March 12-March 29

It has been a while since we have had the strong wifi signal to be able to continue our sailing log.  Let me just say that we left Zihuatanejo and sailed up the coast to Las Hadas.  This is where the movie “10” with Bo Derek was filmed but alas for Hank, Bo had not remained behind and therefore was not running down the beach with her beaded locks flying in the breeze.  What we did find was a beautiful anchorage with the Las Hadas Resort and various other condo resorts along the shore. The buildings were white and the contrast of the pink, purple, and white bougainvilleas was quite striking.  While at anchor we went ashore with Jan and Vivian from Capricio, they showed us the ins and outs of catching the bus into Manzanillo so that we could do some provisioning.  We had done the Ha-Ha with Jan and Vivian so it was nice to reconnect with friends. 

 In town we found that there were large grocery stores and small tiendas, we saw the most modern Wall-Mart to date.  With out a car, you really have to plan when you are buying the heavy items, like wine and beer, so that you can take a taxi instead of a bus.

 We only stayed a couple of days and know that we would love to return and spend more time there.  But, we had a good weather window to travel up the coast and that meant it was time to go. 

 Our next stopping spot was the Barra de Navidad lagoon where we anchored in about 8 feet of mud with 125 feet of anchor chain.  Why so much chain out?  Well, you need to do what other boats around you are doing and you also must be prepared for the afternoon winds that blow through the lagoon.  Our first night wasn’t that peaceful for the wind was howling about 30 knots and when all the boats swung we were a little closer to the boat next to us than we would have liked.  So, first thing in the morning we re-anchored and we were fine for about the next three week. 

 On arriving in the anchorage we noticed that the catamaran Pantera was there, so the next morning, Bob Smith paddled over in his canoe to take us to breakfast on shore. 

He is another HA-HA friend and it was nice to talk after not having seen him since last May. We had a great breakfast at a shore side restaurant where we were able to sit and enjoy the view of all the boats anchored in the lagoon. 

 Since we were going to be spending Easter week or Semaña Santo in Barra we wanted to find out if there were any special activities.  We found that on Good Friday they would be reenacting the Stations of the Cross.  Not being Catholic, we didn’t know exactly what this entailed but our friend Jerry on Destarté was able t explain it to us.  We met him out in the far outskirts of the city so he could read to us the explanation as the priest spoke to the crowd.  This was a moving play that went from station to station until it arrived at the town’s main church.  I must say that the parishes had put in a lot of time and effort on their costumes and props; it was a very impressive production. 

 For Easter breakfast, we made reservations at the golf course thinking that it might be crowded.  Well we didn’t really need the reservations because there was only one other family present.   For Easter dinner, we had the same folks over to the boat and Hank and I cooked a good dinner of arracherra

 Easter week is really a high tourist time in Mexico and we had many activities in which to participate. Every Thursday, is market day with all the venders setting up their stalls on Wednesday night.  We enjoyed looking at all the clothes, food and household goods.  The snow cones here are done by shaving the ice, pressing it into a cone shaped mold, inserting a stick and finally by swirling on your choice of flavorings.  The swirling part is really an art and the cone is quite beautiful when it is finished.  Another activity was a pig roast at a local’s home.  His name is P.J. and this was going to be the last Friday dinner of the season.  He started roasting the pig in the early morning and we checked on it every time we walked by his house. It is amazing how locals have figured out ways to help cruisers and make a little money at the same time.  We have run into several people who put on special meals or delivery gas and groceries to boats.  Some even pick up laundry and return it washed, dried and folded. 

 The town of Barra has a long strip of land that extends right up to the lagoon entrance channel.  On one side of the strip is the ocean and the other side the waters of the lagoon.  Now for the two weeks of Easter this area is packed with tourists enjoying the sun.  Food booths are set up right next to the regular restaurants.  The coconut vender cracks open green coconuts, adds a straw for you, and charges you very little for this refreshing drink.  I was fascinated by how well the venders wielded their machete Also along this strip is another beautiful statue that many people were waiting their turn to take a family picture.  We have noticed so many towns with beautiful artwork along their public walkways. 

 Many boats anchor in this lagoon on the mud flats that range in depth from about 8 feet to 12 feet.  When you arrive at the lagoon you must be very careful to watch your depth gauge and to stay in the channel.  Almost daily some boat would go aground, I am not sure if they were not watching the depth or if they were just so familiar with the area that they thought they knew what they were doing.  Our friend’s boat has a draft of 8 feet so when they tried to approach the anchorage and kissed the bottom, they decided to stay in the marina.  Hopefully when a boat runs aground it is low tide and usually if with dinghy help they are still stuck, they wait for high tide and float off.  

 Getting in and out of the lagoon also has another challenge which is the divers.  Somehow the divers who are collecting scallops, clams and oysters have found the best beds right in the center of the channel.  So when you are in transit, you must watch for the many fishing panga, their divers in the water, and the air hoses that support the divers.  Some divers are low budget and they free dive and deposit their catch in a sort of floating plastic box that has been made from a large plastic bottle.  I am not sure how long this will last for each day they seemed to bring up piles of shellfish.  You wonder how long it will take these divers to over fish the area and have nothing left for the following season.

 Melaque is a short bus ride from Barra de Navidad.  It is famous for its St. Patrick’s Day party for St. Patrick is the patron saint of the city.  We had heard great things about the parties and fireworks that last for several days.  The main celebration was scheduled for Saturday night and we had arrived just in time.  Unfortunately for us the wind was so strong that afternoon that we didn’t feel comfortable leaving the boat.  Maybe if we had been there before we might not had felt that way, but we decided that it was best to just stay on the boat.  Several boats had been dragging in the wind with an anchor that was not quit set in the mud (remember I said that folks put out a lot of chain) and it was no fun to try to help a dragging boat when the owners are not onboard.  First you are not sure of their boat’s systems and it is necessary to start the engine, pull up their anchor and reset the anchor. So, since we didn’t go to Melaque for the celebration we decided to take the bus into town with several friends as soon as the weather cooperated. 

We went to the beach and had some refreshments at a beach restaurant, we did this for many of the town’s stores were closed for the lunchtime siesta when we arrived by bus. While sitting there at the beach we watched a local vender shuck oysters, which he served on large platters to the beach crowd. We were very hesitant in trying any since we had seen some being taken out of the Barra lagoon, which is not really a great swimming place.

As we walked the town we noticed that the decorations from the celebration were still attached to the church.

 After staying two weeks in the Barra de Navidad lagoon we waited for the French Bakery to make his morning delivery.  We had purchased croissants to take to some of our friends who were anchored out at Tenacatita.  The two anchorages are not that far apart and since everyone uses channel 22 on their VHF radio all the boats over in Tenacatita can hear the people calling the French Baker.  He sells bread, croissants and specialty loaves to the marina and anchorage.  The bakery goods are fantastic and they cost only a little bit more to have them delivered right to your boat.  It drives the Tenacatita folks wild to hear the bakery orders every morning.  We knew it would be very much appreciated if we could arrive with some bake goods to give to friends.