For our jump to the Marquesas, we decided that having 3 adults on board would be much better than 2.  A 2-person watch can be exhausting especially in heavy weather, and since this crossing will take 3-4 weeks, it just made sense to have another crew member aboard.  So, a few years ago we mentioned our cruising plan to Nick, who lives in England, and he was all for it.   In fact, he was so gung ho that he contacted us in February 2014 to let us know he was all ready and was going purchase his airline ticket to meet us in Mexico.  After we let him know he was a year early, he then had an entire year to really prepare!

So Nick flew from England to Mexico via California and arrived on March 7.  He will be with us until April 26,  when he flies out of Tahiti bound for New Zealand, then back to England.

While anchored in the bay near La Cruz, we’ve been tackling some final boat tasks during the day and going to live music in La Cruz at night.  The local bands have some pretty amazing musicians playing 70’s, 80’s and 90’s music.  One venue called Anna Banana’s had about a dozen leather Crown Royal whiskey pouches hanging from the ceiling that contained the ashes of former cruisers who hung out there.  Another favorite was Gecko Rojo, so named when they were painting the walls red and a gecko happened to be on the wall and got painted.  We watched a 2-person band at Ballena Blanco called The Traveling Band, who played amazing electric guitar to the beat of a mesmerizing bongo drum.  Here’s an 8-minute video of her bongo solo:  http://youtu.be/KZOu1qV-v2c

We’ve also been attending some of the cruising seminars that are put on at various marinas around Banderas Bay.  Topics such as Medical, Electrical, Fishing, and Weather have all contained useful information as we prepare for the jump to the South Pacific.

Baby Turtle Release II

We went to another turtle release that was held along the beach about a mile from Paradise Village.  This one was a bit more relaxed compared to the one we went to in Zihuatanejo.  After a brief and very informative talk by the volunteer coordinator, everyone in the group scrubbed all scent off their hands using the sand, then were handed a baby turtle.  We got to hold it and give it a name, then place it in the wet sand 15 feet from the surf.  It’s important that they make their own way to the surf, especially the females.  While they are on land, they are using their senses to “map” the exact location using the earth’s magnetic fields, and the females will return to the same exact beach in about 7 years to deposit her eggs, just as her mother had done.  It’s an amazing process and is why sea turtles have survived for millions of years, where many other creatures have become extinct.

YouTube video:   http://youtu.be/XV9U_Sr3h78