Saturday, April 26, 2008

Another magical day in paradise

Today was another fantastic day in Banderas Bay. The boys successfully went to town for tortillas and water. Much Calvert was completed. We've finally caught up with all the laundry. (All the clothes we'd left on the boat needed to be washed.) We're almost finished checking all of the systems to make sure they're in working order.

Just before dinner, Veronique and Chip called. We went over to the Yacht Club where the boys were studying to help them skype their mom. It went really well. It so amazing to be able to communicate so easily from so far away.

Now, it's off to the carnival. The boys can hardly wait!

Back in la Cruz de Huanacaxtle



After a brief hiatus, we're back aboard in La Cruz. It is fantastic to be back south of the border. I'm not sure we realized how much we missed Samadhi until we were back. Now that we've finished washing all of the mildew smell off of the boat and our clothes, things couldn't be peachier.

Construction has been proceeding at the Marina, and while not quite on schedule, vast progress has been made. The building has been completed and it's now a matter of them getting the finer points sorted out before it's completely operational. The offices are all filled with people, and there's considerably less dust constantly coating our decks. When we got all of our bags to Samadhi, we took a break and had a late lunch at the La Cruz Yacht Club bar. It still needs some work, but you can't beat the view!

We've been glad to get back into the rhythm of life aboard. One of the nice perks of being here is that the marina manager has encouraged us to use the yacht club business center for homeschooling. While we're here, the boys have an airconditioned study hall to themselves! The boys worked on Calvert at an accelerated pace while they were with Veronique last time, so we're aiming to emulate that and have more time for adventure outside of schoolbooks.

Yesterday, just in time for Nicholas's 10th birthday, the town festival commenced. What an amazing event! There was a parade and carnival games and bottle rockets into the night. It's set to continue for a week and a half. We ate tacos and queso fundido con pastor on the plaza and watched the locals revel. Nicholas had a great time celebrating (for the fifth time!). If we can get any sleep with the blaring music and bottle rockets at all hours, the fiesta should be quite an experience!