I love when a plan comes together. Often times when there is calm weather a west wind will form overnight and then dissipate a few hours after sunrise. We took advantage of this phenomenon and sailed north to San Juanico. Well at least half the way. Which in the Sea of Cortez, when on a schedule, is unusual.
Feeling the need cool off, we headed to a spot that Mike and I had snorkeled a few weeks ago that was flush with thousands of small fish and lots of large triggerfish, grouper, parrot, and cabrillas. It was sad to see but the large fish had all been harvested. A few weeks ago we had seen a number of groups camping on the beach that were spending a lot of time spearfishing and it looks like they cleared the place out. I’m not innocent, as I do fish, but I do it away from snorkeling areas and only take a few fish from one area. It was a sad reminder of the pressure that our oceans are under and how fast an area can be decimated.
With a full moon the next evening the low tide, was super low. Like the kayak needed help the last 50 meters to shore because of the lack of water. This gave us the advantage when at Ramada beach that we could walk around the rocky cliffs to the spit of land protecting the beach – something Mike and I had been blocked from doing. We were taking a circular path from the kayak to the beach, to the fancy houses on the hill, to the Cruiser’s tree, and back to the kayak. After leaving the beach we met up with Steve and Margo on Stargo. We had met Steve earlier in the day when he was out paddle boarding. We chatted a few minutes before heading off in opposite directions racing the setting sun.
Thanksgiving day! The plan was for a Thanksgiving dinner of a whole chicken (turkey is hard to come by in Mexico), rosemary potatoes, roasted vegetables, and homemade stuffing. Also on the agenda was Julia and I sharing a list of five things we were thankful for. As the sun rose I paddled my kayak to my favorite spot in San Juanico to stare out at the ocean and work on my list. On the paddle I was befriended by a nice couple (Marie and PJ) on a power catamaran named Domino. They invited me aboard for tea. I learned that they spent three years in Paraguay building their boat and the last nine years sailing to Brazil, the Caribbean, the Galapagos, French Polynesian, New Zealand, Hawaii, and now Mexico. Wow. Such an impressive a journey. Soon nearly two hours had past and I still have work to do so after a tour of their home I was off to my spot.
The afternoon was spent, as most Thanksgivings are, cooking. I was quite happy with how everything turned out, even without pumpkin pie for dessert. Dinner out of the way it was on to our lists, we went back and forth, both of us exceeding five things. My 2018 list:
1. That my family is healthy and safe
2. That I have the ability to follow my dreams and sail in Mexico
3. That I have a wife who supports me and accepts up with my adventurous spirit
4. That my body does not physically limit my activities
5. All of the amazing food and cocktails I’ve enjoyed over the last year
6. The time sharing the cruising life with 21 people (11 of whom I didn’t know a year ago)
Dinner went longer than anticipated and sun wasn’t willing to wait so a planned sunset beach walk was scraped. Still short of spending Thanksgiving with my family, but it was a good Mexican Thanksgiving (with a full moon).
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