Moorea . . . World Bound

First Mate’s Journal Merry Christmas or Feliz Navidad Leisurely sailing down the west side of the Baja Peninsula, stopping along various anchorages, meeting new cruisers and reacquainting ourselves with cruises previously met, we fall into this slow paced lifestyle easily. Rounding the bottom of the Peninsula crossing the Tropic of Cancer and cruising past lively Cabo San Lucas, we started back north on the Sea of Cortez side to Los Frailes and finally La Paz for our Christmas destination. Heading south we begin to shed our heavy foul weather suits and trade them for snorkeling gear, while relatives and friends in the States run indoors from the bitter cold or brave the elements to shovel snow. Celebrating the holidays without our loved ones near induces melancholic feelings as we hang our Christmas lights and make paper snowflakes for festive decorations. Our first Christmas Season in this warm climate will be celebrated with our fellow cruisers and the spirit of the season begins to come alive. Leaving Ensenada our next destination was Turtle Bay which is a small town with adequate supplies of purified water, food and diesel. This dusty, quiet town has seen better days before their fish cannery shut down. The decaying cannery is located in the bay with rusty, abandoned vehicles surrounding the fenced in building. Not knowing what the main source of income is in this town, but finding some Tiendas (small grocery stores), a Pemex gas station and a few restaurants that appear to manage through the economic downturn. Entrepreneurs in Pangas, a small fiberglass boat with outboard engines greet boaters with services to offer, such as diesel and laundry for $5 per load including wash & dry. This bay offers scenic foot hills to hike and viewing the marine life with leaping seals, dolphins and the clumsy looking Pelicans which fly over head then dive kamikaze style into the water for small fish. Waiting for a strong wind to head south, our opportunity arrives Thanksgiving day. Setting sail we head 128 miles south to Magdalena Bay, finding sandy beaches and clear, blue water warm enough to go for a dip when the hot sun beats down. Two other boats with children on aboard share our anchorage. Alsyone is a 65’ Wooden Schooner from Port Townsend, Washington with a crew of eight and a volley ball net. Simplicity is a 41’ Ketch with a family of three from Portland, Oregon. Combine all three boats and beach volleyball became our recreation. It’s a strange feeling to play volleyball in December. December 1^st was Kelly Boy’s (now known as El Kelly with the cruisers) 35^th birthday. Since Alsyone’s boat was the largest, we celebrated his day with a potluck dinner. As a special treat for El Kelly, Alsyone gave him a piece of Mexican strawberry flavored hard candy. Shortly after he popped the candy in his mouth, his lips puckered up and his faced looked very pained. There was a peppery, chili sauce in the center of the candy. All the kids were giggling at his expressions as he finished sucking the candy. A few days after the celebration, the time came to head for Los Frailes which is known for a coral reef and good for snorkeling. This passage was 2 long days of sailing where we rounded Cabo San Lucas and started to beat into the wind. Beating into the wind means the wind is coming from the direction that we want to go. When going against the wind, we end up going against the waves…it’s kind of like sailing up hill. The boat goes slower, there isn’t a comfortable place to sit or stand and the destination feels like it’s twice as far ahead. Once securely anchored, ten other cruisers in the same anchorage were waiting for the 15-20 knot north wind to abate which was six day wait while 10 more cruisers arrived in this anchorage. Los Frailes is a nice place to be laid up. There is a Mexican fishing village and RV campers on shore along with a few nice houses owned by gringos. The Mexican fishermen set up huts made of tarp & black roofing material and fish in the mornings in their pangas. The RV retirees come down here in the winter and set up camp along the beach...for free. When summer hits, the heat drives the Mexicans and RV's away. But because there is this group of people in this make shift village, a vegetable & fruit truck will come on Tuesdays, Thursdays, & Sundays. The bakery truck comes once a week on Wednesdays. Some of the RV campers have been doing this for years. We also met another woman who lives in a retirement community made up of gringos. She has a business of maintaining the homes of the Snow Birds that leave when summer arrives. As far as we can tell, the RV & fishing community seems to co-exist peacefully. The cruisers are present, but they are very transient and I don't consider us a part of the community. With all the simple luxuries of the food trucks and snorkeling in the afternoons, this is Club Med for cruisers. Pushing to meet our time frame to spend Christmas in La Paz, we leave our tranquil locale and head for the bustling city. The streets are full of vendors selling their wares and crammed with shoppers frenzied to get their gifts, just like in the States. Nativity scenes, piñatas and Christmas lights decorate the city and festive music in the air gets us into the spirit of the season. Cruisers decorate their boats with lights and plan to celebrate the holiday amongst newly found friends. Even though this is a merry place, we miss our family and friends especially during the holidays. However, a Christmas Mass will be held in English at a nearby marina followed by caroling and a pot luck dinner which assures to be festive. We wish you and your family a festive and happy holiday season. La Kelly & El Kelly