We have arrived at whale central! All throughout the month of December in La Paz we waited but saw no whales. Now that we are across the Sea of Cortez and along the mainland of Mexico we've seen whales every day, several times a day. This morning as we made our way from an anchorage in San Blas toward Chacala, a humpback whale swam within 20 feet of the boat for a few minutes to see if we would be a good playmate. It was spectacular and a bit unnerving to have a whale that close. Later on in the day we saw a pod of 4 whales spouting and breeching in the distance. Lucky for us they were swimming our way and we were able to see them close enough to get a video. Another day we saw what looked like the whales doing underwater head stands. They would push their tails high in the air and then fall over. What amazing and playful creatures. The whales obviously know where there's good fishing and so do the locals. We've dodged drifting fishing lines since crossing to the mainland. These lines are frequently marked with a flag at one end and colored bobbers along the length of the line until the other end where there is another flag. Today, we saw just a bottle floating along the starboard side of the boat and we knew there had to be more. Unfortunately, we discovered that were about to motor across a floating line. John put the motor in neutral quickly. We saw the line bend around the keel and then the bottle on the port side started following us. We waited to see if the entire line of bottles would start to follow which would mean that one of us was going swimming to cut the line from our propeller shaft. However, we got lucky and within a few minutes, the bottles pulled free and we went about our way knowing we'd be checking the shaft at the Chacala anchorage. We made our way into Chacala to anchor just after lunchtime. The beach and surrounding area was surprisingly manicured and upscale. There were mansions high on the hills and one house that was at least 8 levels tall perched on a cliff overlooking the ocean. The hillside beyond the resort was planted with rows and rows of trees but they were too far away to tell what was growing there. It would have been a neat place to explore but the anchorage was not well protected and the Pacific Ocean swells made it too rough to feel secure that the anchor would hold. We were about 500 feet from the breaking waves at the beach! We spent a few hours enjoying the view, taking an exploratory swim under the boat to check the propeller and shaft (no fishing line remnants) and watching people on the beach. We decided to grill up this neat pre-cooked package of BBQ ribs. According to the package label it was enough for 5 people. We'd been waiting days to find the right time and conditions to grill. Sadly, the ribs were really small and probably the bits that couldn't be sold as a "sparerib". It was a good experiment in Mexico grocery shopping which can be a real challenge. Since the anchorage was so rough and unprotected, we knew we wouldn't be able to sleep. So, if we were going to be awake all night anyway, we decided to go sailing under the full moon! We finished dinner had the anchor up as the sun went down and were on our way toward Puerto Vallarta. The winds are light but we're not in a hurry. John and I are constantly debating about what star is what, which planet is on the rise or when is a planet really an airliner out in the distance. Sometimes you just can't tell. It's almost a full moon tonight so it not as dark as many of the nights we've sailed.. We will pulling into La Cruz sometime in the morning for fuel and a quick chat with a boatyard representative about some work we'd like to have done before we head off across the Pacific in the spring. Tomorrow afternoon we will tie up in Paradise Village Marina and get the boat ready for Ellen's visit next week. Should be a great time!