splendid isolation: January 2014

Michael here,

Since we've first been aboard Splendid Isolation her V-Berth has been in questionable condition. The paint chipping off the walls, with black mold filling the crevasses. But you've got to realize, a new paint job on the interior is not nearly as important as all other necessities for travel. We spent all that time preparing for cruising, leaving the cosmetics behind. It was such a shock on the mind to open the boat back up and re-enter our rustic world that we had left behind in May. It seemed so surreal that we had lived all that time on the water, so primitive. Comforting to melt right back into the simplistic lives all humans are recommended.

Getting back to the boat yard, opening up the boat, and moving back on, showed us that this desperately needed to be taken care of. We decided it was time to refurbish our "bedroom". No sense in sleeping in such a toxic area now that we have the time and means to clean it up. We spent a few days scraping, sanding, taping off, and cleaning the v-berth. Then over the next few days, two coats of paint were laid out. We had carried with us a few pints of paint that we purchased for cheap in California. Chip, mold, and mildew proof, this was the way to go. The pictures may be out of order due to multiple camera uploads, but you'll get the point.

from the head (toilet) forward.

Back to Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico

December 31, 2013 ---> January 12, 2014

Hi guys! It's Claire. I decided I would tell you about our arrival to Guaymas and so on. We arrived at Mariana Seca Guaymas also known as the boatyard, and so perfectly named "camp dirt", on new years eve. We were welcomed by our old friends the Brits, which is what everyone else refers to them as. Their names are Pat and Kirsty. Pat directed us to the gathering of other soon to be good friends drinking and caring on around a very large unfinished wooden boat which is known to everyone in the yard as Ted's Bar and Grill. We welcomed the new year with laughter, onion rings, and dancing with people we had just met.

The next morning we began to settle into our not so clean home. There was a lot of work to be done, as there always seems to be. Michael set to work first on the batteries, for they are the most important thing in our home. After he got us up and running again off land power, I helped him reassemble our solar panel. We were ready to go, except for the on going mess that always seems to be around us. So, for the next week and a half we gradually placed everything back together again. Cups in one spot, books in another, that sort of thing. After ripping apart our 28ft home and putting it back together again we began to relax into a world we had so terribly missed. Being in Mexico was like being in a dream world. The music, the language, the food, all images of the past that were coming back to us. We were excited to hit the grocery stores and venture out into the town. You never know what you might find.

Before we had means to cook on the boat we spent our mornings having coffee with our good friend George. This is what I know about George. He is from Canada. He spends the winter months on his boat which is sitting on a trailer in the yard. He isn't too happy with the size of his 25 ft vessel but he does seem content with his life. Oh, he also has narcolepsy. We like him a lot. There are as many different kinds of people in the yard as there are boats. A story behind each one, and they are all more then willing to share their own. So we are sitting in our home in the dirt waiting for our first guests to arrive. Catherine and Alexis. Hopefully it will be a trip they remember well.

looking in through the bow

a lovely dinner of fresh cabbage, rice cakes with green onions, green beans, and chicken marinated in tiger sauce.

the moonlight over the city of Guaymas

making a cheese plate as usual

mmm chihuahua cheese

sonora beef tacos with tortillas de harina, cabbage, homemade salsa, and my personal favorite, crema.

our driveway

camp dirt

La Sancha and Splendid Isolation

most of our tarps were shredded into confetti

bilge full of water from the rainy hurricane season

no too bad for having the batteries unplugged for 7 months

piña sure is glad to be home

George's pride and joy, not me, the truck

Kirsty and Pat's home, 'Tigress'

dogo mucho crema! por favor

aww yes there it is

camels being towed through the main road in Guaymas

tacos de pescador

camarones

a small bird nest was made under our outboard motor while we were gone.

so much cleaning in such a little space

entrance into the bay of Guaymas

beautiful Guaymas

our friend Tom and Leila's boat

fish ceviche baja style

"In 1965, 16-year-old Robin Lee Graham began a solo around-the-world voyage from San Pedro, California, in a 24-foot sloop. Five years and 33,000 miles later, he returned to home port with a wife and daughter and enough extraordinary experiences to fill this bestselling book, Dove."

-A great read, best for an introduction into the cruising genre of books.