treasures of the ditch bag

Never thought I would be so excited to find roasted almonds and fig bars. But I am. We can have those in abundance in 10 days from now, when we are back in the US, but here you have to be very lucky to find them.  They were hiding in our ditch bag,  the grab bag we have on board when things go wrong, really wrong and you need to abandon ship.  I can't really answer why I thought it was a good idea to have these items in our ditch bag, but I'm glad I did, as we are getting to enjoy them now at the end of the season.

While Tod and Tessa are taking the bus to Home Depot in Guaymas, I'm going though all the nooks and crannies of Bliss. Our beloved home will be kept in sweltering heat conditions during the summer here, and it's recommended to remove all your food items of the boat. Another score....two bottles of wine we brought from Berkeley 7.5 months ago. Found deep stocked away. We have been drinking some box wine here labeled California, nothing to get really excited about, but the price is right as even very mediocre bottles of wine are expensive here.

Most of the mornings Tod is working on the boat to prep for summer storage on the hard in the dirt of the dessert. Sails and lines are rinsed with fresh water to be stored below decks, water maker is pickled, electronics, wind generator, solar panels are removed, and the list goes on and on (the marina gave us a list of 2.5 pages of tips for hauling out ). It will keep us busy till next Monday when Bliss will be lifted out of the water. Tessa and I spend most mornings at the hotel pool and little playground, after we visit the market close-by.  In the afternoon, we switch and I get to figure out what to pack for the next 6/8 months, or till we come back. We might also travel to colder climates, so hats and mittens are packed as well.

We are in San Carlos, the gringo neighbor city of Guaymas. Google maps calls it Nuevo Guaymas, as it's only 50 yrs old.  It feels like you are in Arizona here. We were only planning to spend a few days in the nice anchorage here, and then go back to Guaymas for our haul -out. But after talking to some fellow cruisers here, we just decided to stay here. What it might lack in, for a better word, character in comparison to the busy working city and history of Guaymas, it makes up in being very clean and quiet. That's all good for what we are trying to do here.

pretty cathedrals you won't find in San Carlos, but you do in Guaymas

bus ride in Guaymas

tessa loves rides in the bus

another birthday aboard in Mexico, with cupcakes and lobster for dinner