Renting a Car in Mexico
Once in awhile we rent a car for a day to go grocery shopping and run errands. If there is a lot of running around to do it is just so much more convenient than riding the bus and taking a taxi back with loads of groceries. We start by reserving the car online via Priceline. There is no need to pre-pay or give them a credit card. All they want is a name. When I first saw that we could [...]
I bet you’ve never seen that before!
La Paz, Mexico We're back from spending the last two weeks in the national park islands near La Paz - where there is no internet... We snorkeled, swam, kayaked, watched wildlife and paddle-boarded. While sitting on the beach on Isla San Francisco we saw a fish that looked like he was poking his head into the water with his tail sticking up. When we went to investigate we found that a moray eel had tried to eat a fish much [...]
How Does One Week Turn Into Three?
La Paz, Mexico We had planned on being in Mazatlan for one week. It took us three to get out of there and we finally made it to La Paz a couple of days ago. So what took so long? When we arrived in Mazatlan our Yanmar had logged just over 1,000 hours; and since there is a Yanmar service center in Mazatlan we decided to have them help us with our 1,000 hour service so we [...]
How to make "Ice Cream" on Board
Who doesn't love ice cream? We sure do, but our freezer will not keep it frozen in this heat so I had to figure out a better way to get our fix. Sorbet is a super-easy and fun treat to make on a boat. Pretty much any fruit can be used. Raspberry-Banana is always a winner, as is Banana with some chunks of dark chocolate. Here I use fresh mangos. Don't over-freeze sorbet as you want it to be the consistency of a [...]
How to Store and Use Glass on Board
Many boats come complete with a set of plastic dishes - as did ours. It seems that the general consensus is that because an item is on a boat it has a tendency to break and therefore should be plastic. Not so! Mike and I really don't like to eat or drink from plastic as it seems to take on a taste after some time. We also try to use as little plastic in our lives as possible, so [...]
Fiesta Mexicana for Travel Secrets TV Show
Last night, along with my parents, we were invited to film a Mexican Fiesta for the next (fifth) episode of the Travel Secrets Mexico TV Series. We enjoyed delicious food from several states such as Jalisco, Guerrero and Sinaloa as well as dances from different regions around Mexico. The highlight of the evening was the fire-dance where the dancers/warriors show off how much heat their skin can handle. The TV series is produced by my parents aboard their [...]
Old Town Mazatlan
This is our third time in Mazatlan and each time we come here we want to stay longer. There aren't many gringo tourists here as some bad press from the US has converted this vibrant city primarily into a tourist destination for Mexican nationals. The ease with which we can get around Mazatlan without a car must be the towns biggest perk. Simply wait at the side of the road for a few minutes and when the [...]
More Tangled Wildlife
After nearly eight months in Banderas Bay we are finally on the move again. Hurricane season and then some personal issues kept us in a marina much longer than we had anticipated. We just arrived in Mazatlan after a nice two night passage. Considering we could have driven here in a few hours (it's only 170 miles as the boat travels) we made pretty good time. We had mostly no wind which was a good thing as the [...]
How to Stay Safe
It seems to me that many people over-think this whole cruising thing before they set out and buy things they would never use in their land-lives. For example, if you didn't own a gun before, why is it necessary to own a gun when you move onto your boat? Much like I would not make my home in the slums of (insert some city here) I would not take my floating home to the slums of (insert some country [...]
Why do we Cruise?
This article was also published in Cruising Outpost Magazine. See it here. There is a stereotype that says that most cruising couples are out cruising because the male instigated the lifestyle. On our boat this is not the case. I am the instigator of our current cruising life but in actuality it was the male in my family that started this whole thing. Back in the late 80s my dad got the cruising bug and over the [...]
How to Make the Perfect Margarita
Happy National Margarita Day! We sure are glad to be in Mexico for this special day. Here is the recipe for our favorite Grapefruity Margaritas. Cheers! 1 fresh squeezed grapefruit 2-3 fresh squeezed oranges 1-2 fresh squeezed limes 2/3 cup Grand Marnier 1 cup of good Tequila I try to do about a 1:1 ratio of juice to liquor, so add more liquor if you have particularly juicy fruits. We like to shake our drinks in [...]
Relationships on Board
Without 9-5 jobs, cars and a big house Mike and I spend a lot of time together. People who don't live on boats are often amazed at how we are able to cope. They think their mate would drive them nuts. While we do sometimes drive each other nuts I don't think much more so than when we lived "normal" lives. In the past we worked for the same company and drove to work together, had lunch together if [...]
Anatomy of an Overnight Passage
This is a play-by-play account of our short overnight passage from Tenacatita to Banderas Bay. It seems like blogs are always about destinations so I thought I would share real-time how we spend 30 hours at sea. This passage was a bit tricky as it involved the rounding of a cape - Cabo Corrientes at the south end of Banderas Bay. All weather forecasts suggested benign conditions and favorable winds. Here is what really happened. SATURDAY 0400 [...]
Bahia Tenacatita
After reading and hearing about a 2.5 mile water-trail through the mangroves in Bahia Tenacatita in this cruising guide we could not wait to go. Especially since there were supposed to be excellent snorkeling and great tacos at the end. We first tried tackling the trail near low water but soon found that we would need a machete or saw to make it through. So we waited a couple of days until high tide was at a more decent hour of the day and [...]
Whale Tails… or is it Tales?
After nearly six month of waiting out hurricane season, we are finally on the move again. We had planned on leaving just after the new year, but weather and a cold delayed us until now. Yesterday we made the short 15 mile hop over to Punta de Mita to get back into the groove of being away from the dock. Banderas Bay is teeming with whales right now and while we observed most of them from a [...]
Pink and Blue Jobs Aboard
Pink's Point of View Our division of chores hasn't changed much since moving aboard. Mike used to drive us to work (we worked for the same company) and now he mostly drives the boat - he is a much better boat-handler anyway. I've always been the organizer and cleaner. Mike's used to fiddle with things in the garage, now he fiddles out in the cockpit. We both cook and we both stand watches underway. I like to make [...]
Well that just flew by – a year in review
After buying and moving aboard Camille Thanksgiving 2011 we set sail for Ensenada, Mexico just a short week later. With Ensenada being just a couple of hours from the border we were able to head back to California to easily buy gear we wanted to add to Camille. January we celebrated Mike's birthday, continued installing gear like solar panels and watermaker, got a new dinghy, explored Ensenada and made countless trips back to San Diego. After some final trips [...]
S.P.A.C.E.
I am a bit obsessed with organizing. I drive Mike nuts because I'm always "organizing his stuff away". I try to go through one area of the boat at least once a week, reorganizing and tossing things we no longer need. On a boat there is not much space for any unimportant items.Our "garage" is the guest bed, there are boxes of tools in our bedroom, and food and spare parts under our bed. As I'm writing this I'm sitting next to a [...]
VIDEO | It’s not all palmtrees and sunshine
Kids receiving school supplies We now have a SHOP on our website. I know, I know, not another blog with a store... Please watch the video below to understand what drove us to create this store. The video was created by my dad for the "Vacation with a Purpose" section of Travel Secrets Mexico. Seven years ago a small group of Americans and Canadians went to Puerto Vallarta's city garbage dump and discovered that people were living and working inside of the dump in conditions that [...]
SUPer
After our walk on the beach this morning we passed by the Vallarta Yacht Club and noticed a bit of commotion. We went in to investigate and next thing I knew Mike was signed up for the Crocodile Classic SUP Races.It's named the Crocodile Classic after the crocs that live in the estuary where the races are held - also our current home: Paradise Village Marina. I was surprised by how many people jumped into the water [...]