It was so nice to catch up with our friends - Chris and Jim (La Ballona Too), John and Mitzie (L'Ange), John and Debbie (Scot Free) and meet new friends - John (Swagman), Anne and Gregg (True North) and Mike and Holly (Wanuskewin), as well as several others. A number of evenings were spent watching the sun go down over the Baja peninsula, sitting beside the infinity pool, Margaritas in hand, with good friends around us - what a perfect life! Over drinks one evening, John and Debbie related this amusing story to us - Last season in La Paz, there was an American boat, also named "Scot Free". Having two boats of the same name caused much confusion on the radio. One morning John decided to clarify things by announcing that from then on, his Canadian boat would be known as "Scot Free...Eh!" There was an immediate response from the other boat - from then one, he would be known as "Scot Free B". Too late, he realized the implication of the Eh vs. A; but his friends quickly changed his new name to "Scot Freebie" and that is what they are both called to this day. It has been suggested that in future, if there is a Mexican boat named Scot Free, it will be known as "Scot Free, Si"! We had several delicious impromptu dinners at Costa Baja with friends, as well as breakfasts in town.
For Ted's birthday on November 29th, I arranged to go swimming with the Whale Sharks. What an experience, swimming in very close (yikes) proximity to these gentle giants - they have huge mouths, you know, especially at close range!!!! We completed his big day with a delicious supper at Steinbeck's with seven friends.
John and Debbie introduced us to the new Dali store (wonderful specialty cheeses and meats) and with our provisioning complete, we were ready to head north. However, we decided to tarry a few more days in La Paz, so that we could meet up with friends. Linda and Jim, Bluewater Cruising Association friends from Calgary on "Bright Moments", were sailing over from San Carlos; and, as we had missed connecting with them last season, we were keen to see them this year. We enjoyed a wonderful meal at Trocadero with them and made plans to sail together in the Sea for a few days. Our friend, Carolyn flew over from Mazatlan to look at several prospective boats; so we stayed one more day to see her before sailing off in pursuit of Bright Moments. The Sea of Cortez was calling....