Sherman we must go back one more time to quickly get caught up with Euphoria
so set the Wayback Machine for November 2014
Our destination will be San Carlos, MX

A few weeks getting the boat ready and off we went for our first crossing of the sea.  We set the hook in one of our favorite spots, San Juanico.  For almost 3 weeks this was our view of the sunrises while enjoying a coffee on deck.

Below is a slide show of our trip down the Baja to La Paz, we arrived December 9th

Remember our trip to Reno, NV to visit Curtis & Katie from s/v Aurora, here we caught up with them again in Puerto Escondido where Katie was in town for a few weeks.  After spending time on Isla Monserrate, Bahia Candeleros and a day in Loreto it was time for Katie to fly home and our buddy boating journey began with Curtis. We worked our way down to La Paz stopping along the way, it took us about a week.  There are a few pictures of some of the damage that Hurricane Odile caused.  We were in La Paz for about a week getting provisioned up and enjoying dinners out and dock parties.  Poor John off of s/v Scot Free Eh was to spend the winter in La Paz while the rest of us continued our way over to the mainland and down the coast.  We set up our usual SSB net and talked almost everyday and daily he wished that he was cruising with us like last year.

Our journey to Los Muertos takes us past some beautiful Mexican homes and after we had set our anchor this Mexican yacht pulls in and anchors next to us.  On December 20th we started our 50 hour crossing over to La Cruz where upon our arrival we captured some more beautiful Mexican homes and 2 days later we get another mega yacht neighbor.
Friends Stan & Cheryl from Coalhurst, AB were in Neuevo Vallarta for a week holiday and looked us up, we had a wonderful time hanging out for 3 of their 6 day holiday and sailed Banderas Bay for a full day.

January 18th we pulled up the anchor and started our journey south.  First stop was Punta de Mita, then on to Punta Ipala and Chamela where we hung for a few days. We found a secret beach where we spent an afternoon chilling and downing a few beers.  Next stop was Bahia Tenacatita and the Estuary tour.  The estuary is cool in itself so I put those pics below in a slideshow of their own.

Very cool estuary, lots of birds and a few crocs.  At the end of our day we stopped at a palapa for a few coldies and when we got back to the dinghies Curtis had noticed that my dinghy was tied to his.  Well the tide could have come in and I forgot my anchor, so....

We left Tenacatita and headed over to La Manzanilla for the night and left the next morning for Barra de Navidad.  A few days there and we were off again and as we rounded the point we were treated to a show by the whales that just happened to be passing by us. Our next stop was Bahia Santiago where we did a quick estuary tour and then walked the streets and backways. It seems that every house in Santiago has a pool and if there was a family home they could be heard splashing and having great family fun.
Next stop was Las Hadas where we anchored just off of the Las Hadas Resort where the movie 10 was filmed.  Bo Derek was nowhere to be found.  A bus ride over to Old Town Manzanillo where we spent the day walking through the streets and found a back road that went by a creek where in the trees were all kinds of Iguanas basking in the sunshine.

Sitting poolside and just relaxing at the marina for a week has come to an end and tomorrow we start our trek back north ( February 11th, 2015 ).  One of the highlights of Barra is this guy who personally delivers daily fresh baguettes, croissants, danishes, pies, quiches and special breads.  Known to all as  THE FRENCH BAKER.

When we last left you we were just finishing off our summer at a wedding in Calgary. We spent a few weeks in Medicine Hat getting a few chores done and then at the beginning of October we were off. West was our direction as we needed to stop in Anacortes, WA  for a few boat parts and a stop in Tacoma, San Francisco and Reno for some quick visits with some sailing friends.

It was a beautiful day and we found a great spot to stop for the evening, right by a lake with a wonderful view of the mountains.  We sat out and even went for a nice stroll in the warm evening air.  The next morning we awoke to snow and although you can't really see it a blizzard was about to hit. Coffee was made while the engine was warming up and we were off, trying to make it through the pass before the snow really hit.  The more west we headed the more the snow turned to rain and it eventually quit altogether.

After a few days in Anacortes and a few more in Tacoma visiting and picking up boat parts we headed for Napa Valley where we unwound for about 4 days.  We found out that s/v Solastra was in town so off we went on a day trip to San Francisco and spent the day visiting with Lynn, Dean and Lulu.  While sitting in the cockpit overlooking the bay we were entertained by an airshow or the warm up practicing of the up coming airshow.
Next stop was Reno, NV for a visit with Curtis & Katie from s/v Aurora then off to Vegas.

                   Made it in time for the party                                           After party Siesta

Sometimes when we are just pulling in for a night and up early to travel again we will just pull into a truck stop.  Yup we are in there some place.

For those of you who don't remember the Rocky & Bullwinkle Show one of the segments was a history lesson by Professor Peabody where he would take his student Sherman back in time, thanks to the professors invention "The Wayback Machine".  We thought that we would borrow the machine and step back to where we had left off.  The Professor had Sherman set the machine and we stepped through.

When we last left off we were just putting "s/v Euphoria" away for the summer and jumping aboard "r/v Euphoria" for our journey back north.  We left San Carlos and had an uneventful border crossing where our 1st stop for the evening was the Casino parking lot in Green Valley, AZ.  Next we drove through Lake Havasu on our way to Vegas where we stayed a week at the Oasis RV Park, relaxing poolside and waiting for the weather to get a little warmer in Canada.  We should have waited a little longer than mid April because we had returned to a few more weeks of winter and snow.

Our home base was to be just south of Brooks, AB where we picked up a seasonal campsite.

We were in our first campsite for about a month when we started having power issues so the campground people moved us to a different site.  Much nicer overlooking the water and lots more trees.

We mostly spent the summer here and met some wonderful new friends.  August long weekend we headed to Rosebud, AB for the family camping trip.

We seemed to have hit the rainy season in southern Alberta so in true Euphoria fashion the party moved aboard.  We next moved down to 40 Mile, AB for another 4 days or so and yup more rain.

So to sum up the summer that went way too fast, we just camped around southern Alberta, visited with family and friends and finished off with a wedding in September. 

Here we are almost back where we left off, April is fast approaching and we have not put any words or pics to paper.  There is no excuse for the summer but since we have been back in the sea we have been anchoring out and have had virtually no internet.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
We are currently in Barra de Navidad and will be here for a week before heading back up the coast so maybe some blogging will get done while we have our first real internet connection. Although it's real slow.

To all our friends at sea, Thank You.  Another sailing season has come to an end but with that comes the fond memories of sharing wine, meals and stories with old friends and new friends.  We look forward to next season when hopefully many of our paths may cross again, if only for a short time it will be valued time.
Our plans so far are to head to La Cruz for an extended stay and then on down the coast leaving Mexico and venturing off to visit new countries.  Euphoria will stay further south next year but not sure just where yet.  So until then we will be travelling on land in Euphoria ll and continue the blog from there.  A glass of wine is waiting somewhere I am sure.  So goodbye to the sea for now, Land Ho!!

Off to the work yard to get ready for the storage yard
The two Euphoria's in a rare photo opp.

Euphoria is all ready for the storage yard, they will haul her over this afternoon and first thing in the morning we will depart Mexico and start our land travels.

Here we are anchored out at Punta Chivato.   This is where we set up for our crossing over to the mainland to get the boat ready for the summer.  Just north there is a beach known as Shell Beach, and for good reason, as far as you can see down the beach all you see is shells.  We searched for a few unique ones for our collection.

We were expecting 10 - 13 kts of wind for the crossing but as we rounded the point the winds were 18 gusting to 22. With a reef in the mainsail and 2/3 of the genoa out Euphoria was perfectly balanced and she took off like a rocket.  Normally this crossing takes about 13 hrs but not today.  Euphoria cut through the 6 - 8 ft seas with ease as she settled in at a little over 8 kts and 9 1/2 hrs later we were dropping the hook in Algadones Bay.

The next day we went ashore to sit in the lounge chairs, drink a few beers, contemplate the last sail of the season and admire our beautiful little Euphoria anchored in the bay.

After leaving La Paz and heading north we knew that we only had about ten days before we hauled out for the summer in San Carlos.  One of our favorite spots is San Juanico so we decided to stay there for a few days just to chill out a bit.  These dolphins have welcomed us before to this beautiful anchorage and we never pass up a chance for a photo or two.

          Contemplating the end of a season                                   Close game of Bocci Ball

After a few walks on the beach, a few dinghy rides around the bay and some relaxing on the deck, what could be next on our last few days, a game of bocci ball on the beach of course.

This magical little bay never seems to disappoint us. On our final evening  as we sat on our back deck sipping a glass of wine, this was our view.  When we return in the fall for our journey south this will be one of our first stops, to the little protected bay known as San Juanico by some but to us it's just Magic.

Week two of our stay in La Paz turns Euphoria into a cruise ship.  From the Great White North the tourists flock in. Shorts, sandals, sunglasses and cameras, let the fun begin.  Actually we had been looking forward to this week all winter long, as this was the week that some of the family arrived for their vacation.  This group has been travelling together for many years and go on many trips throughout the year.  While sitting around a camp fire one evening last summer the conversation turned to where are we going for this winters vacation.  La Paz for a week and then San Jose del Cabo for a week, as in true pirate fashion an accord had been established and the plan was in action.

     Tourists settle in on deck                     There was dancing                          There was swimming                                        

      There was sightseeing                       There was relaxing                   There was a turn at the helm

                There was beach time                       and then                 There was a Mutiny

                            They came as tourists and they leave as Euphoria crew.

What a great time we had with this fun group of family. The week was spent sightseeing around La Paz, lunches out on the town and wonderful dinners, team cooked. We sat pool side, saw some beautiful sunsets, and enjoyed the hot tub fiasco (hehe).
Thank you all for choosing a vacation spot so close to where we were and including us in your holiday plans.  We enjoyed the ride...  

Sometimes while out at sea on a night crossing you think you see something strange and can't quite figure out just what it is that you are looking at.  We had a wonderful crossing from Mazatlan with no sightings of strange things in the night but we did make it to La Paz in time for Carnival.  This years theme was an Alien one and as usual the parade was very entertaining.

We also made it back in time to help celebrate our good friend "Swags" birthday.  It was a full house at la Bartola's for Swags 65th.