Baja, Mexico - 2018

Laguna San Ignacio, Baja California

The last time we visited Laguna San Ignacio was two years ago, when we drove with our friends Tom and Cathy. It took two full days of driving to get there. We experienced some wonderful desert sights and very much enjoyed the drive.

This year, however, on our return trip to see the whales in San Ignacio we went with our friends Jen and Darren. And instead of driving, we flew into Loreto on Alaska Airlines. Needless to say, it was a lot quicker.

We rented a car at Loreto airport and immediately started our drive north to Mulege, where we had planned a night's stay. The drive was mostly along the Sea of Cortez, often with beautiful views of bays.

Mulege, an otherwise sleepy Mexican village, had an impressive river running through it. The hotel we had reservations at (Las Casitas Historico) turned out to be very quaint place with excellent food.

Jen, Diane, Darren and I at dinner at Las Casitas.

The following day we drove to San Ignacio. It too has an impressive waterway entrance lined with palm trees and an oasis-like feel to it. The colonial town square is filled with huge trees and an old mission at the head of it. The surrounding restaurants, bars and stores are colorfully painted.

From the town of San Ignacio it's still another 45 minute (with a third of it being a dirt road) to Kuyima campground. This time, instead of bringing our own camping gear, we rented spacious tents with cots and sleeping bags. Bathrooms were a 50 yard walk from the tents.

We ventured out both days we were there on the panga boats to see the whales. Although the first day turned out to be the best, even just seeing these majestic animals up close is something special and unforgettable. 

Near the campground, osprays have nests. During this part of the year, most of them were busy feeding their young. We took hikes up and down the beach, finding areas filled with shells, some whale bones and discarded tires. Overall, though, the beaches were clean.

A beautiful sunrise at the camp.

On the way back to San Ignacio, we stopped to look at the salt deposits along the side of the lagoon.

After our stay in San Ignacio, we headed back to Loreto for a three-day stay. We immediately took a liking to the town. It is quaint, colonial and has a beautiful town square with the oldest mission on the coast.

With Darren just being a newly certified diver, we immediately set off for the dive shop to get fitted for an excursion the next day. Diane and Jen decided to go snorkeling.

After our dives, we had lunch on a white sandy beach. 

Although I wouldn't call the dives we made exceptional, they were pretty good. What did take me for a surprise was the water temperature - C-O-L-D. I had envisioned mid-70's, but was surprised to find mid-60's. Thus, 7mm wetsuits with all the extra gear was a must. I had hoped to see a whale shark. Although they're around, we were not that fortunate.

Inside harbor of Loreto.

The small hotel we stayed at in Loreto was called Casa Mangos. It was owned and run by Orlando, who happens to own one of the better restaurants in town too. And it was just down the street from us.

View of the grounds from our room.

A typical breakfast - not my usual bowl of oatmeal.

On one of our days in Loreto we visited the mission of San Francisco Javier. It's about an hour's drive into the mountains from Loreto. Built by the Jesuits and the local indian population in 1699, it is a beautiful mission with a nearby spring that was (and is still) used for farming.

One of the missionaries' first goals was to find ways to grow crops. Here, once they found water, they developed the wells and built dams and irrigation canals.

An ancient olive tree planted in the 18th century.

The Jesuits built dams and aqueducts for their farming needs. 

On our last day in Loreto, we ventured out to Loreto Bay Gold Resort, an exclusive (American-like) development with pools, a fancy golf course, a spa, restaurants and so forth. Although we pretty much agreed that it wasn't our type of vacation place, it seemed well built with an architecture and coloring that was unique. 

Afterward our visit to Loreto Bay, Jen suggested we go eat at the Clam Shack, a small restaurant on the water. Upon our arrival, I first insisted on a quick jacuzzi to relax before our meal.

The Vista Al Mar Clam Shack

In the late afternoon, we were back in Loreto and took a walk around town. We visited the Mission of Our Lady of Loreto. It was the first Jesuit mission established on the peninsula in 1697.

I noticed a posting of a concert to be held that night by an Italian guitarist, Peppino D'Agostino. He lives part-time in Italy and in Loreto, helping start an organization to teach young people learn to play the guitar. Tonight's concert was a way to help fund the organization.

A very humble man, Peppino is self-taught, has his own style of playing and writes most of the music he plays. I was fortunate to get a seat in the first pew of the mission. It turned out to be a wonderfully relaxed concert with superb acoustics. Peppino played about a dozen of his songs, such as "Blue Ocean", "Nine White Kites" and "Why Not". You can find him on YouTube if you're interested.

Our final dinner before flying home in the morning was at the Assadero Super Burro, a plain styled tacos and burritos restaurant. Delicious food that's cooked out in the open. It was a perfect end to a very fun and successful Baja trip.

Las Vegas 2018

Las Vegas - A Quick Visit

A few weeks ago we went to Las Vegas on a lark - Hilton Grand Vacations offered us a free three-night stay and in return we had to listen to a 90 minute presentation. We're knew the game well, so we took them up on the offer. It had been a few years since we visited the city that never sleeps.

We only had a few things planned for our visit: Red Rock Canyon, dinner at Mon Ami Gabi, watch the Bellagio fountains and perhaps an evening show. 

After picking up our rental car, we made our way to the Hilton and checked in. We got a very spacious one bedroom, living room and kitchen on the 30th floor with decent views of the city. Time to relax.

We'd never visited Red Rock Canyon before, in fact, we'd never heard of it. The canyon lies just a few miles west of the city. It's a climber's paradise, a great place for a hike and it offers phenomenal views of colorful rock formations.

We mainly did the park loop, stopping at several view points and taking short walks around each one.

It turns out that most of the good shows are dark on Mondays and Tuesdays. So we opted for some walks around the city and enjoying the hotel pool. Fortunately, Mon Ami Gabi was open for business.

We had a scrumptious dinner at Mon Ami Gabi (located inside Paris Hotel). The setting is like a French bistro. Good wine list.

  
At the Bellagio, we spotted the colorful work of the iconic glass-blowing artist, Dale Chihuly on the ceiling. The fountains were nice but not as spectacular as we remembered, when they were synchronized to an Andrea Bocelli song.

On Wednesday, it was time to head home. And, no, we didn't buy a timeshare.   

Volunteering in South Africa

Volunteering for African Impact

For years, Diane has been wanting to work at an AIDS clinic in Africa.  Finally, last year she signed up to volunteer in the northeastern area of South Africa in St. Lucia. Diane’s three weeks of volunteering mostly consisted of making home visits to Zulu families. This is her account of the experience.

Although my expectation was to work in the clinic, I soon realized that the greater need was making home visits. I set out every day with Swele, my Zulu translator, visiting homebound patients. Also, I facilitated women's support groups, which I enjoyed very much. We covered topics that the women choose, such as stress, Hepatitis B and C, and getting good sleep.

I appreciated being able to see the home situations and environments to better understand the day-to-day barriers the Zulu face in obtaining health care (or water or food). I saw several patients a day, traveling to one of three villages, with very poor dirt roads, which they call “African massage”. The Zulu are so appreciative of any and all help. I visited a few families where only the "gogo" (grandma) lives with 4-9 grand- and great grandchildren. Her adult offspring and their spouses are frequently dead (most commonly from AIDS). These older women have multiple health problems and cannot travel to the clinic. With each visit, we bring a small bag of much needed, greatly appreciated food. For some, we also bring water from the government watering holes several kilometers away.

Below is a photo of 18 month-old twins. One of the boys has “floppy legs” - no lower extremity muscle tone. He does not use his legs. One twin is walking but this one (on the right) is barely crawling. The other children in the home are adorably helpful in carrying him around the yard as they play. However, we had to ask them to stop carrying him and encourage him to move his legs. The Physiotherapist has now seen him and will refer to Occupational Therapy, for more therapy, but we are seeing a little improvement already. In the photo I'm trying to get him interested in grabbing and playing with his toes. He watched his brother do it, but he is not interested - YET! By the way, the mother of these twins was HIV +. She received appropriate anti-viral medication to prevent HIV from infecting her sons. But as it happens all too often, she struggled with side effects, stopped the drugs and died just the week before I came. The boys will join his cousins living with Gogo.

The photo below is of a “gogo”. She lives with her daughter and this boy, who is her grandson. We were visiting the daughter who is in her 30's. She has HIV and tuberculosis. The tuberculosis (TB) she has traveled from her lungs into to her spine, crippling her. We were checking on her medication supply for the TB.

The three of them live in a home the size of your bedroom. The kitchen is an outdoor fire pit and the toilet is an outhouse. This gogo makes beaded jewelry to sell at the market for a little extra money. I bought bracelets from her for my nieces. Their clothes are mostly donated from the previous volunteers. I left many of my clothes behind as well.

After Zulu children finish high school, their only option is to get a job, if they are lucky. The university is far away and only the very, very brightest students get a scholarship to pay for tuition. But since they cannot afford the living expenses, they often still cannot attend. Educational and economic apartheid survives.

I visited a grandma who cares for these grandchildren (below). This grandma has metastatic cervical cancer that has spread to the intestines. Unfortunately, she too has HIV. She will not survive. But fortunately these children have at least one living parent.  (Yes, that is her home in the background.)

It was wonderful to put my previous (rusty) home health care experience back to work.

Below is Shwele, my translator. Shwele asked the woman at the banana store (the next photo down) if I could take a photo. She said yes, but at the last minute turned away from the camera. The Zulu (although mostly Christian) believe that taking a photo will steal your spirit.

My experience in St Lucia definitely was memorable. It supported everything I have read all these years about the HIV epidemic in Sub-Saharan Africa (the good and sad). Although I fulfilled a life time dream, I am unconvinced I can check it off the list. I may need to go back. I’ll keep you posted.

Baja Ha-Ha Cruise - Part II

Baja Ha-Ha Cruise - Going North

It's one thing to sail south with the winds along the Baja coast. It's an entirely different scenario when one has to backtrack and sail north against the wind and current. That, however, is the reality of the Baja Ha-Ha they don't tell you about (but we had a strong suspicion it wasn't going to be pretty).

To rejoin the boat, I took a very early flight from San Luis Obispo to SFO and from there to Cabo San Lucas. Everything went like clockwork - amazing.

I should mention one more thing. Unfortunately, my camera stopped working before this segment of the trip. Thus, the photos in the blog are not of the usual clarity since I had to resort to my Samsung phone.

Also, should you be interested in watching a couple of brief videos of sailing, you can find them here.

What our day sail looked like:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyTjsqZZtPM

What a sunset sail looked like:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVBXsZA9mv0

When I arrived at Puerto Los Cabos, Dave, Doug and Skip were eager to get going. They had been waiting for me for several days.

Before departing we made a last stop at what had been our favorite restaurant - El Marinero Borracho - the Drunken Sailor. We had fish tacos and a Corona. Soon afterwards, we were shoving off the dock and motoring past the Puerto Los Cabos breakwater. It was 4:15pm.

By the time we had Cabo San Lucas in our sights, it was dark. But the skies were lit up with the city lights and a full moon. We continued past Cabo San Lucas and rounded Cabo Falso, beginning our trek north.

We motor-sailed days and nights. The wind mostly blowing from the northwest during the day clocking to the northeast in the evenings. One night we encountered offshore winds that gusted to 30 mph with choppy seas. The bow of Lahaina Roads would launch up in the air, then summarily crash into the sea. 

Up in the bow of the boat, known as the v-berth, Skip was trying to sleep. Part of the time he would be launched into the air, then momentarily becoming weightless, before being pressed hard into the bunk. How he managed to get any sleep like that, I'll never know.

During the evenings, starting at 8pm, we took shifts of one hour each. That meant when you done with your shift, you had three hours off in which to get some sleep. My shifts were at 10pm, 2am and 6am. Oddly enough, by the morning I felt pretty well rested and ready for a pot of coffee.

These photos below are of some of the spectacular sunrises and sunsets we were treated to.

We managed to make good about a hundred nautical miles per 24 hours. After considering a brief stop in Turtle Bay, we opted to continue since it was night time and our anchoring gear was malfunctioning. No sooner had we past the entrance to Turtle Bay when the wind began to strengthen. It continued to do so until it was blowing a steady low 30 knots with gusts of wind up to 45 knots.

Fortunately, we had decided to put in a double reef in the main. We unfurled only a small portion of the headsail. The wind blew all night, making sleeping nearly impossible. The boat would launch up in the air and then bury the bow in the oncoming wave. White water often would reach over the entire cockpit dodger. What had been a bit unnerving at first, we soon got used to.

The next day it blew nearly as hard from northeast, but it was sunny and it provided a perfect course for Ensenada, 235 nautical miles away. That evening, after we had thought the worst to be over, the wind picked right back up. Initially, it remained in the mid-thirties. But by 10pm, when my hour-long shift began, Dave alerted me to the fact that the winds had strengthened to the mid-forties, with continued gusts to the mid fifties. The ocean appeared angry with frothy white wave caps breaking all around us.

We furled up the jib and were relieved we had left the main with a double reef. The wind stayed strong throughout the night, abating slightly as the night wore on. And by morning, as the sun was rising, the wind was blowing a mere 35 knots, a strength, that we now considered to be comfortable.

The rest of the trip to Ensenada was pretty uneventful, as the wind subsided and the seas became calm. We pulled into the Coral Marina at 10:30 in the morning.

Once we were docked and in communication with our wives, we found out that Oceanside and Santa Barbara county was on fire, due, in part, to 100 mph Santa Ana winds. In fact, Skip's wife had been ordered to evacuate from their home in Oceanside. Apparently, we had gotten the remnants of those Santa Ana winds out at sea, fifty miles off shore.

After dealing with the necessary port formalities, we got back to the boat and relaxed with a Corona or two, which in the evening turned into scotches and dirty martinis. We ended the evening with a white tablecloth dinner at the marina restaurant - a lovely end to several days of excitement at sea.

The rest of the trip - pulling into San Diego to check in with U.S. Customs and Immigration, and a full day of motoring to Oceanside were uneventful.

We pulled into Dave's slip at the Oceanside Marina at 4pm. It concluded our Baja Ha-Ha cruise, an adventure, I don't think any of us will soon forget.

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Just to give those of you who aren't familiar with what a sailboat looks like down below, here are some photos. Not shown, is the aft cabin with its private head.

The main salon area of the boat.

The galley.

The navigation station.

The V-berth

The head.