Swine Flu Fun

Over the past 3 weeks or so swine flu, and possibly a pandemic, has become international news. In Baja California Sur we have had no confirmed cases of swine flu. The government has done a great job of stressing the preventative measures for avoiding sickness -- and apparently the dorado have been listening as well.

Signs unstolen

On a corner of the block which houses the sacred Catedral de Nuestra Senora de La Paz one can still find a street sign to assist with directions and location. Unfortuneately these are rare in the city. Possibly the angels of God hold these relics in place.

Catedral de Nuestra Senora de La Paz

Sitting tall, looking outward over Constitution Square is the religious center of old La Paz, the Catedral de Nuestra Senora de La Paz. The cathedral was built during the years 1861-1865.

The Art of Sand Sculpture

Taking a stroll down the Malecon a couple of days ago, I happened on this wonderful display of sand sculpture. The artist was preparing to produce yet another creation. These pieces are each at least 5 feet tall. Muy bonita!

Muffin, First Dog of Ship Ahoy

This is another dock neighbor, Muffin. She is quite the little watch dog and as is the case with many small dogs, she is a big dog in a small dog's body and doesn't know it! Her people live on Ship Ahoy and she often reigns supreme from her doggie bed/throne sitting in the shade on the bow of her boat. Muffie likes to be taken for rides in the dock cart as the pavement can be a wee bit too hot on her tootsies.

Fishhook Fashion

It was so wonderful to be back down in La Paz once more. It was no time at all before I had seen old friends and felt like I had never left. I found one of our dock neighbors, Jim, of the S/V Curious, making a necklace in the shape of a fish hook. It was made of a cow bone he had found laying around out in the desert. I was admiring his work on this little jewel and he insisted it was for me. Not having brought much in the way of jewelry with me it is my fashion statement when I get 'dressed up'.

Dolphin Blue Crab Processing

Out on the campus of the University here in La Paz can be found the Dolphin Blue Crab processing plant.

These Blue Crabs are obtained in the waters off San Carlos, Sonora, Mx. San Carlos is on the Mexican mainland north of us in the Sea of Cortez a little more than 200 miles.

The crab arrive in the afternoon and are cooked overnight at the processing center.

Here the crabs legs are cut apart from the bodies.

Crab legs and crab meat packed in containers.

Workers are cracking crab legs and crab bodies and prying the meat from the shells.

The workers are paid 7 pesos for every kilo of crab processed. The paper on each workers sleeve is used to keep track of the number of kilos the worker has finished. Each worker averages 40 kilos processed per
shift.

Each day the Dolphin Blue Crab processing center processes 2000 kilos of crab. When the crab leg and crab meat packages are finished they are shipped to Houston, Texas. None of it stays in La Paz or Mexico.

"Kiloran" makes it ashore

This evening I was able to watch the process by which a sailboat is removed from the water and put 'on the hard'. The sailboat "Kiloran" belongs to my friends Anne and George who are leaving to head back to the States for awhile.

George standing on the trailer which "Kiloran" is being coaxed to float onto.

George in the water making adjustments to the boat and trailer positions

With Anne in the cockpit "Kiloran" is pulled up the loading ramp

Out of the water, balanced on twin keels, and the bow

Anne, queen of "Kiloran"

Yes, we have Apple Bananas - No Kidding

These tasty little banana wannabes look very similar to our common ol' Chiquita treat in the States. But these 'apple bananas' are only about 3 inches long. The peel is less than half as thick as our Chiquitas and they have a definite light apple flavor attached to the banana flavor we are used to. I had never seen these before, but then I am not exactly a savvy grocery shopper either. Maybe Iowa has had them all along. ---But that's doubtful.

Look What's For Supper Tonight!

Huachinango Frito Mediano!

Fried Red Snapper at La Costa Restaurant after a rousing late afternoon of Mexican Train Dominoes.

Doesn't get any better than this!

Kismet's Departure

Gina, Mary and Maggie on Maggie's sailboat Kismet minutes before leaving Marina de La Paz for San Carlos, a trip of about 2 weeks.

Kismet starting the voyage north and east to San Carlos.

Argo Revisited

After Kismet left this morning I was better able to get an additional shot of Argo. From this angle you can see the dinghy which rests in a cradle on top of the master stateroom ( Ron's bedroom and bathroom ). The middle section is raised about 3 steps and is the main living area or salon. There are twin doors, one on each side, which provide a wonderful breeze especially during the evening and night time hours. For now we sleep with both doors open. No AC needed. YET. Above the salon is the flybridge where we mainly stay when we are cruising. It also makes a very nice place to set up our lounge chairs for reading or in my case, watching what is going on in the marina.
The forward area, in the two shots from yesterday, is the bow. The v-berth, which is my room, is there as well as a second head, ( bathroom ) and the galley ( kitchen).
The windows are covered as much as possible to keep the heat out and keep the interior from fading, cracking, etc. from the destructive power of the sun's rays. A blue awning called a bimini covers the flybridge giving us shade and helping to keep the temperatures down in the boat as well.

Argo

This is Argo, my home with Capt. Ron Miller in the Marina de La Paz.

I believe there is a picture, looking toward the stern of Argo in one of the first blogs items posted over a year ago. ( Jan.15,2008 ) At the moment Argo has been newly repainted and does not have the boatname on the transom ( backend ) replaced yet.

Marina de La Paz

Just inside the iron gates you are able to see this large sign for the Marina de La Paz. The Marina was started in 1983 and has slips for up to 150 boats up to 160 feet long. On the property also is a restaurant, The Dock, a laundry, shower house, Club Cruceros with a great lending library, and services for boat repair, carpentry.

The second shot is from in front of the shower house looking toward C Dock where Argo is located.

This is C dock. Kind of like having streets and addresses for the boats here. Argo is actually at 321 C Dock at Marina de La Paz. About half way down on the right side. Just makes a pleasant walk to the entrance. Timewise it will depend on how many of your marina friends you stop to visit with along the way.

Jesus de Carasol - Jesus of the Shell

This is the Jesus de Carasol statue that is to be found along the Malecon in La Paz. It was made by Maria Eugenia Sanchez and was originally placed underwater for divers at Balandra Beach. It was fairly recently relocated to the Malecon where it is one of my favorite of the many statues on display.

This is how the statue of Jesus de Carasal, or Jesus of the Shell appears as one is strolling down the Malecon. The Bay of La Paz is noticable on the right. The street is lined with palm trees that are strung with lights on the trunks that are lit at night. The bay has twinkling lights of its own, from the numerous boats anchored off the beach.

This is an excellent place to stroll and enjoy the sunsets and other strollers, or a good place to jog or bicycle ( as long as the cops don't catch you ). There are interesting restaurants and shops across the street from the Malecon as well as nice tourist hotels such as Los Arcos.

Return to La Paz, BCS, Mexico - It's About Time!

HOLA from Mexico!

It has been two days since my return to La Paz and I am so excited to be back aboard Argo with Capt. Ron Miller. There have been a few changes since I was here last, just over a year ago. My first and maybe greatest shock was passing a brand new Super Walmart and Sam's Club at the edge of town. What could be next? Despite my feelings for Walmart which most people know, I have shopped there twice in two days.

The two photos are of the Wyland mural just across the street from the Malecon here in La Paz. It rises 3 or 4 stories tall. Wyland has various murals all over the world. This one is spectacular. He does have local help when these are painted. The pelican which hovers over the whale, better seen in the second photo, was actually painted by Frank Hills, a local artist and one of Ron's friends.

Begone Gaijin! Or Something Like That - Possibly

There's a new statue down at Cape Zanpa. A native Okinawan man pointing off to the distance. Has he spotted one of the trading ships returning from China? Maybe he is recounting his days as a fisherman on the Cape. Or maybe he is trying to tell me that my 3 months are up and it is time to head back to the good ol' USA.

And weather, and all other circumstances permitting, that's what I will be doing in about 12 more hours.

It has been an incredible adventure experiencing so many wonderful sights, and sounds and cultural exhibits, food, shopping, photos ops, etc. Ron has been a most generous and knowledgable host for these past months. Many, many thanks Ron.

Sayonara!! to Okinawa and Japan. Aloha, briefly to a 9 hour layover in Honolulu, and then Hello, Iowa!

Chatan Ferris Wheel

One of the last things we did today, Saturday, was to ride the Chatan Ferris Wheel. It has quite a view of the base, the Chatan 'American' area, and the ocean. The ferris wheel does not stop, but moves very slowly. 500 yen, or approximately $5 for one revolution which lasts approximately 15 minutes.

Icons of Yomitan

Driving by Yomitan Cultural Center, across the road from where the Yomitan Festival was held last weekend, I once again saw these images on the side of the YCC. Ron obligingly stopped so that I could get the photos. The first, of course, is the image of the trading ship we were witness to seeing at the Festival in all its resplendent glory.

The second photo is of one of the most well known objects on the island of Okinawa, the Shi-sa Dog, with the image of the Zanpa lighthouse in the background. The Zanpa lighthouse is within easy walking distance of Ron's home here in Yomitan.

The third photo shows the sanshin, the traditional musical instrument of Okinawa. It has 3 strings and the body of the sanshin is usually covered with snake skin, either python, or the native Habu. The wall behind the sanshins represent the many rock foundations of castles still to be seen on Okinawa. At the right are two forms of the bingata, or cloth specially produced on Okinawa.

Mr. President

34th Annual Yomitan Festival

Ron lives in the town of Yomitan here on Okinawa. It is known for its incredible pottery making. Each fall, in the beginning of November, Yomitan has a two day festival. The festival is dedicated to the fall harvest, mainly sweet potatoes and sugarcane. It is also dedicated to the health and well being of the Yomitan village.

There is music, competitions between groups of sanshin players, ( the traditional Okinawan music ) exhibits of bonsai, pottery, and sugarcane production. Food, drink, children's games such as fishing for goldfish. Flower exhibits and sales. The festival is culminated on Sunday night with a fireworks display and the launching, or towing, of the trading ship into the main arena of the festival grounds.

Lights, Action, Entertainment

There was a lot to see at the Yomitan Festival over the weekend. On Saturday there were several displays of wondrous juvenile talent. Dozens of children racing, and marching, and waving flags, scarves, and artistically decorated pop bottles. Their enthusiasm for their sports was boundless.

Yeah, Treats

Absolutely no reason to go home hungry from a Festival.





What's a festival without treats? The first little fellow was eating what appeared to be squid--which was disappearing at a phenomenal rate. Washed down with some good old Kool-aid perhaps.

Ron and I on the other hand sampled Okinawa's version of corndogs, a sort of tortilla covered hotdog, and shown here, a deep fried spam and cheese sandwich and potato chips-on-a-stick. Does the Iowa State Fair know about chips-on-a-stick?

Up Close - The Ship and her Royalty

In the afternoon the Yomitan trading ship sat in the parking lot for all to admire and enjoy. And for photo ops of course. I am perched in the bow of the ship . I am grateful to know that I will not actually be setting sail for China in the hopes of advancing trade as well as exchanging customs and culture as the Okinawas of past centuries were known to do.

The three gentlemen shown with me are the representatives who stood in the bow of the boat for the procession.