We arrived here in Mazatlan on Wednesday, December 7th after having to ditch our plans to visit Cabo Plumo (and the National Parque that houses a huge living reef!) due to a perfect weather window to make the crossing from the Baja Peninsula across the Sea of Cortez to Mazatlan. Despite a bit of stress and trouble on the passage (fuel starvation due to an unexplained and unforeseeable issue wtih the fuel tank –we have already resolved here in MZT)–we ended up making into Mazatlan with the help of our family here (thank you for organizing a panga with diesel jerries to fuel us up for the remaining 10 nms to shore!) and have since settled into a dock-based life here–a welcome change for the holidays. Indeed being in Maz is a nice combination of the peace and mind of being secured in a dock (rather than the worries of being on anchor and dragging anchor in the middle of the night) and accessibility to all the conveniences gringos and locals alike enjoy here–plentitude of restaurants, shops, groceries, gas, internet, etc.
All together, this means that, quite possibly for the first time on this voyage, we are actually able to CHILL OUT a bit. Since leaving San Mateo back in September, we’ve been on the go in some capacity and even at some our longer stints (San Diego, Avalon, LA) we were inundated with boat projects, red tape or social engagements. And now that we are here, generally re-provisioned, repaired and for the most part caught up on boat projects, life admin and settled in–we find ourselves finally able to take a breath and ask each other “So, what do you wanna do today after we finish school?” Woo hoo!
The highlights of the last couple weeks here have been celebrating my fortieth birthday with a beautiful dinner on Plaza Muchada with good friends and a stay at a lovely hotel, followed by a family day/night at the hotel enjoying poolside food and drinks and kid fun. Our weeklong visit with very good friends was tremendous and we *loved* having the opportunity to share our adopted lifestyle with fellow travelers (they, too, are on a year-long traveling sabbatical).
In all honesty, I think the reason I haven’t written much since arriving in Mazatlan is two-fold: One, between all the fun and necessary to-do’s each day with the kids, I haven’t dedicated much time, nor had much extra energy, to stay awake after the kids go to bed and write. And two, I wasn’t feeling like we had all that much interesting content to contribute! Nonetheless, I have been reminded by wiser folks that the adventure itself is interesting enough, and continuing to report on our whereabouts and doings is plenty.
So today, because I’m itching to get these kids off the boat and because I’m kiinnndda lazy, I’m going to post a bunch of pictures of what we’ve been up to instead of a longer written post. Enjoy!
(Images from our wonderful visit with T & N: Captain Tennille (pun intended) piloting us out of the Mazatlan channel for a day sail around the Bay; T reading to Finley on our journey back to the marina; Ryan and Elliott paddling around while we anchored off Deer Island (Isla de Venados); last picture before T & N departed MZT)
(Family time generally centers around visits to our pool, shopping for Christmas and provisions–the Galleria mall in Maz was a huge hit, and baking up some tasty holiday treats for friends, family and the marina folks we see daily)
(Images from my gorgeous, albeit hot and humid, run with T along the Malecon and almost to El Faro. Turns out the road to El Faro lighthouse was a very steep and long road, so we opted for the view instead)
In the words of a wise graffiti artist here in Mazatlan: “The world needs people who love what they do.” Amen brother, amen! Here’s to a Prospero Ano in 2017 and one that brings you all more of what you love to do.
Happy New Year from the Dakota crew!
Life and Times on S/V Dakota 
Thanks so much for sharing your adventure with us! Glad you all finally got some time to chill.
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Awesome pictures! So happy to see you’re all well and enjoying your adventure!
Happy New Year!
Chris and family!
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