Haida Gwaii - North Coast

[I'm desperately behind on blogging about this amazing place. I'll try to
get back on track. Haida Gwaii is an amazing place...I look forward to being
able to add pictures to these posts.]

Finally...after an aborted attempt to reach Haida Gwaii 5 years ago, John
and I are now exploring the wonders of these islands. And we feel fortunate
- blessed - to have the opportunity to do so.

We planned to cross Hecate Strait from Prince Rupert, travel west along the
north coast, then turn south and travel the remote, and poorly charted, west
coast of these islands. We thoroughly enjoyed the North Coast. John
recognized these places from his teenage years as a commercial salmon
fisherman. We stayed at Refuge Cove, and tucked in amidst fishing boats on
Langara Island. As we pushed south on the west coast, we were fighting wind
and waves, and our speed of 2 knots wasn't going to cut it. We weren't going
to make a secure anchorage at this speed. So we made the decision to turn
around. Back to Refuge Cove. And the following day, we made the long trip
down the east coast of the islands to Sandspit.

Although we abandoned the dream of the west coast, we are still excited.
There are lots of great reasons to travel the east side: showers in
Sandspit(!), more ancient village sites to visit, heritage centre, shopping,
fuel opportunities, and so on. And... We could drop our crab traps right
outside the breakwater...California rolls galore!!

Alone at Refuge Cove, but not for long. We were soon joined by several fishing boats...and gifted with salmon and halibut!

 

 

 

 

 

 

This boat, the fish master at Queen Charlotte Lodge, came alongside to say hello, and drop off this...

A yummy lunch! 3 burgers, 4 subs, plus cookies and brownies! Then...he invited us aboard the DRIFTWOOD, their floating outpost for a visit!

 

We visited the ancient Haida village of Kiusta. This triple mortuary pole is very unusual.

 

John's Fishin'

August 1

I was pretty smug about my fishing success in Prince Rupert. Our host Marty
deserves the credit, but I still feel pretty good about it.

But today at Refuge Cove, John had some good fish luck too. He managed to
bring in a halibut and a coho. WITHOUT the use of a rod. The fish even came
cleaned and filleted. He's MR. CHATTY on the docks, and that's what happens.
I was happy to be able to offer up a few banana muffins in thanks for the
coho. The halibut was a gift from a fellow Campbell Riverite. I'll have to
keep a batch of cookie dough on hand, just in case he gets lucky again!
Yippee...fish for dinner!

Crab Feast

We arrived in Sitka just in time for the Annual All-You-Can-Eat Crab Feast!
What could be a better introduction to this town! The event is put on each
year as part of the annual music festival. We arrived before the advertised
start time and were in awe of the massive line up that was already stretched
around the building. Apparently this is serious business here. These folks
brought their own tables and chairs, most with table clothes and the
requisite crab claw crackers. Some had candles, butter warmers, napkins and
everybody had a bottle or two of wine. Oh...we felt like such tourists,
arriving in our regular sneakers (no fishing boots), and relegated to sit on
the damp wharf. But, do not be mistaken. We were not at all sad. We had crab
a-plenty. And the company of a local whom we peppered with questions about
Sitka history, highlights and must-sees!

We returned to the boat, more determined than ever, to find some used crab
pots.

Guilty Pleasures

Within 10 minutes of tying up to the mooring ball at Majuro, we were in the
dinghy and heading for food. After our overnight passage, we were anxious
for some yummy lunch. DAR hit the spot with shrimp chop suey and chicken
chow mein. Yum.

Our overnight passage was pretty uneventful. We went through several
squalls, which we've come to associate with Majuro. There always seem to be
regular squalls as you get closer to this atoll. We always find one or two
day trips a bit painful, because there is no time to get your body into a
sleep rhythm. Try going to bed at 7pm. Not easy. Or staying up half the
night. After our 2nd or 3rd night, we're in the groove and life is good, but
a one night trip always takes a toll. Even if the passage is short, we still
think of the good food we'll eat when the boat stops rocking and hopefully
when someone else is doing the cooking!

After our lunchtime splurge we grabbed some eggs, potstickers, and an
internet card, and returned to the boat for a few hours of zzzzzz's.

Deep Fried Goodness

We heard that our friends on Savannah were going to brave the winds and bash
upwind for two days to come hang out with us here in Maloelap. Yippee!!

So, in honour of their arrival, I thought I'd better try my hand at
deep-frying. They are from the South after all.

In the atoll of Aur, our friend James gave us some bananas and what we
thought were plantains. We don't really know what to do with plantains, but
I have heard that they are delicious when deep fried. So bring on the oil!
I sliced the plantains thinly, dipped them in a pot full of veg oil and
fried em up. Added salt. Yum. Like chips.

That was my test batch.

When Savannah arrived a couple days later, I made them again. But this time
they didn't get crispy. They were much softer. My plantains had ripened.
Monica and Andy listened to my woes, and quickly replied, in unison,
"Double-fry". DOH. OF COURSE!! I should have fried, drained, cooled, then
refried. Hmmmm. I have a lot to learn about deep frying.

They also informed me that they weren't plantains at all, just big bananas.
Oh well. Turns out I like deep fried bananas. Even soft and mushy ones. So
long as they have lots of salt.

An Eight Coconut Day

Upon our arrival James, the local medical officer here at Tabal, asked John
to look at his outboard engine. No one works on a Sunday, so on Monday John
spent the day with James to troubleshoot the Honda 15hp. John's fiddled with
lots of outboards, and he kept our little Johnston running well past it's
prime. He replaced the carb in our Yamaha, adjusted the points, and now it
runs beautifully, even for me. He's got a gift.

It took all day, but he managed to get that honda running. It had not run in
2 years. James thought it was just a broken impeller, and he had a spare, so
we thought it would be a quick job. But it turned out to need its carb
cleaned, throttle rebuilt, sparks cleaned, coils cleaned, and so on. The new
spark plugs and impeller he had were not suited to the engine. So, even
though it ran, it still needs a new impeller.

He was thanked with a gift of 8 drinking coconuts. YUM. There are two in the
fridge as I write.

A Few Images of Kanton

The Moray Eel are their favorite fish

Eric sews up a Kiribati courtesy flag

Hermit crabs feast on shark

Rooting around amongst the junk

A fire extinguisher from the 50s (?)

A tribute to the Samoan Clipper

Katua and Davis show off their afternoon catch

Tires are a common toy around here

Cutting up the cake tabacco

The daily slaughter - tonight we're eating Trevaly

Eric at the tiller of the USS President Taylor

A few of the bullet tips we collected on the beach

Fish drying in the sun

I've also added a few pictures to the blog posts from Kanton - look back in the blog to check them out.

A Typical Sunday

Yesterday was our fourth Sunday here in Kanton. Wow. Over three weeks
already. Not sure where the time has gone, but we're still having an amazing
time.

So I thought I'd summarize a typical Sunday...

Today's church service was in Tiim's new house. They started the house
earlier in the week, and it is now mostly finished (building code is less
stringent here). We all assembled on mats of coconut fronds, and were able
to alternate between standing and sitting, which was a welcome relief from
the last few weeks with sitting room only. We're definitely not used to long
hours of sitting cross legged on the floor.
After the service, we relaxed with the parish, 13 people plus us 3, for tea
and chatting. Usually we get a bit of teasing about why we aren't singing
more. At least this week, we could sing one of the songs...it only had one
word - Hallelujah!

After tea, we quickly return to the boats to pick up our food, and I usually
change out of my church whites, into a more floor-coloured skirt. Then we
return with our food to the rusty warehouse, and settle in on the floor
where we chat for a few minutes while everyone assembles, or at least all
the men. John (not my John, rather, the teacher's husband) starts the
celebration with a welcome, the protestant priest provides a blessing, and
everyone claps three times to get started!

Us guests always eat first, as much as we've tried to delay! After we are
re-seated (with plate and spoon), the men attack the buffet table. The women
don't eat until all of the men are finished. This was a bit awkward at
first, but we're getting used to it. They also sit at the far end of the
warehouse, away from the circle formed by the men and guests, and seem to be
enjoying lots of laughs amongst themselves.

The buffet tables are heaped with food. All sorts of ramen. Who knew it was
possible to serve it in so many different ways? Here is a sample of this
week:
- fried ramen with corned beef and greens
- boiled ramen with chicken seasoning
- ramen with salted fish
- ramen with pumpkin

I know. Ramen Heaven.

This week, we brought along some of my chocolate chip cookies. They were
slow to move. At first. After all...they don't have cookies here. Not in the
stores. Ever. So...they are a definite foreign object. But Davis started by
tasting one. And then started telling everyone how terrible they were - not
very convincing when he had just stacked four more on his plate. Well, that
did it. Soon, all the men had cookies heaped on their plate. Sheesh. I was
worried that there wouldn't be enough left by the time the women and
children had their turn at the table. But it worked out well. Those who
wanted to, had a chance to try the cookies. And we laughed as we watch some
families hoard a few cookies and take them home. I guess we know what to
make for next week's feast!!

Because no one works on the Sabbath - Sunday is a relaxed day. We often
witness long naps. Or movie marathons, on the one TV in the village. But
this week, the men brought together the guitars, and they sang together for
hours. It was wonderful. Multi-part harmonies. They even wrote down a few
lyrics so we could join in. Can't wait for next week...

Eggs Aboard

John and I left Samoa with 6 dozen eggs. But we eat a lot. Most mornings for
breakfast. Baking. Pancakes. Etc. We also had a HUGE stalk of bananas on
board...so lots of eggs were used for banana bread. The good news is that
they last a long time. But, you must remember to flip the cartons
regularly...so the yolks don't stick to the shell.

Shortly after arriving at Canton, Eric's eggs were on the verge of
sulphurizing. Yuck. So we quickly devised a plan to make quiche for the
Sunday village feast. No problem. He made the pastry. I mixed up his eggs
with some canned cream. I threw in some canned spinach and canned crab.
Presto. Yum.

The locals loved it and asked for more. Oh no. Renova's supply of eggs was
getting low, and we couldn't really fathom losing a dozen or so eggs in one
dish. So...we did what Tom Neale* would have done. We collected Tern eggs.
Here is the trick, learned from Neale. If you put the egg into a cup of
water (salt water is fine), the good eggs will sink to the bottom and lie on
their side. Yeah. The fertilized eggs will sit on the bottom, in an upright
position. Put it back. And the rotten ones will float. Run away.

Tern Eggs

Eric made Tern egg quiche again the following Sunday. John refused to eat
it.

*Tom Neale wrote the cruising classic, "An Island to Oneself", about his
time living along on Suwarrow in the Cook Islands.

Kanton - A tour of the warship

The patrol boat arrived on Wednesday. It is Kiribati's only patrol boat. 32
meters. And we got a grand tour. I don't know when the last time that you
got to tour your country's largest/smallest/best war ship, but that is what
happened. The X.O. gave us a tour, and we chatted for a while in the mess
about the ship, the patrol, and the country. He gave us lots of good info on
islands that have a pass into the lagoon and/or good anchorages.

As with all visitors, the community held a feast for the crew. A fabulous
meal was served to thank these men for coming to the island and bringing a
few supplies for them. They will return again, on their way back from
Kirimati (Christmas) Island, and they will stay a few days in order to do
some fishing before their return to Tarawa. Perhaps we will see them again!

Feasting at Kanton

Kanton welcomed us with a few songs!

Our first day in Kanton was spent chatting with the locals as they prepared
for a funeral feast in honour of Owen's grandmother. Throughout the day, we
watched them bring in a boat load of tuna and eel, some of which were salted
to dry, and others were prepared to be fried for tonight's feast. We also
watched as they brought a pig to the water's edge, where it was killed and
cleaned by Owen and two other men. It took most of the late morning and
early afternoon for the ladies to butcher the pig and prepare it for dinner.

A police boat is expected to come sometime this week, so the families are
all very busy drying various fish to be sent home to their families on the
main island of Tarawa. We're told that fish is difficult to come by at the
busy capital, and can be very expensive to buy. On drying racks throughout
the small community we saw tuna, eel, shark, octopus and wahoo. They told us
that the fish will keep for up to one year when prepared this way.
The evening feast was held in an old, rickety warehouse, whose tin walls
vibrated with the winds, and long strips of roofing threatened to fall at
any moment. This was also used as the schoolhouse, when they are living at
the wharf, instead of their usual village. After short speech giving tribute
to Owen and his grandmother, guests were invited to eat first, along with
the men. After the men had finished eating, the women and children
approached the banquet table.
A long, low, table held dishes prepared by the entire village. The pig was
presented in several ways, as ribs, steaks and other bits and pieces. Many
fish were also prepared - fried in garlic salt, salted, etc. Also the Moray
Eel was available as salted or fresh. I tried the salted, and it was very
delicious! I didn't get to the fresh eel - there were only HUGE pieces, and
our plates were overflowing. Of course, rice, ramen noodles, bread, pumpkin,
and other delights accompanied the meal. Everyone ate meals from simple
plastic plates, with a spoon and our fingers, while sitting on locally made
woven mats.
On Sunday, we arrived in our best outfits for church. Even in this small
village, we had a choice of a Protestant service (in the warehouse) or a
Catholic service (in the teacher's house). After the service, our welcome
feast began. Again, the table was heaped with dishes provided from the
community. John, who seems to be the local leader, and husband of the head
teacher, gave a short welcome speech, and we were gifted with ornate shell
necklaces, made here on the island. Again, we were invited to dine first,
followed by the men, then the women and children. After a meal, which
featured many of the previous day's delights, plus lobster, we had an
opportunity to express our thanks to the villagers, and present a few of the
small gifts we had brought for them. We had bananas, onions, oranges,
eggplant, bic lighters, fabric, fishing hooks and innertube repair kits,
which they seemed pleased to receive, and quickly divided into 7 equal piles
- one for each family. The villagers were also very pleased with the soccer
ball, frisbees, and heaps of movies that Eric provided. After the
formalities, the men quickly dragged the tv, dvd player, and generator over
to the warehouse, and the entire village crowded around to watch Sin City!

Demain, Demain...

Tomorrow, tomorrow... That is the common refrain when asked when we plan to
leave this paradise. As it turns out we really had the boat all ready to go,
when a big potluck feast was planned on the beach with all the boats. It
didn't take much arm twisting to convince us to stay one more day.

John, Kleng and John (the park caretaker) took on the task of catching the
evening's fish. First they attempted to harpoon them on the reef
traditionally - remmber Tom Hanks in Castaway?? Yep. Like that. When that
didn't result in more than one small parrotfish, they returned to modern
methods and took the tin boat out to the pass and trolled. They came back
with a nice size grouper. The caretakers prepared this fish, and some
previously caught wahoo, four different ways! Marinated in soy and sweet
chile, secret flour recipe and fried, poisson cru-style, AND smoked.
Delicious.

Ranger John shreds coconut for marinating the fish

James (the other caretaker) showed me how to husk sprouted coconuts to get
the soft part inside, in order to make uto pancakes! YUM.

James teaches me to make Uto Pancakes from the sweet coconut flesh

What a feast we had. Everyone contributed and we enjoyed a great night with Didier and Anny
on SV Lulu (?) (France), Alex on Kashmere (Fr), Anna, Kleng, Liva, and Edgar
on La Familia (Norway), Caretakers James (NZ) and John (Cook Isl), and us!

La Familia, Kashmere, Lulu (?), Renova and James and John enjoy a potluck feast!

Rangers have arrived

John helping the rangers to ferry their gear to the beach

The National Park Rangers have arrived. We're happy to see them. They will
stay on the island for 6 months, keeping a record of visitors, recording
wildlife and vegetation, touring yachties around the islets, checking
visas/licenses, and so on. Their only supplies will be brought in by
yachties, and they will likely trade for fresh caught fish, or excursions
around the atoll.

We helped James and John to unload their supplies from the beach up to their
shack. As a result, we were rewarded with a tremendous dinner of wahoo -
half was marinated in fish and chile and cooked on the bbq. The other half
was marinated in coconut juice and lemon. Fabulous. Stranded on a deserted
island isn't so bad.

We spent part of the evening browsing through their logbook from last year.
They recorded oer 100 boats that came here last year, many of whom we
recognize from our travels. James has an amazing memory, remembering them
all, with stories about their boats and adventures!

But, our time here is coming to an end. La Familia is moving on. And we
won't be far behind. We're waiting to sort out a few things, so we have a
better sense of how long we'll be in Samoa. But we look forward to fresh
food again. It has been over a month since we've seen a grocery store: it's
been weeks since we've had veggies, we ate our last eggs this morning, and
we're baking on borrowed flour. So I guess it is time.

Gourmet Delights

Well, I made a braided bread with basil for yesterday's coconut crab beach
picnic. But last night, Anne (SV La Familia - www.7hav.com) rallied and
raised the bar by making a delicious spice cake. OK... It's on!

So now...what delight shall I make today??

Brownies...

Banana Bread and Coconuts

With a dozen sharks circling the boat at any one time, we seem to spend more
time looking for other places to swim. We've found a nearby reef that the
sharks do not seem to be interested in. Also, I spend each afternoon on the
beach, playing with the kids from La Familia, lying in a foot of water,
drinking coconuts, in an effort to cool ourselves off!

La Familia brought with them a hand of very ripe bananas, so I've been in
full banana bread mode. We've made 6 or 8 loaves in the past few days and
have shared them with the other boats. I've finished up my stocks of flour
and baking powder. No problem, the other boats here, have helped out, and
we're so close to Samoa, re-supplying will be easy, and cheap!

Banana Bread Delivery

All is well on board. John is still a bit under the weather, but his stomach
pains are manageable and less frequent, so we feel he is on the mend. We're
still flying through the reading material...I've just finished my ninth book
this month! Wow.

The French boat has left, as has Discovery, the small charter boat. We're
now down to three, and Camdeboo is leaving this afternoon, so we'll soon
just be two boats.

We're happy to get on the bandwagon and we are flying our Canucks flad from
the stern - we hear that the Canucks are moving to the FINALS...WOW!

Go Canucks!

Fakarava South - Snorkeling with the Sharks

We left Kauehi atoll early in order to time our exit from the lagoon shortly before slack tide, and to be sure we arrived at the southern passage to Fakarava during the afternoon slack tide. Our passage was a nice day sail, with the exception of a short squall that piped up mid-way giving us a few minutes of excitement.
The hand line hanging behind the boat worked it's magic as we passed by an area of water that seemed to be of great interest to birds. Luckily, it was also of interest to tuna, and we had a nice tuna on the line which the boys brought on board, and then tied behind the boat for the remainder of the passage.

We timed our arrival perfectly, and entered the pass with a slight flood tide pushing into the lagoon. We had no problems avoiding several dinghies floating in the pass tied to their snorkeling owners. The anchorage inside the lagoon was easy to spot, as almost two dozen boat were nestled into this idyllic spot. We easily found a spot, and dropped our hook, avoiding the coral heads that were scattered throughout.

As we set the hook, Stuart and Shelia from SV Imagine popped by to say hello, and as we chatted, a large splash at the stern of the boat reminded us that we had forgotten to pull our tuna on board. To our dismay, the better half of our fresh sashimi dinner was taken in one bite by a black tipped reef shark. Hmpf. Suddenly, I didn't feel quite up to snorkeling to check on our anchor at the moment! Several other sharks were now circling the boat, in hopes of catching a few more bites. John managed to salvage the remains of the tuna, and we all watched in awe as the sharks fought over the remaining guts and head.

The anchorage faces a white coral beach, complete with palm trees and thatched huts. A small dive shop operates on the pass, and takes divers on drift dives through this area. There are a couple of pensions here, but not much else. A popular activity is to snorkel or dive the pass just before or after slack tide, allowing you to drift through the pass while you watch the incredible array of fish, sharks and coral unfold below you. This pass is reputed to be one of the better dives in the Tuamotus for its "profusion of small and large reef fish...dozens of reef sharks..." (Lonely Planet).

By the way, Fakarava atoll is considered a UNESCO protected area, due to the diversity of wildlife here. It is the second largest atoll in the Tuamotus, and we were surprised to be sailing in the lagoon, and not be able to see across to the other side.

The following morning, Amy and Strahan rowed to the pass and snorkeled through the pass, but found themselves rowing against a very strong current on the way back to the boat. The snorkel was incredible, as they were surrounded by black tip reef sharks, and amazing coral and reef fish. They were followed by a "huge, friendly-looking" fish, which may have been a Napoleon??

John and I snorkeled briefly in the pass later that morning, and were shocked by the fish. We had been spoiled by amazing snorkeling in Mexico, but we finally felt that we had found comparable or maybe even better snorkeling! It was stunning. Our trip back to the boat was just as challenging as Amy and Strahan's, as our little outboard couldn't keep up to the power of the tide. We were making forward progress, but barely. Eventually the motor just gave up, and we were forced to row. Thankfully, SV Dignity came along and offered us a tow!!

One more snorkel in the afternoon was just as incredible, and we saw many sharks, three moray eels, two lion fish, and schooling tuna, among tons of other reef fish and stunning coral formations.

During the night, the wind shifted, causing an uncomfortable swell in the anchorage, and we had a less than restful sleep. In the morning we chose to move, as more of this Northerly wind was in the forecast. By early afternoon, we were settled into a new anchorage with several other boats, and found ourselves snorkeling and spear fishing in the turquoise waters. Although there was no success with spear fishing or dragging the lines, the boys went to explore the reef, in hopes of finding lobster terrain for a hunt after dark. Instead, they managed to chase a green parrotfish up onto the beach, and wrestled it into submission. We enjoyed fish curry for dinner, which was a welcome treat, given that our fresh food supplies are seriously diminished these days.

After dinner, we enjoyed drinks and nibblies aboard SV Dignity, with Steve, Helen and John, who we first met in the Galapagos, but keep passing as we go in and out of anchorages. It was a lovely evening, and was a real treat for Amy and Strahan, who had not been on a catamaran. They were astonished with the amount of space that was available on board. Dignity is one of the first sailboats with hybrid electric engines, so it was interested to chat with them about their experience with the new technology.

This morning, we moved again and started towards the north end of Fakarava, where Amy and Strahan will fly out of at the end of this week. We stopped mid way up the atoll, where we are anchored next to SV IO, from Alberta, Canada! The boys are now out looking for dinner with Mike, who had just talked with the locals about which fish are safe from the ciguatera.

Tomorrow, we plan to head to the north end of the atoll, where we can't wait to do a bit of shopping and refill our cupboards. Maybe even enjoy a meal the local snack. Lately, we've been rationing everything from eggs and flour, to beer and cheese. Well, to be honest, we ran out of beer weeks ago. Life is tough.

Our Position: 16°17.1'S and 145°31.4'W

Arrived at Isla Santa Cruz

For our final day at Isla Isabela, we rented bikes and rode up to the Muro de los Lagrimes - the Wall of Tears. Many years ago, the island was used for a penal colony, and the inmates were forced to build this enourmous wall with severe consequences for working too slow or stepping out of line in any way. The wall was huge, and must have been extremely difficult to build. There were viewpoints and a freshwater swimming hole along the way, so we enjoyed our morning trek.

Dom has introduced us to the fabulous Almuerso...or the lunch special. Essentially this is a set menu with juice, soup of the day, and a main course with fish or meat, rice and beans or salad. And all for $3 or 4. For that price, we can't usually be bothered to cook on the boat!!

Our trip to our third Island in the archipelago, Isla Santa Cruz, was uneventful. We left before daylight, and followed our GPS trail back out of the harbour, under the light of the moon. We took turns napping, keeping watch, avoiding the rain showers, and arrived at sunny Puerto Ayora in mid-afternoon. After a brief siesta, we went ashore in search of our agent...and to check in with the Port Captain. After a couple of failed attempts we were told to return in the morning.

We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring town, and bought a lovely piece of albacore tuna for dinner. Sushimi again for dinner!!

The Perfect Margarita

Well...I've learned a lot here in Mexico...but I think this lesson will stay with me for a while.

Margs, Mexican Style

In a small pot, heat up 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar, stir until dissolved. Store in the fridge/icebox/bilge/wherever. This is your 'sweet'.

In a shaker mix:

• 1 part sweet (from above)
• 1 part lime juice (of course, use handy dandy lime sqeezer to up the fun factor)
• 1 part tequila/damiana (I use mostly tequila with a dash of damiana)

Shake with ice and strain into the ubiquitos plastic tumbler found in every galley. On the boat, we aren't nearly sophisticated/capable/patient enough to rim the glass with salt, but we do garnish with lime.

Of course, you should adjust to your palette. More/less water to the sweet mixture, or more/less damiana with the tequila.

Put on a little Jimmy Buffet, and you're good to go!

Thanks to Liz for the recipe!!

Still in PV

We're still hanging in PV, finishing up our chores, before we head south. Having met so many people here, it is easy to pass the days chatting on the docks, attending puddle jump seminars and enjoying drinks and dinners with other boats. We've also had the additional fun of visiting my parents at their hotel, enjoying the perks of an all-inclusive resort!
Some of our highlights:
Our bowsprint after the storm:
A day trip to Tres Marietas with my parents:

Dinner and dancing at the Open Mic night at the Brittania - Ye Ol Irish Pub. Crews of Namaste, Saoirse and Fly Aweigh celebrating with a few Pacificos.

Puddle-Jump kick off party at Vallarta Yacht Club in Paradise Village (photo credit: Andy at Latitute 38):

Dining at Paradiso Escondido in la Cruz:
[photo to come]
Happy hour on board Renova:

And now, Jacob and Julia have arrived in La Cruz...so getting away could be even more difficult as we catch up and enjoy hanging out once again!

Hot Diggity Dog

Since we've been in La Paz, Jacob and Julia on Pisces have been working hard to convince us that hot dogs are in an entirely different realm here in Mexico. So together, we decided to make it our business to find out more. Last night, we decided to do a crawl of a few of the hot dog stands that line the streets of downtown La Paz.I know, some of you are thinking that this sounds like absolute craziness. After all, how can one assume the food safety of these delightful morsels, when the vendors have no running water, or means of cleaning hands or implements, let along food. But hey...we're in Mexico, after all. And our stomachs have proved themselves to be mostly tough to the local conditions.

So after a couple of happy hour beverages at the local cruising club, Club Cruseros, we set off across town in search of the best hot dog in La Paz. For your reading pleasure, Pisces has documented our evening, hot-dog-stand by hot-dog-stand...all 5 of them. Plus of course, the corn stand that we threw in for good measure.

We agree with their rating, that our final tasting at the stand on the Malecon was by far the best. How could it not be? It was an exquisite culinary feat with hot dog, bacon, grilled ham, melted cheese, carnitos (shredded pork), lettuce, tomato, avocado, onion, mayo, ketchup, mustard...oh la la. Hot dog heaven, I tell you.

But, since this was the last dog of the evening, it was a bit more difficult to get down:

We did differ slightly from Pisces in our opinion of the number 2 rated dog. We vote for the "Radio Shack" dog. Not the especiale dog, but tasty delicious, all the same. Eric recommended this stand to us, and he was right. The best normale in town. Hard to compete against the especiale, though.

Here we are eating the "Radio Shack" dog - it was our first stand of the night, and we're obviously still very happy about this idea:
In any case, check out Pisces' blog to read their detailed account of the evening's (mis)adventures.