La Paz anchorage has a reversing current (like SF bay, part of the day the tide is coming in, part of the day it is going out). This does weird stuff to boats at anchor, leaving them beam or stern-to the wind, and sometimes when everything comes together in just the right combination of wind and current, it creates the 'La Paz Waltz' where boats will literally start sailing at a knot or two while still at anchor. The other night I was able to sit in the cockpit, stern-to 15 knots or so of wind, and actually steer the boat back and forth using the tiller against the incoming current. It's very strange, and the first time it happened we really thought we were dragging our anchor...which as it turns out would not have been all that surprising when we finally did raise our anchor (to shift to a more Pesky friendly spot) and found that a week of spinning in strange circles around our anchor had caused the chain to foul the anchor at about the 40' mark.

Aside from all the anchorage fun, we've been running around La Paz on massive provisioning runs, hitting every hardware store in town for a variety of supplies, eating great food, using the internet to frantically catch up with 'real life' in all it's forms, and generally having a whirlwind of a time. Here's some highlights:

Rancho Viejo: The arachera tacos here are the best tacos we have ever had...when we left San Francisco we thought nothing would be able to dull the pain of leaving Papalote behind, we were wrong. Arachera tacos for $18 pesos make Papalote a distant memory...and, we have recently been informed you can actually go with a group and just buy the arachera by the kilo, with tortillas and condiments on the side and have a massive group feed.

Bandidos: Burgers cooked on a grill retrofit into the engine compartment of a pickup truck. Open air dining 5PM-Midnight every night, and if it's cold they give you blankets. I highly recommend the 'Outlaw' which is a 1/2 lb burger with BBQ sauce, bacon, onion, and american cheese (for about 40 pesos).

La Fuente: Corn ice cream. Need we say more? Okay, fine: Tequila ice cream. Look for the polka dot tree on the Malecon.

5 Peso Tacos: Yes that's right, 5 peso tacos from street vendors. And today, 3x10! That's 3 carne asada tacos for a total of about 70 cents. While options abound I personally recomend the blue tarp stand, recognizable by the blue tarp strung from an aging van, near the mercado.

Cheap Tequila: You can buy a decent bottle of tequila for 45 pesos ($3 US). I would bet that for lots of expats here this is a primary draw in itself.

Baja Paperwork: Based on the recomendation of some friends, we went to Baja Paperwork to get our Temporary Import Permit completed. We were a little unsure of how well it would turn out if we tried to do it ourselves (click here for background), and we really didn't want to make an entire day of going out to Pichilingue to the Aduana office. We went in on Friday, and Yolanda got us our TIP on Monday. You pay a bit for this service, but we thought it was worth it. Also, handy tip, if you are not yet in Mexico, you can actually just get your TIP online at: http://www.banjercito.com.mx

We are going to spend another day or two here using the internet (and eating more food) and then head out to start exploring again. Miss you all!