Inland trip with Joaquin: February 13-15

Joaquin and Family

Nuera Italia, Uruapan, San Juan Nuevo, Santa Clara, Paracuaro


When we set out on this sailing adventure I was excited to see places in a different way really see not only the country but the people and its culture. I feel that with this trip we achieved this experience.
We met our friend Joaquin last year in Ixtapa where he worked as a waiter. While we were at his restaurant we overheard him say he lived in Tillamook Oregon. Well that is a small place, and so we struck up a conversation with him about his time in Oregon. We learned that he also provided inland tours and fishing trips. We exchanged email addresses and he invited us to look him up when we returned the following year. We were happy to meet with him on our return to Ixtapa.  We then made arraignments for this tour prior to leaving for Huatulco.
Day One: February 13
With Kris and Bob watching Mazu in the anchorage of Zihuatanejo, meet Joaquin on the pier at 7am for an early start. Joaquin lives in Nueva Italia which is about two hours north of Ixtapa. We ride along on a nice toll road to get there.
Nueva Italia is a working man’s Mexican town with many working in the nearby fields and orchards. Joaquin grew up here and this is where most of his family still lives. His Mother and Father are here along with 9 brothers and sisters (two sisters live in Oregon). There are also numerous Aunts, Uncles, cousins, etc. here.  He first takes us to his home to meet his family (and to drop off his laundry). He has a nice large home that he takes great pride in. His parents’ home is in the same fence area as his and he has several brothers with homes along the same small dirt road. As is with most homes in Mexico it is constructed of concrete with tile floors. We meet his wife, Esbeida, his daughter, Esbeida (they call her Beida) and son’s Jacob and John. We also meet his parents Dolores (Lola) and Father Viviano.
After a quick meal at his sisters (Minga) louncheria we head up to the city of Uruapan. We take the old highway that winds through the mountains. We travel through a beautiful and rugged canyon by a really large reservoir and are soon in a pine forest. It reminds me of central Oregon.
Uruapan is a large city, clean and with what seems to be a good standard of living. As we are higher in elevation it is much cooler that at the coast, in fact today it is cloudy and a bit rainy again reminding me of Oregon. He takes us to this beautiful park/nature preserve “Patronato del Parque Nacional.
It is absolutely beautiful here. You follow a trail through a lush forest full of pine trees, cedar trees, ferns, and a rushing river. You think you are in Oregon (the rain is helping) until you see the banana trees. You follow the river as it meanders through the park. Along the way to are treated to elaborate fountains and man-made and natural waterfalls. There is even a fish hatchery located in the park. Most of the drinking water for the city comes from this river.
We finish up our time in the park and head to the small town of San Juan Nuevo. Nuevo means new and it is called Nuevo as the town had to be rebuilt after it was destroyed in 1941 by a volcano eruption. This town has a large and grand church that we tour. It is the largest church I have seen so far in Mexico. Such a large church for such a small town, I am sure there is a story behind that. San Juan Nuevo is also known for its fine needle craft work. There are many shops selling clothing and table cloths with fine embroidery work. Here we have a late lunch and return to Joaquin’s home where we will spend the night. 
Day 2: Santa Clara de Cobre, Patzcuaro, Janizio. (February 14, Valentine’s Day)
We are up early as we have a long day planned. We have a light breakfast of homemade tortillas and cinnamon tea. We are picking up Joaquin’s nephew, Raul. He will assist as our guide as he lived in the area we will be going to.
We head north again this time on the toll road for a faster trip up to Santa Clara de Cobre. This small town is renowned for its copper artisans. It is again cool and cloudy as we travel up into the mountains.
Our first stop in Santa Clara de Cobre (Cobre means copper) is a small family copper smiting forge. It is a simple operation with a fire area, a blower to stoke the fire and several specialty hammers and various molds and stumps for hammering the copper to its final form. The son explains that the copper use to mined in the area but now they use recycled material. Here we see several large copper pots/kettles and small decorative items. We purchase two small capper jars.  We stroll down the streets looking in the shops. We visit a museum that has many examples of the copper works of the area through time. They also have several pieces from the winners of the annual copper works competition held annually here.
We then go to “Cobre El Porton” where we can see a demonstration of how the copper is worked into the decorative and functional pieces to be sold. Each piece takes several days to complete. The workers are paid by the piece and the tips they receive for the demonstrations. I take several pictures and I am given the opportunity to work on a pot, hammering it into the solid form it will take. It is harder than it looks to get the consistent hammer marks that make up a completed piece. I will leave it up to the artist.  I purchase a salt and pepper shaker and a small copper rose to give to Esbeida for Valentine’s Day.
It is soon time to leave as we still are to visit the town of Patzcuaro and the Island of Janizio, In Patzcuaro we have lunch in the large Mercado near the square then head to the lake where the water taxis wait to take you out to the island.
The island is in the middle of the lake and is home to the indigenous people of the Purepecha or Tarascan.  Janizio means “Where it rains”. The town if famous for its butterfly fishermen who are skilled in lowering butterfly shaped nets to catch the local fish” pescado blanco” a small white fish that they fry in oil. Now the town caters mostly to tourist who come here.
At the top of the island is a large statue of Jose Maria Morelos, a hero of Mexico’s independence. The island is very steep. You hike up narrow streets and steps to reach the top. Once we are there we are rewarded with a fantastic view of the lake below and a close up look and the spectacular statue. I think that we are done and start to head back down. Joaquin laughs and stops me, saying we are now going to walk up inside the stature to the top of his upraised arm! I think that I won’t come close to making it, but I am game to try. We walk around and around the narrow stair case; each level is painted with murals depicting the life of Morelos. We finally reach the top ( 135 ft.) I get up enough nerve to climb on the small ledge to look out the small window and snap a picture.
It is time to go back to Joaquin’s for dinner. I am going to make spaghetti for him and extended family (about 20). We spend the evening enjoying the food, wine and his family. But we are glad to lie down and sleep after such a long day.

Day 3 Paracuaro and home:
Esbeida makes us a huge breakfast of hashbrowns, eggs, and of course tortillas. I get a lesson on how to make them. It is not as easy as it looks to get them on to the hot skillet just right and then to flip them (with your fingers) over at just the right time. But I manage to make a few that are edible. Today we will go with Joaquin and the kids to the local Mercado and to his favorite water “park” in Paracuaro.
The park has several pools constructed that are filled with the spring water that his here. The water is so clean, cool and fresh that many people come and fill water bottles to take home. That is what we do too. It is too cool to swim today, but this is a favorite place with Joaquin and his family in the hot summer months where they will spend the entire day here.
And all too soon it is time to go home. We are full from a wonderful fish lunch that Esbeida has prepared for us. We say goodbye to her and the kids. We have had such a great time. And we are truly happy to have met them all.

Zihuatanejo & Sail Fest: February 1-11

Our trip north from Hutulco is a quick motor. We are making good time so we decide not to make a rest stop in Acapulco but to continue on to Zihuatanejo. Along the way we see a giant pod of dolphins, more than we have ever seen in one place. Several come over to play in the bow of the boat.

We arrive at Bahia Petatlan (just north of Zihua) before dark on Thursday the 2^nd making the passage in just over 48 hours. We set anchor and relax in the cockpit and then early to bed.

As we are still having some refrigeration problems we decide to head into the marina in Ixtapa first thing in the morning. I have already called our friend Brian (remember, he watched to boat for us while we were home in December) to ask if he knew a repair-man. He said he would make a call and have the best one around at our boat by 10am in the morning. We arrive at 9:30. We are happy to see our friend’s boat, Serendipity in the slip just next to us. We just missed them though as they needed to hop on a bus for an inland tour.

Brian is there to greet us and soon the repair folks are here. The problem just seems to be getting the Freon correct. So he tests it and adds more Freon. It now seems to work great, let’s keep our fingers crossed.

Our boat is a mess after two long passages, so we have Brian give it a good wash. I also take up all the laundry to be taken to be washed, (laundry mats are really nonexistent, and usually the same place as who will do it for you and it is just as cheap to have them do it).

Mel and I take the bus to Zihatanejo to register for the Sail-Fest activities. Sail-Fest is an annual five-day festival with the goal to raise money and awareness for the education of Zihuatanejo’s poorest children. There are concerts, beach parties, a boat parade and auctions.  We register our boat, sign up to be in the sail parade and purchase tickets to the benefit concert. Then head to Zorro’s for a cold beer.

On Sunday we head over to the main anchorage in Zihatanejo and find a good spot close to the dingy beach. After we settle in we take a cab to the market to provision for the week. We are happy to welcome our friends, Bob and Kris from Seattle. They have come to visit us for the Sail-Fest activities, and will stay on our boat while we are gone for our inland trip. They arrive on February 6^th and we enjoy drinks and dinner in town with them.

The next few days are busy with activities. We enjoy a walk along the beach walkway and drinks by the pool at Bob and Kris’ hotel, the opening party and auction, and the benefit concert. Once again this is one of the highlights of the festival for me. While the meal has something to be desired, the music is fantastic. We are also happy to meet up there with two of our “ladies” who were our guests at last year’s boat parade. They are also going to go to Huatulco, so I give them Gabriel’s information. It is also a bit of a sad time when we say goodbye to our friends Hugh and Anne on the boat Serendipity. They will leave for South American in a few days and I doubt that our paths will cross again. We had lots of good times with them while in Mexico.

Sail Parade

Friday is the parade day. It is cloudy with a few sprinkles now and then. This is unusual for here. It does not seem to be putting a damper on the guests and we have seven guests on board. We had purchased a ticket for Joaquin to come as our guest. So along with Kris and Bob, we are hosts to Karen, of Nanaimo BC, Charlie and Dianne of Minnesota, Tracy of Main, and Tim and Donna of Nanaimo BC. All the boats in the parade make a circle around the bay then head over to Ixtapa bay make a circle around it then head back. This takes about 2 hours or so. We manage to sail for a little. When we return all are welcomed to stay and relax in the cockpit for the afternoon. We share drinks, snacks and great conversation (and a Spanish lesson from Joaquin).  Even with the rain it was a great day. Thanks to all our guests for the memorable day.

Huatulco January 19-31

Bahia’s de Huatulco January 19^th – January 31st

We finally have made it to Huatulco. It was a 33 hour passage from Acapulco. Our first anchorage is at Isla Cacaluta at Bahia Cacaluta, one of the 9 bays of Huatulco (wah-tool-co).

Bahia’s de Huatulco is comprised of nine beautiful bays. We had heard of it in our travels last year and decided to make it our southernmost destination for this year. Many boats stop here to wait for a weather window to cross the infamous Gulf of Tehuantepec on their way to South America.

Huatulco is also a tourist destination for Mexicans and Norte Americanos and Canadians alike. The entire area was reclaimed and rebuilt for that purpose in the 1990’s by Fonatar, the Mexican tourist agency. They developed a small harbor in Bahia Santa Cruz for fishing boats and tourist site-seeing boats and there is a cruise ship pier just outside. The small town of Santa Cruz is located here.

Most of the other bays are part of the National Marine Park system and are protected. Isla Cacaluta is part of this Marine Park. We anchor next to the cordoned off snorkel reef. The island is giving us good protection from the sea swell so we are able to get some much needed rest. Mel has come down with a cold so we spend our first three nights here. I get out the kayaks and snorkel gear and explore the reef.

We soon find out that what we thought was a nice private anchorage is part of the bay(s) tour for the double decker tour boats. We seem to have become part of the tour. Mazu will be in many pictures. We wave and smile.

Mel recovers from his cold and we are off to explore the rest of the bays. Our next stop is Bahia Maguey and Organo. These two beaches share an entrance. One beach, Maguey is dotted with palapa restaurants and is a destination via boat and cars. We set our anchor and dink to shore for a cold beer and ceviche.

It is here that we make a new friend. Gabriel greets us as we land our dingy, and like most of the places he is there to “invite” us to his restaurant. He seems very nice to we follow him down the beach to La Casa del Abuelo.  Like many of the waiters and taxi drivers we have met (the ones that speak good English) the all can help you with arraignment of tours, fishing, etc. Gabriel is the same. He offers to help us in any way he can. As Mel knows I would love to go on a real fishing trip we make arraignments to meet the owner of a fishing panga the next morning to arrange a fishing trip for me. Gabriel offers to come also as an interpreter.

We return to Mazu and reset our anchor, and set a stern anchor for the night. This very busy cove becomes dark and quiet at night and the entire place closes up and the last of the buses and taxis leave by 7pm. All we hear are the stray dogs barking on the beach. We sit in the cockpit of the boat and enjoy the cool breeze and the sounds of the birds, dogs, and waves. This is the life.

Most waiters make about 100 pesos (less than 10.00) per day and depend on these extras to supplement the income. In fact I think they take the waiting jobs so they can meet gringos. Our Gabriel seems to know everyone (as we soon find out is somewhat true). Anyway we meet in the morning with Sergio (the boat owner) and Gabriel. The date is set for Tuesday for to pick us up on Mazu in Bahia Santa Cruz.

We move to Bahia Santa Cruz and anchor to starboard of the cruise ship dock. There is a nice little beach to land your dingy. The restaurant there has and outdoor shower to wash the sand from your feet. This is a nice luxury as that is always a problem with beach landings, to get the sand off your feet so you can put your sandals on and not have the sand rub blisters on your feet as you walk around. 

Santa Cruz use to be a small fishing village and is now set up with restaurants along the beach and various gift and jewelry shops. There is, like in all Mexican towns a nice tree lined square. We find a wonderful handmade rug/tapestry shop. It is owned by a family and we met the young man to works the loom. We spy a wall hanging that we fall in love with. We make a deal with Freddy (his name) and will come back to purchase it.

FISHING DAY

Gabriel and Sergio arrive at about 6:30 a.m.  In Karen (the name of his boat), a very nice (I am relieved to see) fishing panga with a sun awning on it. It is very clean and in like new shape.

The seas are flat and it is a nice cool morning.  We get our first strike with-in the hour. Sergio says it is a yellow fin, and it is a big one. Unfortunately he gets off the hook. Sergio is not worried, said that fishing and we will get more. It soon becomes apparent that this guy knows what he is doing. We find out that he has been fishing all of his life and so did his family. In fact he shows us where his family home was, now taken over with condos.

Next I catch a good size Bonita, good for ceviche he says.  I am watching him intently. I want to see what lures and bait he uses and how he trolls for them.

We soon get another strike and after some very hard work I land a 25lbs (+/-) Yellow Fin Tuna!  Sergio is as happy as I am and calls “beer for the Captain” in English. We all have one to celebrate the catch. It is now time for lunch. Sergio prepares one of the Bonita’s for ceviche. It is delicious and makes a great lunch.

The ocean is spotted with sea turtles; we see at least two dozen today. I catch another Yellow Finn of about the same size. It is then time to head for shore. Poles are in everything is secure, and like all fishing panga’s returning to harbor, Sergio goes full blast for home!

I keep one fish and give the other to Sergio and Gabriel as a tip. As it is we get enough tuna steaks in our freeze for many a meal and ceviche. 

We are the only boat to catch fish that day, all the other panga owners’ mill around and chit chat with Sergio while he fillets the fish up for me. They are all his friends he tells me, and gives one of the Bonita’s to one of his friends. I guess it will feed his family that night. We learn that Sergio has a great reputation for catching fish. We see him a few days later cleaning six Yellow Fins that his charter caught that day. I hope we can return one day I would go again in a hot minute…

SANTA MARIA AND LA CRUCECITA

We meet Gabriel again first thing in the morning for a short driving tour of the area. One of his friends (as I said he knows everyone) owns a nice taxi so we rent it for the day. We first tour the hotel “row” at Bahia Tangolunda, and the small surfing beach at Conejo.  We then turn inland to visit the county seat of Santa Maria. Here we find the municipal building with a very interesting mural painted inside depicting some of the local lore and history. There is a beautiful church here and busy commercial streets. We find a small lunch counter and have cantaloupe juice and Quesada for lunch.  I then buy some produce from a street merchant to take back to the boat.

We then head back towards the bay to the small town of La Crucecita. Here is one of the prettiest squares we have seen. Large banyan type trees shade the area, a pretty gazebo in the middle and benches to sit and relax line the entire square. And as always the church is nearby. In this pretty church we are treated to a beautiful painting on the ceiling of the Virgin Mary.  We spend some time walking around the square and side streets. This is the closest town to the bays of Huatulco so I also pick up some provisions for the boat.  Gabriel then returns us to the beach as he heads to work.

Bahia Tangolunda

We are happy to see Groovy come sail by and then return to Bahia Santa Cruz to set anchor. We catch up with them with beers in their cockpit. We make plans to move over to Bahia Tangolunda the next day.

We set anchor in Bahia Tangolunda in front of a resort. It used to be a Club Med but it is something else now. It is very pretty. We do set a stern anchor to keep us pointed into the swell. I then explore in my kayak and I am rewarded with a close encounter with a dolphin.

Bahia Tangolunda is lined with beach resorts so it is a very active bay with jet skis, hobie cats, and kayaks. The beaches are filled (but not to filled) with vacationers enjoying the beautiful area and weather.

Unfortunately we seem to be anchored right by the evening entertainment hall.  The music is very loud most of the night. The next morning Groovy and Mazu move to the other side of the bay where it is less rolly and quieter.  We enjoy another evening with Mark and Emily with beers, ceviche and great conversation.

The Mexican Wedding

Our friend and guide, Gabriel has invited us to his friend’s wedding reception. He is in a band that will be providing the music. This is a chance we just cannot pass up. His friends, Salbador and Isabel are older and have been together for many years and in fact have a child together, but they have now decided to get married.

The reception is in a hotel in Santa Cruz near where we are anchored so it is a short walk there. Luckily I have a dress, and Mel has a pair of slacks to wear.

Gabriel meets us in the lobby and takes us in. We meet the bride’s sister and are seated at a nice table. We are the only (save one man) grigos there. But no one seems to take much notice and we are treated like one of the family.

A Mexican wedding reception is very similar to ours. The bride and groom enter and have a first dance, a waltz. Then the parents dance with them, then an announcer starts calling other names and other friends and family members all take turns dancing with the couple. It is very orderly. We find out later that after the parents the others are relatives and friends who have helped to sponsor the wedding a reception. This takes about 45 minutes. I am sure the couple are tired. Then the band plays some music and friends and family take gifts to the wedding table and congratulate the couple.

Drinks and music continue and some people dance. Gabriel announces that we are there from Oregon and that we are his friends there to celebrate with the couple.

A nice fish dinner is served and cake. Then more music and dancing. We are invited (one of the family, living in San Antonio Texas) speaks English and she invites us to join in the large circle dancing around the couple. We soon find ourselves in the middle, me dancing with groom, Mel with the bride, to much applause.  We are having a great time.

One of the highlights is the couples own dance to a chosen song. The sister brings up a c.d. and asks the band to play it in the CD player. Then the couple gets up to dance. I am expecting a romantic Mexican song to start, but no, it is Queen’s “Give me somebody to love” played at full volume. The couple obviously planed and practiced this dance, and this song must mean something to them. But we were surprised to say the least.

This night was one of the highlights of our time in Mexico. I gave us a snapshot into the Mexican culture and its people. They were warm, inviting to us and most of all they are a fun-loving people. We will remember this night always.

Time to go:

We cannot believe that is soon time for us to leave. We raise anchor in Santa Cruz to Bahia Organo for a night.  Then we find the gem of an anchorage in Bahia La India. A beautiful protected anchorage. A few tour boats stop in here for the day but in the late afternoon and evening it is empty and quite. There is a reef here that is perfect for snorkeling. We spend 2 days here and have a final good by with our friends Mark and Emily. Raising anchor at 6pm on January 31^st. We say a sad goodbye to Huatulco one of our most favorite places in Mexico.  I hope that we can return again.

Pictures in this blog:

The wedding reception

Fresh Cevechi

Yellow Fin Tuna

Town square at La Crucecita

Mel and I

Mel and Gabriel

Painting on church ceiling in La Crucecita

Gabriel and his band at the wedding reception

Zihuatanejo to Acapulco

January 8^th to January 17th.

We arrive back in Ixtapa after a month home for Christmas. It was a great time. I really enjoyed spending time with Spencer, Matt and Sherry and the kids. We spent Christmas day in Sunriver.

We made arrangements to have our friend Mark and Emily from the boat Groovy come today to help us with the reattachment of the gooseneck. Boy were we glad for the help. Mel and Mark with just a few improvisations had us all back ship/shape. We made tentative plans to sail south together to Hutulco via Acapulco.

 Our friend Joaquin came by the boat too. We met him here last year while in the restaurant where he works in Ixtapa. He lived in Tillamook Oregon for 8 years. We have been emailing him off and on and while in Oregon we offered to bring him parts or equipment that would fit in our luggage. He asked for a fish finder for his boat. Joaquin also provides tourist fishing trips or inland tours.  And as you will read later we are glad that he is here. We make arraignments for an inland tour when we return in February.

Our dock hand Brian did an excellent job and Mazu looked great. We went our early the next morning to anchor for the morning for him to clean the bottom of the boat. (no doing it in the marina because of the resident crocs!) He did the final washing of the boat and all that was left was to provision for the trip.

The next morning we took the bus (9 pesos) to the Bodega Mercado and filled up the cupboards, freezer and fridge. Paid our bill at the marina and set out for Zihuatanejo. We plan to anchor here for a couple of days and leave with Groovy on Friday morning.

We anchor in front of town and dink in for drinks and dinner and to watch the basketball game, there seems to always be a game or something going on in the square. We have one the street burgers, and they are good.

On Thursday I hitch a ride in with Groovy. She is going to the dentist. She noticed something wrong and thought she lost a filling. Mel did a little exam, and yes she had so she was going in to get it filled. I needed to make change at the bank and top off my produce supply at the central market. Every town has one, an open building, no walls just booths of various items, produce, meat, poultry, fish, house wares, clothes, you name it. The prices are usually very good. I buy produce and some fish and shrimp.

Friday: I did not sleep good last night. I noticed that the temp. on the fridge was high, and in the morning was even higher, not good, not good at all.  After some diagnosis and phone calls to our friend Bob Ridenour we decide it needs Freon. Sounds easy right? But this is Mexico. We need to find the adapter and hose that will take the Freon from the can into the system. 

So off to the taxi stand. The best place to get what you need. I ask a few drivers if the speak good English and be willing to help us find what we need and interpret.  We are in luck and find one. He takes us to an air-conditioning supply store. They have the Freon and part of the adapter that we need. We try a few other places but need to go back to the boat to measure so we can have a hose made.  We pay the driver and thank him for his help.

Back to the boat and Mel is assured he now knows what he needs. We first hope to find a charging kit in an automotive shop, if not we now know what we need to have a hose/adapter made. I call our friend Joaquin, and as luck would have it he is in Zihu and has the time to help us.  After a few tries at various stores looking for a kit, we end up at the hose shop getting the part made.  I asked Joaquin if this was usual, to go to several places to get on thing done, he said always. So what would have taken us maybe an hour at home to complete took us all day. But luckily it seems that it is working. We put off our departure for a day just to make sure all is working.

Zihuatanejo, Papanoa,  Acapulco:

We raise anchor early in the morning heading 37 miles to Papanoa for the night.  We have a lovely day and sail for over 3 hours. Papanoa is a small bay with break water.  A small naval base and shrimp and fishing pangas are located here.  Various houses and shacks are along the shore. We are here for a short rest to leave for the 77 mile trip to Acapulco.

We leave Papanoa at 1 am. We hope to sail part of the way but motor to begin with. Luckily Mel has the first watch. We arrive in Acapulco at about noon on Sunday. WOW it is a huge city. I would say the largest we have seen while cruising in Mexico. 

A sailboat race is about to start so we have to weave in and out of the fancy race boats. We finally are able to secure dock space at La Marina Acapulco. The office is closed by we are assisted by the guards. It is here we decide we need to be as the fridge temp. is again going up. Here we go again.

We look online and find the address to an Auto Zone where we know we can get more Freon. It takes a while but we are soon back at the boat adding more to the system.  On the good side we find an excellent grocery store, just across the street. It is brand new and has gringo items like cheddar cheese, sausage, cinnamon rolls, and steaks that look like steaks.

On Monday we decide we should see if we can find someone to look at this fridge system. No one at the boat yard speaks much English but we are finally able to find someone who will call someone and they will meet us here in 20 mins. And he does.  We get a diagnosis; he takes me to buy the gauges we need to measure the Freon pressure and more Freon. We are good to go.

Clava distas (Cliff divers)

Our friends Groovy are going to stay a few more days, we decided to head out on Tuesday night. But first we want to see the famous cliff divers. We take Mazu around to the cove where they dive. We are surprised to find that we are able to motor up pretty close. Prior to the dives one of the divers swims out to any boats in the area (there are about 3) to tell them the divers names, and the heights of which they will dive. The also ask for tips as this is how they are paid. It was so exciting to see it up close like that. I remember seeing the divers on TV as a kid, on the Wide World of Sports. There were 6 divers that day. They also dive at night with torches.  We then take a cruise over around Acapulco bay to Marges Bay to meet with Groovy.  It is a very pretty anchorage with some lovely beach front hotels. We leave at midnight for Huatulco. 

Manzanillo to Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo

We arrive in Manzanillo for a short stop to rest prior to the longer leg to Zihuatanejo/Ixtapa. We anchor in Las Hadas bay. It is called that because of the beautiful resort here. Las Hadas means fairies. The resort is all painted white with beautiful architecture and is very stunning when you approach. We do take the dink to the marina to get rid of garbage, stretch our legs and to have a meal off the boat. An early evening and then back to the boat.

We leave November 29th at first light for the 30 hour (give or take) sail to Zihuatenejo. Our plan is to stay about 10 miles off shore, but with it a couple of hours we have run into a long line fishing operation. This type of fishing involves one or more panga boats. They set up these long fishing lines onto floats. The floats can be just about anything, foam, plastic bottles etc. These float lines are then strung along the currents and can be up to 5 miles long. On these other lines are tied with weight and hooks and bait. At the end of the lines there is usually a float with a small flag pole. This, if you are lucky is what you will see to warn you that the line is there. We then slow down; I go to the bow with binoculars and search for the connecting floats. We then slowly follow the line until we see the end flag. You can then turn and continue in the direction you want. Also if you are lucky one of the pangas will see you approach and quickly motor up to warn you. This is what happened to us. The fishermen will then point you in the right direction to get around their lines. After about 2 hours of dodging lines and not getting anywhere we decide to go our 20 miles from shore, in the shipping lanes. We figure it will be easier to see the cargo ships that the fishing lines. There we find no more long-lines and we are then able to make good time as we head south.
The night watch was busy watching for cargo ships. I did see one sail boat pass us by. She showed up on the radar well in advance so I could change course out its way. While I did not see any fishing boats this far out I could on occasion hear their chatter on the VHF radio, so they were out there somewhere.
As we were having trouble with the gooseneck connection of our boom to our mast (discovered on our crossing from La Paz) we had to motor the entire way. But there was not much wind anyway. But because of this we had decided to go straight to the marina in Ixtapa so we will have a calm place to remove it to take back home with us.
We arrive safe and sound in the Ixtapa marina at about 12pm on Wednesday November 30th. We have a flight home to Oregon on December 6th. We spend the time getting the boat ready, and removing the gooseneck to take home for repairs. We also take trips to Zihu to eat and walk around. The marina is quiet as we arrive early in the season, very few cruisers are here.
We meet Brian on the dock, a local Mexican who works on a boat near ours. We make arrangements for him to watch our boat while we are gone.

Barra de Navidad

We arrive in Barra de Navidad midmorning on Saturday November 26th. As it is early in the season we are one of only three boats in the lagoon anchorage and the marina looked fairly deserted also.
This is our second time in Barra, a small tourist beach community. Where there are a fair number of expat gringos who live and vacation here. We are anxious to see how it weathered the recent Hurricane, Jovan that passed through here in October. We had seen some pictures posted on the web but were not really sure if they were a good representation of the destruction.
What we found was mostly the destruction was to the beach front businesses/restaurants. It seemed that what happened was the surf eroded the foundations, and as nearly all construction in Mexico is concrete and concrete block the buildings just tumbled. Some of the restaurants were open with just half of their original decks or building. We had drinks in one such restaurant and when I asked to use the bathrooms I was escorted through the owner’s home (attached) through his bedroom and into his bathroom. If you wanted to walk on the beach from here, there was a convenient ladder at the ready. I love the Mexicans, nothing keeps them down.
As we are here early in the season some of our favorite restaurants were not yet open. But we had a nice dinner out anyway, and found some good music and drinks after.
I am not sure if I describe the water taxi service here. It is great, especially if you are planning on being our after dark as it is a long way back into the lagoon where you anchor. Anyway, the panga is 25 pesos round trip each (about $2.30). You hail them on the VHF radio and they are at your boat in no time. These guys are experts on getting their pangas alongside of your boat so it is an easy step aboard. They then drop you and the dock (use the term loosely) at the towns waterfront. Here you pay and get a colored square of paper that is your return ticket.
You do not need to be in a hurry to return. When it is time to go back to the boat and the cashier has closed all you do is flick the lights switch on the dock. A panga driver is watching for it and will be along to get you. For the night panga drivers I also give them a nice tip.
Only two days here in Barra as we need to hurry down to Zihuatanejo to have time there before we leave.

Thanksgiving in Tenacatita, Mexico

We left La Paz on Sunday November 20th. We had a good weather window for several days so this was our chance to go. It is a 3 day crossing, and we made it in 74 hours. It was the longest passage Mel and I have done on our own, so it was a bit of a test for us. Everything went well. We fell easily into our watch routines, and while some of the meal prep. was challenging we ate very well. We arrived in Bahia Tenacatita (a popular anchorage south of Puerto Vallarta) at about 11:30 on Wednesday. We were very suprised that there was now cell phone service in the bay. There is a small town near by so I guess they finally got a cell tower. We are happy to have access to the phone and internet to let our family know we are safe and sound and we were able to wish our family a happy Thanksgiving.

Here is how we spent Thanksgiving:
There is an all inclusive resort located here,called Blue Bay Hotel. Mel and I decided to call and found that we could come in for the evening,.

So to get there we need to do a beach landing in our dingy. We have done that here last year so we know where the best place is to go with the least surf. Not so worried about getting in, I am more worried for our return as it will be dark.

We know that we most likely will get wet during the landing process so we pack "dress" clothes in our drybag and wear swimsuits. The landing is very successful. We pull the dingy up on the beach and put on our good clothes and walk the half mile to the resort, good thing I remember a flashlight as it is getting dark fast.

We have an enjoyable buffet dinner and to our surprise they have turkey (we had hoped so, as we knew that gringos stay here too). Turkey they have, side dishes... not so much. One pan was labeled cranberry sauce, and it was, a sauce, warm and thin, placed right next to the gravy! Some things get lost in translation. But they did have a version of pumpkin pie that tasted very good. All in all it was a good meal.

As part of the cost for the evening we also go a show. A local group of young men and women doing various dance routines. The lady EM could talk so fast in Spanish and English that you had a hard time understanding her no matter what language it was.

Well soon enough it was time to go and attempt our return to the boat through the surf. Oh, did I mention we had no moon last night? The degree of difficulty is going up on this surf launching. We return to the dingy, change clothes and drag it back in to the water.

The trick to launching is to watch the wave sets and predict the calm period. Much easier in the light of day. But we make it out with just a bit of excitement as we get over a big swell just before it crested. Yes we got wet, but did not get pitched over.

All of this fun and excitement for a bite of turkey?... worth it, as it brought us a little closer to all of you and thinking of everyone around the table enjoying your families.


On Saturday we will leave and continue our trip south to Ixtapa/Zihuatanajo where we will leave Mazu and fly home for the holidays.