meri's blog

Jim and I celebrate our 11^th married year together today, and like last year, aboard Windfall. We never have bought expensive gifts for one another, mainly because Christmas is right around the corner and our practicality outweighed our sentimentality. But this year (like last year) we will buy no gifts at all... for several reasons. The first and most important is that we have limited space on Windfall for more things ans stuff... I’d have to reorganize the kids’ cubbies or worse...

There have been a few things lost overboard... screwdrivers, sunglasses, a pewter wine glass is rolling around on the bottom somewhere in Cabo... nothing is mourned more than my precious shop-vac, which Tim sent to the briny deep this morning. He was cleaning the dirt out of the tank and didn't notice that the rocking, rolling anchorage was propelling the motor part closer and closer to the edge. As it plummeted down and into the water, my son jumped in to try and save it... I'll give him that. Alas... it was lost forever... so I couldn't take a picture of it.

No pics... I have fended off the ugly head cold, which then wormed its way into my chest. Just as I was feeling slightly better, Tim comes down with two cases of icky-itis... one after the other. Today, Jim is recovering from a bout of intestinal grody, which was probably my original virus morphed into something more severe. Carolyne is the only one of us that has fended off her bugs. I suppose we shouldn't complain... we have been fairly sick-free for the past year and a half. I also suppose we should feel blessed that we haven't caught the dreaded swine flu...

On the way to La Paz, we anchored for the night in an anchorage called San Telmo, or Punta Prieta. I really wanted to spend more time there... beautiful!

I brought several recipe books with me that I enjoyed back in my land-lubber days. Too bad for me. Not only has cooking been different in my galley versus my kitchen, but some of the local produce is alien to me. I have tried cooking with local varieties of fruits and veggies and have done away with recipes that call for ingredients like endive and arugula... cause I’ve got news...

We were recently anchored in Puerto Escondido. Friends of ours have an anchoring system in the Waiting Room there and had invited us to stay on their spot while they cruised their vessel north. After a few days, a large motor vessel came into the channel... a beautiful, navy blue personal cruise ship, research vessel?... the Seawolf.

Dolphins in the anchorage in La Paz were not camera shy at all and were right off the stern of our boat!

Today marks Windfall’s and the Faulkner family's first year cruising anniversary!

I have seen Doctora Magaña... a beautiful woman in her 50's who speaks very good English. She is very professional and courteous. The pap exam is quick and thorough in a clean facility with sealed and disposable instruments. She asks me if I have had a mammogram recently and I explain that I have just made an appointment. She verifies that Dr. Araiza, with whom I have made the appointment, is highly recommended. She also tells me to bring me the results of the mammogram to her so that she can study them... at no extra cost.

I can’t talk about La Paz, or even Mexico for that matter, without mentioning the fabulous healthcare practices and prices! Dentists, Dermatologists, Internists... you name it.

DISCLAIMER: Okay Men, only read this if you’re understanding about women's healthcare or wear a long ponytail. There is nothing graphic in the content, but I consider not discussing this a sin. Consider yourself warned! Some men (Patrick) may get queasy (Patrick) with the mere idea (Patrick) of a pap or mammogram exam (PATRICK!).