Cruising Season #2 Begins (November 2005)
La Cruz Huanacaxtle to Barra de Navidad (154 nautical miles S.E.)
I can’t tell you what a relief it was to finally leave the marina at Paradise Village Resort! On November 16th we traveled about 6 miles to La Cruz and anchored off the beach for about six days. This is a spot in the northern part of Banderas Bay that we spent quite a bit of time in last cruising season. It is a good "jumping-off" point for leaving the bay southbound around the cape (Cabo Corrientas). It is a favorite cruiser hangout and there is a huge area to anchor your boat for free. However, times change (even in Mexico). What some people would call progress is coming to this sleepy little fishing town. Investors are trucking in dirt and rocks to extend the shoreline outward. What are for the moment beachfront homes, will be 1 or 2 streets off the beach when this development is complete. Also, the beach where everyone landed their dinghies will be gone as well. The bulldozer was working furiously the whole time we were there. If we ever make it back to La Cruz the shoreline will look completely different. There will be a Malecon (main beachfront road) with restaurants, hotels and shops. The free anchorage will be gobbled up by a new 350-slip marina. It’s really quite sad. The poor local fishermen are losing a large amount of shoreline where they launch and land their fishing pangas. We hear that soon they will be charged for using the area. I feel real bad for them but maybe there will be benefits to them that I’m not aware of.
We left La Cruz at 8:40 a.m. on Monday, November 21st and arrived safely at the lagoon in Barra the following morning at 9:00 a.m.. Barra is the furthest point south that we made it to last season before heading back up to the Puerto Vallarta area. It is also the place where Barry and I got hooked on the French baker’s almond croissants. Fortunately for my already expanding waistline, he is moving his bakery to a new location in town and won’t be open for business for at least a few days. I’m actually hoping he doesn’t open before we leave the area!
The winds were light and variable throughout our passage so, like many times before, we motor-sailed the whole way. We had calm seas, gentle breezes, warm sunshine and lots of sea life. We saw an abundance of sea turtles, a couple pods of dolphin (one of which came and swam in our bow wake for a couple of minutes), more butterflies than you would expect to see 3-miles offshore and lots of birds. One thing different than what we had seen so far was the presence of birds perched on the backs of many of the floating turtles. It looked quite humorous!
All in all, this was my best passage since leaving San Diego last December. I felt great during my night watches and had lots of energy when we anchored after 24 ½ hours at sea. Usually, I collapse upon arrival from not getting my normal 8-9 hours of uninterrupted sleep. I don’t know if it was adrenaline or what!?
There are 3 other sailboats anchored with us in the huge lagoon. One of them is Dreamweaver who we spent most of last season with, At Last is a boat that we met at the marina before we left and Creola is a couple we just met here. On Thanksgiving we had dinner with Dreamweaver. I even baked a pumpkin pie! That was the only part of our day that felt anything like Thanksgiving. Our meal with Rick and Judith was Mexican fare in a restaurant. Not to mention, that Rick is English and Judith a New Zealander, so Thanksgiving is not a holiday for them (although I’m sure they celebrated it with friends back in the states).
The day after Thanksgiving we went for a 3-mile hike on the beach with Dreamweaver and Creola. It was quite a workout for my out of shape body. Along the way Barry spotted a seahorse that had obviously washed up on the shore. So, the highlight of our walk was rescuing this seahorse and delivering him back to the ocean. An empty 2-liter soda bottle which Barry cut the top off of became his temporary aquarium. Once we filled it with seawater and placed a stick in it for him to hold onto with his tail, he perked up nicely. As we walked along the beach he became a show-piece. All the local people wanted a look at this magnificent creature from the sea. After having lunch at a palapa on the beach we continued to the far end where the surf was gentler and released our little Caballo del Mar (horse of the sea). Hopefully, he will do well back where he belongs.
We intend to leave Barra on Dec. 1. We are anxious to move further southeast along Mexico’s Gold Coast, seeing new sights and experiencing whatever God has in store for us. We plan to spend Christmas in Zihuatanejo, which is about 190 miles from Barra. There are many places in-between to visit, also. Once we’ve left Barra we will go about 20 miles to Bahia Santiago (a day sail), then on to Las Hadas which is only about another 7 miles south. There is a famous resort in Las Hadas where the movie "10" with Bo Derek and Dudley Moore was filmed. One of our cruising guides describes the resort as "a warren of white villas with red tile roofs and imaginative spires built on a hillside overlooking the bay. The famous architect was inspired by a much-loved Moorish fairytale called ‘The Fairies’ or Las Hadas." There is a marina at the foot of it as well as areas outside the marina to anchor. The busy port city of Manzanillo lies just across the 7-mile wide Bahia Manzanillo. From there we intend to sail 78 miles (about a 15-hour trip) to Maruata, then to Caleta de Campos which is another 40 miles and finally on to Zihuatanejo which is another 72 miles further yet. Ziwat or Z-town, as cruisers fondly refer to it, became a hot sportfishing destination largely by the writings of the novelist Zane Gray in the 1930’s. We are looking forward to spending some time there exploring the sights. It is said to be a symbiotic blending of sleepy Mexican town and tourist destination with luxury hotels and time-share villas. The area is surrounded by wooded hillsides. Sounds great to me! The Shawshank Redemption is a favorite movie of mine. If you’ve seen it, maybe you recall that at the end Tim Robbins heads to Ziuatanejo with the loot to start a new life. Once we leave Ziwat, our next destination will be Acapulco, which lies about 110 miles southeast of Ziwat. So, we think we’ll be in Acapulco sometime in January. We are not sure if we’ll spend the New Year in Ziwat or Acapulco. That’s the great thing about this lifestyle; you’re not tied to a calendar.
If anyone wants to join us along the way there are convenient flights into the inter-national airport at Manzanillo and I think Ixtapa (right next to Ziuatanejo) has an airport, and of course Acapulco. We’ve trimmed down what’s aboard so we could actually accommodate two visitors as long as you don’t mind cramped quarters. If you prefer your own space there are lots of accommodations to choose from in the Manzanillo, Ixtapa/Ziuatanejo and Acapulco areas. Just let us know if there is a spot you’d like to rendezvous with us and we’ll give you some dates. You can pick the date or the place, but not both (it’s a cruising rule we are adopting J .)
I hope all is well with you . . . Stacey
posted by Stacey at 3:48 PM
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