Christmas in the Mexico

Happy December 27th!

     We are departing Mazatlan today at approximately 15:00.  We like it here.  The weather is perfect, the people are pleasant, the atmosphere overall, very friendly.

     Although we celebrated Christmas in the traditional fashion, i.e.; friends, tree, lights, gifts, sweets, and Christmas dinner (not traditional....bbq chicken, pasta, and local oranges), it didn't feel traditional.

Walkie-Talkies.....Spend a year teaching them how to use them, the next five years asking them to be quiet....

Whoo-Hoo! A Bow and Arrows!
Boat toy? No, Christmas wish.

     We did not have the 2-4-7 Christmas music, the snow or cold temperatures, the television commercials force feeding us toys, clothes, jewelry, tools....you know..."stuff."  We have experienced 80 degree temperature, sunscreen, swimming pools, and margaritas under an umbrella. No hustle and bustle and feeling like we were running out of time. No stress of the "count down." Life is good.

     We did think of the joy we have being around family and friends.  We thought about gift giving and the good feeling we get when giving brings a smile to a loved one, and the wishes for blessings of the season and the new year we offer in the cards we send.  Those things were longed for.

     We were woke up by an excited Bucket, who just knew Santa would visit the Velvet Sky. Santa visits boats too, you know.  As we walked through town we saw elves pretending to be Santa, Christmas trees, and people shopping for gifts for there loved ones.  "Feliz Navidad,"was the common greeting.  The Harbor Master had a party for the boaters where he gifted us a meal, drinks, and gifts.  Christmas was in the air.  Christmas as a Live-Aboard, in the tropics.....yep, we will do it again.

Merry Christmas-Feliz Navidad!
Blessings of Love, Health, Happiness, and Laughter in 2015!

     

Mazatlan (Day One)

Buenas Dias!

Ahoy!
     It was a decent 47 hour hop from La Paz to Mazatlan.  We got in about 10 hours of sailing.  We were entertained by Manta Rays emerging randomly from the depths of the ocean.  They would leap out about 6 feet from the surface and go back down.  Quite a sight and sort of hard to believe that our eyes were not deceiving us or playing tricks.  The three of us were witnesses to the crazy event and have the sight in our memories rather than in photo form.   We will be better prepared with a camera next time we are out.  Also, we were graced by a full moon, clear skies, and calm seas.  Yes, a decent trip, indeed.

Unbrella.....rain or shine

     Friday, December 5th, 08:00,we tied up in slip C4 at El Cid Marina.  We called our family at the resort five miles away and made arrangements to meet with them after showers and breakfast. Normally we would have taken the day to rest and regroup, however, this was their last day in Mazatlan and we were excited to see them here.  So, as Wendy suggested, we hailed a pulmonia and had one of the most enjoyable taxi rides we might ever experience.

   


     It was a 5 mile, 60 peso ride to the beautiful resort of Pueblo Bonita.  I have to say that Wendy and Kelly made a pretty good choice of time share property.

     Shortly after arrival Kelly took Bucket to the pool, they were just going to "look at it."  Bucket doesn't get near water and just "look at it."  He was in the pool in seconds with all clothes still on.  Okay, so that prompted the adults to go to the room (which was four flights of stairs) and get on their suits so that they could enjoy the pool as well.  Long story short, Bucket slipped on the steps and (as he says) BOOM!  He received his right of passage chin injury that will lead to a permanent scar for a story later in his life.  We held the gash together the best that we could with the bandages we had.  Bucket swam for the rest of the day, much less affected by the accident than his parents.  He made a new friend, and played with "U.K"(Uncle Kelly) and Aunt Thelma in the pool for another 6 hours.
We had a lovely day with our family.  Wendy is a beautiful, gracious, and generous hostess.  We had a delightful dinner, said our "See you soon's," and caught a pulmonia back to Velvet Sky.

A gift shark from "U.K."

A New Friend.  Meet Una.

A fine photo.  Una becomes one of the family :)

   

Heading to the Main Land

     We have been waiting for our charts to arrive.  They are not expected to be here until the end of this week or the beginning of next week.  We learned today that "Lopez Marine" will send them to Mazatlan for us.  So, we are leaving La Paz tomorrow morning.  We will be underway for just under 48 hours and should arrive in Mazatlan on the 5th of December.  

   

While in La Paz....

We used local bus system for transportation

We walked to get from place to place

We found innovative ways to fill the water tank

As easy as syphoning 150 gallons of desalinated water

Only 30 more to go....

We had a very satisfying Thanksgiving dinner with about 200 other cruisers

Very satisfying

We are forever Thankful for the gifts that life presents to us every single day.  This is a grand adventure!

It's a WHALE! It's a SHARK!

     

IT'S A WHALE-SHARK!

And so begins this day's excursion

Bucket is offered the wheel

He loves to be Captain 

Swimming with the largest fish in the ocean

The krill/plankton eating, Whale-Shark