Gato Loco Leg 5 Blog #1
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Hola amigos! The start of Leg 5 began with Sally Dalton, Marilyn Haney and Lisa Wendt (me, AKA, Ms. Wendt) staying in this lovely little hotel, Posada del Desierto, in San Carlos on our first evening of our adventure. We had a nice dinner at The Captain’s Club, where we were eaten alive by mosquitos!
Saturday morning, bright and early, we boarded our Cessna for an hour flight to Loreto from Guaymas. I set off all the buzzers going through the x-ray machine with all my jewelry, and Marilyn had to give up her knitting scissors. However, when we unpacked in Loreto, we found that the security guys had put her scissors back in her bag after we lefft. How thoughtful was that? That never would have happened in the States…
As we flew over the Sea of Cortez, you can see Marilyn’s reaction to being in a little metal tube shooting through the air…
We landed in Loreto around 9:30 AM and headed to our homebase at La Damiana Inn, owned by a wonderful woman named Debra. She let us store our bags until the Leg 4 crew came into town that afternoon. The three of us spent several hours roaming the streets of Loreto exploring (and shopping!). There is a beautiful mission that was decorated for a wedding that evening. Saturday was Mother’s Day in Mexico, which was very fitting as we toasted Marilyn’s mom at breakfast. Viva la madre!
After provisioning in Loreto, we set sail midday on Sunday for our first anchorage at Isla Coronado. There was very little wind, so we motored the whole way. Bill trusted me to drive, while he went front with the ladies and relaxed while I had the difficult job of manning the wheel. We went to shore to snorkel after anchoring in the bay. Marilyn and I spent our time in the rocks near the shore getting used to snorkeling, while Bill and Sally (the pros) swam to an outcropping of rocks where they saw King Angelfish, Bumphead Parrotfish, and Balloonfish.
Our first dinner on board…we actually got Bill to cook for us…Salud!!!
We are now headed to our next anchorage at San Juanico. Since Lowell has left the building, so to speak, I am taking over as Technical Director for Leg 5. Hopefully our blogs will be easy to read and understand. I’m no Lowell, but I will get the hang of it…signing off for Gato Loco’s Leg 5…hasta luego, amigos…
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Saturday evening we had dinner at an amazing restuarant that sits in a little, hidden courtyard at the base of the mission. We had Leg 4 and Leg 5 crew to help celebrate Kerry’s birthday which included Bill, Lowell, Frankie, Neely, Chris, Kerry, Lisa, Marilyn, and Sally. We met two new friends, Kel and Mark, that joined us for our celebration. They are from Australia and run a surfboard company. Interesting guys telling interesting tales! Kerry comes to Mexico from Australia and she meets fellow Aussies. Go figure! We were the ony people there and we felt more like family than customers. They prepared special, authentic Mexican dishes for us, and a special birthday cake for Kerry. It was truly a memorable experience, one that we won’t soon forget…
At sunset we headed ashore again to catch sunset at the top of the mountain. What a gorgeous climb! The more than 180 degree views were well worth the climb. As you can see, this was not your average sunset…
There was very little wind through the night. We heard mantas jumping in the water around us. Bill woke to the sounds of whales and dolphins frolicking in the water near the boat. We saw one whale, but there were at least 40 dolphins in our little cove. They swam and played (and mated) for over 4 hours. We could have sat there for hours more watching them. As we raised the anchor and headed out, they followed us, playing all around the boat. It was truly breathtaking to behold…a once in a lifetime experience…
Sooooo good to hear from you. Sounds like you all are having the time of your lives! What an experience!
Love to you all and have more fun! Ellen
Awesome… for seeing the first whales and getting your daily fill of dolphins.. Great job on the blog, Frankie & I love getting them also.. Vee Cove will be a great next anchorage. Have fun and keep the updates comming.
Lowell & Frankie
BTW: We’re still in Santa Rosalia… Our Ferry today (Tuesday) was cancelled. We hope to cross to San Carlos Tomorrow.
Hola, It looks as though you all will have an amazing time. I miss mi hermana Lisa and wish I could be watching dolphins mate with you too!(ha ha) Have fun!
Peace and love, Anne
Wow…..so lucky to get that much time with the Dolphins….way cool!!!
Sally, bring in some fish, it looks like Bill is still having a tuff time, havent seen him with a fish in a picture for a while…lol!
Good Luck to Nealy on the ferry
xoxo
Great job Ms. Wendt!!
Is the water warm? no wetsuits required?
OH, I miss Mexico…. What an amazing trip so far, Lisa, can’t wait to see more! Safe sailing!!
Loved the pix of Marilyn on the plane! It says it all!! 🙂 Enjoy the blogs, good job Lisa! Living vicariously through you all! Love it love it love it! Can’t wait to hear stories when you get back Marilyn!!!!!!
So exciting – thanks for the update! We miss our Marilyn of course but so excited for her to be experiencing this adventure with such an awesome crew!!!
Muchas Amor!
Mel and the boys
Job well done, Lisa!! You make me so jealous!! Keep these exciting blogs and pictures coming!! I LOVE THEM!!! Hey, Marilyn!! Hope you are loving this!!!!
Wow! Wish we were there too. No, wait. Barry gets seasick! Tell Sally we are off to have dinner with Charlotte and show her the pictures. And if you are joined by more bees, ask Sally what our dad told us when all the bees would come to our boat in Catalina when we were growing up. I only found out recently that it wasn’t true! Happy Sailing!
Great job and Bill, I know with the 3 lovely ladies you have as crew mates you’ll become a very good listener.
Oh you lucky gals and Bill haha, I’m counting down the days now….great job Lisa. Keep it coming…love reading/seeing your journey.
You lucky people,life don’t get much better than that,4 hours mating dream on.
Keep up the blogs and we all can enjoy your trip too
A big kiss to you all (and Bill)
Luis, from sunny Spain
Good to hear from you!! We are back in Carefree.. preparing for our “Leg up” on the boat! Can’t wait.. Thanks for the mosquito heads up.. Will be prepped for them! Ms. Wendt.. you did a brill job on the blog! Wonder what my face will look like when I get on the ” little metal tube”!!:shock:
Wow…..Wow…..Wow..I am hyperventilating . This looks like such fun. I want to know what Dad said about the
bees around the boat. Could you please pet a couple of dolphins for me and say hello to any of my whale friends.
I would love to be with you.
Not sure if you all will read this since this was sent out last week, but we had no internet connection during the trip. Our cellphones were caput, too. I have several blogs done, but are waiting for some technical issues to be resolved before they can go out. Hopefully in the next day or so, that will happen. But, as life in Mexico goes, who knows…it was an amazing trip, full of incredible experiences with wonderful people…adios amigos!
XOXO…Lisa 🙂