Yes, we are still writing the blog! Over the past week, we have done, well, nothing, except rest, read, eat, relax, a few boat chores and a little hiking. Our last blog put us at Muertos since then we made an eight hour run to a bay just south of La Paz called Ballandra. We spent three nights at Ballandra before coming to our current anchorage at Calleta Partida on Isla Partida, where we have now been for two nights.

At Ballandra, we endured the local Corumel winds that spring up at night from the south. We experienced light and pleasant northeast winds in the bay during the day until almost precisely at sundown, the wind would die and then do an immediate switch to the south and accelerate to 20 - 22 knots where it would blow all night. The anchorage was very sheltered and we only had a moderate wind wave chop on the water and the noise of the wind to sleep through.

We are constantly entertained by nature's animals in this area. While in the anchorage, a seal appeared floating on his back on the water's surface. He had his flippers stuck up out of the water as if he were embracing the sky. His head would remain under the surface of the water until he would stick his head out and grab another breath and a look-see all the while paddling himself along with his rear flippers. We had seen this happen one other time with a seal on the way from Mazatlan and just not sure what the behavior means. Of course, we are still entertained by the bird life as well there is never a shortage of pelicans around to keep us company. We were pleasantly surprised to see Mike on So Inclined arrive in the anchorage the second day we were there. We had previously met Mike in Barra and saw him again at Isla Isabella.

We are now anchored in Calleta Partida where we anchored back in December when we were here. The Corumel winds have not appeared here, and during the night there is a flat calm. Mike on So Inclined came over as well and we have had a couple of nice dinners together on alternating boats. Mike helped me troubleshoot our engine starting problem that has plagued us for months. He thinks that it is the starter (and/or solenoid) and suggests that we get it re-built, so we will probably do that while in La Paz. Yesterday, a panga came alongside with three pescadors from the local fish camp. They didn't come by to trade but rather ask for help. At first we thought they had another boat that had a hole in it and wanted to see if we had some repair materials. But further "explanation" produced a need for a drill and drill bit to drill a hole in the panga they were in. They used our ¾" spade bit and cordless drill to drill a hole through the hull of their boat near the waterline. They used one of our files to enlarge the hole just a little bit so that a cork they had would fit the hole tightly. We never did fine out the purpose for the hole but they said something about sardines. Perhaps for a hose to a bait tank or something? But they thanked us profusely and went away happy.

The bay is still full of turtles as it was back in December and they come to the surface to breathe on a regular basis. Oh, and the puffer fish are still as curious as ever swimming to the surface to get a look at us. This morning we also saw a very large trumpet fish, easily three feet long but only about 2 inches wide. He was swimming slowly on the surface no doubt wondering what this contraption is floating on the water. One night, very late, and currently with no moon making it a very dark night, we watched in awe as a swimming school of fish created a fireworks display of phosphorescence as they swam around just below the surface of the water. Each individual fish would create a "trail" of blue-green light as it darted around a spectacular site to be seen in the middle of the night.

Today we are going ashore for a hike that we did not do back in December and will probably be here a couple of more days until making the run to La Paz to visit the city one more time and make final preparations to ship the boat to the Pacific Northwest in a couple of weeks.