Happy New Year!

Today is the very last day of 2010. A year ago we were begining the planning and plotting of our escape on Santosha, and now here we are, living our life as we have designed it. It just proves that we are capable of setting intentions and making them happen.

My intentions for the New Year come in a package of three. They are more like prayers this year VS goals. And here they are: ( if you have ever taken a class with me, you may recall me sharing these with you...... )

May I be guided by my hearts wisdom ( I vow to pause before I proceed with any action, or choice. I will consult with this sweet spot first, and TURST TRUST TRUST)

May I be brave enough to speak my truth at all times no matter how hard this can be - and may my words all come from a place of love and compassion.

May I continue to be inspired by the magic the divine Universe is always showing me. And may I continue to be brave enough to participate in it all!

Tomorrow is the start of a New Year. A new chance to be better, to do more good, and to love love love more. We will be spending our last day by the ocean, on the beach, soaking in the warm Mexican water and sun shine. Life is good.

May you and your family be happy, healthy, and free from suffering in 2011!

xxooxxooxxoo

The Mercado, Ixtapa

Take a peek at where I provision. No factory farming here. Straight from the fields/ocean to the Mercado, which is open 7 days a week. The Mercado can be found in most larger cities in Mexico. Notice the color of the chicken - yellow skins due to the Marigolds that they naturally eat. I wont post the photos of the Cows or Pigs....in their almost alive state.....which confirmed for me why I am a sea-atarian. I took Alex and Blake here, and they needed to leave asap. Perhaps is was the un-refrigerated meat......notice how the chickens are on the counter - no ice..........with a few flys buzzing around, or the smell of flesh lingering in the air. But I think it was the guy, covered in blood, with a freshly butchered cow on his back, along with whole pigs hanging by a hook. Not a sight for most USDA shoppers to see. We like our meat all packaged and pretty looking. I can, for what ever reason, handle seeing whole fish sliced and diced, but can not stomach the cow or pig, or even chicken. So I stick to the produce/sea section of the Mercado.

A few snaps of my boys during their visit to Ixtapa

Here are just a few of my favorite shots of the three loves of my life. Alex and Blake are now back in California, and we are gearing up for our next passage. We will be here for another week to 10 days. We really enjoyed having all of our boys here and look forward to their next visit to see us in Panama June 2011!

FELIZ NAVIDAD

We are together and in good health. What more could a Mom ask for Christmas? I will update you with plenty more photos of what we have been up to next time. We have been on the go, and plan to hit the beach again today. My boys are loving the warm ocean water and temp here in Ixtapa.

Wishing you all love love love, and a very happy holiday.

Isla Granda and Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo

We just spent two days in complete bliss. Anchored in clear water, once again, we spent all of our time snorkeling the heck out of Isla Grande. This spot is exactly what I imagined this trip would hold. It felt like we were inside a fish tank with all the different tropical and colorful fish passing us by. Now, we are back in a marina in Ixtapa, and already I am missing being at anchor. Here, there will be no swimming ( see sign below ) But there will be much exploring! The many beaches and shops this town has to offer will take us a few weeks to get to know. We took our first bus ride into Zihuatanejo today to get a feel for things to do when Alex and Blake arrive. It is a sweet town, and has everything we are looking for. I can see why people stop here and don't leave. We picked up a few provisions ( which get a bath in microdyn ) and were temped by the fish market, but decided to pass this time around. Our dock neighbor, Adam, has been here for a year with his girl friend. He had much advise on where to go and what to do while we are here, including feeding the crocs that swim in this marina......ummmm we may pass on that one! Jack is eager to see them and is walking the docks now with Patrick in search of one. Our buddy boat the Lisa Kay has yet to make it here - they are stuck in Barra with a bad windlass, that they hope to have fixed soon. Alex and Blake arrive in 3 days, so we will be busy gearing up for their arrival and decking the halls, or in this case the bow and stearn.

Underway: Las Hada to Ixtapa

I am sitting here under a star filled sky on watch. It is 3am and I have one more hour until I can crawl into bed and sleep! We are 5 miles off shore and have 10 knots of wind on our back, cruising along at 6 knots. We heard this passage is rumored to have drug runners and lots of long lines ( fishing lines you can't see that make a mess of your prop ) So far, we have not witnessed the above, thankfully. I have always felt very safe here in Mexico, but the awareness that the drug cartel are close by does make me nervous and begs the question.....is this trip worth the risk? As I sit here with the warm air blowing through my hair, under a ga-zillion stars above me, I would have to say yes. In reality, I would have a better chance of getting in a fatal car crash back home, then getting gunned down by the drug cartel. Perspective is a good thing. Fear on the other hand, not so useful. Fear is what holds us back in so many ways, and prevents most people from living their dream, and most importantly, from living an authentic life . By this I mean we are taught from a young age to do as we are told . To say yes when we really mean no, out of fear of what others may think, or say. For one week, write down how many times you say yes, when you really mean no, and you will see what I mean. Playing it safe will get you no where. Walking into the fire, or navigating through drug cartel waters, will make you realize how silly fear is, and how in this moment there is nothing but beauty and glorious opportunity all around waiting for you to participate in the magnificent life you were born to live.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad.

Las Hadas, Manzanillo

Ahhhhh what a great place to be blogging from. The water is crystal clear in this beautiful spot, and I have not had one mosquito take its breakfast, lunch or dinner from me yet. While provisioning at the Comercial Mexicana, I even found an eggplant!!! ( A rare find ) Which quickly became Baba Ghanoush. I have to say, we have not gone hungry while in Mexico, but the produce section of the markets does leave me missing Whole Foods and my local Thursday Farmers market. We have it soooo good in the U.S. From what I hear the provisioning only gets worse as we head further south. That is hard for me to believe, since it is already slim pickens.....I can find romaine lettuce, tomatoes, limes, onion, garlic, spinach, zuchini, watermelon, papaya, mango, something like an orange/lemon, avacados, and peppers. Celantro is hit and miss. Good thing my Basil plant is still thriving!!!! So we are getting by, but man-o-man do I miss Jessica's Kale salad. What was a staple is now a non-entity in our life. Along with the beloved sweet pea sprouts. I know - looking at these pictures you must really feel sorry for us. The trade off is quality food folks - which I can give up for two years to experience this for sure. Photos include the BEAUTIFUL EGGPLANT ( never take these for granted people!) views from our boat, A few shots of Las Hadas, a sweet shot of Santosha from a palm filled walk way, Jack holding a dead crab, and lots of him playing with his Birthday present ( full dive gear) He is not certified yet, but we hope to do that in Ixtapa. The snoreling/diving is amazing here, AND.....no jelly fish in this anchorage!!! Every where we have been so far in Mexico has been plagued with these critters. We will stay here another day and then head to Ixtapa where we will spend Christmas. Alex and Blake will join us on the 20th, and we are all so excited for their arrival!