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Today is the 7th of January and a lot of things have transpired since I last wrote. Nothing too exciting but we are making headway.

First of all, Solastra was launched on the 18th of December as scheduled. Our friend Peter came to help grab lines as we pulled into our slip on A dock. All went smoothly!

Rick got started hosing down the outside of the boat and we both started to slowly take out sails, lines, cockpit cushions, surf boards, bicycles, SUP board, Barbecue, etc… that had been stowed down below. I removed the aluminum foil from the windows, wiped down, swept and cleaned the inside of the boat and removed all of the cockroach “hotels” I’d placed all around the boat before we put Solastra away for the summer. Happy to find only one cockroach carcass! After the boat was pretty much cleaned up and both sails, the main and the jib, had been put back where they belong, we started to unpack the car and bring food, clothing and boat parts into the boat. I hung some new curtains we had made for the boat, and started to add some throw pillows and Mexican blankets and other small items to make Solastra feel like home…our home in Mexico. And…last but not least…the most important thing…I put up a small Christmas tree which I put lights on and decorated.

Stateroom

Salon/Settee

Settee

Stateroom

During this time Jimmy Juma (boat cleaner/polisher) came and started working his magic on Solastra, cleaning and waxing her top sides and polishing the stainless steel. Jimmy is the best! He is the nicest person with an interesting story. Jimmy is originally from Nuwanda, Africa where Swahili is his first language. He speaks Spanish very well and English almost as well. He has an interesting story of how he got to Mexico and how he is now a Mexican citizen. Since he’s been here, he’s married, had children and now has grandchildren which all live in Guaymas (half an hour drive from San Carlos). He’s a hard worker, always smiling and in a good mood, bouncing a few inches off the ground with each step he takes. Every day at lunch time I make him and Rick a sandwich and he sits down in the cockpit and eats with us, asking questions and telling stories. He feels like part of the family. We love Jimmy!

Jimmy Juma

Rick has been checking the weather, wind and wave conditions daily on WindyTy, Passage Weather and Saildocs. He finally found a weather window that isn’t the most perfect scenario, but probably the best he was going to get this time of year moving Notre Isle (our old boat) up the Sea of Cortez from Mazatlan. So he got on the phone to call Mike Sandusky our friend who currently has a boat in Mazatlan, to see if he was ready and still willing to help Rick get the boat up to San Carlos. Mike was all set and the plan was for Rick to get to Mazatlan, by bus, on Thursday and work on the boat getting her ready to sail and leave on Saturday morning making the long 3-4 day passage and arrive in San Carlos either Monday the 1st of January or on the 2nd, weather permitting. 

I was glad that Rick was going to wait until after Christmas because we had planned a special Christmas Eve dinner at a special spot we both love, at the other side of San Carlos located on Algodones Beach…. Sunset Bar and Grill. The restaurant is both rustic and eclectic and sits right on the best beach of San Carlos with breathtaking colorful views of the sunset. The dining experience is referred to as hippie eco-chic. The food is very elegant, fresh and unique but is served in a casual setting.

Sunset Bar & Grill, Algadones Beach, San Carlos

Just after Sunset

For the beach as a backdrop a band was playing just outside the restaurant. 

Love the sand floor

Dessert..YUM!

After enjoying the most delicious meal on the planet and having a wonderful dining experience, we spent the next day, Christmas Day, sitting on the settee drinking coffee & tea, eating eggs, bacon and toast, swallowing it down with fresh squeezed orange juice and just  having a quiet morning. We later opened our two gifts, then got the dinghy into the water and motored in and outside of the marina, checked out the anchorage and around the shores’ beaches and caves. It couldn’t have been a more perfect day, warm, sunny and the water was crystal clear.  Later in the day, we jumped in the SUV and saw the sights on land and along the waters edge.

Christmas Morning

Specially wrapped gift box from Santa

Contents of above wrapped gift

Another creative gift box made with love and imagination

Contents of gift box above. Thank you Santa!

Just outside Marina San Carlos

Small little beach just outside the Marina

Harley the navigator

Rick taking us on a tour in the dinghy!

Handline fisherman killing it!

A marvelous bird is the Pelican!

Haberdashery on the beach

Algadones Beach

Next day, December 26th, I looked online to book Rick a ride on Tufesa Bus-lines for his ride to Mazatlan. Tufesa is supposed to be the most luxurious of bus lines in Mexico. Since it is a long ride, you might as well pick the most comfortable bus there is. According to the website it appeared they had hourly trips to Mazatlan, so I thought it was no problem. But when I tried to make the reservations online, I was having issues…I kept getting messages that there were no buses going on the next day at ALL! So, instead of trying to figure it out online getting more confused and frustrated, Rick and I decided to drive into Guaymas and talk directly to someone at the bus depot. Surely someone would speak English and we could get a bus ticket and all would be good! Well, we first walked into TAP bus depot to see if they had anything but no luck! We then walked next door to the Tufesa bus depot and I spoke with an attendant through a small window rattling out what Spanish I could muster. Normally we can find someone who understands “Spanglish”, but the woman at the counter was not going to budge an inch. She seemed to enjoy watching us struggle. Anyway, she told us the next bus was not going to Mazatlan until Saturday. Well, this wasn’t going to work! Rick had a very specific weather window and he HAD to be leaving from Mazatlan on Saturday…no later! Ok…so now what?!

So…come on brain, think! Now what?! I’m sure you’re thinking, why don’t I just drive Rick to Mazatlan. Well, for one it’s a 16 hour drive and secondly we did not have a TIP (Temporary Import Permit) for our vehicle which costs several hundred dollars. So far we have been fortunate with not having to purchase a TIP. As long as we don’t go any further than San Carlos, we don’t need one.

Airplane! That was our next thought. What about flying there, it can’t cost too much and Rick would be there in less time. So we hopped back in our SUV and drove to what we thought was a commercial airport in Guaymas. Once inside the airport, we knew we were in the wrong place. There wasn’t a soul inside and we only saw small/private planes when looking out the window. We asked a man behind the counter (the only person there) if they fly to Mazatlan. He looked at us like we were from outer space and told us no. But he gave us a name & number of a travel agent. I called the travel agent who did not speak a lick of English and asked her about flying to Mazatlan in the best Spanish I could come up with, and she said, “no” which is pretty much universal, so I understood that. Again…now what?! There’s got to be a way to get Rick to Mazatlan the next day! We jumped back in the SUV and decided to go back to San Carlos and get our wits about us and look up airline possibilities out of Hermosillo. We were pretty sure they had commercial flights. As we drive out of the street from the airport onto the main highway and wait for the light to turn green, a car behind Rick, blasts his horn. Rick steps on the gas and goes! Next thing you know, we see a Policia Municipal car on the other side of the highway, make a U-turn and get behind us. Rick says, “uh oh”, I whip my head around to see what “uh oh” is about, and within seconds the police cars’ red and blue lights are flashing brightly and we pull over. I’m freaked out thinking of all the hellish stories you hear about getting arrested in Mexico, the movies I’ve seen about Mexican prisons, El Chapo,…..I was a nervous wreck! Not only one, but two officers, came out of their vehicle and walked around to either side of the car. One came to Rick’s window and one came to mine. To our surprise, the officer on Rick’s side of the car, put out his hand to shake Rick’s hand, and asked us how we were doing, “Como esta”? With hesitation, Rick replied, “uh…bueno?”.  He asked Rick for his identification and the car registration. Rick handed him his driver’s license and I riffled through the glove box with my hands shaking like a leaf, my mind in a fog, searching for the registration.  I could not picture what it looked like, what was I looking for again? I kept asking Rick, “what do they want?” Rick would snip back, “the REGISTRATION!” We were both a little tense. Once given the license and registration, the officers walked back to the car and came back with smiles on their faces and said, “gracias…ok” and handed us our registration and Rick’s ID back. Rick and I were looking at each other, like, what just happened? Next thing out of the officer’s mouth was where are you going? I tried to explain the situation and that we were looking for an airport to fly out of, to Mazatlan. The officer walked around to my side of the car and took out his phone which apparently had some sort of a translation app on it and started typing away. So there we both were heads down looking at our translation apps trying to communicate with one another. Ha! Without completely understanding me but getting the gist of the situation, the officer said, “FOLLOW ME!”

Policia Municipal

Again, Rick and I looked at each other like, HUH? So the officers got into their car and slowly drove out onto the highway waiting for us. Rick and I didn’t know what to think. We were laughing and wondering what was going on but we were totally ok with following them. It did enter my mind for a split second they were taking us on some wild goose chase or handing us over to the Cartel for slaughter. We followed them regardless and they ended up taking us right back to the airport where we had already been. They stopped their car across the street from the airport and pulled over onto the side of the road, we pulled in right behind them. The officers both alighted (private eye lingo) from their vehicle and came to our car window and pointed to the airport. We said “thank you, but…” and told him we’d already been there, yada yada yada. I then asked him if planes flew out of Hermosillo to Mazatlan. He said, SI! and, “FOLLOW ME!” “B..b….b…but”…it was too late to tell him that we weren’t prepared to go right at that moment because they’d already gotten back into their car and waved us to follow them. Yikes! We didn’t now what to do. We couldn’t drive there right then! For one, Rick did not have his bags with him and Hermosillo was an hour and a half away! But we decided to go with the flow and figured if they take us to the airport in Hermosillo we could at least make a reservation and buy his ticket. And since they were being so nice to escort us to the airport and all we couldn’t exactly say no. 

As we drove along about 20 minutes the police car pulls over and stops. We do the same. The police get out of their vehicle and come and talk to us again. What’s going on now we are wondering. We did think this might be a good opportunity to tell them that we needed to go back to the marina and Rick could grab his bags and we could get him on a plane that night. So we told the police officer what we needed to do and so he pointed towards the marina and said, “Marina”! And then pointed the other direction towards Hermosillo and said, “Hermosillo”! And then they shook our hands again, we said, “muchas gracias!” And they got back in their car turned their lights on and drove off. Another quick look at one another and started to laugh! 

After that little adventure…we drove straight back to the marina and looked online and got Rick all squared away with reservations to leave out of Hermosillo early the next day to Mazatlan. It was a bit pricier than a bus ticket and only a few hours difference. There was a stop in Mexico City with a bit of a layover. Anyway, he was getting there when he wanted that’s all that mattered!

So, the next day December 27th, we drove Rick to the airport in Hermosillo which was about an hour and a half away. We got him all checked in and I watched him walk through security and head towards his gate.

I was a little nervous I would get lost driving through a big city and back onto the highway by myself. But I managed even though the roads were busy with traffic and people. Harley was my navigator and got us back to the Marina unscathed. 

Rick called me around 6:30p.m to let me know he got in and was already at Marina Mazatlan. He hooked up with Mike and they did a few things on the boat then went to dinner. That night and the next day Rick got the boat sails up, and all of the other things needed to get the boat ready to go. They ended up leaving Friday around 7pm for San Carlos. 

Over the next few days while I was home at the marina, I took Harley for several walks a day, took her for a drive to a nice beach to swim, did some grocery shopping, got a massage (that’s another comical story in itself), and fell asleep early every night. I even spent New Year’s Eve in my P.J.’s at 6 and in bed by 7. I did hear fireworks off in the distance between 11 and 2:30 a.m.

Pre New Years Eve Fireworks show from inside the cockpit

Sunset Grill during the day

Took Harley here exploring and looking for seashells

Harley, my co-pilot, enjoying the drive and the views

The anchorage just outside the Marina...a little calmer swimming situation here.

Finding lots of shells on Algadones beach

Harley looking a little scraggly after swimming

Harley relaxing after a spa day with Alberto

A trip to my favorite store, Sagitario

The staircase in the Spa at Marinaterra leading to the massage rooms

Harley loves Fernando to bits! 'Su Novio'

Hiram (sounds like 'ee-rom') and Fernando our friends from Barracuda Bob's

January 1st, 2018 - Rick and Mike returned on Notre Isle later in the evening when it was dark. Fortunately, I was able to get them a slip right next to Solastra.

Solastra after she is all cleaned up and ready to cruise.

We added Black Hills, SD to the boat, removing Winnipeg (Manitoba, Canada)

Apparently during their several day sail, all went well until the last day when they ran out of fuel! They got into some heavy winds while they had full sails up, which could have used the help of the engine to turn the boat into the wind to reef or to even drop the sails. So for about 5 miles they were on their ear, rails in the water going up to 8 knots. 

So they came puttering into the Marina with just enough gas fumes to glide into the slip. Luckily it’s a straight shot from the entrance into the slip on A dock. As soon as they got in, tied up to the dock, and after visiting for a bit, Mike got back on Notre Isle to go to sleep for the night and Rick and I stayed awake in bed talking about his adventure here. This was also the day the water had been off at the Marina and apparently the entire town of San Carlos, due to a broken water main in Guaymas.  So no showers for these boys who had been traveling 3 full days out on the water without showers.

Solastra and Notre Isle, side by side (Notre Isle in the background)

Washing the sails on Notre Isle

Notre Isle all shined up and ready to go to the boat broker. :(

The next day, the guys were still a little tired from their trip. Mike rested and read on Notre Isle while Rick and I went to the office to show the boat documents to the office and get all straightened around with the bill etc. The rest of the day, Rick cleared out his items and the garbage from the boat. I drove Mike into Guaymas to check on bus schedules. Oddly enough, they had about 6 different buses going to Mazatlan the next day. It sort of makes me wonder if the lady we talked to when we tried to get a bus ticket wasn’t messing with us. 

That night, Taco Tuesday at Tortuga’s with Mike and Peter.

Saw this rainbow at night before sunset....so cool!

Wednesday the 3rd, dropped Mike off at the bus station and returned to the Marina to clean out Notre Isle. We also got Jimmy to come and help us out.

Picture of our sink piling up with dishes due to no water at the Marina and also running out of water on the boat! It was a total of 4 days!

As soon as the water was back on Rick attached the water filters and filled up the tanks! Showers and dishes were first on our list!

Saw this Tarahumara/Raramuri woman walking around
the Marina in her hand made colorful dress!

Tarahumari/Raramuri people

Not much else to report other than we are hauling Notre Isle on Friday morning, the 12th, and putting her in the dry storage at Marina Seca. And then…we are just waiting for good weather window (sea conditions) to leave and head South on Solastra.

Dinner at Charly's Rock...what a view!