Coping in La Paz area - post Odile

Thankfully we have now heard from our friend Henry, who makes his home outside of La Paz.  He managed to send out a message from a friend's home while power was on briefly.  From his update it is clear that coping with a Category 3 hurricane and its aftermath, even with experience, is daunting and exhausting.  He writes:

          "Everywhere you can see the damage and its like a horror show.

Walls blown down, house roofs gone, power poles and cables down, semi trucks blown over. 32 yachts grounded and 3 mariners missing and presumed dead.  Right now I am without all the modern conveniences of power, water, internet, cell phones, tv.  i am literally fetching wood and carrying water.  My friend down the street who is a Vietnam vet, says that this situation is equal to Vietnam, except that nobody is shooting at us.  No a/c means 30 - 33 degrees C. in the casa and 80% humidity with no fans.  It's dark from 7:30 pm until 7:30 am, at which time I read by candlelight or flashlight.   
Some of the stores are open by using using generators but there is no ice, no batteries, no water, no mosquito repellent (previous to Hurricane Odile, La Paz had a Dengue outbreak. After this it will probably be a Dengue plague!).

I line up daily and buy a few things for the day because nothing lasts very long without a working fridge.  There are a few restaurants open now so lunch is not a problem.
Gas stations have line ups 2 kilometers long and they are rationing. Walmart and Sorianas have already been robbed, so now they are putting security guards outside overnight. 

Anyway it's an adventure here and I am thriving and surviving. I didn't realize that reading by flashlight could be so much fun and sleeping from dusk until dawn could be so difficult! "

The cruising community in La Paz rallied to meet the challenges of assisting fellow cruisers, tracking missing people, boats, and damage. They are requesting donations to aid in the ongoing efforts to refloat boats and related costs. The photos on the Hurricane Odile tab show the powerful impact of this storm and the sad reality for cruisers who now have to 'pick up the (literal) pieces' of their dreams.

http://clubcruceros.net/index.php/hurricane-odile/salvageable-boats.html

Keep them in your thoughts.

Hurricane Odile Impact

We are having some extremely anxious moments here at home while we follow the projected and actual track of Hurricane Odile as it closes on the southern tip of Baja California and the Los Cabos area.  Choosing to leave INTREPID II on the hard, initially in Guaymas, and now in San Carlos, was largely driven by the area being 'out of' the historical hurricane tracks, but you never know!

These satellite images (via Club Cruceros via weather links) speak for themselves.

Information was and still is sketchy.  We learned yesterday that, with the exception of damage to some of the docks in Marina San Carlos, the boats in the water and on the hard at Marina Seca appeared not to have sustained any damage.  Marina Seca staff sent us a much appreciated email:

"This notice is to inform you that after the Storm Odile on September 15th/16th there were no damage report on any vessel in both Marina San Carlos and Marina Seca.  There are two of our Docks R and S presenting minor damages, due to this situation we had to relocate some of these vessels located there to another Docks, our maintenance staff is working hard on the necessary repairs to get them ready as fast as possible."

Our thoughts are with those directly impacted by this most devastating storm:  those people who call Baja California home, as well as the cruising community we have come to know.  There are now reports of loss of lives and boats sunk from La Paz cruisers' reports:

"Within the boating community, the most tragic news thus far is that well-known cruiser Gunther Trebbow perished during the storm after his boat Princess was blown ashore from La Paz' Magote anchorage at roughly 2 a.m. on Monday.  On the popular website www.bajainsider.com Tom Zyber refers to Trebbow as "a local fixture" who was a long-time Friday Net host, and Christmas story reader. According to Zyber, "Gunther's health had been failing for the last year or so, and after trying to save his holed vessel he was too weak to make it to shore. He will be missed."

We had the opportunity to chat with Gunther at 'coffee hour' at Club Cruceros and are saddened to hear of his untimely death.  While the La Paz marinas appear to have come through unscathed, the dry storage yard near Marina Palmira has once again seen boats toppling and falling.  This is reminiscent of Hurricane Marty some years past.  There are reports of damaged or sunk vessels in Puerto Escondido and the loss of the old marina in Santa Rosalita.

Latitude '38 has been providing electronic updates gleaned from satellite phone calls and other reports from cruisers who were able to send out information:
http://www.latitude38.com/lectronic/lectronicday.lasso

For certain we will be determining just what supplies and resources we might be able to bring down with us later this year to assist in the cleanup efforts.

Benito Juarez, Spring Equinox and other things

Hola!  Where to start this sunny Monday?  We finished our final  Spanish class last Friday and will return at the end of this week to receive our diplomas.  It's been a rewarding accomplishment if we do say so ourselves.  Although 11 classes of 2 hours each is only a start, we received a very good grounding in grammar.  Lots of 'verbos' in the present tense, with a few tricks about how to indicate something 'will happen' in the future.  We have more confidence in initiating conversations in complete sentences, sometimes.  The next step is to become much more proficient in deciphering what is being said to us; the journey into a different language continues.  Our instructors, Marco and Alexsa, are excellent teachers and we highly recommend them.

Dock 4 has become quite the busy place as boats have returned from some time in the islands and others have left for anchorages both north and south.  Our neighbour Lance is busy getting his O'Day 40 ready to go on the hard, while other folks are busy with their specific projects.  The canvas work we've commissioned from Danny has been delayed a few days (hmm...but we still see him here and there on the other docks....time for another chat about business practices; when you are so in demand it is hard to say 'no' to folks).  The cushions for our cockpit may not happen.  Hector has dropped off a sample of the sunbrella, but we've seen no sign of the foam samples we asked for.  Our attempts to catch a ride to the wholesale supply store to see the various options for foam and upholstery fabric have yet to be successful, so this may be a 'next year' project.

The SV Shannon crew - Sophie, Cathy and C.J. - arrived back in the marina for a quick provisioning run and we enjoyed a great 'catch-up' chat in our cockpit.  We last connected by radio  February 16th as we were heading south from Isla San Jose and they were heading north from Isla San Francisco. Before that, it was back home at a BCA meeting when they were busily preparing to depart on their own big adventure.

The SV Shannon crew 

Mamacita -a sweet cat who survives near the marina restaurant

Last Thursday the winds shifted to the south and blew strongly all night, Friday and into the evening.  We kept our fingers crossed for all those folks out in the open anchorages on the islands; exeriency very rocky-rolly nights.  Sunday was calmer, hot and quite still until early evening.  A good day for quiet chores, including laundry, visiting with "Mamacita cat" and making up lists of supplies we still need to tackle projects.  Kelly found the acetone at the small marina chandlery; it comes and goes and you need to buy items when you see them.  His initial work on the first portlight indicates it will be a challenge to remove the gasket and clean all the rubber residue, before inserting the new one.  But it is a boat project; of course it will be a challenge!

Benito Juarez

Today is the official bank holiday to acknowledge Benito Juarez (whose birthday is March 21st). He lived from 1806 to 1872.  We could not discover any actual events to attend over the weekend, but on our visit to the Cultural Museum a few weeks ago, we saw how well-revered and respected this first indigenous President of Mexico remains.   Although we didn't wander down the malecon yesterday, we heard music, voices and activity.  On the cruisers' net this morning, we learned that the fisherman took out their pangas in a procession behind a statue of their patron saint, St. Jose, around the harbour.  Tied into that celebration, as well as the coming Spring Equinox, several cruisers spotted a children's parade, where the little ones were dressed as flowers and butterflies to celebrate the seasonal transition.  There are flowers blooming all through the city, but we assume these are the winter blossoms and only a small example of what is to come.

We had a great time at the Mark Mulligan concert at La Concha restaurant downtown.  His beach music is relaxed, fun for dancing and often is based on 'true stories' of gringo life in Mexico.  A significant amount of pesos were raised for a local charity with the restaurant owner topping up the final amount.  We enjoyed sharing the table with Linda and Bill of SV Tanque de Tiburon and meeting several of their amigos.

Kelly, Linda and Bill at La Costa - waiting for the music to begin

Mark Mulligan - onstage at La Costa

         Enjoying the evening

On Thursday we took the marina shuttle in to the daily coffee hour at Club Cruceros.  There we met up with BCA cruisers Kira and Rick of SV Nyon, who were going to be hosting Barb and Bjorne from 'back home'.  If all goes well, we might have a mini BCA 'burp' (Bluewater unofficial rendezvous party) on the horizon.

Enjoying a laugh at The Shack

Next stop was the radio repair shop, where we were told our newest VHF radio needed to be returned to the distributor to be repaired. That will wait until our next visit to West Marine.  A walk east of Abasolo, we located "The Shack", the latest incarnation of an outdoor venue we last visited as "The Roadhouse".  The owner had suffered a serious fall from the roof the night before when trying to hang old sails across the open area.  Only a table and chair 'cushioned' him from landing directly on the concrete floor.  Just before we left, he came slowly into the restaurant with help from a walker; obviously in pain, but determined to keep things running.  His wife was doing a commendable job of opening up the restaurant, with help from a few friends.  We met some regulars there who offered new information about where to shop for good steaks and ground beef, among other things.

Excellent carniceria on Revolution

After an enormous serving of an excellent hamburger - which we split - we were guided to the carniceria around the corner to purchase ground beef and a very thick steak.  We enjoyed the steak Saturday evening and expect the quality of the rest of the meat will be as good.  Next stop was to Snug Harbor Sails, where we were introduced to Doug, the long-time owner for a quick chat.  Thanks to Paul of SV Coppertop for showing us around on Thursday.

Visiting Snug Harbor Sails - a very busy sail loft

A new week....we will see what unfolds.   Happy Spring Equinox.

PS:  To those 'in the know' - our furry Sebastian turns 11 tomorrow - Feliz Cumpleaños to our very special gato.  There is a rumour that Rod and Lois have a special treat in store for you.

Carnaval photos

Photos from the Sunday parade and that evening, as well as the floats heading out on Monday as we walked back from the grocery store...and a mini children's parade near Marina de La Paz.

Carnaval Reina and attendents

Junior Rey and Reina

Fancy rope work 

Everyone needs some glitz at Carnaval

Time for a rest and bebidas - Jim and Kelly at Kiwi's

Carnaval in La Paz!

The INTREPID II crew was just as surprised as our family and friends to find ourselves at the dock in Marina Palmira last Thursday (Feb. 16th) and just in time for Carnaval.  Our plans were find a quiet time in a peaceful anchorage further north!

Punta Salinas with light tower to left, looking north

However, winds and waves were at odds in many of our stops along the way, which kept us moving south.  Our intentions to stay out in the San Evaristo, Islas San Jose and Espirito Santos anchorages for at least another week faded after a very rolly and unsecure night at Punta Salinas, Isla San Jose.  A beautiful spot, with some northwest wind protection, a beautiful sandy beach and the ruins of the salt mining operation.   Waves and wind turned to the south and west and we were somewhat vulnerable.  Not exactly a formal anchor watch all night, but the next best thing. As we headed out the next morning we heard that most everyone found their choice of anchorage was not ideal.  Some of this is 'local conditions' and some is the timing of fronts as they move through.

Abandoned buildings of salt mining operations

After sailing for 5 hours and checking out Ensenada Grande and Caleta Partida on Isla Partida, we observed the south-west waves we were experiencing (2 - 4 feet) continue on in to the mostly western exposure anchorages.  The Captain announced he'd rather be sailing in these conditions than anchored in them.  Agreed!  That added another 4 hours of pounding towards La Paz, but meant we could be at a dock by 5 pm.  A radio call to Marina Palmira brought the unexpected news that there was no room at the inn!  However, we are very grateful that Adriana and her colleague found us a spot for a few nights and we will be shuttling around the marina as space becomes available.

The winds continued blustery. We headed INTREPID II into the La Paz channel, which makes a right turn at Costa Baja marina and contemplated dropping the main in fairly tight conditions.  What a team. A quick pair of sail ties around the main for the moment, then out with the fenders and dock lines; complete with a salty splash bath for Carol as she was at the bow.  Helping hands met us at the dock and we were once again in La Paz, one of our favourite Mexican cities.

Kelly on the Malecon with La Paz anchorages behind

The usual paperwork at the office was a pleasant task as this was our third stay here. We felt welcomed and well treated.  The schematic of the docks on the wall indeed showed a very full picture with far more cruisers staying put than heading out.  With a treat of hot showers, a quick dinner and sleep we were content in spite of the start of the Carnaval celebrations to the south.  Friday morning we caught the shuttle in to Club Cruceros at Marina de La Paz and enjoyed meeting with several cruising friends.

New 'pasarelle' and dinghy dock downtown 

We asked for referals for Spanish tutors, then took our time walking back along the Malecon towards 'home', about a 3 mile meander.  Looking at the Carnaval kiosks set up along the way, dropping into familiar shops and enjoying the views.  The anchorages are also full and Vista Coral has now become an actual, rather than virtual marina.  The City has recently constructed a new pedestrian walkway to a dinghy dock located to the north of Marina de La Paz.  It is a much needed addition to allow cruisers anchored out another option for 'parking the family car' to go shopping.

Coconut drink to share

Nearing 'home' we stopped for a coconut drink.  First you sip the milk through straws and then the vendor chops out the coconut meat which you can munch on.  Not as refreshing as we'd anticipated, but worth a try.  Once back at INTREPID  II, we gave her a good rinse, but the real bath will come later.  All in all a good start to our stay in the "City of Peace".