South to Manzanillo

Hola gang
Sorry for the long delay in updating the blog...days turn to weeks so fast out here, it's easy to lose track of time.

We've been continuing to work our way south from Barra.  Oh yeah, first we owe you a Superbowl update...it was a fun party, but not really up to the hype it was getting in town...I guess that's not unlike the Superbowl in general!!! 

View from the Grand Bay Hotel lobby.  The marina was above our budget (WELL above!!!), but we were anchored in the lagoon beyond, with around 40 other boats)

Beautiful beach hiking outside Barra lead to this rocky headland trail.

Local Sands hotel dock resident applied for a crew position!

We wound up staying in the Barra lagoon for a bit over one week, seeing old friends and making new ones.  It's a great place to hang out, take care of chores (not the least of which is ongoing bottom cleaning, it's amazing how quickly things keep growing in this tropical water!!!)

Bravo leaving Barra...photo by Michelle

We left the Barra lagoon with buddies Michelle and Cary aboard Kailani, heading for a bay named Ensenada Carrizal, about 20 miles south.  Had a great sail most of the way.  Nice to be sailing again!!  Carrizal was a beautiful, unique anchorage...at least unique to this area, as it was completely undeveloped all around the bay.  Reminded us of cruising the west coast of Vancouver Island...steep rocky banks on all sides, and quiet dark nights.  Beautiful. 

The snorkeling was the best we've yet found in Mexico, with excellent visibility and the most undisturbed, healthy coral reefs we've found on the trip. 

 Carrizal was just around the corner from Santiago Bay, and after a few days we headed there, around a whopping 4 mile move!!!  Santiago Bay is very large, and almost completely surrounded by beaches.  It's easy to take the bus from the Playa Boquita anchorage to town, either Santiago or the larger city of Manzanillo.  In the anchorage itself is an old 300' shipwreck, dating back to a 1959 hurricane, which provides good diving and snorkeling, and all in all, the area provides a great destination for the myriad of boats making their way down the Mexican coast for the winter.  It's easy to grow roots there, and we did so for nearly three weeks!   (actually they weren't roots, but tube worms and barnacles, which took a smelly liking to our anchor chain and "flopper stopper" when we finally pulled it all up!!!)

Life in Santiago took on a nice rhythm, with an easy mix of boat chores and socializing.  Beach bocce, poker, dominoes.....

Typically there were between 20 and 30 boats anchored there, several for well over a month.  There's a terrific Saturday market in Santiago, with vendors of an amazing variety of goods setting up shop. 

Let's see now.....is that cinco pesos per kilo???

Ya gotta love the Sawzall on the wall!!!

 

Victoria's Secret, eat your heart out!!!

This guy was selling blender parts for all brands and vintages!!!

  Yesterday we finally upped anchor and came across Santiago Bay, around the corner into Manzanillo Bay, and we're anchored in front of a rather charming resort known as Los Hades.  Site of the movie "10", it's really a rather dramatic spot, overlooking the port city of Manzanillo across the bay.  100 pesos per boat gets us full use of the facilities, including dinghy dock, pool, tennis courts, etc.  Not too shabby for under $5 US/person!!  

Iguana roaming through a nearby housing community.

No one ever said money buys taste!!!

 We'll be staying here for a few more days before we begin the trek back north, eventually winding up in the Sea of Cortez for the summer (hurricane season).  This seems to be a fairly well established migratory pattern of the cruising community...a sort of water borne "snowbird fleet".  Some boats are departing soon for their hop to the south pacific, which we plan on doing next year.  Others head north, either for the Sea like us, or, for the true snowbirds, back up to their US homes for the summer.  Although it's sure to be rather intensely hot along Baja this summer, it also promises to be a unique adventure in a fairly unpopulated part of the country, compared to this mainland trip we've been on so far.

In closing this update, we wanted to respond to several of you who have written to express concern given the recent news about the piracy and murder in the Gulf of Aden / Somalia.  First, like everyone, our hearts go out to the families of the innocent cruisers who were killed.  Perhaps at last the governments of the world will realize that this craziness needs to be stopped, and use their navies to secure these international waterways to ensure safety for maritime traffic of innocent citizens.  Second, Mexico is not the middle east...a far cry from it.  Cindi and I have traveled in many countries around the world, and we can honestly say that we've never felt as warmly welcomed by the locals of another nation as much as we feel welcomed by the Mexicans.  They have been friendly and inviting, and we feel honored to be able to spend such an enjoyable time in their country.  There is trouble in areas of all countries, not the least of which is the US, where one needs to excercise caution in deciding where and when to travel at times.  Mexico does have serious problems of violence (fueled by the US demand for illegal drugs).  But for the most part, we feel very safe here, and look forward to spending this next year in this great country!

Stay tuned!!!

Onwards to Barra de Navidad

It's been a great week for the good ship Bravo.  After Paraiso, we continued to work our way approx 20 miles south east to Bahia Tenacatita.  This beautiful bay surrounded by white sandy beach is one of the key destinations for cruising yachts in these parts, and it's easy to see why.  In the NW corner is a protected anchorage, with a palapa restaurant on the beach to take care of liquid refreshments as needed.  The beach is a local gathering place for this "cruiser's summer camp".  Every day at 1:30 is a swim to shore.  For those who prefer to dinghy ashore, we meet at 2pm (mas o menos, obviously!!!) for the day's activities.  These typically include bocce ball, beach walks, watching dinghies attempt landings and launchings in the surf (a good spectator sport, once you've executed successfully, or even if you weren't quite so lucky!!!), and of course cerveza and ceviche at La Vena palapa beach bar and campground.

We even had Aussie Don w/ partner Deborah from s/v Buena Vista teach us the basics of cricket, where we proceeded to make a horror show of this noble sport of the Commonwealth!!!

Don and Deborah demonstrating exemplary cricket stance.

...and explaining the rules (yeah, right....!!!)

Adam gives it a mighty swing to "defend the wicket" (upside down trash bucket)

Cindi not having any fun at all, with buddies Mark and Vicki aboard Godzilla

Surf landings and launchings are always good sport!

 

The daily bocce tournament

Cindi w/ a good hair day!!

One day we hired a local panga to take 3 loads of cruisers to La Manzanilla across the bay, for a day of sightseeing and provisioning in the pretty little town.  Nice way to travel!!!

Mexican navy showed up one day in Tenacatita anchorage, and boarded every boat (+/- 20).  They were just checking our papers, very polite, no worries, but having 6 guys with automatic weapons walking around the deck does get one's attention!!!

Adam kayaks to the beach...surf's up!!!

After several great days of playing with new friends in Tenacatita, we worked our way south 11 miles to what's known as the "Secret Anchorage", the tiny village of Cuastecomate.

Looking back at Cuastecomate at Bravo at anchor.

A very pretty anchorage, with some of the best snorkeling we've had so far in Mexico. 

A couple of small rays doing their ray thing!!!

Though a bit open to the westerly swell, the payback was that we had unobstructed views of magnificant sunsets.
 

Nearly a green flash moment!!!

So what can we say.....suckers for sunset photos!!!

And the 2 mile hike to the larger town of Malaque didn't hurt us either!!!

Cindi enjoying two of the basic food groups!!

Tortilla machine in Melaque.  Very neat gizmo to nicely take care of another food group!!!

After spending a couple of lovely days hiking, snorkeling (including a much needed barnacle scraping of Bravo...things grow fast in this warm water!), we headed south again, just around the corner to the cruiser's mecca of Barra de Navidad.

This small beach town is host to a very protected lagoon, with no ocean swell.  Though only around 10 feet deep, the bottom is just thick mud, so running aground isn't a very traumatic event.  Most boats do so at least once (we're now a card carrying member of the club!!!).  For many boats this anchorage marks the southern end of their cruising season, as many spend several weeks here before starting the migration back north up to the Sea of Cortez for spring.

Turtle hatchery on the beach...the ones w/ deep holes have already headed out to sea (hopefully!)

It's easy to see why the place is so popular.  With over 40 boats now anchored here, it's a great place to meet friends both old and new, to hike on the beach, hang out at the Sands hotel (they generously make their funky pool and bar available to cruisers who can tie their dinghies up to their sea wall), or eat at the great taco stands and restaurants all over town.  There is even a French baker who delivers fresh baked baguettes, croissants and pastries to the boats every morning!!!

Pretty hard to beat.  Next up on our social calendar:  Superbowl in town...it seems to be a religious holiday around these parts, w/ every pub trying to out do one another....one started a pig roasting last night at 2am.....should be a good "Fear and Loathing in Barra" story to come out of all of it!!!

Tight quarters in Paraiso

We left Chamela a few days ago, to continue our journey south down the Mexican Riviera.  Decided to stop in a beautiful bay, known as Paraiso in the cruising guidebooks.  Looked very wild, with little development anywhere nearby, except for a beautiful private resort/villa on the beach.

Photo of our chart plotter display.  Note radar image on the left.  We're located right im the middle of the little bay, about 300 feet to the cliffs on each side.  Depth shows here 10.5 feet, the tide was coming in!!!  Chart display on the left shows our location on a satellite image of the bay, note how closely it corresponds to the radar image...comforting!!!

Beautiful resort on the beach.  Only saw one or two people .

Wild it was, with the bay being a tiny box, with enormous swell waves crashing on the surrounding rocky cliffs and beach.  Very cool spot, though the tight quarters, coupled with the shallow depth was worrysome.  Bravo draws nearly 7 feet, and the depth at on our depthsounder showed 9.5.  Now, granted that was at what appeared to be low tide,  but the tidal range in these waters is little over 3 feet, and this didn't leave much of a cushion.  The water was clear, and we dove all around us, checking our anchor set on the bottom and checking for rocks. 

Adam checking around for underwater obstacles.  Didn't want to put a hand under the keel, with only 2 feet of water, and a big swell running!

Finding none, we decided to spend the night in this unique location.   Didn't have a very restful night, to put it mildly.  Left all instruments on, in case we needed to make a hasty retreat during the night.  But the wind remained calm, as expected, and we enjoyed exploring this unique area by kayak in the morning before leaving for Tenicatita Bay.

Waves crashing off the starboard bow

Hola from Chamela Bay

It's been a beautiful past week or so.  Friends Glen and Carol came down from Seattle, where we met them at the Puerto Vallarta airport for the bus ride back to the boat at La Cruz.  And miracle of miracles, they had an enormous box with them....our new inverter/charger!!!  The update:  we couldn't fix the old one, so we bought a new one in Seattle.  Needed that "TIP" mentioned in the last post for G&C to get it through Mexican customs without paying the 35% duty.  Well, the TIP arrived the day prior to their departure.  It was scanned and emailed to them, where they printed it, and had it ready for customs when they arrived.  It was necessary, and it did the trick!!!  The customs guys didn't know what it all meant, but it looked really pretty and all official with lots of stamps!!!  Official looking stamps seem to be the key around here.   Bingo, a new widget is now in country, and we installed it the next day, no fuss, no muss!!!  



 Spent a few more days in La Cruz with G&C, finishing projects, exploring, and provisioning for the next couple of weeks.  Went out to Punta de Mita for a couple of days of swimming and kayaking.  Glen and Cindi went kayak surfing while Adam and Carol focused on being the hunter gatherers...surfing proved more fruitful than fishing!!!

Then off to explore Islas de Tres Marietas.  Beautiful, wild islands at the mouth of Banderas Bay.  Much wildlife on and around these nature sanctuaries, both bird and marine critters abounded.  Saw many whales (humpbacks), and enjoyed snorkeling in the still rather chilly waters.  After a couple of days here, it was time to head south.  We did a night passage, leaving Tres Marietas at around 7pm, in order to round Cabo Corrientes (famous for challenging wind/sea combinations when the breeze is up) after the afternoon land breeze died down, and reach Chamela, approx 90 miles south, in daylight.  The night sailing was great, with fairly steady breezes after rounding the Cape of around 15 to 20 knots most of the night.  Arrived tired but happy in Chamela Bay at around 1pm.  All enjoyed a brief siesta!!!

Carol with 2 on at once!

Chamela has been a great spot to explore.  The water has warmed up nicely from the chilly 67 in Banderas Bay, now averaging 74 degrees.  We've been snorkeling every day, and kayaking among the nearby reefs.  Adam went scuba diving with friends Mark from Southern Cross, and Chris from Rocket Science.  Chris has a dive compressor, and with the Southern Cross gang they've been hitting the diving with gusto!!!

"Danger. Don't risk your life. Presence of Crocodiles"

 The beach hiking is great here.  Passed an estuary with many signs warning of crocodiles.  We saw one big guy, but he was a safe distance away.

Adam and Glen wondering about the remains found on the croc beach..."if hats could talk....."

The snorkeling has been good, though visibility has been only so so, perhaps 10-15 feet max.  Still it's nice to be in the warmer water, with thin shorty wetsuits.  For scuba diving, though, we've been wearing 7 mil wetsuits   ;-[   (that's what we wear in Puget Sound!!!!!) 

We're enjoying playing around with the new waterproof camera (good to 33' depth)

Cindi says "Hi" from Chemela!

 Glen and Carol left today, heading back to the soggy Northwest.  We'll be heading south in the days ahead, checking in to Tenicatita, Barra de Navidad, and points in and around there.  Not sure how far south we'll go before heading back north into the Sea of Cortez for spring and summer.  Perhaps down to Zihuatanejo, perhaps not.....These are the tough decisions we agonize over these days!!!  We love it!!!

Life in Banderas Bay

Hola!  Sorry we've been somewhat delinquent in our blog posts...the old saying, "I get up in the morning with nothing to do, and when I go to sleep, I'm only half done" has certainly applied to us!  We've been busy, but "busy" down here has a rather different meaning than up north.  Sure, we've been working on various projects on "The List" nearly every day, but the work is at a rather leisurely pace, compared to working in our previous lives.

We've been anchored out at La Cruz for the past 8-10 days.  The town is small, but has what we need in terms of tiendas for groceries, tortillas, wonderful fresh fish, and access to services for repairs to several "List" items.  We've now had our genoa repaired by the local sailmaker (now working on a minor recut of the foot of our mainsail, necessitated by the addition of the bimini cockpit covering in Seattle before we left.  We had hoped the recut wouldn't be necessary, but it really is, and this will help us greatly when we need to head back upwind).  We've also found a skilled canvas worker in town who is making dinghy chaps for our inflatable dinghy.  The "chaps" are a cover for the tubes which protect it from the tropical sun, a necessity to extend it's life in these parts.  We were also able to get our boom outhaul car welded by a local welder who did beautiful job w/ TIG setup, now stronger than original, it's good to go.

La Cruz panorama, stitched together from 13 iPhone images.

Typical La Cruz streets

One bummer has been the inverter/charger, that we mentioned in the previous post.  After installing the new circuit boards, it remains kaput, and we've decided to order a new one from the states.  We're getting around 125 amp hours daily from our solar panels, which is just barely enough to keep our batteries charged, marginal if we want to have a freezer full o' fish (and the all important ice in our sundowners!!!)  Unfortunately, importing parts, especially expensive ones, isn't easy...anyone ever heard of a treaty called NAFTA?  Apparently it's not all it was chalked up to be, as we need to pay 35% duty on imports.  The loophole is if you document that you're a "Yacht in Transit" by obtaining a "TIP", or Temporary Import Permit.  This permit has proven to be rather elusive in Puerto Vallarta, and we've now hired an agent to expedite the process, in order that we can get friends Glen and Carol to bring the rascal down with them when they come to visit next week.  Many fish tacos are at stake here, given the price of the new part, so our fingers are crossed that our TIP arrives soon!!!  (yes, the chances look slim!!!!)

We've really been enjoying getting to know the area better, taking buses everywhere we need to travel.  It's always an adventure, but we have about an 80% success rate that we'll get on the right bus...not too bad!  And when it's not right, well, you get to see yet a new place!!!

Fisherman build and repair their nets by day, go out fishing by night

We've been enjoying seeing both old friends and new here in La Cruz.  Long time amigos Mark and Vicki arrived with their boat Southern Cross for a few days, and are now heading south again.  This anchorage and marina is a great gathering place for cruisers, with an outdoor movie every Thursday night (Master and Commander and Captain Ron so far), potlucks on the beach, swap meets, bocce tournaments, etc.  Laundry has been interesting, as it's the same price or cheaper to have someone wash, dry and fold your clothes than to put the coins in the machines and do it ourselves...a bit of a no brainer, eh??  Been kayaking most days with our inflatable 'yaks.  One favorite trip is a 40 minute paddle to Bucerias, a nearby town, for breakfast on the beach. 

Cindi negotiating at the farmers market

Catch of the day, heading for a tasty fish stew!!!

We'll be here in Banderas Bay for a few more days, exploring Yalapa tomorrow, before Glen and Carol arrive next week.  The plan will then be to head south with them to Chamela, Tenacatita, and Barra de Navidad.  The water should be warmer down there (area is known as the Mexican Riviera!), and we look forward to more swimming, snorkeling and fishing as we work our way south.