WHAT ARE WE DOING NOW???

Our original plan was to cruise for 2 years and then reassess. Well, reassessment time came and we decided to go home. The best reason and the main reason is for Journey. I can only relay her feelings, but she has told us that while she loves traveling and cruising, she wants to go to school.
Journey has big plans for herself and we support her 100%. Part of her plan is going to High School, meet new friends, get involved in her new school, and then a gap year. Being a sailor, we know that plans are written in sand but this is our "now".
We did put the boat for sale while we were in La Paz and had over half a dozen people look at the boat but no "real" offers. Our options then were as follows:
1. Bash back to Seattle
2. Sail back to San Carlos and leave Namaste on the "hard" for the next few years.
3. Hire a captain to Bash back
4. Ship Namaste home
 Option #1 was kicked out as the possibilities as we just don't have the time nor the inclination to Bash. ***(The Bash is bringing your boat around Cabo and taking it the few thousand miles north against the wind and seas.)
Option #3 was an option and we looked into how this could be done. We have dear friends who offered to sail her north for a reasonable fee and so this was an option on the table. The cons with this was that the ride North can be very difficult for the boat (and crew) which can translate into things breaking which equates to $$$.
Option #2 we waxed and waned with as it is super inexpensive (~160USD/mo) to keep the boat on the hard (land). San Carlos is out of the Hurricane belt but basically the boat would be sitting in the desert for several years drying out. That means gaskets on engines and other fittings would dry out, and the constant UV exposure takes a toll on the hull.
Option #4 seemed like the best except for the financial piece. There are two companies that ship out of La Paz and we got quotes for both. One quote for 20kUSD and another for 18kUSD.
This was not in our budget so we went between Option 2 and 3 with the hope that she would sell and then a whole set of different logistics would evolve.
So back and forth, mental gymnastics as we wrestled with the options. This underlying layer of stress was at times difficult to deal with as we are not good with just throwing things to the wind and seeing what the universe gives back to us (insert control freaks).
We continued to explore all the options and then we were told about a group of boats going together on a ship and we were given their contact information. We were able to contact them and we were able to be a part of the "group" to get a better rate. Once we got our final quote which was at a considerable discount but still $$, we made our decision to ship.
Deep breathe, we committed (sent in the $$) for shipping. So shipping a boat....A large tanker/container boat drops anchor out in the bay (the boat starts it journey in Florida, through the Panama Canal, Costa Rica, and then La Paz picking up cargo (yachts) as it sails. The ship has large cranes that they position over the side of the boat where you then bring your boat next to the tanker. They drop slings and the crew essentially take over the boat while you jump off into a panga that whisks you to shore. We know this to be true as John assisted friends of ours who loaded their boat  on the April ship. We don't know when the boat will be in La Paz-just approximate dates.
So what to do in the meantime...take off and sail for a few weeks, our last hoorah in Mexico.
Here are a few pics from Guatemala since I don't have any pictures of shipping the boat just yet.

Hiking Pacaya Volcano, Guatemala

Lake Atitlan, Guatemala

Finding the comforts of home in Antigua, Guatemala

What a Ride Part II

Our friend Tom flew back on March 16, 2016 and we flew out on March 17, 2016 for Guatemala. We had wanted to do some inland travel in Mexico but as our visa's were coming due, we felt this was a great option. We have heard from other cruisers about Guatemala so we wanted to check it out too.
We flew from La Paz to Guatemala City, landed around 2pm and then caught another flight out to Flores. Flores is the capital of Peten, the northernmost state and is an easy jumping off spot to visit Tikal, ancient Mayan ruins that have been uncovered.
Flores is a beautiful place, situated on Lake Peten Itza connected to the mainland by a causeway. The town has an European feel with cobblestone streets that wind around the island, beautiful colorful homes that cluster the island and narrow alleyways. It took us all of 20 minutes to walk the circumference of the island. We stayed at Los Amigos Hostel (amigosholstel.com) where we rented a private room with AC/BR for 350Q (8Q=1USD). It is a great Hostel, teeming with 20 somethings buzzing around the garden area where there is a pool table, hammocks, a restaurant/bar and a travel agency. Yes, John and I felt quite old and Journey's eyes were lighting up at the future possibilities of traveling and staying in Hostels. It was quite warm and muggy so we quickly settled into our room, turned on the AC and then made our way for dinner. The restaurant has an excellent international menu serving salads, felafel, hamburgers, pasta,etc. We made our travel arrangements for the Sunset Tour of Tikal the following day.
Tikal National Park is the ruins of an ancient city unearthed in the rainforest of Guatemala. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site and dates back to the 4th century BC. We explored the ruins, watching Spider monkeys fly through the trees above us, and listening to the eerie calls of Howler monkeys as they shrieked in the tree tops. We learned about the history of the Mayans and ended the day by watching the sunset over the rainforest canopy while sitting on top one of the pyramids.
After 2 days we flew back to Guatemala City (1 hour flight) and then hired a driver to take us to Panajachel (about 5 hour drive) which is on Lake Atitlan. We stayed in another hostel but this time in a mixed dorm that slept 8. Initially we were the only ones but over the 5 days we stayed, the room filled up. Fortunately, we had lovely "room mates" from all over the world. At night we would share our stories from the day and discussed future plans for the next outing.
The lake is surrounded by several volcanos and if the weather is clear, one can have breath taking views. Small ferries take you to the many little villages that dot the lake to explore for an afternoon or one can choose to stay in these villages. We explored a few of them and enjoyed the unique personalities of each village.
On Sunday, we headed to Chichicastenango affectionately known as ChiChi where it is said that it is the largest market is Central America takes place and is open on Sunday and Thursday. Chichi sits at about 6500 ft elevation and is an easy day trip from Pana. Indigenous Mayan K'iche make up the largest percentage of villagers. Most people speak K'iche as their first language and then Spanish. It sounded like a combination of Russian with tongue clicking. People are dressed primarily in traditional native dress of colorful textiles. Artisan goods, chickens, vegetables and so many other products are sold here. The streets are a maze of stalls making it difficult to make decisions about what textiles to purchase as one was as lovely as the next. We can confidently say we contributed to their economy that day.
From Pana, we took another bus to Antigua. This time we tried our first Airbnb. It was also Semana Santa, or Holy week. To be clear, this is an EVENT! During this week, millions of Guatemalans flock to Antigua to honor the crucifixion and resurrection of JC with parades of floats, elaborate carpet-making and candlelight vigils.
We got to our apartment and it was lovely! Everything was as promised via the owner. We had a 10 minute walk to town through cobblestone streets and colonial architecture. Antigua is a lovely city with interesting architecture, dilapidated churches that somehow are charming, boutiques shops and restaurants that will satiate the palate. We wondered the streets, enjoying a parade (day and night), as well as the alfrombas (sawdust carpets) as we explored.
We hiked Pacaya Volcano which is an active volcano and when we got near the top, we watched the steam rise from the cone as we slid on lava. At night we could see Acatenango volcano spewing lava and by day blowing ash into the sky.
After 2 weeks, we were ready to come home to Mexico. We returned to La Paz on 3/31/16.

Los Amigos Hostel, Flores, Guatemala. Journey taking it all in.

Typical alley way in Flores.

The chaos of Chichi. These are the "chicken buses." 

Lake Atitlan with Volcan Atitlan

The colors of Chichi.

Beautiful Alframbas or sawdust carpets made during Semana Santa, Antigua

Alframbos

John loves rickety suspension bridges. NOT!

San Marcos, a small village on the Lake known for  Hippie Culture.

Panajachel Nature Reserve Hike

A family affair making Alframbas

Women carrying a float

Hiking lava fields on Pacayo Volcano

Taking a break hiking

WHAT A RIDE! PART 1

There are many times when I thought, "I should be writing on the blog.." and didn't. So here is the summary of the last 5 months.
We came back to La Paz this year with the intention of sailing south again to the Mainland. As with most cruisers, plans are written in sand. We love La Paz, and due to the El Nino year, the Northers (Northers are strong winds that come down from the North and funnel down the Sea of Cortez bring large seas and high winds) were quite strong and weather windows were short. We also had company coming to visit us in La Paz which meant we would only be on the mainland for about 6 weeks. So we got a slip at Marina de La Paz and nested.
As a family, we decided that we don't like moving around all the time. It is tiring and we enjoy feeling connected to an area-experience the day to day life. So over the last several months we got involved in many activities. We volunteered at a shelter for battered women and children. Journey saw first hand some very trying circumstances that people live under daily. For example, the children take 2 exposed wires and put them together to turn on the light bulb next to the sink. We also volunteered for the second year in a row at an orphanage, teaching English to teens. The kids love Journey as she is very relatable to them and I enjoy it as well. We volunteered in several fundraisers to raise money for local charities that Club Cruceros www.clubcruceros.net supports. Journey revived her "Island Girl Bakery" business and sold/donated funds and we modeled in a pageant as well.
Journey has been busy with 9th grade boat/world schooling which kept us in a steady rhythm.  We hung with old friends that we cruised with last year and made new friends.
We flew to Nuevo Vallarta to Paradise Village www.paradisevillage.com in January as friends from WA came to visit. It was great for Journey to see her friend, grab some pool/beach time as it was for us adults. In February, our niece, Rosie came to visit for 2 weeks as she just graduated from college. We had a blast as we went to San Ignacio www.kuyima.com with our friends on sv Savarona and sv Astrea to see the mother whales and their new borns in the lagoon. We were surrounded by these grey whales who would spy hop all around the boat to check us out. We also went for a sail to Espiratu Santos for the weekend with our friends on sv Mana Kai. We snorkeled, paddle boarded with dolphins and sea turtles, and had a humpback breach about 25 times. Truly magical.
In early March, John's friend came to visit for a week. We did a trip to Magdelena Bay to see the Grey whales ( w just couldn't get enough)and were blessed to actually touch them and played with them for an hour. Again it was a great trip and so fun showing Tom

Kayaking/Paddle boarding around the anchorage at Espiratu Santo

Volunteering at the orphanage in La Paz, BCS

Sunset with Rosie, Journey, and Cindy at Candeleros anchorage 

Getting to La Paz

We left Puerto Escondido after a few days and we had a short window that we decided to make the 21hour passage in one shot. The passage started off well, sails up, sun out and we settled into our course. The winds started to build and the sea started to stack-the wind was directly behind us at 20-25k and the seas were on our aft beam. This left the main flogging and a bumpy ride. As the sunset and winds began to build, we decided to reef the main. Unfortunately, we did this a little late as the winds were whipping and as we headed into the wind to lower the sail, we forgot the forward hatch was open just as we buried the bow in the water. I screamed to close it and Journey jumped into action to close the hatch. Disaster was averted and no water went below. As John tended to the sail with his lifejacket and harness in place, he reefed the sail. As the seas bounced us around, John fell into the dodger on his way back to the cockpit breaking the zipper between the dodger and the bimini. We sailed into La Paz at 4 am and drifted outside the channel until first light where we then made our way to Marina de La Paz.
Once we docked, we realized that we had broken the aft end of the boom on the track. We think from the stacked seas and flogging sail, the aluminum failed and the car that holds the end of the sail pulled out of the track.
So we spent the first month in La Paz getting reacquainted with old friends, cleaning the boat, repairing the dodger zipper, and taking the boom off for repair.

                                                          Heading across the Sea

                                            Beautiful sunrises and sunsets do not disappoint!

                                        Dolphins are always welcome to ride our bow wake!

Broken Boom-boo hoo.

Sophmore Year

     November 2015

After a few weeks of putting the boat back together, celebrating my 50th with a grand surprise party of my cruising family arranged by Journey and John, we finally were ready to leave San Carlos. We tucked “Matt” away at Totonaka RV Park where Joseph (the owner) and Jose (manager) have been so accommodating. 

We left around 0945 with some help managing the dock lines and motored out into the Sea. Although there was very little wind, we put on the iron genny for our crossing to Puerto Escondido on the Baja about 130nm. We would have preferred to stop at a few anchorages prior to PE, but a very windy weather front is coming in and we wanted to be tucked in for that. We will hit some of the places we are passing in the Spring when we come back north. 

So last year when we would do passages or crossings, Journey usually would make herself scarce. Typically she would barricade herself in her room, watch movies, read, and nibble on snacks. She was not fond of the passages and often she would be edgy and nervous.

This passage I see a more seasoned and mature young lady. She took over the helm while John and I were on deck shaking out some mainsail issues. She did this without hesitation or trepidation. She stayed up in the cockpit the entire day and on deck. She watched the beautiful sunset where I watched her take a bunch of selfies (it is quite funny to watch a teen take selfies) and we all screamed and leaned over the bow to watch the dolphins play in our bow wake as they welcomed us back into the Sea. We saw lazy sea lions waving their flippers at us (or flipping us off), we saw sea turtles float by us, and John saw a shark fin.

Since this is a 24 hour passage, non stop, we look for things to do. We played Boggle which my family hates to play with me and so I know they were desperately bored to suggest such a game. I am a bit of a word hound and win every time.  John and Journey played checkers and then we watched several episodes of 30 Rock and Grey’s Anatomy.

We ate well which is also unusual for us as we tend to eat very little on passages but this time we all had good appetites. 

The day was overcast which was nice since it kept the heat of the sun from blazing on us and night time came early-around 6ish with a moonless sky. The starts are robust without city lights and I love gazing out the cockpit to feel the breeze and look up at the stars.

We are buddy boating with sv Windsong. We find comfort when we do passages to have other boats to travel with-we do check ins on the VHF every 3 hours to say hi, check equipment, and to hear a friendly voice.

It is 1232 on November 10, 2015. Our speed in 6.7k, motor sailing with the main up, 10.6k of apparent wind and our arrival time is around 0800 to Puerto Escondido.

The highlight of this passage for me is having Journey be an integral part of our crew. She had a difficult year last year as she was separated by everything she is comfortable with; her home, friends, traditions, security and exchanged it for flexibility, uncertainty, and adventure. I am looking forward to our sophomore year cruising.

The End of The Road

We are now at about 15,000 miles that we have travelled by RV and car since June. We admit that this has been one of our best summers ever! We love the RV lifestyle-it is so easy and we were able to cover so much ground and experience so much of the USA. It is a completely different experience that the boat. We were blessed to be able to experience both since they are so different. Our top 10 favorites of this summer in the RV:

1. Spending time with family and friends
2. Zion National Park
3. Hiking Angels Landing in Zion.
4. Bryce National Park
5. Lunar Eclipse over the Grand Canyon
6. Yellowstone National Park
7. Mt. Rushmore National Park
8. Crested Butte
9. Viewing wildlife in front us (Bears, Elk, Bison)
10. Learning the Geology/History of the areas we visited.

We are on the countdown until we return to San Carlos, MX to get the boat back in the water. We are looking forward to reconnecting with our cruising family that we miss so much.

                                                          Niagara Falls (Maid of the Mist)

                                                                         Jackson, WY (PC Journey)

                                                                       Yellowstone NP

                                                                     Canyon de Chelly (PC Journey)

Class of 2019

September 7, 2015
Tomorrow Journey starts her freshman year of High School, class of 2019! We have gone from boat schooling to road schooling and will bounce back to boat schooling in another month or so. There are many people traveling in different capacities with their children and I am always intrigued to the choices they make regarding school.  Unschooling,  online curriculum, traditional curriculum, and do it yourself curriculum are just some of the choices available. There are plenty of "named brands" to be had for homeschooling such as Calvert, Keystone, Switched on Schoolhouse, and Time 4 Learning to name a few. We have used Calvert (Grades 2-6) and enjoyed most of it. It is traditional, classical education at home. Calvert sends a huge box of supplies including lesson manuals for the teacher. This felt good to me when we were on terra firma, working, and living a more traditional lifestyle.
When we left on our trip, we mostly unschooled for 8th grade and opted for more experiential learning. We did have Journey do math (Calvert) everyday, she picked out a science book which she read, she read many books and wrote in her journal. I wish she would have written more on her blog but some battles just went to bed. At the end of the year, she told us that she felt like she wanted more structure. Great-we loved the fact that she chose her learning style.
John and I tend to be type A people in many ways-education is one of them. We both have multiple college degrees and we are believers in education. Knowing that Journey would transition to high school on land so we wanted to make sure we had a curriculum that would meet/exceed a typical land based education. We reviewed many and found one that checked most the boxes for us as there is compromise in everything.
For us, online education is not an option due to internet connectivity is moderate to poor in the areas of Mexico that we travel. We wanted a curriculum that would take me out of the equation as teacher and foster independent learning. The curriculum we have is a cd based curriculum that auto corrects about 85% of her work (tests and quizzes). It provides a portal for the teacher so that monitoring can exist as well as provide rubrics to grade the other 15%.
With that said, we shall see how it goes!