Ixtapa and Zihuatanejo

Arriving at Marina Ixtapa, the water temperature was up to 80.6, which we could determine from our instruments on board.  The air was also warmer and more humid, were we finally in the tropics?  It was tempting to jump into the water nearby the boat, but alas, the signs on the docks say "Cocodrilos, no nadar."  Yeah, right, we haven't seen one yet when this has been mentioned, but still didn't take the chance. 
  We hadn't been in a marina for around three weeks and were so looking forward to nice long, hot showers actually standing up in a real live shower stall.  Foiled once again, the water was quite chilly for the first three days making showers a challenge instead of relaxing.  Eventually I did get one day of a real hot shower, but then it departed.  Strange how that can happen. 
   Our trip here was actually in honor of a friend's 50th birthday, which was to be celebrated in Zihuatanejo, just around the corner in a nearby bay.  Friends of Judy flocked from all over, including San Francisco and Denmark to assist with her turning of a half century.  We felt honored to be invited, as we had just met them in La Cruz, and we'd do our best to help out during the week long festivities.  Our dinghy helped ferry folks from the beach to the boats for Hobie races on one day.  It was a wet affair, with our little dinghy getting nearly swamped as we took off through two foot waves on the beach with four adults on board.  The races were supposed to be all in fun, with a race course set around some nearby boats, and the start line between Honcho and Tivoli, Judy and Torben's boat.  They began with a very official three minute countdown, and horn blast, then off they went, some backwards through the line again as some folks had difficulty with sailing a catamaran.  They react differently than mono hulls and don't respond when tacking nearly as fast.  We did a major fauxpas by leading against the birthday girl when we were matched against her.  She won the start with a very superior dip start, but fell behind when the wind didn't fill in as expected.  Oh well, Leif just can't throw a race, it's not in his blood, and we got some good wind shifts.  The final event was a beautifully presented happy hour followed by dinner and dancing to the live band around the pool at their hotel.  A toast/roast of Judy was included and family and friends did their best to share her most amusing antics from the past.  After that, Leif and I tore up the dance floor, bid Judy and Torben adieu and taxied back to our barco. 
   Mark and Anne from San Francisco, friends of Leif, who had also joined Judy's celebration, decided to join us for a trip to Isla Ixtapa for the day.  We motored over to the little island, and swam in the warm water, Leif snorkeled the bottom and cleaned the speed indicator which hadn't been working too well.  Then all dinghied in for lunch and a very humorous pina colada, served in a pineapple, with bougainvillea for hair. 
   The next day it was time to leave for the north, this being our farthest point south on this trip.  That fact made this a little bit sad, knowing that from now on we were basically heading home.  We got diesel, and I ran over to pay our fees at the marina office, when, aha! a large crocodile (10'+) swam under the bridge and headed into the marina, swimming under boats and through the fairways.  Luckily I had my trusty camera and captured the moment.  So, at 6:45 p.m. we were off for an overnight sail/motor to Caleta de Campos which is up the coast about 75 miles.
   We arrived at Caleta de Campos the next morning around 6a.m. and slowed down and waited for the sun to rise so we could make a safe entrance to the bay.  The swell was rather large, breaking at about 6' onshore and we were probably 100 yards offshore which made it not too comfortable.  We were going to spend the night, but after a long morning nap to catch up on sleep, we decided to move on as the swell seemed to be picking up.  We motored out and headed north once again overnight.  The first night we sailed quite a bit, and the wind was up and just off the nose, so we tacked our way through the ships, of which there were many according to Leif.  It was my turn to be off watch, but sleeping was not happening as each time he tacked I rolled from one side of the bunk to the other, and the crashing of the hull was quite loud.  So, eventually we dropped the jib and put on the engine for an easier passage.  The second night, the wind was light, and we had to motor anyway, so a more peaceful night.  We awoke to see many sea turtles floating with birds sitting on their backs.  At first I thought they were dead, but as we came close they flipped their fins and dove down, leaving the birds to fly off.  We also caught our first mahi mahi, a little guy around 8 lbs, which we released.  My most memorable moment came when I was up on the bow in calm waters as we motored along, and voila! a huge marlin or sailfish 8' plus, swam under our boat.  So cool, black with stripes, it slowly wove it's way under us and off.  I couldn't believe I saw it.  Glad it didn't bite our lure as it was way too big to get on our boat.


Mark and Anne cooling off at Isla Ixtapa




Our new friend, the Pina Colada man!




Mark and Anne joining us for a cool one.



Finally, a croc inside the marina at Ixtapa



Cocodrillo in it's "natural state"




Our little mahi mahi, that we released

    We have spent three days in Las Hadas, and are now ready to depart once again for a trip northward.  While we were here we took a cab to the main city of Manzanillo and the port area.  There was a huge statue of a sailfish, which defines the area.  Apparently this area is known for their sailfish fishing.  So, it wasn't such a surprise that I saw one swim under us.  Diesel fuel is difficult to get in some areas, like here in Las Hadas where the fuel dock is open during the mid-day but not early or late.  This threw a kink in our plans of leaving at crack of dawn as we needed fuel prior to leaving.  So, now we'll deflate the dinghy and get fuel when we can and then leave for ?? later today.

Manzanillo to Zihuatanejo



Judy's 50th dinner party




Launching the transport boat, our little dinghy.

 Las Hadas is in Manzanillo, and is a cute little area with many beautiful hotels, one in particular has a Moorish design and is stunning with many turrets or towers.  We anchored out in the little bay with about 20 others, instead of the marina, and dinghied in to shore.  The Las Hadas resort has a swim up bar at it's pool, finally I get to swim in one, as our fee to use the dinghy dock includes pool usage.  Alas, the pool was quite cold, so we swam, but not long, with no bar usage, and hiked all around the local area.  We hope to stop for a longer stay upon our trip back northward.  Once again we hiked into town to provision and then hopped in a cab back to the boat.  I have never used taxi's so much in my life, and after shopping for groceries they come in very handy.  The fare is usually around $5. or $6 one way, which helps with getting our fresh produce back in one piece.  The buses are fun and crowded, so carrying loads of groceries isn't a popular thing to do. 
   Our friends, Tom and MaryEllen on their boat Equinox were also anchored in the bay.  We spent some fun times with them, shopping, and finishing our game of Mexican Train that had been started in La Cruz.  They are staying in Las Hadas for awhile then heading back north from there.  We hope to catch up with them again as they're good friends and such fun to be with. 
   We left Manzanillo at around 4 p.m. bound for Zihuatanejo on Feb. 10th.  The wind was at 20 knots, and we had the main sail up and no jib.  As we turned the corner of the bay we hoisted the jib and sailed downwind for hours until the wind eventually died down, and we turned on the "iron jib".  We spent two nights, and one day at sea, in lovely conditions, trolling for awhile, and not catching anything.  This was fine as I really didn't want to clean any fish during this trip.  We did catch one jack crevalle on an earlier trip, but let it go after a good fight. 

Tom and MaryEllen on their way to Equinox.

View of Las Hadas bay, & HonchoSail from Manzanillo

   We held 3 hour watches again, with Leif doing most of the work during his watches, and me maintaining our course and sail trim that he set up.  There were several small anchorages that we passed, but we needed to move along towards our destination for Judy's 50th birthday party.  Passing Lazaro Cardenas at night was not my favorite event, as it's one of the west coast's largest ports for cargo ships.  It was fairly busy, with ships anchored out as well as arriving and leaving, creating an interesting challenge to sail through.  I wimped out and let Leif do the driving as I couldn't figure out what was moving and what wasn't and which were lights onshore and, well you can see my frustration.  He sailed through with no trouble at all while I slept.  Then, after we were safely away from there, I got up and stood my watch.  We continued on until around 6 a.m. when we arrived at the entrance to Ixtapa Marina, and so we motored up the coast and down the coast until daylight, which here is around 7:30.  It's not prudent to enter an unknown anchorage or marina in the dark, so we usually don't.  This marina has an interesting entrance, with the swell travelling through it, and a shallow depth, it can be a bit dangerous.  Boats with 7' of draft are not advised to enter, and we have 6', so it's eye opening when the depth gauge says 3' under our keel, and a swell has pushed us like a surfboard towards the shore.  Alas, we made it, called the harbor master and dove into our slip quickly, ran up to check in and back to the boat for a well deserved nap prior to evening festivities.  After all, the birthday party did begin the previous night and we needed to catch up.

Tenecatita onward to Barra de Navidad Laguna

We left Tenecatita Thursday morning around 10 a.m., Feb. 3rd,  bound for Barra de Navidad, about 14 miles away by boat.  The winds were light and swell was running about 4'; but while we were motoring it  rolled us as we trundled along.  The wind filled in and it got a bit rougher, and eventually there were "sheep on the meadow" as we say, when we arrived at Barra around 2:00 p.m.  The entrance is tricky as it is quite shallow, curvy and the seas were entering with us, making it hard to steer.  There are way points given in our guide, and they were spot on as we arrived in the shallow lagoon without going aground as many others do.  Without the way points, one would definitely go off course and find the mud.  Our little anchor area had 2.6' of water under our keel at low tide, and that was the deeper area.  I hate to think if we had more than 6' of draft as do many boats.
   One of the lovely benefits of this anchorage is "El Horno Frances, or The French Baker" who brings fresh French pastries each morning by dinghy to all the yates in the area.  OK Monique, he is actually from Bordeaux, and does his best with what is available here, but it's not France.  The baguettes are delicious, and his Danish are wonderful, and his tarte du pomme is WAY better than the one that we attempted in Bar le Duc.  His will not be thrown into the river as ours was. :)
   We took the local bus into Melaque, the town across the bay, to see what it had to offer.  It was bustling with locals and tourists all shopping for the early bargains at the tiendas.  The Hawaii Store is a tienda that carries American foods, and we found some treasures to bring back to the boat, Kirkland tuna, Crackets ( just like Ritz), and some more wine.  We have discovered that this life of yachting is VERY social, and we are socializing daily either on our boat or someone elses.  This requires a never ending supply of wine, beer and appetizers or snack foods.  I haven't exactly been the most social person in the past, but now I am learning to be a more gracious hostess and attendee.  One never arrives without food and drink, and one always invites anyone in a dinghy over to chat.  Leif is quite the socialite, which I didn't know.


Frigate birds, waiting for dinner at the local fish pen.





Barra de Navidad, ocean, bay and town.  We watched the super bowl here in a local bar with other yates and locals.





View from the Grand Bay Hotel, towards our barco in the lagoon.



   Barra is a lush, green area, has more bugs than Tenecatita, and is overlooked by a beautiful hotel, The Grand Bay Hotel.  I felt a bit like the poor cousin as we motored by, but we are rich with experiences in our little barco.    

Tenecatita Sunset

One more amazing sunset in Tenecatita

We enjoyed Tenecatita sunsets each night, as the clouds filled in and brought us some shade during the day.  Tenecatita is a beautiful bay, with several anchorage areas depending upon where the wind and swell are directed.  We chose the inner-most area, with about 20 other boats.  It was a lovely sand beach for miles in an arc, travelling from our little dinghy landing area around to La Manzanilla, a very cute town on the other side.  We heard of a "jungle cruise" that is possible in your own dinghy, up the local river to an area that used to have palapas for refreshment afterwards.  The local landlord decided to bulldoze the palapas and kick out the owners by gunpoint recently, so we were a little hesitant to go all the way to the finish.  As it turned out, the jungle cruise was truly jungle-like, with overhanging mangroves, lots of birds, and several iguanas.  No cocodrilos though, as promised.  We arrived at the final pond area and there were some guards there to keep us from landing, so we left the way we came. 



Iguana, just prior to its jumping into the water right next to me!



   La Manzanilla is a lot like Laguna Beach in Calif., cute homes built on cliffs, painted bright colors, and many gringos.  Lots of Canadians call this home apparently, and there is a great deal of wealth here.  We arrived by dinghy, of course, and did an ok beach landing, dragging our dinghy up onto the beach by the wheels on the stern.  They've come in very handy lately, even if they do look very strange sticking up in the air while we speed around.  We walked the hard sand beach, and had some delicious grilled Italian veggies at a local restaurant, then back to the dinghy.  Our exit was not as dry as our landing. Although we launched through the surf nicely, it was with a bit of pain kicking underwater rocks and getting splashed by waves.  The trip back across the bay was a windy one, with our tiny ship getting tossed.  We sang the Gilligan's Island song and hoped for the best.  Of course the captain got us there safely.  I finally took a well deserved hot shower on board, and felt like a new woman.  We rested up that night as we were looking towards leaving for Barra de Navidad in the morning.          

Welcome to Tenecatita

Bright and early this morning (8:30 ish) we were welcomed to Tenecatita by the Mexican Navy.  I was at the computer when I heard a dinghy motoring by.  Looking out the port, I saw a dinghy full of men with machine guns heading our way and waving.  Not to be unneighborly, I waved back and they instantly came over, tied up to our stern and all 5 boarded us, all with machine guns.  They inspected our paperwork, wrote down a myriad of details and took pictures of our radios.  I have no idea about the radios, but thankfully Leif carried on a pleasant conversation with them and they were equally pleasant to us.  In spite of the weapons, they were courteous and efficient, and afterwards we wished each other good day and off they went to the next boat.  I have to say it was a little nerve wracking to have them on board.  This was the second time we have talked with the Mexican Navy, the other was in Bahia Santa Maria and they stayed on their launch with the barbette mounted machine gun pointed at our boat.  They were polite and pleasant as well.  I have to say that all the hoopla about Mexican authorities being unpleasant has not been the case for us so far.  They have been great to deal with, much more friendly than any other countries that we dealt with.  That was evident on our return from Panama, as the smiles returned to the faces of the people with whom we spoke. 

Chamela Bay and Isla Cocinas with Honcho