Well, we are back in La Paz again...The islands were great and a highlight for the kids was definitely "Los Islotes" a set of large rocks inhabited by hundreds of sealions. (Unfortunately we didn't have batteries in our camera so here is Marcus' drawing from his journal...if you look carefully Marcus has drawn himself in the middle of the picture!)

These sealions are used to people as it is a popular snorkeling spot. It was breathtaking to snorkel and then suddenly have a curious sealion appear and dive gracefully around us only a few feet away. They are such big creatures and the four of us certainly huddled together as they approached. In talking to some sailing friends, they told us that they took their kayak out and the sealions were playing with the paddles, pulling their painter and one even jumped into the kayak out of excitement. Our friend said she was so surprised that she let out a shriek and the sealion quickly slid over the other side, startled by her response to his friendly gesture!!

Later that day, as we were heading to our next destination (Isla San Francisco), Craig and I noticed some movement in the water ahead and realized we were seeing dolphins jumping...only this was not just a few dolphins, it was hundreds of dolphins spanning out as far as we could see to each side of the boat. A few dolphins (about 6) came and played in the waves at the bow of the boat. The four of us just stood at the bow, speechless at the beauty of these creatures. They left after a few minutes to join the rest of their pod, but it is a memory that will stay with me forever!

Since arriving to La Paz, we have continued to work on more boat projects and they boys have made a few more friends in the marina. They are enjoying the freedom of playing on the docks with less supervison and are comfortable to hail us on the radio if they need anything (there is a radio available for use in the marina so they can play in the nearby playground while we work on the boat). Their other passion has been fishing off the dock. A few days ago there were 5 boys (all between the ages of 6-9) fishing for about 4 hours off various parts of the docks. They were scraping off the moss under the docks to see what critters could be used for bait. They caught nothing, but had a blast nonetheless! It was like stepping into the Andy Griffith show.

The boys are working towards earning a pocket knife. They have a set of skills that they must demonstrate before earning the pocket knife. They must: 1. be able to tie 6 different knots and know them by name and use 2. be able to drive and row the dinghy across a bay 3. speak on the radio (including know how to radio for help in an emergency) 4. be able to demonstrate proficiency with a knife and must whittle and carve something out of wood

They are doing making good progress and have 4 knots figured out, two more to go, they are really good with the radio and have done some whittling...It is fun to see them working towards something like this.

Craig is heading to Seattle for a trial tomorrow. He will be back on Dec 20th, just in time for Christmas. We will spend Christmas here in La Paz and then head over to the mainland. We are both anxious to continue on, but being 'stuck' in La Paz is hardly a bad thing!