Feliz Año Nuevo! from La Paz - translated: Happy New Year from "The Peace"

Odessa being hauled out at Marina Palmar

When all is said and done, the damage to Odessa was manageable.  As Cecil Lange, the surveyor says, we were very lucky.  No one was hurt and the damage to both boats is repairable.  Due to the holidays we were not able to have the boat hauled until after Christmas and the repairs are in process.  We expect to splash Odessa tomorrow.

In the meantime, we have taken the opportunity to explore the charming city of La Paz.  La Paz is a city of 275,000 and growing rapidly.  We are surprised to find so many Americans and Canadians making La Paz their home, many full-time and some for the winter months.

There is a wonderful cruising community which seems to be centered around Marina de La Paz where Club Cruceros is located.  We are now members - one of the benefits is to be able to receive mail at the clubhouse.  The problem being - not knowing when we will be back to pick it up.   A "net' every morning (except Sunday) at 8:00 a.m. on channel 22 on the VHF radio allows boaters (or non-boaters) an opportunity to hear the weather report, learn about local events, ask for assistance or announce items needed or for trade.  This is also the time to find out who is coming or going to the states or Canada to deliver mail and packages.  Coffee follows the net from 9:30 to 10:30 at the clubhouse.

http://www.clubcruceros.org/

Listening to a net on the SSB

Doing laundry has been a pleasant surprise, as it seems inpossible to find a self-operated laundrymat.  Instead, we leave our clothes and a few hours later we are able to pick up our laundry - clean, nicely folded and packaged for transit back to the boat - all for about what we would have paid had we done it ourselves.

A simple shopping trip can take all day when you are on foot, don't know where you are going and don't speak the language.  Grocery shopping is a good example.  Try asking for celery when you have left your "cheat sheet" at home and have to draw a picture.  I must say I was able to communicate this to the clerk, unfortunately, they did not have any.  By the way, "apio" is the Spanish word for "celery".

Being on shore affords us more opportunities to try the local restaurants.  We have found quite a few good ones.  The downside being that eating out cuts into the cruising kitty.  Our favorite discovery is arracharra meat - very spicy BBQ type meat similar to flank steak.  It makes wonderful tacos and our favorite place is Rancho Viejo.