LAST DAY AND NIGHT IN LA PAZ

OUR LAST DAY AND NIGHT IN LA PAZ

We were busy with cleaning up, buttoning down and generally preparing the boat for being left for a few months.  As nice as it is to have it positioned in a place that will be fabulous to explore … “the aquarium of the world” as deemed by Jacques Cousteau …. It is difficult to leave it. ( And it will be REALLY weird not having the boat in PNW for the summer !!! )

Arrangements have been made with Francisco, a local fellow who comes highly recommended, to check the boat 3X per week and come in when necessary and “start things up”.  We will feel better leaving SL well looked after when we aren’t here !!  Francisco regularily checks dock lines, canvases etc during high winds to ensure everything is holding tight... nice to have checked especially during hurricane season.  He gets the boat washed, the bottom cleaned frequently,  and the zincs changed .... all necessary to keep her in top condition !!

The few of us remaining will be gathering for a last evening’s dinner to say our goodbyes ….. we deemed it The Last Supper.  We have committed to staying in touch with this wonderful group of new friends.  They truly are an interesting and FUN group.

 

 

THE LAST SUPPER ...

 

 

Penny (Northern Ranger) and Michelle (Piredmus)

 

Christy and Ken (Varnebank)

 

Penny (NR), Michelle (Piredmus), Diana (Colibri), Val (crew-NR)

 

 

Val and Bill

 

 

Val, Bill, Penny and Christy

 

 

 

Christopher giving a toast (Ron & Nancy (Duet) and Tim (Piredmus)

 

To get home, we have hired a van and driver to run the 6 of us to San Jose Del Cabo International Airport (2 ¼ hours away).   Its not a direct commute to La Paz, and its far, so "popping down" to check on things is not an easy thing to do.  Some thought will have to be given to options around getting in and out of La Paz … small commuter planes … flying to San Diego and walking across the border to the International Airport in Tijuana and then a direct flight to La Paz (apparently there is a bridge walk right at the border to the airport,  that is near completion allowing people to do this easily !!). 

We want it to be easy for family and friends to meet up with us in La Paz .... starting with our boys and their significant others and the grandkids .... REALLY looking forward to having them come down (all together if possible ... for my 60th !?! ) 

:-)

Its SO beautiful .....

  

 

 

Beautiful DESERT vegetation ..... can't wait to see these in flower !!

 

 

 

THE LAST POST .....

 



Its been a wonderful adventure (can’t really call it a HOLIDAY because it was a lot of WORK getting SL repositioned !!!). 

It has again, tested us, .... and I think we have passed with flying colors !!! 

Learning, challenging ourselves and growing - at any age - is a good thing ..... and that certainly is one aspect of owning SEA LEVEL that we love. 

The other aspect is all the wonderful people we have the opportunity to meet ... and this trip, we have met some truly fabulous people, who we plan to keep in contact with and hopefully will connect up with again when we come down. 

I am anxious to see everyone at home …. I miss my family and friends !!!

 



 Until next time .....

 

 

A TRIP INTO LA PAZ

Thursday morning we said goodbye to Theobalds and they bused to San Jose del Cabo to overnight then catch a flight home on Friday. 

We caught a later shuttle into La Paz with the Northern Ranger crew and enjoyed lunch and a little sightseeing.

 

La Paz is still recovering from Hurricane Odile which hit here a year ago in the fall.  There are a number of  shops  closed, and some buildings still have broken windows, but it clearly is an artsy community, with beautiful wall murals and sculptures along the MALECON …. A beautiful seawall walk that connects the town of La Paz right up to Costa Baja Resort !

 

A pearl sculpture on the malecon .....

 

Wyland mural .....

 

 

They are very into skulls ......

 

 

 

Beautiful imprint and mosaic sidewalks ....

 

 

Another interesting wall mural ....

 

 

Beautiful stone wall with fish "window" ....

 

 

Beautiful old doorway with calla lily tiles ....

 

 

Old church in the center of town ....

 

 

 

Cam and Penny inside the church ....

 

 

We were in La Paz for the US Thanksgiving and Steinbeck's Restaurant at the resort put on a beautiful turkey dinner for us ..... on the deck overlooking the Inner Harbor, at sunset ....

stunning .....

 

 

 

Inner Harbor .....

 

 

Another gorgeous sunset ....

 

 

On the way back to our boat (Outer Harbor), we noticed some of the boats with their swim grid lights on attracting fish ....

 

 

 

 

 

 

ARRIVING IN COSTA BAJA, LA PAZ .....

YES … the excitement does finally come to an end …. And we arrived at Costa Baja,  La Paz to the friendly faces of our neighbor in the marina, fellow CUBAR traveller, ANOTHER Canadian of our group AND another Talbott (no relation to NR’s Talbots) ….  Tim and Michelle on their gorgeous Nordhavn 63 PIREDMUS.  They helped us tie up and left us to settle in.

 

Arriving at Costa Baja harbor .....

 

FIRST order of business was to crack open a bottle of champagne to celebrate the completion of this phase of our trip …..

 

 

 

 

 

 

WE MADE IT !!!! 

 

The WORK  is now done.  (And it has been WORK getting the boat to this point.)   

1400 nm from Vancouver to San Diego….

900 nm from San Diego to La Paz …..

2300 nm in total ….

And we couldn’t have done it without the help of our various CREWS … MANY thanks to all.

 

The CUBAR organizers had a BYOB welcome cocktail party later in the afternoon and we watched the sun set by one of the resort’s BEAUTIFUL pools. 
 

 

Beautiful infinity pool ... beautiful sunset ....

 

 

 

Martin (Enterprise lll ) and Cam

 

Enjoying the pool ... and the cool banana leaf chairs .....

 

 

Cam and "the girls" ....

 It was a GORGEOUS evening with a group of us finally heading off to one of the many restaurants for dinner. 
ITALLIAN ! .... (the restaurants at the resort are fabulous !!)

And we thought the OTHER night was the trip from hell .....

It was to be a 10 hour run to Bahai de los Muertos (Bay of the Dead) …. and as the sun peeked over the horizon at 6am, we pulled out of the marina to what we were expecting to be a lovely run. 

 

 

Northern Ranger leaving Puerto Los Cabos .....

 

 

Fishing pangas at the entrance to the harbor .....

 

 

 

A STUNNING sunrise ......

 

What we experienced however, were  +1 meter waves at 5 seconds apart … on the nose …. Making for a VERY rough 10 hour ride. 

 

 

DUET burying its bow .....

 

 

Sea Level taking on a little spray !! 

NOT quite the ride we were expecting ....

 

Cameron was sick …

Our crew was feeling “off” (although they did not get sick)…

 I stayed up top on the flybridge and the breeze kept any nausea at bay.  

It was going to be a very loooong 10 hours …..

And then all hell broke loose ....

We had started the day with a very low reserve of water – less than ¼ of a 600 gal tank …. (MUCH lower than we usually have …. thankfully) and we were running the watermaker to bring our water level UP.

At one point Ed's eagle eyes noticed our water tank level was quickly .... going DOWN?!?!

The watertank was EMPTYING …

somewhere …..

The system was immediately turned off …..

A hasty run around the boat checking bilges, bathrooms, the “basement” etc ….

Cam was headed downstairs to the engine room and stepped in 3-4” of water sloshing around the laundry area. 

OK !!  WE FOUND THE WATER !! 

Now we just needed to find where the problem originated ….

Ed and I bailed all the water out of the laundry area while Christine drove the boat ….

…. and Cam threw up. 

It was a testy time. 

We finally arrived at Muertos feeling ABSOLUTELY WHIPPED .... and with NO water  L  

Some sleuthing led Cam and Ed to discover a blown hose connection on one of the fresh water hoses so thankfully it was an easy fix.  A reconnection and we were good to go …..

AND … now with the laundry room floor VERY clean, we were back on track leaving the watermaker to run all night to replenish our water supply !!! 

Ed whipped up an omelet for those of us feeling like eating …. Half comatosed, we watched Jumanji and retired early as everyone was EXHAUSTED !!!  NO swimming as we had NO rinse water … and we were too tired anyways ….

( But the water was absolutely beautiful….  80’ and clear, aquamarine blue. )

Are we having fun yet ???

 

Pulling out of Muertos Cove into Cerralvo Channel puts us officially into THE SEA OF CORTEZ .....

 

I am happy to report that the trip from Bahai de los Muertos to Costa Baja (La Paz) was GORGEOUS ….. glassy conditions… balmy breezes …. NO water leaks …. NO serious disasters …. OH ! Except for the overheated wing engine which blew coolant ALL OVER the engine room ….

(OMG …. Does this ever end ?!?!) 

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO CHRISTINE AND ED !!!

 

I have lost track of the days and meant to post this in a more timely manner ……

On November 18^th, Christine and Ed celebrated their 43^rd anniversary!!!!   

43 years of a very special love between two special people !!!  They are still very much in love and always respectful and thoughtful of each other … clearly the secret to a long and happy marriage!  

Happy Anniversary to them both ... so happy to be celebrating with you guys !!

Last few days in Puerto Los Cabos .....

We were so enchanted with Flora Farm that Christine and I went back the next day to see it in the daylight and to have lunch…. And do a little shopping at the gift shop !!  It is an amazing place with numerous outbuildings, a bakery,  shops, a little veggie market, a great wine bar, a cooking school and an amazing restaurant !!  GREAT FUN !!

 

 

Adorable sitting area ... one of MANY ....

 

 

Flora Farm Wine Bar

 

 

Handmade covers for hay bales which are used as seating .....

 

 

Cool lanterns .... cooling mist around seating area .....

 

 

The sunflowers at the farm ....

 

Puerto Los Cabos Marina has a Beach Club associated with it and we walked over to spend the afternoon sitting under beach umbrellas, drinking mojitios and snorkling with the little colorful fish along the breakwater. 

 

 

BO DEREK ?!?!

 

 

Cameron back from snorkeling ....

 

Then it was off to Don Sanchez Restaurant, in town.  We had a BIG group (16 of us !) and a fantastic dinner … outdoors, under beautiful twinkle lights !  GORGEOUS spot and dinner was amazing, as was the live entertainment …. A woman playing violin …. She was fabulous !!!

 

 

Violinist on stage ....

 

 

 

Lawrence, Penny, Denis and Ken

 

 

Val and Bill

 

Nancy, Edward and Christine

 

 

Ken, Christy and Ron

 

 

Christopher makes a toast .....

 

 

A BEAUTIFUL chandelier at Don Sanchez Restaurant .....

 

a fabulous meal with great friends and a truly a magical evening .....