Ah, Seattle. After nearly a year in Mexico,
snow-capped mountains, wind-whipped waters
of Puget Sound, cultural delights, and
wonderful time with family and friends were
most welcome.

Since our house was rented out, we stayed
with friends in West Seattle, first with our dear
friends & sailing mentors, Nancy Erley and
Lynn Terwoerds, then with Judy Pigott. We
could not have survived without their generous
hospitality.

Jan hit the ground running with real estate
while Joan worked on editing projects; we both
spent mucho dinero buying MORE things for
the boat.

A real highlight was a dayhike at Mount Baker
with our cruising buddies Anne and Stu. A
reminder for us that there truly is no place
more beautiful than the PNW.

By early October it was time to return to
Casteele, who had spent hurricane season in
the marina at Puerto Vallarta.
Judy Pigott opened her home
to us and shared with us her
delightful friends.

On October 3, we went to SeaTac with 14 (count them--yes, 14)
boxes and 2 kayaks. Alaska Airlines was most gracious about this,
as long as we paid the extra baggage fee. Getting into Mexico was
another matter. We tried to slip by unnoticed, but playing invisible is
tough when you are schlepping 14 boxes and 2 kayaks. The
Mexican officials threatened to impound everything until we found an
import broker and brought him to the airport. Lucky for us, we have
Jan Campbell. With absolutely no command of the Spanish
language, she sweet-talked them into letting us into the country, with
ALL our extra luggage, for a mere $150. The poker player / deal
maker does it again.
October is NOT the month to visit Puerto Vallarta. November ain't so
good either. For two months, we sweated bullets 24/7, soaking our
clothes, our bed sheets, and everything we touched. We actually
developed diaper rash--behind the knees, around the waist. But
somehow, through it all, we installed and lashed down all the new
gear we had purchased.

Jan's nephew Jonathan, and his lovely wife, Genna, came to PV in
early November to see the area and sail with us. Later, Barbara
O'Leary, the gourmet cook who sailed with us from Seattle to San
Francisco, along with her friend Ben Haket, joined us for a few days
of sailing Banderas Bay. One or both of them may join us on the 25+
day crossing from the Galapagos to the Marquessas.
Hurricane season was over, so it was time to
leave Puerto Vallarta and head south. Jan
made a final trip up the mast to fix our wind
direction indicator, bent 90 degrees by a
big, fat frigate last spring.

It was sad leaving our good friends,
especially Captain Mark, who had watched
our boat all summer and even took us out
on his boat for a lesson in deep-sea fishing.
(We didn't catch anything, which was just
fine with Jan. She reeled in one fish, but
somehow "lost" it just as she got it close to
the boat.)

We also had to say good-bye to Buddy, the
"dock cat" who had adopted us. Joan
especially will miss being greeted each
morning by Buddy, with her sweet face,
murmured "meows," and delicate little paws.
December 2007
Down the coast of Mexico, revisiting old haunts and discovering new

We sailed down the coast of Mexico, making passages of a several hours to a few days. Among the
highlights:

Above, the view from our stern at our anchorage in Zihuatanejo. The white building on the far
right is where we stayed 7 years ago. On the left, the view as we left Zihuat.
  "We had the tail end of a weather window and after an easy four-day
passage from Zihuat, we were on a roll and ready to keep going."
"Oh, that's a good thing."
"No, because we had to get fuel first, but when we tied up to the fuel dock,
the tide went out, leaving us stranded in the mud. (Very embarrassing for
folks from the PNW!) So we missed our weather window."
":Oh, that's a bad thing."
"No, because as it turns out, the weather window was too short and if we had
left, we could have gotten into deep trouble. So it was better to stay at
Huatulco and wait for the next window."
"Oh, then that was a good thing."
"No, because the marina at Chahue has tons of no-seeums that were eating
Jan alive."
"Oh, that's a bad thing."
'No, because the no-seeums and the high winds in the Tehuantepec
motivated us to get out of Huatulco and go to the inland town of Oaxaca."
"Oh, then that's a good thing."
"No, because the winds were so bad that our flight to Oaxaca was cancelled.
And then the airline wouldn't reimburse our money."
"Oh, that's a bad thing."
"No, because the next morning, the harbor master here squeezed us on to an
early morning flight, which we would not have been able to take if we hadn't
had tickets. So we went to Oaxaca after all."
"Oh, that's a good thing."
Although difficult to
see, Casteele is
actually sitting on her
keel here at the fuel
dock, aground with
her "waterline" above
the actual waterline!
   And yes, it was a good thing. We flew to Oaxaca and
spent our time strolling the cobblestone streets of this
charming town, gazing at the15th-century cathedrals and
convents, admiring (and purchasing) distinctive local art,
wandering through contemporary art galleries and local
markets, people-watching at the zocala (town plaza, where
mostly local Mexican and Indian were present, but also an
international tourist sampling of German, French, Italian,
Swedish, Canadian, and Central and South Americans),
tasting the regional cuisine (various versions of mole, plus
chile rellenos that were too hot even for Joan, of the
asbestos tongue, to eat), visiting museums, and exploring
excavated ruins that date to 500 B.C. (rivaling Machuu
Pichuu in size and predating it by centuries). As our one
and only inland trip in Mexico, this could not be beat.      
   
   The most startling aspect of being inland (besides not
rocking all the time on a boat) was the cold. Accustomed to
nonstop heat and humidity, we could not conceive of
temperatures below 80 degrees F, so we took along only
tropical clothes. And We Froze. Well, almost. Temps were
in the upper 50s mornings and evenings (made more chilly
by the stiff winds); probably in the 70s during the day. We
knew we were in trouble the first day when we noticed all
the locals dressed in long pants, boots, and down parkas
trimmed with fur. But we managed to survive without
getting frostbite, though it was nip and tuck for awhile there.

     We also left in such a hurry that we forgot our camera.
Our friends John and Shirlee, from Solstice, kindly shared
some of their pics with us (thanks, John!).
The central plaza in Huatulco; our friends John and Shirlee on
Solstice; "Las Dos Juanitas:" of Casteele.