Things got away from me during our last month in Mexico. So here I am catching up, a little late, and a little north from our precious Serenity. Today is grey and the weather is not good. We have had a series of freeze-thaw cycles here and this morning we woke to find our back deck skating rink and driveway which is only a partial skating rink, dusted with a couple of inches of snow. This, for any who don’t live in our northern climate, is a deadly combination. Our daughter in law’s father slipped last night in his drive, hit his head on a piece of concrete and got four staples in his head. Apparently he had lots of company in the emergency room. It is not a day for touring around outside and- the icing on the cake - 80 mile an hour winds are forecasted for the afternoon. Bottom line, it is a good day to catch up on indoor todos.
We had a wonderful visit with our son and his family. The weather which seemed to be mostly windy with a day of pouring rain kept us at the dock most of the visit, but there a lots of pleasures to be had there. I personally find watching three year old Amelia to be endlessly fascinating. She is such a busy creature!
Paul had rented a room with a kitchenette and deck from Costa Baja which came with two queen beds, a golf cart and a membership to the beach club. Although two rooms might have provided them with a little more sleep which Sara who is five months pregnant and not sleeping very well could have used, they definitely were more comfortable not staying on the boat. Our days fled bye far too fast. Amelia loved the golf cart which she called a tractor. I am sure that much of the appeal was the lack of a car seat. The beach club was perfect. The pool is not too deep and just right for playing with a small child. When that got old, there was a hot tub with jets and a shallow play pool with fountains. When all else failed, there was the beach with sand, water, shells and stones.
Amelia also enjoyed the boat. She quickly learned where everything was stored including the little step stool. plastic bowls, pop it beads and games and was quick to help herself. She is, in corporate speak, a self starter - Miss Independent.
One day we took a trip to town to the dress shop in the public market. Amelia now has two beautiful princess dresses - one of them Cinderella. We had a wonderful time parading her around the dock in the Cinderella outfit. She later went for dinner at the beach club and is now known there as Cinderella. She is quite an easy child to take to eat out. Give her an iphone with ‘apps’ and she is glued to it, one hand periodically leaving the phone long enough to reach up and get a french fry or carrot.
After they left we planned on going out to the islands. We had to wait a couple of days for the wind to go down, but finally off we went to Bahia San Gabriel. We spent a wonderful day just loving the surrounding beauty and our friends from the sail boat, Murar’s Dream, came for dinner. We had met Andy and Debra at the marina when they were moored next to us. They are from Colorado and we have really enjoyed them. It was so nice at San Gabriel that we decided to spend another day there before going north. Andy and Debra invited us over to dinner on their boat.
Well this has been an accident prone season. First our friend Louise did something bad to her foot when we were at Santispac. Now it was my turn. Just before leaving to go the Murar’s Dream, I managed to trip over the stainless steel cradle for our dingy and landed on my back. My head hit the rail and I made quite a mess - blood everywhere. Andy and Debra came over with Andy’s most impressive first aid kit and bandaged me up. It was a 1776 look - white bandage around the head complete with blood stain. ( I don’t think it will catch on.) Daisy decided to help by licking up the blood which grossed me out so Earl and Andy quickly hosed the blood off the deck.
As usual, since I hate medical drama, I felt no need for any more treatment. Earl wisely insisted on returning to the marina at Costa Baja about 2 hours away. The marina has a doctor on call and she came down to the boat about 5 minutes after we arrived at nine and put twelve stitches into the back of my head for the modest sum of $150. First time for a doctor boat call. The best news was that I could shower and shampoo immediately. I had been fretting about going around in my bloody state for a week.
The boat rack has been an accident in waiting since we put it on the boat. it is about three to five inches high and made to trip over. Earl had fallen several times, fortunately with no real injury. We realized that had I hit the rack just two inches differently, I could have broken my neck. We have a design to modify it so that the rack will lift off when not in use and will get it done when we return to Mexico. It should be an easy fix and one we should have done before. The lesson is: if something may be a hazard, fix it.
The next day found us back out headed for Caleta Partita where we met up again with Andy and Debra. The wind came up from the south and they took advantage of it to go north. Meanwhile we made new friends - Bruno and Yvonne on the 43 foot aluminum sailboat, Momo. They are from Berne, Switzerland, and had a interesting story. They had the hull delivered to them in Berne and spent 5 or 6 years finishing the boat. They have spent the last 10 years seeing the world with Momo as their home base. Momo is the story of a fairy who granted the wish of time - a perfect name for this boat.
The next day, once again wind was forecast, violent and from the north. So back we went to the marina to put Serenity to bed before taking off for Christmas in the north. We visited Momo for dinner and it is quite a cosy boat. One of the nicest things is that you can sit at the table and look our the window, a feature lacking in many sail boats.
We left La Paz and Serenity with hopes that the next season will bring no wind and no accidents! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!
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