Exiting Mexico to San Diego

After a great night's sleep and breakfast at the Hotel Corona (and realizing that we had to pay for two pieces of pastry that we thought were complimentary...surprise!), we hopped in a cab for a short ride to the bus depot to get to the border:

These were very nice buses despite the terminal being a bit sketchy, and watching the janitor-guy sweeping possibly raw sewage into the driveway from a malfunctioning toilet...

After making one stop a couple of blocks away to pick up some people, vendors came walking thru selling things like pancakes in a bag,  jello and other mysterious things to eat.  Then the driver played a DVD movie about some kids and supernatural powers.  Strange.

And then we got underway.  A 90-minute drive along the coastline which was both beautiful and interesting.  When we got to the city of Tijuana, I remembered what it was all about.

A true fixer-upper, real cheap.

The bus dropped us off at the border and the 90-minute line that snaked around had lots of other interesting things to see too:

Bano (toilet) with a cardboard roof.

5 pesos to pee, next to the dog houses.

The line looped around to be on both sides of the street.

Ok, how much longer now???

I wasn't worried, but I did have to pee and didn't want to use the 5 peso bano...

Tijuana dog fashion.

NOW I look worried...

or is that my "I gotta pee" face?
The gate looks like the ones they have at the Honolulu Zoo.

And once I showed Immigration Office Dollar my passport and answered a few questions, we were back in the USA!

Goodbye Mexico!

It was indeed fun and interesting but I am happy to be back in San Diego!

We caught the tram from the border in San Ysidro to the Gaslamp district, where we though it was pretty cool, so we found a nice place to get some lunch and drink while we waited for our AirBnB host to call us for our overnight stay at his home in Point Loma.

 Fresh off the tram, and happy to be in the states!

Our first stop for food and drink, Tin Fish Gaslamp.

Afterwards, we walked a few blocks and Paul talked to Josh, our AirBnB host who said he'd pick us up on his way home from work so we parked ourselves at Las Hadas for more pupus and drinks.

Paul's marguerita and my sparkling water with DOUBLE lime! 

The California-Mexico travelers.

Our host Josh is a surfer and we sat at his dining table while he ate curry and shared our surf stories.  An interesting guy and a great host, but we were tired from our journey today and said our "good night" to him.

The next morning, Paul and I walked to the local Denny's for breakfast and found a bank too.  When we got back to the house, it was time for us to catch the bus to the San Diego International Airport for Jan's flight back to Honolulu, and Paul's return to Mexico and Pink.

Checking-in for my commuter flight to LAX, then connecting on to Honolulu!

This is where my journey ends, and Paul is back with Pink working with the shipyard workers and doing some of the remodeling himself.

The next posting will be photos Paul sends to me of Pink's progress, and I'm excited to see how that comes along.  I'll continue to update as the photos come in.

Pink's Haul-Out for Remodeling

This is SO exciting!

Paul has waiting so long for this to happen, and our plans are taking shape one step at a time.  Now that the boat is at Baja Naval, being worked on by both Paul and skillful artisans, we've taken one more step forward.

But first.....breakfast!

A quick and tasty favorite...

homefried potatoes and omelette, all in the same pan and the galley smells awesome!

After the breakfast dishes were done and put away, Paul took Pink to the loading area where she would be lifted out of the water for dry-dock...

Paul supervising backing into the special slip where the lifter with straps will "straddle' Pink.

 Line management.

Dock neighbors Lisa and Richard watching Pink being lifted.

Richard and Lisa have a beautiful 70-foot all-aluminum sailboat that was custom-designed and manufactured in England.  They were the "first to finish" in the 2002 Newport to Ensenada race, and were at Baja Naval for some repairs, and they live in Las Vegas.  He's a spine surgeon and they departed Mexico a few days ago.  Nice people, their boat is now at a neighboring harbor called "Cruise Port."

Back to the post of whether the harbor was deep in the center:  Lisa explained that the tour boats all exit and return the harbor along the perimeter (and not cut thru the center) because it adds more "time" to their tour.
:o|

 Pink all backed-in and secured, Paul and Richard chat while waiting for the lifter.

Carefully lifting Pink.

These guys were professionals and each person knew exactly what to do, from maintaining the lines so they don't get tangled, slipping the straps underneath the hull, making sure they're balanced and then lifting her gently out.

Paul and Richard watching the lift driver moving Pink into the yard.

Thankfully nothing had to be removed, as Paul was concerned the backstays would need to come down.

Backing into the workyard.

After the gate was closed, the hull was washed off.

Another view, with the gates closed.

At this point, Paul and I walked into town to find a bicycle chain for his bike.  We found the bike shop but it was closed so we returned to the yard.  It was an interesting walk just the same.

When we returned, Pink was on blocks yet still in the sling, with Paul checking things out.

Preparing to set the braces.  When it was all done and we climbed aboard, Pink was perfectly balanced leaning neither to the left or right.  The "level" we have in the cockpit (that shows how far the boat heels) was perfectly at "zero."

These guys are GOOD!

The boat to the right is being prepped for painting.  Baja Naval has painted over 1800 boats in 25 years ranging from 35 feet up to 145 feet, and they also do carpentry, fiberglass and many other services.  Check them out at www.bajanaval.com.

Paul is satisfied.  The workers brought us a ladder and secured it for us and also plugged in the shore power.

Satisfied that Pink was all good, Jan packed up her bags and we stayed at the Hotel Corona up the road.  It was nice to sleep in a king-sized bed (although we still felt like we were rocking!) and we slept well.  The next morning we ate breakfast in the hotel restaurant, where Paul studied his Spanish...

"Hmmmm..."

Paul's Spanish was actually quite good, WAY better than mine.  

After we finished breakfast, we caught a cab to the bus terminal for our 90-minute drive to the border, for Jan's final night on this adventure...back in San Diego.

Stay tuned for that leg of the adventure!

MEXICO!

Hola from Mexico!

After exiting the San Diego Harbor in the dark and then setting our course 7 miles offshore, our journey was exciting as it would conclude Paul's journey down the entire Pacific Coast (no easy feat!) which began off Canada in the San Juan islands and ending in Ensenada, Mexico:  total mileage count of 1292 nautical miles!

We motored in the complete darkness, the only light we had were illuminated clouds from San Diego and our navigation instruments.  I was on look-out in all directions, for lights possibly coming from freighters.  We did see several lights on the horizon and as they grew larger, we saw they were mostly commercial fishing boats that were probably going fishing off the Corona Islands and later, the Todos Santos Islands.  I felt safe while looking up at our steaming light and our other nav lights, knowing we were visible to others, but we kept our radar on just the same.

We had a short 7 nm motor from San Diego to the Mexican border and we were prepared:  orange juice and champagne for mimosas!

"Houston, we have crossed into Mexico!"

Paul's impromptu Mexican outfit, complete with a little dance:  our blanket and the Mexican flag on his head.

And....more celebrating.

Who needs the orange juice, just gimme the champagne!

As we toasted Paul's journey, I looked at the Mexican coast and saw the "fence" the Bush Administration built to keep illegal immigrants out.  I could see it lit up and it seemed to roll over the hillsides without end.  Lights were coming on in the towns as dawn arrived, but it was still too dark for me to take photos.

When there was enough light, we hoisted our Mexican flag.

Per international sailing regulations, the flag of your nationality is the top flag, with a smaller flag of the country you're visiting next.  

I added da Hawaiian flag for effect, and you can see our Hawaii Yacht Club burgeee flying proudly!

Jan polishing the bronze badge that originally came with Pink.  It says
"Newporter
Ackerman Boat Works, Hull Number 53, 1957."
Pretty classic stuff.

We put up our two staysails and motored along nicely, averaging between 5.1 and 6.2 knots.  Paul wanted to take a nap and I stayed topside to watch for debris and other boats, but before he went below,  we decided to put out a fishing line to see if we could possibly catch some dinner.

Maybe THIS time we'll get lucky and catch something!

A short video of starboard to port side, Mexico's coastline is barely seen off the horizon.

And then...a WHALE was coming right at us off the starboard side!

It was BIG and coming right at us!

Paul pulled in the fishing line, we didn't want to snag it and go for a wild ride!  I'm not sure what kind of whale it was, but I had previously read that humpbacks, blues and gray whales were frequently seen off Mexico.

We saw the Todos Santos islands to our starboard side which are 12 miles off Ensenada.  There were a few fishing boats there, and it's a famous surfing spot that gets really, really big.  The surf breaks are only accessible by boat.

We were advised by the woman at Seabreeze Nautical Books and Charts to stay right down the middle of Todos Santos and the Mexican coastline.

According to the GPS, we were nearing Ensenada Harbor when all of a sudden there were hundreds of dolphins (or were they porpoises?) coming at us from behind.  Were they hunting?  Or rushing to catch us to play in our bow wake?  Or.....were they being chased?  I had also read that orca had been sighted off Mexico too, and open ocean orca eat dolphins.

On the port side...so beautiful as they flew by!

You can see the coastline in the background.

..and a few stragglers on the starboard side too, still swimming furiously FAST!

Only one stopped to ride our bow wake but he didn't stay around long.  We think they were chasing a large school of fish.

We came in closer to land and knew Ensenada was near because we saw more fishing boats flying the Mexican flag going past us.

And 13 hours later, there it was...Ensenada Harbor with the biggest flag I have EVER seen!

Ok, where's the harbor entrance?  

The GPS didn't show those details, which is why we wanted to arrive during daylight hours, so we  followed the fishing boats in.   Once inside the harbor, it was chaos.  Large freighters unloading containers, lots of fishing tour boats blaring Mexican music with lots of people in orange lifevests laughing and screaming, and the water in the harbor was brown.

We followed everyone's path around the perimeter of the harbor, not knowing if it would be too shallow to go through the center (more on that later) and located the dock for the Baja Naval shipyard, our destination, and we called them on VHF 77.

After a little bit of confusion, we were instructed to where our slip was and we tied Pink up securely, as this harbor had a lot of surge.  Once secured, we went to the Immigration and Customs office to get both ourselves and Pink Cloud cleared to legally be in Mexico.  What a fiasco!

After delivering the required documents to the Baja Naval office, we went out on the street to find something to eat, namely ceviche!

Lethal speedbumps.

We found a nice restaurant that made delicious ceviche (made with fish) and the owners lavished us with samples of their wares.  They knew we were American, and I think that's why they paid special attention to us.  Needless to say, we were stuffed!

Chocolate clams.

HAD to try these, as Miss Coni told us about these while in Dana Point.

Musicians that came to play music at our table.  They were funny, the actually asked Paul for more tip!

Jan is in the casa!

We were exhausted after our 13-hour journey, so we showered and returned to Pink for a good night's sleep, listening to the lines creaking in the surging tide!

Next up...Pink comes out of the water to prepare for her makeover!

On to San Diego!

And so we began our 60 nm motorsail to San Diego, departing from Dana Point.   The skies were a bit overcast, and a little chilly for this local girl who stayed in her Patagonia fleece jacket.  

But first, coffee for the Skipper!

All tucked in there...

Along the way, we passed the San Onofre nuclear plant.  It was my first time to actually see one of these, and it made me uneasy.

Paul says "no" to nukes.

The facility.

Daunting at best.

Jan also says "no" to nukes.

Don't get me wrong, and I don't want to get political here:  Nuclear energy is a great idea, BUT man still has NOT figured out how to fully control it.  Look at Japan's Fukushima plant, Chernobyl...well, better yet, check out this link:

www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1887705_2255451,00.html

And then we had dolphins on our bow!

That's not an oil slick, it's super glassy water.

ANYWAY, we continued on our way and I noticed that we saw more commercial fishing boats in the area, meaning we were getting close to San Diego!

A large seiner that came up behind us, with lots of seagulls flying around looking for scraps.  

There's also another fishing boat in the background.

Jan finds San Diego!

As we got closer to the harbor, we saw this large fishing boat workin' the kelp beds...

 You can see the thick kelp floating at the surface of the water.

The kelp beds were SO thick and dense, but Pink has a full keel with the prop located between the keel and the rudder so it's protected, but this stuff was really thick so we just steered to avoid the worst of it.

At around 4:00pm, we arrived at San Diego Harbor!

THE biggest harbor I've ever seen:  once we entered,  it took us an hour to reach our slip.

Point Loma lighthouse.

We motorsailed in amidst power boats, sailboats, SUP's, commercial fishing vessels, ferries, little single-man sailboats and we also saw the "Star of India" tallship that fired a 5 gun salute but it was too far away for a photo.

With the GPS we located Harbor Island where we had a pre-reserved slip from Almar Marina:  Peninsula Yacht Marina in Oxnard is run by Almar, as is Kewalo Basin in Honolulu and other locations on the West Coast.

We came across this rather unique trimaran:

Think they're recycled airplane wing sections?

While pulling into our slip, friendly neighbors came out to help with our dock lines, and...

Pink is safe and secure!

Captain Paul agrees.

After making all ship-shape, we got our security gate/shower fobs and got cleaned up.  A short walk to the Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina and we found great food and drink to get us refreshed after our 9 hour journey.  Paul  found a place online that rents and delivers bikes and made reservations for the next morning.  We were pretty tired and got to bed soon after we ate.

The next morning, Pete from Stay Classy Bike Rentals met us at the Sheraton to drop off a couple of nice new Raleigh hybrid bikes for us to use to cruise the area and run errands.

 Unloading Jan's bike.

Jan taking care of the paperwork.

Locking our bikes up prior to running errands.

Jan had a nice red bike and Paul had a virtually new blue one with locks, and Pete picked them up at the Almar Office the next morning.

And then our biking adventures began!  West Marine, Downwind Marine,  San Diego Marine Exchange, Seabreeze Nautical Books and Charts (the woman there was a literal library of information!) and the Sea Chest:  a unique store of new and used boating supplies with brown-stained wallpaper falling off the wall due to massive amounts of nicotine from the owner who smokes like a chimney.  

I stayed outside.

After cruising around, we located the Southwestern Yacht Club and stopped to see if we could get some lunch.  It turned out to be great, friendly people who were happy to have us!

A really beautiful yacht club.

Happy girl sitting on the lanai, enjoying the view of beautiful sailboats in their docks.

Jan's BLT with spinach and avocado and the BEST sweet potato fries EVER, and

Paul's grilled Reuben, coleslaw and a cold Corona...both winners!

 And, a little bit of Hawaii too!

Thank you, Southwestern Yacht Club, you truly have the Aloha Spirit!

After we returned to the marina, I locked the bikes up in the Marina's bike storage area and Pete from Stay Classy Bike Rentals will pick them up for us, as we will be departing San Diego for Ensenada at 3:00am the following morning.

Our marina neighbor. Darryl, was nice enough to take us to the supermarket so we could get a few things for the galley, and to thank him, we took him to a great Mexican place called Miguels Cocina for dinner and drinks and the mahimahi was excellent!

Back at Pink, it was light's out for our 2:30am wake up alarm for our 3:00am departure from San Diego.  We wanted to arrive in Ensenada during daylight hours in the afternoon,  as the GPS maps aren't as accurate in Mexico.

We started Pink up and slid her out backwards and got underway.

San Diego Harbor illuminated.

Aside from the freighter that honked at us (he didn't have any nav lights on!), it took us about an hour to finally exit the harbor on our way to...

Ensenada, Baja California MEXICO!