Leaving San Blas

Well, we tried to depart from San Blas as planned but only got a short distance from the anchorage and began to loose engine power. This is NOT a good thing! However, we have resigned ourselves to the common occurance of misfortune and the mishaps that are so prevalent in cruising. After a while, it takes something really big to even register on the "this is a really bad thing" meter. In other words, you begin to take it all in stride. In this case, we were able to manuever the boat back to the anchorage where Barry began tearing into the engine. It didn´t take him long to determine that our fuel pump was malfunctioning. At that point, the question that loomed was "will we be able to purchase a new one in San Blas?¨" Thankfully, Barry was able to locate a store that did have them. It took him most of the next day to install one of the two he bought. Only one of them worked (he bought two so we´d have a spare) so he had to return to town to exchange the bad one. We could have left the following day but decided to stay for the last day of the week long San Blas Days annual celebration. Our friends on RDreamz were still in town so we hung with them. We are glad we stayed. We marched in the parade that honors the fishing and sea-faring vessels of the area and watched a very unique fireworks display that concluded the festivities. They build towers out of wood, bamboo and rope that have a variety of pinwheels incorporated into them. The towers are strung with fireworks and ignited at the base. The fuse works its way up the towers igniting new sections that launch the pinwheels into action. Each pinwheel is something different, i.e., a burro, a boot, a heart, the sun. Each new display generates sounds of approval and delight from the crowd. After the top section is finished it ignites a round disc that literally flies into the air above the on-lookers. This was a little unnerving at first, as you weren´t quite sure where this disc would end up. I had visions of it crashing down to the ground in the middle of the crowd! Actually though, it just disappeared in mid air. It was quite thrilling. This all takes place in the town square (every Mexican town has a town square which is really nice). We did not leave for another day because of rain. It rained off and on the last three days in San Blas.

Once the weather cleared we were on our way and had a good motor-sail to Punta de Mita which is the northern point of Banderas Bay where Puerta Vallarta is located. We had enough wind to sail but without the extra push from the engine would have arrived in the dark. We have a policy of planning our arrivals in daylight. During this sail I saw my first sea turtle. They are a common sighting but this was my first. Unfortunately, it was under the surface by the time I tried to point it out to Barry. Just outside the anchorage at Punta de Mita we passed a school of manta rays that were jumping out of the water. This was quite a sight. They would flap their wings like they were trying to fly. The anchorage was lovely with an 18-hole Jack Nichlos championship golf course that meandered from the point along the shore. It is attached to a four or five star hotel. The beach had several palapa restaurants to choose from. We went ashore for dinner the second night and left the next day for La Cruz. This is only an eight mile trip. We had a spectacular sail! So, now we are anchored in La Cruz. We arrived yesterday afternoon along with RDreamz and Dreamweaver. Many of the other cruisers we have met are here as well. We are exploring town today and just stopped to check email and post this update. So, stay tuned for more along with photos. We plan on being in La Cruz for awhile. We can catch a bus into Puerta Vallarta from here to do some provisioning at Walmart or Sams Club. We will do that tomorrow and also check out the marinas in PV. It would be nice to spend at least a few days in a marina to wash the boat and do some of the things you can´t at anchor.

That´s all for now . . . . Stacey