We've had a wonderful three weeks in La Cruz and the Puerto Vallarta area, catching up with old friends and making new ones.

We finally caught up with our good friends Karen & Roger on s/v Meridien who left Seattle 12-years ago and have been cruising Mexico waiting for us to catch up, LOL! This photo is our Puget Sound Cruising Club Cocktail Hour aboard s/v Meridien, with other Seattle friends Judy & Paul Meany on s/v Grace who've sailed to Ecuador and back. They've given us charts and good tips about where to stop in Panama and Ecuador next year. Also great fun to see Maryalice & Rick on s/v Notre Isle again!

We've also had fun reconnecting with our Seattle racing friends Fred & Judy on s/v Wings who've circumnavigated the globe over the past 20 years and have recently made La Cruz home. And dock-mates Nancy & Ken on Gitane who were on our dock at Elliott Bay Marina 15 years ago! Plus we've met many new friends including Vandy & Eric on s/v Scoots, who shared a wealth of knowledge places to go and things to do as we spend the summer in the Sea of Cortez, plus they sold us their in-hatch air conditioning unit to help keep the furbies cool whenever we have to leave the boat closed up (when ever we're away from the boat it needs to be locked up.)

And we've met the intrepid Jeanne Socrates on s/v Nereida, an amazing singlhander who's getting ready to do another circumnavigation from Victoria, B.C. in October. In 2013 she became the first woman to sail solo nonstop around the world from North America and the oldest woman to sail solo nonstop around the world.

A week ago we moved out of the La Cruz marina into the La Cruz anchorage with its beautiful views of Banderas Bay and nice breezes that kept the boat about 10° cooler than in the Marina.

But the anchorage was also VERY rolly with a combination of boat waves and wind waves hitting us from all sides. Being Semana Santa ("Holy Week") in Mexico--the biggest holiday of the year here that really lasts two weeks long!--the beaches have been packed, and the jet skies and power boats are out in huge numbers, buzzing the anchorage. So today we moved back into the marina for one last night, to get a good nights sleep, and make it easier to provision the boat before we take off tomorrow morning.

Our next weather window is now here and it's time to move on. We have a short weather window, need to get across the Sea of Cortez over to the La Paz area by Wednesday before the next front hits. So far the usual southerlies have not hit, so we may have wind on the nose for this crossing, but at least it will only be 5-10 knots. We plan to anchor in Bahia Los Muertos, between San Jose del Cabo and La Paz, waiting for our next weather window to head up to La Paz for the Women Who Sail rendezvous in late April.

We aren't likely to have internet or cell coverage again until we reach La Paz, but we'll be sending out Spots along the way so you'll know where we are!

Happy April!