Cruising with Barry and Stacey: December 2005

Barra de Navidad to Zihuatanejo (Dec. 2 thru 20, 2005)

Well, we did indeed leave Barra de Navidad on December 2nd around 12:30 p.m. under clear skies and temperatures in the high 80’s. Once again, the wind was light and variable, which meant another motor-sail. We enjoyed calm seas and arrived at Playa de Santiago at 5:00 p.m.. We spent until December 7th anchored off a swim rock in 32-feet of water just off the beach. A local boy of about 19 years of age paddled out in his aluminum boat to say hello the day we arrived. He had his three younger sisters with him. He spoke a little English, but his siblings spoke none. So, between his few words of English and my few words of Spanish we had a nice visit. He told us that he lived right on the beach with his family and that they had a restaurant that served the best seafood around. After giving his sisters some goodies for their hair we said our good-byes and we promised to come to their restaurant. Later that day, we took the dinghy ashore and Oscar was there to meet us. He proudly escorted us down the beach a ways and up a flight of concrete steps to his families home/restaurant. There was a nice view of the bay from the covered eating area that served also as their common living area. Behind our table was an open, outdoor kitchen and to the side of that was an area that was probably their sleeping quarters. Sheets and blankets provided the walls and everything was dirt floor. There must have been four generations of family living there. We were welcomed with great warmth and they prepared a very nice sailfish fillet cooked in butter and garlic. We hadn’t tasted sailfish before. It was slightly tough and I don’t know if that’s the normal texture of that fish or if it was slightly over-cooked. It definitely was not the best meal we’ve had in Mexico, but we enjoyed rubbing elbows with this family who made us feel so welcome in their home.

That evening we had dinner aboard Blew Moon and I woke up with an upset stomach the next morning. By late afternoon, both Barry and I were violently ill with diarrhea, fever, chills, nausea and light-headedness. Neither of us had ever been so sick. At one point in the middle of the night as I was laying moaning on the settee in the main cabin (it was too miserable to be in the same bed because we were both drenched in sweat) I heard Barry get up to use the bathroom. After awhile I heard this very loud crash so I called out to him, but got no answer. I got myself up with what little strength I had, walked to the head and opened the door. I found Barry sprawled out on the floor moaning like he was in labor. I immediately surmised that he had fainted and I knew exactly how he was feeling because only minutes earlier I was burning up and felt like I was going to pass out. So, I did what any loving and devoted wife would, I tossed him a wet towel with the instructions to cool his body down with it, shut the door and weakly made my way back to my own prone position. Once we both were more coherent, he asked me to examine his head. I discovered that he had about an inch and a half long cut in the side of his head. Fortunately, Barry has a very hard head and a high pain threshold. The poor guy had dried blood in his hair and all over his pillow. Gradually over a twelve-hour period we both began to feel better. We laugh about it now, but it was a horrible experience and one that we hope to never repeat. We think that it was food poisoning from a jar of artichoke-spinach dip/sauce that I used as a pasta sauce. The vacuum seal probably was broken when the boat got so hot while in the boat yard. It sure wasn’t fun but it makes a good story!

We did eventually spent a couple days walking around the town of Santiago. On December 7th we moved Blew Moon a short distance around a point that divides Santiago Bay from Manzanillo Bay and anchored off the beach in front of the Las Hadas resort. This is the one where the movie “10” was filmed. You can tell it was once a magnificent place, but since it’s hay-day in the 1970’s it has been allowed to suffer a bit. Nonetheless, it was a beautiful place to anchor and spend a couple of days. I tested out our new (and might I say, very comfortable) inflatable water mat. Barry relaxed with a book. Directly across Manzanillo Bay from Las Hadas is the busy port city of Manzanillo. This is the largest port in all of Mexico. We rode the bus into Manzanillo one day and had a look around. Cruise ships visit this port so it did have a number of tourists the day of our visit, but the city is not nearly as “touristy” as many other ports like Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan.

After lazing on the beach and in the water for two days we left our lovely anchorage in front of Las Hadas at about 5:20 p.m. on December 9th. We motor-sailed to Maruata where we arrived around 9:30 on the morning of December 10th. We experienced lots of large ship activity in and out of Manzanillo harbor that kept both of us busy and alert on our respective night watches. We were traveling about three miles off-shore the whole way and sighted about six ships another two to four miles out during the night and early morning hours. I am so glad we have radar, because other vessels appear on our screen before they are visible to the naked eye. It can get a little tense when you know there’s a large ship out there and the radar is indicating that the distance between it and you is shrinking. With binoculars, you can determine the ship’s direction by finding their red and green running lights on the bow of the ship. If you can see both lights that means it’s coming directly at you and you’d better altar your course. If you can only see one or the other that tells you it’s traveling parallel with you, which is much less troublesome. Because the large ships travel at such high speeds (25 knots compared to our 5 knots) and they don’t have the same maneuverability as a small vessel, it is our responsibility to get out of their way. I am always glad to do just that!

We spent from December 10th through the 12th anchored off the beach in Maruata. The water was beautiful, crystal-clear and warm (mid 80’s). Barry spent time with a mask and snorkel cleaning the bottom of the boat. It is becoming more of a necessity to spend time in the water because the day-time temperatures are in the 90’s and it only cools down to around 80 at night. It sometimes dips to the high 70’s in the wee hours of the morning. We sleep with absolutely no covers and usually with a fan on. In short, IT IS HOT! This is a personal challenge for me since I’m in that season of life and seem to be perpetually hot. (Sorry about that fellas; I know, TMI!)

Maruata is basically a seaside campground with lovely beaches and some neat sea caves. One of the other cruisers aptly referred to it as a Mexican K.O.A.. Just off the beach there were a couple of restaurants and one very small tienda (store). Walking short distance off the beach we came upon two pigs tied to a tree; probably on next week’s menu! There was an ice cream van driving around so we stopped him and had some refreshing lime ice cream. There was a pond, of sorts, with some cattle grazing around it in some beautiful green grass. Not much here except the campground, but it was a lovely spot to visit for a few days.

On December 12th we left Maruata about 8:00 a.m. and motor-sailed to Caleta de Campos where we dropped anchor about 2:30 p.m.. Upon arrival into the anchorage right off the beach we noticed two military boats with young men holding automatic weapons. They were anchored along with the other 5 or 6 boats during the day and at night would go out on patrol. We heard from one of the locals that the area is known for drug and arms traffic. This is the first place we’ve seen any military presence in a small town and especially in the anchorage. The day we arrived in this town they were celebrating the Feast of the Virgin of Guadalupe, honoring Mexico’s patron saint. There was a big carnival with rides and they lit off a huge fireworks tower at 10 p.m.. The Mexican people love to party and they do it until the wee hours of the morning! The other noteworthy thing about this town is the large Caballerro (Cowboys/ranchers) population. I’ve never seen so many cowboy hats in one place (all white, I may add)! Several times I saw a cowboy riding his horse on the beach. I did get one photo, but it didn’t turn out well enough to put on the blog. I’m sure we’ll be seeing more. We enjoyed our time exploring the town of Caleta de Campos, walking on the beach, spending time in the water and sharing some meals with some of the other cruisers we’ve met along the way. Since leaving Nuevo Vallarta mid November, we have already met many wonderful people. Many of them are on their way to Costa Rica, so we’ll have good company the entire way there. That’s a real blessing.

We’ve taken to rowing our dinghy, which is a great form of exercise for us. So, between that, our walks on shore and our time in the water maybe we can get more physically fit. We always have our mask, snorkel and fins at hand now since the water has been so comfortable and clean. Getting in the water is sometimes the only relief from the constant ninety degree daytime temperatures.

On December 15th, we pulled up our anchor and headed for our Christmas destination of Zihuatanejo in the state of Guerrero. About a mile out from the anchorage we had a serendipitous experience. Just off our starboard beam (right side, mid ship) a very good- sized whale jumped clear out of the water. It was awesome! We were able to maintain sight of it for a few minutes and watched it slap its side fin on the water’s surface. Then it starting traveling parallel with us, between Blew Moon and the shore. We would see it occasionally surface or it would shoot water into the air through it’s blow hole. What a thrilling experience! We also had several pods of dolphin come alongside us to frolic in our bow wake. That we did get photos of!

It took about fourteen hours to get to Zihuatanejo. Again, we left about 5:00 p.m. and arrived about 7:30 the following morning. So far, we are very impressed with what we’ve seen of Zihuatanejo. We even found an English speaking non-denominational church service to attend on Sundays. We went last Sunday and met some great people. The church is having Christmas Eve and Christmas day services with some other activities, as well. One of the couples we met at the Sunday service invited us to spend Christmas day at their home and swim in their pool (I bet it’s hard for many of you readers to imagine that as a Christmas day activity!). They live about six miles from Ziwhat in the town of Ixtapa where there is a Club Med, lots of resorts and a marina. So, even though we won’t be with family (we miss you guys) I am happy that we have some nice people to spend that special day with.

I’ll write more after Christmas and New Years to give a report on our experiences in Ixtapa and Zihuatanejo. Of course, there’ll be pictures, too! We both wish everyone a blessed Christmas.

Until next time . . . Stacey