December 13, 2011 So today is my birthday. If you told me last year (when Bob was still bashing north from the Ha Ha) that this year I would be in La Paz for my birthday I would not have agreed. But boy am I glad to be here!
As my fortunes have it, friends from the Bay Area, Cliff and Leslynn, managed to come visit us just in time for my birthday (bearing gifts of chocolate!). Really they just came to relax and play and the timing was perfect!
Our friends arrived in time to witness the most spectacular (to date) sunset from the end of the dock. Magical. We took off the next morning for Isla Espiritu Santo, the bigger of the islands just out of La Paz. The weather the previous week in La Paz had been wintery ( I know, you all think I am nuts, but seriously, I pulled out my slippers!). The weather reports indicated that the winds would be dying down but they missed telling us how glorious it would be!
We spent three days snorkeling and hiking during the day, enjoying Charismas at sunset and then watching in awe as the full moon rose over the hills of this spiritual island. I never could have prepared our friends for the glorious days ahead because they were the best we had seen yet. The snorkeling around Candelero was as spectacular at Pulmo Reef but was easily reached. Instead of a three hour drive, we just jumped off the boat. Cliff and I jumped overboard – not as graceful as it sounds with fins and snorkels on (at least not for me!) and swam over to the Candelero (read Bob’s blog in the next day or so, for the nautical details) for a real treat. Sea urchins, starfish, schools of 200 colorful fish, a trumpet fish, and the ugliest fish I’d ever seen, awaited us. Bob swam over after us and reported even more incredible fish. Get out the fish book, we need to identify these!!!
The next day we went ashore and hiked into the canyon to a dried waterfall. Sounds normal but there was nothing normal about this hike. We hiked through wind-blown caves carved in the hillside, over huge boulders, up loose rocks until we couldn’t find any safe routes farther up. We thought we were a few hundred yards from the top. When we got down we looked up and saw we had been standing on top of a very cool cave that we originally teased about visiting, thinking it would be far too high and dangerous to get to. Too bad we didn’t know how close we had come. Exhausted we returned to Charisma and another gorgeous moonrise.
As we headed back to La Paz we looked back into the cove only to see that our incredible hike had only gotten us about a third the way up the hill. Way too funny. It looks so much more dramatic from down below.
We sailed back into La Paz just in time for the neighborhood “security meeting”. What an incredible neighborhood Dock Three is. Another set of cruisers were taking off the next day to start the jump to the Pacific (we will surely see them in Mazatlan or Puerto Vallarta prior to taking off across the Pacific ourselves) and the neighbors were holding a going away/good luck party complete with a gift package of donated “necessary items”. (Sue, I have to confess, we gave up the marshmallow gun and a bag of marshmallows to help them defend against pirates and pelicans). All boats also included a card to be put in a bottle that was to be tossed overboard at the equator. Charisma’s card was included!
Our next day, December 12th -the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, was started with three canon shots heard early in the morning to mark the holiday. We spent the day condensing the entire tour of La Paz into one day for our friends. Hit the hand-made goods stores, the Bravo Super Mercado, the church, the French bakery, the Malecon and of course, lunch at the fish taco stand. And finally – where this whole blog was headed, we set out to celebrate my birthday. Our friends bought us dinner at a wonderful authentic Mexican restaurant named La Fonda. Bob found it last year, loved it and promised some day we would find it. We did! It was a meal none of us will soon forget with wonderful service from the waiters and the owner himself who helped us chose the best dishes and best wine. And then treated us to a pink dessert drink called Pinon. So delicious!
And isn’t that enough? NO! Ends up, the only woman at the table next to us (also a cruiser just in from Australia) happens to SHARE MY BIRTHDAY!!!! Nancy was delightful and an immediate kindred spirit. They almost had to peel us apart to get me to the taxi.
And today, on the actual day, the local dock ladies hosted the Tuesday “Stitch and Bitch” (coffee) and who was there?—Nancy! She had already regaled the ladies with our chance encounter so as I arrived (after dropping our friends at the bus terminal to go home, sob, sob) I was greeted by a chorus of birthday greetings! The ladies treated us to coffee and a shared piece of cake.
Bob and I then quickly headed back to Espiritu Santo (a five hour sail out of La Paz) where we have run into old friends from the Ha Ha; Dave and Stephanie from S/V Camanoe. Another birthday treat.
So if I can get Bob to sing the Swedish Birthday song (which he did at the restaurant for both birthday girls) to me one more time, my incredibly memorable birthday will be complete. Only missing was the chance to touch base with family and friends (no cell service out here). Thank you to those who quickly wished me a great day. It came true!!! And yes, I am old enough to enjoy it all!!!