April 3rd, 2011: La Paz & return to civilization

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24 13.08N
110 18.20W

Docked at Costa Baja Marina: La Paz, Mexico
Crew: Cyrus & Brett doing dishes, Colby cleaning the table, Jonny cleaning the ceiling... and me.

Comments:

Within 1 hour we peeled off our 80 layers of clothing as we turned into the Gulf of California and we have said goodbye to winter. The days are hot and sunny, the nights cool and comfortable. The water is not freezing anymore but around 70 degrees... balmy for our Maine crew, and still a bit cold for me, but I will venture in with a wet suit. At 1am on April 2nd, we found ourselves over 10 hours ahead of schedule and decided to anchor in Bahia Bonanza to get a bit of rest before heading back to civilization. Giant glowing somethings circled the boat, dancing like a mysterious white ghost around us. We are not sure what it or they were... our imaginations have created all sorts of creatures in the depths.

We are not ready to return to the marina, but we have a lot of work to do, so we enjoyed one last morning anchored in a turquoise bay. The bay is a powder white bowl of sand looking shockingly bright against the emerald waters. Pelicans plunge for shoals of silver and mobela rays leap in the morning light in celebration of another day that they are not quite able to fly. I am impressed by their efforts... keep trying my friends!

Sand dunes look almost pink with the reflection of the rusty red mountain that looms behind them. We all put on snorkel gear and clean the underside of the boat.. diving and chatting, cleaning and watching anything that swims near us. It is so great to be in the water, and it is a nice goodbye to the wild. We have to head into the fuel dock and do a monster deck wash, so with little sleep and fond memories, we all climb back on board and head to La Paz.

Everyone is a bit sad to return, but Cyrus and I did our best to cheer them up by taking them to the beach club, where I had ran ahead and had 5 frosty bronze Bohemia beers waiting by the giant warm jacuzzi. After a grueling day of fueling, docking and scrubbing every bit of the topside and underside of the boat, the look on the guys faces as they joined me was as if they had seen a mirage. ahhhhh... Then Cyrus and I took the crew out for a thank you in the form of an authentic Mexican dinner. With eyes drooping, we returned early to have a nice nights rest.

For all of us, we will enjoy exploring La Paz and celebrating Jonny's birthday this upcoming week. But our spirits are still out in the wind and the fog, listening to crashing waves and the breath of whales.

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Photos

Jonny & Cyrus
The Final Leg.

Marina Costa Baja
View of the Bay

Jonny Relaxing
A nice end to a great Leg!