January 1, 2009 to May 1, 2009 Summary

Since the last Highlights posting, Kosmos has made 15 stops in 8 countries, covering 4667 nautical miles (5367 statute miles, 8634 kilometers). We transited the Panama Canal and did the notoriously bad run up the west coast of the Americas, known for big head winds and uncomfortable seas. And we did all of this in only 4 months!

When we arrived in the Caribbean at the very end of 2008, we were eager to switch modes from city life in Europe to a more rural life in the tropics. In the Caribbean, we went to Continue reading

January 2009 to May 2009 – St. Tropez to San Diego

Times are in blog post time, not real time, so you can find the blog stories by time.

  • St. Tropez, France
    43°7.5N by 7°25.3E
    Dec 31, 2008 & Jan 5 – 6, 2009
    Visit to the fort
  • Le Levandou, France
    43°7.5N by 6°22.0E Bormes la Mimosa marina
    43°8.2N by 6°22.4E Port Le Levandou marina
    Jan 6 – 16, 2009
    Trip to Paris
  • Porquerolles, France
    43°00.1N by 6°12.0E
    Jan 7 , 2009
  • Palma de Mallorca, Mallorca, Spain
    39°34.0N by 2°37.7E
    Jan 20 – Feb 2, 2009
    Segway tour, Fort, Pueblo Village, historic train to Soller
  • Gibraltar
    36°08.9N by 5°21.2W
    Feb 5 – Feb 18, 2009
    Visit to the Rock, Caves, Tunnels & 100 ton gun
  • Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, Spain
    28°08.0N by 15°25.6W
    Feb 21 – Feb 27, 2009
  • Point a Pitre, La Guadeloupe, France
    16°13.25N by 61°31.75W
    Mar 16 – Mar 30, 2009
    Tour of Island(s), coffee & rum museums, mammal park
  • Barbuda, Antigua & Barbuda
    17°39.01N by 61°51.37W
    Mar 30 – April 6, 2009
    Tour of Island, frigate bird sancturay
  • English Harbor, Antigua, Antigua & Barbda
    17°00.26N by 61°45.65W
    Apr 6 – Apr 20, 2009
    Tour of Island and all its beaches, SCUBA & snorkeling
  • Portsmouth, Dominica
    15°34.7N by 61°27.9W
    Apr 21 – May 4, 2009
    SCUBA & snorkeling, whale watching, waterfall, three national parks
  • Kralendijk, Bonaire
    12°09.2N by 68°16.7W
    May 5 – 27, 2009
    SCUBA, windsurfing, landsailing, island tour
  • San Blas Islands, Panama
    Hollandes Cays 09°35.N by 78°41.W
    Carti Cays °.N by °.W
    May 29 – June 9, 2009
    Traditional “coming of age” party
  • Colon, Panama
    09°22.09N by 79°57.05W
    June 11 -June 22 , 2009
    Jungle Walks
  • Panama City, Panama
    08°54.7N by 079°31.5W
    June 25 -July 2, 2009
  • Golfito, Costa Rica
    08°37.3N by 083°09.2W
    July 6 – July 21, 2009
    zip line canopy tour, volcano, jungle walk, white water rafting, drive around country
  • San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua
    July 24 -July 28, 2009
    ATV tour
  • Huatulco, Oaxaca, Mexico
    Aug 3 – Aug 10, 2009
    ATV tour, guided tour, and zip lines
  • Ixtapa, Guerrero, Mexico
    Aug 12 – Aug 13, 2009
  • Barra Navidad, Jalisco, Mexico
    Aug 17 – Aug 20, 2009
  • Cabo San Lucas, Baja California, Mexico
    Aug 21 – Aug 25, 2009
  • Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico
    Aug 28 – Sep 4 , 2009
  • San Diego, California USA

The San Diego to San Diego World Circumnavigation is Completed!

We got up at midnight after a two hour nap. Everything was pretty well ready to go before we took our nap, so all we needed to do was warm up the engine before we pulled out. We untied and took off at around 1230.

At first the seas were ugly. Eric was really sick and Christi was green. It is kind of surprising to us how fast we lose our tolerance to the ocean. The longer we sit in port, the more likely we are to be green when we do finally go out again.

The seas slowly but surely calmed down throughout the night, and by dawn it was pretty darn flat outside. It was foggy out. Not so foggy that there was no visibility, but foggy enough that we couldn’t see the mountainous Mexican coastline at all. And we were running pretty close to shore.

We got to the US border at around 0900. We were expecting Continue reading

Last Couple Days Before Going Back to San Diego

There is still no reported case of H1N1 Flu in Baja, but yesterday all the schools were closed in the state.

Yesterday morning Gone Native left again, headed for San Diego. After they left, we went for a ride down south to the end of the main drag. That is yet another place we hadn’t gone before and it kind of surprised us. For the first few blocks it is commercial and looks like the rest of the city. Then there is a military area that is blocked off. Beyond the military area, the road parallels a beautiful beach that is lined with single family houses. In the US, the homes along the waterfront would be zillion dollar mansions. There were a couple nice homes, but most weren’t very nice, maybe so-so at best. A lot of the houses were actually trailers, and several of them were scary looking. There were even a few vacant lots, and one lot in particular looks like there was once a home on it that was destroyed. After several more blocks the road comes to an end and opens out into a public beach. The first picture is looking south and the second is looking north, towards downtown.

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While it was sunny and gorgeous out, it was still cold, so we didn’t walk on the beach. We enjoyed the view and headed back to Kosmos. What is so odd is that Continue reading

H1N1 Flu Impact on Ensenada

We are surprised at the impact of the H1N1 flu. Today is day 5 from when it first hit the news. Yesterday when we were out, we noticed that the streets were desolate. It was almost a ghost town, with very few people or cars about. About 1/3 of those people were wearing surgical masks to cover their noses and mouths. Mind you, there are still no reported or even suspected cases of the flu in Baja California, but the media hysteria has definitely got everyone terrified.

Today things really got more serious. The governor Continue reading