Mazatlan Days

Our days have entered a pleasant pattern:  foggy mornings, sunny days, cool evenings.  Check daily for that weather window, take a bus ride to somewhere and wander the streets, find fresh veggies at the mercado and head home.    Maybe we leave on Wednesday; maybe.

But we have totally enjoyed the time here:  a busy town, a vibrant historic district, arts, color, and a malecon that stretches for miles.

Enjoy some of these scenes:

Easter Sunday at Punta Mita -- everyone enjoying the surf and sand

A band, well, because we need music

Wind and surf sculpted sandstone

Land HO!  Cape Haro Lighthouse.  We anchor to left in Old Harbor

Hitching a Ride!  This is motorcycle weekend in Mazatlan

Lovely colors

Rowing out to a boat in the Old Harbor.  Backwards with makeshift paddles.  

Shrimp market -- 1 Kilo for $8 USD.  FRESH

Rolling a panga in and up the beach -- check the log rolls

Long lines -- the curse of night crossings! and day crossings too!

Fish market direct from the pangeros

Painted building -- so many buildings have murals and paintings

Sculpture on the malecon

Looking for a day in the sun -- umbrella, boogie board and the breakfast of champions!

A Pulmonia is a local open air cab.  Note the lighthouse on sculpture.  Mazatlan favorites

A bike shop -- chock a block full of everything 

Making tamales

Motorcycles lined up at the mercado

 

All Days Cruising Are NOT Fun

We knew the slog from Punta Mita north to Mazatlan would be "one of those days."  We just hoped it would not end up in Capital Letters as one of THOSE days.  The winds and seas at this time of year come from the northwest; sometimes a bit of west.  And since that was our heading -- it is a slog.

We watched for a good window -- we wanted to make the 160 nautical mile jump to Mazatlan in a nonstop trip (coming down we took six days to cover the distance.)  And finally, we had a "not too bad" forecast:  nothing too strong--so off we went.

We left Punta Mita early on Monday about sunrise and rounded the point -- got a view of the new, exclusive homes on the west side -- and set our course north.  We had a nice thermal breeze off the land for a bit; then no wind; then afternoon winds.  Always the swell and with the wind, well, a bit more wave.

Now catamarans are good for many things, mostly level sailing, and a very comfortable platform for living on the hook.  But catamarans are not so good for slogging into sloppy, choppy swells.  BOOM as a wave hits the underdeck;  RATTLE and SHAKE as the boat vibrates.  BOOM BOOM.  Over and over.  Every boom drops your speed, then you pick it up again for a few minutes.  On and on.  Yeah, I'm complaining.  But the motion on a cat is quick and fast and you don't get used to it as the waves are irregular.  Neither of us was having any fun.  We just watched the miles go by.

All day we saw nothing -- no other sailboats, no pangas; no commercial traffic.  We passed Isla Isabella about sunset and then suddenly we had lots of friends on the radar.  All doing strange maneuvers and light patterns that I guarantee are not on approved lists!  Which way are they going?  How fast?  Who is crossing who?  How close?  And why don't they answer when we call on the radio?  Well, probably because they are a Mexican fishing boat and don't have time for gringo sailboats.

The moon eventually came up; the winds and seas moderated; and we were back on course for Mazatlan.  The morning sunrise was beautiful and finally we were treated to a ongoing show of marine sealife!  We had seen NOTHING in Banderas Bay so it had been weeks since whales, turtles, dolphins by the hundreds, stingrays were on display all around us.  It made the night seem like a bad dream and renewed our energy to keep cruising.

Well, until the fog.  Mazatlan?  Fog?  Back on with the lights and radar -- we had been in the harbor before so felt comfortable closing with the coast.  The fog did lighten about an hour before we arrived -- and that was when I asked the Captain:  "how come there is no water pressure?"  I was making guacamole for lunch and had a stack of dirty dishes.....oh well.  It is a cruising boat.

But all is well.  The fog lifted; the anchor dropped.  Handyman Al found a disconnected wire and soon showers were in order.  The boat got cleaned up; we had some lunch.  Shade awnings cover us to keep us cool.  Life is good.

A Day in Puerto Vallarta

We are anchored in Punta Mita - the northwest corner of Banderas Bay -- and in the far distance we can see the high rise hotels of Puerto Vallarta and watch the cruise ships come and go.  So we decided to hop on a bus and explore PV.

Since our visit 10 years ago the malecon (side walk along the water) has been greatly upgraded and the frontage road closed to traffic.  There were more sculptures, more sand art, actors, and food stalls.  And NO ONE selling timeshares.   Then we headed through the old part of town (we love those cobblestone streets and funky shops), found the cathedral, and one of the world's best vegetarian restaurants.   Then it was back on the bus for the 90 minute ride back to our sleepy fishing village & high end resorts.

This is Semana Santa (Easter Week) and the beaches are packed and the music goes all hours.  As I type this a not very good band is playing about 10 feet off.  Yikes they play with the volume UP.

A view of the Malecon

Decorated Pangas -- dozens all different

One of our favorites -- love those colors in everything!

A sand sculpture!

A street scene -- for a small tip you can be at the table too

Seahorse sculpture

PVs famous arches

The Cathedral in Old Town PV

Tile Art

Any one hungry?

Water front BBQ -- fish, shrimp, or lobster?

Delicious food -- buffet style

Ready to find the bus home

Spring Break in Mexico

What a great tradition -- spring break in Mexico!  This year Bryan joined us for some sun, sand, and tacos in Banderas Bay, site of Puerto Vallarta.  We cruised Silhouette here many years ago, so it was "old home" week in many ways.

For several days we anchored in La Cruz, a small, Mexican fishing village that is now home to the largest (and newest) marina in Mexico and many small, gringo oriented restaurants.   Despite the glitz of the marina and obvious new wealth in the town, the day to day rhythms of La Cruz had not changed.  It still took walking to 3 tiendas to find all our vegetables and both ice cream parlors have the same local treat.

Coinciding with Bryan's visit, the tourist board of Mexico (?) was hosting 2,500 travel agents to encourage them to support tourism in Mexico.  This annual event is normally held in Acapulco but was moved to Banderas Bay for the first time.  And the whole region was engaged in the preparations.  La Cruz was to host the opening night welcome/cocktail party!  Which  meant that the streets in town had to be paved (no rough cobblestones for those fancy buses), a newly planted town square, an entire entertainment venue by the marina, and police and officials EVERYWHERE.  The work seemed endless, but in true Mexican style if was all done hours before the agents arrived.  The fireworks and nightlight show were amazing!   And within a few hours of the end of the show...the venue had almost all been torn down.

We did spend an evening listening to many local musicians at a benefit called "A Taste of La Cruz."  In true gringo fashion, many local residents have put together a non-profit organization and raise money to support local schools, senior centers, and public works.  Some of the musicians (The Blond Gypsies) even were playing the same tunes as ten years ago!  Yikes.

After La Cruz, we headed out to the anchorage on the northwest corner of the Bay:  Punta Mita.  It is a "surfing" spot so, yes, there was a bit of southern swell.  Here we dove into water sports:  dinghy landing, kayaking, swimming, and standup paddle boarding (twice).  Oh yeah, and sitting in the palapa restaurant watching the surfers on break after break after break.

Too soon it was time for Bryan to fly north to rain and cold.  And of course, that day, a HUGE swell was running and the surfers were just right there off the bow!  So, I was having none of the captain's story that he could land us one at a time and no one would get wet.  I just waved down an incoming pangero...with his panga full of the night's catch...and in my best Spanish caught a ride to shore.  No problemo!  The swell was down the next day, the surfers have all left of other spots, Bryan is back and Davis.

We are waiting a few days for a window to slowly trek north for a few months in the Sea.

Wow!  I'm glad finals are over!!

Love the hammock life!

Refreshments in the town

Beautiful Huichol Indian bead work objects

La Cruz street scene

La Cruz street scene -- the drummer is about 6 years old!

Philo's Bar in La Cruz...Bryan did open mike night there 10 years ago!!

Yes, the travel agents will need a new road by Sunday night...and they got it.

Sunset music program

Kayaking ashore in Punta Mita

We all had a blast on stand up paddleboards

Plenty of places to eat and enjoy the sun and sand

Look!! They are both standing as they paddle over waves!

Bryan riding a wave in 

Alan riding a wave in 

Fresh seafood salad:  shrimp, octopus, scallop, and mussel

Looking out to the anchorage

At the airport and already making plans for next year in Mexico