| March 1, 2003 We finally arrived in Mexico Thursday evening, February 27, clearing into the country at Ensenada. Friday was spent taking care of Mexican paper work. In the evening we enjoyed their Carnival (their version of Mardi Gras), especially listening to the mariachi bands. To recap briefly these last couple of months, after stocking up on major supplies and installing a new and better autopilot, we finally departed Ventura West Marina on Saturday, January 18, for King Harbor in Redondo Beach. Once again, we had no wind and had to motor - but it was a most beautiful day and we were treated to lots of seals and the largest pod of dolphins we'd ever seen at any one spot - 75 to 100 dolphins. We moored at Port Royal Marina in King Harbor for nine days visiting with friends and enjoying the walk along "The Strand". What a fun place! On Monday, January 27, we departed King Harbor for Santa Catalina Island, once again motoring. A treat that day was seeing a sea otter on his back enjoying a meal. We anchored late that afternoon in Catalina Harbor (at the Isthmus). On Tuesday we hiked to Emerald Bay, a lovely hike along the coast. Mary had to relive some Girl Scout Mariner memories from childhood. Wednesday evening, January 29, we motored overnight to San Diego (again, no wind), arriving the next day around noon. We ended up spending a month moored at Harbor Island West Marina taking care of last minute business. The location was just perfect for enjoying the view of San Diego Bay, the Navy ships and airfield at North Island, and the San Diego skyline. Sunsets on the bay were truly beautiful to behold! Early Thursday morning, February 27, we departed San Diego amidst squalls, but at least we had wind. We had rain off and on during the day, the wind was mainly from the southwest, but we were able to sail the entire distance, arriving in Ensenada that evening. The present plan is to depart Ensenada Sunday, March 2, heading south to La Paz. At present, we don't know how many stops along the way we will make, if any. For those interested in following along, we will try to update daily our location on "Locate Us" at our web site. The next update to this page will be from La Paz. |