Tuesday, July 2

North 22° 59.321’
West 109° 44.319’
Distance: 23.9 miles

We paddled 23.9 miles today. We are now 644 miles from Pete’s Camp which is just four miles further than we were yesterday. We crossed the 23rd degree of latitude today which is our last before San Lucas. We woke up early today and were on the water by 8:00am without coffee. This may have been a mistake because Mike kept falling asleep while paddling. The ocean was pretty flat with little wind until about noon. At 2:00pm I realized that Mike had disappeared, so I waited for him for about a half hour. I finally saw something that looked like a kayak a few beaches back and I saw someone who walked like Mike walking around it. Fifteen minutes later I was on the beach next to him. We went for food and beer, then got back in the water about 6:00 pm. This was a mistake. The wind and waves were up and with much work we made about a mile and a half, and then crashed on a beach. I mistimed the surf and got crushed in a wave. This was another of those beaches which drop off sharply and the surf crashes right on the sand. The wave came over the top of me and slammed me to the ground. I lost my good sunglasses, and I broke the back support for my seat. Once again, everything eventually gets eaten by the trip. I will miss them. They are good glass lenses and fit well. I am lucky they lasted three months and I am glad I brought a spare pair. We are now about twelve miles from San Lucas and I am ready to be finished with the cold, rough water. Also, a couple days of leisure will be very welcome. Big lessons for today: Stick together, and put the sunglasses in the zippered pouch when going through rough surf. I have known those things for a long time, but every once in a while I need to be reminded. I was thinking today that the trip was my idea and that I have driven much of it for the past year. After San Lucas I want to let Mike make the decisions and do what interests him. I am now thinking more about life after the trip. I don’t know if I want to go home or if I just want to visit home, but I have started to think more about home. Also, being a goal oriented person, as I finish one goal I naturally start to think about the next. A vague idea about drifting around Mexico isn’t much of a goal.