Our Christmas Vacation

Off to deliver cookies

We spent our Christmas in La Paz and had a wonderful, crazy, time.

Steve and Ana were excellent hosts and we enjoyed every minute of our stay. There was always something going on, people to visit with, and plenty to eat and drink.

Our kind of place!

Party crowd!

We decided to throw a holiday party - a very big party - and invited everyone we knew.

They came! There was so much food and drink and so much to celebrate.

Barb and Bill - as sweet as they look!

We loved seeing our La Paz amigos again, plus a bunch of new cruisers from our old home port of Alameda.

We don't think there is anyone left in Alameda!

Cruisers Potluck

There is a lot going on in La Paz during the holidays. The local cruising community threw a Christmas Eve potluck and everyone showed. We made New Mexico posole and it was a big hit.

We should have made a double batch!

The gang at Tailhunters

A bunch of us decided to continue the party and headed to Tailhunters. It's Christmas Eve - why not?

As you can see, we had a blast.  So many stories - so little time.

Life is a beach!

Christmas day in the tropics, you got to head to the beach, so we did. We drove to Tecolote and enjoyed the sun, sand, cervezas, and lots of laughter.

Enjoying Christmas Day

Can't imagine a better way to spend Christmas Day or better company.

Back to Casa Ana for beef tenderloin and camotes for dinner, plus opening our gifts.  My best gift - Cleavage Coolers - hah!

Thanks Pam, I know I will appreciate them all the way across the South Pacific.

The Men

Our last night in La Paz was celebrated at Fern and Brian's beautiful home eating Turkey Buns - a new tradition for us. They were yummy and we didn't have to cook!

The Ladies

As you can see, a good time was had by all - especially the Ladies!

We were fortunate that the crews of Rainshadow and Sea Horse were sailing around La Paz and able to join us for the festivities. We had a wonderful time catching up with them and look forward to more.

Saying Goodbye to Sea Horse

Now, we are back in Maz and getting Moondance ready to sail away. Last big projects: exercising the new engine and getting our bottom painted. Then we are off to Banderas Bay and points South - yeah!

The challenge - saying Goodbye to family, friends, and places that we won't see for a very long time...

Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad, and Joyeux Noel!

To our Family and Friends,

May your holidays sparkle and shine and the New Year bring you peace and happiness.

We will be celebrating the holidays with our amigos in La Paz, but we will be thinking of you all!

Love Carla and Doug

PS: Sorry - we just had to ham it a bit!

¡Tiempo del día de fiesta!

The holiday season has arrived in Mazatlan and we are enjoying it! The beautiful lights, decorations, and music - very festive.

If we weren't wearing shorts and flip flops and sitting in the sun, we just might think we were in the States - almost.

Daily, we think of our amigos up North as winter arrives (early) and are thankful we are in Maz - wish you were here too!


It is a very social time among the cruisers. Almost everyone (but us) sails south for warmer waters. So, there are lots of boats coming and going daily and we are always watching for old friends and making new ones.

We have been busy attending events and giving the newbies the grand tour of Maz. It has been our home for more than 3 months, so we consider ourselves to be experts (well kind of).

A couple of the highlights -

Queen Julie (s/v Itchen) invited several of us ladies over for a Christmas High Tea on her boat and we had a ball. Dressing up, wearing our bling, telling stories, and laughing, lots of laughing.

Attending the Nutcracker Ballet at the historic Angela Peralta Theatre. We enjoyed the ballet - especially the adorable mouse army - but the special treat was just sitting in the the beautiful old theatre and dining out at Mi Terreza with my hubby.

And, I got my first Christmas present - Doug installed my new wind generator and it works. What a gift!

Now, we can take advantage of the trade winds to help power Moondance all the way to the South Pacific.

Things are coming together!

Lots going on here in Maz!

It is a very social time and we are enjoying it - our calendar is full!

Thursday nights are Horseshoes at the Isla. Not many shoes thrown, but lots of cruisers eating and drinking, plus live music to entertain. As you can see, Doug is enjoying himself.

Everyday there are new cruisers sailing in and out of Maz. All heading south chasing warmer weather and water. It is getting a little chilly at night around here - we are such wimps!

A bunch of us crashed Linda Lee's for a wonderful dinner and it's cheap. Linda serves lunch and dinner on her garage patio. Take a left at the Comex store and bring your own beverages.

We hosted a Dock Party at Marina El Cid to meet some of the new people, plus it is a good reason to have a party. We had a very nice turnout and met lots of new people and ate lots of yummy treats.

The Old Mazatlan Art Walk happens the first Friday of the month and we had to check it out! The stores are open late and artists are showing their paintings and displaying their craftsmanship.

We didn't buy much, but enjoyed walking around the beautiful Plaza Machado area - our favorite. Just happened to find a parade and finished with dinner at Pizza Moreno - yum!

Rick and crew from Marine Services Mazatlan threw a party and invited all of the cruisers to join in. Fresh grilled tuna and cervezas were provided. Live music and lots of cruisers chowing down. The best bite - Tuna Balls - you will have to try them sometime!

Then down to the Malecon to watch the Festival de la Luz fireworks on the water - it was amazing. The Hotel Associations hosts the fireworks in celebration of the Pacific Marathon.

All of the main streets are blocked, so we had a very exciting taxi ride back - even included some driving on the sidewalks - oh my!

In between the fun stuff, we have been getting Moondance shipshape and enjoying it. No major projects, just general maintenance and all is going well.

We are definitely going to be ready for the South Pacific this year. We will start sailing south in January - yahoo!