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Location: Santa Rosalia, Mexico about midway up the Baja peninsula on the Sea of Cortez. A formerly French-run but still mining town with lots of nice restaurants, great street food carts, museums, a metal church built by the famous Eiffel, and access to nearby travel excursions to pass the time. We are here in the high heat and humidity of Summer, so we have opted for a slip at the marina in order to plug in the air conditioner. It was either that or risk mutiny (or maybe just severe dehydration) if we stayed at anchor any longer with no breeze. Afternoons with the "searing globe of fire" aiming it's rays below the edges of our sun shades were making the crew quite grumpy and the water was only minimally helpful for cooling off as it was close to the same temperature as the air. 

As part of our exploration of the Sea of Cortez, we had read and heard from other cruisers that the nearby town of Mulege (pronounced Moo La Hay) was like an "oasis" with palm trees along the river, nice restaurants, beaches, and historical sites to visit. So we convinced our intrepid buddy boaters on SV Slow Dancer (Ken and his wife Dale) to go with us, reserved some bus seats for Saturday, and off we go!

We have taken many bus trips in Mexico and found the busses to be clean and modern and easy to use. Santa Rosalia is a small town and we are here in the off-season, so weren't surprised to find the bus station was not air conditioned. Then the bus was over an hour late. This was not looking good and neither were our sweat stained shirts.

Finally, a nice looking bus pulled in. Passengers got off, luggage was shuffled,...

Tags: jim and laura, mexico, mulege, nilaya, sailing, santa rosalia, sea of cortez

A single, tall, slender cactus stood guard at the edge of the sandy beach. It's two arms stretched upwards at least 12 feet as if imploring us to stop before running aground. As we dropped anchor, I surveyed the land around the edge of the cove and saw a couple of small ranch houses, a white church, and some machinery and block buildings that appeared more neglected than the other structures. The only creatures visible were a few buzzards that competed for the best perch atop the church and not a sole was in sight, which would not be unusual for the middle of a hot, sunny day in a country that invented the siesta out of necessity and survival.

We were on a short circumnavigation of Isla Carmen, a petite island in the lower section of the Sea of Cortez, or Bay of California. It is located near the historic town of Loreto and the boater's enclave of Puerto Escondito on the eastern side of the Baja peninsula. Weather had been mild with just occasional afternoon or evening winds, so we decided to check out a few of the many popular anchorages around the island before reprovisioning and moving north to check out more of the infamous Sea. After mechanical issues caused a delay of a couple of months leaving the marina in LaPaz, we found the weather had moved into Summer mode where daytime temperatures reached the 90's and low 100's and at night would only cool to low 80's. This wasn't so much an issue at the dock where we could plug in the air conditioner, but out at anchor, we relied on land and sea breezes to keep us comfortable on board. The water temperature was still cool enough to take your breath away when first...

Tags: bay of california, isla carmen, jim and laura, mexico, nilaya, sailing, sea of cortez

Finally the projects were done. Well, OK, a few major projects had been crossed off the ever growing list. (We've learned that we are never completely done with projects tackling the most important ones as soon as we get to a dock. The saying is, "It's a boat!") Anyway, on January 29th we threw off the dock lines at the beautiful Paradise Village Marina near Puerto Vallarta, our Mexican home since sailing into Paradise Village early last May, and immediately found ourselves in a boat traffic jam. So much for smooth exits. A few figure eights and a couple of circles at the marina entrance while a mega-yacht, a large sports fishing boat, and a tourist catamaran all did their loop-de-loos moving to various docks and we were soon motoring out of the channel, where we only had the ever present dredge barge, a kayak or two, and a few frisky launches to contend with. Whew!

For some reason, Jim and I both had some nervousness about our voyage north into the Sea of Cortez. I couldn't quite pin mine down to just one thing. New weather patterns, new sea conditions, new charts. Strike that, no new charts. Same old slightly skewed charts everyone's been using for how many hundreds of years? But we do have all the cruising guides we could get our hands on. The cruiser's inside information on what routes are good, what anchorages are bad, and where you might find the officialdom ugly-all compiled by other boaters who have gone there before and taken the time to get it all down in detail. We read and re-read everything from here to there and decided on our route.

The waypoints were entered into the trusty chartplotter, which is a computerized version of charts overlaid with the boat...

Tags: jim and laura, lapaz, mazatlan, mexico, nilaya, sailing, sea of cortez, shrimp, whales

Tuesday, April 5, 2016. Puesto del Sol Marina, Nicaragua - Jim has inched Nilaya close to the dock and I throw a line to a dockhand to secure to a forward cleat. Then, as I step off the boat onto the dock to tie Nilaya's stern mooring line to a cleat, I can almost hear the sizzle as the heat seers the skin on the bottoms of my feet. In my anxious haste, I neglected to put on my flip flops.

We are used to heat as it was usually 85 - 90 degrees F in Panama and Colombia, but this is a new feeling. It's dry. Like Arizona desert mid-summer day dry. Three days ago, my skin was pruning because of the saltwater splashing into the cockpit as we splashed and bashed in the 8-10 foot waves. Today it feels like it's pruning because all the moisture is being sucked out, like a piece of jerky - or maybe salted cod.

We barely get the lines tied and exchange greetings with Dockmaster, Durien, before Andy, our guest "crew" member runs off to the showers. Not that I blame him, but it will be some hours before Jim and I can enjoy the amenities of the marina, as Nilaya has served us well and she deserves the attentions of being put as ship-shape as possible before we desert her. Even after a few hours of stowing, straightening, and cleaning, we are far from back to normal but getting there.

So, yes, we had "crew" for this trip. Andy, the thirty-something son of friends of ours in Denver, joined us in Panama, hoping to get some sailing experience. We know a few cruisers who seek out crew regularly for long passages. We have had friends aboard for short hops, but this...

Tags: canal, crew, jim and laura, nilaya, pacific, panama, sailboat, sailing

As we cleared the breakwater at Puerto Madero, Mexico and got on course, the mainland of Mexico was on our starboard (right) side. The winds were light, about 5-6 knots over the starboard beam. All of the cruising guides said to keep close to shore and our planning route had us around the 100 foot depth line and where needed to miss shoals, out to within three miles at the max.  But we weren't following our planning route. We were cutting straight across the notorious Tejuantepec Bay - heading straight into the "danger zone"!

As part of the decision to take the boat to Mexico, we started studying what it would take to get there. We gathered cruising guides written by other sailors and we searched the Internet for accounts of actual passages made in the areas where we would be sailing. Salty sailors stories and every cruising guide we read had cautions regarding certain areas of the Central American and Mexico's Pacific coast where high "gap" wind and dangerous seas could turn your passage into a real nightmare. 

These sections, specifically the Papagayo Bay in northern Costa Rica and Tejuantepec Bay in southern Mexico, along with a few other areas near each of these, have valleys that act as funnels enhancing the wind flowing from the Caribbean over Central America and into the Pacific. They are fairly predictable, so you just need to be aware of where all the areas are, and watch the weather reports, so you stay out of the way when the winds and seas are high. 

So why were we cutting straight across, going against the advice of ALL the guidebooks that said to be safe be sure and "keep one foot on shore"?  Because of Enrique! 

Enrique is a...

Tags: chiapas, huatulco, ixtapa, jim and laura, mexico, nilaya, pacific, sailing, tehuantepec

Our boat, Nilaya, is tied to a dock at Shelter Bay Marina, located on the north or Atlantic side of the Panama Canal. There is a breeze blowing and the boat moves back and forth pulling at the lines holding her to the dock. It reminds me of a race horse in the gate anxious to bolt out the door and run the course.

We've been moored here for almost a month preparing to go through the Canal to the Pacific. Not much has gone as expected. We did expect this visit would lighten our bank account. The marina has a reputation for high prices, so we weren't that shocked at the dock rates. Nor were we surprised to see the prices listed at the restaurant. I was a bit shocked at the rates for laundry and some of the other manual labor rates. Most of what we need to do we are doing ourselves so no problem.  We also knew the total for clearing in to the country of Panama was going to approach $500, which is one of the highest in the whole Caribbean. We also knew we would have to pay a premium to have parts shipped in. What we didn't expect was that it would be so blasted difficult to do anything and everything.

It started with getting to the slip. We came in on a day of high winds (surfing the 12 foot waves coming through the breakwater between large transport ships - YIKES!) and those winds followed us to the marina. As we passed the first couple of docks, there was wide fairways and plenty of room to turn around. We were first told our slip would be at the last dock but as we approached the one previous to it, we could see...

Tags: canal transit, colon panama, cruising, jim and laura, liveaboard, marina, nilaya, panama canal, sailing, shelter bay

So, can the Captain of a boat really perform a wedding ceremony? That was the question put to Jim by our young friend, Arelis. We have been "adopted" by her and her husband, Orvil, from our many visits to their island paradise of Providencia, Colombia. (Many of you have probably read the many blogs we've written or the numerous Facebook postings about our trips to this secluded sanctuary located just off the coast of Nicaragua in the southwest Caribbean.)

This question of a marriage ceremony came up as Arelis and Orvil had their 8th wedding anniversary coming up soon and Arelis wanted to do something special for the occasion and make it a surprise for Orvil as she had bought them new rings. After we checked some information in the Internet, that vast vat containing all the truths of the universe, we decided it didn't matter if a Captain's ceremony was legal or not since it was just a renewal of their vows and didn't need to be anything "official." So why not make it fun!?

Arelis got busy. The big day was only two days away! After considering the different locations available on quick notice; including our sailboat, a nearby beach, a restaurant, someone's house, and others, it was decided the best option was a picturesque bridge that connects the main island of Providencia with a smaller island, Santa Catalina. After all, it is named "Lover's Lane." Invitations went out and the big surprise was underway.

Jim and I had our assignments: Quick work was done for the brides' dress and accessories such as a bouquet and ring pillow. (The rings would be an added surprise for Orvil as the couple had their original rings stolen in a robbery last month in Bogota.) We had decorations for the bridge,...

Tags: caribbean, isla providencia, jim and laura, marriage, nilaya, providencia, providencia island, sailing, santa catalina, wedding

By Laura

We've been living on the boat since Jan. 2008 and have spent six hurricane seasons in Bocas del Toro, Panama. Jim decided he needed a change. Maybe more correct, another adventure before "he's too old". Here we are in a Caribbean Paradise with few worries, great weather, and cheap beer. I'm wondering if he's not been smoking some wacky weed or something? The next thing I knew, we were in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico checking out the marinas where we might dock the boat if we go through the canal to the Pacific and work our way up the west coast.

Now you've probably heard of Puerto Vallarta. It's one of Mexico's well developed tourist destinations with lots of touristy stuff to keep the many hundreds of visitors happy. We set our schedule to travel to three or four different marina locations from one end of the big city to the other and even northward out of town. The locals were very helpful and friendly everywhere we went. We rode on local busses, borrowed bicycles and sometimes hired taxis all with local help making sure we got going the right direction. In fact, while riding in a taxi one afternoon, the driver casually mentioned that there was a hurricane coming our way.

Hurricane? Where did that come from? Well, we couldn't figure out the TV channels and without a local station, couldn't find any details on the hurricane so we turned to the internet. Yikes! That big red blob is coming right for us!  What do we do now? We don't know whether to head for the mountains (but wait, what about mud slides?) or maybe inland (but wait, what about flooding-doesn't the road go along the river valley?) but the choices weren't rising to the top of the...

Tags: caribbean, hurricane, jim and laura, mexico, nilaya, patricia, sailing

Well here it is October 2015. It's hard to believe but we have been out on the boat for over seven years. We have spent five hurricane seasons going on six in Bocas del Toro and two (2009 & 2011) in Guatemala in the Rio Dulce. Bocas is not bad but I'm, and possibly Laura as well are getting itchy feet and feel it's time to move on. I'm looking for a new place to sail and hang out in Hurricane season. Everyone we've spoken to who have spent time in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico raves about how nice it is and how much fun they have had there. And that's not even talking about the GOOD food. That's the good part. The BAD part is Puerto Vallarata is NOT out of the hurricane belt. It is located in an area surrounded by mountains and the chance of it being hit by a really nasty hurricane is about one every 30 years or so where other parts of Mexico is about one in six. That's not bad odds but really not good either.

It's a big decision as we would have to go through the canal and travel about 2,000 miles North, usually against the prevailing winds. To make sure this is something we want to do we have decided to fly to Puerto Vallarata later this month and check it out in person. It will be a really good trip as one of the other cruisers here in the Marina, Robin on Mermaid has friends in Mexico. She set us up to stay at one of her friends home who are back in their home country. A big house with a big pool all Gratis. How nice is that?

When we return back to our boat we are planning...

Posted By Laura

In front of me the road was blocked by a small herd of Wildebeest. I was driving through the jungle during a heavy deluge of rainfall where the low vegetation along the side of the road formed a high enough dam that it was like driving down a shallow riverbed. Progress was slow not just because the rivulet of water but because the pavement was strewn with large potholes hiding under the waves of muck. Then I came upon the wildebeest. 

Ok, maybe they weren't really Wildebeest but they weren't far from it with their wide bony rumps and swishing tails blocking my attempts to move around them. Honking was futile. They probably considered the vehicle just a strange shaped, sick-sounding cow urging them down the road. Water buffalo would have probably been easier to pass with their wild nature tending to flee from human contact. Finally, one extra large bull with a shoulder hump to rival any camel, turned to give me an annoyed look and nudged the beast to his right starting a domino-like movement of rumps edging to a wide spot on the side of the road. A small yellow taxi quickly darted around me just before I turned into the opposing lane to go around the herd. Pass or be passed was a rule of the road on this stretch of jungle road. 

I was undertaking this drive as a favor to some friends. They needed a dog sitter while they were back in the US. Their house is situated on a bluff overlooking the Caribbean Sea and an harbor entrance into the Panama island archipelago known as Bocas del Drago, or Mouth of the Dragon. Getting to the house meant about 10 miles of driving their road weary SUV from the tourist/surf...

Tags: bocas del drago, bocas del toro, jim and laura, jungle sounds, panama

I know it's been a long time since we updated the blog. I don't understand why Laura has been so delinquent in keeping the blog updated or at the very least maybe she should have done a better job of hounding me to do it.

Well whatever, here we go. As you know Laura had an operation last June so we took a sailing season off and just stayed in Bocas del Toro while she recovered. We worked on the boat, I helped out at the marina while the managers took vacation and in general we kept busy. My son and family came to visit, Laura's Mom and Brother and our friends Kara and Robert also made the trip to check out Bocas. All in all it was a good time.

We finally untied the lines in mid February and left the marina enroute to the San Blas Islands a couple hundred miles East. The actual trip was unremarkable but it took us a while to get our sea legs under us as it had been almost a year since our last overnight voyage. As usual Laura did a great job navigating. While sailing close to Colon we did have to keep our eyes open and closely watch the radar for all the ships going to or coming from the Panama Canal and play a little "dodgem."

Once back in the San Blas, life slowed down considerably and we found we had really missed anchoring out among these very scenic and interesting islands. We met up with our friends Mike and Gloria on Respite and also Lorenzo and Joyce on the Eileen Ferrell. We met several boats which we had not seen in a year or more and we had Sun Downers (drinks etc) on our boat or our friends'...

Tags: colombia, guna, jim and laura, kuna, nilaya, panama, sailing, san blas

The waves collide forming a giant pyramid of foaming water spray shooting at least twenty feet into the air. At first thought, I wondered why surfers didn't come to this beautiful sandy beach with all the waves, but after a few of these sideways wave collisions of such magnificent force, my question was answered. This is a beach for sitting on the sand or in the shade of a tree, with a refreshing beverage in order to witness the beautiful and awesome forces of nature.

We are anchored in a crowed bay behind a long sandy island called Isla Tigre (Tiger Island) where many cruisers have gathered to watch a re-enactment of a revolution. This event in the history of the Guna Yala Indians of Panama covers a time where they fought for their independence and to retain their lifestyle rather than be forced to assimilate the ways of other Panamanians. (The US government had a background part as they intervened to prevent widespread bloodshed and to ensure the country remained stable for operation of the valuable canal.) This story has been acted out for decades in order to pass on the history to younger generations and in recent years, the celebrations have been partially open to the public.

There is a stage set up in the central section of the small village (we were told 2000 people live in the village but we guessed it might be more like 1000 if that and wrote it off to translation error) where elders from this and neighboring islands sit to oversee the proceedings. A few rows of long handmade benches are set up under tarps for other "guests". Small temporary huts fill the other spaces around the edge of the dirt clearing.

Actors dressed to depict Guna villagers of the time...

Tags: guna yala, isla tigre, jim and laura, kuna, panama, san blas

Laura and have started making plans to leave Bocas del Toro. This is our 4th or 5th time in Bocas and this time we have been here since July 2013. At least our boat has been here that long. During that time Laura and I traveled to the states for three months visiting family and friends. Then we spent two months helping another cruiser get his boat thru the Panama Canal, North to Mexico and then West for a one month voyage on to Hawaii where Laura and I jumped ship, did some site-seeing and then returned to Bocas. We decided to stay here in Bocas as Laura had an operation (hysterectomy) and I helped out at the marina as the Assistant Manager while she recovered. It has been an interesting time in our lives. We are now making ready to sail about 250 nautical miles to the San Blas Islands at the East end of Panama. It is one of Laura's favorite places to hang out and visit with other cruisers. I grow a little tired of it after a few weeks. I mean there are only so many palm-infested islands with sandy beaches you can visit before I start looking for a smoky bar to hang out in.

That being said we are seriously thinking about continuing from there on a one week sail, all depending on the wind, waves and current, to Jamaica. The draw is we have never been there and other cruisers tell us how much they have enjoyed Jamaica in the past. I think they might now enjoy Colorado and Oregon as well but that's a different story.

From Jamaica we will head back and stop in Providencia, a small Colombian Island off the coast of Nicaragua. We have made some friends there among...

Tags: bocas del toro, jim and laura, panama, sailing

Oct 2014 - I'm swinging in a hammock, staring at a night sky lit with the reflection of an almost full moon and some wispy clouds, listening to the nearby waves of the Caribbean Sea crash against the lava and coral of the Costa Rican coastline, and thinking to myself, "We are pretty damn lucky to be enjoying this."

The night prior, my husband, Jim, had emailed a few of our family members to tell them we would be doing what we have come to call a "visa run". This is where we exit one country and stay in a neighboring country for a few days then return to restart the clock on how long we can legally stay.  It's all perfectly legal and sometimes can be avoided by just paying a fee to extend the time. But it's certainly much more enjoyable when it's so easy to do because we are close to the border and when it's not very expensive.

Anyway, I was imagining some of those relatives after reading that email probably had the thought, "Oh, poor you! So sorry you 'have' to go to Costa Rica!" Maybe in words that weren't as nice as those, even.  Most of our friends and relatives back in the US are just trying to keep warm due to some cold weather spreading over the country. No sympathy? Totally understandable!

This has only been the second time we had to make a specific trip to renew our visas. Usually it is only an issue during the hurricane season, June through Nov. because we stay in one place for such a long time unless we take a trip back to the States.  When sailing around the rest of the year, we try to stay in each country as long...