Mar y Sol La Paz

Made it to baja dogs just after 8am – wow, such a better time of days to walk and play with the dogs. We encountered a calf and baby lamb in the middle of the dirt road, as they'd found a small grass island. Oh, so cute. Ended our time there in a pen with Patty and Pretty, two sister pups that aren’t familiar with leashes. Leashing Patty was easy - Pretty took time. Then we just held them and ...

... or a Saan store. Lots of ice cream shops, too, although we didn't partake. It kind of made me think of Osoyoos 20 years ago (only because I haven't been there in that long!) I took a picture of Chinatown (none of the ports we visited lacked for Chinese cuisine), and resisted the temptation to stop for a Guinness at the Irish pub. The street names in La Paz are great (and, I think, common all around Mexico):Independencia, Reforma, Constitucion ...

I have some chicken boiling and it smells wonderful. And it's already getting warm outside. The last week has been hotter than our first week here, but still cool evenings and mornings. <br><br>We really need to get this siesta thing down so we can wake early and take advantage of cooler temperature. Sleepyhead&#8217;s awake now.<br><br>We took a walk through neighborhood and went to another neighborhood store. The owner is so ...

... that they do typically fill the boat as well as the others. We only had 12 on board, which I thought was perfect. It must get pretty nuts for bodies, gear, and folks coming and going from above and below deck, as well as in and out of the water when there are 24 divers. I know full well that I much preferred being there in the off-season! Cantamar has three main residential areas. Most of our group was housed in building 2, which had ...

... explorers and settlers. I mean, there's no green here except for cactus! I'd really be wondering what in the heck we were going to do for food and water, and why on earth I would want to even settle here in the first place. Ahhh, but I know they didn't know of the beauty of the sea back then. Fortunately, that's a treat we now get to enjoy. The water temperature around here seems to have averaged in the upper 60's during our mid-March stay. I ...

... was intense and I'd say definitely .4 to .5 knots at times. The only thing that helped was the surge heading away from the island, which gave us a nice turbo boost just when it seemed like we were going nowhere. That part of the dive was brutal! Marylou and I both looked at each other and knew what the other was thinking. We had to make it through though. We knew exactly where we were in coming around the island. Turning back only meant going all the ...

... Hotel Arte Museo Yeneka". Waren tagsüber im Hotel-Museum vor wiegend die bildenden Künste vertreten, erweckte die Dämmerung auch die übrigen Kunstformen. Bereits am späteren Nachmittag war im Innenhof des Hotels der Gesang einer kleinen Gruppe Mexikaner (vorwiegend Angestellte und Freunde des Hotels) zu vernehmen - begleitet von Gitarrenakkorden und Bongorhythmen. Angetrieben wurde das feuchtfröhliche Treiben von - wie könnte es auch anders sein- einer Flasche Tequilla. Etwas sp ...

... of us really ready for a city, we decide to head straight to the ferry for the mainland. An evening crossing; we're lucky to be sailing with a hurricane rushing up the coast behind us. We meet French Messa and Israeli Dean and Kosta in the queue and spend the first part of the journey addicted to Russian card game Durak. Taking time for ourselves, Eli because he needs to be outside looking at the horizon and me because my stomach is demanding food, we break ...

... which is a lot more than we have been paying, but it is great for this part of the world. I wish I had pictures to show you what it is like here. The beaches are white sand and the sea is clear blue and green, it is really very pretty. The people here are really nice and the fish tacos are AMAZING!!!! The taco stand is just outside our hostel..which is actually a bit dangerous. If you are ever over this way, it is called Hermanos Gonzalez, try them...you´ll love ´em!!

... bring us into northern Colombia, which by all accounts, sounds like the most dangerous place on the planet (especially since the launch of Operation Colombia). The more I have read and researched about Colombia the less we want to be there - which is a great shame. It sounds like we can virtually expect to be robbed or drugged or even kidnapped (but probably not murdered - that's reserved for politicians and oil company executives). Warnings include 'Don't bring anything you can't afford ...