It’s a busy morning. We turned the boat around in the slip and found out it wouldn’t work for Chewy to wash and wax the hull. We didn’t have enough room between the trimaran beside us and our boat to maneuver our boat so the bow and stern could be reached from the dock. So Dave went up to the harbor master office and asked Gladys if we could move to the empty slip 2 slips from where we are now and she said we could. So we moved our boat over to that dock and it was perfect. Chewy had more than enough room to maneuver the boat so he could reach it easily. Chewy is supposed to show up around 9:30am and just as we were securing the lines in the new slip he showed up. Perfect!!! Chewy went to work and Dave was there to help him if he needed it and I went below to change my clothes, eat breakfast so I could go grocery shopping.
I took the bus to Mega and got most of what I needed for provisioning to Puerto Vallarta. It cost me 2,056 pesos which is about $150 U.S. I got a lot of stuff. I took a pulmonia back to the marina and one of the hotel guys helped take the groceries to the boat. Dave had to help him with the cart down the ramp as the tide was out and the ramp was a little steep. I tipped him 10 pesos instead of 5 because he had to go further to the boat and I had a lot of groceries.
Chewy is almost finished with the boat. It looks like new. No!!! Better than new!!! Nice and shiny and clean!! He does really good work. For those of you that know our boat, you know that it is a huge undertaking. He washed and waxed both sides in one day. We wouldn’t have been able to do that and be able to move afterwards. Chewy helped us with our lines leaving the slip and coming into our original slip. Once tied up Dave paid him 100 pesos and I gave him a nice icy cold beer. He is a really nice man. He works on several of the boats down here and keeps them clean and shiny. Chewy left and Dave and I finished hooking back up to power and water. Then we went to the restaurant bar to watch the super bowl. The Steelers are the favorites to win and we hope they do. Dave paid into the super bowl pool and Jon, my youngest son, is expected to make $120.00 if they win. So go Steelers!!!!!
The Steelers won!!!! We had a great time at the bar and Dave just broke even. So he got his 100 pesos back. Not bad. After the game we came back to the boat and watched some T.V. There is a show we like called “The Mentalist”. We went to bed soon after it was over.
Monday, February 2.
The stainless steel guys came out this morning to make the final adjustments. When they are finished, Lynn, Deb, Dave and I are taking the bus downtown. Deb and I are buying netting fabric to cover the screens to keep the no-see-ums out. Yep!!! That means we are going to a fabric shop. The screens in our boats are not super fine so we need to add to the screen to make them that way. The best solution is to buy bridle veil material and cut it to fit the screens. Then Dave needs to find the stainless steel place to pay the bill. As it turned out, Lynn needed to help his brother move something and Dave was still busy with the stainless steel guys so Deb and I just went material shopping. Of course our guys were highly disappointed, but that’s the way it goes. HA!!!! They were so relieved!!!! Deb and I caught the bus and went downtown and got off at the Mercado. There were about 4 fabric stores within walking distance from there. We looked in each one but I found what I was looking for at the second store we came too. Deb is going to wait and have Lynn come with her to decide what netting to get since he is really fussy about what goes on the boat. She was just pricing. She did buy blanket material, enough to cover her bed on the boat. They needed it for the cool evenings we’ve been having. After that we just looked. We went into the girl stores, you know, clothes, beads, and jewelry. Then we stopped and had lunch. After lunch we caught the bus and got off where the Pacific Pearl magazine is printed. We each wanted a copy. We got to the door and it was closed. Apparently they are closed on their Constitucion Holiday. We walked down to the El Cid Granada Hotel, stopping in some shops to look, and then caught the shuttle back to El Cid marina. I went to my boat and she took the netting I bought to her boat to show Lynn. Dave was taking a nap. He hardly ever takes one. Hmmm. When he woke up he wasn’t feeling good. He had a sore throat and his nose was stuffy. I was having symptoms myself of a head cold with swollen membranes behind the nose, so we both weren’t feeling great. Darn!! He told me he and Lynn went downtown. Lynn had to run an errand and Dave needed to pay the bill for the stainless steel work. They stopped and had lunch and then came back to the marina. Deb brought back the material and she said her and Lynn were discussing how they were going to put it on the screens. She wasn’t going to get any until they decided on what to do. Outside of that it was a quiet evening and Dave and I went to bed early.
Tuesday, February 3.
Today we go downtown to pick up our FM3s. Finally!!!! Both Dave and I are still struggling with this head cold. At least we have the sun to bake it out of us!!! We took the bus downtown and completed the journey by walking about 3 blocks. The bus doesn’t go down that street. Once at the immigration office, Dave signed in and gave the man our papers. He sat down and counted the pages and then put a paper clip on them and set them down. We waited and waited. More people came in with their completed paperwork to pick up their FM3s and same process. Signed in, handed the paperwork to the man and when the man had enough papers he went upstairs, and then came back empty handed. A little later a lady from upstairs brought some papers back with her and gave them to the guy. The guy called out the names two at a time, gave them the first sheet of their original paperwork and told them to go upstairs. The process has begun. Pretty soon it was our turn and we each got our paper and went upstairs. We were directed to an office where there were all women typing and filing papers and doing other official stuff. We were directed to sit down as the lady said hello and proceeded to separate and stamp papers and then she had a small pile with a book on top that she put in front of us and asked us to sign the book and another piece of paper. Then we had to do a right thumb print in the book and on the paper, and a left thumb print on the paper. Then we were done. She gave us a tissue to wipe off the ink and said goodbye. We are residences of Mazatlan for a year now. It’s renewable next year in early January. We are slowing getting the stuff done we need to before leaving. Awesome!!!!! We walked back to the main street and caught the bus back to the marina. Once back on the boat we ate lunch and then walked down to Henderson’s Meats to buys some chicken, a pork chop and forest ham lunch meat. They didn’t have the chicken breasts or the ham. The chicken would be delivered in the morning and the ham would be in on Friday. So we got one pork chop and some sliced smoked and natural turkey breast for sandwiches. We walked back to the boat and once the meat was put away I worked on the blog while Dave took a nap. Once I had enough of computer stuff, I cut the netting material to fit the screens and then put the netting on top of the screens and put the screens back in place. Then I took the car windshield sun covers I had bought and cut them to fit the hatches to keep the sun out when we leave our boat in Puerto Vallarta for 2 weeks to go home. When I was done with that I found out I needed two more shades and then all the hatches will be covered. Dave and I didn’t do anything for the rest of the night.
Wednesday, February 4.
I’m feeling better today, but Dave still isn’t feeling good. We decided we are leaving Mazatlan on Monday morning. The tide will be high in the morning and there will be a full moon that night to help us see what is out there on our night cruise to San Blas. We don’t have any desire to stop at Isla Isabella because we have talked to several people that have had their anchors fouled, and we just don’t want to take a chance in losing an anchor or having to worry about getting one free from the bottom. So we are going to skip that trip. The island is a bird sanctuary and the blue footed boobies are there. Birds are birds and I have seen pictures of the blue footed boobies and that is enough for me. There are plenty of other places to stop and enjoy. We will anchor in the bay off San Blas when we get there. Then harbor hop after that. Day trips after the overnight to San Blas.
Yesterday we were given six poblano peppers from a friend who was going home and couldn’t take them with him. I wanted to make chile Rellano Casserole, so I got the cookbook out and started to prepare the peppers for charring. I cooked them on top of the open flame on the stove until the skin was popped and blacked. Then I set them aside until they cooled to peel later. I washed out a couple of our lightweight jackets and some clothes and hung them to dry. I walked down to Henderson’s Meat market again to get the chicken breasts. She had them so I bought enough to make sandwiches and cut some up to add to certain dishes I have planned. Once back to the boat I started cooking the chicken and vacuum packing it. I also vacuum packed frozen vegetables into smaller servings and cooked hamburger meat for the filling of the peppers and also to freeze. Then I squeezed 12 limes to make lime juice for cooking and margaritas. I prepared the peppers by taking out the seeds and membranes and then stuffed them with a slice of cheese and meat mixture. Once the prep was finished, I put them in the oven to cook. Then I made Spanish rice my way. I didn’t have any packaged Spanish rice. I don’t think I want to make the chile dish often. It’s a lot of work. It turned out good, but Dave got a pepper that didn’t have any heat to it. Not me!!!! I got the heat this time. Whooo!! After dinner I washed the dishes and then worked on the blog a little bit then watched T.V. I am almost finished with the January blog. Need to proof it and then add pictures.
Thursday, February 5.
Ramon, the canvas guy is supposed to come today to fit the screens to the boat. It will be nice to have the screens in with a little shade and bug free. We were going to wash the boat today, but decided to do it on Saturday. It started out cloudy but soon cleared out to a warm day. That is good because I need to do some laundry and hang them to dry. I also need to walk to the farmacia to see about getting a refill on my prescription and get some baby aspirin for Dave.
One of the boats that have been here for a couple of weeks just left and we heard he got outside the marina about a mile and lost his engine and SSB radio. Dave hopped into our dinghy and headed out to help as well as a couple other guys in their dinghies. He had to come back shortly after he left because he didn’t have enough gas. So he helped the boat come in at the dock. Once he figures out what the problem is and fixes it, he’ll be on his way in a day or two.
I’m working on getting the blog finished so I can post it. Then I get to start on the February post.
I took the shuttle to El Cid Granada Hotel and walked to the two shops I needed to buy a couple of things from. Then I went to the farmacia and got my prescription filled and baby aspirin. Once I was back to the boat I worked on the blog the rest of the afternoon while Dave took a nap.
There is a dock party tonight at 5:00pm on our dock to wish those of us who are leaving soon a safe trip. Ramon showed up with the screens just before 5:00pm. We fit them to the boat and there were a couple of changes he needs to make. It really is nice and they turned out great. It lets air in but cuts down on a lot of the breeze so it is comfortable sitting in the cockpit. Dave and I are really pleased with it. Ramon will be back with the screens he needed to adjust, tomorrow. Ramon and his wife, Victoria, left and then Dave and I could join the party. The sun had gone down and it was getting cold so some of the people were leaving. I gathered our dishes and then went inside the boat to get warm. I worked on the blog adding pictures. Tomorrow I will adjust the pictures and post it and then I am finished with January.
Dave and I have to go to Home Depot and WalMart tomorrow. Need a mat for the dinghy and propane for the BBQ and I need to get a duffle bag for flying home, at WalMart.
Friday, February 6.
Dave is feeling better but not 100% yet. I am doing o.k. but still not up to par either. I think Deb caught a cold from me. She’s been suffering with sinus stuff too and has a sore throat. Whatever it is it hangs on. George and Jackie asked if we wanted to go with them to the Chinese Restaurant Mei Mei tonight or tomorrow and I told her tomorrow would be better. We still have my chili dish to finish and Ramon is supposed to come this afternoon. Dave needed to be at the boat to wait for Ramon so I went to Home Depot to look for propane for the BBQ and an indoor/outdoor carpet for the dinghy. Then I need to go to Soriana to find a duffle bag for when we fly home. I went to Home Depot first and found propane but didn’t find the indoor/outdoor carpet. So I figured I’d go to Soriana, across the street from Home Depot, to see if they had propane and indoor/outdoor carpet and if not go back to Home Depot. I didn’t find propane or indoor/outdoor carpet, but I was able to get wine and a couple of grocery items. After that I walked across to Home Depot and found some indoor/outdoor carpet after looking around more, then got the propane and left. I walked across the street again but this time to catch the bus. I had to wait quite a while for a bus going to El Cid Marina. I tried to get on a couple of them when they came by, but they weren’t going by the marina. So I waited and waited. Finally I got on one that was going where I needed it to go. I was pooped!! I really didn’t feel much like running around today, but time is short for us leaving so I had no choice.
It is 6:00pm and no Ramon yet. He won’t be coming. We went ahead and ate dinner. After dinner and dishes we relaxed. Deb and Lynn had been gone all day and while they were passing our boat to go to theirs Deb stopped and told us Ramon called her and said he wouldn’t be out today. He’d be here tomorrow. We said thanks and kind of figured that. A little late on the message but we had a giggle. She asked if we knew why he couldn’t make it and Dave said his truck was broke. Deb said Dave was good. That is exactly what he said.
Saturday, February 7.
I felt terrible this morning when I woke up. I felt better yesterday. Dave is getting better but still not up to snuff. It is a boat washing day none-the-less. I washed and Dave dried. Then I wiped down the smooth parts, the stainless steel, and hatches with a dry cloth to remove the spots. Once that was done I washed the windshield covers and hung them to dry. Even though both Dave and I didn’t feel good, we had just enough energy to get the job done. I fixed lunch for us after all that. We were still waiting for Ramon to show up. Dave gave him a call and he said he would be at our boat before 3:00pm. We’ll see.
Dave’s cold has finally broken. He is blowing his nose more and getting more of the gunk up. This is a good thing. Since we really can’t trust when Ramon is showing up, we decided Dave would wait for him while I took the bus to the liquor store. So that is what I did. I bought the large bottle of rum we haven’t been able to find elsewhere and a large bottle of tequila. Bus timing was great as when I left the marina there was a Centro bus at the bus stop right out front of the hotel, and I only had to wait about 5 minutes for one to take me back to the marina from the liquor store. When I got back to the boat Ramon hadn’t been there yet. It was about 2:00pm. As I was working on the February blog, Dave’s phone rang and it was Ramon. He said he would be here around 4:30pm no later. It was almost 5:00pm when he finally showed up. He put snaps on the screens where needed, but he still needs to put the correct zipper on the back panel. We are supposed to go to dinner with Jackie and George to the Chinese Restaurant at 6:00pm. I don’t know if we’ll make it. Come to find out this dinner is a birthday celebration for George who turns 67 tomorrow. Ramon put most of the snaps on and then we had to go. Ramon said he would be back tomorrow to finish putting the snaps in and have the back screen with the correct zipper. So Ramon gathered his tools and left and we left with Jackie and George for dinner. The food was good. It was a little different from the Chinese food back home, but good none-the-less. I missed getting the fortune cookie for dessert. We got a tiny sucker instead. It was a fun time and a great birthday dinner for George. After getting back to the boat I tried to call Jon, my youngest son, but it wouldn’t go through. I then called his brother, Ern, and got to talk with him and the grandboys for a little bit. I tried to call Jon again but it wouldn’t go through. I’ll have to try again tomorrow. Dave and I watched T.V. for the rest of the night.
We have been looking at the weather charts on the internet and the weather is turning. It is suppose to get nasty for the next 2 or 3 days. It’s supposed to blow 25-30 plus knots starting on Monday and continuing through Wednesday. Dave said it would be like when we left Magdalena Bay heading to Cabo San Lucas. Not good. It was an overnighter with 30 knot winds from the north with confused seas and 5 to 6 foot wind waves. Not a pretty sight or ride. We don’t want to repeat that experience so we will be staying here until the winds and seas calm down.
Sunday, February 8.
Dave was up in the middle of the night getting flem out of his throat. He didn’t get much sleep. Dave has been checking weather reports and it still doesn’t look good to leave until Thursday. I’m going to stick to my chore schedule anyway. I washed sheets, pillow cases, towels, some clothes, and hung them to dry. I checked the water level in the bow thruster battery under our bed then made the bed. I vacuumed and mopped the floor. The vacuum was acting up and didn’t sound good. I told Dave I think it is giving up the ghost. Dave took it apart and said everything looked good except the brush. It needs to be replaced. I don’t think we will be able to find replacement parts here in Mexico, so I think we will be looking for a new one. At least I was able to finish my vacuuming. We’ve had that vacuum for about 3 or 4 years and have used it a lot.
I helped Dave lift the dinghy from the dock to the deck of the boat to see if we could leave it inflated and still be able to see from the helm. Nope!!! So we lifted it again and lowered it onto the dock where Dave deflated it. I couldn’t stay to help as it was getting late and I needed to catch the bus to Soriana to find instant oatmeal with brown sugar. Mega didn’t have it. So while I was there I picked up some wine and a couple other items. Soriana did have the instant brown sugar oatmeal. Thank goodness because Dave really doesn’t like the other kinds. Once done with Soriana, I walked to Mega which is about 5 blocks up the street. I finished my shopping there with items I couldn’t find at Soriana. Then I walked across the street and caught the bus back to the marina.
Dave had the rolled up the dinghy on the dock and lifted it onto the deck with the cover on. I helped him tie it down and cover it with a tarp. Then I helped him put the dinghy engine on the stand at the stern of the boat.
Ramon was supposed to show up today and finish installing the screens but he called around 6:00pm and said he wasn’t coming. Dave said he sounded terrible. He must have caught that awful cold that is going around. He said he would be here tomorrow around 12:00pm. We ate dinner and then relaxed for the rest of the evening.
Monday, February 9.
We won’t be leaving today. It is blowing pretty hard. The harbor master office cancelled the whale watching tour because of it. It is suppose to blow like this for 3 days. I think we are now setting our sights for Thursday for sure. Just not worth getting beat up out there. I will wash clothes and put things away and relax. Ramon showed up an hour before he said he would. That’s a first!!! He said he was sick yesterday. It was either the flu or food poisoning. He was better today. The screens are in and Ramon will be back tomorrow to put grommets in. Dave asked him to put them in while he was here but Ramon didn’t have them with him. So we will see him again tomorrow. Then it will be done.
I cleaned up the boat and put things away and started to pack for going home. This way I won’t forget anything. I fixed lunch for Dave and I and afterwards it felt like nap time. So we took naps. When we got up we didn’t do anything. I made dinner and afterwards cleaned the dishes and the galley. I did some blogging and after that Dave and I watched T.V.
Tuesday, February 10.
There was no breeze earlier this morning but by mid morning it started to blow. I washed clothes and hung them to dry. Even though it is overcast the wind should dry them. Ramon is supposed to be back sometime today to put the grommets in where Dave wants them.
I made oven fried chicken, cooked potatoes for potato salad, and then cooked tomatoes for salsa. When they and the potatoes cooled I peeled them. I made the salsa and potato salad and put them in the refrigerator. I washed dishes then washed the upper deck under the dodger and the hatches. Once done with that I soaked the rags in Clorox and soap, rinsed them and hung them to dry. I am making ice and I washed the inside of all the hatches. These are things I’ve been putting off but since it is cool today it is great working weather. So now I am finished and I’ll read my book. When Dave gets off the computer I’ll update the blog.
Ramon finally showed up around 4:30pm. Now we are finished with him and him with us!!! Yeah!!!
It was really windy today. It is suppose to blow again tomorrow. We are still looking at leaving on Thursday. Not much going on. We are going to take it easy for the rest of the evening.
Wednesday, February 11.
Today the sun was shining and the wind wasn’t blowing very hard. Dave listened to the weather this morning and it still sounds like we can leave tomorrow. We spent the day stowing things to ready the boat for ocean cruising. I cleaned the bimini and the cockpit. Now the boat is fully clean. Too bad we are going to get it dirty and salty soon. Oh well.
I washed out some clothes and hung them to dry. I fixed lunch for Dave and I then changed clothes and went to Mega to get some milk, wine, and eggs. This is the last grocery shopping for a while. When I got back home I changed into my swim suit and went to the hot tub for a little while. When I got back to the boat I changed and started to prepare dinner. Dave and I finished dinner and I washed dishes and put them away. Then Dave and I had a glass of wine and a cigar and relaxed in the cockpit listening to music. It was a little breezy but not bad. After that I took a shower and then Dave and I sat and watched T.V. Then it was bed time. We will listen to the weather in the morning and Dave will look out at the mouth of the channel to see what the ocean is like. It would be nice to be able to leave tomorrow, but if it is still rough and blowing we will stay until it is better.
Thursday, February 12.
We did it!!!!! We made our escape from Mazatlan, El Cid marina around 9:10am. We had to be gone before 9:30 as the dredge was going to be working at the mouth of the channel and we wouldn’t be able to leave for quite a while. We had our neighbors and friends tend to our lines as we pulled out. It was a bitter sweet moment but I’m glad we are leaving. The weather is sunny with a few clouds in the sky and winds are very light. The predicted winds are supposed to be 10-15 knots. I hope not more than that. I have to grow my sea legs again after being land bound for 2 months. We forgot to clean the knot meter so we had to do it underway. Not a pleasant thing to do when the boat is bouncing around. Dave started to clean it with vinegar and had to stop and come up for some fresh air and let his stomach settle down. I went below and put some clean water on the meter and swished it around a few times and got some vermins off the wheel. I too had to come on deck to get some fresh air!!! When Dave was feeling better he went below and pulled the plug and put the knot meter back in. Then I went below and cleaned up the water and put stuff away. The knot meter was working thank goodness so we were good. We were motoring due to not enough wind and we saw 3 whales in the early afternoon. We also saw some dolphins and manta rays jumping out of the water. Around 4:30pm we saw a huge whale broach 2 times in front of us a few yards. We never get tired of seeing that and the tail out of the water when it goes down. Awesome!!! We put our head sail out for a while to keep our bow from bouncing around. Just before sunset we rolled it in as the wind was shifting to behind us. I put some chicken noodle soup in the microwave for me for dinner. Dave wasn’t ready to eat yet. I brought, from below 2 pillows and a blanket to prepare for later when we wanted to sleep. I changed into sweat pants and a warm jacket. I later had to take the jacket off and replace it with a lighter one because it was warm. The sun had set and the stars were coming out. The wind was trying to die. We had 15-17 knots of wind but now it was down to 9-10 knots. The ride was a little bumpy but all in all not too bad. The moon finally came up around 9:30pm. It was bright and it was nice to be able to see what was around you. It is really much better than moonless nights.
Friday, February 13.
UhOh!!!! Friday the 13th!!!! At least we weren’t leaving port!! They say you should never leave port on a Friday.
While we were cruising along we didn’t see any boats for a long time then around 2:00am the fishing boats were everywhere. We kept a safe distance away. The wind started to pick up again so we rocked and rolled for a bit. It wasn’t terribly comfortable but we had been in worse. About 1:00am or so the clouds started to roll in and hide the moon and stars. It was hard to see anything with the naked eye. That is where radar is good. Of course we had that on anyway. We passed the Isla Isabella where it is a bird sanctuary, but we didn’t stop. We hadn’t planned on it. We have read and been told that anchors get fouled and you can lose one there. We decided it wasn’t a place we wanted to chance. Dave turned our steaming light on so the fishing boats could see us. After a while we had frigate birds trying to land on the mast and spreaders. We had to turn the light off to get rid of them. Crazy birds!!! We used the flashlight to shine in their eyes so they couldn’t see. It worked. The wind never got above 13 knots and the ride wasn’t too bad until we had to turn toward San Blas where we were in the troughs. A bit rolly polly but had no choice. Around 4:00am we started seeing shrimp boats off San Blas and Mantenchen Bay. We had to maneuver around them as they had nets in the water. We had to go slower to let the sun come up so we could make out the point where we were to go around to get into the bay. The chart program was showing one thing and the radar something else. So instead of chancing it, we decided to wait until we could visually see where we were going. The sun came up and we were able to get our bearings and head into Mantenchen Bay. We knew both boats that were anchored there, but Tika-Too was the one we made contact with. We just wanted to say hi and let him know we had arrived. He told us he and the other boat, castaway, were going into the Marina. There was a special of stay two nights and get the third free. So we decided to follow them in. There is a man named Norm who answers to Jama on the VHF radio that would guide us in through the channel. He guided us one at a time through the shallow channel until we could turn left and go to the marina. Silt builds up through the channel and a lot of the spots are shallow and you really have to be careful. He had a mirror that he used as a white light to guide us in. The marina had recently opened and they were looking for business. These are pictures I took heading up the estuary toward the marina.
The name of the marina called Singular. It isn’t quite finished yet but they are trying to get there. Didn’t have power on the docks yet or hot water for the showers. There was a lap pool and the hot tub wasn’t heated. They hadn’t gotten their propane yet to heat it. The docks were nice and they did have running water. You had to use a filter if you were going to drink the water. We did but now we are on our last filter. Have to get more. You go through them in a short time. We just have a West Marine filter that you screw onto the dock faucet and then the hose.
I took a shower and the water wasn’t extremely cold. It was manageable and quite refreshing. They have washers and dryers, but are not working properly. I decided to wash my clothes the old fashion way.
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After we got into the dock and tied up, Dave went to see the Port Captain while I stayed behind and hosed the boat down and mopped it dry. I was really glad to get the salt off the boat as it isn’t good to have it crusted on the painted hull.
I went below and washed the dishes from the night before and put things away. When Dave returned he helped me put the windshield cover on and then I fixed lunch. I zipped down all the zippers on the screens to keep the bugs out. It’s a must at dawn and dusk as the no-see-um, mosquitoes, and knats come out to play. Norm reminded all of the cruisers to put the deet on and get use to doing that in the morning and night if we were going to be out walking and to close the boat when we leave so the bugs don’t go below. He said you can spray bug spray down below and then close it up and there won’t be any bugs when you get home. I heard Listerine works too. I’d rather use the Listerine!! We just closed the boat and had no bugs. This afternoon Norm announced on the VHF that there had been a 6 foot crocodile spotted in and around the marina so if you had pets, don’t let them run around on the docks. We never did see it.
In the estuary behind our boat and the marina, we got a chance to see the fishermen in their panga bait fishing with nets.
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Dave and I took a nap and at 4:30pm walked up with the other cruisers to the town plaza to meet Mr. Norm and his wife Janet. He had information for us of where to find the markets, pharmacies, bank, and a lot more. There were 5 of us cruisers from the marina that walked to the plaza but Norm and Jan hadn’t arrived yet so we all decided to stop for a bite to eat at a taco restaurant across from the plaza. It was very good and fixed with all fresh ingredients. It was very inexpensive too. When we finished dinner Norm and Jan were at the Plaza. A lot of the town people go there with their children and families to sit and talk and let the kids run around and/or ride their scooters or bikes.
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There are booths set up on the West side of the plaza selling all kinds of things. Lots of vendors selling food, candy, and there was one that was selling, mostly to kids, joke toys like whoopy cushion, fake terds, and more. It was fun to see all the kids around this guy. Like the piped piper!! We met Norm, and his wife Janet, and talked for a while and then some of us went across the street, right next to the place we ate dinner and got ice cream.
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Homemade!!!! 3 scoops in a small bowl. Was it ever good. We were with a couple named Christy and Dave off s/v Kailani, and she had to have her ice cream pretty much everyday!!! Not only was it homemade but cheap too!! 22 pesos. Can’t do that at Baskin Robins!!! While we were sitting at the Plaza the church bell rang for mass.
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There were at least 2 separate calls for mass a night. There is an old church that was built after the original one started to fall apart up on the hill by the fort. They brought the original alter from the first cathedral and put it in the old one which was built in 1870ish. It got severely damaged when the hurricane Kenna came through in October 2002. It is still used today but not on a regular basis. They have built another cathedral right next door and are still putting the finishing touches on it. In 1882 Longfellow wrote his last poem, The Bells of San Blas. The town people moved the bells from the first Cathedral on the hill to the new cathedral across from the plaza in town.
San Blas is a very small, quaint old town with friendly people.
This is the gazebo at the plaza.
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Dave and I really like it here. The streets are either cobble stone or clay bricks. The most modern building in town is the marina. There are no major grocery stores. There are all kinds of mini markets, a Mercado, pharmacies, restaurants, bakeries and along the main streets there are vendors trying to sell their wears.
Tomorrow Charlie from s/v Tika-Too, Christy and Dave from s/v Kailani, and Dave and I are going to the Saturday street market. It’s like a flea market.
Then we will go to the old fort and cemetery on the hill. All within walking distance of the town. It will be a fun filled day and I am looking forward to it. Charlie was here in a different boat, Valentine, 14 years ago. He went to the fort then and he wanted to see how much it had changed, so he was going with us.
When we all finished having our ice cream and visit with Norm and Jan, we said goodnight and went back to our boats. Norm and Jan have been here in San Blas 40 some years. They will be married 44 here pretty soon.
Saturday, February 14.
Happy Valentine’s Day!!!! It’s a beautiful sunny morning in San Blas. Dave is running the generator and I’m waking up with my cup of coffee. We’ll go to the market after all systems are charged up. Christy and Dave, and Charlie are going with us. We walked to the market and I did a little fruit and vegetable shopping. I mostly browsed. It was neat.
We saw little chicks with little ball caps glued on their heads and they were dyed different colors. It was a big hit with the kids and the parents were buying them for their kids. The guy that was selling them would put the chick in a plastic bag but tell the child not to close the bag. I don’t know what the occasion was for selling them, but it was fun to see.
Once we finished with the market we walked back to the boats to drop off our treasures and then all of us walked out of town to the fort. It wasn’t very far. We weren’t sure where we were supposed to go into the fort but we came to some stairs that went up a hill so we took them.
Then the stairs ended and we were on a narrow dirt path going straight up. We were wondering if we were on the right trail when we came to the top and saw the fort. We found out later that wasn’t a normal traveled trail. It was a back door to the fort, through a neighborhood.
You couldn’t veer off the path in fear you would end up down the bank somewhere you didn’t want to. It would not be a safe route take on the way back. When we got to the top of the trail we saw a little tour bus.
There were some children in a group and it looked as if they were having class.
We walked the grounds and looked out onto the city of San Blas and the mangroves. It was very beautiful.
When Charlie visited the fort 14 years ago it was pretty much in shambles, but now they have restored quite a bit of it and doing more. He was really pleased and surprised. The cannons had been brought up from the town and placed on pedestals on the wall of the fort.
They had writings hanging on the wall but it was all in Spanish. We could make out some of what the history was by looking at the pictures and making out some of the words.
There is a gift shop there now, there will be a place to eat and they have bathrooms that you can use without paying.
There is also the original cathedral behind the fort.
It was very interesting. The bells had been moved to the cathedral in town. It cost 100 pesos to tour the fort and the cathedral and we paid on the way out since we came in the back way.
It was funny because the lady looked at us and said she didn’t see us come in. We told her she was right because we took the back door. After we paid, we walked next door to the cemetery. Their cemeteries are very different from ours. They dig a whole and line it with cement bricks so when someone dies, the family picks a burial plot and the body is placed in the tomb.
Before they had coffins, they use to bury the bodies in the ground and family members on top of each other as they died. Now with the coffins I’m not quite sure how they keep the families together. A family buys a plot in the cemetery and when one of the family members die, they bury him/her in the ground. Then when another member of the family dies, they dig up that plot to bury that person on top of the other one. It makes more room for other plots and it keeps the families together. The family maintains the burial site and puts fake flowers on the tombstone. The tombstone bears the names of the people buried there with the date of their birth and death. When a family abandons a plot someone else buys that plot and takes it over as theirs. It’s pretty interesting.
A lot of Chinese people had been here as there were a few buried in the cemetery. There are a couple of businesses in town with the name of Wong on the sign. I couldn’t find any write ups on the history of San Blas so I will have to search the internet. No English written books here. We left the cemetery and walked back into town.
Once in town we came to a few restaurants with grills out front with smoked lobster and fish.
Norm had told us to stop at one of these for lunch that had the lobster. There were only two places that had the lobster so we chose one and ordered 3 lobsters, halved and cooked in garlic, then a large fish. They brought warm tortillas, a platter with onions, tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, avocado & orange wedges. Then lime and salt for the beers. It was excellent!!!! The fish and lobsters with all the other stuff fed all 5 of us for 410 pesos. Unbelievable!!!!! We were the only gringos there. That didn’t bother us a bit. It was a fun experience and the owners were very nice people.
There was a woman working and she had her two children with her, a little girl in a high chair and a son about maybe 3 or 4. You see a lot of that in Mexico where kids are with the parents all day while they are at work.
After lunch we all headed back into town.
Dave and Christy stopped at the ice cream shop to get some ice cream and I went and took pictures of the two churches across the plaza. Then it was the walk back to the marina to our boats. We are going back to the plaza tonight to meet Norm and Jan and have ice cream and visit.
Christy and Dave are talking about going to Tepic, the capital of Mexico, by bus. It costs 80 pesos for 2 people. I think it would be fun to go with them. Dave isn’t sold on it yet. We also want to take the jungle tour before we leave too. I really like San Blas. It’s a great little town with helpful, friendly people. They are a very proud people.
We went back to the plaza and had a nice visit with Norm, Jan, Christy, Dave, Charlie, Rich, his wife Lori, and their two children, Amy and Jason. It was about 8:00pm when Norm, Jan, Rich, and his son Jason left to attend the boxing match toward the end of town and Christy, Dave, Charlie, Lori and her daughter, Dave and I left and came back to our boats. Once I was on our boat I started the process of getting cookie batter ready to bake cookies. Chocolate chip cookies of course. I am taking them with us to breakfast tomorrow morning when we go to Norm and Jan’s home.
Sunday, February 15.
What a beautiful morning. Last night we heard a band somewhere close by and the music lasted until around 1:00am or longer. Birds were squawking, roosters were crowing and dogs were barking. Dave couldn’t get over how noisy it was. I told him it was a jungle out there. Truly it is! At 8:30am, Christy & Dave, Charlie, and Dave and I packed our goodies to take with us to Norm and Jan’s house for coffee. Their home is within walking distance of the marina. We got there and they invited us into their yard. We never did see the inside of their house. They are collectors from what I have heard so they don’t have a lot of room in there. We sat outside where they had a table with chairs set up. They have a lovely garden with lots of trees, palms and plants, etc. It is a very comfortable atmosphere. We sat down at the table and Janet made coffee and brought out some pastries and we shared my cookies and Christy her cinnamon rolls. We had a very nice visit. Norm is full of stories. We met one of Jan and Norms god children with her daughter. Norm and Jan buy clothes and shoes and at times are given clothes by cruisers for the children of families that can’t afford much. They have the people come to their home so they can give the clothes to them and take a picture of them with the clothes. That way no one can say the clothes aren’t getting to those who need them. Norm and Jan feed the squirrels bananas. They have one dog and they say they have another one that bites, but we think that is just a story told so it will get around and people won’t bother coming in their yard. The dog we met is a sweetheart. He is black and is still a pup and his name is Brandon.
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Jan had us sign their cruiser book to keep a record of who came to San Blas with their boats. Janet is a world renowned painter. She used to paint with acrylics but when she came to San Blas, the humidity and heat didn’t allow the acrylic to dry for a very long time. So she started to paint with water color. She showed us the beautiful water color paintings she had done and had them made into lithographs of the Huichol (pronounced weechol) Indians in their native costume. Very fine delicate paintings that are absolutely fantastic. Very detailed. She paints from pictures and memory. She has painted some of the bird life here too. We are going to buy a couple of her paintings but have to decide which one. She sells the full figure ones like the maiden and the chief, for 175 pesos for 2. They are also numbered and signed. That is a steal for this beautiful artwork. It will be worth millions later on. She didn’t want to live the life of a painter. She had been offered to sell her art in New York, where she and Norm are from, but she didn’t want the pressure of mass producing all the time. It takes her 2 years to paint one picture because of all the detail. It’s a shame she doesn’t paint much any more. Her eyes are getting old for that kind of fine detail. Actually she and Norm are selling everything they have before they die and their god kids are going to inherit the home. Janet told us she doesn’t want to charge a lot for the paintings because she would rather sell them to people she knows will appreciate them. They are definitely an investment. They are a neat couple but growing old. They have big hearts and help where they can. Norm belongs to the consulate to represent the Americans. When cruisers come through San Blas he contacts them and helps them with any assistance they may need and gives them information about the town and places to go, see, and where to eat. If invites all the cruisers to his home for coffee if you are going to be around for a while. He meets the cruisers in the Plaza at 5:30pm every night but never on Sundays. Norm is a big man, out spoken and very opinionated while Janet is quiet and very petite. She and Norm are quite the fishing couple. She is very strong and has won trophies. They fish for the big sport fish.
After such a nice visit we said our goodbyes and went back to the boat. I washed clothes and hung them to dry then read a little. After lunch Dave and I walked to town to go to the bank and use the ATM. On the way back from the bank we stopped and got some beer at the local mini store and stopped at Dave and Christy’s boat to drop one large bottle off to Dave. It was a thank you for getting us a roasted chicken meal. They had gone earlier and bought one for themselves and had it for lunch. Since we already had lunch it was going to be our dinner. A few minutes later Dave and Christy came to our boat and we sat and drank beer and chatted. Dave and I decided we wanted to go into Tepic with Dave and Christy so we agreed to get tickets tomorrow. Jan had told us it is easier to buy your tickets a day in advance that way you can get a seat with a big window. After we had our beers, Dave and Christy left to go get ice cream. Christy is an ice cream fanatic!!!!
It was a relaxing day and night. No one went into the plaza tonight.
Monday, February 16.
The weather is great here. Not a lot of humidity and there has been a breeze everyday to cool things down. Dave and I walked into town with Dave and Christy to get bus tickets to Tepic for tomorrow.
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Then we walked with them to drop their laundry off and go to the ATM then to our boats. After we got on the boat, I went below and made breakfast for Dave and me. After breakfast I did dishes and washed out some clothes and hung them out to dry. Dave mopped one side of the boat and I did the other side to get the water off from the dew last night. After that I walked into town to explore and check out the Mercado. It must have been around 1:30pm because everyone was closing up their areas. They close at 2:00pm. It was a small Mercado, not like Mazatlan.
You see a lot of cars, trucks, older model scooters and motorcycles. A lot of kids and adults a like ride bicycles all over the town. You see moms and/or dads carrying their son or daughter in a basket either at the front or on the back of the bike. The town is very clean and they do pick up garbage with a garbage truck, and there are people who go along and pick up trash. You also see people burning their trash along the side of the streets in small piles. Sometimes you will see horses and I have been told donkeys come through town too. A lot of dogs and a few cats are seen all over town. I guess on Fridays people will be having fun and celebrating the beginning of the weekend. The first Friday we were in town and walking back to our boat we walked down a side street where music was playing and people were dancing in the street having fun. On Friday nights the plaza is bustling with people, vendors and the shops open up. It’s a happy place. There are a lot of places to eat in town. No McDonalds, Burger King or any fast food place. All restaurants serve fresh authentic Mexican food.
After I explored town I walked back to the boat and read my book for a while then filled the forward water tank. Dave and Christy left the marina and anchored out in the estuary not far from the marina. They came in to the marina later in their dinghy and tied up to the dock we are on and walked into town with us to see Norm and Jan at the plaza. My Dave had made a good deal with Norm on a fishing rod earlier and Norm said he would bring it to the plaza tonight. When we saw Jan this evening we told her we wanted to buy two of the full figure water colors from her, the Huichol Maiden and Chief. They invited Dave and Christy for coffee Wednesday morning and included us. So we will pick up the water colors and pay for them then.
Dave and Christy and Dave and I are getting on the 7:00am bus tomorrow for Tepic. This place is only an hour out of town and it is in the mountains and is the capital of Mexico. Jan said it was a beautiful ride and the old part of the city of Tepic is great. It will be fun and I am looking forward to going. Dave and Christy are showing up at our boat around 6:15am so we have plenty of time for them to secure their dinghy and for us to walk to the bus station.
The wind has died completely and our boat got warm. Dave ran the generator for a while to charge batteries and run the air conditioner for a bit to cool us down for sleeping.
Tuesday, February 17.
Christy and Dave parked their dinghy along side our boat and we walked to the bus station. As we were waiting to board the bus a bum started talking to Christy about being an English teacher in the U.S. and he was a lawyer and he owned Pacifico brewery and he saved the world from war. He was interesting to listen to but definitely wasn’t all there. We were saved by the call to board the bus. We sat behind Dave and Christy and had nice big windows. The road was curvy with lots of trees, banana trees and palm trees. Very lush and beautiful. We stopped several times to pick up school kids and people going to work. About an hour and the bus stopped at a bus stop where a lot of the people got off, including us, and caught a cab into town. There were a line of taxis there. We asked the cab driver to take us to Centro and he took us to the main plaza in the center of town. We were really surprised to see how it was the hustle and bustle of a large city. Well Tepic is the capital of Mexico, but we had no idea it was going to be a large city. We thought the city was further away from old town. Weren’t we surprised!!! All four of us said it was not what we expected and didn’t like the city at all. We had fun none-the-less. We walked around and did some snooping at the plaza and saw where the Huichol Indians, in their native dress, sit at their booths with beaded work and art work. Very pretty stuff.
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We went to the tourist office but it wasn’t open yet. We met a police officer and he asked where we were from and talked to us a little while and said that if we needed any help just let him know. At 9:00am the tourist office opened and we got some literature and a map of the area. Then we walked to the cathedral across from the plaza and took some pictures and then went to the anthropology museum.
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We saw a lot of artifacts and a 20 foot stuffed alligator.
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What really got our attention were the pictures of Bolivian miners mining for minerals in Bolivia. There was a picture of the men getting a bag full of coco leaves which is cocaine so that when they chewed the leaves they wouldn’t feel any pain or anything and could work longer. The pictures were fascinating. When we were done at the museum we walked back to the plaza searching for a place to have lunch. We wanted a place we could sit down and have a beer or two and have lunch. We couldn’t find any. As we were walking Christy asked a lady on the street for a good restaurant that served food and beer. The lady spoke really good English and she told us the place to go, but we couldn’t find it. We did find a restaurant that served really good burritos and tacos but no beer. That was o.k. by this time we didn’t care. We just wanted food. We found out later we were not in the right part of town for all the restaurants. That’s o.k. Dave and I asked for water and we got a drink called agua fesca. It is a sweet drink, but not too sweet, made with coconut milk, nutmeg and ice cubes. It was actually pretty good. When we finished with lunch we left there and walked toward the bus station. We stopped back at the Huichol Indian booths and Dave bought a beautiful yarn picture and a bracelet for me. Christy and Dave bought a yarn picture too. I will have to find out more about them as there was no history to be found. After our purchases we went to the bus station. We asked where we were to catch the San Blas bus and they told us to go to the waiting area. There were no seat numbers on our tickets and Dave tried to get the teller to assign us seats but wouldn’t do it. So we waited and waited. Finally around 2:00pm a San Blas showed up. We got on and the driver said we had to get off because we had no seat assignment and the bus was full. We tried to explain to him that the office wouldn’t assign us seats. So to make a long story short we stayed on the bus as the rest of the people with assigned seats got on. Dave and Christy found 2 vacant seats toward the front of the bus and stood waiting for someone to kick them out but never did. We insisted they stay there and we would stand. We knew seats would become available later as people got off. Just before the bus door closed one of the helpers directed us to the very back of the bus. We really didn’t mind. At least we were on the bus to go back to San Blas. The bus made stops along the way to pick people up and they stood in the aisle until a seat became available. The seats we had were o.k. but it got pretty hot back there. The air conditioning wasn’t reaching that far back. Christy told us she was glad he finally turned the air conditioner off because she was freezing. We told her we never felt it. That’s the way it goes. After everyone was loaded on the bus and we were moving, a man came around with packages of nuts and gave them to those who took them. We didn’t because I figured they would charge us. We were right. When he announced they cost 10 pesos he went back to the people that had the nuts to collect the money, a lot of the people gave the nuts back. It was kind of funny to watch. We couldn’t see much scenery from where we sat but that was alright. All I knew was that we had come from the mountains of Tepic to the tropical setting of San Blas. As we got closer to San Blas more seats became available and we were able to move up toward the front of the bus and across from Dave and Christy. When we arrived at the San Blas terminal, we got off the bus and headed to the Plaza which is across from the bus station. Dave and Christy were going for Ice Cream – well Christy was and they would meet us at one of the places to eat at the plaza. As we were sitting there enjoying our beer the friendly bum, the same one that was at the bus station this morning, came over and started to be not so friendly. He apparently was hungry and he asked for money so he could get something to eat. I had to tell Christy to bite her tongue because I knew she was going to say something about him being rich and why would he need money. She didn’t say anything and she gave him back the candy he gave her this morning. He wasn’t too happy. He was trying to make us feel bad about not giving him money by asking us if we wanted him to starve. He finally went away. Whew!!! As we were enjoying our beer another cruiser named Rick from s/v Third Day was at the plaza and we invited him to come and have a beer with us. He was running errands so the kids and his wife were back at the boat. He asked if we were coming back this evening to visit with Norm and Jan at the plaza and we told him no. We just wanted to stay on our boats tonight. We were tired. After our beers were finished, we said goodbye to Rich and Dave, Christy, Dave and I walked back to our boat and Dave and Christy got into their dinghy. It was pretty quiet and we just chilled for the night. We invited Charlie from s/v Tika-Too, and Dave and Christy over for a drink after dinner. Dave & Dave (takiho – meaning the same name) had cigars and scotch. Charlie had beer and a glass of wine, Christy had wine and so did I but with a cigar. We had a great visit. Christy had her computer with her so she could email family. They couldn’t get internet service on their boat at anchorage. After visiting for a while, they left and I read for a while and Dave played solitaire on the computer. Then it was bed time. What a great day we had.
Wednesday, February 18.
We all had been on the look out for the crocodile that has been perusing the estuary, but haven’t spotted it yet. Dave got up and walked up to use the marina facilities. When he returned he said there was a lot of fresh blood on the dock with some feathers. Well it sounded like the croc may have struck first thing this morning. When I went out to see there wasn’t a lot of blood, just spots here and there. It looked as if a strike was made up the dock from us, then another one closer to our boat. There was fresh blood on the edge of the dock, bloody egret prints, a small feather or two and some fish scales. We figured the bird caught a fish and the croc got the bird and it was trying to get away. However it happened it was pretty interesting. The kids from s/v Third Day, Amy and her brother Jason jumped in their dinghy and tied up at our dock to sleuth it out. It was kind of cool. We may not have seen the crocodile, but something happened just before we stepped outside our boat this morning.
Dave, Christy, Dave and I went to Norm and Janet’s home for coffee and pastries. We had a very nice visit. We bought our water color pictures and got to see pictures of Norm and Jan fishing and catching the big fish, dorado, marlin, and sailfish. I took a picture of Jan standing between Dave and Christy and some of their dog Brandon. There was a squirrel in one of the trees and Brandon would follow it and then sit under the tree really still and watch this squirrel. The squirrel would tease the heck out of him and run from tree to tree.
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It was pretty funny to watch. After our visit, Christy and Dave headed to town for groceries and ice cream, and Dave and I went back to our boat. We opened the hatches to let the breeze come in the boat and I gathered sheets and clothes to wash. I got the bucket out and everything I needed on the dock and turned the water on and no water. I went up to the office and told them we didn’t have water at the dock and he said he would have someone turn it on. Sometimes they turn the water off. I went back to the boat and waited and waited. Then I was walking back up the ramp to the office when I met the harbor master. He said there had been a break in the pipe across the channel and they were working on it. There should be water to the dock in about 1-1/2 hours. It was already 1:00pm so I waited. I did some other things on the boat. It was getting late so I decided not to wait for the dock water. If it is Mexican time we wouldn’t have water until tonight. So I decided to pack everything up to the women’s shower and do them up there. The showers didn’t fill the bucket very quickly so I washed everything in the small utility sink they had there. I finally got everything done and went back to the boat and hung them up somewhere around 2:00-2:30pm. Then I washed dishes, shook out a couple of the rugs and put things away. We are having company tonight.
Rich made pizzas and brought them over, Christy made a salad, my Dave made garlic sour dough bread and I made brownies. As it turned out Rich and Lori came without the kids because Norm invited the kids to have dinner and ice cream with them in town so mom and dad got a break. Along with the pizza they also brought pudding and brownies. We didn’t go hungry that is for sure. We had a great time and around 8:30pm Norm called Rich to come get the kids. So he and Lori left our boat and walked to the plaza while the rest of us waited for them to return. When they came back the kids, Amy and Jason, were looking pretty tired so mom and dad packed up all their stuff and called it a night and so did everyone else. Dave & Christy left in their dinghy and Rich and his family got in their dinghy and they went back to their anchored boats in the estuary. Charlie walked to his boat which is a couple of slips from us. Good times and food were had by all.
Tomorrow I have to go into town to get some groceries. We are leaving the marina for Mantenchen Bay tomorrow sometime and San Blas is a little too far to come in for groceries.
Thursday, February 19.
When we got moving this morning, Dave filled the jerry cans with diesel, I mopped the water off the deck and went into town to the bank and get groceries. As I was heading up the ramp to go to town, I saw Dave and Christy arrive in front of our boat in their dinghy. They were going to the bank so I waited for them and we walked together. I stopped at one of the little mini market and dropped off two big empty bottles of beer and got 10 pesos back. Then we walked into town and Dave and Christy showed me where the good produce market was. They went on to get ice cream and I went to find the bank. Unfortunately I didn’t remember where it was and walked all over the place looking for it. I finally stopped and asked someone and they told me. Then I went to the Mercado and looked in there but wasn’t happy with the produce so I walked back to the little outdoor produce stand and bought cabbage, lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, large and small limes. Then after I paid for that, which was 54 pesos, I walked around the corner to the other stand and bought 7 eggs, cilantro and a cantaloupe. That cost me 29 pesos. I love shopping like that. It is all fresh and it is like you are picking it out of a garden. I left there and started heading back to the boat. I stopped at the mini market and got two 6 packs of beer and 2 large containers of squirt for our margaritas. That cost 154 pesos. I took my cart with me so I didn’t have to carry all of that stuff. When I got down to the boat and started unpacking the groceries, I took a look at the beer I bought and noticed it said no alcohol. I didn’t see that when I pulled them out of the cooler at the store. Of course I forgot my glasses so I couldn’t read anything. I figured since the beer was a little darker than the others and it said SOL it was a dark beer so I bought it. Oh well. I just told Dave it was beer without the buzz. Actually it does taste like beer. It’s cold and wet and with lime tastes good. Next time I better wear my glasses. Ha!!
Dave went to the office and paid moorage but they wouldn’t accept a credit or debit card, only cash. So Dave paid with the money we had on the boat which pretty much cleaned us out. So I offered to go back to the ATM and get some more money which I did. When I got back Charlie in s/v Tika-Too left his slip first and headed out of the marina and into the estuary and we were right behind him. Christy and Dave in s/v Kailani followed us out. We made it out of the channel without running aground and all the way around the point to Mantenchen Bay. We dropped anchor and went below after getting settled and cleaned the sea strainer on the engine. The engine was running warm for the first time so we figured the strainer had gotten slimmed. We were right. So we cleaned that and also cleaned the generator strainer. We figured we might as well since it is in the same area. We went back out on deck and stowed lines and fenders then relaxed. I went down below to try and decipher what it said on the back of the yarn art picture we bought in Tepic. I didn’t have much luck. Dave was able to help a little then he went out into the cockpit and read his book. Charlie came over to the boat and wanted to know if we wanted to go to dinner at Ismael’s on the beach. We said we didn’t care. Whatever everyone else wanted to do was fine by us. So it was decided everyone was going and Charlie would be back to pick us up in his dinghy around 4:30pm. Dave and Christy would go ashore in their dinghy. Dave didn’t want to blow our dinghy up yet and Charlie was more than happy to give us a ride. So at 4:30pm Charlie was at our boat and we got in and went to shore. We pulled the dinghy out of the water and up on the beach. We sat down and Charlie asked for Ismael. He is the owner of the restaurant and his family was helping. We met Ismael, his wife, mother, father, brother, and sister-in-law. Very nice family. Ismael said we could use their showers and bathrooms and we could bring our garbage and they even had drinking water we could get. They are very accommodating to the cruisers. Charlie has eaten there many times and always goes to his place because the food is so good. We found out he was right. Everything was fresh and delicious. It’s a really a cool place. There was a building where they did the cooking with the bathrooms right next door and the showers in a separate room.
They had smudge pots of burning coconut husks going to keep the bugs away.
They close at 5:00pm but won’t close if you are still eating and drinking. They don’t bother you after they take your order and deliver what you want. You have to ask for the check. If you don’t you will be sitting there all night. It is considered rude of them to ask if you want the check. So here you are, sitting at a plastic table with plastic chairs (garden type furniture) and looking out at the blonde sandy beach and the green water. Overhead there is a palm leaf roof held up by sturdy branches from trees which gives shade and a cool breeze comes in off the water. Between most of the posts which are holding up the roof are hammocks. These are for anyone to sit or lie in and take a nap and just relax. They even have one for babys. It is definitely paradise!!!! Christy enjoying the hammock and a beer. She looks like she is asleep but she wasn't!!!!
It is really beautiful here. As we were sitting there eating and watching kids and their families swim in the surf, we discussed the jungle tour. Charlie said that maybe Sunday would be a good day. Then we found out Christy and Dave want to go but they want to leave and go south Saturday. So we all agreed we would do the jungle trip on Friday at 7:00am then they could leave on Saturday. Charlie had taken the jungle trip 14 years ago and said it was great and he highly recommended it. It is better to be the first ones there because there is a better chance at seeing the crocodiles. So it was settled. We would meet on the beach, lock the dinghies to one of Ismael’s poles and his dad would watch them for us while we were gone. It will cost us 5 or 6 pesos for that service. That’s nothing!!! As we were sitting at our table a young man came up and asked if we wanted to buy some banana bread. He actually had not only banana bread but corn, pineapple, and coconut breads. All of us bought a loaf of banana bread. That will taste good in the morning. We finished our dinner and headed to our dinghies. We helped Charlie drag his to the surf and as we were getting into it a wave came in and got both Charlie and me wet. The water is warm – no worries. We saw Christy and Dave take off toward their boat and Charlie dropped us at our boat and said he would be back in the morning at 6:30am to get us. He asked us to wake him at 6:00am since he didn’t have an alarm clock. Then he left and went to his boat. What a day!!!! There is nothing like living in Paradise!!!!
Dave and I relaxed for the rest of the evening. Dave ran the generator for a while and then shut it down. We went out into the cockpit and had a cigar and some wine. The screens are doing a very nice job of keeping all the little critters out. Once in a while we will get some flies in but that usually happens when we unzip a panel and they sneak in. Here is to a great day and evening!!!
Friday, February 20.
Dave and I were awake most of the night. First night on the hook you usually don’t sleep much due to checking your anchor to make sure you aren’t drifting. The alarm went off at 5:30am and I got up and turned on the stove to heat water for coffee. Then I got dressed, filled our water bottles and put bug juice on. Dave got up shortly after I did and dressed. We had our coffee and a couple pieces of the banana bread we bought yesterday. It was delicious. At 6:00am Dave called Charlie on the VHF radio for his wake up call. I finished packing the backpack with sun screen, bug juice, 2 small towels to dry our feet after we rinse them when we get to shore, tennis shoes, camera, purse, and the two water bottles. We wore our hats and a lightweight jacket for the chill in the morning. Soon after I finished that Charlie was at the boat to take us ashore. Since everything was wet from the dew, it was a little slippery so I was taking it easy. Charlie was sitting on the starboard side of the dinghy and I stepped on the seat with my back pack on slipped and sat down on the edge of the starboard side of the dinghy holding onto Charlie. I was trying to get to move to the other side of the boat with great difficulty. The back pack was not helping at all. Pretty soon the side of the dinghy was getting lower in the water and for a minute or two both Charlie and I thought the boat was going to capsize. Charlie kept saying no, no, no, while I was trying to get up and move. Finally I got to the other side and sat. Charlie got soaked due to the water coming into the boat and I got my butt wet and that was all. I really felt bad. Dave couldn’t do anything except watch. When Dave got in the dinghy he asked me what happened and I said I couldn’t move. I apologized to Charlie for getting him wet and almost dumping his dinghy. I’m glad we didn’t go over. That would have been very bad. It scared the begeebers out of both of us. Whew!! That was a close call. Never again will I board a dinghy with a back pack on. Now that we were all safe we headed for shore. The landing was much better this morning, except one wave did manage to come over the back of the boat jumped out and was pulling us ashore. Dave and Christy met us on the beach and we both locked our dinghies around a pole in Ismael’s place. Ismael’s dad was going to watch the dinghies for us. Charlie pulled out the plug in the dinghy and drained the water out of the boat. Then we rinsed off our wet sandy feet and dried them then put our tennis shoes. By the way---the water was like 80 degrees so it wasn’t too bad getting wet. Charlie was smart and brought an extra set of clothes just in case.
We were off to the jungle trip. We didn’t have to walk very far. When we got there we decided to just take the trip without stopping to have lunch or swim in the fresh water pool. So it was 110 pesos each for up to 4 people in a boat. We got our guide and we piled in the boat.
It was a large panga with seats. We were given life jackets to sit on since the seats were wet. Then we were off. It was a cloudy morning and we were wondering if that would hamper us from seeing any crocodiles. We saw a lot of different species of birds.
A lot of bird watchers go on the tour just to see the different birds. We enjoyed the birds but we wanted to see the crocodiles!!!! The scenery was great and surprisingly no bugs.
We came to a fork in the road and the guide wanted to know if we wanted to go left to La Tovara where the fresh water spring was, or see the crocodiles. We said CROCODILES!!!! So we went to the right. We finally came by a log and a baby crocodile was resting on it.
The guide stopped to let us get pictures of that and the birds too. We figured we would start seeing more crocs, but nothing. Then right in front of us it looked like there was a long rock in the middle of the estuary. Hey!!! It moved. By golly it was a huge crocodile!!!!
The guide stopped the boat and let the crocodile move out of the way and then we went by him/her very slowly. You could only see the top of his/her head and back, but there was no disguising it, it was definitely a crocodile. The guys said it was at least 15 feet long. As it turns out he/she was the biggest crocodile we saw the whole trip. Awesome!!!! At the end of the trail there was a place you could get off and eat and watch the guys feed the crocodiles, but there wasn’t anyone there and we weren’t sure if we had to pay because we didn’t think that was part of our tour package. So we told him we didn’t want to get out so he turned around. When he turned around and started heading back we saw another big croc but not nearly the size of the last one, with his head out of the water just swimming around.
He was going away from us when another croc was coming up behind him. In an instant there was a lot of splashing about and the one croc turned around and started to move really fast through the water toward the other croc. His mouth was open and the ridge on his back was raised and he was ready for combat.
The other croc beat feet. Wow!!! That was fantastic!! He got rid of the other croc and turned around again and headed off to where he was going. We saw small turtles and lots of iguanas in the trees.
What I found interesting were the trees. They had bare branches coming from the limbs down to the water. That was how it got its water and nutrients. It looked like roots.
There were three huts in the swamp and we couldn’t figure out what they were used for. One had an animal skull above the door.
They were definitely high enough out of the water that the crocodiles couldn’t get whoever would camp there. We came to the fork in the estuary and went right headed for La Tovara. Here is where the people came in there boats to get fresh water and take it back to their homes. You could also get out and have lunch (if you paid for that) and swim in the pool. We told him we weren’t doing that so he turned around and headed back to the dock where we caught the boat. At this point the sun started to come out from behind the clouds and we started to see more baby crocodiles. Then we were back at the dock and got out, paid for the trip and got beer.
We walked back to Ismael’s, had breakfast and talked about how cool it was to take the jungle tour. We saw a bunch of people in the pangas pass us as we were coming back but they would never see what we did because it was later in the morning. The best time is first thing in the morning. After breakfast we drug the dinghies to the water, jumped in and off we went. Charlie dropped us off at our boat and then he went to his. It was a fantastic morning!!!! I’ve never had beer for breakfast but that was pretty darn good. Tomorrow Charlie said he was going into the Saturday market and asked if we wanted a ride in. We said yes. So that is what we are doing tomorrow. Dave and Christy are heading south tomorrow. They are a fun couple and we will miss them. By the way---we saw 8 crocodiles this morning. Woooohooo!!!
Saturday, February 21.
The sun rose to another beautiful day. Around 8:15am Charlie came and picked us up. There were no mishaps and I had taken my back pack off before I got into the boat. I learn quickly. Plus Charlie learned to sit on the port side of the boat while we got in on the starboard side. We went over to Dave and Christy’s boat to say goodbye and wish them a safe journey and off we went to shore. Once there we locked up the dinghy, washed our sandy wet feet, dried them, and put our walking shoes on. Earlier Charlie had tried to get a hold of Norm to see if he would call us a cab but Norm and Janet had already left for the market. We didn’t see any taxi’s or buses pass so we were on our own. We started walking and Charlie saw a small red pickup truck coming around the corner so he waved him down and asked if he was going to San Blas and he said yes and we could have a ride. So we climbed into the back of the truck and off we went. How fun!!! I have never done that before and we didn’t know these people. The driver was a man with two women in the seat next to him. We felt perfectly safe and it saved us from walking down a very narrow road where there is swamp on both sides and crocodiles have been known to cross. It was a few miles to San Blas so I’m glad we didn’t have to walk. He dropped us at the Plaza and Charlie paid the man 10 pescos for a thank you. He was happy and surprised. We walked to the street where the market is and browsed. I bought a woven purse and the guys bought some movies, DVD’s. When we were done there we walked back to the plaza and Charlie went on a hunt for cantaloupe and we went to the pharmacy to refill a prescription then we went to a store and picked up some tequila for our margaritas. We met Charlie back at the plaza and caught a cab for 20 pesos to Ismael’s restaurant. Once there we sat and got some beer, salsa and chips and ordered breakfast. When we were done and the bill was paid, we unlocked the dinghy and pulled it to the water, jumped in and away we went. Charlie dropped us off at the boat and left and went to his. We ran the generator for quite a while so I made ice, washed dishes, and rinsed out the towels we used to dry our feet. Dave took a nap while I typed the blog information. I was concentrating so hard in what I was typing that when Dave snorted from snoring, I jumped. When I finished I started reading a new book called ‘Sex Lives of Cannibals’. I think it is going to be a funny book. Later on I took my chair cushion on the foredeck and sat and watched all the activities going on at the beach. There were quite a few people there swimming and a panga boat brought in a banana boat to give rides.
Music was playing and you could hear people laughing and kids screeching with joy. Jet skis were buzzing around too.
There were 11 boats at anchor last night. Slowly they are leaving and going north. We knew some of them from Mazatlan and La Paz. It was funny when we came back from the market to Ismael’s to find a row of dinghies tied to the poles for him to watch. We had a fun day.
Tonight we are going to watch Madagascar Escape 2 Africa. One of the DVD’s we bought at the market.
Sunday, February 22.
There are only 3 boats left at anchor. We are one and then there is Charlie and another boat we don’t know. We aren’t going anywhere today. We are just going to enjoy the day on our boat. I plan on blogging some more and reading. Dave was trying to catch fish off the boat but with no luck. He had an idea after looking out at the point, of catching snapper there. There was a panga there this morning. He called Charlie and asked if he wanted to pick him up and go fishing. Of course he did, so Charlie came and got Dave and off they went. I stayed on the boat. Dave had started the generator so it would run for a while to charge batteries. They were only gone about an hour or so and came back empty handed. Charlie dropped Dave off and left and Dave rinsed off his rod and reel and lures and put them away. Then we went below to change into his swim suit. He turned the generator off and got his swim fins, gloves, and snorkel mask and came up on deck. He got everything on and then went in the water to check the prop and clean the sides of the hull. He said the water was a little chilly, and the visibility wasn’t that great due to the river silt. But everything looked good that he could see. So now he is satisfied. He got out of the water and rinsed everything, including himself off, and put everything out to dry on the deck. After that we just hung around watching a paraglide go over head, jet skis, the banana boat pull several people and give rides to people in his panga. Pelicans dive bombed for fish next to our boat. Sometimes you thought they were going to crash into the boat. That is how close they were. We watched a lot of small fish swim around the boat, the same ones the pelicans were after. They made popping noise and bubbles on the surface of the water. It is louder than the shrimp at Mazatlan.
You can see trumpetfish swimming behind the boat. They have a needle nose.
We have our own personal aquarium!! I think the fish that make the bubbles are called golden jack fish. We haven’t any more whale sharks yet, darn!!
We had a very relaxing day. Charlie is going into shore tomorrow. I think he is meeting Norm. Norm said he had some lures he wanted to show Charlie. We might go in with him just to take our garbage to shore.
I sent my son Jon an email on sailmail to let him know we were alive and well and having a wonderful time. Sometimes he gets a little uneasy when he hasn’t heard from me in a while. So with that done, Dave and I reclined in the cockpit with a cigar and a gin and tonic. Rough life isn’t it????
Monday, February 23.
Around 6:00-6:30am the boat started to rock and roll a little bit. It woke us up. Dave got up and I stayed in bed. Dave listened to the net this morning as he does every morning. I finally got up around 8:00am and had a cup of coffee in the cockpit. I like to sit up there and watch the fish bubble and the pelicans dive for them. Charlie is going to come over in his dinghy and pick us up and take us to shore so we can dump our garbage and then get some beer. Charlie had empty bottles to return and there is a beer store near Ismael’s. After Charlie picked us up we went ashore and pulled the dinghy up far enough so it was out of the surf. We didn’t have to lock it as we weren’t going far. Charlie was hoping Ismael would arrive in his truck and then he was going to ask for a ride to the beer store. But it was still early, like 8:30am and no one was around. So we walked a little on the beach and then I sat in a hammock and found out how comfortable it really was. I was always afraid that once I got in I wouldn’t be able to get out plus I didn’t think it had enough support for my back. Wrong!!! It was wonderful. I’m glad I tried it. The family members were starting to show up to open and set the tables up and all. Shortly after that a lady showed up and she was waiting for Ismael as he was going to show her one of his rentals. So she started to talk to us in broken English but we could understand her. She told us how they like American people. Charlie made a comment we were waiting to see if they could get a ride to the beer place. She asked if we needed a ride and the guys said yes so he offered to take them. Charlie had too many bottles to carry and he would have about a case to bring back and it would have been hard to carry them that far. So I said I would stay behind and hang out while they went and did their thing. So they left and got in a hammock and hung around!!!! It was wonderful and very peaceful. When the guys got back, we sat down and had beer, salsa and chips and eventually breakfast. Yum!!! Then it was to the dinghy. The guys carried it to the waters edge and Charlie and I got in while Dave held onto the dinghy so it wouldn’t turn sideways in the surf. Charlie started the motor and Dave jumped in and off we went. Charlie took us back to our boat, dropped us off and we said we would see him for cocktails and dinner around 5:30pm. The rest of the day was spent writing this for the blog, defrosting the freezer and watching the pelicans dive bomb for fish right next to the boat. I hope I can get a picture. They are pretty fast so we’ll see.
Charlie showed up at our boat around 5:30pm. He brought us a bottle of wine to have with dinner. I served us Mexican margaritas made with tequila, squirt, and a dabble of lime juice then visited a little bit before going below to fix dinner. We decided to eat below so we wouldn’t be bothered buy bugs. I fixed garlic shrimp with pasta and a green salad. It was pretty good if I say so myself!! After dinner we went back to the cockpit and visited for a while then Charlie called it a night and returned to his boat. It was all of 7:30pm. One thing I have to say is out here when you are at anchor you have a tendency to go to bed early and get up after the sun comes up. But right now 7:30pm is way too early to go to bed. After Charlie left Dave and I enjoyed sitting in the cockpit enjoying the lights on shore and the starry night sky. It is absolutely beautiful here.
Tuesday, February 24.
Today is chore day for Dave and me. The dishes from last night were needed to be washed so I did that, then I had to defrost the refrigerator. Too much humidity makes it ice up. Dave started the generator so I could have electricity to use the hair dryer for defrosting. When I finished that I emptied the seat in the settee that is filled with dry and canned goods so we could move it and have Dave check the water level in the house batteries. Surprising they were pretty good. He only had to add a little bit of distilled water. Dave expected to see them really low. I’m glad they weren’t. We will have to replace those before too long. Dave checked the start battery and it was good. I checked the bow thruster battery and had to add just a little bit of water. Then I siphoned water out of the trays of the air conditioners. When you run them the tubing ices up and melts and the water collects in the pan underneath the unit. We have one unit under the settee and the other one is under the port aft bunk. Dave needed help with trying to whip rope strands. We had one that came unwound and we didn’t want it to get worse. So since Dave had time on his hands he decided to fix it but he didn’t have enough hands so guess who he chose to help? I held the rope tight so he could whip the three separate strands and then all three together. When typed more for the blog and read for a little bit then took a short nap. Dave did his thing on the computer and just relaxed. I’m hoping to get a picture of a pelican diving for fish. No worries. We are leaving tomorrow morning for the island of Jaltemba. We wanted to anchor at Chacala but we found out you need to have a stern anchor deployed as well as your regular anchor because it is such a small anchorage. If there are a lot of other boats in there, without the two anchors deployed, you will swing and bob a lot and you might get too close to another boat or them to you. So we decided we weren’t going to stop there. Our stern anchor is buried deep in the aft locker and Dave doesn’t feel like getting it out. That is o.k. There are going to be places we won’t see because of certain conditions. We have read and been told that Jaltemba is a beautiful anchorage and the water is clear so you can swim and snorkel. Hmmmmm!!! Sounds like a plan to me. We will probably be there a couple to three days depending on how we like it then head around Punta de Mita, the entrance of Banderas Bay, to La Cruz Marina in Puerto Vallarta. We will be in the Marina on March 1st. Then we will have a lot of boat work to do. Our boat is filthy, so it needs a bath and spiffing up, I need to clean the inside of the boat and get things ready for when we leave to go home for two weeks. We are flying home on March 10th so we will have plenty of time to get the boat ready to close up. I also need to do laundry. Even though we have a water maker, we still try to conserve water. That means we don’t take showers, just sponge baths, and mostly the water is used for the fresh water flushes for the toilets, washing dishes, water to drink and make coffee. My philosophy is when you get too use to using and making water and the water maker goes belly up, which it has done in the past, you are screwed. So conservation is the best way to manage the water supply. Well have to go and see if I can catch a pelican on film!!! Chow!!! By the way----the do say chow down here. I was really surprised. It’s that European influence.
The pelicans don’t like me. As soon as I go below they dive bomb. When I come out side they go away. Fine!!! That’s o.k. One of these days I’ll get a picture. It was such a peaceful day today. Warm around 80 degrees and tonight it is in the mid 70’s. I just got off the phone with my youngest son. It was nice to hear his voice and have a chance to talk to him. His brother finally has an email address. Now I can email both my boys. Yeehaw!!! Not much going on. It is another beautiful starry night. I am excited to be moving on tomorrow. It’s time to see something new. It’s time to look at the stars and drink my wine.
Wednesday, February 25.
A cricket woke us up at 1:00am. We don’t know when he came aboard, but it must have been sometime in the afternoon yesterday. He had to fly a long way to get to us.
We pulled anchor at 8:00am and started heading south to Jaltemba. There were quite a few whales out feeding. They never came really close to the boat, but I did manage to get a couple of pictures.
We had a nice ride down. No wind to speak of so we motored and Charlie is following behind us in s/v Tika-Too. The weather is sunny and not a cloud in the sky. It is beautiful!!! We passed Chacala and arrived at Jaltemba. We went behind a big rock and found anchorage.
The only problem with the anchorage is you have sand then rock then sand. Dave thinks we are on the little rocks between the sand and thought for awhile we were dragging anchor. We are holding, but he is concerned about pulling the anchor up tomorrow morning. Charlie took his dinghy ashore and came back saying there wasn’t anything there. There use to be a restaurant, and a palapa on the beach used to be operable but now is in shambles.
The dinghy dock at the base of the restaurant is gone. It probably got blown away in the 2002 hurricane and they never bothered to rebuild. The palapa has no palm leaves on the roof and it looks pretty sad. It has a great little blonde sandy beach and a lot of people come over from the town of Jaltemba in pangas to swim and snorkel and dive. When Charlie came back from the beach he said he was leaving tomorrow morning. He just didn’t have a good feeling about the anchorage. Dave is really unsure about the anchorage too so we will go to Punta de Mita tomorrow. We arrived here today around 12:30pm. It took us only 4 hours. It will be about the same time from here to Punta de Mita. There is supposed to be a really nice little anchorage with a beach. We will only be 10 miles from La Cruz marina too so Sunday we can zip right in there in the morning and start to get cleaned up. This anchorage is a pretty one and I think the sunset will be pretty. It is about 85 degrees here. Very nice!!!! The humidity has lowered which is a good thing. We are going to have steak, baked potato and green salad tonight for dinner and just relax. Dave and I won’t sleep a lot tonight as we will be checking the anchor ever so often to make sure we aren’t drifting. All in all it was a great day. As the sun was setting we saw the shrimp boats get ready and start heading out for a night of collecting shrimp. They don’t go very far as they were just on the ocean side of where we were. We could see their lights.
This is a pretty anchorage just not a very secure one for piece of mind.
Our cricket is back. We cannot find him. We think he may be in the spinnaker sail bag. He won’t last much longer. His chirping is getting faint.
There are fish jumping around the boat like crazy and pangas are fishing all over the place. I hope they don’t have nets out because we want to leave at first light. I think it is going to be a long night. This is what it is like living the adventure. It hasn’t cooled down a lot. I think it is in the upper 70’s. We figure if it is too hot to sleep down below, we can always sleep in the cockpit. Well back to anchor watch and cricket hunting!!
A panga came in from the ocean and shone his big light to see what boats were in front of him and the fish started to jump like crazy. It was like a Jacuzzi with the jets on.
Thursday, February 26.
Dave couldn’t take it any more with the cricket. We had to find him. We know it wasn’t down below, and we are pretty sure it is in the spinnaker sail bag. Dave dumped the sail out and put it pack in. He didn’t see the cricket so either he escaped or he got squished. We’ll know when we go to use the sail. At least he isn’t chirping any more.
Dave and I took turns sleeping. I slept for a couple of hours and came topside to give Dave a break. When he woke up he took over while I slept. Even though we got some sleep, you feel like you haven’t. We watch pangas come around the boat fishing.
The boat swung in the breeze and we didn’t move any which was a very good thing. When the wind piped up a little more and the stern of the boat was facing shore, we were praying the wind wouldn’t blow too much harder as we could end up on the beach. Charlie on s/v Tika-Too was watching his anchor too. We couldn’t wait for first light and get out of there.
Finally around 5:30am it started to get lighter and at 6:00am it was light enough to see all around us. We saw the pangas that were anchored just off our port side a few yards away fishing.
We pulled anchor at 6:30am and was out of there a little after 7:00am and heading West to clear the shore line. Then we turned south heading for Punta de Mira. The wind picked up a little but still not enough to sail. Then it died. We saw a whole pod of whales feeding. We came around Punta de Mita and saw a mother whale with her pup. No pictures though. As we were getting closer to where we turn to go into the anchorage at Punta de Mita, we got a call from s/v Kailani, with Dave and Christy onboard. We had been trying to hail them ever since we left Mantenchen Bay but with no luck. It was good to hear from them. They were anchored out side the La Cruz marina and wanted to know where we were. We told them we were thinking of anchoring at Punta de Mita, and they asked why not come to La Cruz. We did see a lot of masts in behind a jetty which was were the anchorage was to Punta de Mita. Charlie said he didn’t care where we went. Dave and I talked it over and said it was only 8 more miles to La Cruz----why not!! So we let Dave and Christy and Charlie know that we were heading for La Cruz. The wind had piped up in Banderas Bay to where it was blowing 22 knots. It was behind us but we were so enthralled with whale watching that we didn’t unfurl the sails. There were sloppy seas but we were concentrating on getting to La Cruz, plus Charlie was following us. The charts are off for Mexico and we were unsure where La Cruz was so we were more concerned with finding it than sailing. Oh well. The wind was refreshing as we had the hatches open and the fresh air was able to flow through the whole cabin. It was the first time in a long time it smelled fresh down there.
Dave off of s/v Kailani shone a mirror into the sun from where he was so we could find him at anchor. We finally found him and the seas were really jumping around. There was no way we were going to anchor and get bounced around out there. So we drove by their boat and let them know we were going into the marina. Dave had called earlier and asked if we could come in early and they said yes. Charlie decided to drop anchor near Kailani. So we said goodbye and entered the marina. We found out slip and had help in tying up as it was blowing pretty good inside the marina. Nice marina. Cement docks and it hasn’t been open but I think a year. We got settled and went up to check in. We got moorage for 50 cents a food which is really good. You pay $3.00 for one cubic leader, 264 gals of water. You can never use that much water. You pay separate for the electricity. It is on a meter. All in all it is fairly inexpensive compared to others. It seems to be a clean marina and the village of La Cruz is just on the other side of the marina. A lot of cruisers here are getting ready to make the puddle jump across the Pacific. The time to do that is from March 1st on. A lot of boats will be leaving here on Sunday and Monday. Others will leave around the 11th. When we come back from our home visit, the marina will be pretty empty.
Dave and I are so tired. We wanted to take a nap, but we got a call from Charlie asking if there was room at the marina and asked how he coould contact the office. He wanted to come in. He got a slip assignment and he was preparing his boat to pull anchor. Dave off s/v Kailani, went aboard to help Charlie ready lines and help him in the marina. Christy got in their dinghy and scouted out the marina to find the slip Charlie was going into. I saw her and told her where the slip was. It was about 5 slips from us. She went back and met the boat as it was coming into the marina and told them where the slip was. I was standing on the end of the dock where he had to turn to get to his slip, so I could wave to him to let him know where he needed to turn. We helped him tie up. Once Charlie was in and secured to the dock, he told us he was taking a nap and the boat rocked so much he got thrown out of his bunk. So he said that was it and decided he didn’t want to rock and roll out there any more. After Charlie was secure, Dave and I went up and took showers. Then we met back with Dave, Christy, their friends, and Charlie and walked into town and found a Mexican restaurant and had dinner. After dinner we walked to another restaurant and bar called the Octopus Garden and in the back was all kinds of Huichol Indian art work. It was cool. We looked around for a bit then started to head back to the marina. We passed a restaurant that was packed with people and country music was playing. It was a live band. They were singing and playing a Johnny Cash song. We stopped and listened for a few minutes then moved on. Dave and Christy pointed out the best market in town, the butcher, bakery, and tortilla place where fresh tortillas are made everyday. As we were getting closer to the marina, there were two men that seemed to be in a heated argument. One was holding a can of beer. One guy said something to the other and the other guy turned around and started heading for the guy that made the remark. They came together and one of the guys hit the other one. We hurried along to get far away just in case the fight got intense. We got back to the dock and said good night and headed for the boat. I got coffee ready for in the morning and got ready for bed and went to bed. I was really tired. Dave came to bed shortly thereafter.
Friday, February 27.
We woke to a beautiful day. The boat was dry which means there was little or no humidity last night. I like to sit out in the cockpit and drink my coffee in the morning but most of the time everything is so wet I can’t do that. It was nice to be able this morning. I visited with Fran off s/v Merlot which is moored behind us. They were in Mazatlan for a little while. When I finished my coffee I hosed down the hull to get the salt off. Then I went below and had breakfast then gathered all the dirty clothes and sheets to take up to the area where the showers are and drop it off. You have to have the clothes there before 11:00am. Then they come back the next day around 12:00. It saves a walk into town. You pay by the kilo and there is a 20 peso service charge. What they do is take the clothes to a laundry mat close by and when it is done bring it back to the marina. That is the service charge. It will be nice to have clean clothes and under wear again.
I emailed my best girlfriend back home. Her mother died just a couple of days ago. I was sorry I couldn’t be there for her but at least I was able to email her and tell her how sorry I was to hear the news.
I didn’t have much energy today. I don’t think Dave did either. We were going to wash the boat but decided we would wash it tomorrow. I wanted to take a nap, but when I do that I don’t sleep very well at night so I fought it. I had a skirt I wanted to make shorter so I did that instead of napping.
There is a potluck dinner and BBQ at the La Cruz Yacht Club, (there isn’t one yet but that is what they call it). Dave and I weren’t interested in going so we had dinner on the boat. After dinner I took a shower and then we visited with a couple from Germany that will be leaving on Monday to go to the South Pacific. They have been traveling all over. They had been to Washington. They will do the Pacific Islands then go to New Zealand, Australia and then maybe come back up the Pacific to here again. They weren’t sure. They wanted to do the circumnavigation. That is there goal and then after that it’s in the air.
It’s nice here at La Cruz. It is quiet and the village is within a few yards of the marina. I usually want to explore a day after we get into port, but not today. I just wanted to take it easy. It is pretty here.
In the morning there is no wind until around 10:00am. Then it picks up and is a steady breeze all day until around 5 or 6 pm. Then it dies. So it is pleasant. You don’t get too hot because of the breeze and the boat gets aired out.
Tomorrow the boat washing is taking second fiddle. We are going into Puerto Vallarta on the bus with Dave and Christy. They are going to the big marine store and we need to go there too. So we will have an adventure tomorrow. Then on Sunday we are riding the bus back into Puerto Vallarta to see the Huichol Indian art. They make really beautiful drawings with beads and yarn. They make small bead jewelry and much more. I am excited to go see what they have. Dave and Christy are going too.
Tonight we were invited over to s/v Merlots boat to have a shot of tequila. So we sat there and visited a little bit and then I came back to our boat to write this entry for the blog. It is a quiet night. I had to defrost the freezer because it was getting iced over and since we weren’t going to be here most of the day tomorrow, it couldn’t wait. Dave fell asleep on the settee. I will call it a night now. Hasta go to bed now!!!!
Saturday, February 28.
This is the last day of February. Wow!!!! Time does fly. It is pretty warm today and it was hot the more inland you went. Dave, Christy, Dave and I took a bus ride into Puerto Vallarta. We needed to know how to get there anyway and Dave and Dave (paakio) needed to go to the marine store. We also needed to go to a bank. We went through a town called Bucerias which has a new Mega grocery store. That is the closest store to La Cruz. So that works. There is a Costco in P.V. but we won’t worry about that until we get back here from our trip home. Just 11 more days and we will be out of the heat and into the cold. Brrrrr!!!! I’m looking forward to seeing everyone, just not the cold. At least we can come back to the heat. It is much warmer down here in P.V. that it was in San Blas. At first I didn’t think it was very humid, but I was proven wrong. It is very humid. It is like what everyone on the east coast talks about taking a shower, getting out and needing another one. If that is the price I have to pay to be in paradise---so be it.
When we got to the marine store we did some shopping for stuff we needed. We bought boat soap and chamois, a water filter unit with filter. After we left there we went to lunch at the Puerto Vallarta Marina. We had a cheese burger (cheese burger in paradise?) with fries and beer. It was good. Of course after that we had to have dessert so Christy and I had a scoop of ice cream and Dave and Dave (paakio) had pastry. Then we followed Dave and Christy to the airport customs package pickup. They had parts flown in from the states. They got them without any hassle and opened the box to make sure everything was there. They got rid of the boxes and put the stuff in their backpacks. Then we caught the bus back to La Cruz. Wow what a ride we had. First of all the driver over charged us, then he almost hit a car and almost got hit when he swerved to miss it. Oh boy!!!! We made it back safe and sound but what an adventure. Yikes!!! When we got off the bus we headed for one of the restaurants to have a beer. We were so hot and thirsty. Then it was time to go back to our boats and we said goodbye. We had a fun day. We are getting together tomorrow to go to the Huichol Festival in P.V. That should be fun and interesting.
This is the last update to the blog until we get back from the States. Then I will be full of stuff to write about.
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