4/28
Our day in Seattle has been long and very interesting. This is the day we start a 12 day cruise up through the islands of BC on our way to Alaska. The problem is, that this is the only stop for food that we will have until we get up there, so we had to pack the boat so full of food that I can't even believe it. Literally, it was a 50' trailer full of food and supplies waiting for us at the dock. I have no idea how we did it, but we got it all on the boat and it even slightly fits. That's the good news. The not so good news is that two of the crew on the boat were pre-screened for passage into Canada and were denied. So now that means that the Stewards and the Deck Hands will both be a man down for the next twelve days. The plan is to fly the two that can't get into Canada up to Alaska, then we will pick them up once we get there. It shouldn't be too bad, because oddly enough it was the two that we on the lower end of how much work effort was put out, and so every one should be able to step up and overcome the problem.
We did a really cool thing tonight, we went up into Union Lake, which is in the middle of Seattle. I can't even begin to explain how cool it is to be on the boat in the middle of a major city like Seattle. The only bummer was that the video I took didn't end up being very good. My camera is just not that great at taking pictures at night. We also went through a Lock on the way into and out of the lake, this was my first time doing this, so I thought it was pretty cool. From what I understand, when we go onto the Columbia River I will get my fill of these, but for now the whole concept is pretty intriguing.
The plan is to head up and explore the San Juan Islands tomorrow. I've wanted to see them for a long time now, so that ought to be cool. The Olympics off in the distance have been pretty enticing as well. I really need to come back up here and back pack the area some day. I'll add it to my list of things to do in my lifetime, boy that list seems to get longer now a days. I think that's a good thing.
It looks like the internet on the boat is under some kind of maintenance, so we are denied access for the day. Looks like it will be another double post for tomorrow....
4/29
We made it up through the San Juan Islands this morning then on to Sydney, British Columbia on Vancouver Island where we had to stop for customs. I'm sure that I missed most of it, because I was working when most of the process occurred, but getting through customs wasn't all too bad. I'm sure that if I had had driven up to Canada by myself it would be a different story, but I'm glad to say it my first time was no big deal.
After we made it through Customs we headed up to the Gulf Islands, where I was pretty impressed by the way the glacial ice had shaped much of the area, it looked like many of the mountain tops were cut off with a knife. I was told that as we go north the terrain only gets more and more beautiful, but this is already the most amazing place I have ever been. It's going to get real good before the trip is over, I can already tell. In the afternoon we made it up to a place called the Strait of Georgia, the best that I can explain this area is that it makes the Olympics look pretty lame, and I love that mountain range. I see why my mother is so in love with this place, though I'm not sure if she even really got to see how cool this place really is. I'll have to email her and ask.
The boat has been plagued with all kinds of maintenance issues lately. Most notably would be our dishwasher in the Galley, and more obviously the internet, but also the chlorine system for the drinking water has been giving the engineers some serious trouble. I'm just going on record as saying those guys do some amazing things, with practically nothing, very cool to see and I'm very greatful to have them on board.
Tomorrow we head up to Alert Bay, a town with some interesting history supposedly. I will let you know more tomorrow, I can't wait.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
Almost to Seattle!!!
Tonight we are going around the Olympic Peninsula and down into the Puget Sound. Maybe it's just because I've been in the desert for the last 4 weeks, but it is pretty comforting to look out and see mountains with snow and, and ........trees! Oh the beautiful trees! Funny the things you miss when you are away from home. Even funnier is that it makes me wonder what my true definition of "Paradise" really is. I'm not quite sure at this point, to be perfectly honest with you. Maybe there is no such place, maybe it's two places. I don't know. I'll tell you when I figure it out, though.
The cruise up here for the last day has been flat and quick, hardly any rocking at all. Just a little bit for maybe a half hour or so just before sunset. It's been great for the ride, and great for our time. We are looking good for getting in at 5 or maybe 6 am tomorrow, so we should have plenty of time to get everything done. We also got our first rain today, real rain. I enjoyed it, but mostly because I work in the Galley and not outside. Like I said, it's the little things you miss, I'd guess.
I won't write too much today, I've got to get to bed and be well rested for a busy day tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it.
The cruise up here for the last day has been flat and quick, hardly any rocking at all. Just a little bit for maybe a half hour or so just before sunset. It's been great for the ride, and great for our time. We are looking good for getting in at 5 or maybe 6 am tomorrow, so we should have plenty of time to get everything done. We also got our first rain today, real rain. I enjoyed it, but mostly because I work in the Galley and not outside. Like I said, it's the little things you miss, I'd guess.
I won't write too much today, I've got to get to bed and be well rested for a busy day tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Oregon coast cruising
Today has been pretty uneventful. About the best thing that happened today is we got a thumbs up on the pre-CDC inspection that we were supposed to get in San Diego, but are destined to get in Seattle. Other than that, I cooked up some really good tacos for lunch today, about the best I've done so far. I learned from my little excursion in La Paz, that it's not just the meat that goes in the taco, it's toppings that make a good taco. I went all out today, beef, chicken and tofu for the meats, then shredded romaine, tomatoes, fresh salsa, avocados, cheese, sour cream, limes and jalepeno's. It turned out real good, I was proud, so proud in fact that it brought a tear to my eye.
Anyways, we are looking good for getting into Seattle on time still, even though we are supposed to be hitting a bit of weather just before we go to turn into the Puget Sound and what not. After the smooth ride we have had so far (since getting back into the States) no one is really complaining. I just hope that we get there in a timely matter and that we can get through it without any troubles. Other than that, I've seen enough of Seattle lately, so I'm not really in a hurry to get off the boat and explore. I'm more ready to get going and start seeing some of the awesome scenery that is ahead of us.
Last night I went up for another navigation lesson on the bridge, it really was just a good chance to use some of my new found skills. I also got to see one heck of a moon rise over the horizon. The moon was all green and big, very beautiful and definitely mesmerizing, especially at 3 am. I love that I get to see these things, not many jobs give you this kind of thing. Of course we had a pretty good discussion about how the moon effects the waves and the tides, all so interesting, and very intriguing. Maybe I will do some more research and then write an article for my website. I'm sure it wouldn't hurt anyways.
By the way we are about 2/3's up the Oregon coast now. The weather is cloudy and the fog is thick, typical northwest weather. The wind is low, and that is what counts. I hope to see the boat cross into Washington tonight from the bridge, I don't know why, but I like doing that for some reason.
Anyways, we are looking good for getting into Seattle on time still, even though we are supposed to be hitting a bit of weather just before we go to turn into the Puget Sound and what not. After the smooth ride we have had so far (since getting back into the States) no one is really complaining. I just hope that we get there in a timely matter and that we can get through it without any troubles. Other than that, I've seen enough of Seattle lately, so I'm not really in a hurry to get off the boat and explore. I'm more ready to get going and start seeing some of the awesome scenery that is ahead of us.
Last night I went up for another navigation lesson on the bridge, it really was just a good chance to use some of my new found skills. I also got to see one heck of a moon rise over the horizon. The moon was all green and big, very beautiful and definitely mesmerizing, especially at 3 am. I love that I get to see these things, not many jobs give you this kind of thing. Of course we had a pretty good discussion about how the moon effects the waves and the tides, all so interesting, and very intriguing. Maybe I will do some more research and then write an article for my website. I'm sure it wouldn't hurt anyways.
By the way we are about 2/3's up the Oregon coast now. The weather is cloudy and the fog is thick, typical northwest weather. The wind is low, and that is what counts. I hope to see the boat cross into Washington tonight from the bridge, I don't know why, but I like doing that for some reason.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Just passed Eureka, CA today
Last night I made my first contact from my ham radio off of the boat. We were passing by San Francisco and I got to open up the repeater on Mt Diablo for a little bit and have a chat with a couple of hams on their daily commute. It was interesting to hear them talk of how it was friday and how excited they were to have the weekend off. I couldn't even explain what was going on with me, and why the weekend off didn't really mean the same to me. All in all it was great to have a chat with people that are not in any way shape of form related to the boat, so I think I will have to try and hit a couple of more repeaters along the way. I'm sure that there will be places in Alaska that I will be able to talk as well. Good deal. I just need to remember how to program this radio I brought, it's my oldest and least used of the lot.
We are cruising up the coast of Northern California now, the weather is about as nice as one could hope for. I'm really surprised that the conditions are as good as they are. I don't think that I have ever seen the weather this nice two days in a row on the coast. Maybe it's just that we are 15 miles or so off the coast, but it looks pretty nice on land as well, at least from my perspective. Pretty soon we should be up where the redwoods are right on the coast, so that will be pretty cool to see. I looked and looked for the Golden Gate yesterday, but never got to see it. Oh well.
I did get in another beautiful sunset, there is just something that makes them a sight to see every day when you are on a boat. I'm not sure what it is, maybe the water all around you, or the way the sun goes through the fog off in the distance, or maybe even just the fact that it signifies another day almost complete. I sure do love watching it. I also recognized some of the terrain off in the distance tonight as well, we were cruising right by Eureka, and I could pick out the snow covered Trinity Alps in the back ground. I'm sure that the terrain is covered with my favorite redwoods, but at 14 miles off the shore we are too far away to really see them, even with binoculars. It's nice to know that they are there, and see some green terrain, and even refreshing to see snow, even though I'm going to be looking at plenty of it the next couple of weeks.
Tonight I go for another navigation lesson on the bridge, but I also have some questions about the zodiacs for my mentor as well. I hear that there is a certification that you can get for being a zodiac pilot, and I'd like to find out more about that. Either way there is lots to learn about on the bridge, so I'm looking forward to it.
Only three more days left of our cruise, I'm sad and happy as well. Sad because this has been a pretty kicked back atmosphere, and it's been cool to watch the coast line go by as we traveled. On the other hand, I'm excited about seeing Alaska and having our "normal" routine start back up again. It will be nice to have chances to get off of the boat and explore a bit more often, like we did in Baja.
We are cruising up the coast of Northern California now, the weather is about as nice as one could hope for. I'm really surprised that the conditions are as good as they are. I don't think that I have ever seen the weather this nice two days in a row on the coast. Maybe it's just that we are 15 miles or so off the coast, but it looks pretty nice on land as well, at least from my perspective. Pretty soon we should be up where the redwoods are right on the coast, so that will be pretty cool to see. I looked and looked for the Golden Gate yesterday, but never got to see it. Oh well.
I did get in another beautiful sunset, there is just something that makes them a sight to see every day when you are on a boat. I'm not sure what it is, maybe the water all around you, or the way the sun goes through the fog off in the distance, or maybe even just the fact that it signifies another day almost complete. I sure do love watching it. I also recognized some of the terrain off in the distance tonight as well, we were cruising right by Eureka, and I could pick out the snow covered Trinity Alps in the back ground. I'm sure that the terrain is covered with my favorite redwoods, but at 14 miles off the shore we are too far away to really see them, even with binoculars. It's nice to know that they are there, and see some green terrain, and even refreshing to see snow, even though I'm going to be looking at plenty of it the next couple of weeks.
Tonight I go for another navigation lesson on the bridge, but I also have some questions about the zodiacs for my mentor as well. I hear that there is a certification that you can get for being a zodiac pilot, and I'd like to find out more about that. Either way there is lots to learn about on the bridge, so I'm looking forward to it.
Only three more days left of our cruise, I'm sad and happy as well. Sad because this has been a pretty kicked back atmosphere, and it's been cool to watch the coast line go by as we traveled. On the other hand, I'm excited about seeing Alaska and having our "normal" routine start back up again. It will be nice to have chances to get off of the boat and explore a bit more often, like we did in Baja.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Navigation Lessons and Dahls Porpoises
Sorry for the delay, I ended up having a different kind of schedule the last couple of days. I'll give you two journal entries today, then we will be back on track for a while......
4/24
We are on day two of our San Diego to Seattle leg now. It's been a pretty good day in all, we passed by Catalina Island, then the islands of Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz later in the day. After that we went around the Point of Conception and the waves got real big. We did that about 5 pm and since then there have been several waves that have gone up and over the boat, and many more that have splashed the bridge deck pretty good. I would say that these waves have been in the 10 to 15 foot range from the information that I have gathered from the captain. It's a sight to see, I'll tell ya.
The crew is all beyond bored now. The hotel crew doesn't have much to do but get sick and lay around, and everyone else is doing pretty much the same. I still haven't even felt a little sick at all. I must have gotten my Grandpa's sea legs or something, but for whatever reason, I am greatful. I may just have a future in boats, since I can hang with this. That makes me feel good.
I'm going back up to the bridge tonight for the midnight to 3am watch, and we have it all planned out that I am going to be getting some navigation lessons during that time. I know a little bit about maps and navigation, but nothing impressive and not enough to be good at it. I'll give a report on what I learn tomorrow.
We will be up around Santa Cruz and then San Francisco tomorrow, I hope to get a good picture of the Golden Gate if we get close enough. That would be a good one for the old photo album. I'm probably going to break out the ham radio tomorrow as well, and see if I can open up the repeater on top of Mount Diablo. I'm pretty sure that I will be able to. It will be nice to chat with someone off the boat even if it is just for a minute.
4/25
I went up to the Bridge for my first lesson on navigation last night. It was very enlightening, simple but very informative. In case I didn't explain, The second mate has a watch driving the boat between midnight and 3 am, so I offered to keep her company with the hopes that we could do a little trade. She would get some company on an otherwise boring and tiresome watch, and I would get some schooling on everything from how boats work, to navigation, to why living a sailors life is the best life. I've been up there twice so far,
First I got a lesson on what exactly Longitude and Latitude really are, and how we use them to find our position on the planet. Then once we got that all figured out, she explained how to take GPS coordinates and plot our position on a map. From there I asked how it was done before the GPS came along, and the answer is a device called a "sexton", of which she explained as a way to locate yourself over time based on your position versus a star or the sun. I decided to take it on myself to get a little more info on this myself for future reference. After that she told me about waves, and how they move about the planet. It's all so interesting, I could go on for a while about it, but I don't really have room for it here.
After all that excitement I was headed down off the bridge and I got to see some of the coolest animals in the Sea, the Dahls Porpoises is the fastest predator known to man in the water. I got to see a couple of them right up along the side of the boat, then just as fast as they came up and were checking us out, they were gone. Such amazing and powerful creatures, I was buzzing for a 1/2 hour after that. Unfortunately no pictures or video of them, but I hear that we will see more once we get up to Alaska.
Other than those few things, life on the boat right now is pretty boring. Lot's of cleaning, sleeping and reading. I'm still hoping to get in a little air time with the Ham radio in a bit here, I think we will be up around San Francisco around sunset today. I'll let you know how that one goes.
4/24
We are on day two of our San Diego to Seattle leg now. It's been a pretty good day in all, we passed by Catalina Island, then the islands of Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz later in the day. After that we went around the Point of Conception and the waves got real big. We did that about 5 pm and since then there have been several waves that have gone up and over the boat, and many more that have splashed the bridge deck pretty good. I would say that these waves have been in the 10 to 15 foot range from the information that I have gathered from the captain. It's a sight to see, I'll tell ya.
The crew is all beyond bored now. The hotel crew doesn't have much to do but get sick and lay around, and everyone else is doing pretty much the same. I still haven't even felt a little sick at all. I must have gotten my Grandpa's sea legs or something, but for whatever reason, I am greatful. I may just have a future in boats, since I can hang with this. That makes me feel good.
I'm going back up to the bridge tonight for the midnight to 3am watch, and we have it all planned out that I am going to be getting some navigation lessons during that time. I know a little bit about maps and navigation, but nothing impressive and not enough to be good at it. I'll give a report on what I learn tomorrow.
We will be up around Santa Cruz and then San Francisco tomorrow, I hope to get a good picture of the Golden Gate if we get close enough. That would be a good one for the old photo album. I'm probably going to break out the ham radio tomorrow as well, and see if I can open up the repeater on top of Mount Diablo. I'm pretty sure that I will be able to. It will be nice to chat with someone off the boat even if it is just for a minute.
4/25
I went up to the Bridge for my first lesson on navigation last night. It was very enlightening, simple but very informative. In case I didn't explain, The second mate has a watch driving the boat between midnight and 3 am, so I offered to keep her company with the hopes that we could do a little trade. She would get some company on an otherwise boring and tiresome watch, and I would get some schooling on everything from how boats work, to navigation, to why living a sailors life is the best life. I've been up there twice so far,
First I got a lesson on what exactly Longitude and Latitude really are, and how we use them to find our position on the planet. Then once we got that all figured out, she explained how to take GPS coordinates and plot our position on a map. From there I asked how it was done before the GPS came along, and the answer is a device called a "sexton", of which she explained as a way to locate yourself over time based on your position versus a star or the sun. I decided to take it on myself to get a little more info on this myself for future reference. After that she told me about waves, and how they move about the planet. It's all so interesting, I could go on for a while about it, but I don't really have room for it here.
After all that excitement I was headed down off the bridge and I got to see some of the coolest animals in the Sea, the Dahls Porpoises is the fastest predator known to man in the water. I got to see a couple of them right up along the side of the boat, then just as fast as they came up and were checking us out, they were gone. Such amazing and powerful creatures, I was buzzing for a 1/2 hour after that. Unfortunately no pictures or video of them, but I hear that we will see more once we get up to Alaska.
Other than those few things, life on the boat right now is pretty boring. Lot's of cleaning, sleeping and reading. I'm still hoping to get in a little air time with the Ham radio in a bit here, I think we will be up around San Francisco around sunset today. I'll let you know how that one goes.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Made it to San Diego
What a day. We made it into San Diego at 12:30 this afternoon and everyone let out a big old sigh of relief. The waves last night were pretty relentless, it would be calm for a few seconds, then all of the sudden four or maybe five big old waves would roll in from any and all directions. It was nice to be in the safe waters of San Diego, where it was nice and calm. Once we got to the dock we made pretty quick work of filling up the stores, fuel and water, but there was one hold up. We have been having problems with our dish washer in the Galley, so we had a tech on to take a look at it. The problem was that he was running behind schedule, so when time rolled around for us to leave, and he was still knee deep in fixing the dishwasher the captain started to get antsy. Once that happened, the guy started rushing and we all know what happens then. As soon as we went to run the first load of dishes, after we were underway of course, the control box went poof in a big puff of smoke. Now we have no dish washer at all, and that is going to really suck. I'm not too sure what the plan is at this point, but I do know that we can't take guests on the boat without a dishwasher, and we are already a half day behind schedule. This could be interesting.
Just after dinner I was up on the Lido Deck (the top of the boat where the zodiacs are stored) and I looked over to see a bunch of bottle nose dolphins swimming towards us. I quickly ran down to the bow of the ship and got some really good video footage of them ridding the bow wave. I've said it before, but I'll say it again, they are so much fun to watch. I love it.
I spent a couple of hours last night up on the Bridge for the first time last night. I got a good little lesson on radars and maps. I'm so amped about it. I hope to get up there for a lesson every couple of days so I can soak up the good info. During the night hours there is generally a deck hand stationed on the bridge to keep the person driving the boat company, but the deck hand who's shift is the night watch has been real sick so I vaulunteered to help out, and got the offer of some lessons in return. A good deal for me.
My day dreaming about travels has only gotten more intense the last couple of days, I can't wait for my next real trip all on my own. I'm ready.
Just after dinner I was up on the Lido Deck (the top of the boat where the zodiacs are stored) and I looked over to see a bunch of bottle nose dolphins swimming towards us. I quickly ran down to the bow of the ship and got some really good video footage of them ridding the bow wave. I've said it before, but I'll say it again, they are so much fun to watch. I love it.
I spent a couple of hours last night up on the Bridge for the first time last night. I got a good little lesson on radars and maps. I'm so amped about it. I hope to get up there for a lesson every couple of days so I can soak up the good info. During the night hours there is generally a deck hand stationed on the bridge to keep the person driving the boat company, but the deck hand who's shift is the night watch has been real sick so I vaulunteered to help out, and got the offer of some lessons in return. A good deal for me.
My day dreaming about travels has only gotten more intense the last couple of days, I can't wait for my next real trip all on my own. I'm ready.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Here we are, in the middle of no where...
Another fine day at sea. I'll tell you, pretty much every one on the boat is spanked by this trip. It looks like me, the pantry cook and the third mate are the only ones that haven't gotten sick at this point. It's like I have the whole boat to myself, which for me is great. Being anti-social has it's positives, I guess. We are still a little behind schedule, we should be hitting San Diego at around 1pm tomorrow. It will be good to see land again.
I've decided that I have to buy an I-pod now. I've typically been against them, because I feel that they take away from what is going on around you too much. In this case, though, it sure would be nice to be able to listen to some music to pass the time, plus there is a stereo in the Galley that I could plug it into and then every one can enjoy my fine music. Either way, the shopping will commence.
We talked a bit about what the routine will be like in Alaska today, it looks like there will be a bit more free time up there. We will be in three fairly good sized towns a week, Sitka, Junuea, and Petersberg, so there will be good opportunity to make calls and use wi-fi that will allow me to upload videos and pictures with out a problem. We will also be heading up to the Glacier National Park once a week as well, so lots of cool things to see and do there. I'm looking forward to getting to explore that part of Alaska for sure.
Our location as of 4 pm today was N 29 degrees 42.707 feet and W 116 degrees 09.327 feet. We are about 2/3 of the way up the baja coast.
I've decided that I have to buy an I-pod now. I've typically been against them, because I feel that they take away from what is going on around you too much. In this case, though, it sure would be nice to be able to listen to some music to pass the time, plus there is a stereo in the Galley that I could plug it into and then every one can enjoy my fine music. Either way, the shopping will commence.
We talked a bit about what the routine will be like in Alaska today, it looks like there will be a bit more free time up there. We will be in three fairly good sized towns a week, Sitka, Junuea, and Petersberg, so there will be good opportunity to make calls and use wi-fi that will allow me to upload videos and pictures with out a problem. We will also be heading up to the Glacier National Park once a week as well, so lots of cool things to see and do there. I'm looking forward to getting to explore that part of Alaska for sure.
Our location as of 4 pm today was N 29 degrees 42.707 feet and W 116 degrees 09.327 feet. We are about 2/3 of the way up the baja coast.
Here we are, in the middle of no where...
Another fine day at sea. I'll tell you, pretty much every one on the boat is spanked by this trip. It looks like me, the pantry cook and the third mate are the only ones that haven't gotten sick at this point. It's like I have the whole boat to myself, which for me is great. Being anti-social has it's positives, I guess. We are still a little behind schedule, we should be hitting San Diego at around 1pm tomorrow. It will be good to see land again.
I've decided that I have to buy an I-pod now. I've typically been against them, because I feel that they take away from what is going on around you too much. In this case, though, it sure would be nice to be able to listen to some music to pass the time, plus there is a stereo in the Galley that I could plug it into and then every one can enjoy my fine music. Either way, the shopping will commence.
We talked a bit about what the routine will be like in Alaska today, it looks like there will be a bit more free time up there. We will be in three fairly good sized towns a week, Sitka, Junuea, and Petersberg, so there will be good opportunity to make calls and use wi-fi that will allow me to upload videos and pictures with out a problem. We will also be heading up to the Glacier National Park once a week as well, so lots of cool things to see and do there. I'm looking forward to getting to explore that part of Alaska for sure.
Our location as of 4 pm today was N 29 degrees 42.707 feet and W 116 degrees 09.327 feet. We are about 2/3 of the way up the baja coast.
I've decided that I have to buy an I-pod now. I've typically been against them, because I feel that they take away from what is going on around you too much. In this case, though, it sure would be nice to be able to listen to some music to pass the time, plus there is a stereo in the Galley that I could plug it into and then every one can enjoy my fine music. Either way, the shopping will commence.
We talked a bit about what the routine will be like in Alaska today, it looks like there will be a bit more free time up there. We will be in three fairly good sized towns a week, Sitka, Junuea, and Petersberg, so there will be good opportunity to make calls and use wi-fi that will allow me to upload videos and pictures with out a problem. We will also be heading up to the Glacier National Park once a week as well, so lots of cool things to see and do there. I'm looking forward to getting to explore that part of Alaska for sure.
Our location as of 4 pm today was N 29 degrees 42.707 feet and W 116 degrees 09.327 feet. We are about 2/3 of the way up the baja coast.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Everyone's sick!
Today has been a pretty rough day at sea. It's interesting to see how everyone is handling it. Pretty much all of the stewards, and the purser are so sick that they can't even think. One of the deck hands isn't faring all to well either, but the other three are seemingly doing pretty well. As the trip progresses the waves are going to get bigger and bigger, so I'm sure that the condition of the group will worsen as well. I'm still holding up real good, I just try and keep busy, keep my mind occupied and it's working pretty good for me. Sitting and doing nothing only makes it worse.
I have plans to try and spend a little time on the bridge this trip, the second mate said that it would be cool to hang with her and keep her company while she drives. It's a pretty rough ride up there, so I'll probably just try and find a good time where I won't be too much trouble, then hang out for as long as I can. I'm sure that someone to shoot the breeze with for a while is never too bad of a thing, especially early in the morning when it's usually a time when you would be sleeping.
The captain did an ETA for San Diego based on our current efforts and we are moving a bit slower than we had hoped. It looks like we are going to end up being about a 1/2 day behind schedule. Kind of a bummer, but that might mean we will get a little bit of free time to go trip around the port, so I'm not really hearing much complaints. I would imagine most of the people on this boat are going to be kissing solid ground when we get there, so I'm sure it will be a sight.
All is good in the Galley, we are getting things cleaned up nicely and we are using our stores quite well. Since we are on schedule and the boat is behind schedule we are looking very good. I steam cleaned the ovens last night and the hard to reach spots in the Galley tonight, so there isn't a whole lot left to do. All we really have left is cleaning the main refrigerator, and getting things buttoned up. No big deal. Our Galley team is on top of things, thank God! The Stewards are going to be cramming the last couple of days to get caught up, I hope that it works out for them.
I have plans to try and spend a little time on the bridge this trip, the second mate said that it would be cool to hang with her and keep her company while she drives. It's a pretty rough ride up there, so I'll probably just try and find a good time where I won't be too much trouble, then hang out for as long as I can. I'm sure that someone to shoot the breeze with for a while is never too bad of a thing, especially early in the morning when it's usually a time when you would be sleeping.
The captain did an ETA for San Diego based on our current efforts and we are moving a bit slower than we had hoped. It looks like we are going to end up being about a 1/2 day behind schedule. Kind of a bummer, but that might mean we will get a little bit of free time to go trip around the port, so I'm not really hearing much complaints. I would imagine most of the people on this boat are going to be kissing solid ground when we get there, so I'm sure it will be a sight.
All is good in the Galley, we are getting things cleaned up nicely and we are using our stores quite well. Since we are on schedule and the boat is behind schedule we are looking very good. I steam cleaned the ovens last night and the hard to reach spots in the Galley tonight, so there isn't a whole lot left to do. All we really have left is cleaning the main refrigerator, and getting things buttoned up. No big deal. Our Galley team is on top of things, thank God! The Stewards are going to be cramming the last couple of days to get caught up, I hope that it works out for them.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
First full day at sea....no land in sight!
Today has been our first full day at sea on our voyage to Alaska. It's been a little rough, but really nothing all too bad. Mostly just the bow of the boat bobbing up and down the whole time. Like I said before, this is far better than side to side or even worse is both. The weather forecast is still the same as yesterday, so it looks like the next couple of days will be a bit rougher. Not too big a deal, I've been just finding as many things to do to keep myself busy as possible, so that way my mind stays off of the motion. I noticed that the ones who are not handling things well are the ones that aren't really doing anything. My logic makes sense to me, anyways.
I am officially as far north on the Baja peninsula now as I have been so far, we passed Magdalena Bay at about 4 pm today. I've been learning about the boat quite a bit lately, it's been pretty cool. The boat is traveling at about 10 nautical mph, and from what I understand there are 1.3 miles in a nautical mile, so we are traveling at about 13 mph in Lehman's terms. That's why it takes 12 days to go from La Paz to Seattle. I couldn't even imagine driving a car that slow for that distance, but luckily in a boat it's plenty fast considering the road is a little bumpy so to speak. We are pretty much headed in a straight line up the coast so there are times when we actually can't see land at all, this is kind of strange for me, it's the first time really. It's an interesting feeling for your mind, to not see land anywhere on any horizon. Very interesting indeed.
If you didn't notice, I change a couple things on the site yesterday, most noticeably the colors on the blog. It's a bit easier to read this way so I hope it's better for you. Most of my plans to better the website have been put back by crappy internet connections, so I will just continue to hoard my thoughts till a later date when I can make them known to all. It's frustrating, but what do you do?
Most of my free time now is spent day dreaming of the places that I want to go next. Putting me on a boat in the ocean with a bunch of books that are all geared towards travel has shown me much good information, as well as given me plenty of time to go over it. That Siberian Railway trip is sure looking mighty fine now, I want to see Lake Baikal within my lifetime. It's right up there with Machu Picchu, and I'm going to make it happen. That and overlanding in Africa, the Kalahari, those are the three that I have my sights set on.
I am officially as far north on the Baja peninsula now as I have been so far, we passed Magdalena Bay at about 4 pm today. I've been learning about the boat quite a bit lately, it's been pretty cool. The boat is traveling at about 10 nautical mph, and from what I understand there are 1.3 miles in a nautical mile, so we are traveling at about 13 mph in Lehman's terms. That's why it takes 12 days to go from La Paz to Seattle. I couldn't even imagine driving a car that slow for that distance, but luckily in a boat it's plenty fast considering the road is a little bumpy so to speak. We are pretty much headed in a straight line up the coast so there are times when we actually can't see land at all, this is kind of strange for me, it's the first time really. It's an interesting feeling for your mind, to not see land anywhere on any horizon. Very interesting indeed.
If you didn't notice, I change a couple things on the site yesterday, most noticeably the colors on the blog. It's a bit easier to read this way so I hope it's better for you. Most of my plans to better the website have been put back by crappy internet connections, so I will just continue to hoard my thoughts till a later date when I can make them known to all. It's frustrating, but what do you do?
Most of my free time now is spent day dreaming of the places that I want to go next. Putting me on a boat in the ocean with a bunch of books that are all geared towards travel has shown me much good information, as well as given me plenty of time to go over it. That Siberian Railway trip is sure looking mighty fine now, I want to see Lake Baikal within my lifetime. It's right up there with Machu Picchu, and I'm going to make it happen. That and overlanding in Africa, the Kalahari, those are the three that I have my sights set on.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
....And we're off!!
Our repositioning has officially begun. We left La Paz, BCS at noon PST and have been underway ever since. We should be rounding the other side of the peninsula in the early hours of the morning into the Pacific Ocean. From what the Captain has seen of the weather reports so far, the weather should hold out until we get up to San Diego, but what we thought might happen looks to be the case. The long term weather is looking like it's going to be a rough ride for us from San Diego up to Seattle. Let's hope that weather forecasters are wrong as usual and we have a good trip. I sure hope that they aren't right this time.
Great fully I got to spend some time on the phone this morning. I got to talk to Sonya quite a bit and Mia for a few minutes. I also called my best friend Tim to let him know that I was alive and well. We are going to plan a trip over the Rubicon Trail for when I get back home, I am way excited about it. Other than making those plans it was just a good round of phone calls all around, everyone is holding up well. Mia is cute as usual and missing her daddy. I ordered her a late birthday present the other day, I hope it's not too advanced, but I got her this really cool MP3 player that has a karaoke thing going and also can be hooked up to a TV. I'm not too sure how it works, but I'm sure that she will figure it out. They have the coolest things for kids now.
Sonya is doing good, not showing too many signs of pregnancy yet, but I'm sure that will change soon. She has been complaining about the drive into town quite a lot, because apparently the price of gas is pushing $4 a gallon now! Holy moly am I glad that I don't have to drive 40 miles a day anymore. One more benefit to working on the boat! Anyways, we are going to have to find another place pretty soon so she can be closer to town and all of the things that she needs. I guess when I get back we will try and arrange something, but I have no idea what.
I've been going through the flyer that the company puts out about all of the trips they do and it is amazing. I'm not sure if I mentioned it or not, but I get one free trip every six months I work for them, so I hope to capitalize on that. The couple that stand out are a train tour on the Siberian Railway, a south America tour that includes 7 days cruising the Galapagos Islands then heads over to Peru to take a trip up the Inca Trail, and then of course Antarctica. I'm not quite sure how I'll swing it, but I'd like to hit as many as I can while I can. It's an outstanding opportunity, good thing I plan to be with this company for a while.
Great fully I got to spend some time on the phone this morning. I got to talk to Sonya quite a bit and Mia for a few minutes. I also called my best friend Tim to let him know that I was alive and well. We are going to plan a trip over the Rubicon Trail for when I get back home, I am way excited about it. Other than making those plans it was just a good round of phone calls all around, everyone is holding up well. Mia is cute as usual and missing her daddy. I ordered her a late birthday present the other day, I hope it's not too advanced, but I got her this really cool MP3 player that has a karaoke thing going and also can be hooked up to a TV. I'm not too sure how it works, but I'm sure that she will figure it out. They have the coolest things for kids now.
Sonya is doing good, not showing too many signs of pregnancy yet, but I'm sure that will change soon. She has been complaining about the drive into town quite a lot, because apparently the price of gas is pushing $4 a gallon now! Holy moly am I glad that I don't have to drive 40 miles a day anymore. One more benefit to working on the boat! Anyways, we are going to have to find another place pretty soon so she can be closer to town and all of the things that she needs. I guess when I get back we will try and arrange something, but I have no idea what.
I've been going through the flyer that the company puts out about all of the trips they do and it is amazing. I'm not sure if I mentioned it or not, but I get one free trip every six months I work for them, so I hope to capitalize on that. The couple that stand out are a train tour on the Siberian Railway, a south America tour that includes 7 days cruising the Galapagos Islands then heads over to Peru to take a trip up the Inca Trail, and then of course Antarctica. I'm not quite sure how I'll swing it, but I'd like to hit as many as I can while I can. It's an outstanding opportunity, good thing I plan to be with this company for a while.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Last day of our baja tour
Today was the last day of our last trip in Baja. It's been a good one, we have seen so much down here it has left a permanent scar. The good kind of scar of course. I know that Alaska is going to be amazing, but I'm not sure if it will be better or not. It's been my dream to go to Alaska for much of my adult life, it seems unreal that I am finally going to realize my dreams. It's amazing that a small town boy with a dream of seeing far away places and not fitting into a mold can do this type of thing. I'm so in love with the travel lifestyle I won't ever stop, I know this in my heart. Not only do I want to see the world, but I want to be so affluent in it that I can take my family and friends to any place and show them all the most amazing things. I know that this is a dream that is attainable, so here we go....
After my next rotation there is a group that is heading to La Paz, Bolivia for a special training session for expedition staff, and I am going to actively try and get on board. Not only do I think that it would be an amazing chance to see a part of the world that is very beautiful, but the training would be invaluable. It's basicly all about being a guide, everything from safety to how to show people a good time without being to in the way. I'll keep you posted on what I find out about it as info comes in.
I'm going to try and spend a little time on the front page of my website the next couple of days and see if I can't spruce it up a bit. I've been getting a ton of visitors, so it would be nice to have something a little better anyways. The internet is just so expensive out here, it's hard to do very much. It's also so slow that doing anything too advanced is probably just not going to happen. I have some good ideas for when I get back home, though.
I can't wait to talk on the phone tomorrow and see how everyone is doing back home. I believe that all is well, but it will be nice to hear it from them for sure. It's always nice to check in anyways. To all that I don't get to talk to, I miss you and can't wait to be back home to see you all again.
After my next rotation there is a group that is heading to La Paz, Bolivia for a special training session for expedition staff, and I am going to actively try and get on board. Not only do I think that it would be an amazing chance to see a part of the world that is very beautiful, but the training would be invaluable. It's basicly all about being a guide, everything from safety to how to show people a good time without being to in the way. I'll keep you posted on what I find out about it as info comes in.
I'm going to try and spend a little time on the front page of my website the next couple of days and see if I can't spruce it up a bit. I've been getting a ton of visitors, so it would be nice to have something a little better anyways. The internet is just so expensive out here, it's hard to do very much. It's also so slow that doing anything too advanced is probably just not going to happen. I have some good ideas for when I get back home, though.
I can't wait to talk on the phone tomorrow and see how everyone is doing back home. I believe that all is well, but it will be nice to hear it from them for sure. It's always nice to check in anyways. To all that I don't get to talk to, I miss you and can't wait to be back home to see you all again.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Getting ready for the big trip
The seas have been pretty rough today, but fortunately we are headed with the winds so the boat isn't rocking all too much. It's when the waves are hitting the side of the boat that you get rocking that is hard to deal with. I witnessed an amazing sunset tonight, the waves crashing all around made a haze come up off of the water that turned the sunlight going over the horizon an awesome array of colors. I am truly spoiled now by the sunrises and sunsets that I get to see every day.
We've been getting ready for the trip up to Alaska, and it's been interesting. The biggest problem is that we can't bring any food that we bought in Mexico back into the US with us. There is a customs check in San Diego and we pretty much have to have no food on board when we get there. What the plan is at this point, and I know it sounds crazy, but we will order a little bit to get us through till we get up there, then what ever is left over when we get to Tijauna we will pitch off the boat while we are at sea. I won't even really get into how much food we throw away every day, it's enough that I almost got sick when I first saw it. The sad thing is that there is absolutely nothing I can do about it. The nature of the beast. Anyways so we are trying to get everything all lined out food wise for the trip right now. We plan to not only have no food, but we also plan to have everything so clean that the CDC will not even think about doing a full on inspection. It shouldn't be too rough. We are going to be cooking some crazy huge and good meals for the crew on the trip up there. Then once we get through all those fun little inspections, we will get in a huge order of food and be on our way again. The best part is that we are only allowed something silly like 4 hours in port at San Diego to do all of this. It should be pretty interesting.
I finished all of my initial training today. I had no idea that I would need to know so much, but it really is a good thing. If you think about it, it really does make sense, there is only so many people on the boat so everyone has a job. If for some reason someone can't do their job then someone else has to do two jobs. It's actually great to learn about fire fighting, CPR and rescue issues on the boat, I am happy to be a part of anything that will help out. I will also have to do some more training when I get home, and keep up with it as well. I'm glad.
If I have time in La Paz on Saturday I will get over to the internet cafe and try to post up some of the amazing pictures that I have. No promises, but there are some amazing ones. I'm not positive that I will have time, but I hope so.
We've been getting ready for the trip up to Alaska, and it's been interesting. The biggest problem is that we can't bring any food that we bought in Mexico back into the US with us. There is a customs check in San Diego and we pretty much have to have no food on board when we get there. What the plan is at this point, and I know it sounds crazy, but we will order a little bit to get us through till we get up there, then what ever is left over when we get to Tijauna we will pitch off the boat while we are at sea. I won't even really get into how much food we throw away every day, it's enough that I almost got sick when I first saw it. The sad thing is that there is absolutely nothing I can do about it. The nature of the beast. Anyways so we are trying to get everything all lined out food wise for the trip right now. We plan to not only have no food, but we also plan to have everything so clean that the CDC will not even think about doing a full on inspection. It shouldn't be too rough. We are going to be cooking some crazy huge and good meals for the crew on the trip up there. Then once we get through all those fun little inspections, we will get in a huge order of food and be on our way again. The best part is that we are only allowed something silly like 4 hours in port at San Diego to do all of this. It should be pretty interesting.
I finished all of my initial training today. I had no idea that I would need to know so much, but it really is a good thing. If you think about it, it really does make sense, there is only so many people on the boat so everyone has a job. If for some reason someone can't do their job then someone else has to do two jobs. It's actually great to learn about fire fighting, CPR and rescue issues on the boat, I am happy to be a part of anything that will help out. I will also have to do some more training when I get home, and keep up with it as well. I'm glad.
If I have time in La Paz on Saturday I will get over to the internet cafe and try to post up some of the amazing pictures that I have. No promises, but there are some amazing ones. I'm not positive that I will have time, but I hope so.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
My first "normal" day.
Today has been about as average of a day as I have had since I got here. There is really not all that much going on right now that is really different, we spent the day at Isla San Marcos, the bird sanctuary that we were at last week, and while the birds were interesting, they weren't really interesting enough for me to go out of the way for a return visit. That coupled with the fact that in just a couple of days we will be headed over some rough seas on our way up to Alaska. The Captain gave a pretty good description of the conditions on the way up there, so in essence we are going to get pummeled for most of the trip. From the description that he gave we are to expect to see 15 foot swells on average for most of the journey. From what I understand there will most likely not be anyone on the boat who at least isn't going to feel a bit under the weather, of course some will handle it better than other. I have decided to ingest as much ginger as possible between now and when we arrive in Juneau so that I can have everything going for me possible.
I do hope to get off of the boat at least one more time, since this will be the last time I'll be in Baja for a while, anyways. We have two more full days here and as always they will be amazing, so with any luck it will happen. I'm starting to get more and more in tune with the food and the galley, so finding time is getting easier. I'm sure that by the time we get up to Alaska I will have the whole thing down enough to really get to see the part of the US that I have been longing to see for so long now. I plan to do a little research in the next couple of days to see what the weather has been like up there so I have an idea. It's God's country, I'm sure.
Tomorrow I'll talk about what we are doing to get ready for our big trip north and I'll also talk a bit about what some of my plans are for when I get home in June.
I do hope to get off of the boat at least one more time, since this will be the last time I'll be in Baja for a while, anyways. We have two more full days here and as always they will be amazing, so with any luck it will happen. I'm starting to get more and more in tune with the food and the galley, so finding time is getting easier. I'm sure that by the time we get up to Alaska I will have the whole thing down enough to really get to see the part of the US that I have been longing to see for so long now. I plan to do a little research in the next couple of days to see what the weather has been like up there so I have an idea. It's God's country, I'm sure.
Tomorrow I'll talk about what we are doing to get ready for our big trip north and I'll also talk a bit about what some of my plans are for when I get home in June.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Finally got to go for a hike
Today has been another incredible day. Just after breakfast we ran into a small group of Orca's, which is supposedly very rare for the area that we are in. It's pretty incredible what happens when these things are in the water, I would say it's like when an eagle flies through the air, you don't see a bird trying to oppose it and you sure don't see much prey running around. It's the same with the Orca, the water just got eerie dead then they showed up. Very interesting indeed. From what I understand this type of Orca Feeds on dolphins and we have seen a million of them the last couple of days, so it makes sense that they would be here. I'm kinda glad that we weren't privileged enough to see them chowing down on a dolphin, some things are best left alone.
We spent the afternoon at Isla San Marcos, and I FINALLY got to take a hike! This was the first one of the trip and boy was it good. I made it to the top of the highest peak on the island and the view was amazing. From there I felt like I was on top of my own little world, and boy did it feel good. It also felt great to get the exercise. I hope that once we get up to Alaska I will have much more chances, but I can only hope. For now I just have to get exercise when I can, and where I can, then when I get home I can hopefully get a couple of trips in.
The only other major development is that I am getting pretty good pressure to take the head chef position that is becoming available when the person I am working under heads off to work on the Explorer in August. They have been giving me a offers, but nothing to concrete. I'm not quite sure how I feel about it at this point. I will need to think about it some, but it wouldn't be too bad. I know that I could do it, this is way less to deal with than Citizens or Cirino's were on slow days. I'll have to see how it all works out, but I'm sure it will.
We spent the afternoon at Isla San Marcos, and I FINALLY got to take a hike! This was the first one of the trip and boy was it good. I made it to the top of the highest peak on the island and the view was amazing. From there I felt like I was on top of my own little world, and boy did it feel good. It also felt great to get the exercise. I hope that once we get up to Alaska I will have much more chances, but I can only hope. For now I just have to get exercise when I can, and where I can, then when I get home I can hopefully get a couple of trips in.
The only other major development is that I am getting pretty good pressure to take the head chef position that is becoming available when the person I am working under heads off to work on the Explorer in August. They have been giving me a offers, but nothing to concrete. I'm not quite sure how I feel about it at this point. I will need to think about it some, but it wouldn't be too bad. I know that I could do it, this is way less to deal with than Citizens or Cirino's were on slow days. I'll have to see how it all works out, but I'm sure it will.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Dolphins, whales AND sea lions!
I've been having a bit of trouble getting my computer to connect to the internet, the system was down for a day, but we are back up and running now. Sorry for the day off!
Yesterday we cruised up into the Sea of Cortez all day, untill noon where we stopped at Half Moon Bay, one of the most scenic beaches in the area. Very white sand and clear water. An awesome place for a kayak trip or snorkeling. We actually got to go to the beach after dinner and take a swim in the moon light. There is no accurate way to describe how good it feels to take a swim in the ocean after a day of sweating in a Galley all day long. Especially on a day like today when virtually every person on the boat has a post La Paz hangover. Luckily I wasn't one of them, but I had to deal with it. Either way I feel pretty good today.
Life on the boat is pretty good. I've been having a pretty good time watching the way that people deal with life on the boat. It's interesting to see the way that people adapt. I'd guess that it's the same as any other stressful work atmosphere, but it's highlighted by the fact that you see the same people all the time no matter what. There is no place to hide on the boat, so the real you will come out sooner or later. I'm glad that I have nothing to hide and am very open.
Late last night I got a wake up from a deck hand that ended up being one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. There is algae in the ocean, simple little plant life that turn the water green, well apparently there is a certain type of algae that will light up if there is enough friction caused by something pushing it out of the way. There are a couple of things that can cause this, but the coolest way to see it, I got a chance to see last night. A dolphin riding a bow wave is a pretty amazing thing to see, they are having so much fun, because it's the equivalent of surfing for us. It's even more amazing when they are doing it at night, and as they cut along the water they light up the night with all of the biomass that they heat up. It looks like trails of light they leave behind as they cut through the water, like a tracer. It's so insane to see, there is really no better way to describe it than the Mexico version of Aurora Borealis. It's called biolumenesence. This trip just keeps getting better and better.
As for my day in La Paz, I ended up having to work most of the day, from 5 am until 8 pm, so I was a little sad. Virtually every one else on the boat had most of the day to go out and play, but my schedule just didn't allow for it. My boss was in the same jam so he decided he would at least make the effort to give us something cool out of the deal. It ended up being that the boat wasn't going to leave port untill midnight, so a plan was quickly mapped out as to what we were going to do. After a little bit of talk with the people that work the dock we found out that the best taco restaurant in baja was only a 5 minute walk from where we were, and being cooks and lovers of food that we were we decided that was the place to be. After we got off the boat we walked down the main drag to the restaurant, and just from the look of it I knew it was going to be good. There was two big flat grills out front where they cooked all of the meat for the tacos, you could smell it 1/2 mile away and it sure did smell great. 90 percent of the seating was outside either on a little patio or right on the sidewalk, which is where we sat at a big family style table where a single man just so happened to be seated. We figured it would be cool to chat it up with him so we had a seat. The menu for the restaurant was painted on the wall, they had tacos with about 10 different meat ingredients and a daily special that happened to be chipotle meatballs while we were there. Hah, no veg options! I was in love. I ordered two carne asada and two chorizo tacos and a dos xx cerveza, and I have to say that they did not disappoint. The meat was perfect and they have all the toppings on the table family style so you can put what you want on there. It was simply the best tacos I had ever had in my life.
The old man that we were sitting next to actually ended up to be pretty cool and a fluent english speaker. He was just up in La Paz for the day, he told us all about his new business that he rents out and provides tours in baja 1000 type buggies that would race in the world famous race. He gives tours of the area in these amazing vehicles as well as offers a package that pretty much allows a person to pay his fee, hop in a buggy and actually race the real race. Very cool I plan on checking it out when I come back to the area in the future.
One other cool thing happened today, I was cooking dinner and I looked out the window for absolutely no reason, then one second later a humpback whale jumped completely out of the water and made a splash 20 feet into the air. It was insane. Then to top it off I realized what was actually going on was that there were dolphins AND sea lions all playing with the whale. There were about 20 sea lions riding on the whale and a bunch of curious dolphins checking out the scene. Everyone on the boat just stood there in awe at what was happening, realizing how cool it really was.
Yesterday we cruised up into the Sea of Cortez all day, untill noon where we stopped at Half Moon Bay, one of the most scenic beaches in the area. Very white sand and clear water. An awesome place for a kayak trip or snorkeling. We actually got to go to the beach after dinner and take a swim in the moon light. There is no accurate way to describe how good it feels to take a swim in the ocean after a day of sweating in a Galley all day long. Especially on a day like today when virtually every person on the boat has a post La Paz hangover. Luckily I wasn't one of them, but I had to deal with it. Either way I feel pretty good today.
Life on the boat is pretty good. I've been having a pretty good time watching the way that people deal with life on the boat. It's interesting to see the way that people adapt. I'd guess that it's the same as any other stressful work atmosphere, but it's highlighted by the fact that you see the same people all the time no matter what. There is no place to hide on the boat, so the real you will come out sooner or later. I'm glad that I have nothing to hide and am very open.
Late last night I got a wake up from a deck hand that ended up being one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. There is algae in the ocean, simple little plant life that turn the water green, well apparently there is a certain type of algae that will light up if there is enough friction caused by something pushing it out of the way. There are a couple of things that can cause this, but the coolest way to see it, I got a chance to see last night. A dolphin riding a bow wave is a pretty amazing thing to see, they are having so much fun, because it's the equivalent of surfing for us. It's even more amazing when they are doing it at night, and as they cut along the water they light up the night with all of the biomass that they heat up. It looks like trails of light they leave behind as they cut through the water, like a tracer. It's so insane to see, there is really no better way to describe it than the Mexico version of Aurora Borealis. It's called biolumenesence. This trip just keeps getting better and better.
As for my day in La Paz, I ended up having to work most of the day, from 5 am until 8 pm, so I was a little sad. Virtually every one else on the boat had most of the day to go out and play, but my schedule just didn't allow for it. My boss was in the same jam so he decided he would at least make the effort to give us something cool out of the deal. It ended up being that the boat wasn't going to leave port untill midnight, so a plan was quickly mapped out as to what we were going to do. After a little bit of talk with the people that work the dock we found out that the best taco restaurant in baja was only a 5 minute walk from where we were, and being cooks and lovers of food that we were we decided that was the place to be. After we got off the boat we walked down the main drag to the restaurant, and just from the look of it I knew it was going to be good. There was two big flat grills out front where they cooked all of the meat for the tacos, you could smell it 1/2 mile away and it sure did smell great. 90 percent of the seating was outside either on a little patio or right on the sidewalk, which is where we sat at a big family style table where a single man just so happened to be seated. We figured it would be cool to chat it up with him so we had a seat. The menu for the restaurant was painted on the wall, they had tacos with about 10 different meat ingredients and a daily special that happened to be chipotle meatballs while we were there. Hah, no veg options! I was in love. I ordered two carne asada and two chorizo tacos and a dos xx cerveza, and I have to say that they did not disappoint. The meat was perfect and they have all the toppings on the table family style so you can put what you want on there. It was simply the best tacos I had ever had in my life.
The old man that we were sitting next to actually ended up to be pretty cool and a fluent english speaker. He was just up in La Paz for the day, he told us all about his new business that he rents out and provides tours in baja 1000 type buggies that would race in the world famous race. He gives tours of the area in these amazing vehicles as well as offers a package that pretty much allows a person to pay his fee, hop in a buggy and actually race the real race. Very cool I plan on checking it out when I come back to the area in the future.
One other cool thing happened today, I was cooking dinner and I looked out the window for absolutely no reason, then one second later a humpback whale jumped completely out of the water and made a splash 20 feet into the air. It was insane. Then to top it off I realized what was actually going on was that there were dolphins AND sea lions all playing with the whale. There were about 20 sea lions riding on the whale and a bunch of curious dolphins checking out the scene. Everyone on the boat just stood there in awe at what was happening, realizing how cool it really was.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
A night out in La Paz
Today we spent the whole day in La Paz. It's been a huge day off for the most part, very very good for my morale. I did still cook all day, but I got a good bit of time both before and after dinner to cruise town. I said it before and I will say it again, I love La Paz. I will live here some day. The feel and the look is just so cool to me, I love the people and the way the whole town is. It's very much my kind of place. Someday. We ran into a guy at dinner tonight in town ( the BEST taco's ever!) that has a pretty cool deal going. I'll talk to you more about this tomorrow.
The great thing is that I also got to spend a bit of time talking to both my wife and my daughter today, and I needed that as well. The whole family is doing well, and that makes me feel much better, it also is good to know that my time here may be longer lived than I thought it might be. I'm not totally counting on it, but things seem to be going well. Mia is holding up pretty good, my big 5 year old girl. I love her so much. I guess that she is all about Hanna Montana all of the sudden, so I think I'll find her some stuff to spoil her after I'm done writing. Sonya seems to be holding up well, too. She's got so much on her hands, I greatfully respect her for what she does every day, hopefully someday I can show her the best places that I see and spoil her the way that she deserves in the process.
Today starts the next journey for the boat, we sail at midnight north from La Paz spending the whole week long trip in the northern Sea of Cortez. I'm kinda glad, because there is so much that I didn't really get to see this last go around, I hope to get a chance this time. This is our last week in Baja, so I have to make the most of it. After this we reposition up to Alaska for all kinds of new fun and excitement. Woo hoo.... This is shaping up to be a great year for doing the things on my life list. I'm very pleased.
The great thing is that I also got to spend a bit of time talking to both my wife and my daughter today, and I needed that as well. The whole family is doing well, and that makes me feel much better, it also is good to know that my time here may be longer lived than I thought it might be. I'm not totally counting on it, but things seem to be going well. Mia is holding up pretty good, my big 5 year old girl. I love her so much. I guess that she is all about Hanna Montana all of the sudden, so I think I'll find her some stuff to spoil her after I'm done writing. Sonya seems to be holding up well, too. She's got so much on her hands, I greatfully respect her for what she does every day, hopefully someday I can show her the best places that I see and spoil her the way that she deserves in the process.
Today starts the next journey for the boat, we sail at midnight north from La Paz spending the whole week long trip in the northern Sea of Cortez. I'm kinda glad, because there is so much that I didn't really get to see this last go around, I hope to get a chance this time. This is our last week in Baja, so I have to make the most of it. After this we reposition up to Alaska for all kinds of new fun and excitement. Woo hoo.... This is shaping up to be a great year for doing the things on my life list. I'm very pleased.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Last day of the photo expedition
Today is the last day of a two week trip and it's been a pretty good one. The only thing is that we are getting pretty inventive with what we have left for food. This is actually a good thing, because it really makes you think about not only what you are doing, but what you are doing later as well. It's good to be two steps ahead of yourself, especially in these conditions. I'm starting to get pretty used to fact that what we have is what we have for days at a time, there is no nightly produce orders or quick trips to the store. I'm sure it will make me a better cook, pretty sure anyways.
I'm still not too sure about my future here. I really like it, and they really like me, but I worry about my kids back home a lot. I can't really see how they are handling all this, and also I can't see how well they are being taken care of. I know that raising children is difficult, and I am truly blessed to be able to do the things I do, but I worry a bit about their needs. In the end I will have to wait and see what things are like when I get back home, if it's bad I'll just have to find other work and stick around, if not then I will come back. I hope I can come back, but if not this has been a pretty good time and I will appreciate what I got to do.
It ended up being a pretty late night, we had to go through our weekly cleaning of the galley tonight. It's great, every one on the boat says how old and out dated the galley is, but the thing is cleaner and newer than any kitchen I've worked in for quite a while now. I guess this one is scheduled to be updated here pretty soon, and the one on the Sea Bird was done a while ago. That's cool, I like working in a clean kitchen, that's for sure.
I'm still not too sure about my future here. I really like it, and they really like me, but I worry about my kids back home a lot. I can't really see how they are handling all this, and also I can't see how well they are being taken care of. I know that raising children is difficult, and I am truly blessed to be able to do the things I do, but I worry a bit about their needs. In the end I will have to wait and see what things are like when I get back home, if it's bad I'll just have to find other work and stick around, if not then I will come back. I hope I can come back, but if not this has been a pretty good time and I will appreciate what I got to do.
It ended up being a pretty late night, we had to go through our weekly cleaning of the galley tonight. It's great, every one on the boat says how old and out dated the galley is, but the thing is cleaner and newer than any kitchen I've worked in for quite a while now. I guess this one is scheduled to be updated here pretty soon, and the one on the Sea Bird was done a while ago. That's cool, I like working in a clean kitchen, that's for sure.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Life on the boat
Today we made it back down to Loreto for stores and things, unfortunately I didn't get a chance to see the town itself at all. The way that the dock is set up is kind of interesting. The actual town of Loreto is not really on the water, it's on the other side of some small but jagged mountains about a mile away from the port. I hear it's nice, but seeing it will have to wait for another day.
Life on the boat is pretty crazy. The rooms are so small that if one person is in the room standing up the other can not stand up as well. You walk in the door and there is one bed at chest level to the right, with storage underneath for clothes and personal items. Then there is the bathroom to the left, which is a shower stall with a toilet and a sink in it and a shower curtain that keeps everyone from seeing you shower through the door, luckily no one hangs out in their room. Straight ahead when you walk in the door past the first bed and the bathroom is the second bed which is perpendicular to the other bed and right up against the bottom of the boat. This is where my bed is, in the aft most cabin on the port side of the boat on the bottom level. It's interesting to be laying in bed hearing the water slosh around a foot away from your head.
The boat itself has 5 levels. The lowest is the 900 deck, where the engines, fuel and water tanks and most of the staff reside. Next level up is the 300 deck, where there is the galley, the staff break room, and the dry storage making up the back 1/4, then the dining room in the second 1/4, 6 guest rooms, and then the front quarter is the guest lounge, the bar and the pursers office. The third level (200 deck) is all guest cabins, and the deck on the bow where people look over to see dolphins or whale watch. The fourth level, 100 deck, is the bridge, the captains quarters and the rest of the guest cabins. On the very top of the boat, the Lido deck is the roof and where the zodiacs and kayaks live. It's also the best place to watch the stars and get a little alone time at night.
Next time I'll talk a little bit about the trips that we do and what they are like so you can know all about that too.
Life on the boat is pretty crazy. The rooms are so small that if one person is in the room standing up the other can not stand up as well. You walk in the door and there is one bed at chest level to the right, with storage underneath for clothes and personal items. Then there is the bathroom to the left, which is a shower stall with a toilet and a sink in it and a shower curtain that keeps everyone from seeing you shower through the door, luckily no one hangs out in their room. Straight ahead when you walk in the door past the first bed and the bathroom is the second bed which is perpendicular to the other bed and right up against the bottom of the boat. This is where my bed is, in the aft most cabin on the port side of the boat on the bottom level. It's interesting to be laying in bed hearing the water slosh around a foot away from your head.
The boat itself has 5 levels. The lowest is the 900 deck, where the engines, fuel and water tanks and most of the staff reside. Next level up is the 300 deck, where there is the galley, the staff break room, and the dry storage making up the back 1/4, then the dining room in the second 1/4, 6 guest rooms, and then the front quarter is the guest lounge, the bar and the pursers office. The third level (200 deck) is all guest cabins, and the deck on the bow where people look over to see dolphins or whale watch. The fourth level, 100 deck, is the bridge, the captains quarters and the rest of the guest cabins. On the very top of the boat, the Lido deck is the roof and where the zodiacs and kayaks live. It's also the best place to watch the stars and get a little alone time at night.
Next time I'll talk a little bit about the trips that we do and what they are like so you can know all about that too.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Isla San Pedro Martir
All through the night and all through the day has been just the opposite of what we have seen much of the last week here in the Sea of Cortez. The water has been rough. So rough that we couldn't even do a zodiac cruise this morning, because the guests would get drenched. Today started at Isla San Pedro Martir, which is the most remote island in the Sea of Cortez. It's also a nesting habitat for blue footed and brown boobies as well as brown pelicans, and I would have to say that there seemed to be millions of them. It was complete craziness how many birds that there was flying around this Island. So many that it was completely white from all the bird doo. We are headed back south now, towards Loreto again for another refill of fuel, water and stores.
More talk of getting aboard the National Geographic Explorer today, it looks as if all positions are filled for the first rotation, but I have my bosses good word towards a cook position for the second rotation. I really think that if I were going to get work aboard a boat and stick with it, this would be the one. I like the boat that I am on now, but it's not all that "extreme" and pretty much just goes a handful of places all the time. The Explorer is going to be in different places all the time, so that would be far more entertaining. I have been getting a bit of pressure to take one of the jobs that is opening up as chef of a rotation on the boats that I work on now, but I don't think that I really want to go there. Really I would like to take a step back for a while now and try not to get too involved in the management part of work, I'd like to try and focus on the food for a while. I really feel the need to spend some time at this point in my career to get into why I love this job so much. Good food.
More talk of getting aboard the National Geographic Explorer today, it looks as if all positions are filled for the first rotation, but I have my bosses good word towards a cook position for the second rotation. I really think that if I were going to get work aboard a boat and stick with it, this would be the one. I like the boat that I am on now, but it's not all that "extreme" and pretty much just goes a handful of places all the time. The Explorer is going to be in different places all the time, so that would be far more entertaining. I have been getting a bit of pressure to take one of the jobs that is opening up as chef of a rotation on the boats that I work on now, but I don't think that I really want to go there. Really I would like to take a step back for a while now and try not to get too involved in the management part of work, I'd like to try and focus on the food for a while. I really feel the need to spend some time at this point in my career to get into why I love this job so much. Good food.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Isla San Esteban and Isla Rasa
Today I got to go for not only one but two rides on the zodiacs! The first trip was in the morning, just a short trip around Isla San Esteban, where I got to see 40 or so Sea Lions sunbathing on the beach, about half of them were babies and the way they reacted when they spotted us was so cool. They pretty much all came roaring down the beach at us and they were all barking "ow ow ow" while the real adventurous ones even came within 20 feet of the boat. It was quite a chow. The second trip of the day was around Isla Rasa that is a tiny little island that is mating grounds for the Elegant Tern and the Heerman's Gull. If you have ever seen the Alfred Hitchcock movie "birds" then you can imagine just how many there are. It's crazy that the same bird will migrate every year then come back and lay another egg in exactly the same place a year later. The naturalist that was guiding our Zodiac told us that they have recently come to the conclusion that birds not only have an amazing sense of direction, but they may even be able to physically see the magnetic forces that are at work around the globe. I can't even imagine how nice that would be. I admire them for that ability.
Last night we got into some pretty rough water in the middle of the night. I woke up at about 2 am to the boat rocking in a pretty serious way. It was pretty intense for a little bit, then it just died and was totally calm. I was talking to the second mate, who was driving the boat when it happened and she said it was a sight to see. So foggy that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face and rocking like crazy then all of the sudden clear as a bell and the water was smooth as glass. I figured that we had run up next to an Island or in a channel, but I guess that didn't happen either. I wish I would have got up to see it, but I was way too tired.
I'm planning to spend some more time tomorrow describing the living conditions on the boat, but due to my two trips on the Zods today I didn't have time.
Last night we got into some pretty rough water in the middle of the night. I woke up at about 2 am to the boat rocking in a pretty serious way. It was pretty intense for a little bit, then it just died and was totally calm. I was talking to the second mate, who was driving the boat when it happened and she said it was a sight to see. So foggy that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face and rocking like crazy then all of the sudden clear as a bell and the water was smooth as glass. I figured that we had run up next to an Island or in a channel, but I guess that didn't happen either. I wish I would have got up to see it, but I was way too tired.
I'm planning to spend some more time tomorrow describing the living conditions on the boat, but due to my two trips on the Zods today I didn't have time.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Isla San Marcos
Today we headed north much of the day, the final destination being the Island of San Marcos. This is a pretty crazy island that is all volcanic rocks, with some great snorkeling as well. The water has been very smooth so far, not like any other part of the trip before this. There has also been quite a few dolphins and we even saw a fin whale, one of the biggest on the planet.
I haven't talked too much about the staff that I am working with very much so I thought that I would take a little time to do that today. The staff on the boat is split into three parts, the hotel crew. the expedition crew and the boat crew. The hotel crew is cooks for the galley and stewards that are both wait staff and housekeeping for the rooms. In the Galley the line up is the Chef, the Sous Chef, a pantry and one Steward rotates in to help out and do dishes every week. As far as the rest of the hotel staff, there is the Hotel Manager who is the Food and Beverage as well as house keeping manager, the senior steward is basically the floor manager, a bartender and 6 stewards. So there are about 12 people in the hotel staff.
The boat staff consists of the Captain, his first mate, second mate, third mate, bosun, who is in charge of the zodiacs and kayaks, two engineers, and 4 deck hands. The captain, the first mate and second mate all drive the boat, and the third mate is in training, while all four handle handle paper work and safety/training as well. The engineers are the ones that make everything run and are generally miracle men, fixing everything seemingly out of fresh air, I have much respect for them and their work. Deck hands are the general handyman types who take care of all the little jobs around the boat like clean up and smaller maintenance issues. There is also the Purser, who is the ships accountant and in charge of money on the boat. The boat crew is 11 on this boat.
The last group is the expedition crew and naturalists. The Expedition Leader is in charge of the itinerary in with comments from the Captain, then we have a photographer that is in charge of documenting each trip for the guests, and is generally in charge of all snorkeling and scuba trips. From there we have between two and six people on board that are either naturalists/geologists or photographers from National Geographic magazine who both give lectures and also are in charge of guiding the guests on mini excursions. Right now we have six on board, because this is a two week photo expedition so we have 8 on the expedition staff.
I'm not sure what the staff to guest ratio usually is on these type of boats, but 31 staff with 54 guests on the boat right now is pretty amazing. The guests are getting pretty good treatment from what I've seen. More about life on the boat tomorrow....
I haven't talked too much about the staff that I am working with very much so I thought that I would take a little time to do that today. The staff on the boat is split into three parts, the hotel crew. the expedition crew and the boat crew. The hotel crew is cooks for the galley and stewards that are both wait staff and housekeeping for the rooms. In the Galley the line up is the Chef, the Sous Chef, a pantry and one Steward rotates in to help out and do dishes every week. As far as the rest of the hotel staff, there is the Hotel Manager who is the Food and Beverage as well as house keeping manager, the senior steward is basically the floor manager, a bartender and 6 stewards. So there are about 12 people in the hotel staff.
The boat staff consists of the Captain, his first mate, second mate, third mate, bosun, who is in charge of the zodiacs and kayaks, two engineers, and 4 deck hands. The captain, the first mate and second mate all drive the boat, and the third mate is in training, while all four handle handle paper work and safety/training as well. The engineers are the ones that make everything run and are generally miracle men, fixing everything seemingly out of fresh air, I have much respect for them and their work. Deck hands are the general handyman types who take care of all the little jobs around the boat like clean up and smaller maintenance issues. There is also the Purser, who is the ships accountant and in charge of money on the boat. The boat crew is 11 on this boat.
The last group is the expedition crew and naturalists. The Expedition Leader is in charge of the itinerary in with comments from the Captain, then we have a photographer that is in charge of documenting each trip for the guests, and is generally in charge of all snorkeling and scuba trips. From there we have between two and six people on board that are either naturalists/geologists or photographers from National Geographic magazine who both give lectures and also are in charge of guiding the guests on mini excursions. Right now we have six on board, because this is a two week photo expedition so we have 8 on the expedition staff.
I'm not sure what the staff to guest ratio usually is on these type of boats, but 31 staff with 54 guests on the boat right now is pretty amazing. The guests are getting pretty good treatment from what I've seen. More about life on the boat tomorrow....
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Loreto
Today we woke up in a cove that was full of dolphins and amazingly beautiful. These common dolphins were quite a bit bigger and there were quite a bit fewer than the previous. We hung out there all morning and led some hikes around the Island for those that cared to go. Really just the same kind of cool stuff we've been doing a ton of, nothing too out of control though. I'm glad that I have been seeing so many amazing things that I'm getting spoiled by it, in some ways it's bad though. When I talk to the people that have been on this boat for years, they are like "dolphins, whales, bah!" I hope that I NEVER feel that way about doing this kind of thing, I don't think that I will.
The second half of the day we headed up towards Loreto and found a nice little cove to have a beach BBQ, and it went fairly well except for I mad one fatal mistake. I started my mashed potatoes and they were just about done when I got another chore to do, I didn't want my potatoes to get cold so I put them into the oven to hold them....BIG mistake! It basically made potato chips out of them that would never get back to the stage of ready for mashing. No matter what I did I couldn't get them back, it was like a bad dream. I won't ever do that again. Luckily we had plenty of food other than that anyways, and no one really missed it.
At the time I'm writing this we are waiting on our arrival at the town of Loreto, this is where we will get fuel and water as well as supplies for the galley. We hope to be in port around 11 pm or so, with an hour or more of loading the boat, and then I have to be up at 5:30 am cooking breakfast....tomorrow is going to be a long day. I seem to be getting used to it, so that's good. 2 weeks on board now and all is well.
The second half of the day we headed up towards Loreto and found a nice little cove to have a beach BBQ, and it went fairly well except for I mad one fatal mistake. I started my mashed potatoes and they were just about done when I got another chore to do, I didn't want my potatoes to get cold so I put them into the oven to hold them....BIG mistake! It basically made potato chips out of them that would never get back to the stage of ready for mashing. No matter what I did I couldn't get them back, it was like a bad dream. I won't ever do that again. Luckily we had plenty of food other than that anyways, and no one really missed it.
At the time I'm writing this we are waiting on our arrival at the town of Loreto, this is where we will get fuel and water as well as supplies for the galley. We hope to be in port around 11 pm or so, with an hour or more of loading the boat, and then I have to be up at 5:30 am cooking breakfast....tomorrow is going to be a long day. I seem to be getting used to it, so that's good. 2 weeks on board now and all is well.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Isla San Jose and Isla San Francisco
Today I saw a sight that I never imagined I would see. I thought that coming down here to Baja and cruising around on a boat would be interesting, but this is out of control. Here we are cruising through some of the most scenic vistas I have ever seen and I look out over the water ahead of us to see a ton of birds flying and the water almost looking like it's boiling. A couple minutes later we finally get up to it and what actually was happening was that there was a couple HUNDRED dolphins swimming the water all around the ship. It was simply amazing. The grace and the style of these animals in the wild is simply something that can not be described with words. I did end up getting a few good video clips of the whole thing, so stay tuned for that. Where we saw the white sided dolphins was called the San Jose Channel, the channel between Isla San Jose and Baja.
We woke up this morning in this little cove that reminded me very much of the area around Price, Utah called Half Moon Bay, on Isla San Francisco. The rocks were very sandy and layers of colors that intrigue your eye and show the years of erosion that they have weathered. The beaches here are amazing. I did a little research and found out that if you want to fly or drive to La Paz there is a company called Baja Expeditions there that will take you to these Islands to explore. I would definitely recommend putting this one on the life's list of places to see. I've been trying to soak it all in while I can, we are only going to be in Baja for another 2 weeks, so I hope to get in as much as I can. I know that I am very lucky, though, because most only get a week's vacation to see the places that I am over a month period. It's crazy.
I've been talking to my chef about the possibility of a transfer to the National Geographic Explorer in the future, it seems like such and amazing opportunity. I think that I'm going to put in for an entry level position and see what happens, you never know. It's kind of an interesting deal. There are the usual pro's and con's with switching over to that boat. The pro being that it goes to amazing places, Antarctica to the Arctic circle in Europe, and the con being that I would lose my benefits. Also rather than an 8 week on 4 week of schedule, they rotate 3 months on 3 months off. This could be cool, but if your three months off are during the time when they are at each pole and you only ride the boat in between it may not be such a cool thing anyways. Like I said before, we will have to see. Also it's been brought to my attention that there is a Chef position opening on one of the rotations opposite of mine, so I may put in for that as well. I'm not too sure that I'm ready for that just yet, but by the time it rolls around I'm sure I could be.
We woke up this morning in this little cove that reminded me very much of the area around Price, Utah called Half Moon Bay, on Isla San Francisco. The rocks were very sandy and layers of colors that intrigue your eye and show the years of erosion that they have weathered. The beaches here are amazing. I did a little research and found out that if you want to fly or drive to La Paz there is a company called Baja Expeditions there that will take you to these Islands to explore. I would definitely recommend putting this one on the life's list of places to see. I've been trying to soak it all in while I can, we are only going to be in Baja for another 2 weeks, so I hope to get in as much as I can. I know that I am very lucky, though, because most only get a week's vacation to see the places that I am over a month period. It's crazy.
I've been talking to my chef about the possibility of a transfer to the National Geographic Explorer in the future, it seems like such and amazing opportunity. I think that I'm going to put in for an entry level position and see what happens, you never know. It's kind of an interesting deal. There are the usual pro's and con's with switching over to that boat. The pro being that it goes to amazing places, Antarctica to the Arctic circle in Europe, and the con being that I would lose my benefits. Also rather than an 8 week on 4 week of schedule, they rotate 3 months on 3 months off. This could be cool, but if your three months off are during the time when they are at each pole and you only ride the boat in between it may not be such a cool thing anyways. Like I said before, we will have to see. Also it's been brought to my attention that there is a Chef position opening on one of the rotations opposite of mine, so I may put in for that as well. I'm not too sure that I'm ready for that just yet, but by the time it rolls around I'm sure I could be.
Friday, April 4, 2008
Isle Espiritu Santo
Today we woke up in a little bay of the Isle Espiritu Santo and it was about as picture perfect as Baja Beaches go. The place is just simply amazing. Our location is just south of Los Islotes in the Sea of Cortez, north east of La Paz. When I come back to this area with the family later, this is a place that we will go to, with out a doubt. It's by far the best camping spot that I have seen so far on this trip. The trip from Cabo to here was a bit rocky, but not too bad, and at least most of the bigger waves happened after dinner. Trying to cook while "surfing" slows down the process considerably.
After lunch we headed over to Los Islotes to set up some snorkeling and diving for everyone, the sea lions were friendly as usual. I'm really bummed that I can't upload pictures for you all, my words can not even begin to describe the things that I see every day. The east side of Baja reminds me of Arizona and Utah, there are some amazing rock formations and quite a few cacti. There are no trees what so ever, and everything is very dry. The west side of Baja is quite a bit different, much more green, with plant life in many locations. Not quite as rugged, but still very sparse. I will put up some pictures as soon as I can in my photo album so that you can see some of the amazing things I have been seeing.
I've been thinking more and more about getting a satellite phone, just to have for in case situations. I'll keep looking around on ebay and what not, but they are still pretty pricey. Other than that, I did a good job of bringing everything I need. Some things I would bring next time would be convertible pants (with zip off legs) instead of pants and shorts, and about 10 more pairs of socks, because I stand and sweat so much it would be nice to have two pairs a day for a week at least. Nothing too crazy, but just notes for the future. I'm getting a little more used to my camera now, it's not so bad, but I still would like to have something a little bit better. I'm sure I'll get over it, though.
After lunch we headed over to Los Islotes to set up some snorkeling and diving for everyone, the sea lions were friendly as usual. I'm really bummed that I can't upload pictures for you all, my words can not even begin to describe the things that I see every day. The east side of Baja reminds me of Arizona and Utah, there are some amazing rock formations and quite a few cacti. There are no trees what so ever, and everything is very dry. The west side of Baja is quite a bit different, much more green, with plant life in many locations. Not quite as rugged, but still very sparse. I will put up some pictures as soon as I can in my photo album so that you can see some of the amazing things I have been seeing.
I've been thinking more and more about getting a satellite phone, just to have for in case situations. I'll keep looking around on ebay and what not, but they are still pretty pricey. Other than that, I did a good job of bringing everything I need. Some things I would bring next time would be convertible pants (with zip off legs) instead of pants and shorts, and about 10 more pairs of socks, because I stand and sweat so much it would be nice to have two pairs a day for a week at least. Nothing too crazy, but just notes for the future. I'm getting a little more used to my camera now, it's not so bad, but I still would like to have something a little bit better. I'm sure I'll get over it, though.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
The best sunrise of my life!
Today we started the day out with a beautiful sunrise in Cabo San Lucas. It was one of the coolest sunrises that I have had the privilege of seeing in my lifetime. We came around the corner to see the city at just the right time in the sunrise, where all of the lights were still slightly shining but the sun was just coming up on the horizon. It was totally inspiring, so inspiring in fact that I completely zoned out on it and didn't get a picture. DOH!! After we got into the harbor in Cabo we spent the first half of the day resupplying the boat, and it was my opportunity to make some much needed phone calls to family back in the States. It felt nice to hear some familiar voices and know that everyone is holding up ok while I'm out here having a good old time in Baja. Every one is doing great, of course, so I feel much better know.
After lunch we were on our way north up into the Sea of Cortez, it's going to be our last trip here for the season, but we are going to be spending quite a bit of time exploring all the little things that are amazing about the area. I can't wait to see some more of Baja, everything that I have seen to this point has been totally amazing. Everything.
In the Galley I had an interesting experience with flan, this being my first attempt at it, plus my first attempt at cooking a custard in a water bath while cruising down the ocean. Let's just say that it's going to take a little practice, and that even though it wasn't just as I had hoped, it was still pretty good. This whole thing is so new and crazy, it's definitely going to be strange when I am done hear to go back and work in a "normal" kitchen, but I'm sure that the things I learn here will serve me well in some capacity or another.
I got to chat with Mia for a little bit, and I am happy to report that she had a great birthday. I guess she has been introduced to karaoke, so that is what she did on her birthday. Fun was had and my little girl was happy, so that's all I could ask for.
I also had a few minutes with my wife, Sonya and have the great news that she is pregnant! Again! Oh boy, now we need a school bus for every one, I think that they have those on ebay?!?!? Anyways...like all things in life, it's not planned, but we are both excited and ready to tackle the next few months. She is convinced it will be a girl, so I'll put it down on record saying that anyways.
After lunch we were on our way north up into the Sea of Cortez, it's going to be our last trip here for the season, but we are going to be spending quite a bit of time exploring all the little things that are amazing about the area. I can't wait to see some more of Baja, everything that I have seen to this point has been totally amazing. Everything.
In the Galley I had an interesting experience with flan, this being my first attempt at it, plus my first attempt at cooking a custard in a water bath while cruising down the ocean. Let's just say that it's going to take a little practice, and that even though it wasn't just as I had hoped, it was still pretty good. This whole thing is so new and crazy, it's definitely going to be strange when I am done hear to go back and work in a "normal" kitchen, but I'm sure that the things I learn here will serve me well in some capacity or another.
I got to chat with Mia for a little bit, and I am happy to report that she had a great birthday. I guess she has been introduced to karaoke, so that is what she did on her birthday. Fun was had and my little girl was happy, so that's all I could ask for.
I also had a few minutes with my wife, Sonya and have the great news that she is pregnant! Again! Oh boy, now we need a school bus for every one, I think that they have those on ebay?!?!? Anyways...like all things in life, it's not planned, but we are both excited and ready to tackle the next few months. She is convinced it will be a girl, so I'll put it down on record saying that anyways.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
On the road again....er On the sea again.
Today has been a pretty good day. We are headed south now down to Cabo San Lucas, which is actually nice. We spent several days in Mag Bay not even going very far, so it's nice to be underway. Once we got to La Entrada, the entrance to the bay, we say a whole bunch of dolphins that were giving me a bunch of trouble trying to take pictures of them. It got to a point where it was comical, actually. Even video didn't work out, I'd start rolling and just catch them going under water, then roll footage for a while with nothing. Two seconds after I would stop recording they would pop up again. Oh well....wasn't meant to be.
We had a good day in the kitchen, I made some rockin Paella and also had a great batch of bread boules come out tonight. Everything went pretty smooth, but there is one lady that has totally thrown us for a loop this trip. She supposedly has an allergy to peppers, but then she orders stuffed bell pepper and chows them all down!?!?!? Then she says that she is actually allergic to pepper, like on the table and then goes on to totally contradict herself shortly after that. So now we are just doing what we want and not even worrying about here, but she is suffering a bit. It kind of sucks, but I'm sure it will even out now, especially because she still has 10 days on the boat.
I've also got my first symptoms of G.I. which I figured would happen sooner than later. I've been really careful about washing my hands and all, but I'm not too sure about the drinking water and the way it is treated on board here. Either way, my body is healthy and strong, so I will overcome it. No big deal.
Can't wait to get back down to Cabo tomorrow so that I can make a couple phone calls.
We had a good day in the kitchen, I made some rockin Paella and also had a great batch of bread boules come out tonight. Everything went pretty smooth, but there is one lady that has totally thrown us for a loop this trip. She supposedly has an allergy to peppers, but then she orders stuffed bell pepper and chows them all down!?!?!? Then she says that she is actually allergic to pepper, like on the table and then goes on to totally contradict herself shortly after that. So now we are just doing what we want and not even worrying about here, but she is suffering a bit. It kind of sucks, but I'm sure it will even out now, especially because she still has 10 days on the boat.
I've also got my first symptoms of G.I. which I figured would happen sooner than later. I've been really careful about washing my hands and all, but I'm not too sure about the drinking water and the way it is treated on board here. Either way, my body is healthy and strong, so I will overcome it. No big deal.
Can't wait to get back down to Cabo tomorrow so that I can make a couple phone calls.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Mia's 5th birthday today!!!
A couple of things of interest that I forgot to talk about yesterday. First was that while we were out on the zodiacs whale watching yesterday the mother whale went to each of the four boats and attempted to lift them up out of the water like she was doing to her calf. it was pretty funny to watch and crazy to feel this huge animal lifting up a boat with 8 people in it. I'm still not sure how she did it, because I would assume that the boat weighed more than her, and the whole science of it is interesting. The other thing that happened is I made some stuffed peppers for lunch that I will definately put in the recipe file. Poblano chilies, cut in half, then stuffed with black beans, yellow bell pepper, squash, queso fresco and potato, then topped with jack cheese and roasted. They were a hit.
Today we are starting to move south back down the Hull Canal and Magdalena Bay, on our way back down to Cabo. We have a couple of stops along the way, but we are getting to see some pretty amazing things along the way. The Hull Canal is a pretty amazing place, very shallow and narrow in spots. It's pretty interesting to float by some of these places to see all the wild life going about their business and what not. Traveling by boat has turned out to be quite different than any other means of travel for me, I really like it.
It's my daughter's fifth birthday today and I'm a little sad that I can't talk to her on the phone and let her know that I love her, but I'm sure that she knows it anyways. 5 whole years old now, where does the time go. Pretty soon she will be telling me all about the great adventures that she goes on, and I will wondering what happened to my baby. I couldn't hardly believe my last phone conversation with her, she is getting pretty good at talking on the phone now. Happy Birthday, my baby girl.
Today we are starting to move south back down the Hull Canal and Magdalena Bay, on our way back down to Cabo. We have a couple of stops along the way, but we are getting to see some pretty amazing things along the way. The Hull Canal is a pretty amazing place, very shallow and narrow in spots. It's pretty interesting to float by some of these places to see all the wild life going about their business and what not. Traveling by boat has turned out to be quite different than any other means of travel for me, I really like it.
It's my daughter's fifth birthday today and I'm a little sad that I can't talk to her on the phone and let her know that I love her, but I'm sure that she knows it anyways. 5 whole years old now, where does the time go. Pretty soon she will be telling me all about the great adventures that she goes on, and I will wondering what happened to my baby. I couldn't hardly believe my last phone conversation with her, she is getting pretty good at talking on the phone now. Happy Birthday, my baby girl.
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