March 5, 2010
07:42
Yesterday we first stepped foot in Cabo San Lucas. A passing boat was hailed so we wouldn't have to row ourselves ashore. The well-spoken, Hispanic tour guide captain, even though he wasn't a designated water taxi, gave us a ride to shore for a few American dollars. He beached his vessel on the light caramel sand and we hopped off. The sand was a bit coarser than I expected, making for a slightly awkward walking style (at first I thought everyone on the beach was lavishly inebriated, but the slipping sand makes it appear so). The cream-colored grains were warm despite the persistent cloud cover. The first thing I noticed is that the waterfront is very much gringoville. The whole of it was what I would describe as “beach clubs”. Open-aired restaurants seated upon the warm sand accentuated by elevated dance floors and bars apparently attracted the most white folk. We entertained ourselves by watching everyone for a moment before climbing the steep roadside into town. This was a shot from that day (a slow day for Cabo):
We wandered past the palace-like hotels that line the malacon and were back to the familiarity of a well-developed Mexican town. It was nearly the same setting in Ensenada. You don't dare cross streets without looking both ways, twice; street vendors solicit the whole way; but everything is a bit more expensive. A stop in to a nice restaurant satiated our hunger and gave me a taste of the best guacamole I'd ever had. We ran the usual circuit to McDonalds for a post-supper vanilla cone as well. From there we descended the steep slope back to the waterfront. A campfire outside of a restaurant caught our eye and we set ourselves there for the next few hours. A couple of white russians and a lovely pair from northern Idaho made the night. Not to be forgotten though, was the soothing acoustic live music and the stumbling drunkards that gilded the short expanse of sand between our campgrounds and the Pacific.
The live musician did wonderful acoustic renditions of Neil Young, Simon and Garfunkel, The Beatles, and the Steve Miller Band. He sang with great tone of voice that hinted towards a Hispanic heritage. Every once in a while an “r” would get rolled, a “j” turned “h”, but his speaking voice sounded completely Anglo. It was a bit curious and we weren't perched close enough to make out his features. It will forever remain a mystery.
Amid our communications with the couple from Idaho, we were presented with a pressing new issue. A short exchange between the waiter and Dan revealed that the water taxis don't run past sundown. Not a single one. We contemplated options including swimming and sleeping on the beach. Swimming would be so tiring that, after making it to the boat, it would be unlikely that one of us could pull ourselves up over the freeboard. Sleeping on the beach was an easier option, although it wold get pretty cold later. The final option was of course to somehow figure out a ride back.
We went up the beach asking locals if they knew a way to get us back. They were helpful but not fruitful in their efforts. Eventually, I spotted another yatista casting his dinghy off and ran over to talk to him. After hearing of our plight, he was glad to be of assistance. He rowed to his boat and let us row the rest of the way to ours, letting us borrow his tender for the night. I got some tiring rowing experience in and we made the 14 foot boat fast to Leeway's pushpit. A little light reading about the horrors of the Vietnam war and I rested myself in my, thanks to Evan, sandless bed for the night.
March 10, 2010
21:11
We've made out of Cabo and are in route for Mazatlan. We have gained a new crew as well: Arath. Arath is an amiable 30 year old security guard for the Medano Beach in Cabo San Lucas. We first met him when we were seeking out a way to get back to our boat when the water taxis had retired for the night. He was so friendly and helpful that we made it a point to drop by and have drinks with him during our Cabo nights. He, never being on a sailboat before, was intrigued by our voyage. After getting to know him a little, we decided to invite him on our passage to Mazatlan where he has some family. Having a third crew will greatly improve our watch schedule hours (each person will now have 6 hours of sleep using the established 3 hour watch system). Our final Baja sunset as we departed from Cabo did not disappoint:
23:24
Tonight I was treated to a magnificent spectacle of nature. The Sea of Cortez's light show. Early in the watch, I noticed the high concentrations of bio-luminescence. The Humboldt current has brought down grand amounts of squids and a practically glowing sea. Phosphorescence is exhibited when the microscopic creatures in the water are disturbed. They light up as an iridium green and fade based on how violently they were jarred. Tonight they have propagated themselves in pricks of light in the wake of Leeway.
At first the only bio-luminescence to be seen was that from our bow wave. While it was entertaining to watch, the novelty wore off quickly. La mar began the next stage of its show in the middle of dinner. We were becalmed and not budging a knot when there was a bite on the reel, a big bite. I carefully placed down my bowl of cheddar potato soup to reel whatever it was in. I quickly noticed the catch was acting a bit odd. It wasn't a constant struggle like that of a fish. It would go from being completely placid, even to making the line slack, to strongly thrashing, enough to even pull through the tightened clutch on the reel. As I reeled it closer and closer an eerie sight came into view. The microscopic creatures illuminated what I had caught in the crystal clear water. The iridium cloud revealed a Humboldt squid, easily 1 meter in length. Around the catch swarmed 5 or 6 comparatively-sized others. Arath and I were the only ones to view this spectacle and we both deemed it “freaky”. They moved around their hooked brother in smooth circular patterns. Each one looked as if it was connected to the catch by a string, slowly rotating. I continued to reel him in, wanting to see what a giant squid looked in up close, but as I got it to within 2 meters of the boat, the 60lb test line snapped. The green silhouettes lingered for a moment before dashing off to the depths.
The third, and most fantastic, act of the show occurred only 15 minutes ago. I was sitting on the bow leaning against the doused sunbrella jib bumming on the fact that there was no wind to be harnessed. I was beginning to doze off when I heard a familiar puff: dolphins? I rose from my daze and looked off the side of the bow. What I saw I will remember for the rest of my life. A pod of dolphins had joined Leeway and were now frolicking around the bow. They would have been completely unseen to me if not for the bio-luminescence. They shattered my melancholy as they swam through the sea performing their act for my eyes alone. Near the surface they were clearly-outlined, radioactive dolphins. Behind them, irradiated smoke trail followed and faded. And running over their bodies were specks of phosphorescence, giving them the look of a falling meteorite breaking up in the Earth's atmosphere. As they dove, they faded into a green cloud that curved and moved with complete grace. They played about for a while, at times leaping clear out of the water, before departing.
March 11, 2010
07:00
After the dolphins had taken their bows and exited stage left, the curtain opened on the final act of the night. As I sat up on the bow listening to the slightly humid, still air, something caught the corner of my eye. I looked to where the dolphins were before and saw nothing. But when I drew my gaze back to the horizon I began seeing the faintest glimpses of green phosphorescence flashing around me. They grew brighter and brighter until I was surrounded by them entirely. The ocean had become a black expanse dotted with these flashes of light. I watched the phenomena until my watch was over. I reitred and enjoyed a rocky 6 hours of sleep.
I was awakened by Arath for my 0600 watch. A quick course change and a hoist of the main and we're now on a beam reach straight to Mazatlan. The wind must be blowing 10-15 kts, pushing us along at our maximum hull speed of 7.5 kts. “But what of your exploits in Cabo?”, I hear them crying. Alright, alright I'll tell you about them. We ended up making The Medano our regular night spot thanks to their soothing atmosphere, kind proprietors, and two-for-one cervesas during happy hour (which is all the time in Cabo). The campfire that first wasted away an evening did so to so many others. We ended up meeting quite a few smart North Americans who were escaping the frigid winter in Cabo. They all had stories to tell of course. Cabo San Lucas: worst place ever:
Cabo, while being a beautiful place to put your feet in the sand, didn't offer much more than a good view and a lot of cervesa. We lounged around on the beach a few days and then decided we should probably get something done. What were we supposed to get here? Oh yea, food and water. We hauled back a 5 gallon jug of agua purificada and dinghied it back to the boat. Walmart was our next stop. We hitched a ride on a bus for 8 pesos a piece. After filling up three backpacks with rations, we bused back to our dinghies and rowed it all in.
19:10
On our final day in Cabo I decided to make a kayaking foray to Lover's Beach. Playa de Los Amor is a sandy beach accessible only via water. It lays right along Land's End and is the most southern beack on the Baja Peninsula. Water taxis frequent its shores to ferry the gringos back and forth. I landed and toured the beach nothing that the sand was much finer than that of Playa de Medano running along Cabo. I discovered a cave I came to name Lover's Cave and then smoothly got back into the water. "Lover's Cave":
Then I thought I should explore Land's End a bit and glimpse the famous arches. I paddled around and checked out the arch that is named the “window of the Pacific”. The most southern portion of my exploration was halted by the breaching of sea lions much larger than I. An arduous upwind paddle back to the boat soon ensued soon after. On my way back I was intercepted by a couple of waverunners who took ultimate pleasure in splashing me. The rest of the day was spent gathering fresh rations and our new crewmate. The pleasant proximity of Leeway on my upwind kayak:
Today has been an exciting day's sail. The wind arose from it's slumber about the same time as me. At about 1400 the wind was still rising and was beginning to overpower our sails. Instead of just dropping the mainsail like we did outside Tortugas, we decided to try something different. We first put up our second smallest jib, but were continuing to get heeled over too hard by the gusts. So we decided to try something new: reefing the main. Reefing the main is just manly-sailor talk for reducing it's sail area. When using slab reefing (as ours does), you pull down the sail and attach the clew (aft corner of the main) in a new spot higher on the sail. With only a strong force 5 blowing, we decided to only toss in a single reef. A bit of jerry-rigging here and a lot of manpower there and we had a reefed main. My starring moment of the whole event was when I had to loose the outhaul (pulls the bottom, “foot”, of the mainsail tight). It had gotten treated to a quadruple half hitch and then a cleat. That's just a lot of description to say it was a pain to undo. While I was undoing it on the lee deck (side opposite the wind direction), I clutched the boom for my dear life with one hand and attempted to dislodge the line with the other. Every gust would round us up into the wind and heavily heel the boat. At one point I was nearly swept off my feet as the water on deck rose to just below my knees. Eventually it was undone and the reef was tossed in. Here's the reefing setup utilizing a block and tackle to pull out the clew and us skipping towards Mazatlan on a port tack:
We've more than made up for our becalmed time today. We've been averaging a good 8 kts easily. We've actually closed in on Mazatlan too quickly and are going to heave-to outside until daylight. With the morning sun, we will ride this fresh breeze into port.
March 12, 2010
17:25
Mazatlan, our eighth port on the Mexican coast, is our largest city yet. The estimated population is larger than Cabo San Lucas and Ensenada combined. Arath just hailed a water taxi, so we'll be going into town. Here are some pictures from a little motoring tour we did in the port:
March 13, 2010
12:39
I have just arrived back at the boat from my journey into Mazatlan. I'll try to recount the night to the best of my abilities. Arath and I hopped on the panga to go ashore. The wind was way too high to consider rowing against at that point. Dan had decided to abstain from a late night adventure in Mazatlan, which would later turn out to be a good thing as our anchored pulled out at 0300 that night. After compensating the panguero for his services, we boarded a pulmonia to get into town. Pulmonias, literally “pneumonia”, are a Mazatlan specialty taxi. They're basically a glorified go cart and the drivers respect that fact in their driving. We zipped through lanes until we were dropped off in front of a restaurant. A quick walk brought us to the malacon (oceanside road) and our eatery. A pulmonia:
We were the only patrons of the restaurant, but the food was delicious and well priced. But we still hadn't really experienced the Mazatlan night life. For that we quickly boarded a moving pulmonia and made for the bars at the north end of the malacon. We were dropped off and walked up the road a bit to a bar Arath had been to 10 years prior: The Oyster Bar. This place was bumpin'. Colorful light illuminated the scene and the music was loud. The location was also premium. It was placed upon the shallow shore of Playa Derecha, making the view the rolling waves of the Pacific. We enjoyed a bucket of beers between the two of us and a couple of free tequila poppers given to us by some Minnisoteans sitting next to us. A firebreather on the beach that night and Arath and I. He blinked:
We finished our bucket and decided to head to our sleeping grounds. Arath had arranged for us to spend the night at his aunt's house, so we grabbed a taxi and took a speedy ride to Eva's. Eva brought us in and truly exhibited the “mi casa es tu casa” mentality. She prepared for us, at 11:30 at night, some delicious machacha y quesidillas. Beds were already prepared for our slumber with towels for a morning shower placed along side. Arath and I both slept well and woke up around 10:00. I was offered a cold shower and breakfast. Both of which I gladly took part in. A three course meal was had, beginning with apples and papaya dolloped with yogurt and sprinkled with oats and honey. Next came toast and jam, a staple, and then an omelette with freshly made torillas. I couldn't thank her enough for her hospitality as we parted ways at the marina. Arath is now on his way to Cabo via bus and our crew is back to two. We'll miss Arath and not only for his sleep lengthening abilities. Here's Eva and I in front of her flat:
17:59
Tomorrow we plan to make more southing. Mazatlan is a pretty dirty harbor with very poor holding (as we learned last night). The bottom is a slippery shale that our anchor won't hold in, so it's hard to get the courage to leave the boat. Rather than being stuck on the boat, we're going to keep chugging south. Our next anchorage should be Isla Isabela, an island off the coast known for it's bird life. It should only be a day sail over there. Promise of good winds. To finish you guys off, here's a little birdie that perched himself on our fishing rod today (this is for you dad):
07:42
Yesterday we first stepped foot in Cabo San Lucas. A passing boat was hailed so we wouldn't have to row ourselves ashore. The well-spoken, Hispanic tour guide captain, even though he wasn't a designated water taxi, gave us a ride to shore for a few American dollars. He beached his vessel on the light caramel sand and we hopped off. The sand was a bit coarser than I expected, making for a slightly awkward walking style (at first I thought everyone on the beach was lavishly inebriated, but the slipping sand makes it appear so). The cream-colored grains were warm despite the persistent cloud cover. The first thing I noticed is that the waterfront is very much gringoville. The whole of it was what I would describe as “beach clubs”. Open-aired restaurants seated upon the warm sand accentuated by elevated dance floors and bars apparently attracted the most white folk. We entertained ourselves by watching everyone for a moment before climbing the steep roadside into town. This was a shot from that day (a slow day for Cabo):
 |
| From Cabo to Mazatlan |
We wandered past the palace-like hotels that line the malacon and were back to the familiarity of a well-developed Mexican town. It was nearly the same setting in Ensenada. You don't dare cross streets without looking both ways, twice; street vendors solicit the whole way; but everything is a bit more expensive. A stop in to a nice restaurant satiated our hunger and gave me a taste of the best guacamole I'd ever had. We ran the usual circuit to McDonalds for a post-supper vanilla cone as well. From there we descended the steep slope back to the waterfront. A campfire outside of a restaurant caught our eye and we set ourselves there for the next few hours. A couple of white russians and a lovely pair from northern Idaho made the night. Not to be forgotten though, was the soothing acoustic live music and the stumbling drunkards that gilded the short expanse of sand between our campgrounds and the Pacific.
The live musician did wonderful acoustic renditions of Neil Young, Simon and Garfunkel, The Beatles, and the Steve Miller Band. He sang with great tone of voice that hinted towards a Hispanic heritage. Every once in a while an “r” would get rolled, a “j” turned “h”, but his speaking voice sounded completely Anglo. It was a bit curious and we weren't perched close enough to make out his features. It will forever remain a mystery.
Amid our communications with the couple from Idaho, we were presented with a pressing new issue. A short exchange between the waiter and Dan revealed that the water taxis don't run past sundown. Not a single one. We contemplated options including swimming and sleeping on the beach. Swimming would be so tiring that, after making it to the boat, it would be unlikely that one of us could pull ourselves up over the freeboard. Sleeping on the beach was an easier option, although it wold get pretty cold later. The final option was of course to somehow figure out a ride back.
We went up the beach asking locals if they knew a way to get us back. They were helpful but not fruitful in their efforts. Eventually, I spotted another yatista casting his dinghy off and ran over to talk to him. After hearing of our plight, he was glad to be of assistance. He rowed to his boat and let us row the rest of the way to ours, letting us borrow his tender for the night. I got some tiring rowing experience in and we made the 14 foot boat fast to Leeway's pushpit. A little light reading about the horrors of the Vietnam war and I rested myself in my, thanks to Evan, sandless bed for the night.
March 10, 2010
21:11
We've made out of Cabo and are in route for Mazatlan. We have gained a new crew as well: Arath. Arath is an amiable 30 year old security guard for the Medano Beach in Cabo San Lucas. We first met him when we were seeking out a way to get back to our boat when the water taxis had retired for the night. He was so friendly and helpful that we made it a point to drop by and have drinks with him during our Cabo nights. He, never being on a sailboat before, was intrigued by our voyage. After getting to know him a little, we decided to invite him on our passage to Mazatlan where he has some family. Having a third crew will greatly improve our watch schedule hours (each person will now have 6 hours of sleep using the established 3 hour watch system). Our final Baja sunset as we departed from Cabo did not disappoint:
 |
| From Cabo to Mazatlan |
23:24
Tonight I was treated to a magnificent spectacle of nature. The Sea of Cortez's light show. Early in the watch, I noticed the high concentrations of bio-luminescence. The Humboldt current has brought down grand amounts of squids and a practically glowing sea. Phosphorescence is exhibited when the microscopic creatures in the water are disturbed. They light up as an iridium green and fade based on how violently they were jarred. Tonight they have propagated themselves in pricks of light in the wake of Leeway.
At first the only bio-luminescence to be seen was that from our bow wave. While it was entertaining to watch, the novelty wore off quickly. La mar began the next stage of its show in the middle of dinner. We were becalmed and not budging a knot when there was a bite on the reel, a big bite. I carefully placed down my bowl of cheddar potato soup to reel whatever it was in. I quickly noticed the catch was acting a bit odd. It wasn't a constant struggle like that of a fish. It would go from being completely placid, even to making the line slack, to strongly thrashing, enough to even pull through the tightened clutch on the reel. As I reeled it closer and closer an eerie sight came into view. The microscopic creatures illuminated what I had caught in the crystal clear water. The iridium cloud revealed a Humboldt squid, easily 1 meter in length. Around the catch swarmed 5 or 6 comparatively-sized others. Arath and I were the only ones to view this spectacle and we both deemed it “freaky”. They moved around their hooked brother in smooth circular patterns. Each one looked as if it was connected to the catch by a string, slowly rotating. I continued to reel him in, wanting to see what a giant squid looked in up close, but as I got it to within 2 meters of the boat, the 60lb test line snapped. The green silhouettes lingered for a moment before dashing off to the depths.
The third, and most fantastic, act of the show occurred only 15 minutes ago. I was sitting on the bow leaning against the doused sunbrella jib bumming on the fact that there was no wind to be harnessed. I was beginning to doze off when I heard a familiar puff: dolphins? I rose from my daze and looked off the side of the bow. What I saw I will remember for the rest of my life. A pod of dolphins had joined Leeway and were now frolicking around the bow. They would have been completely unseen to me if not for the bio-luminescence. They shattered my melancholy as they swam through the sea performing their act for my eyes alone. Near the surface they were clearly-outlined, radioactive dolphins. Behind them, irradiated smoke trail followed and faded. And running over their bodies were specks of phosphorescence, giving them the look of a falling meteorite breaking up in the Earth's atmosphere. As they dove, they faded into a green cloud that curved and moved with complete grace. They played about for a while, at times leaping clear out of the water, before departing.
March 11, 2010
07:00
After the dolphins had taken their bows and exited stage left, the curtain opened on the final act of the night. As I sat up on the bow listening to the slightly humid, still air, something caught the corner of my eye. I looked to where the dolphins were before and saw nothing. But when I drew my gaze back to the horizon I began seeing the faintest glimpses of green phosphorescence flashing around me. They grew brighter and brighter until I was surrounded by them entirely. The ocean had become a black expanse dotted with these flashes of light. I watched the phenomena until my watch was over. I reitred and enjoyed a rocky 6 hours of sleep.
I was awakened by Arath for my 0600 watch. A quick course change and a hoist of the main and we're now on a beam reach straight to Mazatlan. The wind must be blowing 10-15 kts, pushing us along at our maximum hull speed of 7.5 kts. “But what of your exploits in Cabo?”, I hear them crying. Alright, alright I'll tell you about them. We ended up making The Medano our regular night spot thanks to their soothing atmosphere, kind proprietors, and two-for-one cervesas during happy hour (which is all the time in Cabo). The campfire that first wasted away an evening did so to so many others. We ended up meeting quite a few smart North Americans who were escaping the frigid winter in Cabo. They all had stories to tell of course. Cabo San Lucas: worst place ever:
 |
| From Cabo to Mazatlan |
Cabo, while being a beautiful place to put your feet in the sand, didn't offer much more than a good view and a lot of cervesa. We lounged around on the beach a few days and then decided we should probably get something done. What were we supposed to get here? Oh yea, food and water. We hauled back a 5 gallon jug of agua purificada and dinghied it back to the boat. Walmart was our next stop. We hitched a ride on a bus for 8 pesos a piece. After filling up three backpacks with rations, we bused back to our dinghies and rowed it all in.
19:10
On our final day in Cabo I decided to make a kayaking foray to Lover's Beach. Playa de Los Amor is a sandy beach accessible only via water. It lays right along Land's End and is the most southern beack on the Baja Peninsula. Water taxis frequent its shores to ferry the gringos back and forth. I landed and toured the beach nothing that the sand was much finer than that of Playa de Medano running along Cabo. I discovered a cave I came to name Lover's Cave and then smoothly got back into the water. "Lover's Cave":
 |
| From Cabo to Mazatlan |
Then I thought I should explore Land's End a bit and glimpse the famous arches. I paddled around and checked out the arch that is named the “window of the Pacific”. The most southern portion of my exploration was halted by the breaching of sea lions much larger than I. An arduous upwind paddle back to the boat soon ensued soon after. On my way back I was intercepted by a couple of waverunners who took ultimate pleasure in splashing me. The rest of the day was spent gathering fresh rations and our new crewmate. The pleasant proximity of Leeway on my upwind kayak:
 |
| From Cabo to Mazatlan |
Today has been an exciting day's sail. The wind arose from it's slumber about the same time as me. At about 1400 the wind was still rising and was beginning to overpower our sails. Instead of just dropping the mainsail like we did outside Tortugas, we decided to try something different. We first put up our second smallest jib, but were continuing to get heeled over too hard by the gusts. So we decided to try something new: reefing the main. Reefing the main is just manly-sailor talk for reducing it's sail area. When using slab reefing (as ours does), you pull down the sail and attach the clew (aft corner of the main) in a new spot higher on the sail. With only a strong force 5 blowing, we decided to only toss in a single reef. A bit of jerry-rigging here and a lot of manpower there and we had a reefed main. My starring moment of the whole event was when I had to loose the outhaul (pulls the bottom, “foot”, of the mainsail tight). It had gotten treated to a quadruple half hitch and then a cleat. That's just a lot of description to say it was a pain to undo. While I was undoing it on the lee deck (side opposite the wind direction), I clutched the boom for my dear life with one hand and attempted to dislodge the line with the other. Every gust would round us up into the wind and heavily heel the boat. At one point I was nearly swept off my feet as the water on deck rose to just below my knees. Eventually it was undone and the reef was tossed in. Here's the reefing setup utilizing a block and tackle to pull out the clew and us skipping towards Mazatlan on a port tack:
 |
| From Cabo to Mazatlan |
 |
| From Cabo to Mazatlan |
We've more than made up for our becalmed time today. We've been averaging a good 8 kts easily. We've actually closed in on Mazatlan too quickly and are going to heave-to outside until daylight. With the morning sun, we will ride this fresh breeze into port.
March 12, 2010
17:25
Mazatlan, our eighth port on the Mexican coast, is our largest city yet. The estimated population is larger than Cabo San Lucas and Ensenada combined. Arath just hailed a water taxi, so we'll be going into town. Here are some pictures from a little motoring tour we did in the port:
 |
| From Cabo to Mazatlan |
 |
| From Cabo to Mazatlan |
March 13, 2010
12:39
I have just arrived back at the boat from my journey into Mazatlan. I'll try to recount the night to the best of my abilities. Arath and I hopped on the panga to go ashore. The wind was way too high to consider rowing against at that point. Dan had decided to abstain from a late night adventure in Mazatlan, which would later turn out to be a good thing as our anchored pulled out at 0300 that night. After compensating the panguero for his services, we boarded a pulmonia to get into town. Pulmonias, literally “pneumonia”, are a Mazatlan specialty taxi. They're basically a glorified go cart and the drivers respect that fact in their driving. We zipped through lanes until we were dropped off in front of a restaurant. A quick walk brought us to the malacon (oceanside road) and our eatery. A pulmonia:
 |
| From Cabo to Mazatlan |
We were the only patrons of the restaurant, but the food was delicious and well priced. But we still hadn't really experienced the Mazatlan night life. For that we quickly boarded a moving pulmonia and made for the bars at the north end of the malacon. We were dropped off and walked up the road a bit to a bar Arath had been to 10 years prior: The Oyster Bar. This place was bumpin'. Colorful light illuminated the scene and the music was loud. The location was also premium. It was placed upon the shallow shore of Playa Derecha, making the view the rolling waves of the Pacific. We enjoyed a bucket of beers between the two of us and a couple of free tequila poppers given to us by some Minnisoteans sitting next to us. A firebreather on the beach that night and Arath and I. He blinked:
 |
| From Cabo to Mazatlan |
 |
| From Cabo to Mazatlan |
We finished our bucket and decided to head to our sleeping grounds. Arath had arranged for us to spend the night at his aunt's house, so we grabbed a taxi and took a speedy ride to Eva's. Eva brought us in and truly exhibited the “mi casa es tu casa” mentality. She prepared for us, at 11:30 at night, some delicious machacha y quesidillas. Beds were already prepared for our slumber with towels for a morning shower placed along side. Arath and I both slept well and woke up around 10:00. I was offered a cold shower and breakfast. Both of which I gladly took part in. A three course meal was had, beginning with apples and papaya dolloped with yogurt and sprinkled with oats and honey. Next came toast and jam, a staple, and then an omelette with freshly made torillas. I couldn't thank her enough for her hospitality as we parted ways at the marina. Arath is now on his way to Cabo via bus and our crew is back to two. We'll miss Arath and not only for his sleep lengthening abilities. Here's Eva and I in front of her flat:
 |
| From Cabo to Mazatlan |
17:59
Tomorrow we plan to make more southing. Mazatlan is a pretty dirty harbor with very poor holding (as we learned last night). The bottom is a slippery shale that our anchor won't hold in, so it's hard to get the courage to leave the boat. Rather than being stuck on the boat, we're going to keep chugging south. Our next anchorage should be Isla Isabela, an island off the coast known for it's bird life. It should only be a day sail over there. Promise of good winds. To finish you guys off, here's a little birdie that perched himself on our fishing rod today (this is for you dad):
 |
| From Cabo to Mazatlan |
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