East Coast Fall Colors.....Look Out Here We Come!!!!: April 2009

Life goes on here in Bahia del Sol.....Mac is still working 2 days a week with Jani and her kids teaching English and trying to learn a little Spanish. We have a swim and visit with other friends every afternoon. On Sundays we have GREAT pizza at the hotel and they set up a big screen and we watch a movie. We're still anchored just outside of the hotel and love watching the local traffic go by. Here's a cute picture of a proud Dad teaching his son to run the boat.

Jani recently celebrated her birthday and we had cupcakes with the kids, they were a big hit!

SV Obsession is heading home for a few months and will be leaving their boat in the yard at Murray and Collette's. Here's a couple pictures of their adventure of hauling out......

Murray and Collete are great people. They're from Canada but own and run a boatyard here in El Salvador. It's not the usual boat lift or yard but they do great work and it's "Paradise" after all.

Mac enjoying her new friend "Poncho"........

Alan is still partial to his feathered friends...............

Well with less than a week before we fly home for Donavan and Amanda's wedding it's time to get Maggie and the boat ready to head down to Murray and Collette's where they will stay until we come home. They have 2 dogs, 2 cats, and 2 birds and love animals so Mags will be fine. We're getting exciting about seeing family and friends and will bore you with lots of pictures when we get back. Meanwhile here's where Effie and Mags will be staying while we're gone:

We’ll we’re all settled in here at Bahia del Sol. We’re anchored just outside the marina in the estuary/river. The hotel staff is wonderful, the pool is perfect, the food is great, and there is cold beer for only $1.00……what more can you ask for? The hotel is very cruiser friendly so they give us 30% discount on the food, allow us to tie the dinghy up to the dock, have laundry service, and serve us the local beers (which are very good) all for only $14 a week. They have great canoes here….they carve them out of a local kapok tree (older style life jackets used the puffy

cotton like material from kapok trees as stuffing). There are still lots of panga style boats used for fishing and small tour boats, but we love the canoes.

The hotel is very nice and we basically have the run of it...... even enjoying the their pet parrots.

They have two sides, one on the beach side (which we are also welcome to use) and then the river side (the one where the boat is anchored).

Mac enjoying the pool.............

Cashew tree, there's only one cashew per piece of fruit, wow, no wonder they are so expensive!

Mac's still beading, here's a bracelet she made for Thea before she left. (Picture not the best)

We took a trip into San Salvador with Thea and Randy using Melvin the taxi driver. He came and picked us up and drove the 45 min drive to San Salvador then took us all over running errands. The El Salvadorians all seem to be very friendly and they have great stores in San Salvador. Our last stop was at “Price Smart” (their Costco) and as you can see by the picture we loaded up!

We also had to avoid some local traffice on our way there.

Jani is a Canadian who has settled here and owns a place on the island. She’s a kick and a lot of fun. She runs “Jani’s Beach English School” where she teaches the local kids English. There are 3 different classes. The 2 p.m. class is small and are the most advanced. The 3 p.m. class is between 6-8 students and they are the beginners. Then there’s the 4 p.m. class……..30+ kids all at different levels. This is the class Jani appreciates cruisers help with. The kids are great and it’s so much fun to help. I, Mac, go every Monday and Thursday to help and the kids are teaching me Spanish while I help them with English. Jani also has a Wednesday night BBQ for the cruisers to help make money for the school. It’s absolutely delicious chicken, salad, veggies and always a surprise dessert. Alan usually brings his guitar and after dinner we play some music and sing a little.

Sandy, Lady, Betsy, Thea, Wendy

Mac

We also took a trip up the river, via the dinghy, to the little town of San Luis la Herradura. We went on Sunday and what a busy place. There were pangas everywhere, everyone bringing in their catch and since it was Sunday lots of locals were out eating at the restaurants. It’s about a 45 minute dinghy ride up the river. We didn’t plan well and went at low tide so at one point Alan had to get out and forge a path by walking the river, what a kick that was!

(leaving Effie to head up the river)

Alan walking the river finding a deeper spot for the dinghy to go through.

Approaching the river restaurants at la Herradura

Mac enjoying the river trip.....still wearing her hat from the Barra Christmas Party!

Maggie is doing well (she was pretty sick while we were in Huatulco) but with the help of a great vet, Dr. Roberto Lopez, and her will to live she’s back to her old self. It’s great to have her back even if she’s screaming for dinner, demanding attention, and finding the most unusual places to take an afternoon nap. (no she's not dead, she's just sound asleep!)

One of the hardest things about cruising is having to say goodbye to good friends. But one of the best things about cruising is meeting up with old friends and meeting new friends all the time. So instead of saying “Goodbye” we just say “See Ya Down the Road.”