I thought it would be fun to give you an idea of the sorts of things that go on in our world these days, as reflected in some recent conversations on the Sonrisa radio net.

The Sonrisa net meets daily at 1330 UTC (Coordinated Universal Time, also known as Greenwich Mean Time or Zulu, the acronym being derived from the French translation) on the frequency of 3.968 Mhz. In our current time zone, which is the same as the US Pacific Time Zone, this is 6:30 am. This net allows cruisers in and along both shores of the Sea of Cortez, in the Pacific Ocean from Mazatlan to southern California, and also some land-based former cruisers in Arizona, to check in and communicate with each other.

Each day has a net controller - Eric is the Tuesday guy - who helps to keep the radio traffic coming and going in a more or less orderly fashion. At 1345 UTC, Geary gives a very complete synopsis and forecast of the weather, from his palapa at El Burro Cove. You may remember Geary as the purveyor of the annual July Fourth Party that we attended earlier this summer. The weather report is a very important part of a cruiser's day, as our plans and preparations are necessarily dictated by the whims of the weather.

Cruisers who wish to check in give a description of the weather at their location, and sometimes also include stories of what they've been doing or any other interesting things that have happened to them. Some of these anecdotes provided the fodder for this edition of our blog.

So, what's been going on in our world?

Well, yesterday a cruiser took her daily swim from her boat, which was anchored just off the beach, and showered at the palapa on shore. When she had finished showering and was toweling off, she noticed a rattlesnake coiled up in the corner of the shower. Screams and scurrying ensued (issued by the cruiser, not the snake), and the snake paid for his peeping session by meeting the business end of a hoe.

Another guy told us that lately some fish have been finding it fun to swim up into his head (toilet) inlet, where they end their joy ride by plugging the valve, causing a complete blockage of the inlet water and also, we can assume, emitting a noxious odor. By the way, what is it with guys and potty talk?

A former cruiser, now living in southern Arizona, who is an amateur astronomer, gives us a daily "Eye in the Sky" report, of things we can look for after the sun goes down. Lately, we've been gathering on our decks after dark, watching the International Space Station pass over. Even more interesting, the ISS is currently being chased by an unmanned Japanese supply ship, which can be seen as a smaller lit speck following in the ISS's path a few minutes after it passes by.

A cruising couple were awakened last night when a whale shark bumped their anchored boat. When a moving body larger than your boat bumps you, you notice. No damage was done to the boat, and presumably the whale shark was also fine, though they could not confirm.

Other items include the sighting of mysterious lights in the sky; plans for collecting scallops from the rocks; four dorado caught in one day; and plans for the annual Full Moon Party at the end of August (there might be pizza this year!).

Closer to home, we enjoyed a week anchored in Bahia San Francisquito. While there, we were entertained by the acrobatics of jumping mobula rays, charmed by dark-eyed sea lions who floated just off our swim step, and amazed at the diving prowess of boobies and pelicans. We kayaked the shallows, hiked the beaches, snorkeled the rocky reefs, swam the cool water, played cards, worked on various boat projects, shared drinks and conversations with the crews of Azul and Nereida.

One of the Navy boats that's based at the Santa Rosalia fuel dock appeared in the anchorage one morning. They spent the day and night there, and it sounded like they were enjoying themselves; they were probably very glad to be out of the stuffy marina. We'd noticed one or the other of the Navy boats leaving the marina for a few days, and wondered where they went. Now we know at least one of the places they go. They didn't come by our boat, and they were gone the next morning.

One hot afternoon, we gave cold sodas to a panga-load of fishermen who came by. They held up a medium-sized octopus as a trade, but I shook my head. I didn't particularly want to experiment with cooking - or eating - octopus. Not just yet.

we left Bahia San Francisquito yesterday, bound for Isla Partida, a dumbbell-shaped island about thirty miles north. Geary's weather forecast called for ESE winds in the mid-teens, but we actually encountered about 20 knots, with gusts to about 25 knots, which made for a fast trip. We were glad that our dinghy was stowed securely on board, and the bedouin tent was stuffed into its bag. We don't even consider leaving them deployed when we're underway, anymore.

We arrived in the little bay about 5 hours later, joining Nereida and Azul, who were already swinging on their anchors in the calm water.

So that's what's going on in and around our world these days. Shoot us an email and tell us what's going on in yours.