Are We Really Leaving Banderas Bay?

While cleaning the dinghy, I see movement off to my left and there is a sea turtle about 5 feet away swimming on the surface.  He takes one look at me and immediately dives.  I thought I heard him say "Oh, no!  You're the one that gave me the slit flipper!"  A while later Phileta looks out and next to me there are two bat rays just below the surface.  They gently glide below the dinghy.  Walking back from my wonderful morning yoga class, there must have been a hundred dragon flies darting around above the grass at the marina with an occasional swallow sweeping through the mass.  There are so many little things and wonderful people that have filled our days and nights here and they will be truly missed.

Last La Cruz sunset from the anchorage

Last La Cruz sunrise from the anchorage

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Yoga in the La Cruz Yacht Club

Goodbyes are not easy

We left La Cruz yesterday and have been in the Paradise Marina to thoroughly clean the boat and fill up our water tanks with good tasting clean water before heading south.  Yep, it seems we are truly on our way.  The sad thing is that this is our "swan song", our last two months of cruising.  Phileta's sister (Lynn) is in need of 24/7 care in Walnut Creek, CA.  We had a long talk about it and many emails with her niece and nephew and have decided we want to care for Lynn.  Maybe it is providence that we had the troubles we did and were not able to be in the South Pacific now.  We've had a year of living on the boat, many adventures, and have even done some sailing :-) .  We had intended to leave today, but the ball got started rolling to list our beloved Eagle with a broker here.  So, tomorrow morning we are heading to Chemala a little over 100 miles from here.  It should be a 24 hour sail and the weather reports look good.  Hopefully we will have some pictures to share with you and I might even try to use winlink to see if we can communicate that way.

I want to end with a quote that Zak sent me that seems so fitting for much of what is going on in the world today.  It is from Martin Luther King "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice."

Light and Love to all,

D & P