On to Zihuatanejo

We were sad to say goodbye to Richard and Elizabeth when they left on 1/12. But, we remember her delicious meals, several cocktail hours, and great talks. We think of them each morning when we use the espresso maker Elizabeth gave us. She could not believe we were drinking instant coffee and we're glad we aren't anymore! We hope to catch up with them or vice versa one of these days. I did manage to console myself with a day-trip to Guadalajara which was fantastic. We welcomed back Ken, our previous shipmate, on 1/17.

Ralph's birthday on the 18th was celebrated with street tacos and a provisioning trip as we prepared for our departure to Zihuatanejo. We departed a day late due to fueling issues in Las Hadas, but Adirondack helped us out with that and was also our buddy boat down the Michoacan coast. We have been in Zihua since 1/23 and are looking forward to the arrival of Ken's wife, Rita, for a visit on 2/1, and the start of Sailfest. Sailfest is an annual gathering of cruisers, where funds are raised at various activities to donate to local schools.

Sunsets are always wonderful on the ocean.

Colima

There are organized bus tours of the countryside around Manzanillo. However, our new friends, Elizabeth and Richard from Sea Gnome, came to the rescue so we could experience the area in a unique way. Elizabeth found a taxi driver she liked, and arranged a day trip that they invited us to join. It was fabulous. We visited La Gruta de San Gabriel, which was discovered in 1949, but only recently been opened to the public. La Gruta is a natural cave, about 160 feet underground which is accessed via a spiral staircase and ladder. It is also an archeological site which includes an underground ampitheatre. The area is under restoration, and is presumed to have been a ceremonial site some 2000 years ago. Although the site was closed that day, our driver, Raul, managed to convince the custodians to take us in. This included loading a generator from their house into the back of their pick-up, climbing in, and backing down a dirt road to the cave. Workers were installing rocks on the roadway, and were allowed to join our party, as they had never seen the cave. The workers thought it was as magical as we did. I doubt very many turistas have experienced this unique spot in this unique way. We all dubbed it the best day! After that, we went to lunch in Comala and were able to view the two volcanos (the active one was sending up a plume that day). Then we went to Colima to experience more newly discovered ruins and to see the colonial capital city and zocalo.

Colima ruins.

Colima zocalo.

Marina Las Hadas

After more than three weeks "on the hook", we decided to check into a Marina. And we found Las Hadas. This is where the movie "10" was filmed. It is across Manzanillo Bay from the commercial port. The spot is lovely, if a bit run-down. However, it is calm at night and we had the best neighbors possible. Richard and Elizabeth were there as we backed in (we had to Med-moor here and that can be tricky in a sailboat). They took our lines and we had a beer while they gave us information about the area.

Frida's is on the Marina grounds. They serve Italian food and have live jazz every Wednesday night. The group that currently plays is "Djang". Djang is made up of two brothers who graduated from the Colima Art College and are dedicated to bringing various music genres to Mexico. They were good and played to an appreciative crowd.

Manzanillo is also a popular sport fishing destination.

Part of our stay was consumed with boat maintenance, including installing a new radar antenna which Ken brought.


Consultation on boat bottom cleaning.

Manzanillo

We left Barra on 1/5. Our next stop was Santiago Bay where we spent one night before heading into Manzanillo Bay. Manzanillo is Mexico's biggest port on the Pacific. The downtown is a busy commercial center. We spent a day exploring some of its markets, seeing the oldest hotel and walking its streets.

Barra de Navidad

We followed Adirondack into the Barra Lagoon as the channel is very narrow and very shallow. They had been into Barra before and successfully did it again! After anchoring, we went to check in with the Port Captain and then walked through the town. Every place has its special spot and we found Barra's "Big Tree" not too far from the Sands Hotel. The Sands has the dinghy dock, so we had happy hour there before returning to the boat.

We noticed lots of camping at various bays during the Christmas Season, and Barra was no exception. Here are a couple pictures of Mexican families enjoying their beaches.

One of the benefits of staying in the Barra Lagoon was the "French Baker" who made deliveries to boats six days a week. We could order the day before or just see what was available. Before leaving, we made a special order and when he delivered it the next day he asked if we were having a party! We subsequently enjoyed the croissants, bread, pies and quiches. The change of cuisine was welcome. The French Baker (in white) used to live in Vancouver, B.C. His helper used to have a Beneteau, like ours, which is a French design (now also made in South Carolina) so we had lots to talk about.

Tenacatita

We arrived in this huge, glorious bay on 12/22. From the number of boats here, it is a popular stop. It has small towns, several resorts, great snorkeling, and, calm water. That's why it is so popular! We found out that there are many boaters who winter on this coast - they keep their boats in Puerto Vallarta or cruise the Sea of Cortez the rest of the year. While here they travel from bay to bay and back again. Several of them have known others for years. Contact is made with each other via VHF radio. Organized morning chats take place at 8:00 a.m. After the chat on Christmas Day, an announcement was made that all the cruisers at anchor were invited to Beach Access (a catamaran from California) for a dessert party. This gave us the opportunity to meet up with others. Boats from the Pacific Northwest were the greatest percentage in this bay. We have seen lots of boats from Seattle, Gig Harbor, Portland and many other ports. As we checked the Puget Sound weather on the internet, we REALLY do understand why. At any rate, we have now met several other boaters who are bound for Panama this season.

This was one of our neighbors. It is from La
Connor, which we found out from the owners when they kayaked by in the nicest kayaks I have ever seen! The boat is registered in the Cayman Islands, but expect it back in the Pacific Northwest later this year. It is named Evviva and is about 120' with a full crew of about seven (can you see the helicopter?).

We dinghied across the bay to La Manzanilla. This town has a nice zocalo with the most interesting pillars on the gazebo. The artist dedicated it to his father. There is also a beach front park here, which I have not seen in other places. They were setting up for a carnival right in the town square. Workers were assembling rides and candy booths. They also have quite a market of small vendors who display their goods on the town square. There are a fair amount of tourists here and the place seems a busier than many of the other spots we have seen. Many little stores made it easy to get what was on our shopping lists here. Even the eggs survived the dinghy ride back to the boat.

We took a jungle dinghy tour one day. The water was so clear, the reflection was perfect. Can anyone spot the bird in the bushes?

At the end of the lagoon tributary we found Tenacatita Village and beach. After a great walk on the beach, we went into town and noticed that Corona has the market on restaurant signs here.

On the beach, there is a protected sea turtle egg area. There are dates the eggs were discovered/laid and dates they were released. We could see them release some on Christmas Day.

The following week, we swam and snorkeled.

Jim and Diane on Adirondak, a trawler from Gig Harbor, hosted a New Year's Eve get together with us, folks from Tamara and Jammin, both out of Portland. That was the Pacific Northwest contingent and we had a lovely time. We were back on our boat in time to see the fireworks set off at nearby Blue Bay Hotel.

On 1/2/09, on our way out of the Bay, a boat's dinghy was loose and drifting toward our boat. Ralph rowed out and delivered it to its owner.

He had to row and not motor because you have to take the motor off the dinghy and raise the dinghy before setting sail. This was made more difficult because the tide did not favor the direction Ralph had to go. But, mission was accomplished.

Chamela/Careyes

Next stop was Ipala on 12/17. We saw whales much of the day and also big sea turtles lumbering through the ocean. The whales make it look easy, the turtles make it look hard! Ipala is a tiny fishing village with rooms to rent. This would be an off the beaten track stop! We went to Chamela (pictured to the right) on 12/18. Here we see a fisherman at work in Chamela. We dinghied ashored to walk around and check out the large beach and smaller town. On the way, we ran into a group of Canadians who come to one of the RV parks here each year. They were talking about the bad weather at home. The town had several stores, a nice zocolo, and more rooms to rent. This anchorage was also very rolly. But, we were treated to shooting stars each night we were there.

On 12/21 we moved further down Mexico's "Gold Coast" and found some of the gold. We noticed large houses in south Chamela Bay and they continued to dot the coast to Paraiso through Careyes. These houses are huge, colorful, and upscale. Some have tennis courts. We wanted to anchor at Careyes to check out the sea turtles that inhabit this area. However, there was no room in the anchorage for a boat our size, so we went in and back out. It was worth it to see the pretty hotel and area. We did see more sea turtles and whales.

Yelapa

This is actually a picture from a bus ride from Puerto Vallarta to Punta Mita. The little boy was looking at Ralph's camera and his mother told Ralph it was ok to take his picture. So, Ralph snapped this shot and showed the boy his photo from the camera. He and his brother were amazed. They and their mother than laughed and laughed. Kids are the same everywhere!

We checked out of Paradise Village on 12/15 and sailed to Yelapa arriving in the afternoon. Yelapa is a gorgeous little bay. We saw a large pod of whales on the way in. Our cruising guide said the anchorage was marginal (rolly) as it gets lots of winds and swells. We were met by Ricardo as we entered the bay. He owns a couple of mooring buoys so we agreed to a special price for two nights and attached ourselves with his assistance. At least as we rolled around all night, we knew we would not be going anywhere. Ricardo also provided panga taxi service to his customers so the next day we went into town and walked beyond it to the waterfall. We saw lots of colorful butterflies, hummingbirds and a dog fishing in the surf. The town has narrow streets. It is colorful and has lots of plants and trees. Yelapa is stop for tour boats operating out of Puerto Vallarta so when the tour boats come in, the beach and town are inundated with tourists. It then gets pretty quiet and very laid back til the next tour. We were entertained by more whales at sunset.