...To explain these pictures, here's a copy of an e-mail I sent about the event...

Yesterday AM was an interesting day.  I was sitting with our neighbour Gary having coffee when Doreen came over saying there were a group of Federales at our trailer with machine guns.  She was worried they were there to shoot the beach dogs that had adopted us.  I went over figuring I was going to have to bargain for their lives and was trying to figure out what compromise I'd have to make if they really had to take some out.  When I got there they were friendly and said they were just checking to see if we'd had any problems with anything such as theft etc.  I told them "no" and chatted a bit then got them some water.  While we were sitting around they asked if they could use my binoculars and were checking the east Point, talking to each other about something out there.  They're apparently a new special Federal Marines unit assigned to stop the drug trade by monitoring coastal activity.  Part of their job is to meet each freighter that enters the harbour at La Paz for inspection.  They were trying to time their morning to coincide with the docking of the ship.

 When they finished they said they had to go out in the desert for their weekly target practice and asked me to come.  They let me bring my camcorder and we taped each other plunking at a water bottle.  It was the first time in years I'd fired a rifle and certainly the first time I'd fired an M16.  Later we all sat in the trailer and watched the video on TV.  Never a dull moment down here!