Our diet is mostly fruits, vegetables and fish. Though all are plentiful where we cruise, it is not like shopping at Whole Foods. La Cruz only has small tiendas, many of them smaller than a living room in an average US house. We usually have to visit multiple tiendas to complete the provisioning. And the methods of display are often primitive. The photo shows the Admiral shopping at our favorite La Cruz tienda.

It’s a Wonderful Life – On Adesso!

We’re getting settled into marina life, after a delightful period of isolation at Punta de Mita. This is the busiest cruising community we’ve experienced so far. In Puerto Vallarta and La Cruz there are 4 large marinas, and an anchorage that currently holds 40 boats. There are constant social and educational opportunities. There are dock parties, pool parties, movie night, restaurant events, etc. Plus La Cruz is a major music hub. Every night there are3 to 5 different bands playing in La Cruz. We can hear them from our boat, sometimes more than one at a time. Uggh. The number of bands playing is pretty impressive since La Cruz is a very small Mexican “pueblo” that covers about as much land as the marina covers water.

Every week there are multiple educational seminars, on such topics as single sideband radio, ham radio, celestial navigation, battery care, Central America cruising destinations, sail care, etc. Many sailors are anxiously preparing for their first ocean crossing and “pods” of buddy boats are forming. On the daily radio net 70-80 boats check in and swap local information, to seek information about boat supplies, and offer items for trade or sale.

Boats from all over are converging. Joe from SV Cygnus has arrived. We met him in El Salvador in 2011. Good friend Lare Byers, from SV Rocinante has arrived and will be playing guitar and singing in the various bars in town. Hilbre and Traveler will both be here soon.

To our surprise, we find that there hundreds of Canadian “snow geese” in Banderas Bay for the winter. We discovered this fact when we found the weekly Sunday market, and found wall to wall Canadians. The market has many artisan products, foods, crafts, clothing, etc. And, if you are thirsty, there is a local man selling coconuts (see photo). Buy one and he will cut off the top and pour your coconut water into a glass for a refreshing and nutritious beverage. We stocked up on local cheeses, yogurts, and beautiful vegetables.

The US press has created a belief that Mexico is a dangerous place, which is absolutely not true. It is much safer than the US. So, Americans are not a common sight of the streets of Mexico. So, we were a bit surprised to see Canadians everywhere. The neighboring town, Bucerias, is filled with houses and condominiums, owned by Canadians who spend every winter here. On a trip to Bucerias, we saw more Canadians than Mexicans.

It’s a Wonderful Life – On Adesso!

For Mexico cruiser wannabees, La Cruz is a mecca and is widely known. Imagine our surprise when we found that it is a very small Mexican town that has only about 10 streets, if that. There is only one stop-light, on the main highway to Puerto Vallarta. There are no banks or ATMs that work.

We found Philo’s Bar, another well known cruiser hangout. In addition to nightly music, cold beer and good food, Philo’s has Cruisers Lounge. For about $5 a day, cruisers can get breakfast, all day coffee, hot showers and fast internet. We stopped at Philo’s for fish tacos, as shown in the photo.

It’s a Wonderful Life – On Adesso!

We are now in the Marina Riviera Nayarit, the marina in La Cruz. We’ve moved the clock forward, into the Central Time Zone of the US. It is a gathering point for cruisers going somewhere else. Cruisers are arriving daily who are completing the “Baja Haha” a cruising rally from San Diego to Puerto Vallarta, involving about 150 boats. There will be a big celebration in a couple of weeks as the grand finale of this event. Many Baja Haha cruisers are completing their first offshore experience.

Boats are gathering from all other points of the globe to do a rally called “The Puddle Jump,” a passage to the Marquesas in the South Pacific. About 120 boats are registered for that rally, including several of our friends. These boats will wait until the trade winds stabilize in approximately March. Until then they will be doing repairs, upgrades and provisioning.

Other boats are preparing to go south to the magical cruising grounds of Mexico’s “Costa Dorado” or “Gold Coast”, with constant gentle breezes and warm, crystal clear waters. If all goes as planned, Adesso will be among the boats going south.

We’ve checked into the marina, and are docked next to Kenny on SV Sangria, who is a fountain of local knowledge. On the other side is SV Flying Carpet, from Oregon. We’ve processed into the port with the Port Captain and have met our legal obligations.

As we sit in the cockpit in the evening we feel the tropical breeze, look out at the mountainous jungle, and watch the sun sneak down between the sailboat masts until it is hidden behind Cabo Corrientes, until tomorrow.

It’s a Wonderful Life – On Adesso!

We’ll leave for La Cruz this morning and sail 10 miles east, further into Banderas Bay. We have a reservation at the marina, but we plan to delay joining the civilized and very social life of the marina. We’ll anchor just outside the marina for a couple of days, before joining the hubbub.

The course is plotted and the navigation computer is ready to go, as you can see from the inside helm in the photo.

It has been a wonderful interlude at Punta de Mita, and we will miss it.

It’s a Wonderful Life – On Adesso!

We’re trying to get motivated to leave, but not being very successful. But, we only have a 10 mile sail to reach La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, where we will be for the next few months.

The 6 solar panels have supplied all our electrical demands. Most importantly, they’ve kept the food in the refrigerator cold and made a regular supply of ice for the evening margarita.

The photo shows Adesso peacefully at anchor at Punta de Mita. We regularly watch the whales go by. Banderas Bay is the calving and mating location for many of the migratory Humpback Whales. There are hundreds in the bay right now. We’re planning to arrange a whale watching trip for the grandkids when they arrive.

We had a anxious morning. Some very white tourists rented paddleboards from a beach vendor and took off on an adventure – a bit more of an adventure than they were planning. At Punta de Mita, both the current and the wind push out to sea. Soon the intrepid, but novice, paddleboarders had drifted out to Adesso, 300 yards offshore. We offered to launch the dinghy and take them to shore. “No we’re fine,” they said. They most certainly weren’t fine, and we watched them struggle for another hour, making no headway at all. We again offered to take them in. “No, we’re okay”. They struggled for another half hour, making no progress and were obviously fatigued. We were debating whether to do an involuntary rescue or watch them drift down the coast to Guatemala. Finally, another cruiser launched his dinghy, drove over to the exhausted boarders and assertively said, “Get in. I’ll tow your boards.” The tourists complied and the drama ended.

It’s a Wonderful Life – On Adesso!