As I wrote in the last entry we had an amazing time in San Evaristo! After our four days of science experiments and our fabulous day sail we were exhausted but thrilled about all that had happened. Our last day at the school was a celebration of the kids. It was Dia del ninos (kids day) in Mexico and all the kids had been making pinatas for the big party at the school on Friday. We arrived early and immediately started the party with relay races and food. The kids had fun doing sack races,playing freeze, and dancing. We had a strange breakfast of pasta salad and hot dogs, we had brought the supplies for a lunch party but it worked great for breakfast too, so no one was disappointed. We ended the party with the pinatas and all the kids loved grabbing for candy and gifts that fell out of the pinatas after they had been broken open. The teacher in San Evaristo had an awards ceremony for all of us who participated in the week long science extravaganza and we were all touched and impressed with our certificates from the state of Baja California Sur. It was a real honor to receive these certificates of thanks and recognition and made each one of us proud of what we had accomplished. We spent a few more days in San Evaristo to wind down and to get ready to head home. The saddest part about leaving was having to say good bye to Nick and Sydney, from IWELD, as their family was planning on heading north. We left San Evaristo under full sail, but not before we were able to sail by IWELD and give them our, now famous, Vltava "salute". IWELD surprised us by "saluting" back which made everyone laugh. The trip home was supposed to be slow and relaxing but the boat had other plans. As we were arriving at the first anchorage we had planned on spending the night at, we realized we had water coming from the engine. Because of this we couldn't get the engine started and Matt, the captain, and I decided we should scrap the plan to stop for the night and just keep heading to La Paz. We were worried that if we anchored somewhere we might have problems leaving, with no engine, so we just kept going. The wind slowly started getting light and we realized we would not be able to get to La Paz before dark and none of us wanted to try to navigate the channel, with no engine in the dark, so we hove too and flopped around all night trying to make some leeway and stay away from land. the wind had other ideas for us and stopped blowing all together as night approached. To make a long story short we ended up rolling around all night, sitting watches and trying to get comfortable. When the sun came up in the morning we were five miles back from where we started as the current was pushing us back to San Evaristo. We flopped around all morning, spying wind that just seemed to be an arms length out of reach. We were able to contact Kevin, in La Paz, and let him know what was happening. We realized, that the way things were going on this second day, we would probably not be able to make it into La Paz in the day light and none of us wanted another night of flogging around with no wind. Kevin, graciously, said he would come save us and help us get in somewhere,anywhere, for the night. he was able to convince a good friend, Nick on JESSE MARIE, to head out and try to tow us in. They made it out to us in good time and were able to tow us into Lobos anchorage before dark. We had a good night of much needed rest and got up the next morning ready to get home. The tow home was easy and we had no problems getting back to the anchorage. After assessing the engine we figured that we must have blown some seal when we first over heated the engine and the water was coming from there. We had a hard time saying good bye to the crew when we got into town. I think none of us really wanted the trip to end! Jack, Matt, and I have already met for dinner to talk about our trip for next year. Jack, who had first stated that this was a one time deal for him has changed his mind and seems to be on board for another exciting trip next year. We even talked about going to more than one school and expanding the curriculum to include projects with boats and learning about wind, water displacement,and buoyancy. I think the best compliment I received was when talking to Jack he told me that this trip, and everything leading up to it, was one of the most memorable experiences he's ever had. Well, that's all for now. I will try to keep writing. At this time the kids and I are in the states for a month to see Will, my oldest, graduate from high school, and then back to La Paz to work on Vltava and get ready for hurricane season. I want to thank everyone who helped make this trip happen. The support and love we feel from our community is amazing and inspiring and we could not have been able to accomplish all that we did with out all of you. THANK YOU!!!!!! Allison