January thru March 2-Barra to Chacala

Blog 3-2-08

It has been so long since the last posting-Partly because I am a GREAT procrastinator ; and I really wonder what anybody wants to hear about. I remember reading a blog written by cruising friends, and, honestly I got sick of hearing of every detail! It is difficult to know where to start and what to include. By the way, is anyone reading the blog??? If so, is there any thing particular that you would like to have included. Any feed back can be sent to our email.

We are now in a quiet small village, Chacala, about 46 miles north of Puerto Vallarta-we have spent 2 nights here, sharing the anchorage with only a few other boats. We have had very successful dinghy landings thru a large surf. It seems that the gringos are especially interested in this cruising thing. We met 2 nice couples, one from Edmonton Canada and another from Seattle. This beach was busy with local Mexicans enjoying their weekend with fun in the water, LOUD music, vendors selling ice cream and the usual jewelry and misc. stuff. We sat at a palapa, drank cerveza and bought stuff that we probably don't need. After we bought the stuff we had the challenge of the dinghy ride thru the surf back to the boat. Luckily this was a good day of surf riding-unlike another day when we offered friends a ride to shore and we all arrived dripping wet!! One thing I have learned is that you do not leave the boat in a dinghy and expect to stay dry! This is especially irritating when you are going to dinner! All I can say, is that it is a good thing that restaurants are palapas on the beach with plastic chairs. It is interesting how time is consumed so differently and priorities are so different then those on land. The bottom of "our floating home" must be cleaned on a regular basis-algae and barnacles collect quickly in warm water. Terry is now cleaning the bottom of the boat with the use of a “hookah rig” and generator. This isn’t really his favorite part of cruising, but, a necessary part! We plan to leave this anchorage tomorrow early morning and will get to Mazatlan in approx 30 hours later.

The most recent excitement was the incredible viewing of about 4 whales, one was a baby and we watched it breach over and over!!! I was able to capture much of it on video.

To fill you in since the last blog: We spent New Years in a beautiful little anchorage called Carizol near Santiago Bay with 6 other cruising boats-Kayaking was great in this area and Tiffany (from the boat Blue Plains Drifter) and I had a great time kayaking, swimming and snorkeling. After a few days in Santiago Bay, we headed back to Barra de Navidad. I flew home for two weeks to visit family and friends and work ONE day. I certainly can’t complain about that.. My friends and supervisor at work are all so supportive and interested in our adventures. I realize how fortunate we are to have this opportunity to be enjoying the beautiful scenery as we sail thru the waters of Mexico. It felt good to be home. It was nice to NOT have the language barrier and the familiar feeling of HOME. Even though we really don’t have a house! I stayed with Rena in the dorm for a few days and with Bill and Jan and Karen. My brother in law gets the “good guy” award-He had my car detailed - spotlessly cleaned inside and out. This was a treat to drive a car, and a clean car at that! Considering that I had stuff from moving up to the property, stuff that I thought I would take sailing but changed my mind at the last minute. So, Bud being the nice guy, had all of this junk packed neatly into plastic bags! Upon my return to Puerto Vallarta, I stayed one night at a hotel before leaving on a bus for the 4 hour trip back to Barra de Navidad. I was met at the bus station by Terry and Bill from the boat Miela. It was a little tough with the suitcases on the uneven cobblestone streets-but, it felt good to be back to the warmth and comfort of our floating home. Terry was busy while I was gone, he studied and took his ham license (passed with 100%) pretty impressive since he was sick for a 24 hour period before the test. He was so excited he took off in the dinghy and lost his wallet (he believes that it sits on the bottom of the barra lagoon) We purchased a Pactor modem which provides a way to connect via SSB radio to transmit and recieve email! This should be a great way to keep in touch while we are away from internet in the sea of cortez.