The images presented were taken in the 1990's. Taken as prints, there is degradation when going from print to digital images. Also, where we were traveling sometimes delayed processing for weeks or months and humidity played havoc with the undeveloped film. Still, I wanted to share our experiences through the pictures we took.
 Carl and an organ pipe cactus. July 1990 July 1990. Organ pipe cactus was a common site throughout Baja. Even though bordered by the Sea on the east coast and the Pacific Ocean on the west coast, Baja Penninsula felt like the wild west--scrub, sand, parched land, and heat.  Los Islotes, an island with great snorkeling and scuba diving. A large community of seals lived here and they got in the water to check us out. Could be aggressive, but were not dangerous.  Anchorage at San Juanico. We shared it with five other boats, but only knew three others. We got together nearly every day we were there. July 1990. Moving north in the Sea, we stopped at San Juanico. In the anchorage with us was Cap N Kidd, Makaira, and Bijou. We all had common friends but actually met here. It was a fun place and we often got together for hiking, meals, and drinks. We found that the Sea really did bring people together. Bijou is the third boat out from shore.
 Cruisers Shrine at San Juanico. Cruisers over the years gathered shells, rocks and trash and made a tribute to all who anchored and stayed a while. Kind of strange, but it was not the only one we encountered during our travels.  Common scenery around Isla San Jose near Puerto Escondido. July 1990 July 1990. Isla San Jose is near Puerto Escondido and although we didn't plan on staying there long because the bugs are outrageous, we did end up dropping anchor and settling in. We talked to other cruisers and they said as long as we anchor pretty far out from land, the bugs aren't bad. So we did. The main reason we wanted to at least stop here was to get clams. After checking around, we found out to get to the clams we had to take Clover up a small river to a lagoon. The water in the lagoon is very shallow and very clear. What worked for us was to crouch low so the water lapped on our belly and looked for the clam syphon. When you see that, you dig. We got enough to have clams 3 straight nights. To keep them alive for all three days, we put them in a mesh bag and hung them over the side. Fresh steamed clams and Lori's home-made bread--can't beat that! For two days until we left, we were completely alone in this huge bay. What an experience.  Huge bay on Isla San Jose. Bijou is the small dot on the left. We're alone. So extraordinary. July 1990
Summer 1990. A common cruising plan was to spend the hurricane season in the Sea of Cortez. More specifically the north part of the Sea. Why? Because it's too far north for any significant storms to land. We had a soft spot in our hearts for the Sea and thought it would be exciting to explore it in our own boat. So, after spending several weeks in Zihautanejo, we headed north along with a few others we knew. Going back north is like climbing a hill or going uphill. That means going against the prevailing winds and currents. We arrived in La Paz in May, two months after leaving Zihuatanejo. We were in the Sea by June 1990. Our summer was spent in many remote, off-the-beaten-path places, meeting up with friends, snorkeling, scuba diving, and just living life on a small boat. Yes, it was HOT! Yes, there were bugs! But also, yes, there were potlucks, yes, we had an abundance of sea life to eat and to marvel at, snorkeling and scuba diving were awesome and yes there were adventures. We were glad we made the decision to explore the Sea first, which is in our back yard, before moving on to other parts of the world.  A common site when anchored in the sea around San Fransiquito Island, north of La Paz. June 1990
February 1990. While in Zihuatanejo, we decided to spend a few days in Mexico City. While there we wanted to spend a day at the ancient ruins of Teotehuacan. We caught a bus out to the site and nearly lost our lives because the bus driver overtook every car in his path regardless of whether there was oncoming traffic or not. Most of the time there was, and if they wanted to live, it was their responsibility to get out of his way. We were most grateful to arrive unharmed, but with a few more gray hairs! "Teotehuacan is a vast Mexican archaeological complex northeast of Mexico City. Running down the middle of the site, which was once a flourishing pre-Columbian city, is the Avenue of the Dead. It links the Temple of Quetzalcoatl, the Pyramid of the Moon and the Pyramid of the Sun, the latter two with panoramic views from their summits." As described by Google. We had a wonderful day wandering around impressed with the size and complexity of the city. We found ourselves speculating how it must have looked in its day.  At the top of the Pyramid of the Moon looking down on the Avenue of the Dead  Looking down on the living quarters from the top of the Pyramid of the Sun
 Las Hadas resort. Where the movie "10" was filmed. January 1990. We continued to move south. One stop was Las Brisas which is near Mazanillo. We spent our time anchored in front of Las Hadas, the white castle resort where the movie "10" was filmed. Although we were not guests of the resort, we were able to use the pool and have drinks if our budget allowed. Since the lounge chairs and towels cost $14 USD a piece, we just put our stuff on the beach and walked up to the pool. Really nice place although during the day being on the boat was a pain. The jet skis and water skiers made a lot of noise and zipped in between the anchored boats from about 11AM to about 5PM. Sipping a cocktail while sitting in the cockpit in the evening was beautiful.
January to March 1990. We worked our way south to Zihuatanejo, which was one of our most favorite anchorages. Many others felt the same and so there were a lot of boats there. On our approach, we got a distress call from another American cruising boat-- Shellback with Hank and Polly aboard. They had lost the use of their engine and wanted a tow. We towed them from 11:30 AM to 8:30 PM about 30 nautical miles!! Towing a boat into an unfamiliar harbor at night was a challenge. Fortunately, all the navigational lights worked! We were met by a flotilla of dinghies welcoming us and Shellback to Z-haut. They helped Shellback get anchored, which gave us the opportunity to tend to our own situation. It had taken us three days to make the passage from Las Hadas to Z-Huat. Although the harbor water was too dirty to swim, we really took to the village and environs. Met quite a few people there and many of them were going to do what we were planning to do-head back north to the Sea of Cortez for the summer (Hurricane season). If on the west coast of Mexico during the summer, the Sea is the best place to be if on a boat.
 Our planned trip to Mexico City was delayed a day. We stayed in this housing complex overnight, while a demonstration at the airport was dealt with. Feb. 1990  Lori on a water run in Zihautanejo |
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