The Jaka (pronounced: Yaaka) is a large oval bumpy green fruit. They grow in trees similar to coconut or bananas... dropping down heavily from the leaves toward the ground. We've seen these monstrosities on the Gold Coast everywhere, but had no way to know what they were or how to eat them.

For a mere 50 pesos ($4US), we bought a 45lb. bag of oranges from the back of a pick up truck in San Blas. The oranges didn't look like much. The tennis ball sized green orbs were covered with brown and black stains. I asked if I could sample the flavor first. The farmer cut one and gave me a half. The fruit was sweet and juicy... divine. Tim lugged the bag back to the boat. It's great to have a TIM!

Lori from s/v Third Day and I took our children and the two boys from Albatross (Teagan and Mick) to the historic Spanish fort and church that is renowned in San Blas. It was a mere 10-pesos per person to enter the grounds and as soon as the "students" saw the giant vined tree they were off and running before we could stop them. So much for the history lesson we planned that day.

Laura on s/v Just A Minute (Lagoon 38 Catamaran) posted this Blog entry on her family's sailing blog adventure on Wednesday, November 24, 2010. I gave her a recipe for Ricotta Cheese and she documented her experience. Since I can't put it any better, I have copied her post.  Very sneaky of me, I know. But Laura has an original way of putting things and her photos are super. Besides, she makes me sound really good!

I am the only adult on the beach with my 2 kids and 4 other boat kids when I look out and see the fin. All the kids are in the water. "What am I going to do? What if it's a ... no, no, I must calm down." I look down and realize that I don't have my whistle around my neck. I've forgotten it. With the crashing of the surf there is no way the kids can hear me yelling at them to get out of the water.

December 2010 marks the Faulkner Family's 3rd year of cruising! This year should be interesting with the economy and rising costs that have trickled down from the US to Mexico.

San Blas, Mexico

We visited here in 2006 when we were RVing down the beautiful coast of Mexico. Not much has changed in the 5 years since we were here last. The palm trees, mangroves, historic buildings and food carts still make this quaint town something from out of a story book. It is a beautiful, tranquil oasis.

Okay... now comes the scary part! What did we spend to cruise Mexico in 2009 and what did it cost us in 2010 with a bigger boat? Well, keep in mind that many of the outfitting costs for the larger boat will be one-time-only costs. Nevertheless, we still had to pay for those!

In 2008, we had already prepared our Cal Cruising 35' Windfall for her cruising life ahead. Her start-up costs were not included in the yearly expenses because all our re-fitting was done prior to cruising. However, any repairs or upgrades or new equipment after our maiden voyage WAS included.

I know that this is more than a month behind, but I posted it in the beginning of December. When I did, it messed up the entire page of my Blog. So, I had to detete it. I was so aggrevated that I haven't been able to deal with it again until now.

The MISC charge this year is payment to the accountant. That comes to $710 and without that our month would have been super... even with a month at a marina in a slip.

In Mazatlan, I became the only Hotspurvian to get sick. I got a little virus that gave me a bad chest cold. I had low-grade fever and think I quite possibly hacked up a lung. It hung on for days. It ruined New Year's Eve for us. And since our friends we planned to spend the holidays with were wrestling gut-wrenching, two-way, bacterial intestinal invasions... we left Mazatlan without ringing in the New Year with a  warm, huggy get-together with our dear friends on Just A Minute and Third Day.