Perula 2

Lunch at beach palapa

Jan 27 2013

Great day! We snorkeled in the morning near the rocks at Playa Perula. This is some of the best diving we've had, except maybe our favorite snorkeling was at Isa Isabela. The visibility was maybe 30 ft.  Not great, but not bad, either. We saw some spectacular wildlife! We saw the biggest blue moray eel I'd  ever seen! It was so big, maybe 1 ft in diameter, don't know how long, but we saw enough to stay well away.  It even scared Capt. Juan! He thought he'd drop a rock on it to scare it, but as we were above his den and he moved a little as we swam over, he decided to leave well enough alone! We saw lots of beautiful colored fish, green and fan corals, a black sea snake and even had those little "pickers"fish come by and pick at your body...creepy! Beautiful rocks and water. Wish I had an underwater camera!

Back to town for supplies and lunch at the beach palapa. I wish I knew the name to recommend it, but it's on the same street on the beach front from the Scuba Jazz Cafe... anyway, we both had great shrimp vera cruz, while watching whole families arrive for a Sunday afternoon at the beach at this locals favorite restaurant.

Thatched interior with wooden burl tables

 Camerones con Vera cruz

Next we stopped by the cervezaria for supplies.... and wheeled it back to the boat. We stopped to talk for an hour with a couple of scuba divers, Keith and Fox, who had just finished diving the island Isla Pajarera here in Bahia Chamela. They said "you should've been here in December...80ft visibility!" Wow. These two are repeat vacationers from Denton island in British Columbia and who have been  traveling and diving all over. Fox had sailed in past years to the South Pacific and New Zealand, so we had to hear his stories!

Happy Capt. Juan with his supplies

We've decided we have seen all there is to see here in Perula and are preparing to depart this afternoon for the overnight passage up the coast and around Pt. Cabo Corriantes. 

Wish us fair winds!

A day in Perula

...

Playa Perula 

WHAT did we do today? Explored coves by dingy, walked the beach awhile, walked into town to the plaza,  meet some people along the way, had lunch, bought some groceries, enjoyed a cold beer at beach palapa, back to boat, read awhile, cold beer, watch the sunset, have dinner and bedtime at 8:00pm.  That's pretty much what we did today...and do everyday.

Exploring coves near Perula

My  "chauffeur"...

Unique boutique home

Beach front bungalows

We do have plenty of time on our hands. We don't have a schedule. We are on our own pace. We meet other boats as they come and go, but everyone has their own rythmn and pace of travel. It's very personal. We wake up in the morning and say"what do you want to do today?" 

Plaza in Perula

We notice our "energy level" is slowing down. We don't jump into the waves and go "boogie boarding" like we used to. We sit a lot more and watch more...are we getting old? Is this the "rocking chair on the porch" syndrome?  Or I should say "the rocking chair in the cockpit?"  I guess we are headed that way... 

Artwork for sale in Perula

Wizard in Perula

...and back to the "rocking chair"...

Bahia Chamela

Beautiful waters of Bahia Chamela

Jan 24 2013

We are anchored in a large bay of Chamela off the beach near the town of Perula. This is the last good anchorage before rounding Pt. Cabo Corrientes heading north to Banderas Bay.  Several boats are here already- we drop in for a visit with  ex- Baja'ers, Paul and Janet Baker on S/V Talos 4, who are sailing south....we catch up on all the Baja fleet news. We both agree it was great to have made relationships with other cruisers from the Baja Rally. It makes for a deeper connection because we share commonalities on the journey. We all decide to dingy ashore to explore...we pick up another cruiser, Don, on S/V Distraction. All five of us are going to "virgin land" on an unfamiliar beach break! What could go wrong?... Nothing. Easy landing, plus Capt. Juan has "mastered the art of dingy landing" as taught by his mentor, Rob on Shindig.  Plus, having five bodies to help pull the dingy up the beach is great!

Perula palapas

We walk a few blocks to the tienda (market) for basics, TP and beer! Oh, and they have granola, plus other fresh things...we stock up.  Back at the beach, we plop down at a friendly beach palapa for lunch and watch the beautiful beach breaking "tube" in emerald green-blue curls!

"Mom  and Pop" abarrotes (grocery store)

Dive shop and Cafe

Jazz cafe

 We eat at the Scuba Jazz Cafe...it's the BEST so far! French/Canadian/ Mexican all in one!

Vegetarian Omelet...yumm!

Vagabundo Hotel

Hey, look...there's a Vagabundo Hotel!

For those who have read the adventures of the "Vagabundos, about a 1930's couple who traveled by canoe down the Mexican coast, we laugh when we see this hotel in town.  We're going to call ourselves the "Wizardos" traveling on the Wizard! Ha Ha. 

We meet other boat neighbors, Uncle Joel and Micah, his niece, on S/V Companera as they swim by on their way to the beach. The shore break is too much for them, so they swim in. On the way, Micah got stung by a ray! She felt it but didn't pay attention until later when the pain was excruciating!

 I suggested she ask the local palapa owner if he had a remedy, maybe ammonia from his cleaning supplies? We have heard that ammonia or urine will neutralize the poisons.  Well, they DO  have a remedy...it's a ground cover that grows on the beach...

"Sting Ray" plant used as remedy for stings grows on the beach

they boil the plant to release a milky solution to then hot compress on the wound and sock in hot water for 2 hours. The hot compress breaks down the proteins. Micah did as instructed and her pain went away! The palapa people were very generous in sharing and helping this wounded girl. Guess this injury is common here. I was very impressed by their friendliness.

Fishing pangas

We spent a serious "hobbyhorse" day with Wizard bouncing up and down while we watched from the beach.- a south swell with winds interrupted our quiet anchorage! We were glad our ground tackle was heavy and held, but in the morning we picked up anchor and moved  further  off shore out for safety. Two shrimp boats came into the bay last night...maybe to ride that swell out, too? or just for R&R.

Walking the beach at Perula

Perula is a quiet little gem of a place, far away, maybe 80 miles by car from busy Puerto Vallarta? It's not "discovered" yet, though, there are several RV parks and we met a couple from Marin, who have a three year lease on a bungalow. She says "shhhh" don't tell anyone!

 The night was calm after the winds died down. We slept great.

Northbound

Private castle on the cliffs near Careyes

January 22, 2013

We departed La Manzanilla, heading northbound for Bahia Careyes.  We see amazing structures along the way on the cliffs. Careyes is a private enclave of bizarre little cluster condos and brightly colored mega-mansions overlooking a steep bay. The setting was awesome, but the narrow anchorage with swells and rocks left no room  to anchor and we felt it would not be a comfortable stay.

...follow the yellow brick road...down to the beach!

Unique homes on the cliffs

Brightly colored condos in Careyes

Bizarre teacup structure...a home or alien spaceship?

Playa Paraiso and private resort

We move on towards another recommended anchorage, Paraiso....

Morning calm in Paraiso

There are two other boats here first. We must negotiate a spot between these first boats. There is a west well coming into the bay, which makes this a challenging anchorage for the night. This place is remote  with white sands beach lined in coconut palms, green/blue water and breaking surf and “blow holes” rocks on both sides of a narrow bay.

There is a boutique hotel on the beach and I see a few people wandering the picturesque grounds. I wonder how people find these out-of-the-way-places?
We set out the anchor two times and it drags over rocks before it catches in sand. This process takes time in this narrow bay with two other boats to navigate in between.
The swell comes into this bay and bounces off each rocky side, which then deflects the swell sideways into our boat.  This created the rolly motion.
Next, we need to set the stern anchor. Get the dingy into the water. We use a halyard line on the mast and winch up the dingy from our foredeck and plop it over the boat’s railing into the water. Next, we use the same line to winch up the outboard motor up, over and down into dinghy. Secure, Gas jerry jug . Attach.

Setting the stern anchor with dingy

Ok, now lift the stern anchor with chain into the dingy and motor out to a spot to drop. Next winch in excess rode which pulls the stern (rear end) of boat into swells. This positioning of the boat into the swells helps with the side-to-side “roll” motion.

The "flopper-stoppers"

This shows the flopper-stoppers in action underwater

Ok, now we set out the “flopper stoppers”. What are those, you say? These are plastic Mexican hat shaped "thingies" evenly spaced on a line, then dropped over each side of the boat and used to displace the boat’s roll as the surge passes through these…buffers the side to side roll. We think it helps.   All in the name of a good night’s sleep!

Is it “anchor down” time? NO…not yet…one more chore…check the anchors…

Dive the anchor...beautiful!

I volunteer because Capt. Juan has pretty much “muscled” everything else in this anchoring process…so, into the beautiful green-blue waters I go with snorkel. But, it’s not clear1 the visibility is milky because of the surge. I have to follow the rope down by hand into the depths…13ft(I know, it’s a shallow anchorage) to confirm that the anchor has grabbed in the sandy bottom….Yes, all good. Nothing but clear white sand bottom with a passing “porcupine” fish swimming by.
Ok…Anchor down time? Our neighboring boats both paddle over to welcome us.
OK, NOW.  Anchor down time. Crack a cold beer! As we sit and “feel” the boat’s motion in the swells…
YES, this is going to be a long and rolly night!

Jan 23- Paraiso

Calm morning... still...both our boat neighbors are leaving...this allows us to move right in the center of the anchorage all by ourselves! We re anchor. Easy, because it is calm. We decide to go explore...

Mermaids in Paraiso?

Big whale sighting!

Game Day at Palapa Joe's

Palapa Joe's 

Jan 20

As planned, we spent the whole day at the sports bar, Papala Joe’s to watch the 49ers beat the Atlanta Falcons. This was a curious immersion into an “expatriate” culture that has existed for many years here in La Manzanilla. The locals dropped in to catch the game and grab a beer and share some community chat. It reminded me of the TV sitcom “Cheers”…everyone knows everyone and Willie the owner and bartender knows everything or has an opinion about it.  It was fun to watch the parade of people as they came and went.

Cafe Risa, best gourmet breakfast and lunch!

We had a “small town” moment when Peter, the welder walked in…someone asked him about his hat which is a specialty welder’s cap meant to be worn under a welding hood for protection, but he was wearing it just as an everyday hat.  This brought John into the conversation (mind you, this diversion only allowed on breaks in the game)…anyway, turns out Peter is from where we are from, Sonoma County, Occidental to be exact. Small world.  He’s an ornamental welder/blacksmith…well, well( so was John, a  welder/designer)…so we get to talking about our similar paths and how we both got here to La Manzanilla…us on a sailboat and Peter, who discovered this town over 20 years ago, just after the big 1995 earthquake that destroyed much of the town...visit this site for more information: http://www.usc.edu/dept/tsunamis/manzanillo/
….he’s bought property since and enjoys the yearly vacation commute with his now 30yr old daughter, Tridia… again, we talk of similar paths because we both have daughters.

The local hardware store, a Ferreteria

We absorb the local conversations….local things happened, like yesterday, a long time resident “passed away” during his turn as first baseman at the big softball game…a big brawl broke out over a gal at the bar last night during “open mic” night…stuff like that…blab la bla…so it goes...you should've been here long ago, when...bla bla bla...
Then another group drops by...a young Swedish film crew filming a "reality show" in the next town of Chamela...it's about several couples who live in a hotel and ?...I don't really know more than that, but we hope to check it out when we sail up to that bay in a few days!

Lidia's market

..."you can get anything you want"...at Lidia's

Well stocked shelves: fresh breads, eggs, liquor & hard goods

We're told this is the BEST tequila! Check out the cute shot glass!

While the game was playing ( since I’m not a die-hard fan like someone I know) I strolled the lovely town of La Manzanilla returning to my favorite store, Lidia’s for more groceries before we leave.  The streets were crowded with locals just getting out of Sunday Mass at the church on the plaza.

I take a walk on the beach and enjoy the local scene. Dogs, dogs and more dogs frolicking in the water,  locals fishing, kids playing…nice.

Sunday in town

Ahhh...pizza!

End of game, end of day…we have our long awaited pizza at Palapa Joe’s before we head back to the boat. And enjoy a calm night at anchor. Nice day.

Two Days in Tenacatita

Our friends are back and wake us up this morning! The dolphins.  Circling the boat in search of fish. There are three of them. They surface, blow then dive again all around the boat. 

The morning weather at 8:30am is calm with waters flat and not a breath of air. The only sounds are the fishing dolphins as they come up to breach and this wakes us up.. what a way to wake up! 

Today we will decide if the weather will be calm enough to motor back over to La Manzanilla to dingy ashore to watch the 49er game… we have been boat bound the last two days:

Jan 17 –

The first day there was 20 ft visibility to the clear sandy bottom we are anchored in! Amazing, not a rock in sight, just clear sand and a few fish. We thought it might be good to clean the bottom of the boat.  John jumps in the water and begins the arduous job of scrubbing the boat line, when we see this “bloom” of junky stuff floating by…clouds of debris that looks like someone dumped their head, but no, on closer inspection, we see hundreds of little button sized, blue centered jelly fish floating by on the surface.  Along, with the string and strands of the “pearl” jellyfish call Medullas. We‘ve heard about these and they can leave quite a sting and get stuck everywhere, if you know what I mean!  So, John gets out of the water and also, gets out of the scrubbing job!  I decide to stay on boat, no water for me that day!

Jan 19 - 

The next day we motor the few miles back over to the town of La Manzanilla to ready for the football game at the sports bar.  The winds are mild but increasing as we get to the anchorage just off the beach.  We begin the two-anchor process…bow down, then stern anchor…then we sit and wait to see how the boat responds into the wind.  A prudent Captain never leaves the boat until he’s sure the anchors are set.  So we wait but the winds continue to increase, now 15 to 20 knot gusts we feel nervous about leaving the boat.  The boat motion is like a hobbyhorse, up and down with white-capped swells hitting on the nose.  We both feel if this weather continues into the night we will not have a good time! We wait for the winds to die down, but by 4:00pm, the winds are still strong…so we make the joint decision to pick up anchor and move BACK to Tenacatita, again, across the bay to our safe and snug sandy bottom… 

…But wait, the anchor is stuck on a rock! I’m using the windlass to pull up the anchor, but during the bouncing up and down with the wind and the swells on the bow, the boat takes a dip and then pulls up and out pays all the chain from the windlass as the clutch disengages and the stuck anchor pulls hard!  A panic time for me as I reel the chain back in, but the chain is stuck on a rock… John steers the boat over the anchor and it frees, but the windlass has a hard time, because it’s now loose …so, we help by hand to get the anchor pulled up through the windlass (will have to address that later) but during this ordeal, the wind, chop, anchor stuck and boat slamming up and down was not fun!

 We motor BACK to our safe, snug, sandy bottom anchorage in Tenacatita.  Aahh…by 6:00pm the winds have died down and all is calm….AND probably in La Manzanilla it’s calm, too.  We both feel kind of silly that we motored over there and then motored back and all in one day and for why? 

But, that gets to my real story about the joint decisions we make as a “team” on this adventure. Every day a decision is made and has to be viewed by both parties.  We agree or disagree, make judgments and go with it.  We are the crew, the team, the ones who make the decisions and have to live with it.  We decided it was better to move back to a safer anchorage...done.

Also, there is the “somebody” …you know, as in “somebody left the milk out”…well, who could that be??  Not me, must be “somebody”.

And “Nobody”  also lives with us…as in “nobody cares”… it’s a crowded boat!

 But, so far it’s working out!

La Manzanilla

La Manzanilla

We motor across the bay to the little town of La Manzanilla to do some grocery shopping and to explore the town. We hear the anchorage off the beach is not so great because of the swell, so again we set out a stern anchor. This process takes awhile longer because there IS a swell with an onshore breeze which makes setting two anchors with the boat positioned into the wind a longer process.

The dingy landing too, required a little more timing of the shore break to land WITHOUT getting wet.  We are practicing and getting better.  We’ve attached the dingy wheels so that they are down at all times. This enables us to keep the engine running while landing on the beach as the wheels keep the engine up off land.  As the wheels touch ground in the shallow water, we both get out and pull the dingy on wheels  up higher on the beach. This is the standard procedure for cruisers and some reading this essay will understand the process. I’m explaining to those readers who don’t use a dingy for transportation. Some cruisers are better at this than others and it’s always fun to watch and also offer assistance to the landing party if needed!

La Manzanilla is a great little town with great food! We happen onto an organic cafe, Cafe Risa with press coffee and a wonderful menu of vegetarian choices, omelets, yogurt with fruit, homemade muffins, salads and smoothies! Now, this of course, caters to another crowd...the American/Canadian "expat" population we observe in this town, 10-1 to Mexican locals.  This is a gem of a resort town with many repeat customers. We are told of a market, Lidia's where you can get anything you want; cheddar cheese, wines, meats, fresh veggies! Awesome.  Lidia personally greets us and shows her wares..."what ever you want just ask!"

I love fresh veggies!

We next visit Palapa Joe's, a sports bar owned by an American from the Bay Area.  Also, you know, our famous restaurateur from Sonoma county, Johnny Garlic's Guy Fieri?  Well, he visits here and has made his "mark" on the restaurant's wall.  It's such a small world!

"We'll have the usual...two margaritas, please!"

Our next stop is to La Cato for the best margaritas we have tasted so far and shrimp dinner! This restaurant was recommended by a repeat vacationer and is one of the remaining original locals business that was displaced from Tenacatita by a "land grab" that is still in turmoil. We understand that many local beach palapas were displaced and tried to re establish themselves in La Manzanilla. We enjoyed the food and atmosphere while dining and watching our boat sway in the bay!

Wizard in the bay at La Manzanilla

The beach scene at La Manzanilla

Horses on the beach

And of course, we couldn't miss the crocodile preserve in town...it's really creepy to walk to the end of town and there, fenced off is a swallow of estuary with huge old crocs lazin' around! There is a tour ride offered up the river but, why take the ride when you can see these big guys  right here at the fence? They are waiting for their chicken dinner, I'm sure...

The crocodile preserve in town

Our day ends with a beautiful sunset over the bay. We return to Tenacatita for a few days, but will return to La Manzanilla for Sunday 49er's football at Palapa Joe's. Ahh... doesn't get any better!