Leaving Costa Baja, La Paz, Mexico

I had to say Goodbye to this place I love, Costa Baja La Paz, a resort that doesn't seem to attract a lot of people and I love it! I  would have spent another week to lay by the pool, to walk on the beach, to play tennis, try golf and maybe one more massage, but SpringDay robbed us again of recreation. 

Quickly, here are the problems we had: the chiller loop needed to be rewrapped at the air handlers (10 of them), that problem was discovered when we ran the AC for the first time and I noticed that water was leaking out of a speaker which means that we had our own rain forest going inside the walls (condensation). 

Four AC workers for three days

We were lucky to find Jeff, an electronic specialist from Canada who moved to La Paz for a change of pace and a lot less taxes. He is in very high demand so Bill and Don would escort him between our boats to make sure he would not get away on other jobs.

Secondly, years ago inferior connectors were used for the antennas, which affected the signal strength (VHS and AIS). Thirdly we ran AIS (Automatic Identification System) to the radar, something this boat never had before. 

AIS allows us to see other boats on our charts with their info. Next, we added a USB port for each computer, it 

improved the performance of the mouse and keyboard. And about ten more things...

Happy about these fixes and improvements, we leave with a smile…. but not so fast, half way across the sea of Cortes, we discover that the cameras were not working, some connection may have been bumped while working on the antenna. The AIS is now…. Alright!  I am skipping the rest it only depresses me more…

I would rather think now about four legged creatures from other boats that made me smile a multitude of times.  Meet SQUID my neighbor, big personality and very fitting of his boat named MR Terrible. Reportedly, Squid jumped off the bow (15ft high) to join dolphins he was watching ?!?! He never did it again.  He also jumped through the haashole of the cockpit to chase fish. Owner is upset that he paid $40.00 for Squid”s “Terrible" haircut! But this bad grooming job and the piece of tooth showing on the side of his mouth go hand in hand with Squid’s pirate style adventure-hungry personality.

SQUID

Meet Cody. Cody the beagle (9yrs old) a little thick around the waist, a little grey around the face, leader of his own leash pulling behind his valet, he barks like an old sea lion and is king of our dearly beloved LILIPAD our 55 we sold in August.

Meet HARLEY, a happy little Silky Terrier Papillon mix, for a treat she’ll drop and roll at the sound of BANG! I have a twelve second video but I can't load it unfortunately.

When and “IF” SpringDay returns to the Northwest, unless I personally decide to sink her (!) before too long my priority will be choosing my own little four legged companion as promised by Skipper but for now I am enjoying a virtual zoo.


Thinking of you...

  

On my way to the best massage on God's green earth!!  100 minutes of pure relaxation from head to toe.  Juan from Cuba arrived in La Paz for a vacation (so he claims) four months ago armed with an invaluable skill.

Spa Espiritu;

I was told by Juan to either wear this grotesque paper thong or nothing at all. Keeping my large underwear I guess was not an option.  I went for the grotesque.
Foot wash in a basin of water where
small pink flowers rested atop a thick layer of white
bubbles. He lights a stick of incense and waves it above and below my stretched arms (like at the airport!) I suppose he was chasing away the bad spirit or the negative energy...I don't know. Then I laid on the table and he walked around the table three times sounding a tiny little bell, Ding!  Ding! Ding! I cracked a smile once he was past me, I couldn't help it, I don't even know what it meant. I had a really hard time understanding his spanish. But then the real art began. A deep slow massage using oils he chose 1) bone repair, yep! and 2) Joy, perfect choice, how did he know? Perhaps invoked by the tiny bell ritual.

Jeann, we took your suggestion and went to Palermo's for dinner;
great italian food and great music.  Nice change from Mexican food,
I can only eat so much tortilla and beans! And certainly not before
a massage wearing only paper ! Ha!Ha! 

Thinking of you....