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.