Puerto Balandra

El Hongo, the mushroom rock.



Lovely clear water and clean beaches.




Weathering of the rock wall, and ...turquoise water.

 It was difficult to leave Muertos, and we were among the last to set off, but we headed around the East Cape towards La Paz.  This is a 45 mile trip, so a fairly short day sail to our next destination of Bahia Balandra, near La Paz.  As we rounded the corner, the water became even more blue and clear, and the sun more intense.  The wind was on the nose most of the way, so we ended up motoring the entire trip, and fishing of course.  We caught one Mexican mackerel, and released it, no marlin today.  Around 1:00 p.m. we arrived at our chosen bay, a small inlet with crystal clear water and secluded white sand beaches.  Or so we thought, as this is Semana Santa, or Easter weekend, the locals are out in full force as would be the case at home.  Everywhere there are tents on the beaches, with cars and trucks parked nearby, and loud tuba and accordion music wafting throughout the air.  It's quite an atmosphere.  Mid-day today there were many smaller yachts, jet skis, and moorings sailboats that dropped into the anchorage to enjoy the day.  It seemed a lot like Catalina or the river.  As the sun dropped from the sky, the coromuel winds started up and the boats headed for La Paz or wherever they were from.  Every afternoon these winds start up from across the land, and they howl all night around 20+ knots.  It's not quiet shall we say.  It sounds a bit like a small hurricane, and in the late morning they die off, thankfully.  We have a really good anchor, once again, thankfully, and we bob back and forth, but stay put. 
   Today we snorkeled the nearby rocky shoreline, where there were corals, small rays, multitudes of tropical fish, and deep caves.  It was the best snorkeling I've had in years.  The water is clearer than Hawaii, unfortunately not as warm yet.  My water camera died in Las Hadas in the swimming pool, otherwise I'd have pictures of these great scenes.  Can't figure out why a water camera didn't like chlorine, but it didn't. 
   Tomorrow our friends on Blue Rodeo and Pacifico are headed into La Paz, we think we'll stay here for a few more nights, as it's so gorgeous.  I've seen pictures of the Sea of Cortez, I just never thought they were real.  Well, I was wrong, it really is that beautiful.  It's incredible.

Big Changes, style and location

Several changes have finally occurred on our trip.  First and foremost, we have left mainland Mexico for the Baja peninsula, Bahia de los Muertos to be exact.  Then, also, I have finally had it with long hair constantly in my face, and all over the boat, so I had it cut, short!  Sorry Tascha, it'll grow back and I'll need you when I return.  I love the change, but it's funny to see people's reactions who haven't seen me in awhile.  Now to get my blonde back as it's all cut off. 
   Mazatlan has a fantastic old town in it's downtown area, filled with great brick and tile buildings and one lane streets from the 1800's.  We toured the few museums which were open, and had a great lunch at Macaw's, across from the closed art museum.  That was one thing, they were always closed.  On our way home to the marina, we strolled along the waterfront for miles, finally catching a pulmonia for the final piece. 
   We arrived back, and spoke with several other cruisers who were thinking of leaving for Baja on Sunday a.m.  That sounded good, so we spent the next day, Saturday, finalizing our departure chores:  Checking out of the marina, grocery shopping, deflating the dinghy, stowing it and the motor, stowing all on board so it won't fly around while sailing, fueling up, taking that last shower in a real shower, eating at a restaurant.  Well, after all that, we were ready to leave Saturday afternoon, and so, off we went around 6:00 p.m.  The fog was starting to roll in, and we missed it completely so that made for a nice start. 
   The trip across is about 190 miles, so we figured it to be a two night and one day sail.  The sea was absolutely glass as we set out, no wind, or large seas.  That lasted all night and around 9:00 a.m. we hoisted sails and had a lovely sail all day and that night.  The whales seem to have left for the most part, we didn't see a one.  On the other hand, we did hook a marlin!  It leaped up out of the water several times, enough for us to see it, but not get a photo.  As Leif worked to stop the reel from spinning, it was obvious that he would spool us, so I yelled "cut the line", and he did.  Unfortunately the poor fish has a long string of line attached, but perhaps not for long, we smashed down the hook barb so it was fairly barb less.
   We arrived around 3:00 a.m., and with the help of the full moon, eased into the bay with around six other boats, dropped our anchor and tried to get some sleep in before the sun arose.  It would be a surprise to see the new surroundings in the daylight.  At sun-up, or rather 9:00 a.m., I popped my head out to see an absolutely gorgeous bay, turquoise water, dry arid land filled with cactus, and only one boat remaining.  Ahhhhh.  Banana pancakes for the crew, after a long night of watches.   

The new doo, and the Tarahumara mask.



Bahia de los Muertos, Hotel los Suenos.



White sand, clear water, Mariachi music all night! 

   Bahia de los Muertos is on the inside of Baja, just around the corner from La Paz and Isla Cerralvo.  The water is beautifully clear and there are coral reefs and a white sand beach.  There is also a resort called Bahia de los Suenos, which is just being built and has a golf course, condos, homes, and a very interesting restaurant and bar with a small gauge train set that is the largest I have ever seen.  It covers the entire upstairs, three tracks on a lower level and several at eye level.  Leif and I found a foos ball table and tried our hand at it for awhile, and there are also table shuffleboard, and billiards, not to mention the many, many infinity pools and swim up areas to sit and have a cold one.  I hate to see the place get crowded, but this resort was pretty classy, and empty.  We hope to have dinner there manana.  As the day wore on, it was amusing to see the parade of sailboats arrive.  We knew that half the marina was on their way over, and truly, about every 1/2 hour a new boat would come and drop anchor.  At sunset today there are 19 boats here, and many, many families camping on the shoreline as it's Semana Santa, or Easter week.  What a great place to come and camp. We hope to spend a few days here, relaxing in the 74 degree water and cleaning the bottom. 
         

Copper Canyon Train Trip



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Leif discussing life with his new friends.




Hand-made baskets, should have bought more of them!




Copper Canyon Tram




Scarves, pot holders and more baskets...




The locals bus station




Posada del Hidalgo, lovely pool, cool welcoming rooms and gracious hosts .



Beautiful canyons and scenery along the train trip



Hotel Mirador hanging off the cliff

 Copper Canyon is regarded as mas grande than our Grand Canyon, and we had to go and decide for ourselves if this was entirely true, being biased Americans.  Our home is currently in Marina Mazatlan, a fairly quiet marina with a few nice restaurants and lots of blowing dust and iguanas.  Tuesday morning we hiked up to the road, hopped in a pulmonia (like a VW thing sort of) taxi to the bus station in the center of town.  From there, we found a first class bus, Elite, and headed to Los Mochis, our first stop.  The bus was fine, t.v. and movies in Spanish with subtitles or vice verse.  It took around 7 hours with stops for the driver to get snacks at an Oxxo, pick up friends, and drop them off, and then a lunch stop somewhere in the middle of nowhere.  At the lunch stop we hiked around the corner to a beer store, where they sell beer from behind barred windows.  At this point, we needed some relief from the tedium.  We arrived safely after travelling through Culiacan, Sinaloa, the home of the Sinaloa drug cartel.  The check points had sand bags, as did the police station, and a couple of banks. 
   Our hotel was really nice, and had a restaurant inside, so we didn't have to venture out.  This town isn't the safest after dark.  Up early the next day for another bus trip to El Fuerte where we'll meet the train.  This bus was more of a local bus, although it was supposed to be a direct 2 hour drive, we stopped many, many times to pick up school children, drop them off, as well as locals at their homes.  Not exactly direct. El Fuerte is a small working town, with a fort from the 1500's which isn't there, but... they built a new one 20 years ago to honor the old one!  It was rather amusing.  Our hotel was truly fantastic.  The Posada de Hidalgo was supposedly the home of Zorro, and the buildings and courtyards were of old stone, brick, adobe and tile.  It was beautiful and welcoming.  Lots of lush trees, bougainvillea, and palms everywhere.  Our room was extremely high class for Mexico, let alone a small town in the middle of nowhere. 
   The train was a short drive away, and we boarded early for our trip into the canyon region.  The train, called Chepe is owned by a hotelier who purchased the train, several hotels and has created a small monopoly of the experience.  On the train, there were comfy seats, a restaurant car and a bar car.  We chose to stand in between the cars for a long time and take photos with no windows. It clung to the sides of the canyon walls in several areas and made my knees go weak.  The hotels are all inclusive for meals, since there really are not other options close by in most of these towns.  As time wore on, we figured out that the menus are all the same as well!  They called things by different names, but corn soup is corn soup even if they called it vegetable soup.  Not complaining, it was very good food, just rather humorous after a couple of meals. 
  Our first stop was Bahuichivo, where we got a ride into Cerocahui which had a very lovely church from the 1500's, and not much else.  We took a van ride to the canyon rim here, and it was very steep and amazing to see.  The local people were very well dressed, and their homes varied from huts to houses with tile roofs and tidy yards.  The men here work in the silver, gold and copper mines locally.  I forgot to mention that the poverty level along the way has been extreme.  There have been literally tin shacks along the train tracks, with no electricity, water or much else.  Dirt is the name of the game here.  No grass, cement or gravel.  Dirt roads, yards, sidewalks.  And it's windy... so dust everywhere.  There hasn't been much rain in months, and the trees are covered in white dust from the roads.  Not really very engaging landscape, and quite depressing to see the poverty. 
   Next stop, El Mirador.  Now this is why we came.  The El Mirador is perched on the canyon side, kind of creepy, I am hoping for no earthquakes.  It is in the southwest tradition, with adobe, bare wood rails, tile floors, woven bed spreads, absolutely beautiful.  In the states it would be a 5 star, and out of our expense league.  Here, it was 2500 pesos per night, or around $200. which is still a lot, but included all food, taxi's and baggage service.  They have the 2nd or 3rd longest aerial tram in the world, and a zip line across the canyons.  Had we known this earlier, we would have stayed an extra night.  The tram was fantastic, only cables, no towers, and it landed on a pinnacle across the canyon.  There are also hiking trails which travel near the Tarahumara native villages.  These folks have retained their culture to some degree, still wear their original costumes and make baskets from pine needles and other plants nearby.  They escaped from Pancho Villa by running into the canyons and hiding in the caves in the walls.  From the tram you can see their burial grounds in several caves and some homes with corrals down below. 
   Of course, we met some great people, one couple from London, or actually Surrey.  Some others from Chapala, transplanted American and Canadian, who decided Mexico was a great place to retire.  Then there were the many, many workers at the places where we stayed, and on the train.  We asked them how they liked their town and what they thought of the future of Mexico.  Most were optimistic about Mexico, and most said times are currently hard.  The narcos are not regarded as troublesome except that they stir up trouble and cause poor relations with their fighting between cartels.  It is obvious that the current government has stepped in to help create many new schools and technological institutes to train their people and help them rise above their current level.  Mexico seems on the rise in many ways, and in most areas it is evident.  One area in particular, the dollar is losing value to the peso! 
   Our trip back was much quicker, train to Los Mochis, then bus (different company, TAP, better bus) to Mazatlan and our little barco.


Tarahumara mother.



Chepe train headed into the canyon.

El Mirador hotel.



The view from the aerial tram, notice the small landing on the peak.




Tarahumara making a basket.

   A quick note on weather, it was very hot for the first two stops, and at El Mirador, it was chilly and very windy.  Our return to the boat found us being blown away with up to 40 kt. winds.  We'll stay here to provision for a few days and wait for calmer winds to sail northward.

Favorite Pictures and thoughts on our trip



The Fearless Crew of the Tivoli



Philo's Restaurant with Philo and Leon



Blessing of the Fleet Celebration in La Cruz



The Parade Panga

Fisherman and his nets in La Cruz

The typical photo op on the usual beautiful beach with our favorite group.

We took a couple of days to relax in the anchorage here near Mazatlan.  When we are at anchor, it is quite different than at a marina.  This post is mostly self serving, for me to remember when I get home and have forgotten the things about this trip that make it special.  So, sights, and sounds... I love:
 The slapping of the water under the hull at anchor.
The loud nightly chatter of the critters under the boat, attaching themselves to our hull, it changes with location.
The slow rocking with the swell as it passes by.
The sound of the gulls, saying Owwww, Owwww, like I do.
Frigate birds circling overhead, never stopping, diving, never landing, catching fish on the fly with their beaks.
Boobies following the boat, diving in front, skipping across the water, heads down, surfacing with a fish.
The splash of diving birds just outside our portholes.
Spectacular sunsets and sunrises, almost daily.
Welcoming smiles of the local people on the streets.
Everyone says Hola.
Dogs sleeping everywhere, and they seem to know when a car is coming, get up and leave the middle of the street.
The iguana tree at the entrance to La Cruz Marina.
Everyone helps everyone, with everything.  Docking, information, books, drinking, snacks, dinners.
Leif and I saying "Excuse me" like a certain someone we met two years ago.
Friends dropping in and knocking on the hull as if it's a door, being polite.
Inviting anyone and everyone on board for snacks.
Tuna... with everything.
Kirkland tuna... not Mexican tuna.  Don't know why they can't can their excellent fish, but somehow it's like cat food.
Leif's positive and fun attitude, constantly.
Baby goat braying for it's mom as we passed.
Philo's band, pizza and the two stepping gringos.
Taco's on the street, best rib eye tacos ever.  Not what you'd think the name implies.
Mario's hair growing out as we stayed longer at La Cruz.
When all else failed, fish tacos at the yacht club.
Stars reaching the horizon when we sail overnight.
The Southern Cross up with the Big Dipper, Orion's belt, Little Dipper, North Star, Pleiedes, or 7 Sisters, and many many meteoroids crossing the entire sky.
Whales. Jumping, slapping fins, tails, surfacing, blowing.
Dolphins leaping completely out of the water, snorting.
Swordfish or sailfish slowly weaving under the bow.
Turtles floating with birds atop them, flipping over as we pass.
Sea snake, yellow and black, swimming alongside during the Banderas Bay regatta.
Rays leaping in unison.
Groans, creaks of the inside of the boat as we bash through 20 knots upwind.
Rhythmic pulse of the water maker, my favorite addition to the boat.





Mazatlan Anchorage, looking down from Isla de los Chivos.

   



Cute goat, reminds me of Woody.

  More later.

Tearing ourselves away from La Cruz!

After spending many delightful weeks here in La Cruz, it is time to head north.  The weather is warming up and hopefully the Sea of Cortez is doing the same.  Our weather window, as they call it when the winds are lighter for heading into them here, is from Friday through next week, so we decided to start our journey northward.  We had planned to leave around 1:00 p.m., but as things go our plans changed.  First there was an 80' yacht that needed help docking, then there were the friends on El Tiburon with their Vizsla Sparky, (my best friend) who invited us for a send off refreshment.  So, around 6:00 p.m. we left the dock and headed towards Punta de Mita to anchor for the night.

    We spent a lovely night anchored at Punta de Mita, after arriving just after dark.  In the morning, Leif  woke me up and we headed out early for Matanchen Bay.  We rounded the corner for the last time and headed up the coast.  After a day of motoring and then sailing, we arrived in Matanchen Bay around 4 p.m. and immediately closed the ports, hatches and put up bug screens.  It has been widely reported that the he he ne’s and mosquitoes are really bad here at dusk and sunrise.  I HATE bugs, so we took every precaution, and alas, awoke in the a.m. with not a single bite.  Of course we never left our boat.  San Blas was just around the corner, and it would have been great to see the town and fort, but the bugs are reported to be terrible and we have two friends who have contracted dengue fever from there.  So, as the sun rose, out we went towards Isla Isabela where the frigate and blue footed boobies nest.  As usual, the wind was on the nose the entire way out to the island, and we needed to arrive in daylight, so we motored much of the day.   The island was wind blown and inhabited only by a few fishermen with pangas as well as the millions of birds circling overhead.  There was one other yacht there, a trawler from the Channel Islands, named Godzilla.  We searched the anchorages and found that the best place was right next to them, on a rocky bottom in around 18’ of water.  As it turned out, they left, and two other sailboats joined us for the night.  We spent an unrestful night worried about our anchor, as the bottom is rock with a little sand on it.  I stayed up for several hours, then Leif did the same.  Finally we figured it was safe and nodded off together.  We awoke to a glorious day, beautiful sun, frigate birds, tropic birds and blue footed boobies circling overhead by the thousands.  Of course you know what that means, lots of debris...   

   We quickly blew up the inflatable kayak and paddled ashore, only to be met by the naturalists who told us not to land there, but to go around to the fish camp.  Well, the fish camp was a ways away, and we paddled back to the boat, tied up the kayak, and blew up the dinghy, put the motor on and motored over to the fish camp.  I was a bit adamant that we get ashore, as this is where blue footed boobies and frigate birds nest, and they aren't afraid as there are very few visitors.  It was worth the wait, as they were, real blue feet on the boobies and the frigate birds blowing up their neck skins to be mucho macho.  Amazing.  And amazing amount of guano.  The fish camp was filled with fishermen who seem to live there, and fish locally around the island, laying out nets each night.  We were encircled last night, so it was a good thing we didn't have to leave.  

   We hiked up to the top of the island, which is a volcanic crater naturally filled with water.  Quite prehistoric looking, and weird trees that looked like lime trees but weren't.  There were lizards and iguanas around as well to fill out the critter list.   Everywhere there were bird nests, in every tree, in the tufts of grass on the ground, and under rocks, and the swooping of the frigate birds was felt and heard as they went by, sounding like a small plane.  They are really enormous birds, with 4" beaks or so up close. 




La Cruz Yacht Club

 



Punta de Mita Sunrise





Isla Isabel boobies

 




Las Monas

 



Blue footed boobie chick

   As we left to head back to the boat, we motored around a couple of incredible rock sculptures bursting up through the shallow water and covered with blue footed and brown boobies.  These pinnacles were really unique to look at, and pictures don't show their true magnificence. 

The afternoon was absolutely gorgeous, and I hated to leave, but the wind was picking up and it was time to head for Mazatlan.  We pulled up our anchor, with it's tethering ball, and sailed out into 20 knot winds for a speedy trip northward through the night to Isla Chivos and Isla Cardones near the mouth of Mazatlan Harbor.  We arrived around 9:30 a.m. and set the hook, had a bite to eat, and crashed for a nap.  Waking up around 3:00p.m. we discovered it was cold!  Water 60 degrees, air 75.  Nothing like La Cruz so far, hopefully this will pass and it'll warm up.

Road Trip to San Sebastian, Talpa de Allende, and Tequila

Safely back at the dock, we decided to plan a trip inland to see the differences in culture between the coast and the farm country here in Mexico.  Our good friends, Tom and Mary Ellen were brave enough to join us for the trek for three days.  First we hopped a bus to PV airport to get a rental car, a trusty Nissan.  Then, Leif bravely drove out into the busy streets and on to the highway towards San Sebastian.  The countryside became drier and elevation rose as we closed in on our first stop up in the pine trees.  San Sebastian is a small town previously known for silver mining and now as a tourist destination with a beautiful church and courtyard.  We walked around the cobble stone streets and found a great place for lunch, Comedor La Lupita, at which the tour buses also stopped.  We stuffed ourselves with typical Mexican fare, beans, rice, chicken mole, quesadilla, arracherra or something like that, and of course the obligatory Pacifico.  The town was small and we decided to drive on towards Talpa, which turned out to be having a celebration of one of the Saints in the Catholic church this week.  The town was the end of a trek made by thousands of Mexicans from their home towns to the church in Talpa.  After walking for often days on end, and sleeping alongside the roads, each group of pilgrims would parade through town with a mariachi band accompanying them to the church.  The bands would then double back and repeat with another arriving group.  It was very festive, and the music was really well played and excellent.  We stayed in a tidy hotel, run by a couple who were very friendly, offering us information and a shot of tequila.  The drive into this town was a bit of a trial, as the streets in the main area were all closed off, and the outskirt streets were one lane wide with walls and houses on each side, and cars parked everywhere.  Leif did a masterful job not hitting anything! 
   The next day, Tom and Mary Ellen did the pilgrim trek into town early while we were still sleeping.  We all met up for a quick bite to eat at a local restaurant, Tom ordered something that turned out to be some sort of meat that was indeterminable, and my egg appeared to be rubber, but, the pancakes were excellent and the coffee hot and tasty.  Off to Tequila! We drove through more pines and cactus towards the drop into the valley, where we passed a rooster ranch.  It was interesting to see the cement "A" frame huts for each bird.  Not sure if they were for fighting or breeding.  We headed through Moscota, a typical rural town filled with closed shops, restaurants and cowboys walking or riding along through town.  It was around noon, and many places are closed at this time for siesta.  We have found that the towns light up at night, and are very quiet during the day in most places.  As we were driving along this road, for miles and miles we saw pilgrims walking towards Talpa, or stopped at the many roadside stands put up for this pilgrimage.  It was amazing to see how far some had yet to travel.  As we neared Tequila, we were driving on the "Ruta de Tequila".  Sounded good to me, although I'm not a fan of tequila.  Arriving in town, we discovered we had a nail in one tire, so we were careful to park facing out and checked out where the local llanterias (tire repair) places were.  Incredibly there were many of them! :)  We parked near the Jose Cuervo distillery and walked into the town square, finding a very upscale hotel for $50.  After dropping off our packs, off to a tasting.  The Cuervo distillery was a good choice to tour, we were late in the day and the last tour.  Our tour included an explanation of how tequila is made, as well as several tastings of the stages of each process.  The first, 55 proof, was enough to take the skin off your throat, fortunately it was only a taste.  The tour ended with a three tier taste of 1800, clear, reposado and anejo.  Each was tasted with three different scents of the glass, starting at the bottom third, then the center, then the top.  It was interesting to smell the different flavors in each part of the glass.  I confess, tequila is still not to my liking, but the 1800 anejo wasn't bad, and very smooth.  I didn't run right out and buy any though. 
   After a great night's rest, we were off to Chacala, which is north of Banderas Bay along the coast.  It was a long drive through hills and finally jungle until we reached the sea, and our favorite, Pacifico cervezas and fish tacos.  We sat under a shaded palapa and enjoyed the peaceful view of beach, a lone sailboat anchored out and a few tourists quietly sipping cocktails.  Ahhh.  After a yummy lunch, we drove off to the real destination, Costco, in PV.  Down here, there is a huge amount of tuna in cans, however... it is dark meat mush in water, and not much in each can.  We have taken to calling it cat food.  At Costco however, there is delicious solid white meat tuna, and large cans even.  We bought a case, plus a case of chopped tomatoes and Pacifico beer.  It was a little piece of heaven, even though I love shopping at the tiendas and seeing their assortment of great local fare, which we also purchase.  Some things are just necessary on a long voyage when all the meat you can have is out of a can.  And, sorry, I don't like spam.
   We made it all the way round the local roads and out into the country and back again, and finally the police caught up with us!   Out of the blue, a policeman signaled us to pull over.  We were stunned, as Leif hadn't been speeding or switching lanes, in fact he'd been passed more often than not.  It was the typical scam, after threatening to keep his license, he asked for 500 pesos and gave Leif's license back.  This left a bad taste for the local police, but, it's the norm down here from what we hear.


Talpa de Allende



Agave "pineapples" ready for sale by size.

Driving the backroads of Talpa, don't plan on passing.



Pilgrims walk, goats ride!





Leif, Tom and Mary Ellen outsid our hotel in Tequila.



One group of pilgrims at the end of their journey, waiting to enter the Church.

   Ah, home to the little barco and our own bed, as stiff as it is.  Now we are waiting for a weather window and some fuel filters before heading north towards Matanchan Bay and Mazatlan.  On a side note, there were some local student dancers last night at the open air theatre doing the traditional Mexican dances in elaborate costumes.  They were great to see and very talented.   

Banderas Bay Regatta and tsunami



Where did dock 11 go???  Glad we left!



The Banderas Bay Regatta is aimed at cruisers here in the bay, with boat ratings reflecting all of the various gear attached to the boats to increase comfort while on the water.  We joined friends of ours, Judy and Torben on their Beneteau 42S7, Tivoli, the big sister of our boat for the racing event.  They invited some other guests from their home town who flew down to assist as crew.  We all had high hopes for beating the local favorite boat "Cirque", another 42S7 that is not a cruiser, but more set up for racing.  Our rating was friendly, but in the end, not friendly enough for us to overcome Cirque's challenge.  Day one showed light winds and a large field of yachts in 7 different classes.  We were class A, the big boats, and another notable yacht in our field was Kialoa 3, a 78' sloop.  The race was fun, even though we didn't strut our stuff very well and ended up a lousy 7th out of 9.  The crew doused their sorrows with beer and had a lengthy discussion on how to improve on the next race tomorrow.  We hopped a cab back to La Cruz for the night, ready to show our better efforts the next day.
   Well, as fate had it, we awoke to the horrible news of Japan's earthquake and subsequent tsunami warnings up and down the coast.  The vhf radio was alive with chatter of what to do, where to go, when it might be here, how big, how small, etc.  The port captains closed all the ports on the pacific side of Mexico, leaving folks wondering now what?  People were really at a quandary as to how to react.  The race committee finally decided to cancel races for the day, after initially just having a delay in start times.  Problem was, most of the crew on the racing yachts had their own boats to worry about in various marinas, leaving the racers without crew.  This had been our decision as well, better to take care of Honcho than go and race and be worried all day.  When we heard that Santa Cruz was hit hard, we decided to sail out into the deeper water of the bay, over 200', and get some chores done on the boat like making water as we were low.
   At 1:30p.m. the surge hit, and the marinas were all mentioning the currents running in and out at about 10+ knots and the rise in water to 6' or so.  This kept up all day, in and out.  The ports stayed closed all day, so most boats anchored off La Cruz in the only real anchorage in Banderas Bay.  Finally Nuevo Vallarta opened up after dark, but with warnings of high surge continuing and stiff currents swirling inside.  La Cruz was going to open, so we upped anchor and motored over to get in quickly ahead of the rush.  This ended up being a false alarm, so out we went back to the anchorage to try to find a little spot for our barco.  The night passed with frequent surges causing rolling and tugging at the anchor, but no problems.  As the sun rose, we saw other boats heading into the marina, so we upped anchor once again and jumped in line.  We rounded the jetty to find the dock on which we had been tied was not all there, two large slips were in tangles, upside down and sideways, and missing altogether.  Honcho pulled in and tied up and we went to inspect the damage to the end of our dock.  The surge had apparently caused the fingers to flip with the stress of current sideways and then broke in half.  I was really glad to have left, as the strain on our keel would not have been a good thing, possibly causing more of the dock to give way. 
   So, after a restless night, and busy morning, we hopped back into a cab, and headed for day three of the races!  We arrived to find our friends all safe and ready to go.  Day three brought more wind, which was to our advantage.  Torben steered the boat into a great position for our start and off we went.  The course was more to our liking as well with some tactical elements to it, allowing us chances to outwit our opponents.  I forgot to mention that on day one, Kialoa tore their jib from leach to luff, and they apparently had no spare, so they were out of competition.  We ended up finishing 2nd in corrected time for this race and the crew was very pleased with the day's performance.  We all felt that if we had sailed three races instead of two, we'd have been in the trophy presentation.  But alas, we ended up 4th overall, not a bad improvement. 


Tivoli's Crew:   Top row: L-R, Lisa, Sylvia, Judy, Lynn; Bottom row: Tom, Phil, Torben, Howard, Leif 




Wrong boat, wrong direction!



Tom, Lynn, Judy and Torben returning from the practice run?

The start... and they're off...

   I was spinnaker grinder and rail meat each day, and after all of the excitement, I was exhausted and glad to return to Honcho for some rest.  We are looking forward to a trip inland to San Sebastian and Tequila tomorrow for a couple of days off the water.

Chamela to La Cruz, once again!

In Chamela, we met up with our friends Tom and MaryEllen on Equinox once again.  They were headed in our direction, towards La Cruz, and we all decided to stick together during the passage around Cabo Corrientes.  This passage north is talked about endlessly on the morning nets, as it can be extremely rough, with high winds of 20+ and large swells.  I thought, no big deal, we have 20+ winds all the time in Long Beach, and how bad can a 6' swell be?  Anyway, we left at 6 p.m. headed for a night sail that should be calmer than afternoon if the wind decided to pick up.  The swell immediately filled in as we rounded the point at Chamela headed for the ocean, but the wind stayed calm (5-10) until around midnight when it picked up to maybe 15 knots.  Our passage wasn't too bad, but the seas were pounding into the bow, sending green water over the bow into the dodger, and lifting our bow into the air, only to drop into the following trough with a bang.  Not exactly sleepworthy.  I tried to sleep when off watch, but the noise and feeling of weightlessness as the boat dropped was a bit much. 

La Cruz beach

   We rounded Cabo Corrientes around 7 a.m. and then things smoothed out inside the Banderas Bay, it felt good to be home.  This place is a jumping off point for many cruisers, south to the Marquesas or El Salvador, out to the Pacific islands, or northward back into the Sea of Cortez, so, many, many boats are grouped here.  We pulled into the anchorage around noon, and the wind picked up to 20 knots just as we wanted to anchor, making it a bit more fun.  But, after dropping the hook, we both took a long nap to catch up on lost sleep.  Usually this is all I need to recoup after an overnighter, but this time, it was two days before I felt more normal.  The bashing was harder than I had expected, and fortunately harder than we'll see in the future.  Some folks we talked to had 20+ winds and the waves were breaking, we hit the right weather window.
   So, here we are, back in Marina Nayarit, in La Cruz, enjoying a slip, dock water, easy access to daily walking, and Philo's restaurant and bar.  When we are in the marina, life speeds up and we are constantly involved in social events, happy hour here, dinner there, listening to the live bands at Ana Banana's or Philo's.  Leif also is tuning the rig for the boat he's crewing on in the races.  Then there's the Sunday market in the square, and trips to the Mega for supplies of canned foods.  We also went to Nuevo Vallarta, and Puerto Vallarta yacht club to have lunch and pick up regatta tee shirts.  For being at our leisure, life is extremely busy.  I can't figure out how I managed to fit in "working" into this scheme. 
   In two weeks we will leave for points north, leaving our favorite area, perhaps for a new favorite area.  I hear the water is clearer in the Sea, and we are looking forward to some swimming off the boat. 

Croc swimming in Marina Ixtapa

25 lb. Jack Crevalle, Manzanillo.

Cocodrillos "in their natural habitat", Ixtapa

Sailfish sculpture in Manzanillo

Equinox on passage to La Cruz



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.