I posted 5 photos on Facebook in the album “Two Turtles at the Overland Expo 2011” http://fb.me/ZiUAiYCU

While the Reunel bumper on The Turtle V had served its purpose, it had always lacked the really functional elements that the custom Rickard Engineering Compartment Bumpers on The Turtle III & Turtle IV used. Paul Rickard died a few years ago, and his mastery of engineering and design was a great loss to those […]

When we originally designed The Tortuga Expedition Camper, we installed a microwave oven. In real life on the road, we used it only occasionally to reheat coffee or a bowl of soup. Since propane is the best way to cook, and it is readily available everywhere in the world, the microwave was really an unneeded […]

For those of you who are familiar with The Turtle V and its European-style Tortuga Expedition Camper, you may recall that to maximize use of space, the shower and Thetford Porta Potti are in the doorway, a space that is always there. The Porta Potti simply slides out when needed. The problem was that the […]

Our three-burner Amana/ Magic Chef, (www.magicchef.com) propane stove was wonderful. Talk to serious blue-water sailors and overland travelers who really like to cook, and they will tell you propane is the way to go, and despite misconceptions, propane can be found anywhere in the world, and it is totally safe when properly installed. Yes, forget […]

Yes, we have hot water again in The Turtle V. VERY hot water. The Espar D5 Hydronic, or the engine if it is running, pumps heated coolant through the heat-exchange plates of the FlatPlate double wall brazed plate heat exchanger. That means the engine coolant can be as hot as 210°F. The D5 Hydronic has […]

Into hot water again. Yes, the luxury of having on-demand hot water in The Tortuga Expedition Camper was addictive. Our Seaward marine hot water heater took heat from the engine coolant or our Espar D5 Hydronic coolant heater. The problem was, we were carrying around 6 gallons of water that could not be used unless […]

Wandering down to the local boat ramp in Cholla Bay, we found a fisherman cleaning buckets of fresh sea scallops. At $8 a pound for cleaned bite-size scallops, you can guess what we had for dinner that night.

Puerto Peñasco is full of cute restaurants and gift shops. We had to stop at El Sombrero for a few fish tacos. Later we scored kilos of fresh fish, shrimp and clams in the local seafood open market. Punto Peñasco is a dune buggy friendly town, no special license required.    

Beach combing along Puerto Peñasco Bay, we spotted this turtle shell. It’s drying on the roof of Neil’s house in Cholla Bay. When it stops smelling, he’ll hang it on the wall.