Sprit to Spit - We rent a car and drive around.

It's been a bit of a whirlwind this past week. The boat work is nearly done, the bowsprit got reattached, bottom got painted.

Now we just need to get Cinnabar's name applied and we should be ready to go back into the water. Thursday is our estimated splash date and then departure on Friday or Saturday.

We had a box of parts sent down to San Diego so we drove up there last week to retrieve it and to do some boat shopping stateside.

 

Art on the border fence at Tecate

 Our agent was Tom's friend's daughter Lisa who works in San Diego. I could kick myself for not getting a picture of her because she's absolutely adorable, not to mention the huge favor she did by receiving our box for us. So thank you Lisa! You rock!!

The biggest West Marine on the west coast is in San Diego. They even have shopping carts!

Tom was in heaven and it was all I could do to keep him to his list instead of stopping every two feet to ogle the wares. It was a constant battle to keep him from purchasing every "gimmicky" item he could get his hands on. (UPDATE: I made Tom put a boat squeegee back on the shelf. Imagine the look on his face today when the boatyard guys cleaned our boat and promptly whipped out a big squeegee just like the one he wanted to buy to clean the water off our hull! I really had to eat crow on that one.)

Of course we didn't get everything we needed so we ended up spending the night and continuing our shopping spree the next day. San Diego is amazingly geared toward the boating community and everything you could possibly need is at your fingertips. We ended our first day there by finding a restaurant with 100 beers on tap. Tom had his choice of good craft beers and I had a big glass of wine which I desperately needed. (I'm not the world's best shopper.)

Bartender Dave pours Tom's beer.

The next day was gloomy and rainy, we had a long wait at the border due to a manhunt, then the gray, wet drive home along the coast, and I was cranky because we were too late to go through the wine country. When we finally got back to Ensenada Tom suggested we go to Manzanilla for dinner and no way was I going to say "No" to that. It is one of Ensenada's most celebrated restaurants and the food was incredible. 

Seafood Risotto and seared Yellowtail

It's amazing how a great meal and a couple of glasses of good wine can fix a bad attitude almost immediately.

Happy again with a local white

I was not to be denied. The next day we were going to visit the wine country or else!! The Valle de Guadalupe is not at all like any of the wine regions back in California. There are a few well-established and fairly commercial wineries, but most of them are very quirky, definitely off the beaten path and they seem to require long drives along rutted, dirt (or in our case "mud") roads. Claire, whom we had met at La Taberna sportsbar, runs the garden at one of the wineries and told us about a few that are her favorites.

The first stop was at Tres Mujeres winery, run by, you guessed it, Three Women. It was very odd to drive up into a small farm with nobody around and just a sweet doggie and a sign that says "Ring the bell". Uh, OK.



Ring the bell

Maria poured our wine

A few moments later a warm and friendly woman named Maria appeared and coaxed us into the cellar. She told us all about the winery, that everything was done by hand, the grapes never touch metal, the wines are aged in barrels and everything is organic. Maria didn't speak English and my telenovela Spanish came in very handy.

Tres Mujeres

Tom even sweet-talked Maria out of some of her homemade oatmeal raisin cookies.

The next winery was just up the road. El Mogor has been growing wine grapes since the 1940s but have only been making their own wine since the 1990s. It's great that the wineries decided to start making their own wines instead of just selling grapes because some terrific wine is coming out of this region. Upon arriving at El Mogor we went to their farmer's market where they sell produce from their organic garden, plus preserves, olives, salsas and sauces all made on site by the family. We purchased some fresh cheese and olive bread for later.

Tom makes some friends

After Tom communed with the fauna we headed back up to the wine cellars where we would enjoy a new varietal I had never heard of. They are the only ones in the valley who grow the Swiss Chasselas grape (the owners are Swiss and French) which makes a light and dry but fragrant white wine, absolutely perfect with the local oysters and ceviche.

There was a group of four young people with us during the wine tasting who were having a great time. Since I am a shameless eavesdropper I overheard one of the guys asking about making a future reservation for a large group under "Life & Food". That really perked my ears up because ever since we got to Ensenada Tom wanted to know how I knew about all about the best places to eat. Well theirs is one of the blogs I had been reading! So I sidled up to the guy Antonio and sure enough he and his wife Kristin are the blog authors. They couldn't have been nicer and I was able to thank them for all their helpful articles and blog posts.

Our wine hostess herded us down into the cava to taste their most famous red, an excellent Bordeaux-style blend.

My sister would love this!

No, we didn't spit the good stuff!

We had only visited two wineries and it was already mid-afternoon! We really wanted to see Claire's farm and the stunning La Villa del Valle B&B and its famous restaurant Corazon de Tierra. We were warned it was several miles along a dirt/mud road but we got into our tiny rental car anyway and headed into the hills. There were twists and turns and side-roads and we would surely have gotten lost if they didn't have a sign at every opportunity pointing us in the right direction. We finally arrived at La Villa de Valle, surrounded by the lavender bushes for which they are famous.

B&B and Lavender

Corazon de Tierra restaurant sits on the other side of the garden from the B&B and is constructed completely of recycled materials such as old railroad bridges, quail coveys, random containers, etc.



View of the restaurant across the garden

The winery is also constructed of recycled materials including upside-down sardine boats. It is all very funky but it works.

Recycled boats, bottles and wood.

We ended our day with yet another LOOOOOONG drive along a dirt and mud road, this time to the alleged best pizza in Ensenada at Ochento's Pizzarustica in the small town of San Antonio de las Minas.



Signs everywhere or we would still be out there looking for it

Once again all I can say is thank goodness for all those handmade road signs or we never would have found the place at the end of the road and perched high upon a hillside overlooking the Valle. Even though Ochento's seemed far off the beaten path to us, it was bustling and packed with large, noisy parties celebrating birthdays and other occasions. The pizza was as delicious as promised and so tasty that Tom didn't even complain (too loudly) when they told us they don't serve beer.

We had purchased a bottle of Bon Voyage wine for our friends on Windjammer but they had left before we were able to give it to them. As bad luck would have it, they had to return to Ensenada to fix an engine problem, so they would be stuck in Ensenada for another day and night while they sorted things out. At least we were able to show up with our wine and beer for an impromptu happy hour.

These guys really know how to roll with the punches

 

More pictures of the past week plus some random favorite restaurant shots can be found HERE.  

 

We managed to barely survive Carnaval and I'll post some pictures about that later. The next few days will be full of final boat projects as we prepare to splash Cinnabar and head south for warmer weather. Can't wait!

 



Check Out That Red Boat!!

The good news is that we are feeling a lot better and the boat looks absolutely fabulous! The bad news is that we've been horribly sick and the Forty Niners lost. Gah!!!

Even though Tom and I were very careful to avoid shaking hands, getting too close to people, and took our antiseptic gel with us everywhere, we managed to contract the dreadful cold and/or flu that seems to have afflicted everyone at the boatyard. So we've been kind of out of it for the past couple of weeks. I even got a hotel room for a couple of days so I could be alone, drink lots of water, access the bathroom without having to climb down a ladder, and watch soccer, Fernando Colunga's new telenovela, and Mexican Iron Chef 24/7. Just what the doctor ordered.

Apparently we are the poster child for a beautiful paint job, and rightly so. The guys did an amazing job. After the first coat of red they carefully sanded and prepped for the second round.

Jorge mixes the paint

Four guys got started early in the morning, uh...6:00 a.m., before the wind came up and they were done before noon.

 

 

After the Second Coat

 

 

After a day or so of drying they masked the boat off for the gold accents. These guys are true artists and did a perfect job of masking and painting.

 b

After the boat was done everybody was impressed that Cinnabar sports the Forty-Niner colors. Funny, we never noticed before.

More pictures of the painting job here.

Even though I was ill I managed to celebrate Australia Day with our neighbors Ashley, Kathy and Maggie and friends. (Poor Tom was too sick.) We had beer, vegemite, lots of delicious meaty things, and lambingtons. I loved it. We reciprocated by treating them to an All-American Super Bowl party at La Taberna Sports Bar. Our new friend Claire from Ville de Valle organic garden joined us and except for the fact that WE LOST, we had a great time.

A couple of days ago Tom and I were finally feeling well enough for a mini excursion so we caught the local bus up the road to the deluxe Hotel Coral and Marina to see if we might want to go there after we get out of the boatyard.

Marina Coral

It's probably too shallow for us but it's a beautiful marina, and if you stay there you have full access to the hotel grounds, pool, spa, etc. Very tempting. They gave us complimentary drink tickets and we enjoyed some of the best Margaritas we've ever had.

Best Margaritas ever!

Things seem to be winding down here (hopefully) so we are super busy getting our bottom job, scheduling our splash, watching the weather and preparing our departure. We are very keen to get back onto the ocean and head south to warmer weather. Lots of stuff happening. More later...

Hauling Out and Hanging Out

For two days we were tied off the the seal-free end tie, tingling our toes on the electric wire and trying to prevent the incessant swell from grinding us into the dock. We figured out the reason for all those big mooring balls outside the docks when one of the yard guys rowed one of our lines out to tie off to a ball to try to hold us off the dock.

We slept eleven hours the first night, met with Mario our project manager, and sorted out some of the haul-out details. We would be hauled at 10:00 the next morning.

Tom, Bruce and I went over to La Inmigración to get our tourist visas, which was a snap, then to the Capitanía de Puerto to pay our boat entry fee. For a glorious moment I thought we were going to get all our business done in one visit. Silly me. Unfortunately the Port Captain's computer was broken and she requested we come back the next day. No problema! As we strolled through town, carefully avoiding all the ankle-breaker holes in the sidewalk and keeping an eye out for the fire hydrant that attacked our friend Torben in 2010,  we literally stumbled across Ensenada's only brew pub. We all enjoyed beer samplers and a gigantic "Crown of Baja" wood-fired pizza.

That night we slept a brief 9 hours and awoke refreshed and ready to haul the boat. The 10:00 haul-out turned into 11:00, then 12:00 because it was the highest tide, and finally around 12:30 we were able to leave the end tie and move Cinnabar into position.

Tom unties us from the mooring ball.

Then there was some discussion about having to remove either the forestay or the radar tower so we could fit into the 50 ton Travelift. Then Tom had to motor out and reverse back into the dock when it was decided we would fold the tower down.


She's up!



Darn, the boss says we have to lower it some more.

The Travelift goes from the boatyard, across the public jetty (malecón) to the dock. After Tom and Bruce entertained the gathering crowd of spectators by repositioning the radar tower with their high-tech solution of a boat hook braced with cushions, the Travelift eventually got Cinnabar out of the water with just a few inches to spare under her keel.

Cinnabar crosses the malecón



Boat sweet boat.

Cinnabar finally got settled into the boatyard which freed us up to re-visit the Port Captain. It took us about 5 minutes to pay our entry fee and because Cinnabar already has a Mexico permit the customs officer wanted nothing to do with us. It didn't hurt that he was just sitting down to his lunch and clearly didn't wish to be bothered.

We celebrated by enjoying an amazing fresh seafood lunch at a small restaurant on the waterfront, Muelle Tres, tortilla espanola, sashimi, ceviche, shrimp quesadillas, and grilled yellowtail. I sipped, (OK, gulped), a glass of local white wine (OK, three glasses) and the guys enjoyed a local Ensenada brew, Agua Mala.

Bruce got his tourist visa just in time for him to return back home again, so the next day we put him on the bus for Tijuana and consoled ourselves by walking over to TNT, the friendly neighborhood bicycle shop. Tom rented a bicycle, spied a poster for a mountain bike poker run the next day and I'm sure you can guess the rest.

The next morning (Sunday) Tom was up bright and early and headed off up the canyon to sign up for the rally.


All smiles and all ready.

I followed on foot for a bracing hike uphill and hooked up with him an hour later. It was pretty cool to walk from the dockyards, through the high end shopping area, then through the neighborhoods, and finally into the foothills. I arrived to find nearly 300 cyclists of all ages and sizes and loud music with enough bass to vibrate my intestines. What a scene! We even ran into Pati from the bicycle shop; we already know people in town! The route was a loop that came through the starting line 4 times so the riders could get their poker cards. It was pretty casual with people getting tired and dropping out, or resting and visiting with friends, or blatantly taking shortcuts to get in front of others. What a hoot. In fact, a father and son registered and started the rally after everyone else had completed one lap! A precocious child befriended me, no doubt thinking that with my limited Spanish I was in dire need of assistance, but with her missing front tooth and rapid-fire speech I could barely understand her. I regret not taking a picture of the adorable Mariana.

Don't even go there!

The lovely Pati from TNT Biycle shop.

 

After the Poker Run, riding the bicycle back through town was a strange experience as Ensenada really shuts down on Sundays.




 

We rode all the way down the canyon.

The usually frenetic downtown area was quiet and nearly vacant. During the week the big cruise ships stop in Ensenada, regurgitating their patrons into the city streets, and the place comes alive with portable stands and people loudly hawking their wares, food and drink to these transient tourists. There is even a small amusement park that seems able to spring up at a moment's notice. And all this is in addition to the permanent stores and shops along "Gringo Gulch" that cater to these voyagers. Even though the downtown was dead we found a sportsbar where we could grab some lunch and a beer. We noted that it would be open for the 'Niners game this Saturday, so we might have to re-visit.

For now we are living on the hard along with all the other boatyard campers, all of us perched high on our eyries. We access the boat via a tall ladder and it's up and down about 5-6 times a day.

The hood

The boat yard works six days a week. The staff is punctual, they start early, and they work hard all day. It seems odd to me that they listen to a radio station that plays U.S.A. pop hits from the 80's all day long. Apparently they forego their lunch and volleyball hour on Saturday so they can go home early.


Dionicio hard at work.

Some of the sailors here are fascinating. The couple next to us is in their homebuilt sailboat, "Ahaluna", on which they have lived and cruised for 35 years! I imagine they have figured a few things out. Across the yard is a steel ketch "Kotik" that a French couple had built for them in Brazil 23 years ago so they could cruise Antarctica, which they have done regularly. It has a lifting centerboard and a folding rudder so they can sail up onto the ice and not get crushed. Today I noticed there was a short article about Kotik in Latitude 38's December issue. Quite the coincidence.



 Kotik

Add to that our own boat chores and all the amazingly nice and interesting locals that we have met, you can imagine that we have not had one dull moment since we arrived. Our album from week #1 is here.




The locals are great at jury-rigging. You wouldn't believe some of the things we've seen.