Hodgepodge

We are preparing to leave La Paz again - this time to go to Loreto.  The plan is to make our way there and explore the town and islands a bit.  We will return briefly to La Paz for provision and then sail for the mainland.

I snapped this as we headed out of the anchorage to a cove just north and adjacent to it.  

He returned the favor and snapped this pic of me....

At the cove, am one other things, we saw this bone.  We picked up numerous marine mammal vertebrate, too.

We enjoyed a week anchored in a couple places off Isla Espiritu Santo and Isla Palmira.  Both anchorages were calm and offered fun things to do.  We were alone in the first anchorage so Dave pulled the kids behind the tender while they held on to their boogie boards.  We then discovered that the 6 hp motor is not strong enough pull David.  Not surprising, but he was still disappointed.

Our second anchorage offered good exploring on shore.  The kids and I climbed up to a couple shallow caves and later our daughter and I climbed up a gorge for a while.  We only had to turn around because of sunset.  

I finally took a few good pictures of the magnificent frigate bird 

The windlass struggled the last time we pulled up anchor.  Then we found out why.  

unfortunately, we didn't get a chance to investigate the things growing on the rock....

While in La Paz, we decided to swim with the whale sharks.  This was a spectacular experience.  They are plankton/krill feeders so we didn't need to worry for our safety.  The largest we saw was 35-40 feet long.  They reminded me of manatees: slow, calm and docile (probably because they were feeding).  We were cautioned to stay at least 1 meter away and two from the tail and mouth.  

While waiting to go swim with the whale sharks, the kids made friends with this cute kitten

This fellow's mouth was about 4 feet across!  I think this was the biggest we saw....

I didn't capture a picture of the tail, but it had about 10 remora attached

When we loaded the boat earlier this year, we didn't include holiday decor.  There seemed no reason to store something that would be used for only a month.  However, it being the advent season, I wanted to at least have an Advent wreath.  My parents will be happy to know I can still make just about anything with paper and tape (and a few markers):

May this December find you surrounded by loved ones and lots of opportunities to make good memories.