Things Have Greatly Improved...

Just wanted to let you know that things have greatly improved since my last post. Still bees, but they are not swarming. We've managed to pick up more screen material and have taped that up which has kept the bee numbers down while still allowing for air circulation inside the boat. It has gotten cooler during the nights which has made things more bearable. We have all been sleeping outside on the trampoline which I love - I wake every morning as the sun rises over the mountains and thank God for another day - then go back to sleep for another hour. I have been doing yoga many mornings. The sunsets are gorgeous. The giant bat rays do acrobats in the anchorage at all times of the day and night. We've been snorkeling a lot - as Danielle noted in her post, the number of fish species and starfish is astounding and I've really grown to love snorkeling. We've caught a dorado (mahi mahi) and had three yummy meals of it (fish tacos, sopa de pescado, and I've learned to dry fish into teriyaki fish jerky). We've been hanging out with some new friends aboard another Fontaine Pajot catamaran called Chat de Mer, as well as those on an 88 ton motor sailer called Iron Maiden. Together we've snorkeled and visited the north side of Isla Coronado where there is a small sea lion rookery. We've headed into Loreto for the Sunday market and picked up gorgeous produce. We've been eating well (tonight I made curried vegetables and dahl with brown rice) - we are trying to use up a lot of our food before we head back to California for three weeks next month. We have been spending very little - which I also love given that I am the keeper of the budget. It's very simple living, and we are very used to it by now. We've been doing some homeschooling that doesn't require internet given that there is none here, and we're trying to be done by 11 a.m. given that it is already scorching hot by that time.

Today was overcast for the first time this summer, and we prepared for a chubasco (severe weather cell) that we watched as it came north and then by-passed us, but not without some rain showers and light winds. It was a welcome cooling and cleaned the outside of the boat. I used the opportunity to clean inside the boat which we hadn't done in a couple of weeks. The kids watched a movie. Michael fixed things, as he usually does, and still amazes me with what he knows. For example, when we blew a circuit breaker on the generator just as we tried turning on the air conditioning (which is why we don't run the air conditioning for those who asked) which led to the generator failing to run the AC power, he headed down into the engine room and got the generator working again. Trouble shooter extraordinaire.

Michael and I celebrate our birthdays on Saturday - for me it's number 45, for Michael it's 46. The kids are planning another one of their self-cooked meals for us with apple pie for desert. That's it for gifts - there's no where here to buy anything, so we'll both be taking rain checks. Other than the hand-made cards. Birthdays while cruising are really spectacular for both kids and adults - very simple, unplanned and last minute gatherings of any cruisers who happen to be around on that day (and no matter how well you know them). You give make shift gifts (a brownie mix, a fishing lure, a can of olives, a used book, a used piece of clothing) with homemade cake and whatever snacks you have in your stores that you are willing to share. None of these expensive parties or gifts. Low expectations, but heavy on the fun.

Perhaps it's being in the Sea of Cortez in the middle of complete wilderness and nature, but one day seems to blend into the next. I can't remember how long we've been anchored here, and it's hard to believe that it's already mid-August with High Holidays just around the corner. The world keeps turning, the year keeps cycling, and we've been gone for 11 months already. I'm just about ready for a change of pace, but not quite yet.

-Barbara
Isla Coronado, BCS, Mexico
26 degrees 06.618 minutes N; 111 degrees 17.032 minutes W

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