Lemonade — sailing arena

Today has been just another day living on Arena. A quick trip to shore in the brilliant sunshine to walk along the beach and stretch our legs, then a slow meander back to the boat, our heads hanging over the side of the dinghy trying to identify the sea life in the crystal clear water below us. Sting rays, puffer fish, sea turtles, crabs and fish of every variety. Back on Arena, the kids and I hunker down to do some school work and laundry while Jamie tackles some minor repairs on his list. Finally, the kids have just now taken themselves back to the beach to swim while there is a moment of silence for us on the boat.

This is still paradise, isn’t it?

What happened?! Our direction has been a quandary for some time now, but even more so as of late while the world seems to have an extra tilt on its’ axis. Things are not as they seemed to be a mere month ago!

One beautiful morning in early March, we were checked out of the country and heading for French Polynesia. We were finally ready. We were prepared! We left feeling a bit sad to say goodbye to Mexico, but we were definitely ready to move on. Then, only a few days later, we decided to rescind our promise to leave, turned around, travelled back towards land to make our request for Mexico’s officials to allow us to come back into the country. The world as we knew it had rapidly begun closing its’ doors, hiding from the emerging Covid-19 beast. Our heads were whirling. All that preparation, that exciting and overwhelming preparation, to make the passage from La Cruz, Mexico to Hiva Oa in French Polynesia (approx. 2700 nautical miles, roughly 21-23 days) now seemingly all for nought as we abandoned our plans because of rumours of possible border closures in French Polynesia. The decision to come back was VERY, VERY difficult. How could we come this far to turn back now? How could we possibly know what decision was better? Which country was MORE safe? Where could we go to be responsible parents and responsible world citizens. Every few hours, our plans changed. The kids asked for answers. We had no answers, just more questions ourselves.

Upon return we, for reasons still unknown to us, met roadblock after roadblock with the port captains in both Puerto Vallarta and Nuevo Vallarta which resulted in being denied re-entrance on three separate occasions. While praying for clarity and guidance, we made the decision to head north for Mazatlan to request re-entrance once again. There is so much emotional detail that isn’t in the sailing, but to unpack it now feels like looking back. I will say that it was extremely stressful, not knowing if the ports were going to close before we’d be granted re-entrance or if the Mazatlan immigration would just firmly deny our request. With the remaining faith we had left that Mexico would still welcome us, we trudged upwind as quickly as Arena would allow. Mazatlan did not disappoint! We were questioned to no end but eventually received 6 crisp Mexican visas and a warm welcome thereafter. We are officially in Mexico to stay…for now. One question answered.

Once check in was completed, the kind immigration officer had driven me to the bank to pay my unusually large sum for our visas. He did not hear a single complaint from me! He mentioned to me that we might want to consider leaving the port soon if our final destination was not Mazatlan. He said that he was certain that ports would be closing “very soon” and it would be a shame to be denied exit from the harbour from the port captain. With infinite appreciation, I had responded “Muchas gracias, senor!” and we promptly checked out of the marina that day! Marina Mazatlan was rather sparse for life as the city had begun the process of restricting movement. Last time we’d been on land, everything felt normal. This new world was eery. It was uncomfortable. It was foreign to us and had changed so drastically in such a short period of time! We grew uneasy and anxious being on land, so Arena took us out of the harbour at high tide.

With our shoulders settling to a less acute angle, we have been at anchor outside of harbours, making our way across from Mazatlan and into the Sea of Cortez. Not being able to have physical closeness with friends or neighbours, we’ve tucked in to become a “functioning” family unit once again. It’s been a long 2020 so far and we’ve definitely felt that the kids have been put on the backburner while we’ve tried to navigate through the preparations, health issues, stress and drastic life trajectory changes. These kids, though!!!! They are remarkably resilient to the stresses of this world and I couldn’t be more impressed by their flexibility! This has definitely been an adjustment for them after having such freedom in La Cruz (see the highlights below), but they are managing just fine! They have been communicating with their friends on VHF playing hangman, 20 questions, M.A.S.H and “sing the next line” or doing an exercise class & charades via VHF on their respective boat bows to stay connected!

We broke our 14-day straight isolation (post Mazatlan check in) when we reached the harbour of Loreto where we brought the dinghy to the dock for provisions. We’ve been living off of the provisions we had bought just prior to checking out of the country in March so, while we still have a large amount of food, we decided to go into town and stock back up again on fresh food. We wanted to make sure we are prepared in case we aren’t able to access ports in the near future.

Supply run into a somewhat unwelcoming and subdued Loreto

Visiting Loreto the other day was very hard for me. I’ve not had much anxiety about covid-19 up until now because we have been quite isolated from all the changes happening on land. Walking out of the Loreto marina, we were stopped and given hand sanitizer and N95 masks with the request that only one family member complete our business in town. Jamie found a man in need of work to help transport fuel from the gas station to the dinghy dock to top up Arena’s tanks. He also took propane tanks into town to be filled for us and our friends on their boats. My job was to do the grocery shopping. The town was completely void of the activity one becomes accustomed to on Mexican streets. Only the stray dogs hung around to greet me. Lining up to get into the stores, a full cart wipe down and hand sanitizer for all at the entrance, I felt transported into a strange dream. I’d read others accounts of this life up North and around the world, but if you haven’t experienced it, it could be compared to reading it in a work of fiction. The produce was molding and the food selection was not what I needed. I needed fresh eggs and produce, meats and cheeses, all things perishable. The food in this store had perished already and the masks under everyone’s noses had me feeling concerned! I do believe that wearing the mask incorrectly and readjusting it on your face every few minutes COMPLETELY negates the purpose of the mask in the first place. The number of cases reported in Mexico seems terribly low at the moment and, while I sincerely hope that they are accurate, I have a strong suspicion that this is not the case. Armed guards everywhere, I had to get out of there. I left the grocery store with not nearly enough to have made any significant difference. I had to consider going back the next day to a different grocery store.

The next morning proved more challenging. Jamie dropped me off at the dock and I walked towards the road, only to find the gate to the entrance of the marina had been padlocked with guards nearby. I NEEDED to get some fresh supplies since I wasn’t able to the day before, so I found a spot in the fence to slip through and made my way into town. This second grocery store had everything I needed, so I loaded up quickly and made my way back to the dock. There wasn’t another soul to be seen standing or walking in the streets. Some stood in their doorways, but did not leave their homes. Police trucks with at least 6 armed officers riding in the back were driving up and down the streets and there were cars with loudspeakers informing the citizens of the new rules for living at the moment. I was met by a guard at the marina gate who promptly dumped an extra N95 mask in my hand and squirted hand sanitizer in the other. He was not happy to open the gate to let me back through, but kindly did so before promptly locking it behind me. I’ve never been so happy to step off land. This town can no longer welcome us….not right now, anyways.

Two days has passed since our ‘land’ experience and already the feelings of anxiety and fear are alleviated. Out here at anchor, we are in our bubble. We have our happy healthy kids, our boat full of food, a beautiful anchorage, and familiar faces on friend boats. The troubles of this world feel somewhat distant, unless we have access to the internet. We think of and pray for our family and friends back home and those around the world during this bizarre twist in reality. We briefly considered heading back to Canada, but Arena is our home. Everything we own is right here with us. The thought of flying and exposing our kids to this virus does not sit right. We believe we are where we are supposed to be, even when we don’t know what the future will look like for us here. The harbours and ports are beginning to close and we are no longer welcome to come and go at whim. We need to be mindful to not contribute to the potential exposure to smaller, more remote communities in the Sea. We are at ease about all of this until we think of our supplies and how we need to make them last so we don’t have to go in. I only make what we will eat and we very, very rarely have food to compost. We have the ability to fish and the appropriate licences to do so, but my mind is always checking an item off a list as it is being used, aware that eventually it may be the last *fill in the blank* on the boat. I hope that we will continue to be given the opportunity to go into town at infrequent intervals to replenish fresh food, but we are prepared for a number of months to stay isolated if necessary. We have a watermaker onboard and our solar and wind energy is sufficient to fulfill our needs.

Mexico has been gracious to us and, in return, I hope we are always gracious towards Mexico. We do not wish to be a burden to this country. We just want to get through this and hopefully get through this well! We will choose to not live in fear. We choose to look up, to see the sunsets, to see the beauty, to find joy wherever we are, because we are here together. We will make lemonade 😊.

This IS still paradise!

Highlights of 2020 not to be forgotten:

January

· The anchorage in Tenacatita – we loved loved loved this anchorage! I don’t know what made it so magical when we were there, but it was the perfect moment in time for us to collide with this place and we have straight up joy when we think of Tenacatita. SV Distant Star and Maya crew, we miss you guys!

Distant Star & Arena kids rowing back to Arena after adventuring in Tenacatita

February

· Mom and Dad Leland came to stay with us for 11 days! Bringing all kinds of special treats and a suitcase brimming with gifts, Mom and Dad brought excitement and a welcomed break for us. We enjoyed each others company, had great sailing weather, watched whales, rays and dolphins from the cockpit, and talked a LOT of sailing. Mom and Dad have always encouraged us to live our dreams and we felt so supported in our efforts to set sail for the South Pacific in March. It was so hard to say goodbye, not knowing when or where we would meet again.

· La Cruz kid’s club gave our kids the opportunity to meet other cruising kids and develop some really cool friendships. Cat, Marina La Cruz’s extraordinary coordinator, puts her heart and soul into making the kids feel important and welcomed. Sailboat regattas and beach clean ups, ice cream treats, movies and a Valentine’s Day dance, our kids always had options. We didn’t see much of the kids as they grew their independent wings here. Ada became a very good dinghy driver and eased a big burden of carting everyone in 50 different directions all the time.

March

· Mazatlan immigration agreeing to allow us re-entrance. Biggest. Relief. Ever. We are LEGITIMATELY back!!

Celebrating successful re-entrance into Mexico with Uber Eats Chinese food!

April

· Arriving in the Sea has taken much of our stress away. We are where we need to be for the time being and we do not doubt that now! We are ready to make the best of it and enjoy our HOT summer here!

Sunrise after 3 days at sea crossing from Mazatlan to Loreto