Life is good...all is well in La Paz

Hola nuestros amigos!  The days seem to melt one into the other as we continue our daily routine in the City of Peace, but it is time for an update and to wish you all well as you cope with winter in various climates.

We are feeling better each day, although neither of us has totally shaken the deep-seated cough which catches hold and doesn't let go.  Our stock of Fisherman's Friend cough drops are quite depleted, although there are all sorts of lozenges and cough syrup as backup.  You would think with all the sunshine and warm weather we'd bounce right back - that still is the plan! This appears to be a week of milder winds, or almost no winds and flat seas. Several boats are taking advantage of this to travel to the nearby islands for a few days and enjoy the lack of swell and bouncy anchorages...how boring!  (We'd love to head out too, but still have a week of classes to complete.)  There are many "puddle jumpers" who have or will be setting sail down the coast towards Cabo San Lucas to make the jump to the Marquesas.  We wish them all fair winds and not too many squalls along the way.

Gathering for safety meeting

Last week we attended an important 'safety meeting' on Dock 3. While proper lighting and safety items were on the formal agenda, there were also great appies, good conversation and excellent music as the late afternoon melted into a warm, pleasant evening.  Mary Lee of SV Sea Story entertained us with her lovely voice as she accompanied herself on keyboards; she was soon joined by Chris of SV Ladybug and Jack from SV Waterdog.  Ian of SV Salish Sea brought out his harmonica and added his voice to various renditions of sea shanties.   There was even some spontaneous dancing along the dock as the serendipitous evening drew to a close.

"The Last of Barrett's Privateers"

Chris, Jack and Mary Lee - great musicians

On Saturday we rode our bikes to the 'Postal Park' to check out the organic market and crafts for sale. This event is a newer addition to La Paz and offers the chance to buy organic produce, meat, deserts, bagels, as well as admire jewelry, pottery, artwork and other hand made items.  Now that we both have baskets on our bikes, we can carry a small amount of provisions home with us.  It was a treat to have fresh cherry tomatoes and a mixed green salad on our return.

Organic market at 'postal park'

Our Spanish lessons continue at Se Habla...La Paz.  We are now studying with Alexa.  It remains a challenge to express ourselves with fluency only in the present tense and to recall an abundance of verbs. Today we were composing a diary of the day's activities and are finding this an intriguing exercise.  Our last class is this Friday; we've promised ourselves to continue to practise daily.

Our transportation - complete with milk carton baskets!

On Sunday we moved INTREPID II over to slip 409 on Dock 4.  The marina office had asked us to move citing a 'reservation' for our spot on Dock 5.  A short trip and we are resettled in our slip, which is the same as what we had last year for a week.  We've now reached the top of the wait list for Danny of Pacific Threads.  He arrived yesterday afternoon to take measurements and discuss some additions to our canvas inventory.  As much as we didn't think we needed side curtains for the cockpit, this season we did feel the wind and cold on our overnight passages and have decided it would make life more comfortable.   So that task is underway and we look forward as always to Danny's cheerful approach to his work and his excellent workmanship.

Later today we are treating ourselves to a concert at La Concha restaurant with Mark Mulligan.  He is a 'singer and writer of beach ballads' a la Jimmy Buffet and donates much of his concert revenue to local charities. It should be an enjoyable evening of good music in the open air palapa restaurant.

Hasta luego...INTREPID II back to "22A".