December 6th, 2008. We leave La Paz at 6pm in hopes of catching the big wind early in the week to escort us across the water to the mainland, but also in hopes of avoiding the bigger wind that is supposed to begin to blow on Wednesday. The shifts are on, every 3 hours as before. Merle started, so Dan would steer 9 to midnight and I took the midnight to 3am shift. The wind was good, and we had a nice sail through the night. Sunday (7th) was also amazing sailing with good wind. By Monday (8th), our Spanish was improving with Dan’s help, and the seas were very calm, with only a breath of wind. Merle and I decided to pretend we were on route to the Marqaise islands, to see what it would feel like being in the doldrums for hours or days at a time. Merle did well and didn’t start the motor.
Tuesday the 9th was also quiet. So quiet that Merle took the sails down and we all jumped into the ocean for a real blue-water swim. Dan was first, as usual. At one point, Dan was so far from the boat we could hardly see him. It was amazing to look down into the water with the sun behind my head; it was crystal blue and clear. I could see down deep – I bet a hundred feet. And the dolphins came!! They came to swim with us! When they came I was pretty excited. I never did get to touch one, but it was awesome to be swimming in the presence of those big beautiful creatures. We washed and all felt totally refreshed, from the swim and from the inner peace that we all experienced in that amazing clear water. These long journeys offshore are really magical.
On Wednesday, within a couple of hours of starting the engine, we had wind, so we sailed some more. We circumnavigated Isla Isabella. Although our initial thought was to anchor here, we changed our minds and carried on to the mainland, arriving by 9pm. As ‘luck’ would have it, we arrived quite by ‘chance’ in San Blas, an amazing truly authentic Mexican town with very little American influence, if any. Everything from the architecture to the food, music and people shone Mexican, and we soaked it all up like little sponges. There we found beaches, surf, fresh coconuts, only Spanish speaking people, sunshine and blue sky, and real tropical smells in the air, wafting down from the tropical forests on the hills – full of bananas and coconuts, Dan told us. He was here once, he said. We were greeted enthusiastically by no-see-ums that evening.