Tuesday, March 15, 2016


Ok, a lot to catch up on as we are now in March 2016 (what?? so fast!) and we are actually preparing to leave for French Polynesia in about one week.  So, here is a recap of the last several months.  I will also attach our blog link to my Facebook page.  I had not been keeping up on FB in several years and have come to find that it is an easy way to post and update info and keep up with our sailing friends and friends from home.

It has been a fast and furious couple of months with so many activities, new friends, old friends and lots of good old fun.
Lessons learned:
What we feel we have learned is how long term and fleeting your friendships can be while cruising.
We have come to meet so many new people and meet up with old friends.  If we were back home, I don't think friendships would come as quickly or easily or last as long.  We also probably wouldn't meet people and have drinks and dinner with them and spend time and plan activities with, then never see them again. In the boating/cruising world, you meet folks, in our case, lots of other boats with kids and not necessarily always with kids, but yes, because we have kids, it's like you have kid boat radar on.  You meet, have drinks, eat dinner, cocktails, anchor out, go snorkeling, beach days, hiking, and buddy boat together and so much more. It seems that it happens in a whirlwind fashion.  We have done this in the last two months and can honestly say, we have loved every minute of it and can't believe the friendships formed in such a short amount of time.

As we are ready to depart for French Polynesia, we will leave most of our friends behind.  Some days are harder than others for us and the kids, as the friendships we feel will be lifelong and long remembered.  We hope to see most of them again.  We will head to the South Pacific with some of our new friends, some will sail south to Panama and into the Atlantic ocean for the Bahamas and Caribbean, some will continue to explore Central America and sail for the South Pacific next year, and some will sail north back into the Sea of Cortez.   We will truly miss our friends.

We will miss Mexico with all of the lovely people and kindness we have received.  The culture and beauty are truly astonishing.   We hope our children will remember and have fond memories of their time and experience in Mexico.  We know we will.

December 2015 - Christmas
We made it to La Cruz de Huanacaxtle and right away meet up with friends, SV Pesto and SV Coastal Drifter.  We got invited to dinner at a steak house in Nuevo Vallarta with 25 other people.  We all fit into a Winnebago(!) for the ride over to the restaurant.
We discovered the amazing Sunday Farmer's Market with croissants and empanadas and handiworks. It is one of the best Farmer's Markets we have been to in Mexico and even in the US sometimes!

La Cruz Marina
Noah with Raquel (Pesto) and Ethan (Coastal Drifter)

Dinner at Sonora al Sur

Kids table at Sonora al Sur (including some adults)

Sunday Farmer's Market tent

Marina La Cruz is a great kid's boating marina as they have their own Kids Club and Kid's Net. The children get to talk on their own VHF radio station and no adults can join in or speak on the Kid's Net.  We have to really thank Catrina and Mike for really working hard to keep the kid's activities going and organized.
We also took some time out to go see Star Wars and have Christmas dinner on the docks.

Kid's beach sleep over
SV's Pesto, Coastal Drifter, Sarita, Agamere, Kenta Anae, 
Wild Rumpus, Coaster, and Sang Vind.


Bonfire on the beach

Lighting lanterns and making wishes

Kid's ornament making activity in the VIP lounge.

The kids thought Star Wars was just "ok"

Christmas Eve dinner

Katya (Sarita) painting Ella Mae's (Shawnigan) face for the Christmas Day play.
Matero (Kenta Anae) already with Lord of the Rings makeup an hair.

Katya the colorful dragon.  She does amazing stage makeup.

Christmas Dinner on Dock 11

Horatio with Hobbit sideburns carrying salad to Christmas Dinner

Gingerbread houses made during a Kid activity event

Full moon over the marina

We spent many days at the beach and having fun beach activities and exploring La Cruz and the surrounding towns.  The state of Nayarit is beautiful!

Taking the bus to Punta de Mita for surfing and body/boogie boarding

Yes, we had to cross this crocodile zone to get to the beach!

Waiting for the waves

Amazingly large iguanas!

Christmas Tree in La Cruz 
made of beer cans - Pacifico and Victoria, of course!

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