and waiting.....

This week we have tried to do some new things. We went to the aquarium and saw a great sea lion show. There were lots of tropical fish, sea turtles, sharks and coral to look at. There were also large crocodiles in pens outside. Unlike zoos in America, the Mexicans expect you to have some common sense. You could easily stick your fingers inside the pens to touch the crocs, or even climb in with them - but only if you were an idiot. They looked scary just sitting there two feet away behind a fence. At the sea lion show, mothers were bringing their babies up to the sea lions and having them touch the animals before the trainers were even there. It's a very different way of doing things for us lawsuit-wary Americans.

Also, the surf has been up and we have been boogie boarding almost every day. On Saturday, we took our boat out to practice our sailing skills and safety maneuvers like heaving to, man overboard, and reefing the main. It was a great day. We caught a fish, saw some dolphins up close and had a great time watching the commercial shrimp boats deploy their nets.

We have enjoyed a very nice response from people around America since the article in Cruising World online. Thanks for all the kind words. We have really appreciated the feedback!

On the Yanmar front, as of this morning, we have been told that all necessary parts have been ordered. We are told that we will find out tomorrow when the parts will show up. Yanmar has agreed to send us one complete sail drive to replace the one that had sea water in the oil, and the parts to fix the other one. When the parts arrive, a haul out will be scheduled and we will be out of the water for about two days. So all and all, our warrantied repair in Mazatlan will have cost us five to six weeks out of our cruising time. Its very expensive to be sitting in the Marina El Cid for so long. This engine breakdown is a very frustrating and expensive lesson in patience. We hope to have more exciting things to blog about some day.....

Laura