We're in La Paz recovering from post Baja Ha Ha stress syndrome
S/V Pacific Mystic
Eric & Valerie Wagoner
Sat 5 Dec 2009 00:00
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We are now in La Paz on the East coast of the
Baja California peninsula in the Sea of Cortez.
We left Cabo San Lucas on Sat 11/14 and
slowly moved our way up the coast doing easy day sails and stopping
in two beautiful anchorages between Cabo and La Paz, first
at Cabo Los Frailes (about 45 miles from Cabo) and then in Ensenada de los
Suenos (another 45 miles up the coast). We sailed the last 55 miles to La Paz
and arrived here on 11/21.
La Paz and the Sea of Cortez were not in
our original plan. We were going to sail directly from Cabo San Lucas
to Puerto Vallarta on the mainland and move our way down the West
coast of Mexico to Acapulco to await proper weather to go further
south in the Spring for a crossing of the Panama canal in April. But
by the time we reached Cabo San Lucas, we realized our plan would need to
change. We could not keep moving at the pace we had been moving for the past
couple months. This whole trip was supposed to be the time of our
lives but it felt like seriously hard work the whole time. When we
were at sea, we had to constantly trim the boat to adjust to the
ever-changing conditions 24-hours a day. And when we pulled back in to
shore, it was to recover from the shock to our bodies and
minds of having dealt with offshore conditions around
the clock for several days and to work on the boat to keep it in safe
running condition for the next leg. It was hard on us, hard on the boat
and, not the least, hard on Miette. So we needed to regroup. We were happy
to pay for a few days the hefty daily rates that the Marina de Cabo San
Lucas charges during the sport fishing season to rethink our next steps.
What led us to La Paz is a series of events that
we came to understand is a pretty common experience among cruisers who, like
us, had made the journey from one of many ports on the Pacific Coast
of the US and Canada to Cabo.
First, Cabo wasn't a place we could park at
for two long due to the constant and utterly
unbereable Las-Vegas-meets-Venice choas in the harbor, which further
frayed our already shot nerves.So we had to keep moving
further but if possible not too far.
We also came to find out that most
of the Baja Ha-Ha fleet was making plans to go to La Paz, some
to winter in the Sea of Cortez; others to make it a temporary homebase
for making quick jaunts up and down the Sea of Cortez before continuing on
south; and most without a definite plan. So Pacific Mystic being the
Seabird that she is decided to join the flock of other Baja Ha Ha boats and
go to La Paz and switch to a no-plan plan.
Another phenomenon of the Baja Ha Ha is that it
has made us reliant on the concept of travelling with other boats. (A good
thing!) When in Cabo, as we were discussing post Baja Ha Ha
plans, we found out that our friends Larry, Vicki and Andrew on 'Rocinante'
and our friends Duane and Chris on 'Risk Taker' had plans to stay in Cabo a
whole week after the Baja Ha Ha was over to spend time with friends
and family visiting there. Since Eric and I were not in any hurry to keep going
anymore, we decided to hook up with them for the 3-leg journey from Cabo to La
Paz, via the two anchorages in Los Frailes and Los Suenos.
Our two stops in the anchorages of Los
Frailes and Los Suenos on the way to La Paz brought on another unforeseen
consideration. They gave us a taste of what snorkeling and scuba diving
could be like in the Sea of Cortez, which Jacques Cousteau rightfully named the
aquarium of the world. It is absolutely magnificent here, above and below the
water! We came to the disconcerting realization that we had not planned enough
time to both perform the maintenance work needed to keep the boat in good
running order for the next part of the journey and also be able
to spend a minimum time exploring the abundance of riches Mexico has to
offer along the coast and on land, all the while maintening our own sanity.
And Mexico is the first country and only one we stopped at so
far between the USA and France. And our current plan only
allows for one month in the Carribean before we need to make the
Atlantic crossing to avoid the hurricane season next
Spring. Needless to say we started to feel like our original one-year
journey plan to France may need to become a two-year plan, or better yet,
to become a permanent lifestyle and if so how do we sustain it? We think we may
have found a new addiction. You think? Not us. :)
That is the state of mind in which we reached La
Paz almost 2 weeks ago. And since then, we've been docked at Marina Palmira in
La Paz, pondering the new situation while also finding our bearings
around the city. We've also been enjoying the great network of
friendships recently developped during the Baja Ha Ha rally and
the great support we provide each other while everybody is trying to figure out
"what now?". We also discovered while in the marina that our story is not
uncommon. There is a myriad of cruisers in La Paz, most American and Canadian,
some from the UK and New Zealand , who arrived here years ago with cruising
plans similar to ours and never left Mexico. The more of them settle here, the
more things become available here thus making it hard for newcomers to leave. We
can pretty much find anything here and there are substitutes for brands we
are accustomed to in the US. So with a few minor adjustments, the standards of
life are pretty good. Actually, if criteria like weather and surroundings are
included, life is pretty darn good here. I wake up every day, pop my head
out of the cockpit and just can't believe I live here temporarily.
So are we going to fall for this beautiful life
here like many sailors before us have? We don't think so. We want to keep going.
But before we go any further, we made a decision to have a hydro/wind
vane installed on the boat. For the uninitiated, it is a device that will
self-steer the boat so the helm doesn't need to be manned around the clock. It
is similar to an auto-pilot, which we have on the boat.
But the hydro/wind vane doesn't require electricity (which is a
rare commodity on sailboats) and it doubles up as a back-up
steering system if the auto-pilot fails or even more importantly as an
emergency rudder if the boat rudder is damaged. When we left
Seattle, we thought we could get away without one because of the cost of the
investment. But after 2000 miles at sea, we won't do another overnight trip
without one. Having to man the helm around the clock in all kinds of sea and
wind conditions really takes the fun out of sailing and rubs the nerves raw,
which we can't afford to do anymore. So we'll be here in La Paz until we have a
plan for getting one of these shipped to us and installed. We think
this will most likely keep us here through the holidays and even into January.
We may try to make a trip up the Sea of Cortez if the hydro/wind vane
shipping and installation schedule allows. Stay tuned for more
details.
Following is a summary in images of our "epic"
journey since we left Cabo San Lucas :)
Cabo San Lucas
harbor: (where we stayed from 11/5 to
11/14)
Cabo San Lucas to Los Frailes - Sat
11/14
Bahia de Cabo Los
Frailes: 11/14 - 11/17
Los Frailes to Ensenada de los Suenos:
Wed 11/18
Ensenada de
Los Suenos: 11/18 - 11/20
La Paz: 11/21 - to
date
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