Food, Eating & Bebidas

I was going to add a movie of the preparation of the soup to the blog but it crashes each time I try to upload the thing!!

Since it is near the New Year we decided to jump on the bus and get into Puerto Vallarta. On the way to and from we did some Geocacheing of the virtual sort and for lunch ended up at a favorite place, La Distileria. This was where, last year several times; the group of the moment slurped some of the best Margaritas and had items off of the wonderful menu.

La Distileria has a fantastic view of the old section of beach and the bay (Banderas) as well as a large segment of the malecon!! It is a second floor affair and the seating maximizes the view. You can sit and watch the whales and dolphins while the boats of various descriptions pass by. That would include the parachute pulling boats… something for the bucket list for some, I am sure. Anyway, I decided on the soup on the menu shown to be a Classic, Oyster Soup prepared at the table. After observing the preparation the taste was more than I could believe!!!!! This was incredible; truly. The follow up for me was the ceviche (on the menu as, “Cebiche”) and it was TDF. Sandy’s chicken cordon bleu was melt in your mouth tasty and Mary stuck to her beef tostadas which were very good as well. This is the sort of place that you do NOT want to leave as the day melts away toward sunset, but we had to leave despite our reluctance. It really would be possible to have lunch there and sit waiting around for the even meal too.

You would think that it would have been enough to have had a spectacular meal but, Noooo!! When we got back to the boat in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle it was suggested that we head for Tacos on the Street… another sought after establishment. We had missed them several times last year because they only open a few days per week. They are open more often this year but the proper days had eluded us until that moment. After quick showers and a radio call to arrange for cocktails on New Year’s Eve (the next day) we were off to discover why Tacos on the Street was so popular. Whoa! It is because they are beyond expectation. There are only three things on the menu. You can have a rib eye soft taco, a rib eye quesadilla, or a rib eye hard shell taco; just specify how many of each. This can be followed by a home made flan that is very tasty indeed. In the time it took to get seated, about a half an hour we were sated and ready to get back to the boat for a round of Mexican Train dominoes that Mary has found to be her game of choice.

Something else that is in better supply this year is the Bohemia Obscura (dark beer) that I remember from years ago. It had all but disappeared for the last 15 years, in fact. All I can say is, “yum,” for that! There are lots of Mexican beers that I like but the few that really get the job done are the seasonally available Bock, the ever present Pacifico, the Negro Modelo, Dos Equis Amber and several others as we come across them from time to time.

All-in-all, it was a satisfying day of eating the local stuff. Have I mentioned I am starting to lose weight again? Everything here is so fresh and prepared without so much of the garbage fillers used in the States. It is much easier to find things that have zero bad things in the ingredients.

Dion Goes South

Quadrant and such...

If you followed our progress during our journeys last year you are familiar with our autopilot, Dion the Wanderer, and his predilection of going to starboard from time to time. Well, we thought that we had solved the issue this year when I cleaned his contacts and moved some metal that had accumulated near his “heart” (the fluxgate compass). Our passage from San Carlos to La Paz was amazing because Dion did not hiccup even once… hmmm, that’s not entirely correct, as we entered the channel to La Paz Dion turned himself off but since we were there we didn’t think too much about it. I guess believing that you can fix something is a powerful way of putting off fixing it.

The Pump suspected of being undersized

Control heads

So, we were ready to head for Puerto Vallarta (La Cruz de Huanacaxtle) and popped out on our way via Los Muertos. Dion seemed to be partially functioning during that first day but by the second day of the three day passage it was very clear that he had died. Normally as soon as you set him on a course he would take control of the wheel and not allow you to make any adjustments until you put him in Standby mode. That is what he was designed to do and some of the time he actually did it. During this last gasp you could set him to On but then he would allow you to tweak his course… hmmm, not good. Then he went crazy and veered off course by more than 90 degrees and would not come back on.

The "Brain" - hmmm, insufficient?

What this meant was that we had to hand steer for two days. Fortunately it was a fairly easy passage with relatively flat seas and wind on the right quarter most of the time. The steering was nicely balanced so there was less effort involved than there might have been.

That brings us to the current state of things. We are now researching the best way to replace Dion with a really stout autopilot. We have asked lots of people to make suggestions and the answers are rolling in. What we have is a Navico autopilot of probably early 1990’s vintage. The hydraulic pump seems to be in good order as does the fluxgate compass. It is probably the “brain” that has given up on the unit and should be buried at sea.

We have been headed south at a fair clip this year once we got Faith ready in San Carlos. It was almost like being on a delivery schedule at first. Now that we are back in the warm zone the rest of our southerly meanderings will be at a more relaxed pace. This is especially the case without a working autopilot!!

La Paz... Again!!

Minney's is THE place for more stuff

After what seems like months of running around getting things done to make the boat ready we are, whew, finally on our way into a new season. It was really only about two months since we got back from the South Pacific but it has been so filled with activity and “get-readies” that there has barely been time to breath. On the way down the coast we stopped by places like Minney’s to get parts and such. What a great place, along with Downwind Marine in San Diego these are fantastic boat-folk stores! By way of catch-up, while we were away there was a hurricane (Jimena) that swept north into the Sea of Cortez and Faith ended up in the path of its rain in the aftermath of the down graded tropical storm. This dropped 26 inches of rain and we had a small amount end up in the galley area of the boat. The marina crew pumped it out in our absence but there is damage to the sole of the galley. We installed the new windlass when we got to the boat and started restringing all the lines in the work yard and the slip when we finally got there. Elvis got inflated and the motor worked on the third pull!! We were comfortable in our new (to us) travel trailer while all this was going on but the work was slow. Luckily my brother Lee and his wife Julie were there too so we had diversions before we were to leave San Carlos. It seems to me that the blur of boat projects and guests arriving while we tried to play and work had us ready to leave but not ready as well. Our first attempt ended about an hour out of San Carlos when it was noticed that alternator was not working.

Some have called it Boat Jewelry!!

We had just installed the new inverter so we returned to the anchorage and further tested the whole shebang with long distance coaching from Alan, Dr. Electron, and re-reading the manuals. When Alfredo had the alternator done (rebuilt) and installed we tested a bit more then declared ourselves ready to go again. The visiting crew (JJ & Cher) agreed that it was decision time for them too (see Sandy’s blog to update all that bit of flexibility). We either had to get to La Paz or they needed to fly, ride, and walk back to La Paz in time to catch their flight. As one of the cruisers said when we were chatting about guests coming and going, “You can pick the place or you can pick the time… but you can’t have both!” As it turned out we had a great motor-sail down to Isla San Francisco, one of my very favorite places, and at least JJ & Cher got to see one of the places that we were going to take them too had we been able to stick to our plan of picking them up in La Paz. The whales, dolphin, turtles, birds and fish cooperated, for the most part, and our guests got to see lots of “stuff” on our delivery-like journey down the Sea. We managed to get into La Paz in time to get them to the hotel (La Perla) and up to La Fonda for a spectacular meal… again, whew, made it.

Elvis on station again!!

Now we are going to provision a bit and get ourselves more back to the main plan and sail to La Cruz (Banderas Bay – think, Puerto Vallarta). There were those small issues in getting this far after we left San Carlos too. When Alfredo installed the alternator he placed the three small washers that keep the thing at just the right angle on the wrong side of the bracket. As we motored it was clear that we were burning through the belt. Ugh, in the first anchorage, Isla San Francisco, I corrected that and everything worked marvelously after that. The generator can now charge the batteries as well and we are able to make coffee from the inverter too!!! This last may seem like a strange use of power to some but the thing is that when you have more than just the two of us on the boat the amount of coffee that can be made by other methods (French press or stove top percolator) is insufficient. We needed a way to keep up the guest demand and stay sane ourselves… this has answered that nicely. By the way, if you come across a stainless steel stove top percolator that makes more than eight smallish cups let me know!! It was something I thought would be easy to find but all attempts to secure one have ended in failure. It’s just one of those odd things that living on a boat brings to your attention from time to time. So, here we are in La Paz with a few moments to rub together and time to contemplate again. It is such a luxury after months of going and doing and seeing that this morning feels like a new day of a different sort indeed!

Timing; it's all about Timing.

Ok, ok, this may qualifiy as TMI (too much information) but sitting here in the Totonaka RV park in San Carlos after a long day of getting the boat ready for the season and my Sweetie sends me one of many irreverant connections to the REAL world!!!

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Yeah, got it!!! We do have fun most of the time just messing around!!! I know I have been absent here but that is fully explainable. It is warm and at the end of the day I just head for the shower and hope we have something planned for dinner... that includes beer or wine. Life is really simple but a sense of humor is more important than a sense of accomplishment.

Gathering Momentum...

New Zealand Navy, Greek freighter with stranded island trader in the back!! Apia, Samoa

Funny how priorities get tweaked as you move along. Today we were going to get going but after a few seconds of discussion it was clear that neither of us REALLY wanted to leave this awesome internet connection after just one day!!!

We are in this great place in Sutherlin, Oregon that used to be an Drive-in Movie Theater!!! They still play movies every few nights for the residents... free popcorn included!! You dial the stereo into a station and get the sound on your FM radio. It is clear to me that we will stop here for longer next year on our way to Portland / Vancouver. Too much fun.

Today it's drizzling as if we might need more water. That aside, we also needed to do a few things on the trailer (like try to get the left tail light to work). Anyway, it is a different life here and we are still anxious to get back to the boat.

Moving Again

Off Niuetoputapu

Just a short missive about our being on the move again. We are only a few miles south of Portland at this point because we wanted to stop and visit Sandy's daughters family. Mission accomplished. We did find this great RV park with awesome interenet and we are happily catching up on several things.

We have been so busy finding all that Stuff we need for this coming seasons happenings. We have a new windlass that has been described as boat jewelry. It certainly does shimmer and glitter in the sunlight!!! So, there are boat projects in my future. We have also been trying to line up the schedule for all the folks that have said they wanted to come for a visit while we are in Mexico!!! Whew, no shortage of visitors!!

It is just a lazy trip down the middle of I-5 while we soak up a little coolness to hold us on those warm days to come in Mexico.

Fishing,.. sort of.

Well, we have done a little fishing on the way to Vava'u and after sorting out the broken lines and such I got a few really strong parts together and rebuilt the tackle being used on the boat. This has worked incredibly well but there were only a few days of sailing between the main stops on the journey.

Here's a little hint about knots. They are as important to fishing as they are to sailing. There are lots of kinds.

A Bit More Catch Up

When we were bouncing between the islands of French Polynesia the size of the population surprised me a bit. There aren’t a lot of people now. Still, when I have heard and read about the high population of pre-colonial times I can’t believe that they all fit here. The landscape does not lend itself to building up the mountains because they are steep to volcanic structures that essentially have cliffs once you get a mile or two inland. You are either on the beach (think hurricane here) or at such an angle that building on the incline would be difficult at best and exposed to high winds from time to time. It is just amazing that such a complex society was based here.

The closeness of the people to the sea surpasses anything I have seen before too. I bought a small symbol of this in a shop here. It is a representation of a hook, a fishing hook, with designs built into it that are common to the tapas we have seen. I wore it during a party where Tongans were present and the first Tongan person to approach me asked if I was a fisherman. Since I definitely identify with fishing I said, “Yes,” and we were off and running in conversation. It turns out too that all of the necklaces here have a specific meaning as well. The stylized hook is just one way the people see the fact that they are surrounded by water as a status symbol. It is amazing that every child we see is so comfortable around the water. Of course I can say this about the cruising kids as well. They can handle their dinghies as if they are extensions of themselves.

Given the amount of rain we have seen since we arrived in Tonga (Vava’u) there is no reason that the surrounding islands are not green! They are very much so. Even when it is bright and sunny you are never very far away from a squall. All across the Pacific we have been drenched from time to time. It is a warm rain but just as wet as any other rain! In Bora Bora we were soaked on our first dinghy ride into check out of the country and on several adventures as well. Across the voyages we dodged a few squalls but mostly just had them roll over us cleaning the boat. Several days in Vava’u had the gray appearance of rain be the main feature of the day. It does not deter us though as we go about our shore visits and general business in a warm, damp way.

We have spent time just sitting from time to time. For instance, today (as I write) we had lunch at the Aquarium Café. Not a complicated thing to do but I found myself drifting along on a thought wave pondering the anchorage and sailors in port. The temperature was idyllic and the conversation sparse as we waited for our waitress to return with the order. No matter, I speculated about the boat we are on here, the abundance of the Tongan’s lives we have seen, the lushness of the vegetation, the other boats in the anchorage… especially the unlikely ones, the dinghies and their variety and “What are you thinking about?”, asked Sandy in the midst of the revelry. “Oh, nothing, really,” I said. It is easy to get lost in thought, or what passes for it. At the back of my mind for all the time since we left San Carlos has been the list of things to acquire to make the boat better and the last several days have held the issues of the hurricane Jimena in the foreground as well. When my mind wanders like it does so often all of that is the sub-theme. We have time here without anything we can actually do about what is going on “back home” there is a huge amount of time to be dealt with. There are no choices that make a difference yet except to write down as we think of them the things that we need to do or get.

This is Sunday here (Saturday in the U.S.) and NOTHING happens here on Sunday. It is truly a day of rest. We are waiting for tomorrow, I guess. One funny thing that will happen when we leave is that we will lose a day in going back across the Date Line. As a result we will arrive roughly a half an hour before we leave Nieafu.

More Catch Up

Way back in Tahiti we had seen some really large, on the order of 100 feet and longer, sailing yachts that are in the mega category. You know the type, when they Med moor to the dock they open the “garage” to walk nicely to the dock. A glimpse inside reveals all sorts of toys. Typically, several skidoos, a few kayaks, surf boards, bicycles, dive tanks and so forth. This excess of fun has been following us around during our travels and we have determined that they have lots of scope for their anchors because they have to anchor way out due to their sizable keels (15 feet or more is not usual, I think). In these islands if you cannot get the boat close enough to shore to set down in 25 to 40 feet of water the shelf drops off quickly to 90 or more feet. This isn’t an isolated issue either. Every island so far has had this prominent feature.

In any case, these big boats are here in the same anchorages and share in the same fun we are at a lot more expense.

Let’s chat about sharks for a second. There are lots of them here when there are any. Most are pretty much irrelevant to most of our days because the most abundant ones so far are skittish and/or shy enough that they will get out of your way. Those would be the black tips and similar types. Every so often just to check that you paying attention a large Grey’s shark will saunter by. We haven’t seen Tigers or the more aggressive ones so far and I would like to keep it at that. Typically too most of the sharks stay outside the reef… except when we were in Suwarrow. Those guys gladly traded the open ocean for the interior of the lagoon. We saw the kids on the island swim with all of this going on and the sharks left them alone as they cannon balled off the Ranger’s work boat! Anyway, this is just one of those things I didn’t expect to pay much attention to.

Playing Catch Up

It is about time to catch up on entries that I have had rolling around in my head but have been unable to get down on the blog due, mostly, to having so many things going on at the same time as the availability of the computer. This goes back to the first one when we were still back in Portland/Vancouver before tossing ourselves on the airplane bound for Tahiti.

When we were debating whether or not to bring a computer Sandy had gone out and purchased this mini-computer to be able to say that we should bring at least one along. That left me to ponder the size and weight of my slightly larger machine. While we were in discussion on this issue Mary O. popped in for a glass of wine and chimed in that we shouldn’t take more than one machine because we certainly know how to share… a year together on a boat sorted that out long ago. Well, as it turns out, we do know how to share but generally we have limited time to do e-mails and blog entries and sharing meant someone needed to take a back seat to get anything done. The quality of the connections we have found is such that typically fast tasks take forever and it leaves one of us to handle the jobs needed and by the time we surrender the computer the connection is gone. So be it… I just let the stuff stack up so that Sandy could keep the pace up to close to normal levels of correspondence.

Having said all that along comes an opportunity to get some things down because we are in Vava’u on a very rainy day and not much else to do! I had finished the book, “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” which had been on my list of reading that I have wanted to do for a long time. I was about to pick up, “The Sex Lives of Cannibals” when the computer was suddenly freed from its usual bondage.

Pictures??

Once again I find myself with lots to say but not enough internet to make it happen. There are something like 700 new photos of the goings on here in the Tongan archipelago of the Vava'u group on Dietmar's site and we have had a continuing round of activities in the Vava'u rally. When I get to my own computer I will add lots of detail and pictures. This place is amazing!!!

Coming here we caught different types of tuna and had feasts both along the way and for the first party when we got in. Fish kabobs with yellow tail are among my favorite food groups. The islands here are numerous and the protected waters a welcome relief after the rough crossing from Apia. We were forced to stop in Niuetoputapu (New Potato) to make repairs when the steering/auto-pilot broke in big seas. The rest of the voyage was more pleasant than the repair bodge part in the 3 meter swells and the 20- 25 knots or so of wind!! It's good to know that you CAN heave to in a catamaran. So, at this point the spare parts bin is a little lighter and the to be repaired or replaced bin is a little bit heavier.

Overall the rally/regatta we are participating in this week has been more fun than anything we have done so far. The collection of boats includes so many that we have met along the way as well as ones we met way back in Mexico. Hopefully I can add pictures at some point too.

Lastly, thank you's go out to all those who have been keeping us up-to-date on hurricane /tropical storm Jimena. Hopefully when the mud settles we will get a picture saying that Faith is okay and the roads are open again!!

Left Hand Drive???

Other more important things take precedence over doing the blog PLUS we only brought one computer along so Sandy has first dibs on it (she bought this minicomputer just before leaving PDX-land). Anyway, we haven't had much internet access for the last month. Who knew that Western Samoa would have this wicked fast internet... our theory is that they plugged into some fiber optic cable from American Samoa. Anyway, it's great to be back in the land of internet, if only for a few days. We still want to get to Tonga in about a week or so. All of the longer passage making is behind us for this visit. Tonga is only about three days away and then we will have the jump to Fiji when Dietmar gets back from a trip to the States. Right now we are just happy as clams at the one and only dock in Apia (or Western Samoa for that matter)!!

There is a developing storm here by way of something that will drive these people crazy. It seems that their elected officials have decided to change which side of the street they will be driving on!! The big change will come September 7th and we would love to be here for this event. Well, sort of. When you look at the cars on the streets they are split pretty evenly between Left Hand Drive (LHD) and Right Hand Drive (RHD) versions. There is a connection with New Zealand/Australia and Japan here so there is an argument to be made for RHD. The big BUT in this is that ALL of the busses are LHD and the passenger doors open to the sidewalk side which will be the traffic side when the change comes. Of course the government mandated that all the buses put doors on the opposite side for safety but the bus owners aren't going along with any of it!! This will surely result in lots of accidents and an article in the local paper mentioned that insurance costs for LHD vehicles is going to go up... and the costs for RHD's will go down. This is will all be something to watch. We hope that nobody is seriously injured in the process but it is not looking good. Just ask anyone on the street. As an ex-insurance guy this is a sideshow that I am interested in.

[Update: We have more information on the switch due to a conversation with a Kiwi woman that Sandy & Suzanne met. Apparently there was a practice road set up for trying out the switch. Things don't look good for this however, in the one month it has been set up there have been seven accidents and one fatality!!! This does not bode well at all. The Prime Minister had been rumored to have said that God told him to do this and that statement shakes up this overly missionaried country. There is real fear here about the change. Additionally, the courts are going to make a ruling on Friday (it is Wednesday as I write) and this may settle the issue but I am not counting on it.]

Separately, we are getting provisioned for the next hop to "New Potato", as the cruisers call it. It is actually Niuatoputapu and it will be the stop that lets us check into the kingdom of Tonga. The great thing here is the island hopping we are doing... it adds some great stamps to our passports!! We have collected some coins and small bills too for the grandchildren. The money here is very fun and colorful so they should like this stuff even more than the Pesos we brought back for them last time we visited. There is not opportunity to collect shells here as it is forbidden but if we could we haven't found much in any case.

This is such a wonderful place in so many ways. We have a place across the street from the marina that we like for breakfast (Wildfire) and the people there are fantastically friendly. We have been chatting and kidding around with one lady there and a good friendship is developing. She said today, "I don't want to ask the wrong question here but are you Dietmar's father?" This produced a bit of a laugh, while am technically old enough to be his father, his Austrian accent alone should be a clue on that. We then asked all sorts of questions about her family and got a view of life here. It was a fun conversation like so many we have had. Another aspect is that we are still collecting CD's of local music wherever we go and Western Samoa has some of the best we have heard!!

Talofa!!!

What an experience!! We have about a thousand miles under the keels (this being a catamaran and all) since our arrival in Papeete, Tahiti. This is a very comfortable boat to begin with and the location is spectacular. We only spent a little time in Tahiti before getting off for Morea where spent a few days then off to Ta'aha for some days then Hauhine (my favorite) then Bora Bora (might also be the most Boring Boring) covering about 225 miles in the process. Truly though none of French Polynesia is awful or anything... there were highlights at each place and lots to discover. We did some provisioning along the way but it turned out not quite enough in some instances.

The jump from FP to the Cook Island group covered about 600 miles and we made the incredible stop at Suwarrow. My hat is off to this unbelievable atoll with Anchorage Island; it's a National Park for the Cooks. The caretakers there, John and Veronica Samuela, are amazing and their four sons live on the island for six months out of the year. The island has a history of hurricanes and its highest point might be ten feet above the water so it is not safe to stay there during big storms. There are tons of sharks there, mostly black tips but with a number of grays in evidence. Our first day there was fairly warm so with boat chores done I jumped in the water for a quick cool down; we are talking a very quick in and out here. By the time I came up the swim ladder three black tip sharks were swimming by the transom!! We walked to the other side of the island at sunset that night when we went in for a party the caretaker's hut and they fed the sharks on the side where the pass through the reef is (away from all the boats). The sharks came to the shore and everyone was clicking away on the cameras like crazy. The sharks were there within seconds of the first "chum" hitting the water.

This is where you should jump over to Sandy's blog if you haven't already and catch up on the wedding, first ever on Suwarrow, and all that. When we came in through the pass this island looked like the ideal of what you think a desert island should be. We were looking for a place to hold a wedding and this so perfectly fit the bill that we announced our intentions at the party that first night after checking with John to be sure it was possible. What a commotion this caused immediately. At that point we we also thought that the wedding would be in about two day’s time. The weather changed that plan the next several days however... we only managed a bachelor/bachelorette party the next night then the wind kicked up with 45 knots gusts and all the boats lost any semblance of sleep for a couple of days as we had anchor watches and a sort of Chinese Fire Drill going on as boats tried to be made more secure. It was a lot of work for some because they had gotten wrapped on coral heads and such. All this also gave people more time to plan things when they weren't half crazed from lack of sleep. The whole community jumped in as more boats arrived. John commented that by the time the wedding did take place it was the most boats ever at the anchorage at one time to be recorded (25). This combined with the fact that the first ever wedding was to take place made both he and Veronica exceedingly happy.

Finally the wedding happened and all but the crew from one boat participated.

The next day we had to hustle to get going to make a weather window work for us. We still managed to get thank you cards distributed and such before leaving but it was a challenge.
At the moment we another 350 miles down our track in the port of Apia in Western Samoa. We have done a bit of exploring so far and expect to do more in the next few days. There are lots of blog entries to follow while we have internet but some of mine may have to wait until we get back to Portland around the first of October (we booked a flight this morning). This is a little earlier than we had planned originally but it helps calm us in thinking about all that HAS to be done on Faith when we get back to Mexico!!

Whoa!!! Shortest of Posts!!!

Okay... so this will be really, really quick!!!! We have a few minutes of internet and not a French keyboard!!! As we are at the mooring ball outside the Bloody Mary Yacht Club and headed to dinner soon I will just say that I don't expect much connectivity for a very long time and forget about pictures for a bit!!! Every few seconds this will all go astray anyway and shut down while I try to post SOMETHING!!! Anyway, lots of pictures are being taken and lots of stories collected about this cruise!!! See you all soon I think!!! It's really beautiful here and the people are great.

Be good until we get back to the internet zone. Lots of scooters here BTW.

The Hoh in the Rain

Wandering around the Hoh Rain Forest was like nothing I have ever seen before. As I mentioned earlier the place is green covering green everywhere you look. We took two trails on the same day; one was Park Ranger led and the other was just us walking through the forest after reading everything at the information center. Both were fun in their own ways but I preferred the self tour to the Ranger’s musings because we actually looked harder for things on our own. The whole thing was great from so many perspectives though. The few pictures we got before the camera batteries were depleted were the frosting for this cake.

We had some rain (very little really) while we were there too. The Hoh river was interesting in that the color of the water is that pale teal color that glacier fed water has. It was cold to the max and there was a fantastic pull-in for the motorhome at the water’s edge. This meant that we had the water sound all night… there is nothing like that while-noised pebble rolling water for a transcendental moment or two.

We stopped just outside of Port Angeles where a small RV park is near a dam. That was good for a short hike and a few pictures as well but really could not compete with the deep in the forest feeling from the previous two days! Port Angeles is where Sandy grew up so there was a motorhome foray into some smaller neighborhoods to spice the visit up. Let’s see, can we squeeze this puppy though that little opening? Yikes!!! The next stop was Port Townsend where I had been for the first time only three weeks before. If at all possible we will come back for more of Port Townsend next year… it is like the sixties got stuck in some sort of retro vortex and walking around the small downtown area is something to be repeated.

Now we are back in Portland and getting ready for the next big bit of traveling. We need to pack very carefully and have no more than is really necessary for the Polynesian excursion!! My snorkel fins are the first thing to cause some rethinking but we did pick up some inexpensive larger bags to tote our stuff in so this might be easier than it seems at this early stage. Dietmar and Suzanne have made reasonable requests for things we need to bring as well so we will be off to track down some coffee and such as soon as the office at this RV park opens and we can check in (they were closed when we got here last night).

Shores, Forests & Music

Putumayo has some Great music.

While we have been charging around the Olympic Peninsula here in the greener than green Northwest I have been taking care of a music organization task that started when we were in Mazatlan, Mexico. We had taken the hike into the artsy district of old Mazatlan and there was a book and music street fair going on. We browsed the selections and I found a vendor with Putumayo items covering the table!! Oh, gosh, I think I need a few of those. Well, when I loaded them onto the computer to put into the iPod it seems they were missing the titles and details needed to keep them organized and recognizable. Hmmm, after some trial and error I finally came up with a way to get that accomplished without having to reload everything. Now that it's done I can happily listen and know what it is I am listening to. I had already known of this lable from the "Music from the Coffee Lands" CD I had heard some few years ago but had not realized the connection until I saw it at this fair. (The link is above).

Otherwise, we have spent time in the Hoh Rain Forest, a temperate area of western Washington state. This is as close to "magical" as it gets for me. The deep greens in so many shades and textures are amazing. Simply as shocking to the senses as the barreness of coastal Baja California must have been for Sandy. We have taken time, too, to explore the area where Sandy grew up and as a tour guide she has been finding ways to bring her childhood memories to the front. This would have been very different from the ways and places of my youth. It's about as different from Tucson, Arizona as you can get!!

Overall we have had a lot of fun checking all this out. No internet much of the time and spending time with family and friends along the way. Another thing we have done as we go is to read (together) a book about aging... that is, Sandy reads to me as I drive to the next stopping place. The book is, "You Staying Younger, The Owners Manual For Extending Your Warranty" by Dr.'s Michael F. Roizen & Mehmet C. Oz. It is well written and updates a lot of facts and myths about the aging process. This is between my current regular read, "The Wauchula Woods Accord" by Charles Siebert, which as the subtitle says, is "Toward A New Understanding of Animals". Today or tomorrow I am hoping to stop at the same bookstore in Port Townsend where I got Siebert's book to pick up a slightly related book that I should have gotten when I was there. We had helped a friend (Sue... maybe that's Surfer Sue) move her boat there. Anyway, the long and the now of it all is that we are having a bunch of fun while avoiding traffic accidents (like the guy in a motorhome, yesterday, who came around a corner waaay too fast in our lane). So there has been a bit of adrenalin from time to time but nothing worse than the old commute to work a few years back!! The rest of the day passes without nearly the stress that I was under at that time. The back drop of total "green out" makes this a reality I have never known before. The thing that makes all this so incredible is the amount of water there is here. Remembering that I am a desert person at heart, there is more water here for me to see than I have seen in my lifetime to date (that is by rough calculation a fact)!!