Puerto Balandra

Fourteen years ago when we arrived on our boat in Mexico we had no idea what to expect from the Sea of Cortez--all we had heard was that it was a desert that got damn hot in the summer. What we didn't know is we'd fall in love with the place: the isolation, the rugged beauty and the sea life. We'd also meet some of our best friends and create some wonderful enduring memories.

We also didn't know that Maia has been listening to the stories about the Sea through the years--building her own image of what this fabled place would be, waiting for her own chance to create her own memories. Yesterday she snorkelled for the first time (up until then she hadn't really got the hang of it and tended to swallow a lot of water.) Then when we got home to the boat she paged through our old books, identifying for her first time damsel fish and trumpet fish, triggerfish and wrasse.

This morning when she woke, she rushed outside. "I can't believe I'm finally here!" she said.