Author: Katja

Down the Sea 2.1. Puerto Peñasco to Bahía Kino and Santa Rosalía

Down the Sea 2.1. Puerto Peñasco to Bahía Kino and Santa Rosalía

11/18-12/12/2016 We left Puerto Peñasco around noon for our about 20 hour crossing of the upper Sea of Cortez to Puerto Refugio, an anchorage at the northern shore of Ísla Ángel de la Guardia. We had spent several nice days in July there and had 

Letting Go.

Letting Go.

Easier said than done, letting go describes the concept of acceptance and even forgiveness. After one lets go, one is set free. With all the freedom that sailing brings, we still bring with us ourselves and all our baggage everywhere we go. So true for me. 

No Wallet for a Week.

No Wallet for a Week.

SV Coastal Drifter’s Debbie calls it ‘having a free day’. When we are at remote anchorages and even if we go ashore there are no people, no villages, no restaurants and we leave the wallet on the boat. There aren’t any tiendas, supermarkets or vendors 

Great Company, Great Food!

Great Company, Great Food!

The Benedict brothers of West Los Angeles had us over for dinner last night. We met Steven, the older of the two, at an arts and crafts show at Bahía de los Ángeles’ natural history museum, where he invited us for dinner. He picked us 

How Much Does It Really Cost to Sail Away?

How Much Does It Really Cost to Sail Away?

Most think that this is an unachievable dream. Not so. It is attainable and will cost as much as you have. Cruisers spend money the same way on water, as they did on land. Some cash out their life on land early, some later. Some 

Growing Old Is Not for Sissies.

Growing Old Is Not for Sissies.

After the deaths of my father and my dog Samba, my mother had a minor stroke. All this within two years. My father had Parkinson’s the last 15 years of his life, Samba was on meds for seizures and my mother takes all kinds of 

At Peace.

At Peace.

The Day of the Dead. Halloween. Totensonntag. We celebrate the dead. Every culture, in their own way, honors those who came before us. We honor the ones, who died too young, after a long illness, a violent or a peaceful death after a fulfilled life. 

Water Part 4  –  We are Water.

Water Part 4 – We are Water.

Our use of fresh water is frivolous. I understand that it feels great to stand under the running water of a shower. We are mainly made out of water, perhaps we like being one with our element. Shockingly, one in ten people on earth live 

Water Part 3 – Conquering the World.

Water Part 3 – Conquering the World.

Either greed or ignorance seem to run away with projects like Keystone and DAPL as well as the building booms of desert cities like Puerto Peñasco and Las Vegas. We built it and then hopefully have made the money to deal with the problems we 

In Flight.

In Flight.

From a cruiser’s perspective, modern air travel is quite tedious. You have to drive somewhere outside of town, stand in lines, pass security checks, wait some more, squeeze yourself into a small seat. And there you sit until you’re released. I try not to think 

Time on Land.

Time on Land.

Beginning of August we hauled out the Imagine. The prices here in Puerto Peñasco for sanding and painting are so good, that we decided to go all out and sand the whole boat from top to bottom including the bright work (wood parts). The bottom 

Water Part 2 – Water in Puerto Peñasco.

Water Part 2 – Water in Puerto Peñasco.

Water is very scarce in Puerto Peñasco, where we spend over 3 months in summer of 2016. Puerto Peñasco supplies its population of 60.000 with 6-10 city wells, depending who you are talking to, and it has one large water reservoir. Several wells were being 

Water Part 1 – Water is Life.

Water Part 1 – Water is Life.

The Sioux tribe of Standing Rock, North Dakota is protesting and fighting in court a pipeline green-lighted for construction crossing several states to Texas. It is planned to cross the entire US from North to South and go under the Missouri and the Mississippi rivers 

One Month Without a Dog.

One Month Without a Dog.

It’s been one month since Samba died. She died of old age and had a full, exciting life and when it was time to shorten her suffering, we did. What a difficult decision to make. Dogs do communicate the way they are feeling but they 

Sailing Tips 1.6. for Puerto Peñasco/Sonora/Mexico

Sailing Tips 1.6. for Puerto Peñasco/Sonora/Mexico

We arrived in Puerto Peñasco after a night passage from Puerto Refugio on the North of Angel de la Guarda early in the morning at low tide. We tried to reach the harbor master and Fonatur Marina per VHF, but nobody answered our call, which 

Up the Sea 1.4. Bahía de los Ángeles to Puerto Refugio.

Up the Sea 1.4. Bahía de los Ángeles to Puerto Refugio.

We skipped Puerto Don Juan, which fooled us not to be a seductive anchorage, instead it looked barren and hot. This bay has only a narrow entrance from the sea and is the best hurricane shelter in the area, so we wanted to check it 

Sailing Tips 1.5. Upper Sea of Cortez traveling North from Bahía de los Ángeles to Puerto Peñasco JULY 2016

Sailing Tips 1.5. Upper Sea of Cortez traveling North from Bahía de los Ángeles to Puerto Peñasco JULY 2016

Bahía de los Ángeles Two good anchorages in sand behind Punta Arena point with light and beach and in front of the 3 village piers on sand at 15-30′. The one in front of the town is open roadstead, but has surprisingly little swell. Check 

Nobody tells you how hard it is.

Nobody tells you how hard it is.

Getting the boat and outfitting is easy. After leaving comes the hard part. Complaining about life when you live on land is normal. Complaining as a cruiser is just not done. We are out there living the dream, complaining would be heresy. How about the 

My Kind of People.

My Kind of People.

The other day in Bahía de Los Ángeles, we were sitting around with a bunch of cruisers under Guillermo’s palapa when a landlubber from Texas joined our group. He was a young Armenian immigrant to the US close to getting his Green Card and on 

Sailing Tips 1.4. Upper Sea of Cortez traveling North from Santa Rosalia to Bahía de los Ángeles JUNE 2016

Sailing Tips 1.4. Upper Sea of Cortez traveling North from Santa Rosalia to Bahía de los Ángeles JUNE 2016

Santa Rosalia Fuel dock. There is space to anchor in the port at the far side, but we heard that there is a lot of debris on the harbor bottom and anchor retrieval might be difficult. The is also a protected bay outside the port. 

Up the Sea 1.3. Santa Rosalía to Bahía de los Ángeles

Up the Sea 1.3. Santa Rosalía to Bahía de los Ángeles

Santa Rosalía is a lovely town. It was build around a large copper mine and about two thirds of the population of this small town of 12.000 is employed by the mine. There is virtually no unemployment and the town conveys a strong sense of community. The 

Up the Sea 1.2. Puerto Escondido to Santa Rosalía

Up the Sea 1.2. Puerto Escondido to Santa Rosalía

We arrived at Puerto Escondido after a wonderful short sail and ride from Bahía Aqua Verde. The port is very hidden, as it’s name described and opened to a large landlocked bay. It is arguably the best protected hurricane hole on all of Baja and 

Sailing Tips 1.3. Sea of Cortez traveling North from Puerto Escondido to Bahia Conception MAY/JUNE 2016

Sailing Tips 1.3. Sea of Cortez traveling North from Puerto Escondido to Bahia Conception MAY/JUNE 2016

Puerto Escondido Mooring balls inside the inner bay, anchoring outside the bay, might want to ask the Fonatur office for all anchoring spots. Fuel dock. Portable water from the mountains at the fuel dock end tie of the marina next to dinghy dock. Marina Puerto 

RIP Samba. Breaking a Heart. Or Two.

RIP Samba. Breaking a Heart. Or Two.

Samba was my first dog. She was Radu’s first dog too. She was with us for the last five and a half years.. We were new at this and she taught us a lot. About unconditional love. She was always with us, around us, although 

Critters and Bugs on Board.

Critters and Bugs on Board.

Every region has it own kind of bugs. I don’t mind bugs so much, if they don’t sting, but actually, I would to keep all bugs our of and off the boat. One obvious solution are bug screens. Bug screens are not created equal and 

Trash on Board, on Land & on the Beach.

Trash on Board, on Land & on the Beach.

Living is minimized on board, we have less clothes, toys, books. But we need equal amount of food. It’s just that on land, we can produce as much trash as we like. On a boat, we keep our trash until we reach land. Some people 

Sailing Tips 1.2. Sea of Cortez traveling North from La Paz to Loreto APRIL/MAY 2016

Sailing Tips 1.2. Sea of Cortez traveling North from La Paz to Loreto APRIL/MAY 2016

Isla del Espirito Santo and Isla la Partida No cell service and no wifi in the whole park. If you don’t have a park permit, you can buy it from park rangers in speed boats or on land in La Paz at an office next 

Oh Mango!

Oh Mango!

If there is one fruit I love, it is mango. This south-east asian fruit is cultivated all over the tropics. The mango is an expat like me and having lunch shaded by a mango tree is my kind of paradise. Loreto was founded by Spanish missionaries 

Up the Sea 1.1. La Paz to Bahía Aqua Verde

Up the Sea 1.1. La Paz to Bahía Aqua Verde

First bay out from La Paz. Left at midday after running the watermaker one more time for two more hours per Bill’s request. Checked out of the port at the marina office with those nice ladies, Cyntia and Martha, got diesel at Costa Baja, looked 

Electricity Junkies.

Electricity Junkies.

We are addicted to it. Me, Radu, our society, we all love electricity. The majority of sustainable energy effort goes towards replacing energy from fossil fuels with electrical energy. Rarely have I seen a community without it. In Bahía Magdalena rattled and huffed a ginormous