Before the crazy set in...

      I've been silent too long, obviously. This will require a couple of posts to catch up--one to share the cool sights the Kyrie crew has seen in the last month; and one to share our thoughts and frustrations about the current state of the world, and how that state is affecting us.
      The last time I posted, Kyrie was out of the water, getting her repaired out drive back on at last. Since that time, she returned to the water, we left the marina to anchor out at long last, and then finally departed Banderas Bay. While it was difficult to leave such a lovely place, the crew's desire to return to our nomadic life had returned. We had been in one place for far too long!
      We made our plans. Kyrie had, by necessity of that darn busted out drive, blasted across to the mainland, never stopping anywhere along the way to check out the sights. This time would be different. We were going to stop and play along our way back to the Sea of Cortez. You know something? We actually have. The stop at Punta Mita was a wonderful bit of unwinding. A long afternoon and evening at anchor, a chance to paddleboard for me and play in the water for the kids, a cocktail in the cockpit in the evening... It was lovely. On to Chacala the next day, which, in spite of being a rather rolly anchorage, we enjoyed. Joe managed, after several tries, to get our stern anchor set satisfactorily and we gently bobbed as the waves rolled in. Our friends on Tulum V showed up to our great surprise and delight, although we didn't get to visit with them until much later. After a discussion over the radios, both crews decided one night in Chacala was enough, and a move to Matanchen Bay was determined upon.
       Matanchen Bay, in spite of being extremely buggy, is gorgeous! The first afternoon there, the Kyrie crew dinghied ashore and enjoyed dinner in one of the palapa restaurants. The bugs were awful, but thankfully, one of the staff brought a huge metal bucket full of smouldering coconut husks. The bugs soon departed, much to our relief. The jejenes--what I've always known as noseeums--are the worst. They can get in the smallest bug screens and cracks and of course, you don't know they are on you until they bite! Apparently, their favorite part of me is my feet...

        The highlight of the stop in Matanchen Bay, bar none, was the jungle tour to La Tovara. The crews of three boats--Kyrie, Tulum V, and SaareLill, which meant six adults and seven kids--packed into a panga and let our guide drive us off into the jungle. What a day! At first, the mangroves created a tunnel over the river. We spotted multiple crocodiles--small ones, thank goodness!--and huge termite nests off in the trees. Once the mangroves retreated and the river widened, the birds came out. One tree held about twenty snowy egrets! Our guide spotted numerous birds hidden in the trees and slowed down so we could see them, patiently pointing them out, despite his limited English and our limited Spanish!  One of the stops on the tour was the crocodile refuge, which is a place I have mixed feelings about. On the one hand, it was rather sad to see the jaguars and lynx in small cages. On the other, I felt rather glad there was a large fence between me and some of those enormous crocodiles! A coatimundi escaped from its pen while we were there and played with our friend Chad's shoes and two of the big crocodiles were observed engaged in rather, um, amorous activities. A short stop, but I'm glad we had that opportunity. The better stop, however, was next. Up a side stream is La Tovara itself. There is a restaurant and a freshwater spring, complete with a metal fence, hopefully barricading any intruders to the pool. We had all come prepared with swimsuits, so everyone had a chance to take a dip in the springs. It was heavenly! The kids all flung themselves off the trapeze multiple times, lunch was delicious, and when it was time to leave, everyone agreed it had been a great, memorable day.

The crews of Kyrie, SaareLill, and
Tulum V--ready to explore the jungle!

This was the first wild crocodile we saw
on our trip. It wouldn't be the last!

Turtles were everywhere, sunning
themselves on logs along the side
of the river. One even had a scar from
a crocodile bite!

Yes, there really was just that distance
between me and this enormous
crocodile! 

Here's the cluster of snowy egrets.
Most of them flew off right after I
got this photo.

Anyone know what kind of
bird this is?

             Another high point in our stop was our visit to the old fort and cathedral in San Blas. Kyrie and SaareLill both decided to brave the reports of bugs and come in to San Blas proper to try to get a spot in the marina. San Blas's marina is very small--only about 20 slips or so--but both boats managed to secure a slip. (Now we're rather glad we did, but more of that in the next post.) The town is charming, with an incredible history. Joe read Wikipedia's page on San Blas to us and we were astonished to learn of San Blas's connection to some places we've been to already, such as Friendly Cove and Nootka Sound on Vancouver Island! The cemetery was nearby, so we stopped there as well. I've never felt that cemeteries were creepy, and this one was no exception. After seeing the movie Coco so many times, the kids didn't seem bothered by the graves either, and wandered around, respectfully reading the markers and exclaiming over the amount of flowers.

Just like on George Island near
Elfin Cove, we had to get a "family on
the cannon" shot!

Levi seemed to enjoy reading the
markers on the graves.

By my best translation, this
reads, "She did not die. She
lives in our hearts and in our
daily prayers." A beautiful
remembrance!

        We wanted to spend some more exploring San Blas, but the world got crazy rather quickly. We're still here, but not going anywhere right now. Reports on how we're handling this time of self-quarantine in our next post.

The cloud is lifting!

     Obviously, there has been silence from the Kyrie crew for quite a while. I don't really have an excuse, except to say there's been a bit of a cloud over us for--how long has it been since the outdrive decided to crap out? A little more than two months?

Accepting help when needed is a good thing!

     It's been a lovely month and a half here in the La Paz area. We've spent a lot of time exploring Isla Espiritu Santo and Isla Partida, although more time than we would have preferred was spend stuck in an anchorage because of the northers. We made the most of our time, however. We've spent time snorkeling, hiking, watching the kids construct sand cities for the thousands of fiddler crabs on the beach, and getting to know some of our fellow cruising families.
      You know, that last one has been my favorite. I think in those two weeks out at the islands, we spent five evenings with other families gathered together on our boats. It usually consisted of two or three families, with the kids down below watching a movie and the adults outside in the cockpit, chatting away. One evening was spent on a 72-foot sailboat. I'm not sure how many people were aboard altogether, but I do know there were ten kids!
        These times spent together have done much to cement friendships, between kids and adults alike. One of those friendships is being put to the test as I type this, and I'm so grateful for it! Backing up a little bit. We met the crew of Tulum V on the Baja Ha-ha, and then got to know them on our first trip out to Espiritu Santo. They have been in La Paz for about a month, getting work done on their boat. We had already discussed with them the idea of traveling across the Sea of Cortez together, so Joe and I wanted to make sure we touched base with them when we returned to La Paz for Christmas, not to mention our kiddos wanted to see their friends again!
         Joe had been noticing some growling while Kyrie's engine was running for a while, but it grew steadily worse on our return to La Paz on Sunday. It grew bad enough that since the wind was in our favor, we chose to sail up the channel and onto anchor. Sailing onto anchor in a crowded anchorage--not too shabby! Unfortunately, with the holidays, no one could even look at the outdrive until January 6. Ordinarily, that wouldn't be a big deal, but Joe's parents arrive in La Cruz on January 12 and we didn't want to be stuck here in La Paz with a torn-apart outdrive! Enter a perfect example of friends' generosity.
          We met up with the crew of Tulum V for dinner that evening and griped a little about our predicament. Much to our amazement and appreciation, an offer to take us under tow if need be was given. Aside from their generosity, I have loved getting know to the Tulum V family. They have kids similar ages to the Kyrie kids and Michelle and Chad constantly crack us up. Any family who has both a Big Green Egg smoker and a Great Dane aboard their boat is surely one I want to get to know and count as friends!
           After a low-key Christmas--Christmas Eve with the Tulum crew, presents Christmas morning, a yummy dinner and then a walk along La Paz's decorated and crowded malecon--it was finally time to leave. La Paz has been our base for over a month and it's been lovely, but let's face it--it's getting cold! I know, I know. All our friends from Alaska will say I've turned into a wimp, and I say darn right! It was 62 degrees when I woke up this morning and I got dressed in a sweatshirt and jeans! It's too cold to swim in the ocean without a wetsuit and the butter isn't melting on the counter anymore--it's time to migrate further south.
            At 11:15 am, we are nearly out of Bahia de La Paz, under tow by Tulum. It was a little hard to swallow our pride and accept the offer, but I'm so grateful it was given. Between using our dinghy as a tug and ghosting along with what little wind there is, we probably could have done this first day on our own, but it would have taken much longer. It's a good reminder that we all need help sometimes and when the offer comes, at times it's much better to take the proffered hand rather than insist on struggling along by yourself.
             If the weather report stays true, there will be wind tomorrow and all the way across to La Cruz. Here's to beam reach sailing and friends who promise to go the distance with you!

Sailing the Islands

We have spent the last two weeks sailing through and exploring the islands right above La Paz. The first week we were out, we ran into a bunch of other kid boats and had a wonderful time. We hung out first in a bay called Caleta Partida - an ancient volcanic caldera. There were pelicans everywhere and we were able to anchor in shallow water - about 9' deep. The amount of greenery was unexpected. The contrast between the green cactus and shrubs with the red sandstone cliffs is breathtaking.

The first few days were spent getting to know the family on Tulum V. We moved on together, and discovered another 4 kid boats at Bajia San Gabriel - Samadhi V, Arena, Maya, and My Star. We were able to stay one night at BSJ and thoroughly enjoyed the amazing snorkeling. Unfortunately, we were apparently in the one bay that anchoring is not allowed in and were kicked out by the parks service. So, it was anchors aweigh and back to Caleta Partida along with the crews on Tulum V and Samadhi V.

The next evening was a hilarious time on Samadhi V as the kids (7 altogether) watched Mamma Mia and sung along at the top of their lungs much to the delight of their parents.

Running low on supplies, Kyrie then headed back to La Paz for a 48-hour whirlwind restocking. With fuel, Propane, clean laundry, new alternator, and enough fresh groceries to last a month, we headed back out to the islands to resume our earlier explorations.

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