Groundhog Day Ends! — sailing arena

Everyday life seems to have finally been taken off of the 'repeat' button! We are back to using Arena as she is intended - sailing and finding new views. We left Isla Coronados on July 12th after a VERY pricey stop in Loreto to provision. We bought enough stores to last us another few months as we aren't sure what kind of services will be open and available to us further north in the Sea. Elena and Jorge did an amazing job filling all of our requests before saying "hasta luego" for the last time in a long while. We bought fuel, propane, and food to almost sink a ship. For some unknown reason, Amazon Mexico cancelled part of our order for a hard drive and Transformer for Lochlan :( (maybe their shipping department was down?) , so we had to bite the bullet and pay double for 2 local hard drives... we're not going without a back-up again! Love & Luck and Utopia very kindly contributed to our hard drive contents and, let me tell you, Bon Jovi has a LOT of songs! The other half of our Amazon order was actually an American product, so there was no issue receiving our 2 new wonderful, amazing, warm-air-pushing 12 v fans!!!!!!! Semi-sweet relief!

Food, fans, fuel, and hard drives safely stowed, we decided to make one last stop in San Juanico where Utopia was waiting for Love & Luck and Arena to return before heading North. We anchored at "home" one last time to celebrate my birthday. We are absolutely the luckiest people in the Sea to have such an amazing group of people to share our lives with. We trudged our dishes to shore for our last San Juanico fish fry. The spread included all the extras with carrot-pineapple cake and popcorn balls made by my girls to top it all off. Homemade cards with special messages, bracelets, and a beautifully painted rock, I couldn't have felt more celebrated. With kids goofing around in the dark and friends by the small fire, I was able to sit back and take in the moment, all the feels electrifying me in the armpit... No wait! That was a bee sting.... Everyone sacrificed having a messy, sandy clean-up to help me celebrate another turn around the sun and I am content.

Photo Credit: Heidi Vannini (Love & Luck)

What a great feeling to pull up anchor and look forward to the seas ahead! Bahia San Nicholas was much more comfortable than the bucking anchorage in San Juanico. The long, white sand beach stretched for miles, littered with huge shells and bones and garbage. Green shrubs with little red blossoms and tall cacti with fluffy bulbs growing atop, the landscape was markedly different here than "home". The sand dunes were large with slithering patterns painted by snakes decorating the smooth surfaces. The dried up waterbeds were lined with resilient greenery and there were dried up deposits of many different species of wildlife. A truck drove along the beach shortly after we'd anchored, but not a soul was seen from then on.

The kids had a FABULOUS time exploring this beach. Ada, Sally, Riley, Heidi, Lucy, and Bronwyn found a very large partial skeleton of what we could only assume was a part of a whale. They dug fiercely to uncover it, racing against the returning tide which eventually overtook their efforts before the bones could be fully excavated for examination. Just as well. They let the creature's remains lay as they had fallen. They gathered glass bottles and fun little treasures along the shoreline, then later found the heads of 2 mako sharks laying in the debris along a shore wall. They practiced their dentistry skills and have all made some really cool jewelry out of their efforts!

We had some maintenance to do on our chain and windlass as we've had some rather irritating occurrences while pulling up anchor as of late. Our chain really needs to be re-galvanized, so Jamie pulled out approximately 300ft of chain and let it agitate on the sandy bottom. Later that day, I pulled up the chain manually while Jamie was in the water scrubbing it clean, leaving Ada to give it a good fresh water wash. The windlass all shined up and the chain back in it's locker, we finished just in time for the winds to pick up and give us a good 33+ knot blow that lasted long into the night. While not too uncomfortable, I'm always thankful we are in Arena during a spot of weather. She feels like a Clydesdale, steady and solid with her over-sized anchor and heavy ballast. The wind felt so nice whipping through the open hatches. The following night, the six of us lazed about on the dodger and in the cockpit, talking about nothing, goofing around with the camera, playing '20 questions' and enjoying that very moment in its comfort. These are moments that I kind of assumed would happen every single night (not the case) but when they do happen, it is an incredible feeling to completely belong to this hilarious, quirky, genuine group of humans.

With Punta Santa Domingo our next destination to the north in Bahia Concepcion, we had the most magical day on the water. Two brown footed boobies kept attempting to land on our bow as we left the bay, one cutting it too close and smashing his chest into the unfurled genoa! He floundered a bit, but recovered and was back at it, trying to land his efforts! I don't think they are very smart. We motor-sailed for the first bit as Jamie topped up our water, then the engine was switched off and we had an amazing sail. We sat at the bow and watched hundreds of dolphins leaping out into the air, very purposeful and seemingly on the hunt. Tiny little ones jumping alongside their mamas, we were thoroughly entertained. Moments later, a huge humpback whale surfaced beside our boat, but didn't linger long. Moments like these humble me in my smallness. What an undeserved privilege to experience creation in some of it's finest moments. These are cherished vignettes that NEVER grow old. We were just feeling really, really great! We'd finished an amazing lunch that reminded us of summers in Canada and were full of wonder in nature when Jamie noticed the hand-line was taut. We were desperately excited that our 6+ knot sailing might have been enough speed to land us a mahi mahi, our most favourite fish , for supper. All the good feelings came to an abrupt halt as we pulled in the worst catch ever...a brown footed boobie! A dead brown-footed boobie :( The guilt that ensued was horrible. As Jamie released the bird from the hook, we were all a bit down. Mostly because we'd killed an innocent creature, but also because we REALLY wanted Mahi for supper.

The water is very warm here in Bahia Concepcion. So is the air. I believe today is another 37 degree day. Lochlan complained to Jamie that the new fan he bought is blowing hot air, not cold! Jamie is working on trying to fix the fans that might have given up the ghost. I've taken Julie's advice and started sleeping in the cockpit after the bees have gone to their respective homes so that the heat doesn't keep me up all night. Speaking of bees, I appreciate bees. I respect bees. I like bees. But I seriously don't like them in or on our boat. Lucy and Bronwyn got stung last night in the cockpit. I have a finger that looks like a sausage right now because of a sting a few days ago. It's blistered and sore and I'm watching everyone’s stings to make sure we don't end up with infections. We had to circulate the quarter of onion through the kids getting stung to ease the pain. Afterbite seems to help the pain too, but honestly, the bees just really need to find somewhere else to go.

Morning hikes with Karen and Julie have been such a reprieve from the mundane moments. We have been going early in the morning, around 0730h before the sun is scorching hot. Julie has spent more time up here in the Sea and is a wealth of information which makes the walks just that much better as we explore and discuss. By the time we have seen the views, solved some world problems, Karen has taken her beautiful pictures, and I've dodged the bats and lizards, I'm so ready to swim. My shoes are off as soon as my feet aren't in danger of burrs or sharp shells. They need to be free from the hot entrapments that spare my feet from serious pain of the Mexican desert! Sundowners in the water is our other small but necessary entertainment. Sitting on a pool noodle so we stay above water, it's probably the only comfortable way to visit without melting. No world problems get solved, just minor attempts to stave off dehydration!

The kids are swimming every day, multiple times a day. Exploring the shores and surrounding land has been great entertainment for them all too, although it's hard for them to stay sunscreened and covered up for all of the hours they want to be out and about. Movies happen on occasion, but the heat has them bursting out of the boat by the time the credits are rolling! Ada and Ava are working hard on writing a novel, which is turning out really well, so there doesn't seem to be dull moments in the kids' world. We are loosely doing some boat school but keeping it simple as I organize some curriculum that we've purchased (in PDF form) for the kids. We'll try proper curriculum this time. The kids think it's funny that I say we're going to get organized, but I'm actually looking forward to something that's already organized for me! I also think it'll be easier for Jamie to help me out if he has a clue what method is being used! Our lack of online resources makes freestyling a bit too difficult! Eventually, I'd like to stock up on really great reference materials and have a comprehensive offline resource for the hard drive. Since losing it all on the last hard drive, it's been difficult to find the connectivity to replenish resources. Slowly but surely, we'll get what we need!

I'm out of thoughts. It's now too hot out to think rationally, and I have to think about supper. I wish I were organized enough to remember to soak the beans!