Before we take you there we will catch you up on the final days at Zihuatanejo. On Super Bowl Sunday we went to the awards party for Sailfest on the beach then watched the game at a palapa bar on the beach, feet in the sand type with a "big screen TV". There were plenty of other places to watch the game with real TVs but this was the best setting. They had a projection set and played it on an old movie screen. The sun was setting behind the screen and back-lightening it for the first quarter so it was difficult to see, however, they had a smaller set on the side that filled in just fine until the lighting was better. Hey, it worked and this is Mexico you know! After the game we hit the street fair here in Centro and I had the corn with mayonnaise, cheese and roja sauce as described in our last blog. I wasn't going to do it, but hey, this is Mexico you know! After that it was burgers on the street at this famous cart that everyone raves about parked across from the plaza here in Centro. These two guys make hamburgers and hot dogs by the gross and it's fantastic. I can only refer you to the photos that Marisa has posted and assure you that were are as good as they look. I'm not a big fan of cart food, but this stuff is fresh, the cart is spotlessly clean and these fellows work like a well oiled machine. For $35 pesos it's a great deal. The next day we did some shopping, found the parts to modify our shower situation thanks to a great idea from Mike and Julie on Slacker. For our last meal in Zihuatanejo we pondered the question: should we try something new or go back to one of our favorites? Tamale Any's it was for the plantain wrapped tamales, one chicken and one pork. We got back to the dinghy and Alfonso helped us off for the last time. We said adios to Zihuatanejo for the time being anyway. Great place!

The next day was boat chores day and before leaving we said good-by to Henry and Janice (a great couple from England) on Cloudy Bay, a Nordhavn 55 that we had been shadowing since before Ensenada, but did not meet until La Cruz. They are heading south to the canal then on to the East Coast of the US before going home. Henry is responsible for the great photos of the whales that we also saw on race day as well as a couple of photos of Pacifico flying her asymmetrical spinnaker wing and wing trying to cut the corner to catch up. He was out in his dinghy and took these fantastic photos, which were exactly what we were watching, but didn't get any photos of, so kudos to Henry and we hope you enjoy looking at these pictures as much as we enjoyed seeing the whales.

We moved the six n.m. over to the Ixtapa marina on Tuesday, 2/8 and onto F dock, or muelle. I hate to say it but it's nice to be on a dock again: power, water and it does not rock n' roll! We spent 43 days on the hook this time, our most yet and while it was all good, it is nice to have a real shower close by. This is a nice marina and it's priced that way too so we won't be staying long. This is our southern most destination on this voyage and it is a strange feeling. When we leave here we will be backtracking up the coast, visiting some of the places we bypassed and revisiting a few favorites, but our goal is to be in Puerta Vallarta by about March 4, for the Bandaras Bay Race Week.

That said, the Ixtapa Marina is noted for crocodiles. Swimming or diving your boat are not allowed. We hired a diver at our last anchorage off La Ropa Beach there in Bahia Zihuatanejo to clean the boat and change out our zincs, or sacrificial anodes that are designed to dissolve instead of your engine and other metal parts in this salt water environment. Anyway, I don't have a hooka or other dive gear so having done this before the $400 pesos was worth it. I did work in the water with the diver because he didn't know how to change the zincs and I like to be down there to see that it's going right so I got my workout as well. We were in the water a couple of hours or longer and he did a great job. This young man is a fisherman, not a diver, but with all the boats here this week they are doing anything and everything they can to make money while it is here. The old rope pull start motor that drove his compressor for his huka rig was ancient, but it got the job done. Once that was done I changed my oil and did my engine checks and the next day we departed for the marina at Ixtapa, about six miles north.

The entrance to this marina is a narrow cut or really a widening of the channel into an estuary that was dredged to create this marina. It is shallow and like most we have found I had one foot under the keel at the low point on entry. Once inside it is nice, modern and clean; they also have crocodiles in these former swamps as you will see from the photos Marisa posted. When we hit the dock we were swarmed by the young fellows that clean boats here. They take your lines for you and you can't get off the boat before they are offering to clean it for you. OK, I'm not lazy, but it was hot and these kids need the work. I liken it to contributing to the local economy. Anyway, we left the boat to have lunch and four of them descended upon Pacifico for a couple of hours and she was al shiny and desalted when we got back.

We have walked the beach here and explored the marina area, but have not ventured further than that. Other than a small shopping area, there is not much here except the big hotels along the beach and a couple of golf courses. All major shopping and stores that serve this area are located in Zihuatanejo. Most of our time has been here on the boat working on a few repairs, major laundry and visiting with some of our dock neighbors, most of whom were anchored in the bay with us, but for the most part we didn't meet. I had only heard the boat names and had not actually met the people involved so that has been nice.

Tonight during cocktail hour we were treated with a marauding crocodile wandering in and out of the slips. Actually he looked pretty old and while still dangerous I think he was looking for a hand-out, or maybe a hand that was out? He swam down the fairway behind out boat then came up to the transom where I took a photo of him over the stern's port quarter. You can see me in the reflection looking down at the guy as well as the "Ericson" logo decal on the boat. He swam forward alongside then dove under the boat and resurfaced two boats down. Everyone came out to watch and take photos and Barrit from Serendipity (San Diego-there are two of them here) measured the guy with a tape along the dock beside him and pronounced him a 10 footer! A second croc surfaced briefly then disappeared. There is a legitimate reason they don't dive your boat in this place!

That's about it from Ixtapa. Tomorrow morning while it is still cool we are going to take the bus to Zihuatanejo for some last item shopping and for parts to be able to depart on Saturday and start our northward journey. That's the plan anyway!