The wind has started to calm down a little but it is still cold due to it blowing from the north. We are definitely acclimated to climate in Mexico because we are COLD!!! HA!!
Mary, our neighbor, called us this morning to wish us a Happy New Year which was nice. Not much is planned for the day. I read most of the morning and then worked on my cross stitch project. Dave didn’t do much either. We did watch some football in the spirit of New Years Day. The wind is still blowing and it is too cold to be outside so my plan to take down the lights on the deck will have to wait for another day. I would have to go to the garage downstairs and get the ladder then fight the wind coming up the stairs with the ladder and I just didn’t want to do that. The wind is suppose to start tapering off each day so tomorrow, hopefully will be better. We also need to get all the deck furniture off the deck and move it to the breezeway between the trailer and bamboo room.
We did manage to get a little reprieve from the wind for a while this morning so we took that opportunity to take the deck furniture down to the breezeway and take the ‘ornaments’ out of the bush. I even managed a walk on the beach to gather more shells until the wind picked up and sand was blowing around. We have so much sand in the house from it getting in through the cracks that when I clean, I will need to vacuum everything!! Usually I sweep then run over the floor with my swiffer broom, but this job calls for more desperate measures!
I started back on my exercise routine again since I am not working out in the yard. It actually felt good. I don’t believe in making New Years resolutions as they normally get broken, but I figured it was a good time to get in shape. Before I started moving and lifting rocks and digging and all that kind of stuff, I exercised with my 5 lb weights every other day and stretched. I stopped when I started doing all the outside work as I worked every part of my body!!!
It’s Sunday, and Dave was downstairs in the garage creating a rack for his fishing poles while I washed some clothes and hung them on the line. I folded the inflatable mattress we borrowed for Ron and Noreen to sleep on and made the sofa bed back into a couch. I gathered all the sheets, towels, and heavy clothes so as to take them into town tomorrow and drop them off at Yolanda’s.
I spent some time putting some rock and shell creatures together in the art room and then came upstairs to get warm and have something to eat. Dave had finished as much as he could do with his fishing pole holder. He needs smaller nails. After that he went to the bathroom next to the bamboo room, and started messing with the tile floor. He wants to start laying the new tile soon. Well so much for our exciting day.
Monday – Sunday, January 3-9.
I drove into town and dropped off the laundry, had Sammy check the air in the tires and add some and then came back home. Didn’t do much today. It is cold outside so we want to stay inside where it is warm. I finished the “IKE” book that took so long for me to get through. It was interesting and I enjoyed it. Now I am starting to read Herman Hill’s book again titled ‘Baja Treasures’. I read it once when I first got it so it has been a while. Now that I have been living here a while, I will enjoy reading it that much more.
Dave has read all the books I was able to get for him from neighbors, so maybe when we go back to Santa Rosalia he can get more.
It has been cloudy, cold and windy. We have resorted to drinking cappuccino with a touch of Kahlua. Not every night though! It tastes so good and warms the soul.
Tuesday it was so nice I had to take a walk. I had wanted to walk to the furthest estuary so that is what I did. There was a little breeze and I’m glad I took a lightweight jacket as it got a little chilly. Wow!!! What a beautiful sight when I got there. There were some cranes on the shoreline waiting for food to come by. But to look out across the estuary was just fantastic. I will have to go back and take a picture. I didn’t bring my camera this time. I was gone for 2 hours so it was quite a walk. I walked on the beach and did manage to collect some more shells. The only thing I got from walking that far in tennis shoes were a couple blisters. I was surprised the next day I wasn’t sore.
A couple named Lynn and Tom Mitchell, came down for about a week to enjoy their stay in Bahia, and then go back to the U.S. They are in a hiking club and they asked if we wanted to hike with them and a few other people on Friday. I told them I would like to but I would have to see how my blisters were doing. They are planning on hiking Pulpo Arroyo which isn’t far from our house. I love exploring so I would hate to miss it.
Wednesday, there was a Mexican Train game at the home of Dottie. She comes down and stays for a couple weeks then goes home and sometimes comes back in the spring or fall. There were 6 of us and Dottie fed us lunch which was nice. We played until lunch time and after we were finished with lunch and chatting, we all went home. While we were there, I asked about the hike and was told it was on Thursday instead of Friday. We meet at Lynn and Tom’s place and then carpool to the spot we park and walk from. After I got home I put my hiking boots on and walked around in them for a while and it didn’t bother my blisters so I am going tomorrow. Dave wants to go too. Hiking is something he enjoys as well. Dave had been checking the weather and I noticed the sky was getting darker and wondered if it was going to rain. He said the rain storm was moving up the Baja and it looked like we would get rained on. So we didn’t know if we would be able to hike tomorrow or not. The morning will tell.
The storm went around us so we didn’t get any rain. So the hike is on. We rode in the back of Mary and George’s truck to Lynn and Tom’s place, and they and their two dogs, Murphy and Maggie, piled in the back of Mary and George’s truck with us. We drove about a mile or so up the road and turned off and parked. Another couple named Theresa and Jason followed us in their truck and parked behind us. We had a group photo taken and then we were off up the arroyo.
It was a gradual climb up the arroyo maneuvering around rocks and sticker bushes. It was a beautiful day for a hike. There were some clouds in the sky but it was sunny. The temperature was great for hiking. We are headed to the base of what they call Mike’s Mountain. Here are some pictures of the group.
Saturday - Sunday, January 1&2.
I was up with Tom in the front, and Davey was back with the rest of the group chit chatting all the way!! We got to where there were suppose to be railroad tracks that brought the ore down in cars from the mountain, but they have long since been covered over with soil and rock. There are a few mines that were worked for gold. There is still a lot of gold in the hills and mountains of Bahia, but now it is illegal to prospect and mine for it. We were half way to the top of the arroyo when we stopped to rest and have some water. Then we continued on. Lynn and Tom’s male dog, Murphy is a good hiking dog and since they had traveled that route many times before with him he led the way. Maggie was just trying to keep up. They are great dogs. We finally made it to the end of the arroyo, well as far as we could go because there had been a landslide and many huge boulders were blocking the rest of the way up the mountain. We stopped to rest and have something to eat, stretch, explore the area and take pictures.
Then when everyone had caught their breath and was ready to head back, we walked down the arroyo to the cars. What a wonderful hike. I was able to get a sample of a couple plants and a small Barrel Cactus. I can’t wait to get them home so I can plant them. We said goodbye to Theresa and Jason, and then the rest of us piled in Mary and George’s truck. Poor Maggie was pooped and Murphy was glad to be going home. We dropped Lynn and Tom at their place and we said goodbye and then went to Mary and George’s place. We thanked them for the ride and Mary said maybe one of these days soon her and I can walk up Red Mountain. I told her I would like that. That one is more of an incline hike. We walked back home and Dave went upstairs while I planted my plants. We were tired, but it felt good to get out and enjoy the fresh air.
It’s Friday and today is cleaning day. I vacuumed and cleaned the bathroom, then dusted. Monday we are going to Santa Rosalia so I want the house to be clean for our return.
Tonight Mary and George are hosting a neighborhood potluck and bon fire at their house. Lynn and Tom, Joanne, and we are going to be there. I baked Au Gratin Potatoes, Mary made soup, Lynn made salad, and Joanne made a carrot cake. Everything was delicious and we had a nice visit. After dinner we gathered around the fire and enjoyed its warmth and glowing embers. Lynn and Tom are leaving on Sunday, so they will be packing up tomorrow. They will return in April. All the people we have met down here from the States are really nice. It’s great to get to know them.
Today was another cleaning day as I need to wipe down the blinds. I managed to get 5 blinds cleaned and the other 3 will have to wait until tomorrow. The blinds in the kitchen were really dirty. Once those were cleaned the rest went pretty fast. All that is left now are the last 3 blinds and wiping down the counter tops in the kitchen. That is tomorrow’s project.
Dave and I watched the Seahawks play in the first game of the playoffs and to our surprise they WON!!!! Wow!! It was a good game. We thought during the second half they were going to blow it because they were missing the ball or dropping it, but they held on to win. That is so terrific. Hopefully they will be able to win the next one.
Everything is clean now so I won’t have to clean for a while after getting back from Santa Rosalia. We need to pay moorage and renew our FM3’s. We plan on being there for a week. If it takes longer to get our FM3’s we’ll just go home and come back when they are ready. We will know more on Monday or Tuesday.
Monday - Sunday, January 10-16.
We had a nice drive down to Santa Rosalia. It is a little warmer here but not by much. As usual we hooked up the water and electricity, then toted all the stuff from the jeep to the boat. The boat was really dirty and Carlos said that Arturo had been sick but he would be washing it today. There was a cold breeze and I guess it is suppose to stay windy for a few days. Arturo washed the boat and it really looks nice now. The birds are back so they are making their messes again. Darn!!! We walked to town and visited the bank, had our pictures taken for the FM3 and stopped at the immigration office to see how much it is to renew. It is 1,294 pesos per each FM3 or $106 per FM3. It’s the same as last year. That isn’t bad. We went back to the boat for a while and then went to dinner at our favorite rotisserie chicken restaurant. Yum!!! After dinner we returned to the boat and relaxed. It got so cold in the boat we had to turn on the heat!!! Ahhhhh. It felt good!! We got on our computers and around 10-10:30pm went to bed.
We didn’t run the heat all night so I got cold. I will need to throw on another blanket tonight! The wind is blowing and it is cold. Carlos is typing letters for both of us to add to our paperwork for our FM3’s. When he was finished we walked to the immigration office and gave it to the gentleman that helped us last year. He is a friend of Carlos. He remembered us too which was nice. We handed him the paperwork already filled out. He looked through it, got the bill to take to the bank to pay for the FM3’s, and left for the bank. We didn’t have to wait long to see the teller and we paid for the FM3’s and took the receipt back to the immigration office. We signed a couple papers and were handed one to bring back with us when we pick up our FM3 cards. We asked when it would be ready and he said Monday. Then he said maybe Friday. So we will go back on Friday to see if they are done. Then we can leave and go back to the house on Saturday.
I brought laundry with us to take advantage of the washers and dryers here, so I got the laundry done. After the laundry, I needed to take a walk so I walked to the hardware store north of town. I have wanted to go there each time we have come to the boat, but for one reason or the other never did. So today is the day. They had some interesting things and a lot of materials for construction. It is just another source we can utilize when we can’t find some things in town. It was a good walk for me as I had to loosen up my back. With hiking on Thursday and sitting for 5 hours yesterday in the car, I was stiff and sore. The wind had picked up half way to the hardware store and it was blowing dirt around. It wasn’t too bad walking back to the marina. When I got back to the boat I told Dave some of the things they had at the store and did some stretching then I went out in the cockpit and read for a while. I came back down stairs and watched a DVD on my computer. One Dave wasn’t interested in seeing. ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’ with Jim Carry.
We ate dinner at a new restaurant. It was really good and we knew the waiter from another restaurant we frequent each time we come to Santa Rosalia. He worked at the other restaurant for a year and when this one opened he started working here. After dinner we walked to the convenient store just up the street from the marina and got some milk. I was there this morning but what milk they had was out dated. I was glad to see they got a shipment in. Once back on the boat we sat and relaxed. Dave and I were both on our computers for a while and then we read before going to bed. Dave hit the jackpot for books this time. The marina had a lot of books by authors he likes.
Today, Wednesday, I rinsed the cockpit out, washed my chair and ottoman pads and then walked to town to buy some groceries. The wind hadn’t started blowing yet so I took advantage of the calm to get my stuff done. When I got back to the boat the wind was hooting. It is blowing harder today than yesterday. It is suppose to continue to blow for another day or two.
Friday around 11:00am we went to the immigration office and found out that our FM3’s were done. We were then further processed with finger prints and signatures and then we were done and they laminated our cards and we left. It was pretty painless and now we can leave tomorrow morning. After we left the office we walked to town and got some more money to last us for a couple months until we either go to Ensenada or back to Santa Rosalia again. I think I mentioned before that there are no banks or ATM’s in Bahia. So you have to plan ahead for food and gas money. I got some fresh bread rolls and a couple other items and then went to the boat. I packed, washed clothes so we would have all clean stuff when we got home, and started packing up the jeep. It makes it so much easier to have most of the stuff packed the night before.
Barb and Alan invited us to go to dinner with them and Alice, Bill, and Jim. All cruisers. We went and had the famous bacon wrapped hot dog. Dave and I had that last night, but it is cheap and very good. After we had hot dogs, we went across the street and had ice cream. It’s funny how we can get almost any flavor in town now, being it winter, and in summer there is a small selection!!! I wonder why?!! Heehee! It was a nice night as the wind had calmed down a bit and it wasn’t as cold. We walked back to our boats and said good night. We wished the cruisers well in case we didn’t see them in the morning. As it did turn out we did see them all in the morning and was able to say goodbye again and wish them a safe journey.
We are home again and glad for that. I was soooo looking forward to sleeping in our big bed. The one on the boat is suppose to be a queen size, but because of its shape doesn’t seem like it is and Dave and I barely have room to turn over. It’s nice to be close, but we both have gotten use to the room. Ha! We were told that the wind blew here too while we were gone, but today seems to be a nice one. It was good to be back!
Sunday was a kick back day so very little was done. Dave and I spent the day reading and doing odds and ends.
Monday - Sunday, January 17-23.
Today is Martin Luther King Day. When there is a holiday like that I always think of the grandkids being out of school, having a play day.
Not much went on this week. Dave went to town and got water. Joanne and I walked a couple days on the airstrip behind us. We are trying to walk since the weather is cool. On Thursday, Mary rode with Joanne in her jeep and we followed her in the truck to search out a couple dead cardons (cactus) Mary found the other day. Mary rides her quad and searches out new paths and finds neat stuff. It will be nice when we can do that also. Joanne and I are both looking for a nice cardon to plant in the garden for decoration. As we followed Mary and Joanne, the path was getting narrower and it’s a good thing we don’t worry about the truck getting scratched!!! There were a lot of sticker bushes along the path and we did have to go by them. I am glad when they stopped as we weren’t sure we could go much further, as the path was narrow and the truck is wide. A really nice cardon was lying on its side already cleaned (rough bark taken off) and the tips were cut off to make it look smooth and clean. Mary and Joanne were standing next to it and I thought it was for Joanne but they said “no” it was mine. Wow!!! What a find!! So Dave backed the truck up to the cardon and all of us lifted it up and laid it in the truck bed and pushed it all the way in. It fit perfectly!!! We could even close the back. We didn’t have room for another cardon, but I told Joanne that we can come back sometime and get one for her. I guess she saw some that would work for her as we were driving home. Joanne, Mary and I dug up small cactus’ to add to our garden, and there were some animal bones lying on the ground as we were heading back to the road, that Joanne got for her granddaughter when she comes to visit. It was a successful morning. We pulled the cardon out of the truck and laid it on the ground. Dave parked the truck and came back with the wheel barrow. He lifted one end of the cardon while I pushed the wheel barrow under it, then he let it down into the wheel barrow and went to the other end and lifted it up, holding the other end while I was pushing the wheel barrow toward the spot we want to bury it.
Friday, Dave sat on the deck with his coffee this morning and all was well until the bees started to show up. It was almost disastrous as when he took a sip, he had gotten a bee with it. He immediately spit the coffee out on the deck and the bee with it. Luckily he didn’t get stung!!! Then after spitting out the coffee it was like a siren to the other bees, there was liquid there. After trying to kill them with the fly swatter, he resorted to insect spray. That did the trick!! It’s getting that time of year again when the insects are coming out. Bummer!! Joanne gave me a ride to Diane’s house where 6 other ladies played train for half a day. We had a good time and a nice visit. The wind came up strong while I was there so there won’t be any digging a hole to bury the cardon today. I would be eating sand the whole time. When I got home I did some cross stitching and read.
The Seattle Boat Show started today. I am hoping we might get someone interested in buying our boat. Our good friend Tori at Signature Yachts said she was going to advertise it on the Hunter Home page and also at the Boat Show.
This morning, Saturday, we awoke to a beautiful day. Of course the sun was shining but there was just a hint of a breeze and it was warm. Oooh la la!!! Dave had walked to the beach and I sat on the deck with my coffee. I was lucky as no bees came buzzing by. Today is a perfect day to dig the hole. When Dave returned from the beach, he saw George take off on his quad to go down to the boat ramp to clear some rocks since it was low tide. Dave got his gloves and walked to the boat ramp as he told George yesterday he would help him. So while Dave was gone, I dug the hole. Yesterday, Dave had cleared the spot where we wanted to bury it so all one of us had to do was start digging. When Dave returned he saw the hole and I told him he should get something to eat first before he started to help. So he did and we both decided I needed to dig a little deeper to make sure the cardon will be buried enough to withstand the high winds we get from the north. As it turned out it was too deep. When we placed the cardon in the hole, I felt something drop on my foot. I looked down and thought it was a big spider. I squealed and started shaking my foot to get it off. I took my sandle off thinking it went inside. Then I saw what it actually was. It was a small scorpion. It fell out of the cardon and landed on my foot and bounced off onto the sand. After all that excitement we decided we needed to lift the cardon up a bit so Dave added some dirt under the trunk and it raised it enough to where we were satisfied. Then we filled in the hole, burying the scorpion and stomped down the dirt as we finished. It looks nice. It isn’t so tall that it will obstruct our view when we get around to building our house. Dave and I discussed making some more paths that go to and around the cardon, so he came inside when we were done and sketched it. It will look really nice when we get finished. We will need to get a couple loads of rocks to line the paths, and probably more after that to help keep our sand bank from receding. There is enough work outside to keep us busy for the next few months. All work stops when it gets hot though. Next month we will start painting under the eaves of the house and the electrical room as it is peeling off. When we go back to Ensenada, we will get some paint to redo the wood trim outside the bamboo room. Lois and Larry never repainted it and now it is in dire need of protection. So there are lots of projects. We don’t mind. It keeps us busy.
We had a wonderful fire last night as we need to burn all the termite infested wood we tore down. There was a gentle breeze and it was warm. The stars were shining bright and we could see many of them as the moon hadn’t come up yet. When we got down to the last little bit, I went back inside to read until Dave was finished tending to the fire. He came up and we watched T.V. then went to bed.
We were spoiled yesterday with the nice weather because today it is blustery again from the north. Not an outside day. South of us you can see the haze from the sand blowing everywhere. I had thought about taking a hike today, but when the wind came up I knew that wasn’t a good idea. So instead, I baked a cake, made a bean soup and finally caught up on the blog. Dave spent the morning just messing around pounding nails from boards and cutting them to burn size. It’s a day to be indoors and enjoy the view of the waves rushing to shore. It’s time to either read or do some cross stitching.
Monday - Monday, January 24-31.
Dave has started scraping off the old paint from under the eaves of the electrical room in preparation for painting. I went into town this morning taking my neighbor Joanne and Mary Ann with me. We did our shopping, dumped garbage, refilled water jugs, had lunch, stopped at 2 more stores and came home. We had a very busy morning. By the time I got home it was about 2:00pm. I put the groceries away and then sat and read for a while.
I have been trying to get Mary Ann walking as she needs to lose weight and I talked to her about walking 2 times a week. So today is the first day of our walking. Joanne was going to join us but she had Dave over messing with the boat engine. Dave was going to start it today, but unfortunately there is something else wrong with it and it wouldn’t start. Joanne said she is done with the boat and George will get the motor to fix and use on one of his boats, and the boat will go to Nasario’s nephew. So she needed to stick around the house. So I drove over to Mary Ann’s and we walked. Unfortunately we stopped to talk to a couple of her neighbors so we had a long respite between the walk starting out. But we got to the last house on our walk and turned around and headed back. This time we were able to walk the whole way back to Mary Ann’s house without visiting. When I walk it is for exercise and I don’t like stopping until I am done, but Mary Ann is just starting out walking again and she hasn’t seen her neighbor’s for a long time so it was good for her. I need to chill and take it on her terms. I can always walk on my own at the pace I like. No worries. When I returned home I did some cross stitching.
Friday was a Train game and a birthday luncheon for Lois, our landlord. I had a nice visit with the ladies and it was fun. When I returned home Dave had already painted under the eaves on the south and most of the west side of the electrical room plus the door. He was just finishing up when I came home. I told him I would help tomorrow if he needed it. While I was at the party, Rafael dumped 2 loads of rocks in our yard. He had come by the house looking for work so we asked him for 2 loads of rocks. He said he had a big whale bone in his yard that he didn’t want and he would give it to us so we could add it to our collection. How nice!! So I am either painting or moving rocks or both tomorrow.
It is a beautiful day and perfect for painting. Dave needs to finish scraping the eaves on the north side of the electrical room, while I start to paint in the crevices and corners with a brush as the roller can’t get that close. So my job was to do that and after Dave finished scrapping he would come after me and paint the rest of the wood with the roller. With both of us working it didn’t take a long time so we were done before lunch time. My last job was to paint the trim on the window to the north and then when it is dry and closed, Dave would paint the rest. I cleaned up my brush and container and came inside to make lunch. Dave was finishing up with his painting and then cleaned up. Now that job is complete. After lunch I went out in the front yard and started moving rocks to line the paths we outlined. I only lined one of the areas as I was tired and my back was starting to hurt. It was time to quit and relax. We got a lot accomplished today and it always feels good.
I was going to go into town yesterday, Saturday, to drop off laundry and get a couple of grocery items, but I wanted to help Dave and get my rocks positioned. So instead I went in today, Sunday. I had heard a couple stores got some fresh vegetables in so I wanted to get there before it all got picked over. I learned that the best time to go is later in the afternoon. Joanne and Mary Ann went in around 5:00pm and found all kinds of fresh vegetables. So I will need to do that next time. I managed to get the items on my list and they did get fresh milk in so that was good.
When I returned home and had all the groceries put away, I read for a while then did some cross stitching. I am almost at the end. The next step is to back stitch around the areas to outline it.
It is the last day of January. It’s been a good month. It started out cold but now is starting to warm up a little. Every time we get a north wind it is cold. We haven’t had any rain at all yet, where last year just before we moved in it rained hard and the ground took 3 months to dry out completely in some spots. It is hard to believe we have been in the house for a year now. We are still loving every minute of it.
