Ruminations of a Sailor: The DNA of our winter months

An angel getting ready for the parade

Neptune and the sea

The DNA of our winter months

It’s already carnival time here in Guaymas and the air is filled with tons of competing music, the roads are jammed with parade floats and barricades, and people are thriving in the festivities. This year, the festival is very active and today is Day 3 of 4 of the colorful parade. We’ve wandered through the rides and along the parade route until we’ve had our fill of sights, sounds and people. This year, I didn’t see any Pokemon lights as a prize along the midway games, so I skipped the games this time. I have to be happy with my two treasured Pokemon lights in our floating home.

However! I did score the best light ever from our friends who borrowed our Sam's Club card and had to renew the membership - the gift was a truly funky light (remember the old days when you'd get a toaster at the bank!) Rechargeable, color changing and totally disco light which lights up our salon at night.

Tomorrow, we are planning our departure from the dock heading toward Loreto on the Baja. We hope to meet up with friends there, and head down to Isla Carmen and beyond to catch up with other friends who left before the heavy wind event we’ve had the last week. It’s the same weather front that pummeled California so no surprise that wind and weather headed to Mexico.

We’ve had a very active time since December including more trips to Arizona, a road trip through the back roads of Sonora, including a stop in Bacanora where they make the local moonshine. And, what road trip could be complete without a stop in Moctezuma. Oh and by the way, the tiny tienda/restaurant across from the "tourist office" was sold out of bacanora, so we left empty-handed but happy for the stop.

The source of the wicked moonshine

Dudes doing the deed to make bacanora

Our stop in Moctezuma included a visit to the church, the town square and a bathroom break at the local Pemex gas station. While wandering around to find the building with the bathroom, I see a lady selling used clothing alongside the bathroom building. I ask her how much for the baño and she says no charge BUT I do have galletas (cookies) for sale at the gas station. So of course, we bought the cornmeal cookies and she was very happy. I ask her for a recommendation for a local restaurant (after all, there were 5 or 6 along the town square). She suggests a place, we go and it's run by her sister. This is all in Spanish- every day I am thankful for my language skills. Although I do get myself into trouble sometimes...

During our winter months, we’ve had the extreme pleasure of seeing and hanging out with a ton of our friends. We are so thankful for our tribe here. I can't say enough about the importance of friends!!

What can I say - we had a great lunch here

Throughout January, Mike received 4 knee injections to help postpone knee replacement. It’s a different modality than he received with the orthopedic Dr. in La Paz. Because of the many issues in La Paz with the hurricane last September, we decided we’d prefer to avoid going there this year so were glad to find a local doctor. Mike’s happy with the results and we recommend Dr. Merino!

Boat-wise, we completed a myriad of installations, repairs, upgrades and fun stuff to make our boat more fabulous. It is after all, our home. We’ve had our share of ups and downs in the process – we are very blessed with excellent vendors, good resources and plenty of taco stands!

And for those who wonder how Mike spends his time

Lady making tortillas on an open fire

Our Lady of Guadalupe - full size sculpture across
from our hotel room on a road trip. Felt safe!

OK, so these 5 ladies are lined up
for the parade with 2+ cases of
beer at their feet (everybody brings
their own beer although
there's plenty for sale)
- that ought to get them
through the several hours of the parade