La Paz

We lifted the hook by 8am, dropped some beer off at Sea Siren as rations since they didn't provision proper tsk tsk, and on we went. It took four hours to get to La Paz under motor. We were on a mission...immigration. As soon as the anchor was set we got in the dinghy and headed ashore. We saw our good friends Wayne and Carol Capricorn Cat dining with Jim and Kent of Sea Level. We stopped by to say hello before darting down to the INS office. At INS we waited maybe five minutes before moving up to the window and starting the process that could have lasted hours. Luckily, the La Paz INS is competent and we were out of there in 45 minutes or less. We had to take a trip to the bank and pay for our visas which took another 15 minutes and we now we are legal! In Cabo the INS people were insisting on bribes of $20 a head and taking two and a half hours to get through one person. It may be just me, but I would think if I am paying a bribe that it should speed things up a little more not take longer.

Anyhow the next stop was the port captain's some 10 blocks away. Luckily we had run into the Jolly Roger crew earlier and they were headed there so when we saw them returning from the trip we were warned that the port captain doesn't wish to see anyone not checking out. Sweet. Don graciously invited us to have a beer at a little place on the malecon. We sat and chatted before seeing a sight that caught all of our attention. One girl was riding a bike, but on the back of the bike stood another chick. They were jamming along with perfect balance. Wait, we knew those girls! It was Samar and Alex from Sea Level. With a not so graceful dismount off the bike they joined our growing table. I saw the guy from Wind River. I introduced myself and filled him in about the Port Captain. He joined us for a beer too. Then came Kent and eventually Jim from Sea Level. It was a great time of chatting and some cold beer in the dry heat.

Though we all had to get moving for our own reasons we split off with Paul in search of Ken so we could go to the C.C.C. Colima for provisions. Once we were all united and in a cab off we went. David and I are very experienced in the way of provisioning for the most part. The two of us breezed through our list and got through the check out in record time. The Wind River guys took a bit longer, but it was all good. We were officially in no hurry now that we are done with the paperwork.

Back to the boat for a bit before gathering at Rancho Viejo for the best tacos...EVER. Really. We dined with Wayne and Carol and a guy named Eric also. It was great fun catching up with friends.

We are headed north to the islands so no net for a while. Updates and pics will come later!