Part three - Summer 2011 - Final chapter

Part one
http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=55018

Part two
http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=55047


Part three - (heavy with photos)



After our whirl wind road trip we had some unpacking and cleaning up of the Grandby to do. Whose idea was it to save the dirty dishes until we got back? We also had “set up” at the trailers to do as well. We had 5 weeks left and needed to get into our groove. Yard art is a big thing at our place. Some of it stays out year round; the marlin mailbox, the lobster trap baited with Barbie and Ken, the patio sofa (bench seat taken out of a van), vintage Baja license plates, the terra cotta sun face that looks like Pepe Smith. Other more “valuable” things are put away each time such as the rubber rattlesnake and iguana, the flag pole, the picnic table with a large whole burned through it from a mosquito candle, and “Valentina” the manequin. We’ve got it down now so it only takes a good 15 minutes to get the vibe flowing. With that done we felt like we were “home” and set out for town to get our panga from Chubasco’s front yard.

When we pulled up we found Chato’s truck parked in his usual gone fishing parking spot which happened to be right in front of the tongue of the trailer. Dern got in thinking he could move it, but even Mc Gyver wouldn’t have been able to figure out the wiring Chato had going on in there. Fortunately for us the dirt is pretty hard packed in front of Chubasco’s place so the two of us were able to push the front of the panga over just enough to back our truck up at an angle to load up. We got fuel at Martha’s Pemex and a few supplies then headed back to camp.

We stopped in at Pepito’s to see if he had any idea when our lamina would be in and wouldn’t you know it the truck from Ensenada was there and had just finished unloading. The truck driver also needed the money for the materials so he could leave. This was a puzzler. We had given the $ to Ponsonia thinking that we would still be on our road trip, AND Ponsonia was out fishing with Chato and Chubasco. We didn’t happen to have a spare $700 on us, but we dug around in the truck and fortunately found our check book, luckily with two checks left in it. Whew.

Pepito asked when we wanted the lamina delivered, not wanting to be pushy and knowing about Baja Time we said whenever, a couple of days, we had time. Pepito replied, “How ‘bout now?” shocking the pants off of us. He ended up bringing it out the very next day. Things don’t usually work out like that.





We had planned on fishing that day as we were skunked on our road trip and hadn’t had the panga in the water yet. We also had the lamina now so we could/should get going on putting the roof up. Should we be responsible or have fun?

The decision on what to do was decided for us by the 20 mph West Wind that popped up. 107* in the shade with 0% humidity. We ended up finishing the stair railing instead. One chore knocked off of the list.





With no help from the West Wind it took us two days to get two 3.5’ x 15.5’ panels installed on the front. It was frustrating to have all this work to do and not be able to do it.





It was during this time that we drove the quad into town because we couldn’t do much of anything else. We wanted to check in with Pablo, but he wasn’t back from Ensenada yet, and on Herman, but he was still in Vegas. It was a good thing we picked that day to go in because we happened to see our friends Jim and Bruce from Punta Banda standing outside of Guillermo’s. They came on out to the trailers and had a good visit. They were on a fishing adventure of their own, staying out at Daggetts.

Right after they drove away Dern spotted a whale shark right out in front of our trailers. The wind had finally settled down for a bit so we quickly got the boards unloaded and were out in the water. One whale shark turned into two. It is so cool to stand up on the board right next to these beautiful creatures. These two were small ones, only a couple of feet longer than our boards, about 15’. There were also sea turtles popping up here and there, so it was a good paddle to end the day. The wind picked up ending our whale shark tour. The evening temp stuck around 104*.



It was also this early in the trip that we decided that Mooney was going to have to be tied up at dusk. She is just a little over a year old. She became part of the family last summer with the help of Mary Ann Humfreville. We swear she is part coyote. She's a Bahia local, she has so many similar physical traits and is as smart as a whip. She is also very territorial, camping out on the corner of the patio right at sunset with those giant ears perked up, listening for the coyotes to come out. She can see/hear them before we have any clue that they’re close by, and is off in a dead heat run after them.



We were sitting on our sofa taking in the view, talking about Mooney, saying we really should tie her up before anything happens…….when bam, she was off and running. The next thing we knew she and the coyote were into a scrap only 100’ away from where we were sitting. Both of them screaming at each other as only coyotes can do.

It’s a good thing she is a good listener. She came back as soon as she heard her name, but that coyote wasn’t through. It stayed there a good 30 sec. yelping and barking, cussing her out big time before it ran away. The next night a very peey Mooney was on her lunge line just like Toogy. The coyote came back, this time with it’s buddies, probably hoping to take care of Mooney once and for all.

July 14th we woke up to 72* weather and about froze. That was almost the coolest temp of the entire trip. We used this day to cut down the lamina for the back side of the roof. We ordered 12’ length when we only needed 10’, so we had 12 sheets to cut down. We also decided that we were going to need a bed on the deck for when the roofing was finished. We didn’t want to take the patio bed up because we needed that one for shady nap time. Our scrap pile had grown quite scary, so with a good dig through it we came up with enough materials to put together a double sized cama.



Being the nerds that we are we took “how to” photos on building a Baja bed. The things that entertain us….

Recycled redwood bed legs from an old water tower...






Framing...




Finished project...


The patio bed is just like this one, but with caster wheels.

We got the bed built, wrestled the futon mattress up the stairs, the cardon/plywood nightstands situated, everything settled for a nice full moon evening under the stars…We took the dogs down to have a good run on the beach before being tied up for the night. Toogy got in trouble for ignoring his ball and eating as much dead stuff as he could find. At some point between returning from the beach and being hooked up to her lunge line for the night Mooney had found time to sneak up to the deck and chew up two of the three egg crate foam pads that covered our mattress. Now it was her turn to be in trouble.

We got up the next day well before the sunrise. The dogs had us up about 3x in the night howling at the coyotes. Mooney has taught Toogy the art of Coyote Opera, only he would classify as a baritone/bass. It is quite funny to hear them singing, but not when you want to sleep at night. From that night on Mooney slept upstairs, tied to the leg of our bed. Sleeping up on the deck is also a lot cooler than sleeping downstairs on the patio. We actually had to pull out a blanket as the temp got down to 68* that night.

The next morning was a good day weather wise so we got all but the last two panels installed on the front roof as we ran out of hex head self piercing screws with rubber grommets, and none were to be found in town. Ponsonia had a few shorties in his coffee can collection that helped us finish the front, but we still needed to do the entire back side. We sent an email from Doc’s driveway asking a friend to bring some down when he comes to visit in a few weeks.



Sunday, July 17th was the first day we got the panga in the water. The bait tank system worked great, we visited Annie’s beach to do the clam dance, collecting just enough for dinner. Launching and retrieving on our beach wasn’t a problem. We hardly had to use the military landing mats this summer.



Bait was plentiful for about three weeks, mostly right in front of town.



One morning a large whale shark cruised right into the bait parking lot, feeding off of the surface and gliding right under the pangas full of wide eyed tourists. Towards the end of the summer bait got harder to find. We had to move out further towards the light house, then around the corner towards La Gringa to find more than one or two at a time. One of our fishing days was spent shadowing Chato, Chubasco and Ponsonia.





It was fun to tag team the spots. Chubasco’s battery died out on the Pescadero spot. We had our fish for dinner so we left them with our left over bait and the battery too. The dorado came in early this summer, finding them right in front of town. A 40 pounder beached itself chasing bait in front of the Diaz hotel rooms. One of the hotel patrons ran down and wrestled it in. The yellowtail fishing was good this summer, nice sized ones up to 30lbs. We saw a couple of sharks this summer too; a 12’ Mako and a larger Hammerhead.





Our friends Brad and Charlie from San Luis Obispo pulled in on July 22nd. Brad had never caught a Yellowtail before so it wasn’t long till he could erase that off his list.







We borrowed a smoker from Chubasco and put it to work with Yellowtail, Dorado and Sierra. The guys got a lot of kayak fishing (catch and releasing) in. Dern and I fished a few times from our SUPs. I hooked up with a Toro that bent my rod, spun my board around and took me for a ride.

Another SUP adventure had us out paddling at the far south end of the bay. Hurricane Dora was giving us cloudy, overcast, very still and humid mornings, causing the water to be glassy. Perfect conditions for paddling. This morning it was 82* at 5:30 am. We were hunting whale sharks, but scored a big zero (we were out too early). We saw almost everything else though. There were whales spouting across the way towards Annie’s beach. Mantas were cart wheeling out of the water, sea lions, sting rays, sardinas, 4 pangas full of whale shark tourists, turtles and more turtles.

Off to our left a large Needlefish caught our eye, it was above the water, heading our way. When it’s belly touched the surface of the water it would fire up its tail like a torpedo and gain air. It was like a 2’ long flying fish, but acting more like a skipping rock as it never went under the water. We had never seen this before. We both stopped our boards to watch this guy go by.

It passed in front of us and as it continued on its way we talked about how far we thought it would go before finally going under when TH-WHACK another one had come from the same direction, passing in front of Dern and smacked right into the side of my left leg. Neither one of us saw it coming. This speedy guy ricocheted off of my leg, scraping across the front of my right shin before crashing into the water right beside me.

I think I ruined his day.

Dern and I were speechless at first, staring at each other with our mouths wide open, then both of us busted out laughing. I was amazed that I didn’t fall off, which I probably would have had I seen it coming and braced for it. I was pretty lucky that I only ended up with a bruise on one leg and two cuts across my shin from it’s crocodilo mouth.

When I told Ponsonia about it and showed him my battle scars he said that something must have been chasing it. Too bad we didn’t have our poles in the water at the same time.

We also took advantage of the glassy mornings to SUP surf behind the panga. The water had gotten up to 89* according to our fish finder.







Mooney had to get into the fun too!


The boys put up the back side of the roof in one day. It was a hot job, but they busted it out. We were two panels short, other than that all of our “chores” were done.

August 4th was our last day for the panga. Bait was tricky and the fishing was tough. The winds were picking up bringing huge swells out in the channel. We took refuge from the wind in the slot/lagoon at the southern end of Smith Island. The boys did some snorkeling and I played with my fishing pole. Brad came back to the boat saying that he saw some large Cabrilla hiding in the rocks. I hooked up a fresh bait and handed it over the side to Brad. He swam out and let go of the bait at just the right spot. I only hooked up once by this method, letting the fish go. On our way back in I spotted a fat patty and tossed a bait out, catching my last dorado for the summer.

The Fiesta del Mar had come to town. It wasn’t very organized this year, with different events happening at the same time. In the past we watched horse races, then moved over to the rodeo, but those weren’t offered this year. We did watch the car races, which consisted of two quads, 3 class 5s, Igor’s class 7 and then Guillermo’s class 7 pre-runner, and maybe a couple of others. They took turns doing a lap, revving their motors and making dust. It wasn’t really a race, but an opportunity to show off their car.

There was also a fishing tournament on Aug. 6th.

Dern had the panga loaded on the trailer and packed, ready for the trip back to Punta Banda. I wanted to be in the tournament but try as I might I failed at persuading him to change his plans. He and Brad were taking the panga up on the 6th, leaving me and Charlie behind in Bahia. His plan was to return on the 7th for round two with the quad.

I had let Chubasco know that I wanted to be in the contest. My plan B was to rent a panga from Sammy and ask Ponsonia to captain for me.

Friday morning Ponsonia had business south of town, stopping by our place for his usual cup of coffee. I asked him if he would be my guide. He said no, it was putting him out, he didn’t want to do it, he huffed and puffed, etc. Then he let the cat out of the bag that Chubasco had told him of my plan. They had already checked with Sammy to see if he had a panga available and he did. Jose Rosas wasn’t using his as he wanted to party for the weekend fiesta. Ponsonia said he would do it. I promised that I wouldn’t bug him for another year.

Dern and I rode the quad into town to pay Sammy for the panga, finding him at the Pemex. We bought ice for the panga cooler, sodas for me, TKT for Ponsonia. Dern BBQ’d up a tri tip so I could take lunch out. After the registration meeting at Casa Diaz we had dinner in town at Alejandra’s restaurant which is on the right hand side of town as you come into town. Then we rigged up my gear with fresh line before calling it a night.

Sat. Aug. 6th, Dern was up early to start coffee, fortunately I got up with him because Ponsonia pulled up in the panga early, 5:30am! He had teased me saying he would be the last boat on the ramp. The boys helped me load up and we were off to catch bait. About a half hour later as I was getting bait in front of town I saw Dern and Brad drive through town with the panga, heading north. They honked, we waved and they were off.

I got some weird looks and a few snickers from some of the other contestants as I was the only gal alone out there in the mix.

The weather was very bad that day. We fished the 7mi. Reef. Ponsonia had told me that he didn’t want to fish, not to pay for his entry. He was kept very busy trying to keep my bait down on the bottom and the panga from being swamped by the overhead swells. Ponsonia kept asking me if I felt sick, if I needed to “vomito”. On our way in he asked me to stand up at the center consol next to him, holding on tight. He asked me if I was scared. I answered no and asked him if he was scared. He said no.

We got very wet.

When there's a crown on Coronado (Smith) you know it's going to be rough. On this day the crown was not just sitting on top.



We weren’t the first boat in, but we were the first to weigh in. We ended up having a good time despite the nastiest weather of the summer. Ponsonia drove me back out to the trailer, where Charlie was hanging out with the dogs.


(napping hint; a flyswatter placed firmly in the armpit will scare the flies away. Serious.)

After taking a good nap we drove back into town in Charlie’s Toyota for the awards ceremony. It was delayed for 2 hours due to an impromptu drunk arm wrestling contest.

When the awards were announced I won 5th place overall! I was shocked. I won a Shimano TR-200G, a Shimano Tejera rod, Spectra line, a G Loomis gorra, a glass trophy and certificate. Ponsonia and Chumba were my cheering section, Charlie took my photo.







Charlie and I drove over to Casa Diaz to call the house in Punta Banda to tell Dern the good news. He was really happy for me. The guys at Casa Diaz already knew that I had won. Small town. Charlie and I celebrated with dinner at Alejandras before returning to the trailers. It was a warm night. 85*/ 85% humidity at 11pm.

I road the quad into town the next day just in time to meet Dern and Brad at Casa Diaz as they were just getting back from Ensenada. Of course I was wearing my new hat.

Monday, Aug. 8 was our last day in Bahia. Packing and cleaning, making records of water levels, propane, boat motor oil, etc. so we would know where we stand for our next trip. We drove into town to check in with Pablo and Herman one last time, gave the pole and reel to Ponsonia. He said next year he is going to fish too! I had planned to give Ponsonia my winnings but I wanted to show them to Dern first.



We only saw a couple of rattlesnakes this summer, one resting on our patio next to our water tanks, the other down on the beach at dusk. We had lots of scorpions, but only battled the bees for about three days. It was towards the end of the summer when the weather heated up, bringing them in looking for water. Hanging out the laundry was tricky on those days. Dern had his EpiPen at the ready.

Aug. 9th we left Bahia towing the military trailer with the quad, with Charlie following behind. Brad had left ahead of us as he was having heat issues with his Jeep. He wanted to get through the desert early in the morning. We stopped at Parcela 12 for breakfast. There was the usual road construction delays along the way, but nothing like the truck full of barrels that lost part of its load two cars ahead of us in the Urapan area.

The last five days were spent in Punta Banda unloading summer supplies, cleaning the panga and fishing gear. We went to the Country Fair on the 13th, held by the Vecinos in the overflow area at Camp La Jolla. We saw some old friends and helped support the Sociadad.

The worst day of all was Sunday Aug. 14th. Our summer was over. We left the house at 6:30am heading for the Tecate border. The wait was almost an hour. We lucked out by getting a gal who we’d seen before. She remembered Toogy from when he was a puppy. We chatted about the dogs and were let through without secondary. We never bring anything back anyway. Cody’s airplane landed in San Diego at 2pm. We pulled into our drive way in Los Osos at 9:30. It was a long 15 hr. driving day.

We were gone for 7 weeks. It sounds like a long time, but when you're living the baja life, it's never long enough. I can't wait for the day when we don't have to live by the calendar.

I'll end with a few photos of adventures that didn't make it into my report.

Thanks!

We were having some slow fishing days so to add to the "excitement" factor that was lacking Charlie borrowed Valentina's bathing suit bottoms.



The next day out on the water Brad and Dern were arguing with a huge rat nest, both of their backs were turned giving Charlie the perfect opportunity to drop his swim trucks, displaying Val's cute blue daisy thong. The look on their faces when they turned around was priceless. I laughed so hard. Wish I had my camera.



Paradise Island got a lot of use this summer.




Dern relaxing on the sofa, wearing Dog John's hat (d.e.p. John)


Mooney is never far from where the fish are. She hardly ate any of her kibbles this summer. She was too busy chowing down on coyote fare.


You won't see this style of food prep on the food network.


Mooney is also a quad girl. We couldn't fire it up without her being right there to ride along. We tried to out run her one day, she passed us by in 4th gear! She is fast!


We took Brad and Charlie out to Las Flores.




A sailboat had run a ground down at Playa Rafael. Her name was "Aunt Sur" originally from Morro Bay. Guillermo claimed salvage rights and had it brought up on his barge. The barge itself ended up sinking when it returned.




Fresh cevechi for lunch is the best!


There were days when we would see dolphins for miles.













Ponsonia had used some left over cement to make a bird bath. I dug it up out of the ground, smoothed out the edges and sealed the inside of the bath with white paint. Eventually I'll paint the inside blue.



We used an old wash tub and spare tire for a stand. My plan is to eventually stack up rocks for the base. I'm saving that project for a cooler trip.



Some evenings when the weather was very still we would plug the old school fan into the generator during dinner. Toogy needed to cool off too!


The last photo, "42 steps". It takes 42 steps to walk from the edge of the patio to put your feet into the Sea of Cortez. I can't wait.



P>*)))>{

[Edited on 11-9-2011 by Paulina]

Great job on the stories kiddo and nice pictures too!

Glad to read you and Dern had such a nice summer and are enjoying life so much.


Miguelamo

The Best!

Quote:

Originally posted by Paulina I got some weird looks and a few snickers from some of the other contestants as I was the only gal alone out there in the mix.

AWEEEEEEEEEEEESOME Report and Trip Wow! so cool!

A woman that has everything and a fantastic writer too! No wonder you are Number ......Well, you know.
Neal

Quote:

Originally posted by oladulce Quote: Originally posted by Paulina I got some weird looks and a few snickers from some of the other contestants as I was the only gal alone out there in the mix. Naw, it was your imagination Paulina. You blend right in wearing your favorite fishing hat. Congratulations on your win and what a fun summer you had.

Mil gracias todos!

Neal,
You flatterer you! You need to get yourself close to water again just to come visit us.

Woody,

My name is Paulina and I'm a Tab-a-holic. I can't help myself. I've been hooked since college. I never seem to properly calculate my summer consumption as I always run out. When I finally find Tab in Baja that will be the sign that I don't have to ever go back stateside.



Igor,

I've had that lucky fishing hat for over 20 years. The brim is now held together with duct tape. (increases the value if you ask me)



I'm glad you think Val is hot. She is a real treasure. The military guys think she's hot too. Why else would they all take second looks when they open her door for inspection?



P>*)))>{

i think your love of Tab is inspired by the lucky pink fishing hat? coincidence? i don't think so......

I feel about Cactus Cooler the same way you feel about Tab, Paulina.

Gad, that's a poor excuse for a sentence. Just got up.

Regarding Valentina:

Perhaps I can borrow and have my way with her next summer. It can get lonely in that desert.