We're in beautiful Mazatlan. It has been so much fun sailing and exploring Mexico. We left La Paz the 7th of January and headed north with our friends Rose and Janie on Lovely Lady. Don and Jacquie on Little Christian joined us after a couple of days and the six of us continued up north. We had good weather all the way up to Escondido and Loreto. While we were at Escondido tied to a mooring ball a norther (strong wind from the north) came through. We all held fine and just rode it out. It felt like we were swinging in a hammock, not bad. It got colder as we went north; we even had to put on a blanket to sleep with. At Loreto we explored the city that was once the capital of Baja California Sur. It was a fun day. The people everywhere we go are so friendly. If you just try to speak in Spanish their faces light up and they want to help you all they can. Often we find ourselves helping them with English and they help us with Spanish.

We decided to return to La Paz, where it is warmer than go farther north. Little Christian went with us and Lovely Lady proceeded on. We hope to catch up with Lovely Lady in Mazatlan or Puerto Vallarta. I saw my first Carnival in La Paz. There were parades and lots of free musical programs. It was fun, but very crowded. We left La Paz for Mazatlan the end of Feb. We stopped at Espiritu Santo and Los Muertos before making the 3 day 2 night sail to Mazatlan. We are at the 5 star resort El Cid Marina with access to all of the wonderful pools and amenities of all three El Cids in Mazatlan. Tough day when you have to figure out which pool you want to try .

Yesterday we went to explore old town. We had fun as usual. We also went on an Art Walk that they were having. It was in the homes and studios of the artists. The homes were beautiful. I had wanted to see the inside of a villa. I got to see several. The art was great and very reasonably priced. There was also music in the square at night. One gallery had a section that featured hand made instruments. They use everything here. I was surprised to see a type of "Harp" made out of a dried half of an orange peel. It had a wooden disc (with a hole in the middle) placed over the top of the orange peel. Finishing nails were pounded very thin and placed so that you could "strum" out a melody. They also made similar ones out of coconut shells and gourds. They make a flute out of PVC pipe that was different. I also enjoyed one artist that made pictures out of stringing yarn over a board coated in beeswax, very intricate work. There were paintings, sculptures and lots of jewelry too. It's interesting to see how they can take avocado seeds, walnut seeds, shells etc and slice and carve them into beautiful pieces.

Today we are just taking it easy on the boat as it is a rainy day, the first that we have had in Mexico. We had 2 other short showers, but this is the first that has lasted all day. We seem to just have one beautiful day after another. I am really enjoying being in Mexico and the days we sail are especially good. We have visited so many islands and yet I am excited to see them again and many more. We're debating about staying here in Mexico for the summer or going west to the Marquesas. I'm leaning on exploring the northern part of the Sea of Cortez. In actuality we saw very little of what is there. I'd like to spend more time at Puerto Vallarta and south too. There is just too much to see in one season. The sailing life is really great!!!!!!!!