Fish Pens, Sand Bars and Dinghy Docks

Barra de Navidad is a lovely setting for an anchorage. The town is quaint and authentic and we are surrounded by jungle to starboard and a beautiful golf course and island to port.

Getting in and out of the Lagoon is challenging, however, even with good waypoints. There are sand bars everywhere. You should always transit the entrance during high tide and ALWAYS follow your waypoints exactly. We didn’t realize the tide was going out as we were coming in and we ran aground twice. Fortunately we were able to back out of the mud without too much trouble and we had a “VHF Angel” guiding us in after the first grounding. (“Go to port.” More to port.” “WAY more to port…and don’t turn until you are next to the blue boat.”) Once we got into the area where all the boats were anchored our “VHF Angel” advised that we should put out 100’ of chain as the bottom is mud and when the wind gets strong boats will drag. We found a good spot to drop the hook but it took two tries and one grounding before it set. Once we were settled, Jim & Bonnie from “Murray Grey” came by in their dinghy to give us the rundown on the local facilities.

Day 2: First thing in the morning we were greeted by the French Baker (honest to goodness) who brings fresh pastries to each boat in the marina and anchorage. I have taken a serious fancy to his Almond Croissants! After breakfast, we decided to take the dinghy into town to do some exploring and hang out a bit socializing with the other cruisers at the Sands Hotel. They are happy to let us tie dinghies to their dinghy “dock” and we can use the pool for free and the internet for 20 pesos ($1.50 US) per day if we purchase beverages from their bar. This is not much of a problem for cruisers!

The Dinghy Dock is an interesting affair. First, as you dinghy into town, you must pretty much go where the pangas do as the huge number of sand bars is appalling. Once you get around the corner, go very close to the edge of the swimming area, very slowly past the sandbar that goes all the way across the water and hug the port side of the water where the pangas are parked. You will soon see the Dinghy “Dock” with many inflatables tied up and waiting patiently for their owners to return. As you can see from the photo, the dock is actually a broken down rock and cement wall! It is interesting getting close enough to get off and tie up without getting so close that you puncture the dinghy with a rock or sharp shell. Once you are tied up and off to swim, shop, hang out or whatever, your trusty dinghy will wait patiently for your return. When you are ready to return home, it can be interesting as well. Today the tide was way, way out and we ran aground backing out and after we were around the corner and in the “channel” we strayed a bit too close to the fish pen to port and hit a rock.

I am trying to decide if I like it here or not. When the wind comes up (which is every afternoon) my stress level pegs worrying about whether we are going to drag into someone else or vice versa. I love the personal service from the sweet French Baker. The scenery is beautiful, temperature perfect and the town is truly authentic Mexico. I wish I could relax more because this is the kind of place I came here for. But…it is definitely worth staying a few more days.

"Bobby" the Booby

One of the things we enjoy the most about this cruising thing is getting the opportunity to see all sorts of wildlife that the average person only sees in books and/or zoos. Since we spend a lot of time on the water, birds are a large percentage of that. Whenever we see a species that is new to us, out come the books and identification cards to find out what it is. In the Pacific Northwest the preponderance of birds were Sea Gulls of all sorts of varieties. Going down the coast, some of the feathered friends we encountered were Pelicans, Herons, Cranes, Egrets, Murres, and we even had a couple little Finch-like land birds come and rest on the boat for several hours off the Oregon coast. Now that we are in warmer territory, we see lots of Pelicans, Frigate Birds and Boobies. We have not been to Isla Isabella so haven't had the pleasure of seeing the Blue-Footed Boobies (yet) but Dietmar shared several photos they had taken during their visit.
Monday we headed out for a cruise up the coast to the lovely anchorage of Punta de Mita to hang out for a couple days. As we were getting ready to dinghy to the beach on Tuesday to look for shells, followed by a little lunch and swim, we glanced up to see a Brown Booby perched on the bowsprit of the boat. He did not seem the least bit concerned about the people moving around on the boat and was happy to comply with the request for a photo or two. We were excited to get an up close and personal look at this guy and when we left for the day he was still "standing watch". After several hours of exhausting activity we returned to the boat to find that "Bobby" was still in attendance. At first we were happy to see our new mascot but that delight soon turned to dismay. He had moved from the bowsprit to the top of one of the spreaders and in the process had managed to poop all over the boat! The solar panels were covered as was the aft deck, there were splotches on the bimini and everywhere on the deck. In addition, he had done a stellar job on the aft hatch which was open and in his enthusiasm he had even managed to get some spatters on my bed!
Needless to day, Bobby wore out his welcome quite quickly and when he returned this morning to say hello we promptly shooed him off. As we weighed anchor and turned back to La Cruz I believe I saw him heading for a large powerboat that appeared to be unoccupied.

Sandy's Big Adventure

Today was the day!! I went on a bus trip to another town all by myself! That would be sans interpreter!

The object of the exercise was to get from here to Nuevo Vallarta, get my Christmas presents shipped back to the States, check out the "American" grocery store and do a little shopping in the Paradise Village mall. This is the story of my adventure:

As I left the boat this morning and walked through La Cruz to catch the bus I was feeling fairly confident given the fact that Patty & I had gone to Nuevo on Saturday for the Vallarta YC Chili Cook Off. Thus, I was pretty sure I could negotiate the two buses I needed to take. One really great thing about the bus system in Mexico is that a bus comes along about every 10 minutes so you rarely have long to wait in the hot sun. They are not, however, air conditioned and the drivers rarely speak any English at all.

Note regarding Mexican men: They are MUCH more chivalrous than American men!!! They always allow the women to board the buses first and rarely do they not give up their seat for a woman if the seats are all taken.

So - the bus came along and I managed to tell the driver where I wanted to get off. This does NOT mean they will stop there if you don't indicate your desire to get off when appropriate - it just lets the driver figure out how much to charge you for the trip. In this case it was 10 pesos (slightly less than $1). I had a pretty good idea where my stop was so relaxed a bit and looked around. I noticed a very old couple (both with canes) sitting in the seat behind the driver and they had a mandolin with them. From past experience I expected that one of them would be singing (and then collecting tips) before long. By the time we had passed Bucerias there were enough pigeons on the bus and, sure enough, the woman began playing. She was not bad on the instrument but when she sang, holy chihuahua! It sounded like a cat with it's tail caught in a door! While the caterwauling went on, the old man shuffled up and down the aisle holding out his hat for tips. They were both clearly infirm and looked like it had been a while since their last meal so what-the-heck.

Just beyond Bucerias there is an overpass that the bus drives next to...VERY slowly because there are volkswagen sized potholes in the road. For the first time since I've been riding this bus they stopped to pick up some riders there. As I sat looking out the window while they were boarding something in the yard next to the road caught my eye. It appeared to be a very short legged, ugly dog moving across the ground. Then it started bobbing its head up & down like it was eating something and another one came around from behind a bush and started doing the same thing. Suddenly it dawned on me that these were NOT dogs but very large iguanas! They had large reddish fins the length of their backs and had to be at least 3 ft long! I have attempted to find a photo of them on the internet with no luck and, unfortunately, my camera was sitting quietly back at the boat. Isn't that always the way it is?

When the Nuevo Vallarta sign finally made its appearance I got off the bus and walked around the corner to await the next one. This bus doesn't run quite as often so there was a bit of a wait but not intolerable and the entertainment was worth it! There is a restaurant on the corner and there were two guys who were busy re-striping the parking lot...by hand! They would put a 2x4 down next to the line so it would be straight and then pick up the brush & paint can and paint that 5 ft or so before moving the board and beginning again. When the bus finally arrived and I paid my 5 pesos all I had to do was sit tight until the very end of the ride and there was the mall. The next couple hours were taken up with getting the shipping issue taken care of (can you say $80 US for one UPS box back to the States???), checking out the numerous upscale shops (I finally found just the right "white, gauzy dress" to buy) and going to the "American" grocery store to see what could be had that wasn't available at the Mega. Not much! I bought 2 bottles of white wine (thought about more, but since it is a matter of "you bought it, you carry it" I decided to be a bit more frugal) and a bag of Cheetos (chips here are NOT the same so thought I'd try one more type).
Note: In Mexico when you go into a grocery store or any large department store (like Wal Mart) you have to check your bags (except your purse) before you can shop. I'll bet it helps keep the shoplifting to a minimum.

When I was ready to leave I picked up the bus in front of the mall and had a little language barrier to overcome. The driver didn't speak English and I had to explain that I wanted to go to the highway where the bus to La Cruz is. Took a little doing but we finally got it figured out and we were off. Somehow I thought we would just go back the way we had come. Not so! Going this direction the bus makes many little side trips to drop off & pick up people who are staying at the numerous upscale condos & timeshares in that area. It was heartening, however, that they didn't speak Spanish any better than I did. By the time the bus arrived back at the highway we were several miles back from where I wanted to get off so I waited and waited and waited, hoping the driver wasn't going to throw me off in the middle of nowhere. Finally I saw the Nuevo Vallarta sign again and stood up (hanging on for dear life) to signal I wanted to get off. Then, I reasoned, since the buses appear to just pick up anyone who signals as they approach, all I needed to do was get to the other side of the highway to get the bus I wanted. Wrong!! As I discovered (when the first bus flew by leaving only a trail of dust and paper garbage), they actually do have regular stops. I pulled my newly purchased "Mexican Spanish Phrasebook" out of my tote bag and sidled up to a worker by the side of the road to ask where, precisely, the stop was for the La Cruz bus. He replied (in perfect English) that I needed to walk down past the overpass and around the corner. sigh...
Note: When in Mexico, you must get used to crossing back and forth between cars on the freeway. It is extremely scary but, nonetheless, quite acceptable (and, in most cases necessary if you want to get to the other side). The caveat is that you must understand that the cars that are turning left at intersections will be doing that from the far RIGHT lane!!!

What a relief to finally be on my familiar La Cruz bus and know exactly where I need to get off to get home. I spent the next 15 minutes or so practicing all the lewd phrases (very quietly of course) that I want to try out on Chris when he gets back from San Diego, and when we reached the stop for La Cruz de Huanacaxle I confidently climbed off the bus and walked through town, exchanging "hola's" with the locals and feeling quite smug that I had negotiated the trip and not become lost, run over or frantic.

Beach Vendors

Today Patty & I took a couple buses to check out the town of Sayulita. We'd been told by several people that it was much nicer than Punta de Mita and they recommended it highly. The town is much like others we've seen in Mexico but with more shops and restaurants and it seems a bit "Americanized" in comparison. Still, the streets are mostly bumpy rocks and there is dust everywhere. The beaches are all quite different and this one was no exception. One thing that seems to be a constant is the large number of vendors who spend their days walking up and down, up and down trying to sell you everything from temporary tattoos to jewelry to clothing. It is difficult at best to just relax with a book on the beach because of the constant barrage of locals hawking their goods. The majority seem to be women - often with a child or three in tow, but a surprising number are children themselves. The youngest I've seen so far was a tiny girl who appeared to be under 5 trying to sell toys under the tutelage of her mother. Apparently these folks are hired by shop keepers who pay them on commission. In Punta Mita there were several young women who would come by with jewelry or pareos or dresses and after they'd been told "no" by everyone on the beach they would change to a different colored apron or hat and come by again with something new...blankets or wooden carvings etc. It has to be an incredibly difficult way to make a living - if they do - and I can't imagine what effect the constant rejection must have on their self esteem. I love the beaches but the continual harrassment takes some of the fun out of just enjoying the sand, sun and ocean.

Foray to Punta de Mita

Yesterday Patty & I packed a few things in a tote bag and boarded a bus to go off to see what is happening in Punta de Mita...the other direction from our normal bus trips. Instead of traveling on the highway through dusty villages and busy towns we enjoyed a 20 minute trip through beautiful wooded hills with the turquoise bay at the bottom. This is a very upscale area and when we got off the bus the walk into town was reminiscent of Shelter Island with wide, palm tree lined sidewalks, Bougainvillea draped walls and large condos and hotels. "Town", however, is mostly a few restaurants and storefronts where you can purchase surfing lessons, a snorkeling or whale watching trip, or listen to a timeshare spiel in exchange for a free Margarita. We walked through town and then back along the beach until we came to a restaurant where there were chaise lounges you could use for free. After a lunch of tasty quesadillas we took a dip in the surf and then spent the afternoon on the lounges watching the beginning surfers and kids playing in the water, reading and having a cold beer delivered every so often. Doing this field research is hard work but we are happy to be of service to travelers who may be following in our wake!
A Canadian woman we met told us not to miss Sayulita (which is just up the road) so I definately see another road trip in our future!

December in Paradise

12/1/08...9:00 am...75 degrees and sunny...perfect again!
Chris is gone on a delivery so Patty & I have two weeks of "girl time". We spent the first afternoon doing nothing and went out to dinner that night. Saturday we took the bus to P.V. for some shopping and located a salon where we made hair appointments for today. Yesterday we were too tired from shopping on Saturday to leave so we just read books, laid in the sun, had a couple Margaritas, BBQ'd dinner and watched "Happy Feet". When the movie was over we were both exhausted so toddled off to bed with our books - at 9:00! This is getting to be a bad habit! What is it about the cruising life that tires you out so early? I was always a "night person" in my "previous" life and now all three of us are done in by 9:30 at night! Once the sun goes down, we've had dinner and watched a movie or played a game of Scrabble or Catch Phrase it's all over! Well, at least we have beautiful sunrises and sunsets.