Sailing and birds...

 I've been surfing my arms off the last couple weeks, but I also met another boat of comparable length (a 28 ft Westsail) and we had a bit of a race.  I got a few pictures of their boat (named Slow Dance) and they got a few of mine.  And then, I went for a bit of a birdwatching tour and found myself in the midst of ducks and a nice Kestrel.  I hope you enjoy the pictures.

 Here is an unknown kind of flicker...  Can you guess what kind?

 There is a bit of rain in the mix today, and the doves are hiding their necks to keep the rain off.

 The ducks, of course are extending their necks.  Sitting ducks with their necks out.

 Here is the kestrel.  The wind was blowing around from this frontal system that is making its way through.  Its a wonderful breath of air coming off the ocean that reminds me of Bellingham in the winter, but the air is warm and the wind very fresh.  This kestrel was dodging through the gusts in search of some kind of prey and I got him before he zipped away.

So here is a picture of my boat when I was trying to go slow enough to stay with the other guys, that is why I have the furler half in and it is flapping.  

 Now I am more serious about speed and I've got everything flying.

Mexico is treating me quite well this year.  I had a nice exploration through the Sea of Cortez in the fall, and then I did another one with the SEN (which was a great experience) and now the surf is starting to pick up and I feel great about Altair.  In short, life is great.

A new video

I just made this out of the scraps of video I've been collecting so far this fall and winter.  I don't really have a theme, but I liked the music and I like the shots, so I put it together.

Two Weeks on the SEN

 Life has been great!  The last few weeks I've had the chance to take a vacation from my normal life (of vacationing) and go to work (?) onboard the Safari Endeavor.  I put the question mark there, because I felt like every day my job was to play with the good people, rather than to do anything that felt much like work.  It was a wonderful time.  The boat is well put together, and the crew are streamlined and efficient and fun.  We would get the kayaks ready with smiles on our faces, drag things to and from the beach while laughing, and take care of the people as if they were our best friends.  Like a family.  Actually, unlike a family, because families don't ever get along that nicely.  I found out that I will be working on the WEX again this summer, so I am happy about that, and of course I am happy to be coming back to my little Altair again.
So what did I see in the Sea of cortez?  There are lots of American Oystercatchers...

And since the boat is very fast, we were able to go to a lot of different places, even in weather that would make it impossible for Altair to go there.  We went to Los Islotes, where you can swim with baby California Sea Lions, and I did just that.  The first week was pretty easy, the little guys came over and played with us, but the second week they were shy.  I wondered if there was a shark in the area and that is why they were keeping their distance.  I also had a few people who weren't paying a lot of attention to where they were swimming and got awfully close to some big bull sea lions and I had to go get them away.  They do have pretty big teeth!

Every day the sun would rise and set with the glory of the heavens and the earth combined.  Watching it slowly burn the clouds and mountaintops brought a lot of satisfaction to my day.

And we went to go visit the friendly Grey Whales!  Twice now I have taken the trip across (with vans) to the northern end of Bahia Magdalena and found the gentle giant greys sliding through the waters.  Little babies next to their gigantic mothers, wrinkled and clean from newly being born; it was a wonderful sight.

Last Friday we got some difficult weather and were forced into La Paz a day early, so we went to the Serpentarium in La Paz.  I had heard about this place and I am very glad to have been able to go.  They have lots of awesome snakes, lizards, tarantulas, turtles, and birds.  Everything is accustomed to people and I was eager to touch them.  Beautiful life.

Here is a Tarantula on my arm.

A sleepy owl.

A giggling crocodile

A mystical snake

And an intelligent parrot

They collect an invasive species of turtle and so they were packed into a nice pool.  Pretty little things.

We had a nice Pelican land on the back of the boat one day and it turned into a chance to get a good close view.

As well as a view of the Burros that we send people on in Bahia Agua Verde.

Here is a Vermillion Flycatcher, also from Agua Verde.

This is one of my favorite shots, the Tricolor Heron is just attacking a fish, just before hitting the water.

Of course we saw more Oystercatchers.

The second round of going over to the Grey Whales was a very nice day, calm in the morning and cool.  The babies were more eager to come visit, and while nobody touched one, they passed very close to the pangas a few times.

On the way back I got a shot of a crested Caracara taking off.

And then we had a giant pod of dolphins come surround the boat for a long time, clicking and whistling and jumping.  Common dolphin.

And of course a mystery plant for those who want to comment...

Across the Sea of Cortez, to Bandaras Bay

 I had a little race with the boat pictured above, the mighty Shamaness, starting on New Years Day.  We left La Paz together and raced with the building winds out to sea.  I ended up turning further east as darkness fell, towards Mazatlan, before heading on south, and she plunged boldly into the night bound for Bandaras Bay.  After Mazatlan, I stopped at my favorite island, Isla Isabel.  It was a nice stopover, with a few trips around the island to see the birds, and also I did some freediving with the fishes.  I saw the biggest Grouper I have ever seen, it was much bigger than me, and many other fish that up to now I hadn't seen in large numbers.  There were Milkfish, a large, swallow-tailed fish with a fairly small mouth, to be seen in large schools just out of reach of my speargun.  I also saw a bunch of Rainbow Runners, of which I had only ever seen one before.  Finally, as I was diving around in the deeper parts to the west of the island, there were a lot of very big Rooster Fish coming up to look at me.  They got very close but since they aren't very tasty, I didn't take a shot.  On the evening of one of the days I went up to a Blue-Footed Boobie colony and snapped a few pictures.  Here are two trying to woo each other....

 And here is a picture of one in flight.  Their vision is very forward looking.  They must be super intelligent and good planners.

So now I am in the Puerto Vallarta area and will stay here for the rest of the winter, unless I decide otherwise.  The surf has been small, but I still am getting my hair wet and my nose sunburned searching for it.

2016 Wrap up

I'm back on Altair after christmas break in California, and I am going to test out my internet connection that my phone (new plan) provides with a blog post.  But also, I'd like to look back at 2016.  For me, the year started in Bandaras Bay, where it was rainy and I awoke to the sound of popping fireworks in the night.  I got up and looked at the celebrations for a few minutes before going back to bed.  The surf was great for the rest of the winter, but in January I broke my left lower rib and found that surfing was quite painful, with it crunching around.  I surfed Ticla for the first time and I'd like to go back, it is a nice place in mainland mexico.  I took Altair up to San Carlos, Sonora, for the first time to store her there, and it was a nice experience, except that the heat is too much for many things on the boat, like the dinghy.
My friend Wes and I drove back from Mexico to the USA and I went to work on the Wilderness Explorer, and had quite possibly the best season I've ever had up in Alaska.  I worked with a great group of people, on a boat that I like a lot, and doing a route that was fantastic. We saw amazing things, like Orca killing a Dall's porpoise, whales breaching nonstop for a whole day, and wolves.  I did a unbelievable trip with my friend Danny aboard a small sportfishing boat and we heard wolves howl and saw a moose extremely close, and played with porcupines.  (That is a trip I want to repeat)  The last week of the season was quite possibly the best, with a great bear viewing opportunity and the most Orca I have seen in one time ever, and Northern Lights.
After the Alaska Season I spent a few weeks relaxing in Bellingham and then drove back down to Mexico with my friend Lucy.  We had a great time exploring and surfing and getting back to Los Angeles, where I spent a nice christmas with my siblings and their families, and some good surfing.  And now I am back home, awaiting the New Year to come again.  Here are some pictures from bird watching with my brother in the LA area.

 A Merlin up close in Santa Barbara

 Monarch Butterflies in the trees in Pismo Beach

 A hummingbird in San Diego

Driving back

I'm back in the USA now, and it feels strange to be here, and cold.  I'm in Pismo Beach.  I drove back up from La Paz (where Altair is now) and let me tell you a little about it.  First off, there is this beautiful oasis in the hills near La Paz where a river flows out, and a hot spring comes up out of the ground.  At this place there is fresh water and a flowing stream, with waterfalls.  Also, it turns out, snakes!  One of them got a small fish in this photo.  A small fish, but still quite big for the snake.  Also at this location was a walking stick.  I've never seen one of these before and this one was awesome.  I got some video of it walking that I will put into something later on, but it walks like an alien.

There were a few brightly colored birds flying around, and I got a snapshot of this Vermillion Flycatcher.  Such a bright color!

Halfway up from La Paz is a nice little place called Santa Rosalillita, where we saw a coyote on the beach at sunset and tried to surf the insanely small break.  It works, but only just barely.

A little further north there is a little place with stones just like Joshua Tree, where the full moon rose overhead and made for a nice bright night.  We had a little fire and made popcorn over it.

These rocks reminded me of the surfing waves I needed to get back to.

And there was a tree that I've never seen before there.  Its30 ft tall sometimes, so hardly something to be missed, but strange shaped, like something out of Dr. Suess.