We put out a stern anchor for the firs time. Becky wonders why we haven't been doing this since we got here. We come into a bay with a swell and anchor the boat. Then we let out another 100 feet of chain while backing up. When we're back as far as we can go, we drop a second anchor off the stern of the boat, then while bringing in the extra 100 feet of chain from the first anchor, we let out 100 fro the stern anchor. Now if the wind changes direction, the boat stays facing the swell. This makes it easier to move about the boat and sleep. A nice extra benefit of the stern anchor is, the boat stays stern to beach, keeping the view the same all the time. We are people watchers, so having the boat so that we can see what's going on while sitting in one place is great. If the stern anchor comes up as easy as it went down, we will be doing this more often!

If I was making "land" only vacation plans to Mexico, I would consider Chacala. Chacala is a small community of hotels and condos that are for rent. There are several restaurants on the beach and a street full of true Mexican stores, mixed with gift shops. The water is clear, the beach sandy, and the big city life of Puerto Vallarta is a short 30 miles away. We saw rooms for as little as $50 per night and a house on the beach (2 bed, 2 bath, full kitchen) for $1,400 per week. The beach seems to be a good mix of beach bums and middle aged gringos with money. Sailboats anchor close to shore, so you could buy a sailor a drink, and get a great story for your money. I'm still waiting for my drink!

Denny