Ensenada Baja Mexico

Posted 14 October 2010

We had a lovely sail from San Diego to Los Coronados Islands, Mexico. Dinis made quite a few QSO from there while we were waiting for night fall. We decided to sail during the night so that we can arrive during day time in Ensenada. In the end this strategy did not work that good as again we arrived under fog.

During our trip to Ensenada we noticed that the oil that lubricate the shaft was leaking out and that seawater must have made its way in for the oil to be pushed out. This is not a big problem, but we decided to haul the boat and check it out anyway. Rather now than later.

So on Monday after clearing customs and getting all the paperwork done the boat was hauled out by  Baja Naval Marina and Boatyard. What a fantastic job the boatyard did hauling and launching the boat. They are very profesional, friendly and efficient.

The culprit was that the first lip seal corroded and that seawater was pushing the oil up. Anyway we replaced all the seals and put new zinks on. It took us a little longer than anticipated to re-align the engine. The boat was launched Thursday morning.

On Tuesday we met with a ham radio friend (Hector XE2GAG) that Dinis communicated with previously when we were still planning our trip. Hector and Olga took us to a traditional Mexican restuarant 'El Parian'. The company, food and atmosphere were great. After dinner we went to the famous Hussong's Cantina. The oldest bar in the Californias, established in 1892 and a designated historical landmark. What a fantastic evening. We listened to the Norteños (Northerners), which is a musical folk group. Our friends spoiled us by asking the group to sing 2 songs for Dinis and myself. This is a lifelong experience that Dinis and myself will remember and cherish. It was an absolutely lovely evening. Hector took a video of the Norteños singing, althought the cantina was quite dark you can still hear the lovely song and atmosphere.

Hector and Olga drove us around for shopping and also sightseing Ensenada. Ensenada is a lovely city surounded by many hills. Hector also took us to visit his family and his radio shack. Dinis enjoyed that a lot, made a QSO from Hector's radio to Columbia. We had a pleasant visit with his family and again were spoiled.

We are heading south on Monday morning (18 October) after getting our clearance letter stamp by the harbour master.