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!

Snorkeling & Dolphins

The snorkeling gang...on Moontide

Group snorkeling

Judy of Moontide

Judy and Bill of Moontide offer to take the fleet of Tenacatita for a ride over to the "Aquarium" a popular snorkeling site. Ten or so of us pile onto the spacious, 47ft catamaran. Nice. We meet up with old Baja cruisers and meet some new folks...I especially enjoyed meeting the family from Sweden on Tebiheli(?) Hope I spelled that right.

Tebiheli crew: Miriam, Spjalla, Toke & Toste

Snorkeling is OK, yes there are beds of beautiful coral with many small brightly colored fish, but the visibility is not so good. But, still we had a good time with others swimming around in the Aquarium.
Oh, but the best event happened before we went snorkeling! We usually set a stern anchor with a float off the back of the boat to help stabilize the motion in a swell. All of a sudden we looked out as the float "bobbed" erratically up and down in the water. What could that be? Turns out a pair of dolphins are "playing" with the float line...they take the line down under water across their backs and let it go and it pops back up the surface! What a trip! They actually moved the placement of the anchor with this play. John slips quietly into the water to see if he can be a part of this...oh, they are cautious and move away...

The dolphins played with the anchor float

As soon as John gets back in the boat, there they go again messing with the float! Some one suggests that these are females "in heat" and that's why they are rubbing against the line? Cool.

John swims with the dolphins!

The day ends with a potluck hosted by Moontide. It's a fun time getting to know other cruisers. Our next day's adventure will be to motor over to Las Manzanilla to explore the town and restock the food locker.

Tenacatita

Gilligans'  Island (Tenacatita)

We are anchored in the beautiful large bay of Tenacatita with empty long white sand beaches. Perfect. There are a handful of other cruisers anchored here as well, stopping over on their travels north or south. We are glad we made the move and are feeling better.  Launched the dingy and braved the surf...then spent the day sitting at Palapa La Vena drinking fresh squeezed orange juice and limonadas ( beer later in afternoon) and meeting other cruisers (guess we are feeling better). We walked the beach and basically did nothing all day long.  Met a young family from Sweden with plans to sail back to Sweden down the mainland through the Panama then across the Atlantic...to Sweden! Wow! I'm impressed.

BlueBay Resort massage rooms on the beach

Tonight we watch the "turtle release" as a crowd gathers on the beach in front of the BlueBay Resort to launch newly hatched Olive Ridley turtles back into the sea and then later, we watch as a baby humpback lounges around... just over there!  Amazing. This is what we set sail for!

Wizard all by her lonesome in Tenacatita

Jan 14 2013

“Hello, anyone want to join us for snorkeling in the morning?” this call goes out to the cruisers on the radio net. We immediately hail back and accept the catamaran,  Moontide’s invitation to sail a few people over to a popular dive spot known as  the “Aquarium” for a day of play.  Yay, we will have plans tomorrow!

This is how it goes…. one day we are lazin’ around doing nothing, but maybe a few boat chores, then the next day, we have an agenda, a social engagement, a plan! 

Jan 15 2013

Our friends back home want to know...what DO YOU DO ALL DAY?

Well...

We get up at 8:30. It’s when the sun cracks into our sleeping bunk. Otherwise, I bet we’d sleep later. I start the coffee prep. I am the coffer maker. No one else cares enough to measure to make the “perfect cup of courage”.

Then look around…what does the day look like outside? Is it clear skies or cloudy? Most days lately, we wake up to hazy cloudy morning. We are a little disappointed that so far Mexico is not clear skies. There is a constant haze. Burning? Smog? Who knows?  The day skies change constantly throughout the day. We are looking forward to this day of snorkeling adventure. Let you know later...

Our Turning Point...

Jan 9 2013

Every adventure has the "turning point"...the point where you turn around to go home...or backtrack up the coast in our case. We haven't the energy to keep going south to Z town (Zihuatanejo) so we will slowly make our way back north to Puerto Vallarta. We've been sick for 10 days with a flu that kicked our butts. We are lethargic and have no stamina. John has no strength and he is the "mule" of this team. I need him to handle the heavy stuff, like winch up the dingy or haul in the stern achor. Without him the boat can't function. Hope he's better tomorrow...

Today, we change scenery to head back north around the corner from Las Hadas to Ensenada Carrizal. We've been here before and enjoyed the clear water  for snorkeling. We enter the anchorage and are happy to be the 2nd boat in...until we see 4 other boats round the corner...oh, well, we all squeeze in to anchor.  We put out a stern anchor to help with the swell motion. We were hoping for a quiet time away from the social  boat scene...Valhalla comes by to say "Hi" and Rubber Duckies, too..but, we are still too tired to be any fun. Today, I'm  feeling better. I make beans with cilantro, onions and tomatoes. It's the first meal that has tasted good...

Lifting the dingy on board is a nightly chore for safe keeping

Calm anchorage of Carrizal

Jan 13 2013

Leaving Carrizal

Day 3 -Leaving Carrizal... heading north to Tenacatita...John is now on anti-biotics...this should turn him around soon. We've met others that have had a flu, too...bummer in the vacation plans!

Boat Chores and more...

Our energy source when not sailing

You might think sailing is all fun and drinking margaritas?...well, it's not.  We live on a little machine that needs attention all the time! It's a lot of work to keep her in shape and like any home, needs constant routine maintenance to keep up.  We start a daily list in the morning to check to see what needs attention and we usually do a few chores before we can go play.

Let's see today...

Check the fresh water tank:
1. Run the engine to make water from salt water every 3 days if needed...check
2. The boat engine charges the house batteries to keep up with our energy needs( lights, radio)
3. Run the gas generator to top off the batteries if needed (or if sailing)
4. Repair that sail edge?
5. Replace that water maker hose...check
6. Do the laundry (by hand)...check
7. Find the water leak in the dingy?...check
8. Get gas or diesel

9. Provision the food supply...walk to town, taxi back from store with beer and groceries...check

The Laundry room

Walking to the Mega store for supplies

Hand stitching the torn canvas dodger

As you can see, the list can go on and on...

... or about how nothing gets done for a week because one or more of the crew gets the flu!

We are stuck seven days in Las Hadas anchorage waiting for BOTH of us to get over a cold/flu. Neither of us has had a fever in years! We feel like s---t (excuse me) but it sucks! Our plans were to head south to Zihuatanejo with cruising friends, Terry and Keith on Ojo RoJo.  They left this morning early for the 200 mile passage...but, rest is all we can muster....maybe tomorrow will be better.

Seven days in Las Hadas

We decide to go out to dinner for our last night in Las Hadas...even though we don't feel that great, it's a change of scenery and we need to get off the boat...so, we try The Marina Bistro, an upscale steak house right on the dock walk...

Nice menu, but pricey

Fresh roasted salsa, ground at the table...very nice!

Swanky...but, we are the only diners

Nice dining view

Next day we decide to move on for a change of scenery...back up to Ensenada Carrizal.  I guess, this is our turning point...this will be as far south as we go on the Mexican mainland. We will take some time to get feeling better and stop in some anchorages we missed on our way down.

Las Hadas & Happy New Year!

Las Hadas Resort

So, who remembers the movie '10' with Bo Derek? You know, the voluptuous blonde  with the braids running down the beach? Well, we are anchored in the bay of the Las Hadas Resort where this famous 1979 film was shot. This resort has unique architecture with white bungalows climbing the hillside.

Condos and resort decorate the hills

We are surrounded on all sides by white colored condos, villas and the resort overlooking a small anchorage. The night life sounds reverberate from the hillside and lasts long into the night. Several resorts and golf course flow one into the other along the beach front.

Our new friends, Danny and Deborah on Cyclades invite us and Rob and Nancy of Shindig over for a delicious dinner of pork chops with potatoes and green beans. It's fun to visit another cruisers' boat/home.  Cyclades is a classic wooden boat lovingly restored and maintained by Danny. It has a beautiful varnished interior and brass fittings that make this a custom one of kind boat. They have been living and cruising aboard Cyclades for 20 years!

Las Hadas boys: Danny, John & Rob

Las Hadas girls: Deborah, Nancy & Sue

Deborah presents a fine dinner for us all!

Pork pot roast with potatoes...yummm!

Tonight is New Years Eve and rumor has it that the firework views will be spectacular from the boat! We are invited to Shindig for pot-luck and cocktails.

The pool scene

Interesting architecture

As anchored quests we get the use of the pool and some restaurant discounts, but wholly cow, this place is the most pricey we've been so far...a margarita at the pool bar is 80 pesos ( $6.00!) That's double what we've been paying and there's no "happy hour" prices! Needless to say, we will enjoy
from afar this resort land!

Beautiful grounds

Wizard in the bay... New Year's Eve begins and ends in a rainy day

New Year's Eve begins by raining all day! How often does that happen down here? The resort has elaborate beach side parties planned for dinner and fireworks viewing, but as the day progresses, all the tables and chairs come back inside. It's even a little soggy just staying on the boat, so we decide to go ashore and walk around in the rain...hey, at least it's warm!

Awesome fireworks all along the bay!

Fireworks along Manzanillo Bay

We launched our rockets wedged into the BBQ on Shindig hoping nothing unplanned would happen! The rockets were a hit as they screamed into the night! Capt. John even set off his long awaited parachute flare and just missed hitting another boat! OOPS! 

Hope all's well for you in the new year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013