Bahia Tenacatita
24 January 2015 | Punta Chubasco anchorage
Ange
Sunday we ended up at Ensenada Carrizal, a small undeveloped cove around the corner from Bahia Santiago. It was great to have it all to ourselves for a couple of hours before 4 yachts & a stink boat took up residence as well. The water is crystal clear & the snorkelling was pretty good. A night without loud club music was heaven to our ears!
Monday we upped anchor & had a slow sail north to Bahia de Navidad. As with down south on the Guatemala border we came across 2 long lines laid by local fisherman. They are miles of rope with plastic bottles attached to float the fishing lines that are tied to the rope. We managed to motor around the first, but had to float over the second. Were lucky enough not to get the rope caught anywhere. We headed into the lagoon, grabbed some diesel at the marina & anchored in the lagoon anchorage in 2 metres of water! After getting the dinghy set up we went across to the town of Barra de Navidad (know as just ‘Barra’) & had a good wander around. There are heaps of American & Canadian tourists here but the town is not all built up & covered in high rise hotels. It has plenty of character & well worth a visit.
We had a couple of beers at Hector’s Bar & watched the world go by. Every type of transport imaginable went past – from home made buggies, bikes & golf carts!
Tuesday we headed across the bay to the anchorage off the town of Melaque (Mal-ar-kee). We got eaten by mosquitoes in the lagoon & had seen all of Barra that we wanted. Melaque again is a nice town occupied by lots of tourists but hasn’t lost any of its Mexican charm. No buildings over 4 stories adds to the relaxing atmosphere as well. There is a caravan park too – the first we’ve seen since we left the Mediterranean. With no swell we had an easy job of beach landing the dinghy & then had a walk around town. We found a supermarket called The Hawaii Store which was packed with food items we have not seen for a long time. Prices were expensive, but it was well worth it. We had lunch at a small restaurant back off the beach – again another cheap meal - AUD$10 for 2 meals & 2 beers.
Wednesday Ange went to the local weekly market that sold everything from food, clothing, touristy stuff to kitchen ware & cigars! We then had a lovely but slow sail to Bahia Tenacatita where we anchored off ‘The Aquarium.’ Aptly named due to its crystal clear waters & great snorkelling off the reefs that surround the headland. We had 2 nights there all by ourselves except for land based tourists that arrived during the days to snorkel & walk on the lovely beach. We did a lot of walking, swimming & snorkelling.
Yesterday we motored across the bay to La Manzanilla – the main town serving Bahia Tenacatita. It has a wonderful mixture of small Mexican town quaintness & seaside tourism. After taking the dinghy ashore we came upon the weekly markets where Steve picked up a couple of pairs of cheap boardies & Ange a lovely Mexican blanket. We found a computer shop to top up our internet credit & had lunch at a lovely cafe. At the edge of town is a large lagoon filled with BIG crocodiles. The protected sanctuary is fenced off so none of the crocodiles take a walk down town! We paid a small fee to have a wander through the lagoon on a raised boardwalk – there were lots of crocs! We stocked up on some meat & groceries and took PANNIKIN to the main anchorage of Punta Chubasco. PANNIKIN is in the company of 30 odd yachts here – the most we’ve seen since Panama City. There is a lovely beach to walk on & also a long inland estuary which can be toured in your dinghy – a “jungle tour.”