Author: Sarah

Hola Amigos and Happy New Year! I feel like our blog is way behind and frankly out of control. In an effort to keep writer and reader sanity, I’m going to do more of a highlight reel rather than an in depth story. Since the last post, we’ve headed south with a destination of Banderas Bay for the holiday season. On our way down we stopped at as many anchorages as possible, some new, some familiar. We made a point to soak up every last drop of snorkeling, hiking, *diving*, and spearfishing on the way down. It was really tough to leave when the conditions were so nice!

Without further ado, here are our favorite stops as we headed south.

Pulpito- a new and exciting place for us to stop. We will definitely come back here next season. We stretched our legs and hiked to the top of the hill, snorkeled several locations and were gifted with some drone shots from our friends on The Answer. Not pictured are the happy hours spent on Perspective with the crews from Annie’s Kite and The Answer. Perspective is such a great platform for fun and we seriously enjoy hosting!Caleta San Juanico- oh what a favorite place this is! I swear it’s like a playground on steroids. The beaches are awesome for shell hunting. The water is crystal clear. The surrounding landscapes are so interesting and make for a visual treat no matter what you’re doing. This is also the place where I took my first dive! That’s right, I was finally convinced to give it a try and I am so glad I did! Our friends on The Answer were generous enough to pump our dive tanks which allowed us to take the plunge. Brad was my instructor and did such a great job of keeping me calm and comfortable for my first dive. We slowly made our way down to 15ft of water and hung out for about 20 minutes. That’s all it took to get hooked!Agua Verde-the water really is that green! While we were in the area we hiked to the mysterious cave paintings with our friends on Volare and Strikhedonia. We also took the opportunity to snorkel. We were able to see two octopus and so many parrot fish. While under water you can actually hear them crunching on the coral! All of these things make it easy to pick this as a place to stop. I should also mention that we picked up a used drone and we are so excited to show you what Brad has been able to capture with it.Los Gatos aka Mars. This was a new stop for us and I am so glad we visited. We took a quick hike to the top of the hill, flew the drone, shell hunted and had a great time here. The rocks remind me of red marshmallows, except rock hard rather than squishy. 😋 The only “complaint” is that the anchorage is exposed to swell and tends to get rolly, so you have to time your visit carefully or make it short.Isla San Francisco- my favorite slice of paradise! This place is just so magical. Maybe it’s because it is the first place we’ve visited that made us feel like we were really cruising. If I could take our friends/readers anywhere, it would be here! On this particular stop we celebrated Thanksgiving on Perspective with Liz and Risto of Silver Wings. We hiked, dove (to 35ft this time), snorkeled, shell hunted and flew the drone.Ensenada Candelero- an oldie but another favorite! We enjoyed this anchorage with Liz and Risto and got up to our usual tricks. Snorkeling, hiking, drone flying and just hanging out. Our hiking destination this time was a natural amphitheater. I was surprised to see trees growing in such a harsh environment and joyed to see bright, beautiful flowers too. This place is just gorgeous!The next stop was La Paz so we could provision the boat and wait for a weather window to continue heading south. We managed to make it a “short” stop in La Paz aka Velcro City. We enjoyed our favorite dining spots and made sure that Sydney had her fill of ice cream treats.From La Paz we headed south to Bahia de Los Muertos for a night. Then sailed two overnights to Isla Isabel. Along the way we picked up quite a few stowaways (boobies) that rested on our bow pulpit. Luckily for them, and us, they didn’t poop all over the boat, just our anchor. Isla Isabel is one of those places that feels so special to visit. It’s an island hosting thousands of Frigates and Boobies. It’s only a matter of time before this island becomes regulated. We are so grateful we have been able to visit and respectfully explore as we pleased. Side note, Sydney still hates this place with a passion because she is not allowed on shore.Last but not least was the hop from Isabel to Banderas Bay. This hop included an unexpected swim for Brad as we managed to snag and tangle a long fishing line in to our prop . Let’s just say I was on full shark watch as he cleared our prop of the line. Other than that snafu, our trip to Banderas Bay was without issue.

I’ll get in to all the details of the bay in our next blog. Until then, I hope you’re all doing great and having an awesome day!

Have any questions for us? Leave us a comment or drop us an email. We’d love to hear from you! Cheers!

My friends, it is time for a confession. A confession straight from this millennial that I’d probably not believe unless it was permanently recorded on our blog. As I write this we are in the calmest of seas, motoring back to civilization in Santa Rosalia. And as we do this, my mind is feeling a bit sentimental. As much as I love the internet, there is something to be said about having minimal access to it for nearly two months. In that time we were more connected to each other, our surroundings and our newly made friends. Even the boat got a little extra love during that time. So as we approach the land of internet I am feeling anxious. Anxious to catch up on the blog. Anxious to see what’s been happening with friends and family on social media. Anxious to talk to family members on the phone. But a major part of me is dreading negative news and stories which makes this internet/civilization thing so bittersweet. While we were away and “disconnected” there was none of the negative news. Instead it was an exchange of silly experiences shared amongst cruisers such as radio nets, parties for any occasion, fishing, provisioning, passage planning and lots of talk about weather. So before I get swept away in the land of the internet and all of its joys/perils, lets talk about our time in Bahia de Los Ángeles aka BLA!

BLA is a small village with a population of around 700 people. And in this town all the cruisers dinghy up to Guillermo’s Restaurant. This is the place to go for internet and a cold beverage, and most likely it will lead to a conversation with another cruiser doing the exact same thing. The internet was typically slow as a snail, enough to make you wish they didn’t have it. At one point it stopped working for days. Rumor has it that they had to send someone up a mountain on a donkey to complete the repairs. True story!

After the restaurant experience, the most likely place to find us would be the markets getting fresh food and veggies, preparing ourselves to be away from town for days at a time. We learned that BLA is very expensive to provision, so next season we will stock up on our favorite staples before arriving. Sometimes provisioning meant going to every store in town trying to track down fresh produce. Thankfully the town lacked a tasty restaurant so we were able to save money on dining out.

Since leaving San Carlos and heading to the Baja side we haves visited 9 different anchorages.Waited out 2 named hurricanes- Rosa and Sergio.Celebrated 3 birthday parties, 2 survivor parties, a full moon party, sushi party, net controller party and a margarita party. Whew!Photos from the full moon party in La Gringa…where everyone is equipped with a floatation device, preferably a cold beverage and if you’re really sneaky, a super soaker to nail your buddies with. The full moon causes the tides to be larger than usual which fills up a beautiful lagoon. At the end of high tide the water rushes out of the lagoon and you float right out into the bay. You repeat this until the water is too shallow to continue. It was such a great time in such a simple way!We spent many days hunkered down in Puerto Don Juan, a natural hurricane hole waiting for weather to pass. The scenery was so lovely at times! Pretty much the entire fleet of boats would anchor here, roughly 15-20 boats at a time. Brad speared his largest catch yet, a 10 pound cabrilla!I had my first experience being stalked, by a bullseye pufferfish. These creeps followed us everywhere!Set a record for having 18 guests on board Perspective for Brad’s Birthday.Got chased out of an anchorage by hundreds of bees.Threw countless sticks for Sydney on multiple beaches (she is forever ruined). Sydney also got confined to the boat while we waited out bad weather, she wasn’t too happy about that. We combed beaches looking for beautiful shells.Anchored next to a dormant volcano, and got ourselves bit by the infamous “Jejenes” aka no-see-ums.I learned the hard way about strong currents, thankfully Brad came to my rescue and picked me up. We set our new high speed record of 10 knots while surfing down a wave with a wing on wing sail configuration.We swam and played with a juvenile sea lion in Refugio.We said goodbye to our friends in Ensenada el Quemado as they headed south, but not before taking a hike together to take in the scenic views.We witnessed the SpaceX Rocket launch into space on Brad’s Birthday.Another accomplishment to note is Brad became a net controller twice a week on the SSB Amigo net. The net meets daily at 7:10am and Brad provides weather updates to listeners, gathers their check-ins, and coordinates announcements to fellow cruisers. He was suckered in to this by another cruiser after being plied with numerous tequila shots. Well done Kirk! Since Brad agreed to do the net we’ve met and become friends with numerous boats that check in to the Amigo net, or are controllers themselves. It’s been such a positive thing and I know Brad is loving it too!

All in all I think it is safe to say that we had an excellent experience in the BLA area and would happily do it again. The only regret we have is not getting up there a few weeks earlier to enjoy the cooler water temperatures and lower humidity. There’s so much more for us to explore up and we really had a beautiful time in BLA!

So what is next for Perspective? We will be slowly heading south with a goal of getting back to Banderas Bay by early December. We are once again excited to spend the holidays with family and are thankful for their willingness to come back down to see us.

And I will leave you with this lovely dorado (mahi mahi) that we caught just before we arrived to Santa Rosalia. Our largest yet at 42 inches. Just look at that big smile on Brad’s face! ❤️

Hola amigos! It’s hard to believe we’ve been in San Carlos for a month already! A lot has happened since arriving so I’ll do my best to recap. The purpose of coming to San Carlos was to be in a place that we could easily reach San Diego, and leave the boat in a safe place during our absence.

Upon arrival we anchored Perspective outside of the marina and waited until August 1st to move her into a slip. It has been hot and humid here and we were excited to get to the dock so we could use our air conditioning. Brad and I were armed with big plans. His plans involved engine maintenance and installing a second alternator. My plans involved our sewing machine. Our plans together involved a trip to San Diego to renew Brad’s Visa, see family/friends, and some boat shopping!

We ended up scheduling our trip to San Diego the 3rd through 13th. We had lots to do before we could leave Perspective for 10 days. This included a thorough cleaning/wipe down of all surfaces with vinegar to prevent mold. All food had to be removed from the fridge and freezer. Windows and hatches needed to be covered in tinfoil. The water maker needed to be pickled, the dinghy needed to be locked down and the paddle boards needed to come inside. We managed to do all these things and got out the door by 7am.The drive to San Diego was nicer than we expected and the roads are well cared for. There was one surprise though, picture this…a freeway with a big sweeping corner followed by an unmarked speed bump. An unmarked speed bump! Were they trying to kill us?! We must have missed the sign explaining that it was coming up ahead. Brad’s quick reflexes took us from 80km to about 50 as we hit the bump. We were left quite surprised and definitely more vigilant!

San Diego did not disappoint. We found ourselves busier than ever visiting with family and friends, and for that, I am so grateful! Even Sydney got to catch up with old boyfriends and girlfriends from her previous beach life. I could go on and on, really, our time in San Diego was out of this world and it’s because of our friends/family that made it so special! Many thanks to everyone that hosted us, and those that drove many miles to see us. We love you!

Pictured below….The Del Mar crew at the races, it was a real treat to see Gareth in town! A photo with Chris, just missing Beth! Thanks for showing us a fabulous time in OB, and for introducing us to your new girl! My old boss and I during my visit to the office. Thanks, Nikki, for carving out time so we could catch up! Don’t forget your passport homework assignment. 😉Summer Concert in the Park in Del Mar…Time well spent in Nautwater…Family time in Julian…Catching up with Doug, who drove all the way down from LAX to enjoy a dinner with us…And before we knew it, it was time to pack up and say goodbye. Sydney stole my seat on the way out…Brad did not mind. 😂It was so easy to fall back into the old lifestyle, especially after spending so much time with family and friends. But we knew we had to get back to our girl and continue our adventure. Thanks to Dave and Jamyne on Magic Dragon, we heard that Perspective handled herself well during our absence. Even so, we were anxious to get back and settle in.

The boat was clean and put away for all of a day, and then it became a war zone of sewing supplies, and tools! Remember those projects I mentioned earlier? Well, they were not forgotten by us either. Brad dug in to the alternator project and I started sewing. We realized San Carlos was not the most ideal place to shop for boat parts, which left us in the slip for longer than we wanted. Luckily, Amazon works just fine here in Mexico! And Brad was not afraid to hop on buses and run all over Guaymas looking for parts. As of now, Brad has installed the second alternator and rewired both, installed an alternator regulator, changed the engine oil, changed the engine coolant, changed the transmission fluid, changed the Honda generator oil, changed the water maker oil, installed two new galley faucets that no longer leak, and I’m sure there’s more that I am missing. He has been a busy, busy bee!

As for me, I’ve sewn two new hatch covers to block the bright sunlight, three pillow cases, four jerrycan covers, 2 cockpit pouches and a lifesling cover. Whew! Luckily Jamyne was around to offer her expertise and moral support as I got stuck. I am so happy that these projects are done, and our gear is being protected from the sun! Even Dave and Jamyne got to play with the Sailrite. They suffered a torn sail on the way to San Carlos and were able to fix the sail with our machine. We are sooooo happy for them and can’t wait to see the sail fly again.Basically San Carlos has been a place for us to catch up on much needed projects and as a bonus, in the air conditioning! It wasn’t all chores for us though, we did manage to take the dinghy out to Martini Cove a couple of times. We were surprised to see the water was so clear, and also surprised to see that it has been so fished out. This did not stop the boys from spearing to their hearts content! Jamyne and I also shot fish, with our cameras. Here are a few of my favorite photos from Martini Cove…The little guys pictured above are in the Blenny family. They are super territorial, and masters of blending in. It’s been a fun challenge for me to capture them with the camera, as they tend to move erratically.

We did see some amazing sunsets here in San Carlos…Here are some fun times that Sydney wanted me to share with you. She went to her old stomping grounds and reunited with her crew. And she had a fun ride to the beach in a topless jeep! She enjoyed beautiful yards and lots of pillows on her vacation from the boat.What’s next for Perspective? We are leaving San Carlos and overnighting to an island called San Francisquito. The distance is about 105 nautical miles and Perspective will be on a downwind course. Weather depending, we will be there for a bit and then we will make our way to Bahia de Los Angeles through the end of hurricane season. We are so looking forward to a change of scenery, but do appreciate what San Carlos had to offer us. I hope this post finds you happy and well! Cheers!!!

Hola Amigos! It was officially time to leave our bee friends behind. Our next stop, 70 nautical miles away in San Carlos. Magic Dragon was also making the trek and left at 9 in the morning, we planned to leave around 5pm. We chose the departure time based on our expected ETA in San Carlos. We wanted to arrive during the daylight and this would give us plenty of cushion in case the winds died down. Speaking of the wind, the forecast showed the winds blowing all day and night with a break from 1am to 4am.

With all the bee action, we couldn’t wait any longer. Brad pulled the anchor at 3pm while I steered us out of the cove. We hoisted the main and waited til we got around the cove to unfurl the headsail. Once the sails were out the wind seemed to die. Brad decided to wait it out based on the land near us, and he made the right choice. Once we got around the island the winds picked up and Perspective propelled forward like a freight train!I watched as the winds crept up from 12 to 23 knots and we decided to reef the main. This would flatten the boat out and make for a more comfortable ride, and as a bonus we would be prepared should the wind get any higher. Reefing involves Brad (or occasionally me) going to the mast, carefully lowering the sail to the marked point, clipping onto the reef point, hoisting the sail til it’s tight along the mast, sheeting in the reefing line and then coiling up the main halyard. This is not something you want to be doing when the boat is really heeled over, so it’s best to reef early. Brad has done this so many times that it takes him just a minute to do and during that minute I’m on pins and needles waiting for him to get back in the cockpit. What can I say, I’m still a nervous nelly!

We discovered that even with the reef we were going well over 8 knots which is usually an excellent pace. In this case it was a pace we were not planning on when we decided on our departure time. This made our ETA into San Carlos way earlier than expected and we would be arriving at night. Ugh! Other than reefing the main we didn’t try very hard to slow Perspective down because we were too busy enjoying the amazing sail. Perspective handles herself so well and is so comfortable while under way. It would have been a shame to reign her in while she was stretching those legs!

A few hours into the crossing we spotted Magic Dragon on our chart plotter via AIS. AIS allows you to see other registered vessels, including their speed, closest point of approach, distance from your vessel and bearing. Basically AIS is SUPER handy to have in addition to radar. We gave them a call once we were in radio range to see how they were doing. Jamyne mentioned they were having an issue with their transmission and were fine to continue sailing the rest of the way. The winds were steady around 17 knots on our beam giving both Magic Dragon and Perspective a great sail.

Our new ETA into San Carlos was around midnight. Around 10:30pm we were faced with thunder, lightning, and strong winds. Our position was only a few miles offshore but based on the conditions we decided to practice heaving to. This was something we did on the previous boat, but hadn’t tried on this one. Brad did the appropriate steps and the boat sat comfortably in the water going 1.5-2.5 knots. According to the forecast, the winds would be dying around 1am but they kept steady. At one point the winds gusted well over 30 knots. With us being a few miles ahead of Magic Dragon we gave them a call on the radio to give a heads up. It turns out we were too late and they had suffered a torn headsail.

We kept the boat in the heave to position until the winds died down. It was bad enough to arrive in the dark in an unfamiliar place, and we did not need high winds to further complicate things. Around 5am we finally had our chance. We still had some moonlight to help us navigate in, along with our charts. Once our hook was down we called Magic Dragon and offered assistance to help them anchor since their transmission was on the fritz. Turns out they were able to come in and anchor just fine! Yay! We caught up on some precious sleep and reflected on our passage. Overall it was the finest sailing experience we’ve had so far. It reminded us just how great of a vessel Perspective is and how well she takes care of us. I’m also thankful to Brad for keeping calm with all the wind and lightning. His calmness and actions kept me sane! If you’re into stats, here are the stats from our trip…it’s a bit blurry because the boat was rocking around so much when the photo was taken. 😉Well there you have it folks, the story of our crossing! Next up will be more about San Carlos! I hope this blog finds you happy and well, cheers!!!

Hola Amigos! We ventured to Santa Rosalia with hesitant hopes of it being a cool town. We were pleasantly surprised to find that it is a wonderful stop. The town holds an enormous amount of mining and hurricane history, therefore making it an interesting place. There is only one place to anchor in Santa Rosalia and that is inside the marina area. Luckily there was plenty of room to choose a comfortable spot along with Magic Dragon.

This is no place to jump off the dinghy and swim, but we quickly dropped the dinghy with plans to explore shore. Brad, Sydney and I met Dave and Jamyne outside the marina office and began wandering the streets. This is the best way to learn a new place, just get out and start walking. Along the way we saw old mining remnants, the beautiful Santa Rosalia sign and colorful buildings all around.Santa Rosalia was once a busy mining town controlled by the French. The French sourced workers from the local Indian population until the Indian workers abandoned them. This pattern continued with mainland Mexicans and eventually to the Chinese. The working conditions were terrible and the mortality rate was high. If you’re interested in learning more about the mining and the evolution of Santa Rosalia, then check out this link: http://sandiegohistory.org/journal/1989/january/history/.In addition to terrible mining conditions, hurricanes have not been kind to this area. One marina has been wiped out and their broken dock still stands. While in Santa Rosalia we dropped off laundry, provisioned at the local grocery store, had a couple of meals, searched for a water spicket for our filtered water, and climbed the switchbacks to the cemetery. We had a great time checking out this unique town. One of my favorite stops was the local bakery. We all chose our “poison” to snack on and I indulged in not just one, but TWO donuts!!! They were that good! We all suffered from a sugar crash afterwards, but it was worth it.

Views from our time touring the old mine and some hurricane damage…Views from the cemetery. The cemetery was on top of the mountain overlooking the sea. It was a beautiful location but we were shocked to see so much trash amongst the graves…Below is the beautiful church that was imported from Paris along with a stunning mural across the street…The sunsets were to die for! Thanks to Jamyne, we have some beautiful photos of Perspective basking in the sunset glow.After a couple of days we decided to leave Santa Rosalia and head some place that we could snorkel. This place happened to be called Isla San Marcos, specifically Sweet Pea Cove. It was a quick 11 mile motor to our new and improved back yard.We were immediately met by another couple in the anchorage, they kindly dinghied over to say hello. They were wrapping up their 17 year circumnavigation and preparing to leave their boat in San Carlos for the summer season. It was great chatting with them and they gave us some intel on the island.

On the southern end of San Marcos is a gypsum mine. There is a conveyor that loads gypsum onto ships that creates an immense amount of dust. From what we saw, this went on 24/7. Luckily our anchorage was miles away and we were not affected. We spent several days anchored in Sweet Pea Cove and spent many hours snorkeling and spear fishing. Being in the water was our only escape from the intense heat, and bees! The bees were looking for water, and would do anything to get inside for it. We put screens on all our port lights and shut the hatches to keep them out. This also kept all the heat inside!Enough sweating, let’s check out the snorkeling! Here we have a school of angel fish…We saw a few creepy moray eels. Boy do they get your heart racing as they swim under you…Brad grabbed a beautiful starfish for me to check out up close. Also pictured are angel fish, Sergent Majors, and burrito grunts. Could you believe the grunts sound like snorting pigs under the water?!?More shots from under the sea, the yummy fish LOVE to take cover under rocks…Dave and Brad were unstoppable with their spears and we had to remind them only to kill what we could eat that day. Sometimes we ate fish twice a day! Here are some of the fish we ate…Pargo, Cabrilla, Snapper, Hogfish, and a tasty Green Jack. Jamyne cooked up a wonderful chowder for all of us and oh boy, it was to die for!

We heard there were a couple of caves to explore on the island. So we ventured out and found a cave large enough to dinghy through but decided to swim through it. It was my first cave experience and it was erie, but amazing! Here’s a shot as we approached the end, if you look closely you’ll see tiny fish in the water…Our time in Sweet Pea Cove was bittersweet. It was the best snorkeling we’ve seen so far, but so hot and the bees were chasing us out. We looked for a good weather window to cross the sea and head to San Carlos. And the time to leave could not come soon enough! I’ll tell you all about the crossing and San Carlos in our next blog. Until then, I hope this blog finds you happy and healthy! If you’ve got any questions, shoot them our way! Cheers from SV Perspective!

One more sunset before we go…

Hola Amigos! We are pretty much caught up after you read this post, yahoo! We headed for Concepcion after our wonderful stay in La Ramada. The trio of boats made the journey together and once again gathered in the same anchorage. As we made our turn into the bay, we were met with 23 knots of wind, and a cell tower that provided 4G coverage. Both were very exciting! The internet has been better than expected down in Mexico but the winds have been mostly absent when we need them.

Our first stop was La Posada which is next to a large RV destination called Santispac. La Posada is a very exclusive community that does not allow outsiders to come into the neighborhood so we often took the dinghy to Santispac to enjoy a meal and drinks on shore. Thanks to Kathy we have a photo from land displaying our boats in the anchorage… It was routine to call the fleet, Tabula Rasa and Magic Dragon, each morning and ask if they wanted to go for a snorkel or spear. The boys became masters of their spears and we never went hungry! We have tried a variety of fish thanks to their spearing efforts, including: grouper, cabrilla, snapper, grunts, golden trevalle, hog fish and mullet. The ladies have laid down the law that they are not allowed to spear the “pretty” fish because we enjoy looking at them when we snorkel.

Here are some fishies to check out thanks to our GoPro…the glowing blue fish is a juvenile Damsel, and the large grumpy looking guy is a Cortez Angel. The angel fish were very curious and checked us out frequently. Mullets at the surface…A hogfish looking for a hiding spot. He was off limits to the boys because he’s beautiful!Here’s the gang doing their thing…Bay of Concepcion has many great places to snorkel, and we only went to a few. We found the 90 degree water and the 95-100 degree indoor temps to be deflating. We decided to move cabins. We gave up our large aft cabin for the forward cabin. The V-berth gets much better airflow than the aft, which in theory should keep us cooler. Even with a slight breeze and the fan pointed directly at our heads we still struggled to stay cool. So we resorted to sleeping on deck!The morning views from sleeping on deck were gorgeous…Chores were done early in the morning, including laundry. Who doesn’t love a colorful laundry on the boat photo?! When it was time to stock the boat up with fresh groceries we decided to dinghy over to the next anchorage, El Burro. We wandered around for awhile but could not find the tienda and finally asked someone on shore. It’s funny what happens when you ask people, we ended up talking to a bungalow owner that does the weather report for the Sea of Cortez every morning. He’s been living on the beach for over 20 years, in the same house. He let us know the tienda was actually in the next anchorage, called Coyote.Getting to Coyote took less than 5 minutes. It appeared that the houses were all gated in and there was no way out. Luckily, a nice woman asked if we needed any help and we asked her about the tienda. She was quick to lend us her gate key and gave us directions. Little did we know this quick interaction would turn into much more. It turns out that this woman, Bobbi, has a boat anchored in La Posada which was next to us. Later that day we saw her snorkeling to her boat and she offered to take us to Mulegé. The girls were all happy to accept and the boys stayed home. We had a lovely time and completed some much needed errands while in town.

Bobbi ended up inviting us to her beach house for dinner the following night. It turned in to quite a cruisers potluck with delicious food and great company. It was fun getting to know “Bobbi on the Beach” for the next several days.Unfortunately our time with Bobbi had to come to an end and we needed to get to Santo Domingo. Santo Domingo is located near the entrance of the entire bay and is an understated anchorage. The shore is lined with beautiful shells, the water temp was 86 degrees and the winds kicked up each afternoon. It was paradise compared to the heated conditions we experienced inside the bay. Views from Santo Domingo…Gathering shells…Hosting game night on the deck of Perspective as we say “See ya later” to Tabula Rasa. They are heading to San Carlos to haul out for the season. They will be missed!!!Sydney and I enjoying the amazing afternoon breeze…Speaking of Sydney, she’s got some words for our readers…Hey it’s Sydney here. I need your help, it’s hot here and I need more beach time! I give my humans all the signs, I stare at shore constantly. I let them know that a fresh water rinse does not cut it, and I’ve resorted to tantrums on the couch! You see, I just can’t cool off!!! Would you believe I met a dog that lives on the beach? I think my humans should quit playing on their floaty toy and get a beach house just for me! And another thing, I’ve ran out of treats. Apparently none of the stores in Mexico carry dog treats, I’m ready to bail! Send help!!!

Well on that high note, I think I should wrap this blog up and get to work on the next one! Stay tuned and I’ll tell you all about Santa Rosalia next. Hope you’re having a great weekend, cheers!!!

Hola Amigos! Once we left Loreto it was quick sail to Caleta San Juanico. Gene and Kathy on Tabula Rasa were already there and helped us choose a spot to drop our hook. We chose to drop between two large rock formations with an acceptable depth below us. We quickly dropped the dinghy and went for a swim. Who knew anchoring could be so hot?!

It wasn’t long before Dave and Jamyne on Magic Dragon pulled into the anchorage and we all made plans to go for a snorkel/spear fishing excursion the next day. Dave just bought a Hawaiian sling in Loreto and was eager to give it a try. As it turned out each event was successful and the boys were excited to go again the next day! While the boys had plans to fish, the girls made plans to paddle board to shore and search for Apache tears, aka obsidian stones. The story goes that the roads used to be covered in obsidian, but the rocks were too sharp and were causing damage to tires. Eventually the obsidian stones were shoved aside and new gravel was laid. We searched and searched but didn’t find any stones. What we lacked in stones we made up for in pleasant conversation and girl time. The rock formations in front of and behind Perspective…Sydney’s taxi service and Brad’s spear fishing bounty…Life was good in the anchorage until the wind picked up to a consistent 15-20 knots. Remember how I mentioned we were anchored between two rock formations? Brad and I were no longer comfortable staying so we made plans to move to a new anchorage, La Ramada, around the corner. It was a short trip that packed a punch. The consistent winds had caused the seas to build. We were faced with large, quick interval swells on our beam. Rather than take a side to side beating, we headed out further and then took the waves on the stern on our way in. This is where our large motor comes in handy, Brad kept the boat going with the waves and it was actually a smooth ride in. Once inside the new anchorage we were treated to calm, clear waters. The protection there was great!

We spent a few days in La Ramada and spent plenty of time in the water. The temperature outside was climbing and the only way to cool off was to stay in the water until your core cooled down. This takes awhile when the water is in the mid 80s. We also had reason to celebrate. Gene’s Birthday was on the 4th of July and they hosted all of us for the celebration. Jamyne baked the most delicious drunken, upside down pineapple cake in the world! We enjoyed several hands of cards before calling it a night.Sunset and sunrise views in La Ramada…Thanks to Dave and Jamyne, we found Apache tears in La Ramada!It seemed that our time flew by and before we knew it we had plans to go somewhere new. This time we would be heading to Bay of Concepcion. Stay tuned and I’ll tell you all about it in our next post. Hope you are all doing well! Cheers my friends!

Hola Amigos! We’re currently anchored in a bay that has internet so now it is time to get all caught up! Our sail from Candeleros to Ballandra was mostly a motor due to fluctuating winds but we made the best of it and made water along the way. We typically make 30-36 gallons an hour depending on the water temperature. The warmer the water, the higher the output. As we headed north the water temps were creeping up into the 80’s!Puerto Ballandra is located on the northern end of Isla Carmen, basically parallel to Loreto.Once we arrived we were taken back by the views. The water was very clear and full of life. We watched a ball of fish move throughout the anchorage for the entire stay. If the water is clear, one of the first things we do is lower the dinghy and jump in the water. It’s a refreshing way to get settled in to the new neighborhood. We spent a couple nights in Ballandra and experienced our first encounter with bugs. In the evenings the wind would die down, and the bugs would come out. It was here that we discovered Brad is a much tastier specimen than me. He woke up to around 100 small bites covering his body, I didn’t have a single one! But as luck would have it, I wound up cutting my foot on a rock that same morning. We were taking Sydney to shore and I hopped out of the dinghy barefoot and stepped sideways on a rock. I looked down, saw blood and wanted to cry. It wasn’t the pain, but disappointment of having to miss out on our upcoming snorkel. Brad doctored me up and I was only out of commission for the day. Thankfully it was just a scratch and not a deep cut! The next morning we pulled anchor and headed across to Loreto. We would be meeting up with our friends on Magic Dragon. They had been there 2 nights already and were enchanted with the town. Once we arrived they met us at the dinghy dock and led us to the best markets in town. With their help we shopped til we dropped, filled the scuba tanks, had our laundry done and stocked up on pesos at the local bank. It was time well spent and we appreciated their company and knowledge of Loreto! What we didn’t expect to find in Loreto was our first cockroach. Jamyne, Dave, Brad and I all loaded into the dinghy after sharing a wonderful breakfast on shore. Jamyne discovered a large moth and was holding it as we motored away. Suddenly I felt something crawl across my foot and I kicked at it. Shamefully I admitted to possibly murdering the moth only to find out it was still in Jamyne’s hand. Uh oh, so what the heck ran across my foot?! It wasn’t long before the offender ran across Brad’s foot too. From there it was chaos and I believe I mentioned we should set the dinghy on fire! We watched helplessly as the offender snuck between the pontoon and the anchor locker. Feeling deflated about the whole situation, and assuming this cockroach was laying 1 billion eggs, we thought we were doomed. Luckily we spotted her when we opened the anchor locker and were quick to dispose of her once and for all! Cockroaches are not allowed as crew on Perspective!

With a fully loaded boat, sans a cockroach, we made plans to head to San Juanico the next morning. Magic Dragon and Perspective would be reuniting with Tabula Rasa at the new anchorage. I’ll tell you all about that in our next post. Until then I hope this post finds you happy and healthy. Cheers!

Hola Amigos! After Bud Light came through the sea it was time to head south to Agua Verde. We previously rushed through the area and wanted to take a closer look. Our guide book mentioned a tienda (market), some beach restaurants and some goat farms. What we didn’t realize is that a couple of boats that we met back in La Paz would also be there!

As we pulled into the anchorage we spotted Magic Dragon and Tabula Rasa. We gave them a call on the radio and plans were made the next morning to go explore the town. We were in search of a cemetery but had a tough time finding it. We tried to decipher the info the locals gave us, but we failed. In the meantime we walked by a couple of goat farms, an adorable school and managed to buy some goat cheese.On the way back to the boat we tried one last time to locate the cemetery. It was across the soccer field and beyond some cactus- we never would have found it! I admit it was a bit eerie looking and walking around the graves, but also pretty fascinating. The next day we made plans to find a cave with some hand paintings inside. It was in our guidebooks but listed no directions on how to get there. We heard from friends where they thought it was, and we ran with their advice. Well, it turns out we completely missed the cave and were asked by a cowboy to go back to our boats.

Our friends on Magic Dragon scoped out another cemetery on shore and we all decided to take a look. We had to walk up a steep gravel path and walk down the other side to get to the cemetery. I know what you’re thinking, why were we so obsessed with viewing cemeteries? I was asking myself this same thing! The oldest person we could determine was born in 1900.Enough about the creepy graves. Let’s erase those images and look at some beach photos…Brad in hiking action…Agua Verde was a charming little village and we made good use of the market and enjoyed a fish taco dinner on shore.Our next stop was Bahía Candelero, located just south of Puerto Escondido. Our main goal for staying here was internet access, and it was a well protected anchorage. At first glimpse I was not a big fan. There’s something about dark green, murky water that is disappointing but after paddling around we started to enjoy it a bit more. Tabula Rasa and Magic Dragon joined us the next day and we all planned a get together on Perspective. We invited a single hander, Jason, on Volare to join us. We met him at the dock in La Paz and were excited to cross paths once again. Over the next few days we enjoyed several potlucks and just great company! We also did quite a bit of fishing too. While the boys fished, the girls enjoyed a beautiful snorkel. I think this is what we all thought cruising would be like. Getting up, planning an adventure and sharing the bounty for dinner along with a nice sundowner. Thanks to Kathy on Tabula Rasa and Jamyne on Magic Dragon for the extra photos!

Here’s the small village on the other side of the anchorage. The town has about 200 people who we found to be extremely friendly! Thanks to Kathy here are some photos of the local medical facility and their church. Both charming! Next up for us is a place called Puerto Ballandra and Loreto! We may not have internet for awhile, but I will update the blog as we can. Hope you are all doing well. Cheers from Perspective!

Hello there! In the last post I mentioned Hurricane Bud wrecking our plans to head to the states. Well, he succeeded, but his great plans of being a hurricane also fizzled. So we will call it even. This was our first storm, ever, so we were taking things seriously. Which meant we would be leaving the La Paz area and heading north to a “hurricane hole” known as Puerto Escondido. We would be happier there and our insurance company would be too!

Our storm avoidance plan had us heading north, stopping in Isla San Francisco, Agua Verde and finally to Puerto Escondido. Puerto Escondido is just outside of Loreto. We were days ahead of the storm and enjoyed beautiful, downwind sails all the way up. It was hard to believe a storm was on its way with the nice conditions we were experiencing.When we finally made it to Puerto Escondido we secured a mooring ball for 3 nights. This was a much cheaper option than renting a slip. At this point we knew Bud was fizzling to a tropical storm and that the mooring would be sufficient.We took the time on shore to socialize with other cruisers and to have meals/drinks. It was a really nice change. The cruisers all joked about hurricane Bud turning into Bud Light. The next morning Bud Light came along and washed our boat in plenty of fresh water, about 6 inches. This was great except we had to stay on top of the leaks inside. Otherwise we could incur water damage and discoloration to our wood. Brad even made a mid rain repair to our chain plates that were being super naughty! Here’s a look at Bud in action…After a few hours of rain it was time to take all the laundry to shore. Puerto Escondido is expensive for pretty much everything, including laundry. For $5 a load the laundry added up quickly. But after weeks of rationing clothes it was a real treat to have everything clean again!

Brad and I also met up with our friends from Silver Wings while we were in Puerto Escondido. Their boat will be there for the next 6-8 weeks while they visit family in the states. It was SO nice to see them again! We all hiked the Steinbeck Canyon together and enjoyed a refreshing dip in the waterfall. Bud Light brought plenty of water for us to play in! The hike included some bouldering and even Sydney made it up there with Brad’s help. She soon discovered frogs and froze in her tracks. She could not understand what they were or what they were doing. It was pretty adorable. Eventually we made our way down the hill and back to the marina. It was time for us to ditch the mooring and head back out to the sea.We had our hearts set on heading south to Agua Verde. I’ll tell you more about that in our next blog. So until then I hope this post finds you well! Cheers from Perspective!