Seems that tsunami warning of last Saturday got everyone back home a bit more riled up than it did us. After investigating the situation on weather websites and hearing from a few local weather specialists, we wrote off the danger, strapped on harnesses, and went zip-lining. How utterly selfish ...

We zipped and dipped and rappelled and dropped, and once, zoomed at a steep angle into a cold pond, dunked like an Oreo in cold milk. We rode burros, crossed the Bay on a monster inflatable dingy, bounced along lumpy roads on a "Unimog" - an overgrown jeep with bench seats and an obvious lack of suspension, and had an overwhelmingly great day. An "I can't stop smiling" sort of day.

And then we returned to the zone of cell-phone connectivity to discover numerous calls from concerned family and friends wondering if we were out to sea or maybe at the bottom of it. So, consider us selfish oafs for not realizing that an 8.8 quake and subsequent tsunami warnings along (among others) the Mexican coast (oh, that's us!) would stir up such discomfort -- we really spaced on that one. I know how it feels to watch news of a big fire in your neighborhood while you're in a hotel room on the other side of the planet, worried about your home, hearing nothing from your neighbors, and wondering if your refrigerator has been reduced to a melted pile of blackened metal. I've sat riveted to the tube while winds whipped the canyons near my neighborhood, or rains flooded the streets, or tornadoes touched down near the mall nearby. So, our apologies for not letting you know that Banderas Bay is fine, nary a slosh.

We are just over 2 weeks from leaving the west coast of the Americas and heading into oblivion, and we hope the Marquesas Islands are on the other side of Oblivion. Preparations continue, and as before we left the States, money is flying out of our wallets so fast we have to duck to avoid injury. This time, the food provisions are uber-complex, but as I have said, really fun. The boys -- Allan and Greg -- say they would be happy with Top Ramen and peanut butter sandwiches the whole way across, but Tiffany and I know better, and have all sorts of lofty ideas about cooking on the high seas. It will be a learning experience, and we'll no doubt be laughing heartily at the back end as we take stock of all the things we never touched.

The town of La Cruz finished it's sprucing mere minutes before a loud army-green helicopter touched down the other day in a flurry of marina activity. The place was crawling with military and law enforcement, and the rumor was that the President of Mexico had landed. Then, the rumor changed -- it was the Secretary. No, it was the President after all. No, the President was landing a little later. We decided the Powers That Be were just trying to confuse the issue, so I really don't know if he came or not, but there was a big breakfast buffet and festive dancers with beautiful traditional Mexican and Indian clothing and head dresses, and all sorts of stuff happening, so we all had a good day.

All the hubbub was all in connection with the MexOrc Race, a sailboat race of some significance with fast, sleek-looking sailboats arriving from the US and Mexico piled with spare sails and healthy, fit-looking crew members in matching high-tech clothing, with sponsors splashed across everything from the side of the hull to the sails to the coffee cups. The entire marina is a new place from what it was a month ago, and we have the dust on our boat to prove it. The MexOrc is the first of 3 big events here in the La Cruz Marina. The next is a huge boat show, followed immediately by the Banderas Bay Regatta. So our peaceful existence in this little aquatic haven has ended, and we are really quite ready to head out on the next phase of our adventure.

We had the pleasure of meeting a young Aussie delivery Captain, engineer and avid sailor recently, a neighbor in the slip next door for a week. Paul was bristling with relevant tips for the Pacific crossing, having made several himself. He was over the other night until 1am, he and Allan buried in Google Earth, putting virtual push-pins on all the places that were a "don't miss." We now know all the places to get drunk in the Pacific. We also know where to have incredible dives, what to skip, and how to get through some of the narrow passages between the reefs. He was quite encouraging, and left us with this one, delivered with a smile and that delightful Aussie accent: "Crossings are so safe, you just go there."

We are joined tomorrow by Allan's brother Mark and his wife Pam, who are flying in from Houston for a week. Weather permitting, we have plans to sail to Tenacatita Bay, a beautiful anchorage about a hundred miles south of here. It will be great to get the boat out for more than a day sail, and give her a good shakedown before we head off on the Puddle Jump. Updates to follow, and remember, no worries, mate!

Photo above -- Zip lining with Vallarta Adventures. L-R: Tiffany on Fly Aweigh, Liz & Mike or Soirse, Rod & Elisabeth on Proximity, Lisa & Mike on Blue Aweigh, Alison & Allan on Fly Aweigh, and in front, Dave, visiting from the Alameda and I don't know the name of his boat, sorry Dave.