I wrote a new PHP script to process our blog text and search for LAT and LONG data in the following format:

The tool will pull out the information, then post it to the map on the blog site.  This will allow us to post to our blog, with our current position while underway by just sending that simple text string.  The tool will read all the blog messages on this page and create points on the MAP with a hyperlink to each point.

I'm "Negrita" (Blacky) and I'm full of energy because I'm only 8 months old. I'd like a good home because the people who rescued me have a mean old cat that doesn't like me much. I just want to play and stay a long ways from that Vet who spayed me -- that was a bad time.

I have the longest tail on the planet and did I mention I need a home? Contact me through the website because I can travel the world.



Phew, I just gave birth to a healthy batch of 5 kitties -- and they all look like me! I was getting ready to hide somewhere when these crazy people grabbed me and hauled me off. Now instead of having my babies in the wild and fulfilling my dream of populating the planet, I fear they are going to spay me too. Any chance I could move in with you? I'm a little tired from taking care of the kids, but I'm super friendly and I love a good scratch behind the ears!


Finally we can see! The world looks a little blurry, but we're all feeling pretty good considering we're only about 2 weeks old.

We enjoy sleeping most of the time and a little snack every half hour is nice.

Any chance you could help spring us? Momma says we might get spayed or neutered, so we're all hoping to find a way out soon!

(Don't tell them but they're all going to get fixed! And they need homes!)

Sherrell’s feeling much better after seeking some natural remedies to eliminate the hematoma and scar tissue.  In the process we discovered some small stitches that were left behind from when Sherrell removed her own stitches.  We cleaned and flushed everything and the swelling is way down and the redness is almost gone.

The seasonal rains in Mazatlan were a little late this year, but they came in with a bang!  We had night where it POURED.  The streets were flooded and there was water everywhere.  The air was so crystal clear, Sherrell thought she spotted Hawaii!

Our rescued Orange cat we took to the vets had a litter of 5 kittens.  Five!  Now we are going to get her fixed (and her kittens) to re-release them.  It’s a small thing, but we’re doing what we can to help out.  By the way, the black cat we rescued is fully healed and ready to be adopted!  Any good homes out there?

Sometimes it feels like I’m melting. Then I see there’s a heat wave in the US and I think, maybe, just maybe they are hotter than me. Especially when I see that it is 110F somewhere, that’s hot.  It only gets to about 95 or so in Mazatlan. Then I started to look at the heat index. Today for example, it is 95F and 87% humidity in Mazatlan. When I compute the heat index it tells me the outside feels like 143F or 61C. By comparison in Sacramento it was 103F but only 7% humidity that’s a heat index of only about 104F (even if it was up to 40% humidity at 103F that’s only 116F). Maybe we are melting. Last summer in the Bay of LA, Mexico, things were much less humid and those hot days where it was 110F to 120F on land were about 10 degrees cooler on the water and with only 20% - 40% humidity. That sure beats a heat index of 143F.

Sherrell has been in a lot of pain and unable to really move around the boat without hurting herself more. So we’ve temporarily moved into her dad’s house while she recovers. Actually we’ve been here two weeks and I’m surprised they haven’t kicked us out yet. We’ve tried the advice of her doctor for 3 weeks now and it hasn’t been helping at all. Now we’re trying some natural homeopathic products and she’s finally not in pain all the time and things seem to be improving.  We’ve been using them for a week and she’s starting to feel better. With some luck she’ll be able to move back on board the boat soon.

I know a lot of people think we would be more comfortable in a house, but we really aren’t. Our boat has really become our home. We prefer staying in our boat to hotels, condos and other houses.  All of our food, clothes, entertainment, and personal items are there along with all of our memories. No to mention we enjoy living on the water, even if we are stuck in the marina for hurricane season. The main reason we need to be off the boat for Sherrell to heal is because she keeps using her arms too much and hurting herself. You do have to be a bit like a monkey on a boat and climb around a lot. There is also a lot of work we need to do and she’s not quite well enough to start it, but she tries anyway and over-does things.

On the plus side she’s feeling a lot better which lifts both of our moods, however things still aren’t right and we’ll definitely need another trip back to the doctors. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

If you've read our stories about traveling in southern mexico and you'd like to see these places with a virtual tour.

Click on this link where I've created a bird's eye interactive view of these anchorages.

So you might be wondering why we have hooked up an air conditioner. I know we both are, but the reality of being stuck in the hot marina, with little wind and lots of humidity has driven us to it. Ok that, and someone loaned us one for the summer.

We justify it by saying Sherrell really needs the dry air to heal. And it has made a tremendous difference in how fast her skin is closing up. One day of AC has done more for her than a week of just resting in the humidity. She's almost closed back up.

In a weird sort of way, we prided ourselves as being the only ones without AC, but now we're looking at how to insulate around it with some foam we found. What a switch. Anyway, just to record this strange turning point in our lives in hopes that we haven't turned soft. I took a picture of it in the companion way when I first pluged it in and packed some towels and stuff around it to test it.

If you're reading this we can now post our slog updates directly from the boat. How cool is that?

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Hopefully this is the last.  We went to Guadalajara thinking they would just say, “Si,  Eso es una hematoma.  Que lastima.”  But no.  The surgeon didn’t like the looks of things one bit.  So we scheduled surgery for 2 hours later.  They removed the hard “mass” which the doctor described as a cocoon encapsulating blood and fluid.  He was eager to show it to me, but I passed to avoid passing out.

Only 2 days after removing the mass Sherrell felt better than before the surgery.  She didn’t realize how badly it had been bothering her.  The tests came back negative for bacteria and cancer and the doctors best guess is it could be related to a side-effect of radiation (and an old MCTD problem in remission) or the hematoma.  Anyway Sherrell’s doing a lot better and we’ll get our lives back yet.  She’ll have all summer to heal now!

We had a great time surfing with our friends at a beach about 76km north of Mazatlan.  But now we have to go back for some more doctoring.  The hematoma is still bad and the ultrasound showed it was pretty large.  So more fun for Sherrell.

In the meantime, we took a homeless cat (they keep getting dumped at the marina) to the shelter to get fixed.  We have to pick her back up today, but we think we’ve found someone to adopt her.  Now we just need to figure out what to do with the 6 kittens, and 2 other adult cats before they multiply.

Hopefully, things will go well and we’ll be back quickly!