Friday, April 26, 2013

Wow, is it really almost May?


Been a while since I've posted (he he he).  Seems that blogging is not something I do when we are sitting still in one place.  We've spent the winter right here in Punta Mita, Mexico.  Upon anchoring here in December, we set about catching up with friends, surfing as much as possible, and of course, looking for work.  On the work front, it's been a disappointing season.  Despite our valiant efforts, neither of us has had much success finding any steady work.  On the surf front, it has also been a disappointing season.  We've had some fun waves, but not many bigger swells this year...  we've been calling it La Nada, because it's not an el nino year (typically great for surf here) or la nina year (typically bad for surf).  So I guess it's been a normal surf year, but we were hoping for better! 

In February we had big visits with Jane's family – first Jane visited her Mom, then Mom came down from Lake Chapala (outside Guadalajara, about 5 hours away from us) where she was staying for two months.  Jane's sister Nancy & her boyfriend Jason also came down from WA for their annual flee from the NW winter. 
Night out in Puerto Vallarta

It's been nice being back in Punta Mita.  We felt totally welcomed back as we saw old familiar faces all over town.  I've especially hanging out with the newest addition to the gang --   our friend's Jason & Ana's baby Ela!  
Beach day with baby Ela!
The biggest change here has been how many other boats are anchoring here for long time periods....  it seems the surfing sailors discovered Punta Mita while we were away.  All winter, there were a minimum of 15 – 20 boats anchored, and at times up to 30+!  Previously, we always felt like we had it all to ourselves.  It's been fun to have some neighbors, but not so fun when they take over the surf break and aren't always respectful to the locals.  But we did have some fun beach parties with other boaters, including a holiday carol sing. 

Another development this season was the increase in crime in the anchorage.  We had a panga pull up at 3Am one night and try to steal our dinghy.  Luckily, Tim woke up and scared them off before they succeeded.  Another boat nearby was left unattended for several months and it was broken into with lots of stuff stolen.  So, we've had to take boat security more seriously and we now raise the dinghy every night on the side of the boat.

The latest big news here is that our friend Marjie has published her new book..... starring our very own Captain Tim!!  The book was inspired by a day sail she took a few years back with some girlfriends, but it is fiction (I keep reminding myself of that as I read it, since i'm also a character in the book – the jealous, left behind girlfriend!).  If anyone is in the Punta Mita area right now, the book launch is this Sunday April 28th in Sayulita – from 6 – 10pm at El Break restaurant on the beach.  Come join us!  The book is akin to 50 Shades of Gray – by that I mean it's definitely got some detailed romance (read: not for immature audiences).  Just a warning in case you're curious enough to buy it and read it.  If you are, here's the link to where Marjie's got the book for sale.  And no, we don't get any kickbacks for this, or royalties...

Me, Pinkie, Cap'n Tim, Marjie (aka Peaches), and Kemi

Well, I'm going to close and not sure if/when I will continue blogging... you just never know.  We're still working out our summer plans – not sure where we'll leave the boat just yet, but we should be heading up to Seattle in June.