Barbara Holbrook:  

ore, the big blue trimmed church is toward the West End, then The Palapa for cervezas, then the fish processing plant, up the hill to the right is Russell's Tackle Shop, then Mamacita's, then the Chinese Restaurant, which has a front patio shaped like the bow of a ship, and all the way to the East is a bright white abalone farming building. Much of the town's housing was built by the fish processing plant, with clapboard siding, nice homes on the two main streets. Many of the others are cinder block with cement outside, mostly painted bright colors, and, sadly, many with roofs of plywood leaving them vulnerable to summer's heat. These women practically cook all day for their families, without benefit of insulation! Russell and I discussed solar ovens, outdoors, even one for every block or so; what an improvement that would be for them! The Chinese Restaurant has 12" of cement over the roof as insulation, which is a big improvement, I was told. Also, walking the unpaved streets, all the locals waved at us, stopped to let us cross, and watching the curbs or lack thereof increased my agility a great deal. Ensenada's curbs are just as uneven, but concrete, which hurts more when there's a blooper! Also, several times we used The Dinghy Dock, with a tall metal ladder about 15' straight up! We had to hoist any carry-on with a rope over the edge. I could not have done THAT the first few days ashore, but did well the times we climbed. At other times we went to the easier, sloped ladder, near the Fedérales' panga on which were mounted FOUR 110hp motors. There were at least two Fedérales at all times, equipped with AK47s, stationed on the pier. Any panga bringing in bales of drugs deserves what they'll get, here. Our first night, dinner ashore in El Morocco Restaurant, a group of laughing people came in, mostly Gringos, and we asked if they'd sailed in. 'No, we flew in,' was the answer from The Flying Doctors. Of course we talked, since we were leaving and they had just ordered and the wait is 2 cervezas. I asked if there was anything that volunteers could do, silly question, so Sarah and I spent the next two days holding hands of the dental patients, mostly hands of children, but not all, and exploring our Espanol with the patients waiting to visit with the Diabetes Screening Nurse, after watching a couple of short films. We learned that 35" waistlines are a danger sign of diabetes; have a tape measure? I blood tested twice, at 78 late in the afternoon, and 87 the next morning, before coffee. I'm great. Sarah and I, of course, took lots of pictures, and later on the second day after everyone was comfortable with us, one Mom said Take my picture, striking a pose, And make me look thinner! We all laughed, talked about PhotoShop'g and decided to have a MakeOver Party on Tuesday! When The Flying Doctors left town on Monday at 9am, they flew low over the harbor to say Goodbye! We loved that!! We invited every woman we met, told them to tell their friends, bring any make up and curling irons, fancy Carnivale dresses and crowns, anything we could use as props, and agreed to meet in the Chinese Restaurant at 9am. Sarah and I lugged props ashore, hats, silks and sequins, the big Mexican flag from our rigging! We had great fun, all of us, and didn¿t have time enough to get everyone done, but the pictures turned out great! I put all my pix on CDs for Isabel, so they can make prints or copy the CD. Sarah was taking photos with her good film camera, well, 2nd best camera since her best one was stolen, along with her cell and charger. Those pix are waiting to be scanned to CD, I¿m fairly sure. One husband told his wife he didn't like her 'Playboy' pictures, but SHE did, and was going to have a big one framed for their bedroom! LOL. Another husband LOVED his chica esposa photos, and wanted prints of ALL of them!! One of the women at the party makes extra money by selling sex toys out of a boot box, and when she gets enough orders, she and her husband drive to San Diego and buy stock. They were all very outgoing and candid, and I fell in love with the village and the people we met. A house rents there for as little as 200 pesos/month, about $13USD, the scenery is calm and beautiful, the bay is lovely; however, the fish cannery shut down over a labor dispute, has fallen into disrepair, disgrace actually, and is right on the beach! The water comes from 130 miles away, through the salt flats, so frequently the water is off due to a rupture in a corroded pipeline. When this happens a loudspeaker-equipped truck drives through the streets telling people how long the water will be disconnected so that they can ration their above-house water tanks accordingly. People also buy pure water in 5 gallon jugs on which many people use a simple pump attachment since this is their source of drinking water. There are several abalone farms in town, which Sarah visited on a whim so we don't have pictures, but the sad note is that when the abalone are sold, all the shells go to China! I know many people who remember and would love to have one or more big beautiful abalone shells! We watched one night while a Fedérale guard on the pier whacked the outside of an abalone shell with his huge knife, so that the beautiful inside was totally exposed, WOW! How delicate and beautiful that was. Turtle Bay Friends: Jesse of s/v Frances Lee, Sarah of s/v Gabrielle, Rick & Lynn of s/v La Vida, Don of s/v Kofu, and Isabel and Russell of El Tortugo Tackle Shop, Isabel¿s mamacita and sisters who welcomed us like family, and my newest chica amiga Roselen. We also met Kay and her husband of s/v K II; s/v Friendship, a catamaran; and a few others. We had MANY good meals at El Morocco restaurant, took on 140 gallons diesel, delivered to our boat at standard prices, and used dock services of Ernesto (in the pic, smiling), Jesus, Pedro & Enrique (brothers) assisted by Peter, a young man who works mornings and attends school from noon to 6, and aspires to a bigger dream; we know he and his fiancée who also attends school, and are new parents to Francisco, will make it! Enrique helped Bill find the alternator and was overall a positive, smiling assistant to us, and Jesse caught at least 12 fish, which he happily shared. I must add that Russell retired here from The USA, only searching for a good fishing retirement. What he caught is superior to what he hoped! He found and courted (stalked? :D) Isabel, who was busy following in her dad¿s prints as a college-educated biologist, specializing in abalone migration and protection, totally involved in advancing her town and its people, bringing literacy and better health to all, and not interested, thank you, in marrying anyone. Russell charmed her, out-talked her, claimed her as his first (and LAST) Bride, rebuilt one of Isabel's properties for their home, including a mural of the entire bay lining their courtyard, and it just keeps getting better! I renamed El Tortugo as The Fertile Turtle since they JUST found out they're pregnant! We hope they are in our lives forever, and wish them all the happiness they deserve. March 27, engine test run, 1 cylinder not firing, found loose injector, 2nd test run smooth & sound. Engine hour meter at 150 since rebuild in 2004. Anchor up at 1648, headed for Bahia Asuncion, speed 4.3 kts, engine only. Expected arrival: 20 hours. Next Segment: March 28, 0735, anchored in Bahia Asuncion, depth 22¿. One catamaran s/v Freedom that had also been in Turtle Bay and 1 other sailboat were in harbor, plus our group of 3 buddy-boats. ***SHORT VERSION** Life Keep track of us at CruisingBySail DOT com No spaces!:) My Spouse I met Bill on Interstate 5, while stuck in traffic! I found out later that he's NEVER stuck in traffic:) He liked my smile, and I liked his smile. Three years later he proposed, and 6 months later we were married. Two years after that, we inherited 2 tiny children to raise :O That was 8 years ago.... My Pets Each child has a cat, that was chosen to help them recover from trauma; Stephen, 11, has Boots, a 16# Black/white cuddler, and Danielle, 8, has Sweetie Pie, Boots' tiny tiger-striped sister, who was previously named "Shredder" (not in my boat!) My Kids I have 4 grown daughters, 34,33,32 & 27, and Bill has 3 grown sons, one of whom has 2 children that we're raising. Between us we have lots of Grands, as I have 8, he has 2, plus the 2 we're raising and their little half-sister, and we each have a child without children, YET:)