Tom and Theresa's Travels

Not too long ago, drinks aboard ship were warm, and unless you caught it and cut it up, food was preserved with salt or canned or both.  Then came small ice-boxes powered by a bank of batteries periodically recharged with an alternator, or if you had the cash, a diesel generator.  A bit of ice.  Cold storage for food.  Life was better. Now, with a sky full of satellites, we cruise the coast and communicate with the land-lubbers whenever we want.  Why would we do this?  Because sailing isn't always (ever???!!!) cheap.  Given time, UV and salt destroy.  Ropes, wires, pistons, gears, resin, paint and cloth...all must be renewed.  So some of us work. A laptop burns more energy than a playground of ten year-olds.  Four hours of screen-time, plus running the fridge 'round the clock and we end up with the genset rumbling daily for an hour or two.  And the batteries still drop below 12 all too often.  No Bueno. So we're preparing to catch the sun.  No kidding...this ain't no ha

  Sea of Cortez: Bahia Los Frailes to La Paz 104 Nautical Miles April 17 through April 26  Back in the Sonoran Desert! Most of the Baja Peninsula is within the Sonoran Desert. I love and generally prefer the tropics - lush vegetation, coconut palms, neo-tropical and tropical birds, mango and other fruit trees - but the Sonoran Desert is home & there are definitely familiar comforts in the desert .I love that wet things dry within 10 minutes after hanging them, I don’t sweat immediately after I get out of the shower, my hair actually dries during the day, the amazing sunsets, and the sunny climate.     The contrast between the sea and the desert is beautiful too.   Los Frailes was our first anchorage on the Cape.   It has a nice beach located partially within the Cabo Pulmo National Marine Park.   Cabo Pulmo has excellent diving, the only hard coral reef in the Sea of Cortez and is known for the opportunity to dive with hammerhead sharks.   There are a lot of rays in the are