Diving In

We've lived the past few days at the frenetic pace of a good vacation. Up for a nice breakfast-then out for a day of exploring.
Yesterday we pulled out the Scuba gear, and for the first time in what I finally calculated was 10 years!!, we went diving with Andy from Savannah.

 Andy's amazing photos

It's not quite like riding a bike.
Most of the skills did come back to me, but when a curious sea lion (lobos marinos) bumped me from behind I inhaled in shock and shot to the surface. I decided it counted as good practice to head back down again. And taking measured breaths I descended and ended up face to face with a big parrotfish who reminded me why I wanted the hassle of having dive gear aboard.

At the end of the dive we let Maia try breathing under water. She swam around with Evan-at about the 6 foot mark, bobbing to the surface now and again, but smiling hugely. Her only complaint was she missed seeing the big bull lion that suddenly appeared at our fins, making us decide it was time to head home.
There was no rest once we got back to the boat. After cleaning our dive gear we headed to shore for a hike. We decided our trail through a baked arroyo, over red rocks and through scrubby cactus must have been a bit charmed-each time we got lost a big desert hare would appear on the trail and get us back on track. The last time we saw it was when we were just metres from the beach and the dinghy.

Over dinner with the Savannah crew, Maia complained as the folks on what looked like a nearby charter powerboat pulled out every toy imaginable. They spent the evening (up to the last moments of a perfect sunset) wakeboarding, jet skiing, paddle boarding, kayaking and snorkeling. I thought the pace looked exhausting, but I understood. It's hard not to live every day as fully as you can out here.

But today, with Savannah headed back to La Paz and us heading north it feels like a regular day again. We'll sail to our next anchorage and catch up on a few chores-we may snorkel or hike, but we won't try for everything. The problem with living life like we're on vacation is, we're not. Although it's awfully fun to pretend we are.
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