SYLVIA:

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico 2000

It's funny the turns a dream takes.

Sitting at a desk 5 minutes before air time three years ago all I could think about was the gentle motion of the Aviana cutting through the sea, Mexico in her sights. I could taste the salt in the air.

The dream came true.

It changes, though. Twists in ways I never imagined.

I sit now, in the shade of my bimini, tied to a dock in Marina Vallarta. My lines are snapping against the mast, telling me the wind is picking up and maybe I should consider a sail. But I think I'll stay put. I'm relaxed. I can hear Jon below editting the video we shot in India. Peso, our adopted street dog is lounging in the sun on deck and the charged language drifting from my boat neighbors is romanian, not spanish.

This is my life now. I live here.We've found paradise.

We've bought a house and will call Puerto Vallarta home for a while

It's a beautiful city. With a unique character and charm. A gentle mix of old and new. Tradition and tourism.

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It tempted us enough to change our dreams.

It wasn't easy saying goodbye to the other sailors we met. November first was the official start to the cruising season. It's when the hurricanes break. The skies clear and it's safe to put up the sails.

Our friends, Kevin, Susan, Naomi & Stewart aboard Crom headed south.

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...then we cried when they waved goodbye. (o.k....Jon didn't cry.) Check out Reality's website at: www.1001boats.com/reality

Both boats have now crossed through the Panama Canal, and though we won't make the trip with "Aviana" for a while, we do expect to catch up with our friends and sail parts of the world on their boats

Meanwhile, we cruise Puerto Vallarta...laughing with new friends...

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Design and Color by Louis Jaime. Illustrations by Louis Hinkhouse.