First Post Written While Actuallly at Sea!

Yes, it is true - I am writing this while the boat and I are sailing south from Turtle Bay. It is a little bit more difficult to type than under normal circumstances, adn since I am a horrible proofreader of my own stuff, please excuse in advance any typos and such.

I would really like to thank the makers of the wonder drug Stugeron Forte. It is an anti-seasickness drug that works wonders. I can read, type, cook, sleep, and endure rough seas without any ill effects. not only does it not make me sleepy, it seems to give me a bit of a buzz.

There were two things about Turtle Bay that were wonderful and I want to be sure to stress. First, there was Rogelio and his beach palapa bar, Rogelio's Allley. he is a wonderful man and I spent a lot of time talking with him. (In Spanish I might add, thank you Senora Lazcano!) He had four dogs, which were all great mascotas, as pets are called here. There was a long dog with short legs called Orejas because he had big ears. Chicolin was a tiny little grey spotted dog with one blue eye. Lao was a shaggy dog that looked sort of Llasa Apso-ish. Then there was Pirata, sort of a dalmation lab mix of something like that. They hung around the bar getting petted and I really enjoyed them. There are a lot of really cool dogs down here, and not as many strays as one might think.

When we took our laundry in, we could see it hanging on the clothesline, flapping gaily in the dusty breeze. We found homemade chorizo in all the little tiendas here, and it is by far the best chorizo (Mexican sausage)we have ever had. I didn't care that it was wrapped in handiwrap and kept in a bucket in a refrigerator like the kind pepsi is kept in at the grocery. It was wonderfully delicious, not greasy at all, something I did not think possible. I have had the healthy versions of chorizo in the past and they do not measure up to the unhealthy versions. This one was very lean and perfectly seasoned. We bought several batches to fix while underway. I cook it with eggs for breakfast or in Mexican entrees.

I guess it is obvious I enjoyed my time in Turtle Bay. Between that and Ensenada, it has been a great start. Right now we are sailing gently along albeit slowly, on what is called a close haul, which means the wind is on the front quarter of your boat. it is as close as one can get to sailing directly into the wind. Once we round a cape, we expect teh wind to be more on the beam (the side of the boat). When that happens, we will go faster. But it is really pleasant to just glide along, at least as much as one can simply glide in the ocean in winter. The sea is always a little rough in the winter. But what I am experiencing as I write this is really nice. The sun is out, no clouds in the sky, but it is still chilly enough that I have sweat pants and a sweatshirt on.

It is time for me to take an hourly reading, so off I go. There may be more than one post today!

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