Haul home.... or maybe not!

Friday May 28,2009

Splendid Mane still in the sling, with bottom paint all done.

Still in the sling, being lowered into the water, only a few inches to go.

Shortly after this picture was taken, Jerry motored away from the dock and I got in the car to head home, hoping to meet him at our dock in a little more than 3 hours. After I got home, I checked messages on the phone (we are one of those few people that do not have a cell phone) and there was one from Jerry. He was back at Cove Yachts, there was a problem with the impeller (or that is what he and Phil thought), so could I come and pick him up? Good grief! Jump back in the car, drive 45 minutes again, and there he was, waiting for me. I think he was quite worried I wouldn't check messages on the phone right away. 

Monday a mechanic will have a look at the engine and hopefully we will get it fixed quickly. But on the way home in the car, we talked about what good luck we had in that we were so close to help when we had the problem! There is always a happy side to every problem!
Update: as suspected, it was the impeller that broke. Splendid Mane is back in her berth now all ready to head out for a sail. Our next trip on the water will not be until the first week of August when we will head up to Seymour Inlet for 3 - 4 weeks. But we head out on June 9th by car and will end up in Alaska somewhere around June 21 for summer solstice. We will be blogging our road trip, so stay tuned!

Haul Out Day

Thursday May 27, 2009
Leave: our dock 1140
Arrive: Maple Bay Marina, Cove Yachts 1500
new zincs and bottom paint

Stephen doin' his part gettin' Splendid Mane in the sling.

We motored all the way to Maple Bay to Cove Yachts for our bi-annual haul out. Once they got the boat in the sling, we were glad to see it didn't have as much growth as we had thought. The donut zinc on the shaft was gone but the autostream zinc was still in pretty good shape, but still we will replace it. The bottom of the keel had a good growth of mussels and anemone and around the shaft was quite a few mussels. Other than that, she looked pretty good. More pics tomorrow when we go back to pick her up.

North Cove to home....

Tuesday May 25, 2009
Leave: North Cove, Thetis Island, 1130
Arrive: our dock, Ladysmith Harbour, 1415

We lazed around all morning, me reading a book (Napoleon's Buttons), and Jerry on the computer watching the stock market go down then back up. The sun finally warmed up our cockpit and then we had visitors looking for handouts for breakfast. This pair of geese only has 4 goslings, but maybe that is all that has survived to this point. We also had several harbour seals hanging around our boat, checking us out and a couple loons.
Back home again now, but we will be heading out again in a few days to get the boat hauled in Maple Bay.

Montague Harbour to North Cove

Monday May 24, 2009
Leave: Montague Harbour, Galiano Island, 1050
Arrive: North Cove, Thetis Island, 1420
Lat: 49 00.96 Lon: 123 41.50

Splendid Mane (left) at anchor in Montague Harbour

It is an absolutely beautiful, picture perfect boating day today. Although the forecast is for winds between 15 and 20 knots this morning, we are only seeing light winds, nothing to get excited about. Our destination for tonight is North Cove on Thetis Island, one of our favorite anchorages.
It's been a beautiful day, we got some sailing in down Tricomali Channel with winds up to about 18 knots. Saa-weet!

Another sailboat getting some wind.

First cruise of the season! yeah!

Sunday May 23, 2010

Leave: Ladysmith Harbour, our dock, 1100

Arrive:  1615 Montague Harbour, northwest of Gray Peninsula

Lon: 123 24.61 Lat: 48 54.07

Canadian Coast Guard Hovercraft checking out a submerged sailboat in Ladysmith Harbour.

Our first stop was in Princess Cove on Wallace Island, but with the wind blowing at about 9 knots and already 10 other boats there, we decided a better option was to head to Montague Harbour on Galiano Island. We are heading south in Trincomali Channel, the water is very choppy and the wind is blowing at about 15 knots right on our nose, but the sun is shinning. It is a beautiful day after all!
*oil change 1600 hrs

We headed over to the beach before dinner and had a walk around Montague Harbour Marine Park. There were over 80 boats at anchor or tied up on moorings in the main part of the harbour, very busy start to the boating season!

Big Changes on the Horizon

Wednesday April 14, 2010

Ladysmith Harbour at sunrise.

It has been two months since my last post, but we have been super busy since we got back from Mexico finishing up some little jobs we had around the house. Some of our family members think we have really lost our senses. We may be embarking on a truly life changing experience! Our house is up for sale now and if or when it sells, we have nowhere to go but onto Splendid Mane! Well not really but this is our Plan A.... sell the house and live on Splendid Mane for the summer and fall months, then head back to Mexico for the winter and spring. Sounds simple enough, but we are talking moving from 3400 square feet to 400 square feet on the generous side, from a house that is always in the same place to one that moves constantly, and from the convenience of stepping out the door into the car for groceries, to having to get into the dingy and then walk to the closest grocery store. The differences are many, but what is exciting for us is the change in our lives. I have always been fascinated by how a couple (or a family) can co-exist in such a small space for any length of  time, how the day to day jobs of just living are achieved, keeping a bit of privacy for each, and still enjoy each and every moment of it. Blogging about living on a sailboat is nothing new, but every blog has a little different spin on things.
We also have a Plan B.....  get a truck and camper and take off. Travelling for a couple years through North and South America would be an adventure. Plan C.... buy a small property (5 acres +/-) and build our own house, making it as green as possible. We have so many ideas about how we would build, it is almost overwhelming! And Plan D...  well that is the most domestic choice.... rent a house on Vancouver Island somewhere, probably Nanaimo to be close to our grandson, and go to Mexico for the winter.
We will see what the future brings, anything could happen! We are ready for a new adventure in our lives. We have taken the first step, now we just have to wait and see. There is also the possibility that our house won't sell and we will stay here..... but in that case we have plans for that too!

We're home for now....

Sunday February 14, 2009
HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

 

We arrived home Friday evening, catching the 5:45 Duke Point Ferry from Tsawwassen. What really worked out great is that we were able to watch most of the opening ceremonies for the 2010 Winter Olympics on the ferry with all the other passengers. I think it was much more fun watching it that way than at home.

We stayed at the Belmar in Mazatlan in Old Town... the no hassle zone.

After leaving Ajijic on February  6th, we drove to Mazatlan, arriving in lots of time to go for a swim (very nice!), then on to Guaymas (back to the same hotel) and the third and forth nights on the road we spent with 

Ken and Verna in their 5th wheel at Lost Dutchman State Park in Apache Junction AZ. Tuesday we took a drive through Tonto National Park, beautiful scenery on a twisty dirt road, ending up at Tonto National Monument, home to the Salado People from over 700 years ago. A trip well worth the effort! Wednesday night, Bakersfield CA, Thursday night, Roseburg OR and then Friday night our own bed! Fast traveling, but we just decided we wanted to get home. The trip home from Ajijic took us 6 days, almost 5000 km and about $162 US for gas.

Superstition Mountain in Lost Dutchman State Park

You can't help but smile when you see her.

Friday February 5, 2009

This lady's job is to sit in front of the grocery store and look like she needs money, one of only a very few people around Ajijic that panhandle. She is usually in this spot everyday along with her two "sisters" and I think from the look of things they make a pretty good wage (one day we saw her in the store buying a Milky Way Chocolate bar). I just couldn't help myself, because she has the most beautiful smile in all of Ajijic, I would give her a few pesos every time we saw her. When I asked if I could take her picture, she said yes but wouldn't put on her beautiful smile!

The Lake Chapala area normally receives about 20 mm of rain from January 1 thru May 31 each year. The rainfall that Ajijic has received so far from January 1 to today is 165.6 mm. When we were here two winters ago, we could have measured the rain drops we had on two hands! So is this climate change? Or will the weather be back to normal next year? Just some food for thought.
We are doing some last minute running around this afternoon and then getting the car packed up for our exit tomorrow morning... off to the beach!!

Return of the SUN!

Thursday February 4, 2009
Yeah! The sun has finally come back! There is an over abundance of singing birds in our yard right now, it is as if they have been waiting since Sunday to sing their songs and they are so happy they are trying to out do each other. It is so beautiful outside right now, everything has been washed clean and the hills above Ajijic look like they want to burst into green. Speaking of green, here is a picture of my guacamole I made last night for dinner. It is a nice bright green because of the cilantro I used. It turned out very yummy.

Kathy's Molcajete Guacamole
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp rock salt
1/2 coriander seeds
fresh cilantro to taste
juice of 1 small lime
one avocado
Crush garlic, cumin, salt and coriander to a paste. Add cilantro and lime juice, continue crushing until a uniform paste is achieved. Add avocado, crush and mix well. Voila!

We have been watching on the weather news the very large band of moisture moving across Mexico and into Texas. Someone told us this morning that the eastern US is gearing up for a whopper of a snow storm resulting from that moisture. Funny thing is, the US usually gets their weather from Canada, but this time around they can only blame Mexico! Go figure.
Tomorrow, being our last day here, we will be finishing up errands and getting organized to leave Saturday morning. I have a dentist appointment to get my night guard fitted and then we have some grocery shopping to do.

Arrgghhh! I just saw orange kitty sneaking around in our yard! He ran under the coffee bush by the avocado tree. Hopefully all the birds saw him. The yellow bird is a Western Tananger and the other is a Bullock's Oriole, at least that is my deduction from pictures on the net. The birds really love the avocado, they are putting on weight for their trip north in the spring.

Rain Rain Go AWAY!!!

Wednesday February 3, 2009
I am really having a hard time believing we are in Ajijic and not Vancouver, except for the fact that we have an avocado tree, two papaya trees, and three orange trees growing in our yard. It has pretty much been raining steadily since Sunday afternoon. The ground is grass is squishy, the roads have little rivers running down them, we have a pan on the stove to catch the drip coming from the stove vent, and I am wishing I had a hot tub to sit in right now as I drink my cerveza! All right, I know... I should be complaining! I feel really sorry for all those folks who are having their winter vacation in Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan right now because it is the same weather, just a little warmer!

The birds are very quiet today, but I have managed to get a picture of a Black-vented Oriole, above, eating an avocado. Notice how wet he looks! I have seen this type of bird around before but this is the first picture I have managed to get. Below, I am not sure of this bird, but he was waiting until the Oriole finished so he could have some avocado too.

Hello February!

Sunday February 1, 2009
We have so much planned for this month, it just blows my mind away. First thing we have to do is get our butts home from Mexico, darn! Then there are birthdays galore this month, one whose day we don't even know yet! Once we get home, we have a list of projects we have to tackle and then we are off again at the end of the month to go skiing and visiting! Those are just the things I know, as DR would say.... those are known knowns, what we don't know are the unknowns, and there are always unknowns. :-)
Phil left today, heading home to Edson. He said he enjoyed his holiday here, but hanging out with a couple old  fogies for a week may not have been the perfect holiday for a 24 year old. But one thing for sure, I taught him a few new tricks in the kitchen, and maybe some of it will rub off. Below is a picture of his lunch yesterday while we were shopping in Tonala.

Last night we had the most fantastic thunder/lightening storm I think I have ever experienced. It sounded like we had lightening striking very close by, and the rain was coming down in buckets, BIG buckets! It looks as if our last week here may be a rainy one. But it is still a pleasant temperature of about 15. We will be tying up loose ends the next few days, making sure we have paid all our bills and signed off as tenants at this house. Our date of departure looks like it will be Saturday morning, first stop Mazatlan, then Guaymas and next across the border to Phoenix to meet up with Ken and Verna.

Mexican Shake Down!

Saturday January 30, 2009
Okay, so when you break the law, as in a small traffic violation, you should pay the price, right? This morning, we were leaving Ajijic, heading for Tonala (to pick up that something special I mentioned in a previous post), and we were at an traffic light (green) waiting to turn left, and then just as we turned (Jerry is driving but Phil and I encouraged him to "just go!") we saw ahead a cop motioning for us to pull over. At this particular light, we were not sure you could turn left without a green arrow, as as it turns out we can't! The cop said there was a sign (we will have to go back and make sure we can see it). Anyway, he proceeds to ask for driver's license and registration, tells us he is going to write a ticket for 550 pesos. Fine. He heads over to his truck, pulls out a clip board and ticket book, comes back to the car and asks us if we want him to write a ticket now which we will have to pay in Chapala (a nearby town). Some back and forth in Spanglish about what is the best way to write the ticket, and whether we want him to WRITE the ticket. By this point we are starting to catch on that there may be another option! It was an aha! moment. So after a little more back and forth, we came to the conclusion that if we paid now it would only cost us... "how much do you want to pay?" Jerry "is 200 okay?" Cop "Si!" The 200 quickly disappeared and we were on our way! Lesson learned.... first, don't mess up with traffic signs when cops are watching, second, especially if you are a gringo, third, if situation arises again offer smaller amount first! :-D LOL

This is a very organized power pole situation. Up coming, I will show you some not so organized situations! 

A trip to Tequila

Friday January 29, 2009

The beautiful blue agave plants line the hillsides.

Less than a two hour drive from Ajijic, through Guadalajara, is the town of Tequila, where Tequila (the drink) was originally made. Although it is not the only town in this area that has Tequila distilleries, it is the biggest. We parked our car close to the plaza down town and went in to the first Tequila distillery we came to, Jose Cuervo, to go on a tour. The whole process is very interesting, and we were allowed to sample raw agave, pictured above, roasted agave and of course, Tequila in different stages of production. These "pina's" typically weigh 60-80 pounds, below they are carrying them into the roasting oven.

In some parts of the tour, we were not allowed to take photos because it might be too dangerous.... with the amount of alcohol in the air, they didn't want anything that might spark to be used. Most (75%) of the tequila produced in Mexico is exported. Their biggest customer is the US but surprisingly the second biggest is Greece (because of tourism).
At the end of the tour, we were served a yummy margarita on a nice out door patio. We got a picture of Phil out in the field, cutting agave.... working hard after a few shots of tequila!

Molcajete Fun

Thursday January 28, 2009
I have been having way too much fun cooking with my new molcajete! (Thank you Mary Beth!) I went through all the steps to get it ready, which took me several days. First step is to grind a small amount of rice to a fine powder, until the rice was no longer turns grey from the rock. After that, I seasoned it using garlic, fresh cilantro, cumin seed, and rock salt. I left this ground up mixture in the molcajete over night and then just rinsed with water the next morning. First thing we made was a nice fresh salsa, pictured below. Then Phil got in on the act and made a very delicious guacamole! The more we use the molcajete, the better things made in it will taste.

Kathy's Molcajete Salsa
1 or 2 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon cumin seed
Juice of one small lime
1 teaspoon rock salt
1 serrano or jalapeño chilie
1 small white onion
2 roma tomatoes
cilantro, chopped
Crush garlic in molcajete or mortar with pestal. Add cumin seed, crush. Add lime juice and rock salt, crush again. Add whole chilie (including seeds), crush well. You should now have a nice uniform liquid. Add chopped onion and tomatoes. Gently crush, not much. Add chopped cilantro and ENJOY!

What will we do today?

Monday January 25, 2009
Well, we were up early again this morning, before the sun! We don't have any clocks in the house, but we do check Jerry's wrist watch from time to time. We can almost tell exactly what time it is by the different noises we hear outside. Right around 6:45 am the din of traffic starts to pick up and goes until about 7:15. The birds start making noise about 7:15 and then at 7:30 or so, just before the sun comes up, we hear the little morning doves start to coo. Traffic picks up again just before 8, but by that time we are on our second cup of coffee, the sun is shinning brightly in our breakfast room, and we are starting to plan our day.

Yesterday we drove to Jocotepec, a town 20 minutes west of Ajijic, and walked along their new walkway by the lake shore. I took this picture of the white cranes having a little tiff over a fish. Below is a little water park, but there weren't any kids playing in the water that day.

We are heading off to the airport in Guadalajara this evening to pick up Phil. It looks like the weather is going to be absolutely fantastic for his whole week here. But first stop will be a store to get him a pair of shorts, apparently he doesn't own one!
We are starting our countdown until we have to leave Ajijic! Only another two weeks in paradise, damn!

Lettuce go crazy!

Thursday January 21, 2009
I think the weather has finally settled into the warm zone. The newspapers have stopped talking about where you can go to see some snow, and the local Mexican people are not wearing toques, gloves, scarves and down jackets! I am not complaining, but we did feel a little ripped when we had all the cold weather. Now on to better things.

A few days ago we bought a head of lettuce at the local supermarket. Now this is no ordinary head of lettuce...... I just had to put a picture on the blog!

I didn't weigh it, but I think it probably weighed about 5 pounds easily. We have enjoyed many lunches and dinners of green salad, and still have more than half left. And how about this single rosemary plant we spotted!

Mom left us yesterday morning, so we are all alone again until Monday when Phil arrives. I wish the weather had been a bit nicer while she was here, but at least it was warmer than Kelowna and sunnier too. We are planning two day trips for when Phil gets here.... off to Tequila! and then back to Tonala to the market again. We have to pick up something special we are having made. And no, Roma it is not for you!
I finished reading Godforsaken Sea and have started on The Sparrow's Fall by Fred Bodsworth, Jerry is reading How to Overthrow The Government by Arianna Huffington, both really good books. We are getting lots of reading in, mostly books we find at the local thrift shop. It is nice to have time just to read, and not have to worry about having to do something else. Am I starting to sound retired? Yikks!!

Lazy Sunday!

Sunday January 17, 2009

We went to the plaza in Ajijic this morning to see their second annual Art Show and Sale and first annual flea market. It has a long way to go before it matches any of the big markets I have been to, but it was fun to see the art and junk people are selling. After lunch, we left mom at home to study her Spanish, and Jerry and I went out to see some open houses. I just love the gardens people have here, they have the most beautiful unusual plants such as the Green Stripe Bamboo below. This plant was about 15 feet high and so beautiful! It would be so fun to be able to grow this at home!

We went to four open houses and then drove around a little west of Ajijic, up on the hillside overlooking the lake. I took another panoramic picture, just couldn't resist the view! This is the view of an extinct volcano across the lake from a lot we stopped to walk around on.

Tonala Market (but not on market day!)

Saturday January 16, 2009
Tonala is a city just on the outskirts of Guadalajara, population about 500,000. It has a wonderful market on Thursday and Sunday. The other days of the week is a scaled back version of the frenzy that happens on Thursday and Sunday. So we decided to go on an "off-market" day, and it was much better than the last time we went which was on a market day. People come from all over Mexico to buy things for their houses.... from art and crafts to zebra paintings and everything in between. Furniture, blown glass, pottery, dried flowers, doodads, nicknacks, widgets, doohickeys, thingamabobs, and whatchamacallits.... you get the general idea!

We enjoyed strolling around the market without too many other people to bump into. And on top of that, the weather was great! For the past couple days, we have had wind and colder temperatures, very little sun. But today it warmed up to 22 Celsius without a cloud in the sky. 

Our lunch at a little restaurant in Tonala Market was an avocado torta (sandwich) each for Jerry and I and for Mom, Huevos Rancheros, fresh squeezed orange juice and fresh limeade... totlal 118 pesos ($9.56 cdn).

Mom only has three more full days here, we will be taking her to the airport early Wednesday morning. Hopefully the remainder of her holiday will be warm and sunny!

Hummer puzzle.

Wednesday January 14, 2009

* * * *

I have looked high and low, but have not had any luck identifying this hummer. It is quite large, the beak is red with a black tip, it has a white underside and not much colour on the back and head, almost a dark grey. I have tossed around the idea that it might be the mate to the previous pictured hummer, but am not convinced because the tail is different.

We are off to go to the dentist. All three of us have appointments for a cleaning. The sun is shinning today, only a few puffy white clouds around. We are REALLY enjoying the sunshine, it is suppose to get up to about 20 today. Just perfect!

We need help with bird identification.

Wednesday January 13, 2009

We have several types of humming birds around our yard and it has been very difficult to identify them because I don't have a bird book with me. The one pictured below I think is called the Broad-billed hummingbird. And then the next picture I am not sure, but it is some type of warbler. If anyone has a bird book they can look these two up for me, that would be great! Too bad I forgot to bring my book. These two birds are very amusing to watch as they fight for control of the feeder. The little hummer will also stand up to bigger birds, many the size of a robin.

I love these decorations.... they look so beautiful strung across the streets, orderly yet chaotic! And then mix in a bunch of power lines and you have a typical Mexican street at festival time!

Day trip to Mazamitla

Sunday January 10, 2009
We left early this morning (about 9:30) for our day trip to Mazamitla. It was cool this morning but promised to be a beautiful day to take a trip into the mountains (elevation about 7500 feet). But by the time we arrived in Mazamitla (about a two hour drive), the temperature had cooled to a nippy 13 degrees! It was a busy day, most roads were jammed with visitors and parking was at a premium. We noticed they were having a quad competition which no doubt had attracted many young men with their fathers. We saw lots of motorcycles around town as well, but mostly it was just people wanting to get a breath of beautiful mountain air! Most people (not us!) were dressed for the weather with down jackets, warm shoes or boots, gloves, toques, scarves or ear-muffs.

We had our lunch at a nice restaurant in the centre of town.... quesadillas, above, with hot vegetable soup and coffee, very yummy and just what we needed to warm up.

Mazamitla is famous for their cheese and canned fruit and juices. We bought a kilo of cheese from a street vendor, tomorrows dinner. On the way back to Ajijic, we stopped to take a few photos of the vista....

Just out of the centre of town, this is a picture of the valley below.

Half way down the mountain, another view, Lake Chapala on the right.

Ajijic Village again, visiting galleries.

Friday January 8, 2009
Oh, man, I can't believe the weather here! And nobody else can either! It has been cloudy for two days now and the temperature only gets up to about 18 or 19! This really sucks big time. Hopefully we get some nice weather soon, or I am going to have to start taking my vitamin D again!
Alright, enough complaining (typical Canadian), at least it is not -10 and possible snow like my aunt is getting in Florida. Mom and I went back to the village again today for another look around. We went to some shops and galleries we had not been to yesterday. We found a small shop that sells Alebrijes (al e bri heys), which are beautifully painted carved (from copal wood) fanciful animals from small towns in the state of  Oaxaca. It is hard to appreciate the work that goes into these animals, but to give you an idea, the larger pieces can take up to a month to carve. Below is a lion and then close up detail on another sculpture.

Neighborhood walks and village visits.

Thursday January 7, 2009
Yesterday afternoon, mom and I walked around our neighborhood and had a look at all the beautiful gardens. I took some pictures of the more unusual plants, many plants growing in the yards here are our "house plants", but they grow to be huge!

Shrimp plant.

Hens and chicks.

Mother of thousands.

Red sedum

I took Mom to the village center this morning, but by the time we got back home we had a flat tire! After taking the tire off, Jerry saw the problem. We had picked a nail at some point. So we got the spare put on and headed up to the tire shop where they actually found two nails! Got that fixed and then decided we might as well change the oil too.
Two patches for flat tire, tire rotation, oil change:  at 98,500 km 390 pesos ($31.64 cdn)
So we are all set to go again! Back to the village tomorrow... we will get some pictures.