We’d thought about leaving Allora farther up the mainland in San Carlos/Guyamas in Sonora, but liked the idea of getting a jump start on the long distances left to cover in Mexico when we returned from Montana. In the end, it was a good thing, because hurricane Newton made it all the way up the Baja Peninsula and some boats in that marina were damaged. We had been staying in charming La Cruz for our Puerto Vallarta stint but moved farther inland to Paradise Village to leave Allora; Its estuary position in the lee of Cabo Corrientes provided more weather security. Summer in this part of the world is beyond description HOT! Our 2 month respite in Bozeman was strategically timed. When we left in August, nighttime temps in our cabin were up to 95 degrees, which necessitated the constant use of water spritzers. Time to head to the mountains!
We had to remove most of our food stores (local restaurants and the officina agreed to keep buckets of our provisions), shut off our refrigeration and ‘pickle’ our watermaker. Our foresails had to come down (in case of extreme winds) and we secured a large dehumidifier for below to preclude a problem with moisture. We had a local guy, Israel, come in and open up the boat and start the engine once a week. Cockroaches were discouraged from making Allora their home with some boric acid piles, but we pretty much knew that the Iguanas and the frigates might just cross our dock lines or perch high on the mast. It took a FULL week of non-stop dervishing (that should definitely be a verb) to feel ok about saying, ‘Adios, Allora, Que le vaya bien!’
