shindigsailing: Banderas Bay. (La) Cruz to Paradise

We just moved Shindig to Paradise Village. Sure was nice to get her out of the La Cruz Marina and on the water again, even if it was a one hour sail. It's easy to get stuck in a marina, with walking access to the showers, laundry, yacht club, boating resources, yoga and fabulous restaurants including 30 peso street tacos in sleepy little La Cruz. Being on the dock is also more social as we walk by slips of boats, coming and going, many that we've met over the last few months. We enjoyed quite a few Shindigs in the last week, including having the S/V Fluenta family over (Max and Liz) with their two children, Victoria and Jonathan. Everyone agrees these kids are inquisitive, articulate and cute as a button. We missed them from our days in Chacala.

We'll be onboard a very large catamaran today, Kiapa, to join in the Vallarta Cup series sailing race. It's the same course as the Banderas Bay regatta in March, which we are considering doing ourselves. The next few days we look forward to exploring the Nuevo and Puerto Vallarta again ; it's been 9 years since we were here on a family land-based vacation. We are becoming familar with the full bay so that we can be flexible tour guides when friends visit in late February. Yes, that's you - Linda and Mike!

Another milestone in our cruising adventure is a return "home". We'll be flying out soon to Placerville and the Bay Area to visit Nancy's mother, Margaret, and her sister and brother-in-law, Elaine and JD and friends. Without our home, we've had to ask for couch space, actually extra bedroom space, while staying at seven different houses and boats over just 12 days. The calendar is packed with doctor, business, personal, music and social appointments across over 200 miles. With only one car between us, it's more coordination than planning the meals for the Baja Ha Ha. While we can't visit everyone we'd like, we'll be back in the summer, for several months, with plenty of time to catch up. After living on a boat for months, we are motivated to be the perfect house guests.

On the boat front, we believe we have finally cured the refrigeration. The last leak was repaired and the system has been recharged. So far it has been keeping beer cold and holding onto its refrigerant (134A).

The radar is still dead and we are mulling over repair/replace options. Repair is tricky in Mexico and may take a long time without guaranteed results. Replace is a good option but expensive as we look as sourcing electronics in Mexico or getting them when home next week.

Varnish work has been scheduled for when we are back in the Bay area. We think that some new cockpit cushions are being made. The Shindig maintenance and beautification project is ongoing.

Here's some photos of the last few weeks in Banderas Bay.