15 December 2000
It is December 15 and we are at anchor at Punta de Mita a beautiful anchorage at the entrance to Bahia de Banderas. Puerto Vallarta is at the head of this huge bay about 20 miles from Punta de Mita. The bay is also about 20 miles across. During the day you would not know that Puerto Vallarta is there, but you can see it’s lights and the glow in the sky at night. We are finally on the mainland of Mexico!! And being further south the water is finally warmer which is nice as the Sea of Cortez was a bit chilly for snorkeling, but we managed.
We had a wonderful week and a half exploring some of the islands north of La Paz in the Sea of Cortez with another boat, Scalawag (Transpac 49), a very nice family from Edmonton that we met on the Baja Ha-Ha with boys that are 8 and 10 years old (Keith, Kelly, Kyle and Kris). It was fun to have another boat to travel with and the boys were a great addition and gave us another perspective on our adventures.
The scenery here is spectacular, it is almost like sailing in the American Southwest as the topography is very much the same -- rugged peaks, wonderful multi-colored layers of earth, red rocks, etc. We would generally spend half a day traveling from one anchorage to another, usually leaving early in the morning, then spend two nights at each anchorage. This was a nice pace to be able to enjoy each anchorage and the things to do there plus be able to manage to get a few boat projects done, although to really get any bigger projects done we would have needed at least three nights at each anchorage.
The farthest north we got was Agua Verde which is about 90 miles north of La Paz. We stopped at Caleta Partida (between Espiritu Santo and Isla Partida), Isla San Francicso, Puerto Los Gatos, Agua Verde, and Punta San Evaristo. Isla San Francisco was our favorite and we spent a third night there on our return trip, but each location was very unique and different giving us great varitey. Isla San Francisco had a beautiful crescent beach with lots of small shells, a variety of trails to hike, several snorkeling spots and an open view to the Baja Peninsula side that had great multi-colored peaks that were shown magnificently in the morning light and provided a great rugged peak back drop for sunsets. There were some no-see-ums on the beach at sunset but most people were safe as they always tend to find Suzette the tastiest. We would have loved to spend more time exploring this area but our schedule dictated that we must move on.
Paul caught a large tuna on the way into Los Gatos, the tuna was on the line when we went to pull it in to get ready to anchor. We think he was about a 25 pound yellow fin. As we were ready to anchor, we tied him along side the boat and then took him to shore to kill and cut into steaks. It was nice to be able to keep all of the fish blood and guts off the boat. We had a BBQ on the beach that night with our friends on Scalawag, cooked some extra tuna along with the defrosted dorado Scalawag had given us and we were planning to have for dinner that night, plus froze three huge steaks. Fresh grilled tuna makes excellent tuna sandwiches! The next night we were able to get some local langonstina from a local fisherman and had a feast on Scalawag before going into the beach for a beach fire. So the seafood has been pretty good but we need to fish more to get our price per pound down due to the cost of the Mexican fishing licenses.
We have discovered that as cactus age, they form a wood inside, which is very strange to see when part of the cactus is still green, prickly and alive and part has turned to wood. But it was a great source of wood for our beach fire on two nights. We also found some prickly pear fruit on some of the cactus and introduced it to Scalawag and friends on two other boats. The fruit is a deep, bright red and has lots of small black seeds. Very dramatic in appearance.
We have seen rays jumping out of the water, lots of porpoises, whales and various fish jumping out of the water. One night at anchor we saw a school of small bait fish jumping out of the water, several times and we figured someone was after them. The third time they jumped out a small dorado (mahi mahi) jumped out after them. He was perfectly oriented so that we could see him side on in all of his great splendor of color.
After a quick trip back to La Paz for groceries, fuel and laundry we set off for the mainland. On the way across, we stopped at Isla Isabela which is a nesting grounds for frigate birds, blue- and yellow-footed boobies, terns and gulls. Also there are a number of iguanas. The boobie chicks are almost full sized while they still have their white chick down and no feathers yet and they look a bit odd standing next to their parents and being the same size. One of the most amazing things that we saw was a mother yellow-footed boobie feeding her juvenile off spring. He (or she) pecked at the mother’s beak, then started to put his head down her throat, stopped, started again, put his head way down her throat and she gave up a fish about 8 inches long that he then swallowed!!! All the while frigate birds were circling around harassing them in the hope they would drop the fish during the exchange!!!! We also saw a number of the boobies do their dance, slowly strutting from foot to foot, then lowering their head and raising their wings in a v-shape. Each afternoon here we would see whales that seemed to be circling the island coming out of the water to breath and then showing us their tails. It was great to watch these giant, gentle mammals.
In Mexico you must check in and out with Immigration and the Port Captain in each larger city that you go to (it La Paz, Puerto Vallarta, etc). We have discovered that you can generally check in and out at the same time thereby saving ourselves a second trip to check out when we are ready to leave. It is a nice way to get to see each city as Immigration and the Port Captain are generally at opposite ends of town for some unknown reason. You fill out a form (actually five copies) stating where you are coming from, who is on the boat and where you are going to next. Everyone keeps their copies and you get a copy plus one to turn in at the next port you go to.
Most mornings we listen to the Chubasco Ham Radio Net at 0830. They start out by asking for any emergency or priority traffic (messages), give the weather for most of the coastal areas of Mexico and then give traffic coming down from the States, traffic going up etc. We do not have our HAM licenses yet but can listen. Each larger city, like La Paz and Puerto Vallarta also have a local net each morning on VHF radio. They also start by asking for emergency and priority traffic; then give the local weather; tides and currents if necessary; the marinas and other appropriate services announce if they mail, faxes or packages for any boats; people make announcements about local happenings, meetings or events; boats announce if they have just gotten in, what their plans are or if they are leaving; next is swaps and trades when people can announce if they need anything or have anything that they would like to get rid of; you can also ask if you need to find anything or need a service and other cruisers will offer their assistance. It really makes you feel like you are part of a community and an easy way to get out a lot of information within a short period of time.
Shopping has been pretty good and plentiful so far in terms of groceries and other items that we have wanted. There are a few things that we have asked Paul’s parents to bring down with them to Puerto Vallarta, but they are more special treats, luxury items, or favorite brands. At times we have been amazed at what we have been able to find here in the grocery stores. It was a bit strange to hear Christmas carols in the grocery store the day before Thanksgiving, all of your favorites like White Christmas etc, but all in Sapanish. In La Paz we would buy our eggs, fruit and vegetables from Martin a local vendor who had a truck right outside of the gates of Marina de La Paz. He was a wonderful, friendly man and would tally your bill up in his head as you picked out what you wanted, give you the total, then throw in several extra items at no extra charge. It was in this way that we got our first chili peppers and we are enjoying them immensely. We had wanted to buy some but were not quite sure what to do with them, so Martin gave us the perfect opportunity to just experiement.
This coming week will be a bit different as we will be in a marina while Paul’s parents are in town. It will be nice to be at a dock and be able to get dressed to go out for the evening and not have to wonder if you will make it to shore completely dry during the dinghy ride and landing. We have been doing okay do far but you do tend to wear more casual cloths (quick dry shorts) and tevas in case it’s a rock landing. It will also be a treat to be able to take real showers ever day!! It’s the little things that you come to appreciate.
This morning was fun as we went to town to make some phone calls and then stopped at a palapa (beach restaurant) for a beer and ended up doing some Christmas shopping as well. As we drank our 8 peso beers (about 80 cents) various beach vendors would wander by offering sundresses, shirts, painted pottery, bracelets and necklaces, sun glasses, blankets, rugs, to braid your hair with beads, and whatever else. If you were interested in something you would barter and check someone off the list. Now this is the way to Christmas shop! We said "No Gracis" mostly but tried to check out what ever they had as they passed by to get ideas. You don’t really want to express any kind of interest unless you are interested in buying or it can be challenging to get the vendor to move on.
After our week in Puerto Vallarta we will work our way down the coast and hope to be in Zihuatanejo for New Years. This area of the mainland coast is supposed to be a wonderful cruising ground so we may give it a bit more time. We will see.
We would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and offer our best wishes for a wonderful New Year.
Paul and Suzette