Latest Update (as of 6-1-09) Please see the months full page for details and photos.  Note:  we will try to update our website once a month, so keep checking!

May started out with diving, for Dana's birthday activity, out at an island bird sanctuary.  It was great to be out cruising again.  We spent the rest of the month in Mazatlan with the boat hauled out of the water getting a bunch of "business as usual" boat work done.  Being in the boat yard is hard work, hard living, and quite stressful.  We did manage to have some fun times in Mazatlan, although we were starting to go a bit batty after over three weeks in the boat yard.  It sure will be nice to be out sailing again!

Past Update

(as of 5-1-09) Please see the months full page for details and photos.  Note:  we will try to update our website once a month, so keep checking!

April was so much fun with lots of visitors and exploring our surroundings.  We also took care of day to day business, as well as looking into getting settled into the area later in the year.  Mike's sister and her family came for a visit and we took them sailing around the bay and showed them around.  Then some other boaters came for a quick visit.  We were applying for our longer term visas, trying to get lots of school done, and take care of some other business that was still on the burner.  We were so busy that the month just flew by.  We are feeling a bit pressured, as we are about six weeks behind where we had wanted to be by now.  Oh well, maybe next month we will "catch up' (yea, right).

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ORIGINAL '03 PLAN:  We are just beginning an open ended sailing journey and possibly a circumnavigation.  Our initial plan is to stay in Mexico for one year, possibly two.  After Mexico, we will sail down the coast of Central America before visiting the Galapagos on our way to the South Pacific.  Our first stop there will be Pitcairn Island to visit the home of Fletcher's namesake.  After that we shall see.

JUNE '04 PLAN:  Now that we are several months into our journey, we are thinking along different lines, and our plans may be changing.  That is one of the great things about this lifestyle.  As of mid '04, we are now planning to spend next year on the Pacific coast of Central America before going through the Panama Canal.  The following year we will spend exploring the Caribbean side of Central America before crossing the Caribbean.  We will then spend one or two seasons going up and down the east coast of the United States in the summer and into the Caribbean islands in the winters.  Possibly after that we will cross over to the Mediterranean for a year of European exploration and education.  Eventually we do want to cruise the South Pacific, but it will probably be a few years and maybe even on a different boat.  But, who knows what the future may bring?! 

JUNE '05, SAILING INTERRUPTED:  After much thought and consideration, the crew of Desiderata decided that it would be a good thing to take a break from sailing for awhile.  Mike and Nancy picked the north shore of Lake Tahoe as the place to settle.  For two years we fully enjoyed the mountains and all that they have to offer.  We enjoyed skiing, snowboarding, cross country skiing, camping, backpacking, mountain biking and living in such a clean and pristine environment with great people.

SEPTEMBER '07 PLAN:  Back on board, we spent a couple of months working on Desiderata in El Salvador before we headed further into Central American waters.  The "plan" is to spend a short time in Nicaragua, a few months in Costa Rica and Panama and then head down to Ecuador for the next rainy season.  While in Ecuador, we hope to do several inland trips including the headwaters of the Amazon and Machu Picchu.  We also would like to get out to the Galapagos Islands.  After this, we will head back north, go through the Panama Canal and explore the Caribbean coast of Central America.  We plan on diving as much as we can off the coasts of Nicaragua, Honduras and Belize.