San Blas, Chacala, y  Puerto Vallarta

 We left San Blas on the 11^th of December heading for Chacala to anchor for the night.  Chacala is a small bay with just a few palapas on the beach.  Most people arrive and use a bow and stern anchor to keep them from swinging into the other boats.  When we arrived there were three boats already at anchor and a shrimp boat further out of the bay.  We proceeded to lower the bow anchor and then get the dinghy ready to take out the stern anchor.  This was the first time we had done this operation on our new boat, usually you just need the bow anchor.  We were to check in with the port captain even though it was said to be just a formality.  So far we have found the check in process to be both fun and informative, and arriving in Chacala was no exception.  After the check in, we went to look over  the beach activity.  We saw about 5 or 6 palapas on the beach with the center one flying Mexican, USA, and Canadian flags.  That is one way to get the attention of all cruisers!  At the end of the palapas was a RV park that was quite full of local people in nice cars and trailers. We decided to stop and have a beer with totopas and guacamole, while watching the people play in the waters of the bay. Two blond haired boys caught our eyes and we later learned that they were sailing for a year from Dana Point with their parents on a 34 foot boat.  They were going to be out of school for a year but since their mom was a teacher I couldn’t fault them at all.  What a wonderful way to get an education!  Later this family went out to the shrimp boat and brought us back a kilo of fresh shrimp for 60 pesos.  This was a pleasant anchorage and we could have stayed longer but we were anxious to get to Paradise Village in Nuevo Vallarta for our reservation was for the 13^th and we were told that even with a reservation you might not get a spot.

We set sail or rather motored most of the way to Puerto Vallarta.  This proved to be a real challenge since we were about three miles out from shore and had to be constantly aware of fishing floats.  You might be going along and spot one float, but with closer inspection you would see a whole string of them about 50 feet apart and a quarter of a mile long.  Catching a line like that might give you considerable trouble, so it was best to avoid them.  It always seemed like I was at the helm when I spotted either a panga or the floats.  The first time the fishermen just motioned me around with hand signals.  The second time no one was around and I simply maneuvered around, but the third time the guys wanted me to go right through the center.  They were going to cut the line so I could come through and then they would tie it back together.  That worked for me, but I surely would not have liked it to be sailing in this area at night!

 Arriving at Banderas Bay we came close to the Tres Marias which are islands right at the outskirts of the bay.  Since the mapping in mexico is off by 1.6nm we could not rely upon our GPS and chart plotter we had to rely upon visual, depth and radar to navigate the shallow spots.  We watched whales frolic and sailed toward the Paradise Village marina.  The bay is described in tour books as a stunningly beautiful paradise fringed with white-sand beaches, soaring mountains, tropical jungle and thousands of palm trees.  The waters teem with sea life and migrating whales who visit each year between November and March.  The bay is the largest bay on the west coast of mainland Mexico, nearly 20 miles across with over 60 miles of coastline.  We radioed ahead and were given an end tie on A dock. Upon completion of our docking we rushed up to the harbor master’s office to check in.  We had been carrying an apple pie from Ikeas in Auburn to bring to Dick Markie the harbor master.  He used to live in Auburn and had kiddingly said, when asked if we could bring him something, “an Ikea pie”.  Well, we had had it in the freezer since October.  We had even stopped by Shelly Ottmann’s house to have her write a message to Dick.  We figured that anything was good for a bribe to get into a very busy marina. 

 After check in we headed for the beach bar for their two for one margarita special, it was good to sit and look out at the sunset with a fresh mango margarita in our hand.  Now this is an all inclusive resort and no cash is allowed, everything goes on your bill.  We knew from experience that this could be deadly for it is so easy to get that beach drink or snack and just give your dock number.  It is at the end of the month when bills come due that it really hits you!  The hotel and marina are beautiful with tigers, parrots, bob cats, monkeys and tourists galore.  There are numerous pools, a spa facility, tennis courts and many restaurants. There is a shopping mall, grocery store, and laundry mat just a short distance away.

 Listening to the cruisers’ net is important to find out what is happening so first thing in the morning we tuned to 22A and checked in with all the cruisers on the bay.  We found that there would be several charity holiday dinners planned but the one that interested us the most was a dinner and musical concert across the marina at Studio Café.  It would be $28 each for the dinner.  We checked it out with another cruiser we had met on the Baja Ha-Ha and he said it was great last year and that he would be helping with the sound.  So we got in our dinghy and went over to sign up before there was no space left. The program was on the 16^th of December and when the time arrived we were surprised how the restaurant had been changed into a fairyland with lights, a beautiful tree and decorations.  The tables were set with tablecloths and the chairs were covered in catering type covers- bows in the back.  Now I would love to show a picture of this but unfortunately I left my camera on a town bus and so now a fellow Mexican is able to use my Sony digital camera!  Well anyhow the music was good, some even outstanding and the high light of the evening was the owner is a white tux sitting with his 8 year old daughter on his knee while they both sang, The Rainbow Connection.  It would have made Kermit proud and it so reminded me of what it might look like if a former student, Jena Betz had sung with her dad.  The filet dinner was wonderful and we went away with the feeling the holiday season had indeed begun and it was time to decorate the boat for Christmas.  I had brought along two small trees, our stockings, special napkins, coasters and a wreath.  We had purchased blinking lights in town which we round around the cockpit and inside the boat as well. 

 My sister and her husband would be joining us on the 21^st so we spent the remaining time getting the lay of the land.  We mastered the two bus system to old town Puerto Vallarta and checked out the jewelry stores since this is what we had each promised each other that we would do for our presents.  I thought that I had located a good one where the owner was willing to do some bargaining.  We stopped and visited Sam’s Club to see what great liquor bargains they had.  We tried going into Wal-Mart but it was so crowded that we passed on it. We always have to remember that what ever you buy is going to be lugged back to the boat on the bus.  This makes it much more practical to purchase things like eggs and heavy juices right up at the Paradise Village store.  The cost may be slightly higher but the comfort level evens it out.  We also signed up for a 90 minute sales presentation on Paradise Village.  It is amazing how they can stretch 90 minutes into 2 and a half hour, but since we had never done a sales pitch ever before we thought that we would try it.  What did we get out of it but two fifty minute massages at the Spa, two tickets to the bull fights, two tickets to the tropical tour, and a headache.  I scheduled the all day bus tour for the day after my sister arrived and purchased two more tickets so they could accompany us. This was supposed to be an overview of the town and a tequila tasting.  So 9 of us piled into a mini van and started off for the suburb of Patillal for a tequila tour at 9:30 in the morning.  I wish that I could say that this is where they made the tequila but it was only a tourist tasting room with some other crafts displayed and a lot of tipping expected.  We did have fun trying on the dancing costumes.     After the tasting, we visited the town plaza and church where they had a suspended sculpture of Jesus.  The sculpture was very impressive and it appeared that there were no supports to keep the statue suspended.  The town and church reminded us very much of San Blas.

The church in the old part of Puerto Vallarta is an awesome site for its crown steeple.  It is said that the crown was designed after the queen of Spain’s crown.  Our driver stopped and we wondered around trying to find the best position to capture a picture of this beautiful church.  Maybe you can get the feeling with this picture.        We left the tour in the middle of the city and proceeded to visit the shops, walk along the Malecon and of course stop for a refreshing beverage.

Jennifer arrived on the 24^th.  That didn’t give us time to do any shopping together before Christmas so we had to save it for after Christmas.  With Jen coming in so late, we also didn’t feel like making our traditional tamales from scratch as we had done for many years. We purchased tamales at the store and I made our chiles stuffed with shrimp.  A molten chocolate dessert has always been part of our Christmas eve dinner but this year we saved it for Christmas.  We had gone shopping for Christmas dinner the day before and had selected a salt cured ham for our main dish.  This turned out to be rather tricky for it was to be soaked for 24 hours and then cooked for at least 3.  Of course they were not thinking of a small galley stove when they said 3 hours.  We didn’t have a pan that would fit the ham and the oven so we squeezed the aluminum pan into an odd shade and covered it with foil.  It called for 5 cups of water in the pan, also a problem.  Well I think the thing cooked for about 5 or 6 hours and then it sort of registered done on the thermometer. By the time we ate we were so hungry that anything would be appreciated.

 One of the things that we all really wanted to do was a canopy tour on a zip line.  We had heard a lot about them and were told by other cruisers that El Eden on the Mismaloya River was the best.  We had made reservations for the 5 of us to go on the 26^th.  We took the buses to the old part of the city and then after signing an insurance waiver got on the truck that would take us to the site.  Once there we were given a locker so we could leave all cameras, packs and hats behind.  Each person was fitted with a harness, helmet and given a pulley or sliding device for the cable.  Next we had a lesson in stopping, signaling and how to thank our guide if he had to come out on the cable to get you.  Body positioning was very important, and somehow you looked like a spider monkey with your straight arms grasping the pulley while your body was hanging parallel with the cable.  You definitely wanted to have you head down so it didn’t touch the cable and your toes pointed upward.  The goes through the treetops and across a river gorge 350 feet below.  Of course you are concentrating so much on the speed, rush or thrill of the ride that you might not even look down.  The trip uses 1 ½ miles of cable in a series of 10 zip lines that run between stations.  The longest cable run is 1000 ft.  Stopping is a challenge and Jennifer and Vida were the real speed demons of the group.  Vida came in so fast on the long line that she crashed her knee into the cable.  Can everyone say band aid?  The guys were quite concerned and gave her immediate attention.  Jennifer came in fast on almost everyone of the lines and this was no exception, result a scraped up thigh.  Now Betsy had the opposite problem, she thought the guide was signaling to brake and she did.  Granted it was difficult to see the guide in the shade of the trees on the platform, but he was just holding up his hand, not signaling.  So Betsy stopped before the platform and then started to slide backwards into the canyon.  Out came her guide, hand over hand to get her.  She had forgotten the rehearsed saying, but did say, “gracias por su ayuda.”  All too soon the time was up and we had to give up our equipment and drink the complimentary beer before jumping back on the bus.  This was great fun and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is up for a little adventure.  They even take a video of you as you are traveling through the trees!  Their web site is www.canopyeleden.com

 The days flew by for Jennifer was only able to stay until the 29^th. One day after the canopy tour we took the boat out to go sailing with everyone.  Now the winds don’t come up until the afternoon so we motored out to the islands, anchored, snorkeled, and did some whale watching.  On the way back to the marina we took a wide sweep trying to pick up some wind.  Finally when we were almost at La Cruz we got enough wind to hoist the sails.  Just as the sails went up and motor cut we had a strike on the fishing line that we had been trolling. I for one, very much wanted to catch a nice fresh fish for dinner, but bringing it into the cockpit under sail is not the easiest of tasks.  Unfortunate for us, fortunate for the fish it was able to snap the line and keep the lure.  So we continued on with no fish and somewhat decreasing winds. A plus of sailing and no engine running was that we approached a gray whale that was right off our starboard side about a half mile from the shore.   

  The day before she left Vida, John, Jennifer and I took two buses north to La Cruz de Huanacaxtle.  Now, I have never heard anyone pronounce the complete name, they just say La Cruz.  We had heard that there was a good restaurant called Philo’s and we thought it would be fun to explore the town.  To get there you take a bus to the main highway 200 and then take a city bus north to Punta Mita.  As we were waiting to take the bus I asked a hotel employee how do you say main road in Spanish.  He said to follow him for that was what he was doing.  Well we got on the bus and he made sure that we got off at the right place.  He even waited for us making sure that we successfully crossed 6 lanes of traffic on Highway 200.  The Mexican people cross bus highways like that all the time, so it is no wonder that they do it in California around San Clemente.  The next bus took us north and we got off to visit a sleepy little beach city with cobblestone streets and dusty roads.  We found Philo’s but it was too American for us and we had not come all that way for pizza or a hamburger. We ate at a small corner place and learned a new Spanish word, picidillo does not mean fish on a stick as we surmised.  It means chopped up like hash!  So Vida had the prize lunch for something that tasted like clam.  Jennifer had a wonderful shrimp plate and I had a shrimp and cheese quesadilla.  John broke my dad’s rule about ordering beef in Mexico and he had three pieces of cooked beef with salsa.  They were chewy and he was only able to eat one piece.  After lunch we wondered the town and ended up talking to a man that explained why we had seen so many people on the beach the day before when we were out sailing.  He said that was were all the local people went to the beach and it was really busy now.  So we walked down to check it out and he was right.  It was packed with people who arrive with their collapsible plastic table and chairs, lunch, barbeque and maybe even a grandma who can’t walk anymore.  We tried to take a picture of it without being to invasive.Leaving La Cruz we jumped back on a rickety bus headed for Puerto Vallarta.  When I got up to ask the driver if this was our stop to get off, I neglected to bring my camera which I had put on the seat next to me.  In my haste to signal the others to get off, I completely forgot the camera.  By the next bus I realized something was missing but that didn’t do much good.  Calling the bus company didn’t help either so many of the picture memories that I took over Christmas will have to remain in our heads.  Thanks to my brother in law John, I do have some of the pictures that were lost. 

New Year’s Eve was spent at the Vallarta Yacht club having a great steak dinner with flan for dessert.  Most of the people left early, but Vida, John, Hank, and I danced the evening until it was time to toast New Year’s.  I am sure it is probably best that we do not have pictures of the four of us with either tiaras on our heads or plastic derbies.  We had fun and not much alcohol was consumed.  We stood on the club balcony and watch a great display of fireworks from several different areas.  The best was right across the marina at a private home that had a display for over 10 to 15 minutes. We woke the next morning and drove out to breakfast for Vida and John still had a rental car that didn’t have to be back until 11 AM and we thought it a waste to just let it sit there.  We spent the rest of the day lying on chaise lounges under the palm frown umbrellas at the beach. Since Vida and John would be leaving early on the third of January, we took the last day to go into town together and do a little shopping.  Vida and John had found a wonderful place right on the beach where the river meets the sea.  We decided to have lunch before we shopped.   Of course they served mango margaritas and they were two for one, so we all shared.  My lunch looked like it came off the cooking show channel for it was so beautifully garnished.

After lunch we shopped the flea market and river walk shops, toured the Malecon and played with the statues and finally ended their trip with a last look from the balcony of our favorite bar.  I will miss having all the company of Jennifer, Vida and John and look forward to someone else expressing a desire to come join us in some exotic place.   

We spent the next week doing small things on the boat.  We find that the time goes so quickly and before you know it, it is another day completed.  We had hoped to leave our boat here in the Paradise Marina but we were told that all slips were taken for the coming month.  We checked in with the marina office each morning, hoping for a change.  Finally on Monday, Jan 8^th, we found that we were able to stay and did not have to sail back north to Mazatlan.  We could leave the boat in a very secure marina and fly back to Auburn to check on our house and to attend Carrie Krisha’s wedding later in January.