Life is good....

Finally...am making a stab at this!  I've spent so much time trying to figure out how to turn this into a web page rather than a blog that I haven't done anything at all!  Figured it was time to at least get something up to share.

Our big news is that Tarelle IV has new owners as of January 1st.  Friends Pat and Marianne have fallen in love with her and are excited about starting out on their own boating journey.  They spent a week with us here in Puerto Vallarta learning about the boat and the live-aboard boating lifestyle.  Our 'sea-trial' day was the highlight...check out this happy face!  They plan to come back down in January and take Tarelle up to San Carlos so that she is in commuting distance from their home in Phoenix.  Aside from many hours spent discussing boat related stuff, Rob and Pat also fit in time to take a scuba lesson at the pool.  They decided after spending an hour in the pool that it was something they might like to do, but that they weren't feeling quite prepared enough to tackle the 60' dive in the open ocean the next day....go figure!!!!

After Pat and Marianne left, we decided to untie the dock lines for a few days and remind ourselves why we wanted a boat.....  Headed out to Punta Mita along with our friends Rich and Penny on their boat Kokopelli.  They had just finished re-rigging so were anxious for some pics of their shiny looking boat and since I just happened to have my brand new camera on board I was happy to help out!

Karen and Bill on Miele were planning to anchor for a few hours before heading south to Barra, but we convinced them that it would be far more fun to stay with us for a couple days so we shared some great dinners, lots of wine and beautiful sunsets.... Being the token powerboat (and the only one with satellite TV), everyone decided our day to host should be Sunday so that they could enjoy football whilst swaying on the hook....rough life!

The following week the Galloways arrived to do some condo-hunting, so they, Rob and a local realtor spent 4 mornings viewing condos all the way from downtown Puerto Vallarta to Nuevo.  There's a lot out there right now, and it's definitely a buyer's market here.  The local economy is suffering with decreased tourism due in large part to the economic crisis in the US, as well as the bad press Mexico has gotten lately with the northern drug problems.   This area continues to be as enjoyable and safe as always, but you really do see the evidence of increasing poverty in the locals with many large hotels laying off staff and other businesses closing their doors.  However, it worked to Janet and Dave's advantage as they were able to make a fantastic deal on a beautiful penthouse condo here in Nuevo.   It belonged to an elderly couple from the states who decided after they went home last year that they weren't coming back, so the unit is fully furnished and ready to walk into and use...right down to the coffee maker and boogie board!  The deal should close when they come back in February, very exciting for them (and for us, it'll be a great place to visit when the boat isn't here anymore!).

The only other big news here right now is that we have had 2 (non-consective) days of pouring tropical rainstorms-warm, but very, very wet!!  Kind of feels like home (well, okay, not really-it's waaayy more fun when the temperature is still in the 70's).  The surge at the docks is still huge, so we're constantly having to tighten lines and check fenders.  We've been making good use of our warking (sp?) winch again this year.

So, that's it for now.  Almost time to start putting up Christmas lights and decorating my mini tree for the holidays!