We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open. -- Jawaharal Nehru

We have been in Mexican waters for almost 6 mths., an adventure with a duration of one year. The people here make us feel safe and very welcomed. Spanish has not been easy for us to learn but day by day we learn something new. A visitor with a rudimentary knowledge of the language will find that the Mexicans will embellish our efforts and forgive the butchering of their language. They will politely correct you to help make the process of learning much easier.
This week seemed strange. All of a sudden my eyes seem to be an issue. They’re BLUE. Everywhere I went either English or Spanish people were commenting on my eyes. How blue they were. My answer. Go see the eye doctor. I needed to get a pair of prescription sun glasses as one pretty much has to wear them all day. My doctor was a wonderful man. He wanted to practice his English which was all right by me. In Spanish the vowel I sounds like E. For example bahia (bay) – ba – hee – ah. When I was reading the eye chart there was a bit of confusion because of my pronunciation. I think I gave English lessons during my examantion. For $25.00 I had a full examination. I have young eyes he said. Just can’t see!!!!!!!!!
We are back at the shipyard waiting for our oil change on the genset and an exam for the port engine. Manana, is a very common expression here. It was to be looked at on Saturday but unfortunately no hoy. (Not today). It’s ok we are getting the boat looking pretty. All the outside bright, teak wood is now stripped and re-stained. She looks nice. Her bottom is full of growth, but there is not much antifouling left in the paint. We have been having her dived and cleaned monthly of the barnacles. We will have her hauled out in La Paz and have a new bottom paint done there for 1/3 the price.
I met a women that was 75 years old. An artist, singlehandler. She traveled around the world singlehandling her sailboat selling paintings to fund her adventure. She has written a book that is truly inspirational. It highlights what women are capable of doing.
Another strange occurrence happened on Friday, I had to check to see if it was a full moon. It wasn’t. Maybe the earth tilted strangely. Ken actually got up to dance. Imagine, there might be hope that I can get him to dance on a regular basis. It has only been 30 yrs to convince him.
When in Rome do what the Romans do. Respect their country. Well last night there were many people in the anchorage quite outraged. A very large 75’American sailboat decided to have its hail speakers on and play the Star Spangled Banner as he lowered his flag. For a mile you could hear the anthem. Not a polite thing to do in another country. As another American said, “it is why so many of us don’t even want to fly our flag when one individual can make us all look bad.” It made me think that I am not certain I have even heard the National Anthem for Mexico.
When we bought the boat it was named Genesis. At first we wondered if we should change the name. We I guess would be closet Christians. Like so many people now a day. I think my Grandparents would be so disappointed. Anyways, it is bad luck to change a name on a boat and it means New Beginning and that seemed appropriate. The name has actually given us opportunities others may not see. Locals see the name and point them strike up a conversation. Fishermen will give you fish, Workers will do little extra things. This week we were given 2 fish. A trigger fish and an African Pompino. Both excellent tasting fish.
The marina is starting to clear out as people head north to the Sea of Cortes. Out of the hurricane zone.
As I mentioned we have been in Mexico for almost 6 months. Our tourist cards (visas) will be expiring so we must leave the country to get a new tourist card allowing us to stay for another 180 days. We decided to fly home. Hug a tree, see some family, friends, hopefully not shovel snow, DO TAXES. We leave on Thurs. Apr 23 and arrive back May 08. We hope at that time to continue our adventure of Mexico heading North then back south again for the end of Oct. beginning of Nov. continuing through Central America.
So Adios to Mexico for now.