Puerto Vallarta to Zihuatanejo Jan. 23-Feb. 11

 We left Puerto Vallarta and headed to the infamous Cabo Corrientes on January 21, 2008 at 7:30, the trip was a motor and sail endeavor with us reaching the far southern point of the bay by 11:30.  Unfortunately just about that time the radar quit working and we were faced with navigating down the coast using charts that are two miles off with out any radar to counter balance the inaccurate charts.   Knowing that we could get the problem looked at in Paradise Village; we quickly called to see if we could get our slip back and returned to dock.  We had also called Fox Marine to get an appointment for an electrical check up on the radar system.  Hank was hoping that it was just a simple repair, but we felt better about getting it looked at while at a dock as opposed to trying to do something as we were bobbing around in the sea. 

 We had the radar repaired and once again checked out to Paradise Village at 8:00 on the 23^rd of January.  We had 10 knots of wind at rounding Corrientes which was light and variable as Don Anderson, the weather guy on the morning nets, says.  Our most challenging sail was between 16:00 and 19:00 when we had more than 20 knots of wind from the aft.  We were sailing with just a reefed main making 6 to 7 knots.  The wind got lighter in the late evening and early morning as we approached Barra de Navidad. As we got closer to our destination, we called a friend on the sail boat, Sweet Lorraine and he came out with his dinghy to lead us into the anchorage.  The anchorage at Barra lagoon is rather tricky and many boats go aground, so it was very nice to have someone lead us in. The first thing we heard as we were getting the anchor down was the French Baker who said that he would soon be around the anchorage with fresh baguettes and croissants.  I couldn’t believe my ears, so I quickly responded that we would like him to stop at our boat and bring some croissants.  It turned out that we were only staying two nights at anchor, but we were able to have fresh bread each day from this enterprising man.  We did get time to go to town for a quick look around and to go out to dinner with friends. 

 On January 26^th we headed out of the lagoon sailing south to Santiago Bay.  It was a short trip of about 4 hours with us anchoring at Las Hadas at 3 in the afternoon.  This is the area that the movie 10 was filmed and it truly is a beautiful area.  We knew that we would not be there for more than an overnight so we didn’t even take the dinghy off the bow.  We spent a pleasant evening and we up before the sun to get organized to take off toward Zihuatenajo. The trip would be a 30 hour sail so we wanted to be underway with the first breath of light.  About 11:30 Hank noticed activity on the meat line that we drag; we were surprised when he pulled in a 47 inch Dorado.  We had fish tacos for lunch that day and they were fantastic. 

 We arrived at the Marina Ixtapa around 12:30 the next day, filled up with diesel, got a slip and relaxed.  It had been a good trip and we were anxious to rest up, wash the boat, and then head over to Zihuatanejo for Sail Fest.  An interesting thing about this marina is that there are signs warning against swimming in the marina.   We soon saw a large crocodile swimming silently by the boat and were glad that we had heeded the warning.  You can also bet that you can not have your boat’s bottom cleaned in this marina at any price.

 Let me explain Sail Fest to you, this is a week long charity drive that raises money for schools in Zihuatanejo. Originally it was to help with the school that the Indian children attend, because they can not go to the regular school unless they knew Spanish which many of them don’t.  In the last few years, Sail Fest has raised enough money to build the school and then to spread the funds around to other schools.  The school on the hill that was for the local hill kids is now so well run that many of the children from town want to attend there also.  The photo on the left is Lynn from S/V Beaudacious cooking her famous chili for the chili cook-off.  One of the really special things about Sail Fest is that they have two benefactors that match any money raised.  So the activities range from, a sail race, sail parade, benefit concert, sales of the concert CDs, chili cook-off, silent auction and oral auction and of course, raffle tickets.  During Sail Fest, there is a beach party for the school kids and visitations to the school. For me, the high point was going to the school and meeting the beautiful, enthusiastic learners at school.  I was able to donate supplies that I had purchased in the States; the only problem was that I did not anticipate 50 students in a class!

 All the activities were fun to participate in, and we really felt involved when paying customers got on our boat for a sail parade that went from Zihuatanejo over to Ixtapa and back to Zihuatanejo.  All the boats were decorated and we followed in line as we motored over to salute the port captain, and then sail back to the bay.  Unfortunately, one of our passengers was a little sea sick so we didn’t go very far out to sail back to the bay.  Another fun activity was the oral auction which reminded me of being home in Auburn, CA for we attended many auctions and came away with several great items.  This was the same for me, and in support of the kids, I bid on many items.  One item that got away from me was a watercolor showing the dinghy landing area of Zihuatenajo Bay.  This was done by a visiting artist but the man I was bidding against was like a bank and I felt it was better to just let him have the prize picture.  The next day I ran into the artist painting near the beach and purchased a scene that showed the beach front restaurants. 

 The concert and the ending barbeque were also fun.  All the volunteers that had worked so hard to put on Sail Fest should be congratulated for their great effort and voluminous amount of time that they donated.  We would have loved to be part of the volunteer group but we arrived way too late for that option. All of the activities originate at Rick’s bar where the local cruisers and tourists hang out.

 We were also in Zihuatanejo at the time of Mardi Gras which is celebrated with 5 days of parades and late night reverie.  We saw the first day at the Zocolo and tried much of the carnival food. It was truly a local’s night but we gringos had a good time too.  The last of the five nights was really spectacular; we went with Roger and Karen from Meridian to the main highway in the center of the commercial area.  Roger and Karen had seen the parade several years so they had spotted out good places to be.  We decided to be right across from the judging bleachers.  We found an open spot in the center divide of the highway and sat down to wait about an hour for the parade.  It was here that I learned the word “la hormiga” which is ant for that is what was in the planter that we were standing on, and after a while we felt them biting our feet. The parade lasted about two hours, and it was filled with interesting floats and things thrown to the crowd.  Hank ended up with an apron from Corona. 

After being at anchor at Playa de Ropa from January 29 to February 11, we raised anchor, wow you should have seen the growth on the anchor chain, and headed back to Marina Ixtapa so that we could leave the boat and go inland for a road trip.