Happy birthday to me! Or do we really need another boat...

My birthday falls on December 26th. Over the years it has often been pushed to the background as we usually end up traveling on that day.  Nevertheless, Larry has, on every occasion but one (remember, daughter #2, when you called him to let him know he had forgotten?), managed to make my day special. This year he outdid himself once again.
Some friends and all family members may remember just ten years ago when Larry surprised me with an inflatable ocean kayak for my birthday. We were living on the South Florida intracoastal at the time so a few days later Larry helped me set it up and we launched it. As I became comfortable with the paddles I decided to head out into the widest part of the water.  Bad idea.  About 300 yards from shore I began having chest and then neck pain and I knew I was having a heart attack.  I didn't have breath to yell for Larry, who was on the dock, and each time I raised the paddle the pain worsened. I finally made it to shore and Larry rushed me to the local ER.  From the perspective of several weeks later we jokingly named the kayak "Boat of Near Death.
Now fast forward to yesterday: my dear husband surprised me once again with a kayak, a one-person, hard body, sit-upon version.  Hmmmmmmm...was this a case of, " if at first you don't succeed, try, try again?"

I took it out right after breakfast and paddled around the marina, and I can't wait to get out into the islands. We are told that kayaking in that area is wonderful.
Mr. Wonderful hits the winning home run...again!

Christmas in La Paz

Early birthday celebration in Hollywood, FL

I haven't blogged for several weeks as I have been out of Mexico and had little available internet access.  It was necessary for me to visit the States for medical tests (all of which turned out to be fine, thank you very much!) and I took that opportunity to visit as many friends and family members as I could.. I stayed with a dear friend in South Florida for about a week then drove to North Carolina for brief visits with children and grandchildren.  It was so good to see everyone but a whirlwind trip as I interspersed doctors' visits with visits to family and friends.  Wonderful as it was I was happy to return to Mexico, Larry and Milagro just before Christmas.  
Larry and I hadn't really made plans for what we would do for Christmas.  We knew there were activities available but as neither of us had "signed up" for the Eve and Day dinners we were out of luck on that score. 

Jose and his lovely mother and father along with the Americanos

Enter an even better idea.  A young man named Jose had been looking for work back in November and Larry hired him to help with a couple of projects.  He turned out to be  charming man and a good worker and we enjoyed his company.  Imagine our surprise when he invited to us to spend Christmas Eve with his family.  We have been told that while the locals are quite friendly they are very family oriented and don't often include "gringos" in their family activities.

We were quite excited to have this opportunity.  We learned there would be four children there so we went shopping for small gifts for each of them and I made sugar cookies, cut out stars with white icing and colored sprinkles. I found myself wiping the occasional tear as memories of baking Christmas cookies with my own small children flooded my mind.

What a wonderful evening.  We picked up Jose in front of WalMart then headed to his family's home on the outskirts of La Paz.  As we arrived the entire family came out to greet us and welcomed us with hugs.  Jose speaks excellent English and one brother has a fair command of  the language so there was a lot of translating, and sign language going on. The family included Jose's father and step-mother, a brother and sister-in-law and a sister and brother-in-law. and two of the promised children, Mario and Luis Angel.  I have never seen a host and hostess make more effort to make their guests feel a home. After showing us their house which had Christmas decorations in every nook and cranny and a least three nativity scenes, we all sat down to eat.

Plates were served already filled and it wasn't until that moment that I realized that Jose had probably not passed on the information that I am a vegetarian.  In truth, I have eased up on being a strict lacto-ovo vegetarian and begun eating some fish in recent months in deference to the knowledge that as we begin cruising it may be wise if not necessary to supplement my diet with fish.  But here I was faced with a plate filled with white meat turkey, some sort of rice dish which most assuredly had ground beef in it, macaroni salad with cubes of ham and cheese and the ever-present frijoles; on this occasion the dish was translated as beans with pig.  Larry and I looked at each other (he with sympathy in his eyes) and I made the decision right then and there to eat it all.  I haven't had poultry, pork or beef in over 20 years (except for one barbeque sandwich in Texas over 16 years ago) and I feared it might make me sick.  Truth be told, these people were so kind and generous and I felt unable to explain my feelings on the subject.  I just blanked my mind to what I was really eating, smiled and complimented the cook and concentrated on the conversation. I have no intention of becoming a carnivore but I did not believe they would understand and I could not insult this family by not sharing a lovingly prepared meal.

My sweetheart! Luis Angel who sang Jingle Bells in Spanish with Larry

Mario blowing kisses

After the plates were cleared we went into the living room  where first the children then the adults opened gifts.  I was so surprised to be handed a package by Lolita, Jose's mother.  Inside was a lovely Carolina Herrera scarf.  Larry kept pretending that he might be able to borrow the shirts given to the men and everybody got a huge charge out of that.  My Larry, the life of the party!
After gifts we sat down and Larry got out his guitar and we joined in singing Jingle Bells and Silent Night (in English and Spanish) as well as some Mexican carols.  The Dad said he liked country music (we think!) and Larry played a Willie Nelson and then an Emmy Lou song.  They served us "punche" or a hot punch with juice and local fruits and white wine with a sugar cane stirrer.  Delicious!!


We left around 10:30 with hugs all around to the accompaniment of very loud firecrackers ( it sounded like guns being fired!).
What a wonderful experience.  This family shared their family holiday with us in the most generous way and we hope they accept our invitation to to visit our new home,  Milagro. 

Hoping all our friends and family had blessed Christmas and look forward to health and happiness in the new year.

Larry's turn...

We’ve been in Mexico for about two months, and today, I realized that I must be getting used to it. As I was going up my dock from the boat on my way to coffee at Club Crucerious, I noticed how
spectacularly clear the water was around the boat near the security gate. I see this every day, and have come to pay it little attention, but today, the water was crystal clear, and the tropical fish were
everywhere. I stopped for a moment at the gate, and looked around. The sky was brilliant blue, the air was still and coolish, (65+/-) the water was flat, and across the bay the mountains were on fire as they so often are when the air perfectly clear. It was fairly early, and there was no one else around, and for just a little while I stood there and soaked it all in. These sights had me scrambling for a camera a month ago, but today, I just take the time to revel in it.

Living in Mexico has naturally taking some getting used to. These are, I believe, the happiest people I have ever seen. There is some sort of festival, carnival, or celebration going on here every week. We live at the beginning of the Malecon, a large wide walkway that runs along the water with a lot of art and statues along the way, and the Malecon is Festival central for the entire area. If it is not a political rally, then it’s a dance of some sort, with native dress and costumes. Boy do these people love to parade. 

Of course everyone who watched  the world news knows that La Paz has recently set the world’s record for making the longest continuous Burrito as attested to by the Guinness Book of World Records. The Burrito was 2.7 km long, and when they finally cut it up, it fed 23,000 people. You certainly didn’t want to work for the La Paz sewer department that next week. And for those folks who are really up on their world news, you already know that the Baja 1000 race took place just a couple of weeks ago, and for the first time in 40 years, a Mexican Team won the race. There was pandemonium in the streets, along with all those racecars going everywhere you looked. This may sound funny to you, who are
not as in the know, but the finish line of the 1000 mile race was at the Wal-Mart in La Paz, and the celebration spread throughout the town. It’s all anyone was talking about.

For those truly informed people with knowledge of the sea, you already know that another famous race ends up mostly here, although the finish line is in Cabo San Lucas. The race is the Baja Ha Ha. It’s a huge sailboat race that starts out in San Diego and finishes up in Cabo, but in Cabo during this time of year, dock
space goes for about $200/night, so most of the 200 sailboats come right on over to La Paz, and take out their joy and celebration for having lived through another race on La Paz, and for several weeks, its HA-HA this and HA-HA that, and parties every night to honor the noble men of the fleet. I am so tired.

I have been here over two months now, and have not completed two weeks of earnest work during that time. We have not even been out on our boat, we haven’t had time. I’ve never been so busy, doing nothing. But this is sure is a nice place to do nothing in.

We have sailors from all over the world here in our Marina. These is an unbelievable number of people from Australia here, and Brits, and Californians. A French couple that we got to know fairly well, just left last week to go back to Europe. They had been here for 3 years, and just couldn’t drag themselves away from La Paz and the Sea of Cortez. Jacque Cousteau referred to the Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California) as the aquarium of the world, with more interesting sea life than any other place. Right now, you can take a ponga off the beach on the Malecon, with a guide, and go swimming with Whale Sharks in an afternoon. If you don’t know what a whale shark is, look it up, because they will amaze you, and its only
20 minutes from our dock. From the ponga you can go snorkeling in amongst the whale sharks, and two friends of ours were telling us that they touched two of them at the same time, they are so close. One girl was swept over by the big tail fin of one that was swimming away. These are the biggest fish in the
world, and you can go out and swim with them in an afternoon. WOW!

I would guess that few people would know that you can also go out in a little longer day trip to the islands at the head of La Paz Bay, and visit, and swim with sea lions. They say the babies in particular
will come up to you wanting to play. Man – we got to slow down and do some of these things.

But don’t let me lead you to believe that life here is without its challenges. I love the people down here, they are kind and considerate, polite and respectful, but there is one thing I wish they didn’t do so much of, and that’s speak Spanish. You know how language challenged I am; I have enough trouble speaking good English without having to take up Spanish. I did order breakfast once, fully in Spanish, and was very proud of myself, until the lady asked me how I wanted my eggs, and from there on I was
baffled. If I carefully read the signs, I can order a double quarter pounder with cheese at McDonald’s, but I can’t tell them to hold the pickles. It’s really tedious going to the grocery store and having to look at the pictures on the packages to see what’s inside. Buying groceries can take all day. And try to ask someone where the peanut butter is. That’s an interesting concept that the Mexicans don’t yet understand. They don’t know what to do with the stuff. In one store we found it with the baby food, and in another it was next to the Clorox.

We’ve spent numerous conversations trying to figure out the money down here. It’s funny to me, but  hey use the dollar mark to price things in pesos. You’ll see a sign for a hamburger $100. Well, if you
are a sophisticated traveler like I have become, you know that this is 100 pesos, and not 100 dollars as
you would first think. With about 12 pesos to the dollar the math gets a little confusing. I wish they would just make it 10 pesos to the dollar, I could handle that, but no, it has to be 12. I am getting better at counting even in pesos. The money is quite pretty. It has little clear windows on some of the bills and each type of bill is a different color, and sometimes the same type bill will be different colors. The change is even more confusing to me. The change starts with 10 pesos down to 1 cent. That’s a lot of different change pieces. For a long time, when it came to paying for things I would just hold out a handfull of money and let them pick what they want. Now I only do that with the change. I am getting
better.

Volumes of books have been written about Mexican food, and all has not been said yet. It seems that everyone you talk to has a different favorite restaurant, specializing in different types of Mexican delights. Fish and seafood are particularly plentiful here and always fresh. We had a Marlin dip with our appetizer the other night. Famous in this part of the world is the Chocolata Clam. It is brown as you might expect, very big, and with an amazing taste. Pongas leave the beach every morning along the Malecon and will catch huge, game fish within a couple of 100 yards of the shore. We were driving along the Malecon and saw a Manta Ray in waist deep water.

One part of the Mexican food experience has been a little bit scary to us, and therefore we have only ventured near it once. That is street food. You can ride through Centranario, or downtown, and there are little food carts everywhere, along with venders for almost anything else you can imagine. But the food smells so good, and has almost sucked me in on any number of occasions. The little old women who work the carts are all bent over and feeble, and the question naturally arises as to their ability, or
willingness to choose quality or even meat of known type. Somewhere between the restaurants, which rival any I have eaten in anywhere, and the street vendors, which I have not yet felt comfortable in trying, are the open air restaurants. Sometimes they are not really in buildings, but between buildings,
and under tents or lean-tos. No one needs much of a roof here since it never rains. It has not rained a drop since we have been in Mexico, but it did dew rather heavily on at least two different occasions, so these permanent outdoor restaurants are quite abundant. One day when we were trying to get our car
washed, we had a little time to spend near a grouping of these outdoor restaurants, and we were starving. We were also in one of those “what the hell, let’s give it a try” moods. It was an open grill
that had the flesh of the ages seared into its very being, and when it was not even cooking anything, it
smelled great. After much consideration, and study of the menu, which was written with a crayon on a piece of cardboard, needless to say, in Spanish, Edie carefully choose what she suspected to be cheese quesadilla, and I went all the way and ordered the specialty of that part of town called the Super Burro.
The lady that cooked up that meal was so skilled that she didn’t even use cooking utensils to turn the
quesadilla, she did it with those bare work worn fingers with such speed and agility that it must be considered an art form. Edie said that it was the best quesadillas that she had ever eaten, and as you
know, Edie being a vegetarian, theorized that it must have been because of all the juices that ran over
from the Super Burro. Now let me talk to you about the Super Burro. The thing started with a tortilla that had to be between 18’ and 24” in diameter. She spun that thing over her head like a pizza chef, and plopped it on the grill. The thing was so big that it made a sucking sound as she hurled it next to the
quesadilla. Next she took out several vats of different types of meat looking stuff, and heaped large quantities of each onto the tortilla in one long straight row, along with what appeared to be plant
materials and specialty sauces. And then she let them all cook together. After a while she rolled it all up into a long burrito looking thing that had to be doubled up twice to get it on a single platter. And that’s what you call a Super Burro. I never asked the type of meat that was on it, I don’t think I really wanted
to know, but it was one of the better tasting things I have ever eaten, and it was so big and so good, and I couldn’t stop eating, and I was dying, that I pledged to Edie that I would never eat anything again for as long as I lived. It was really a great meal. I am afraid to go back, and I have never told a single one of my friends that we ate there, for fear of what they might say or tell me.

Well I hope this little capsule of life in Mexico has made you more intelligent for having read it. Keep in touch. I have not been very good at it, but you can see, I am very busy, eating and doing stuff. Till next time, we remain ‘gringos in paradise’.

Larry and Edie

Missing family =(

Here it is the day after Thanksgiving. Larry and I had a very pleasant time with around 250 (!) other cruisers at a really yummy dinner.  The Club Cruceros provided turkey and gravy and cruisers brought individual side dishes. Marina Palmira where we are docked graciously provided tables with white linen cloths and we had a glorious if breezy day to enjoy.  As you can imagine there was a huge variety of stuffing, sweet potatoes, casseroles, salads and breads not to mention an enormous table covered with every sweet one could wish for including, I'm guessing, 15 to 20 pumpkin pies. As a volunteer I had been assigned to "man" the dessert table and was happy to preview if not taste test all of the goodies. Fortunately friends "saved us" a place and we had a most enjoyable afternoon. And like good Americans everywhere, yes, we over ate!
But despite the nice get together I was a bit lonely. We are a blended family and like others we have gone separate ways and also lost family members over the years; yet throughout these years we developed and then amended traditions.  Recently it has been my pleasure to be cook's assistant (o.k., dishwasher/dryer) to our daughter's mother-in-law as she expertly cooks an enormous holiday dinner for whatever family is available to come.  Besides the wonderful side dishes and  desserts she makes a very special macaroni and cheese dish for the vegetarians in the family.  It's so good that the carnivores always dip into it as well. Thanks S, I missed you this year!

Family gathering in Florida

Although our adult children and grandchildren are spread out (Philadelphia, the Cotswolds in  England, and the Raleigh area of N. Carolina) we have in the past spent holidays with some if not all of them.  I missed seeing them this year. We talked to a few of them, but it's not the same.  

2006

I'm happy to be in La Paz, but that doesn't diminish the pull on my heart strings. I miss the smiles, the hugs, the MIMI!'s, the smells of holiday cooking (yes, even the vegetarian misses the smell of turkey cooking) and the laughter.
Maybe next year....

Getting into the groove...

I haven't written recently as it seems nothing terribly exciting has happened. That's not to say we are not having a great time.

And I'm going to get out of here.....how?

"Wish I'd bought a bigger boat!"

Larry continues with projects, in particular installation of a new wind generator and an updated radar and GPS system, and they are near completion. So many of these projects are very slow going as Larry has to climb into tight places to remove old wiring and install new. Wiring for the radar is quite thick and over 40' long and it took a full day of pushing and pulling (with a little help from the first mate), often moving a bare eighth of an inch at a time, to get it through the steel tubing. Still, we are making progress and that's what counts.And it isn't all work. There is just about as much social life as one could want here in La Paz, between Club Cruceros activities and the steady stream of festivals and activities within the city. For racing fans you might be interested to know that the Baja 1000 finished here in La Paz with  Mexican winner for the first time in, I believe, 43 years. Very exciting and very, very noisy!
Yesterday morning we went to a seminar on sailing to El Salvador (hopefully a destination next spring), then back to the boat to get items to "trade for coconuts" at a boaters' swap meet, then on to Walmart, yes Walmart, to shop for the week, then back to the boat where we welcomed our new next boat neighbors over on deck for drinks and a snack, then on up to the Dinghy Dock Restaurant for a bite to eat with our new friends.  Altogether we had a full day and finally climbed into our bed at 10:00 p.m., a late night for us!
I continue to take Zumba classes three times a week, the most fun I have ever had while exercising, and to ride my bike. And of course there are regular household duties such as cooking, cleaning and laundry as well as the more unusual things such as filling the water tanks and playing assistant to whichever hat Larry is wearing at the time: mechanic, plumber, computer genius! I think we are both finding it a full and fulfilling life and each day zips by.
In the meantime we want to wish all our stateside friends a very happy Thanksgiving.  Of course we will miss seeing friends and family over the holiday but we will get to have a full Thanksgiving dinner put on by Club Cruseros and that looks to be a lot of fun. I had planned to make a pecan pie as my donation but so far have been unable to find pecans, which is academic as I have discovered my oven has "hot spots" and I don't want to inflict a partially burned pie on my new friends; perhaps pumpkin squares with cream cheese icing...mmmmmmm.
Until next time...hopefully to tell you about our first sailing adventure....

Red tape...

Some time ago I wrote, with confidence, that we were heading to the local immigration office to get our "green cards," actually our temporary foreign resident cards.  Apparently red tape is the same the world over, because here it is three weeks later (and about $400.00 USD poorer)  and we are finally, officially, card carrying Temporary Foreign Residents.
After two visits to the Mexican Consulate in  Orlando, many hours of paperwork which resulted in a two inch thick file folder, fingerprints and multiple (bad) pictures, and about $250.00 each, we thought our FM3's (temporary resident visas) were in perfect order. We were told all we would have to do is "check in" at the La Paz immigration office within thirty day of arrival.
When we went to the office some three weeks ago there were only a few people there and we got to the front of the line fairly quickly.  Once there it became apparent that our Spanish was not up to the task as the officer looked at our visas and began telling us what we would have to do.  He turned the computer screen our way and kindly clicked through a number of pages to show us the process, but again, it was all in Spanish and way above our level of understanding.
      A quick aside: this is, after all, Mexico, and I don't think that the locals should learn my language in order to accomodate me. That being said, it was obvious that we were going to need some assistance and fortunately we knew right where to go.  There is a small business in Marina de La Paz which caters to gringos like us and will, for a fee, walk you through the paperwork and legalities. This is the same office that helped us long distance with our temporary import license which listed EVERY item, in Spansh, that we were bringing into the country. Of course there was another fee (we're still not sure exactly what for although we have an official receipt) and then we waited for an appointment.
Today was the day and we met with Salvador from Eco Naveria, who speaks perfect English as well as Spanish and understands the ins and outs of immigration. After about an hour wait we went to the desk, signed papers, had our fingerprints taken -again - and then received our laminated temporary resident cards.  I thought they should have given me a little Mexican flag, too, but no such luck.
Thanks to our new friend Salvador we got our cards, good for a year and renewable, as well as park passes and fishing licenses.
Maybe it's being retired, maybe it's the laid back atmosphere, but situations such as this no longer stress me and I find them more interesting then aggravating :).

Food! the Super Burro

I'd had a morning filled with way too much exercise (a bike ride, a zumba class and a yoga class), so Larry was kind enough to pick me up at Marina de La Paz and I went with him as he did a bit of shopping for boat stuff. We went to nearly ten shops looking for a particular spark plug to no avail and finally gave up when our growling stomachs told us it was way past lunch time.
We opted to get fuel and a good washing for the car before going back to the boat.  There was a considerable wait for the car wash so we decided to go across the street for something to eat at Super Burro. This was our first time at this establishment although there are a number of them around town. We sat on stools at an outside counter; I had two small quesadillas (no meat, please) and Larry had the super burro, an embarassingly ginormous burrito with beans and steak cubes.  There must have been at least a pound of meat on that burrito and it was, I swear, a foot and a half long.  Larry called it delicious and said it was probably so good because the burro was free range.  He also reminded me that he only had one burrito whereas I had eaten two quesadillas.
One of the things I found annoying about cruisers tales, on DVD or in book or internet form, was the constant reference to food.  "Don't they ever think about anything else?", I'd ask  Larry.  "When we move on the the boat," I assured him,"food just won't be all that important to me." Ha!  Maybe it's the air, maybe it's the delicious Mexican food but whatever it is I have become a food talker, too.

Chilaquilles, potatoes, frijoles, fresh o.j. coffee and of course, tortillas.

From the time we get up in the morning we start discussing our food options for the day.  Will it be coffee, bacon, eggs and sliced tomatoes with tortillas and o.j. eaten on the deck or do we have some business in la centenario which will take us by La Cocina de Maria where we can get the best chilaquilles, superb coffee,  a hot sauce that will burn the inside of your mouth  and eggs cooked exactly the way you like them?  We discuss options in detail and, because any one of the options would be fine with both of us, we come to an agreement with ease.  Now when I talk with adult offspring in other parts of the world I always mange to turn the conversation to my last meal and how good it was.  Honestly, I have actually taken pictures of plates of food!
I don't know if this makes us more a part of the cruising community or not, but it is indeed a way of life for us now, too.

Shopping in Mexico

Grocery shopping in Mexico presents its own challenge.  Other than the marina store and a multitude of local tiendas there are several major supermarkets in our area of La Paz, all of which bear some resemblance to Publix or Winn Dixie in the S.E. states.  We have a new WalMart supercenter, Ley's, Soriana's, CCC's and Armbruro's.  Many of these stores have pharmacias within the store, but don't look for OTC eye drops, contact lens solution, facial products or other such goodies as may be found either in Publix or Walgreens.  I'm sure they are here somewhere, but still haven't found all of them.
The strange thing for me is finding bras and panties on the aisle next to laundry detergent and thousand dollar fishing poles at the end of the beer aisle.  Still, we have managed, with electronic translator in hand, to find almost everything we want and certainly all that we need.  Apparently my translator goofed when it comes to "yeast." Whenever I give them the Spanish word clerks simply shake their heads, shrug their shoulders and, I'm pretty sure, make the loco sign when my back is turned.  Consequently I've not yet baked bread which is somewhat of a disappointment to Larry. I'm sure there is yeast to be found somewhere here in La Paz and for now I will just enjoy the hunt.
Oddly enough, one of the household chores I've always enjoyed is shopping for food and then putting everything away when I get home; I guess it's knowing that the pantry is full that gives me satisfaction.
On a sailboat the challenge is two fold: first where do I put all of the dry goods, and secondly how do I make all of the vegetables and fruits safe to eat.  Although Milagro is spacious for a boat of its size it is still a problem finding room for foodstuff.  In Florida I often bought in bulk but here I can barely find room for 1 extra pound of coffee or a 12 pack of diet Coke. This is something I have to work on as when we cruise I'll be stocking for weeks and maybe even months!

After washing and disinfecting...don't they look fabulous?

Secondly, not only the "retiring in Mexico" books, but local cruisers as well suggest strongly that all fresh items be cleaned in the following manner before ingesting.  Each item should be washed with a few drops of detergent and then rinsed in running water.  Then they are to be soaked for 30 minutes in large bowls of "safe" water to which either a recomended amount of disinfectant drops or chlorine bleach has been added.
So far the extra steps have proven effective.  Larry's answer is to eat fewer vegetables as they are hardly his favorite, but for me they are the best part of any meal so the effort is worthwhile.
At first when we shopped we simply pushed a handful of pesos toward the clerk and hoped she gave us proper change.  By now we are better at comprehending Spanish numbers and currency, and we know how many pesos exchange for an American dollar, so we are a bit more savvy.
Each shopping trip is an adventure as we meet new people, learn more vocabulary and see more and more of the city.

2 sailors…not sailing…yet



The whole purpose of being on a sailboat is…to sail.  I would probably be happy using Milagro as a floating house and never untie the dock lines.  But Larry loves the sea and blue water sailing and the agreement we have is to sail,  out to the islands, up into the Sea of Cortez and then on to the South Pacific. Yet so far the dock lines remain tied.

There are a lot of reasons for this. Right after arriving in La Paz I became ill (let’s just say my digestive system had not yet acclimated to local food and water) and remained pretty much incapacitated for that first week. When I began to feel better it became necessary to clean up the inside of the boat, then locate and move our personal belongings (sheets, towels, dishes, pots and pans, flatware and cooking utensils as well as clothing, toiletries and, of prime importance, Buddi’s cage) from the trailer to the boat.



Dining table during plumbing period.



That done we discovered shortcomings in the water system and Larry spent days installing a new water pump, a new sump for the shower, and a backup bilge pump as well as what seems like miles of marine pipe in all sorts of hard-to-get-to places.  Now there is a new GPS system to be installed in the new navpod, as well as adjustments made to the radar.  We need to work out what needs to be done to get the water maker working and, frankly, I don’t know what else.

Feeding the captain!

My jobs include care and feeding of

the captain, keeping everything ship shape, swabbing the decks (no kidding, I really do swab the decks), finding and handing the proper tools to the captain, and shopping for food and other necessities. And yes, it keeps me busy, although I still find time read, take a zumba class and watch the occasional DVD (we don’t have TV. hookup here so we don’t even watch Spanish television.)

So for those friends and family who are asking, “Are the 2 sailors ever going to sail?” the answer is yes…soon…we hope…we’ll let you know.

ZUMBA!

Zumba instructor on the right, her lovely daughter on the left

November 6^th

Zumba. I had an opportunity to try Zumba in Tequesta when invited by a library patron to join a class last year.  I opted out thinking it might be too strenuous for my then 64 year young body and on the advice of my spinal surgeon that I not engage in high impact anything!

Well, many months and a few pounds later I decided to try a class which is about 1 km from our marina and I’m so happy that I did.

Zumba is an aerobic workout of dance moves set to Latin rhythms.  One can do a low impact version and still get a sweat drenching workout.

Zumba instructor silhouetted against Bahia de La Paz

 Our instructor is a gorgeous 30 something who speaks English.  The setting is a large room right on the edge of the bay with enormous California style windows on three sides that open to let in the wonderful ocean breeze. The workout is challenging but fun as well and an hour passes very quickly.  All this for 250 pesos a month or less than $2 per class.  I can bike to the class and have a coffee or smoothie after at Freak Dog Café which is right next door. 

I love La Paz!

Mas grande burrito de monde

November 4^th

Yesterday we experienced La Paz’s efforts to build a 2.6 km long burrito which would best the current record (whatever that may be) in Guinness book of World Records.  I kid you not!

At midnight on Tuesday police closed off the Pichulingue which runs along the Malecon and dozens of local restaurants began lining up tables which would run 2.6 km down the main thoroughfare, We rode bikes there (with Larry carrying Buddi in her backpack) around 10:00 a.m. to find a crowd beginning to gather A truck was moving ever so slowly down the street, pushing out dough to make the gigantic tortilla while chefs in full whites, masks and plastic gloves covered it with plastic wrap.  The whole spectacle made us laugh but it was taken quite seriously and guarded by local police, navy guys in spiffy whites with batons and federales with AK47’s!  Guinness staff members in official red polos rode back and forth the on backs of Harleys driven by guys who could only be Mexican Outlaws.  The locals were as amused as we were.

We stayed about four hours enjoying the festivities, but the burrito was not completed until 7:30 or so, after the restaurant staff filled and rolled it.  We went back around 8:00 to see what was happening but it was so crowded we couldn’t get close and finally gave up before learning the outcome.

I’m hoping that the burrito, whatever the outcome, was put to good use feeding the hungry.  On the other hand, who wants to eat a burrito that’s been sitting outside in the hot sun for 12+ hours.

First trip on the water

Sunday, October 31^st

Still having problems with wifi connection.  Neither desktop nor laptop will connect 90% of the time.  We can get in occasionally, and then it drops off right in the middle of an email.  We spent the morning working on that and then gave up, frustrated.

It was a beautiful day so we decided to get on the water in our dinghy.

Captain Larry pilots our dinghy, named TTFN, around Costa Baja Marina

  First we needed to give it a bath; after 5,300 miles and several weeks in a dusty parking lot it was, well, filthy. An hour later it was clean and we backed it down the marina ramp and into the water.

What a wonderful afternoon. The sun was shining and a stiff breeze was blowing. The bay was a bit choppy but still a pleasant ride.We went all the way south to Marina de La Paz and the naval installation, then out to the Magote and in and among the moored boats, then north to Costa Baja…altogether a 3 hour ride. Our new Suzuki engine ran like a champ and the dinghy held up well after its road trip.  It was really fun and so good to be “on the water” and away from chores for awhile. We hope to get everything immediately necessary installed and secured by next week (?) and then head out, on Milagro, to one of the island anchorages recommended to us.

Dia de los Muertos

Day of the Dead in Mexico, unlike the American over the top celebration of Halloween (of which I have been and enthusiastic participant) has considerable religious significance. It begins on the night of October 31st and continues through Nov. 2, celebrating All Saints Day and All Souls Day respectively. Many Mexican families erect altars to the dead in their homes and in cemeteries.  These altars include ofrendas, offerings of favorite food and drinks for the departed when they return to visit their loved ones. They also have many candles and orange and purple flowers. Traditionally Nov. 1st is the day families await the return of dead children, los angelitos, and there may be sweets and toys on those altars.

Most of my information came from the Baja Citizen, a local newspaper for the English speaking residents.
One of the joys of this journey is learning about different (and yet, not so very different) peoples.  The Mexican people of our experience are warm, generous and very  tolerant of our communication skills and quite excited when we order breakfast in Spanish and they actually understand us!

From the sublime to the ridiculous...

Woke up this morning (still in the marina) to 69 degrees amd sunny skies and a 10 knot wind.  Our coffee maker finally turned up in a box marked "last minute packing for Milagro" as well as our delicious 8 o'clock coffee so I brewed a pot and we took it up on the deck.  Just beautiful!  The air is fresh, the coffee delicious and the water sparkling.
I spent the rest of the morning on housekeeping duties, cleaning Buddi's cage, washing dishes, making our bed and generally continuing to put things in their places.  Larry has another plumbing job; the shower sump which draws the water out of the shower stall and down the drain has been less than satisfactory.  It is noisy when it works and that is only part of the time.
I stop at 11:30 and shower and dress for the ladies luncheon, a monthly gathering of mostly grinogos whose sole purpose is to get together to meet, greet and eat.  This month there were over a hundred ladies of all shapes and ages, both land lubbers and boat people, and we met at a French restauran called La Boheme just off the Malecon. We started off with limonade and shopped at a Christmas Bazaar set up just for us. Beautiful crafts and clothing which I admired but didn't buy as we already have too much "stuff" on the boat.
Lunch was  an avocado and cream and shrimp starter, Caesar salad, Coq au Vin (I had a veggie substitute), garlic bread and chocolate mousse for desert all for 120 pesos or less than $10.  A new acquaintance and I decided to walk the 2 1/2 - 3 miles back to our marina and it was a great walk.  We had a a stiff breeze off the water and lots of good conversation. That was the sublime.
Now for the ridiculous.  When I got back to the boat Larry was knee deep, literally in sump pump mess.  I had planned to do laundry, actually a pleasant way to spend a afternoon. The laundry room is pristine and with soft drink and snack from the marina store and my kindle I can get clean clothes and a couple of hours under a palm tree.  But no, my duty was to vacuum out a bilge type area then rinse it with disinfectant and water and then rinse it again with fresh water. It was a yucky, yucky job, but certainly not as bad as Larry's!  Three hours later he is just back from a third plumbing store run trying to get a hose or connector that fits.  Oops, I just heard a bad word!  It's a good thing Buddi doesn't talk. 

A day in the life of 2 sailors

We actually did arrive in La Paz on October 2nd at 3:15 p.m.  More on that later!
Today, October 22nd.  We woke up this morning aboard Milagro, somewhat settled.  Still can't find our coffe pot and will probably brave the WalMart Supercenter to buy one today.  We listened to local boating community news via the VHF radio and the Cruisers Net then dressed and got our bicycles for a ride down the Malecon and breakfast.  We stopped at a lovely coffee/wine bar for marvelous coffee, fresh squeezed orange juice and a "vegetales" omelet. Food presentation is very important here and my plate offered sculpted tomato and avocado as well as a beautiful omlet and grilled potatoes and sweet onions.  Yum!
We had a leisurely ride back to Marina Palmira.
Next more unpacking (yes, even two weeks later!) and then on to get our "green card" at the local embassy and to the bank for more pesos!

This is our main salon with table and books shelves (of course!) to the left and the galley beyond.

The Journey Begins

Journey of 2 Sailors

Background info:

Purchased 43’ Spindrift, Milagro.

Visited La Paz, B.C.S. Baja California, Mexico several times.  Fell in love!

PBC offers a retirement buyout in January 2010.

We accept buyout with retirement date of Feb. 28, 2010.

We retire and set a takeoff date of May 1^st.

So much to do: house is on the market, working with lawyer towards short sale or deed for lien, sell Century, Dusky and Irwin.

Also pack and move household items to either climate storage or Rutherfordton storage (will take several trips), have yard sale for and auction for unwanted items, continue purchasing items for Milagro.

Had cardiac episode April 25.

Larry called back to work after Ken Rogers’ death.

Everything takes so much longer than we thought.  We make long, long lists and work hard on them almost every day.  Complete some items but keep adding more.

Many ups and downs!  Seems as though when Larry’s feeling positive I’m down…and viceversa.

After a week of “maybe we’ll leave tomorrow…"We lockup the house in Palm City for the last time and take off with Larry driving a 9 year old Chevy pickup and pulling a 12 ‘ trailer and me driving a 10 year old Mazda Tribute and pulling a trailer with our 10’ dinghy on Monday, September 20, 2010, 4:00 p.m.

We wanted to “make it out of Florida” so we drove to just south of Bruswick, GA stopping at 11:15 p.m. Whew!

The next day we drove to Fuquay Varina where we stayed with the McCoys.  In just one day we managed to conduct business with Jeff, do a birthday breakfast and shopping trip with Gracie, a birthday lunch and shopping spree with Anna, a visit with Holly and family and dinner at Roger's, a yummy stir fry with wine and the good company of roommate Nyssa and her parents. What a great day.

Skimming across the water!

ay mid-afternoon we hooked up trailers again and headed for Charlotte to meet up with our friends the Hockadays.  We joined them at their house on Lake Murray and after a good nights rest had a fun and relaxing day on Saturday. The weather was glorious, perfect Indian Summer and we spent the morning on the lake in Larry H’s new 28’ Chris Craft ( we did 50 plus!), had lunch in Columbia, then back for a moonlight boat trip in the Carolina Skiff.  Sunday was rainy so we just relaxed then left for Charlotte in the early evening. Spent the night there then left for Rutherford county arriving mid-afternoon.  Larry unloaded the last of our storage items, fixed the tailgate on his truck, then met with one of our renters.  Another long day.

Tomorrow we leave here with Jackson MS as our goal.  If all goes well we’ll be in La Paz in a little over a week.

Today is Sunday, Oct. 3, 2010

We didn’t get away until noon on Tuesday the 28^th.  Original plan was to drive to Jackson MS but due to late start and finding that our average speed is about 50 we got to Birmingham around 8:30 and had, for me, a stressful search for food and lodging.  On day 2 we again got a late start and drove to .  On Thursday we had a good day, 450 miles and got to 50 miles east of Shreveport. Next day we achieved Abilene TX where we had a wonderful family style dinner, catfish and fried chicken with all the fixins at a restaurant called Belle’s.  On the next day to El Paso, again a late night arriving amidst heavy Friday night traffic.  Whew!  Larry and I got split up. It was dark, the traffic was insane and I wondered if we’d ever find each other!  All of a sudden I heard his voice on the cb radio…and realized I was 2 cars behind him!  Finally found a motel on the west side of El Paso with a good Taco restaurant next door. The following day we made Casa Grande, AZ

Now we had to decide how we would schedule the next part of the trip in order to arrive at Tecate in time to cross the border and get to Ensenada for the night.

We decided to drive the 200 miles to Yuma and spend the night and the next day there in order to catch up on laundry, and service both vehicles.  We’re both eager for bit of rest and excited at the prospect of actually getting to Mexico.

Love these rock formations....

Haven’t mentioned this in the discussion of our travels but…we have been blown away by the scenery. The mountains are spectacular and a brand new vista greets us at every turn.  Hope to share pictures and also hope the pics give some idea of the beauty.. From west Texas to Yuma Arizona…never a dull view.  Larry and I keep calling each other on the cb’s and saying “wow!” and “did you see that?” Truly America the beautiful! I only wish we could have made the trip earlier, as planned, so we would have had more time for side trips. Still, a wonderful trip.

Climbed a mountain, came around a corner and there it was!

From Yuma we go to Tecate to cross the border and after that, another 750+ miles to La Paz. (paz means peace in Spanish; I’m looking forward to that……..).