Well,
LaPaz has been good to us. We continue to thrive here and are enjoying our friends and family. The summer has not been too bad, however it is hot. Mandy, Vianne and I are getting used to being cockroaches hiding from the sun.
I'm pleased to say that last Friday Mandy was able to perform her first dive since before Vianne was born. It was a beautiful day and the water was very clear for us. Unfortunately we did not see the hammerhead sharks we were looking for, but there were a lot of fish.
Vianne has discovered the power of the word THAT. Everything is THAT. It's amazing to see how fast she is growing. She isn't saying NO yet, however whenever we want her to do something that she doesn't, she shakes her head back and forth. She diffidently has her own mind. She is also getting very fast and running all over the place.
We continue to play with Vianne in the water as much as possible. She is slowly making progress in being able to swim. It will be nice when she does.
We are hoping to have the new netting for the boat this week. Vianne will be happier being able to play on deck.
Work is well. It's good to be able to provide for my family. We have no immediate plans as to when we will set sail again. We are simply trying to continue saving money and make repairs and upgrades to the boat.
The major projects include new standing rigging, Mainsail, autopilot and painting the deck with non-skid. In addition we will be getting or building a new dinghy before we set out again. Our old one did not fair well over the past several months. I'm convinced that the solution is to build a nesting dingy, however, in due time.
For the meantime, I have been continuing with minor projects, that do not cost too much and that can be finished in a weekend.
Last weekend I put new Formica in the head and Mandy is pleased to have a new looking bathroom. The new stone green looks much better then the alarm yellow that was there.
We have also been able to get the boat into condition of day sailing, which we have done a little. It's good to remember why we are here in the first place.
As always we are doing well and enjoying life here. I'm still playing music with the local English church here, when I can. It's has been good. We are very thankful for where we are and how life has been treating us.
We are very thankful that summer is almost over. Cooler weather will be nice! As well, is the prospect of seeing our friends on other cruising boats who headed north for the summer? We are also looking forward to seeing family, which will be making their way south sometime soon.