Dear F&F,
February 10th……continued
After the dinghy ride around Punta de Mita it was warm enough that I decided
to go swimming. There were about 10 boats anchoraged besides us. A few
pangas zipping around & a couple of jet skis zooming about. Enough traffic
that I did laps under the boat (for fear of getting run over). I wore my
dive skin, mask, snorkel, fins, shark shield & jumped in. Scott is adamant
that we wear our shark shield whenever in the ocean. There is a velcro strap
around your ankle & a 4 ft trailing antenna that gives off an electrical
pulse that sharks don\’t like. I didn\’t really notice it was on after a
while. That 72 degree water was pretty brisk, but as long as I kept moving,
not bad. It felt terrific to be in the water again. It had been a month
since I\’d last swam. Scott jumped in too & we finished our workout by wiping
down the waterline of both hulls with soft rags. We had the bottom cleaned
by a diver in San Diego & since we got new bottom paint in Ventura in
September, there isn\’t much growth sticking, just an algae slime coat.
Cleaning the bottom gives a nice cardio workout. Trying to wipe the hulls
down & hold your body position with nothing to grab onto & stabilize
yourself. I rather enjoyed that. Which is a good thing, because we will need
to do it a lot more now that we are traveling in warmer waters, the growth
grows faster & you need to stay on top of it to keep the paint in good
shape.
After a shower & lunch, we pulled up anchor & motored the 8 miles to where
we are now (La Cruz de Huanacaxtle). Since we didn\’t get ashore yet I don\’t
know what the main attraction is here, but it obviously a popular spot since
there are nearly so many boats. We are moving again later today (now 2 am so
definitely later…) to a marina at Nuevo Vallarta called Paradise Village.
We know another boat couple that have been in Mexico for 3 yrs & they really
like it there. We wanted a secure place to leave the boat while we go to the
airport to meet Skye. Scott gave her a shopping list a mile long, so we
expect she will be loaded down with suitcases full of boat stuff. P.V. is an
easy place to fly into & since the Writers Strike is still going, she is
still on unemployment. We are excited to see her. It is only for 5 days. Not
sure if we will just stay at the dock the whole time or take her anywhere
else. She is not much of a sailor, so we may just stay at the dock so it is
easy to get off & the boat & walk around. One of the things she is bringing
us is new wiring for our wind instruments. We have not had our wind speed or
direction indicator functioning since we left Ensenada. I really miss that
information. Of course when it\’s really blowing it\’s probably just as well
to not see those big numbers on the gauge, but I will be happy if we can get
it working again. I hoisted Scott up the mast when we were last at a dock,
but he didn\’t have all the equipment he needed to get it working. We also
got a referral for a marine electrician in Nuevo Vallarta, so hopefully he
can help Scott with the several things that are not fully functional.
We have decided to spend another year in Mexico. We were just feeling like
our schedule would be very rushed trying to see the entire Gold Coast of
Mexico, all of Central America & make a decision whether to cross to the
south Pacific in June or summer in Ecuador. So even though we originally had
not considered spending a season in the Sea of Cortez, we now will be. This
change of itinerary has made us feel much more relaxed. We know it gets very
hot in the sea, especially in Aug & Sept. Many boaters park there boat at a
dock & fly \”home\” avoiding the worst of the heat. We don\’t really have
anywhere to go other than being guests of friends & family for a week or 2.
I want to go visit my Dad this summer, so will use the easy opportunity of
flying out of La Paz or Loreto to do that. Scott thinks he will stay with
the boat, but we\’ll see what we find once we get up there. We may try to do
a tour of \”Copper Canyon\” (Mexico\’s EXTRA Grand Canyon) on the mainland of
Mexico, adjacent to \”The Sea\” (Sea of Cortez).
That\’s about all the update for now. If you haven\’t been to the website
lately Scott has put on many new photos. Don\’t miss the elephant seals &
whales.
www.svbeachhouse.com
Regards,
Cindy & Scott