First, I want to go back a moment to Bahia de los Muertos -- it's not actually named that for dead people; it's named for giant buried anchors, called "dead men", used for mooring barges that loaded ore from the silver mines near there. Our day spent there was truly idyllic. We had a nice long walk on the beach and, Matthew, Stuart found the coolest fossilized tubeworm attached to a shell. We saved it for you, of course.

Being in La Paz has been wonderful; however, I do miss being at anchor. I enjoy the peace and quiet and the time spent snorkeling or walking on the beach. There are a lot of pluses about being in a marina though -- not the least of them being internet service and electricity (as well as two restaurants/bars a short walk away). It is wonderfully social here. People stop by the boat to introduce themselves or give a hand; we had drinks with someone I met while doing laundry one day; there's a big Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday put on by the marina and it sounds like it's going to be a huge event from the number of people who have told us they're going. We also attended a gorgeous dinner put on for the "ha-ha" people. I have never seen so much fried shrimp, fried calamari, fried fish - key word being fried. And churros covered in sugar for dessert, yummy!!! Afterwards they showed a film about the Sea of Cortez that really excited us about the rest of our trip and our decision to go to San Carlos.

Now, in order to counteract all of the fried food, chips & salsa, and margaritas, we've been walking a whole lot. We took the shuttle down to Marina de La Paz one day to visit friends and then walked back - probably 3 miles or so. We've also had some very nice walks around the inner streets of La Paz as we searched for restaurants with cheap tacos and beer. We met John, Nancy, Maddie, & Sophie for dinner one evening and all of us had a great time experiencing the back streets and the true flavor of the city. Belle has gotten to go for hour-long walks around the marina and along the jetty where all of the fishermen hang out. It's interesting to watch them fish with just line, no poles. There are fish in the marina itself that, literally, hang out in huge schools and jump out of the water 10 feet and more. It's fun to watch and I was itching to try to catch one but was told that they're bottom feeders and quite disgusting to eat.

Yesterday a truly generous neighbor, Baja Bob, took us into town to do our provisioning. We went to a great new supermercado attached to the mall - boy, was it ever crowded! And, for Mexican people, grocery shopping is as much a social event as it is a task. Try getting through a cluster of Mexican women just chatting away with their carts blocking the aisle, or whole families discussing their purchases while the kids run every which way. It is a lesson in patience but certainly not a bad one. There were many, many young girls carrying babies, and Stuart noticed that people at the register made it a habit to have their items rung up until the total reached how much money they had to spend and then the rest just gets sent back to the shelves.

The rest of our time is spent doing boat chores, reading (just finished Middlesex & it was brilliant!), playing cards, and entertaining Belle. We want to wish everyone a blessed Thanksgiving; we'll certainly be thinking of you. We leave Saturday for our trip north to San Carlos, but plan to take several days checking out anchorages along the way. Bruce & Cynthia will be joining us on Friday for the trip to San Carlos. Then, before you know it, it'll be December 10th and we'll be home!