03/17/2008, Ipala
We have just rounded Cabo Corrientes at 11:00am with only slightly roly seas, almost no wind (5 knots out of the North) and some 5-6 ft swells but some 15 seconds apart...Quite comfortable, but still motor sailing. This area is the Mexican version of California's Point Conception, that can be no wind or 30knots with huge swells, because of the strong current coming from one direction and the wind coming from another... But both have been very uneventful for us...A little good luck, good timing and some planning seems to have helped us!!! We have now anchored for the night in a tiny village of Ipala that is home for maybe 17 families and 3 Palapa cantinas. There are 3 other boats that arrived since we anchored, so it's a pretty good stopping point after rounding the Cabo Corrientes or heading north into Banderas Bay. We will take off in the morning (Tuesday) for Chamela, where we will most likely stay for a few days...(we hear there is a French Baker that takes orders for fresh croissants there!!) We seem to have left the lush green Palm and jungle to the water type of surroundings of Banderas Bay to white rock and desert brush and cactus hill sides of what's known as the "Gold Coast". Water temp is just beginning to warm up to 68 degrees and the air is about 80 with a nice ocean breeze!!! We could ask for no more than this.
We wish you all warm breezes and beautiful sunsets...
Jan & Rob
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03/16/2008, Yelapa
We have made the rounds in Banderas Bay with Yelapa being our last stop. This cool little village is nestled among the palm tree and mangrove jungle covered hillside. We arrived late morning with Sans Cles to a busy little anchorage greeted by a panga driver trying to "sell us" on a mooring ball for $25.00/night. We went in, scouted out the area and found a nice little spot only 100 ft off of the beach to anchor. We had issues getting the stern anchor to stay set, so on the 3rd try Rob finally just rowed out and practically stomped on the anchor to get it buried only about 20ft off the beach. After 3 hrs of dealing with anchoring issues, we did meet friends on the beach for dinner. Meeting up with Ed & Cornelia on A Capela after last seeing them in LaPaz and Terri & Lyman on Sans Cles was great fun and shared stories well into the evening...The next day we all explored the village that is separate from the anchorage. There were many winding paths leading to and around homes/family businesses, little eateries nestled in the steep hillside. A woodworking shop, tienda, a couple of bars, even a pool hall. Behind the village was a waterfall that needed alot more water. The trail (much of it concreted) leading to the waterfall was above a deep creviced river that town's people even still washed their clothes in and people rode horseback. Watch where you step! No cars in or out of this little village only water taxis that bring tourists/supplies from Puerto Vallarta. They have a saying here...A palapa in Yelapa is better than a condo in Redondo... Apparently some ex-pat hippies settled here in the 60's and never left... Tomorrow....around Cabo Corrientes!
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03/04/2008, La Cruz
Hey everyone...We are slowly making our way down the coast of Mexico and finally made it to the Banderas Bay where Puerto Vallarata is located. This is a very nice bay, spent Friday, 2/29 just sailing in the 10knot winds and calm seas, just letting the watermaker do it's thing and watching a few whales play from a very long distance. We will look at "Old Town" of Puerto Vallarata and hopefully Buserias before we head out by the end of the week. Weather is finally consistantly in the 80's but humidity is now 85%! Watching the famed Banderas Bay Regatta has been fun and looking forward to seeing more whales and marine life as we continue to travel south. We are in a great little anchorage in LaCruz and have met up with fellow cruisers that we met on the HaHa so the past few days have been spent "catching up" with new friends. Please let us know if you like this new format, as I will be expanding this site to include a couple of pictures and a map to show exactly where we have been via GPS way points. We love you all, think of you daily and thank our lucky stars we are able to make this incredible journey. More to come in a few days...
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