We are off to explore inland again, this time it is Peru for 2 weeks. We are excited to be sharing in the experience with our friends from Portland, Amy and Kerry Poe and their son Wyatt who we will meet tomorrow in Lima.

It was nice to spend the last week and a half on the boat, sleep in our own bed and catch up with the other cruisers in Bahia. Numerous boat projects were completed - blocks in the intake line for the generator and forward head were cleared so both items are working now, new propane hoses and an alarm were installed for our stove, windlass is back up and running after it was taken apart, corrosion cleaned off and put back together, hulls and decks were washed (there is a lot of soot in the air from nearby construction and trash burning that takes place), the outboard motor received a much needed service and other various items were crossed off the list. Unfortunately the list doesn't seem to shrink though - salty air, humidity and other destructors out of our control keep us busy repairing, replacing and maintaining things. Disaster struck this week as our navigation laptop and our GPS died; all sorts of cursing and pounding couldn't bring them back to life. Who ever thinks we sit around in our swimsuits all day, blended fruity drink in hand will be disappointed to learn that the definition of cruising is 'working on your boat in exotic locations'.

You have to find a way to balance the boat work with playtime so we spent a day at Canoa which is a quiet surf town 20 minutes from Bahia, took part in a cruiser pig roast pot luck, enjoyed dinner and a movie night at Puerto Amistad, the boys had a poker night, and there was a progressive boat happy hour last Friday where we not only got to spend a little time hopping from boat to boat but the party ended up onshore dancing the night away at a small disco!

Perhaps the most bizarre story we heard upon our return is that friends we had originally met in Puerto Vallarta found a 4 ft snake on their boat here in Bahia. Apparently it was below deck and hiding in a cabinet! They are not sure how it got aboard, what country they picked it up in or how long it had been aboard. Unwanted animals aboard boats are not too unusual. For example, birds like to nest in booms, cockroaches hitch rides aboard in cardboard grocery boxes and mice can run up dock lines at marinas but large snakes are not that common. I am crossing my fingers we never experience any of the above, especially a snake.