Sailing Cabo to La Paz, November 9-15, 2013

Monday, October 28, 2013 was one of the scariest days of my life. On that day I made the decision to give 2-weeks-notice at work in order to go sailing around the Baja peninsula. When I was first approached with the idea, I didn't think there was any way that I could make this sailing dream a reality. I had my 8am-5pm job, my dog to take care of, bills to pay, and a pathetic excuse for a savings account. Dropping everything to go sailing was a ludicrous idea... but so far, it's been the best decision I've made in a long time.

Flying into the airport at San Jose Los Cabos was an adventure in itself! Every other time that I've flown into a Latin American country the plane is packed with native Spanish speakers, and many times I've been the only white girl on the plane. This time the plane was glowing with white faces belonging to bodies adorned with Tommy Bahama-esque clothing and giant sun hats.

After landing and walking through the terminal, I was swarmed with men in polo shirts asking which hotel I was going to, which shuttle service I had booked, did I need a taxi, and did I want to buy a time-share. It was a bit more than overwhelming, so I clung to the nearest gringo, and while the salesmen assumed we were together, I managed to squeeze by with minimal harassment. While standing by a counter trying to figure out the shuttle situation, a man approached me and started speaking in Spanish. I was able to make out "muy fuerte" as he reached for my arms. I just laughed and kept looking for the shuttle schedule, but then another little man approached me, again only speaking Spanish. The few words I could make out were "por favor.... abrazo". Abrazo! I know that word! He wanted a hug! So I gave the little man a hug, which turned into a bit of a domino effect -- it seems many of the employees wanted un abrazo from the fuerte gringa. 

Once the hug-fest was over, (at least they are friendly people!) I found the shuttle going to Los Cabos Marina in Cabo San Lucas and was on my way.

I was the absolute last person in the shuttle, other than the driver, who conveniently spoke ONLY Spanish, and had no idea where the marina was. I finally saw an area that looked touristy, even though all of the shops had closed by his time. There was one building open -- an office for booking tours! He MUST know where the IGY Marina is! So I told the driver in my best Spanglish, "aquí está bien. Puedo caminar." With my giant dry-pack, I stumbled into the tourism office, smiled, and asked "Habla inglés?"

If he didn't answer yes, I don't know what I would've done. 

The Marina I needed was nearly a mile away, but at least I was going in the right direction now. I went to the dock and slip number that Gaël, the skipper and owner of the boat I was to be sailing on, had told me the boat was docked. There were so many boats packed into the docks, raft-up style, that I couldn't find the 40 ft X-Yacht, GravlaX. Luckily, a nice gentleman saw the confused look on my face and offered to help. Captain Mike Harris, delivery boat captain currently living in La Paz, let me keep my bag on his boat while I searched the Baja Ha-Ha awards ceremony for Gaël and his crew, which didn't take much time at all. 

After the awards ceremony, I wandered up to the bar (which consisted of 3 giant ice chests filled with Modelo, and a 'help yourself' service system) where I met many crew who had sailed in the Baja Ha-Ha Rally. Then 'last call' was made for the drinks, so I recruited Alan, crew member of s/v Diamond Girl, to help secure as many Modelos as possible -- our version of provisioning :-)

With my bag and everyone's pockets filled with cold beers (I'd managed to wrangle a few more crew members: Peyton, Kevin, Erling and Donovan), I returned to Captain Harris's boat to retrieve my dry-pack and drop it off at GravlaX. Captain Harris gladly joined us for a round of drinks (or 3 or 4...) while we hung out on the dock drinking our Modelos. After a few cold ones, Captain Harris turns to me and asks "How is it that you leave here, not knowing where you're going, not knowing where your skipper or boat are, and manage to come back with a bag full of beer and 5 guys?!"

My first night in Cabo was epic, from drink specials at The Drinking Team Sports Bar to synchronized dancing at Squid Roe, this town sure knows how to party. While the rest of the crew decided to continue getting their party-on, I decided to end the evening with tacos al pastor en la calle and a swim in the Marina.

After a night of getting acclimated to Mexican culture (sarcasm...) it was time to embark and do some actual sailing. The first day the skipper and I made our way from Cabo San Lucas to the Marina at San Jose Los Cabos. This turned out to be my favorite stop of the trip. The Marina is relatively new so there is not much development around it, which I love. The people are very friendly, the weather was perfect, and the area was a beautiful mix of ocean and desert.

It seemed that Montezuma decided to unleash his revenge on skipper Gaël, so we stayed an extra night while he battled with his insides. I, however, felt just fine ;-)

Over the next few days, Gaël gave me instruction, lessons, and even quizzed me on the sailing knowledge I was gaining on the trip. It was a great experience, and I'm happy to report that by the end of the trip, I successfully flaked the main!

I still have a lot to learn, and I definitely need (and want!) more experience being out at sea. The more that I learn about sailing and the more time I spend on a boat, the more I realize how much I love it.

We made our way to La Paz, where we rented a car and drove back to the airport in San Jose Los Cabos. I got my flight back to San Diego with only 3 days to prepare for the next leg of my Latin American adventure: Nicaragua.