I had Christmas UNO in MUERTOS.
We watched SOUTHPARK and ate tacos.
I had Christmas DOS with my family during the Birkie.
It was excellent.
Now, it's Navidad numero TRES for the winter.
Geographically.
Spiritually... a rebirth.
Greetings from gorgeous Barra Navidad,Jalisco, Mexico.
Barra, for short.
Christmas Bay, the gringos call it.
There were shipyards here in the 1560s. Over 400 years ago folks sailed from here to the S Pacific islands.
It's about 1/3 of the way to TEHUANTEPEC. So far, SO good.
It's got a nice lagoon anchorage...
...and a big bay with consistent waves and (occassionally) kiteable wind.
The seabreeze hits 10-12 every afternoon so a little common N flow and it's game on.
It's a quirky little beach town that's a lot of fun. There's a ridiculously opulent empty hotel like this...
...sharing the same lagoon with this.
Tourism is down but noone is stressing or stealing.
Everything I've encountered since leaving Muertos tells me bailing was the right move.
It's nice to be out of the desert.
Geographically.
Spiritually.
Every morning I slackline until my efforts knock down enough coconuts for the day.
I'm writing from a chair at Popeye's Bar overlooking a perfect little break.
Yesterday it blew onshore like stink and the wavekiting was good.
Launching from an anchored dinghy provided the best access to the goods... so that's what I did.
Today it's gently offshore and four friends are sniping the odd set.
Me? I'm having a beer to cool off... then I'll go join them... at low tide it'll be better.
Three little bronze surfer girls just asked me where Pavel, Jay, and Arthur are.
I said they were having a heated argument regarding varnishes. Just kidding, I miss you guys.
OUTKAST, catch up! BAJA is and isn't MEXICO.
Trust me. Barra won't disappoint.
It trumps La Paz in all aspects of BOATBUMMING.
I also miss Derek and Caroline from Dragon Era and Glenn from VindSang.
And Mauricio from Osho Sushi... and El Jefe Loco from Carlos and Charlies.
In the week I've been here I've made way too many friends. I guess I'll end up missing them when I pull out tomorrow or the next day.
One of the unexpected joys of cruising is meeting people about as WHACKED as you are.
One old crazy lost his dog and has been threatening to torch his boat, "go down like a captain".
It's a beautiful boat.
Then there's Kak and Chris, "young lovers" whose only problem is having TWO sailboats.
Tristan and Mindy have the sickest 1964 MSK 33 catamaran. If I hadn't gotten screwed at Muertos I'd be looking for a boat just like theirs.
So many friendly folks, I haven't paid for or made a dinner in a week... every night a meal materializes. I just have to be findable.
Hell, there's even a windsurfer here.
Yes, Barra is RAD. But further SOUTH, the surfing and kiting will get even better.
I'm awaiting a motor repair by JESUS, outboard mechanic and god-fearing high school physics teacher. He sips cerveza while tweaking motors and clearly knows his shit.
Once the Merc 25 is up and running again, I can either sell it or use it to mob around between BREAKS and ANCHORAGES.
I'll probably hold onto it until PANAMA. After talking with Mitch, who wrote the book on Panama's Darian Gap, I'll find a decent price there.
All I gotta avoid is this.
And watch out for whales. During the crossing, I almost hit asleeping one. Late night, moonless, the phosphorescence showed how close a call it was.
Just finished rereading Vonnegut's tragic "MAN WITHOUT A COUNTRY" and all the WALLY LAMB novels my mom gave me.
Listening to Ancient King, Midnite, RATM, and such.
Maestra is throwing sand at the computer. It's time to go.
I'm sailing (hopefully) tonight. Will anchor off Pasquales to surf tomorrow day and then keep going.
My next major stop is close to this.
MAX