Ensenada

Months ago, we had planned our much needed haul out at the Baja Naval yard in Ensenada early in November. The haul-out went surprisingly well once we had our TIP sorted out (another long story, but we “fixed” the problem the old fashioned way – with $$$$’s) and Eos was safely up on stands again ready to get a fresh coat of bottom paint and the corrosion we had seen on the keel during purchase attended to.

We hadn’t heard many good Ensenada reviews, so didn’t set our expectations too high for our first stop in Mexico. We are obviously not your typical cruiser, as we had a great time in this town – with friendly people, super weather and great food. Even the 2am band practice and endless late night music couldn’t dampen our spirits.

We were introduced to a great restaurant that served goat “a la plancha” with cold beer and good margaritas! And the fish taco place was awesome too! A french bakery in town made a cake similar to Tiramisu, and they must’ve noticed the drop in sales when we left town!

The bottom job (sanding, epoxy, more sanding and painting) took way longer than we originally thought, as they had to remove rust from the keel as well as paint the bottom. This is a messy and noisy job, and we were glad to have it done well rather than quickly. Still, being in the boat yard with 2 dogs makes the boat filthy and dirty but we made do and survived! Washing dishes in a bucket lost its appeal very quickly and then I heard from other cruisers they use paper plates …. now why didn’t I think of that!

A few days before lour scheduled departure date I got a really sensitive tooth, so was contemplating the thought of a root canal treatment in Mexico. Despite being told by a Canadian specialist “you just have sensitive teeth”, this was getting worse so I got an appointment at a dentist just close to the marina who was awesome – he drilled out the old filling, put in a new one for C$100 and I haven’t had a problem since. Obviously not all dentists are equal, but our experiences so far have been very positive – great service at a fraction of the costs we are charged in Canada!

After a trip to Walmart, Petco and Costco we were all set to leave Ensenada with our new friends Allan and Allison on SV FlyAweigh II.