Our trip to Mexico

Baja Sur

Well,Vigor and I traveled to La Paz and Cabo San Lucas. We didn't sail,but we flew by plane to check out Mexico in order to see first hand if we would ever consider cruising in Baja. You hear a lot of horror stories about traveling there, so what better way than to gather your own information.

We left San Diego via Alaskan Airlines and landed in Cabo. It was just under a two hour flight. Before landing, everyone on board were handed documentation forms to be filled out for customs and once landed, you had to show this paperwork along

with your passport.Note: Keep this paperwork with you because you need to show this on the way back too.

It took a bit of time to get through customs only to go through another checkpoint where they inspected your bags.

Once that tedious part was over, you were shuffled into an area that at first seemed like car rental stands, but after they all

started shouting and being rather aggresive you soon learned that they were selling something. Thankfully a nice man pulled us

to the side and asked what we needed. After informing the man that we needed a rental car, he steered us through the sea of salesman that we later found out were hustling timeshares. Once we went through the rigamarole to get the car, we than got hit again with A timeshare spiele from an employee at Budget!

Vigor wanted to see the countryside of Baja Sur so we thought it would be best to drive North up Highway 1 through the

mountains toward La Paz. I highly suggest this as there are some beautiful turns and switchbacks into many little towns

and villages with several places to stop and grab a cerveza if you get thirsty. Note: You should drive during the day. At night

the cows tend to roam and stop in the streets. Mystery solved for the cow signs on the side of the road, and no doubt they

are responsible for the many tombstones that are scattered throughout the desert highways.

Pemex is the only gasoline sold in Mexico and is available in two grades. Although it is widely available between La Paz and

Cabo, it is hard to find in Central Baja and is almost non-existant in remote areas.

We arrived in La Paz and found that it was suprisingly built up. About 300,000+ people

and far too many American chains including Appelbees, Blockbuster, Costco etc. But once

you hit the water ( Sea of Cortez), it becomes more of a charming , sleepy beach town with

not a lot of action until the sun goes down and then the town lights up!

We stayed at the Grand Plaza La Paz, but I wouldn't suggest it merely for the fact that

it was too far from the main stretch of the beach. One thing I have to mention about

Mexico is that the people were very nice and helpful and the service, no matter where you

went, was fantastic. Note: 5 star hotels do not exist yet in La Paz. Only 3 stars or less,

so don't expect anything in that department.

While on the pier downtown, we ran into a Mexican man that spoke decent english and

he pointed out where we could anchor for free. That bay has a great sandy bottom for

anchoring is is about 18-20 ft. The water is beautiful, calm and protected. Due to the

way La Paz is positioned, it's protected from the brutal hurricanes that can inflict

the Pacific side.

One thing that suprised us about La Paz is that eating out is just as expensive as

here in the States. Even the grocery stores were just about the same. Most places

accept American money, but they wil give you back pesos. Know your exchange

rate! Because you may be shorted if not paying attention.

After the pier we went to a local marina to see what they charged for a boat our

size. Right at the gate we ran into our broker that sold us our boat 14 years ago!

She had obtained a work visa and is now a broker in La Paz. And the marina was

close to the same cost as here.

You can take a personal boat tour right off the beach. Because they liked Vigor's mohawk, they were willing to give us an 8 hour tour for $40. US. Unfortuneately,

we didn't have enough time.

Well, our time was up and we had to drive back South to San Jose' Del Cabo.

We took Highway 19 which takes you down the Pacific side. Since Vigor's an

artist, the locals told us to stop by Todos Santos. Being that it was Sunday,

most of the stores where closed. But we were able to find the most spectacular

place for food at the Hotel California. I cant verify that this is the actual hotel

that the Eagle's sang about in their famous hit song, but it has become an urban

legend that this is the place. I guess only Don Henley knows for sure.

After ordering the most amazing tomato soup I have ever had, we commented

to the waiter how good the food was ,and he replied " We know how good it is"!

With our belly's full and happy, we walked the sidewalks and ran into the coolest

street vendor. He was peddleing his wares and I bought a hand woven wrist bracelet.

He was a Mexican-Rastafari? Is there such a thing? He had a good vibe and we

always try to support the local artist's.

We heard the church bells ring and out flowed the locals into the streets. Time was

running short and we still had another hour or so into Cabo.

Once we dipped out of the altitude, you could see how big Cabo was in relation to La Paz. But we were staying 30 miles outside of Cabo. We found an incrdedible resort in San Jose' Del Cabo called Cabo Azul. We found an unheard of deal through TravelZoo, but beware...it's a timeshare! And of course, they don't tell you until you get there.

And yes, they make you go through their tour. But we ended up getting $400 US

that we could spend in the resort. The Cabo Azul was so much fun. I was happy

sunning on the double bed lounger that was ingeniously fastened in the shallow

end of the pools. You had to wake up early to claim one as there were only a handful available. We took long walks on the beach and Vigor spotted a boat that washed up on shore. I ran back to our room and grabbed the camera in order to catch footage for You Tube and the website.

The man that ran aground was drunk, naked, and had fallen

asleep at the helm. It was a full keeled 30ft. cruising sailboat

from San Francisco. Luckily, there were two buff Canadian

surfer dudes that jumped aboard and took the main and jib

down before there was any more damage. One of the men

is pictured in the shot to the left.

The nude sailor stumbled off his boat, but

not without injury. He had a major head gash and plopped himself into the sand.

There was a cat onboard that was still

left down below. By this time there were

quite a few spectator's that came spilling

out of the adjacent timeshare's. There are

47 of them on this strand of beach alone!

The ambulance came and put a neck brace

on the man and carried himaway on a gurny. Oh..and they put shorts on him! The

boat was able to be towed off the beach and taken into conviscation to the nearest

marina. Baaaaad boating.

It was the beginning of Spring Break, so we

thought it would be fun to witness all the

mayhem of the college student's. We took a

panga from the Embarcadero to "The Office",

which is a popular eatery on the beach.

Everything was fresh and delicious and once

again the service was spot on.

The panga boat was scheduled to pick us up at 12:30p.m. We waited on the sand and coming from the horizon you could spot our panga boat...and he was on time! We asked our guide to take us to Los Archos. The famous

arch on the point. The water was a turqouise

blue and the rock formations were something

that I've never seen before. Almost as if they

were melting.

Vigor made friends with all the locals and he told everyone

about "YachtNaughty". They loved his mohawk and there

was a family in a local grocery store with their young daughter,

and she had to get her picture taken with Vigor.

We both loved Mexico, yet we agreed that hands down

La Paz was the better choice for us.

In summary, it's not inexpensive (especially Cabo).But

the people are wonderful and happy. If Vigor and I cruise

Baja in a few years, I will study the language. There are

many that speak english,but there are many that don't.

It is handy to know a few phrases.

They had quacamole and margaritas down to a science!

We will visit again-Hopefully by sea...The Go Go Girl

The Cost of Paying For The Dreams of Others:

A Scam or The Real Deal?

As in any marina, there are many boaters that come and go. Just on our dock alone there has been aproximately 20 boats that have left in the past years and have been replaced by the "new boat". Although I miss some of the tenants, it is most refreshing and exciting to meet the people that come along with the boat and their history.

This is were the story begins. Last summer a simple man ( we will call him "David"), appeared one day on our docks on a

small pocket cruiser. With a guitar strapped on his back wearing one of those knit caps reminiscent of those oversized "hippy"

berets, he seemed simple as he claimed himself a "spiritual man". He earned his money by playing in local venues strumming

his guitar in that recognizable folk music sound that you would expect him to play. He

charmed us all as he invited many of us to come and hang out at " the pub" and listen

to the melodic tunes while sipping on a glass of wine or two. It quickly became the thing

to do on weekends as the same group of boaters would stroll down to the familiar hangout

in support of our new boater friend.

As he felt more comfortable in his environment, he soon began speaking of his journey

that he would be embarking on within the year. Initially, his lofty goal was to sail "solo"

around the world the "hard way"....meaning " to weather ". It's inconclusive as to why he

wanted to bash his way around the globe, but then again he was in the beginning phases

of his goals and plans and therefore undoubtingly would change them as time marched on.

Photos are not representational of actual

character.

What makes his story more intriging is that he has a medical disability that has burdened him with limited vision.

By now, the story was quickly recycling within the community and many companies

were sponsoring David and several merchants and marina services were jumping

at the opportunity to donate their time and services for this great adventure.

His plans at this point kept changing and he decided he was going to row

using modified long oars without any engine power. In fact, he sold his engine

soon after voicing this newest plan. Another nice individual caught wind of this and

donated a pair of antique oars for this feat. My husband offered support with an

excercise routine involving push-ups in preperation for the extensive rowing,

but David quickly discredited the effort that rowing involves.

During this excitement, there was a 70 year old Japenese man named Ikeo Tateo

that had literally skulled his 21 ft. sailboat Eolia from Long Beach to San Diego (story

below). I interviewed Ikeo, but there was no press him, no sponsors, or help.

I rushed back to our marina excited to tell the tale to David whom I was sure would be the first person to

want to speak with Ikeo. Much to my surprise he was not interested in the story, nor in gathering information

from a man who had already sailed around the world and paddeled his way down the coast of California.

Yet again his plans changed and now he was off the rowing for propulsion and switched gears and

decided he was to use an electric engine. Going "green" was to be the new thing.

Now I have to voice my concerns here along with others in that in no time during the acquisition

of all the products and equipment that were donated to David did he take his boat out and test anything. Torqueedo even sent him a brand new electric engine with a few batteries and he never

put them to the test by checking the loads or how much battery power it would take.

Infact, we started to notice that he never takes the boat out period! Well, let me re-phrase that...

a major tv news network came to the marina and wrote a huge story on David with prime time

coverage.He did take the camera crew and journalist on a "quick" motor ride in the bay.

Well, timed marched on and he organized a benefit concert for himself with the help of

dwindling participants and friends that believed in this journey. It was successful nontheless

and he had recieved many donations all in the name of helping a man with a disability achieve

his goal. With his sailing "kitty" growing and all his goods being donated as planned, things

seemed to be going in the right direction.

By now he had changed his journey yet again. He would sail to France to continue his

spiritual quest and continue his tutalage at a monestary.

Update: Nov 9th, 2011- David left in the first week of November

without any warning or regard to the upcoming weather. Because he disabled his phone and had not connected his tracking devices,

it was impossible to contact him. He did have a satallite phone and

only a few people had the contact. An early winter storm hit the western coast and covered L.A. to as far south as Baja. It is believed that he was getting trashed in the rain and big swells

and he made a distress call to a few people . I was told that he called crying "emergency","emergency"!!!! And then hung up.

He made a call to another stating that he had lost his boom and was drifting in 15ft.seas and roughly 30 kts. of wind.

He gave his coordinates : 30.16, 116.47. He was just off Ensenada.

A friends advice was to rig an oar and create a makeshift boom

until he could make repairs.

The Coast Guard came to David's rescue and made him get off his boat, and the boat is believed to be drifting out in the ocean somewhere off the coast of Ensenada. David is currently trying to salvage of what remains of the boat.

It was brought to my attention that David has left behind many debts to local chandlery's and a debt to a community that shall I say left us all with a very sour taste in our mouths . For this was a weak and embarrasing attempt that reflects upon the community as a whole.

But this story has a strange turn of events. David finally takes his boat out into the bay because he wants to pick up a friend in another marina. He leaves in the morning and a few hours later our marina manager gets a distress call asking for help. The manager asked what is the problem? And David replied, " I have lost all battery power on my engine, and the current is sweeping me into the shallows!" "Well, it's windy, why don't you sail?" , asked the manager. " I can't raise them", then replied David . Now I can't get deeper into events because I am protecting individuals that were involved, but let's just say that it became quickly evident that David has no experience on the water and in fact, knows nothing of sailing! He has kept it well hidden up to this point. October 1st is his departure date, and I understand that he finally pulled off the dock within that week. I was told that he disconnected his phone and he has yet to install his tracking devices. We all have been anxiously awaiting this glorious sea going adventutre, but I , as well as many others, are not convinced that this adventure will go far. There has been ongoing rumors that he came from up north spinning the same story trying to get financial backing for his quest.

Time will tell what this "spiritual" man is all about and I do hope that he attempts at least a portion of what he set out to do. For it would be a huge

blow to the sailing community if this were yet another scam by a crafty individual using a disability and religion as a great marketing tool to gain

monetary benefits for his living.

Paddle Man- 70 year old Rows from LongBeach to San Diego, than to Hawaii.

News travels fast in the little man-made peninsula in San Diego where we currently moor our boat. So one can imagine when word gets out about a little old Japanese man who is paddling his boat from San Diego to Hawaii, the story travels like a virus and can't be stopped.

His name is Ikuo Tateo, and he stands proudly at roughly 5'2" and can't weigh more than 115lbs. He was just awakening when Vigor and I approached the boat that was temporarily moored at the Harbor Police Station,which is a

popular transient dock where many boaters stop for a rest or to re-stock their

food and supplies.

A little grey head popped out with a warm and bright smile on his face. I asked him a few questions, but soon grasped that I would need an interpretor.

An hour later I arrived with my Japanese girlfriend "Horoko",and I was finally able to grasp the story.

Ikuo, who will turn 70 years old this month of June, bought his little 21 foot sailboat hull Eolia from Japan and shipped

it to Long Beach,California. Once in Long Beach,he rigged the Eolia , which means "Wind Godess" in Greek, with an ingenious

contraption designed to scull the boat or paddle to its destination. He also rigged a solor panal and batteries, wind intruments,

buoy flotations in case of a roll over, radar reflectors, and a sea drouge in case of a bad storm.

Once geared, he paddled for two days from Long Beach to Newport. He rowed sixteen hours straight before he breaks and takes a nap. Then Newport to San Diego.

Left: Horoko Center: Ikuo Tateo Right: Interested spectator

Tateo departed San Diego on his bithday June 26th were he will paddle to Hawaii. He was given a Jack-in-the-Box antenna ball from a local boater to keep him company. Sort of like "Wilson" from Castaway! The day before Horoko had driven him to the store in which he stocked his Eolia with a four month supply of food mainly

consisting of carbohydrates. Rice, ramen, soymilk, onion, garlic, and a lot of vitamins!

Tateo is no stranger to marine adventures. At 59 he earned

himself a couple of world records sailing around the world- a

feat that took him 288 days. Holding the record for sailing the

smallest boat, a 20 footer, and for being the oldest person to

finish the trek.

I asked Tateo : "Why do you do This"? And he graciously smiled

and answered : " I like a challange". He knows the dangers and,

in fact, he kind of likes them.

Once he makes landfall in Hawaii, he then plans on buying yet

another sailboat to sail around the world .....again!

Domo -Arigato Ikuo Tateo for giving us all hope and inspiration.

The Go Go Girl

Update on Ikuo. He made landfall in Hawaii and it took him 48 days to

paddle across the Pacific!