http://www.facebook.com/people/Bruce-Powell/1056063443#/home.php?ref=home Sailing travels of the Powell family on board Calou. Copyright 2009 SailBlogs.com Thu, 01 Jan 2009 11:25:47 -0600 720 Thu, 01 Jan 2009 11:25:47 -0600 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss en support@sailblogs.com support@sailblogs.com http://www.sailblogs.com/images/sb_rss_icon.gif http://www.sailblogs.com/ 88 31 Weblogs for Sailors and Sailing http://www.facebook.com/people/Bruce-Powell/1056063443#/home.php?ref=home?xjMsgID=76489 Happy New year wishes from Puerto Vallarta! Thu, 01 Jan 2009 11:25:47 -0600 http://www.facebook.com/people/Bruce-Powell/1056063443#/home.php?ref=home?xjMsgID=76489 http://www.facebook.com/people/Bruce-Powell/1056063443#/home.php?ref=home?xjMsgID=76118 This crocodile was sunning himself on the shores of the estuary... Fri, 26 Dec 2008 19:15:08 -0600 http://www.facebook.com/people/Bruce-Powell/1056063443#/home.php?ref=home?xjMsgID=76118 http://www.facebook.com/people/Bruce-Powell/1056063443#/home.php?ref=home?xjMsgID=75998 Merry Christmas to all and a happy New Year! Bruce Thu, 25 Dec 2008 00:27:25 -0600 http://www.facebook.com/people/Bruce-Powell/1056063443#/home.php?ref=home?xjMsgID=75998 http://www.facebook.com/people/Bruce-Powell/1056063443#/home.php?ref=home?xjMsgID=75922 We arrived at Puerto Vallarta on December 18; we were lucky and got a slip in the Paradise Village marina, which is a very fancy, and huge resort. The good thing about it is that it is extremely luxurious, but the down side is that you could spend a year here and never know you were in Mexico. It is very Americanized and also isolated from town (a 20 minute bus ride). Bruce Tue, 23 Dec 2008 15:42:42 -0600 http://www.facebook.com/people/Bruce-Powell/1056063443#/home.php?ref=home?xjMsgID=75922 http://www.facebook.com/people/Bruce-Powell/1056063443#/home.php?ref=home?xjMsgID=75385 We departed San Blas this morning and sailed about 20 miles south to the beautiful anchorage of Chacala. This bay is fringed with coconut palms and palapas, like this one where we enjoyed margaritas and guacamole & chips. We could see the sun set behind our boat CALOU as we enjoyed the margaritas and the boys played on the beach. Bruce Wed, 17 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.facebook.com/people/Bruce-Powell/1056063443#/home.php?ref=home?xjMsgID=75385 http://www.facebook.com/people/Bruce-Powell/1056063443#/home.php?ref=home?xjMsgID=75225 We got up early to catch a panga to take us upstream to the jungle. The 110 peso (8 dollar) fare was well worth it. In fact, in the U.S., one would easily pay the same fare in pesos... in dollars. The boat trip was magical, leading us through jungle where we had to duck our heads to make way. Exotic birds sang and showed themselves on the banks of the jungle estuary. We also saw turtles, weird land crabs, and, yes, crocodiles (or in Spanish, 'cocodriles'). Some of these monsters were ten feet long. Bruce Tue, 16 Dec 2008 21:00:03 -0600 http://www.facebook.com/people/Bruce-Powell/1056063443#/home.php?ref=home?xjMsgID=75225 http://www.facebook.com/people/Bruce-Powell/1056063443#/home.php?ref=home?xjMsgID=75132 It's so weird preparing for Christmas in Mexico with 80 and 90 degree temperatures! Yesterday we bought a 3' Christmas tree for the boat, and decorations, so we're getting in the spirit. Bruce Mon, 15 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.facebook.com/people/Bruce-Powell/1056063443#/home.php?ref=home?xjMsgID=75132 http://www.facebook.com/people/Bruce-Powell/1056063443#/home.php?ref=home?xjMsgID=75129 After a good night's sleep, we got up at 6:30 this morning at Matenchen Bay, and raised the anchor by using the primary winches again. From there we sailed to the entrance of the San Blas channel, where Captain Norm, a.k.a. "Jama", agreed to meet us to escort us into the channel. The cruising guides say that San Blas channel is very tricky and not to enter it without such an escort. Bruce Sun, 14 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.facebook.com/people/Bruce-Powell/1056063443#/home.php?ref=home?xjMsgID=75129