In La Paz, and happy to be here

This is a newly-hatched turtle (we think a leatherback) on the beach at Los Muertos.  It was about two inches long and it tried to climb into Karen's shoe.  (She loved it.) Leatherbacks are one of nature's most amazing creatures.  They evolved from a line of reptiles that survived the cataclysms of the Cretaceous Period 65 million years ago, and have become among the best long-distance swimmers and deep divers in the world.  This little guy when full grown will weigh half a ton, be eight feet across and ten feet long, and will be able to dive to an amazing 4,000 feet deep while holding its breath for more than an hour.  And it's endangered.  We wished it a long and happy life as it swam away.
 

 
We're at the beautiful Marina Palmira in La Paz, doing varnish, paint, polishing and other chores to get the boat all spiffy before we head for the hinterlands to the north in the Sea of Cortez.  There are whale sharks just outside the harbor, and we hope to see one.

What a nice community here, everyone is friendly and the locals LOVE it when you try to speak Spanish.  We just realized why so many Mexicans have been laughing, though.  Most of the time when greeted with "Hola, como esta?" (Hi, how are you) the normal answer is, "Estoy bien gracias, y usted?"  (I'm well, and you?)  But Jim has been shortening it by exclaiming "Estoy muy bueno!" which he thought meant "I'm doing VERY well!" but in reality means, "I am SO sexy!" Much merriment everywhere we go, it seems!

Several of the cruising boats around us are getting ready for a Pacific crossing, and it's fun to compare notes with them.  We'll write more soon, but just wanted to give a quick update.

Here's the dorado Jim caught off Cabo.  We shared it with two other cruising boats.  Also called Mahi-mahi, it's one of the best eating (and fighting) fish any crazed angler (for example, Jim) could ever hope to catch.