Hola All

We are having a great time cruising on Mexico's Gold Coast. Such a great time we have not posted an update in a while. We are Slackers! We left La Crux on December 27th following a wonderful Christmas. Our first hurdle was to round the infamous Cabo Corrientes. This is a prominent point that generates very confused seas and winds. We left early in the morning to get past before noon. True to form the seas came from all directions and we felt like we were in a washing machine. Fortunately it only lasted for a few miles. Once past the point we saw the first of several hundred sea turtles in out 40 mile trip. Most were asleep on the surface and would wake up just in time to avoid a smack on the back from out bow. We also saw several humpback whales. Our first anchorage was Ipala, about 15 miles past Cabo Corrientes. Not a great anchorage but ok for an overnight. Next morning bright and early we made our way to Chamela, about 50 miles down the coast. A great anchorage to spend New Years Eve in. In Chamela we ran in to some old friends; MIHA, Eric and Terry, MYSTIQUE, Terry and Patty, and TICA, Bill and JoAnn. A great cocktail hour and dinner that went well past our bedtime was held on MIHA for us all to catch up on what's been going on. For the next few days we snorkeled, beach walked and generally hung out.
On the 3rd we left for Tenacatita, about 25 miles down. Tenacitita is one of those places where cruisers hang out for months. It's a great anchorage with lots to do. The famous Jungle River Cruise, a fierce group of Bocce Ball players, a daily swim to shore, and a weekly dingy raft up/cocktail / hors d oeuvres party. The Jungle River cruise is a 6 mile run up a fresh water river that ends up in a small town. On the way you can see all sorts of birds, huge iguanas, and the occasional alligator. If you time the tides right you can motor up and float back down with the engine off. It's just like Stanley and Livingston in Africa. The daily Bocce Ball games are very competitive. Julie won two games which snubbed some of the hard cores. After a week or so we left Tenactita for Barra de Navidad a short 12 miles away. The trip into the lagoon anchorage at Barra is exciting at best, terrifying at worst. It's a huge lagoon that is fed by a river on one side and a small entrance from the ocean on the other. You have to cross several sand bars that you can't see, but know are there. Everyone has their own special tricks to get in. Some rely on GPS waypoints, some enter at low tide so they can see the edges of the bar, some go slow, some fast, and some (us) just watch the depth sounder and try not to bump into anything. We made it in ok, must be beginners luck.
Barra is actually 3 towns in one small area. There is a 5 star resort and marina, Grand Bay Isla Navidad located in Colimilla, a tourist town called Melaque, and the actual town of Barra de Navidad. The lagoon anchorage is a very cool place. The three towns around the lagoon have water taxies that you can take into town for 25 pesos round trip. This make those late nights in town a whole lot easier. You can also take your dingy into the Sands Hotel in Barra. They have a stone seawall outside the pool to tie up your dingy and 2 for one beers all day long. Cruisers are welcome at the pool and they even have showers. Probably the best thing about the anchorage is the French baker. Every morning a real live French guy comes around in a panga selling fresh baked croissants, and baguettes. It's an expensive habit, but very nice for a treat. Did I mention that we have lots of treats?

More to come from Slacker
Buenos Dias