus for Valdivia did not leave until noon but we arrived early in order to be sure of a seat. Even though there are lots of buses making the various runs, they always seem to be full. The bus service is well patronised, is efficient and cost effective. In Chile with the higher costs we are paying about $2 per hr of travel. At the bus station we found that a mini bus was just leaving for Valdivia and we caught this. It was about a 20 seater and still cruised at 110kmh along the dual carriageway sections. It made several side trips to the local towns and villages and as a result we saw more than we had normally from the express buses. The day was again cloudless and warmand the little bus rattled along through the pleasant countryside again passing throiuh good agricultural lands taken up with vines, dairy cattle and orchards. Milk tankers were on the move collecting and taking the milk to the various dairies. There were lots of new born lambs in the fields and the fruit trees were in full blossom. The scenary is so reminisant of England at times with fields and hedgerows and with copses of trees scattered throughout, very pastoral. In addition large individual elm trees stood in splendid isolation in theses fields. Whilst the agriculture is of a high standard with fine new tractors and plows, cultivators and discs, you get the impression it has all happened lately for on occasions you will see a cart drawn by oxen moving along the road or ploughing a small patch of land. Gasoline is expensive in Chile and they can only produce 10% of their needs so oxen make sense as does the general use of the bus service. Chilean produce is able to service the North American market during its winter season and the range of vegetables and fruit is impressive. We did meet a New Zealander who had worked on all types of farms in NZ, had his degree in agriculture and who was strongly of the opinion that they were producing at only a third of their capacity. He internded to buy land, which is cheap and by demonstrating the increased yields start up a consulting business. We arrived in Valdivia in the late afternoon and took the first hostel we came to. It was run by an old couple in their 80,s who did have helpers. It was dark but cosy and devoid of any wall hangings, again 12ft high ceilings and wood panelling on the walls and wood floors. In the breakfast room there was a hand coloured photo of the old lady and her brother taken before the war. They only spoke German. We had a look around the town and found a bustling square where we people watched for a while before we found our way to the fish and fruit market. Valdivia was an important city/town(population about 180,000) in the past as it is on a large inlet with good shelter and anchorages for the boats working up and down the coast. It is not an attractive town but has a good setting on the loop of the river some 20kms inland from the sea. We walked to the University with all the students and wandered around the botanical gardens. We headed back to our somewhat gloomy hostel, where we slept well apart from being woken up at 2-30am whilst someone who had just arrived by a night bus had a noisy shower next door.

A good hike and wonderful scenery

Villarica is a typical lakeside town with waterfront and tourist type shops although there were no tourists at this time it was very busy and last evening when we walked around the streets and along the shore there was lots of activity with bands playing and children again practising their marching. After an early breakfast we caught a bus to Pucon at the east end of the lake. Pucon lies on the edge of a National park of which there are many in Chile. Always these parks are wild, unspolied and with wonderful scenery. The volcano hung above us with its plume of steam and smoke whilst we stepped onto another bus for yet another National Park further into the Andes. We travelled for a further hour to Parque National Huerquehue and to the end of the road where there was a collection of several houses. We hiked along the lake, Lago Caburgua for a couple of hours or so . There ws not a cloud in the sky and the snow capped mountains reflected in the water . No a person was to be seen and we sat and took in the peaceful vistas. The only sound was the lap of water along the black volcanic sand beach. Back in the village of Caburgua a small open store was selling food and we shared a huge empinada, it was all the more tasty and enjoyable after our walk. It was mid after noon by now and we needed to think about getting back to Villarica. We had been given to understand that there was only one more bus in the day and were suprised to see a mini bus standing at the bus stop. We talked to the driver who said he was leaving at three and since that was half an hour away we paid our fare and told him we would sit on the beach until then. When we arrived back before three the bus had gone so we set off to walk the 50km. After an hour we met a bus headed to Caburgua and the driver waved to us. As he returned to Pucon he picked us up. When we arrived in Pucon our bus driver would take no money and the original driver to who we had paid our money rushed over to make sure we didn,t pay twice! Apparantly they had talked to each other on the cell phone. This is typical of the honesty and thoughtfulness of the Chileans. It turned out that the three he told us was minutes! Pucon is a little more upscale than Villarica and we walked and explored the town and surroundings. In a small park by the lake we came across a large group of dancers all in traditional dress practising for the weekend. Ages ranged from 50 to 7 and they were enjoying themselves immensely. The men,s dress was black flat rimmed hat and poncho with black trousers, leather thigh boots with huge spurs. The music was provided by Andean harp, four guitars and accompanied by four singers , lively and beautiful music. The spontanaity of the dancing and the sheer pleasure they were having made it a memorable sight and sound. The young men were not all self concious and gave it there all. We made our supper in the kitchen and read our books till dark. Breakfast is always included at these hostels and the home made bread and museuli with fruit was a treat in the mornings.

Chile,s lake district area

We caught an early bus south down Hwy 5 to Temuco. Whilst we were waiting for our bus we fell into conversation with two couples from the Patagonia area of Chile. The half hour we waited for our bus passed quickly and when we parted they gave us each a hug and a peck on the cheek. Warm pleasant people who are proud of their country and what is has achieved. None of them are proud of Pinochet and his ways of dealing with his opponents however. It does seem to me though that he gave the country direction and certainly their infrastructure and orderliness must be owed to him. Temuco is on the main highway south and when we arrived there we moved onto another bus headed eastwards into the northern part of the Chilean Lake District. We had picked out our backpackers hostel and found it to be a delightful place run by a friendly and efficient German Swiss couple. It was a building in the Swiss tradition, all wood and cosy with a good kitchen. We walked around the town and the lake front in the afternoon and early evening. The lake, Lago Villiarica has an active volcano at its eastern end , Volcan Osarno and ranges of snow capped moutains on either side, truly a spectacular location and we watched the sun light fade from these as we walked along the beach. The clouds of steam and smoke drifted from the summit all the time we were in the area. The 18th of Sept is Chile Day and all around town bands and children were practising there marching. All cars are sporting the chilean flag and apparantly the week end is quite active , somewhat like the Central american carnival.

Tacking down the long thin Country

Our plan was to zig zag back and forward in our route as we traveled south in Chile, in order that we saw as much of the country as possible. From the vast northern desert of Aticama we had now entered the rich fertile central valley with its wonderful agriculture of dairy farming and the extensive vineyards and orchards. The countryside was all very orderly and pastoral, with the lush green fields and the snow capped Andes with the occasional volcano to the east. It is spring in Chile and a lot of the fruit blossoms are starting to come out so the countryside is full of colour. We have been so blessed with good weather to date and seem to be dodging all the adverse weather systems as we move south. From Valparaiso to Talca was a five hr bus ride. As we left Valparaiso we bought a pair of walking trousers each and these have proved to be much more comfortable than jeans for walking and spending time on the bus. Again the shopkeeper warned us of pick pockets. We selected Talca at random as a stopover place and found a large rural town with little to set it aside from others, but it was clean and we felt comfortable wandering around at night time. It has been cold at night , moreso when we are inland and the hotel we stayed at had heating which was most welcome. After supper we had an early night.

More of the interesting City

First thing in the morning the heavy sea fret blocked out all the visibility but as the day heated up so the fog dispersed.We had breakfast in the guest house, typically for Chile, bread rolls , coffe or tea, cheese and cold sliced ham with apricot jam! It,s amazing what you get used to! Our first planned visit was to the Lord Cochrane museum. LC was the person Captain Aubrey was based on in the novels by Patrick O,Brian, also we understand the person that the Hornblower character was founded on. We walked down all the steps and then climbed back up the hillside using the ascensor on the opposite side of the valley to find the museum closed. The building itself was interesting, one of the oldest in Valparaiso. Down more steps to to the dock area again and then past the site of our pickpocket incident took us to yet another ascensor up the Naval Maritime museum. This we found to be excellent with a full section on Cochrane with lots of copies of letters he had written. He Lord Cochrane was seconded by the English Admiralty in the 1820,s to assist the Chileans form their navy and to help in their war against the Spanish. He brought with him the skills of and discipline that had made the English navy so powerful in that age and sucessfully set up the Chilean navy including the purchase of the necessary frigates etc. He then proceeded to help them oust the Spanish in a series of daring battles, raids and overthrowing of the coastal defences. His close liason in Chile was Bernardo O,Higgens an illegitimate son of the Irish Viceroy. Between them they were a power to deal with and the wonderful exchange of letters in English were on display. One of the critical incidents was when Cochrane took the five forts at the entrance to Valdivia . This was so well explained and shown graphically that we both were carried away with the action of almost two hundred years ago. In addition their were superb models of all of the frigates and ships of the Chilean navy at that time. There is no doubt in my mind that these early actions are the reason Chile is in the strong position politically and economically it is today in South America. The museum was so well presented , low key but all so interesting. From the deck outside of the museum we had a splendid view over the harbour which was now free of fog and we sat and enjoyed a late coffee. Our land lord had recommended a restaurant next door to the hotel for lunch and yesterday we had enjoyed a bowl of soup ther so we headed back up yet another ascensor for lunch. Chileans still have their main meal in the middle of the day, at weekends this midday meal sometimes takes 4hrs! We had a first class meal of four courses including our drink for $ 5 served by a pleasant young man who practisied his English on us. The sea food fettucine was superb. We wandered back town to the plaza area where we purchased a travel chess set, magnetic, and a good bottle of wine! Chilean wine is varied and enjoyable. Up in the sun lounge on top of the old four storey house we sat and watched the sun dip over the horizon and enjoyed our wine. The lights of Valparaiso came on and we really appreciated our location, a memorable evening and day.During the day we were warned many times about pickpockets!. Poor guy, I wonder how he made out, all I had in the pocket he was after was several pieces of string, I can hear Penny laughing at this,a piecce of soap and my lip salve.During his first his first pass he must have anticipated more! Again we had enjoyed the days experience.

Valparaiso, a unique City

We were under way at first light and opted to catch the metro to the bus station. Built in the early 1960,s the metro is very impressive. It is well designed and maintained to as new condition and is scrupulously clean. The cars have rubber tyres and it is extreemly quiet. We were able to catch a bus to Valparaiso immediately and again as we had for the last 350kms before reaching Santiago we passed through vineyards and dairy lands on our way to the coast.The trip took two hours and after we had looked at one hostel we took the advice of our taxi driver who took us to an old Victorian 4 storey house run by an elderly couple who took us under their wing.The accomodation was perfect, beds a little tired but the house was full of character with its 12ft high ceilings and 19th centuary decor and furnishings. As you walked in the house smelled of polish and woodsmoke, many of the Chileans heat their houses with wood stoves. Whilst the accommodatioin was a little more expensive it was clean and had an observatory on the roof which had extensive views and looked out over the whole of the Valparaiso water front. Valparaiso used to be the first port of call for Cape Horner shipping on their way up to California during the gold rush. The city, population now of the order of 200,000 was the home of wool barons, mine and ship owners during the 18th and 19th centuries who built their huge homes there. With the building of the Panama Canal , the replacement of nitrates in the fertilizer trade by artificial fertilizers, the end of the California gold rush and the depression no new houses were built in Valparaiso and as a result Valparaiso is a time capsule of the 19th century cityand hose scape. The land falls steeply and in some places vertically to the ocean front and the houses are perched or built into the slopes wherever possible.Construction of the houses varies from dressed stone to brick to timber often faced with galvanised sheeting. It makes for a most interesting house scape for some of the houses are very fine and elegant. True to the Victorian age of invention ascensors were built to link the upper levels with the water front to carry passengers up and down. These were originally driven by steam now by electricty and hauled wooden cabins up and down the steep inclines on railtracks. Grades on the 14 ascensors are up to 65 degreesand apart from the change of power they are as they were in the late 1800s, creaking and groaning their way up and down the slopes. Our accommodation was in the old part of town and in the afternoon after we had settled in we took a walk down into the harbour area, a harbour sheltered by a long groyne contained the current container port and the small fishing fleet. Two newish destroyers belonging to the Chilean Navy were moored to the groyne. As usual there were boat trips available arround the bay. The dockside area had a run down feel and buildings were in poor shape all quite run down. As we walked away from the area a young man ran past me making contact as he passed. I thought nothing of it at the time but a little later just after I had paid some money to a street vendor for a bunch of bananas I felt his hand slide into my left hand trouser pocket. I immediately grabbed his wrist through his thick sweater and after a few seconds threw him to the ground where he struck his head on the sidewalk. He continued to struggle violently and was able to escape from me by wriggling out of his sweater. He disappeared around a corner very quickly with Christine in hot pursuit but he was gone. In addition to his having a sore wrist and injured head he had left me with his almost new fawn sweater! I completed my banana purchase from the very suprised vendor and as we walked down the street we came across an old tramp who I presented the sweater to. He was thrilled with his new item of clothing. The pickpocket had not counted on getting involved with an old rugby player! He had certainly lost on that encounter. We continued our walk along the water front and noted the new buildings which had used the facades of the old institutional type buildings. The 1890s Armada building was rather fine, toytown like with a gingerbread facade, painted in varying shades of blue. We used the ascensor to make our way back up to the guest house and wandered for a couple of hours until it was dark along the old cobbled streets of the old residential area. For supper we found a small restaurant around the corner where Ed an ex Brit and his Chilean wife ran their business. We had a long enjoyable talk with Ed and had a good supper.

A vibrant city

Yesterday we had completed our journey from Guayquil, Ecuador, to Santiago the capital of Chile.The bus journey on part of that leg from Lima in Peru to Santiago is part of the longest scheduled bus trip according to the Guiness book of records. As I noted the roads varied considerably but from La Serena to Santiago, the road was of freeway standard and we rolled along at 110kmh. From what we saw from the bus, Chile enjoys a much higher standard of living than the other south American countries we had visited. After the welcome shower we slept well and in the morning set out to explore the city.The city is clean and very busy with the pedestrianised streets full of people on the move.There is a mix of the old buildings beautifully maintained with new high buldings slipped in between. We took our walk around the city covering some 8 or so miles. Of interest we saw the old railway station complete with huge steel arches all in Victorian era style. Again part of the station had been converted to a museum and we viewed the Salvador Dahli display, good execution but neither of us enjoyed the sureilistic view of the subjects. Santiago suffers from lying in a valley surrounded by the Andes and smog is a real problem, however it had rained during the last few days and we enjoyed good visibility and fine weather. We climbed to the top of a hill Sierra San Lucia and found a wonderful view over the city to the high wall of the Andes to the east, one peak of which was over 20,000ft. Back down in the city we noted that unlike all other towns and cities we had visited there was no eye contact by the peopleon the move, people were too engrossed with their day and rushed by. It is however a pleasant city to spend a day in. It is very much a European type city influenced by those immigrants over the past 200 years. Our day in Santigo had been enjoyable tomorrow we planned to head to the coast and to Valparaiso

"An interesting bus ride"

The long bus ride from Lima to Santiago turned out to be relaxing and a lot of fun; We likened it to an extended trip with friends for by the time we had reached Santiago all on the bus knew each other and had enjoyed the common experience of the journey. In addition to the many songs that were sung people moved up and down the bus chatting and talking with each other. The two drivers were excellent, driving carefully in the fog and fast when conditions allowed. In addition they were sociable and we sat in the open cabin beside them and were able to ask questions. The roads in Peru were of resonable standard but over a long length were full of 6" potholes which the drivers slowed down for and drove around as much as was possible. Once into Chile the roads improved considerably and we ran along at 110kmh for miles,.mostly two lane on the Pan American Highway with more capacity but much worse roads nearer the cities. Between the towns the traffic volume was about 1100 vehs per day only and the composition was trucks and buses 95% ,cars 5%, completely the opposite to that which we see in N America. The trip which actually took 56hrs with stops for snacks at wayside cafes passed first through the Atacama desert. This was open rolling sand and rock covered land with occasional mountains.There were also huge flat area with dried salt deposits and drifting sand dunes accros the road, yet another hazard the drivers had to slow down and negotiate. Gradually as we moved into the north part of Central Chile the land began to have vegetation and finally as we neared Santiago the land was green with pastures and crops and cattle grazing. Whilst the desert was dry and without any growth what so ever it had an austere beauty particularly in early morning and late evening. We had patches of fog but generally good clear weather for most of the trip. Even without any growth the range of colours in this huge desert were varied and beautiful. The border crossing was long and tedious. We had no problems but the Peruvians were all carefully scrutinised and if they could not prove where they were staying and returning back to Peru they were not allowed entry.Dogs sniffed all the luggage for 20 mins in their search for drugs and we were stopped twice more on the highway and our luggage again searched and sniffed. The crossing took well over 4hrs and put us behind schedule. We had the usual mechanical problems and had to replace a shock absorber and a brake line which again slowed us down. As we moved into the north of central Chile the Andes appeared along the eastern horizon with their snow capped peaks. We were able to identify all of the observatories that exist on these peaks taking advantage of the clear non light polluted air.We have good maps with us and our travel guides and even our hand held GPS for the purpose of following our location whilst we are on the move. The cafes we stopped at varied considerably but once we were in Chile the standard improved considerably and we felt immediately that we were in a well oraganised country with European/N American standards. Along the way we dropped down to the coast at numerous locations and always there was the fog and the rolling surf and very poor looking anchorages.We were glad that we were not plugging south in Reiver.At these small ports there were loading facilities for the export of the copper , oil, nitrates and other minerals which give the country its wealth. Throughout the journey Johnathan from Lima gave us answers to all our questions and we chatted at every stop at length. We arrived in Santiago at 21-15 hrs and were immediately surrounded by the passengers trying to get on the bus or meet their friends. It was a zoo as usual and the need to keep your eye on your luggage was paramount. A very pleasant taxi driver accosted us and we decided a good hotel was on the books, so we went to a four star hotel that had a winter special on at his advice. It was luxurious and we both had a long hot shower before turning into bed. We had enjoyed our trip immensly, had made many friends and had invitations to visit their homes.

"A walking tour of Lima"

Atrura the young entrepeneur who owns the Lions Backpackers hostal where we are staying intorduced himself. He gave us the verbal guided tour of Lima and we then set off for the city centre. We walked many miles that day taking in the sights.The main square contained the goverment buildings and we watched the changing of the guide at noon. This was under the watch ul eyes of many riot policestationed around the square. They later explained to us that they were expecting a riot in the square and asked us to leave the area after the guard change. No riot occured! It is the third guard change we have watched in the various countries Capitals. ´ We met a couple frokm Pickering, formerly Yorkshire, who were just starting their trip and again we were able to pass on some of our travel experiences. The old railway station building built on a smaller scale of Grand Central in New York had been closed for some years and was now a museum. We were give free admittance and walked around the inside of the building where we enjoyed the architecture including the stained glass windows. The Iglesia San Francisco was a huge church building and we were taken on a guided tour through the whole building.It was much more interesting than the other churches we had visited and was the seat of power for the RC church for the country and included an ancient library full of manuscripts and books from the 1500 and 1600 hundreds and all the ornate meeting rooms for the bishops and clerics. The wood carving throughout was particularly fine.We finished the tour by passing through the catacoombs below the church. Here there was a maze of tunnels and storage vaults, all full of skulls and bones from the dead who had been laid to rest under the church and then later gathered together. A strong smell of decay was present. We had not expected to enjoy Lima but had found it to be interesting, safe and whilst the sun came out for an hour or two quite attractive. In the evening we walked around Miraflores and had a meal. Like all South American countries the pedestrian activity is greatest in the late evening and we enjoyed the bustling atmosphere.

"Miraflores and the people you meet"

Miraflores, a suburb of Lima is on the coastal side of Lima. The area is clean tidy and safe and is relatively higher class than other suburbs. We walked down to the water front area and along the cliff tops high above the sea. There was a low dense sea fog, caused by the Humbolt current and visibility was reduced to about a half to one mile. There was a heavy swell breaking on the beach and two lone surfers far below us were trying to catch The wave. Whilst the shops and holiday amenities of this coastal resort area were open, they were deserted for it is off season. It felt like Blackpool in winter time! We enjoyed our walk however and covered several miles. Yesterday on the bus we had met Willie, a Kiwi who has been traveling for 14 years, a lonely sort of rolling stone who suplements his money needs by working as an electrician. There are few countries he has not visited over that time and he had some interesting tales to relate. In the backpackers hostal we were staying we met two Dans and a Chris from UK and Ted from Russia. We had a long enjoyable conversation about world topics and we were able to pass our experience onto them as they were headed to Cusco. Always when we meet these young people at the start of their careers we are impressed by their knowlege of world affairs and their position on these. We feel that if it was up to them there would be no discord in the world. There was an Irish pub around the corner and we headed there after supper for we had noted that there was to be live music that night. Instead of the whistle and the fiddle it was heavy rock music. A young Irish traveller joined us and he had tears in his eyes when he heard the noise! he too had made the trip to the pub expecting some good Irish music.

"Bus problems; there are welders and there are welders."

We were up at 5am and by 6am were on our way to the bus station about 2 miles away. Whenever we walk on the roads and streets in La Libertad we have taxis stopping all the time, blowing their horns and generally trying to tout for trade. This early morning we saw no taxis until we were almost at the station. As usual we were able to catch a bus immediately and were dropped off at the Ormeno International bus station as it opened. Here we found that the connection for Chile which we had been told left on Thursday in fact did not leave until Saturday! We had planned to spend one night in Lima and now we need to spent three. We will make good use of the extra time and explore Lima. The one advantage of arriving early was that we were able to get seats 1&2 at the front on both legs which will give us the best views. We actually set off 3mins early for Lima but after 3hrs we slowed down stopped and started again several times. Eventually we were stopped on the side of the highway for an hour whilst the driver and co driver attempted to fix the problem. The large air pressure tank, about 20 gal in size had ruptured and we were without proper brakes or steering. We crawled along for a while and stopped at one or two road-side mechanics who were unable to help. Eventually we found a mechanic who could weld and for a couple of hours he attempted to weld the tank. I was not impressed with his work and I reported to Christine on board that we had a problem. Every effort he made failed and it appeared as though we were going to be stuck for a day or so. At this stage one of the Peruvian passengers rolled up his sleaves and set to welding and making a first class job of it in about 10 minutes. We were on our way again, some three to four hours behind schedule on the 24 hr trip. We made up some time and arrived safely in Lima only two and a half hours late. We found a good place to stay in Miraflores the suburb of the City closest to the sea and tomorrow we plan to look around the area and to stretch our legs..

"Ready for off"

Whilst making ready for leaving the boat afloat unattended I checked through the systems and as usual pumped the bilge to check for water.The manual bilge pump did not feel as if it was drawing properly and this was confirmed after I put water in to be pumped. It took almost 15hrs to unpack the lazarette squeeze around into the port side take out the bilge pump ,overhaul it and replace valves and diagphrams and reinstall. A hot dirty job but the pump is now in A1 shape. We have been able to complete our bookings and the trip is falling into place and we will set off 1st thing on Tuesday morning.

"Always little things to do"

There is not much happening on a day to day basis so I am rolling up the happenings on a three or four day basis. There is always some little job or other needs to be done and if not the boat soon finds you a one. The other day I found that there was water in the bilge again, fresh water. I traced it to a leaking back flow preventer on the hot water system. It was not a large leak but sufficient to loose both water and pressure from the system. Since replacement would almost be impossible, the part was small of an odd size and made of copper, I used the old standby of JB weld an epoxy paste which quickly effected a 100% repair. Christine's sewing machine failed whilst she was sewing up some small bags to store and carry lenses and the small memory chips for the camera. I traced the problem to the foot control and am still trying to find out which of the three or four electrical components has failed. In this instance it may be easiest to take it to a local electronics repairer who should have the parts to hand. As always you finish up with a better understanding of how everything works. I have checked through and cleaned the cameras and lenses and am still considering which ones I should take. Weight and space is always a factor when you are carrying all on your back in two relatively small backpacks. We have four cameras with us on board. Two digital, one small and pocket size and which I have used exclusively to date. The second is the spare, it is bigger and much more sophisticated. Both are rated 5+ mega-pixels and combined have the capability to take over 500 shots. This quantity soon goes for on our Peru trip we took almost 500 shots. Our trip to Chile will be longer so both are needed. There always is the possibility of downloading them onto disc but you cannot rely on finding these facilities and capabilities. For detailed high quality shots which would stand great enlargement we have our old and trusted 35mm Pentax complete with a good range of lenses and about 15 rolls of high quality film which we have stored in the cool box. Finally we have a fairly high standard video camera. In total a lot of weight and bulk. The problem is which to leave behind on our trip to Chile! In the meantime our bookings for the trip are coming together, all via e-mails and faxes. It all takes time and each communication means a walk down town. We are both in fine spirits and enjoying our time here. Our social life and contacts is zero, we have each others company and our books and of course our Puerto Lucia Scrabble championship tournament! This is certainly the low cruisers season. We are the only boat in the water and nearly all the others on the hard have gone home. A steel Finnish boat arrived the other day from Chile and in talking to them they were certain our plans made more sense than the way they had seen Chile. They were certain we would see much more in a shorter time. They enthused over the island of Chiloe which we plan to visit.

"Walk with care!"

There are numerous internet outlets around the town and we have made good use of them by researching the various web sites to find details of companies with whom we could travel. Yesterday we actually had a fine rain for some time in the afternoon but nevertheless we walked downtown and pulled some forms and details for Chile from the various companies web sites. These we completed and sent off via fax late in the afternoon. We are still awaiting details of the bus timetable to Chile and it is this which will govern our departure date. All is coming together and we should be on our way next week. As we walked downtown yesterday it was particularly necessary to walk with care. The fine rain had made the roads very slick. We both had our walking boots on checking that they were still OK to wear on a 24hr basis for when we depart but even so it was slippery on the roads. The buses ,taxis and cars however drove by as fast as ever, through the crowds of pedestrians and school children. At one particularly busy intersection where pedestrians crossed a manhole lid was missing and a 10ft hole gaped in the crosswalk. A little further on we met a large beetle hurrying along the sand edge of the road. It was huge, between 2-3" long and fortunately going in the opposite direction. Further on we saw two scorpions with stinger and claw in front of them and noted that a shopkeeper rushed out and squashed them. These were in addition to all the other "things" you needed to avoid as you walked along! You really have to watch where you walk!! As I returned from faxing the forms I met Gallo the club manager and I told him of our plans to leave the boat whilst we travelled in Chile. He thought that was a fine idea and told me that the club was a home away from home and that we were welcome to stay as long as we wanted. It is a fact that the club is secure and friendly and we feel very comfortable leaving the boat her whilst we travel. This is one of the reasons we have opted to leave the boat here and travel by land to Chile.

Moored at Puerto Lucia YC

"Batteries , Boat work and a Major decision"

For the last week we have continued to check on the state of our battery bank. We find that house bank #1, has reduced capacity of the order of 75% of what it should be and bank #2 has 50-60 % of what it should. This is not good for an offshore bound boat and we have looked into replacing them locally but will need to go to Guayaquil to get what we need. Our electricity power draw making passage is usually low and for coastal passages the present batteries will meet our needs but to be sure we would need new batteries for Chile. The battery need and the time we have had on our hands has caused us to consider alternative ways of achieving our objective of visiting Chile. There is no doubt that the 2,500 nm leg down the coast to the Chilean canals will be a long upwind slog either following the coast or taking the long leg out we had originally planned and Christine is not looking forward to that. As a result we have decided to visit Chile by land and to travel by bus again. This method has worked so well for us to date in South America using Ecuador as our base and leaving the boat safely here in Puerto Lucia. We plan to set off in early Sept and follow our noses south into Chile trying to visit towns and areas we had hoped to see from the ports we had planned to call in. We will be early in the Chilean season and will need our warm clothes but should have the advantage of out of season availability of hotels , buses and water transport. Those are our plans and currently we are putting together a rough itinerary. In the meantime we have been busy on the boat, Christine sewing and making some new clothes whilst I have made up a lifting system for the outboard with a stainless steel arm. I have also improved one of the storage cupboards we use for soft drinks by making a series of shelves. We found that too often a can or two would burst when we were underway. This will resolve that problem. Time has also given us more opportunity to explore and become familiar with La Libertad and area. Apart from fronting the ocean it really has nothing to offer. The fishing fleet is anchored off the towns water front with vessels ranging from pangas to 100ft offshore type vessels in quite good order. The small ones are always on the move and Friday sees the larger vessels returning for the weekend. Also anchored off the town are the oil tankers. These vary in size from the huge 100,000 tonners to the small coastal tankers. Non appear to be the modern double skin hulls and upwards of 15-20 are usually anchored waiting to be loaded. There appears to be three methods of loading these with the various oils and fuels. The first is for the smaller vessels to tie up to the small pier and take the fuel on via hoses. There does not appear to be any tugs and the tankers moor themselves. The second method applies to the larger tankers where the small lighter type tanker vessels shuttle back and forth from the pier to the larger tankers where they pump the cargo to them. Thirdly for the huge tankers a submarine pipeline is connected to them and pumping from the refinery takes place. The small refinery is located about a mile(fortunately downwind)from the YC and the flare of burning waste gas can be seen 24hrs a day; it always looks such a waste of energy. When first we arrived at the club we thought that the oil apparent on the water at times was from this operation but the light looking oil that appears on the surface with some bubbling is entirely natural and indeed about a 100 yds from the YC a donkey pump is located in amongst the houses on the water front and continually extracts oil from the ground! Fortunately the oil on the water surface is light and does not discolour or stain the boats floating in the marina. The rest of the town is typically dusty, dirty and disorganised with no sense of planning and with a total mix of residential, small businesses and industry together. For instance on the way into Salinas to the west there is a fine pharmacy store and building standing in splendid isolation! Like north America the new development are spread out and totally dependent on transport be it buses, taxis or the collectivos. We walk most places and are the exception. We are both in good spirits and enjoy our walks even though the scenery is not the best. Of late we have both had our noses heavily into books and by exchanging books have read many new authors. Currently we are up to the Nth game in the La Libertad "Scrabble" championship. One of the crew of Reiver has an excellent chance of becoming champion for only two,Christine and I have signed up!

Moored at Puerto Lucia YC Ecuador.

"Electrics and batteries."

The week has been spent checking the electrical system out on the boat. This has included checking the wiring, the contacts and determining if all is in order. I found that essentially all was in order but made one or two improvements and changes on the location of connections. Both the shore power "smart" charger and the "smart" regulator for the engine worked exactly as they should. So far no problem. I took the opportunity to re-programme the regulator and the battery monitor to better reflect the size, needs and capacity of the two house battery banks. These were minor changes and would not have caused our problem. Whilst the batteries slowly charged up I monitored and recorded the SG of the electrolyte in all the cells. When the charge was completed one or two of the cells were slightly lower than they should be, however I gave each battery the basic test of engine turn over for 15secs, all three banks, house#1, house#2 and dedicated starter performed well. Next was a capacity test which takes a long while for the batteries have to be charged fully and then load tested over a 20hr period under a consistent amp load. Battery #1 looks fine but we are still awaiting the outcome of #2. My suspicion is that we may need to replace it. Getting batteries should be possible here in Ecuador and on Monday we'll make that decision. My conclusion of the cause of our problem is that our battery compartment has insufficient ventilation to dissipate the heat and as a result the electrolyte has evaporated much more quickly than previously and I failed to notice this!! Lesson learned! During this period of waiting we have researched and discussed the next countries we plan to visit and how best we will do this. It has been a holiday week and the club and town have been particularly busy. The weather continues to be overcast but with a pleasant day and night temperature. Last night we went to sleep to the sound of children's voices playing in the dark till well after midnight in the club grounds.

"A warm welcome back to the YC."

By mid morning Punta Santa Elena was in sight and we motored into the club after lunch. Bill of Cheval and the marineros were all there to help take our lines and moor med fashion. Deja vu all over again, but it felt like a homecoming as all was so familiar. I set to immediately checking all the theoretical side of the electrical installation ready for tomorrow when I will go through the whole system. Christine cleaned inside and outside of the boat and returned Reiver to dockside mode. The question is are the batteries toast or can they be salvaged. I will need to see how well they take and hold charge and then do a capacity test on them to see how much capacity has been lost once I have checked the system thoroughly. We had been gone three days only and had covered only 140 miles of the leg, much of that in 20-25knts. We knew that it will be a hard slog upwind but had expected the normal lighter winds. The weather for the next three to four days continued to show the heavier air. We will pick our weather window once we have sorted our problem out. We are both in good spirits and look forward to a fine supper and a good nights sleep.

Noon position 3 55.16S 81 52 36W Noon to noon 120 nm.

Distance made good 60nm

"Problems and the decision to turn Back to Puerto Lucia."

The show of whales continued and at one time they were breaching close to the boat. We both hoped that they a good look before they leaped. One of those monsters landing on the boat could spoil your day! The wind continued to freshen until it was blowing about 25knts and we continued to beat into the square waves which in turn increased to about 2-3 m. Starboard tack us into the shore and just before darkness at 6-30 we tacked out through 90 degrees and continued to beat somewhat more comfortably under staysail and 1st reef in the main. This was our second night at sea and as usual I checked the electrical system and the power available for the tri-light through the night. This is our only main electrical draw and I found to my surprise that the battery bank was down, we had no power to speak of. It was too dark and the boat was being thrown around to much to do anything til the light. We sailed til day break without nav lights when I found that all batteries except the dedicated starter battery were flat and also out of electrolite (acid). I had checked them recently, some thing major was wrong. We had covered a fifth of the leg to Lima but the continuing leg would have lots of night time traffic and we did not want to try sailing through this without lights, possibly without radar and also GPS. The decision was both easy and hard. Easy for we would be able to ease the sheets and sail off the wind , hard for we would be giving up all the hard earned distance to be made up again the next time. At least we knew what we could and could not get in La Libertad but we certainly needed to find out the problem and what had caused our major loss of power. We eased the sheets and headed north down wind for La Libertad and the Yacht Club. I filled the batteries and ran the engine for some while. The charge appeared to be taken into the batteries but will they hold and what is the problem that caused the run down? Still with stay sail and single reef in the main we rolled our way back down wind at 6-8 knts in what turned out to be a sparkling sunny afternoon. The night however was a dark black one and the wind continued to be fresh.

Noon position 03 33 S 81 01 W Noon to noon distance sailed 117nm, distance made good to destination 70nm.

"A slow upwind beat"

We are making slow but steady progress in very lumpy seas. We have actually seen the sun today for a while, the more you get offshore the more sun there is. We have passed through two large schools of whales and were treated to displays of them jumping clear of the water. One was quite close and laid under water waving his huge flipper. We never saw his body but I estimated his flipper was 10 ft above the water surface. Last night was long and dark, the saving grace`of the absolute darkness is that you are able to see ships lights and the phosphorescence of the wake and breaking waves is dramatic.

"On our way south"

We were up early and watched as the birds had a feeding frenzy on small anchovie like fish around the boat. There were mostly grey headed gulls, a gull that is peculiar to the southern hemisphere, most attractive and noisy.In addition pelicans , egrets, boobies and herons joined in the fray. By noon we were ready for leaving after we topped up water and diesel tanks. The wind was light and the day overcast,( whats new ) and by late afternoon the buildings of Salinas and La Libertad dipped over the horizon. Contrary to what we had discussed at one stage we have elected to break the leg to the south up somewhat and are opting for the first stop at Lima some 750 miles. Wind and Humbolt current are on the nose, so it will take 10-15 days if we sail as much as we can. We sailed through the night in light winds and lumpy seas making slow progress. There was a lot of shipping traffic in addition to the many fishing boats which we had to dodge. Visibility was limited but we were able to big out all the vessels well ahead. First night is always a hard one and we both felt a little jaded in the morning. We will work at catching up on our sleep.

"Getting Ready for departure"

Preparations for our departure have continued all week. Saturday and Sunday I prepared the bottom of the boat and put on the anti-fouling paint, a long slow tedious and dirty job, but on completion Reiver was in good shape. I cleaned out and repacked the lazarette on Monday ensuring all items we need further south were more to hand. We had two major grocery runs and Christine cleaned and sterilised all the fruit etc and packed. Tuesday the "marineros" moved the stands and the boat so that I could paint under the keel, where the blocks were and where the stands were. They are so meticulous in their work ensuring that the sling is cleaned then cover in plastic so the bottom paint is not damaged in any way. During the week we both had reading frenzy and between us we read 8 books! On Wednesday Christine made a Peru flag and finished more sewing previously started. I cleaned all the stainless steel on the boat and then we did one of our major shops coming back with a taxi load. Thursday was laundry day and on Friday we made all the arrangements for getting our exit Zarpa. We are all ready to leave at noon on Saturday. Our neighbours Sarah and Bill on "Cheval' organised a get together with three others and we passed on our travel arrangement, venues, hotels and buses on the trips we had made. We were lifted back into the water on Friday and it felt good to be afloat again.

Preparation works for our next leg to Chile have continued over the week. The boat bottom has received its coat of anti fouling, a slow sweaty exercise but duly completed satisfactorily. A system for dogging down all the interior hatches has been installed and all through hull fittings serviced. We had a major provisioning effort, for the next leg could take more than three weeks and we needed full provisions. Christine had a final major laundry day and we should be ready for our departure on Saturday. Since we have arrived back in La Libertad the weather has been 100% low overcast everyday and has almost been depressing. We are still out on the hard along with 20 or so other boats. Only two others have anyone one on board and we all are busy with boat jobs . Our closest neighbours are busy grinding in preparation for blister repair and the two grinders are going all day! The yard crew are working on boats at the north end of the yard. One crew is very professional, everything carried out with great care and to a high standard. It was they who we had do some work on our keel. A large(50ft) charter boat which works the Galapagos has been under repair for some while by another less professional crew. It appeared that the works were being carried out on a shoe string even though there were numerous people working on the boat. At one time there were six on board manhandling the engine back onto its mounts. It was during this exercise that the 50ft boat fell over off its stands and came to rest against another cruising boat which has just had its paint job and complete inside refurbishing completed. The electrician was on deck fixing some wiring and was thrown to the ground breaking his leg badly in two places. I rushed to see if I could help but fortunately no one else was hurt apart from minor cuts. Some minor damage occurred to the cruising boat which the 50ft boat came to rest on and the 50 ft boat's mast was broken. Insurers are still haggling and work has stopped on the charter boat. I could not fault the yard on the way the boats are propped and set up from the travel lift. I suspect a stand had been moved at some stage and that the movement in the boat was sufficient to topple the boat off its stands. There is no medical insurance here in Ecuador and the worker with the badly broken leg was taken to hospital on a sheet of plywood loaded in the back of a pickup. We have heard that he is doing OK but had to borrow the money to pay his medical bill.

"Soon in the boat routine again."

After an excellent nights sleep we were quickly back into the routine of boat maintenance and working on "to do" jobs. On the first day I cleaned and waxed the hull and Christine caught up on laundry and a general tidy up in the boat. In discussion we both agreed that Peru moves to the top of our list of countries visited to date. We would love to go back and spend more time in Cusco for the area is perfect for long day walks and the surrounding area is so attractive. The people are as friendly and giving as all of the countries we have visited and the climate is perfect, cool in the evening but perfect during the day. There is lots to do and see and the travel infrastructure is there to go on your own or to link onto day trips as we did on occasions. Over the rest of the week we caught up on our correspondence and serviced items and generally cleaned the boat and made ready for the bottom paint which I will do last thing before we launch. We changed down on our headsail to our 120%, serviced the knot-meter and the windvane and carried out the last of the engine service works. I went for an 8 mile hike around La Libertad one day to find a replacement hose for the sink in the head and eventually found one, all you need to do is look, it's always there somewhere!

"A long bus trip and a Peruvian stand off."

The bus left Cusco at 9.00am and we were allocated the front seats for the leg to Puno and Arequipa. We enjoyed the trip even though we had covered the leg previously, for the day was clear and the scenery spectacular. We arrived in Arequipa at 8.00pm and waited two hours for the staff to clean and ready the bus for the next leg to Lima. We were given seats in the centre of the bus and slept well through the night arriving in Lima at noon on Saturday. Here we checked that our seats for the next leg were reserved and we tried to board at the end of the lineup of passengers to find that our seats were taken. They attempted to give us separate seats one upstairs and one down stairs but in view of the length of this leg, 24hrs, and the fact that Christine was still under the weather I insisted that we sat together as per our booking and computer listing. After half an hour they organised two seats together. I felt badly for delaying both bus and passengers for that time but we did not want to spend a night in Lima at our cost! The leg from Lima to Guayquil was uneventful and we arrived at 4.30pm and immediately caught a bus to La Libertad arriving back at the boat at 8.00pm. We had been on the move for 60hrs and slept well that night. Reiver was in good shape and the glass work George's crew had undertaken on the keel looked first class.

"Machu Picchu, dreams do come true"

Christine was up through the night with the stomach flu symptoms and was not too well all day although it did not spoil her enjoyment of the uniqueness and sights of Machu Picchu. Our taxi arrived on time and we soon were comfortable on the train in one of the five small coaches pulled by a diesel engine. The train is the only way to get to the site for Machu Picchu is not connected to the Countries road system. The journey to the site is interesting in itself. The 115km distance takes almost 4hrs and soon we realised why, for the climb out of Cusco was carried out by a series of switches where the train stopped, the guard got out changed the points, the train changed direction, stopped again whilst the guard changed the point back again for the next train and then started up again slowly climbing the 4% grade. This we did four times. After nearly an hour Cusco was still in sight below us gradually being lit by the rising sun. Soon we were in open country rattling and swaying along the narrow gauge track. The alignment had many tight radii and at times you looked out of the side window sometimes at the engine and others at the last coach! We descended a narrow confined valley again performing a couple more switching manoeuvers before we joined the very narrow valley of the Rio Urabamba. The cloud and snow capped mountains towered above the valley and in the bottom there was only room for the rail line and the river which tumbled northwards in a series of white water rapids. After a long steep winding descent we arrived at Aqua Callientes (Hot water) which has hot springs in the area. There was a distinct frontier town look about the small village. The bus ride up to Machu Picchu took about 40 mins and climbs up the almost vertical slope of 1,100ft with dizzying views of the river below. No safety barriers on the 180 degree switchbacks, all on a slick mud surface! Machu Picchu was all and more than we had hoped for and expected. The completeness of the site was remarkable. Unlike all other Inca sites it had not been robbed of its fabric. The site was only discovered in 1911 by an American professor, Hiram Bingham and whilst some restoration has been carried out much is as he found it with the growth removed. It is in effect a whole township with temples, squares, houses , store houses and water supply all with stairs linking the various areas all set on the top of a narrow inaccessible ridge and at the end of the access trail "the Inca Trail" used in the past and now used over a four day trek by hikers to access the site. The view of Machu Picchu that is always shown has a high pointed peak at the distant limit of the site. It is possible to climb to the top of this but we neither had the time nor was Christine up to the effort. During the day the weather varied from showers with clouds over the adjacent mountains to bright sunshine. These contrasts showed the site at its best and for four hours we wandered the site with our guide. It was a memorable experience, a remote and wonderful site that we had read about but had never thought that we would actually visit it. As we headed back to Aqua Callientes the rain filled in and we caught the train back to Cusco. Quite a few people stayed overnight with a view to visiting the site at daybreak. We had enjoyed our visit and felt that we had seen and experienced the ruins to the extent we wanted. Even though there were up to 200 people on the site during our visit the site was large enough to accommodate them and it still felt isolated and remote. Back in the hotel in Cusco we packed ready for our return trip to La Libertad.

"Thwarted"

We waited in the cold in front of the hotel for our transport from 5-30 to 6-45am but there was no show. After calling the emergency number of our agent they said they would be with us straight away, still no show so we went back to bed to get warm again. It turned out that the problem was with the tour operator who had put us down for the following day. As a result we spent the day visiting the museums and galleries that our "all in" ticket we had purchased allowed us to. Most of all we enjoyed the Inca museum which served to put everything we had seen to date into context and to explain how and where the Incas had originated from. In the pre Inca times there were numerous tribes located in geographical areas and history has it that three brothers moved to Cusco determined to set up a new order, the end result was the Inca civilisation. Wed 20th is "Peru Day" and the main square was alive with flags and school children who sort of marched in time to the brass band past the dignitaries seated in front of the Cathedral. There must have been 3,000 school children all looking smart in their regular school uniforms. The day improved from heavy overcast to sunshine and we were glad we had the days delay for the weather had distinctly improved and we had been able to work some more locations of interest in town into our visiting! In the evening we found a good Mexican restaurant for our supper.

"The Sacred valley"

We set off for the Sacred Valley in a small bus at 8-30am. This valley lies to the north of Cusco and contains many fine examples of Inca construction. Our guide Martin,who spoke English well was good and really gave us a lot of information. All the sites were located along the Urabamba River which is the upstream arm of the Amazon. We stopped at a couple of small villages where the usual handicrafts were on sale but at much lower cost even before the usual and accepted bargaining. Along one street we spotted a baker pulling out fresh empinadas from his huge wood fired oven, they were 1 sol (30cents) each and were delicious. Cooked local corn was also on sale and the kernels were walnut size and apparently delicious. The bus climbed up the side of the mountain to the hill fortress/city/temple of Intiwatana the largest Inca complex in existence. Huge terraces climbed at least a thousand feet up to the site. The air was still high above the valley and a lone quena (flute) player stood alone playing his instrument. The haunting sound echoed across the valley. This is a memory I will always have with the view down over the valley and the river with the sound of the quena in it's proper setting. As we explored the ruins we met an Israeli family. He was a diamond merchant and was fulfilling his dream to travel to South America. We thought of the strife he had to return to in Israel and were thankful that we had a stable country to return to. The site we were at had a dramatic setting not unlike Machu Picchu we were told. During our lunch stop it rained heavily but was fine by the time we reached the village of Ollantayambo further down the valley. This is the only Inca town that is still inhabited and in its original form with narrow streets 6 ft wide. The terracing was again impressive and we climbed up to the top and again had extensive views, this time over the valley and the town. The Temple of the Sun was a huge wall of six massive stones which the Incas had quarried from 4,000ft up across the valley, brought them down to the valley bottom and then back up to this elevated site using ramps and rollers and lots of labour. One thing they did have was lots of labour since they had raised the standard of food production to such a degree that labour was freed from the land. What I still find amazing is that the Incas developed this civilisation in such a short time, a matter of a hundred years or so. The building carried out and the skills developed were remarkable. They developed community organisation but were no match for the Spaniards conquestadores who had one aim in life, "to amass as much gold as possible"! This the Spanish did by pillaging the Inca temples of their extensive gold artifacts, statues, wall linings of gold half an inch thick and melting it all down and shipping it back to Spain. Only very small artifacts from all that glory remain today. On the way back to Cusco we again climbed up to the altiplano and we were surprised to see the extent of cultivation in this location and at this height 14,000-15,000ft. Fields of potatoes and grain were to be seen everywhere. It was a dark wet evening and we had an early night for tomorrow morning early (5-30am) we were on our way to Machu Picchu.

"Back in gear and sight seeing/exploring again."

After breakfast we organised our trips for the next few days and I down loaded the 350 digital photographs taken to date on this trip onto cd. A half hour up hill walk got us up above Cusco to an Inca site "Sacsaywaman", a temple/fort/palace. The site was extensive and here you could see the incredible workmanship the Incas used in their stone work construction. Huge stones upwards to 170 tons each were used in the walls. No mortar, just a perfect fit with a perfect bonding makeup so that nowhere were there two joints one above the other and all to an amazing tolerance such that you could not get a knife blade between the facing stones anywhere. The views over Cusco from this fort structure were extensive. It was here that the decisive battle was won by the Spanish and the Incas were over come. Standing in this location amongst the complete walls you could easily imagine the struggle that took place. The Incas did not design their structures for security and there were flaws in the completeness of their walls which probably led to their downfall. Many of the smaller faced stones from "Sacsaywaman" were hauled down to Cusco and used for building Spanish style buildings. The standard of the reuse however did not come close to matching the original fitting skills. This is evidenced by the extensive damage that has occured to the Spanish built buildings during the numerous earthquakes since their erection whilst there has been minimal damage to those structures built by the Incas. They obviously knew more about how to deal with earthquake forces in their structures by interlocking the stonework as they did. We wandered back into town and saw numerous examples of Inca walls one of which was a fine curved wall and used as the foundation of the colonial Church, Santa Dominigo. We went through the cathedral and its two side churches. The wood carving for the pews was intricate, delicate and beautiful. In addition there were many oil paintings one or two by Spanish painters but most by the Cusco school who were local people trained by the Spanish. As a result oddities occured such as on one painting of the last supper where they were all seated around the table with cuy (roast guinea pig) as the centre piece for eating! Cuy was on most menus but we always declined! The church immediately beside our hotel had what was claimed to be the best carving in the world and indeed it was quite remarkable. It is a pulpit carved out of a single trunk of cedar. It is some 20 ft high and is incredibly intricate with tiny figures throughout all held up on the shoulders of eight agonised heretics. The canopy is complete with the actual skull of the wood carver. How he completed the carving without it I'm unsure! It was still cold in the evening and after a hot shower we had an early night.

"Another slow day"

I was still short on energy and we had a lazy day exploring the town and people watching whilst we sat in the square. A Mexican couple about our age joined us on the seat and we had an enjoyable conversation. We have met many such travellers and always have enjoyed talking and hearing of their experiences. The post card sellers were in full strength together with sellers of scarves, sweaters, hats, carved gourds etc etc. they are persistent and even when you decline with a polite "no thank you" they come back with a "Why not?" Christine eventually gave in and bought a carved gourd for 10soles,($3).We enjoyed our day just poking our nose into various areas and in the evening watched a movie in our`room "Crocodile Dundee".

"A lost day"

I did not have a good night and had flu like symptoms with an upset stomach. As a result I spent most of the day in bed feeling very weak and shaky. We later learned that indeed a stomach flu was going round the area. Christine went off and explored the town on her own and was able to purchase an excellent topographical map of Peru. By evening I felt weak and aching but appeared to be over the worst. Giovanni the young hotel manager gave us the opportunity to change rooms up onto the top patio floor. We took up the offer and moved into a spacious room with patio and view all for the same cost $17 per night.

"Puno to Cusco a spectacular bus ride"

By 8-30 am we were on the bus for Cusco a 6hr journey to the north. The first town we passed through again was Juliaca. This was definitely the worst town in Peru we had seen. A town out of control, without properly constructed streets or drainage and much of these all under construction. The only taxi type transport was the pedal driven three wheelers and it was strange to see a man in a business suit sitting in the front of one of these as he moved through this filthy town from one office to another. All was total chaos at the intersections, no rights of way and we had many near misses in the bus. The dust blew in large clouds and in the middle of one intersection two pool tables were set up and the locals were playing as hard as they could amongst all the dust, noise and activity. The roads were in a terrible state and for almost half an hour the bus crept along at 5-10 kmh avoiding pot holes open trenches etc. Juliaca was by far the worst of any town we saw on our journey, it does however have the modern airport for the area and is obviously suffering acute growing pains. The road from Juliaca to Cusco follows the railway the whole way and over the first section runs through altiplano at 13,000ft. The land is poor and only good for grazing with scattered homesteads on the windswept plain and huge herds of llama and alpacas. The scenery however is spectacular with distant vistas of the snow capped mountains set against the homesteads. These are tiny homes little bigger than a large garden shed built of dried mud bricks and always with a wisp of smoke appearing from under the eaves. There is no electrical power up here and theirs must be a hard existence in the cold open plain with the ever mountain winds. We had noted that in other areas solar panels were erected together with TV aerials but here in the land of the Quencha speaking peoples who often have no Spanish, television would be of little use. They appear to be content with their lot, both men and women knitting, the women weaving or spinning wool, even when they are guarding their animals. They are small but sturdy people and capable of carrying huge loads long distances. When they go to the markets for their selling, bartering or buying their brown crinkled faces are always smiling and laughter prevails. We crossed over the divide at 14,100ft where to the south the water drains to the Pacific and to the north towards Cusco and becomes the Amazon river discharging into the South Atlantic. The scenery gradually changed and soon we were travelling through a fertile well farmed valley some 1-2 miles wide with the high Andean mountains running down either side. The houses and settlements looked more prosperous, larger and with red tiled med style roofs. We were in the centre of the Inca civilisation and huge terraced slopes could be seen along the valley sides. They are not certain to this day of the purpose of these structures, whether for agriculture using each ledge 10-15ft wide for crops and testing seed with a varying eco system from bottom to top or for stability of the valley sides or some other religious purpose. In any case they are amazing in their construction, scale and sheer effort they put into them and they have certainly stood the test of time. Cusco itself is full of Inca remains and everywhere you walked you saw Inca foundation walls with Spanish style buildings erected on top. Cusco is set in the valley bottom with steep hills surrounding it. It is a beautiful town with narrow cobbled streets, colourful buildings and all with a sense of purpose and bustle. There are several squares and the main one has the Cathedral and three more churches set around. Arched buildings complete the sides of the square and these have intricately carved wooden balconies above the arches not unlike those in Switzerland/Germany. This is a town we were going to enjoy. We found an excellent hotel about 5 mins walk from the town centre on the edge of a small square which was complete with church and waterfall. The hotel had a roof patio which gave extensive views over and around the area. There was an excellent bakery a minute away which made good tea and soon we felt at home in our new location. After supper we attempted to have an early night but fire crackers, a brass band in the early throes of its development and pop music, all from the square required our ear plugs.(thanks Gig.) By 11-30 pm all was quiet.

"Floating islands and a Mediterranean like island."

By 7am we were on the lake in a little flat bottomed launch with about 20 other tourists. The wind was chilling but the day bright as we set off towards the rising sun. Soon we were in a huge bed of reeds which stretched as far as the eye could see and the launch wound its way through the narrow twisting channels. Throughout the day and for the six hour trip we sat up on top of the roof of the launch. Most of the time we were on our own because of the cold, these young travelers are not as tough as they appear! Our first stop was the Uros floating islands. These islands are made of bundles of the cut reeds and each island has a small settlement of 20-30 people who live in houses constructed of tortoro reeds. We were welcomed to one such island where they villagers were pleased to show us their wares they had for sale. They were such warm welcoming, kind people that you immediately felt an affinity to them. One lady gave me a fried bannock which she was cooking , it sure tasted good at that time of the morning. Walking around on our island (called Tortoro island) was like walking on a large sponge,new reeds are added to the top as the bottom layers gradually rot away. Our island was about 150ft square and had seven houses complete with all the families. Originally the Quencha people moved onto the islands to be as far from from the Incas and the fighting as possible but now they have moved their islands closer to Puno to tap into the tourist traffic. They still live full time fishing and trading on the islands but the time is not to far off when they will get into the commute mode living on the land and travelling to the islands ahead of the tourists. Their boats are made of bundles of reeds lashed together and are very stable and sea/lake worthy! Whilst Christine went for a paddle on one of the reed boats I got roped in and helped lift a reed boat that was under manufacture. It was an "Ina"(collective)effort, all hands collecting to help with the lift. They now make good use of old plastic bottles by incorporating these in the two reed hulls which gives better buoyancy and extends the life of the reed boat by as much as a year or two. We saw these happy people and learned that they love their festivals which last up to two weeks at a time. Their main one is in February when they all have a great time with the result that November (9 months later)is known as "Wa wa month" when the babies are born and the air is loud with the babies wa wa cry! Warm humorous people with a unique way of life. From the Uros islands we continued on a two and a half hour trip out into the lake to Isla Taquile. Lake Titicaca is some 170 miles long and 60-80 miles across. Isla Taquile is only about 5 kms long and 1 km wide. It has about 2,000 people living on the island who farm and make woollen goods for sale. We had an hour long walk along the east side of the island and looked across the deep blue waters to the snow capped mountains of Bolivia in the far distance. The island felt like a Mediterranean island; or what we imagined Crete to be like with the scent of eucalyptus, the deep blue sky, rocky shoreline and upland and with the fresh breeze blowing across the sparkling lake. The island residents were wearing their traditional dress as they do all the time. The men wore colourful woollen hats not unlike the old nightcap and you learned to recognise the important men in the village by their bright red hats . The unmarried men wore similar hats but with mostly white in the colour. After a late but very good three course lunch for $3 each we started back across the lake to Puno and into the setting sun. It was bitterly cold but we stayed on the top deck and made good use of our new warm sweaters and hats. Lake Titicaca was a name that always had been with us both because of its isolated location and its uniqueness of size and altitude. We never imagined that we would actually see it or its islands. The visit had exceeded our expectations and we had thoroughly enjoyed our day.

"Puno, Lake Titicaca and the Yavari"

The trip from Arequipa to Puno took 5hrs and we passed through some picturesque valleys with wonderful glimpses of the snow capped mountains. The day was again clear and cool as we climbed up to Puno and Lake Titicaca. Puno is a most unattractive town set on a hillside slope over looking Lake Titicaca. It is dirty and has no old interesting buildings whatsoever. Some attempt has been made alongside the waterfront to beautify the area with fountains and some landscaping but it has a long way to go to make it acceptable. After finding a hotel we hailed one of the pedal powered tricycle taxis for the waterfront. After an exiting freewheel to the water we found a bitterly cold wind blowing off the lake. Lake Titicaca is at an elevation of 12,500ft and the water temperature we felt was close to zero. Across the bay lay an old steel hulled ship in fine shape and good working order, the Yavari. She was built as a gunboat/passenger ship in Britain and shipped out to Peru round the Horn in pieces " not to exceed 2 to 3 Cwts (350lbs)". She was then hauled still in pieces up over The Andes a distance of 250 miles but a climb to an altitude of 15,500ft by men and donkeys and assembled in Puno all for the quoted cost of 8,000 pounds sterling. She is 100 ft long and apart from replacing the original steam engine which was designed to run on llama dung by a Swedish designed oil engine in 1906 the vessel is in its original well maintained state and ready to run when needed. We didn't think our pedal cycle operator was up to the distance and climb and we switched to his cousins transport a motorcycle driven three wheeler which was slow and uncomfortable! Our driver accompanied us around the boat as we were given a personally conducted tour by the guide. By the late afternoon it was cold in Puno and we sought out a small eating place that had a wood fired oven in the eating area. In the hotel we paid extra to have an electric oil filled radiator in our room which was cold as charity.

"Hotel move, laundry and an amazing Monastery"

Our hotel had warned us that they did not have room for us that evening because of prior bookings and we were able to find another good hotel quickly even if it was slightly more expensive. A laundry run was needed and we left our laundry for collection at 6pm. The Monastery de Santa Catalina was most interesting. It occupied a whole city block and was self contained with streets within the walls, beautifully decorated chapels with frescos and paintings throughout. The ochre coloured street walls in the bright sunshine were a photographers dream. The atmosphere in the monastery was so peaceful and it was easy to understand why in the past women to whom many manual tasks fell would commit themselves to the religious vows. We booked our tickets for the early bus to Puno and had another early night.

"Condors and the rest of the Canyon"

We were up at 5am after a poor nights sleep, a combination of my aching knee and stiff bed covers contributed. We were under way at 6-00am and arrived in the village of Yanque before the sun flooded the market area. A group of women dancers were performing a dance to Pacha Mama (mother earth)and the haunting music and the well coordinated dancing as the sun rose in the clear cold frosty air was memorable. Women in traditional dress had their llama with them and for one sol you could take a photo of them as they self consciously posed. The next village we stopped at as we headed deeper into the Canyon was Maca which had been badly damaged some 7yrs ago during a major earthquake. The church had been restored and it was of interest to note that the Catholic church had allowed the locals to include in the church decorations their former Inca deities, the Sun and the Moon. All around the village was evidence of the magnitude of the earthquake. Huge areas of the valley slope weighing millions of tons complete with fields had slid downwards toward the river. A huge geological fault line through and down the valley side was now very evident. We arrived at the condor viewing site and for half an hour were treated to the sight of these rare bids as they rode the thermals above our heads. These are large carrion birds with wing spans up to 9ft. The Canyon was very deep at this location and the claim is that it is deeper than the Grand Canyon from valley bottom to the tops of the adjacent mountains which plunged almost vertically to the river below. By 9am the condors moved up the canyon leaving us to walk the lip for a couple of miles. Here we saw an Andean fox and a long eared long tailed Andean rabbit with its young. We had lunch in Chivay and browsed through the local vegetable and produce market. Barter is very much part of the scene and the women were trading potatoes for rice, meat etc. The variety size and colour of the maize and the potatoes for sale was remarkable. After returning on the same road over the pass at 15,780ft we arrived back in Arequipa and had an early night. We had a wonderful action packed two days and had seen an area quite unspoiled, remarkable in today's world.

"The Colca Canyon, a fun trip, and a Peruvian ceilidah."

We were up at 6-30am and after breakfast Irena our vivacious,loquacious guide picked us up at the hotel in the small bus. We had tour of the town picking up the remainder of the passengers for the two day trip to the Colca Canyon. The rest of the passengers were all young,in their twenties, but we enjoyed their company apart from a small group of boorish Austrians who attempted to spoil the excellent commentary given by Irena. We climbed up out of Arequipa on good paved roads for two hours, thereafter we were on poor gravel roads and our average speed dropped considerably. Soon we were up to a pass at 15,748ft and vicuna (wild indigenous llama like animals) together with vast herds of alpaca and llama were to be seen. We were up in the Andes proper with occasional snow and ice along the gravel road side. The air was crystal clear and the ever changing vistas on this high plateau of mountains, tiny settlements and herders with their animals was fascinating. The herders used dogs to control their animals and I will never forget the sight of many of these dogs miles from any habitation or humans sitting patiently by the road watching their flocks by them selves. They were Border collies, hardy and self sufficient and I would say the ideal dog for their task. To see these dogs in their natural environment took me back to the days when I worked on the farm in the Scottish Border area. One or two of the passengers were ill with soroche (altitude sickness)and were given alcohol to rub on their hands and to sniff. We felt Ok but to be sure I chewed coca leaves, Christine sucked a coca candy and coca tea was on the menu everywhere. I did get a slight high as a result and know I would have tested positively!Chewing these leaves is the recognised way to ward off the symptoms and is what the locals do all the time. The Colca canyon runs in an east west direction and is cut off from the rest of the central Andean valley. As a result life is like it has been for the last several hundred years and the tiny scattered villages lie in the bottom of the valley/canyon. This canyon is up to 3,900ft deep from the viewing point for the condors and it is a very impressive sight. We descended into the canyon, to a small village called Chivay where we had lunch. A lunch of three courses where we opted to have alpaca steak, tender and very lean , not unlike veal with soup and a dessert made from potato which has been frozen and finishes up like a flavoured jelly. All for $3 each. Our two day trip cost us $20 each, hotel included. We checked into the very basic hotel and then went for a hike with our guide. We climbed some 1,500ft up the valley side to an Inca cemetery site where the skulls and bones were all set in niches in the cliff face. The late afternoon view over the valley below was heavy with light and dark contrasts as the evening sun set. We completed our circuit back to the adjacent village Calera, where the streets were in darkness , no electricity and the scent of wood smoke was strong. We all watched as a villager tried in vain to get his rooster down off a gable end wall for the night. All the houses were built using a dried mud brick reinforced with straw. all the fields in the valley were well tended and potatoes and corn seemed to be the main crops. The variety of potatoes and corn grown was amazing as we saw in the market place the next day. Peru is the home of the potato and has some 500 varieties many of which don't even resemble the potato we know. Corns are all colours and shapes. From 6-30pm to 8-00 we basked under the stars in the local hot springs. For the isolated location the springs were very well organised, clean and with some tasteful architecture to the buildings even though they were completely separate from the villages. By now we all had good appetites and we returned to Chivay where we had again a three course meal and this time we were entertained with music and singing by a local Andean quartet. The music was typically Andean, pan pipes(zamponas), flute(quena), a local stringed instrument called a charango and a guitar. The beer flowed and soon we were all up on the dance floor having a wild time of it. I knew we had a heavy night of it when Christine spent five minutes cleaning her teeth with the cap on the toothbrush grumbling - convinced that the bristles had gone flat!!! More sightseeing and walking was scheduled for the next day but the item we were looking forward to was to see the Andean condors in flight from the lookout high above the canyon.

"A good decision made to keep on moving"

We arrived in Lima after lunch. It was heavily overcast, grey and Lima did not look at all inviting, large and sprawling with a hyperactive downtown. We made the decision to continue traveling rather than break our journey in Lima and were able to book on another bus to Arequipa which was to leave four hours after our arrival. The new bus was the Royal Class with only three aircraft type seats across the width of the bus. we were served hot meals and were able to sleep well. South of Lima the Pan American highway continued down the coast and the ride in the dark was even more hair raising along the cliffs in a continuous series of switchback curves. 80-90% of the traffic was heavy traffic with buses comprising 80% of that. Small vehicles are only apparent on the highways near towns, nearly all long distance travel by the Peruvians is made by bus. At last we turned inland at Carnana and we climbed slowly up onto the altiplano at 11,000-13,000ft above sea level. Major irrigation schemes had taken place and huge fertile areas with dairy cattle and a vast range of crops were apparent. We bought some excellent yoghurt at a stop we made in the middle of one of these open areas. The bus had been struggling for some time and in talking to the driver I found that we had lost all but second and fourth gears. The journey continued and finally we descended into Arequipa four hours late at 12-30pm. We had been on the road for 54 hrs but felt fresh and ready for some action. Arequipa is a delightful town set in an open valley bottom with two high volcanoes El Misty 19,101ft and Chachani 19,931ft within sight at all times. We quickly found a most pleasant hotel with a large double room, scrupulously clean and with very pleasant staff, both Sonya and Gladys looked after us well and the included breakfast was always enjoyable. We spent the afternoon exploring and after booking a side trip for the next day we visited the Museo Santuanos Andinos. Here Juanita the ice Princess was on display. We were now well and truly in Inca territory and Juanita in her early teens had been led up to the top of one of the volcanoes some 600 years ago and had been sacrificed. The permanent ice and low temperature had preserved her body and all her clothes and offerings perfectly. The discovery was as a result of the eruption of the Sabancaya volcano. The display was tastefully and reverently carried out and with the English speaking guide we enjoyed the visit and the museum. After an excellent supper we wandered around the town noting the high quality of goods, some for the tourists that were on sale. The weaving and knitted goods were colourful and cheap. A pair of woollen gloves was $1, an Andean type hat with ear coverings $3 and a sweater with a distinctive Andean design in Alpaca wool was $10, too good to miss so we both finished up with a set of same and were very glad to have them! It is cold in the evenings on the altiplano. Arequipa however is relatively low at 7,660ft in altitude.

"A long bus ride"

We were up at 6-30 am and after a quick breakfast and tidy up we were on our way. As usual we caught a bus immediately at La Libertad and after the 2 hr run to Guayaquil we bought our bus tickets for Lima, the capital city of Peru some 1300kms to the south. Unfortunately the only tickets we were able to get were Business class and not the Royal Class we wanted. The difference is that one is totally an express service with meals provided and the Business class stops at the cafes etc along the way and you fend for yourself. The roads are not the best, two lane only with no shoulder and the trip was scheduled to take 24hrs. It actually took 27hrs for at one stage the driver stopped for an hour and a half sleep and the food stops added up for the rest of the overrun! We followed the coast all the way down to Lima and quickly after passing through the banana and rice areas we were into the deserts of coastal Peru. Crossing into Peru at Huaquillas was an experience. The streets were solid with people,carts, animals and stalls and it seemed impossible that we could get through the melee. Eventually we were dropped off at the Peruvian Immigration and Police where a great crowd of money exchangers,food sellers, scam artists etc attempted to confuse and separate you from your money. From the border to Lima, some 1,000kms we traveled through desert mostly with huge rolling sand dunes and flat desert features. Where the rivers from the Andes inland discharged into the ocean oases of green with good arable farming had been developed using the available water to good use. The villages and towns we passed through were poor and the isolated huts made of walls of woven palms were absolute basic living. Throughout the trip down the coast we had heavy overcast skies and poor visibility. Any anchorages we saw looked uninviting and open to the swell. Long white beaches with palapas and an attempt to start up beach resorts were also evident. We had a few hours of broken sleep through the night and awoke to some dramatic scenery north of Lima. Huge sand dunes about 2,000ft high fell to the rocks along the shore below and the narrow road was perched half way up this slope. We were on the outside of the road with most exposure to the drop off but the driver was exceptionally cautious as he skirted the edge of the road which had a complete absence of barriers or protection.

"Catch up and boat chores"

Reiver was in good shape, a little dusty and we soon had her cleaned up. I worked on completing the installation of the spurs and found the electric bargain drill did the job. I repainted the boot stripe which had come off in places after some heavy weather we had. Through hulls were checked and serviced and the head sink hose taken out for replacement. At one stage we found the bilges full of water. It was fresh water and the problem diagnosed as a leaking connection, a good one and a good time to find the problem. Unfortunately it did create a lot of work for the leak had been gradual and as the bilge slowly filled it had carried up a film of oil over everything stored in the bilge. This consists of anchors , anchor rode and chain and it took a great deal of combined effort to clean up. Bilge cleaning was on the "to do" list but not its contents! On Wednesday evening we said our farewells to Dave and Marcy who were headed south after a year in Ecuador. They have become good friends and no doubt we shall see them down the coast in their boat "Nine of Cups" We plan to leave early on Thursday 7th July for Peru and will bring you up to date on our news when we return, sometime about the 21st July.

"The western Andes and the coastal plains."

Our friends who ran the hotel gathered together to bid us farewell and they gave us a small gift each. Soon we were on our way out of Quito on a fine clear day. We traveled due west and soon were in the twists and turns down the precipitous valley sides of a long descent to the coastal plain. The valley walls changed gradually from open pasture to cropped lands and soon to that of jungle growth. The weather changed to that of heavy low overcast typical of the coastal areas at this time of the year and we were down almost at sea level. We stopped in Santo Domingo de la Coloradas. This was the worst town we had seen, not a place to visit at all and with the reputation of being at the centre of the drug trade. From Santa Domingo to Guayaquil we passed through mile upon mile of flat banana plantations which as we neared the coast were interspersed with rice fields and maize crops. In Guayaquil we walked straight onto an express bus for La Libertad where we arrived after two hours at 7pm. Eleven hours of bus travel left us tired and we slept well.

"Cotacachi a leather town"

We were up before 7 am and after a quick toast breakfast at the hotel after which we caught a bus to the north and to Cotacachi. This was a small sleepy town with clean pleasant streets and we watched as it woke up and started its days business. We wandered around and visited a small museum located in a fine old colonial mansion. We made friends with a group of school children who wished us a happy stay in English. Children are the same the whole world over and it was a pleasure to hear them interact with each other and to see how keen they were to learn. By then the leather stores were open and we looked through these. Again the workmanship was excellent and we bought a couple of mementos before catching the bus back to Quito. It was fine clear afternoon and after we were welcomed back to our hotel like long lost friends we caught a taxi to the high western side of the city where a new cable car system has just started operation. We had wanted to take the views from the top of Pichinchas (one of the avenue of volcanos) previously but the weather had not been clear enough. The afternoon was perfect with good visibility and a series of clouds at 16,000ft. Quito was spread out below us and the central valley disappeared to the south and north. We could see six of the major volcano peaks and the walk and views we had part way up Pichinchas made for the end of a great day. In the morning we were to head back to Puerta Lucia and the boat. Ecuador is spectacular and we so enjoyed our trip inland with its wealth of scenery, towns and kind friendly people. We had met and befriended many travelers like our selves but mostly young couples, some of whom we will meet again as old friends.

"The market town of Otavalo"

We were on our way early sharing a taxi to the bus station with Meg who was visiting Otavalo for the day. The day was wet and soon the bus was packed. The trip should have taken 1 3/4 hrs but managed to take 3hrs.`We came across a bus which had broken down and all the passengers joined an already full bus! Otavalo is a small market town which is famous for its weaving and handicrafts market which is at its best on a Saturday but is still worthwhile visiting on Wednesday. The range and quality of the goods made from alpaca wool and other materials was endless and we felt that Saturdays market would be too much to take in. We bought a couple of wall hangings for home and then enjoyed a gourmet meal in a small restaurant over looking the market square watching the stall holders take down and carry away their goods. The loads they carried were huge and heavy, they certainly are sturdy strong people. From our hotel we had a wonderful view over the town to the fields and mountains. The further north we traveled the more open the valleys became. however the vistas were still on a grand scale with the avenue of volcanos hovering high above the valley which was at an altitude of 7-10,000ft. The people were of different origin and dress. Gone were the white panama hats the women wore in the south and gone were the black felt hats they wore in the central regions. The women were hatless and wore beautiful white hand decorated blouses with long skirts. They were still the happy pleasant people and a pleasure to visit.

"The middle of the World"

Some 30-40kms to the north of Quito is a monument located on the Equator. The site also has museums,crafts and whilst a little Disney Worldish we were told it was worth a visit. The site is known as Mitad del Mundo (Middle of the World) and after extensive research we found that the only way to get there was either by tour bus or by a series of local buses. We opted for the latter and caught our first bus, a blue city bus outside of the hotel. We asked and paid for our first destination 50 cents each. after 25 mins we reached the end of the run and were the only ones left on the bus. The pretty young conductress came and told us it was time to get off and we asked where the bus connection for Mitad del Mundo left from. Our question was met with a blank looks and lots of giggles. After further laughter between her and the driver she came back and asked for a further 50 cents each. Thereafter for half an hour driving at high speed and not stopping for passengers who were flagging the bus down we were the only ones on the city bus as it sped through the countryside and delivered us to the gates of the site. We are sure they went out of their way to get us to our destination! Mitad del Mundo was as expected, like Blackpool on a winters day. The little museum however rescued the site for it had a lot of history about the grand French expedition in the late 1700's when they set out to find out how much the world bulged at he equator and to define the metre absolutely accurately. The expedition was a disaster and they failed on both counts. Our impulses are usually fruitful and at noon we joined Francesco in his ancient mini bus and with 10 others from over the world we chugged up to the rim of a large crater. The steep caldera dropped almost vertically to the flat bottom of the crater. The bottom was home for about 60 people and the small fields patch worked the bottom around the centre volcanic plug. The only way out was by means of a footpath which wound its way from the valley 1200ft below. Francesco told us about the history, the local flora and fauna and told us about the ancients of the area and how they were able to accurately locate the equator and how many recent sites have been found as a result of GPS accuracy. As we left the volcano the clouds started to roll over the rim and soon it was raining. Back at the monument site Francesco took us to a small restaurant run by his wife and son. That little trip was most enjoyable and made the day. We traveled back to Quito in the rain on the wrong bus(we were so glad to get out of the rain) and were dropped off high above Quito. The rain had stopped and we walked for a long while and only when we felt we were getting into a questionable area did we catch a taxi to the hotel. Back at the hotel we asked direction for a super ferateria for I needed to buy drill bits, a 9/64 allan key and drill taps for the fixing of the cutters on the boat shaft had proved to be extremely hard. We walked several blocks and found what we needed and I finished up buying a 110volt drill as the rechargeable drill couldn't handle the drilling of the strut, cost $18. Back at the hotel we packed a single backpack for our trip the next day. The hotel kindly agreed to look after our second pack whilst we traveled north to Otavalo.

"Old Town Quito"

We explored the old town of Quito during the day. It is an interesting town full of old colonial buildings, narrow busy streets busy with pedestrians only in places and with many fine churches. Whilst we were in the main square outside of the Government building the changing of the guard took place with the Ecuadorian President watching over. A brass band, trumpeters, much marching and shouting of orders complete with the colourful uniforms made for a different memory. The cathedral perched above the town was a disappointment, it was closed and of recent construction. We joined the rush hour crowd again on the trolley system and again had our evening meal at the local vegetarian restaurant.

"Banos to the Capital Quito"

We caught an early bus from Banos after a noisy Saturday night in a town that is set up for the young, with all it's outdoor activities. Quito is a long narrow city confined by the valley it lies in and further broken up by a series of steep hills and deep ravines. The bus station was as chaotic as ever but we walked from it and caught a trolley bus north through the Old Town into the New town. The trolley was packed with about 150 people on board the articulated vehicle. The trolley ran through the very narrow streets of the Old Town and we had to remember where we had to get off for we had left our Ecuador guide on the bed in Banos. We soon found our hotel, Hotel Amazonas where we stayed four nights in total. It was a friendly hotel, clean, with a good breakfast and was a good base to explore from. We were able to e-mail Meg who was still in Banos who brought our invaluable guide the next day. We walked around the Amazona Street area finding the places of interest for the next day since they were closed on Sunday.

"Riobamba to Banos and the chicken bus"

We had not planned to go to Banos but it seemed an interesting town to visit as it was small, had a unique setting at the foot of an active volcano was surrounded by high mountains and was at the head of a gateway into the Amazon Basin. We were not disappointed for again for the 2hr bus ride gave spectacular views as we descended into the valley bottom and the Rio Pastaza gorge. It was market day in Riobamba and some locals had made their early morning purchases. Live rabbits and a turkey were loaded into the bus and the old lady two seats forward had a paper bag full of baby chicks which chirped the whole trip, interesting traveling! Four or five years ago Banos was evacuated for a year whilst the volcano, Tungurahua was particularly active and the town was in danger of being engulfed. It is still very active and we suspect they live from day to day in anticipation. Nougat and toffee was being made in many of the shops and part of the process was to stretch and fold the toffee on a wooden hook at the shop entrance. It was fascinating to watch as they pulled at this 20-30lbs skein of toffee and just as it seemed it would hit the ground they would throw a loop back onto the hook and the process would be repeated. We found a hotel for $5 pp per night which had a rooftop restaurant and looked out over the town and towards the mountains. In the afternoon we went on a hike across the river and climbed to about a 1,000ft above the town where we had views over the town and towards the volcano. It was a delightful walk as we passed through the fields along a narrow trail set high on the hillside. We had crossed the canyon at the start of the walk on a concrete viaduct but the loop walk recrossed the canyon on a shaky wooden suspension bridge. We had met Meg on the train and again we met with her in Banos. Meg is a 50yr old spunky Aussie recent divorcee who was on her world trip and we had supper together.

"A very special train ride"

Both of us have always enjoyed the train, we suspect it goes back to our university days when we started and ended semesters with a train ride. Today we had a train ride to remember. After an early buffet breakfast which the hotel runs early for those going on the train ride we made our way to the station. We had purposely avoided committing ourselves to the trip until we saw what the days weather was like. A fine day was in the offing and we bought our tickets at $11 each for the 8hr ride. We climbed up onto the roof of the goods cars taking a seat on the right hand side as advised to get the best views. This section of the railway line is the last section of the line between Quito and Guayaquil which is operative. The design and alignment selection is considered to be an engineering marvel in the field of railway engineering as the line makes its way down the Devils Nose. By the time the train left at 7-00am there were about 120 people on the train, most on the roofs of the three goods vans and some in a small closed passenger carat the rear. A low rail around the edge of the roof and a cushion to sit on rented for the day made for a comfortable excellent viewing location. The train was pulled by a diesel engine which appeared to have a leak in its cooling system for during the trip we had to stop six times, sometimes for as long as 15mins to fill the water tank from hoses or streams using buckets and a chain of railway men. This all added to the memory of the day. We left Riobamba during early rush hour and the unmanned crossings were loudly sounded by the engine as it approached them. Soon we were in the bottom of a narrow valley with green crops and ditch irrigation systems. The day was clear and warm and we passed through a flat sand like desert area which had been plan with pine trees. We then crossed and recrossed the main road to Cuenca passing many husband and wife couples working in the field. The women wore their traditional dress of black felt hat, shawls and tweed skirts with warm long stockings. The men wore the same pork pie hats and warm flannel trousers. They always gave a cheery wave and had broad smiles on their faces as they watched the silly gringos go by sitting on the roofs of the carriages. The children waved and chased the train and were rewarded by candies and lolly-pops thrown to them. Vendors walked up and down the swaying carriages selling these candies, drinks and snacks. Apparently it is quite usual for the train to derail as some stage, but not today, our problem was lack of water for the engine and we continued to stop in the most lonely places whilst a bucket chain was formed to fill, carry, lift onto the roof and pour the water from the stream into the`engine. The scenery was spectacular as we traversed down the side of the deep valley towards Alausi with the valley walls almost shear and the river up to 3,000 ft below. Again the patchwork of fields and crops was everywhere to be seen. We entered the main street of Alausi and stopped for a good while whilst the inevitable water filling was carried out, Handmade wollen goods were displayed on the station walkway and the colours and workmanship were beautiful. The next part of the trip was the really exciting part as we descended the Devils nose poised high above the valley bottom with the rail line clinging on the rock face. The track wound back-wards and forwards as it descended at about a 4% grade. The terrain was such that the track could not make it to the valley bottom directly and twice the whole train stopped and changed direction to continue on its descent. Finally we were in the river valley bottom looking back at the track we had descended. I certainly take my hat off to the designer of that railway line, he achieved what at first sight appeared impossible in this grand scale terrain. After the inevitable water filling we ground back up the rail way line to Alausi where we left the train and caught a bus back to Riobamba. We both agreed that we had a most memorable day.

"A climb, shopping and a fine meal"

"An amazing scenic bus ride"

We left the hostel at 8-00 am and took the first available bus for Riobamba some 6hrs north. It was a local bus stopping at every town and making pickups and drop offs along the road. Whilst this adds to the interest it does have its draw back when there are more people standing than sitting on occasions. The views were spectacular and we had asked for seats on the right hand side which gave us the views. The road,gravel in places climbed in a series of switch backs up the sides of the steep narrow valleys. At times the drop off to the valley bottom below was 3,000ft and there were too many crosses at the side of the road for our liking and at each the bus driver would cross himself. At one stage the bus boy leapt off the bus as it was moving rushed over to a shrine dropped in his money picked up a rose dipped it in the font beside the shrine and then threw the rose under the bus as we continued to grind up the hill side. These incredibly steep hill slopes were all under cultivation of some sort , ranging from crops of rye, to corn, to potatoes, to vegetables, to grazing and the cultivation of which could only be undertaken by hand. Truly the indigenous Ecuadorian who are the farmers are remarkable agrarians. No area of land is wasted, plots of cultivation occur in the most inaccessible places and water is fed to the lots from the streams by means of tiny man made channels all in the most controlled manner so that water erosion is avoided. The visual effect is stunning with the tiny multicoloured plots of yellow, dark and pale greens with the regular lines of the hand planted vegetables extending from the valley floor almost to the tops of the mountains; in some cases 6-7,000 ft above the valley floor. We had lunch stop at a restaurant above Alausi where everyone except us rushed in for food. We had fruit and cheese croissants which we had purchased ahead of time not knowing we would be stopping for such a break. Our bus was a through bus to Quito and when we reached the outskirts of Riobamba we were unceremoniously dropped off at a round about. With the aid of our faithful guide book we caught a local bus into town and were able to get off a block away from the hotel we planned to stay at. The hotel was one Dave and Marcy had recommended and we were able to get a comfortable room. At no time did we book ahead for accommodation and we managed always to get a room at the hotel/hostel of our first choice. We walked around the town in the early evening and after an indifferent evening meal we sat around the fire in the hotel's "rainforest cafe" for we found it cold. A fire on the equator!

"A day in Cuenca"

By 6-30am the square below us was active again and workers lined up to get employment for the day. We enjoyed our breakfast on the top floor of the hostel. This was included in the $9 per night cost. We spent the day exploring the town. There was a pleasant walk along side the river which tumbled through the rocks. The local indigenous women were washing and beating their clothes along the far bank much as they had for centuries past. We wandered through a museum which had a good modern art exhibition on show with exhibits from all the South American countries. A small flower market located outside of the Iglesia El Carne de la Asuncion had an incredible range of fresh flowers for sale. Ecuador has developed into a world supplier of cut flowers and bulbs and the roses we have seen on our travels are the most perfect we have ever seen. The church is a nunnery and the convent is one where the nuns cut themselves off from the rest of the world except for a small festival on July 21st. They carry this exclusion and their devotion to the extent of refusing any medical attention. The new cathedral started in 1880 can hold 10,000 and its interior is lined with marble and the windows with fine stained glass. Later in the day we stepped inside whilst a service was under way. The cathedral was packed and the sound system gave something of a rock concert atmosphere with the sounds magnified and reverberating in the huge structure. After spending time watching the activities in the main square we visited a panama hat workshop where we were carefully shown the whole manufacturing process by the three delightful workers. We just had to buy a hat each as a memento. Two hats each complete with shaped carrying bag cost $15! The main museum in Cuenca had a wonderful display of the numerous indigenous cultures that exist in Ecuador. We hadn't realised that the Inca culture was so short lived in Ecuador, about a century and it was the arrival of the Spanish which resulted in its downfall through disease and war. The indigenous peoples had farmed these high valleys for centuries previously and continue in the same way today. The information in the large five storey modern museum building was well presented and we enjoyed the display. Behind the museum were extensive archeological remains of Prince Haayana Capac's Inca palace. It is only because the Incas had developed written documentation that so much is known about their civilisation. That evening we enjoyed a supper of fresh trout, a local speciality taken from the lakes nearby.

"La Libertad to Guayaquil to Cuenca"

An early start and a taxi ride had us at the "Terminal Terrestre", a street corner in La Libertad by 8-30am. We caught a bus immediately and with the bus full to overflowing we arrived in Guyaquil at 10-30am. The bus station at Guayaquil and indeed any of the large towns in South America are generally huge with upward of a hundred buses waiting with their engines running and the bus boys touting for business and calling the destinations. Meanwhile crowds are milling around, food sellers calling their wares and buses arriving and departing all the time, all in a confined area. At first it is somewhat intimidating but after a while it falls into place and we have found the bus system to be efficient and very cost effective with the 1$ cost per hour of travel applying generally. The most we have had to wait for a connection is 15 mins and normally we have stepped from one bus to another for they run so frequently. The five hour trip to Cuenca was scenic and fascinating and was our introduction to the sights we were to see over the next two weeks. Cuenca at an altitude of 6-7,000ft lies at the southern end of the central valley between the western and eastern ranges of the Andes. The first part of the trip took us through the fertile coastal plains with sugar cane, bananas and rice crops as far as the eye could see. We then entered the El Cajas National Park area and started to climb up through the coastal cloud cover. The road grade was of the order of 7-9% and for an hour we ground up the switchbacks and gravelled washed out sections of road. Far below us we could see the level plains disappearing in the low cloud. We climbed up to 12,000ft and were in a different world. The sky cleared and instead of the heavy overcast of the coast we had bright sunshine with the occasional cloud. This was the weather we got used to on our way north up the central valley. The scenery at the high altitude in the park reminded us of Scotland with its bare mountains and rock exposures. Small lakes dotted the area. We commenced our descent through a narrow steep sided valley to Cuenca and the views changed to small red tiled roofed houses dotted up the valley sides. Each house was set on a small acreage and the land was intensely cultivated with fruit trees and vegetable gardens, all with fine crops and healthy Fresian dairy cattle grazed the lush green fields. As with all the towns/cities we were to visit Cuenca was set in the bottom of a valley surrounded by mountains. Whilst the population of Cuenca is 400,000 it had a small town feel to it with its squares and narrow interesting streets. The hostal we stayed at over looked one of the main squares which held an open air market daily. Beyond the square we looked over churches and red tiled roof tops to the mountains and mountain slopes at the edge of the town. The square was a hive of activity until late evening. The sounds below us were calls of the sellers, whistles and the badly silenced roar of the dark blue buses with the dying howl of the turbocharge system as they changed gear. Gradually the noises faded until the town was asleep.

"Zincs cutters and preparations for our trip"

We spent the day working on the boat, I installing the cutters and zincs and Christine preparing and packing for our trip. It is important that we travel light but at the same time have warm clothes for up at 15,000ft the days are cool. We plan to travel to Guayaquil on Monday and then down to Cuenca by bus 3.5 hrs to the south on Tuesday. After spending a day in Cuenca we will then work our way northward by bus to Riobamba 5.5hrs away. On the Friday we hope to travel on the mountain train up and back down the El Nariz del Diablo (Devils Nose). This is one of those particularly spectacular Andean train rides of South America and one on which you can sit outside on the roof of the carriages! On Saturday we will enjoy the sights of Riobambo and on Sunday or Monday we will continue north to Quito the Ecuadorian Capital. From Tuesday through Saturday we plan to tour the Quito area visiting the famous market in Otalvo just north of Quito on Saturday. Sunday should see us on our way back to the YC. Sunday evening is Cruiseras night and the four couples in the marina two from the US one from Finland and ourselves gathered for a sundowner and a chat well into the evening.

"Cobarde(coward)and Blackie"

As part of our on the hard/shore responsibilities we have taken over the feeding of the two work yard cats from Dave and Marcy as "Nine of Cups' is now moored. This role is passed down the line from cruiser to cruiser and one which Marcy has carried out over the last year. The cats are a little shy but the kitten (Blackie) is the most friendly. We had made up four polypropylene lines for tying ashore in Chile, two at 350 ft and two at 160 ft. Christine made bags up for these during the day whilst I stripped down and cleaned the through hull for the head, one of those pleasant jobs but hopefully the end of the head blockages! All day there were a series of canon/maroon signals going off in the town and along the shore. This was the cumulation of a week long fiesta for the fishermen and at one stage during the day a dozen or so boats put out to sea grossly overloaded with people for a ceremony on the water. I was pleased to see them all return safely for they looked most unstable with upward of a hundred people clinging to the super structure of the 40 ft boats! Finally they had music and a dance on the beach close by. The music started at 8pm and stopped at 6-30am, time for them to get to church! The music was not too loud or raucous and in fact was pleasant to listen to as we lay in our bunk through the night.

"How many marineros does it take t......?"

Haul out was delayed a day until today and at 11-30 six marineros descended on Reiver and we were ready for haul out. At one stage there were at least ten on hand helping and giving advice as the travel lift was maneuvered to lift us out onto the hard. Here Reiver joined about 20 other boats on the breakwater hard. Of these there is only one other couple living aboard and both they and Dave and Marcy of "Nine of Cups" will be leaving at the end of the month. The remainder of the boats are stored for the next season. We had made arrangements with George Stewart a fellow Canadian who runs the yard to have the bottom cleaned. The hull was in fair shape but the prop and shaft were heavily festooned with barnacles and motoring the 100m to the lift was slow and sluggish. George's three men had the bottom cleaned in four hours, all by hand without a pressure washer. The end result was excellent, zincs shaft and prop all shining! I have watched the work being carried out in the yard and have been very impressed with the high standard and with their low prices. Labour costs are $70/day for an 8hr day. They can tackle any boat related work form heavy duty fibreglass work to spray painting. Reiver is now ready for her bottom paint which we will apply. I have to install a set of cutters on the shaft which will give us an easier mind on the passage down the coast through the long liners. We will still avoid the lines when we motor as before but will be assured that we will not have to go overboard cutting lines in the cold Humboldt current. The weather was warm and sunny and there was a dramatic sunset at night. We both found it strange sleeping without any boat movement.

"Back on the boat and preparations for haul out."

We have been back on the boat in Ecuador for a week now after a most enjoyable month in Canada where we caught up with all the news and the families activities. The grandchildren have certainly grown and developed in the 8 months we have been away. We had long series of flights back and were on the road for 40 hrs. Part of the time was spend in Newark airport where we had planned to go into New York for a few hours but we were unable to rid our selves of our carry on luggage and missed the opportunity,...ah well another time. True to his promise Douglas our travel agent in Guayaguil met us after midnight at the air port and he drove us back to his apartment where we caught up with our sleep. As I said previously he goes way beyond the norm for he also had 2 Kiwis, 2 Brits and 2 Swedes staying on the same basis as we before they flew out to the Galagagos on a trip he had organised for them. Reiver was in good shape when we arrived back in Puerto Lucia after a 3hr bus ride. For the last week we have cleaned her of the dust that blows in this area and have made preparations for haul out. We plan to take off inland next week and will start up the daily report at that time. We plan to travel to central area around Quito and the volcano country of the Andes.

"Guayaquil"

We were up at 3-30am and our taxi was waiting for us for the 175km trip to the airport. Walter our driver drove us at high speed 130-140 kmh along the good highway with very little traffic on the move and no protestors/ rioters in sight. We were however stopped in the darkness at a road check where the armed police went very carefully through our documents and then bade us a safe journey. Guayaquil was a complete surprise to us. We had read and heard that it was a poor place to visit and although it is the largest city in Ecuador it had nothing to commend it. What we found was a modern bustling city with fine streets and tall buildings with a mix of new and old and with great efforts being made to improve the appearance of the streets with pedestrian mall areas and a fine new waterfront along the river estuary. We spent most of the day walking around the city and enjoyed the artisan market with all the hand made goods from the Andes. The water front walk was excellent, great architecture and use of varied materials along the 5km new 'malecon'. Our travel agent was the find of the day however. Douglas is a third generation Chinese Ecuadorian fluent in English(he did his MBA at UBC), French, Spanish(of course), Italian, Portuguese, German and with some Hebrew. He is a delightful character and insisted on taking us to lunch at his Uncle and Aunts restaurant and having us stay at his apartment in town where we were given the use of a bedroom to sleep in, keys to the apartment and a cell phone in case he wanted to get in touch with us and vice versa. Nothing was too much trouble to him and he and his three staff could not have been kinder or more helpful. He even insisted on driving us out to the airport at 10-00pm for our flight with the promise that in one months time he or one of his staff would meet us at 1-00 am when our flight got in and we could sleep at his apartment again! A delightful supercharged leprechaun of a character, with lots of energy and humour and who puts all into his work with the provision of "The 24 hr Service" he is proud of providing. Simon Bolivar airport is a fine new airport and we flew from there with Continental Airlines for Canada, leaving on time and arriving in Victoria in time for tea and to have Penny, Scott,Josh,Emma and Trevor meet us at the ferry terminal. The transition from six months in Spanish speaking countries to the US and Canada was hardly noticeable and soon we were back in the Victoria scene and routine. As a result of the impulsive decision to travel and stay at home in Canada for a month we will give a break to the daily bulletins on our activities for the web site. We plan to back in Ecuador in one month arriving back on the 8th June when we will update the news on the site, when we will do some traveling possibly to Quito, the Andes and Peru. During the month break I plan to update and add to the photo log of the web site.

"A change of plans"

Our speedy transit of the lower part of Central America leaves us three months in Ecuador, one for inland travel, one for boat work which leaves a spare month during which we have elected to take a trip home to catch up on all the news and see the family. We searched the net and found various ways of getting home but eventually opted to have a travel agent put it together. We contacted a travel agent in Guayaquil recommended to us by Marcie of "Nine of Cups". He set to work on the requirements after my phone call. We then began our preparations in earnest and to prepare the boat for leaving for a month on the moorage. All the jobs I had been putting off such as the blocked head suddenly became urgent and the day was spent between all these jobs and rowing ashore to make phone calls. It was during one of these trips that I learned that some civil unrest had blown up in the state we are in and that the rioters were blocking highways and the public services between the coast and Guayaquil. Our tentative departure for Canada was set for 1st thing Friday am from Simon Bolivar Airport in Guayaquil. We let the booking continue and elected to travel to Guayaquil through the night when the rioters/protestors were inactive. Again we had the fine swimming pool to ourselves in the late afternoon. After unloading the ice box and freezer the YC were kind enough to store the frozen food stuff till we would be back. Packing was swift as we planned to take the minimum and to take carry on luggage only with us.

"Another day....."

The Dooleys, in "Leprechaun" (what else could they call their boat but some thing Irish with their surname) left the marina with their full complement of seven on board , next stop Galapagos. It was quiet without them. We had got to know them well in the few days we were neighbours. We busied ourselves on board , Christine made a drogue bag to replace the previous one which didn't work too well and I cleaned the bright-work and the monitor. We spent some time looking for the nests of the burrowing owls which live in the YC grounds and were unsuccessful at first but later we saw them including their hole in the ground. They are a very small owl, very serious and they watch you all the time. The pair we saw are called Lucia and Lionel, their two offspring still need names. We walked about a mile out of the club and had supper at a small restaurant which the cruisers frequent. We had a first class supper including two beer each for a total cost of just over 9$ for us both! The steak and its sauce was excellent, very tasty. Nights are cooler and we are both sleeping well, during the day time you can now work quite hard, without melting.

"R & R"

It is only a short walk into the shopping area where we did some research in an internet cafe on travel arrangements. The computer systems are slow and it takes along time to find out the travel information you want. We confirmed that there is a fine bus service in Ecuador with good coverage and which are numerous and cheap, like all Central and South American Countries. You allow for 1$ per person per hour of travel and if you want you can travel on the roof! Hotels are also cheap at 3-10$ per person per night. We plan to go into the Andes, the central valley area and to explore the Quito area. In the Central Valley there is a train ride down the "Devils Elbow" that is spectacular. We'll see if we can put an itinerary together to take all the sights in. Once over the Andes the Amazon Basin is also easily reached. The grounds at the club are beautifully landscaped and are well maintained. In the afternoon Christine and I were the only ones in the second swimming pool which is set above the ocean, true rest and relaxation!

"A day at the YC"

It was the last day of th Opti regatta and the 60+boats disappeared as quickly as they had arrived. The top five places were all within a point of each other with a twelve year old boy 1st and a girl 2nd,both from PLYC. This regatta and a second follow up one held further north determines the Ecuador Champion and the five top sailors will be eligible to go the World championship in Switzerland. Good news on the net this morning . Dennis's boat "Escapade" has been found afloat and was in the process of being handed over to Dennis. He will have another chance at fulfilling his dream of setting up a charter business in the Caribbean. In the evening we met with a group of cruisers for a sundowner. It is a good opportunity to find out about the local scene. One couple have been here for three months. The family next door are almost ready for leaving. Their next stop will be the Galapagos Islands. We had planned on sailing there but have decided to give them a miss. You are limited to three locations on your anchorages in the islands. Costs are high for anchoring and for the compulsory guides and in addition this year there seems to be an extraordinary high number of boats headed there. We have decided to spend more time inland as we move south.

"Ecuadorian electrics"

A simple job like plugging the boat electrics to shore took an inordinate amount of time. Going backwards and forwards to the shore and connecting, switching on and off of the power all has to be carried out by dinghy and landing on the surging slippery rip rap shore is not without its challenges. To add to this is the standard of the electrical wiring I was trying to connect into. It was a mess, bare wires everywhere , the ground not connected anywhere and no consistent polarity used and with wires spliced in everywhere and bare live ends exposed all along the system . I attempted to make a connection and in so doing brought the whole system downstream down in a flash of sparks. I was able after some time to get my neighbours back with power but I was thwarted in my attempts to get Reiver on line! Eventually after working my way through the system I found 1. a faulty intermittent plug which I replaced. 2.A faulty junction box which I rewired. 3. An incorrect polarity supply which I also remedied. The small job of plugging power in took a few hours to sort out! I will take a photo of the wiring , just for the memory and record to show how not to wire a system! The regatta continued throughout the day in the little "Opti's" with 7-15 year olds sailing them for 6 solid hours of racing. The race course is located some three miles offshore, almost out of sight of land. These are going to be tough sailors in the years to come. In the evening we sat in our cockpit and talked with our neighbours Joe and Beth til almost midnight. A day with little accomplished but nevertheless an enjoyable one.

"Settling In"

With the boat cleaned inside and out and all the encrusted salt washed off we have made ready for a longish stay here in the YC. The water maker was put to sleep with the biocide mix to prevent algae growth and we are working on getting a power line from the shore. Unlike med moorage with a vertical wall or float we are moored ahead to a small wall on top of a sloping armoured wall. As a result we have to dinghy ashore each time. We have a fine family next to us in their Roberts 50' steel ketch. They are a family of 7, three boys and the two girls. Beth and Joe have their hands full but they all contribute to the effort. Joe is an airline pilot and has taken a four year sabbatical and they plan on a circumnavigation. There are about a dozen boats here and we look forward to meeting the owners. The major "Opti" regatta is to be held this weekend and as I have already noted these kids are really good. Their boat handling is amazing and they practice all the time, tacking, gybing, drills and their 720 degree penalty turns are instant. The best helmsman has developed an amazing tacking technique which I have dubbed the "frog tack". It is a roll tack with an addition. As he passes through the roll tack and the sail passes over his head he hops from a sitting position on the leeward gunnel over the centre board to the sitting position on the weather gunnel. His timing is perfect every-time and the impact and kinetic energy he imparts on the weather side gunnel as he lands gives him a very visible jump to weather and in addition his boat accelerates away from all the other boats each time. From the club we walked to a local shopping centre which appears to have everything we will need. Again we slept well in the cooler temperatures. Even though we are close to the Equator it is cooler and more pleasant.

"Clearing in and the town"

The long beat was over. Over 700nm on the same tack. the last 40 + miles we motored in light head winds arriving at 9-30am and anchoring off the Puerto Lucia YC with our "Q" flag up. After a preliminary inspection to make sure we had the necessary papers to enter we tied up "med" style with lines forward to the dock and stern to buoys. We caught a taxi and the taxi driver took us under his wing and we did the rounds, copy shop for which he insisted on paying, Port Captain, Customs, bank for deposit to Customs, back to Customs and then to the Immigration. It took 3hrs but was easily accomplished, most time being spent traveling. We were cleared in and had obtained a three month visa. We were South America for the first time and first impressions were that it did have a different feel to Central America, more affluent. La Libertad and Salinas are two enjoined towns on a low peninsula with a high outcrop at the seaward end. La Libertad is the old town with the usual jumble of buildings and a down town area that is busy and chaotic. It has a large fishing fleet and industry to employ the 50,000 population. An oil depot/refinery is located behind the town and there were 11 large ocean going vessels anchored in front of the town being unloaded or waiting to unload. As a town it is unattractive and the camera which is always in my pocket remained there. Salinas to the west held the Port Captains office. It has a fine malecon and beach along its water front and the whole of the buildings along this are high rise giving it an appearance of Miami albeit with quite low high rise. It is obviously a holiday town but we have now moved into the off peak season and it had an empty feel to it. Not what we expected to see for we have been used to the small quaint fishing towns that had grown to met the demand, not a new town totally complete with high rise. The YC is very attractive with good amenities, haul out, restaurant, swimming pool etc and the staff and Ecuadorian's are most helpful and gracious welcoming you to their country when you meet. We will haul out before we leave and clean the bottom and renew the anti-fouling paint. It is a proper YC and currently is running a major regatta for the Ecuador Optimist Championship. The standard of sailing is very high and I was very impressed at how the children handled the "optis" and the way in which the racing was organised. The day had been overcast but in the evening the sky cleared and we had a fine sunset. We have already met most of the several cruising boater who are here for a short stay. We are referred to as the "Canadians". They have a get together on Sunday evening when we hope to pick brains on travel to the Andes, Quito and the like. With the pleasant club surroundings , staff and cruisers and with the cooler temperatures our stay looks promising.

Noon to sailing dist 115nm

"Ecuador"

Today we saw land for the first time in 7 days. This is Ecuador and it was an island which is an ecological reserve. Lots of shipping on the move and in the evening as we closed land we were into the fishing fleet and the long liners. it was a dark night and we had some head scratching at first to sort out where the lines ran. All the larger vessels were lit although some of the pangas carried no lights but we made sure that they all knew we were about by turning our 1,000,000 candlepower light onto our sails. I'll bet we could be seen from 20 miles away. This certainly got some action and some of the pangas turned on their flashlights. It is an effective thing to do with large ships at night, it certainly gets their attention! The wind finally headed us and fell light so we motored the last 50 miles through lumpy seas to La Libertad. Running the engine topped up the batteries and we made water so that we arrived in port with full tanks. More on our port of entry tomorrow.

Noon to noon distance sailed 105nm

"Still plodding on"

We are still on the same tack, closed hauled. Our patience paid off and we got a 20deg lift as the wind veered from SSW to SW. With continued luck this new wind direction should hold and we might lay La Libertad on the single tack! We caught the loom of city lights on the horizon last night against the thunder clouds and lightening along the coast. The town was Esmeralda in Ecuador but close to the border with Columbia. We are happy to have passed Columbia, there have been instances of piracy against sail boats off that coast recently. Shipboard routine continues, one added detail at the moment is morning clean up of the flying fish that come on board through the night. They are small, up to 2-3" long and can cause a smelly blockage of our scupper drains. Our ETA to La Libertad is early Thursday.

Noon to noon distance sailed 117nm

"Much of the same!"

We are still hard on the wind on starboard tack and will need to tack some time tomorrow. Seas are a bit more lumpy but we still make reasonable progress. A "swallow tailed gull" joined us for a while today. He had beautiful markings on his back and wings and a distinct swallow tail. They are native to South America and the Galapagos Islands. He stayed with us and flew close along side the boat and the cockpit matching the boat speed and seemed most interested in us. I said how much we enjoyed the snippets of activity we get from home via e-mail. Here is an extract of a piece from Penny..

"Sounds like you are having a good passage so far. I'm glad you weren't one of the boats hit with lightening. Your blocked head trouble sounds familiar. My three children are under the mistaken impression that the more toilet paper you use, the better. Not only do we go through about a roll a day but the toilet gets frequently blocked. I went in the other day and saw Trev standing with a look of absolute enjoyment on his face while the blocked up toilet overflowed onto the floor! Oh the joys of parenthood."

Trevor is Scott and Penny's youngest, nearly 3 years old. he is the nearest I know to Calvin in the "Calvin and Hobbs" comic strip! Temperatures are a little cooler but it is still warm, air temp 31 deg C and water temp down to 27 deg. At the present rate of progress we should be at our Ecuador destination La Libertad on late Thursday /early Friday. All is well on board.

Noon to noon dist sailed 111nm

"Much of the same"

The days roll along each little different from the previous. We actually saw a ship today, a fine white painted freighter with "Del Monte ' on it's side, probably en- route from Ecuador with bananas or the like. We had expected to see many more than we have since the Panama canal is somewhat of a cross roads for world shipping traffic lanes. Books through the day and talking books at night are enjoyed by us both. Through our e-mail we get constant up dates from the family at home in Victoria. They are all leading busy productive lives and it makes our day to hear from them. For world news we listen to either BBC or CBC world service which is broadcast on high frequency radio which we tune into. We know about the displacement of the President of Ecuador but listening to a cruiser on the net at present in Ecuador all is calm. Ecuador has the history of a President never finishing his term and always being displaced or made to step down. Quito the countries capital is well into the centre of the country and we will visit it if we are sure all is well. The passage continues well but slowly, we have managed to sail a lot more than we anticipated and are still on the same close hauled starboard tack after 400 miles and are only 20 miles or so off our` rhumb line course!

Noon to noon 115nm

"A long upwind leg"

We have been hard on the wind on starboard tack from the Gulf of Nicoya and have worked hard to get those extra degrees on our heading, each degree lost means several more hours of sailing at the far end. We have genoa, staysail and full mail all pulling as efficiently as possible. On previous boats I have found the staysail counter productive when hard on the wind but the stay sail we have on Reiver is somewhat like a "tall-boy" and has a narrow sheeting angle. Consequently it neither affects the main or genoa and does provide that extra slot. With genoa and main only the speed goes up .5 knts and the point improves by 4-5 degrees with the introduction of the staysail when hard on the wind! We pick up snippets of news from the net. We met Dennis in Barillas, he had a 55ft wooden schooner and we spent some time talking to him. He is a laid back Californian who spent a long time in the Caribbean on his previous boat which he lost in a hurricane there. He had stayed on board and had almost seen the hurricane through when a tug and tow tried to get into the hurricane hole and took out his and 3 or 4 other boats, all total wrecks. He had no insurance nor did the tug and tow so he went back to California and worked and saved for the replacement boat. She was built in 1942 but seemed in fair shape. He had with him a pleasant spunky lady as help on this leg down to Panama;her first introduction to sailing! Unfortunately he started to take water on in the Gulf of Panama and he and Connie abandoned "Escapade". We heard that afterwards he rented a small aircraft to search for his boat but has had no success. Again I know that he carried no insurance. Old wooden boats are difficult to insure. Poor Dennis he must be pretty low. We also heard that it has been a bad year for lightening strikes to boats in the coastal ITCZ area. We heard from a skipper of a large fine Catamaran when he came into Huatulco that to date 18 boats had been hit. Generally all their electrics are fried and need replacement. He also said that all 18 had special lightening conductors installed on their masts. Some insurance companies insist that such conductors are installed before they will insure! Sounds like a good research project for someone re the pros and cons of installing conductors. We do not have one on this boat. Boat insurance is something I do not understand. We have seen on this trip newish boats with crews that have no idea about sailing who have put their life savings into the boat and have insurance. Quite often these boats are unsuited for offshore work and are fine in sheltered waters. On the other hand experienced owners in very well maintained, well traveled older boats have to fight to get insurance cover. The insurers seem to have the mistaken impression that the newer boat irregardless is the best risk! Days are now routine spent on lookout, reading, relaxing and sleeping. Christine continues to feed us well and the mid-day meal system is now a fixture. Onto my "to do" list is the head , blocked again; oh well always something to look forward to!!!

Noon to noon distance 113nm

"Flat seas and light winds"

We seem to have slipped past the ITZC without too much problem although it could still set itself up to the south of us again. It took 20 hrs of motoring to get us through the no wind section. For the last 24hrs we have had wind from the SW at 5-10 knts. This puts us hard on the wind but in flat seas like this it is fine sailing. The heavy overcast has given way to fluffy trade clouds and the wind is very consistent. On my night watch the full moon floated through the clouds and it was a true "Creamola" moon. Christine had a swallow visit on her watch and I could hear the two of them chirping away to each other before it flew on north again after having taken its rest. We have seen three freighters on their way to or from the Panama Canal, but apart from that we are in splendid isolation some 200 miles offshore. When we make passages like this we generally are on our own and we come up on the local SSB net giving position and destination on a daily basis. We are making reasonable progress in this light air zone and have managed to sail more than I expected.

"Farewell Costa Rica"

We pulled anchor at 6-30am and set off out of the Gulf of Nicoya. the day was fine but soon ahead we had a solid black bank of low cloud. This was the start of the ITCZ and three large sports fishing boats 40-50 were running from its location. We pressed on and found that there was wind in the area albeit on the nose. We missed the rain and the thunder and lightening somehow and looking back we had a spectacular show and the last sight of Costa Rica. No wind on the other side and with the convection area hard on our heels and following us we motored on into the night. We are quickly settling into our routine and must sail as much as we can, we simply do not have fuel enough to cross to Ecuador. The weather fax shows very light to non existent wind all the way at this time. We enjoyed inland Costa Rica but the coast we found too hot and too humid. The people are friendly and kind throughout and if it is an organised visit you want they cater well to the tourist and to the adventure tourist. There is some fine country to see and explore

"Ready for the next leg"

We motored the six miles between anchorages and anchored off the white sand beach in clear green water at Isla Tortuga on the way out of the Gulf of Nicoya. Within half an hour four pangas and four large party boats arrived and discharged their masses on the beach. It really did not spoil the beauty of the area and Chris and I set to work and in an hour had cleaned the bottom of the boat of slime , weed and barnacles. The water was clearer and we enjoyed the exercise and swim even though we are now in the ocean swells and the boat took some keeping up with at times. First thing in the morning we set of on the 755 mile leg to Ecuador. it will take us 7 to 10 days depending how light the winds are. I have just taken a satellite photo off the SSB and it shows cloud cover nearly all the way. At three the crowds departed and a lone fisherman's panga crept in and tied up to one of the party boat buoys for the night. It really is a lovely setting, white beach,palm trees and surf rolling in. As we had our supper we watched a family of wild pig go through the area where the crowds had been and clean up. The four fishermen on the small open panga which is about 16 ft long cooked their supper on board and were soon fast asleep.

"Farewell Puntarenas"

After our last rip ashore for fresh fruit vegetables and bread we slipped our mooring and worked our way out of the Puntarenas estuary. We left as the flood was ending and even so we were down to 2ft below the keel for some way. We crossed the four miles to the opposite side of the gulf and anchored in a sheltered bay on Isla San Lucas. This island was once a penal settlement and the old buildings can still be seen. We swam the boat and cleaned off as much of the growth as we could see but the water was murky and visibility was down to 2-3 ft only. The island was alive with the calls of the howler monkeys which are not unlike that of an enraged lion. Swallows came and sat on our lifelines and chattered away to us and ashore more birds joined in the even song. It had been hot and oppressive and in the evening black clouds surrounded us and we had a display of sheet and forked lightening for a couple of hours as we ate our supper in the dark illuminated by the flashes. I took a satellite photo off the SSB and the ITCZ could be seen reaching up to our area hence the lightening storm. We have to go through the ITCZ on our way to Ecuador and will get more than our fair share of lightening and rain I'm sure. The ITCZ is the transitional area between the two tropical areas and is subject to light to non existent winds, wind squalls and lightning with heavy rain at times . Once through that and it usually stretches a few hundred miles we will be in Ecuador and cooler temperatures.

"Preparations"

We spent the day in preparations for leaving Puntarenas, packing and tidying up , watering and topping up with diesel. The afternoon was spent getting our Zarpe and clearing out. This is a slow process needing visits to Port Captain, Immigration, Customs and then back to the Port Captain again. Carlos the manager of the Costa Rica YC undertook the whole process on our behalf and we tagged along. The club personnel have been very good and helpful during our stay and we have enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and the services they provide. Even the setting in the river estuary complete with the crocodiles has been attractive with the bird life, activity with fishing boats on the move at all times and hours together with the fine sunrises and sunsets. All we have to do tomorrow is negotiate the channel safely on the way out where we will have down to 6" below the keel.

"Lazy Day"

At first light I emptied the lazarette and worked on the engine. Since we have a "V" drive the front of our engine faces aft and all the belt drives are accessible only from the lazarette. The cold plate belt was still slipping and needed to be adjusted. After breakfast David and Liz came over to our boat. David to see if two heads could sort out a small anomaly that was occurring on our e-mail programme and Liz to gather information from our recent trip since they planned to make a similar one. David is just recovering from appendicitis. He became ill as he arrived in Puntarenas from the coastal passage and was rushed to the hospital in San Jose. He had wonderful attention and care and is ready to be on the move again. The days are still warm and the pool is welcome in the afternoon where we sat and read ,cooling off on occasions.

"Like any Saturday"

Since we arrived in Costa Rica we have had mixed weather. At first it was clear and bright and then the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone ITCZ moved north giving us overcast weather with threats of thunderstorms. We did have some rain one night which gave the boat a wash which was sore needed since dried on salt covered the boat. The boat still needed a good washing with fresh water however and although we are moored in the middle of the river to a small floating dock There is a water line running under the water to the dock. It has never worked however and this morning two YC workers arrived out of the blue and showed us that they had just turned it on! The day immediately became wash day and clothes soon festooned the rails after the boat was washed down. We caught the bus into Puntarenas a distance of about 5kms and joined the busy Saturday shopping throng for a grocery run. We treated ourselves to some shrimp a kilo cost $4! It was hot in the afternoon and the weather continued to improve with clear skies and good visibility and we cooled of in the pool before enjoying our shrimp salad.

"More of Costa Rica and the Capital city San Jose"

Again the tourist organisation through the hotel organised our transport to San Jose and at 8 00am we were on our way south with Jorge as our driver and guide. We passed through fine fertile landscapes with healthy herds of cattle grazing before we climbed back up into the mountains where coffee and pineapple plantations were. Whilst the roads were paved they were twisty and Jorge drove very carefully as we met and overtook semi trucks loaded with sugar cane. Fields of sugar cane were along the side of the road and cutting was in progress. We stopped at a gift shop /cafe to break the four hour journey and found an amazing range of local artisan goods for sale. After a further half hour we joined the Pan America Highway , Highway #1 in Costa Rica. For most of the next 70kms the highway is still only two lanes and it carried heavy traffic. We did not spend long in San Jose. It is a modern bustling city and on Friday afternoon everyone was trying to leave. It has lots of modern buildings and on the outskirts good modern factories and industries. Intel have a huge factory there and employ a large force of Costa Ricans making computer chips. The city is set in a fine wide valley with clear clean air and with temperatures in the middle 20's. We visited the Theatre building in the centre and found a fine building in the classic style. We walked to the bus station and were able to walk straight onto a bus for Puntarenas. Windows all wide open we charged back along the highway overtaking in all the most improbable places and arrived back to a hot and sticky Puntarenas. After a swim we had a meal and slept well despite the heat and humidity. We had really enjoyed our trip, the friendly people, the diversity of the landscape and climate and the easy relaxed way we were able to travel and communicate. Costa Rica certainly moved up on our list!

"Another fascinating day"

The "Tourismo" organisation that has been set up in the mountain area is excellent. It appears to work on the local cottage industry basis and works seamlessly and very well. Our hostess called the previous night and at 7 15 am after a fine breakfast provided as part of the 15$/night cost of accommodation our four wheel drive vehicle arrived to take us to La Fortuna some four hours away to the east. At breakfast we met another interesting couple from Europe he from Switzerland and his partner from Barcelona. We had a most pleasant breakfast talking to them and recounting our memorable visit to Barcelona in 1992 for the Olympics. From Monteverde to La Fortuna one of the volcano areas is 20+ kms only in a straight line but the journey takes over four hours and one travels about 80kms. The roads were much worse than the previous day and are what be would called lanes or lonnings in Britain. They followed the edge of the square fields or were governed by the steep topography in their routing. It was the country side that was the most fascinating. We were now on the windward side of the mountains and as a result the rain bearing winds from the Caribbean provided this side with lots of moisture. It was a scene of rural England mixed with the alpine mixed with the tropics. Herds of cows, a mix of fresians and brahmins grazed the steep fields and as we wound our way along the steep slopes and around the switchback curves we experienced a never ending change of scenery. Fields were a bright green and rainbows hung over the small interconnected valleys as we moved along. The homesteads were colourful, clean, tidy and attractive mostly with corrugated roofs and fenced gardens and lots. There were some larger houses for the ranches and farms but most were small. The land was split up into small fields 5-10 acres in size and the fences were lines of trees with wire stretched between. Three to four inch diameter straight branches are cut from the trees and hammered into the ground at about 10 ft centres and wire stretched between. Immediately they take root in this moist warm climate and in a few years you have a row of trees providing shade for the cattle. This first leg took two hours of bouncing and rattling along in the four by four most of which was in second gear! We arrived at Lake Arenal a man made lake which controls run off from the mountains and provides hydro electric for Costa Rica and allows for some export to Guatemala. We crossed the lake in an hour and as we moved along the opposite shore monkeys and jungle birds could be seen. Another vehicle waited for us on the other side and soon we were on well paved roads and arrived in La Fortuna. La Fortuna is the centre of an area catering for the tourist who is there to visit rain forest, volcanos, and to go horse trekking or take part in other tourist attractions such as the aerial rides through the forest. This latter is one where you hang on a wire and slide through the forest canopy. This is not how we wanted to experience the rain forest! La Fortuna is a small town and we quickly found a small clean hotel for the evening where we relaxed and looked out at the surrounding volcanos. Unfortunately they were all shrouded in cloud, we suspected that this was often the case. Our room had air conditioning although it was nowhere as warm or humid as the coast and we slept well again.

"A wild drive, memorable sights and a fascinating area."

We presented ourselves at the bus stop at 9 00am to find that the buses did not leave at one hour intervals as we had been informed but that the first bus of two in the day didn't leave until 1 15pm and that the trip took four and a half hours! When a taxi stopped and gave us a reasonable price for the 80km trip we took him up on impulse. Over half of the trip was on unmade roads. This unmade road was about 12 ft wide, tortuous and very steep ,up to 25% grades in many places with a surface of large sharp crushed rock not unlike a mountain stream bed. This was definitely 4 wheel drive country and indeed apart from our taxi all other vehicles were four wheel drive. The poor driver sweated and cursed as we bounced along with the sump bottoming out many times on the road. In one trip he would make a weeks wage but the cost to his taxi was high. We climbed quickly up into the mountains and gradually we could see the rain forest up on the tops of the 5-6000ft mountains. We saw few houses and settlements but the scenery on the way up was reminiscent of alpine country with steep meadows, wonderful extensive views and good cattle and dairy land. We really had no idea of what we would see when we got to Monteverdi or where we might stay. After two and a half hours of seeing only very occasional isolated farm steads we entered Monteverde. Still with these steep narrow bone shaking roads we found scattered modern buildings offering meals and accommodation. Our thankful taxi driver took us right up to the ecological reserve where we had a coffee, paid and thanked him for his efforts. Costa Rica has designated over 30% of its land to ecological reserves and they are proud of their accomplishment in this sense. They have a fine organized staff. The Monteverde rain forest is set out with trails and guides are available who can explain and show you the items of interest you would miss if you walked through on your own. Apart from getting lost there were always the poisonous animals so we were glad to have a guided tour. We took our time and moved slowly and quietly through the forest. The range of plants was amazing, from the trees to the ferns and flowers. A troop of howler monkeys swung and fed above us at one stage and then we spotted a quetzal. This is a most colourful bird with long tail and plumage and a wooly blue head with beady black eyes. The guide had a tripod mounted telescope and we were able to see the birds and a green tree viper in great detail. Christine found a tarantula and was quite taken with it, she said she could understand why people kept them as pets. It was a big as my hand, was black with brown markings and a had a woolly look to it. The sun light through the trees and the sounds and smells of the jungle made for a memorable walk. Our guide was able to give us the name of his sister who ran an Inn. The inn was about five miles from the reserve and we shared a lift with a very pleasant couple, Alex from Oxford and Funda his wife from Turkey. We always seem to meet such interesting people as we travel along. Our inn consisted of a cabin with three sleeping rooms set on the edge of the jungle/rain forest. There was a three mile trail down into the forest and Christine and I walked the circuit in the late afternoon. The trail and the sights were as good as the park one and we walked high above a deep gorge with waterfalls and extensive views out across the rain forest canopy. This time a troop of white faced monkeys swung and ate in the trees above us and I did find an armadillos home complete with small trotter like footprints. We climbed back and walked into the village where we had a fresh strawberry drink. The whole village and settlement had a European feel about it and we learned that the area had originally been settled by Quakers. Indeed the very pleasant ice cream lady was certainly of that background. Up in the mountains the temperature was pleasant and during the whole day we had no rain. Our hostess called us over later and with a bunch of bananas in hand she called a family of white face monkeys from the trees and fed them. These are the monkeys favoured by the old organ grinders. They were very shy and stole the bananas and headed back up the tree where they sat and ate them. In the evening we had an excellent meal, served and presented to us in high cuisine fashion by a young Costa Rican who spoke flawless English. This country has done so well with its development, contained as it is between its Central American neighbours of Guatemala, Nicaragua and Panama all with their recent turbulent political histories. In 1948 Costa Rica abolished their army and with the monies they saved they ensured that all children had a full education including learning English as a second language. They also had other social goals and set about and ensured that as many of the population could have electrical power as possible. Currently they are at about the 95% level and it is amazing to see power lines feeding to the most remote of areas. Provision of hospitals and good social infrastructure was also on high on their list. In the evening I sat out on the porch of the cabin. There were no lights to be seen and you could hear the call of the howler monkeys echoing across the valley below. Firefly's fitted all around the cabin in the dark and added to the atmosphere. At one stage they settled on a bush and it was lighted intermittently as a small indoor Christmas tree would be at Christmas time. Our night was cool and the warm wool blanket was most welcome.

"Puntarenas"

Puntarenas, so named because it is sited on a long narrow sandy spit is very much a working town. Its revenue is fishing and there is a considerable fleet of small fishing boats tied up, being repaired or on the move in the sheltered area behind this long spit. The long narrow(down to a block or two wide because of the narrow spit) is nondescript but busy. Ferries for the opposite side of the Gulf of Nicoya leave from the town. There is the usual market with fresh fruit and fish for sale and many other stores including a couple of good supermarkets. We wandered around the town and found out where the buses left from and attempted to get some information from the Tourist office. They had nothing to give and were somewhat disorganized. Back at the boat we had a swim and made our plans for a trip inland. We planned to go inland to the rain forest area, on to the volcano area and then onto San Jose the country's capital. Our plan was to travel by bus as much as possible and to see the interior of the country. It turned out that we were more than pleasantly surprised with what we saw and the people we met.

"Resort and Puntarenas"

After breakfast we set off northwards and anchored in Bahia Luminosa about six miles away. On the chart it looked like a good anchorage and there was a small resort that made cruisers welcome. There was already a cruising boat anchored and when we went ashore we found a very tidy resort that turned out to be a hobby for the seventy year old absentee owner. He had a manager present but I suspect it never has and never would make money. The buildings and grounds were extensive and well kept, with cabanos for the guests and a large restaurant building which could seat 100 people. The couple from the other sailing boat were there waiting for their boat guests who had taken a horse trip into the hills to see the jungle and a waterfall. They were staying at the YC in Puntarenas and confirmed that it was a good place to leave the boat if you wanted to make a trip inland. The YC moorage like Barillas is up an inlet and a local pilot is necessary to get in. Looking at the charts you can only get in at high tide and the route takes you over mud flats which dry at low tide. It seemed a good opportunity to follow someone in the know into the basin so after confirming that a berth was available we crossed over the six mile Gulf and motored into the YC basin. Most of the difficult section we navigated ourselves because the other boat had fallen five miles behind and was in great danger of missing the high tide. Finally when we were in sight of the YC a panga came out piloted us in and helped us tie up at a float. The two helpers Walter Uno and Walter Dos were most obliging and gave us a good welcome. The tidal stream is up to three knts at max flood or ebb and the water is a turbid brown colour. At 11 30 pm, low tide, I checked the depth sounder and found what I expected to be the case, our keel was one foot into the soft mud. This not a problem since the mud is really very soft. Tomorrow we will check in and explore the town.

"A day of getting to know the area"

Any new area takes time to get to know, the weather pattern the tides and currents and the do's and don'ts. We put the dinghy in the water and motored through the channel to a small ferry terminal, not unlike those in the Gulf Islands BC. These islands are in fact known as the Gulf Islands. The ferry runs across to Puntarenas on a four hourly basis and can carry up to five cars and lots of passengers. We noted the times with the thought of leaving Reiver at anchor and checking the moorage out in Puntarenas by crossing on the ferry. Leaving the boat at an isolated anchorage can be a real risk and when we saw another cruising boat anchor in the evening I went over to talk with him. It turned out he was local and advised us against leaving the boat unattended. Daniel is a member of the Costa Rica YC in Puntarenas and assured us that we would be welcome and well looked after there. Over the last three weeks or so we have only seen an occasional sail boat, usually in the distance and when close to have found most of them to be party boats for the tourists. It was pleasant to talk with Daniel and his wife and we look forward to seeing them when we do get to Puntarenas. Again we had a quiet night and a reasonable nights sleep considering the heat and humidity.

"A better day"

With clear weather and light winds we made our way down and round Cabo Blanco into the Gulf of Nicoya. As the afternoon winds built we did not like the exposure of our first selected anchorage Bahia Ballena and we raced along ahead of squall clouds which followed us at about 6 miles distance into the Gulf. After passing a series of islands we found our way into a sheltered anchorage behind Isla Cedros. We had traveled 65 miles in the 12 daylight hours available. This anchorage is in the channel between two islands. It is a peaceful anchorage not unlike those we have in the Gulf Islands in Canada with small sparsely populated islands and peace and quiet. Temperature, noises and smells are quite different however. There is always the smell of wood-smoke with a certain mesquite tang, the sound of roosters crowing and a background of exotic birds and animals making their nocturnal sounds . We had supper in an insect free cockpit enjoying the evening and the sunset.

"A long day"

The problem with day passages is that you have to move to a schedule to arrive before dark. All these bays which are really open indents into the land have tricky entrances usually with reefs and submerged rocks. There are no good charts to be had but the cruising Guides are good even if the hand drawn sketches are a little awry. We left at 5 30 am on the 55mile leg and because of head winds and a building sea did not arrive at Bahia Sumera until sunset at 5 45pm. It was a long hard day and the anchorage had exposure to the large swell so we set a stern anchor which gave us some comfort through the night. The day had been overcast with threatening thunderclouds but no rain came. Early to bed for the next leg tomorrow round Cabo Blanco and up into the Gulf of Nocoya.

"On the move again"

We had an early move from the wonderful anchorage in Bahia Culebra and moved south and round to Bahia Coca where we cleared with the Port Capitain and had a final drink of fresh orange juice from the cafe by the beach. From Coca to Portero is only 12 miles, our plan was to reduce the next days leg by as much as possible. We anchored amongst some moored sports fish boats in the open bay close to two breakwater which two years ago contained an up coming marina which appears to have failed. We had the last of the papagayos through the night and were ready for an early start the next day for the 55 mile leg.

"Maintenance and our neighbours"

We had a day on the boat and i worked on the boat engine ,in particular the compressor drive. The outboard also needed some maintenance as it failed to start. The reason for this turned out to be a fouled pug but I also cleaned the carburetor. In this large bay there are five other boats anchored two of which are within half a mile of us and during testing of the outboard I made their acquaintance. One was a couple from Holland in Morgan 40' boat. They were very pleasant and passed on useful information for they were traveling north, planning to leave their boat in El Salvador for the summer. The other boat was a woodie built in 1952. It is about 48' long with short home made wooden masts and of chunky design using pine on oak frames. The family of 11 who were aboard were most interesting. They were from the middle of Alaska and had never done any sailing previously but had run boats on the rivers there and had built log cabins for themselves. They had used the same approach for the outfitting of their boat. Their masts were logged on their land and hauled down to northern California where they bought and outfitted the boat. Masts were carried to California on the roof of their then home, a bus! They are a backwoods family from the past with the two elder boys with heavy thick beards like Tom their father. The 9 children all had biblical names and their approach to their adventure was the same as they had up in Alaska, all had chores they did and it was a very communal effort sailing the boat. They plan to go as far as Panama and then decide where to go after that, perhaps across the pacific. They were warm friendly people but how the 11 of them fitted into that boat was a mystery. Luke one of the elder boys was wheelchair bound and he was the navigation communications man. A most interesting boat and family. We plan to get on the move in the next couple of days. This bay is so relaxing however and again at night we sat on the foredeck under the stars in the evening breeze.

"Intro to Costa Rica"

After a restful quiet night; it was so restful that I got up at 12-30 am and read, planned and typed for the rest of the night, we motored over to the next bay Bahia De Coco and by 10-30 am had cleared in with Port Captain Immigration and Customs. They were very efficient and it was a pleasant experience. La Coca is a small clean town, friendly, happy relaxed people and tidy paved streets with busy stores and some open air stores. We needed come cash, the currency is the "colon" about 500 to the US$ and we found the bank. We did some shopping for bread and milk and had a late breakfast at a small open restaurant. It is a most enjoyable little town and the feeling is so different from El Salvador. We motored back to our previous anchorage we had left as it is much preferable with its open beaches and absence of other boats. We are anchored in front of Playa Panama with its long beach and good shelter. We walked ashore in the afternoon and found that there was a full scale resort tucked in the trees. All very tastefully designed and built to integrate and blend with the jungle. Costa Rica is very environmentally conscious and it shows with their good planning and presence of litter bins everywhere. We were made welcome at the resort open air cafe and enjoyed our ice cold beer. Air temp is a comfortable 29C and the water temp has fallen to 25 making those swims so refreshing! In the evening we sat on the foredeck and enjoyed the breeze, the stars, the night sounds and the scents of the shore and jungle trees.

"A great days sail"

Weather indications were for continued Papagayo wind possibly of increasing strength. We decided rather than sit it out we would move on. The next leg consisted of a two mile leg to leave the bay, a 9 mile downwind leg and a 30 mile beat across the Gulf of Papagayo. As we left Santa Elena I doubted our wisdom, the wind was blowing a steady 25-30 knts and soon we were surfing down the waves at 7-8knts with two reefs and the staysail up. Because of the seas we decided to modify our route and instead of going out round all the islands and outlier rocks of Cabo Santa Elena, we would thread our way (thread the needle) through them thereby reducing the distance by a couple of miles or so but mainly to reduce the angle of the beat across the Gulf. The sailing instructions did say that once round the Cape you will be sheltered from the Papagayo winds by the Sierra Santa Elena and you will be in flat water with the winds roaring high above We rounded the Cape as close as we could and instead of no winds found we were in a narrow channel hard on 40 knts of wind. The seas were flat however. Reiver took it in her stride and we worked through the half mile gap between the islands at the end of the three mile channel with a little in hand. In this busy action with the wind and continuous spray my sun glasses which the children had bought me many years ago were torn from my face even though I had ties on them. Finally we had only one island to pass but we were unable to get a visual in the breaking seas on Piedra Negra a rock to the west of that island and shown on the sketch chart and on the large scale chart. We aimed between where the rock should have been and the island and soon were beating across the Gulf in flat seas with the wind quickly reducing and fluctuating between 15 and 25 knts. We arrived at the head of Bahia de Calebra in time for a sundowner and a fine supper in the cockpit anchored in the lee of the hills. We had a wonderful sail, Reiver had showed us what she could do and we had made good progress south. The bay we are in is a large one,some two miles wide and three miles long. Scattered development of a very high quality has taken place along the beaches and on the hills. As we sailed into the bay we could see holiday makers swimming and walking on the beach. Anyone we had seen on the beach previously in the Central American countries had been eking out a subsistence living in their search for food. Costa Rica has been stable over the last several decades and as a result has been able to prosper and has a higher standard of living. As soon as we anchored we had our usual swim and again found the water to be cooler than our previous anchorages, but oh so refreshing! To complete my day during my clean up on anchoring I found the sun glasses wedged on the deck all in one piece! I'm an old sentimentalist and would have hated to loose them!

"Williwaws and more williwaws"

We had a quiet night and in the morning the wind built strongly lifting the water in spray at times. Our problem was that the wind was so gusty and williwaws would rush down the hill we were sheltering under and strike us from one direction, the north and the next minute it would hit us from astern from the other side of the hill. Poor Reiver pivoted and pirouetted until eventually she plucked her anchor out and set off down the bay, the first time ever we have dragged anchor in Reiver! Holding was not all that good! Apart from that excitement we read mostly . I have read 3 books in two days! We had an uncomfortable night as the Papagayo winds continued to blow and whilst we had moved we still had major blasts from all round. In such a situation we set our anchor watch on the GPS which gives out an audible warning if you move more than a predetermined distance from where you initialise the GPS for that anchorage. This combined with a depth alarm set on a low depth as a minimum you could expect and a higher depth should give you the confidence to sleep through a blow but human nature being what it is results in a restless night with frequent visual checks.

"R and R"

We spent the day in the large sheltered bay. At times the wind picked up and gusts rattled through the anchorage over the hills. It is a delightful anchorage and one just made for rest and relaxing. Our only human neighbours, the fishermen, two adults and a young man fished through the night from their panga and as it was still through the night their voices carried across the bay. Our port of entry into Costa Rica is some 30-40 miles further down the coast so we can not go ashore until we have cleared in. Our day was spent carrying out an odd chore but mostly reading and taking a swim when we felt like cooling off. Water temperature is 28deg and air temp 30deg , slightly cooler and certainly less humid than we have experienced further north. There are no "no seeums" and only an odd mosquito at dusk. In the evening the fishermen lit a small fire and the flickering glow of light could be seen in the distance and wafts of wood-smoke made their way down to us. The weather faxes we have taken over the last few days confirmed that we were experiencing Papagoya winds which are created like the Tehuantapec winds from the Caribbean and usually occur at the same time. The winds in the Tehuantepec are currently blowing at 60 +. Papagoyas usually only reach 35. They should be gone in a day or two and we will then move south again. This suits us fine since this is such a fine anchorage.

Noon to noon 106nm

"White rabbits and Bahia Santa Elena"

As usual I looked at the halyard wrap in first light and saw that through the breezy night it had moved somewhat and I had yet another go at unwrapping from the deck. Success! The white rabbit of Aril 1st came to our rescue! Main up with two reefs in and using stay sail alone we beat into the 25 30 knot wind caused by a front going through. As the wind decreased we made land fall and soon found our way into Bahia Santa Elena. It is a beautiful circular bay some one mile across with a narrow entrance from the sea. In appearance it so reminded us of some of the Scottish lochs we had sailed into in the past with its rolling hills and peaks. We anchored in 30 ft of water and settled down to enjoy the location. The only sign of habitation was a panga drawn up on the beach about half a mile away. The jungle trees came down to the waters edge and the air was full of the sounds of new birds and animals. Flocks of green parrots made their noisy argumentative way back and forth across the bay and some animals could be heard in the distance. These may be the howler monkeys that live in this area. The night was clear and breathless and we sat on deck and star gazed, soaking up the solitude and peace of it all. This was way better than any marina! We had an early night and both slept soundly.

Noon to noon run 103nm.

"Making progress"

Winds continued at about the same strength but dropped in the afternoon. I contemplated going up to sort things out but decided against it. Heel was constant at about 20 deg and that would not have been a problem. It was the pitching in the short steep waves which would present the problem as you could be struck quite hard with the mast as it pitched forward if you were slightly away from it. The day was pleasant and the sky clear. We were away from the heat and humidity of the mangrove swamp land and those darned no seeums! We were now settled into our offshore routine and both feeling perky.

Noon day position 12 52.4 N 88 24.0 W

"On the road again"

The Immigration inspector came on board at 5 30am and we were cleared to go. For two hours the panga lead us out of the ever changing channels to cross the bar into the open ocean. For these services inspection, pilot and all clearance services there is no charge; certainly they are making every effort to attract boaters. The cross seas were big and Reiver rolled and pitched on the way out. Casualty #1 was some glass ware which was thrown out of a cupboard and which broke on the floor even though we had packed very carefully. Casualty #2 was Christine as she cleaned up the glass. She felt decidedly queasy for the rest of the day! Casualty #3 was the main halyard which wrapped around the radar reflector which I have on the intermediate shroud close by the mast. Murphy was at work! No amount of trying to unloose it from the deck would work. The alternative of going back was not an option, we would have to sail with headsail only until the swell and lumpy seas had dropped sufficient for me to make my way up the mast to the upper spreaders. Winds were 15 to 20 knts and unfortunately right on the nose for our destination Bahia Santa Helena some 204 nm away. With headsail and stay sail Reiver managed quite well but when the wind fell to less than 10knts we lacked power in the lumpy seas. Only for a short period did I consider it reasonable to climb the mast but I didn't have the heart to ask for Christine's help with her mal de mer. The system we have for getting up the mast is that Christine pulls on the halyard made on to the bosun's chair and follows me up as I climb the mast pulling my self up using the jumar (a climbing aid which slips onto a line and locks and unlocks on the line as required) made onto another halyard. We continued to make slow progress through the day and night but I was impressed at how well she actually sailed upwind. There always is a first time for a different sail configuration and it was good to know what Reiver could do.

"El Salvador in retrospect"

We caught the bus into town at 9 00am after making arrangements for the club diver to clean the bottom of the boat and to check the zincs. He went to work immediately with his assistant armed with a spear gun to shoot the crocodiles if they appeared! In town it was a normal working day unlike the holiday when we previously visited Men were working in the sugar cane fields hand cutting the cane. It seems it is first burned to get rid of the leaves and to leave the stalks for cutting and as a result the men were black from the soot. They had a mechanical loader and the fallen cane was loaded into large semi trucks with open cages on the platform and hauled away for processing. It is good agricultural land but it does seem the full advantage is not made of this and the good growing seasons for the crops are sporadic. Along the track to the main highway which we travelled are homes which are very poor and at subsistence living level only. No electricity water or sewage. We passed an old man on his cart with huge solid wooden wheels loaded with thatching material for his roof. The bus driver saw I was trying to get a photo and he stopped and I got out and took a photo of the laden oxen cart pulled slowly by the ambling velvet skinned oxen. The old man was proud and posed for his photo. In Usulatan it was chaotic; it was now market day and even more stalls were on the streets mixed in with the highway traffic and there was a mass of people selling but few it seemed to us buying. You could buy anything from these stalls, household goods, shoe laces, meat, vegetables, down to television aerials. I bought a set of vice grips from a ferreteria store, my last pair has been misplaced. The system of sales was age old, all items in the store were pinned to a wall to show what they had for sale. You showed the shopkeeper what you wanted and he laboriously wrote out a receipt which you took to the lady accountant in her kiosk who then gave you the change and the article. Some of the youth had cell phones in town and we noted that also in town where there was electricity all houses sprouted television aerials. In El Salvador we felt like outsiders looking at their country whereas in Mexico you felt more as though you were sharing their country with them. The El Salvadorians are friendly and helpful but as a people slightly cowed and more under pressure to survive. This is a result of their lower living standard but also the internal conflict and recent uprisings the country has experienced. The breakdown of their agriculture system is as a result of the last uprising and disruption in the early 1990's. Much of their individual income comes in from El Salvadorians who are working out of the country and sending money home. In time this source will dry up and then they will have more of a problem. Usulatan had non of the fine streets and architecture we had seen previously in th Spanish Americas. San Salvador the Capital City has such we understand but because of the feeling we had of intruding into their poor lives when we can do nothing to help we were happy that we had not travelled inland. Additionally the whole time we have been in El Salvador the sky's have been overcast and visibility poor. We had glimpses of the many active volcanoes that abound in the area. Back in the marina the diver had completed his cleaning and reported that the zincs needed renewing. Obligingly he went into the water again and quickly put these on for us. Reiver was ready for sea. El Salvador had been a different experience and one that we thought we would have also experienced in the other Central American countries of Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. We are looking forward to Costa Rica with its better anchorages and with better opportunities for travel both in Costa Rica and perhaps into the other countries using it as a base. We obtained our Zarpe and were ready for sea.

"Another relaxing day"

Today was laundry day and we took advantage of the service offered at the club. In the afternoon we slipped our mooring lines and motored to the fuel dock where we fueled and watered up and washed the boat down ready for departure on Wednesday. Tomorrow we will take the bus into town and stock up on fresh fruit and vegetables.

"A day of rest"

Cruisers always have time on their hands and as result they read a lot. Wherever they collect at anchorages or marinas a library of books is set up and the cruiser takes from it leaving books from their boat that they have already read. Barillas Marina Club has two large tall bookcases full of books donated by the cruisers, all on varied topics and in different languages. Christine and I have been working our`way through these and are currently ticking along at a book a day. Today was another book day and we usually have an ice cold beer in the clubhouse`after we have had a shower and changed our books. It is a relaxing location even with the heat and humidity. The added interest is the mangrove environment with the different sights and sounds. Early mornings dawn chorus brings the sound of the doves, swallows, grackles and a whole range of other bird calls we can not place . One we call the Mozart bird for it whistles the first several bars of one of Mozart's symphonies. There is a 6 ft tidal range at the mooring and the salt water rushes one way for 6hrs and then reverses. Usually there is a breeze so it is usually quite pleasant sitting on the boat reading. We are told that there are crocodiles in the water but we have to see any yet,we miss our salt water swim though.

"Hot and humid"

We were up early and we both did some maintenance chores . I made some improvements to the goose neck connection to the boom by increasing the bolt sizes. It was hot and sticky and the sweat poured from me. The problem with where we are moored is that we miss the cooling sea breezes although a breeze does blow along the channel at times. We are also far removed from any centres of habitation and are stuck in this artificial environment. We had planned to leave the boat here and do some sight seeing inland but we are now tending to think that we will move south to Nicaragua or even on to Costa Rica before we travel. In the humidity and heat books were the order of the day. In the evening after a shower we had supper from the club. The staff are sweet, very obliging and kind and the meal excellent. To the north of the club there is a shrimp boat maintenance and operations yard; all very organised and ship shape. The shrimp boats belong to one company and are also very well looked after, clean tidy and seemingly in good shape, quite unlike their Mexican counterparts which are rust buckets without nav aids or radios in the main. Two or three years ago when a hurricane hit the Sea of Cortez there were almost 200 shrimp fishermen lost because of their inability to receive warnings and lack of weather service. The yard has a cafe for their workmen and we plan to go for supper one evening, shrimp and lobster. We are both keen to get to sea again and will start working to that end and organising for our Zarpe ( clearance papers).

"BMC ,the slough and Usulatan"

I was up at 5 00am and sent off my daily e-mail before getting into the dinghy and going ashore . It was 6-30am by then and the day was at its best. The early morning sun rose and shone down the length of the channel/slough we are moored in. In the soft light and cooler temperatures it was a restful and relaxing scene. On shore the only sign of life was an old gardener who probably has seen a lot of El Salvador's turbulent history moving his watering hose about. The sounds scents and scenery were worth the early morning foray and I vowed to bring both camera and video next time. The dawn chorus of all the exotic birds was in full throat. As I returned to the boat I slipped up a side channel all of 10 ft wide and found that it went on a long way, perhaps I would explore it another time when I had my compass with me! A little later on I watched from Reiver as an old dug out canoe slipped out of that narrow channel and with father and two little sons began to fish the main channel using one of the circular casting nets. They seemed to do well and caught many small fish with each cast. At 9 00am we left for town in BMC'S small air conditioned bus. The air temperature was already up to 30 C and the cool of the interior was welcome. In addition to the bus driver we had an armed guard, uzzi in his hands all the time. We suspect that his gun is not loaded and that he has no idea of how to use it! The road was poor with potholes and rocks and sand along its length to the highway some 15-20km away. The land was good agricultural land poorly looked after. It had a crop of sugar cane planted in various stages of growth from clumps like marum grass to the tall recognisable cane. As we traveled along through the flat country side we saw poor subsistence rural dwellings with an animal or two grazing in their small lots. Children and old looking young parents herded their animals along the road. It all seemed a haphazard, unorganised and tenuous existence. As we proceeded I saw a group of four men ahead. They turned out to be the Federal Police dressed in their black hot uniforms with machetes and holstered guns walking along he road. The bus stopped and we gave them a lift, just like that. They appreciated the air conditioning and their man in charge and I had a good discussion considering neither of us spoke the others language well. The feeling I had earlier of dereliction of the area was confirmed for when we passed some well built deserted small factory like buildings I was able to find out that it used to be cotton area and after the last Civil war which ended in 1992 nothing ever stared up again. Usulutan is a market town of about 50,000 population. It is poor in many respects , poor roads, buildings, shops but with a cheery people who are friendly and interested in outsiders like us. They clearly see few gringos for we were items of interest but in the nicest way. It was Good Friday and a procession was due to start at 11 00am, so we sat in the cool church with old and young for a few moments and felt part of the procession preparations. The Catholic purple was the colour of the day and the local women had on a sort of national dress which featured an elaborate short pinafore over their day to day clothes. The older men wore black stetson type hats and carried machetes, sometimes in elaborate leather pouches. It was a most friendly atmosphere and we felt very comfortable in the crowded town. As part of their catholic traditions up the side streets there were street murals depicting some aspects of the religious celebration being prepared by different groups. These were prepared on the closed streets and were made using strong coloured sands. The murals were large up to 20' by 40' and were very detailed and artistic. We gathered that the procession would walk through these and that would be the end of them. One group was that of the local boy scouts and the usual problems of organising an unruly group of teenage boys was apparent. The end result some two hours later however was excellent. We finished our visit by stocking up at the local small supermarket. In this isolated town off the beaten track in this poor country there were items we had been unable to purchase for some time, items such as cheddar cheese. Costs were all better than reasonable, a half gallon of vodka by a recognised producer was $3.60! The day was both hot and humid and coming out of the air conditioned store was like walking into a oven. Back at the BMC we had a shower, swim and then another shower. Where we are moored is some 10 miles inland and whilst it is interesting we feel completely separated from the sea.

"Creamola moon and a different world"

As a child in Britain we ate pudding, not desert. These Puddings usually had grain such as barley or corn as their base and were made into a custard like mix or a heavy sponge like mass with a corn based sauce over it. Such puddings were I suppose due to the available foodstuffs at the time but more I suspect to lack of imagination! One such was Creamola, which I was reasonably partial to. I think it was made in Scotland for on the cover of the box was a picture of a young Scottish lad in kilt and Tam'o Shanter feeding the moon by spoon with this pudding! The moon was full and had a beaming/smiling face. I have always called such a moon the Creamola moon! The moon during my watch was a Creamola moon complete with beaming face as it floated across the cloudless sky. The sea was flat calm, not a ripple and it was warm,probably in the mid/high 20's. Some lights were visible on the shore as we motored along. Later a dense cloud cover gave us a dark black night and I got up and helped Christine negotiate through unlit pangas with their flashing strobe lit long lines. At least they seem to light their lines in El Salvador. We had timed our speed over the last 24 hrs to arrive at the estuary at first thing. We called the Barillas Marina Club (BMC) and the panga which guided us through the surf was there in just under the hour. We entered through a fairly wide channel with white water from the breaking swell on either side and motored for two hours into the lagoon and channel area. It was a different world, with small poor looking fishing villages dotted along the low shore between the mangroves. We carried on up a narrowing channel with mangrove trees pressing closed and closer until we arrived at the marina where we were assigned a mooring buoy. Immediately we were boarded by the manager who greeted us warmly and by the customs men who carried out a very cursory examination/search of the boat. On land we were quickly cleared through Immigration and were shown round the facility by the manager Heriberto. The facility is a club built with private money and is set in the grounds of an old coconut plantation. The extensive grounds are beautifully kept with a mass of flowers and landscaped areas. There is a swimming pool with clubhouse,bar and showers and private airstrip all with lots of staff and heavy security. We have come to the conclusion that this is a club for the rich El Salvadorians such as the Politicians ,hence the security. Berthage is reasonable at $11 per night. We are however well removed from the real El Salvador and we plan to go to the nearest town Usulutan tomorrow, to see the processions as it Good Friday. We will also see what the town and peoples are really like. After a free ice cold beer, the day temp is up to 35, we caught up on our sleep before having a good supper aboard. The inside of the boat was hot and airless and we thought sleep would be difficult, it wasn't.

Noon day position 12 24 N 89 47 W. Noon to Noon 106 nm

"A welcome to El Salvador"

Through the night we listen to our talking books and the watches seem so short. We have a great range of these both on tape and Cd which we have collected or been given by friends over the years. Last night we both listened to "A fine night for dying" by Jack Higgins, a good tale. The night was clear and we were some 30 miles offshore when I sensed rather than saw a panga, I cut the engine and ghosted past the unlit vessel , about 60 m off it and as I passed it the sound of Mexican music could be heard. I must have woken the fishermen up for a hand light came on for some time afterwards. I,m not sure who got the bigger surprise. About mid morning we caught sight of Acajulta from 20 miles off shore. It is the largest seaport in El Salvador and is also sea-side resort town. We had missed seeing anything of Guatemala at all. Whilst I was replacing the Mexican courtesy flag with that for El Salvador a panga came along side. We exchanged greetings and we gathered that they were a family on holiday out for some fishing with their guide. They were a most pleasant family and we guessed two brothers the mother two children and their guide. I passed a box of chocolate cookies over for the children. Reiver had innumerable photographs taken of her by the mother on her fine new digital camera. We obviously intrigued them for they returned later and took more photographs, this time they wanted to know about our trip. A warm friendly family and a good welcome to El Salvador. In the afternoon and evening we lolly gagged (old English for dawdling along whilst looking at things that were interesting) along at a snails pace to time our arrival at the estuary entrance at Barillas at first light.

Noon position 13 47 N 91 30 W, noon to noon 118nm

"A relaxing passage"

Officially by all the weather synoptic charts and forecasts we are without wind, however thermals of low velocity occur each day and we take advantage of these. In the 80 + hrs we have been underway we have had to motor 30 hrs. Part of the motoring , about an hour each day is at low revs to run the cold plate compressor. Cold drinks are welcome and we certainly are drinking a lot of fluids. With the engine running we always make water so that the tanks are still full. Day time air temps are low 30's and the sea water is at 30 also! Today was humid and about 20 miles behind us there was thunder and lightning flashing during Christine's watch 22 00hrs to 01 00hrs. A small flock of shearwaters wheeled around us and made low level attacks on the boat for most of the afternoon. They were noisy and several times one would land on the deck up forward. Our two bird books gave conflicting identifications on these. Finally we were sure they were Audubon Shearwaters, a small variation within the shearwater family. We have seen nothing of land since we left Huatulco since we elected to cut across the Gulf of Tehuantepec. By tomorrow morning we will have passed Guatemala and seen nothing of it. Christine continues to prepare a great variety of meals and our system we have adopted of having our main meal at midday whilst at sea works well. Our incoming e-mails are a continuous source of pleasure. We hear of the families activities in Victoria regularly and are proud of all of their achievements. The pride they all have in their work, their partners and families gives us great pride also. The grand children can be seen to be following their parents example and are all doing well at school. We had a delightful e-mail from Gig and Mel the good friends we made in San Francisco. They have a busy time and Gig is the most incredible hostess and cook and reading their news brought back the memorable evening we had with them.

14 46.6 N 93 10.22 W Noon to noon distance 105 nm

"Flat seas little wind"

The iron sail did more than its normal share of work today but we had some fine sailing in the early evening. Mike and family on "Desiderata" are making good progress mostly under motor and we are about 20 miles apart but out of sight of each other. It had to happen sooner or later with all the turtles in the area. Yes we ran smack into a one, he was ok but quite the thump and no doubt he'll have tales to tell. They appear slow amiable creatures on the surface of the water, but when they want to they can really move under water quickly. On my watch in the evening when we were moving at 6-7 knts a large school of dolphins (50+) rushed over to Reiver and spent almost an hour with us. Unlike all previous encounters they elected to work and play in the transom area; as I was sitting as far aft as possible at the time it was quite the experience as they surfaced and blew right at the transom about a foot away from my hand. With their great number, the blowing of their breathing valves was a continuous sound reminding me of a steam engine close to. They leapt and cavorted and the faster we went the more exited they were. They also kept giving the boat a nudge and you could feel the contacts each time. The wind fell and finally they all passed the boat as one and then performed clear leap after leap in front of the boat before heading off to the starboard continuing their leaps into the distance. Again we had a fine sunset and as usual Christine watched for the green flash at the instant the sun dips. So far on this trip we have seen it clearly on several occasions. The most dramatic we remember seeing it was in Tahiti at Venus Point as we drove downhill towards the point at sunset.

"Gentle seas, light winds"

All night and day we have had light winds and calm seas with a long rolling swell. We have sailed as much as possible and in the 26 hrs have motored for 5hrs. Maximum winds have been 8-10 knts mostly 5-8knts. Towards midnight we had crossed the two lines of longitude which tend to be the critical ones as`far as The Teheuntapeca wind goes, it is centered on 95 deg and the winds which are regularly storm force in the winter and spring months are concentrated within a degree on each side of that. When it blows it can go from 5knts to 60knts in a matter of minutes! We have set up a radio schedule with "Desiderata" with Mike and Nancy Fletcher and Donna on board with the promise that we would go back for them if they needed any help. It was good to hear Mikes cheerful voice booming in on our twice a day schedule and to hear that all was well. The two children were busy with their school work and they had the fishing lines out. In the evening we had an extra crew member come on board. Two booby birds tried their hardest to land on top of the mast, the windex in particular and shouting blowing of the air horn deterred one but not the other. He or she made themselves very comfortable sitting on the spinnaker crane and preened itself. When we switched the mast head tri-light on in the darkening we alternately had a green or red headed booby as it turned its head from side to side! Slow progress but good to get across the most exposed section of the Gulf. It was a fine night and we had a breeze for a while but this died as midnight approached. Day temperatures are high, low 30's but our bimini cover gives us the shade we need and we drink innumerable cups of tea during the day, Reiver's a veritable floating tea wagon!

"Adios Amigos"

After a quick shop for the last of the fresh produce we left the marina at 14 20hrs and headed out in a fresh breeze which gave us 6-7knts for a short while before the effects of the headland were lost and the wind gradually became lighter and lighter into the night. It was a fine clear night and the moon was with us until the end of my second watch at 03 30hrs. It was goodbye to Mexico and goodbye to the friend we had made in the short stay. Chuck and John helped us cast our lines. Chuck we may see in Central America John is headed north. Enrique shook our hands and gave Christine a big hug with the promise of visiting us in BC when he gets his boat going. As`Christine said you do not expect such warmth from a marina manager. Light winds on the nose proved to be the case for our first day on this leg.

"Final Preparations"

This next leg takes us across the Gulf of Tehuantapec to El Salvador a distance of 484nm. We will be able to visit Guatemala from the secure moorage we will have in Barillas, El Salvador. We have been in Mexico for three and a half months now and have enjoyed our second visit by sea immensely. Mainland Mexico with its range of different cultures, customs, dances, scenery and climate has been fascinating and we have enjoyed the warm friendly people. Huatulco in particular has been a fine place to stay. We have made new friends in the small marina and the helpful welcoming atmosphere which Enrique the manager fosters( nothing is ever too much trouble for him) has been memorable. Huatulco itself is the perfect sized town, as yet unspoiled, vibrant and with many amenities. As I say we are down to the fine strokes in our preparation, I even cleaned all the stainless steel work! We did pick up some more stores in the morning and we completed our rain catching system for the bimini, now all we need is some rain to try it out. I,m certain we will get plenty of that in the coming months as we move into the rainy season of Central America. In the afternoon we exchanged some charts with John who will be heading north in his Prout catamaran "Quo Vadis". He was the one that had the crossing from hell of the Gulf of Tehuantapec. His boat is almost back together now and he will be fine to San Diego. We looked at weather faxes and were able to get Don in the evening who confirmed the safe crossing window which we had seen on the faxes. Mike and Nancy with their two children Fletcher and Dana plan to leave on their boat "Desiderata" at the same time as we are planning to. We will set up a communication schedule so that we could help each other if necessary. Friday night and the town was packed with locals enjoying themselves. We had a good meal out at a sea food restaurant and made our way back to the boat. We will miss the comfort and safety we have experienced in Mexico, from hereon we will need to take more care. Back in the marina Reiver tugged and groaned at her lines from the surge that enters the enclosed area and like us she is looking forward to getting to sea again.

"Waiting"

It rained last night for the first time in many weeks and this prompted us to check our rain catching system. The deck is easy, we leave it for a while until all the salt and grit have been washed off in the heavy down pour and then we close the scupper drains and open the tank infill opening. In a heavy tropical down pour the tanks could be filled in as little time as 20 mins! We also have a small awning made from an old 470 mainsail complete with KC sail # and we needed a length of pipe to connect it to the collection system/tanks. The village is typical of all Mexican villages and if you look long enough you will find exactly what you need. We found the length and diameter of clear plastic pipe we needed At the same time we were in the village we bought several cartons of UHT milk, which we find tastes and keeps much better than the fresh Mexican milk and we stocked up with more soft drinks bread and fresh fruit. In the evening we had a treat and watched a movie Chuck had rented. It was " The Calendar Girls" set in Yorkshire with that fine moorland landscape and Northern humour. It certainly brought back memories of the time we were together at university in that very area and the times we had spent walking.

"Household chores"

I have mentioned before how much we enjoy the digital camera. On our recent trips we have taken some 2-300 photographs and I down loaded these from the camera to the computer in the morning. The ability to have instant recall of the very high quality photographs allows you to look at them much more often. Next task is to catalogue them and give them descriptions for future reference. The photographs in Taxaco were especially good and those of Monte Alban showed the scale of the site . The level plaza set atop the mountain measured 350m by 180m with all the buildings set outside of it. I spent much of the day trying to get a weather-fax but was unable to. In the evening Chuck made contact with Don and a the window for crossing at the weekend seems to be OK. We will confirm this from weather fax or with Don later in the week. Joe a cheerful single hander from San Diego had`arrived from the south and we spent time talking to him and finding about locations he had called in on his way up. He has a fine Kroegen power boat about 40' long and is returning after five years away from home. He went through the Panama canal , the Caribbean and up the inter coastal waterway. he found his way through many inland water ways moving up to New York, to Chicago and down some of the Mississippi into the Gulf. His wife had been with him until this last leg and his son will join him all the way up to San Diego. Whilst Joe had a cavalier attitude to the whole trip he is obviously competent and he had some interesting tales to relate. The people you meet are like a small village which is on the move. You make friends move on and then see them down the way. Chuck and Anne would have been moving at the same time as we but for his fall when he broke some teeth and had to have stitches in his mouth. He will not be able to leave until the end of the month when his treatment will be finished. As we have heard previously Chuck spoke very highly of the dental treatment in Mexico and standard of service, all at very reasonable cost. Reading was the order of the rest of the day.

"Provisioning and a lazy day"

The market in the village of La Crucecita provided all our provisioning needs, fresh fruit and wonderful fresh crusty bread and we stocked up in case a window of opportunity proved itself on Fri or Sat. On board I took the furler drum off again and set it up more to my satisfaction. Christine worked on the mosquito net openings to ensure that they gave complete closure. Reading proved to be the order of the day and we sat in the shade and read for the afternoon. In the early evening we explored the village some more looking for a tea source we had been told about. We didn't find it but bought some locally made chocolate instead! This can be eaten as chocolate or made into a hot drink. Inland there are coffee plantations which do tours and if we have time we may go and take one of these. The weather continues warm and the humidity of the last few days seems to have decreased. Evenings are pleasant warm and sleeping is easy, in fact we are both sleeping well through the nights. When we were sitting out in the afternoon I had noticed some workmen on the rock hillside opposite the marina, roped together and working on the rock slope. They were there in the dark with flashlights and at about 8-30 pm there was an enormous blast from the rock face. No warning horns, just the blast and the sound of falling rock! We were close enough that we took cover incase anything dropped our way. Looking up at the rock face in the first light I could see that they had carried out a very successful blow.

"Preparations for leaving"

Huatulco is a very poor area for SSB reception and I have been unable to get a weather fax or receive Don's weather forecast. It seems as though a blow will occur later in the week, so we plan to move on after it has gone through. We unloaded all the items stored in the bilges, gave the bilges a good clean out and cleaned the log impeller. When the wind blows in the marina we do get quite a bit of fine sand in the air and we set too and scrubbed the decks and the rest of the boat. As always it is warm and it was a real pleasure to turn the hose on ourselves. The marina is in the process of being extended, even though it is hardly ever full and a small clamshell barge is currently dredging the second water way. Christine and I strolled over and watched the work as it progressed. It is a small unit with a bucket about a quarter of a yard. As we watched I noted the rate of excavation. A full grab came up and was discharged into the barge every 5- 6 mins when things were going well which was only a small part of the time. On the dredger with the old fashioned permanent tri-leg grab were six men including the skipper. On the barge to handle the lines were another six young men and on the work boat there were a further three men. The tug was away with the other barge when we were there so I never got the full complement, probably twenty in total for this small operation , quite a different approach to the rest of North America, where a crew of four would cover the whole work. The problem is that they do not have the equipment, some of which would be easily made up. For instance the relocation or moving of the barge is all done by hand and whilst they have winches on the dredger they did not have blocks to hook these to the barge and pull it to the required location. It was all done by the crew! The work was all carried out with much noise shouting and laughter and will eventually be carried out to a reasonable standard. The evening was muggy with dark clouds hanging over the mountains and it felt as though thunder was a possibility but none came.

"Not quite a day of rest"

During the morning I checked the engine over and changed the fuel filters. Christine made 6 courtesy flags over the course of the day for the next countries we plan to visit. There is a safe window forecast for the Gulf of Teheuntapec crossing for the next couple of days and three sail boats made ready to leave that afternoon. A 30' catamaran had arrived in the marina the day we got back from our trip after traveling north across the Gulf. He had been caught out in the forecasted blow and had along list of damage,broken rudders , blown out sails, broken stanchions and davits and a great deal of water below in addition to major glass fibre damage to the hull. He reported consistent winds of 60 knts gusting to 80 and 20ft seas. The Tehuantapeca is always an off shore wind and the 20 ft seas built up in the half mile he was offshore. We helped the three boats away from the dock and we stood and talked to the crews of the four boats remaining and who plan to wait for the next window. Chuck and his wife Anne have lived on their boat for the last 17 years and plan to spend this summer out of the hurricane area in Costa Rica. Ian Dodge was back in the marina after heading north and developing transmission problems. He had local help working on the engine. They had lifted the engine and taken the transmission off the boat in 45 mins and should have new gears etc by the next couple of days, all at reasonable cost. The Mexicans are resourceful and very capable mechanics, this is shown by the way in which they keep the old vehicles running on the roads. Mike and Nancy and their two children had just made the same inland trip as we had and we exchanged experiences. They are doing on board schooling and the children aged 7 and 9 were writing up their experiences as part of their schooling. In this instance the children have each others young company; it is the single child on the cruising boat we feel may have a problem integrating with other children in the future. In the evening we sat in the cockpit until quite late for it was a warm pleasant evening.

"A long drive back home"

Rather than return by the direct scenic mountainous route we elected to return via the southern route which covered the other two sides of the triangle. Not quite as twisty the route was long and we climbed and descended mountain ranges for what seemed forever. What made the journey longer was our fuel position. The lesson learned is to fill up when you see a gas station. From Oaxaco to Huatulco is about 420kms and very soon we were on the red of the gauge. None of the small villages had gas stations and we travelled for 120 kms in the red. This was only made possible by being able to take the car out of gear and freewheel down the mountain slopes. We estimated that of that 120 kms we did this for almost an hour! It wasn't that we were concerned about the reputation of the road as a bandido route but the problem of getting gas in the heat of the day. In any case we made it to the town of Tehuantepec where the wind was howling into the Pacific across the isthmus from the Caribbean and blowing clouds of sand with it. It was not as scenic a route as the first and we were pleased to be back home on Reiver. We had driven some 800 kms on our trip and had seen yet another most interesting part of Mexico.

"An interesting day"

We took breakfast in the small hotel restaurant and shared a communal table with four ladies who were also visiting Oaxaco. They were interesting company and we enjoyed our conversation with them. Three, mother, niece and friend were from New York, the daughter also originally from New York was now living in Mexico City. They were a fund of knowledge and told us of a dance show that was scheduled for that evening. Southern Mexico and Central America have many fine ruins left over from from previous pre-Spanish civilizations. The Zatopecs lived at one time in the valley of Oaxaco. Where the three valleys met at Oaxaco there is a small mountain rising some 1500ft above the valley floor. On top of this sits Monte Alban, one of the major Zatopec archeological sites. We drove to the site along a route we had picked out which proved to be a road of only one lane wide in places, tortuous and with steep drop offs on one side. We were surprised that when we arrived at the site that there were numerous coaches there at the top. It appeared we had made it to the top by an unconvential pioneered route! The site was extraordinary in scale , location and execution. Over the years from 500BC through to 800AD the Zatopec had set about levelling the top of the mountain and building their city Monte Alban. A series of buildings and temples surrounded a huge plaza. The buildings were Aztec like with long steep stairs rising to the raised platforms high above the plaza. The day was clear and warm and the views from the top of the mountain over the well preserved ruins and valley far below were spectacular. The large groups of people walking below in the plaza or being guided around added to the scene as they demonstrated the large scale of the site and also showed what the scene could have been like when the 20,000 inhabitants lived and assembled in the plaza area. There were many intricately carved stones and the museum at the site and in town had some of the lesser artifacts collected on display. Copies of these were on sale throughout the site by itinerant artisans. As an engineer I appreciated the vast scale of the earth and dressed stone masonry work and the drainage and the water collection system. Two buildings were of particular interest and were of a different design, layout and use than the others. The first was the astronomical observatory which had openings in the walls and was of an orientation such that the sun was lined up through these at the summer solstice. The second was a sunken ball court in which a game using a rubber ball was played. A similar game is still played in the area called Mixtec Ball. After our site visit we made our way back into the town and looked in some of the local artisan outlets. The area has a wide range of products many of which are unique to the area. In particular we liked some of the dark black pottery and the rugs with their subdued natural dyes. Again we finished up in the square, people watching and again saw the same sellers and musicians making their living. The young accordion player was one of .hese. At 7 00pm we went to a buffet supper held in the chapel of the old monastery which is now an integral part of the high class hotel, "Hotel Camino Real". The setting was full of atmosphere with the tables set out around a raised stage and the buffet set out in the nave. The food was excellent and included the specialities of the area. At one time Christine found herself eating grasshoppers! A Mariachi type band entered the hall and this introduced the start of the dancing which was presented and given by the Oaxaco college of dance . It was wonderfully presented with dances from the eight regions of Oaxaco State. The costumes were colourful and the dancers who were extremely professional gave it their all. Back to the bridal suite. It was a memorable day.

"A road of contrasts and A fine town"

We were on the road by 8 00am and opted to go on the shorter but mountainous route to Oaxaco. Immediately we left the coast the jungle growth and tree cover became denser. The road twisted and slowly climbed the Sierra Madre del Sur mountains. We passed through collections of houses , hardly rated as villages, as we climbed the mountainside. Way above us we could see a slash of a rock cutting on the skyline and gradually following hanging valleys and climbing up the slope we made our way towards the peaks. All the while the road was a series of switchback curves, narrow and with a considerable drop off in the valleys below. We broke away from the tropical growth and entered pine forest growth with trees not unlike the ponderosa pine. All of a sudden we were in a different world. The scenery became Alpine in quality and vista. We came through small villages perched on the tops of the mountains and by now we were up to 7-8,000 ft high. The houses were now all built in the local material, pine wood, which heightened the Alpine feel. The road continued to climb and then follow the tops of the ridges until we broke through above the central valley far below. We stopped and had lunch at a wooden cafe which boasted views of the Pacific. The day was clear but The Pacific was not evident. After a long descent to the valley we motored on to Oaxaco across the relatively level floor. Oaxaco is located at the confluence of three major central valleys. These are fertile valleys and the towns in the valleys are market towns. Indeed one of these, Ejulta, was having its weekly market and the roads through the town were blocked with stalls and traffic. Somehow in the complete absence of any road signs we found our way through. To the north was the livestock market in an adjacent field and soon we were following a grossly overloaded swaying truck with horses cows and calves balanced precariously on its platform and restrained by ropes to the makeshift frame. At the back was a yearling calf and when the truck went over a speed bump the calf half slipped off the back of the truck. I passed the truck and waved it down and showed them the problem. In the front of the truck were five smiling craggy Mexican faces who were delighted that I should have helped. We went on our way to cries of "Gracias Amigo" These speed bumps called "Topes" are a feature of Mexican roads and occur through villages which abut the highway, and at any location they think the traffic should slow down. There is no consistency to siting construction nor to signing, if any. Some are enough to launch you to the moon if you go over them at more than 3 mph and others are used by the locals to overtake as they sweep by you off the shoulder on either side of the road to avoid the bump. In any case they are to be carefully looked our for. At the end of the days travel, some 350 km, we were both suffering from a stiff neck which we have called "tope neck." Oaxaco is the Capital of Oaxaco State. This state has the reputation as being one of the poorest states in Mexico. Streets are narrow, all two lanes and all single way but are well signed. The first thing that we noticed were the huge number of very old buildings that were in the town. These looked to be original churches, civil and other large buildings all in a good state of repair apart from the pockmarks of bullets from the various civil uprisings during Mexico's turbulent history and going back to the 1500-1600 era.. The rest of the buildings were of the villa type with inner courtyards glimpsed through the large doors. We found our way easily to the hotel we wanted to stay at and parked the car for the rest of the day on the street. The hotel had one room left for the two days we planned to stay, it was the "bridal suite", we took it! It was a delightful place at which to stay. "Los Golondrinas"(The Swallows) had a series of courtyards which were filled with a profusion of large potted flowering plants and planted trees. It was difficult to image that we were still in the Mexican winter with all the colour in those courtyards. To complete the sight and sounds was an ornamental fountain outside our room which was turned off at 9 00pm and on at 8 00am each day. Our room was most comfortable with its huge king size bed. Four blocks from our hotel and we were in the huge double main square. Here we sat until late evening at an outside cafe and watched the world go by. Musicians and street traders were there in great numbers. There were balloon sellers with huge towering collections of balloons in addition to the mass of toys and other sale items at ground level. Shirts and blouses, fans , paintings , food of all descriptions including cooked grasshoppers , a local delicacy, were on offer. The music ranged from solo saxophonists playing bluesey Mexican music to Xylophone groups to guitars and singers, to Peruvian groups and accordion players. Added to this was the mass of people on the move. All the time we were seated we were continually approached by the sellers and they moved on politely when you said no thank you. Mexicans are a nation of entrepreneurs, they have to be to survive in their non welfare state. Whilst they obviously have a tough life and in Oaxaco we saw a lot of poor people, they seem to be very happy. We watched one family group of Grandma, with her delightful brown crinkled warm smiling face , her two daughter and the grand children all of whom were on the street selling. They stood in a group at the end of the day smiling and laughing and obviously happy with their lot. One street musician gave us a lot of entertainment. He was no more than 6 or 7 years old and he sang and played the accordion. His voice was high, slightly out of tune and he had more than a relaxed style of performance. During his singing he would stop playing and rub his eyes but still continue singing. Occasionally he would let the accordion hang down extending itself whilst he still picked notes off it. We realised why he did both of these after a while, the accordion was heavy and it was his way of introducing an arm rest into the performance. At one stage the lady on the next table asked him to play a tune , he was very good. After a long day we headed back to our honeymoon suite!!

"A busy day"

During our walk into town the previous day we did not get into the old village area. The old area proved to be delightful, clean with paved streets and completed sidewalks. The market was the best we had seen, compact but with a wide range of goods. The fruit in particular is excellent and we enjoyed the fresh pineapple and the mangoes. The orderly town square was a mass of colour from the landscaping and planting that had been carried out. It still is a tourist town catering for them with the artifact stores and the restaurants and cafes but few were in evidence and the town was still alive and full of activity with the locals making their purchases. We sat at a street cafe and watched the world go by for a while and we both agreed that Huatulco has a good feel. After we had made our purchases we returned to the boat and worked on various jobs. Christine made flags for the next countries we plan to visit and I made up chocks for the forward cleats. These chocks will prevent lines fouling them at sea. I have had to go forward on occasions to uncleat the jib or staysail sheets which in windy conditions can hook themselves around the cleat. I also checked the self steerer and made sure the monitor was in good shape. I have had a little problem with the roller furler for the headsail and checked it out. I found that the fore stay had loosened itself, probably when I changed the headsail to the genoa. It was then that I had to rewind the furling line since the UV protection was on the opposite side of the sail! I talked for some time with Enrique who helped me organise a rental car for tomorrow. His concern is that whilst the local development is inevitable Mexico must guard against it loosing its identity. He really is a fine person with the interests of his work and the marina completely at heart. In addition he is a sailor and in the process of purchasing his next boat. After supper we drove into the town in the rental car with diesel jugs borrowed from Enrique and by 21 00 hrs we had the diesel tanks all topped up. We both agreed that Huatulco in its present embryo form is the most pleasant coastal town we have visited. Tomorrow at first light we head inland to Oaxaca the principle town and state capital. Enrique gave us some most interesting background for the state. The fact that there are about 14 different languages each of which is not understood by the other. These are all the native original languages. He also told us that the State of Oaxaca is very much a matriarchal society and that women do all the business in the family and at work! We will see this in evidence in Oaxaca he assured us. There are many places of interest that we plan to visit as we go along the mountain roads to Oaxaco.

Huatulco Marina Lat 15 45.1 N 086 07.7 W

"Huatulco"

The morning we spent on small jobs. Don on the weather net is forecasting a Tehuantepec gale towards the end of the week. We had planned to do some inland sight-seeing so the timing of the gale suits us for a window should open up afterwards. This Gulf is notorious for winds which are spawned by the high pressure systems in Texas causing the wind to sweep down through the narrow isthmus from the western Caribbean into the Gulf of Tehuantepec. Whilst only local, 200 miles across is considered a dangerous stretch and winds which regularly reach storm force are often the strongest recorded anywhere in the world at a particular time. Selecting the window is important. I helped a young couple tie their Warram catamaran up as they came into the marina. These cats are always home made and have undertaken major world cruises. They are constructed of 3/8" ply with two layers of glass fibre on top and resemble Polynesian proas which no doubt they were based on. We walked into the nearest of the villages that make up Huatulco, La Crucecita. It was hot and we didn't complete our explore but what we found was so completely different from other villages we had seen. Wide paved streets with completed level side walks and landscaped boulevards with a fine road system were to be seen. obviously the seed money sets up the infra structure with the hope that developers move in and complete, the same way as has taken place in Nuevo Vallarta. There is an old part with market and stores. That we will see tomorrow. Back on the boat we enjoyed the cool of the evening and the sounds and sights of the many varied birds. Swallows abound and the tuneful Grackle is also abundant.

"Huatulco"

We arrived off Huatulco at daylight and found our way into the marina. There are no really good anchorages in the bay that you could leave the boat safely and travel inland so we opted for the marina. The leg had been an easy one but we had to motor almost half of the time because of the absence of wind. The marina at Huatulco has been opened only 2 years and only 16 of the 100 slips are taken at this time. Enrique the Harbour Manager greeted us and quickly filled us in on the facility. There are nine bays in the area and the area is one of considerable investment by the Mexican Government to promote the tourism of the area. Enrique offered help in any way he could and even offered to give us a lift into town. We had heard about him through the grapevine and he certainly lives up to his welcoming and helpful reputation.He speaks excellent English and is a sailor himself so knows what cruisers need when they come into a marina from a passage. At present the marina is low key with basic facilities and we enjoyed a cold shower in the open. Temperatures are slowly climbing, today it was up to the low 30's and when you hit shore you quickly feel drained for the first hour or so as you get away from the cooler sea. The evenings are pleasant and through the night you need a cover on in bed as it cools down. The shore line is a series of rocky headlands with small bays and fine sand beaches interspersed. Inland the rolling coastal hills build into a high mountains up to 10,000 ft high. Some of these have the distinctive volcano shape. There is generally heavy tropical tree coverage but most of the smaller deciduous trees are without leaves at this time. Even though there are only 16 boats there is a community feel and we were helped by marina staff and boaters to tie up. We were surprised and pleased to see that Ian Dodge of RVYC was one of these. Ian has single handed to this point from Portland as a shake down cruise and is headed back north in the morning, this time with crew, a fine young man called Quentin from San Diego. We joined Ian and Quentin for a sundowner and were able to give Ian some ideas for anchorages on the way back north since he had missed most of these on his way down.

Noon position 15 51.09 N 97 46.10 W

"Light winds"

The light winds continued through the day and for several hours we had 6knts of wind from the east, right on the nose. We are now turning more and more east as we make our way south to move into Central America. The headwind was good as we made 4-5 knts. Again the wind dropped as the evening fell and we had to motor again. We saw more and more wildlife, lots of turtle who lazily try to flap their way out of your path. Through the night the stars were in full bloom and the phosphorescence was the brightest we had seen. Schools of dolphins joined us several times through the night and their trails and bodies were dramatically illuminated by the phosphorescence. We worked our watch systems through the night and both settled back into the nightly routine and sleeping well. Our talking books were set up and made our watches seem so short.

Noon position 16 42.46 N 099 47.11 W

"Gentle seas, a dark night"

We were unable to leave Acapulco until 10 00hrs. We had to wait for the gas dock attendant to arrive, he was late. Once dieseled up we were on our way. We were glad to get away from Acapulco. The berth we had been allocated was subject to a lot of surge and was located on the outside of the floating breakwater. Vessels on the inside were subject to the same surge but did not suffer from the small vessel waves we experienced. The YC was fine but expensive. We have been well hosted at all clubs we had stayed at and people went out of their way to help and look after your interests. Soon we were rolling down wind in a light wind in flat seas. Eventually we had to start the engine at 21 00hrs and ran the engine through the night. At first the sky was clear but we entered a low bank of cloud and the night was particularly dark with no horizon. We only saw two vessels the whole trip. Through the day we saw an increasing number of turtles, many with booby birds perched on their backs! At times we were surrounded by fields of weed , not unlike kelp. We thought that they had been washed out of the mangrove lagoons which occur all the way down the flat coastal areas. These weed areas were up the size of two or three tennis courts and we avoided them as best we could. Eventually we missed seeing one and sailed right through it. It had no effect on us other than to clean the bottom for the knot meter impeller which had not worked since our departure from Acapulco started to work immediately. It is not like the Pacific Coast kelp beds which will hold you. I remember in a "Jack and Jill" race Christine and I were competing in being stuck in a kelp bed and having to go over the side and walk it off the keel and rudder before we could sail again. Our excitement of the day occurred at sunset when a Mexican gunboat bore down on us at great speed from the land some 10 miles away. They were very courteous and enquired about our home country and destination. I suppose we must have shown up on their radar, soon they were gone traveling off at high speed.

"New friends and final preparations"

We joined Dan and Marylou on their 57' power boat for a breakfast coffee before they set off north. They had purchased the boat in Florida and were moving it back to their home which is Vancouver BC. It turned out that we had acquaintances in common and had a most enjoyable time with them both. Dan's family have owned the marina at Horseshoe Bay for ever. They kindly gave us contacts in Central America at various locations. We helped them cast off and watched them on their way. I went through the rigging and blocks and did some cleaning on deck. It has been surprisingly clean at Acapulco for a large city. Whilst the city is big and sprawls along the bay spreading over the hills into the inland valleys we have enjoyed our stay. Every morning we still hear the early morning roosters even though the YC has a few high rise around it. The YC is very well run with lots of labour tending the beautiful grounds. We have made good use of the pool and have often had it to our selves. The bird life around the club area has been of interest with their distinctive songs and calls. Two noteworthy birds we have identified are the Common Grackle, an attractive member of the starling family and the Kiskadee Fly Catcher. Swallows abound as this is their winter home. As I write this I can hear a chorus of birds around the area. We picked up our filled propane tanks and filled the water tanks. I talked to Ian and Becky as they left north for Zihuatanejo. We had met them further north in Mazatlan as they worked their way south from San Francisco. This will be their furthest point south on the mainland for they will be setting off across the Pacific in a week or two from Zihuatanejo. We had a fine supper and were able to use one of our new purchases we had bought in Taxco. The robust red Chilean wine tasted wonderful from the new silver wine flutes. First thing in the morning we leave on a two day passage to Huatulco, the stepping off point across the Gulf of Tehuantepec.

"Provisioning"

We spent the day provisioning. I caught a taxi with the two gas cylinders and gave the directions. It was a bad day for the taxi driver. He reminded me of Eddie Murphy but a little more bashful. As soon as we set off the transport police stopped us, checked his papers, licence etc and gave him an on the spot fine of 20 pesos. I never did find out why , I think it was that he did not pull in far enough to the curb when he picked me up! I really will never understand where they are coming from in Mexico for you see dangerous driving that seems to be accepted by all. The other day we were in a VW bug taxi in Acapulco that was in terrible shape , brakes almost non existent and the huge driver who had quite a squeeze to get into the vehicle wrestled with the wheel all the while to keep it on the road. Armed with his new fine the taxi driver took me to where he thought the Gaz Mondial Stn was not where I had told him. After asking two policemen the first one of which gave the wrong location we went to the address I had given him. He was most apologetic and rushed inside to make sure he was at the right place. I was able to give him the business for the return trip and he more than covered the cost of his fine. The gas cylinders take a day to get filled so I will pick them up tomorrow. After lunch we bused to a super market for a big grocery shop. A taxi was the only way to get back. We had a fine young driver with whom we chatted the whole way home to the YC. He had been driving taxi for 14 yrs, he had three children all in their teens and he looked no more than 30. his hopes and aspirations for his children were the same as all parents. He had a computer and was encouraging them to be computer literate and to have good typing skills. He told us how cut throat the taxi business is and how he needed to work from 6-30 am to 8-30 at night on a daily basis. All taxis are owner operated but leased from one company. His lease cost is 25,000 pesos per year and there are 6,000 taxis touting for trade in Acapulco! After unpacking and stowing every thing in its proper place we had a relaxing evening with our books. I was so disappointed with the last " best seller " novel I read I started the next Captain Jack Aubrey. I have read the series at least five times now but every time I read them again I get more and more out of them, or perhaps it is just that my memory is going!

"Silver and more Silver"

As we fell asleep we heard the various church clocks around the town chime. We were awoken soon after by a series of loud explosions, somewhat like very large firework crackers. We put it down to the youth of the town since it was only 11 00pm. The same occurred in the morning at 6 30 am, first the call to church and then the cannon like sound. It turns out that the various churches are vying for participants and this firing of maroon rockets was the way the church nearest to our hotel had determined to increase attendance! At breakfast on the top of the hotel we met and shared a table with Charles from London. It was his tenth visit to Taxco and he was in the silver design and sales business, designing and having the designs manufactured here in Taxco for sale in London. He was an ex rugby scrum half like myself and we all struck up a warm relationship. He explained how the silver works were manufactured and we found it quite fascinating and swallowed some of the terms such as "lost wax method". After breakfast we wandered around the town looking in the silver outlet stores where we were amazed by the high quality and beautiful workmanship. Needless to say the prices were low and bargaining was the norm. In one store , I say store it had a series of rooms in one of the old villas they had a museum of prize winning silver jewelry and ornaments. They were truly beautiful with an amazing variety of design and finish. We made some purchases in a small store owned by a delightful family with whom we talked for a while. It turned out that the shop was in the original home of the finder of the silver seam 280 years ago , his name was Don Jose de la Borda and a plaque on the wall commemorated his marriage. He was the towns benefactor and made three fortunes loosing two. It was he that built at least two of the churches. The main one in the square built in beautiful rose coloured stone has recently received a major grant from IBM and was currently under renovation. We had a last walk around the town before we checked out of our hotel. Taxco has a vibrant working town feel with lots of young people but has maintained its medieval character. It is unspoiled and with the mountain setting is well worth visiting. Traffic on the narrow streets is principally limited to VW bug taxis or VW vans with seats (combis). Every one including the poor appeared to use them since they only cost the equivalent of 2 cents for a trip. We had to wait at the bus station to see if there was a seat free when the bus arrived in the early afternoon. As Taxco (pronounced Tasco) disappeared behind us we felt that we had visited a very unique place in which we had felt very comfortable and safe. Similarly we had selected to stay at a hotel which also had a unique feel about it. The weather was fine and clear and the temperature at that altitude was a very comfortable 75-85 degrees. We never did find out what the tree was that was in blossom in the town and surrounding high lands at the time. It was a deciduous tree and its purple blossom stood out starkly against in the country side, buildings and the mountains. I will never forget looking over the town with the sound of the mountain wind sighing and blowing through the trees. After the five hour return trip Acapulco felt like an anticlimax and the noise and traffic jarred us both. When we got back to the boat we found that our Mexican neighbour had placed additional lines on Reiver as the surge from the increased seas had built up substantially. We had a noisey night as the boat surged to and fro and the lines creaked and groaned through the fair leads.

"Bus journey and Taxco"

We caught a taxi to the bus station at 08 00hrs. They are always plentiful even at that hour of the morning and cost $3 for the 30 min ride. The bus station was large and modern and as always a scene of chaos with people rushing around finding their bus, their luggage and their children. The five hour trip cost $15 and we had elected to travel on a 1st class bus. There is an even better class at gold but this was fine for our needs. The bus stopped only at the three main towns on the way. We had a fine new bus, a Mercedes "marcopolo" and again were able to get seats at the front. Leaving Acapulco was slow because of the heavy unorganised traffic. For the first part the driver gave a lift to his wife and child and dropped them off in town, all very casual, he also stopped at one stage and took his cell phone in for repair. Again the highways were good out of the cities and the route on #95 traveled on a toll road , dual carriageway and of good alignment with tunnels and fine bridges. Surface was poor with potholes and a poor ride. We traveled to Chilpancingo where we left the toll road and were on a two lane windy road thereafter. In this State the buses were limited to 95kmh and at 95 an audible alarm sounded, the limit must vary by the state you are in for the last trip we made the bus ran at up to 130kmh. The road systems in the cities and towns are so incomplete and inadequate for the traffic. To get to the bus stations in the towns the drivers resort to all sorts of tricks, such as driving into and out of a small gas station to turn round or along an unmade road with houses tight on either side of the bus. After Chilpancingo we traveled to Iquala whose claim to fame was that it was the first place in Mexico to fly the Mexican flag in 1820. It flys a huge one today on the top of a hill by the town. Again the town was chaos and the route to and from the bus station went through the huge market area. Iquala is set at 700 m and Taxco only 35km further on is located at 1800 m and so the road between the two is almost a continual series of switchback curves as the mountain side is climbed. We caught glimpses of the town of Taxco from a distance away. The town of 120,000 people is perched on the side of a steep mountain. It was founded in 1720 when a Spanish soldier discovered a vein of silver when his horse stumbled over the surface outcrop. On arrival the town looked even more improbable. The main road runs along the bottom of the town in a series of switch back curves and the main town takes off above the road. The whole place is mediaeval in character and construction. The streets are narrow and cobblestoned, those that allow vehicles on are one lane only with pedestrians squeezed against the walls. There are many other side streets that are pedestrian only with stairs and steep grades. The houses are all built one on top of the other in a series of terraces. There is a cathedral in a small square which is really the town centre and through which all people and traffic appear to move. The economy is based on silver and there are silver outlets in every street. Throughout the town although we never saw any are small 3-4 person silver smith shops casting and making the wonderful silver work. We knew from the map where the hotel we wanted to stay at was located so we set off up the hill from the bus station on foot. Immediately we were in a maze of streets and lanes with stalls lining the sides and a press of people. Our route unintentionally led us into the market area. The lanes were now down to 6 ft wide and the grade of the order of 30%. The market building was a warren of stalls set one on top of the other up the hillside and somehow we worked our way through it into the town centre. We located the hotel and found it to be delightful. It consists of a series of buildings all different in style and age, yet very old, set around a centre terraced landscaped yard complete with swimming pool and many trees with fruit on them. The transition from the incredible noise and bustle outside was immediate and we were pleased with our choice. Our room was simple, shaded and clean and it looked out over the courtyard. The restaurant for the hotel was set up on the top of the highest building and had fine views over the town. We set about exploring the town. The first thing we found is that you have to be fit to walk the town. The grades are steep and the altitude was noticeable at first but walk we did. Quickly we got the layout of the streets sorted out and we wandered round looking at the places of interest. The square was a most interesting place with the Cathedral on the east side of the square and the old buildings surrounding it. Our lonely Planet guide told of a cable car to the north of the town which gave exceptional views of the area and we took this to the top of a local mountain. The views indeed were spectacular over the town and away to the mountains in the far distance. In the evening we had dinner in a small restaurant overlooking the square and we sat and enjoyed the atmosphere into the evening. We had a short walk around the town in the late evening and turned in for a good nights sleep.

"Acapulco"

First thing in the morning we took a bus down town to the southern limit and worked our way back to the YC over the rest of the day. It was an hours bus ride and we passed through the old town area through the commercial zone and into the retail zone. Traffic and hotels dominate the street scene. The city is clean along the section we saw and trees and plantings make it attractive. It has a much more mature look than all the other resorts we have passed through. We were able to book bus tickets for Taxco a silver town set in the hills on the road to Mexico City which we plan to visit on Tuesday. It was Saturday and the beaches and streets were busy with locals taking their weekend break and with holiday makers. It was hot by early afternoon and we baulked at the thought of further walking and made our way back to the boat and the swimming pool. We will get up early tomorrow and have a look around the old town before the day gets too hot. The high divers of Acapulco dive from a cliff not far`from the YC and we should have a look at that also. It is an interesting city to visit but we find it too big and too busy for us but it is a good place to leave the boat when we go inland. People are helpful and kind just as we have found throughout Mexico and we feel very comfortable in that respect here.

Friday 25th Feb: Arrival in Acapulco

"Acapulco"

The breeze carried through into the small hours and we started the engine for 3 hrs before an offshore breeze filled in and we had a fine beat into Acapulco. The harbour and setting for Acapulco is magnificent with a large protected bay surrounded by mountains falling towards the beaches that line the shore. High rises and hotels are built on every available space. Boats are on the move everywhere and when we finally got our berth sorted out at Acapulco YC we found that a big race week is just about to happen. The club is very fine with good helpers and assistants everywhere. Moorage is Med style and takes a little setting up but works fine. Even in the most protected part of the bay and the marina we still have surge from the ocean swell. By noon it was hot , very hot and we sweated doing the smallest of tasks. When it cooled down we had a walk around the local streets and got our bearings. The things you expect were all there ,buses by the score corner beer stores and in this case lots of high rise buildings. Acapulco is a City of 1.5 million and makes its living on tourists. We plan to explore further tomorrow and we will plan our few days here. We were both weary both from the heat and our night passage, the first night is always tiring; and we had an early supper and went to our bunk early.

17 32.37n 101 31.40W

"A good day"

We sailed all day in winds never above 10knts and down as low as 3-4knts. Seas were calm and the rugged mountainous coast was dramatic in the clear light. Whilst progress was not swift the sail was enjoyable. Christine had her full moon and there was little shipping through the night whilst we worked our watch system.

"Further exploring"

On our last full day in Zihuatanejo we caught up on some of the jobs around the boat and then we went ashore. We walked through the town along with a throng of passengers from P&O cruise ship which came in to the bay in the early morning. Once away from the malecon area we were in a quiet little town again. We loaded up with fruit and vegetables and took a big load back to the boat using a taxi, cost $2! The days continue to be warm with clear skies and the welcome afternoon sea breeze. This has been a good place to visit, good anchorage and a warm friendly town with all the needs of a cruiser. Tomorrow we head south for Acapulco. Zihuatanejo has been a most enjoyable stopover and a place I would one recommend for a visit.

"Zihuatanejo"

We are anchored almost a mile away from the landing point for the town and we motored over in our dinghy at 09 00hrs to the Port Captains office to clear in. They were very efficient which allowed us to move onto the second stage which is to pay at the bank before returning with the proof of payment and to receive our entry and clearance papers in one go. We were both impressed with the town. It is small attractive clean and has narrow streets, some pedestrianised all with out the car dominating the scene. The stores were also clean and attractive and had a good range of goods for sale. In the late afternoon we went ashore again and explored further. We had supper at a delightful restaurant and stayed and watched the last evening of carnival. Again as we have found in the past the pleasure has been being part of the local scene and sharing their evening out, always interesting people watching. We arrived back at the boat at 22 35 hrs after a most enjoyable day.

"A catch up day"

There must be at least 20 other cruising boats already anchored in this beautiful bay. Some are what they call the "puddle jumpers" getting ready to set off for the Pacific crossing in about three weeks time. We are probably the only ones headed south. The bay has a narrow opening to the sea but inside is wide with steep to hillsides falling to the waters edge. We are anchored at the outermost limit of the anchorage at the south end below two very fine looking villas some 2-300 ft above us with the jungle like tree cover to the waters edge. The town itself is at the north end of the bay, all in all an attractive anchorage. I spent the morning in the head! I was fine but the head wasn't and needed an overhaul, not a pleasant job but once completed all was fine. Christine cleaned house and we worked at cooling the boat down with awnings wind scoops and we even put the dodger window covers on to lower the solar gain. It all certainly helped and made it much more acceptable. Gary came over and said hello. We first met Gary and his wife Sue in the Marquesas several years ago. He had an update for the sailmail programme which he gave me. We decided to stay for a day or two and we will check in with the Port Captain in the morning. The town looks fun to explore and we understand that all foodstuffs are readily available. In the afternoon we had a swim and Greg and Jean (Calgarians) joined us on board. At one time they had thought of going to Ecuador but have now decided against it and will head for NZ this year.

"Coasting south"

We managed to sail most of the way in light head winds. I knew the wind would veer and free on the starboard tack paralleling the shore and the trick was to carry the headed port tack just far enough out to sea so that when you tacked onto the lifting starboard tack you were ultimately able to lay the headlands. All those years racing paid off and we judged it to perfection without having to sail any extra distance. Coasting like this gives us a feel for the various villages and bays we pass. It was Saturday night as we arrived at Caleta De Campos with the village of Buffadero at the head of the bight. The surf was full of Mexicans and their families enjoying the warm water. As usual the air was full of the sound of music and young voices. Every evening when we anchor we have a swim and cool off ,if you can cool off in water at 80 Degs, always most enjoyable, clear and refreshing. Our charts for the coast line are to a small scale that is to say 300nm is on a foot length of chart and for anchorages we have hand sketches usually from Charlie's Charts , a cruisers guide for this section of coast. We make a point of entering the anchorages in the day time if at all possible. There was one other boat in the anchorage from San Diego. In talking to them we found out that they are headed for Ecuador and no doubt our paths will cross down the way. It was a reasonably sheltered anchorage but it did not have much swinging room. Our next anchorage is more than 70 nm south and since we only have 10hrs of useful daylight and the next anchorage has a wealth of rock outcrops around it, we need an early start to get there in the day light. Early to bed!

Noon day position 18 26.43 N 103 37.42 W

"Another perfect Day"

We left our very rolly anchorage fairly late in an effort to catch the winds which come up later. We still had to motor for about half of the leg. The coast line changed once again from low flat sandy beaches backed by mountains to those of rocky cliffs and the back cloth of mountains. There are still endless stretches of golden beaches and we enjoyed the scenery as we slipped along. So what do we do all day? well firstly we need to keep a sharp lookout for those darned long lines. We keep coming across them and seem to negotiate them OK. The last one we crossed had a panga in sight which rushed over and guided us through with much arm waving and infectious grins. Whilst we are on look out we see lots of wild life. There seems to be fewer birds at the moment at sea than we have seen but when at anchor we have watched ospreys plucking fish from the sea. We see the usual flights of pelicans, the bobby birds and heermans gulls. We see lots of turtles lazing on the surface sometimes with a gull perched on their backs. They are gentle slow creatures and whilst their home is the sea they look out of place. They are quite big up to 3-4ft long. We regularly see whales giving us the whole show of breaching , flipper waving and tail slapping in addition to their normal blast of water into the air as they surface for air. We have seen three sea snakes, brown with yellow undersides, very very poisonous and I am sure we have a mutual dislike of each other. When we are not reading we are talking and planning or mending equipment, which reminds me the head needs taking apart , hope it isn't a snake! We played scrabble yesterday and I'll not say who won other than to say that she is definitely smarter than me at times (good total scores well over 500 ). So there is much to see and do Maruata is a bight into this long shore line (about 100nm NW of Zihuatanejo) really much like all these anchorages which can only be considered overnight stops. The first thing we noticed was the noise of the sea birds on a small island. We are not sure which bird or is it the young ones which make the sound but they sound just like the European /English skylark. If you have ever heard that sound it is an unforgettable one with the warbling note that rises and falls as the lark climbs into the sky and hovers. An intriguing noise in the sea bird location. We had fine supper and played cards well into the late evening, playing whist for a million. I'll not say who won other than she had a good day!

"Another good day"

We managed to ghost along for well over half of the 50 mile trip and anchored in a very open (to the NW) anchorage at Punta Cabeza Negra. In our cruising guide it showed a sketch with copra drying sheds on the beach and nothing else. Progress has taken over and fine villas lined the shore at this attractive location. The low isthmus between two bold rock bluffs had villas set in beautiful landscaped grassed and treed areas. We did have a rolly night as expected.

"Another good day"

We are into a new weather pattern. Gone are the brisk NW winds and all we have at the moment are thermal winds. Onshore breezes start at about noon and last into the evening when the offshore breezes take over. The winds are light but just enough to sail with. After a pleasant days sail we entered Manzanillo Bay. We were expecting the worst since it is a commercial port but we anchored in the lee of a hotel marina breakwater and enjoyed the small bay and the sights. The bay was surrounded by hotels and villas but in the design the architects had followed the land form closely and the end result was a Mediterranean feel , very attractive and most interesting architecture. We had a good nights sleep and set off at 8.00hrs the next morning.

"Still stealing along south"

Again light winds were encountered today but this time they were on the nose. The 12 miles took us 4hrs but it was a pleasant day with a slight haze. We anchored in the north west corner of Bahia Navidad along with one other boat, a Canadian one from Edmonton. Any other boat we saw went straight to the 200 boat marina located in the south east corner in the entrance to a lagoon area. There is a significant swell so we set a stern anchor. Again It is a pretty bay with a series of stacks to the south west of us which give us some protection from the swell which enters the bay from the south and breaks through these stacks. The residue of the swell then rolls past us onto the shore. All along the shore line we could hear the sound of children enjoying the surf. The small town of Melaque is one where the Mexicans themselves take their holidays. Watching the activity reminded me of the town that Monsieur Huelot took his holidays in the film of that name. All around are the sounds and activities of holiday makers that the film picked up so well. The breeze picked up in the evening and another boat joined us in the anchorage, this time an American boat from Whidby Island. Including Canadian boats with American boats from the Pacific NW ie Seattle and Puget Sound area we estimate these to make up 50% of the boats in this area at present.

"Stealing south"

After listening to the forecast for the upcoming weather on the Amigo Net we left Chamela at 0900 hrs and motored for a couple of hours before a light wind came up and we were able to steal along the coast at 3-4 knts to the next anchorage at Bahia Tenacitita. Our aim is to use our old engine as little as possible and to conserve fuel. It is always a challenge to keep the boat going above my cut off speed of 3knts at which speed the motor is started. The 3knts applies to coastal work but on long passages there is no lower limit. There were 45 cruising boats anchored in Tenacatita and we anchored in amongst them. It is quite clear that some spend a week or so here on their way north or south. Apart from socialising which there appeared to be a lot of there is little else to do. The bay is well protected from the swell, probably one reason for the large numbers of boats and it has a fine sweep of sand on which there is a continuous roar of the surf breaking. There is some minor development and an uncompleted abandoned hotel. It is a pretty anchorage with the mountains as a back cloth and the green swath of palm trees along the shore. There is a lagoon but the entrance is best negotiated at mid/high tide. We put the dinghy in the water and had a look at it but we felt we would have been rolled in the surf if we had tried it. I would have tried it without the out-board on. Even landing on the beach looked problematic, that is where the inflatable comes into its own. It was a fine clear evening and we had another fine meal sitting outside. This time I barbecued some marinated chicken we had bought at Mollie Stones in San Francisco. It was excellent. Christine pulled out the star atlas and we spent well into the evening identifying constellations and there stars. Its amazing how quickly you loose some of their names and identifiers. We both had an excellent nights sleep. This is one advantage of the coastal passage, a good nights sleep. The other is that you can time your sail to take advantage of the best winds of the day which appears to be late to mid afternoon.

"A fine sail"

We slipped out of Ipala at 7 30hrs and headed south to our next anchorage. Ipala had given us a reasonable night although a little rolly at times. Ipala consisted of a couple of houses and a palapa which sold beer on the beach with plastic chairs set out. There were about four or five pangas anchored off the beach. The bay was narrow with steep cliffs falling into the bay apart from at the head where there was a sand beach with a steep slope to the beach. A dirt road was cut into the slope and it descended steeply to the buildings. Not a very attractive setting but perfect for an overnight anchorage. We motored for an hour and then caught sight of those dreaded long lines and stopped the engine and sailed at 3-4knots at first as the breeze built. Soon we were up to 6 knts and had a fine sail downwind in clear warm conditions. for the last three hours the wind built to 30+ and we completed the 53 nm leg in 8hrs. As we traveled we listened to music for a while and then I pulled out my mouth organ and we practised some songs from an Irish folk song book we had with us. Christine sang and I accompanying her. Christine also made some good sketches of the passing mountain scenery. Chamila bay lat 19 35N 105 07 W is well sheltered from the main swell but like all these anchorages a swell does refract round into the anchorage area and breaks with a continual roar on the long sand beach. The village of Chamila is located at the east end of the bay about three miles away. There are some palapas and houses along the fine sand beach westward to the anchorage and a few holiday makers, Mexicans and fair skinned visitors swam and played on the beach. A much more pleasant anchorage with the fine views inland of mountains and hills. We had a fine supper in the cockpit and turned in early.

"Underway at last"

We were both very pleased to slip out of the marina at NV at first light. We motored to PV harbour about four miles away and filled up with diesel. It was a fine clear morning and the hills which reach down to the waters edge in PV and to the south were all silhouetted as the sun rose. We motored for a while and then a NW breeze picked up and we sailed until it died. A pod of whales accompanied us for a while but as we reached the outer edge of Banderas Bay the seas built up into a confused mass with waves 10 15 ft on an irregular swell. This didn't bode well for Cabo Corrientes, a notoriously windy point and one which has big seas. As we approached the cape however the seas became more orderly and we finished our 50-mille leg with a fine downwind sail in 15-20 knts. As I write this we are anchored in a small bay called Punta Ipala which provides some shelter from wind and swell. Lat and long is 20 10.6 N 105 36.3 W. As we travel south the days get warmer and I find myself covering up and attempting to get out of the sunshine, we both prefer the cooler climes! Sleeping at the marina was a hot sweaty event and the cooling fan did help. We expect good winds tomorrow and will have an early start again.

"A busy day"

In preparation for leaving first thing in the morning we set ourselves a busy day. We had to check out at the marina and separately with the Port Captain. Christine did the last of her laundry. We had a shower, the last tap shower for a while. There was a reasonably good marine store in PV and I took the opportunity to buy a gallon of bottom paint for the haul out down the road somewhere. At the same time we stocked up with fresh fruit and vegetables, this include a large bag (20kilos) of oranges. I also found a Radio Shack and replaced my circuit tester which had ceased to work. Thank heavens for our rug sacks we could not have managed without them. All this involved a lot of walking and a series of buses, we both felt like beasts of burden at the end of the day.

"Preparations for departure"

I spent the morning on the boat and caught up on some of the maintenance work such as removing and cleaning the log impeller. I met a couple from England who are cruising and in their fourth year out. They were originally from Blackpool Lancashire. Chris loaned me his copy of his Sailmail manual which I found to be more comprehensive and clear than any thing I had. Whilst I copied this Christine carried out a major laundry expedition. We are getting ready to leave on Saturday. In the evening we joined Chris and his wife Heather for drinks and an evening meal. We had a lot in common, Chris had played rugby in his youth at about the same level as I and had sailed and raced the same sort of dinghies we had when we were in UK. We had a most enjoyable evening

"Catch up day"

Today was a catch up day and whilst Christine tidied up the inside of the boat I tried to get the weatherfax programme going, still no luck. We caught buses downtown and strolled along the waterfront in Old Town PV and wended our way into the Romantic zone looking for a book store. We found the store but they did not have the guide to Central America we were looking for. On our way back we called in at a marine store and bought a couple of shackles(for the smaller chain I use as the stern anchor) and some spare line. We called into one of the supermarkets and stocked up with some wine, not a lot of selection. The weather has turned hot and humid and we enjoyed our evening swim in the pool.

"Return to Reiver"

In the morning we traveled to Tlaquepaque a small town that has been overtaken by the growth of Guadalajara but which has maintained both identity and character. The town has been taken over by artisans and outlets so in a way it is a tourist trap but is worth the visit. All the old villas have been restored and you can walk into their cool shady court-yards and absorb the range of pottery, bronze works, clothing and leather goods on sale. Again lots of pedestrian activity was taking place in the plazas and we sat and enjoyed the street scenes. At the bus station we waited an hour before we started our return journey. This time we sat in the front of the bus and were able to get both a better view and a first hand view of the drivers role. The scenery and views were equally spectacular on the return trip. We made it back to our floating home in the early evening and had an early night.

"Exploration"

We spent the day exploring the old town area. Traffic has been excluded from some of the areas and fine open pedestrian plazas ran between the old palace like buildings linking the squares. We poked our noses into stores ,old buildings and walked down narrow streets lined with old two storey buildings of which the facades of many were crumbling. We enjoyed our day and that evening felt that we had walked a long way. General impressions were of a very busy active city with significant air pollution from the large number of buses and cars that are always on the move on all of the streets major or minor. It did seem to us that only now have they realised that they should protect the remaining buildings and as a result old and new exist along side each other but it is a most interesting city. We were unable to find the mariachi music for which Guadalajara is renown. Again we slept well in our large cool quarters.

"Trip to Guadalajara"

It was a fine clear morning and on impulse and the fact that it would be a good day for traveling we brought our trip ahead and set off for Guadalajara. We caught a local bus to the long distance bus station and caught that bus as it was about to leave. They run at 3hr intervals so our timing was good. It is a 5hr trip to cover the 500km to Guadalajara and the journey passes through some fine scenery. For a while the two lane road twisted north along the coast before turning inland across fertile flat lands planted with sugar cane, banana and mango trees. We then climbed up into and over the Sierra Madre coastal range. This was a long climb with switch back corners and steep grades but with grand scenery and steep drop offs. Once through the coastal mountains we entered a plateau area still with passes to cross in areas. Huge volcano cones dotted the plateau and signs of larva flows were evident. There were fine vistas for the rest of the trip with distances and views on a large scale. We joined a freeway and the bus was soon up to 130kmh. All the while the bus driver nonchalantly drove with one hand whilst he fed himself on peanuts with the other. Whilst the country side was much less green than the lush coastal area it was not arid and cattle and cultivated fields dotted the scene. The principal crop was blue agave which is the basis for the national drink of tequila. The plant not unlike a pineapple plant is blue green in colour, is planted in rows and takes 8-10 years to mature for harvesting and using in the fermentation process. As we sped along the freeway we passed above the town of Tequila nestled in the bottom of the valley. The two lane roads are narrow and the buses make full use of the lanes. Cross fall is well designed and the roads are consistent in their design. The freeways are generally good with a lower surface standard to that which we are used to. The average speed of 100kmh for the trip speaks to the reasonable standard of the roads but mostly to the way in which the buses are driven. I'm convinced that all bus drivers learned their skills on a grand prix circuit where the object is to pass all in sight which they do in the most improbable and dangerous locations. We soon felt the influence of Guadalajara as traffic and air pollution built. From the bus station to the hotel we planned to stay we caught a taxi and again the grand prix mentality prevailed. We took a room at the Hotel San Francisco on the edge of downtown. An old hotel with 15' ceilings ,cool and with inner courtyards and fountains, all at a reasonable cost. The hotel was fine for us since it was only a five minute walk from the old city centre. We had a short walk and got our bearings before taking an evening meal at the restaurant that had a line up of locals and which had been in business since 1942! We had a good meal and wandered into the main square as the last of the daylight faded. The large open square had as it's centre piece a large wrought iron bandstand from France. To the north the Cathedral formed an extension to the square whilst fine old historic buildings (palaces) lined the east side. The main street, "16th Septiembre" was on the west-side and buses which make up the main percentage of the traffic continually roared along this main thorough fare. The previous day had been a national holiday "Constitutional Day" and the Sunday was an extension of that. A brass band played classical music and the locals strolled, stood or sat and listened to the music. There were mostly families and the children enjoyed the balloons or little toys sold to them. It was a restful comfortable atmosphere and when the musicians finished we all quietly walked our different ways. The evening was cooler than on the coast since we were at over 4'000 ft in altitude and we slept well in our huge bed.

"A wet day"

We awoke through the night and in the morning to the sound of heavy rain. A good day to catch up on those chores. Christine got her sewing machine out and I made up a holder for the fan in the fore-peak. We are finding some of the nights some what airless and any thing we can do to improve air circulation will help. The fan I have used is an old one taken from a computer and is very quiet. I took the lap top into the local YC and was able to get onto the wireless link to the internet and downloaded two programmes which I had lost because of the problems I had. There we met an English lady who lives in Malta and who attended the recent OCC sailing rendezvous in the waters around Victoria. Here she had met Tony and Coryn and Ian and Susan from our YC and she showed Christine and I photographs of the meet. A small world particularly when we found we had many friends in common in the UK. In the afternoon the rain ceased and the cloud thinned somewhat. We had a swim and a short walk and saw the dramatic sunset. We had supper and a keen game of scrabble which was closely contested. Again the combined scores were near 600.

"A wet day in PV"

It again rained heavily throughout most of the day and became intermittent in the evening. We had a long walk along the sandy beach northwards from the marina in the morning and had the beach almost to ourselves. We met two Mexican workmen in their "T" shirts and shorts and as usual they were full of joy and exchanged pleasantries. After lunch we took a series of buses and went through Old Town PV to Zona Romantica. The buses roared through the narrow cobbled streets which were awash with the run off from the continuing rainstorm and we enjoyed the visit which was aimed at getting our bearings. The south end of PV where this area/zona is, abuts the mountains and the narrow streets climbed steeply from the ocean with the 3 and 4 storey houses built right up to the edge of the road, much as you see in the old towns in Europe. The bougainvilia other colourful plants hung down from the walls and balconies. We made the decision that we would like to see area on a sunny day. Even with the heavy rain and ankle deep water as you crossed the streets we enjoyed the zona and also the Old Town which we walked to. We caught a very packed bus home. The bus service is really amazing both efficient and cheap and we never had to wait more than a minute or two to catch or make the necessary connections.

"Marina and a small world"

Lat Long La Cruz 20 44.92 N 105 22.69 W

"Moving South"

We both had a good nights sleep, the stern anchor did the trick and of course a keen game of Scrabble before bed also helped. Our combined scores were almost 600 which indicates the high standard of competition. I'll not say who won other than he can be imaginative with words at times. Early morning brought the usual sounds, cocks crowing. The roar of the surf 100yds to the boats stern as the rollers hit the shore and the sound of the Mexican fishermen as they prepared for the days fishing. These sounds combined with the smell of wood-smoke were atypical of the Mexican coastal villages we had passed to date. We pulled anchors at 08-20 hrs and motored for about half of the 40nm trip. It was the day of the long liners and at the end of the day we felt as though we had a handle on them. A sharp lookout was required at all times. The first line we were lucky and passed over it after Christine spotted it at the last second. I was also able to cut the engine and knock it out of gear. The second we spotted early enough and followed it to one end some several hundred yards away. I radioed back to a boat that was following us and told them of the lines but that at that time I had no suggestions how to deal with it other than go to the panga that was at one end of the line and ask which was the way around their line. The second line had no panga in sight. Jim who was following in Zephyra (registered in Victoria) attempted to go round the end of the panga and got caught up in the line with the line around his prop. In his attempt to free the boat he had to go over board with a knife and cut the line. In so doing he badly gashed his hand on one of the hooks of the long line. He turned back to the nearest village to have it attended to. I have asked around the cruisers and no one knows the system that is used on these long lines. We have come to the following conclusions 1. A sharp look out is required particularly near (5-10 miles) fishing villages where there is a sheltered anchorage for the pangas. 2. Pangas are not always evident where the long lines are set and they do leave them out overnight. 3. They are set at right angles to the shore and are up to a mile long. 4. Usually they have a float at one end with a black flag and the polypropylene line is held up at infrequent locations by old plastic coke/bleach bottles. We got very good at spotting them in the daylight and were to the stage we could spot a beer can at 100yds! Our method of dealing with them is to either follow them along to their ends or if we spotted a black flag to sail to the flag and spot which way to go around it. We have had overcast weather for the last three days, sunless days and moonless nights. Temperatures are still good and we wear shirt and shorts at all times. The coast we passed today trended to the SW. It was varied with tree covered hills and small developments of new houses and small villages set along the shore against a back-cloth of much higher tree covered mountains. We rounded Punta de Mita and turned SE into Bahia de Banderas in a good breeze and finished our leg in fine form as we swept along the shore at 6-7knts. We anchored off La Cruz de Huanacaxtla joining about 30 other cruising boats many of whom are on a semi permanent basis at the anchorage. I fished for a while with my hand line, one I made up almost 30 years ago in the Isle of Arran when the children were young and I remember we caught a dinghy full of haddock. The line still worked well and I pulled in two croakers; small fish which croak like frogs when they are out of the water. They are very good eating but I was under orders to be strictly on a catch and release venture at that time. As darkness fell we could see the lights of Nuevo Vallarta and Puerto Vallarta along the sweep of the bay to the SE of the anchorage. We had rejoined major civlisation again.

"Chacala"

As expected it was a pretty rolly night. I gave up sleeping in the forepeak and slept in the main cabin until I was thrown off the berth and I finished sleeping on the cabin floor. Movement was less at that level. Christine managed fine in the forepeak by jamming herself across the width of the boat. I set a stern anchor first thing in the morning and everyone else followed suit. Motion has been much easier since then. The first impressions of the area is that you have truly moved into the tropical lush forested areas. Tall trees, both coconut and acacias reach down to the waters edge where no development has taken place. On the hillside opposite there is a mango plantation. We rowed ashore and walked through the village. There was only one street that was not a dirt road and this was a cobbled street like the one we had seen in Cosala. The houses were generally basic but occasionally there would be a one of reasonable standard. It is a holiday village with palapas along the beach where there was also a trailer park full of big third wheel vehicles from US and Canada. The village itself would only have a population of 200-300 which would be doubled in the holiday period which is the wintertime. The locals were very friendly and greeted you with a cheery "Buenos Dias". The houses were all the usual bright strong colours and hens and cocks strutted the streets. For a small village there was a lot of building either started or under construction. It is obviously a popular destination and one where you would come to really get away from it. By the evening there were seven boats at anchor. One from New Zealand, three from Canada and three from the United States. All now had stern anchors out.

Lat and long Isla Isabela 21 56 N 105 56 W

Lat and Long Chacala 21 09 N 105 13 W

"A perfect Camber of Commerce day, almost"

We left Isla Isabela at 6-30 hrs in the early light just before the sun came up. I had some concerns about our ability to recover the anchor OK since the bottom in the bay is very rocky and has the reputation to be an anchor swallower. In any case I pulled the anchor up by hand to make sure that I didn't put the full weight of the boat behind the anchor windlass and lock the chain under a rock. It came up beautifully. We had gone to bed at 8-00pm and although the anchor chain grumbled and growled over rocks as the boat rolled in the 2-3 swell that rolled through the anchorage all night, we slept well. I did get up on two occasions and read my book for an hour. We motored for the first couple of hours until the breeze filled in and we sailed at 5-6 knots into an easterly land breeze. This wind eventually backed into the trusted and true NW wind and we set up the boat on a wing and wing with the genoa poled out. We had high cloud from the remnants of a low pressure system and this made it hot and humid. At one stage I happened to do a second sweep of the horizon and spotted a panga quite close by. These pangas are used universally by the Mexican fishermen. They are open boats very sea-worthy and about 20' long. We have come across them regularly up to 30-40 miles offshore in the open ocean. They are powered by outboard engines and we all know how reliable such engines are! The panga I spotted was long line fishing and he shot across our bow and gestulated that he had a line out. We did an abrupt course change and managed to pass over his line. The only marker we saw was a float consisting of an empty Coke bottle. All was well but again we were out of sight of land. We rolled on in a stately fashion and the sun broke out. Christine and I sat on the bow in the shade of the sails for quite a long time talking and listening to the bow wave as we rolled along at 5-6 knots. When we eventually went back into the cockpit I noticed that we had a fish on the lure I had put out earlier in the day. At Christine's suggestion I had increased the scope and I'm sure that was what had led to our success. It was a yellow fin Tuna about 20lbs in weight. They are rated as excellent eating. We made land-fall in the last of the evening light and anchored in Chacala bay, a rolly anchorage in front of a small village on the mainland coast. There were three boats already in the limited anchorage and none had a stern anchor out. We could have an uncomfortable night since we all need to swing in unison and if I put a stern anchor out to keep head into the swell we may run foul of the others in the limited room. I barbecued the tuna (Scott would have been proud of the end result) and with a piquant sauce that Christine had made and some rice and tomatoes we had a splendid supper. Don the amateur weather forecaster who comes up on the SSB net daily is forever talking about good weather as being "Chamber of Commerce weather". If the day had not been somewhat overcast we had a Chamber of Commerce day.

"A fascinating Island"

The night was bright with stars as we motored through the night arriving at Isla Isabela at first light. This island is some 20 miles off shore and is compared with The Galapagos for its marine life. We anchored at the south end of the island in an open anchorage and after a cooked breakfast we rowed ashore. At the head of the bay there is a fishing camp with panga boats anchored off and families were cooking with their children playing and fishing along the shore. Immediately you realized that this island was very different from any we had been on in the Sea area before. Above the island hundreds of frigate birds soared on the thermals. We set off to climb to the lighthouse a steel frame on a low 280' high hill at the west side of the island. On our way along the path you had to step over the iguanas that were dozing in the heat of the sun. Some were up to 4' long. The island is a sanctuary and the nesting place for a variety of sea birds. In the eye height bush trees were whole families of frigate birds and their nests, mum, dad with his puffed out red chest and stubbly offspring. They had no fear of us at all and we walked past them within a foot or two. As we climbed the hill we came across the nests of booby birds. We saw brown booby's with their bright yellow feet and blue footed booby's. Their young stood around whilst their parents were fishing for their meal. When mum or dad would return the food was regurgitated for the young. This was the sign for the frigate birds who are scavengers and who would swoop down and try to steal the fluffy baby booby's meal. This was happening at 10 ft centers everywhere on the open ground, all oblivious to us and with a great deal of noise. We wound our way back down the steep hill and returned to the boat for a swim and a snooze. In the afternoon we identified red billed tropic birds with their long white tails. About half a mile out of the bay a school of whales breached and slapped their tail or waved their huge flippers for most of the afternoon. A truly special island.

"A busy morning and water under the keel at last"

We had a busy morning preparing to leave and obtaining our clearance papers. We also had a series of visitors who wished us well. These were couples who we had met along the way and who were in the marina. They were all staying for the Carnival. We felt that if the Carnival was held on the 30th we would have stayed but we were keen to get moving and would not wait another week. I went across town with Mike Wilson in his car to get my Lycra dive suit. The lady had made a beautiful job of the suit and it fitted perfectly. They really were a nice young family and I took a delightful photograph of the couple with their three year old boy. The husband taught youngsters swimming and is the area swimming coach. Mike is an ex Brit who has been in and around Mazetlan and the Sea for eight years. He has a wealth of practical knowledge of boats and is a marine engineer and registered marine surveyor. He is an entrepreneur and has developed a very efficient refrigeration system which he builds and installs for cruisers in the Sea area. We slipped out of the marina after lunch and soon were broad reaching southwards for Isla Isabela. By midnight the wind had dropped to zero and we motored on through the night.

"Preparations for leaving"

I was able to sent a short e-mail out using Sailmail . All is well after a frustrating week. It was interesting in that I identified the problems and was slowly moving to solutions but moving very slowly. I learned a lot from the process and will be much better equipped in the future to deal with a similar problem. Mazatlan is preparing for it's Carnival the third biggest in the world and here we are intent on leaving as soon as possible. All around town decorations, viewing bleachers and huge figures based on the Mexican artist Antonio Lopez Saenz are being erected along the Malecon. In the afternoon we went to a book exchange and stocked up on reading books. We bought fruit from a fruiteria and I ordered a protective swimsuit for when I have to clean the bottom of the boat off. I will pick up the suit within 24 hrs of being measured for it and the cost is $40! We had our evening swim and were just making supper in the darkening evening when a boat slipped into the marina and headed for a berth close to us. We went to help with their lines and to our surprise found that it was Roger and Sally. We had spent time with them in La Paz and enjoyed their company and their enthusiasm for life. They had a tough upwind passage from Bahia Navidad and we invited them over for supper and had a very pleasant evening catching up on the news.

"A fine day and some progress."

After the night of rain the morning air was clear and bright and I went for a row. Eric came over from Mazatlan marina and after a short while confirmed what I had thought was the problem, the operating disc that came with the hard ware for the USB connector did not apply to that equipment. We were able to down load a copy onto Eric's computer at Marina Mazetlan and all should be OK. We invited Eric and Sherrill over for supper and had an enjoyable evening. They have both decided to take a step back from the corporate rat race and to enjoy their cruising. Both had top jobs and will find work anywhere with their qualifications and experience. Sherrill was a corporate manager and Eric had his degree in electronics and was working in radio communications developing new systems. His final help at the onset of supper was to sort out the COM ports and at last we were up and running.

"Clean up and heavy rain"

We carried on with our list of jobs through the day and also scrubbed the boat completely. I came up on the local net and asked if any one had expertise with setting up ssb radio and in the late morning I heard from Eric. We had met Eric and his wife Sherrill on the way down from San Francisco, first in Monterey, then in Marina Del Ray and Newport Beach. Eric offered help and would be over the next day. In the afternoon heavy rain started. This continued through the evening and we watched a movie, an oldie " The Big Country". Christine had not seen it before and we both enjoyed the film.

"Preparations for departure"

In between attempting to get the correct programme off the operating disc for the modem we prepared for departure. I set the Monitor self-steering up and adjusted the trim paddle. When we crossed The Sea I had found that whilst the vane worked perfectly it did not have the full range of movement in one sense. We cleaned the dinghy and I rebuilt the pressure water pump which had developed a hole in the diaphragm. In the evening we had our usual swim in the cool pool and then read late into the night.

"A frustrating day"

Even using the older programme for Sailmail I was unable to get the modem to activate and in addition I found that Ernesto's people had set the access protocol up so that even I as the administrator could not access certain operations. Following up on the previous offer of Ernesto's I took the computer back and they worked on it for a further three hours. They had done all they could it was now up to me.

"Farewells and programming"

Penny left at noon and I spent the rest of the day attempting to get the computer up and running without success. I was unable to connect into the marina's e-mail system to download the progammes I needed for Sailmail and weatherfax. All somewhat frustrating. It is a fact that I feel very comfortable with all others elements of our equipment when it comes to repair and maintenance but I am still on the learning curve as regards the computer. However as I say to Christine if I sit at the keyboard long enough I'll get there.

"Ernesto fulfills his promise and the girls explore"

Most of my day was taken chasing up on the computer. As promised Ernesto delivered on time and I went down town and picked the computer up. In the meantime Penny and Christine had gone to the Old Town to do some last minute shopping for gifts. They continued on and walked up to the lighthouse. This is the second highest location for a lighthouse in the world and on a hot day is a grind. They continued on their walk and almost walked the whole way back to the marina stopping at the Golden Zone area for the present shopping. They had a good day. The week had passed quickly and Penny's last day was tomorrow so we had a fine supper at the marina restaurant in the late evening sitting out on the open deck above the marina.

"Ernesto and the aquarium"

I took my computer to the experts in town "Team Computers" and lo and behold the owner and the only English speaking member was Ernesto who gave us excellent service and promised to have the problem fixed by the next day. In the afternoon we visited the aquarium and thoroughly enjoyed the display of fish and wildlife. In addition to the marine display they had some wildlife including a parrot show complete with parrots riding scooters and doing 3 year old jig saw puzzles! We stayed on the boat in the evening and enjoyed a good supper.

"Touring"

The small car we had rented for the day proved more than adequate for our needs and we set off early in the morning for Cosala, some 200km to the north. It was an interesting drive through varying countryside. Cosala is a market town in the foothills of the mountains. It is a very quaint town with all the narrow streets cobbled. As with all Mexican towns there was a great deal of activity. We wandered through the town noting the busy stores and activities. As we passed the school we noted that it was well organized and each child had his/her name marked on their chair. The village square had many stores around it and of particular interest was the saddlery where father son and grandson were making the most beautiful saddles in leather from scratch. These were golden in colour and the results of a combined effort of the generations. On the way back we stopped at a man made lake and I talked to a fisherman. The road cut through the coastal mountains and at one stage we stopped above a small village where we took in the view and the atmosphere. From the village below the sounds of children playing and grown up voices calling, with the sounds of goats and cows complete with neck bells arose in the still air. Added to this was the smell of wood smoke and the scents of the open countryside. We all agreed it was a memorable interlude. We took the car back in the evening and enjoyed a Mexican meal out.

"A day at the islands and a blue message"

First thing in the morning Penny went jogging along the beach to the north. After breakfast we left the marina in the boat and motored over the Deer Island. This island is one of three that lie off Mazatlan. We spent a lazy day swimming off the boat and Penny and I went ashore and climbed up to the top of the island. The views were over Mazatlan and in spite of the haze it was a worthwhile climb. In the evening we picked up a rental car for the next day and did some shopping at the local super market. During an attempt to send out a message on the "Sailmail" I received the dreaded blue screen on the computer. The computer was down!

"A full day"

After an early morning swim in the pool we caught a bus down town to show Penny the sights and the town. We concentrated on the Old Town visiting the market, the Cathedral and the open squares. Penny enjoyed it all and appreciated the noise and activity of the market and was intrigued by the meat section where whole cattle including heads were on display. We can just imagine the comments from the grand children when they see the photographs! As per our previous visit a service was in progress in the Cathedral and we stood in the shade of the entrance and enjoyed the sounds of the singing. We strolled through the Old Town and checked to see what upcoming presentations were on at the Theatre Angela Peralta. Unfortunately there was nothing within the next week or so. Last time we visited Mazatlan we attended a most memorable show at that theatre. We had an excellent lunch in the Plazuela Machado complete with midday beer, after which we finished our walk through the Old town. In the Museum of art we saw paintings by local and famous Mexican artists. One painting was by an internationally recognized Mexican artist who depicts people with small featureless heads and muscular bodies, all out of proportion. The same proportions are used for their 20' plus models which are currently being erected along the Malecon for the up coming Carnival in Mazetlan. We visited a local art shop which has done very well since last we visited it in 1999. They have developed a leather technique which creates sculptures in leather. We bought a small one to add to the one we bought in 1999 and Penny bought presents for the family. On the way back we had difficulty in finding the fish open air fish market for shrimp and prawns. We eventually found the open air market area and purchased a wonderful supper.

"The Old Town"

We caught a bus down town in the morning and showed Penny around the old town. The public market was as busy as ever and the carcasses of beef and heads of the animals caught Penny's interest. There was a service proceeding in the Cathedral which had both a full choir and full congregation. The singing was good and robust and yet had that special haunting sound a church building always gives. We drifted round the area checking to see what show was on at the Theatre on the Saturday night. We went to a performance last time we visited Mazatlan and the colours and excitement of that show are still with us. The Theatre was restored to its former glory in 1998 and is a beautiful building inside and out. It has all the rich ornate fittings the old Victorian era buildings had and also the tiered boxes for seating and viewing. We bought some fresh prawns for supper and then all had our noses deep in new reading books for the rest of the evening.

"News from home"

Penny arrived safely in the afternoon after a slow trip due to weather. She had to overnight in Seattle and because of the snow and ice in Victoria had lost a day in Mexico. It was good to sit down with her and catch up her news of family and the local scene back home. We looked at the latest pictures of the grand children and noted the changes in them, height and appearance. Tristan, who was born as we left Victoria already has two teeth and a warm smile. We talked well into the night and all had a grand sleep.

"Shipshape and disappointed"

We spent the morning tidying up the boat and giving her a wash down. I had been unable to get out on the "sailmail” and also unable to get onto the internet at the hotel since the server was down. Eventually I got out on sailmail and found that Penny had not been able to leave Victoria because of bad weather and would not arrive until the same time, pm on Monday. We had a long walk along the beach to the north followed by a swim in the grotto pool and then read our books until dark. I finished the first of O'Brian's Captain Aubrey "Master and Commander'.

"Gooseneck and R&R"

We had a lazy day reading and in the afternoon I installed the famous gooseneck fitting. There is no doubt in my mind that it is many times stronger and more suitable for our needs the previous one which would undoubtedly let us down at some time. In the late afternoon we had our swim at the grotto pool and read through the evening. I have stared Patrick O'Brian yet again probably for the fifth time and am reading the first of his novel about James Aubrey. Every time I read these I seem to get more from the books and I enjoy even more the way in which O'Brian passes on the unsaid feelings and attitudes of the characters of that time.

"Shopping recce and a boat race"

When we leave Mazatlan in 10 days time we will need to stock up on food so we took a trip into the mall area to check out the stores to see which had the range of foodstuffs we needed. They all do and again you can get what you want if you look around. We had an airy ride back in a pulmonia taxi taking yet another route back to the marina. In the afternoon the local cruisers had organized a model boat race. The rules were rudimentary, Max beam 9", Max length 18" and after that anything went. There were 20 entries ranging from pop bottles ballasted with water to boats made out of aluminum with self steering gear. The one that nearly stole the race was a helium filled balloon in the shape of a monkey tied to a ballasted pop bottle. It was a small lightweight paper one that picked up the breeze in the last 20 m or so and took the line honors. Money raised was directed to the Tsunami relief fund. We spent a lazy evening reading in the cockpit. Air temp is about 20-26 most of the day.

"Holiday time"

Every morning there is a wonderful feeling of expectancy for the day at El Cid. The weather is summer like, not too hot and with a cooling breeze but it is the very early morning that has that special feel of the day waking up. What adds to it is the sound of the doves that live around the Marina. It reminds us so of Christine's parents old home at Sowerby Mill where in high summer the wood pigeons would the first sound to wake you up. The people staying at the Marina and hotel complex are slow to get up so for the first hour or so you have the place to yourself; it feels very much like the holiday setting it is. Between us we defrosted the icebox. This is a task that involves one lying with head in the box and feet in the air to remove all the ice build up and clean the depths out. It took a surprising length of time to complete the operation. Once completed we had a swim and a shower and then a fine supper. We spent time checking our proposed itinerary and the anchorages we plan to use on the way down the coast, as we will day sail south. I spent an interesting hour talking to one of our boating neighbors. He is the same age as I and had also just retired. He had just lost his wife of 38 years suddenly and I could see that he was unsure of his long-term plans. He has a brand new 60' sport fishing boat and has two full time crew. It is not usual to have cruisers and sports fishermen berthed together as they are here in the marina. The two certainly have different interests and generally different outlooks with the fishermen dashing about and making their presence felt in their extrovert way. Gerry is a gentleman in every respect and I enjoyed our discussion on wide ranging topics. With his recent loss it made me realize even more that what we were embarking on was timely whilst we are still fit and able and have each other’s support.

"Exploring"

The marina is located on the side of a deepened and widened channel that originally drained a mangrove swamp area. Last time we were here staying on J & S's boat we went into the low lying area by boat and saw a wide variety of shore bird life. We put our hard dinghy in the water and puttered up into the same area to find that they were dredging and the landscape and habitat were no longer apparent. It was high tide and since the range of colorful birds we saw last time were wading birds we will give it another go at low tide. We walked into the Golden Zone, so called since it caters for the tourist in an intense way with the usual "T" shirt outlets bric a brac stores and restaurants. We were looking for the Tourist Information building but never found it. Mazatlan is one long curving beach about 15 kms long, with the hotels at the north end and the old town at the south end near the dock area. El Cid is at the north end. It is a very long walk to the Old Town our ultimate destination and we have several choices for transport, taxi, pulmonia (an open taxi based on a VW beatle in which you are open to the elements and can catch pneumonia which in Spanish is pulmonia!), pick up truck where you sit in the back on benches facing each other and buses. There are two standards of bus; open and air-conditioned. To get to the Old Town we have a choice of four routes and we caught the first that came along. It was an interesting trip which lasted over half an hour. We turned inland and went past all the big super stores and then we were into a part of Mazatlan remote from the tourist area. We traveled along narrow concrete streets with small shops and people activity everywhere. On both sides of these concrete streets were dirt roads and shanty housing. We turned down one of these roads and bumped our way along this dirt track. By then we were two of three people left on the bus. At one stage we were assuaged by the strong smell of coffee being roasted. This smell lasted some while and was eventually explained when we broke out of the dirt road into an industrial area and there was a coffee factory. Eventually the bus lurched over curbs and parked on a piece of waste ground surrounded by buildings along with about 30 others buses all parked within inches of each other. This was the end of the route! My sense of direction is good and we walked over to a main road and were able to catch another bus into the Old Town another half hour ride away. We had traveled over an hour to cover the 15kms at a total cost of 80 cents each! It certainly gave us a good feel of the layout of the town, what is out there and what the real Mexican township and non-tourist area looks like. In the Old Town area we shopped in the Central Market for fruit and vegetables. We caught an air-conditioned bus back to the marina and I decided that I prefer the open bus since you are not isolated from the noise, smells and activity. We had a life saving cup of tea and then took a short ferry ride across the channel and walked about 2-3 kms along the long sweeping sandy beach to the north. We sat down on the way back and watched the sun set in a clear sky. At the instant the sun disappeared over the horizon there was the characteristic green flash. We had enjoyed a full day and went to bed early.

"R & R"

We had planned to go down town but never made it. After we had tidied the boat up and washed all the salt off we had a swim and talked to some of the cruisers and guests at the hotel. I met a young couple from Falmouth UK who were on their way to New Zealand. We had watched them set off the day before and they returned with another boat in tow which had mechanical problems with its engine; as they said you never know when it would be you needing help. In the evening after the sun had set we spent time in the hot pool and had a swim before lighting our gas barbecue for the first time on the whole trip. It worked fine after Bob of "Relax" had drilled out the orifice to 40 thousands of an inch for me in La Paz. Previously it was 20 thou and could hardly raise any heat. There always is a solution. This stay will be our last marina stay of any consequence so we are going to sit back and enjoy. We are looking forward to Penny joining us on Sunday for a week.

"Settling in"

We spent the day settling in to the marina, getting our bearings and meeting our neighbors. Marina El Cid is set in front of the hotel complex and we are able to use all the facilities. It is a 5 Star hotel and has a fine setting overlooking the ocean. We caught up on our sleep by having an early night to bed after having a swim in the pool.

"Starry, starry night, the dance of the Mantas, an easy crossing"

I popped my head out a couple of times through the night whilst we were still at anchor to check the wind direction and strength. It remained from the north and varied between 5 to 15knts. What was spectacular however was the night sky. Without a moon and no shore lights the stars were strong and bright. I always find the night sky very humbling when it is this clear. It certainly puts a scale to our lives, life on earth and indeed in our solar system. As the sun rose we were treated to a spectacular sight in the bay at Los Frailes. All around our boat manta rays were jumping well clear of the water in the early morning light. There were probably 20 of them in total and they seemed to leap out of the water in concert with each other. It was fascinating to watch and they seemed so determined to carry out these leaps which took them clear of the water. The display could not have been choreographed better and we felt that somewhere there would be a piece of music to suit the action. The mantas were bat wing mantas. We left the anchorage at 8-00hrs and crossed The Sea in 5-15 knots of wind from the north taking 28hrs to do the 163nm. The wind fell light over the last 20 miles and eventually we had to start the engine.

"On the road again"

We had a fine sail from Los Muertos to Los Frailes southward down the inside of the Baja Peninsula. Frailes gives a shorter crossing of the Sea of Cortez to the Mainland and generally gives a good slant with the prevailing NW winds. The 50 miles took us under 8hrs to sail and we motored off the anchor and to anchor only. The early part was slow with speeds down to 3 knots but during the latter part we were running at 7-8 knots for most of the way. I put out a fishing line but had no success, probably the color of the lure is wrong, I bought it in Newport for that area. There is a lot of marine life if you look around. In addition to the bird life we have seen a pod of whales breaching in the distance about 3/4 miles away and we sailed through a school of dolphin which were jumping clear of the water as they headed north. The coastline was at its best on the clear sparkling day. The arroyos were highlighted by the shadows on the hillside. The land is greener than we both remember it from our last visit. We suspect that this is due to a wetter fall and early winter. We also noticed that there has been some building and minor developments erected along the shore. Last time we commented on how desert like and dry the land was and how devoid of human habitation it was. Development is sporadic and the little building that has taken place in no way detracts from the grandeur and splendid vistas. We joined 8 other sailboats in the anchorage. They will be waiting for a window to go north or like us to cross The Sea. Christine made a splendid pie for supper which we enjoyed as we watched the sunset over the jagged peaks inland.

"Farewells and a good sail to Los Muertos."

After checking out of the marina and obtaining our clearance papers we said our farewells to the friends we had made and of course to John and Sandy. We will miss them, John with his easy manner and never ending humor and Sandy with her warmth, kindness and active mind. They are good friends and we look forward to spending time with them again soon. It was with sadness that we cast our lines and left the marina. We nearly had an incident as I was backing out. The helm suddenly locked and I realized quickly that the Alpha had engaged and I could not turn the wheel at all. In disengaging the unit I managed to shatter the engage handle but was able to disengage the system OK. No one including Christine noticed any thing untoward as I scrambled in the cockpit and we motored out of the marina safely. Number one job on the new to do list!!! We had a good sail to Los Muertos some 60 miles from La Paz and arrived as the sun was setting.

"Laundry, Pepsi Plant. shopping, a thing of beauty."

First thing we did laundry, at least Christine did, I helped carry things. Then up to the Pepsi plant to find that the fitting was still not finished and Ernesto promised to bring it to me at 12-30. Rather than hang around we walked the mile or so to the super market and stocked up on fruit and vegetables. At 12-30 precisely Ernesto arrived with the gooseneck fitting. It is a thing of beauty, strong, with a high polish and finally accurate in every detail. Ernesto delivered it to me proudly with profuse apologies for the time it had taken. I took a photo of Ernesto holding the fitting for the record. Later I showed the fitting to several people much as a new father would show his new offspring. It has been a long, sometimes frustrating wait but at no time did either Ernesto or myself loose our equanimity and we parted close friends. I was happy to have expanded their range of experience and to have provided the work for them. It was our last night in La Paz and we watched a video of a sailing trip undertaken by a couple down the Central American coast to the Galapagos. It had been filmed some years ago but the film quality was very good. Early to bed for a long day the next day.

"Hull polish, Ernesto, fitting check, fish restaurant."

On Monday I had the hull cleaned by Jose one of the local divers. He did a fine job and I asked him to come back to polish the hull for us. They are such pleasant people we cannot resist their sales talk. Jose has three children; he loves sailing but not the children. They are all doing well at school and he and his wife have high hopes for them. He completed the hull in the morning and I went up to the Pepsi plant with Jack our next-door neighbor. Jack is a retired schoolteacher and he and his wife Mary Kay are long time Mexico visitors. They have been visiting since the mid 60's and as a result know Mexico and the language very well. Jack like us was having work done at the plant, he on his engine exhaust. The unit was being worked on and I pointed out a couple of things that were still to do. Hector the stainless steel expert and Ernesto brought the fitting in the afternoon to check it out and again I found items they did not understand and had missed. It was promised for 10-00am the next day! I rowed the dinghy round to the fuel dock with all the diesel jugs and had them filled. The jugs/cans were all stored and we are getting close to being ready for departure. In company with John and Sandy, Dennis and Paula we went to the local fish restaurant. We had a meal at the same restaurant 11 years ago and I ordered the same meal, whole red snapper. It was as good as it was all those years ago when we had Scott Penny and Duncan visit us at that time.

"Preparations for departure"

Christine worked on the Bimini and sewed whilst I polished and cleaned the boat up. I filled the fuel cans with diesel and stowed the lockers ready for our Friday departure. Ernesto called in again, the second time that day and at last he seems to understand what is required. As ever I am hopeful he will produce before we leave on Friday. I will go to the Pepsi Plant and check the fitting out first thing. In the meantime Christine has modified the Bimini so that it can cover a larger portion of the cockpit if so needed. We joined John and Sandy and as always spent a most pleasant evening in their company.

"Jobs , a row, pottery hunt and the Dock Cafe"

We continued with small jobs on the boat. Christine sewing and making lightweight waterproof trousers for those tropical storms and I cleaning and polishing the boat. We are obviously coming to the end of our job list. I had a long row in the Booth dinghy using the sweep oars and rowing about a mile upstream. The tide runs at about 3-4 knots at times and the row took an hour or so. In the late morning we walked into town to find a pottery outlet Christine had heard about. The pottery was limited in range, colorful but all a of a style and we returned empty handed. The town was very quiet after the Christmas bustle and excitement. We had a meal out at the dock cafe/restaurant which is about 50' from our boat. Good food and a good live singer.

“Water under our keel again”

All jobs completed for now we set off for some R&R and sailed out of La Paz to Puerto Ballandra. The day was fine and clear and we had a sail in light airs to the bay. We had a short walk ashore and then cleaned off the bottom of the dinghy since it has been sitting in the warm water for several weeks. The day changed to heavy overcast but it was still good to be out at anchor again. I tried to catch our supper but as usual I had no luck. We moved to Puerto Lobos since southerly winds were forecast and anchored in the lee of and close to the southern shore. We sat in the cockpit for while and the background noise of the cicadas on land was all around us. In the early morning we had a shower of rain but the day improved until it was hot and sunny again. The wind was still northerly and gave an updraft wind over the hill to the south of us. A flock of frigate birds were soaring in these updrafts. These are beautiful streamlined sea birds, black with a large wingspan and a forked tail and soar effortlessly in these conditions. Our favourites the pelicans were trying to emulate the frigates but were not totally succeeding although they are amazing fliers considering their cumbersome shape. We sailed back to the Marina and gave the boat a thorough clean and wash down and as always we try to be sparing with the use of water. There is no limitation on the use of water in La Paz however. The water is drawn from wells surrounding the town. The aquifer is filled during the rainy season and this is added to by the reservoirs that have been built to hold the runoff so that it can percolate into the ground rather than run off to the ocean. We are now getting ready to move on and plan to leave at the end of the week for the Mainland. I still have to get the fitting from Ernesto and plan to go to him in the morning.

"News Years Eve"

We were determined to complete the installation and testing of the additional diesel tank before the end of the year. As with every thing it had taken twice as long to get to this stage. Today was no exception and it took until 5-30 pm to complete. The flexible tank is now contained in a heavy-duty canvas bag, which Christine made. It is separated from the hull with a soft padded mat, it is tied down to the hull and finally it has a series of straps running across it to further hold it down. I siphoned 25 gallons of diesel into the new tank, checked and adjusted the straps, all was well. I then pumped the tank dry transferring the diesel into the main tank using a small hand pump. The system works well even though it took 1,000 strokes to transfer the fuel! New Years Eve is a noisy affair in Mexico. Firecrackers, cars squealing around corners and gunshots occurred at midnight. The Marina owners advised us to stay inside to avoid any stray bullets! We spent a very pleasant evening with John and Sandy and felt that we had earned our New Years tipple.

“I’m going down the old coal hole Bloedwin”

I had been waiting for an overcast cool day to carry out the work in the aft lazarette and the forecast was for three consecutive days of such weather. Even so it was warm work crawling in and out of the tight space and round the inside of the transom to the area that is very difficult and awkward to work in. The three days were spent working in the aft lazarette and I was in and out of that locker more times than I care to think about. In the three days I installed a stern anchor roller, a through hull for the electric bilge pump, completed the set up for the Navico/Monitor wind vane, installed the electrics for same, installed a deck fill for the new aft tank and prepared the space for the new tank. This has involved installation of pad-eyes to strap the tank down, and the installation of the breather line. Tomorrow the 31st I should complete the installation! During that period I managed to get up to the Pepsi plant and saw Ernesto. I also saw Hector who is working on the gooseneck fitting. Hector said he would come to the boat on Wed at 10-00am to check the fitting. He didn’t come until Thurs at 11-30am, however when we checked the fit of the collar he has made for the mast it fitted perfectly. Hector has promised to complete all by Monday! Patience may be rewarded! The days have been warm even though Tues and Wed were overcast. Today Thursday was hot and the airless inside of the locker was no fun. A shower as the sun set followed by a cool drink has been most welcome. Tomorrow should see the last of the big effort and I’ll no longer be able to say, “I’m going down the old coal hole Bloedwin” as the Welsh miners used to say.

“Reiver turboed”

It was a calm day again so that we changed our headsail from the 130% to our full genoa which is a 150% sail. This involved unpacking the forepeak and repacking the smaller sail once it was taken down. Since space is limited for stowage this is slow warm work. We are expecting lighter winds for the section over the Central Americas and thought the extra power would be advantageous. In the evening we linked to the Internet and checked out some of the locations we want to visit; in particular those in Ecuador. Whilst we have a great deal of information on the boat there is always more to be had and as I have noted previously the regulations and new additions to Ports change by the month.

“Boxing Day”

Boxing Day was clear, warm and windless, the ideal day for a walk on the Magote. It is a good 30minute motor to cross to the beach portion and in company with John and Sandy, Lisa and Bart (J &S’s daughter and son in law) we had a fine walk along the beach. It turned out that there was enough wind to fly the small pocket kite that had been given to us so it followed us on our walk with tail streaming. Such a kite with its long coloured tail could be useful in a search and rescue situation and it was interesting to see how well it flew in the light winds. We saw a small flock of Royal Terns wading along the edge of the waves. These are very colourful with bright orange beaks and black heads. I took some photos of the expedition. The digital age has certainly added to photography. Not that quality is necessarily improved over a conventional good film camera for only if you are into a very expensive digital camera could you replicate the images from a good SLR camera and film. It is the ability to take more photographs of a reasonable quality and discard those that are not satisfactory and have instant access to them all immediately and at any time that I have enjoyed. We have looked back with pleasure at the collection of over 1,000 shots taken to date on this trip. In the evening we relaxed and read our novels, Christine well into Melvyn Braggs trilogy of growing up in the post war years in Cumberland. Christine too is finding that the book brings back many memories of her youth.

“Christmas Day”

A cold clear day with strong northerlies heralded Christmas Day. I was up early at 6-00 am and sent e-mails to the family. I then went for a row. We have a hard “Booth” dinghy on board 8’-0” long which rows really well particularly when I use the long sculling oars which came with the boat. I rowed out in to mid channel where the waves and tide were greatest in the 20 knt winds to see how the dinghy took those conditions. The dinghy handled the waves well and apart from getting a little wet from the spray it was most enjoyable. We had all from “El Gato “ over for lunch and then had a long walk in the afternoon along the Malecon (the waterfront). The scene was the same the whole world over on Christmas afternoon. Families were out in force with their children trying out their new presents. Bright eyed children were rushing about and falling off their new bicycles. With others playing soccer on the beach with new soccer balls or toys. In the evening we had a wonderful Christmas dinner on El Gato. We had a good day but sure missed the family and those six little grand children.

"Christmas Eve"

We had what is probably our last Spanish lesson with Raymundo. He is a good sales man and was all for us taking more. We’ll see. This time I steered him onto elements I felt we would need, covering off weather forecasts, entry requirement terminology etc since we will not have the benefit of forecast in English in South America. Greg came on board in the afternoon and we installed a programme that he had which would be of great value with charts on. In the evening we joined John and Sandy, Lisa and Bart on “El Gato” for a while. One of the cruisers had organised some carol singing in the car park area and we joined in that. It turned out to be a service run by the Baptists which I did not feel a tall comfortable with, but unfortunately we had sat down to the front of the small crowd and were bound to stay to the bitter end. Bitter end it was since it was cold with a strong north wind blowing. We were both chilled when we finally extracted ourselves and probably extended the length of our colds.

“Colds, Christmas shop,socialising,”Kenu”

Both Christine and I have colds, but not enough to slow us down. Backpacks on we made a trip to CCC a local super market, which has the full range of goods t do our final shop for the holiday period. In the afternoon we visited Jean and Greg on their boat “Grasal’. They are from Calgary and as usual Canadians and people from the old Commonwealth countries always seem to get together. Greg had some articles we were interested in and we some he was interested in. He also had some charts, which we were able to get copies of. A pleasant afternoon was spent drinking tea in their cockpit. In the evening we joined Roger and Sally on their steel hulled Kiwi built boat called “Kena”. for a drink. Roger was a Kiwi and Sally was from Tasmania and they had emigrated to the Us and worked there for some time. Their son and two of his friends had joined them for Christmas. The three boys were having a ball, meeting people, socialising, and nightclubs and generally travelling around the area. They had met a Spanish University Professor who had taken them under his wing to the extent that he had invited them to his families Christmas dinner and evening celebrations. Such is the generosity and warm-hearted open nature of the Mexican people. It reminds me of the attitudes we had when I was young in UK. The more we progress the more we are isolationist.

“Spanish lesson, copying and Christmas Cards”

Raymundo picked us up at 8-50am and we continued with our Spanish lessons, this time working on directions and giving directions on the street. Certainly I feel much more comfortable with the language both on pronunciation and vocabulary. In addition to the Spanish we are getting a good insight into the social structure of the country.In the afternoon we walked into town and had some copies made of some cruising articles we had been given to read. These covered Ecuador, the ports of entry, the harbours / anchorages and the current entry requirements. These change by the month and if you are forewarned it saves a lot of problems later on. The wireless connection to the Internet has opened another avenue of research for such information. It is amazing what is available. We came across a photo and write up of Dan Hilton from the RVYC who is sailing around the world. Currently he is in Cape Town where his father will join him for the trip up the Atlantic. The Hiltons are a remarkable family all very accomplished sailors, Dan was on the National team and at 21 or 22 has almost sailed around the world. Dan and his two sisters, Holly and Robin have been the common element on their boat “Il Granchio” a Beneteau 45. They will have some experiences to relate. I understand that when one of the girls was looking after the boat in Australia she single handed took of all the bottom paint and gel coat and did a first class job on the installation of an epoxy barrier coat impressing the heck out of the Aussie macho men. Knowing Brenda and David, their parents I’m not surprised that their children have the tenacity and determination they have. Whilst making these trips David and Brenda have continued to work and the three children have continued their University courses a remarkable achievement all round. In the evening I set up the printer and printed several glossy photographs, which we made into Christmas cards for friends we have made in the marina.

“Patience is a virtue in Mexico”

Still no news on the goose neck fitting so I had called Ernesto on Friday last who had promised me that he would come and meet with me at 11-00am yesterday. He didn’t arrive so I called him at the “Pepsi” plant he manages. He is there from 7-00 to 9-00am in the morning and 3-00 to 6-00pm each day. He promised me that he would be with me today at 9-00am and guess what he did not show so I called him again and he agreed to meet me at the boat in 15 mins. He showed up with Hector and went carefully through the requirements. He has agreed that by Thursday he will have most of the fitting made and will bring it for a site fitting on that day! It is three weeks exactly since I made contact with Ernesto at the plant with my detailed drawing. You certainly need patience in Mexico! I hope it is rewarded! In the meantime I busied myself with fitting cheek plates and stopper on the boom for the fourth reef. We had a fourth reef put in the main in lieu of a trysail. This will give us yet another lower gear as it were in heavy winds. I also started to work on the installation of an electric ”Navico” tiller minder, which Christine had given me for Christmas one year for the last boat that was tiller steered. My plan is to link the Navico to the wind vane. This will be of great help in light winds, particularly downwind when there is insufficient pressure on the vane to maintain a good course. Fitting will require some wiring and make up of two fittings; it should be an easy matter and should work very well. The great advantage it will have over the Alpha is that it will draw only a small fraction of the electrical power that the Alpha does since this system will be servo assisted. It should work well. The marina has a wireless Internet set-up and in the late afternoon I sat on deck with our laptop and was able to activate the wireless component of the computer and to link into the system. For me that was an achievement! As I say to Christine each time I achieve something new on the computer it’s like sitting the monkey at a piano; eventually it will play “God save the Queen!” In the evening we were able to catch up on our-mail correspondence. The longer we are in La Paz the more interesting people we meet, mostly all cruisers like our selves. Some have swallowed the hook and now are settled in La Paz and perhaps go up into the sea on occasions. Some run their business from their new location. Ed for instance sells Tuna fish boats all over the world. These are 2-300 ft long state of the art boats complete with heli-copters! Others like our selves are keen to travel further. It seems that a bigger percent of these are Canadians. It never ceases to amaze me the range of skills that they all have both individually and collectively. The great thing is we are all willing to share that knowledge and on the morning net technical queries are solved as a matter of course. These range from engine problems/sharing of parts to electronic know how. The weather continues to be delightful warm, almost too warm in the early afternoon, but calm with a clear sky and every evening with a wonderful sunset.

"Spanish lesson and evening out"

Our second Spanish lesson was this morning and Christine and I were the only ones in the classroom so we got personal attention. Our reason for taking the lessons is to accelerate our learning process. We are to be in Spanish speaking countries for 19 months and in South America we will not have the benefit of any English speaking locals, even the weather forecasts will be in Spanish. We did some route planning and reading in the afternoon and in the pm went to the Club Cruceros (Cruisers Club) Christmas function. We had understood that there was to be food but nothing of consequence was provided so eight of us, four couples, went into town for a meal. We went to an authentic Mexican food restaurant and we had an excellent meal with two rounds of drinks for less than $10 per head. Christine and I had Mole with chicken. The sauce is the specialty. It had a spicy sauce one ingredient of which is chocolate. We both enjoyed it and would have it again. The company was good and the evening quickly passed.

"Breakfast out, Spring clean and El Magote"

It was Christine's birthday today which deserved something special. At John and Sandy's suggestion we all went to "The Gorilla Restaurant" for breakfast. The owner and chief chef is certainly a gorilla of a man and the meal was excellent. Fresh fruit was followed by your choice of breakfast which ranged from the standard pancakes to steak and whatever. The meal was cooked to perfection and we had copious quantities of coffee all for 70 pesos per head. Back on the boat we hosed the boat down and we cleaned up after the varnishing works. Some half to three quarters of a mile across the channel opposite la Paz lies the El Mogote. This is a flat sandy estuary deposit with low trees and shrubs and areas of mangrove swamp. It is huge in area at a guess 8km by 10km and is uninhabited, although developers have their eye on it and we understand that David Butterfield from Victoria was trying to start some development there. There is opposition to the development and to my mind it would be like building in Central Park NY or Stanley Park in Vancouver! There are two shorelines, one faces La Paz and is about three km long, to the north there is a beach running east/ west about 8kms long. Both are all sand so that you can walk for miles with only the sound of the sea and the sea birds. In the afternoon we motored over in the dinghy and had a long walk along the beaches. There was a gentle breeze and the temperature was in the low 20's, very pleasant. Christine shell collected and paddled along the waters edge. Over the last two days the wind has moderated to a gentle breeze, most of the time to date we have had 15-20 knots. Along the shore there was signs of last year’s hurricane which hit La Paz directly and caused a lot of damage, particularly at the marina we are staying at. If you look around there is still evidence of it with three masts poking above the water and the odd wreck on the beach stripped of all valuable fittings. Marina de La Paz has in effect been rebuilt and his time they have included a piled breakwater to cover the eventuality of another hit.

"Varnishing completed and a Christmas stock up"

The varnishing complete we left the boat to dry and walked into town, this time with our West Marine cart in tow. This is a cart that is very light, folds away and stows easily but has in its life carried amazing loads. I remember carrying five full "five gallon" plastic cans of diesel for two or three miles in the Marquesas Islands. We loaded up on fruit and vegetables and also wine and liquor. Food is significantly cheaper here than in Canada and we feel that money goes twice as far. The Baja's main source of produce appears to be California so the standard is good and you can find almost all the foods you are used to. Fish is good and fresh and shrimp, prawn size are both tasty and reasonably priced. It is easy to understand why retirees move down here on a full time basis. Health care is excellent; apparently most of the doctors and dentists have been trained in the United States and are good. We talked to a cruiser one day who had root canals done and he said they had cost him $200-$300 each! At the house visits we met two or three couples that were having houses built and they were expecting their house to take six months but were very happy with the standard of workmanship. I plan to look and see where house prices compare. We now have some Christmas lights up in the boat and although the weather is definitely not what we are used to for Christmas the atmosphere exists on the boat and in the town.

"Spanish lessons, varnishing and down unders"

Every morning on the local net Ramundo comes on and reminds the cruisers that he offers Spanish lessons. On impulse we jumped in his mini van and traveled north to his classroom at Marina Palmera. For an hour and a half we were immersed in the spoken word. He is a most interesting character full of energy and very extrovert. In addition to Spanish he teaches Mexicans English, runs a computer school, provides assistance at the schools for children who are having difficulty learning, runs Mexican cooking classes and runs field trips to whale watching and to other interesting venues where he will cook amazing meals usually on the beach. We both enjoyed the challenge and felt that we benefited from the class, we have two more next week. The varnishing continued and we will be finished tomorrow. In the evening Roger and Sally both from down under joined us for a sundowner.

"House visits"

The local "Lions Club " had organized an evening of visits to people’s homes that had their Christmas decorations up. All proceeds to the local children's charities. We were not quite sure what to expect and joined the coach with about 40 other people and visited six houses. We were taken through each house and introduced to all the family members. Externally some of the houses were non descript but inside they were true gems. Very well furnished, comfortable and homely. They were all related and were in various businesses ranging from an Engineer who also had a turf farm to the house of the ex mayors of La Paz, to one with a road construction business complete with all their equipment in the yard! They all had things in common and great emphasis was on the family with lots of good quality photographs of the family and offspring on the wall. One family had 32 grand children! Each gave us food and or drink and it was a merry party by the time we reached the last homes. I really cannot imagine having a busload of strangers descend on our home and walk through looking at all and everything. They are a kind warm people and made us most welcome. The standard of construction and detailing was first class in most of the homes. Finally we were taken to a local kindergarten school where a meal had been prepared by the ladies of the committee for us. It was a Mexican dish, tomalies which I found tasty.

"Walkabout's"

Today we walked a long way round town looking for various items we needed. We made it all the more difficult by not having a map with us. I called in to see Ernesto who told me that he was working on the fitting for me .I was not totally sure this was the case. He will produce in the end, it's just a case of delay for one reason or another. Things are in full swing for the run up to Christmas and the streets were busy with street stalls and shoppers, noisy and colorful. In the marina there is a constant change of people and boats. Little Alex a three year old and his Mum and Dad are still next door and we always receive a cheery greeting of "Hi" from him at all hours of the day. A new steel boat came in across the way. It is a well built New Zealand boat with husband and wife from N.Z and Tasmania respectively; a very interesting couple. He worked in the US for 10 years and set up a software company that he recently sold out of. There is always a constant activity and our hard dodger still attracts a lot of attention. The other day two boaters brought the local glass-fiber expert to look at our dodger and to give them a price for making a one just like it. I heard later that the price was two times that of ours!

"Varnishing and a Movie"

We spent most of the day varnishing and have made good progress. We are now to a stage where I will rub down the previous days varnish work with wet and dry and then get one or two coats on per day over the next few days. On bare wood I'll go the seven or eight coats and with the topping up only two or three coats. After supper we watched a movie, a good oldie "The Manchurian Candidate" at the El Gato cinema (John and Sandy's boat), much enjoyed by all including the popcorn!

"Bright work and a trip to see Earnesto"

The continuation of the warm weather prompted us to set to and do the outside bright work on the boat. Whilst the boat does not have much external woodwork it takes time to remove all the old varnish and to prepare for the new. This occupied much of the day with Christine doing preparation below for some of her varnishing. High traffic areas such as hand rails. Steps and the like are given a gloss finish whereas the other teak finishes such as down below doors and wood finishes are given a satin finish. It does sound as though we are working all the time but in fact this is normal maintenance work which we have put off and the only time you can do such work is when you have time, as we do at present! In the afternoon we walked into town and I sat down with Ernesto at the "Pepsi Plant" and got him to promise to start ASAP on my gooseneck fitting. He had promised to meet with me on the boat that morning but did not show, always "Manana" in Mexico! We brought a full load of stores; essential stores such as two doz beer and other consumables home in our backpacks.

"A day on the water"

Since arriving in La Paz we have had wind on a daily basis occasionally dropping at night but generally blowing at 10 to 25knts through the day. This has made the decision to stay in the marina and work on the boat or go into town for something an easy one. This morning there was no wind in the cloudless sky and we planned to take the dinghy over to The Magote a flat estuary area with wonderful beach walks across the channel from La Paz. Instead John and Sandy's invitation to go to Ballandra a bay some 10 nm north of La Paz won the day. We sailed on their boat which is a Nonsuch 30'. This boat has an unusual rig for a keelboat with an unstayed mast, single sail and a wishbone boom like they have on today's sailboards. The design of the rig goes back to the 30's and appears simple and easy to handle. The boat tacked through 90 degrees and there was no grinding at each tack. It sails much like the laser dinghy. We motored out of the channel northwards and then sailed the 8miles to Ballandra. There we spent the afternoon snorkeling on a coral reef along the foot of a rock face. The range of fish seen in the small area was surprising. These ranged from parrotfish to neons to sea bass and many other fishes. Christine and I rowed ashore and scrambled up a rocky point which gave us views of the area. To the north the island of Espiritu Santu stood out clearly with its exposed red yellow and ochre colored rock striations. At the south end there was a splash of green on the island showing where the low scrub and cacti were growing. The bay itself is backed by quite high mountains and within the bay itself there are a series of white sandy beaches. The shallow warm water was a bright green color as they met the beach and this combined to make the views very colorful and picture perfect. On our way back we passed the Governors residence again, a fine looking Spanish style house set on a point with its own private beach. Much development is taking and has taken place since last we were in La Paz. We understand that it is all financed from within Mexico who has the position that they should be the ones to develop their land. Next week we will have a tour of some houses in the La Paz area as part of a fund raising event, it should be interesting to see the architecture and the use of local materials. We arrived back in La Paz as the sun set in the cloudless sky over the low purple mountains in the distance.

"The return of Misty and receipt of our customs clearance"

As we sailed down the Oregon coast we found we had a guest on board in the form of a small spider. Even after the heavy weather it still used to appear and so we appealed to our grand- children to give it a name. Emma came up with the name of Misty. Misty appeared at regular intervals, she lived at the back of the boat and then one day she was no longer about. We told Emma and the other grand- children that she must have jumped ship. On Friday she appeared again looking fit and healthy! No doubt a survivor! We decided we need to get our custom clearance papers for without them we could not leave port. We went to the customs building and within 5 mins had received our clearance. They have a very set system it appears, you cannot rush the system and irregardless it takes at least a certain length of time even though you know the document you need stamped is sitting in front of the person you are talking to. The weather has been a little cooler but still very pleasant. Last night we walked around the town and after a meal out watched the dancers. These were young people, enthusiastic well rehearsed and colorfully dressed dancing to traditional Mexican songs some of which depicted The Revolution. They moved on to a less traditional series of Hawaiian dances towards the end. As we will need to stern anchor a lot down the coast of Mexico and Central America we invested in another anchor and also additional polypropylene rode which we will need in Chile for tying ashore in some anchorages. There are a couple of marine stores which cater for the cruiser and this will be the last place to get any such hard ware. Slowly our "to do" list is getting smaller!

"A busy week"

This week has been a kaleidoscope of events and work on the boat. The one major task still to do is the installation of the additional fuel tank. This involves spending time in the lazarette in a small confined difficult to get at space. I cracked a rib when we were at anchor in Los Frailes some 2-3 weeks ago and Christine prognosis is that it will take three weeks to heal so I'll do that task when it's healed. It has been uncomfortable and up to the past few days I have only been able to sleep on my back. Tylenol has helped. We sorted out all the spare anchor rodes and the stowing of these so that they were readily available. We were not happy with where they were stowed previously, it would have taken too long to get them out when needed. The bilge pump is now completed and will give us healthy backup on the large manual pump. There are all sorts of events and functions held in town which is 5mins walk away. These range from classical guitar concerts to youth and full orchestras to plays and of course sightseeing and trips. We have lots to keep us busy and always enjoy the color and vibrancy of the people and the town. All is being prepared for Christmas and yesterday I could not resist taking a photograph of a large snow man with a sign proclaiming "The North Pole” outside of a small street shop with the palm trees and the bougainvillea in blossom behind. It is still very much shorts and "t" shirt weather although the regulars are complaining about how cold it is. We have spent a couple of evenings with two other boats from Victoria. John and Sandy Morch of "El Gato" and Bob and Gisele Coffey of "Relax". Bob and Gisele are undecided on their plans but they will be heading down the coast as far as Central America so we will see them along the way after they leave on Saturday. These warm evening are perfect for sitting in the cockpit and reading and we have spent many evenings catching up on our reading.

"Bilge pump and a beautiful day"

Whilst in San Diego I had bought a 2000gal/hr bilge pump. I spent the day installing this. It was warm work which involved removal of all the items stored throughout the boat and drilling inch and a half dia holes through the 3" bulkheads. I was waiting for Ernesto to come and check the details of the goose neck fitting but like the Customs man he too did not show, ah well Manana. We wanted to go for a walk along the Mogote which is on the opposite side of the inlet from La Paz and is a long stretch of clean white sand. There is an abundance of wild life in the Mogote area and bleached bones of a whale, all interesting, we’ll make it another day. Mexico is noise and color. Every morning we get up at 6-30 but long before that the local noises have taken over. These include the rooster crowing from 4-00am onwards and the local dogs barking and fighting. This morning at 5-00am there was a Mexican on his way to work singing a folk song in a clear tenor. He had a fine voice and was obviously happy with his lot. As he moved along he set off all the dogs barking and the singing and barking sounds lasted for a long while in the clear calm morning.

"Auction Sale"

Much of the day was taken with the auction sale. The cruisers had gathered a wealth of articles for sale and there were some excellent bargains. In addition there were hot dogs and beer for sale and the atmosphere was very much a social one with the Mexican population and the cruisers milling around the marina car park competing for the bargains. I helped with the clean up and soon all was back to normal. They raised $9,000 last year I understand and hoped to exceed that figure. The whole event reminded me of such sales I had collected for as a child. One I remember was when I was a scout and we collected in and around Wigton. We had rented a hall for the sale and had a great attendance and sale making lots of money for the group. Only afterwards did we find out that in our enthusiasm we had sold all the curtains, tables, chairs, hat stand etc from the hall! No wonder we had done so well. It rained in the evening so we watched a movie "The Thomas Crown affair" with Steve Mc Queen in. John and Sandy joined us and we all enjoyed the show.

"Shopping expedition"

There were several things we needed in the shopping line other than fresh groceries so we set off on Saturday morning to find the various stores. We have a street map but there is an n absence of street signs so it becomes an interesting exercise. There is no defined zoned commercial area it just happens where it does so that a large store could be next to homes or away from all other stores. The town was busy and we found all we needed, one of the items was a hand pump to pump fresh potable water from one of those 5 gal water jugs which you buy. As I have said everything is there it just takes finding. People are very friendly and helpful and it is a pleasure to walk around the town. Unlike the mainland tourist towns along the coast there are no hawkers accosting you to purchase their wares. In the evening after supper we walked along the Malecon and the atmosphere was like the previous Saturday but with the Christmas Decorations lighted.

"No Custom show and a meal on board "Relax""

Our custom man still didn't turn up, Manana we suppose. We made good use of our time and had a trial set up of our drogue , it will work well. Unable to get track ends for the stay sail track I carved four out of a piece of oak I had on board, they looked fine and will do the job. Christine had the sewing machine humming and made waterproof caps for the heater air intake and exhausts. we are forever imagining that we have a deck awash and seeing where water could get into the boat and resolving how to keep it at bay. I deflated the Avon dinghy after cleaning off the bottom. It had been in the water a week and already some growth in the form of tiny crustaceans were evident. We will store the Avon on deck temporarily whilst we are coasting and will find a home for it below when we are making passages. Life rolls along in the marina. At 07-15 hrs the "Amigo" net comes up on the SSB and we listen to that for the weather. Don from Oxnard California comes in loud and clear each day and it is he provides the weather forecast for the outside of the Baja, the Sea of Cortez and down the mainland coast as far as Panama. Whilst he is an amateur his forecasts are excellent and down to detailed area ones . He has over 30 years experience of the whole area as a cruiser and he is the only source of weather info in Mexico. Mexico does not have any weather forecasting at all and the forecasts from the States cover millions of square miles whereas Don gets down to specific areas much as Arnold did/does for the Pacific. These people all give their services free and stress that they may be wrong. Following the SSB net in which boats check in and say where they are the net breaks down into individuals contacting others with their news etc. In La Paz there follows a local VHF net at 08-00 hrs in which local events , where to get what done or to purchase is all aired. The cruisers are very active locally raising money for children, their meal & or schooling and scholarships and the like. It is amazing how much money they raise and as a result cruisers are held in high esteem in the community. Sunday is Sebasta which is an auction sale for all to buy items donated by the cruisers and the local trades/ stores. Again the money goes to the poor children and the single mothers.

"Waiting for our customs inspection"

We spent the day waiting for our Customs man to arrive to carry out his final inspection of the boat. He never arrived. We are working through that list of jobs rapidly however. Whilst I was working in the cockpit I noticed a fish break the surface not far from the boat. This is not unusual since the marina is alive with fish of all shapes and sizes and colors which you can see through the clear water. This one turned out to be a huge red snapper almost three ft long which some of the Mexican marina workers easily netted. They are very good eating. It does seem that the fishery here is in good shape. We had a heavy overcast last night and rain may be on its way, we'll see tomorrow.

"Drogue completed and a jam session"

It has continued to be breezy but every evening has the most impressive sunset, competing with those from Fran's sun deck! We worked on the drogue and completed the eye splices and Chris began to make a holding bag for it. All around us in the marina there is continued activity. Boats being cleaned, divers cleaning the bottom of boats and people going to and fro with their washing, shopping etc. We have met a lot of people over the few days we have been here and there is an interesting section of people. In the evening we went to the local bar where a jam session is held on a Wednesday evening. There was a group of cruisers and the evening was entertaining with many songs we have and had not heard before.

"Engineering drawing and a visit to Ernesto"

The wind continued to howl through the marina until mid afternoon when it dropped to 15knts or so, still breezy but not blowing the dog off the chain any longer! I worked up a drawing detail for the manufacture of a replacement gooseneck fitting. In the afternoon Chris and I set off into town and armed with a street map found Ernesto's shop. He did some stainless work for me last time we passed through La Paz and I was happy with the work at that time. He is a very pleasant a typical Mexican character courteous, patient and smiling. He told me he could not get to it this week but would start on Monday. I am having the fitting made in stainless steel and complete with polishing the cost will be reasonable. It is a fact that one can purchase or find any thing in La Paz if you ask and are prepared to look. Although the temperatures were lower we sat in the cockpit in the evening and watched the sun set in the clear sky.

"Cleared in, a move and a meal out"

The morning was spent doing the rounds for the clearance process. First was the bank to pay for our visa then the immigration, then the harbour authority, then the customs and then the Port Captain. A slow process that could try your patience if you let it. The officials are very pleasant and helpful. They require all forms filled in triplicate and the Customs in particular were difficult. They did not allow any changes on the form and one minor error resulted in us filling in the forms three times. Eventually we passed! The wind had built overnight and by morning was blowing 25 -35 knots. It continued this way all day and is forecast to do so for the next week. Our berth was on the outside of the marina and exposed to sea and wind. We had the opportunity to move to an inside berth and had an interesting time making the move. All went well and now we are snug in a berth close to the shore and out of the bouncy location. In the evening we went out for a meal and had an excellent supper drink included for $6 head! We were able to finish the track work before we walked out for our meal and with the strong winds blowing have put our plans for visiting some of the islands on hold for a day or so. We'll continue with that list of jobs to do!

"A day on the boat"

It was very warm throughout the day and shade was welcome. Christine caught up on the laundry; there are good full facilities at the marina. I put the track for the staysail on the deck. To date I had jury rigged the sheets until I was sure where they should be. The bolts holding the track down need good backing plates and to reach and install these I had to dismantle the stove chimneys and remove the headliner. It was a slow hot process and took me most of the day. Tomorrow I will complete the port side one, for some of the locations I needed longer bolts which I was short of. Tomorrow we get to check in to Immigration, Customs and to the Port Captain, a task that involves us moving from bank to office to office by foot all over the town. They are in the process of streamlining the entry documentation but these things take time, especially in Mexico. It is certainly different from that which we are used to. Firstly here we are 4 days in Mexico and we have still to enter formally. The other aspect is that at each port we go to here after in Mexico we have to clear in and out with the Port Captain, again a long walk round dusty streets. All very interesting but time consuming but then again we do have time.

"Settling in and Sat night on the town"

We spent most of the day settling in to marina life, working on the boat and unpacking the Inflatable and getting all the "to do " job materials together for the next few days work. In the evening after supper we walked along the Malecon on a soft balmy Saturday evening , shorts and golf shirt. It was 11 years since last we were here and the change was remarkable. La Paz is a Mexican town and is the local governance center for the area. It caters for tourists in the mildest way but is really a Mexican town where Mexicans take their holidays. On this Saturday evening the young Mexicans were out in force strolling along the Malecon waterfront and enjoying each other's company. It was all so gentle and courteous and a very comfortable atmosphere. The Malecon fronts the inlet. And last time we were here there were little palapas on the beach serving marguerites, they have all gone now. The walkway was narrow and sandy and untidy in 1993. Now the whole front is paved in a simulated tile finish complete with statues and seats and it is tastefully designed. John and Sandy who we were with us treated us to an ice cream, one of the best ice- creams I have had. The evening was a fine introduction to La Paz again

"An early start and a warm welcome."

The last leg between Muertos and La Paz is usually windy and an up wind slog. This is because of the prevailing northerlies and the way these strong winds are funneled and compressed down the channel between Isla Cerralvo and the Baja Peninsular. I awoke at 4 am and found a fresh breeze blowing. We decided to up anchor and set off at that time and soon we were out in the channel where the seas were lumpy but the winds fairly light. We finished up motoring for most of the 55nm. The day was slightly overcast but cleared as the day passed so that as we motored down the channel into La Paz the day was clear and bright. The scenery was on a grand scale with the rugged mountains of the peninsula and the multi colored rock layers of Isla Del Esparatu Santo north of La Paz standing out in the brightening day. All of a sudden we were back in civilization with the busy noise of traffic rushing along the Malecon, the waterfront main street in La Paz. Green peace had their vessel anchored in the channel. In the same area there were numerous cruising sail boats anchored lying to the tide which runs at up to 2-4 knots. As we entered the marina there was a somber indicator of the hurricane that struck La Paz last year. A solitary sail boat mast protruded from the water at an angle. There was major damage to docks and many boats were lost in this area. We motored to our berth where our very good friends John and Sandy Morch greeted us. They keep their boat a cat rigged Nonsuch called "El Gato "(The Cat) at the marina Marina De La Paz. It was good to see them both. We have had some adventures together over the years ranging from racing against each other in the Victoria area to sailing in company on some of the legs from San Francisco to Mexico to New Zealand via the French Polynesian islands. We had much news to catch up with and spent a most enjoyable evening in their company

"Another day of R & R"

Los Muertos is very similar in appearance to Frailes our `previous anchorage. It has a wide sweeping sand and gravel south facing bay with a high headland that gives the protection from the prevailing northerlies. Again there is fishing camp but this time there are almost no shacks and the fishermen seem to drive home each evening in their trucks. When last we were in Mexico the fishermen did not appear to have trucks and now their living standard is visibly rising. At the west end of the bay there is a new resort. It is very attractively designed and built and fits well into the area. So far we have seen mostly young people; non Mexican and the chapel building is located above the resort. I wondered if it is a youth church camp. We rowed ashore ,swam in the clear water and walked along the beach, Christine beach combing for shells. We took a picnic lunch on our walk and sat by the edge and ate this enjoying the quiet and the scenery. To the south the green mountains up to 4,00ft rolled down to the coast. There is little habitation all the way along this inside coast, somewhat like Vancouver Islands west coast. The greenery consists of small trees and low shrub with cacti forests. In the evening we sat in the cockpit listening to some of our favorite music.

"A good bash to weather"

At first light we decided from forecasts and the light winds over night that we had the window and we set off for Muertos. The seas were lumpy and short from the onset and the wind built quickly to 20-25knts with stronger sustained gusts at times. Reiver reveled in these conditions and once we had her set up properly we charged upwind. The need was to give her enough power and drive to punch through the short seas but not to fall off each wave with a juddering bang and at the same time to make her point high and cover the distance efficiently and in good time. Left to her own Reiver would charge upwind at 6-7knts. By pinching slightly we achieved our objectives and had a fine sail. We covered the necessary 80nm upwind beat at an average of 5.3 knots. We arrived at Muertos after 15hrs at 21-30 hrs and anchored. It was a good opportunity to further know the boat and to see how she performed in those conditions. She did well but I am not surprised that the Hunters had problems, I do not have a high opinion of those boats, their construction and their sailing ability. We had a bowl of soup and so to bed.

"A day of R& R "

So when we arrive in La Paz I have worked up this question in Spanish as follows...."Muy elzuncho de la botavara es cochinared, esta un persone ayudar por favor." Roughly translated it says, " My gooseneck connection is cooked/crook and needs attention, could you please advise me who could help? " Christine thinks this will not get the response I require, she says they will be confused and since it is the American Thanksgiving they will think that our stove is on the blink and that we need to get a new stove or a new fowl for cooking and will direct us to a stove shop or a butchers, she thinks alternately that they will direct me to a drop in medical clinic or a psychiatrist. I’m the optimist and think that they will clearly understand me and will direct me to a rigging shop, I'll keep you posted. In addition to sorting out our paper work and cataloguing the necessary papers for entry we had a lazy day, catching up on sleep and reading. Los Frailes,"The Friars" is so called because of the rock formation on the 750' headland at the entrance to the bay. It looks like a Henry Moore statue of three monks climbing the hill. The bay is pleasant with a sweep of white sand and dunes behind. There is a fish camp at the west end of the bay and some small dive hotels for the only coral reef area around the headland and in the Baja area but the rest of the bay is pristine. At first light the Mexican fishermen are on the move and you are awakened to the sound of pangas being driven past at high speed. Camp followers in the form of pelicans are numerous. We are into a whole new series of bird life in the area and in addition to el pelicano there are frigate birds and turkey vultures in plenty. There were two other boats in the anchorage when we arrived, both Hunters; they set off at first light on the passage to Mazatlan across The Sea, a distance of 180 nm approx. Both returned in the mid morning one with a broken upper shroud and they informed me that there were 6-8 ft seas and a lot of wind out of the bay. This is pretty typical of The Sea when strong northerlies blow for days on end at this time of year. Our next anchorage planned is at Los Muertos 50 nm to the north so we need a good window to make that passage.

Noon position 23 02 .82 N 110 19 .39 W Noon to noon 137 nm.

"Cabo rounding and a night anchorage"

As we approached Cabo San Lucas and the bottom of the Baja Peninsular the ocean gradually, turned a cobalt blue and the air temperature increased further, we were in the tropics at last. We rounded the Cabo in company with two cruise ships and all of a sudden we were in civilization again. Firstly there was the building along the shore line that has taken place since last we passed through and then there were the party boats, power and sail with music and tourists enjoying themselves. We were glad to sail past this in a fresh northerly wind in the last of the daylight close reaching at 7-8 knots for several miles. Our company now was three Mexican fishing vessels who gradually moved away from us as the wind headed us and we turned more north into "The Sea" as the Sea of Cortez is referred to. The wind was offshore and with the warm gusts came smells of the land and vegetation. The moon was almost two thirds a full moon and it lit the sky and the water. We put reefs in and shook them out on three occasions during that last leg to our anchorage. The wind varied but was in the 15-20 knot range. This upwind sail was memorable and gone were any thought of a watch system and we both sat and chatted and took in the sailing and the night sky. The moon was so bright that we could see to read and see all the details of the boat including all the lines. The brightness of the moon masked all stars except for the constellations and we sat and tried to identify them all. We closed Los Frailes, the bay in which we planned to anchor for the night. We felt our way into the anchorage and dropped anchor at 1-00 am in the morning. Once anchored we sat in the cockpit and drank our hot chocolates before turning in, well satisfied with our day and our passage.

Noon position 24 35 .99 N 112 16.75 W Noon to noon 113nm

'Tropic night, light winds, too much motoring!"

The night was bright and clear and we sailed close hauled towards Cape Lazaro in a light onshore breeze. It was a magical for a night passage and I sat on the rail and enjoyed the boat, the warmth and the pleasure of making such a passage. Unfortunately we caught up with the band of cloud that I previously mentioned which extends from Hawaii and subsequent watches had lost that feeling. Our progress has been steady but slow and gone are the better and normal NW winds that blow at this time of year. Christine had a major clean house morning. She went through the icebox and cleaned and tidied throughout the boat. The freezer and icebox are inter-connected and the cold air from the freezer spills into the icebox. The system is working well now and I run the engine for 15 mins once every day or day and a half. In that short period it takes the freezer temperature down from -4 deg C to -23 deg C which will last the day plus. As a result of this we eat well. For instance today we had a chicken cobbler (pie with a crust) and cold slaw salad. At the same time as the oven was on Christine baked some scones and some flapjack for subsequent meals/snacks.

Noon position 25 56 .89 N 113 27 .02 W Noon to noon 132 miles.

"No, wind, some wildlife, ships only at night a sick goose-neck and warmth at last"

There was little to no wind all day and we motored for 12 hrs total during the day until late afternoon when a light north easterly wind land breeze came in for a while and that was followed by a a WSW light breeze. Reiver moves well in light air and we took advantage of this zephyr and sailed through the night. We saw minimal wildlife through the day, a couple of` gulls but we did see a school of porpoises headed north. They were traveling quickly and at times were all leaping clear of the water at one time. Through the night we saw three ships all at once and had to alter course for a freighter. The other two were a fish boat probably a tuna boat and the other a cruise ship. We never see ships during the day. During my check up on the boat I found that the gooseneck fitting was loose and that it really is not in good shape. The constant racking on an already poor design has been the last straw. I'll nurse it to La Paz and add it to the list! We sat out in the cockpit and had lunch in the sunlight. There is intermittent cloud cover from a band of cloud that stretches all the way to Hawaii and we are passing through it. There has been a noticeable improvement in the air temperature overnight. At noon it was 23 degrees C and the seawater was 22 degrees C.! We are looking forward to our first anchorage and a swim. The night was warm and tropical at last again with the heaven of stars; not surprising we are after all only 100 nm north of the Tropic of Capricorn!

Noon to noon dist sailed 161nm

"Still rolling south"

The fresh winds continued in to the afternoon but started to drop in the evening. We saw a fishing vessel about a mile off at one time. This was a truly Mexican vessel, no paint, and somewhat nondescript. At 10.00hrs the Diamond Princess, a cruise ship passed about 3 miles ahead of us to go between the islands. I called her on the VHF and asked how we appeared to her on radar. She told me that she had picked us up at 12 km on the newer type of radar and at 9 km on the conventional radar. Comforting, but we always work on the basis that we are not seen and if there looks like there is a problem I always hail the vessel and or take evasive action. Visibility at the time was 10 miles. These sorts of vessels, container ships included make up to 25 knots in the open sea so given reduced visibility combined with your modest closing speed of 5-6 knots you need to spot vessels early for in 20 mins they will be with you. I realize I haven't mentioned weather and air temperatures at all in my daily bulletin. Well we have had no rain and yes we did leave San Diego wearing shorts but since then we have to wear warm clothes including oilies during the heavy weather since we take green ones over the boat and I need to work the deck. The new dodger John and Dick built with Christine's help is excellent, strong and 100% watertight. It has been the subject of many conversations and questions and several Americans have taken Johns address and phone number from me. This morning I collected over a dozen squid that had come aboard with the waves through the night, too small to eat I'm afraid but it does mean that there will be tuna about. Until were are able to face a 50 lbs kicking bleeding tuna on the boat, the line and lure are stowed as per first mates orders! At 22.00hrs someone turned the fan off and we motored for an hour or so through the night in rolling seas. Without a sail to steady the boat the rolling is intolerable but with a sail up the sails and fittings are under constant motion and take a beating and need to be checked all the time.

Noon position 29 18 .58 N 115 49 .55 W Noon to noon 121 nm

"A boisterous ride"

The wind freshened and soon was blowing a steady 25 knots. The course we had planned was to pass between Isla Cedros and Isla San Benito. There are several rocks and a shoal area in the pass which is comfortably wide but we would be going through in the dark after the moon had set. At Christine’s suggestion we altered our plan to pass outside both islands to give us an easier passage. We originally were going to go on the inside of Cedros but that area has a back eddy to the normal south bound current and in a NW wind can kick up an uncomfortable sea to say nothing of pushing the tide so we had elected to go through between the islands. All plans are subject to change and to pass outside we had a 50 mile blast reach in the building sea and 20-25 knots of wind. We had two reefs in the main and I used the staysail. This was the perfect combination giving enough drive and we blasted along at a steady 7knts. We then turned dead downwind and with only the main up and the two reefs in we maintained the same speed. All I need to do for the stay sail is put the track on the cabin top, for the moment the toe rail is the track! I can see this being a useful sail on this trip. The night was dark as the stars had lost their intensity because of a high overcast but the meteorite show seemed to be over but the compensation is that the waxing moon gives us an hours more moon light each evening. We were both a little off colour`with the lumpy /rolling seas, I guess we haven't got our sea legs yet on this leg. Normally we find that after the second day we are over any uncomfortable sensation.

"A magical night; rolling south"

Its only when you are really away from all man made lights that you see and appreciate the night sky. Last night the sky gave us a real show. For the first watch there was the new moon on its back, a gibbous moon. This set about four hours after a spectacular sunset, those for which Carol and Fran's new house in San Diego is famous for. The stars were clear in the total absence of any lights. Throughout the night there was a continuous display of meteorites. These were complete with long glowing tails and we both agreed that they were too numerous to count. I'm not sure if we are in a meteor shower period but I know we have tried to watch the Perseus Shower from our deck at home and never have seen so many. Winds were very light and on the nose in the morning but we persevered and moved along at 2 to 5 knots with no apparent wind over the deck. I contemplated changing up on my headsail to our genoa but just before noon the wind went aft at about 5 to 8 knots and we hoisted our genica. We rolled along with that under a building breeze at between 5 and 7knts until suppertime when we took it down for a wing and wing set up. I find that this is easier controlled in the dark; a wrap with the flying headsail at night is no fun. We saw no sign of any other vessels and could just see the peninsula on occasions as a headland jutted out but no lights from habitation could be seen. In the darkness the cruise ship which we had met the previous evening over took us south bound after a day visit to San Diego. Through the night the wind strengthened and the noise increased down below as blocks clattered and sheets snatched through the night. I made use of the thoughtful earplugs gift that Gig and Mel had given us. in San Francisco. Again the night was full of stars with as many meteors as the previous night. The weather fax and forecast are for building winds tomorrow and we should keep on rolling south.

"On the move again"

We left San Diego at 10.40 hrs and motored south towards the Mexico border. Fran called in on his way to work on his boat to say farewell and to wish us a good trip. We look forward to when we meet he and Carol again and hopefully they will join us along the way. We topped up with fuel and water for this leg is some 800nm to La Paz and our plan is to see if we can do it in one go. There was a heavy haze over Tijuana but once past that we were in clear air. The winds were light to non-existent and we ghosted along under sail when we could at 2-4knts. We need to conserve fuel as much as possible on this leg. As we crossed the borderline a school of dolphin greeted us and played around the boat for a short while. The coastline has almost continual development between the border and Ensenada which is 60 nm south of SD. We were only 4-5 nm offshore and could see that the quality of development was generally of a high standard. There were bright green fields in between the areas of development and we could see cattle and horses grazing. The greenery no doubt due to the heavy rains of the previous weeks. There was no noise at all; we had become used to the sound of traffic both on land and in the air whilst in San Diego and the change was very noticeable. Gone was the bustle and cut and thrust of the city. We alternately motored and sailed into the evening.

"Last minute shopping and fond farewells"

After some last minute shopping we said our farewells to Carol and thanked her and Fran for all their hospitality and help. Without this help we couldn't have achieved all the work that we did nor could we have seen and enjoyed San Diego and the area as we did. We plan to catch the ebb tide in the morning and to head for La Paz on the Baja Peninsula a trip of some 700 miles or so. We have had a wonderful time in California and have met some wonderful people. Their hospitality and kindness and the fun and laughter will always be remembered by us. As Gig and Mel in San Francisco said, we may not see each other again but if we all pass on help to new acquaintances it will make the world a better and friendlier place. This is certainly a good approach and one we will always support.

"Cleveland Forest and after sailing company."

Sunday was fine day with good visibility and we drove inland into the Park area called Cleveland Forest. It is a most attractive area with small villages and high peaks. Quickly we were up to 4,500 ft and in the mountain area. From one viewpoint we could see the Salton Sea in the distance. One small town - Julian, was a gold rush town and still had a lot of the old houses now of course mainly a tourist town. The area was the one which suffered from the bad forest fire last year when almost 500 homes were lost. The extent of the burn was huge but already nature is starting to green up the area. There are still a lot of temporary homes and it will be along time before the individual homeowners are back on their feet. As we drove back to San Diego the air was very clear and the view over the City from the 4,000 ft. level was memorable. We enjoyed seeing some of the countryside away from the coast. We noted that there was little farming carried out throughout the area. In places the land was of poor quality and the hillsides were covered with rounded weathered boulders but that was not the case throughout. There appeared to be a lot of small hobby farms with horses and very few farm animals. We did see an Egg ranch and a Trailer ranch however! We met up with Fran and Carol at their Yacht club, - Coronado Y.C. and met the skipper and crew that Fran had been sailing with that day and previous weekends. In their J35 they had made clean sweep of the seasons races and the night before had taken all their trophies in their class. Herb, the skipper, is a seasoned sailor and at 70 plus is a going concern. We sat on the sundeck as the sun set and like any other club the discussions covered handicap systems, the last race and people we know in common.

"Rainy morning, and jobs around the boat"

It rained heavily in the morning as a front went through and we caught up on some of the inside jobs and stowing of food and equipment. The rain cleared gradually over the day and with the clearing came warmth and great visibility. The club was very busy with a one design Regatta and the junior racers were out in force. The club is strong in good sailors and they have a big endowment program to keep their young sailors on the water. Whilst we were in the Downwind store we met Brian and Marilyn Woodward from Vancouver who are taking their boat south. Brian's brother Dennis sailed with us on the Swiftsure race we did particularly well in. It is a small world in the sailing community.

"Drogue, hatch boards, sailing directions, charts and dinner out."

I completed the drogues in the morning, all I have to do now is four eye splices and it will be 100% completed. We walked over to the local chart store and were able to get sailing directions for Central America and 2005 tide tables for the west coast of the Americas. We also bought a copy of a sailing guide (used) for the east coast of South America. This was in addition to the Admiralty Sailing Instructions which we already had. We traveled to the south end of San Diego and picked up the Plexiglas hatch boards and the new hatch inserts that I will install in Mexico. Murphy got into the hatch board cutting however and only when I tried them was it obvious that they were cut wrongly. They still work OK but the angle between the boards should have gone the opposite way so that any rain driving against them could not get into the boat. The engineer in me is slipping already! We had a most pleasant meal out in the evening with Fran and Carol.

"Kids day out"

We were at Balboa Park by 9-30am and spent a most interesting 2 hrs in the "Museum of Man" The first section was about our native Inuit in Canada. What made it interesting is that this was the Inuit situation as seen and filmed by a team from the US. What came over was that the Inuit reported that they were not included in the Charter of Rights as were all other Canadians including newly landed prospective immigrants! I hope the report was incorrect but certainly it is there for all to see at the Museum of Man. We then spent an hour in the "Timken" Art Gallery. Timken sponsored the gallery. He emigrated from Germany before the First World War and made his fortune when he invented the roller bearing. We sat in the sun for a while and watched the San Diegans on their leisure time. The park has a wonderful setting with mature trees, and large lawn areas all set on a plateau above San Diego. The Spanish style of the magnificent buildings gave you the feel that you had been transported to Europe; it is indeed a special place. For the rest of the day we walked around the zoo and enjoyed that. Last time we were at a zoo was in London when the children were small and we spent a day at Whipsnade zoo. What a different concept from the zoos of our childhood when the animals were in smallish cages. Here, although contained they were in more natural settings. In the evening we went to a seminar on Mexican weather where we learned about weather forecast sources and the weather patterns. We found a possible reason for our difficulty sending e-mails to be a solar storm.

"Visas and clearance papers and marine chandlery."

We had an early start and made our way to the Mexican Consulate in down town where we were quickly given our Visa. On to the "Pesca" office where we bought fishing licenses for both of us and for Reiver and for the dinghy. Mexico is trying very hard to maintain their fishery and consequently need financial support to maintain a viable industry. Our $200 hopefully will be put to good use. We had a long list of requirements for boat equipment for items we know we will never be able to get elsewhere and so we went round three chandlery stores until our list was completed. We found the best range and selection with the most knowledgeable staff to be at San Diego Marine Exchange, a store Fran had recommended. Usually we have a problem in getting our e-mails out when we are in a marina, but last night I tried and they zipped out quickly. We read into the night and were up early on Thursday for our kid’s day out.

"Templates and a shopping expedition"

I made templates for the hatches and at noon Fran and Carol dropped by and let us have the loan of their car. We took our templates for cutting and had a huge grocery shop. Food is significantly cheaper than in Canada and is of excellent standard. We took the opportunity to purchase foodstuffs that we will not see for a long time. These include items like crackers, certain cheeses, bacon and other items such as good quality toilet paper! We had a busy early evening stowing the purchases. After supper I set up the printer and we printed off our Christmas letters.

" A move and documentation day"

The South Western YC had been very kind and courteous to us but we felt that we should never be in a position of out staying our welcome. San Diego YC has reciprocal privileges with RVYC and we were able to move over in the am to a new berth. Both clubs are close together and the move took us all of 5 minutes! The location of SDYC is such that it is closer to all the stores and marine stores in particular. Dennis Conner's new old boat "Cotton Blossom II " is about 50 ft away. He reportedly spent in excess of $1 m renovating this 1924 "woody". It is a Q Class about the size of an 8m class boat and is beautifully restored. He races it and of course does very well. I'll get some photos of it and include them. In the afternoon we made our way to " Kinko’s' and copied, faxed, e-mailed, laminated and got confused with all the rampant technology! The faxes were follow ups to glass/acrylic suppliers with sketches contained asking for a quote and time frame to produce replacement deck hatches and a clear entrance drop boards to let more light in. The deck hatches have crazed and I suspect they have lost strength as a result. I plan to fit them in Mexico after I get them in San Diego. In the evening Christine wrote her Christmas letter for posting again before we leave the United States.

"A wet day"

It does rain in California and today the rain showers swept through on a regular basis. We had a quiet day, reading, planning a possible itinerary down the coast as far as Panama, working on the drogue (66.666% complete!). Christine had a lift to the grocer with Ellen and I hardly left the boat. We have found a radio station that we enjoy and that was on for most of the day . It is a one that seems to be shared by the US and Mexico and plays classical music most of the time.

"Life raft demo and Engagement party"

Down wind had a series of demonstrations on at their store and we walked over to the store and joined 40 -50 cruisers who were taking advantage of the 10% discount for that day and watching and listening to the suppliers who were demonstrating their goods or were available for questions. A life raft was inflated and although I had seen a one demonstrated before the supplier was particularly good in covering the do's and don’ts. You always continue to learn something new and in this case a lot! Russ picked us up at 4-00 pm and we joined the party at Fran and Carols to celebrate the engagement of their daughter Mara to Adam. Both are sailors and Adam and his crew were twice runner up for the Olympic spot in 49'ers. There was a great mix of ages at the party and we enjoyed meeting all ages. The enthusiasm and optimism of the youth gives you great hope for the future of this world. Again Carol and Fran laid on a classic sunset and a wonderful spread, Mexican style complete with a margarita machine which dispensed a continual supply. We really enjoyed meeting Mara and Adam's friends, neighbors and relatives. It is occasions like this that you learn about the local society, peoples and their countries aspirations and the strong family ties that exist in the United States. It is a total parallel situation to that back in Canada and it gave both comfort and familiarity.

Distance traveled 35 m

"Cold plate remedial's, a move and exchange of information"

Paul the refrigerator man came to the boat at 9am and worked on the cold plate for part of the day. The problem turned out to be a sticky thermostat expansion control valve which was replaced. We have two systems on the boat for refrigeration, one is 110 volt and the other is the compressor driven system from the engine. The back up when the cold plate one off the engine didn't work was to drive the 110-volt through the inverter. To date I had not needed to resort to the latter since we have been in port with available 110 volt power for much of the journey. The system seems 100% now and tomorrow I'll run it up and take temp readings on the cooling and warming cycles to establish the optimum temp to cool to. Cooling at 2.5 min intervals and warming up at 30 min initially and the 1hr intervals. The graph plotted will clearly show the optimum temp to take the cooling cycle down to. The South Western YC had graciously let us extend our stay and we had to move to another berth 35 m away. In the evening a couple from the club on an adjacent boat asked us over for a drink. Olga and Steve are most interested in bringing their 52 ft boat up to BC and leaving it for some time. They were most interested in marinas, haul out facilities and we were able to help them. Another couple Ellen and Ron were also present and since both couples had cruised down as far as Panama they were able to pass on lots of useful information. Cocktail hour lasted four hours and we enjoyed the company and laughter.

"Drogue, tour of San Diego and evening seminar"

We worked on the boat in the morning, Christine on double checking charts and noting which ones we still need to get, particularly for the coast of Peru. I carried on with the drogue and eventually got up to about 35% completed. It was at that stage I decided the ties were not quite at the right location and so I pulled out all the ties at the head of each drogue and re-threaded them. Russ came and picked us just before noon and gave us the grand tour of San Diego, its waterfront and in particular the Coronado area where Russ had spent most of his life. Russ had been a flier with the US Air Force and was very knowledgeable about the area, its history and the military/naval history. We had lunch overlooking the city waterfront on the clear cool day. We certainly saw San Diego from a local’s perspective and we thoroughly enjoyed our day. Russ is a fine warm person and we look forward to meeting his wife Nancy. In the evening we went to a seminar put on by Downwind a local marine store who in addition to being very knowledgeable cater for the cruiser in particular. The seminar covered needs for Mexico and we found that things have changed bur little since our last visit. You still have to check in at each port and out again. The new system of one check in as we have in Canada and to some extent in US where you enter formerly once is yet to be implemented.

"Rigging, drougue and sunset"

The day was fine and clear and we worked on the rigging in the am. I renewed two of the reefing lines which needed replacement and Christine repaired a small gap in the main-sail where the seam had come apart. In the afternoon I worked on the drogue, now up to 25% of the drogues are on. We were invited out for supper at Carol and Frans. Their new house has a 180 degree view from on high over Point Loma, Mission Bay and La Jolla. We sat on the deck and watched the sun set. They have a beautiful home which they are have modified and changed to their needs. The end result is a wonderful balance of space, comfort, views and with the most made of the space in their large two level home. Russ a long time friend of Carol and Fran was also there. Last time we had seen Russ and Fran was when he was crew with Fran earlier in the summer when they called in at Maple Bay. We shared stories about sailing, families, and our life experiences in different parts of the world. We are from completely different backgrounds yet we have so much in common in attitudes and likes and the wonderful evening passed very quickly.

"Tap in head and a small world."

We were up at first light and started on that list of jobs. The one carried out today was the provision of a hand controlled water pump and associated plumbing to allow water to be drawn from other than the pressure system for the head wash basin. On long passages we turn off the pressure system to ensure that we are in control of the water used and there was no manual system in the head. The task was completed after removing and replacing items stowed, bunks and passing pipes through bulkheads. We used the public bus system to get us to a Kinco's in the afternoon and sent off our e-mail. We enjoyed the trip. Wherever we go we find people to be so helpful and go out of their way to direct us to our destinations. A single-hander came into the club and tied up opposite us. The boat had an Oregon registration and imagine our surprise when a voice called over from the boat asking how I was. The boat owner turned out to be Ian Dodge from our YC in Victoria who had just bought the boat in Portland and sailed it down to San Diego. His plans are to get the boat in good shape and then to sail to French Polynesia. He came and joined us and we sat in the cockpit until the day light was gone.

"Wiring, plumbing and a walk."

We worked on the boat for most of the day and installed the wiring for the macerator pump and took the head plumbing apart and replaced it. The sink drain did not work well. We had a long walk in the afternoon and called in at Downwind a store and communication centre for cruisers. The change of the clock caught us out and we walked back to the boat in the dark. Reading and making plans took up the rest of the day. Sign noted on Fish boat in one of the marinas. Wanted good women who can dig bait ,bait hooks, haul lines and has a good boat

"A relaxing day and a meeting of old friends"

The weather has certainly settled into a regular pattern of cool evenings with a heavy dew and crisp early mornings as the sun comes up and warm/hot days. I started putting the series drogue together. Christine has done all the hard work making the 120 drogues, which are like miniature windsocks. Each of these has to be treaded onto a 350ft line and spliced into the line at 20: crs, time consuming but a good job for a lazy day. The drogue when required will function as a sea anchor. It’s the second we have made. Tong Gooch has the first one we made and he and Coryn have deployed it on their trips and have told us how effective it is. We have yet to deploy one. In the afternoon we had a quick walk around the area and renewed our bearings from our previous visit 11 years ago. Little has changed. We were reading in the cockpit when a long time friend Fran whose home is San Diego greeted us. Fran and his family lived in SD when first we met them and when Fran retired from the navy and his position of Admiral they moved to Annapolis where Fran worked for Grunham. Fran had his sailboat up in Canadian waters this year. We together with Fran and his wife Carol went out for supper and talked about their and our trips down the coast. We had a very enjoyable evening out.

"San Diego and Mexico in sight"

We really have had good weather from San Francisco to San Diego. Apart from the two storms which moved through we have had clear weather and some fine sailing. We have been able to see the coastline and the inland mountain ranges all the time. When you are coasting as we are it is interesting to identify the various communities and features along the coast. Southern California has many communities along the coast and there are fewer areas of open coast as one travels south. Our 40 mile leg today was very pleasant with a building westerly all day giving us a beat into San Diego harbour along with all the Saturday sailors from that Port. The first time we were here was in 1984 when we watched the Youth World Championships when Tim as skipper and Penny as crew sailed in Laser II's representing Canada. We noticed that there seems to many more high rise in the Coronado area, but the clubs and Shelter Island seemed unchanged. There was a Regatta on at San Diego YC so we opted to go to South Western YC where we were made most welcome and were invited to the Halloween function that was being held that evening. This reminded us of the grand children and their excitement of dressing up we would miss. As we approached Point Loma and the turn into San Diego harbour we could see the coast line and islands (Coronado's Islands )of Mexico to the south, soon to be our next destination. Our plan is to stay in S D for a couple of weeks getting everything finally shipshape and installed. That darned "to do list" is up at nearly 20 items again. This includes such items as additional diesel tank (37 gallons) to decrease our dependency on fuel sources when we get to those out of the way locations.

"Still cool but good sailing"

From Dana Point to Oceanside is 22miles and we had an easy sail in light winds. We were welcomed at Oceanside YC and given a berth for the night. Hwy 101 runs past the marina and there was continual traffic noise day and night although it did not keep us awake. We walked round the harbour/marina area and noted that it was off season and all the tourist stores had bargains for sale and that there were few people/takers about. Tomorrow we should be in San Diego by late afternoon

"Bright and clear and snow in Southern California"

We had thought it was cold but even so we were surprised to see the mountains inland covered in snow. We heard on the news that the snow level was down to 6,000 ft and that the ski hills were opening up. Reiver slipped out of Newport Beach at 11.00hrs and we waved good-bye to the Kiwi boat which was also leaving, they for The Marquesas some 2,800 miles away and we for Dana Point some 12 miles away! We had a gentle sail in light westerlies and were welcomed to the Yacht club and given a slip. Five years ago, the YC bought their building. A restaurant had gone out of business and the building was up for sale. It is a fine building, I would say one of the best clubhouses on the west coast and they had a steal at $600,000. We were told that supper that evening would be worthwhile attending and we had a wonderful supper in the company of a very hospitable crowd of members. Dana Point is named after Henry Dana who wrote "Two years before the Mast" a classic true story of Dana's account of his life as a seaman on a square-rigger. We have a copy of that account on board given to us by Mel Owen in San Francisco and visiting Dana Point closed that circle. Dana became a renowned lawyer and went on to work for the improvement of the common seamen’s lot based on his experiences. He visited what is now Dana point on the trading vessel to collect skins and he thought it was one of the most pleasant anchorages on the coast. It has a fine setting with cliffs to the north and east and the harbour which is totally man made has been attractively landscaped with trees and walk-ways, a very pleasant town is located adjacent to the harbour.

"Wild wet and cold"

The strong winds continued and with each successive front came heavy rain sweeping down. It was cold and sweaters were the wear of the day. We carried out some boat maintenance, oil and filter change and worked on the goose neck fitting in the afternoon. I may replace the fitting it is not quite up to the standard of the rest of the boat and may give us trouble in the future. The local library computers were down and we were not able to send out our e-mails. In the evening we read after supper. I am reading the first book of a trilogy by Melvyn Bragg after getting part way through the third book! He writes extremely well and brings back the post war and 50's years vividly to me.

" Laundry and a bus ride."

Mundane things like laundry have to be caught up with and Christine managed a full wash at the "Coin Wash "two blocks away. I spent my time in the library catching up on world affairs and reading about the local scene whilst waiting for a free internet computer. We bused north to where a Kincos was located and sent the remainder of the e-mails I was unable to at the library. Travelling on the bus made me realize how dependent we all are on the car since distances to outlets here in southern California and LA in particular are so far apart. Even if we had a bicycle the road system is not laid out to accommodate them and it would be unsafe to try to travel that way. We had been watching the weather fax all week and saw a storm on its way for some time. It arrived just after supper and winds of 40 plus rattled through the halyards most of the night together with about 2-4" of rain. This is most unusual for this time of year here and all sorts of records were broken for rainfall. We plan to do a couple of jobs on the boat , one is an oil change and for the second I need to take the goose neck fitting off the mast and check it out.

"Clear air and a wonderful sail."

We left Marina del Ray in heavy overcast and light rain. As we moved along the coast we saw clear weather open up ahead. Looking back we could see the pall of smoke lying over the city of Los Angeles. An 8-10 knot breeze filled in on the nose and we had a fine sail over the last part of the 45 mile leg. As we came across San Pedro Bay where the port for LA is located we counted almost 40 vessels at anchor in the open ocean outside of the breakwater. About 25 of these were container ships which are normally in and out of port very quickly. I'm not sure what the reason for this mass anchoring is, too many to handle, longshoremen on strike, down turn in the economy? When boats were at anchor like that in English Bay Vancouver, it was because of one of those reasons. We were welcomed to Newport Beach YC. There were two other boats at the guest dock, one a 100' sailboat from the British Virgin Islands and the second a 70' Kiwi sailboat. I talked to the Kiwi skipper and had a look round the boat which was built in NZ in 1948 and the new owners, three of them were taking her back to NZ. He was a particularly interesting person to talk to and has had many years of off-shore sailing and boat building experience. We had a quick walk around the town before supper noting where the library, coin laundry and stores were. We walked to the end of the pier where many locals were all fishing and catching a wide range of fish from mackerel to sardine to halibut. Newport Beach marina has berths for 10,000 boats but it is well laid out with houses all around and good planning features making it most attractive. We sat in the cockpit and watched the moon rise over this fine setting.

"A short pleasant trip"

The day was bright and clear and we motored for part of the way to Oxenard/ Channel Islands Harbour. The coast was spectacular with the mountains falling down to the water. The wind filled in and we sailed the last half of the 28 mile trip. To date we have had to motor much more than we would like. At the harbour we fuelled up and called the Pacific Corinthian YC with whom we have reciprocal privileges. They welcomed us and gave us a berth where we spent the evening reading and planning our schedule and legs for the next few days. Our plan is to keep on moving south with a small stopover at Long Beach where we would like to see the Queen Mary and the Spruce Goose if time permits.

"More sight seeing and Albertsons"

The little car was exchanged for a pick up truck. The Suzuki had a problem above 50 mph when both steering and brakes were of concern with violent vibrations; this was apparent in a slight way at the onset but worsened. We drove east along the coast to Montecito and shopped at the farmers market. Again this was a pleasant little town with wide streets lots of trees and. We then followed a road up into the mountains again to the Botanical gardens. These were worth the visit and we walked through a range of different native growth ranging from redwood forest to arroyo type vegetation with cacti, to Channel island growth. After the heavy rain the air was fresh and the scents from all of the trees was strong and we felt we had seen the gardens at their best. Indeed the scents we had experienced over the time in Santa Barbara were memorable. I remember in particular the long avenue of eucalyptus we passed one day with their distinctive multi coloured bark and the fresh eucalyptus smell. We shopped for provisions at an Albertsons store and made ready for our departure the following morning.

"Mountains, Danish pastries, wine country"

Whenever I have mountains in sight I always have the urge to climb them and to see what is on the other side. So it was with the Santa Ynez range which formed a back cloth to Santa Barbara. This range has peaks in excess of 4,000 ft and formed what appeared to be an impregnable barrier. We rented a little Suzuki for two days and took off inland. We left the main roads and climbed up to what appeared to be a fort on the top of one of the peaks about 3,000 ft up. It was in fact a small village centered around an old Indian painted cave. The road to it was steep single lane for the most part and full of switch-backs. We followed a small propane truck to the village and at every switchback it had to stop and reverse to enable it to negotiate the tight bends. Once over the pass we entered the Santa Ynez valley. This wide valley is located between an even higher range of mountains, the San Rafael mountains and the coastal range which we had crossed. There were several small towns in this area, Santa Ynez, Solvang, Ballard, Los Olivos and Lompoc. The area has fine agricultural lands with wooded areas, farms and land under culture. It was a very rural scene and with the rolling hills in the valley was very attractive. Each of the towns had some features which set it apart. Solvang was the main town and had been established by Danish immigrants. It's street-scape was very Danish, down to wind-mills and mock wooden beams on nearly all the buildings. It is now very much a tourist town and all the stores and there were a lot of them catered for the visitor selling Danish ware. It was a clean bright little town and we enjoyed our visit. For lunch we had a Danish pastry and a pot of tea each. The pastry was excellent. The 19th mission was located in Solvang 200 years ago and we walked round the buildings and garden. The characteristic mission style buildings, low with the arches and umbra stucco wall colouring blended with the surroundings and treed areas. Los Olivos consisted of two treed streets at right angles with the unprotected tall flagpole at the intersection of the two streets. Gone was the tourist element, this was a town/village for living in with horse rider and people strolling and calling to their neighbours. Wine growing has moved into the valley in a big way much to the disgust of an old Danish accented lady who liked it as it was before. Her point being was that, yes it brought lots of money into the area, too much and the character was changing as a result. We found the wine outlets very expensive and commercial. We crossed back to the coast on the main road, Hwy 101, and back to Santa Barbara along the coast after spending a most interesting day away from the ocean.

"Improvement in the weather and electrical work"

The weather gradually improved throughout the day and we caught up on the job list. I installed yet another reading light in the cabin. I'm pleased to report that we no longer have any leaks, the rain that fell was torrential at times and was a very good test, next test will be when we have the toe rail under for days on end! We walked into town in the afternoon and made bookings via the e-mail at the library for La Paz and for El Cid on the mainland Mexico at Mazatlan. The evening was spent reading, I'm back into reading again in a big way. The preparation of the boat virtually stopped that spare time recreation and now I'm back up to my one book a week. I'm on my third in the last two weeks and am reading a book written by Melvyn (Sir) Bragg who I was at school with. His books are written about life and experiences in Cumberland and they certainly have a lot of meaning and nostalgia to me. Melvyn now lives back in Cumbria as it now is and it would be interesting to get back in touch with him. Tomorrow we plan to do some sight seeing inland.

"A snug day on the boat"

The forecast was accurate with rainfall of up to 14" in places in the immediate area. We spent the day on the boat reading and in the evening watched a movie "Rear Window", an old classic we have on DVD. We plan to go up into the mountains tomorrow or Friday, weather dependent and leave SB on Saturday.

"Walking tour and e-mails"

The weather continued to be indifferent with showers and generally cool, however we caught an electric bus into town and roughly followed a walking tour of historic /interesting buildings. We enjoyed our day and called in at stores we would not usually go in such as a second hand CD store where we bought some discs, two of which we had been looking for for a long while. We went into the library and tried to send an e-mail but found that their computers were only set up to read floppies. We found Kinko’s which is a do it yourself printing,copying,mailing and e-mailing center, this worked well and we were able to send our report to Scott and Penny. The problem we have with our SSB (Single Side Band) in port is that with the proliferation of masts around we are not able to send or receive. The forecast is worse than gloomy for tomorrow with fresh to strong winds and a heavy rain warning with mud slides forecast. Probably a day on the boat.

"Leak remedials and planning for our days in Santa Barbara"

It rained heavily at times through the night and the wind was rattling the halyards so it was lovely to be snug and cozy in our bunk. The morning was a real mixed bag with warm sunshine but also big black clouds which would occasionally douse us with rain. We have had a problem with water leaking somewhere on the starboard rail up forward which showed itself as a puddle on the shelf after rain or when the rail had been under water. Terry had sealed around the windows and the stanchions and had even sealed around the windlass as he thought it might be tracking down from there. Lo and behold this morning after last nights rain there it was again. We decided to take down the roof liner so that we could get a better idea where it was coming from and it was immediately obvious that it was the foot of the pulpit where the wire from the bow lights went through the deck and the bolts holding the pulpit. We re-sealed them, put in new bolts and then put everything back together. I hope that’s the end of that problem. After lunch we walked along the waterfront to the Visitor's Information Centre and got brochures about trains and buses to the surrounding area, as we will be staying for a few days here. The mountains that act as a back-cloth to Santa Barbara are beautiful and we would love to go to explore some of them. The weather forecast however isn't very promising for the next few days so we will have to take each day as it comes.

"Tourists for a day in Monterey "

We sailed for some time before the wind fell light and we motored for a good part of the night. Dawn saw us on a close reach in a light offshore breeze entering Monterey. Monterey is very much a tourist town but it is pleasant and the aquarium is worth a visit. Currently it has a great white shark in the 1 million gal tank along with the tuna and other sharks. The great white was quite small (3-4 ft long) and I'm not sure who was more wary of the other since some of the tuna were up to 6-0 ft and many times heavier. We spent a pleasant day sightseeing and turned in early with the intent of fueling and watering up and obtaining some basic provisions before setting off for Santa Barbara the following afternoon. Monterey has wonderful coast walks and last time we were here we cycled the coast road to Carmel but this time we limited ourselves to the town area. It is off the peak visitor time and the town and streets were active but not crowded. The temperature got up to 28C in the midday and we were glad to get back to the boat for a well earned cup of tea. I wonder some times if it is noticed at the office that less tea bags are required these days! Tea we enjoy as it refreshes in the heat and is most welcome at the start or end of a cold watch. The facilities at the Municipal marina are very good and complete with shower and laundry facilities so that we were able to catch up with laundry. At sea during longer passages water usage is controlled and laundry takes second place. We are not as bad as the ocean racers who are only allowed a certain weight of clothes and they, I have been told, get serious extended time on their under clothes! Week or month 1 normal wearing style, week or month 2 back to front, week or month 3 inside out and for week or month 4 back to front! We left Monterey at 15:30 hrs in bright sunshine and within 20 mins we were in dense fog. There was a breeze however and we sailed until dark when that dropped away. We have motored through the night in this fog which has now lifted to give us almost a half-mile of visibility. This we can tell since we have met two vessels and could make out the loom of their lights at that distance. We plan to keep moving south and to go round Point Conception this evening.

Distance traveled 21 nm to Half Moon Bay 79nm to Monterey

"A pleasant trip."

We slipped out of San Francisco at 10:30hrs and with a light offshore breeze sailed along the coast. A major fire in the Napa valley was creating a pall of haze over the city and sea and we seemed to stay in this as it drifted south. We had enjoyed our time in San Francisco and had made friends who we hope to see and entertain in the future. The breeze freshened and soon we were rolling along wing on wing southwards. As we were making good progress and would arrive at Monterey in the dark we took a side trip and called in at Half Moon Bay where we had a shower, supper and set off in the dark for Monterey.

" A good walk. A good sail and so back to Sausalito!"

Distance sailed 15nm approx.

Another fine clear day dawned and we walked from Sausalito YC up the road to The Golden Gate bridge. We walked to the mid point of the bridge and then returned to make ready for our departure. We were anticipating 25-30 knts of wind from the NW. Since the wind had been blowing for several days from this quarter we anticipated biggish seas. We beat out through the Gate with the last of the ebb at 6-7 knts and out to sea. At sea the seas were indeed high 10-15ft but quite manageable, however the wind was from the south and on the nose. My concern was that the seas would be very uncomfortable with this new weather regime/direction superimposed on them and in addition it was a 90 mile beat to Monterey so we turned and returned to our anchor location on Richardson Bay. The call was a good one since the later forecast introduced comment that the seas would be hazardous. We'll just watch the weather faxes`and receive confirmation of our interpretation of anticipated conditions. We sat in the cockpit as the sun set and watched the lights of SF and Sausalito.

" A good walk, sharing a holiday event with San Francisco, the air show and the Snow Birds."

Saturday dawned clear and warm and we decided to go into San Francisco and share with San Francisco a weekend/holiday day. We caught a scheduled service bus into SF and got off after crossing the Golden Gate bridge at the south abutment. From here we walked along the coast trail to Pier 41 where the ferry for Sausalito departed. A holiday/weekend mood prevailed and everywhere families were having picnics and barbecues. There were farmer style markets and literally thousands of people in attendance. The highlight of the day was the air show. All sorts of aircraft performed including the US aerobatic team of the "Blue Angels". The last event was the "Snow Birds". They stole the show with their precision close flying and well orchestrated show. There was pride in both Christine and I's hearts to listen to the crowds comments and spontaneous applause at their maneuvers. We caught the second last ferry home to Sausalito, a memorable day in which we had met many people and had felt very much part `of this fine City. After supper we sat in the cockpit and for the first time since arriving we could see all the lights of SF, the bridges around the Bay and the lights of Sausalito All week we had been watching the weather. The high offshore, which had given favourable winds was being squeezed by a low in S. California which gave increased NW winds which would shift to contrary winds from the S./SW. We made our minds up to depart on Sun and try to get to Monterey before the southerlies kicked in.

Distance Travelled 4.6 nm.

"Sailing boats, a sail through the fog and the tale of the oar."

The morning dawned clear and bright and we were up and about early. We rowed ashore missing all the swimmers. I hadn't mentioned the swimmers of SF and Aquatic Park before but I can assure you they are real. The water of SF Bay is notoriously cold , much as it is in the Victoria area, however the swimmers of SF exist and there are an awful lot of them swim all the year round. They were all around` us at times and whilst we wake early we would wake to the sound of swimmers, singly or in pairs in the dark swimming around the boat at 6-30 am in the morning. We were anchored some 300m off the shore and they would disappear out into The Bay and the fog to return some time later. It reminded me of the time in Papeete when we were awakened one day to the sound of submarine music. Quite clearly we could hear a marine mammal producing the 1812 overture. On deck we found the sound to come from a Frenchman floating by whistling the classical music. With a merry "bonjour" he continued on his float! The swimmers of SF fall into the same category in my opinion, slightly eccentric. We spent an interesting morning on board the boats of the floating museum. The "Balclutha" an old square rigger which had been round the Horn several times I particularly enjoyed. We had seen the film made by a Mr Johnson before about the square rigger Peking going around the Horn in 1928, but it had much more meaning to be on a square rigged vessel and to see it again. If you have never seen this short film 15-20 mins it is worth seeing for the classic it is. We had a fine sail across The Bay in the fog and burst out of the gloom into bright sunlight and warmth of Richardson Bay and Sausalito. We anchored had cup of tea and went ashore to do some provisioning. We rowed the mile ashore and I took with me one of the oars. Regularly over the years I have broken not the oars bur the row-locks and the ones that were on at the present were bent and close to the breaking state. If felt quite comfortable carrying the oar over my shoulder with the intent of confirming the exact size of the rowlock at the chandler's for replacement. This oar proved to be a real talking point to all who saw it and when I tried to take it into the library to get on to the internet they pointed to a sign which said "no oars".Their spelling was wrong but I got the point. In Mollie Stones I was subject to all sorts of comments, such as "where did you get that I want one"" and Got the last one eh?". In the Post office they got into a real panic, I was only getting a stamp to mail a letter to Canada, but they were certain I wanted to mail the oar and were all concerned that they didn't have a container that size. On the other hand the oar proved to be a topic of conversation and many were started as result of the oar. So the message is if you are feeling lonely or slightly low take an oar shopping with you! We had a fine meal at anchor, fresh trout and asparagus with an excellent white wine and so to bed. So much for roughing it at sea!

"A special coffee, sight-seeing"

We met Gig at 10 am and she took us to Buena Vista's for a coffee. This turned out to be a very special coffee, an Irish coffee. The Buena Vista's claim to fame is that it introduced the Irish coffee to the U.S.. It was especially good and whilst we enjoyed the ambiance of this popular meeting place Gig gave us pointers on where we should go to in SF. After our fare-wells we set off and walked along the waterfront area. We climbed up to the Coit tower and were rewarded with wonderful all round views of SF. We could even see Reiver waiting patiently for us in the Aquatic Park area. The steep streets and very unique SF type houses, the glimpses of those landmarks such as the Trans America building in what turned out to be perfect day were memorable. We walked a long way that day and by the time we caught our cable car home from Powell St Station down to the waterfront we were footsore and weary. A great day in a great city, I understand why Gig is so enthusiastic about it and why she wants to tell you about it and share it with all. As we got back to the boat the fog rolled in and the breeze increased and for a while we rolled and pitched in what should have been a sheltered anchorage. We slept well however and in the morning continued our sight seeing.

Distance travelled 6.5nm

" Back in the water and so to SF "

We had to wait till 2-30 pm to get lifted back into the water. In addition to our bill we were presented with a 1st class bottle of wine to soften the blow! We motored to the Aquatic Park right downtown San Francisco for the evening. The day was good from the first light, clear skies and warm. At our anchorage here we can hear the bells of the cable cars and now the city is lit up at night , a unique anchorage. Tomorrow we plan to meet Gig for a coffee and then sightsee for the rest of the day.

Distance travelled .05nm

"Cutless bearing, stuffing box and bottom"

A hard long day in which each of the above tasks were completed, the last one by Christine and I. I'm glad we had the jobs carried out. Whilst not cheap the work was very professionally carried out and the workers in the yard were pleasant and helpful. The yard "Keefe Kaplan Maritime Inc is a very good yard. They have many of the big boats and when we were there they had 10 Farr40's out, it had been the Farr 40 worlds the previous week. One sail boat was for sale, it is a Swan 120' and if you had a spare $9 m it was yours. The problem is you need a spare $900,000 each year for maintenance! For all our insignificant size we were well looked after by owners and staff. We treated ourselves to a meal out after our hard day and went to the Hotel Mac, not a very imaginative name but an old one nevertheless and indeed a hotel in the style of the turn of the century. The food was excellent.

"Freezer O/H"

We have two fridge systems . One works off the engine and cools a cold plate in the freezer compartment . The second is a conventional small compressor driven fridge which works off the 110 volt when we are tied to a dock.The cold plate began to give us trouble on the way down and today Anders of Sweedish Marine went through the system and diagnosed air build up, all is now well and Anders did a fine job.Chris walked into town and shopped and I met with Hans at the Monitor works again. I want to get all these things attended to whilst we are in the area of manufacture or in an area of good service. Robby bid us fare well he is off to the Annapolis boat show tomorrow with Hans on the Monitor stand. We have enjoyed our stay in the Point Richmond area. We have savoured the local scene with our walks and time spent in the village. We look forward to new places.

" A day of R&R "

We had a lazy day , no walks and some boatwork. We are located in the middle of an industrial area here at the end of the navigable water channel. All day long trains are hauling their container trucks full of cars for distribution into the storage yard. These are`unloaded during the day and then loaded onto road car transporters, a scene of activity. Along the water way are many other activities. A large boatyard with boats like Pendragon, and the Americas cup Oracle all being worked on. An oil storage yard is located further down the cut and an operation loading bulk ore is adjacent to it. Every morning is heavily overcast and the sun breaks through in the afternoon for a fine evening. This we are told is typical SF weather. We are getting eager to move on and after we have had the cutless bearing replaced at the adjacent yard we will explore more of SF.

A good feeling - boat inventory finished (I'm now supposed to be able to put my hand on anything on the boat immediately Ha Ha!)laundry done and everything shipshape and Bristol fashion- until Terry starts more jobs Oh well-. This morning I was finally able to get my sewing machine out and sew some new Sombrella covers for the engine ignition, bilge pump, and Alpha panel. I also made pockets for the dodger to hold the binoculars, discman, books flashlight, hand held compass, and sunglasses. Meanwhile Terry crossed at least 10 jobs off his list so it was a good workday. At 4pm we walked up the hill which separates Santa Fe Channel (we are at the end of it) from San Francisco Bay and had a great view from the top - from the Golden Gate shrouded in fog and the Saturday racers off St. Francis in the misty distance, round to Angel Island with Sausalito and Tiburon beyond, round again to the Richmond-San Rafael bridge and San Pablo Bay and finally round to Richmond and the hills beyond. We walked down the other side of the hill into Point Richmond and back to the boat and dinner- a most enjoyable day. It may have been ten years since we were last cruising like this but it seems to be a bit like riding a bike - you never forget and we have slipped into the cruising mode so easily this time its like we were never away.

Distance traveled 0 nm.

"Boatworks, people and a murder mystery"

The day began as it has almost since we came to SF - overcast and cool but by 11am the blue sky came and we were in warm sunshine once again. Terry has been anxious to get the CD with the photos on it mailed and I had postcards for the grandchildren to mail so at 10am we walked into Point Richmond which is more a village than a town. We went to the Post Office and then went and had a coffee at Starbucks before going on to the grocery store. There was a sign up in the produce department apologizing for the high prices of some products due to the hurricanes in Florida. The tomatoes I bought were good old B.C. hothouse ones - a taste of home. On the way back to the boat we called in at West Marine and ordered the flexible diesel tank that we want to put in the cockpit locker so it should be in on Monday. We are staying at a cruisers dream yacht club -we have every amenity we need - hot showers, laundry, shopping a 15 minute walk away, West Marine across the road, a Boat Yard next door etc. Terry got the name of a refrigeration engineer from the boat yard and he came over in the afternoon to check out our cold plate unit which hasn't been working well. Anders (another wonderful Swede) diagnosed moisture in the system which when it froze blocked the pipe and therefore stopped the process. He is coming back on Monday to check this after everything is defrosted. Terry then went back to Scanmar and bought some spares for the Monitor wind vane including a super new light air vane. He also booked seats for the theatre tonight. We have had visits to the boat from club members most have been offshore. Rick had been down in Chile and anchored in an anchorage along side Tzu Hang -The Smeeton's Boat. Ted the Club's Commodore has been up the coast to B.C. and Alaska five times. The club is only small - a do it yourself club, about a hundred members and several are Cruising Club of America members. So after a drink on the Club's deck and dinner on the boat we walked into town to the theatre -a small intimate theatre (99 seats) and were treated to a very well acted murder mystery called "Ravenscourt"- a most enjoyable evening.

Distance travelled 6.5nm

"Monitor check and a new village area , Point Richmond"

We pulled anchor and motored over to Point Richmond where Scanmar the manufacturers of the Monitor steering vane are located. Robby who we had met at the CCA gathering introduced us to his club, Point San Pablo YC and to some of the members. He had arranged for our temporary moorage. It is a small club set at the end of a shipping channel. It has a neat clubhouse with all the facilities which looks down the channel. The club appears to have an even mix of sail and power boats. Robby and others were working on their boats in the brightening day when we arrived. Robby and his wife Dolores took us over to Scanmar and introduced us to Hans Bernwall the company owner. We spent a most interesting couple of hours with Hans and now need to decide what spares we need to take with us. Robby also showed us the small town/village of Point Richmond which is a neat pictuesque little town with lots of history. It has all the amenities and even includes a small live theatre. We hope to go the theatre on Friday pm. Tomorrow we plan to spend time in the town.

"Wonderful hosts"

The wiring tasks were completed in the morning and in the late afternoon Gig picked us up in her car and took us into San Francisco. Gig and Mel own that wonderful wooden boat "Pat Pending" which we saw at the SFYC. They had invited us to supper at there home. First however Gig showed us around the west part of the City. This included the extensive area and development in the Presidio Heights and the Pacific Heights area adjacent. The range of house styles all of which were at the top end of the scale was fascinating. The overcast weather did not detract in any way from our appreciation of the tour. Mel and Gig's house is a beautiful Victorian style house, tall and narrow (24'-0") it is located in the Pacific Heights area close to an extensive park. The area has a community feel about it and Mel told me that there is a lot of social life and friendships made in the area. Truly a very pleasant livable area with trees and all amenities close to hand. The high ceilings and all original fittings of the home together with the skill of great interior design and furnishing made for a wonderful warm friendly home. Mel showed us some of the wonderful memorabilia they have. I had thought that Mel had retired but he is still very active in his profession. Bob and Marlene, two other guests were also present for supper. Bob and Marlene had sailed around the Pacific in 1984 and had written a book of their experience. We were wonderfully hosted to a superb meal cooked and presented by Gig, all the time the conversation moving from subject to subject. Before we said our farewells we moved into the lounge where a Steinway grand piano was located and where Mel played tunes using the "pianola" feature of this wonderful 1928 grand. We sang to the music and listened and watched as Gershwin played Rhapsody in Blue. We had a most wonderful memorable evening and as we left we were given gifts that we would find useful on the trip including a copy of Marlene and Bob's book. Wonderful people who we hope to meet again in BC and return their generosity and hospitality.

Distance traveled by boat 0 nm. We sure walked a long way however.

"Provisioning and joinery"

Equipment does not last forever. We found that on our trip down items of equipment were not up to standard, such as our hand-bearing compass which was no longer luminescent at night. It is most useful at night taking a bearing on approaching ships to see if they are on a collision course. The compass we had was one I bought some 30 years ago and we decided a new one was in order. A trip to West Marine was on the agenda therefore. It's a healthy walk (4nm there and back) from SYC where we could tie up our dinghy to the West Marine store but the real temptation in that direction is Mollie Stones Mollie Stones is a small gourmet supermarket that all west coast cruisers have heard of or have purchased food there. We carried out our shopping and complete with handcart full of the usual items made our way back to SYC. On the way back we had lunch out, at least I thought it was but Christine was of an other opinion. We ate our Mollie Stones super sandwich in a park! Back on the boat I carried out some joinery work. We have a lap top computer on board and at last we had decided the best place for it's permanent location. I also started some wiring which I had not completed fully before leaving home.

Distance traveled on Mon: 2nm

"Sausalito anchorage, work day"

We motored over from SFYC to Richardson Bay which lies to the east of and in front of Sausalito. Since we arrived the weather has been indifferent, low scudding cloud and on Mon fresh to strong NW winds. As a result we didn't leave the boat on Mon but I spent time catching up on reading, mostly technical equipment information for the boat. It was a little sad to leave SFYC but since it was Mon the club was deserted and it seemed the ideal time to move away. We had met some wonderful people, all most interesting and all very generous and helpful. They quickly became friends rather than acquaintances. It is the people that we have met and will continue to meet I'm sure that make our trip so fascinating and varied. These brief contacts stay with you, from the three retiree aged men at the gas dock, all saying little, one a retired off-shore fisherman silent and gazing into space with his own thoughts, the second again saying little but very helpful but not able/or allowed to deal with the cash side. He watched as we dieseled up smoking continually before taking me to the man in charge who was enthroned in the shop/office. He was heavily overweight and in discussion had no interest in national or local news other than sport fishing. As a contrast there was Wink whose 85th birthday it was when we were present and who was full of interest and life as he talked and laughed whilst he flipped burgers.

noon to noon run - 0 nm!

"leak hunting and wonderful hospitality"

Terry

I spent most of the morning and early afternoon in the lazarette looking for leaks. This is a process of elimination. The leak small though it is only occurs when Reiver is sailing hard or motoring hard and when she squats back on her lines. This I determined from the daily bilge pump stroke count, some days (the general case) no count and very occasional days 30 odd pumping strokes. Looking involved unpacking all the lazarette and testing the through hull fittings one by one under a basic pressure test. Result, I think it is at the exhaust outlet and I took off and re-sealed the connection. Meanwhile Christine did some sewing, making up various pockets and repairs to canvas using her machine. All around us the club was a hive of activity, boats with families or racers on board coming and going from the docks. It is a fine club and members have been so kind and friendly. In the afternoon Don came over from his home in his boat and invited us to a barbecue on his dock with other friends all from the Cruising Club of America ( CCA ). The group were very experienced sailors and out of the local chapter of 60 members 16 had circumnavigated under sail. They passed on lots of good advice and the afternoon and early evening passed very quickly and pleasantly. The view from Don's deck on the water in Tiburon was looking out to SF with the many boats either racing or just out for a sail passing by. Since we arrived the weather has been bright clear and warm and we have been in golf shirt and shorts. Tomorrow we plan to motor over to Sausalito get some items for the boat and to get some provisions. A review of our trip down the coast showed the following noon-to-noon runs Sat 18th-19th Sept 69.9 nm Sun 19th-20th Sept 72.i nm Mon 20th-21st Sept 74.8 nm Tues 21st-22nd Sept 144.3 nm Wed 22nd-23rd Sept 125.6 nm Thurs 23rd-24th Sept 123.5nm Slow start but some good spells over the last few days.

Christine

As Terry says the hospitality here is amazing. Tod and Linda from Newport Beach; also visiting and tied up in front of us but headed north have invited us to use their dock when we reach Newport. This coming week Mel and Gig on "Pat Pending" the Classic wooden boat we visited on Sat have invited us to their home. Robbie who we met at Don's party yesterday consults with Scanmar Marine( Monitor manufactures ) and has offered help and advice with contact names. The boat stowage is as good if not better than that on the Fast Passage, our previous boat, or maybe it could be that we are better at stowing things!

"A day of contrast"

We got up at 6-30 am with the plan to make it under the Golden gate bridge at slack water. Visibility was still down to 100m and less, but the strong (30knt) wind had dropped at about 4-00 am to 10-15 knots. We made our preparations for navigating into the Bay area in this lowered visibility and up anchored at 7-30 am. In actual fact the visibility gradually increased, first to a quarter of a mile and the to one and two miles. It was Saturday and the greatest navigation hazard tuned out to be the fishermen, both commercial and recreational who appeared wall to wall at times and all going in different directions. We worked our way through them and sailed into San Francisco Bay just after 13-00 hrs into a bright clear warm day. RVYC has reciprocal visitor moorage arrangements with other clubs so we planned to take advantage of these and sailed to the San Francisco YC where we were made most welcome. After a most welcome shower we were invited on board an older 50-0' (1929) wooden powerboat, for drinks. The boat had been in the same family for 65 years and had an interesting history. This included guests such as Al Jolson and Bing Crosby. The owner Mel Owen was a retired copy right Lawyer and this boat was now his hobby/passion. The boat was in pristine condition. The SFYC is in a very up area, attractive and well planned and we walked into the village of Tiburon and had an excellent meal. On the way back from the village downtown area you could see the lights of SF across the water of the Bay to the south as the moon reflected on the water and lit the house roofs and the bay. We sat in our cockpit whilst Chris wrote up her diary and I typed up this report, certainly a day of contrasts.

Breezy Thursday afternoon and snotty evening. The NW wind built all afternoon and reluctantly we put in another reef in the main. We were on the edge of control and were surfing at up to 10 knots for longish spells. No point in breaking gear at this stage and we should remember both boat and crew are no longer new. The wind got up to about 30knts as anticipated from the weather fax. As usual the wind died through the night and we motor sailed through most of the night tracking down the swath of the moons reflection. We continued in the morning sailing and following directly into the suns reflected path. We passed Point Arena and eventually Point Reyes. Again the wind built up and the fog rolled in. We passed Pt Reyes without seeing it in the fog, gybed and headed into Drakes Bay. This a wide-open bay where we are presently anchored. The wind is howling in the rigging, we have the diesel heater on, some of our favorite music and have just had a great meal. We have not seen the shore at all because of the fog, visibility is down to 100m at times and the general feeling is of being anchored in the middle of the ocean except that we are out of the swell! The bay is named after Sir Francis Drake who visited and anchored here in the Elizabethan era whilst chasing the Spanish galleons. We are cozy and warm and have the anchor alarm on, this gives a warning if we were to drag whilst we were asleep, a real possibility in this wind. Tomorrow we plan to leave early weather permitting and sail under the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco. The first leg has been a good one, it has tested the gear and I sail tomorrow with a list of 34 jobs to do!

Good progress and some fog. We had a peaceful night with moderate winds , still from the NW, and we continue to make good progress, now down the California coast. This morning showed a change of scenery , still with the mountains but now bare and brown and without vegetation, typical California coastline and we will see much of the same all the way down to San Diego. As the wind freshened I took the opportunity to deploy the Ampair. This a towed turbine which drives a generator and at 6-7 knts puts in an average of 5 amps every hour. It is deployed from the stern and wired into the boats system. One of the best pieces of eqipment we had on board last time we went offshore. The shore line , some 12 miles away disappeared as the fog bank developed and sone we were sailing at 7-8 knts in fog with visibility down to 100m. The sun burned the fog of after a couple of hours, nevertheless a sign of things to come as we approach San Francisco.

The NW winds carried through the night. Both Chris and I had little sleep during our first off watch because of the excess movement. Cushions stuffed down the lee-cloths solved the problem temporarily. The morning was bright and clear but cold and the wind lessened somewhat. I put my lure out in the hope of catching one of those American fish, since they go home with a lot of our fish from our waters.

We slipped out of Newport at 10.00hrs after clearing the bar conditions with the Coast Guard. Out on the ocean there was a very light swell with a light easterly blowing. We set sail immediately and sailed for a couple of hours at 3-3.5 knts. The NW wind filled in and soon we were moving along at a good pace with the wind aft. Reiver enjoyed these winds and we rolled down the coast at an average 6-8 knts. The wind continued through the night and we put a reef in the main, snugged the preventer on, secured the jib with a down haul to the pole and made sure all was secure. The alpha handled the building sea extremely well since the seas were coming in on the aft quarter and making Reiver slew round. Throughout the day there had not been a cloud in the sky, pleasantly warm, whilst we slid down the coast some 5-6 miles offshore. It is a varied shoreline with treed low mountains and the sand-dunes at Florence stood out clearly. As the evening came on, we altered course slightly to give us more sea room and to give ample clearance to the reefs well offshore at Cape Blanco. All in all a great day and good progress made. As night fell, the moon brightened and created its reflected pattern on the water. Reiver tracked south wards down this moonlit path for several hours, occasionally surfing down the waves and showing her paces off. I was very happy with her performance. Over the period 1900- 2100 hrs we covered 23 nm! It was memorable ride. Down below, however, things were different and sleeping was almost impossible with the side to side motion. Another job for the "to do" list is to improve the lee-cloths anchor point locations!

Terry

We arrived in Newport at noon, fuelled up and dried and aired bedding and clothes. The facilities at Newport public marina are excellent and we enjoyed a welcome shower before catching a bus into town. It's a quiet town now that the tourist season is over but neither of us could imagine wanting to live there, there was an feel that one has in a mill town when the mill has closed and indeed there were a lot of closed/for lease signs up in the stores. We had a meal and walked back to the boat harbour over the Yaquina Bridge. This a fine bridge with multi concrete arch approach spans to the huge main steel truss span. Its condition is excellent considering it was built in 1935. The views out over the ocean and the old town were worth while the long walk back to the boat. We plan to leave in the morning and even with the light winds we anticipate from forecast and weather fax we plan to make the leg to SF in one.

Christine

What a difference a few hours and a change in wind direction can make. We went from everything is a big effort and hang on with one hand while you do things with the other to looking for jobs to do on the boat. Our big treat this morning was a bacon egg and tomato breakfast with orange juice and toast sitting at the cockpit table with the sun shining and the beautiful Oregon coastline as a backcloth. I'm looking forward to a good nights sleep but in a way I'll miss the night watch routine.

We had sent a daily report yesterday before the day was over. We had been having problems making the necessary contact and allowing the message to be sent. On the 19th we had sent a report for that day before the day was over. We had to mention how the rest of that day went and how the afternoon and early evening made up for the previous day's wet upwind work. The afternoon settled into a bright sunny clear day with a slowly building wind from the NW and soon we were running at 6-7knts with the wind aft of the beam with a very comfortable motion running with the swell. It was warm and we carried out numerous little chores around the boat, some electrical wiring completion work, some pad eyes in the cabin to run lines through to stop lockers popping open. All this time we were passing along the Washington/Oregon coastline. This a coastline that can only be seen at its best from the sea, with the green tree clad mountains sweeping down to the beaches. We had found a deck leak, in the forepeak where we had placed towels to collect and control the ingress. We are now in the process by sealing this by process of elimination but in the meantime had to dry any wet clothes etc out. There were few but those that were soon festooned the lifelines. I never knew I had so many pairs of underpants! Chris had a resort of her charts, a job she does very well since there are of the order of 200 of them. Again a dramatic sunset brought the night watches. At the sunset there were towering cumulus and strata-cumulus with anvil and hammerheads on the western horizon. These black clouds were all backlit by the sun which dropped behind them and briefly appeared on the horizon before leaving the night to its own. It is an interesting time at night on watch, noises are magnified by the box effect that a boat is and the on watch person attempts to quieten these to enable the other to have a sleep. It is a impossible task and the sleeper soon learns to tune out the non-important noises. On watch at night when conditions allow its a relaxing time, a time to think and contemplate, to plan a detail to be made, or work on route planning. It’s a little like the "quiet time" the grand children used to have to enable them to slow down. They would pretend to sleep, but didn't and you saw them quiet with their thoughts. The NW breeze carried into the night but died early in the morning leaving us wallowing and rolling from side to side. We had minimum way on and even with the main sail lashed fore and aft to prevent us rolling we were taking a beating in the heavy swells. The motor was started and since we needed to top up our fuel we headed for Newport. Interestingly we found out that the previous day the Coast Guard had banned all but boats larger than 40'-0" from crossing the bar into Newport because of this swell.

Christine

This really is the slow boat to China! but we're making progress in the right direction and are just south of the Columbia River at the moment and are on the next chart down the coast.We still have the Southerly wind but it is very light and we spent yesterday chasing clouds as we would romp along at a good 5-7 knots sometimes for only 20 minutes but othertimes for 3 or 4 hours.We are thinking of stopping at Newport for fuel as we are getting through our supply and we will probably get good winds if we did-providence being providence! We are now into the swing of things and I enjoyed my night watches last night. The stars were magnificent and I got back into light air sailing in the dark. I had the company of fishing boats all around but they have tons of lights on and they glow on the horizon before you see any lights as such.Amazingly at first light there isn't a boat in sight they seem to disappear with the darkness. We nearly had calamari for breakfast as a good sized squid was stuck in the scupper drain complete with sardine like fish in its mouth-pity there wasn,t more than one!We never tire of watching the birds mostly Shearwater's -so graceful,the Albatross is still around and in one squall we had a swallow flying gamely towards the shore.

Terry

We are getting into our shipboard routine and apart from feeling slightly queasy yesterday after working on the e-mail I feel fine. I always take heart on this sea sickness thing which i usually suffer from on the first few days by the fact that Horatio Nelson was always sick at the start of a voyage. Christine is serving up some good hot meals since it is always cold on these northern waters. There was a spectacular sunset last night as I started my watch. I do the 19.00 to 22.00 hr. and the 01.00 to 04.00 hr. watches through the night. After the sunset a gibous moon appeared from behind the clouds. The night was generally clear and with no light polution the stars and the Milky Way were clear and bright. I still find lots of jobs to do on the boat and have a list of 6 additional ones to do in San Francisco when we arrive. Someone asked me how long it would take us to get to S.F. and I said 7 days or so. At this rate It will take us much longer for the 750 mile leg. So far we have had nothing but head-winds and we are pushing hard against these winds either to reach the NW flow from the Pacific High. Another possibility is that the low tracking down the BC coast will give us some brisk NW winds also. Whilst we have had the boat 18 months we have not really tried her out in all conditions. So far we have had a good range and the boat is performing well. Reiver has two modes,in fact three methods of self steering. The first is an Alpha 12 v driven system which is a push /pull motor driven piston directly onto the quadrant.It draws remarkably low power when set in miser mode.The second is a wind vane , a Moitor which links directly to the steering wheel and it is driven by pressure on a trailing arm in the water, It's power is in effect free since the boat is generally moving' at least hopefully. the last is one of balancing the sails and setting the wheel to a certain course. The last two will sail to a wind direction whereas the Alpha sails to a compass course. WE use any of the above depending on the point of sail, the wind strength, and the need for power conservancy.Enough of the technical stuff! The fish boats were around again last night and with their very bright deck lights we now realise that they are probably fishing for squid. Chris found a good speciman of squid on the deck this am, probably washed on during a short burst of windy upwind sailing,when the deck was awash. There were no takers for it at breakfast!

Noon position 17th Sept N 48-19-68 W 124-48-25 We pulled anchor and departed from Neah Bay at 9.45am in a fine clear morning with just some traces of the heavy rain clouds clinging to the hills and mountains of Vancouver Island. We slipped between Tatoosh Island and Cape Flattery, through a heavy swell that was breaking dramatically on the rocks on either side. The heavy swell continued and only now on the second day has it reduced to a 2-3m swell. Winds have been light to non existing and we tried to tie into the heavy rain squalls that moved through on a regular basis as there was always wind in these cloud areas. for a good hour or so we romped along ahead of such a squall at 7-8knts, but that was short lived. For the most part we have slopped along in the uncomfortable seas. The first night out is always the worst and this one lived up to that expectation. It was cold and wet with lowered visibility at times and there were a lot of fishing boats about, where they go in the daylight goodness knows. At the present moment we are off Greys Harbour rocking along at 3knts in a reasonably pleasant afternoon. Today we have seen our first Pelican and Albatross. There is an abundance of sea birds about and I,m sure if we had dropped a line over we would have caught salmon since they were jumping all round us at one stage. Noon position 18th Sept N 47-10-62 W 124-31-32 Miles travelled on log noon to noon is 125.7nm.

We motored across the straits after leaving the RVYC at 7.00am and cleared customs by noon. We continued along the south side of the straits in a mixed bag of conditions, heavy rain with very poor visibility and arrived here in Neah Bay at 9.45pm. Rather than push on we will stay overnight.A good days progress with the Pacific N.W weather at its most dramatic, with views of the fog shrouded hills and occasional shafts of sunlight to brighten the gloom of the day. I have to confess that it was somewhat confusing coming into Neah during one of the very heavy rain squalls and the dark. Lights quite close at hand to us were unrecognisable in the limited night visibility and rain. I could not recall what the vessel lights were. It turned out to be two helicopters shadowing /hovering over a moving vessel, an exercise or drug bust we were not sure but it made the entrance to Neah interesting. We'll check the weatherfax and see what is happening ouside for tomorrow.

We caught up on our sleep and had a full day doing last minute things on the boat whilst moored at the YC in Victoria. We had a final stow of the boat to make her ready for the seas, changed the oil, had a shower in the evening, probably our last for a week or so, sent our e-mails and turned in for another good nights sleep.

The waiting is over and we are off on our trip. The last week or so has been pretty hectic in the run up to today. We had planned to leave on the 7th. Sept but the power cable had not been replaced and we were still without power as we had been for the last three months. We felt that we could not leave until this was achieved. It was connected on Friday last at 4.00pm. after two long days of helping the contractors. Apart from that task there have been many other jobs that required doing around the house and on the boat. For the last week or so we have been putting in long days. Reiver is now all provisioned and she should be good for a lot of miles. It's amazing how much she is down on her water line. A quick calculation confirms that we have added of the order of 1500lbs of extra weight. Throughout this period Christine has as usual been a tower of strength and we have worked together as a team as we always do. Reiver was topped up with fresh clear water from our well, diesel from James accross the bay in Maple bay, all stores and food put away, lots of warm clothing, emergency gear, sails, anchor rodes, chain, and spare anchors before we left Maple Bay at 7-35am this morning the 14th Sept with a first stop at the Roval Victoria Y.C. It was a beautiful morning, a little high cloud but with a wonderful clear fresh air with fall definitely in the air. Time we headed south. We took the ebb through Sansom Narrows which had not received any of the sun at that stage which made it somewhat dark and foreboding with Bruce Mountain high on the port side; a technicolour morning. We sped through Sansom narrows with the tide at up to 9 knts and out into the sunshine at Burial Island. Apart from the seagulls and a solitary eagle we saw no other life. We will miss the N.W. bird life whilst we are away. The cyclic nature of their appearances, the humming birds in early March, the swallows in May and winter seabirds. This year we seem to have seen many more different birds and one day I saw 9 turkey vultures at the top end of our lot. A West jet passed overhead reminding me of the work day I had left as Fortune Hunter a crabbing boat passed us with the following flotilla of seagulls. Early morning in the Gulf Islands is very special with the islands fading into the distance. The effect is very well picked up by our local and native artists. The five hour trip ended with a boisterous sail in 20+ knts of wind. We will meet with the family this evening and all being well set off tomorrow down the straits of Juan de Fuca.