Old Architecture of La Casa Grande, Tembabiche

I’m sitting at the bar at the Villa del Palmar Resort in Puerto Escondido.  There’s free wifi here (as long as you eat or drink, but that’s not a bad thing…).  I come in during the morning so I’m only paddling against 10 knots of air and have 15-20 knots at my back when it’s time to go back to Willow.  I am really loving the SUP, the ease of getting it aboard when it’s blowing extra hard or for a short passage, or, for deflating and stowing.  It’s serving its purpose very nicely, and I get to pretend I’m paddling with my friends from Hokuloa…  Great time…

I’m trying to take advantage of the internet access while I have it.  The past few weeks without it have been a bit sublime, but I need to qualify that.  It has been heavenly to be anchored in a secluded spot, just observing the wildlife, playing in the water, fishing, and working on Willow.  I love the convenience of being able to contact you all through the super mysterious medium that is the internet, but when I’m away from it, I’m reminded of years’ past.  The first time I was down here was in the late 80s on a ketch called Seramin.  We left La Paz for Cabo, and there weren’t even payphones!  You had to go to a small building with a bank of rotary phones, talk with an operator who didn’t speak english, and make either a collect call, or a credit card call.  Frankly, it just added to the adventure.  On the boat, there was a sextant and tables for navigation, and a satnav unit.  We had a SSB receiver only for weather.  The satnav worked twice a day, and you had to make sure it was on and tuned, at the right time, in order to get a position.  We couldn’t use the sextant yet, as the sun was passing over land, and not the horizon of the water.  Unless you had a HAM or SSB license, you weren’t communicating with home, unless there was an emergency.  Now, we have access to satphones, email aboard, satellite email, TV and internet access.  You can make a satphone call to the router who will tell you what direction to steer your boat in order to avoid weather, ships, pirates, or other trouble.  What’s the fun in that?

Fog Creeping Into Bahia Candelero

At least for me, I prefer to take responsibility for my course, my own weather routing, my own work, and my own safety.  That’s all part of the adventure, mystery, fun and success.  Granted, it won’t be all those things all the time, but when it’s not, I can only look in the mirror, and point my big fat finger at myself.  Hah!

Company in the Anchorage…

Another Ventura-based sailor, Ken, and his Baba 30, has joined us over the past few days.  His fine boat is finely outfitted, and provisioned!  He’s cooked some amazing meals!  I must qualify that with the fact he has a vehicle in La Paz, and goes to Costco in Cabo when the whim strikes him.  Ribeye for dinner a few nights back…

Goats on the Bluff.  If you look below the cactus, you can just spot the sheepdog!

Oh, and I have to tell you about the goats!  In Agua Verde, there are about 3 dozen goats roaming the village, and in the afternoon, the surrounding bluffs.  One day it was so hot in the afternoon, the herding dog took the goats to some rocks on the beach that were in the shade.  One smart puppy!  These goats are fat, happy, colorful and vocal.  One or two of them wear bells around their necks, so it’s easy to see and hear where they’re wandering.  I loved watching their scamperings on a daily basis.  The goat cheese, homemade, was pretty dang good, too!

Well, that’s about all I’ve got for today.  The computer’s battery is just about to die.  Have a great day, and Go, Hokuloa, Go, for their race today.

I miss and love you all.