The Blender party was a success last night and I had the chance to say hello to some old friends and meet some new ones. Kirk on SV Freedom Kirkland snapped the above photo of THIRD DAY this morning and it may tell the story of why we picked the Barra Lagoon to hang out in this season. No bug invasions like our Mexican home port of San Blas and the big city of Manzanillo with anything/everything you could want and more is just a quick bus ride away.

We are looking forward to seeing our friends in Sand Blas and like we do every season will spend a big chunk of time there again this year once I get back from a work trip to the Oakland Boat Show. Lori will fly back to Barra de Navidad soon with Jason and then I'll fly up and bring Amy with me to the boat show. Amy went with me to the Oakland Show last year and had a great time selling Huichol jewelery, so she's been buying jewelery all year in anticipation for this years show. Even though we live together on a 50ft boat, it's still nice to have some father daughter time together while she still thinks it's fun and "OK" to hang out with dad. I'm sure that will change one day soon, but I might as well make the most of it while it lasts.

Speaking of San Blas, there is only one way to survive a stay there and that is with the Autan Bug Creams. And if you have some "Off" brand bug cream or spray aboard, you might as well toss it in the trash for a visit to San Blas, because the bugs there are attracted to "Off" like an appetizer. The locals call "Off" by a better name, "On".


Along with burning some bug coils!


The problem with the internet is that when you do a quick Google search for a photo of a mosquito coil, you also find an article telling you how burning that mosquito coil will kill you!

"The findings from the present study suggest that exposure to the smoke of mosquito coils similar to the tested ones can pose significant acute and chronic health risks. For example, burning one mosquito coil would release the same amount of PM(2.5) mass as burning 75-137 cigarettes. The emission of formaldehyde from burning one coil can be as high as that released from burning 51 cigarettes."
Link to Full Study

So would you rather die from second hand Mosquito smoke or from Malaria, Dengue Fever or bug bites? Take your pick.