Happy Holidays with Boat People

Spending Thanksgiving in the States meant not going home for Christmas due to travel expenses and logistics of leaving da boat again so soon. Our consolation was that Thad and Kristin of She’s No Lady and Jason and Vicki of Volaré were going to be in La Paz, and our girls (Flea, Lea, and Stacy) would be arriving on the 29th for 10 days (post coming soon). So knowing we would be surrounded by shiny, happy people made us feel much better about being away from our families on Christmas. And being back in La Paz did not disappoint. We frequented our favorite spots – Harker Board for the pizza and beer, SNL and Volaré for euchre, La Fuente for ice cream and paletas, Chedraui for provisions, Nancy’s Lavandería for laundry, and La Malteria for, well, beer. And we caught the new Star Wars: The Last Jedi at the fancy-schmancy theater with recliners and popcorn service! Such a treat!

For the Christmas holiday we boogied out to Playa Pichilingue and Ensenada el Cardonal for a handful of days with SNL, Adventurer (yes, we finally met them face-to-face!), and Ripple. It was quite lovely to be away from the hustle and bustle of La Paz, which generally comes alive way after cruisers’ midnight (9 pm). Christmas Eve was spent aboard SNL for dinner then back to FL to make Canadian Tarts, an old Fraser-family recipe. Delicioso!! We distributed said tarts to the fleet early Christmas morning – breakfast of champions, I always say.

Christmas Day was a much-anticipated boat race. The fleet weighed anchor under an inadvertent staggered start, with Adventurer out first, FL, then SNL. Throughout the previous night, Adventurer was hedging, making sure we all knew just how slow they are – except that they have this “racing stripe” that seems to bring them goodwill, or maybe godspeed. SNL, of course, spent much of the evening rubbing in just how fast they are and how they beat us every time we (unofficially) race. Turns out Adventurer was sandbagging. They kicked our butts upwind! But then the wind collapsed and both of our competitors fired up engines and motored through the lull. FL, however, stuck it out in accordance with our 10-minute rule – i.e., don’t cash it in until there’s no wind for at least 10 minutes – the breeze filled back in and we continued to sail. AND we landed the Christmas fish for dinner! Haha – a moral victory!! And dorado for dinner! Dinner aboard FL consisted of perfectly grilled dorado, black bean/quinoa salad (SNL), homemade sourdough biscuits (Ripple), and mashed potatoes and sweet potato pie (Adventurer). We feasted – and were in bed by cruisers’ midnight.

Boxing Day brought fun on CD, sailing around the anchorage, SUPing, and hiking, all while a couple of us warded off colds/flu and ooogy stomachs (I will not name names). Then it was time for Cards Against Humanity. Oy. Lots of raunchiness and laughter. Who could ask for more? Our hearts were full up after spending lots of quality time in La Paz and out at the islands with our old friends (SNL), newish friends (Volaré and Sea Esta), and new friends (Striker, Dogfish, Adventurer, Ripple, and L’ Chaim). We missed our families hugely, but our boating family filled the void this go-around.