Taxco, is the silver capital of Mexico. It's an incredible city built on a mountain side way back in the 15 hundreds. The streets are very narrow and made of cobble stone. Every where you go there are silver shops and galleries. Everything from the very expensive and exquisite to the simple and dirt cheap. Everywhere you go you either walk or jump in one of the hundreds of VW bugs or vans without doors that swarm the plaza area and nearby neighborhoods. Throw in the altitude which is over 5,000 ft and the fumes from all those taxis and heavy breathing is required. There are still more shops and markets in the three and sometimes four floors below street level. Some of the best and cheapest restaurants, more like stalls, are to be had underground.

Nancy believes this year's still flowering garden is due mostly to a wet summer and plenty of fertilizer. These are her photos.

These photos begin in mid-May as we return to our boat, Zula in Brick Bay, Roatan Honduras. There's rubbish in paradise, or as an old time sailor, Bill once told me,

When is close up too close?

Continuing our Centeral American adventures and buying a sailboat. Note: Some of these photos were taken in the same place as Part I only with a different camera.

This is the winter vacation where after two weeks in a lovely little cobana on the beach in Trujillo, Honduras, where we loved the miles of beach, the friendly people, the tropical climate. We got bored. Took the "chicken" bus to Rio Dulce, Guatemala where sailboats by the hundreds are going for a song. Bought Zula a 31' sloop that has sailed the seas with a history dating back a half century. Sailing from Rio to the islands of Utila and then Roatan (back in Honduras again) was a cruisers nightmare. The 40 hour trip forever into the wind, with constant squals and rolling swells, getting lost, getting sick, always wet and running out of diesel was not a fun time. It was all worth it though as Zula is safely docked in a protected bay in Roatan and now we have a home of sorts to go back to for many winter vacations to come. There is a Part II with lots more photos .

A bitter/sweet road trip. Great camping on the way down. Ron and daughter Tori tag along as far as Mata Ortiz. We get to meet Juan Quezada and Spencer and Emi Macallum. Our trip to the Copper Canyon was short and scary as there was a Narco masacre of 13 people in Creel two weeks before. The homeward leg of the journey is uneventful.

These photos are of our new (old really) 1982 Catalina 30' tall-rig sloop. It all began in early March after a visit to our current boat after a rough winter in the water in Bayview, Idaho. She suffered dearly but we managed to dry her out and clear her up. Not long after that we decided we wanted a little bigger boat with a few more creature comforts. We did our research and after numerous emails and photos we made the trip over the mountain to Port Orchard and were introduced by Aaron and Julie to Anthem their boat, soon to be ours. That was the easy part. We had no idea what an ordeal it was going to be Moving a Sailboat. Altogether there are seven steps and as many or more people involved to get our boat moved from there to here. And of course both times we were over there on boat business it was nasty spring weather where we had to try and remember why we were doing this and that the weather would improve and there would be sailing on Lake Pend Oreille this summer. It's all behind us now and we've already taken her (we're working on a new name) on two shake down voyages. It was worth it.

Jamaica - This is our first time taking our winter vacation in someplace other than Mexico. Five weeks of relaxation mixed with a little work. (We now have a new line of baskets made for us in Jamaica). The people are very friendly, the food spicey and the weather warm.

It's becoming an annual event. Nancy with her friend Debbie spend a week in Mexico City and I stay home and take care of the animals, shovel snow and pretty much kick back and enjoy! Like seeing a moose from our front deck. And, I find it difficult to understand but Chiquita, a totally Mexican mutt, seems to enjoy romps in the snow. Some of it up to her neck. I also used this time to test out my snorkel gear for our trip to Jamaica this winter.

There were no other "traders" in the village of Mata Ortiz so we had a great selection of pots at good prices. When there is nobody buying but us the potters tend to "ambush" us everywhere we go as you can see by all the photos of them with their pots on the ground. The Copper Canyon was special this time as we completed our trip to the bottom of the Batopilas Canyon. Our first attempt six years ago ended short by about six miles as a tropical storm took out the road on both sides of our van.

After flying into Z Town we rented the world's smallest car and stayed at beaches going South almost to the border of Guatemala.

In No particular order