Catching up… 1.5.2011

Happy New Year!! Oh and Merry Christmas too! :-) Yep, it’s been awhile….again! haha… I finally had time to write & catch up on our photos & videos while we were on the ferry. So what in the heck have we been doing since December? Good question…

Last I wrote, we were moving into Paradise Village in Nuevo Vallarta because our friends – John & Jillian Malouf were coming for vacation in the area and we wanted to be close & available to see them. Although being in Paradise Marina was nice, it was a bummer being away from our boating friends who stayed in La Cruz. Though we were able to keep in touch via radio and they even came over for Christmas Eve on the beach which was great.



We met John & Jill and the kids twice during their visit – once in Bucerias and again at their rental house in Mismaloya. We enjoyed getting together with them and meeting their family. We spent an afternoon at the beach in Mismaloya and a group of us went snorkeling out at Los Arcos – some caves & rock formations just off the beach.



The water was brrrr cold!!! Michael would call it ‘refreshing’ but it definitely took your breath away when you jumped in! Still we had a great time. The fish were so colorful and they were swimming right beside & underneath us!



This video was taken at water level!



We joined Bob & Marlene from S/V Selah for Christmas day dinner again this year and had a fabulous time, as usual! We met some old friends, gained some new friends, feasted on knockout cuisine, and enjoyed every minute of it. We love spending time with Bob & Marlene, and their two daughters – they’re so much fun. It’s a bummer we didn’t get to head South and see them on the boat this season. Oh well, another time!

Time flew and before we knew it, it was New Year’s Eve! Michael had picked up a cold just before Christmas and when he went snorkeling he lost his voice so we decided to hang low for New Year’s. We had dinner at the same Mexican restaurant that we had been to 10 years ago (that was still just as terrible! Haha) and went back to the boat and watched movies until it was nearly midnight. Then we walked out onto the beach, pulled up a couple lounge chairs, and watched the incredible fireworks shows that were going on in the bay. There were easily 6 different fireworks shows at the different towns & resorts and it was incredible to watch them all!



Oh, so remember how our outboard was stolen? Well, I put a post on Facebook letting everyone know what had happened and told them to be sure & ‘lock up all your stuff’! Some good friends of ours, Chris & Sandy, from S/V Faith, said they had a used outboard they would ‘gift’ us, which was such a blessing! The only catch was that they were in La Paz and wouldn’t be down in La Cruz until the end of December. Well, they arrived in Mazatlan and Michael called up Elvira – the marina office manager in Mazatlan – and asked her if anyone was headed down to La Cruz that wouldn’t mind bringing a dinghy engine with them. As luck would have it, S/V Irish Diplomacy was headed down to La Cruz and when she asked they said SURE!! Now, as fate would have it….they contacted us on the day we were leaving La Cruz anchorage, headed to Paradise Marina! Doh! No problem, more cruisers to the rescue! Haha… You see, Mike & Ceacy from S/V Ramble on Rose had to fly back to the States and left their vehicle in the hands of Bill & MJ from S/V Grey Max. So when Irish Diplomacy arrived in La Cruz, Grey Max went over and picked up the engine, put it in Ramble On Rose’s truck, and brought it over to us. Whew! What a lovely community we live in!!

Our time in Paradise Marina was fun – the grounds are so beautiful & clean, it’s like you’re not even in Mexico. And the prices reflected it! But it was a nice getaway, a change in pace, & a treat for us. But 10 days was enough – we’re headed back to La Cruz now…