We finally finished all the boat work in Puerto Penasco, Mexico. That was painful while the boat was in the boatyard for six months. During this time, Monica went to work in Bellingham, Jeff and the girls drove up to Bellingham, and we all drove down together back to the boat. It was a whirlwind of a summer with long distances, too many purchases, and lots of driving between Penasco and Phoenix. Once we were back on the boat, we rejoiced that we were back “home”.

In the yard, just about every week we started on a high with pretty high hopes of great accomplishments and eagerness to get back on the water but as the week progressed our emotional rollercoaster plummeted due to the sheer amount of to do lists, unaccomplished tasks and standstill projects. During these times patience was in extremely low supply resulting in frayed interactions with loved ones.

But, hey, guess what?! We survived and now we are back in the water trying to soak up the last months of our time in the Sea of Cortez. It is truly beautiful.

Our first stop after Penasco was Santa Rosalia. This was our third time there and we finally got to visit the Mining Museum. The building was used as a museum even when the mine was fully operational. The bottom floor housed the exhibits and the upper floor was reserved for actuaries. Girls naturally asked , “What are actuaries?” Well, Anna actuary is an old term for those who kept records, modern day bookkeeping. Check out these huge type writers. After waiting for favorable weather, we left Santa Rosalia for Punta Chivato and anchored near a shell beach. I have to say we have more than enough shells on the boat but we can’t resist collecting some more. This time we collected with a bit more discerning taste. Punta Pulpito was our next stop. A huge pulpit like cliff featured a large vein of obsidian. We kayaked into shore and found big chunks of glassy black obsidian. This was a tranquil and beautiful anchorage. We even had time for too many selfies. It feels so good to be in the water again. There’s a reason why we are boating people. Being on the water gives us peace and serenity we seldom find on land.