01/03/2008 2002 24 12.911N 110 17.915W Day 266 Up this morning at 0700; 19C, Clear, Wind Calm.

[Above, the arch at Los Islotes reef through which 1st Mate and 2nd Mate snorkeled during their outing today.]

The crew split up today -- 1st Mate and 2nd Mate went snorkeling with Fun Baja using a gift certificate we won during the Subasta (auction) in December. I'll let the snorkelers tell their own story below.

After the adventurers left around 0800, Cabin Girl and I caught the 1010 shuttle to Soriana mall. We don't often go shopping together, so it was a genuine treat for us. We found a couple of items we were looking for, and then Cabin Girl hit the arcade. She played a number of games and took a spin on "The Pirate Ship," one of the arcade's amusement rides. Next it was off to lunch at Subway, probably the last one of those we'll see for quite a while.

Our following stop was Marina de La Paz; we swung by s/v Gingi to pick up the completed lee cloths that John stitched together. My sincere appreciation goes out to him for his hard work. He spent most of yesterday at the sewing machine, and I owe him an enormous debt of gratitude for his efforts. The lee clothes look great. When we returned to Wind Dancer on the 1430 shuttle, Cabin Girl helped me check the cloths for fit -- perfecto! Tomorrow I'll attach them to the lifelines and stern pulpit and we'll be good to go.

We headed for the pool around 1530 and were joined shortly after by 1st Mate and 2nd Mate who had arrived to rinse the saltwater off their bodies. The crew had lots to share about their day, which we did poolside, and which they'll do for you now...

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"Crew Quarters"

1st Mate: What an awesome day! I have only snorkeled a few times and today was the best ever. Grant and I had a trip with Fun Baja to go out for the day. The boat took us and just a few others to the rookery of sea lions at Los Islotes. We jumped in the rather cold water and snorkeled through the arch among sea lions and tons of fish. The reef had a lot of coral and as I would float I would sea hundreds of different species; it was hard to differentiate them all. Also the reefs would drop down to big crevasses where a sea lion would swim up from. I touched a pup and felt his nose and back, and it was amazing as these creatures are in the wild not a tank. I began to get cold after about an hour and headed back to the boat. The others were not far behind. We then were taken to a lovely beach. We had a nice lunch and Grant went kayaking and hiked a bit with a nice young man named Paul. Paul is 18 and may attend Reed College in Portland so it was nice talking with him. Another couple with us, Jake & Marilyn, happened to be from Oregon City and when I asked what area, it turns out they live down the street from my best friend Carrie and knew of her golf course! It is a very small world out here.

It was another hot day and when Grant and I got back we decided to meet up with Grace and Captain. They had a fun day but Grace really wanted to be with the sea lions. I think it would have been a hard swim for her in the cold but I told her we have a lot more of the ocean to explore. I went to our little grocery store here at the marina to get ice and pop and found a big bag of fish sticks in their freezer. We have not had fish sticks since Juneau as I don't buy much from the freezer section. They were really good. I am not sure what type of fish but the sticks were twice the size of regular brands and had very little breading. I made coleslaw and orange pineapple Jell-O with fruit in it. Yum!

2nd Mate: Wildlife seen today: red crab (the rock crab we saw at the fuel dock), California sea lion, great blue heron, great egret, turkey vulture, red-tailed hawk, little blue heron, Brandt's cormorant, neotropic cormorant, balloonfish, panamic sergeant major, Cortez angelfish, green boring sponge*, various kinds of elegant coral*, yellow spotted star*, panamic cushion star*, crowned urchin*, tamarisk sea star*, blue-footed booby*, brown booby*, eared grebe*, coral hawkfish*, vagabond filefish*, king angelfish*, Cortez rainbow wrasse*, Beaubrummel*, scissortail damselfish*, tinsel squirrelfish*, redside blenny*, Mexican hogfish*, yellowtail surgeonfish*, Cortez angelfish*. Woke up around 0635. I ate a quick breakfast and got dressed. Mom and I left the boat at around 0755. We were going on a free snorkeling trip that we won at the Subasta in December. We were joined by three other people: a man named Jake, and woman named Marilyn, and an 18 year-old boy named Paul. We hopped on board the Fun Baja boat Carolina and headed out. We slipped on our snorkels and flippers, and jumped out at Los Islotes. We swam underneath an arch and ended up at a beautiful coral reef. We saw an uncountable number of fish: blue ones, purple ones, red ones, fat ones, skinny ones, big ones, small ones; the list goes on and on! Incluso nadamos con los leones de mar que colgaban hacia fuera en la colonia de grajos (which translates "We even swam with the sea lions that were hanging out at the rookery"). After viewing fish until we were numb, we started the boat's engine and went out again. We hung out at a beach and hiked around a bit. After about two hours of snacking, hiking, and kayaking, we headed back to La Paz. When we got back, we washed the salt out of our Lycra suits and headed to the pool. We met up with the rest of the crew up there and we washed off the salt on our bodies. We came back and had dinner. We just finished and are now resting. We plan to watch "A Series of Unfortunate Events" for our family movie tonight.

Cabin Girl: The weather today: sunny, no wind, the high was 32C, the moon is waning toward new. I woke up and had a bowl of "Honey Bunches of Oats." Mom and Grant left to go on a Fun Baja trip. I finished some schoolwork and had a "Daddy/Daughter Day" as Mom calls it. Dad and I went to the mall and bought some sunglasses. We went to the arcade and I played "Jumpin' Jackpot," "Wheel of Fortune" and "Cyclone." I won a Hershey's dark chocolate bar and a mango-flavored gummy chicken leg. Yum! Then, we caught a shuttle to Marina de La Paz and met with the Gingi crew. Then, we walked and caught the 1430 shuttle home. We came back and I helped Dad fit the lee cloths on the outside of the boat. We went swimming. Later at the pool, Mom and Grant came and swam with us. We came back and Mom and I got sodas and dinner, which was fishsticks. Then, Dad went to the grocery store and bought new sunglasses. Mom cooked up dinner and we ate it.