s/v hello world: La Paz

When we started out on this adventure, we had identified San Carlos as our most likely home base in the Sea of Cortez. We've got friends there and it seemed pretty central - a natural choice. But it turns out that San Carlos is really far north (keep in mind we go 6mph), and La Paz is the bungee that keeps beckoning us back. So, once again (this is the 3rd trip to La Paz in 2 months), we headed back to the black hole. The plan was to fix this bilge pump issue and then head north immediately. We fixed the bilge pump on relatively short order, but then we realized our fancy schmancy anchor light was out. And then the weather kicked up. Immediately. Or 9 days. They're practically the same.

Rather than fix the anchor light (which requires replacing the wire in the mast), we decided to cheat and buy some solar garden lights to mount around the deck. Where does one find solar garden lights in Mexico? Home Depot, of course. And since we were going to the great depot of homes, it made sense to stop at Walmart and Sams Club too - they're all in the same plaza. Ohhhh Mexico. How you remind us of home. It was a rather tricky cab ride back to the marina though - imagine 4 people and 3 boats worth of provisions and building supplies in a taxi. If I could have fit the camera, I would have taken a few pictures for you folks!

Filling up the rest of our week and a half, we spent lots of time with old and new friends. New Years Eve on Hello World is becoming a tradition and we were quite proud that we lasted until midnight with Bint al Khamseen, Pisces and Renova. There were repeated warnings by "the net" to be extremely cautious on NYE because La Pazians like to fire guns into the air throughout the day. This, indeed, was true - lots of random gunfire was heard, but the locals opted for fireworks over guns at midnight which made for a great show from the anchorage.

We like to complain about La Paz, but it is a pretty great place. You can buy delicious tacos for a buck, the hot dogs are wrapped with bacon and we're pretty sure the tortillas are laced with heroin. It's a wonder we keep coming back.