Cruising  ~  The Cat’s Meow Style  ~  November, 2005

We’re Getting Closer!

 

 

The cruising fleet in La Paz was given a warm welcome by the Governor of the state of Baja Claifornia Sur in mid-November. This was a first-time event, with the various local tourist and ecological agencies, joined by the state government, acknowledging the humanitarian support as well as the economical support the cruisers give to La Paz and to the entire state. This was also a great way to welcome the new “Baja Ha Ha” fleet that had just arrived from the San Diego area. Each year a growing group of boaters come from San Diego (most of them started somewhere north of there) en masse, like a very large floating caravan, to the shores of Mexico. Some of them come to La Paz, some go straight to Pto. Vallarta, all have a good time getting here. The beer was free and so were the yummy chocolate (choc-o-law-tay) clams, eaten raw with a dash of hot sauce and lime! A good time was had by all, and the effort shown by the various agencies was appreciated.

 

                                                          

                                                 Cruisers at the Governor’s Welcome                                Getting those chocolate clams

 

Of course, Thanksgiving Day is celebrated by the cruisers all over the world, even some of the Canadians join in the fun! This year we attended the big traditional dinner that was organized by the Marina and the Club Cruceros Yacht Club. Over 200 people gathered under the awnings, in the sunshine, for a luscious turkey dinner! Each boat brought along a dish to share, and there were some wonderful tasty treats!! We even had our own resident Indian to entertain the Pilgrims, our own Jeff of the trimaran Moon Me.

 

                                           

         Getting stuffed                                                                                  We enjoyed the festivities…                                                         …with our own resident Indian, Jeff

 

Thanksgiving Day was on Thursday, November 24th, and Martin’s birthday was the very next day. We joined some friends to celebrate by first eating simply scrumptious fresh shrimp, by the kilo, followed by a walk across the street to the new chocolatier (yummm!), and finally next door to the gelato ice cream shop! WOW were we full!!!

 

                           

                                                               Martin had a shrimp-y gathering for his birthday!

 

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we opened our boat – our home – to anyone who wanted to come by and see her on Saturday the 26th.  Once again, it was time to celebrate something: our very good fortune! We didn’t count noses, but we guess that approximately 60 people stopped by to go in, out, up, and down, to see all of what has (and hasn’t yet) been done to an old wood-hulled boat that was saved from the depths. It was fun and wonderful to see the look on people’s faces, to hear their exclamations, and to answer their questions. It was another chance to give Thanks.

 

                              

              Ladies of the salon…                                                            …men of the top deck…                                                       …and both enjoy the lanai room

 

Just to put things in perspective again, life on TCM is not all fun and games and celebrations – although we love having those times! Most of the time we are still working hard, still putting things right, still stretching and lifting and pounding and painting and fitting and hauling….. it is a LOT of work. Poor Martin doesn’t see much of the light of day for days and even weeks at a time…. here is an example:

 

          Engine room work has been never-ending for Martin

 

Still, we look forward to getting more and more accomplished, finishing more projects, getting more things fixed….  We have taken The Cat’s Meow out of the marina a couple of times to check the systems, to find out what things need to be changed or fixed. The response by our friends here at the marina has been overwhelming – they want to see TCM do well and to “get out there”, too. Dennis & Susan of Two Can Play have ridden along with us on these first test-runs, Dan of Afroessa has run a dinghy to act as our bow-thruster and general helper-in-the-water, Joe & Mike & Alex & another Mike or two, all from boats here on the dock, have assisted with lines and getting this big old boat in and out of the slip…..  and then they help with diagnosing the problems and with solutions…. Again – we have so very much to be thankful for.

 

             

           Getting ready                                                                    Bow thruster dinghy    

     

                 

          Going out….                                                                        …and coming back in.

 

Isn’t she purrrrrty?!?!

 

 

 

 

Thank you for being interested in our ventures and adventures, our ups and downs, our lives. Please check-in again to see how we do and where we go next, in the next chapter of  Cruising ~ The Cat’s Meow Style!