Valentine's Day in Bahia de Chamela

Breakwater at La Cruz

Passing the anchorage just outside of the Marina

Saturday we woke up at 6:00 am and left the Marina around 8:00 a.m. after stopping for diesel at the fuel dock. Our fuel bill was pretty high! It came to almost $4 US per gallon. This is the highest we have paid yet!

The weather was warm and there were light winds blowing. We headed south towards Cabo Corrientes, the Cape of Banderas Bay, which was about 30 NM from where we were. This Cape is supposed to be similar to Point Conception in California as far as wind, built up seas and currents go. It’s apparently quite dangerous and a concern to most sailors. It is recommended to go around this Cape in the early morning when the winds are the most mild. So, I was basically dreading going around this Cape because we were going to be passing by it around 1 or 2 in the afternoon. I was thinking to myself, why are we not going around this in the morning, again? I guess we were not worried about the Cape because according to WindyTy, and Passage Weather (both weather apps) the winds were supposed to be basically non-existent. Otherwise, we might have gone earlier as suggested. Fortunately we had nothing to worry about. When passing the point, the winds only got up to 15kts and the waves were very small.

The Lighthouse at Cabo Corrientes

As I exhaled a sigh of relief during the passage around Cabo Corrientes, I enjoyed the scenery a little more, which was breathtaking! There were beautiful mountains that ran down to long white pristine beaches that were uninhabited.  You could see the crystal blue waves crashing down on the sand leaving traces of white foamy bubbles as the water got swept back into the ocean.

Harley watching Dad as he reels in a broken fishing line. Something big grabbed hold of the hook and the line broke immediately.

Rick and Harley taking a little siesta 

Another beautiful sunset

Our entire sail was quite pleasant. The seas were so calm and the water was smooth as silk at times. The moon was a crescent shape and there were many stars twinkling above us. We enjoyed the bioluminescence, as the night got darker. On Rick’s watch, he said that he saw huge patches of the bioluminescence out in the water, not just along the sides of the boat. He said it was almost like something straight out of the movie, Life of Pi. 

It was a pretty non-eventful night as far as issues go and we arrived and anchored at Bahia de Chamela around 8:30 Sunday morning. Valentine’s Day!

Approaching Bahia de Chamela

Sunrise as we get even closer to our anchorage

There were two other boats anchored when we arrived. One Catamaran and one sailboat belonging to our friends Lonita and Doug, whom we first met in San Blas.  Lonita and Doug were actually leaving the anchorage just after we got settled in. They told us on their way out that the anchorage was rocky and rolly and they were going to go anchor behind one of the islands in the bay. We hope to go anchor there maybe tomorrow ourselves.

Beachfront at Chamela

We settled in and Rick went right to sleep. He didn’t sleep well the night before and he’s sort of feeling sick like he was when we were in La Cruz. I wasn’t feeling the best myself and tired from our journey but not as bad off as Rick. I took a brief nap and was up putting things away. Poor Harley was dying to get to the beach to do her thing but we were basically stranded on the boat until Rick was awake to get the dinghy untied and into the water. When Rick woke up, he was feeling really lousy and did not have the energy to do all that’s entailed to get the dinghy into the water. So I ended up taking Harley on the SUP board to shore. It was pretty windy and there was a strong current by this time and I was worried I would have a hard time getting back to the boat. And…there were waves pounding the beach. I was a little nervous about a crash landing!

Getting to the beach turned out fine. It was a safe landing for Harley and me. As soon as Harley got off of the board she ran to dryer sand and relieved herself immediately! After that she ran all over the beach and in and out of the water as if her tail were on fire! I let her run around for a while before getting back into the water to get back onto the boat.  We couldn’t do any exploring really because I did not want to leave the board or carry it around. So, back in the water we went and I let Harley swim for a while before allowing her back on the board so that most of the sand would rinse off of her. I also wanted to get through the waves first as well. No point getting her on if we were only going to fall off.

We got back to the boat, swam for a bit and then got back onboard. Rick was still taking it easy but able to help us back on the boat. It’s not easy getting the dog up into the boat from the water by myself. So I’m glad he was there to lift her up from the board for me!

The rest of the night we just laid around trying to figure out what to eat that was not going to give us rumbly tummies.  I ended up having oatmeal and Rick had some chicken noodle soup.  We watched a movie and then went to sleep early.

In the middle of the night the anchorage became very rolly and things were falling down and it was difficult to sleep soundly. This morning it calmed down a little.

Rick still is feeling lousy and went back to bed after he had some oatmeal. I worked on the blog for a while. Again…Harley is dying to get off of the boat and to shore. So as soon as Rick woke up I asked him to assist me in getting the SUP board and Harley into the water. I was a little more relaxed on the SUP board today since I had such a safe landing yesterday. Well, right before we got to shore, I was trying to time the waves just right so we wouldn’t get tumbled. I thought I had and started paddling for shore.  Unfortunately my timing was off and a big wave broke right over the top of us and my board and paddle went flying in two different directions while Harley and I were tossed around like laundry inside of a washing machine! I don’t remember much of that only that I had to hold my breath for what seemed a very long time. When I came up for air and got my feet onto the ground I hurried to get the board and the paddle. Harley leaped through the rest of the white water and onto the beach and started rolling in the sand. I was able to grab a hold of the board and the paddle but ended up losing my favorite Nike hat that I’ve had for like 20 years.

I thought since I was there on the beach I might as well make the best of my troubles getting there and walk the beach with Harley for a bit. I tied the board up to a post higher up on shore.  We walked to one end of the beach and back to the board. I happened to glance out at our boat and I saw Rick lowering the dinghy into the water. He came rowing almost to shore and anchored just beyond the breakers. I didn’t know if he thought I needed help or what but there he was coming out of the surf with a snorkel in hand.  We all ended up taking a little walk. I thought it might make him feel a little better. We didn’t walk for long because it looked like the tide was coming in and that would be making our journey back to the boat that much longer.

I paddled the SUP board and he took Harley in the dinghy. A huge wave came just before they hopped in the dinghy almost flipping the dinghy. But Rick and Harley were able to dive down below the crashing wave and come out unharmed.

This Dolphin is between our boat and the beach…very close to the beach!!

As we both made our way back to the boat separately there were HUGE dolphins swimming near the bow of our boat and some swimming near the shore. When we got back to the boat we saw some dolphins back closer to shore jumping up out of the water and back so gracefully. It was so cool to see.  I managed to catch a picture of one of them jumping.

We both are wiped out and not feeling very spiffy. Rick seems to have it worse than I do because food doesn’t sound good to him. And to me, I cannot get enough food in my body. We are out of all fruits and veggies and I am forced to eat things like rice and crackers (things I don’t usually eat). But we think we might have some sort of intestinal flu bug or something. Who knows. We just hope it’s gone soon!

We should be here for the rest of today and then will leave tomorrow for the Islands. On the 17^th we want to be in Barra de Navidad because our friend Ray from the Richmond Yacht Club (who used to be at Brickyard Cove with us) is going to be visiting friends there on their sailboat for a few days. After we meet up with him we will go back to Tenacatita and to the other small bays as originally planned.

Valentine's Day in Chamela

Last few days in La Cruz

San Pancho

Last few days in La Cruz

Rick started to feel better within a couple of days. We heard there was some sort of a stomach bug going around the Marina but lasting for weeks. So, Rick got off easier than most or so we thought.

During the last few days we had 30 20L (5 gallon) water bottles  delivered to the boat and Rick poured them into the tanks. It turned out we only needed 23 bottles. So we had to return 7 full bottles and the rest of the empties (we got our money & deposit back). It was a good workout lifting the 5 gallon bottles from the dock onto the boat and to the other side of the boat where we fill our tanks!  When we were in Ensenada the people that delivered the water, filled the tanks for you as well.  I guess we were spoiled there. But at least here in La Cruz, they will deliver the bottles to the boat.  The cost was 25 pesos per 20L bottle if you pick them up yourself or 30 pesos per bottle if they deliver. Either way, it’s very reasonable.

One afternoon, Rick and I took the bus into Bucerias and walked all over town looking for a Motorcycle Rental place. We thought it would be fun to check out a few little towns that we missed on our way here. Finally after walking along the streets in the heat for a couple of hours we found one!  It was not such a big deal to rent one as we anticipated. The rental place just asked to hold onto my driver’s license, then handed us two large helmets and away we went. But, it was NOT a motorcycle it was a Suzuki Scooter.  A little punier than the Harley that Rick is used to riding but it got us around. And, surprisingly enough, we got around in one piece!

Driving along the highway was pretty terrifying to say the least. We were getting cut off and honked at and practically ran over at times. The driving rules are a little different than in the States. For one, if you want to make a lefthand turn, you have to get all the way over into the far right lane then turn from there when the light turns green.  We learned that the hard way. Oh and if you are on a one lane highway and you want to let someone know it’s ok to pass you, you turn on your left blinker. I’m not sure I want to trust that! What if the person’s blinker was accidentally on? Or their judge of distance was a little off? Not a good outcome!  

Also along our ride, I was hanging on tightly to Rick because every speed bump we came across I would fly up off the seat and my large helmet would fall backwards off my head. They have a lot of speed bumps in Mexico! Not only did I fly off the seat a bit but on the larger speed bumps the frame of the Scooter would scrape. As I was holding onto Rick with one arm and holding my helmet on with the other, I took a glance over at Rick's helmet. His helmet was falling apart. The plastic outer layer was separating from the insulation on the inside of the helmet and sliding backwards. As all of these things were happening, I was in complete hysterics. I could not stop laughing for most of the ride. The experience reminded me of being on a scary ride at the fair as a kid  that you’re terrified to be on, sitting with your best friend and you both laugh until you can’t breathe. 

We decided to go into Puerto Vallarta first of all since it was the closest to where we were and hopefully we could get back to our boat before dark. While in PV we went to check out Marina Vallarta (a Marina we almost stayed in) and then we drove a little further into the downtown or Centro and walked along the Malecon (seafront).  We were not that impressed with the area. It was over run with tourists wandering around not paying attention to anything or anybody around them. They seemed to be just searching for food to eat and things to buy, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk looking lost.  But we were in the center of town and  I know there are other parts of Puerto Vallarta that are a little more remote. We just didn’t have time to go any further that day.

It was starting to get late and we needed to get back to La Cruz before dark. It was scary enough just driving in the daylight. We could only imagine what driving in the dark would be like! 

We made it back to the Marina safely. We were worn out from nerves and just laid low the rest of the night. Rick said that the adrenaline rush from riding the motor scooter in Mexico reminded him of rafting down the Colorado River! That’s how intense and nerve-wracking it was for him (being the driver).  I was just the clown on the backseat laughing holding onto my helmet.

The next day we hopped on the motor scooter for another go at exploring. We weren’t going to be on any busy highways, we were just going to be on a windy one -lane road along the coast and mountains.  Rick was still a wreck nonetheless. Cars were passing us on this road at the same time as oncoming traffic. Now that scared me too! There were lots of speed bumps on this road just as you approach any little town, the speed bumps start for blocks before you even get there. And when you go through a town there are cobblestones to deal with. Rick and I said we need to have our fillings checked when we get back home.

We rode as far as San Pancho but made a pit stop in Sayulita. Sayulita was our favorite spot! Such a cute little beach town! It was so clean and it had very attractive little shops and restaurants and villas tucked up in the mountains and along the beachfront. There were lots of surfboards rentals on almost every other corner along with your usual street vendors. But all of the goods seemed to be of higher quality than most places in Mexico we have been to. The beach was gorgeous and the surf was perfect for surfing and standup paddle boarding.

We left Sayulita and moved on to San Pancho (nickname for San Francisco). San Pancho was a quaint little town, very clean and had a gorgeous long stretched out beach, surrounded by jungle and only a couple of open-air restaurants. 

After leaving San Pancho we rode back towards La Cruz and stopped at Punta de Mita and had a bite to eat in one of the beachfront restaurants.  We did not have time to do much more exploring but plan to on our way back up north in the next month or so.  We had to return our Scooter by 3:00p.m. in Bucerias.

When returning the Scooter, the employee of the Scooter Rental shop just came out with my ID, handed it to me, took the keys to the Scooter, asked us if we had a good time and that was it. He was not concerned with the condition of the bike or anything else.  The cost of the rental for 24 hours came to about $40 US. We thought that was pretty reasonable.

That evening Rick, Harley and I went to the outdoor amphitheatre in the Marina with our West Marine chairs to watch a movie they had playing (Thursday is movie night). We watched Concussion with Will Smith and Alec Baldwin. We really enjoyed it. It was also nice to be watching a movie outside overlooking the marina and feeling a slight cool breeze. We recognized several other people we had met there as well. We met a new couple that just arrived. It turns out their home is in Coloma and they keep their boat in Sausalito.

Friday morning we woke up and had planned to leave by noon (check out time). So we got the boat ready and walked into town to pick up some laundry I’d dropped off the day before. It was not ready when we arrived and it was going to be another half an hour, which was going to make us late. Apparently if you do not check out right at noon, you are charged for another day.  We decided to wait and have a coffee at an outdoor café/deli across the street. We got the laundry by 11:30 and walked briskly back to the Marina. By the time we got back the wind had picked up and it was going to be a hard exit out of our slip, so we thought we’d stay another day and leave bright and early on Saturday morning.

Since all of our chores were done and we were basically all ready to leave, we thought we’d just enjoy our day and going swimming at the beach next to the Marina.

When we first arrived at the beach it was quite windy and the waves had white caps on them. It did not look all that inviting to me to swim in. So we just sat and watched the surf and a couple of kite surfers really enjoying the wind! Finally it was getting too warm and we got into the water anyway. There seemed to be a pretty strong current that kept pulling us out as we swam. It wasn’t so easy coming back in. We only stayed in a little while, just enough to cool off.

That evening we went to sleep early because we wanted to get an early start the next day.

San Pancho

San Pancho

A Hairless Dog we saw on the beach of San Pancho

Jungle along the beach in San Pancho

The streets of San Pancho

Sayulita

Streets of Sayulita

Hotel at the end of the beach in Sayulita

Sayulita

Sayulita

Colorful little shop in Sayulita

Rick getting instructions on how to ride a Scooter. 

Along the Malecon in Puerto Vallarta

Streets of La Cruz

Little corner restaurant in Bucerias

A little pueblo in La Cruz

La Cruz

A nice looking Villa just behind the Marina

Wednesday morning after I finished catching up with the blog, Rick, Harley and I went to the Port Captain's office to check in with all of our paperwork/documents. No problem! According to the clerk behind the desk, we really don’t need to “check in” unless we are going to be staying anywhere in Mexico for more than a week. Otherwise, we can just call in on the VHF radio.  We have not officially checked in since Ensenada and we’d heard you’re supposed to check in to every place you stop (which we’ve been blowing off).  So my mind is now at ease….we’re not in trouble and we’re not getting carted off to a Mexican jail.

After we left the Port Captain’s office we walked around the marina to see what it had to offer. Just a few feet away was a huge fish market with freshly caught fish being cut at a rapid pace and with such precision right at the counter. People were standing in line and picking out which piece they wanted.

A walk alone the Breakwater

As we walked further we saw a cool outdoor restaurant over looking the Marina.  We thought we’d have to try it out at some point during our stay.

This Marina is big, very clean and well laid out. There are lots of cruisers here who seem to have made a home here and some who are just moving South and some people getting ready for the Puddle Jump.  The Marina has lots of activities available. There is free movie night, free yoga classes, writing groups, women cruising groups, swap meets, free seminars about sailing, stretching classes, Spanish lessons, poolside music night, farmer’s market on the weekends, and more! They have lots of fun activities for kids as well. As far as we have seen there are three restaurants here and one deli. You really don’t have to leave the marina if you don’t want to. Everything you need is right here.

Marina Riviera La Cruz

We walked out of the Marina and down some back streets looking for a groomer for Harley. That was the first priority once we got into town! We heard there was a good one only a few blocks away from a fellow boater who also has an Australian Labradoodle. 

We got a little side tracked and checked out a few other places. We stopped and bought tickets to listen to live music at Philo’s Restaurant for later that night. We got the last ticket! We bought some fruits and veggies from a street vendor and we went to a Canvas shop to see about re-stitching our dodger, which was almost threadbare (when the dodger was built, the seamstress did not use UV marine thread).

Along our walk

Finally we made it to Dr. Dunia’s (the vet/groomer).  She was so sweet and fit Harley in right then and there.  It was going to be a few hours until she was finished so we walked back to the boat and dropped off our groceries and headed back into town to grab a bite to eat. We ate at a restaurant right across from the groomer’s.

I walked across the street to pick up Harley while we were waiting for our food to come to the table. When Dunia brought her out from the back I hardly recognized her. She was almost shaven and looked more like a poodle than a doodle. But Harley seemed so happy to be free of her matted, and sandy hair! She was spinning in circles and running in and out between my legs.

Modeling her new do

When it came time to pay the bill, Dunia said that it would be $370 pesos, which is about $21.00 US. Wow! That was so cheap. Back home when I get Harley shampooed and groomed it runs me about $60.00 (and I think that’s cheap compared to most places in town to begin with).  I gave her a $5.00 tip, which she thanked me for profusely.

Harley loves Dad!

Harley came and joined us for our meal back at the restaurant and then we all walked back to the Marina to take showers and get dressed for our evening out!  (I even blew dried my hair and wore make-up). Date night.

Rick and I walked back into town and made it to Philo’s almost an hour before the music started. They were serving dinner when we arrived but since we had such a late lunch we didn’t eat. Rick just had bottled water and I had a Limonada. 

The band, Luna Rumba, started right at 8:00p.m. As soon as they started playing I immediately got goose bumps because the music was so outstanding! The band consisted of four people. Two played rhythm guitars and sang, another played the bass guitar and a five-string violin and the fourth played the bongo drums. Their music was a mixture of Mexican and Spanish music.  The main singer, Cheko Ruiz had an amazing voice. Every time he sang I would melt. They also had a dancer that would come out periodically dressed in different costumes each time and would dance. She was fun to watch because she was constantly smiling, having fun and dancing so fluidly with the music.

I loved their music so much that I ran out to the front of the restaurant where they were selling their CD’s. I bought two! Rick even asked the lead guitarist at the break if he would sign our CD. He not only signed it but also got the rest of the band to do so.

Rick and I left as soon as the last song was just ending and headed back to the boat. We made a brief stop on the way at another restaurant that we saw playing music. It was decent rock n’ roll music but nothing can really compare to what we had just listened to!

We got back to the boat and into bed by midnight. Late night for us!

Thursday morning we woke up just in time to listen to the Net. This is held on the VHF radio, station 22 at 8:30 every morning. This is where all the cruisers talk about weather, sailing conditions, medical inquiries, things for sale, events taking place, lost and found, boat projects, people looking crew, anyone needing a ride into town, or needing mail to be taken to the states and so on.

After drinking tea and listening to the radio we had a day full of chores! Rick took everything off of the boat and scrubbed the decks, the cockpit, and topsides with soap and water.  It was quite an undertaking since it had not been done since Ensenada and everything had gotten so salty and dirty! I stayed down below and cleaned the entire boat inside! Took up all the carpets, blankets, pillows etc and just started from one end of the boat to the other dusting, sweeping and mopping. I also got all of the laundry together which filled two huge Ikea bags to the brim. Along with a months worth of dirty clothes, I washed the towels, bed sheets, blankets and mattress cover.  We dropped off the laundry in the VIP lounge where a laundry service comes and takes your clothes and brings them back to your boat the next day neatly folded. The cost is only .20 pesos per kilo. Such a deal!

Rick walking the streets of La Cruz

After a day of cleaning and scrubbing we took a little walk and then came back to the boat to eat a seared ahi tuna salad out of the fresh fish I bought at the fish market in the afternoon (my break from cleaning).

Friday morning we got up early and walked to town to drop off the Dodger that we were having re-sewn at the Canvas place in town. After getting that chore out of the way, we walked to the main road to the bus stop where I got on a bus going to Puerto Vallarta and Rick and Harley walked back to the boat. I was going to PV to go to Costco originally, which turned into going to Sam’s Club, to stock up on provisions!  

The bus ride was interesting. It’s more like a small van than an actual bus and it seats 9 people only the driver kept stopping to pick up more people at each stop and we ended up with 15 pretty large bodied people in the van. I’m just glad I had a window seat with a window that opened. I was feeling a little claustrophobic.  The seats were basically non-existent due to overuse I guess. There was no stuffing inside the seat cover left at all.  You were just sort of sitting on thin material that loosely hung over metal and springs that held the seat together. It took the slightest of bumps to feel the metal and we went over a lot of bumps on the way…large speed bumps at that!

Along the ride I was enjoying what I could see through the window but also trying to pay close attention to where I was supposed to be getting off the bus. We passed two Sam’s Club’s on the way, which had me wondering if I should have gotten off at one of them. But I just sat in the back of the bus quietly waiting.  I turned out to be the last one on the bus and became real concerned. Was there a Costco? I snuck up to the front of the bus to ask the driver, “Donde esta Costco?” He looked at me like I was speaking Chinese. We went back and forth with me repeating my question and him looking at me like I was crazy. So I finally gave up and took the ride back to a Sam’s Club. Good thing about the ride was it only cost .17 pesos for the 45-minute ride. That’s basically one US dollar.

I walked to Sam’s Club from where I got dropped off by the bus. Inside the store, I had to purchase a membership card in order to shop. I think that was about $40.00 US. Sam’s Club is Sam’s Club anywhere I suppose. The price doesn’t change. Anyway…after I bought the membership, the clerk handed me a plastic container of purple glazed donuts. They looked hideous to me but I took them and thanked him.

After shopping at Sam’s and spending $2,000 pesos, I strolled my cart over to Wal-Mart where I bought a few more other items that I could not get at Sam’s.

Next was hailing a Taxi. There were about 6 Taxi’s out in front of the Wal-Mart and none of them were jumping for joy to give me a ride to La Cruz. Finally someone obliged and drove me the long drive to La Cruz and dropped me off at the Marina. This fare was not as cheap as my ride to PV. It cost me $400.00 pesos and I tipped him $100.00 pesos. Oh…and I also threw in the purple donuts. He seemed to really be pleased about that! He said, in Spanish of course, that his children would love them!

Rick and Harley greeted me in the parking to help me with my purchases.  Thank goodness for dock carts!

After unloading the cart and packing the bags on the boat, somehow I managed to find a home for all of the food I bought. Amazing! Who knows if I’ll ever find where I put some things, but they are in!

The day was pretty much spent after my excursion to Puerto Vallarta. Rick had been doing a few things on the boat while I was gone and so we both sat in the cockpit and drank ice tea to relax.  We later took a walk along the breakwater since there was a cool breeze blowing and the sun was about to go down. I was hoping to get some good photos of that.  I really did not get a clear view so I did not take any pictures after all. Besides, not many pictures of sunsets can compare to the ones you see out at sea!

Today…Saturday has been uneventful. Rick is not feeling 100% so he is resting and I am typing quietly on the computer. I do have the project of polishing the stainless on the boat, which for some reason I am slow to get started on. Rick has a few things that he’d like to get done too. We still need to order 30 bottles of water for the boat. Each bottle contains 5 gallons. So…we need a lot! And Rick needs to change the oil. But we can do these things tomorrow as well. We are here ‘till Tuesday.

Thanks for following along!

Love,

Maryalice, Rick and Harley

One more stop before La Cruz

Attempted anchoring here but the rock bottom looked a little sketchy

Early on the 1^st of November we putted out of Chacala and headed towards La Cruz. On the way we decided to go closely along shore. While on the way we noticed a few cool anchorages where the water was a crystal jade color and checked them out. We decided to stop and anchor overnight at one of these places that was not listed on our Nav charts on the iPad or on our paper charts.  This little bay looked similar to Chacala. It had the same feel but it had a lot more villas and cute little hotels on the beach than Chacala.

 

Anchored near this little cove

We anchored very close to the beach because Rick was keeping in mind he had to row to shore. After anchoring we jumped in the water to cool off and then got our gear together for the beach.

Los Ayala

We spent the day walking along the beach, meeting and talking to people. A lot of tourists we talked to were from Canada. They all come to this beach town yearly and stay in the same place. They all said they loved it here. “Here”…is what we later learned was, Los Ayala. Anyway…the Canadians are the friendliest people we have been meeting. Oh…and also the Australians. There seem to be a lot of Australians who sail the coast of Mexico and Baja and beyond. But on this particular beach we basically just ran into Canadians.

As we sat on the beach looking out at the water we noticed our friends Marilyn and Steve on Toccata out in the bay searching for a place to anchor. They ended up anchoring further out than we did (which was propably smart). When they finished anchoring, they dinghy’d to shore and we went to greet them. We all walked and talked and ended up eating at a little restaurant across the street from the beach.  The food was so delicious!

After dinner we said our goodbyes to Marilyn and Steve because they were headed back up towards Mazatlan because they had tickets for Carnival on the 8^th (or around the 8^th).

That night on anchor we went to sleep with the boat sort of hobby horsing in the swell. It was not too bad and it almost felt like we were being gently rocked to sleep. BUT in the middle of the night, things changed. The swells were bigger and closer together and our boat was spinning around the anchor. We ended up being sideways to the swell and being rocked from one side of the boat to the other…practically dipping our rails into the water. It was impossible to sleep. We were rolling from one side of the bed to the other. Things inside the boat were being thrown around. I could hear the dishes in the cabinets crashing into other dishes. It was awful! Rick ended up going out into the cockpit to try to sleep or to just keep an eye on things….to make sure we did not end up on the beach. I ended up just trying to sleep sideways in the v-berth. Nothing helped! As soon as the sun came out, we picked up our anchor and left! We noticed on our way out of the bay that Steve and Marilyn had left as well. Even though they were out a bit further from us, I’m sure they weren’t getting much sleep either.

 

The beach at Los Ayala

The swells were pretty big and sloppy as we made our way towards La Cruz. We had 30 NM to go and I was hoping it would not last the entire trip…five or six hours. I should have hoped or prayed harder because it was not letting up and the swells were only getting bigger and closer together coming from several different directions it seemed. Waves were sneaking onto the boat each time we dipped to one side.  Rick tried to find a direction that would prevent this but nothing seemed to make much of a difference. If we really changed our position, it would have made us severely off of our course and put us into the rocks.  Despite the rough water, the views were spectacular and the water was turning back to that gorgeous lapis colored blue again. 

Punta de Mita
As you can see these are breaking waves no where near the beach! There is a reef or shoal that is causing these waves to break where they are. 

We were approaching Punta de Mita and trying to figure out what the buoys meant off the point that we were seeing. Then through the binoculars we saw breaking waves really far out and we were on course to go right into them. Yikes! I was a nervous wreck inside fearing that we would get caught in those waves. But we figured out we were to go around the buoys on the seaward side. So we went wide around them and bypassed the impending doom!  As we passed the point the winds piped up and were blowing up to 25kts. The swells got a little smaller and not so messy but then we had lots of wind. We only had our jib out and it was pulling us through the water to about 6kts. Not bad for our heavy boat.  Things got prettier and prettier as we sailed toward our destination. But the winds were strange. One minute we were up to 25 or more knots then the next the winds were 15knots. It reminded me a lot of San Francisco Bay! The winds never seems to be very consistent.

Just turning the corner and heading to the Marina Entrance in La Cruz

About 2 miles away from the Marina Riviera Nayarit in La Cruz, I called the Marina on the VHF to make a reservation. Luckily they spoke English very well and I did not have to stutter around with the little Spanish I know to communicate.  They gave us our dock and slip number and said they would be there waiting for us. I was happy to hear this because it was blowing about 24kts when we entered the Marina and our prop walk would not have been in our favor for getting into our slip. So…we needed all the help we could get to land our boat!  Two other men saw us coming in and ran to the rescue as well. So between the five of us we made it in safely to our slip with only one pinball affect.  Fhew! What a load off to be in our slip! It hasn’t been since we were in Ensenada that we had a slip…a solid surface to place our feet when stepping off the boat.

It turns out that one of the guys that helped us was someone else we met in San Blas, Doug. He and his wife, Lyneita are here in La Cruz on SV Ka'sala. As the day grew, we found out lots of people that we have met along the way are here and have been here for not only a few days but also weeks.  Jollydogs was a Catamaran we knew from Ensenada who left the same day as we did from Cruiseport Village. Two other boats we knew from San Blas.  Later in the evening we ran into Marilyn and Steve who were supposed to be going to Mazatlan! We were shocked to see them but happy as well. Apparently they had some issue with their dripless shaft seal. It was leaking! So they figured it would be closer to come to La Cruz and take care of it than to go all the way to Mazatlan. So hopefully they can get it fixed while they are here then make it up to Mazatlan in time for Carnival. Steve said that if it doesn’t get fixed in time they would take a bus to Mazatlan.

After checking in with the office at the Marina and talking to Steve and Marilyn, we went back to the boat and got our bath towels and shower gear and went to the La Cruz Yacht Club to use the showers. Wow….did the showers feel good! I took an extra long time just letting the hot water hit my face and the back of my shoulders.  I haven’t felt so clean and refreshed in a long time!

After our showers, we went up to a really nice outdoor Italian restaurant that overlooks the marina. The building was round and the roof was made out of Palm leaves. There were no windows and there was a nice breeze blowing through.  The food was incredible! We started off with Fried Calamari, which was so good especially because of the sauces that came with. For dinner, Rick had Fettuccini Alfredo with Shrimp and I had a delicious Spinach Salad with fried goat cheese, dried cranberries, pistachio nuts, tomatoes, and grilled chicken. I inhaled the salad and didn’t leave a trace behind. Rick pretty much did the same with his meal.  

Later last night we watched a movie and then went right to sleep. We were so tired from basically not sleeping the night before. And after a shower and a good meal we had no problem sleeping!

This morning I got up early while Rick remained asleep and have been working on the blog. I don’t like getting behind and before we get started with chores, checking in with the Port Captain and exploring the town, this morning is my only hope to get caught up!

We will be here for a week. Next stop is undetermined (That’s the life of a cruiser I guess).