2/9/2011 - quick update

Well, we finally were able to get off the boat after the norther blew out. But it wasn't until Saturday, the 5th. Even then, the ride ashore was a wee bit rough. By Sunday things had calmed down considerably. We were hoping to get a slip in Marina de La Paz for about a month so we could take care of a number of maintenance items. But every time we checked, they had no openings. "Please check back tomorrow". That got old pretty fast. So I checked with Marina Palmira and Marina Costa Baja. These are both quite a ways away from the shops and such that we'll need but beggars can't be choosers. However, on the advice of our friend John (m/v Doña Elena) we checked Marina Don Jose, right next door to Marina de La Paz. They only have about 20 slips altogether so we didn't hold much hope. Sure enough, "We don't have anything now but please check back at the end of the month". We walked next to Marina del Palmar which is about a block and a half away from Marina Don Jose. They also only have about 20 slips altogether so, again, not much hope. But, lo and behold, they had not one, but two possible slips. We checked out the slip and the facilities and decided, "yes, we'll take it.".

So yesterday we moved in. We're just across a little inlet from the Navy base. Most of the local fishermen launch their pangas from the beach at the head of the inlet so it gets a little rolly in the early morning when they leave and again in the evening when they return. But no biggie. The slip is way bigger than our boat. We have the boat pulled in with the dinghy floating behind it and we don't stick over at either end. The bathroom/shower facilities are nothing to write home about but they're certainly not gross or anything. You do have to remember to BYOTP. But, at $400 for a month as opposed to $485 at Marina de La Paz or $600 at either Marina Palmira or Costa Baja, bringing our own TP is not a big deal.

Tomorrow we're going on a tour to Bahia Magdalena on the Pacific side of Baja to see Grey Whales. The trip includes breakfast and lunch and 2 hours of whale watching from a panga. The tour company says they've been having great luck having 20-30 grey whales approach the boats on all their recent excursions. Really looking forward to it and I'll try to remember my camera.

Other than that, I need to start carrying my camera around again. Somehow I got out of the habit. Wanted to take a picture of the Super Burros we had for lunch today. !Ay Caramba! They were outstanding. Guess we'll just have to go back and have another one so I can get a photo to show you what you're missing. Our new location her at Marina del Palmar is close to several good eating places and a very short walk to our favorite cervezaria.

So, there's a quick and dirty update. I promise to try to remember to carry my camera routinely from nw on which should lead to a little better blog frequency. Thanks for hanging in there.