OK- Mark warned me about it and Dave Robb warned me about it, and now we are stuck in it! It's what I call the Mexican glue. The water here seems to get sticky and slows you down. So much so that it isn't possible to see enough of Mexico in one season to feel you have done it justice. This is a spectacular cruising area. As a result we have decided to put off the puddle jump to the Marquises until March of 2013 and spend another season cruising the Sea of Cortez and the Mexican Riviera. We will be home for the summer as we are told that it gets too hot here... even for us!
Since our last blog we have continued to move south, spending a week in the Barra Navidad area and then heading on to the Manzanillo area. After leaving the boobies behind in Chamela we had a short 5 hour cruise to Barra Navidad, and as we had been roughing it for a few days we decided to tie up at the Grand Hotel Marina. This is a 5 star resort with multiple pools and great restaurants. Our only complaint was that you can fly from Victoria, enjoy luxurious accommodations, fabulous food, alcohol and free golf on a beautiful 27 hole course for about the same daily rate as our moorage without any of the above. However, we did get to use the pools, and were welcome to pay for meals at the restaurants. (If any of you are looking for a week away at a great resort, we can recommend it as a great deal for just over $1000 for one week.)
After getting the boat cleaned up and the salt washed off, as well as a couple of days cooling off in the pool and treating ourselves to some great meals, we moved to the lagoon. The entrance is a bit tricky and our friend went aground twice, serving as a great example of which areas to avoid... but we managed to stay in the channel and anchor in about 8-10 feet of water. It was a perfect location as there is absolutely no swell to rock the boat. Another great attraction on the lagoon (as well as the Marina) is the French Baker who arrives every morning about 9am to the side of your boat in his panga (small skiff) with a supply of fresh baking including my favorite: almond paste filled croissants. Did we mention that the cruising life was tough and you often have to make do with dry goods stored for months on board? Don't believe everything you read!! There is also a great 24hr water taxi service to the town of Barra, so going ashore for late dinner didn't require a dinghy ride back to the boat in the dark through the unmarked, shallow channel.
While anchored in the lagoon we took two trips to Melaque (just next to Barra) via a 2 ½ mile hike on a white sand beach (finally, some exercise!). On one of the hikes we watched a skim board competition with a group of very talented boarders showing their skills. Tom decided to keep his shirt on as he didn't want to show up the young guys' physiques! The next day we were sitting in a street vendor having lunch when these 5 very friendly and pleasant young Mexican men sat down and chatted with us. One of them turned out to be the winner of the competition(high fives all around!).
Both Barra and Melaque are great small towns with wonderful seaside restaurants, good provisions, and very friendly people.
After a few days in the lagoon (only problem being relentless 'no-see-ems' and mosquitoes) and, I know it's hard to believe, many games of dominoes ( but it is a more complicated Mexican version with lots of rules!), we said goodbye to our friends from Night Sky, and headed south towards Manzanillo. Our first stop was a small bay called Carrizal where we reconnected with Bill and Brenda on Tahnoo from Vancouver, and continued to buddy boat with our friend Joel on Companera. This is a beautiful small bay where the three of us anchored and spent a couple of days. The snorkeling there is fantastic with lots of bright colored coral. (First time I've seen light blue and dark green coral). Again we spent the evening playing dominoes. Getting worried about us yet??
After two days Tahnoo and Companera headed back to Barra for the St. Patricks day celebration and we continued south (a long cruise of about 5 miles) to Bahia Santiago. We have been here for 3 days and will probably move on to Las Hadas tomorrow (about 2 miles) just outside of Manzanillo. Santiago is another beautiful anchorage - one of our favorites so far (remember the Mexican glue?) and right in the middle is an old ship wreck that sank in 1959 in a hurricane. We snorkelled around it this morning and will probably dinghy in to the beachside restaurants this afternoon.
Our new wetsuits are coming in handy, as while the water is incredibly warm (32 - 35 degrees Celsius), there are quite a few stinging jellyfish in the area. Check out the photogallery. Until next time.