Tim and Carolyne spend many days at El Cid Marina here in Mazatlan. They have beautiful swimming pools, ping pong, hot tub... and BINGO! The other day, Tim comes home with a bag full of stuff... Sr. Frog's is apparently a supplier of bingo booty at El Cid. Tim won an El Cid Tshirt, a Sr. Frog's hair scrunchy, Sr. Frog's bracelet, Sr. Frog's decal AND... my 14 year old came home with a Sr.

Our first cruising year cost the Faulkner Family $16,761.25 USD. This includes costs for everything... from having Windfall hauled out and painted to buying a 5 peso taco. This makes our average monthly expenses $1,414.18 USD.

Had to get some last minute supplies for a New Year's Day lasagna dinner aboard 'Windfall'. Carolyne and I took the 6 peso a piece bus to Soriana and had a blast!

The Faulkner Family has been to Mazatlan before... in 2006... a road trip we took in our Chevy longbed truck with a nice camper aloft. We had a wonderful 5 week trip down the coast as far as Melaque. We stayed in Mazatlan on the way down. And then we stayed in Mazatlan on the way back up, but only because we had to.

What can I say? There are no good outdoor pics to be taken at present... gray, cloudy, rainy. I did laundry yesterday at Marina Mazatlan with the one washer they have. I took the stove apart and used a wire brush to scrape off the gooey, greasy globs that had formed in the hard-to-reach areas. It looks surprisingly better! Had the kids clean the cockpit and cushions. Then, we had them clean all the stainless on deck... hey, Christmas is OVER! 'Windfall' has been washed and scrubbed... not an ounce of saltwater left on her. Today... clean linens!

Carolyne woke everyone at 6am... the measly gifts we had wrapped were the cause. She crawled in bed with Jim while I fixed a pot of coffee.

We made our way to MEGA... the large grocery store here in Mazatlan. Got a ride on the 'pulmonia' for 40 pesos. It's a long hike, so we were happy to get a ride, but had been prepared to take the bus. The pulmonia driver's rates were good, so we acquiesced and went with him. Christmas madness!!!! Tons of people... very crowded. Bought our groceries and headed out. Stopped for lunch at 'Panama Restaurante', a more elegant and chic chain, but similar to Denny's. Hey, don't roll your eyes... my kids wanted to go to McDonald's and I talked them out of it!

I can’t tell you how glad I am that JAM (Just A Minute) is paying the big bucks and living high on the hog at El Cid Marina. The perks WE get because they’re there are awesome! The service is immediate and impeccable. The grounds are like a combination of being on Fantasy Island and Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory...

There was only one thing important to me after arriving in Mazatlan. It’s not that I couldn’t do it on the boat, but it just isn’t the same. One of the first things out of my mouth once we got ‘Windfall’ secured on the dock was, “Where are the showers?”. What bliss... what joy!

It took a little over 48 hours to cross over from La Paz on the Baja side to Mazatlan on the Mainland side. The first night was rolly and lumpy, an uncomfortable and sleepless night. However, we had 15 knots of north wind, so we sailed the entire day and night maintaining a speed of 5.5 knots.