Happy Holidays from Windward Bound!!

LAZY SUSAN

As you may have noticed, we haven't updated our blog in a while. My apologies. While I wouldn't say that we've been lazy, exactly, we did manage to let our communications slide. We very much wanted to wish everyone a very happy holiday season, so it seemed like a good time to get back into the swing of writing the blog update more often. Here goes...

Windward Bound landed in Mazatlan in late October, and we hauled out there, having some engine maintenance done and applying a new coat of paint on the bottom. All went well, and Total Yacht Works did a great job, on time and on budget. YEAH!!

We had some time before our haul out, so we worked hard on cleaning the things that needed it while we had fresh water to work with. It's amazing how dirty everything gets in the summer up in the Sea of Cortez. Fresh water is such a luxury, that we utilize the time we spend at the dock cleaning everything we can think of. We did get a bit of varnish work done as well, even with the high humidity of Mazatlan.

For the past couple of years, we have hustled down from the Sea of Cortez as soon as the threat of hurricanes is past so we can meet up with our friends, John and Cheryl and family in Barra de Navidad. They bring their family down to Barra each year for Thanksgiving, and it's such a treat to see them that we move quickly to get here.

Well, this year the boat wasn't quite ready, so we took a bus from Mazatlan to Barra instead. The road trip was fun, and we got to see some of the countryside. Our friend, Joe, has a beautiful home on the canal in Barra, and he was generous and gracious to let us stay with him for the week that we were here.

Part of the deal was that we would cook Thanksgiving dinner. Joe has a wonderful kitchen, so it was a real treat. Some friends from another boat joined us, and as is typical, they pitched in, providing several of the dishes. It was a great meal, and lots of fun. We had leftovers for everyone, and enjoyed turkey dinners for the entire weekend.

Back to Mazatlan, and three days later we were ready to head south. Our passages were mostly uneventful, except for a couple of close encounters with Humpback whales. Enough to get your adrenaline going, but luckily no contact. We got to buddy boat part of the way with Ted aboard Harrier, and had a spectacular time in San Blas. Someday we'll tell you about the martinis.

We arrived in Barra several days ago, and have enjoyed the town immensely, as always. Restaurants are plentiful, and run the gamut from ridiculously cheap, to what we call "special occasion" places, and the food is very good at both. It turns out that this is Birthday Week here. Jim’s birthday was Monday, and there are four more celebrants among the cruising community before Christmas. Quite a lot of partying going on, over and above the usual holiday stuff.

On Christmas Day we will have a gathering of about 60 people off the various boat, coming together for a potluck. Someone who lives ashore here has offered to fry two turkeys, and we’ll have a gift exchange. Should be a lot of fun.

We miss our friends and family back home even more during the holidays, and hope that this holiday season is filled with wonderful times and great memories. Please take good care in your travels and enjoy the people close to you.

Much Love and Happy Holiday Wishes,

Susan & Jim

Windward Bound