La Paz, March 21, 2012

The sun has just set on my second full day in La Paz. For those of you in the Pacific Northwest I need to tell you that the sun still exists, in fact its spending a lot of time here on the Baja. These past two days have been warm (mid-70’s) breezy and just delightful.

You might ask what I accomplished in these two days to prepare for my coming voyage. It’s a fair question, but when you read my answer, I hope you understand that I am a child of the cold, damp north and when you drop a northerner into the sub-tropics he’s bound to need a few days to get used to the sun. That said, you’ll understand that my accomplishments do not measure up to the expectations of productivity that City Light or Microsoft have come to accustomed.

In two days I completed the following:

Washed the outside of the boat; unpacked my duffel bag; went shopping for enough food and beer for three or four days; hired a few guys to wax the boat; took a siesta while the boat was being waxed; cooked one meal; walked downtown to exchange US dollars to Pesos; and purchased a Mexican cell phone. That’s about it. Tomorrow I Hope to complete an inventory of all food, and supplies that I’ll need to replenish and finish stowing all my gear. I’ll apply a coat of teak oil to the bright work and carry all the diesel jerry cans up from the cabin and lash them to the deck. Then on Friday I’ll install the autopilot rudder control driver in the engine room and test it. I may find the need to sneak another siesta in one of those days and possibly have a beer or two.

Right now as I’m writing this I’m listening to Jimmy Buffet and since writing is thirsty business I’m having a beer too and thinking of my family and friends.   I hope you enjoy following along on my adventure and as I promised my son, I’ll try not to do anything stupid.