CRUISING ~ THE CAT’S MEOW STYLE ~ October & November 2003
Cruising ~ The Cat’s Meow Style ~ October 2003
Here we are again to tell you of our latest adventures and about our cruising life. It has been two months since we last updated this site, and there are many stories to tell.
The early part of October was very nice and laid back. We relaxed, caught our breath after all of our work around the harbor pulling boats to and fro in September. One day, eight of us motored on TCM to a mount – a point or peak of land that comes up from the sea floor – that is a few miles off the north tip of Isla Monsarrat, about 13 miles out of Pto. Escondido. It was a very strange feeling anchoring in the middle of the Sea, miles from any land, on top of a small mound of dirt that comes up to within 36 feet of the surface. With the help of Terry (Manta) and Larry (Champagne), we were able to find the darn speck of dirt under the water and land on it. Then we made a wonderful SCUBA dive, one of the best. The water was so blue, clear, and warm. The sea life around that mount was unbelievable. Since it was so shallow a dive (40-60’), we were able to stay down for quite a while and enjoy ourselves.
The next week, many of the boats, large and small, in the area got themselves about a mile out of the Pto. Escondido harbor to watch the sinking of an old ex-US Navy ship. This ship has been in the service of the Mexican Navy for quite a number of years, but was ready to be scrapped. She was sunk just off the beach, in about 70’ of water, to become an artificial reef system. Good idea! It was quite a party atmosphere, with all the boats watching and waiting to see the big ship sink.
Gathering for the sinking Going, going…
We took TCM to one of our favorite anchorages, Santa Marte, just south of the Agua Verde anchorage. Nice and quiet and pretty, no village, no pangas, no roads, no nuthin’. Our friends Nance and Rich on the sailing vessel Begone actually found us there – we had not seen them for two years, since they have spent most of that time adventuring in Austria and Spain! It was sooo good to see them and to catch up, enjoying the anchorage all the while. Martin was the lobster king, as usual, and kept us in fine dining while at Santa Marte. While there, we found some other wonderful dive sites. One reef had a lot of light coming through the water down to the 40-45’ depth, and we have never seen so many fish in one place at one time. It was truly wondermus.
Back at the port, friends Susie and John aboard the power vessel Cabaret showed up, and more merriment was to be had. We passed to them their droopy, almost dead plants that we had been baby-sitting for a few months…. It was the too-clean water from the RO system that got them. We hope the plants have bounced back by now…
Dario and Erin, of SV Ballena, wanted to drive to La Paz,
about 120 miles south of PE. We went along, to play, provision, and Robin needed
to see an eye doctor in order to get new contacts and/or glasses. The four of
us stayed two nights in a very lovely condo, part of a time-share building. We
were able to shop at the large, well-stocked supermarkets, cook in, relax and
watch TV, and get off the boats for a while.
Breakfast in La Paz
It was really nice. Robin did see an eye doctor, was able to get a new contact and ordered her first-ever pair of glasses! That was traumatic.
Then, it was All Hollow’s Eve, better known as Halloween. We
attended a party sponsored by the local Hidden Port Yacht Club. Some of our
cruising friends who were out at the local islands decided to have quite a
party of their own: Dressed for the occasion, they took their dinghies into a cave,
lighted it with candles, and paired-up to tell each other scary stories while
the receiving party were blindfolded…!! EEEK! From the photos, it was a scary
scary night… and we wonder what the pangeros watching from a distance might
have thought of these very strange and wild gringos….
Chief No-seeums and squaw in the haunted cave
Thanks for stopping by and checking out our stories and photos ~ come on back for more Cruising ~ The Cat’s Meow Style!