Ahhhh, so good to be back in our home town, Atascadero for a week. If you or friends are ever driving north or south on the 101 and need a stop over, or maybe just want a weekend away, this is the most cozy, peaceful place to stay. Check out our Airbnb on the lake!! So glad we were in the construction industry.
?Que es un Magico Puebla? Well, if you ever want to travel to Mexico, I highly recommend one of these special towns. One of which is Tequila, my home last week while Scott was busy saving sailboats in the Sea. Google “Magic Towns” and you will get a list of 130, and more are added every year. What makes them MAGICAL? Sweet people, clean streets, colorful buildings, very lively, narrow cobblestone streets, art galleries, healthy dogs, music everywhere, and are the nicely priced airbnbs for $25/night. There still may be some shanty town areas, but they at least are colorful and without tarp rooves.
Week before Kay hits Baja: Well it was bound to happen. As soon as we left the boat, the storm gods decided it was time to rain. Sea Bella hasn’t seen more than a sprinkle of rain in 1 and 1/2 years and now she will get more than a bath. This forecasted grib is for a storm expected next week. It is only one weather opinion (GFS) out of many, but it has driven me to purchase airline tickets back to Baja to “Ride the storm out”. We are in a good “Hurricane Hole” but me being there helps guarantee we have a home to come home to in October. Besides, I’m getting tired of all this excellent Mexican food in Guadalajara. (Not).
Report day before Kay hits Puerto Escondido: Kay is ripping up the coast of Baja now. Hold tight Scott and cruiser friends, kind of scary for us not down there. The winds/rain are reporting at 20 knots in Puerto Escondido, which Sea Bella has easily been in before. Just a few more hours till Kay heads north, hang tight!
Report in the night that Kay hits: Winds are crankin and regularly seeing in the 40s with a max of 61 knots. The GFS Model seems to have been the best prediction in my opinion.
Starlink still workin, tied down tight!!!! 🤙 The second photo is my anchor alarm app set 12 hours ago. We have been blown from all directions.
Sun is coming up soon. Looking forward to looking around.
Report the morning after Kay hit:
The big winds seem to be gone. There has been some damage to C Dock but nothing major. There is a reported monohull in distress or sinking on one of the docks. We had one boat break free this morning SV Top Cider and a group of us were able to get it just before it ran aground and get it to another mooring. Multiple boats with headsail issues on the docks and a few dinghy’s blown from the tops of decks (SV Dulcinea in the mooring field.
Jason Hite did a vhf net this morning and it seems everyone is safe. Reported winds of 70+knots last night in the mooring field.
Never having seen Europe and its Cathedrals, I was truly amazed by the Grand and beautiful old buildings of Guadalajara. Most of the structures were churches and luckily within walking distance of the main Centro district. The Catholic Church no doubt in the City center and forms a giant cross with Plazas all around.
The Mexican history is rich and fascinating, so Scott and I spent most mornings in bed researching the multiple sights to see for the day. The rest of the day we wandered about, and ate our way through the city.
Most structures dated back to the 1700’s, some in the 1500’s, all before cranes, power tools and wood construction. We did all self guided tours, translating the plaques and information to English on our phones, as we gazed at the marvelous architecture. We looked like typical tourists, taking photos and gawking wide-eyed at the beauty. We were for sure the only gringos. It is strange to speak English only to each other for 2 weeks, as our Spanish is slowly improving.
Templo Expiotorio below, a baroque temple, was very impressive! It was founded in 1897 and finished decades later in 1972. The neo gothic architecture is characterized with interior domes, arches and exterior buttresses.
The church below is in the nearby town of Zapopan, fun to visit on Sundays for their Mass and markets. Basilica de Nuestra is another Catholic Church of Baroque and Fransiscan style.
Warning! Those who are Rodeo squeamish be warned. This is Mexico Style!!!
We are in Guadalajara to see and explore the inland side of Mexico for 2 weeks. This was our first full day of exploring and this was an amazing day. This is the Chorro Championships of the Mexican Republic with the infamous Mariachis.
There are 16 Ranchos representing 16 towns throughout Mexico. The horsemanship was amazing and Mariachis were spot on. We have another week here before we move on to City of Tequila for another week. Burp!
