Searching for Paradise On The Way to La Cruz – May 1 – 22

The direct route from Marina Ixtapa to La Cruz de Huanacaxtle (which readers of this blog know as one of our favorite places) is about 331 miles.  Our bay-hopping itinerary made it a longer but a much more enjoyable voyage.  The entire trip was spent travelling through territory we had visited before, but as we have learned in every journey there is the possibility of new experiences.  This trip we learned that there is more than one way to experience paraíso (paradise).

Marina Ixtapa to Bahía Santiago – May 1 to 6

That said, our first leg, a three-day trip to Bahía Santiago, was not paradisiacal.  We managed to eke out only 20 hours of sailing during the 47-hour trip (40%) because low night winds (several hours at 2 to 4 knots) and the combined high swells and moderate winds during the day required us to use the motor to make headway. 

We set anchor at Bahía Santiago late morning on May 3^rd after two nights underway and found that the bay was no longer in the grip of the tourist frenzy that is Semana Santa.  But as the weekend dawned on Saturday, it was clear that the bay is also a popular short-break destination and that we were destined to be entertained once again by jet skis, banana rides and tour boats.  Bryce’s favorite tour boat encounter during this stay:  As the boat approached, blasting 80’s rock-n-roll, the guide announced over the loud speaker that the bay often hosted sailboats from all around the world, and that this boat (Abracadabra) was occupied by gringos. 

Aside:  Life can be interesting when you fly the US flag as publically as one does when sailing a US-registered vessel.  When Bryce was deciding whether to become a US citizen, Molly warned him that traveling on a US passport was different than traveling as a Canadian; that he would no longer benefit from the international assumption that, as a Canadian, he was polite, friendly and peace-loving.  But he took the oath anyway.  Now that is real patriotism – taking the bad with the good. 

The use of the occasional derogatory descriptive term aside, most Mexicans are very kind and polite to US citizens; sometimes because they actually like the US, and sometimes because Mexicans are generally polite to visitors.  During one of our trips to shore in Bahía Santiago two Mexican couples spending the day on the beach with their teenagers invited us to join them.  They wanted to hear about our trip to Mexico and to tell us how much they enjoyed their travels in the US.  They shared their beer with us and would have been happy to let us have one of their beach cocktails (a vile sounding mixture of cognac, mineral water and Coca Cola) had we not declined their offers.  We explained that we couldn’t drink much because we had to launch our dinghy into fairly substantial surf. 

We managed to restrict our intake to only two Coronitos (cute little 6 ounce sized Coronas) each, and to politely extract ourselves from the party.  We were ready to launch.  However, our two male hosts insisted on “helping us”.  Lesson learned:  It’s not enough that the dinghy crew remain sober; the launch crew must also be sober!  Our hosts were not annoyingly drunk by any means – but they weren’t in top dinghy launching form.  Fortunately, the only damage resulting from the Keystone Cops maneuver that got us off the beach was a thorough soaking of all parties.  Bryce managed to row through the surf before starting the engine (our new favorite departure technique – whatever happens in the surf happens without the engine prop spinning into someone), so we got back to Abracadabra with our groceries still in the boat and our hats and sunglasses on!

Bahía Santiago to Bahía Tenacatita – May 6 - 8

Not the perfect journey: an eight and a half hour trip with seven hours on the motor.  We turned in at Barra de Navidad to buy some fuel, worried that if these low winds kept up we might not make it to La Cruz with the fuel on board.

We anchored and enjoyed a quiet evening aboard.  Sadly, the next morning we awoke to find that  Abracadabra was surrounded by scary-looking red water.  We seemed to be experiencing what is often referred to as “red tide” but (according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s website) is more accurately referred to as a “harmful algal bloom”.  NOAA’s website explains that not all algal blooms are harmful, but since we’re not equipped to tell the difference, and we just thought the red water looked a bit icky (our own highly scientific term) we decided to forego a trip to shore and depart the next day. 

Our only neighbor was an Armada Mexicana vessel,

Nice, Quiet Neighbors

so when we woke to see clear water the next morning, we were tempted to stay an enjoy Bahia Tenacatita in the low season.  But we decided to push on to a little bay to the north that we had always wanted to visit – Paraíso.  Who wouldn’t want to visit a place called “Paradise”? 

Bahía Tenacatita to Paraíso – May 8 – 10

Making up for our prior low wind adventures, the universe granted us a day of perfect sailing.  We turned the engine off as we left Bahía Tenacatita and we didn’t listen to the beast again until we arrived in Paraíso five hours later.  We had south-east winds of from 10 to 16 knots all day (warm, clear, beautiful, yada yada yada). 

And yes, we found Paraíso to be aptly named.  Every other time we had passed this tiny little bay it had been fully occupied.  This time it was occupied by Abracadabra – period.  Well, we shared the bay with some day kayakers from a nearby hotel and a few fishermen, but no other boat was anchored at Paraíso while we were there. 

Abracadabra in Paradise

We swam in the clear, coolish water (it’s all about getting in quickly) and explored the bay’s tiny inlets by dinghy. 

Dinghy Tour of the Bay



Wildlife

We peered into sea caves that were too scary to take our dinghy into.  We watched foam erupt from blow holes and understood how early sailors could believe that dragons live there. . .  We walked on the beach.  We watched beautiful sunsets.

Caption Not Required

We concluded that this was Paraíso. 

We didn’t want to leave, but after a week with only one meal on shore we were beginning to be tired of Molly’s cooking (or rather, Molly was getting really tired of Molly’s cooking . . . ).  Plus, our last sail had been so spectacular that we were encouraged to try it again.

Paraíso to Bahía Chamela – May 10 to 12

And again we won the sailing lottery.  After raising anchor we had a short (2 hours) but perfect down-wind sail to Bahía Chamela.  Dolphins playfully swam beside and under Abracadabra.  Ah yes – this too was paraíso.

We anchored off Pérula, the little town at the north end of Bahía Chamela.  We walked into town and purchased some produce and a couple of beers, visiting every little tienda in town to find the few items we wanted.  Pérula is a sleepy little place.

We had lunch at one of the beachside enramadas.  By April of last year we had become somewhat jaded about the menus at these little enramadas.  Much like dinners at a British pub, the frequent enramada visitor can close his or her eyes, guess what the menu will offer – and almost always avoid surprise.  There will be:

• whole huachinango (red snapper) fixed five ways (frito – fried; ajo – garlic; mantequilla – butter; ajillo – garlic and chilies; empanado – breaded);

• fillets of dorado (mahi mahi) fixed (usually, the same) five ways; and

• medium-sized camarones (shrimp) fixed (usually, the same) five ways. 

Sometimes the menu will include pulpo (octopus) fixed (yes) five ways or one of the five ways will include Veracruzana (in the style of Vera Cruz – garlic, onions, tomatoes, olives).  But after several months on the Mexican coast there will be few surprises for the enramada diner.  The only difference between enramadas is the care taken by the cook. 

But interestingly, after an even longer time traveling the coast this year, we found that we enjoyed our filete dorado ajillo very much.  Perhaps the trick is to eat Molly’s Chicken and Vegetables in Trader Joe’s Bottled Mystery Asian Sauce over Rice two nights in a row before trying something “à la five ways” . . .

Bahía Chamela to La Cruz de Huanacaxtle – May 12 to May 13

From Bahía Chamela we motored directly into low winds and two meter (6 foot) plus swells.  Our perfect sail run was clearly over.  For three hours, we held on and listened to the motor as Abracadabra bucked up and down in the swell.  We kept telling each other not to become disheartened – that it wasn’t necessarily the case that we would have to motor the entire 101 miles to La Cruz. 

And so it came to pass.  Three hours out of Chamela the wind picked up and we put up the spinnaker.  The wind was a little low for the spinnaker, but it was going to be okay. 

And then it wasn’t. 

The swells were making it difficult to keep Abracadabra’s stern from crossing the wind – and at the very moment we took our eyes off the sail to eat some lunch (All Available Vegetables Pasta Salad) the spinnaker wrapped in a most bizarre fashion.  And then it wrapped around the furled jib. 

O...M...G...

Because we couldn’t even figure out how the wrap had started, we decided the best approach was to finish lunch. 

After scooping up our pasta salad, and staring a long time at the mysterious wrap, we decided that the worst case scenario was that we would have to motor to La Cruz and hope that the spinnaker didn’t rip - again.  The best case scenario was that we would somehow manage to unwrap the wrap without ripping the sail.  So - we turned on the motor and slowly turned one way . . . but the wrap didn’t come undone.  We then slowly motored the other way . . . and again it didn’t come undone.  Then Bryce went forward to see if pulling on something would have any positive effect . . . and still it remained wrapped.  To assist Bryce in his undirected tugging attempt, Molly eased the spinnaker sheet and let the spinnaker fly a bit and . . . it started to unwrap!  Bryce just stood there and watched it unwind itself – sort of like watching a tangled rope untangle without assistance.  We’ll never be able to replicate our “fix”– but it worked.  We didn’t even take time to do the “happy spinnaker unwrapping dance” – but hastily furled the spinnaker and decided enough was enough – we’d use the jib in these fluky seas. 

The wind seemed to agree that it was time to put the spinnaker to bed because at about 16.00 the seas flattened and the wind increased and shifted to Abracadabra’s bow.  So we tacked, and tacked again and again – every couple of hours throughout the afternoon, evening and night as we rounded Cabo Corrientes (Cape Currents).  We managed to sail all but 8 hours of the entire 28 hour trip! 

Other than Bryce having to wake up twice during Molly’s night watch to help her tack the big jib the trip was very calm and enjoyable.  All of our encounters with cruise ships and container ships were distant sightings.  The seas were relatively flat and the winds, though from an inconvenient direction, were consistent.  When put into the context of rounding one of Mexico’s most problematic capes – and our past hair-raising encounters with mystery ships in the night -- it was a type of paraíso.

Time-Share Paradise – May 15 - 18

We tied up at the La Cruz marina and called our friends Bob and Kathy Romano who were vacationing in Puerto Vallarta.  We were looking forward to joining them for dinner in the big city, and having them visit us in La Cruz.  However, they reported that they had just completed negotiating an upgrade to their time-share arrangement and had been given three days in a two-bedroom suite with an all-inclusive food and drink plan for four.  Now that’s friendship!

We decided this was a sign that the sea gods had sent us the Romanos and their negotiating skills as a reward for all our good sailing.  So we sent our clothes to the laundry, cleaned up Abracadabra, arranged for a diver to clean off the gunk that had accumulated on her hull in Bahía Zihuatanejo, and took a cab to PV to join our (really, really, really good) friends for three days of all-inclusive air-conditioned relaxation.  And because we’re just that kind of friends, we made sure that they got good value for their negotiations: we ate and drank and napped by the pool for three days.  Ah, yes – yet another way to experience paraíso. 

Bob and Kathy, Hard At Work

We also had two wonderful meals in old-town PV.  If you are visiting the area make sure you spend an afternoon enjoying the view, the tapas and the wine at Tapas Barcelona, and an evening enjoying the nuevo Mexicana cocina at No Way Jose! (don’t be put off by the name – the waiters don’t require you to drink tequila shooters and wear a sombrero – it’s a very good restaurant). 

To Date

Because we couldn’t figure out a way to stay at the time-share without Bob and Kathy’s sponsorship, when they left to go home to Spokane we returned to Abracadabra.  We’re doing boat jobs and planning and preparing for the last leg of our trip north – a 400-mile trip into and across the Gulfo de California (Sea of Cortez). 

But even a working-at-the-dock stay can be fun.  Last weekend a national kite-surfing race was held in Banderas Bay, filling the air with brightly colored kites that looked like a swarm of butterflies. 

Kite Surfers - Banderas Bay

But like sailors everywhere we were most entertained by studying one racer’s attempt to recover his downed kite – rooting for him to overcome the obstacles of current and waves, and cheering on another racer that gave up his race position to assist his compadre.  Neither kite-surfing nor sailing is a solitary activity.

We have looked at weather reports and prepared four days’ worth of underway meals.  We have told the Capitan de Puerto that we are leaving.  One more trip to a tienda to purchase bananas and tomatoes and we’re on our way tomorrow morning.  We’ll report in on that trip once we arrive!  Who knows – maybe we’ll find another bit of paraíso along the way?

Bahia Tenacatita to Gringolandia – February 18 – 21

Our friends (and former crew members) Frank Chan and Irene deBruijn Chan married during a wonderful four-day wedding celebration extravaganza last September, but for a number of reasons delayed their honeymoon.  When they told us they were going to visit a resort in Nuevo Vallarta in February for their belated honeymoon, we were thrilled.  Of course, we realized they would want to spend part of their honeymoon with us -- really, who wouldn’t?  So, on Saturday the 18^th, we departed Bahia Tenacatita for the three day, 124-mile trip north to Banderas Bay in order to join them. 

Tenacatita to Chamela

The first day we travelled 26 miles from Bahia Tenacatita to Bahia Chamela.  Our trip began with Bryce raising the anchor at 09.30.  As some of you may remember, we have a manual windlass, so the process of raising our anchor is quite an exercise in exercise.  It involves pulling 110 feet of anchor chain with a 33 pound anchor attached from 30-ish feet below the boat.  No weight loss program required for Bryce unless we pay for an electric windlass! 

This day was a bit of a slog.  First we motored because there was no wind, and once the winds came up around 11.00 we motored because we were heading into the wind and 6-foot swell.  That said, motoring does have its advantages.  For example, it gave us time to play with our camera and realize, after having owned it for several years, that it has a video feature!  Of course now that we have video on our camera, we don't have the bandwidth to download it to this blog.  One step at a time . . .  

We sailed a bit mid-day when the swells dropped to a manageable size.  Sea life sightings included (a) an “elevator whale” sighting: a whale raised up and then down again about 40 feet off our starboard side, and (b) a sea turtle that gave Bryce an extremely annoyed look as we passed (though perhaps sea turtles always look a bit annoyed - ?).  And the trip was not without its cultural highlights – we passed the Copa del Sol, a huge sculpture at the end of Punta Farallon – a point north of Bahia Tenacatita.  We have no idea who decided to build this huge thing at the end of this point – or why -- but it’s really amazing to see from the ocean.

Copa del Sol

We anchored in Bahia Chamela around 16.00, cleaned up a bit, threw together something for dinner and went to sleep. 

Chamela to Cabo Corrientes

The next morning, we lazed around, delaying our departure in order to time our rounding of Cabo Corrientes in the early morning when, theoretically, the winds would be lowest.  Calculating how long it should take to sail/motor a long distance such as the approximately 50 miles from the anchorage at Bahia Chamela to Cabo Corrientes is still an inexact science for us.  It involves trying to figure out where the winds and ocean swell are likely to come from and how strong they are likely to be (they are not the same and are frequently not coordinated), how far from shore we will have to tack to sail – if we sail – given those winds and ocean swell, and what sort of current boost, if any, we may get, depending on which direction we sail/motor.  And, of course there are always “unforeseen circumstances” – which we encountered on this trip (more to come).  When we left Bahia Chamela we slogged north-westward toward Corrientes into northwest winds and 7-foot swells. 

Dolphin Extravaganza

It wasn’t much fun until nature decided to give us the most spectacular dolphin show we have seen to date.  For an hour – from 16.05 to 17.05 -- we were passed by hundreds of dolphins.  At times we were surrounded by 50 or more dolphins leaping and diving, racing toward some goal we couldn’t identify at speeds that made our 5-knot speed look puny.  Just as we would think the show was slowing, one of us would point out another group of the beautiful creatures coming up behind.  There were big, mottled adults swimming gracefully, and small, shiny young dolphins throwing their entire bodies into the air.  Groups of up to seven dolphins leapt in synchronized aerial display.  And of course pictures of this fabulous event – which took place during an overcast part of the day – look a lot like grey specks on a grey ocean.  A few of the shots we took give you a very tiny idea of what we saw: 

Who Are Those Guys?

The next bit of excitement didn’t take place until we were rounding Cabo Corrientes at about 01.00 – in the pitch dark, to state the obvious.  To our port side, a very brightly lit boat, towing a very brightly lit object about 100 feet behind it, appeared to also be approaching the Cape with the intention of rounding.  Bryce was on watch, and decided to give the boat, which he first took to be a fishing boat towing some sort of net, a wide berth.  He maneuvered Abracadabra away from the shore to the outside of the “fishing boat”.  Abracadabra and the “fishing boat” paralleled each other for about 45 minutes.  When Molly came on watch at nearly 02.00 the “fishing boat” began to flash a search light that reached for miles - the largest search light we have seen on a boat – sweeping over us and at times almost blinding us in the otherwise dark night.  Bryce did not go off watch, as he was concerned about the “fishing boat’s” intentions. 

As we were watching the “fishing boat”, we saw another boat rushing up behind us from the dark.  It was relatively small – the size of a cabin cruiser – and very fast.  It had extremely bright navigation lights and a spot light that it was shining on our stern.  Despite being able to see our navigation lights and/or seeing us with its spotlight, it kept coming towards us until it was within a quarter mile of our stern -- way too close for our comfort.  Then it just stayed there, trailing us.  We watched it approach, asking each other:  What the @*^# do you think that is?  Why is it coming up so fast? Where did it come from?  The “fishing boat” locked its spotlight on the second boat’s position, and on Abracadabra.  After the spotlight stayed on both vessels for some time, the boat on our stern abruptly turned around, as though its job (identifying our position?) was done – and just left.  As quickly as the drama began, it ended about two hours later when the “fishing boat” flashed its spotlight on us, turned away from us, dragging whatever the brightly-lit object behind it was, and headed back south.  All of this was in complete radio silence. 

Because all of this was done in the dark, we never saw the boats themselves – only shapes of them.  But after dancing with them for some time, we became convinced they were not searching for fish, and they were working together.  Whether they were engaged in a military or police training or survey exercise or an actual drug interdiction action (unlikely, given the spotlights - ?) we will never know. 

We never truly considered ourselves in danger from these vessels once we realized they could see us and were not going to run into us.  We reasoned that smugglers would not likely use such bright lights or want to steal a slow, older sailboat for their use.  And, if these boats were military or police vessels, a search of Abracadabra would not produce any contraband (well, at one point we had illegally imported salami – but that got eaten some time ago; even the smell of it is long gone).  We even have fishing licenses!  But we were rattled by all of the bright lights and high speed tactics. 

We later talked to the crew of another boat that went around Cabo Corrientes that same night and they experienced the same thing, with the added excitement of a Miami-vice type speedboat that joined into the dance.  So, whatever was going on was larger than Abracadabra’s passage. 

Somewhat rattled after all of these bright lights and the speeding boat on our tail, we pressed on.  Around 05.00 we were passed by a brightly lit cruise ship – a Norwegian American Line ship if you follow cruise lines (Toby).  It was first a bright spot on the horizon, then a looming hotel-on-its-side passing us at 15 knots, then gone, on to Puerto Vallarta to dock before brunch.

Spring Tide

We do not travel as quickly as a cruise ship, so we weren’t within radio hailing distance of our intended destination, Paradise Village Marina, until about 14.00.  And, tired and a bit rattled, we were told that due to a spring tide (essentially the lowest of low tides), there wasn’t enough clearance for us to enter the marina!  We turned toward our former “home” at La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, about six miles west.  The marina there gave us a spot for the night.  We tied up to Dock 4 (our prior home in La Cruz), showered, drank a beer, went out for dinner . . . and slept soundly.

To Gringolandia!

The next day we left La Cruz after yoga and sailed to Nuevo Vallarta, arriving at Paradise Village in the afternoon – stepping off our boat into what a wit at a Nuevo Vallarta chandelry called: Gringolandia.

Bahia Chamela to Bahia Tenacatita February 14 – 18

The weather in Bahia Chamela remained a bit overcast during our visit, but we managed a couple of trips to the beach for lunch.  With each trip we improved our surf landing skills, but we are still struggling a bit with surf departures – and are not confident that we can avoid getting soaked one direction or the other.  We also had a couple of strolls through the little beach-side town of Perula.  Perula is one of those towns strung along a stretch of dusty highway that cause a traveler, when viewing it from the window of a bus, to wonder “who lives here and what do they do for a living?”.  The answer becomes clearer when you visit Perula by foot.  Along the highway are a number of abarotes (groceries) and tiendas (general purpose stores) and one very good pollo asada (grilled chicken) stand.  There is also an estetica (beautician’s shop), which, even though Molly has been agonizing (boringly) over what to do about her “sailor’s hair”, she was just not up to trying.  And of course there is the requisite “beach infrastructure” – small hotels and a couple of camper trailer parks.

Our trip from Chamela to Tenacatita started as a Valentine’s Day trip to an anchorage 8 miles south in a tiny cove called “Paraiso”.  We thought “Paradise Cove” would be a fitting place to spend our Valentine’s Day.  However, as we approached Paraiso, we peaked around the corner and the anchorage looked really rolly due to the high swells, even in the morning’s very low winds.  Our imaginations led us to wonder what a night in “Paradise” would be like if the winds picked up (as they often due in the afternoon and evening) – and with the memories of our nights at Yelapa fresh in our minds, we decided to press on another 20-ish miles to Bahia Tenacatita and forego the romance of a rolly anchorage. 

The trip to Tenacatita was uneventful but productive.  We motored, which had the triple purpose of (a) keeping us moving in a 5 knot breeze; (b) replenishing our batteries, which were quite low (solar power is great . . . until you spend several days anchored in the rain); and (c) making water, which requires a lot of power and is best done when the engine is running if the batteries are low due to lack of sun.  We were treated to a whale show as we were chickening out of a night in Paradise Cove, where we saw four or perhaps more whales – they don’t stay in one place to be counted -- cavorting.  We were finally able to sail around 15.30 (batteries topped, water made, winds finally at 12 knots), and we arrived in Tenacatita in time to anchor and have a Valentine’s Day beer by 18.00. 

The weather in Tenacatita was also a bit overcast, but not rainy.  The anchorage at Tenacatita is more remote than the anchorage in Chamela, and by times the surf landings are more difficult.  We of course managed to time ourselves perfectly on occasion and one particular departure was so spectacularly soggy it caused several cruisers to give us unsolicited advice on dinghy departures (we have been wondering if we should actually charge for some of this entertainment . . .)! 

There is an estuary off of the bay to the village of Tenacatita, and after Bryce figured out how to get us over a sand bar between us and the estuary, we took a dinghy tour about an hour back into the jungle. 

The atmosphere was very "Africa Queen" - lots of mangrove trees and jumping fish - and the occasionl speeding fisherman.



We were entertained by a flock of five white herons (we think that’s what they were – anyone know?) and several other birds that were more difficult to photograph. 

Alas, we did not see any crocodiles, even though they were seen by a commercial trip that went up the estuary the day before. 

The biggest nature thrill, however, was in reponse to a shout-out on the radio one morning.  A call to the Tenacatita fleet reported that one of the other boaters, while rooting around in his boat's bilge, had heard whale calls.  Sure enough, when we lifted the cabin sole and put our heads in the bilge (fortunately we have a relatively clean bilge!) we could hear whale music.  It was spectacular.  No one actually saw whales in the bay that morning, so we must have been hearing sounds from quite some distance - but they were clearly whale songs; very beautiful and wild. 

On an interesting, non-natural world point, Bahia Tenacatita is also the home of an all-inclusive resort named Hotel Blue Bay.  We walked to the resort one day to ask about the cost of a day pass which proved to be too expensive, but gave us a chance to download and send some e-mails.  We were interested in the fact that most of the signs about activities around the resort were in Cyrillic – and even those that were not were in a language that we couldn’t identify.  Clearly the marketers at Hotel Blue Bay have an in with the tourist industry in – Russia -- some other place in Eastern Europe? 

Later that day our question was answered.  We were entertained by a film / video crew shooting along the beach and at the little palapa restaurant near the anchorage – including using one of the local waitresses as a cast member.  The story line wasn’t clear, but the main actor looked like an American soap opera doctor and the main actress seemed spectacularly uninterested in him (and everything else around her).  When we asked one of the production crew what they were doing, we learned they were shooting Paradise Beach – a very popular reality TV show in . . . Hungary!  And it was confirmed that Hotel Blue Bay was indeed a popular destination for Russians and Hungarians.  How international!  For those of you not planning on visiting Hungary in time to catch this episode of Paradise Beach, here’s a bit of what you’re missing:

Several boats we knew from other anchorages or marinas (Cuba Libre, Buena Vida and Damiana) were at Tenacatita with us, which was fun.  Seeing them made us feel part of the cruiser community – even if we’re still “freshmen” members.  And, we were there for the “Mayor’s Raft-up” – a cruiser’s event not to be missed.  Apparently every Friday during the sailing season someone from the crew of a boat in the anchorage takes on the exalted position of “Mayor of Bahia Tenacatita” (it seems to be a self-appointed position) and sponsors a dinghy raft-up.  This sponsorship requires the “Mayor” to anchor his/her dinghy near a very calm area of shore known (for reasons we have not been able to discern) as “Good Dog Beach” and invite all other dinghies in the anchorage to tie up together (raft-up) and bring drinks, an appetizer to share, books and CDs to swap – and a story to tell. 

So we spent Friday evening listening to the “how I named my boat and where I’ve been with her” stories of about 15 boats, eating a pot-luck assortment of food (and being very sorry we arrived too late for the brownies – there were only 12, apparently . . . ) and swapping books.  Molly has already finished 44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith which we got in trade for Travels of a Female Nomad by Rita Goldman Gelman – and insists that we got the better of the trade.  Interestingly, tucked into that book was a CD of The Scorpion King III in Spanish.  We can’t wait.  

Having made it to the weekly social highlight of Bahia Tenacatita, and in order to depart in time to meet our friends and former crew Frank Chan and Irene deBruijn Chan in Puerto Vallarta for part of their honeymoon (everyone needs a friend or two to meet on one’s honeymoon, don’t you think?), we departed Bahia Tenacatita on the 18^th.  Our trip was made safer because of the weather reports gathered and shared by Roy and Marlene from Damiana, for which we are grateful.  But it wasn’t actually the weather that made that trip challenging.  That story is to come! 

La Cruz to Bahia Chamela (via Yelapa) -- February 4 – February 10

Departing Marina Nayarit:  Our departure from Marina Riviera Nayarit at La Cruz was a low-key adventure -- basically we motored about a mile to the anchorage immediately outside of the marina and dropped the hook.  Our planned departure and trip to Yelapa was delayed for the best of reasons – we were hanging out with friends!  Saturday morning, we got up early (for us), joined our yoga group for a good stretch and to say goodbye, and showered (knowing that we were going to be on the hook for several days, and how much we would miss a good land shower!).  On our way out of the “La Cruz Yacht Club” (the place of land showers) we ran into a fellow boater that we hadn’t seen since Mazatlan – Ted from Tarry-A-Bit.  He and his mate Maureen had arrived the day before, and were traveling with other friends, Lynn and Debbie from Dolphin Tales and Tom and Pam from Kewao.  Kewao was at anchor, but Tarry-A-Bit and Dolphin Tales were in the marina. 

We joined the Tarry-A-Bit and Dolphin Tales crews for coffee and cookies and chatted the morning away.  But, rather than stay another night at the marina, we got our friend Tom from Camelot to help us slip off the dock and headed to the anchorage, where we anchored next to Kewao.  Saturday night was spent with Tom and Pam at Restaurant Huanacaxtle, listening to a very good group playing an eclectic mix of Latin American music (including from Southern California, which most musicians in Mexico think of as part of Latin America).

Yelapa:  Sunday morning, we forwent the pleasure of the La Cruz farmers’ market, and sailed to Yelapa, some 20 miles across Banderas Bay.  The winds were light and we were towing our dinghy, so it wasn’t until 17:30 that we tied up to a mooring ball.  Yelapa is in a very deep (very – 100 feet in some places!) cove that is known for being susceptible to swells, so most boats use the locally owned mooring balls rather than attempt to anchor.  Also, the locals have preempted anchoring in most places by setting out mooring balls!  We were directed to a mooring ball, and assisted in our tie-up by Romeo (yes, that is his name).

We had been warned that Yelapa cove was subject to swells due to its depth and sea aspect (a “rolly” anchorage), and that most boaters visit Yelapa as a day trip.  “Ha!” we thought.  We aren’t afraid of no stinking rolly anchorage.  This turned out to be not only a case of eating our words – but eating words we almost regurgitated!  Yelapa is beyond “rolly”.  It was so rolly that Molly couldn’t stay below long enough to make a real dinner.  Thank goodness we had a package of freeze-dried soup our friends Rick and Corinne had brought with them to add to our HaHa provisions.  Boiling water was as close as we could get to cooking. 

Then about 20:00 (shortly after dark – of course) we realized that not only were we swinging wildly, so was the water taxi tied up next to us.  So wildly, and so differently than our much larger boat, that we were bow to bow with the water taxi.  Afraid not only of what the water taxi would do to our bow, but what our anchor would do to the water taxi, we decided to move to another mooring ball.  Off we went, waddling through the swell, to another mooring ball (this time without Frank Chan to assist us – see prior posting re: the unauthorized mooring in Morro Bay, California).  Bryce’s long arms achieved mooring success, and we tied up next to a catamaran. We nervously slept/watched to make sure we were swinging in a way that wasn’t dangerous to ourselves or the catamaran until the cat departed around midnight.  It’s common for boats to want to round Cabo Corrientes at night – the theory is that the water is calmer around the cape at night. 

The next morning we discussed whether we could stay another night in order to see the town.  We wanted to visit Yelapa because it is a communally owned village, accessible only by foot, horses and sea, and the site of some reportedly beautiful waterfalls. 

We decided to tough out a second night, and take the water taxi to shore to spend the day exploring the town.  That’s when we learned that, though our first mooring ball had been rented to us by Romeo, we had moved to a mooring ball serviced by someone else.  After much drama, we paid the tender of the mooring ball for the night, and explained our plan to stay a second night.  We won’t go into the painful attempts to get reimbursement from Romeo.  In short, it appears that the concept of “warranty of fitness for the intended purpose” is not honored in Yelapa.  Caveat emptor is the overriding rule of law.    

Setting aside our grumpiness at Romeo, we went to the closest of the reportedly beautiful waterfalls.  Unfortunately, at this waterfall, we were not alone – we arrived shortly after a group of tourists on a day trip from Puerto Vallarta (they apparently were from “Boat Number One” according to the calls that rang out to heard them back to the departure pier).  We bought a refresco and set and watched them take pictures of each other and fight over who got which towel.  One of those moments when not having children seemed like a good thing.

Fortunately, however, we ran into a gringo artist who, after he realized we weren’t really interested in having a picture of ourselves drawn by him, told us about a couple of interesting restaurants in the area.  One was on the way to the much further away (and hopefully, less touristified) waterfall, so we set out along the river path.  This led us through a portion of the little town, on a cobblestone path passing tiendas offering the type of wares that are sold at tiendas in small towns (bananas, chiles, toilet paper, laundry detergent, etc) as well as those unique to tourist Mexico (t-shirts, hats, beach toys). 

We also passed funky little “hotels” offering three walls, a roof and a hammock.  As we got further, the cobblestone path became a dirt path, which we shared with the local commercial traffic: horses and mules burdened with construction supplies. 

We spent the next 45 minutes looking at the little homes set back from the path – many of which were surrounded by gorgeous flower gardens – and picking our way around horse and mule scat.  Bryce’s theory is that mules are programmed to do what they need to do while working, and heading uphill.  Our unscientific survey of the hills around Yepala would suggest this theory has some merit. 

We stopped to dine at Christina’s Riverside Café.  Fortunately it is open Thursday through Monday.  We followed the neatly written instructions on the fence, and pulled a line that rang a bell further down the hill.  We were told to “come on in” and we took the path, again, through beautiful flower gardens, to the one room building that serves both as the kitchen for the café, and, apparently, the rest of Christina’s home.  We saw a bed tucked neatly behind some curtains, two pretty wooden chairs and a rug, a table with a radio on it, and a bookshelf with books wrapped in plastic against the elements and local bugs.  Christina has lived in Yelapa since 1979.  We don’t know the rest of her story – but we’re sure it’s an interesting one that has brought her to this tiny home by the Rio El Tuito. 

The dining room of the café is outside the kitchen door and down the hill, on a beach next to the river.  We spent the next hour or more watching birds and waiting for our lunch – with increasing foreboding.  But when lunch arrived (sometime around 15.00) it proved worth the wait – Christina served the best falafel and hummus we have ever had, some very good spiced lentils with rice, and a fabulous chocolate brownie dessert!  The meal was a true treat. 

The other “treat” at Christina’s Riverside Café is the restroom.  Other café patrons had suggested that we “not to miss the restroom”.  Bryce was the first to follow their interesting recommendation.  When he returned, he reported that everything functioned just fine – as long as one didn’t lose one’s grip.  Hmmm.  Molly took her trip, and found that the restroom was nestled into the side of a huge tree, and entry required a climb over the roots of the giant, old tree.  Upon arrival, one finds a fully functioning toilet and sink – plastic pipes heading off into the ground to the far side of the tree.  So – not only a delicious meal, but a unique restaurant experience.

Unfortunately, by the time we’d finished our meal, it was too late to hike to the waterfall and back to the water taxi before dark, so we returned to town, using a path on the other side of the river than we’d used on our way out of town.  This took us by a true Mexican cowboy bar – horses tied up outside, saddles hanging from the rafters of one three-sided building, and the riders drinking happily in the second open building.  Music blared from next door (apparently the bar itself had no electricity) – through speakers of a size not seen in California since the 1970’s. 

We took a water taxi back to the boat and spent another miserable night.  Thanks to the lateness of our meal at Christina’s we didn’t need much for dinner, so we popped some Jiffy Pop and drank a beer and went to bed (lying down is the only way to handle that kind of turbulence).  Worse yet, Molly was not able to follow her usual practice of making a meal for us to eat underway.  For those that are interested she has posted her recipe for “Double Reef Pasta” on the Cruisers’ Notes page. 

The next morning we took off relatively early – not wanting to spend any more time rolling around Yelapa cove.  We have decided that we like Yelapa very much – but next time we’ll come over via Boat Number One or some similar form of water taxi, and stay in one of the shacks on the beach.  We admit that we were defeated by Yelapa cove!

Chamela:  From Yelapa we sailed about 26 hours (about 91 miles) to reach Bahia Chamela.  Leaving Banderas Bay we sighted two whales about 500 feet off our port bow, and later saw the blows that represented two others, and the tail of a small whale about 30 feet off our stern; an excellent whale-watching day.  Our rounding of Cabo Corrientes was uneventful, but the winds began to build around 16.30 and by 18.00 the winds were averaging 23 knots with gusts as high as 36, and we had both sails double reefed.  The winds were high until about 21.00, and were brisk until 01.00.  The moon was full, so the night was beautiful once the seas flattened out around 01.00 when we sailed with about 11 knots of wind though a night that looked like an artsy black and white photograph.

When we arrived at Bahia Chamela on Wednesday morning, we were greeted by dolphins playing around our bow, light winds and sun.  It was an auspicious arrival. 

We anchored, and were promptly invited to join some boaters for sundowners that evening on the catamaran, Damiana. 

The crew of a beautiful Cal 43, Cricket, Pat and Lynn, joined us and the crew of Damiana, Roy and Marlene.  It was fun to get to know more people that have been cruising in Mexico (and in the case of Damiana, beyond) for a long time, and to gain from their experience. 

Yesterday, the skies opened up and we have begun to wonder where our beautiful sunny Mexico has gone!  It’s been pouring down rain for two days.  Yesterday we braved the weather and visited Damiana where Roy and Marlene taught us the basics of an important Mexico cruiser survival skill: Mexican Train Dominoes.  Fortunately no money was on the table.  Bryce was the overall low point score – but Molly’s score was high enough to more than offset his win.  Today we have been doing boat projects.  Bryce looked for and, thinks he has found the source of a small diesel leak.  Molly has been cooking cold weather food like oatmeal and macaroni and cheese.  We’ve both been blogging (using wifi from a local hotel that we can pick up when Abracadabra swings in just the right direction . . .). 

Tomorrow?  We’re just hoping for some sun as we’re beginning to be bored by our provisions.  While it’s true that people eat everywhere, and that one can provision from local stores even in very small towns in Mexico – sometimes getting to town is more work than it’s worth.  Landing a dinghy on a beach invariably means that we get wet (bum, pants legs for the shorter of us, etc.)  which is not a big deal if the next step is to buy a refresco at a beach palapa and dry off.  But without the prospect of being able to dry off – we’re now foraging through our canned food products for dinner.  Thanks again for the Costco canned chicken idea, Frank!