Just a quick note to let you know that we are safe and happy here in Bandaras Bay again, anchored in La Cruz and enjoying the sunshine. We have been waving goodbye to some friends as they head off west to do the Pacific Puddle Jump - 24 days at sea to the Marquaises in the South Pacific. Amazing!
Tsunami sucked a few docks apart in La Cruz, and we rounded the cape of cabo Corrientes with light winds and manageable seas. A beautiful day and night at sea, with some crazy swordfish or marlin chasing us part of the way! Also saw turtles galore, rays, one million jellyfish, and a humpback whale breached just off the starboard side of Kenta Anae.
Anyway, another email in a while. Love you all! Happy Saint Patty's Day! Have a guiness for us!
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
Decisions in Paradise
Just a little note to let you know whats going on in our heads at the
moment. We will just keep this amongst ourselves until a decision is
reached ...
We are going to sail towards Bandaras Bay (Puerto Vallarta and La Cruz
area) late today or early tomorrow. Should be there Tuesday sometime.
Merle says: *OK so IMPORTANTE Decision Time *
I have a applic in ar the Capital POwer gas plant in WL, inside line,
porbably have to promise to do a instrument apprenticeship too. $$35 per
hour two weeks holidays 100k per year MTB, enduro, backcountry with the
bros, kids learn to rip the mountains, etc
OR
I do marine elect in Puerto vallarta unkown revenue 50 to 100 per hour and
Allison does yacht tending during the summers here for 130 per monthe each
yacht (approx) live in La Cruz kids go to spanish school and we sweat out
a 35 deg summer on the beach sail lasers and soccer and such
The more I think about it the harder it gets ...
moment. We will just keep this amongst ourselves until a decision is
reached ...
We are going to sail towards Bandaras Bay (Puerto Vallarta and La Cruz
area) late today or early tomorrow. Should be there Tuesday sometime.
Merle says: *OK so IMPORTANTE Decision Time *
I have a applic in ar the Capital POwer gas plant in WL, inside line,
porbably have to promise to do a instrument apprenticeship too. $$35 per
hour two weeks holidays 100k per year MTB, enduro, backcountry with the
bros, kids learn to rip the mountains, etc
OR
I do marine elect in Puerto vallarta unkown revenue 50 to 100 per hour and
Allison does yacht tending during the summers here for 130 per monthe each
yacht (approx) live in La Cruz kids go to spanish school and we sweat out
a 35 deg summer on the beach sail lasers and soccer and such
The more I think about it the harder it gets ...
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Gold Coast or Bust!
Kenta Anae is on the move again, but more slowly and leisurely this time. We are heading south from Bandaras Bay (home of Puerto Vallarta) to see more of the Gold coast. We hope to head south to see Chamaela, Bahia Navidad and maybe as far as Manzanillo as well as a few charming places in between. We hope to leave today or tomorrow (Wednesday or Thursday), and we will be gone for a couple of weeks or so.
It has been very fun here, with visits from Lilka and Erica in the beginning of February, and Crystal and Tony yesterday. Great to see the Cariboo crew again, and feel some of that magical vibe that transcends earth and sea!! Love you all. We have had amazing weather here - full sunshine every day, and the heat to go with it. And with the sun comes the great thermodynamics in the bay here, so sailing has also been wonderful.
We have taste-tested some of the taco stands here in La Cruz, and are continuing to eat hoards of fresh tropical fruit and vegetables. Whenever the boys get their way, we head into the ice cream shop to have paletas - essentially frozen fruit smoothy on a stick. There are heaps of different kinds of fruit, and I have a different kind every time. Delish! For the more discerning tastes, there are also creams (made with real heavy cream), and for a refreshing change, we often have a water instead. The waters are flavoured, including jamaica and horchada, and then more familiar tastes such as fraisa (strawberry), (limon) lemonade, (limonada) limeade, alfalfa (the same!), pina colada (pineapple and coconut), barley (and cinnamon), and naranja (orange). Very nice and refreshing on a hot day.
The boys have been doing their home school in the mornings so they can play in the afternoons. We made some friends, Kathy and Mark, who are building a home near here. And out their front door is a huge maintained but deserted freshwater pool, so we go and play there once in a while. Feels like we are at a spa, but we are the only people there!! That has been nice.
Chilko is doing well. She has adapted easily to this life, and enjoys lying on the deck of the boat oscillating between the sun and the shade. She loves swimming and goes in unprompted. And she sticks so close to us that we don't even need a leash anymore. She is such a great dog, and we all love her to bits. She was in heaven while Lilka (her Godmother) was here. Just soaked up all the snuggles and wagged her tail all of the time. She eats any and all fish, which has been nice for her coat. And she still loves to chase cats, and now iguanas, and she goes crazy to watch dolphins and flying fish. All in all, a very happy dog!
As we sail this time round, Merle and I are going to ponder keeping the boat here in the Bandaras Bay this summer. There are a few options we need to explore before we head back north. Next summer (2012) we think we will spend in the Sea of Cortez, for a change, so we are planning for that.
Anyway, that's all for now. Hope that all is well in your homes and boats. We are sending you as much heat and sunshine as we can muster! Love and light to all ...
It has been very fun here, with visits from Lilka and Erica in the beginning of February, and Crystal and Tony yesterday. Great to see the Cariboo crew again, and feel some of that magical vibe that transcends earth and sea!! Love you all. We have had amazing weather here - full sunshine every day, and the heat to go with it. And with the sun comes the great thermodynamics in the bay here, so sailing has also been wonderful.
We have taste-tested some of the taco stands here in La Cruz, and are continuing to eat hoards of fresh tropical fruit and vegetables. Whenever the boys get their way, we head into the ice cream shop to have paletas - essentially frozen fruit smoothy on a stick. There are heaps of different kinds of fruit, and I have a different kind every time. Delish! For the more discerning tastes, there are also creams (made with real heavy cream), and for a refreshing change, we often have a water instead. The waters are flavoured, including jamaica and horchada, and then more familiar tastes such as fraisa (strawberry), (limon) lemonade, (limonada) limeade, alfalfa (the same!), pina colada (pineapple and coconut), barley (and cinnamon), and naranja (orange). Very nice and refreshing on a hot day.
The boys have been doing their home school in the mornings so they can play in the afternoons. We made some friends, Kathy and Mark, who are building a home near here. And out their front door is a huge maintained but deserted freshwater pool, so we go and play there once in a while. Feels like we are at a spa, but we are the only people there!! That has been nice.
Chilko is doing well. She has adapted easily to this life, and enjoys lying on the deck of the boat oscillating between the sun and the shade. She loves swimming and goes in unprompted. And she sticks so close to us that we don't even need a leash anymore. She is such a great dog, and we all love her to bits. She was in heaven while Lilka (her Godmother) was here. Just soaked up all the snuggles and wagged her tail all of the time. She eats any and all fish, which has been nice for her coat. And she still loves to chase cats, and now iguanas, and she goes crazy to watch dolphins and flying fish. All in all, a very happy dog!
As we sail this time round, Merle and I are going to ponder keeping the boat here in the Bandaras Bay this summer. There are a few options we need to explore before we head back north. Next summer (2012) we think we will spend in the Sea of Cortez, for a change, so we are planning for that.
Anyway, that's all for now. Hope that all is well in your homes and boats. We are sending you as much heat and sunshine as we can muster! Love and light to all ...
Monday, January 10, 2011
Trying to Go South ...
Well, we did try to depart today, but the world would not have it. With everything aboard, and almost everything stowed, we headed over to the fuel dock only to find that there was no fuel! And that they were expecting the fuel truck, but they had been expecting him all day. So ...
... we turned around before low tide made that impossible, and headed back to our slip for a nice dinner, and then up to the top for one last soak in the jacuzzie and one last cold dip in the outside pool. The universe is very determined that we need to take our sweet time! No rushing. This is very Mexico! Now to sleep, perchance to dream of unseen shores and the magical adventure ahead of us.
We are heading straight to Cabo offshore the whole way, where we will touch base with family before heading farther east to Puerto Vallarta. We hope to be there by Dixie's birthday on January 27th. We'll see if we make it by then! It depends on the wind, and also if we decide to hang out in Los Frailles fishing before continuing east.
We have a friend named Alice who is joining us for this leg of our adventure. We are excited to have her along, and I think she is just as excited to join us! She is very musical, so hopefully we get to do some music as we sail along.
Hasta pasta, as Rick would say.
... we turned around before low tide made that impossible, and headed back to our slip for a nice dinner, and then up to the top for one last soak in the jacuzzie and one last cold dip in the outside pool. The universe is very determined that we need to take our sweet time! No rushing. This is very Mexico! Now to sleep, perchance to dream of unseen shores and the magical adventure ahead of us.
We are heading straight to Cabo offshore the whole way, where we will touch base with family before heading farther east to Puerto Vallarta. We hope to be there by Dixie's birthday on January 27th. We'll see if we make it by then! It depends on the wind, and also if we decide to hang out in Los Frailles fishing before continuing east.
We have a friend named Alice who is joining us for this leg of our adventure. We are excited to have her along, and I think she is just as excited to join us! She is very musical, so hopefully we get to do some music as we sail along.
Hasta pasta, as Rick would say.
Monday, January 3, 2011
I'm loving the eating raw. I am not disciplined enough to eat raw all the time, and I do cook for my family. But when I eat raw, it feels really good. And Even just eating alive food, I notice such a huge difference in energy when comparing it to a box of something. Unless it is homemade something. The bought stuff is very low energy in almost every case. We've almost completely abandoned the big grocery stores and gone to markets. It's just better. My kids say they can actually taste the difference. Merle too. I am lucky to be part of such an aware family.
Speaking of that, we ALL just went through some sort of transition between Christmas and New Years. Everyone was sick with a flu - mostly sleeping - during this time. We didn't even want to eat. Not sure exactly what it was, but there is some interesting shifting going on. We have NEVER all been sick at the same time. I hardly ever get sick. We are preparing for something. Merle says it is a large-scale shift that we are experiencing. Affected both Merle and I in balance, which is interesting considering we live on a boat and are in constant motion, balancing every second ... Hopefully now we are fresh and new and ready for whatever enters into our lives ...
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Happy Birthday, Mom!
Well, today is Mom’s birthday. Happy Birthday, Mom! I hope that she’s doing okay. This is her second birthday in the nursing home. Dad was going to see her today. I'm glad. What a crazy life it must be, to have no recollection of some things. Or perhaps the memories are there, but there is no way to access them in any recognizeable way, or to express them. I hope that we have more pain about that than she does. I pray for her to have happiness, and be free of frustration.
And here, we had a bonfire in her honor. Complete with singing even. And drumming. And a little release ceremony. She’d have loved that. It was the dark of the moon tonight – first time we’ve done a drumming night with no moon! It was nice. And I’m glad we started early because it began to rain on us by 8pm, so we retreated out of respect for the instruments, and were back here and in bed by 9pm. That’s better than last night!
One more thing. A sweet lady here on the dock, Kristen on sv Bristol Blue, gave me the fertility goddess in the form of a necklace - almost identical to the one I gave Rea when she talked about being a mom. Interesting that this should have returned to me at this time. I know you get what you give, but to this accuracy? Amazing. And do I need this right now? I guess so ...
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Happy New Year!!
January 1st, 2011.
First New Year’s Eve I’ve slept through since I was about 10 years old!! It was nice to do it differently this year, and just wake up to the new year already humming along without any help from us!
We did learn about some great New Year’s Eve customs this year, that are worth putting down here. Buy new yellow and red underwear and wear them through New Year’s Eve. The yellow symbolizes wealth, and the red brings love. Green clothes attract a year of good health, and dressing in white invites good vibrations and assures a good year spiritually. Just before midnight, some people walk around their houses with brooms and they sweep out the old cobwebs and clean up, ready for a fresh start. New Year’s Eve dinner is a very late feast, that often includes tamales and grapes, 12 grapes each to be exact. As the clock bongs the 12 bongs at midnight, we gulp down the 12 grapes, one at a time, to assure luck in each of the upcoming months. (I like this tradition best. I think it’s a grape idea.) Another interesting tradition is to pick up an empty suitcase and walk around the house with it, so we will get to travel in the upcoming year. And of course, there is always kissing and hugging anyone close, to pass on wishes of health, happiness and prosperity. The tradition that landed closest to (and farthest from) home, I read in a Mexican newspaper. It talked about the most important Canadian New Year’s tradition (which I have sadly never even heard of until now, never mind experienced) of running a hot bath and have a soak in the tub as the clock strikes 12 !?? I think it was the same guy who wrote that the Polar Swim was a farce ...
So, we did the Polar Swim today, from the Jacuzzie to the cold pool for us Canadians, and back again. It feels good to be a Canadian, even if our traditions do get a bit twisted in translation!
This evening, my family and I decided to focus on spiritual awareness this year. It was a late-breaking, spontaneous decision, but it seems like the right thing to do. I feel pretty good about it. I also feel surprisingly laid back about it, like it’s not a huge task, but a daily ritual instead. We shall see how it plays out in the long run!!
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