Now that the threat of bottoming out and/or thrashing about in the slip as the surge pours in and out of the marina has passed, Hotspur is back to boat jobs. Since we are paying a pretty penny in the La Cruz Marina, the only justification is to get a bunch of work done. The kids are off and running every day with the little people of Marina La Cruz - in Tim's case, the not-so-little people in the marina.

We woke Thursday morning to the devastating news of Japan's earthquake and the inevitable tsunami to follow. Last year, Chile's earthquake shook Mexico's gold coast just barely; we were in Mazatlan and felt absolutely nothing. So, the news of a forthcoming tsunami in La Cruz was nothing more than a shrug of the shoulders for us.

One of the most delicious dishes we splurged on was the Rollo de Mar at Kato's Restaurant on the beach in La Manzanilla.

We had WAY too much fun in Barra de Navidad. Between the Carnival and the waterpark and the beach and the wonderful people and the delicious food and the loud music - life is WAY good during and after Barra! And we spent WAY too much money - and we wouldn't have except that Barra felt like being on vacation from cruising.

We visited a famous mask maker in the area, a Nahua Indian by the name of Gorgonio Candelerio Castro. For three generations the men in this family have carried on a tradition of making these beautiful wood masks.

We rented a mini van with our dear friends on s/v Ceilydh and visited the volcano in Colima. It is the most active volcano in North America. My photo of it is not great; it was a tad hazy. However, it puffed for us! We were most excited to see the puff of smoke floating above the crater!

I will preface this post with: I had been warned!

Barra de Navidad - we have been anticipating arriving here and feeling pressure to get here fast before friends leave. Luckily for us, the weather worked in our favor and we were actually able to do some sailing! We hoped that V'Ger and Rocinante (Dan) would still be here, but we were sadly too late. Ceidlydh was here and also our old boat Windfall.

 We did fairly well this month with our overall spending. Keep in mind that there were absolutely no marina stays and no major equipment or repair purchases. There is no doubt that anchoring out is far more cost effective than being tied up to a dock. However, the inconveniences are greater when you are at anchor. For example, getting to shore with one dinghy requires multiple trips back and forth when dealing with the desires and needs of a family (and a doggie that likes to do her business on land.) And that movie you want to watch? Solar power requires monitoring.

Well, Jim said he was going to write down his experience of the "killer wave". But he didn't. So, I will re-tell the story of Jim's experience getting the dinghy to shore in Chamela. As I said previously, Jim and Tim love to talk about the correct way of getting your dink to shore in surf. Never mind that they haven't done it until now. Man talk.