Log 4: Puerto Vallarta to Mazatlan
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March 3-15 La Cruz |
Time to "rough it". After spending time in Puerto Vallarta at Paradise Village, it was time to anchor out. Too many amenities can be dangerous! So we spent some fun time with Sparrow, Reverie and King's X, taking inland bus trips, enjoying Flamenco guitarists during dinner and even a day sail!. Got some great recipes in trade for Nonni Musumeci's Tamale Pie--a big hit. |
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March 16-April 16 Puerto Vallarta (Marina Vallarta) |
A visit from Nora and Wayne allowed us to tour inland a bit as well as take them out on an overnight anchorage. We drove north one day to view places like Jaltembe and San Francisco beach from a different perspecitve; another day we went south and inland to El Tuito and lunch worthy of a landscape painting at the Alta Mira restaurant. (Thanks to Rebecca's efforts combined with Nora's skill & persistence, you can view these scenes on the photos page.) |
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April 20-27 Matanchen Bay (via Pta. de Mita & Chacala) |
Our last stop in Banderas Bay, Punta de Mita, was lonely without the whales, but a wonderful opportunity to have dinner on Awestruck before they depart for the Marquesas. Mostly motoring, we journeyed back to Chacala, a sleepy little village in February but a hustling, tent-filled, boom-box town during Easter break! A hike to the volcano gave us a panoramic view, some much-needed exercise and a chance to spend some fun time with Synergy & Also II. One day we hitched a ride into a town named Las Varas with the chicken-delivery truck, bought a local fruit named "yacca" and returned in a "collective" van stuffed with humanity. Returning to the boat with our treasure, we wondered at this "yacca" phenomenon--a fruit that looks like a combination of tropical pieces, seems unlikely to yield any edible parts and oozes a white gluey substance that "Goof-Off" wouldn't even remove. The smell alone almost warranted calling the exterminator--overboard it went as we headed for San Blas. Once again, arrival at Matanchen Bay was accompanied by a breath-taking lavendar sunset amidst a silence that we could never achieve on land. We stayed at anchor, got our tortilla, coconut and banana bread fix, visited with Norm & Jan, and rebuilt our Spectra water-maker (used the wrong cleaning agent!!) But the extra days brought us new friends from Lycka and other boats heading north. |
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April 28-May 3 Mazatlan |
A really fun sail to Mazatlan with Lycka, Sylvia, Kelmar,
Synergy and Also II spreading out along the coastline for the overnight
run. Lycka and Gemini appeared to "have the edge" as they
pulled slightly ahead, but it turned out to be the old tortoise & hare
story. The fog-choked entrance to Mazatlan had us all sailing in circles
from about 7 a.m. to 10 a.m., so everybody arrived together! We caught a
delicious bonita while waiting and were greeted by Emeryville buddies Loup de
Mer and Nanjo, so ended on a happy note. Dinner with them was a joy and
gave us a memorable quote from Burk. After the first-mates were
complaining about feeling so incompetent about the simplest things that
skippers seemed to figure out with ease, Burk said "We were just dumber
younger." Wow!
While in Mazatlan, we got a chance to spend time with Dream Weaver, including a guided tour of the fish vendors, the tupperware headquarters and a nice birthday dinner for Les. Toby and Les discussed the ceremonial aspect of having forms approved, stamped and signed by the various Port Authorities, Immigration officials and Customs officers in Mexico. Many boaters (including Gemini) even have their own stamps to complete the transactions. Toby summed it all up by saying we all have "stamp envy". Another wonderful surprise to catch up with Juandra again and enjoy Joan's delicious cooking and Murray's killer Marguaritas. (You've been warned!) |
Coming Soon: For more pictures, see photos4).
Gemini in Marina Vallarta--can you find us??? (Hint: We're clickable!)
A car trip north to get a bird's eye view of Jaltembe.
...and a different perspective from the water for Wayne & Nora.
Life is good as we say "Goodbye" to Burk & Marsha & also to Puerto Vallarta.
Escape to the La Cruz anchorage, enjoying a day sail
with friends from Sparrow, Reverie and King's X.
At Chacala - - a look up at the volcano
prior to victory at the peak with friends from Synergy & Also II.
In the village of Chacala, a machete is the tool of choice for coconuts.
Later that same day - - A gorgeous sunset for Synergy,
& a peek at Gemini through tropical leaves from atop the volcano.
During the hike, enchanting trees with twisted vines captured our imagination.
We shared the journey to Mazatlan
with fun folks like Marty and Earl on Kelmar, Bill & Laurel on Lycka,
& arrived in Mazatlan to be greeted by friends from Emeryville!
Every cruiser's dream: clean laundry!
(See photos4 for more pictures on leg 4-Puerto Vallarta to Mazatlan)
Go to Leg 5 -- Mazatlan to Bay of La Paz
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