Where has the time gone?

I looked at the calendar today and realized I've been back in La Paz just over a month. We haven't sailed yet but that's coming soon. We plan a relatively short visit to the islands north of here, an opportunity to try out new gadgets and make sure everything is in good working order. Larry continues to work on Milagro and we've made a lot of improvements since our return:

We've had the mast cleaned and the slides lubricated and the halyards inspected.

Shiny mast...

We've had our anchor winch rebuilt.

Sergio's fine steel work

Since installing blocks and a steel plate on the foredeck, our mainsail can be raised or lowered or reefed from the cockpit using the electric winch Larry and Tarzan (more about him later) installed in the cockpit.

Our brass compass mount has been polished 

      thanks to a talented fellow boater and with new glass and stainless cover our beautiful  Danforth compass is ready to sit proudly in the cockpit.

Larry spent days learning to splice ropes, practicing
until he had it down to an art form, then utilizing what he had learned in building the lazy jack-type sail control system of his own design which helps to control the mainsail when it is lowered.


Sound proofing purchased in the States now covers the inside of the hatches to the engine room; ahhh, quiet.

Our dinghy has new chaps to protect it from the sun and weather and Larry has mounted wheels which will make it easier to beach the dinghy when we are cruising.
At this point in time our electronics systems are virtually complete. The chart plotter can now interface with the AIS (crash avoidance system) and a new  GPS antenna provides position data to the VHF radio.

We have a new smart controller for our autopilot. Just like at "home," we can watch TV and control the autopilot at the same time...if we can find the correct remote!

The space holding Buddi's cage has been tiled...beautiful hand painted Mexican tile which is incredibly inexpensive - no, cheap! One sarcastic friend refers to Buddi's redecorated space as "the princess' palace."

I continue to do the shopping, meal preparation and cleaning and laundry while overhauling, reorganizing and eventually mapping the boat's interior, readying Milagro for sailing adventure. I'm also available to play scrub nurse, handing Larry tools or holding something in place or giving a back rub after he has spent hours bending over one project or another. And I continue to work on my Spanish.


In between projects (and I probably missed some!) we spend time with friends, return to favorite restaurants and try new ones, play music and cool off in the marina pool late afternoons, enjoying the occasional cerveza or margarita or, my personal favorite, limonada natural. There's also time to read and enjoy a movie, walk (a friend and I are doing about four miles a day, now), paddle a kayak or just hang out with some really, really nice people.

Before I retired people would often ask, "Don't you think you'll be bored after a little while?"  It never occurred to me that boredom would be an issue ... and I'm happy to report I was right!