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The cruising adventures of Sid and Manuela

Wednesday, August 11, 2021

PARADISE MAKE-OVER

Incredible Sunrise from the house


Again, time just races away, 3 months have gone by fast, or is it because we are so busy with the re-fit of Paradise, which seems never ending.

We sure had a very cold winter but in the mean time it's just the opposite: very, very hot!

We love it here, San Carlos is a great place to be. Here's a little History:

San Carlos is located in the State of Sonora in northwest Mexico. It is the second largest state of the country with 71 403 sq mi. It borders the states of Sinaloa, Chihuahua, Baja California Norte, with the United States to its north and the Gulf of California to its west. Its border with the US is 365 miles long.

San Carlos is tied to Guaymas and some other towns in this area. This area was first inhabited by the Guaymenas tribe who lives in this area for thousands of years. I tried to find some history of this tribe but none is available. Sonora is home to 8 indigenous people, including Mayo, O’odham, Yaqui and Seri. Agricultural plays an important role in the economy of the state. In the north and northeast, where the climate is very dry, irrigation systems are used to farm alfalfa, vegetables, fodder, grapes, dates and olives. The main crops in the central region includes, wheat, barley, alfalfa and safflowers. It also has economically important for its agriculture, livestock (and is world famous for its wonderful beef) and silver, copper and coal mining.

The entire coastal area of Sonora is incredibly picturesque. The bizarre Tetakawi Mountain sticks out and lights up in the most incredible orange and red colors at sunrise and sunsets depending on which side you are watching. Tetakawi hill was considered a magical source of power of the spirits of valiant warriors who defended these shores from the enemy.

Tetakawi is now called “Tetas de Cabra” or Goat Tits due to its golden hue and distinctive shape.



San Carlos was an important port for supply vessels in the American Civil War. In 1863 ships from San Francisco unloaded supplies and reloaded on horse drawn wagons for select military destination North of the border; New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada. During the Mexican Revolution of the early 1900’s, Poncho Villas Army used San Carlos Port as a supply center.

San Carlos began to thrive and slowly grew into a fishing village. In 1960 the Movie Catch 22 was filmed in the tiny village. Which then interest spawned the first resort in the area, Club Med which is totally abandoned now.

Today San Carlos is as small resort community and tourist destination. It is known for great fishing and scuba diving and kayaking. There are 3 marinas, Marina Guaymas, Marina San Carlos and Marina Real, plus each have also work yards and dry storage.

Although I have to add so far what we have learned from the San Carlos Marina, it is no very cruiser friendly at all, you are NOT allowed to work on the boat, after all that’s the main reason cruisers go into marinas. Also if you arrive with a buddy boat and they are docked on a different dock you can’t just go visit, the gate key you get is for your dock only. I agree security is essential, but not having access to your neighbor docks that’s a bit too much of control. Our friends were not even allowed to have 2 gate cards, so they have to manage who is going where and when, doesn’t make sense, at a hotel you get a key for each person. Other friend was yelled at for jut putting his jib back on. They don’t even allow you do to oil changes, after all who’d even know you do one as it is done inside the boat.

A lot of Ex Pat settled in this area over the years and I have to say with my 60 years of age I feel like a young teenager, lots of very old folks here.

Every restaurant/bar has daily entertainment with incredible artists that alternate at each place.  

The weather, well, the weather, can be harsh, but it’s always sunny, it is an arid climate with no rainy season and little humidity. Winters are very dry and can get very cold and summer we were told are very humid and very hot way over 100 F. It supposedly never rains here, except the day we hauled out the boat, just what we needed right LOL.

That was an exciting day to haul. The haul out time has to be planned to the tide, as they are fairly high here. We had a little problem, for as small as our boat is, 36 feet, we draw 6 feet and even though we were at the launch ramp at the suggested tide the trailer would not slip under the boat. So they had to attach a cable between the trailer and the tractor. After the 3rd try we started sweating bullets worrying not being able to haul out here period. 4th try was the charm and Paradise could finally be convinced it was OK to leave the water.

Oh man what a ride she had. We were able to catch a ride in the assist vehicle, to marina Seca which is 1 mile inland from the marina. Paradise got a scenic drive along the only main and 4 lane road connecting San Carlos with the rest of Sonora, around roundabout down the street and a sharp turn into the road to the dry storage. It was unbelievable to see her moving backwards in high speed, she has never gone this fast in her life, especially backwards, we sure got a good chuckle out of it.



In the mean time she’s been in the yard since December 8th. We had a lot of work in front of us and still do. After the near sinking in Papagayo Marina in Costa Rica Sid decided to replace all the through hulls. Further on the list, taking the bottom paint down to the hull, check for osmosis blisters, which we were almost shocked to find none. The beautiful teak cap rail around the cockpit had some areas where the wood was totally rotted out. 

The tropics has not been gentle on any part of the now 44 year old boat. Stainless steel bow pulpit has some crevasse corrosion and needs to be replaces. Sid also found crevasse corrosion on the backstay which made us realize how lucky we were in that 1 ½ hour 55+ knots of wind on our way to San Carlos. 




Crevasse corrosion also on the davits and I am sure during the whole project we will find some more surprises. Further on the list is varnishing the entire interior, adding an extra bilge pump. A major overhaul of the electrical system and the list goes on and on and on. Guessing a 6 months job.

Sid was going to hire the marina to strip the bottom paint, but hearing the price of 4000 bucks he decided to hire our own person. 3 days later this young man with his little daughter knocked on the door, looking for a job, he said he can’t find one with the pandemic. We were a bit taken back, especially using the little kid as a lure and how did he choose this house. Still lots of questions. Well he seemed nice enough but had no experience with boats. So we asked him if he would be willing to learn working on boats. So we hired him and paid him way over what he would make on a regular job. But knowing what tough job it is to sand the pain to the bare fiberglass we offered him 25 per day which is more than ½ of a high payed wage here.

Victor turned out to be a very hard, nonstop worker and proved himself to be a quick learner. Even yard neighbors asked Sid where we found this kid as he hardly took a break. We did set ground rules, he had to work 6 to 8 hours, more likely 6 and weekends are off. Also from previous experiences we told him if he comes and asks us for money for grandma’s BD cake, or mom’s or who else’s whatever it will be a no. With his daily getting paid there is no reason for it. He also had to provide for his own lunch which lasted 2 days, I just could not only feed Sid so both got their daily lunch. Sid and I did make a rule for us that he will not be able to come into the house ever. Well one day Sid discovered 2 of his 500 peso bills were missing living him none, so he had to take the kid home. Kid had to go bathroom, so let him and we did give him a coke. He briefly sat on the couch but then rushed out of here, saying he had to go to get his grandfather to Hermosillo because his grandma was admitted to the hospital with a heart condition. Off he took. A little later I noticed my table was gone, the one with all my guitar music and song, including my own written songs, son of a bitch. And since I just had given Sid 3 500 bills and he paid him once we realized he also took the 2 500 bills. The same day I also had the electrician here replacing the outdoor lights, he was just in the house for 1 minute with me looking where the switch for the outdoor lights were, but was never alone. So I am still 100% sure it was Victor. Next day he sent a text he could not make it to work he had to bring his grandpa to the hospital to see his grandma and if we could give him some money, he need it for her doctor visit. I called him and asked him: how about her health insurance? The story changed to oh they don’t cover the meds. I reminded him of our rules when he was hired. 2 days later he came back and of course I questioned him about the tablet which of course he denied. I also found out he lives way on the other side of Guaymas some 30 miles away from us. We trusted him even less now. Anyway, Sid decided to keep him on the job until the toughest work was done and that we did we let him go after that. Weird part, his brother showed up at our neighbors to ask for work, so we had warned for him.

Anyway, Sid is on his own now and there really is no work for a second person. The weather here has been pleasant cool except the winds seems to blow in the 20s every day around no good time to varnishing and some other tasks are being postponed. Sid was frustrated not to be able to varnish so he took all doors, drawers and locker doors home with the help of Roger our neighbor. Sid bought an air-compressor and used the covered area under our house early in the morning to spray the varnish on. He did a wonderful job. So who ever come to visit and stays in the guestroom has to sleep with all our doors, drawers and locker doors LOL. As soon as the varnish is finished all will be moved back on the boat, which hasn’t happened yet double LOL.








His latest project:





In the mean time I have been sewing up a storm. The cushions on the patio were so old and horrible I replaced them then I tackled the boats stuff.

Sid cutting out the foam to sandwich the old phone to make it more comfy 




So far the cockpit cushions plus 2 sets of slip covers to change the ambiance are done. 

Buttercup color plus piping will match nicely with the boat color

We added extra ticking to make it softer

The two slip cover material (there is not much on fabric selection so I was a little limited on what to get. It'll look good in the cockpit





All my cloths bags that I had bought some 20 years ago at Bed Bad Beyond were starting to rip so I replaced them all with a fun fabric that matches the cockpit. '




a 1/2 size bag is just for bras

Next project was the huge V-Birth cushions and after a couple weeks of a break I finished the back rest of the salon cushions. The bottoms were very intimidating but eventually I tackled them. I still can’t believe our little boat has 21 cushions for just the salon. 




On right is the old material, left the new one



Intimidating pile 

All done





All the bottom pieces

V-Berth cushions

This cushion has a hinge as a locker is below it. It makes it easier to access it


I changed these old pillows to more fun colors




Other projects were new cover for the cockpit table plus of course I made a table setup and napkins with each cushion pattern.

Sail wash and repair

New covers for man over board cushions

I discovered the  kewlest pins that replace the pin needles

I did need to buy a sewing machine, my Sailrite I hate with a passion and I have threatened it to eventually end up as a dinghy anchor. Funny the threat seemed to have worked, plus being intimidated by a new machine, the Sailrite is doing very well. Projects left are the Bimini, Dodger windows, a new deck box covers and Sid had an accident and spilled a can of varnish on it, plus the lee cloths. I will have to sew when we are back on the boat again as it entails a lot of measuring.

After 3 months in the house we finally told Lupita that the couch is so uncomfortable that we both have a non-quitting backache. I made her sit in it and she jumped right up when she sat between the cushions and had a board between her cheeks. Within a week she brought us a brand new upholstery group, would have not been our choice but oh man is it comfy. The color definitely wasn’t our choice so I bought some fun fabric and made a few pillows to spice it up. 

Board up your a..s couches




 


Again the only fabric I could find that had a matching color in it

Covered the old discolored lamp

I also made some nicer curtains in the galley to replace the ugly leprechaun green ones and covered the side stand to match the settee. The bar stools had a disgusting cover on it as well, so changed that. The dining room set I haven’t done yet, but certainly will match the bar stools.



As far as shopping here in San Carlos and Guaymas, I can only describe it as ‘IT SUX’. Star Marine pretty much the only boating store here, you have to order what you need and the price is sky high, so we order everything online no matter boat parts, fabric, zippers (they only sell short zippers here), house hold goods, you name it. Even food shopping is not special and half/half can be off the shelf for weeks at a time. Between Debbie and Shane and Julie our mules, we get our orders in in 1 to 2 weeks. Debbie used to live here for 40 years and is now back in Tucson, but comes to visit her grandchildren every weekend. Can you imagine doing the 5 hour one way drive once a week? Glad she does and delivers our goodies every Saturday. Julie and Shane also in Tucson have their boat in the Real Marina and visit every other weekend so we mainly send it to them and have them over for dinner and catch up.
 

The cap rail was a biggie, it took Sid a while to take if off and especially to preserve parts to send to the wood shop in Stuart to rebuild it as there is nobody here that could do it. He made a template and sent 2 intact pieces along that Julie mailed from Tucson. They took on the job and quoted us 2800 bucks for the 2 rails each 10 feet long. It took them 2 weeks to build it and trucked it with a trucking company to Shane and Julie’s. Weird it had arrived in Tucson but not at our friend’s. I finally called the company to ask why it had not delivered yet, the answer was it’s not in Tucson yet, really the tracking shows it’s there. Comes out they are only 10 minutes away from Shane and Julie’s and they said they only deliver it every Wed, funny it arrived on a Tuesday, hmmm!!! So we rented a car and drove the long trip straight to the trucking company and picked it up ourselves. The fun and excitement of doing a haul out in a foreign country!!!

Sid and Shane taking the cap rail out of the huge box

The rotten pieces 


We had rented the biggest car as the box was huge but we were lucky it fit perfectly inside the car and didn’t have to tie it up on the roof. Once it was out of the big box it was no problem at all. We didn’t have much time for shopping as we only spent one night because the car cost 120 per day. We did some shopping but didn’t get nearly half of our shopping list, well better than nothing.


Sid went right to work to fit the cap rail, time consuming and tough job but it came together perfect.


Very happy Sid, they did a great job



And the Sikaflex sealant in Mahogany color arrived just on time from Amazon as Sid was done. Perfect timing right? Well…. the sealant said Mahogany on the tube but when Sid opened it the color was black, all three tubes. What a frustration as it took a further 2 weeks before we received the replacement. Not to mention the company wanted us to return the open tubes, thanks to Debbie she took them back and sent them off. I have to add 1 hour after Sid finally sealed the wood it started raining. 







Yes we had, well can’t really say rain, but huge rain drops far apart that evaporated within 5 seconds, so nothing never got wet. Now Sid is in the process of varnishing. In the meantime the inside is done, except for the cabin sole. The cap and toe rail got their first sealant coat. Bottom has the second primer coat on. Anything stainless steel on the boat is under the keel and Sid was busy polishing all. Bow pulpit is with the Mechanic to replace it, so things are slowly coming along.

He is almost done with the varnish, just waiting for more varnish. So the finished product you will see in the next blog. 

This is Sid going to work every day:


and his hard work to strip the bottom, many days of sanding then painting with primer, fixing some spots, sanding again and painting. Paradise is ready for her paint that will keep barnacles from growing. This paint till be added just days before she goes back in the water




The ladder scare me, Sid did fall off it but luckily nothing broken just a huge bruise on his hip:



Couldn't help take a screen shot when he called

Paradise's backyard with ducks and ibis, horses, cayotes....


This is Sid's girlfriend he met in the yard:



Do to the heat being 90 already at 6 am cuts the day short as at noon it’s around 100 plus, so Sid has been taking his breakfast with him and is in the yard by 6.30 returning depending on the heat index, usually around 1 or 2. He is so exhausted after he showers he falls asleep in front of the TV.

We do have some fun as well, our neighbors Barbara and Roger make sure of that. They are a blessing that’s for sure, I don’t have to walk to the stores in this heat anymore as they take me shopping when they go.  In the evenings around 5.30 IF there is a breeze blowing we have happy hour on their car porch which has and stunning view over the San Carlos Bay. Go for dinners now and then, or brunch at El Mar and on Tuesday’s to JJ’s. And we girls have our girls out now and then.

View from their porch

Roger and Barbara took us a couple of times for a drive through the neighborhood so we finally got to see what this area is about. And wow what a treasure this area is, picturesque to no end. Around Christmas time not having met our neighbors yet I brought some Swiss Christmas cookies over and learned that Barbara was in the States doing some business, contracted Covid and afterwards broke her wrist and finally returned New Year’s Eve. I didn’t meet her for a week until they drove by the house. From then on every time they left they would wave and wave when they returned, so after 2 weeks of that I had enough I knocked on their door and told them that this hi and bye drive-by-waving needs to stop, you guys are coming over for dinner on Saturday and the rest is history LOL.

Here a few photos of the beautiful homes along the beach in San Carlos








The entire San Carlos Area:

Side view from Tetakawi







It was a very scenic drive, this area is breathtaking. 

JJ’s has wonderful Tacos and every Tuesday night a band is playing. We used to hear them from the patio and after 4 Tuesday’s I told Sid we need to go there, their music is too good to just listen from the patio. So we did. While sitting there one of the band members Manuel came over to our table introduced himself and welcomed us. Sid told him I play the guitar to which he wanted to know what songs. So I mentioned a few and when he heard Moliendo Café, he immediately asked me if I would play it during their break. So I did and before we left they invited me to play again the following Tuesday so this became a tradition. Unfortunately due to the pandemic the tourism is not back yet and JJ’s is struggling and eventually cut the band as he can’t afford them, so no more playing there. It was huge fun while it lasted and I had a big follower group, some 12 to 18 ladies meeting there every Tuesday to dance to the music became my number 1 fans other than Sid of course. I was told they will come back at the end of September, yeah.





The one thing I was afraid of is that a stray cat or dog would adopt us and sure enough this little kitty kept showing up and we got to learn each other’s trust, she showed up like clockwork now any time she wants. Now she rules the household, yep cats don’t have owners they have staff. We have not given her a name yet, just Miss Kitty and her future lies in the sand, as in using a litter box she ignores, inside and outside, well guess she after all is a wild cat. She follows me everywhere even for short walks. We guess she is about 2 years, if, and is oh so vocal never seen a cat this chatty. It’ll be tough to leave her behind but our neighbors promised already they would take care of her.








I hung some hummingbird feeders out and it is quite busy on the balcony. Not just humming birds like the sweet nectar but also Robins, Orioles, Woodpeckers and bats (especially on a full moon they empty both feeders).  The Robins had built a nest in one of our ceiling lights on the balcony and since we use this light often for BBQing it is a fire hazard so the electrician took the glass bowl down. We were hoping it was not too late and had no eggs in it yet. But there was this perfect and beautiful nest with 3 eggs in them. Unfortunately the birds did not find the nest we left on top of the BBQ underneath the light, bummer, we felt so bad.






What are the chances of a Hummingbird and a Rainbow at the same time






Occasionally we find a dead bat in the morning

The sunrises and sunsets are quite picturesque and we make sure we are up to see the sunrise every morning. There was a time in January when an occasional fog would roll in from the ocean. It was very weird how it rolled in, there was no breeze to speak of but it moved in rather fast, really weird. But made for some post card photos with the fog wrapping around the mountain leaving a window open in the middle.















The beach just a 3 minute walk below the house is just beautiful, lots of shells and beach glass and even agates are to be found. The water was too cold to take a swim. Now it’s so hot you don’t want to go for a swim. I was actually going to snorkel and walked to the beach to assess where I could go when this Eau de Toilette smell hit my nostrils, what a shame, for sure I will not snorkel here. But it’s pretty to look at the water anyway.






The wind blows at all times up to 25 plus knots, the windows in the house are not very well sealed so pretty much after I clean for instance the table which has a glass top, about 2 hours later dust has settled on it already, as if I didn’t clean it at all. So it’s a constant dust and clean situation. So one day Sid just had washed all windows and bug screens and I had dusted and cleaned the house including washed the patio down, when a tractor pulled onto the property next door and started moving dirt around. Nobody ever worked on the construction site of future 2 story building with 4 tiny rental apartments. Our entire days of hard work cleaning the house was ruined in just a short 1 hour. Even our neighbor below came up and yelled at the lady that she did not warn them, they had their patio covered worse than ours and had all the windows open. Instead of and maybe  "I am sorry" she just kept yelling at us that it’s not her fault for the wind blowing. We all were pissed beyond pissed. We couldn’t even see the ridges of the tiles on the balcony. Just good the work has stopped as she ran out of money. She is knows as the Dragon Lady now in our neighborhood.



Apropos cleaning, I have this Italian hand cranked pasta machine, which got a little corroded so I decided to take it apart and clean it. Super easy to take it apart, but putting it together again, you need at least 4 extra hands. Sid and I had a lot of laughs putting it together, we finally outsmarted it with tape. 



So for the first time I decided to make raviolis after all I have a ravioli attachment I have never used. I have to add this machine is around 40 years old. Well, the ravioli attachment is still a virgin as the raviolis I had to make by hand, took me about 4 hours. They were yummy though and way worth it but I don’t think I will make them again. One batch I stuffed with artichokes and the other with a spicy sausage. The artichoke ravioli I topped with a saffron cream sauce, yum. Sid loved them so much a week later he asked if I would make more, luckily I had some more in the freezer LOL.




I had to laugh so hard after a long day of sewing I cleaned up the floor and as I walked to the kitchen I felt something clinging to my heel. Do you know when it’s time to get a pedicure? When Velcro sticks to your feet it’s time to get a pedicure. It’s so dry here and the spas were still not open due to the Pandemic so my feet were rough. In the meantime all is open and the Velcro is used just for my sewing projects.

In Puerto Vallarta I bought a traditional Mexican Margarita glass and here I found the kewlest shot glasses with an agave inside, so I created a new drink and named it “Sombrero Boraccho” which means drunken sombrero, as you drink the beer the shot glass with Tequila will tip more and more and spill into the beer.





We are off the grid from the marina, as the VHF does not work at the house, but we are meeting some pretty kewl cruisers. Marrian and Frank were our neighbors, I guess they were already over a week next to us but haven’t met me yet as I am at home sewing. Marrian was so happy to finally meet me we exchanged phone numbers and eventually started dinners in our house and theirs.

Incredible view from Marrian's property

She introduced me to the best Tequila ever Negro Zafiro









We still can’t get over the view from this house, just breathtaking and in the meantime the winter sun moved north and we finally got a glimpse of the sun rising over the Guaymas mountains, until now the house the East of us was blocking it. Buy summer solstice it’s shining into the house we have to lower the shades. We make it a point to be up and watch the sunrise. There is no sunrise alike and the colors are just fiery and so are the sunsets.

Middle of July Lupita the lady that rented us the house, knocked on the door unannounced with another woman. Comes out this Mexican lady living in Phoenix wants to rent the house for 1 year come September. Sid thought we would be done by then but after she left and we thought about it we freaked, as Sid realized it’s still going to take at least 6 more weeks for all the work, not counting rainy days or days off and my worry Sid’s prostate treatment, not knowing what the results was yet. We called Lupita that we needed to talk to her. We were on pins and needles not knowing if the lady signed a contract yet.  Lupita saw our worry and immediately told us that we can stay as long as we wanted the lady was just shopping for a place and had no contract yet, so we jumped on that and told  her that we would stay through the holidays and move back on the boat in January. What a relief that was, so no stress to rush anything and in the mean time we have the results that the Iodine treatment works well, but for now he has to continue it.

Almost all the varnish is almost done except the cabin sole, which will be one of the last things to do after Sid fixes the transmission. For that we had to buy a hoist as the motor needs to be pulled to be able to access the transmission, so we are hoping it’s just the seal that needs to be replaces. Sid polished all the stainless steel, crevasse corrosions have been fixed and the bow pulpit should be done this coming week. Poor guy has been going to the yard at 5.30 in the morning and comes home around 11:30 as it is so unbearably hot and humid.

Marrian departed to Vancouver mid-July and had asked me if I would feed her feral cats, wild doves and sparrows 4 times a week and since it would be a long 30 min one way walk in this heat she gave us her car to use and also go shopping with so on days I don’t need the car Sid uses it to and from the yard, or I pick him up. It’s really a huge help having the car.

The sewing seems to be slow going as well and the pile seems to grow as Sid finds new things to replace. I am done with the Bimini and I am working on the dodger windows at the moment, next will be filler between Bimini and dodger, a new deck box cover as varnish accidentally spilled on it. Cockpit enclosure, bumper covers and, and, and…., no boring moments here.


Glad I have a big table to work on



But we both can see the end of the tunnel, although still small but every day it gets a bit brighter.

I think we are making progress with Miss Kitty, she stays more often in the house than not and definitely is running our house. She is the most vocal kitty I have ever met, she talks non-stop, She's trained me well, I know what meowy scream is for food, which one for let me in or let me out and definitely common play with me. But she's not happy to play until I crawl under the table and play with her under the table. Yep I am a sucker, I comply. About 2 weeks ago we had a feeder band from a passing hurricane bringing heavy wind, rain and a horrendous lightning storm. The first big bang I jumped out of bed and opened the front door and the poor kitty leaped inside. So there we were sitting on the floor in front of the giant window watching the lightning show together, her leaning into me, wow progress. I had bought a litter box but she totally ignored it so after more than a month I got rid of it. 5 days ago we had another thunderstorm, the same thing Miss Kitty leaping through the door. Then when it slowed down she was ready to go outside but changed her mind when she saw the rain still hitting the very wet ground. So she spent the entire night inside. So I filled the box up again with dirt from the area I saw her using in hopes she will use the box.  So another night without much rest as she keeps calling me with that loud sound of a cat in heat, yep that's her come play with me, and of course she will not stop meowing right next to my bed until I get up. Of course I want to go back to sleep so I open the front door in the hopes she would leap outside to go potty, but no, what she wants is to play with me. I can't tell you how many times I lie under that table butt naked playing with her in the middle of the night, sometimes she just wants to be pet. Well I am getting smarter too, so after the 3rd time waking me up I shut the bedroom door, I think I am making progress as well. Friday night I woke up to the fiercest Thunder boom and of course I ran to the door to let a leaping cat inside. Again we sit cuddling on the floor, almost kind of under the table (what is it with the table) and watch the lightning show. Then off to bed, Miss Kitty of course followed me and as so many times I picked her up and placed her next to me but she splits faster than a lightning bolt, but this time to my astonishment she stayed and just enjoyed the cuddling, she left for a while but came back this time she plopped to her side and stayed. At one point she gingerly walked over to Sid's head and I am pretty sure she licked him then she hopped off the bed. Then I heard this scratchy noise, hmm weird so I went to investigate and there she was in the litter box using it. Definite huge progress, since then she's barely leaving me alone and when in bed with me she gently licks my face, I can barely feel it, so cute. She is such a cute and very smart cat.

Some of you may remember my Shelter Bay Blog about the Superyacht Asgard designed by Bruce King, the same designer who designed our Paradise. He himself owned his Ericson 36 C for I think 20 years. There was only 66 of our boats built. We we have always wondered if he knew about Paradise and what Sid had done with the boat but we thought we'd would never find out. Wrong! After that blog his wife Pam send us an email which was such a surprise, she wrote Bruce has been following us for along time. Not just that after several emails going back and fourth she asked for our address as Bruce wanted to send his published book to Sid. A beautiful book and OMG what a surprise to see Paradise on one of the pages, what an honor! 

Sid showing off his book

Sid posing with Paradise





Bruce King again thank you sooooooo much!

Work goes on for a few more months and I hope by the next Blog update we can tell you we re done and Paradise is ready to get back into her environment. We also hope that some of our friends finally will be able to visit us.

So here we are in yet another Paradise enjoying a peaceful life working our little butts off,  not knowing if our future back on the boat will include a chatty and demanding little Kitty but that still depends on her as I keep telling her: her future lies in the sand. I have a name for her Guapita but I think Squeaky would suite her better. 

You all stay safe and healthy 

PS: for those who get the automatic updates when I post a new blog, Blogger, that feature has been removed.

Here a few more photos:

Micro Brewery in the San Carlos Marina. My favorite was the coffee flavored brew

Sid stuck with his Captain Morgan's

A Kiss from Nature

Love my Margaritas

Maracuyamohitorita (Passionfruit and mint)

Sidley had a runny nose cold

Evaporating rain cloud

Wonderful Greak restaurant on the beach


Tuesday Special Gyro, wonderful


Look a the incredible painting of this house. We went to a seafood place in La Manga with Marrian and Frank


Marrian and Frank. Food was wonderful

and so was teh scenery

Sid's Hamburger at El Patron

and my Seafood Ceviche

Our Easter Brunch with Quin and Sean at Casa Boatbumms


way too much food for just 4 people

I miss having a pool around to exercise and since the ocean was too cold at first now that odor of something you don't want to swim in I ordered a 6 foot 29 inch deep pool on Amazon. 
Looooove it!!! So does Barbara. The first time I invited her over, I had a little surprise for her. Our first pool enjoyment included a Bellboy.
Thought the perfect spot would be under the Frangipani tree with the beautiful scented flowers




Our Handsome Bellboy 


Unfortunately the floor was not leveled 

So we moved it on the balcony


Desert Rose and Hybiscus

Beautiful but unscented Desert Rose




Seed pods of the desert rose


Fuzzy seeds



Frangipani


Look at this colorful Bougainvillea medley in front of this house


Can you just see me driving this thing with Sid sitting in the basket on a well cushioned bench, a cooler and a cocktail in his hand. Would be a fun  Happy Hour Cruise!!

Mother Nature at her work:
A tropical storm loosing its strength not too far away from us, the red dot

5.5 followed by a 5.2 and 4.5 earthquake surprise in less than a few hours