The Present...Neil's visit

Manzanillo

Riding the bus in Manzanillo

Manzanillo is a large seaport and a steady stream of tankers and freighters is constantly entering and leaving the bay.  There are usually also a few ships at anchor waiting to go into the inner harbour.  The bus travels along the edge of the inner harbour and huge cranes and stacks of containers stretch for blocks.  

Shipping containers at the harbour

At the waterfront near downtown Manzanillo there is a huge sculpture of a sailfish as a symbol of the city as a world-class sport fishing centre.   Neil is at the centre bottom of the sculpture giving an indication of the sheer size of it.

Sailfish Scupture

On the way back to the boat we stopped for a meal at a little pollo asada (grilled chicken) place.  Grilled chicken is available absolutely everywhere in Mexico and I can only imagine the huge chicken farms that must exist somewhere.  The larger restaurants and take-out places have large rotisserie machines while the place at which we had lunch grilled the chicken on a propane-fuelled grill about the size of a kitchen table.  A few doors down I took this photo at a restaurant where they use this wood-fired cement trough to cook the chicken skewered on wooden sticks. 

We went on a bit of a wild goose chase the next day looking for a Volvo Penta dealer that could hopefully replace our leaking cooling-water pump but it turned out that he doesn’t exist.  I guess our first clues should have been that neither the e-mail address nor the phone number worked.  We’re more optimistic about the dealer (allegedly) in Puerto Vallarta and decided not to let the engine problem affect Neil’s visit too much.  We went back to the boat, filled up with fuel and water and headed to Ensenada Carrizal 6 miles to the north. 

Ensenada Carrizal

Ensenada Carrizal is a small bay that can hold about 10 boats.  There is no town on the shore which makes for a relaxing stop away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Three Hour Tour and Cat at Ensenada Carrizal

We arrived at about 5 pm on Friday, Feb. 24^th and Neil swam ashore to check out the snorkelling.  He snorkelled for a while but spent most of his time inspecting the geology of the rocks on shore and when he returned to the boat he regaled us with an account of all that he found and declared the snorkelling to be excellent.

The next day we all went ashore to inspect the geology and gather samples although my sample bag was at least half sea shells.  I tend to gather rock samples in the manner a magpie might e.g. Ooooh! shiny, pretty, while Neil goes into raptures over something I would use as a door stop.

We had drinks with the neighbours, Thomas and Allison, aboard their catamaran aptly named “Cat” and set off for an overnight trip to Tenacatita where arrived at 7 am on Feb. 26^th.

Tenacatita

The purpose of our trip to Tenacatita was to go on a self-guided river trip up a brackish, mangrove-lined river where there was reported to be good bird watching.  The river started out looking like this:

Then narrowed to this:

And just before it became impenetrable it looked like this:

We were not able to get to the lagoon but did see some interesting birds.  Of course we have no idea what they are. 

All the way along the river, the mangrove roots were host to colourful crabs that scuttled away at our approach.

My gondoliers

 

Back on the beach we had a fantastic lunch at a palapa restaurant.  A local specialty is “Rollo del Mar” which is a breaded fish fillet wrapped around bacon, shrimp and octopus and covered with an almond cream sauce.  Neil and I have been scheming about how to recreate it at home.

The next morning we began the return trip to Manzanillo where Neil would be taking a bus to Zihuatanejo for his flight home on the 29^th.

We left Tenacatita at 8 am on Feb. 27^th and travelled 11 miles south to Cuastecomate, also known as ‘Secret Anchorage’.  I’m not sure how secret it is anymore since it’s now written up in the new guidebook that all the cruisers have.  

Cuastecomate

Neil kayaked to shore to snorkel and check out the local geology while I made bread.  He came back about an hour later and we all went ashore in the dingy.  Neil went to collect some rock samples, I went snorkelling (which was excellent!) and Mark walked around both blocks of town and then settled himself under a beach umbrella to have a beer where Neil and I joined him later for a drink.  I had one of those drinks they serve in a green coconut and was disappointed later to find that green coconuts have only a thin layer of soft tissue inside, not the coconut meat I was hoping for.  

Three Hour Tour at Cuastecomate

We hoisted anchor again and went a whole 3 miles south around the point to Melaque where we dropped anchor for the night.  

Tuesday, Feb. 28^th was to be Neil’s last day on the boat with us.  We motored back to Manzanillo, went out for dinner and put him on an overnight bus to Zihuatanejo for his flight home the next day.

So this morning I’m hoping that everything went ok with the bus and that he makes his way to the airport on time.  Once a parent, always a parent...   Happy Leap Day!

Sunset at Tenecatita

The Past...Chacala

As we made our way north to Chacala, the passage of time did its magic and both the hung over and the seasick recovered their equilibrium.  Ok, maybe a bit of Gravol helped, too.  Chacala was not a destination as much as a conveniently located anchorage on our way to San Blas, which is another 22 miles, and was a bit far for us to reach before sunset, especially with our late start.   

Neil saves the day

In the middle of the afternoon we felt the distinct shudder that we’ve come to associate with kelp wrapped around the sail drive and/or propeller.  Since we were at least a couple of hundred miles south of the last of the kelp we suspected that perhaps we had run into a fishing net although we hadn’t seen any sign of one.  Neil donned the snorkel mask and swam down to check things out.  He reported that we had some ¾” yellow polypropylene rope wrapped around the prop.  He was able to cut it loose fairly quickly and we arrived in Chacala at sunset.

Chacala Beach at Christmas

 In the morning we were surprised to find this usually sleepy little beach town completely transformed from when we were there a week and a half previously.  As it turns out, Chacala is a favourite destination for Mexican families living inland who want to enjoy the beach between Christmas and New Years.  They arrived in the morning by motor coach armed with beach umbrellas, coolers, food and inflatable beach toys to spend the day.  Parents and grandparents generally stayed under the umbrellas but the kids played on the beach and in the water all day until they left, again by bus, in the late afternoon.    

The huge influx of people has clearly caused some problems as addressed by this sign. 

We left Chacala around 11:30 am on Thursday, December 29^th and had an uneventful trip to Matanchén Bay at 

 San Blas.

Chacala Sunset

Back to the Present... Zihuatanejo

We were hoping to get as far south as Zihuatanejo this winter but at the pace we were moving it wasn’t going to happen so on the spur of the moment we decided to go to Zihuatanejo and take part in the annual Sail Fest festival.  Sail Fest is a fund-raising effort by an amazing group of local volunteers to raise money for the education of Zihuatanejo’s poorest children.  Some of the events are sailboat races, a silent auction, a benefit concert, chilli cook-off and boat parade.  You can check out their website at www.zihuasailfest.com

We left Puerto Vallarta on Feb. 1^st and went directly to Zihuatanejo, arriving on Feb. 5^th.  The winds were favourable and we were able to sail about one third of the way.  On the morning of the fourth day, shortly after Mark had gone to bed, I found myself surrounded by probably the largest group of dolphins I have ever seen.  I could see pods of them in all directions; there had to be several hundred.  It seemed that they all came to swim along with the boat for a little while and we had an ever-changing escort for about 45 minutes.

We spent the Sunday of our arrival catching up on sleep and ventured into town on Monday.  We found Zihuatanejo to be a friendly, clean town.  A few streets have been closed off to vehicular traffic and they became our preferred routes.   

Pedestrian-only street

The town/city has a population of about 70,000 persons.  It is only a few miles from Ixtapa with which it shares an airport.  The bay is lined with small condos and hotels and the town is geared up to handle the vacationers that come to Zihua, Ixtapa and cruise ships on occasion.  It abounds with silver shops, restaurants, gift shops and a surprising number of pharmacies.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Zihuatanejo street

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meat and sausage stall

The Mercado covers a whole block and is nothing short of a maze.  Narrow corridors are flanked by vendors selling produce, fruit beef, fish, chicken, clothing, baking etc. in a claustrophobic setting.   

Fruit and produce vendor

Nothing goes to waste

On the street that surrounds the market, more transient vendors sell flowering plants, song birds and fruit from a wheelbarrow. 

 

Like most places in Mexico, gentlemen come around offering to play traditional Spanish music, often on instruments they have made themselves.  

 

A healthy fleet of pangas line the shore of Playa Principal.  Late each afternoon the ice man delivers large blocks of ice which the fishermen put into coolers on the their pangas before going out to fish until morning when they bring their catch to the fish market under palm trees on the beach. 

Sail Fest started on the evening of Feb. 8^th with an auction at the Barracuda Bar, Sail Fest’s headquarters. We managed not to buy anything.  On Wednesday morning we participated in a sailboat race around Roca Negra, a distance of 3.5 miles.  The Sail Fest organizers sell crew spots on the racing boats as one way to raise money.  Our first challenge was getting over the starting line in the almost windless conditions.  From there, all eight boats in the race crawled at a snail’s pace, tacking back and forth towards Roca Negra.  It was as exciting as watching grass grow.  The crew of one boat went swimming while underway and another boat light-heartedly cried foul, accusing them of pushing the boat.  Anyway, we suck at racing and came in second last.

That night there was a benefit concert featuring a variety of mostly local artists.  The music was recorded and will be sold as a CD at next year’s Sail Fest and we decided we had to come back for sure next year to get the CD.  Fabulous music!

Chili cook-off

Thursday was the chilli cook-off and Friday the sail parade.  In a zodiac, the port captain lead the boats on one lap of Zihuatanejo Bay and then over to Ixtapa for one lap of the bay there.  Again, seats on boats were sold to fund-raise. 

Sail Parade

 

 

The Sail Fest experience was very positive for us and we were proud to be part of an event that raised 430,000 pesos for education.

Neil was scheduled to fly down on Feb. 18^th for reading week so we had a few days between the end of Sail Fest and his arrival.  We thought we might go down to Acapulco but in the end inertia set in and we just hung out at the anchorage in the interim.

Our plan was to leave Zihua the morning after Neil’s arrival, stop in Ixtapa for fuel and water and carry on north to see some of the nice anchorages that we missed on our hasty trip south from PV.   However, there was no water at the fuel dock at Marina Ixtapa and no slips available for a catamaran.  We decided to nip across from the fuel dock to one of the slips to get water but were quickly shooed away by a guy in an official-looking uniform.  We went back to the anchorage in Zihua, had some water delivered the next morning and left just after noon.

We arrived in Manzanillo this morning after travelling for two days and two nights and are anchored off some pretty fancy schmancy resorts.  Along the way the starboard cooling water pump began leaking quite badly so we’re going to have to do something about that.  Good thing we have two engines!  

Sea turtle seen just outside of Manzanillo

 

Manzanillo Resort

La Cruz for Christmas

Well, I changed my mind as I am wont to do and decided to pick up the blog with the kids' visit over Christmas.

We arrived in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, commonly known as La Cruz, on December 20^th.  Vern and Maylene had been with us for the past three weeks and Maylene was flying home to Victoria the next day.  We took a slip in the marina to make it easier to provision, get laundry done, refill the propane tank and facilitate the upcoming crew change.

 

La Cruz is a small town with cobble streets and a very relaxed atmosphere.  It is about 12 miles from downtown Puerto Vallarta, a distance that keeps most tourists away.  It has the largest protected anchorage in Banderas Bay as well as a marina and is therefore a major cruiser hang-out.  There’s usually live music in town somewhere each night.  Restaurants range from street carts to pretty fancy and there are several galleries and gift shops from which to buy local art, pottery and jewellery.  I seem to have lost my photos of La Cruz and will be sure to include some as we stop in La Cruz on our way north.

Lisa and Neil's flight arrived at about 8 pm and Mark and I took the bus to the airport to meet them.  We hadn’t travelled by bus in the area yet and were somewhat concerned that we might miss the stop for the airport.  We also didn’t know how far we would have to walk from the bus stop to the terminal.  All we knew was that it was about a 45 minute bus ride.  We were encouraged when highway signage indicated that we were approaching the airport.  The bus stop for the airport was on the side of the highway and we were amazed to walk only about 50 steps right into the terminal!  It could hardly have been easier.

The kids’ flight was a bit late and it seemed to take forever for them to get through customs and make an appearance.  A big round of hugs later, we made our way back to La Cruz by bus, giving the kids their first taste of a bus system where you hope the transmission and brakes will hold up until you get off.

We spent the next day catching up and went for a walk around town.  On the 24^th we took the bus into Puerto Vallarta where we had lunch and went for a long walk along the malecón.  The malecón features many bronze statues in a variety of artistic styles.  Some simply invite you sit on them and have your picture taken and Lisa and I had a few Kodak moments.  

                                                           

                                 

I love the splendour of cathederals and this cathedral, La Iglesia Nuestra Señora Guadalupe, a block off the malecón, is truly beautiful. 

  

 

On Christmas day we packed up some wine and took the bus into Sayulita to have Christmas dinner with Gary Bradley, his brother Gordon and their house guest, Vern, who had recently been crewing with us.  What a treat to have turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy and carrots when you’d been thinking you might be doomed to have Christmas dinner at a restaurant.  Cooking a turkey in my small and somewhat temperamental oven was not an option.  The only thing missing was Kate and Dennis.  

Gordon, Vern and Gary

 

Gordon was flying home on Boxing Day but we arranged to go for a day sail with Gary and Vern.  They dropped Gordon off at the airport and came down to the boat shortly after noon.  We had a nice sail out into Banderas Bay but then the wind died so we broke out the chocolate and the tequila while we waited for it to pick up, which it never did.  We motored back to the marina, said goodbye to our guests and Neil and I played cribbage for the championship of the world into the wee hours.  (Which he won, that time.)

And so we left La Cruz on Dec. 27^th.  Lisa was throwing up because she gets sick at the first sign of a wave.  Neil was throwing up because he was hung over.  I was also hung over but holding it together more or less although my brain was swinging in my head like a compass needle.  I’m sure we were a fine sight leaving the anchorage.   

An Intermission

After we left Enseñada we were often without internet and although the plan was to stop at many anchorages along the coast, we stopped only twice on the way to Cabo San Lucas which is at the south tip of the Baja Peninsula.  Along the way the blog kind of slipped into oblivion and since reaching Cabo San Lucas we’ve had guests on board for much of the time and the days just kind of filled up and were busy.  I thought about the blog from time to time but almost no one had sent us a comment and I assumed that it wasn’t being read, causing it to slip further into oblivion. 

When the kids arrived for Christmas Lisa told me that several people had told her the “sent us a comment” button didn’t work and they were wondering what we were up to.  So I promised to start the blog again once the kids left but clearly that hasn’t happened yet.  But I’ve been thinking about it.  The prospect of trying to catch up three month’s worth was so daunting that I put it off even further but after pondering it for another month or so it occurred to me that I should just start again from where we are and fill in the gaps another time.  Also, Lisa put our e-mail address at the top of the blog so you can contact us that way and we are always happy to hear from family and friends.  Here it is again.  birgit.mckinnon@gmail.com