AFT - After The FUBAR

Here in La Paz the party has continued for the past few weeks. We had a warm up session one day on Excalibur with cocktails and enough appetizers to last a week or two. But then it seemed like a good idea for Oriana to host a supper party next door right after. And the guitars have been as busy as ever. See how that sea lion turned his head just to hear Bill play that Hendrix track - it was "Little Wing" of course, one of my favorites. One day we headed out for the islands and the wild life. In the bay at this time of year there are whale sharks feeding on the 

abundant plankton; we managed to locate a couple of these docile creatures and drift along nearby while Kay from Thor swam alongside this 40' largest fish in the sea.Then up to Espiritu Santo island to check out the sea lion colony while bold folk 

swam with these inquisitive creatures. Here are some photos of our travelling companions in recent weeks - Bill and Kay on Thor, Susan and Andy on Maggie May, Lili and Don on Lilipad, Doug and Stephanie on Tango, Ron and Kathleen on Boundless Grace, Jan (the greatest air guitarist on the trip - see photo) and Vicki on Oriana, Rick and Liz on Bonaventure. And many more. We will be seeing you down the road soon in the next port I'm sure.
So, on to the forward plans. In the short term we have decided to leave Last Mango here in Marina Costa Baja, La Paz for a month while we head to England for seasonal family visits. In mid-Jan we will be back on board and heading down the Mexican coast. For 2012 we have revised our plans; after considering the options we have shelved the long voyage to New Zealand. We are now going to head for Panama and through the Canal, then up to Florida and the East Coast. It is best to keep one's plans flexible................