C12 Family Adventures

The sea lions run the town in San Cristobal and they are oh so cute – until they use the swim platform as their home and bathroom!

They are adorable creatures; especially the babies, and it was so hard not to pet them or try to smuggle one onboard as a pet. They are everywhere – they climb up on random benches throughout town, they make homes in all the boats in the anchorage and every beach is covered.

I found that I have a lot in common with sea lions – super playful, energetic and engaging one moment and then grumpy and sometimes fiesty when they are tired and want to be left alone (we have fought it out for who the SeaXII belongs to, but we usually win once we squirt them with the water hose).

We had a blast swimming with them while snorkeling or swimming by our boat and we would challenge each other to barrel rolls and dives (they usually won).

We had one grumpy old man who liked our boat in particular; we named him Big Chungus, and he would pop up in front of us while swimming, scaring the dickens out of us.

While Paul returned back east for work, we tried surfing, mostly unsuccessfully, at all the beaches: Playa Carola, Tonga Reef, La Loberia. One of my favorite discoveries was a fun and challenging hike over lava rocks, Tijeretas Hill to Playa Baquerizo, stopping at Playa Tijeretas to swim with the sea lions and tropical fish(one of the few things you can do without a guide)!

I also did a night dive in Darwin Bay where we saw slipper lobsters, an octupus, a ray and turtle. I forgot how creepy the black darkness can be; I did not venture far from the guide!

Sadly, Paul’s flight was delayed out of Colombia and he missed his connection in Ecuador and the kids and I did the 360 tour (boating fully around Isla San Cristobal) without him. We stopped at gorgeous Rosa Blanca, a white sand beach with gorgeous turquoise water where we snorkeled with a hundred sea turtles, a lobster and even found some black tip sharks hiding under a cave.

Our next stop was Punta Pitt, where we saw several species of birds, my favorite being the red-footed boobies (only two places in the Galapagos where they can be found).

Our last stop was Kicker Rock, where we hoped to see hammerhead sharks. Despite our best free-diving efforts, we only found black tip and white tip sharks and eagle rays.

Paul made it safely on Monday followed by his cousin Gabriel on Tuesday. Gabriel brought the fun and up’ed the challenges on the swing off the davit.

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After getting a taste of Kicker Rock and seeing how many species I might miss as a snorkeler, I was so excited to return to dive Kicker Rock with Hannah, Kathryn, Paul and Gabriel (Claire and Andrew snorkeled with Bella and Luna). We had a completely different and amazing experience with the great visibility and currents and we were all treated to seeing 40-50 hammerhead sharks and Galapagos sharks, as well as thousands of fish, turtles and rays. Due to the currents, the sharks use Kicker Rock as a cleaning station. They glide through the currents while small fish feed off of/clean the parasites and dead tissue off of the sharks. What an amazing display of mutualistic interaction!

After an amazing first dive, we doubted it could get better, but it low and behold, we were amazed to dive amongst a bait ball of black striped salema fish. I can’t begin to describe the sensation of diving amongst what appeared to be a solid, but moving wall of fish. It was quite disorienting; I did not know what way was what. Before swimming through the fish, we watched Galapagos sharks and a seal blast through the ball, the seal securing a fish for lunch.

It was by far the most incredible dive we have ever done (including for Gabriel, who has hundreds of dives under his belt). We were all giddy with excitement leaving Kicker Rock!

The following day, we took a boat trip to Isla Espinola, where we had a snorkled twice, the best being at Tortuga rock with sea lions, sharks, and a multitude of beautiful fish and underwater rocks and coral. We also were treated to being eaten alive by mosquitoes while doing a short hike to a breeding ground for birds, where we mostly saw Nazca boobies and were treated to a couple of albatross. One of our favorite things was playing with the young and curious sea lions.

One of life’s goals is to always seek to learn something new, right? New languages ✔️, new cultures ✔️, how to deal with a boat that is bucking like a bull at a rodeo and successfully tossing dishes and people across the room while at anchor? ✔️

Wait – can we check that off at the expense of a broken anchor and broken davit? Paul’s and Bella’s MacGyver’ing skills (and a math lesson in physics!) – was a positive thought, but the human connection proved the most valuable (a lesson learned over and over again!)

What the heck am I talking about? Hopefully you won’t just surmise that I wrote this after drinking a couple capirinhas at happy hour and will continue reading while I back up to explain.

We pulled into the Santa Cruz anchorage in Galapagos (a smooth 5.5 day passage complete with the time-honored tradition of King Neptune ingratiating our pollywogs to become shellbacks upon crossing the equator!)

Around 11:30p.m. it is so hard to get your bearings in the dark, so we went with Paul’s usual SOP, anchor far away from all other boats. We called in our coordinates to immigration, but upon shutting down (and, thus, losing stabilizers; we don’t have modern stabilizers at rest), we began rocking violently. Our full diesel tanks threatened to spill out of the vents and, not wanting a spillage, we decided to pull anchor and spin donuts for the night while we transferred fuel from the fuller tanks to the emptier tanks. Thank you to Bella, who stepped up and helped Paul drive throughout the night! We anchored just before our 10a.m. appointment with immigration before meeting with our yacht agent to help us efficiently fill up our days in the Galapagos with the best activities. We headed to shore for lunner and a tour of the Darwin Institute, breeding center for Galapagos tortoises which live until the ripe age of 200!

After ice cream, we head back to the boat by water taxi (we are not allowed to use our dinghy, kayaks, paddleboards or row boat here) and wonder how we jump onto that bucking bronco (I wish I had gotten footage; it was scary!) We made it, but sleep was futile with the crazy swinging. Luna and Bella opted to sleep on the bean bags in the salon (living room) because they were afraid of being tossed like rag dolls from their bunks.

Uncomfortable with the tight anchorage and seas, we tried to pull anchor but realized that the roller was gone and rod was bent. Thank goodness we have a port anchor! We anchored far out and Paul set out on trying to figure out how we could mitigate the roll. A couple of YouTube videos later and he tried to move the anchor bridle (reduces the shock of the anchor chain against the boat), to the port side and stern, to create a rear pivot point. Paul then had the brilliant idea to use the crane (davit) to move the anchor chain back and the wire on the crane anticlimatically popped (no crazy snapping noise). So no starboard anchor and no davit.

Throwing up our hands, the kiddos and I headed to Tortuga Beach to try out our new surf boards.

The quiet beach was one of the most beautiful I have seen, white sand, and perfect temperature, every shade of blue water, all to ourselves. Unfortunately, the waves weren’t ripe for surfing, although I used the board and got a couple of great boogie board rides in!

Paul met us onshore for dinner, declaring success, only for us to determine he was trying to make himself feel better and he was not so successful when we returned to the bucking bronco.

Night 2 was just as rough. Thankfully the guy Paul had called to see if he could repair all our brokenness (his quote, “The only thing better than a Galapaguenos mechanic is one from Cuba”), found a stern anchor for us, half the price of the quote that Paul got when he called! The next day, while the kids and I went back for a quick beach visit (via a 2 mile one-way beautiful paved walk through cacti, flauna, birds, insects and lizards).

There are a lot of marine iguanas, endemic to the Galapagos, everywhere, including prime beachfront homes.

Paul stayed behind to be the responsible captain and move the boat closer to town and meet with the mechanics. We all headed to the highlands to walk among the natural land inhabited by the Galapago tortoises. Such amazing, huge animals!

It was easy to see how Darwin’s Theory of Evolution was built upon seeing the Galapagos islands! From the tortoises, we rode rented bikes 20 km from Santa Rosa back to Puerto Ayora.

We had an awesome dinner and crawled back to the dock to catch the water taxi back to the…. NON-BUCKING Sea XII! Hooray for our new stern anchor!!!

We are learning that the animals rule here; humans must navigate around the animals without disturbing them. Especially the sea lions, which are everywhere! You are lucky to find a seat on a bench and shouldn’t be surprised to find your dinghy taken over when you return.

It is 3a.m., the middle of night-shift #2 of 5 until we reach the incredible Galapagos Islands! This journey is a mini-rollercoaster, one of the many bumps in the roller coaster of life. We get excited to reach our destination, to pull into a marina and have access to cute towns filled with restaurants, stores and tourism possibilities. A week later, we start missing the water and wondering when we get to sail towards our next destination. Two weeks later, the boat is working as well as possible for the moment, and we are enjoying town but eager for the next adventure, and we finally leave port. We then have to reacclimate ourselves to the gentle rocking of the boat that makes us all feel sleepy as well as feeling tipsy in our uncoordinated gait . We fan ourselves from the oppressive heat (we run the AC at night so we can sleep) while trying to do schoolwork, clean the boat and cook meals. And this will be our life for the next….five or six months? We likely will not tie up in another marina until we reach Australia!

This next destination will be the destination of dreams, an archipelago formed of 19 islands and home to 9,000 species of plants and animals, a large majority of such species are endemic to the islands. We were granted a 30 day stay in the Galapagos, which can possibly be extended. For the first two weeks, we will visit the main islands and immerse ourselves in the traditional excursions known to the area: surfing, hiking, snorkeling, scuba diving. We then can hire a live-aboard guide, who will accompany us to explore the quieter, less-visited islands of the Galapagos. Their effort to protect their diverse environment prohibit us from paddleboarding, kayaking, anchoring our dinghy, which are amongst a list of rules two meters long that we have 3 days to read.

Now backing up…I wrote the last post in the insane immigration line to get into Argentina, where I met my friends for an incredible trip to Patagonia. It was amazing to catch up with friends while exploring breathtaking landscapes. Since this blog isn’t about me, I will only share one picture:)

Paul took over adventure planning with a flourish, starting with ziplining from a skyscraper in Panama City.

The next day, they said a temporary goodbye to Bella and Luna, who went to visit sailing friends, SV Agora, on the Caribbean side of Panama for a week. Paul took the kids to a nature reserve, home to sloths and toucans, and they explored the charming historic district of town.

The following Saturday, Paul met SV Agora at a ropes course, where the kids had a blast. Happy to have Bella and Luna back, the big girls geared up for a game of Airsoft, with few bruises left to commemorate the fun.

Their last big adventure, sin mama bear, was an ATV excursion, where years were taken off of Paul’s life when he allowed Kathryn to take the wheel, not realizing the unadmitted fact that she could not fully see over the wheel.

I couldn’t miss out on all the last minute fun, and we headed to an escape room when I returned to Panama. Bella, Hannah, Kathryn and Luna successfully heisted $250,000 but, unfortunately, Claire, Andrew and I failed to save the pirate trapped in a chest and secure the treasure.

The following day, while Paul took a few of the kids surf gear shopping, I geared up at what was likely our last big grocery store for 6 months with the help of taxi driver, Luis, who pushed my three carts, shut down a checkout lane and unloaded my carts and organized the baggers to bag the groceries as requested and load his taxi.

Exhausted but with no time to spare, we headed out to do a Panama Canal tour. It was awesome to learn more about this incredible engineering feat! After the canal tour, we boarded a small boat on Gatun Lake to head to monkey island, where we interacted with three species of monkeys, feeding two of the species!

We left the following morning for a 6a.m. fuel-up via a boat! We only had to turn around and re-tie three times to get to all of the fuel tanks….!

Las Perlas, last stop before the Galapagos and a much-needed beach and water day! We tried out the new surfboards, played on the seabobs, jumped off the boat and played on the island. The last fun adventure was to a hut, where two guys were sitting at a table; we had heard there was a restaurant? We asked, and sure enough, we were told they had pescado; pescado it is! We took the last two beers in a refrigerator that looked like it was from the 1940’s and were served a delicious fish and rice lunch. What a cool experience!

Asterick to Costa Rica: in Golfito (such a cute port town!), Paul was told (or what he believes he was told, the language barrier is real) that we were fine to depart Costa Rica as long as we submitted our exit paperwork for customs before we left Costa Rican waters. He did submit it, around 10p.m., an hour after pulling out of the marina. He called in the morning and was told to call back, and again, and again… finally, 4 hours into Panama, was instructed to make a U turn. He had misunderstood- our boat could not leave Costa Rican waters until the paperwork was received, reviewed and we were granted permission. We had to turn back and drive 4 hours back to Costa Rica (night shift for nothing!) They tracked us on Automatic Identification System (AIS) and Paul had to turn on location sharing on his phone while he was on the phone with the officials once we were back in Costa Rican waters. A half-hour later, we were given the go ahead, and we turned back around towards Panama, missing the best weather window and having to navigate through nasty chop. Good grief. At least we know we won’t be lost at sea; we have been closely monitored each step of the way!

We pulled into Panama City around 5p.m. and while testing the thrusters, realized we lost our bow thruster. No fun, especially in winds that could knock over a small human. Paul is an amazing captain and safely backed his way into the first slip he thought was doable. The next morning, Paul took a taxi to go to the port captain’s office. Unfortunately, the port captain was out and the next port captain was an hour away. Our taxi driver called his friend, who came out of his local office to complete our paperwork on the hood of the taxi! It’s all who you know!

Panama City has exceeded my expectations, which is ironic because I didn’t know what to expect. It is a clean and safe city bustling with activity and the comforts we are used to in the U.S. (except Cheese-its!) Other ports have left me desperate for Amazon and a full grocery store with more than the mass produced white Bimbo bread. While walking miles in Allbrook mall, with 800 stores and a bowling alley, I had to remind myself that I cannot compare a capital city of a country, largely formed from U.S. influence and defended, if necessary, by U.S. military, to the small port towns that we normally cruise to. Not quite apples to apples.

We have added (happily but temporarily) to our family. Two fantastic girls, Bella and Luna, that we met and connected with in La Cruz, flew into Panama and will join us as we head to Galapagos. Hannah and Kathryn have best friends with them, and they are great with Claire and Andrew. As they have been cruising for 11 years with their parents on SV Bellaluna and have spent many months in Panama (even getting the chance to jump on the bed of the former Panamanian President), they are a great source of knowledge for us too.

The highlight of our first week in Panama was a visit to the Embera Village. We arrived to the Chagres riverbank and were greeted by heavily tattooed tribesman sporting colorful beaded wraps. They took us up river by canoe and we hiked the rest of the way to a beautiful waterfall.

After a refreshing swim, we loaded back into the canoes, which took us to the village. The Embera are one of 7 tribes in Panama and this village was composed of of 25 families, 108 individuals. Panama made their land a national preservation, prohibiting them from farming or hunting. Thus, they turned to tourism, performing for up to hundreds of tourists 7 days a week. They performed traditional dances for us and then invited us to join them for a samba, before placing flower crowns on the women.

We then moved to a different hut, where we were served delicious fried Tilapia and plantains in a palm leaf adorned with a flower before indulging in fresh, juicy fruit for dessert.

They do not have electricity; therefore, the food was super fresh, likely caught that morning and cooked over plantain leaves. After lunch and an interesting and informative talk about their culture and traditions, we had the opportunity to get temporary (still here after 3 showers and scrubbing!) traditional tattoos. The tattoos are important to their culture and honors their tribe in design, as well as to provide sunblock and repel mosquitoes.

We had a short time to shop their beautifully handcrafted weavings and wood carvings before loading back into the canoes to return home. Our guide gave us fascinating information on the history of Panama and the canal and I have enjoyed my daily jogs up the causeway to the Bridge of America’s, the Pacific entrance to the canal. I look forward to doing a full canal tour when I return from my trip to Patagonia with friends (yes!). I am a bit sad we aren’t traversing the canal yet, but we will someday!

How long will we be in Panama before our possibly 1st big venture into the Pacific on route to the Galapagos? Aka, how long until we fix our boat issues du jour? While in DC for work, Paul tirelessly called around to locate parts for the thruster, which was an arduous task given that our boat is a one-off, unsuccessful attempt at creating a diesel-electric hybrid Nordhavn. Paul finally located the parts but now has to figure out the logistics of how and when we can get them. We are also flying in a mechanic to work on our known issues: replacing the bilge pumps (thanks to Hannah and Bella for pumping out several buckets full of water and oil residue in the bilge!), fixing the hydraulic alternator (again), major service on the engine & large generators, maybe getting some flopper stopper arms, replacing the failed FLIR camera, installing fuel gauges for the hidden tanks…. the list is neverending!

We are also putting a film on the windows that will help prevent the sun’s heat from assaulting us (and reduce our need to run the air conditioner). And so, can we get out on time? Fingers crossed!

Before we could check out of the port in Chiapas, Mexico to continue south, we had to fix our hydraulic leak issue. We were able to determine that it was not leaking from the same place as before, and as Paul and the mechanic started taking off panels in the engine room, they found that the leak was in a 5000psi pressure gauge. The mechanic and Paul set off on an impossible journey to find a replacement gauge. Unsuccessful in traditional stores and searching a scrapped truck cab, the mechanic’s buddy welded the gauge (safety gear is to be worn on top of your head, right?) and it was able to hold pressure! Another one of the mechanic’s buddies then called, saying he had found a gauge, so now we have a spare! Gracias to the mechanic, and his friends, for putting in a full day adventure with us!

We arranged immigration to come the next morning at 8a.m. to check out. Immigration brought a search dog, which was fun, especially since he only seemed to want to sniff Andrew! After a debate about our unreported underwater scooters (they told us in Ensanada we only needed to report a motor over 15 feet), they gave us permission to leave and we pulled out of the marina under their watchful eye to make way for Costa Rica!

Three days later we flew a Costa Rican courtesy flag and a yellow flag showing that we had not been cleared by immigration as we pulled into Marina Papagayo in the Guanacaste Province of Costa Rica. Our agent and immigration official cleared us, we took down the yellow flag, and we headed on shore for lunch. Unfortunately, Kathryn was day 6 of a stomach flu, unable to eat or drink, so I took her to the local clinic and was thankful when they gave her an IV. He told her to come back the next day, so we headed back and determined that since she still had stomach pain, that we should take her to the hospital in Liberia. They did bloodwork, which was fine, thankfully, and they gave her another IV. Part of the reason that I was concerned that it was bacterial was because no one else in the family had gotten it. I worried too soon about that one…

Feeling mostly good, the kids and I headed to the Guachipelin Volcano Adventure. It was an epic day! We started the day horseback riding; I love horses but my horse was rude! Next, we went river tubing; the scenery was beautiful and the white water was awesome! Next, we ziplined through the lush forest and waterfalls covering the volcano. After a delicious lunch, we ended the day with mud baths and relaxing in 9 natural hot spring pools.

Paul returned from a quick trip back to Virginia for work and we were lucky enough to share more Costa Rican adventures as a family when we swam in the cascading Llanos del Cortez falls. We then visited a sloth sanctuary, where we saw a tapir, two very poisonous eyelash vipers (dead within 40 minutes of a bite!), and several sloths. After the sloth sanctuary, we headed to a cacao and coffee farm, where we learned about the process of picking beans and making coffee and chocolate. We ended the day with a great lunch, before heading back to the boat.

Paul changed the oil and filters, a job better suited for a person the size of a 100lb female so we could leave the following day. We fueled up and headed out Monday. We originally planned to stop at Isla Tortuga to snorkel and swim the next day, but since we are not feeling 100%, we decided to continue to Golfito, where we will spend a day before checking out of Costa Rica to continue on to Panama.

As no blog entry will be complete without some kind of boating issue, Kathryn came upstairs this morning reporting that water was leaking out of her ceiling. I went downstairs and the casual drip she reported was more like a deluge! (okay, exaggerating a bit, but her bedding and floor were soaked). Paul, my super handy husband, found the source of the air conditioning leak and now we have to pump the water out of the hatch, along with continuing to hand pump out the bilge (still working on finding a replacement part for that too!). Paul has add repairman of all kinds of sorts to his resume!

As all good fishing stories go, it was huge, epically huge! And is pretty on par with the rest of our fishing adventures. Significantly more lost than brought in. Thank goodness so far we aren’t dependent on fish for nourishment!

We often leave a long line out (about 250 feet of line) and listen for the line spooling out or watch the rod on the stern camera from the pilot house. Claire, Andrew and I were on the rainbow couch out back and see a marlin jumping through the air (if you read the last blog, this time it really was a marlin). It continues to jump and I see a bright lure trailing behind it; we caught a fish! (Okay; I have mixed emotions – I eat it, but don’t want to be the one killing it…). Paul slows the boat and then goes to reel the sucker in. He announces it will take about an hour to pull in. 10 minutes later, he comes back up announcing Mr. Fishy got away. We don’t really like marlin anyhow. At least he didn’t take our line or lure…

Paul was drifting off in the pilot house and began to dream that our fishing rod was spooling out. Oh crap! Too late, he realized that it wasn’t a dream; our fishing rod was spooling out. He was heading downstairs when he heard a loud pop; our 800 feet of line had snapped off the rod. Our fish and our line got away.

And the time before that, we caught a pelican, and the sucker was not cooperative when Paul tried to remove the hook and line. Ouch! He was successfully freed and flew off though. And we were redeemed when we got an actual fish on the line!

Not our fish…but theirs. While underway, a panga (small boat driven by locals) maneuvered in front of us and would not let us continue forward. Paul slowed down the boat, and I went to check what was going on. I see the two guys in the panga, and Paul told me that they were blocking our path. We had no idea what was going on and were a bit scared. We locked all of the doors and Andrew crawled under the table, lol. Paul stepped out of the pilot house and they pulled to the port side and informed us that they had a long line out for fishing (in Spanish but meaning was conveyed). There were black buoys that blend in with the water, but we could have easily missed them and become tangled in the line – no bueno- if they hadn’t stopped us. We actually got another fishing line caught under the bottom and in the anchor that day; however, we were able to remove that line easily. Since the first time, we have encountered more pangas, long lines, and blocked routes. Both sea state and the large number of fishing boats often lead us to cruise at least 12 miles offshore.

I think we are at a total of 2 fish that we have caught and eaten; two since June! Here’s to hoping our fishing luck turns around!

We left Acapulco so we could enter the Gulf of Tehuantepec during the predicted low winds Wednesday at 2:00p.m.; however, when we checked again, the weather had changed and 40 knot winds were expected on Wednesday. Thursday looked better, so we decided to spend a day in Huatulco. I was excited for the detour; it was a recommended destination, and it did not disappoint. We anchored at Playa Organo, a national park and beautiful beach.

We were the only boat when we pulled, in and the beach was empty. We paddled into the beach and the kids had a blast boogie boarding. Motivation to do school work the following day was nil; there was a gorgeous beach calling our name! From the beach, there was a 1.8 kilometer round trip nature walk filled with lizards, butterflies, flora and beautiful birds. The turquoise water was inviting and refreshing with the 90 degree heat of the day and coral along the cove resulted in great snorkeling. Playa Organo became my number 2 of places we have been so far. I was disappointed that we couldn’t stay longer; Huatulco hosts some of the top beaches of Mexico.

Paul went into town to check in with the port captain (we are required to check in and out of every port, and they all seem to have their own rules). This port captain informed Paul that there was a port fee…so Paul pulled out cash from his wallet. Immediately there was a lot of yelling, and the only word Paul could understand amongst the rapid fire Spanish was “corruption”. The security guard with the M-16 rifle was not easing Paul’s anxiety. Paul was trying to use Google translate as fast as possible and came to understand that he was required to go to the bank to pay the fee. Sure enough, there was a poster at the bank showing a big red circle with a slash through it over a picture depicting a person handing over cash. Paul also found out that we had illegally anchored overnight at Playa Organo, and we would have to move our boat. Several hours later, Paul finally got his entrance and exit pass for the port and headed back to the boat. We packed up the boat, secured all loose items, headed to the anchorage and went to a great dinner in town. At 3:00a.m., Paul and I woke to the sound of grinding anchor chain. We looked at the screen in the room that showed that we only had 1.5 feet of water under the hull. Suddenly wired, Paul decided that we should edge forward, pull up the anchor and get an early start to the dreaded t-peckers.

So…Tehuantepec was bad for the wrong reasons. Waves sprayed over the bow of the boat, but, all-in-all, the wind and water were easy-peasy. But….we got low hydraulic oil alerts. Apparently not the same issue that we had when lost stabilizers in October on route to San Diego. Paul hasn’t yet found the source of the leak. We have gone through 2 5 gallon drums of oil, and Paul centered and pinned one of the fins to reduce the pressure on the system.

To further complicate the matter, we got a high water bilge alert. The bilge pump was clogged. This seemed to me to be the same exact issues that we had back in October. I don’t understand; why does this keep happening? While Paul explained that it was the a different bilge pump this time – in the engine room, not the lazarette, I continued to be perplexed.

Was it the waves causing things to go loose? They were nothing compared to what we will face on this journey. Did we just stick a bandaid on the issue in San Diego instead of addressing the underlying problem? Or is it a new problem?

Paul discovered that the hydraulic oil is leaking into the bilge and likely the source of the clog due to its high viscosity. And so, Paul, aka Mr. Gadget, attached the kids sand bucket to the hook on the dock stick, and we use it to scoop the oil from the bilge. We dump the used oil into a bucket and then refill the used oil tanks with the used oil.

10 hours until Chiapas; how long will this jerry-rigging hold out?

From Manzanillo, we continued south to the town of Zihuatanejo, which wins the prize for my favorite city name (I have a weird fondness for the letter Z!). We had a stressful entrance through the narrow, shallow channel into the marina, which we timed with high tide as we draft 7 feet and the channel is 15 feet at high tide. We tied up, hooked up power – goodness gracious, air conditioning has become a necessity if we are to peel ourselves off of the couches – and were immediately told NOT to swim due to the abundance of crocodiles in the water! Eek – better get that AC on; we aren’t swimming to cool off! The town itself, while not our favorite, was a cute town to visit.

It was filled with a bustling market, all mainly selling cheap trinkets (“no gracias” has become so common a phrase that I now say it in my dreams), but also boasted good food (we finally found churros again!), musical performers and fun swings on the beach.

They were holding a fishing tournament, and it was fun to see the biggest fish hauled in each day.

The kids and I decided to visit Los Gatos beach and had to take a panga (small boat/water taxi) from the town pier to get to the beach. That doesn’t mean it was a quiet beach; restaurants and shops lined the shoreline. The sun was out; the water was warm; the food was good. The next day we did an archeological and cultural tour in the Xihuacan village.

Remains indicate that the site was founded over 3,000 years ago and was inhabited by three cultures with influence from other cultures in Mexico. The guide took us to a local restaurant, where we tried a typical Guerrero (Mexican state) specialties, aporreado (steak and eggs) and braised pork (I can’t find the name…) – delicious! We returned to the boat and after shopping and a nap, mustered the energy to head to Zihuatanejo (the marina was in Ixtapa) for one last night out. We had a delicious dinner on the beach and found crepes for dessert on our walk back into the city center, which we enjoyed while watching the local basketball leagues duel it out on the colorful oceanfront court.

Being brave or stupid, we decided to leave that night, so we could have time to explore Acapulco the next day. 16 hours later, we pulled up to a mooring ball in Acapulco and a panga came out to help tie us up and take us into town. We discovered that Acapulco is no longer the dreamy destination that it was a decade ago; it has degenerated greatly with crime and the destruction brought by a hurricane a year ago. In fact, Paul did feel a hand try to slip into his pocket in the market. We walked to La Quebrada, where we watched brave cliff divers plunge from heights up to 135 feet.

The next day, I swam to shore in search of the store that held a package of boat parts that Paul had ordered. Unfortunately, we discovered that it was a Mexican holiday and the store was closed. And we didn’t have the time to wait. We are heading south on a tight schedule and cannot miss a weather window to enter a harrowing passage through the Gulf of Tehuantepec (aka, T-peckers). Extreme winds form along the isthmus separating the Gulf of Mexico from the Pacific and gain speed across the Sierra Madres and then funnel out onto the Pacific, creating huge waves that can extend out hundreds of miles. And the high winds/waves are more frequent than not, sometimes only allowing passage a couple of times a month. One of our favorite apps, Windy, showed waves would be down to 5 feet every 12 seconds Wednesday at 2pm, so onward we had to go. In the early evening, Paul was on a call and looked out of the window and shouted about jumping marlins. The jumping marlins were actually dolphins, and they were so excited to see a boat that they could come play with. The group started as a small group of four but we continued to see dolphins farther out leap and swim over, so they could join in the fun. Like the whales, it is a sight that will never get old.

In this cruiser lifestyle, you make good friends quickly and then have to say goodbye in similar fashion. Bittersweet, for sure. Hannah and Kathryn, in particular, bonded with two girls from SV BellaLuna (they have been cruising for 10 years!) and we all grew close very quickly. It was a tough goodbye, especially when you see your teenagers (what?!?!), who you worry about so much, find friends, but we have promised to meet up again in the near future. Another tough goodbye was leaving the amazing Kids Club. I really bonded with the fearless leader, Kat, whose warm but spunky energy was immediately contagious. Beyond our aforementioned activities with the club, we took place in sushi making class and the Trash Boat Regatta (we have a lot to learn about creating sailing vessels made of trash, but they looked great)! My super creative, detail-oriented Kathryn put a bathroom (visited by Lego people), bedroom, kitchen and couch on her boat!

Beyond Kids Club activities, we had a blast as a family in La Cruz. We visited the hip surfing town of Sayulita.

We hiked an awesome hike up Monkey Mountain (the favorite parts were the vines to swing on and rock scrambling to the top where we faced several cute but unintimidated coatis).

We enjoyed shopping at the extensive craft and food fair at the marina (we picked up a couple of hammock chairs for the back of the boat, and I discovered my favorite Mexican dish of chilaquiles). The kids and I did an excursion to Isla Marietas. Marietas Islands are a small group of federally protected islands, so we had to go by permitted boat. It was a fun trip with a lot of water toys and snorkeling and included a swim to a hidden beach.

We also took the Fournado to Los Arcos National Marine Park – beautiful rock formations, but the snorkeling was not very good.

We brought out the tube for Hannah’s and Kathryn’s birthday. Paul was unsuccessful at tossing them on their birthday (I also nagged him not to hurt them on their birthday; I didn’t want to ruin our plans to go to Marina Vallarta for a delicious steak dinner and shopping that evening); however, he successfully tossed all of the kids on subsequent days.

The pain of leaving was alleviated by the arrival of Lacey and her two boys! I had an evening to show off my temporary home in La Cruz, and Lacey and I took the paddleboards out to find whales the next morning (successful)! It will never get old to listed to the whales breathing, especially on the quiet paddleboards. After about a 5 hour cruise, we anchored in Ipala Bay and put out the water toys for the kids to enjoy for the evening.

The next day we motored a couple of hours and anchored in Tenacatita. Lacey and I paddled 1.5 hours each way through a beautiful mangrove-lined, brackish waterway connecting the bay to the open ocean (I didn’t take my camera!?!? Thankfully, Paul took his earlier when he went half way through). Paul had to turn around when the waterway became narrow because of his oars. The mangroves closed in and were not that much wider than about 6 feet and were low enough, I paddled from my knees.

The older kids turned around after about 1/3 of the way, stating they were bored, but we wanted to forge ahead (Kacper and Claire were our paddleboard navigators and nature spotters!). After an hour, we debated turning around but the sound of the ocean and spotting of palm trees made us determined to reach the end. We ended up at a gorgeous beach with soft sand and green water (as opposed to the brown water of the bay). We took a dip and make up some ocean dance choreography before heading back. The kids had all met other kids at the beach, so we decided to stay another night. We were all famished, so we settled into the beach restaurant (if you can call it that; picture a bunch of mis-matched umbrellas covering tables and a half-standing building). The food (we accidentally ordered fish sticks not realizing it was fish ceviche) and margaritas were delicious though!

The next day, Lacey, Peter, Kathryn and I took the Fournado to a snorkel/dive site called the Aquarium. Peter had a great time with his first scuba dive!

We collected the beach-goers and headed back to the boat to get ready to pull anchor and leave. We were going to try to go to a crocodile sanctuary in Manzanilla; however, the water was rough, and unable to beach the Fournado (it is too heavy), the waves were too intimidating to surf in. We headed back to the SeaXII, which Paul had already gotten underway. I unloaded the passengers, but determined the water was too rough to try to tow the Fournado (especially when I still don’t know my knots and could not be confident the tow rope would hold with my granny knots), I decided to drive the Fournado to Barra de Navidad. It was a wild and wet ride but was a blast and I was rewarded by breaching whales in the distance.

Barra was too shallow to try to make it into, so we set anchor by Melaque and headed to the town of Barra by the Fournado for a delicious dinner and ice cream. The next morning, we had to drop Lacey and the boys off at Barra to get a taxi for the airport, and we headed to Grand Isla Navidad Resort, where we lounged by the pools and drank cocktails all day.

After a swim to the beach and run around Melaque the next day, we pulled anchor and headed further south. We anchored in a super rolly Carrizal Cove, about 5 miles north of Manzanillo. The next day we got Hannah and Paul out for their first scuba dive.

We headed to Santiago Bay hoping for a slightly less rolly anchorage (it is slightly less…we may need to get a flopper stopper as the water is flat and our big boat is still rollin’)! Another kid boat (we connect through a app called No Foreign Land and then communicate via WhatsApp) reached out and told us about a turtle release at Tortugario Manzanillo. So we loaded up the Fournado and headed for the marina and met up with other families for the release. Manzanillo is a beautiful city, filled with Mediterranean-esque, white architecture lining the hills surrounding the bay!

After my friend Lacey commented that my blog posts made it sound like every day was vacation and that, in reality, it was not that much different than “real” life just in a different setting, I decided to write a post about our daily schedule. Except that there really is not a daily schedule, nor a weekly schedule, or a monthly schedule. Not having a daily schedule can be hard on all of us. I like schedules. I like predictability. Schedules and predictability are definitely not at the top of cruiser life characteristics. Every day is new. Every day is different. We met new cruisers yesterday, and we had a difficult time saying where we were anchored or what anchorage we had come from (we know, we just don’t know.) This mostly amazing life does tend to blend the “where on the map are we today?” and “what day is it?”

We do have some dates on the calendar but how we get to that date is everyone’s guess. When we were in Alaska, we knew we had to be in Juneau to pick up Paul’s sister Sophie on July 12th but until then, who knew. For now, we are working on the goal of being in Panama by February 21st so Paul can fly “home” for work. We also need to get work done on the boat, so that we will be allowed to head to the Galapagos (for example, we need to get the bottom of the boat scraped so we do not introduce any foreign matter to the ecological system). But as far as the time until February 21st, we just don’t know. Do we really like where we are anchored? Have the kids connected to new friends? And – a big factor – what is the weather like for the next passage?

Some day to day similarities do stay consistent and are not that far off from everyone’s day to day. I feel like I spend the majority of my time in the kitchen; can anyone relate? I make breakfast (Andrew seems to only eat chocolate chip pancakes, although occasionally I can get him to eat oatmeal). I clean up breakfast. I make lunch (I sometimes try to let the family handle their own lunch but that seems to result with eating chips or saying they are hungry and finally making something at 4pm). I clean up lunch. I make dinner. I clean up dinner. And now, I will be adding the 100 stages of sourdough bread making to the kitchen schedule. (I am only sightly exaggerating).

When we are anchored or at port, schedules are more unpredictable based on trying to meet up with other families (for example, as soon as we pulled in our current anchorage, another kid boat sent us a message about the amazing turtle release we got to witness yesterday evening) or doing an activity I have found for the area. Our days at sea are a little more predictable, so here is my best shot at giving you an example of “daily” life of the SeaXII. Mornings tend to be late for everyone. We all like sleep. Paul gets up by 6a.m. daily to start work. I roll out of bed between 7:30/8 and hopefully have a little time to make my coffee and take it to the hammocks in the cockpit to read daily news, do my Babbel lesson and read a few pages of my book. Claire and Andrew wake up at a similar time and, no longer allowed to do electronics in the morning, read a book and hopefully fill out their journal. Sometimes I try to get excercise in. I then make breakfast. I start school with Claire and Andrew and work for 2-3 hours (math is taking a long time because I am teaching two grades in one year and I am using 3 curriculums – crazy). We usually do math, language arts, science and social studies (they are currently memorizing states and capitals). I then make lunch. I then sit with Hannah and Kathryn for their math lesson (I kind of enjoy re-learning middle school math and want to be able to help them if they have questions. We also found their google search history was copying and pasting all math questions into google…..). We go over any school projects. Before dinner, it is cleaning, organizing, helping anchor or drive. The day goes both slowly and quickly (who can relate?). And then dinner. After dinner, we watch a movie or tv or play a game. This is ideal but rare. So many other factors seem to pop up (see? not all that different than day to day life).

If we are motoring 24 hours, we all take turns driving. Paul takes most of the day while he works. Around 5, Kathryn and Andrew take over to give Paul a break. Ideally we have dinner together in the pilot house. I try to head to bed by 6:30. Hannah and Claire drive from 7-9. Hannah and Kathryn drive from 9-10 (Paul naps in the pilot house, so he is nearby). Paul drives 10-12. I wake up and drive 12-5 and then Paul takes over around 5am.

We haven’t motored 24 hours in awhile, so usually we pull into an anchorage and drop anchor and try to get the kids outside before it gets too cold, but then it is so hard to get back into school mode. Or we try to go to the beach for lunch, which turns into 3 hours and then we don’t have enough time to finish school or feel too exhausted or out of brain space for school. Oh well, this is cruiser life. Hopefully we are learning so much everyday about life, science, history, math (do we have enough fuel in the day tank to make it to our next destination?). It will all work out. We will all be fine. I worry too much. Sound familiar?