We woke up back on our normal schedule about 7:15. Listened to the Net, had breakfast and did our devotions. I caught up our posts here, including some pictures that I was behind on, then after lunch we took the shuttle into town.
I left my phone on the shuttle, when I figured that out, Renee’ called the office and they had the phone and were holding it for me. We dd some window shopping, and stopped at Harker Board Company for a beer and cheese cake. Then a walk back to the boat.
As a side note, I have seen the bay here at La Paz referred to as the VELCRO BAY. I am beginning to understand why that is. We have been here since the 27th of December, and it is really easy to get stuck here. We are leaving on Monday, REALLY!
We had an early dinner salad’s then went to the movie at pool here in the marina. It was The Adjustment Bureau, with Matt Damon. Acting was good, cinematography was good, plot was weak. IMDB said it was 7 out of 10 and it was a 2011 movie. They made popcorn, my thought was still too much butter. Then back to the boat and bed.
We woke up a bit later than usual and almost missed the net. We then had breakfast and did our devotions using the app on our devices “Portals of Prayer”.
After breakfast Renee’ headed into town to go to the grocery store, and I stayed on the boat to do some odds and ends. Like getting the Iridium GO! hooked back up and making sure it worked as needed. I also made arrangements for the installation of the wind speed/direction sensor. I had tried to get this done before we left for San Diego (oh well, we are in Mexico). It is scheduled now for Friday. Mañana.
We have decided to stay here through Monday morning. We will get to the farmers market on Saturday, go to church here on Sunday, Renee’ will go to a bunco get together Sunday evening. etc. etc.
I also resealed the Dorade above our bed that had leaked the last time while we were sleeping.
We spent the rest of the day relaxing and doing a whole bunch of nothing. After dinner more reading and searching the internet for information about the boat and sailing etc.
I learned something about our boat from one of the web pages dedicated to Island Packets, this was in an article about our model specifically:
We have a feature that is for the fuel oil filters. When you change the filter, it needs to be full before you start the engine. To prime the filter, there is an electric pump next to the filter. To turn this pump on, there is a switch just inside the door from the galley into the engine compartment. The switch is not labeled. I did not know the pump existed, nor that there was a switch for it. Pictures below.
I installed the refrigerator door for the beer cooler. This door was ordered after Thanksgiving, and I was told at the time the factory in Italy was on vacation, and they did not know when or if it would get shipped. I checked on it a week or so before we left for San Diego and was told they still had no info. (The shop is, as near as I can tell, the only company that carries these parts). When we got to the airport I got an email that it was shipped and it arrived in Carlsbad while we were there! Fairly easy install and it works!
It was actually a fairly productive day.
Beer cooler doorThis is Neil coming into the engine room from the Galley, the camera is down at arms length looking back up. The light is off at this end of the engine room (top left in the picture).A. Main Engine Fuel filter B. Fuel Oil priming pump for Engine Fuel filter C. Generator Fuel filterDorade on the outside. We really need to wash the boat. The inside of the box is higher at the end where the vent into the boat is so that water is not supposed to collect there.Looking up at the Dorade vent in the stateroom.A. Bilge pump counter (if you push the display button is shows “0” since last reset a couple of weeks ago). B. Water Witch Alarm for too much water in the bilge C. Part of the old water maker which we no longer have on board. D. Iridium GO! E. Anchor Windlass breaker (the windlass is for pulling the anchor and chain back onto the boat) F. Portable VHF radio G. Dedicated USB outlet for the Iridium GO! H. USB for the radio (AM/FM/XM/USB/etc.)
We stayed with friends Bob & Sharlene. They were the ones who were going to join us on our trip in October. Sharlene fell the first day and broke her leg. She is doing much better. She is still using a walker, and a wheel chair for longer trips, like when we went to Balboa Park to visit the museums.
We got quite a bit done this week:
Got all our boat parts
Saw our beer group friends
Got our teeth cleaned and checked by the dentist
Bought hiking boots for both of us
Got some clothes (some lightweight fast drying shorts for Neil)
Checked out some two player games to take back (got two from our friend Ken, Qwirkle and Pirateer)
Made copies (passports, TIP, boat documents, etc.)
Saw our oldest son (drove south about 80 miles)
Saw my uncle (drove north about 120 miles, and then drove him up to Big Bear for a beer)
Went to church
Shipped our old Iridium GO! Back for repair/warranty work
Renee’ had a doctor appt. or two
All told, we drove about 720 miles (this does not count the miles we were just passengers)
It was a pretty good trip. The details that go with the trip are:
We took an Uber from the marina to the airport. It rained the night before, so the roads were pretty much flooded that morning. So, when we walked out to meet the Uber driver, we had to be careful to avoid the lakes. The airport in La Paz is pretty small, I think it only had about 5 gates for planes. It was very clean and easy to get around.
The plane we rode was a Calafia ERJ145 it is listed as a 50 seat airplane made in Brazil. While pretty comfortable, it is not very tall, as I could not stand straight up in the aisle. We flew directly to Tijuana from La Paz. We used the CBX service to cross the border, there is a fee to use this service, but it is reasonable. I think it cost us about $50 to get across the border and shuttle to Santa Fe Station to meet our friends Bob and Sharlene (who happened to be in San Diego to drop off the pastor from their church who was flying out the next day).
The trip back was similar, we got a ride from Bob and Sharlene to the Carlsbad train station, and rode the train to Sante Fe Station, then caught the CBX shuttle to the border, walked across into the airport, and got through customs and to our gate by about 1100. Really not any harder than getting to San Diego Airport. We had a layover on the way back to La Paz, Loretto we landed were on the ground about 30 minutes and back in the air for 30 more minutes and back in La Paz. We used an Uber to get back to the Marina and we were back on our boat by about 5 pm local time,
Nate and NeilThe view at Nate’s (1st)The view at Nate’s (2nd)The view at Nate’s (Sunset)The guys in the beer group. We have known most of these people for 30+ years (Left to right: Neil, Gar, Ken, Bob, and Tom)The women in the beer group. We have known most of these people for 30+ years (Left to right: Alison, Sharlene, Cynthia, Renee’, and Laurel)Stopping for a been in Big Bear with my Uncle Gary
It was a wet night, not a torrential down power, just a steady rain. The issue with this, is that we found that several port lights either were not tightened down well enough, or they just plain leak, as there were drips under about 6 of the 15. We also found that the dorade above the bed (on my side) drips when it rains. This really doesn’t make sense to me, as by the design this is not supposed to happen. So, I will be investigating that as well.
We got up at 6:30, had breakfast, did our devotions, and packed the rest of the way for our trip. We cleaned up the boat, and checked into the marina.
We listened to the net and told them we would take mail to the states, and then stopped by the club house, and got the mail, then off to the airport.
The cost to get to the airport was about $8 US. There were no lines, and the bathrooms were clean, The flight was pleasant, and the walk across the border from the airport and easy one.
We were in Carlsbad for dinner with our friends. A pretty enjoyable trip all in all. We will have a very busy week.
We got up normal time, had breakfast and did our devotions, then prepared to get underway. We left at about 8 am.
We slowly motored and sailed back, flat water, light occasional drizzle. Listening to the message from North Coast Church titled Life Hack: Dealing with Money. An excellent message.
Ran the water maker and dumped the holding tank afterwards. Eventually we got back into Palmira marina and tied up. Cleaned the inside of the boat, and packed. A very quiet day.
We met Noah and Alex from S/V Thylacine (they are in the slip across the dock from us).
